Single, two kids, sick, unemployed, and weighing in at 315 pounds, Marilyn Chivetta’s story seemed hopeless. That might be most people, but it’s not Marilyn. This is a woman whose wedding was called off six days before the vows, and she still hosted the reception, a party she ended up calling the Broken Heart Ball.

“I celebrate everything, all of the time,” she told us. While she used the party to momentarily pick up the pieces of a life that unexpectedly shattered around her, it wasn’t long before she turned all of her focus to her young son and not herself. Then, a car accident would break her back leading to multiple health problems that would render her unable to work. At the end of 2010, when things couldn’t seem to get much worse, she received an eviction notice for her rented house; she learned the landlord hadn’t been making the mortgage payments.

“One thing lead to another and the next thing you know I’m over 300 pounds,” Marilyn said. “I started 2011 barely walking. Things were really bad, I was really sick,” she told us.

It was then that she had that all-important “ah-ha” moment. She says she prayed about what to do, and relied on her faith. Her plan was to “lose the weight and go see Oprah.” It didn’t quite happen that way, but her outreach to Oprah did land her an appearance on Dr. Phil in spring 2011. That was the turning point.

At her heaviest, Marilyn weighed 315 pounds. Today, she’s down more than 129, and notes that the number is “so far,” because she’s not done. She lost the weight in about 10 months, and credits the majority to her Bistro MD diet.

“I started feeling better within three days,” she says of the Bistro MD meals, which were afforded to her after her Dr. Phil appearance to help her lose weight and start regaining her life.
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Maria Menounos is a woman of her word, and hosted Extra donning a New York Giants bikini in the wintery streets of NYC on Monday after she bet fellow correspondent AJ Calloway that the New England Patriots would win this year’s Super Bowl.

The sight of Menounos in the tiny bikini hosting next to a bundled up Mario Lopez, however, could be enough to make any Pats fan cheer for Giants colors. Menounos looked amazing, showing off her slim and toned body, showing that just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you should let your workout routine slip.

Menounos has never been shy about her love of fitness and that she got into shape on her own. In an interview with Fitness Magazine, Menounos opened up about gaining weight in college, reaching a size 14, and how she took it off all by herself.

“I did it on my own, when I was dirt-poor,” she says. “And I’ve kept it off for nine years.”

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Katharine McPhee has overcome huge personal challenges on her journey to professional success. Currently getting big attention for her role in the new show Smash, McPhee has found a balanced approach to food and exercise after struggling with a severe eating disorder. The singer and actress suffered from bulimia for many years, culminating in three months of rehab at Los Angeles’s Eating Disorder Center of California.

McPhee tried to address her cycle of binging and purging by a number of different approaches, from therapists to Food Addicts Anonymous. She ultimately found success through intuitive eating, which helped her overcome her fear of “bad” foods and curb her binge eating. Counter-intuitively, once McPhee stopped obsessing over her weight, she was able to drop 30 pounds.

“The more I focused on my weight, the worse my bulimia got,” McPhee said. “Now I’m more easygoing. I stopped fighting myself and became more forgiving of my body. Ironically, the weight came off naturally through exercise but no dieting.” She says she works to avoid a “diet mentality” to prevent relapses.

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Few people know more about the fitness industry than Dr. John Spencer Ellis. Active in the fitness and health community for more than 20 years, and a renowned member, Ellis is known for a variety of things, including his stint on the Real Housewives of Orange County, the creation of NESTA, and most recently the launch of DietGuru.com.

We had a chance to speak with John and catch up on a few goings-on in the fitness world right now. We talk about making the resolutions last (yes, there’s still time!), identifying the best personal trainer for your needs, and how Diet Guru can help you become an A+ eater.

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There are stories that Elvis Presley would eat one food, in particular meatloaf, for weeks. It would be the only thing he’d eat. I tend to get in to similar ruts with breakfast. It will be three months of nothing but scrambled eggs and toast. And then I’ll switch to months and months of Cheerios, or yogurt with granola. Last week, it was time for a change, and I rediscovered my blender.

Smoothies are a perfect breakfast. They are fast, simple, and can give you several full servings of fruits and vegetables in a glass. Drink it on the go and you can’t complain about not having time for breakfast!

I assessed the smoothie-making ingredients I had on hand… fresh baby spinach, an avocado, a pint of blueberries, bananas, ice, and Chobani Greek yogurt. I had a few flavors to choose from (because we’re rarely without) and I opted for the brand new blood orange. I hadn’t yet tried it, and figured this was a perfect opportunity to add a burst of sweetness to my smoothie. The color, when all stirred and combined, wasn’t as bold as I’d expected (I mean, have you seen the raspberry Chobani? Pop!), but the flavor was perfect.
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