Giada De Laurentiis is a household name for many foodies. Her Food Network shows and cookbooks have taken her to celebrity chef status and have earned her an Emmy for her show, “Everyday Italian,” while her books have landed on the New York Times bestseller list many times. The one thing that may set Giada apart from her other celeb chef colleagues is her figure. Great chefs are rarely thin and Giada has managed to be both. She recently revealed some of her secrets for remaining so trim in spite of a world filled with pesto and desserts.
Giada will be seen on newsstands everywhere this month as she graces the cover of November’s Women’s Health. The magazine cover highlights the questions many of us were wondering – how does she cook for a living and still manage to stay so fit? Inside, Giada tells Women’s Health writer Sarah Copeland that she’s asked that question often. So what did she say? Giada simply relies on portion control. She says she eats everything she cooks, just not much of it at one sitting.
Along with portion control, Kathryn Budig, Women’s Health yoga contributor and author of The Big Book of Yoga releasing this month, can testify that Giada gets intense yoga workouts three to four times a week. Budig is often the one who pushes Giada through these routines. She told us what those workout sessions look like.
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Lady Gaga’s recent 25-30 pound weight gain is easily noticeable on her small frame of 5’1″. With no surprise, it’s got the media riled up. The weird part is many of you never would have noticed if it wasn’t for the media’s harsh and criticizing remarks.
Now we all know Lady Gaga isn’t one to just sit there and take a hit without some sort of response, especially on such a topic like this. The pop star fought back with no hesitation by posting photos of herself wearing nothing but her yoga bra and panties. The photo’s caption admits to her weight struggles by saying, “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15.”
Her new site called Little Monsters just launched yesterday and has aided her constructive response to the media. The site is meant to encourage anyone and everyone to post photos of their bodies in order to let go of their own insecurities, no matter what they may be. Scars, fat, disorders, diseases..anything. Lady Gaga has been a huge encouragement to people all over the world who have low self-esteem for their bodies. It seems she’s found yet another way to encourage her fans to love who they are, inside and out.
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Does controversy exist on its own or do we wait until the media tells us that we need to get hot and bothered about something?
Either way, the latest catalyst for consumer outrage is the new Yoga Teacher Barbie. She’s part of an exclusive line of Barbies in the “I Can Be…” series from Mattel and you can only find her in Target stores. The series isn’t new. Back in 2010, the brand ran an online voting competition to choose two Barbies for the series. The winners were a news anchor and computer engineer. The whole idea, according to Barbie.com, is to “ignite a national movement to inspire girls.” Who wouldn’t want to get on board with that?
Apparently it takes a twisty-legged, spandex-dressed doll to stir up a little unnecessary controversy. Just in time for the election year and the Olympics, the “I Can Be” series also includes a president and a tennis player, track star, swimmer, and gymnast. But it’s the yoga teacher that’s got people bent out of shape.
Chelsea Roff at IntentBlog.com said “Kids are being exposed to yoga at an early age, encouraged to stay active, and taught about mind-body awareness practices before they even hit kindergarten. All good things! But something about seeing that sickly-proportioned doll’s foot behind her head just makes me cringe. As if the stereotypes of yoga weren’t bad enough already, now kids are implicitly being taught that yoga teachers look like a big-headed Pam Anderson.”
We didn’t see it that way. We, like Kathryn Budig, saw a doll. Just a toy that lets little girls’ imaginations run wild.
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I want to thank City Yoga here in Indianapolis for inviting me to the special workshop weekend with Kathryn Budig. Kathryn teaches yoga all around the world and wants to make yoga practice fun for each of her students. She is also scheduled to release The Big Book of Yoga in December.
I attended the Sunday backbends workshop because it was the only one that I could fit into my busy weekend schedule. I was not sure what to expect since I have only attended a few yoga classes, and I have not done backbends much since I was a kid. However, I utilize and love the Authentic Yoga iPhone app when I travel and some days at home, so I feel pretty familiar with yoga in general. I find I am able to complete the intermediate routines, so I went into the class with an open mind.
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“This is a picture of my steamed artichoke with a lemon/olive oil/nutritional yeast dip. I’m not gonna lie—I probably eat this at least 2 times a week. Artichokes are filling, great for your liver, and when paired with this tart dip it’s full of nutrients and proteins thanks to the yeast. This makes me a very happy girl (smile!).”
Kathryn Budig is a renowned yogi, who will be releasing The Big Book of Yoga later this year with Rodale.
March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Get Your Plate in Shape,” focusing on MyPlate. We invited nutrition and fitness professionals to share their typical plate to give you a glimpse of how some of the healthiest people in the country eat on a daily basis. See the series.
