When Screen Actors Guild (SAG) president Ken Howard called Mary Tyler Moore to inform her of being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, she said that she thought he was calling her to ask her to present something to someone. 
Moore, who helped to create two of television’s most memorable and groundbreaking roles, The Dick Van Dyke Show’s Laura Petrie and The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s Mary Richards, feels honored at all the attention. She says that she looks at the SAG award as a reward for doing something good.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show featured Moore playing the role of the main character, Mary Richards, and ran on CBS for seven years. Mary Richards was a single, career woman in her thirties who had just broken up with her med student boyfriend, whom she had supported for the past two years. Now here she was starting over, making it on her own without having been married and she wasn’t seeking a man to support her.
Mary Richards was the first “real ‘grownup’ career woman on TV.” She was a real person who displayed real insecurities and fears. You couldn’t help but to like her and by the end of each episode you just knew that she would “make it after all.”
Although Moore is appreciative of the SAG award and other honors that she has received, she is most proud of the work she has performed for juvenile diabetes and animal rights.
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A recently published study of 43 older men and women shows that swimming a few times a week lowered their systolic blood pressure. On average, systolic readings—the “top” number in a blood pressure reading—were 131 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Three months later, it was 122 mm Hg.
Normal blood pressure is defined as an average reading no higher than 120/80 mm Hg. Readings of 140/90 or higher are considered high blood pressure, and anything in between is considered “pre-hypertension.”
Swimming is often promoted as a good way for older adults to exercise. It also offers them the ability to work their body without harsh impact to their skeletal system.
When the body is submerged in water it automatically becomes lighter. Depending on how much of the body is submerged, the amount of weight the body bears can be reduced by as much as 90 percent.
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“I hope I look half that good when I’m her age” is a likely sentiment upon seeing Vera Wang stunning in a one-piece, strapless swimsuit in Harper’s Bazaar this month. At 62, the renowned designer is slender, fit, and the embodiment of health.
Wang isn’t promoting her diet or fitness regimen, instead the article focuses on the new home she purchased in LA, a place she calls ‘the yin to my New York yang.”
While the world knows her best as a brilliant wedding dress designer, there was a time when people knew her better for her footwear. Ice skates to be exact. She was a competitive figure skater in her youth. In fact, this spring she’ll be honored at the Figure Skating in Harlem Skating with the Stars benefit. Attendees will have an opportunity to skate with Wang.
It’s not clear how often Wang takes to the ice, but even if it’s a moderate hour here and there, ice skating is a serious workout that can burn 500 calories. As well, it’s a great activity for working out the legs, in particular the hamstrings and quads and you’ll also pay some attention to the back and abs.
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Superstar Aretha Franklin is making news with the announcement that she is engaged to her longtime friend William Wilkerson. The Queen of Soul’s engagement took place over the holidays and the wedding is rumored to take place this coming summer.
This good news for Aretha also brings to light some of the health scares that have kept her in the news in recent years. She bounced back after a health scare and had surgery in December 2010 due to extreme pain in her side. She did say that the surgery she had would add 15 to 20 years to her life. The cause of that pain was never disclosed by Franklin. Although there were some reports that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer, Franklin communicated that she did not have cancer. Franklin does, however, have type 2 diabetes, which brings with a host of health problems.
Additionally, many fans have grown concerned about Franklin’s rapidly rising weight when seeing her at performances and award shows over the past couple of years. Franklin decided to do something about her growing weight when she declared she is “entirely too fat.” She boasted that she has lost 85 pounds and is looking much healthier. Healthy weight loss can reverse type 2 diabetes, and you have to hope that will be the case for Aretha.
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By Dani M. Stone
Gail Lee’s epiphany for weight loss didn’t result from a particular incident or reading of a motivational poster. Instead, she had a heart-to-heart talk with her oldest daughter Lindsay, who shared how worried she was about Gail’s health. At 57-years old, 322 pounds, and on medication for diabetes, her family worried she might not be around to enjoy her husband of 32 years, her three children, and only granddaughter. Gail realized her family was right and now is happy to join her other daughter Lauren Lee as the yellow team on Biggest Loser 13.
Growing up in Bowling Green, Maryland with a younger brother, Gail survived polio and went on to have a happy, healthy childhood. By age 12 she was tall, just shy of six-feet tall, and though she wasn’t obese, she still felt self-conscious about her overall size. Gail attended Bowling Green State University with a triple major in special education, learning disabilities, and elementary education. She remained in good shape through college but after marriage and three pregnancies the weight started to slowly creep on.
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