"Exercise is like meditation for me. And I'm giving myself that time . . . I cannot live without it now. When you have such a good workout, it clears everything up mentally, physically, and you just have a better day." — Minka Kelly on the importance that exercise plays in her life. The actress is on the March cover of Self and shares with the magazine that working out with trainer Gunnar Read more

"I feel like some of my baby fat is going away, and that's not just physically, it's psychologically. I think that your body is in tune with your mind and your spirituality and your heart. If things are going better, I just think you look better." — Drew Barrymore on the close connection between feeling good and looking good. Drew appears on the October cover of Harper's Bazaar, and inside Read more

"If a negative thought pops into my head, I talk to the voice within me and say, 'I know you want to tell me that I'm less than desirable, but not now. You can come back in a couple days and cut me down when I'm done with this shoot. I promise to let you in then' . . . I have worked very hard to love myself, and I do. I think that's what people may respond to with me." — Eva Mendes talks about Read more

"You shouldn’t be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins. They know that if we see an outfit on a mannequin in a shop window we will love it and want to buy it whatever size we are. That’s why they have size zero models — they want to sell clothes. But you have to remember that it’s not practical or possible Read more

"I'm pretty comfortable with my body. I'm imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view you only live once." — Kate Hudson discusses her nude scenes in the brutal noir thriller The Killer Inside Me with British newspaper The Telegraph. Kate, 31, said to be more believable as a "plainer" girl from a small town in Texas, she stopped working out and Read more

"This shoot was less about beauty than about taking a risk and showing people a side of me they never have seen . . . Food is not what I use to anesthetize myself anymore." — American Idol's Kara DioGuardi is one of five celebrities featured in Allure's special naked celebrity issue. In it, Kara discusses the pride she has in being able to strip down in front of a camera after struggling with Read more

"I was actually losing about a pound a week which was really wonderful. It was a really nice, and good, and healthy way to do it. And I still got to eat my chocolate every day which was wonderful, although I haven't had a drink in a really, really, really long time. I love being outside and working out, and I sometimes jog with my husband, and sometimes I jog with one of my daughter's best Read more

"Take a few hours and prepare lunch for the week. On Sundays, I premake everything for salads. I boil a dozen eggs and parboil beets. I chop lettuce, cilantro, scallions and parsley and put it all in Ziploc bags. During the week, I just grab handfuls, add dressing, dump in a can of beans, some goat cheese, and I'm ready to go." — Ellen Pompeo shows off her post-pregnancy body on the cover of Read more

Historically, walnuts haven't been an ingredient that comes to mind often when I'm cooking — I typically eat them out of my hand and in banana bread, but that's about it. But recently, I attended a seminar with cooking host Joanne Weir and the California Walnut Board and Commission, where we enjoyed a walnut-centered lunch. From that broadening meal, I learned so many new ways to incorporate Read more

We might not be able to make it to Greece or Southern Italy anytime soon, but we can bring the cuisine to us by celebrating Mediterranean Diet Month in our own kitchens. The healthy benefits of the Mediterranean diet are touted by numerous studies, and for good reason: it promotes heart health, good vision, and weight control, to name a few. An easy way to get the Mediterranean diet into your own Read more