FitSugar

Get Fit For 2010: Before and "So Far" Pictures

Fit Community — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:50:47 PST

Learn what FitSugar reader laellavita means by her blog post title from our Get Fit For 2010 community challenge and contest.

I don't want to say "after" because the real after will be at the end (though does that ever really come?) because right now this really is a continual work in progress. Even when I hit a physical "after," there will always be the mental stuff to battle through. Therefore, my "after" picture is a "so far," and I'm posting it to hold myself accountable to something. I'm awful at holding myself accountable to things, be it how much I'm eating or what I'm eating or ways I'm sabotaging myself, et cetera.

June 2007 - I'm in the black and white dress, when I weighed my heaviest of around 180+ pounds. I want to say it was even 200, but by then I hated taking pictures of myself, I hated weighing myself, none of my clothes really fit, and I was absolutely miserable. I'd been on diets all my life, had an eating disorder and a pretty serious case of anorexia that earned intervention and therapy starting at age 14, but then things coalesced into a type of binge eating disorder. I'd cut carbs, do ridiculous diets, and then binge when I couldn't take it anymore. I worked at Starbucks and would constantly gorge myself on the extra pastries and drinks they gave us for free. And I was terrified about going to college and gaining an extra 15 pounds, so when I got there, I started making myself hit the gym every day and I went to the salad bar instead of even the wrap line because the amount of dressing they put on those things was absolutely terrifying. But even when I made progress and got to 165, my weight always wavered and I'd still have little binge episodes, partly because I was always restricting my diet like crazy and then going overboard. One step forward and two steps back, you know, the same old story everyone has. But finally, instead of staying at the crappy little school gym that really only had two working treadmills on a good day, I joined a (really expensive) gym down the street and started working out there. I had a few training sessions here and there and learned a lot of things from my trainer. I started running in Central Park, too, and last year finally came to terms with the fact that I was terrified of bread and carbs and that was absolutely ridiculous. Who is scared of bread? So I switched to whole grain wheats, didn't deprive myself of them, but really stuck to the moderation thing and my weight's been even easier to control - I actually lost a lot more than I thought I would! Every once in a while, I have bad days when I eat too much of the good stuff - there was even an article in Shape magazine this month (with Katharine McPhee on the cover) talking about how people can be "purist" diet saboteurs, and that is me to a T. It was a wake up call to be called out on my habits, so that is my resolution. I posted before about strength training more, and my ultimate goal is to run the NYC marathon this fall (fingers crossed if I get a slot in the lottery!!), as well as cutting out a lot of processed and packaged food, but just being aware is also a goal of mine.

To see how she transformed her body, just

This is my body now - welcome to the gun show? Haha, just kidding. I have some muscle, because I've always built it easily, even as a vegetarian. I don't want a six pack, but the definition you see is really the difference between harder muscle and the excess soft spots from when I was so much heavier. So right now it's really not the number on the scale, even though I do weigh myself to keep in check. I want to make this year a measure of my fitness and my health.

Thinking about your health goals for the new year? Join our Get Fit For 2010 community group and write a blog post about your goals. Check out this week's challenge and Get Over the Hump Day extra credit challenge to enter our contest for weekly giveaways as well as an awesome grand prize.

Enter Our Get Fit For 2010 Giveaway!

FitSugar — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:13:06 PST

How are your New Year's resolutions coming along? You've had over a week to live with them, and here's your chance to reassess your health and fitness goals for the new year with the Get Fit For 2010 community challenge. Since sticking to resolutions - running a marathon, losing your baby weight, or eating a more balanced diet - can be rough, we have not only started a community group for support but also created a contest so you can win prizes while working toward becoming a healthier you. For the next 12 weeks, we will be posting a challenge on FitSugar every Monday, and by meeting the challenge you will be automatically entered for a chance to win the weekly prize - a $100 Nike gift card.

This week's challenge: Write a blog post stating your fitness and health goals for the year in the Get Fit For 2010 group. I'd love to see a "before" image to go with your blog post too.

I am participating (one of my goals is to run a half marathon), and my pal LilSugar is joining the community too - she'll be video blogging her progress every Tuesday. If you're ready to join the fun and feel the community support, log in and head directly to Get Fit For 2010. Need a little help making a blog post? Then check out these tips on posting in our group.

At the end of three months, we will pick a grand prize winner at random from all of the entries in all of the weekly challenges. The more you participate, the more chances you have to win the grand prize: a $1,000 gift card from Nike; a year of personalized nutrition plans by nutritionist Alexa Fishback, plus a copy of her book; a year membership to 24 Hour Fitness for you and a friend; and two Bodybuggs.

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, Jan. 17, to complete your first challenge. I can't wait to read what your goals are. Ready. Set. Blog!

Get Fit For 2010: Make a Plan and Share It

FitSugar — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:00:16 PST

Here to serve as a motivational force in your drive to get fit for 2010, I want to remind you all that good intentions need well-laid plans. Let me share with you all some examples from the blog posts FitSugar readers have been writing in the Get Fit For 2010 community group.

JanisRae has resolved to get healthier by going to the gym, eating better, and being more mentally sound. Here's her strategy for de-stressing: "Blogs, journals, prayer, deep breathing. Going back to doing things I enjoyed doing before I got a full-time job is also a priority; going back to your roots makes you smile and feel youthful! Also, keeping clutter to a minimum seems to do the trick."
LadyBomb has been through a lot, and she's not kidding herself that she's going to meet her health goals without some hard work. She writes, "I'm going to increase my exercise frequency, duration, and intensity gradually in hopes to lose the weight."
User commonsense 102 has the goal of staying on the healthy track as she overcomes an injury. She is not only focusing "on healthy eating and making smart choices about indulgences," she is also adding intervals of jogging to her walks.
FitSugar user parkercat wants to lose the last 20 pounds and her plan to do so is simple and straightforward. She wrote, "I will increase my running millage and step-board exercise."
Rebeccaelyse is turning her health around and lowering her BMI. She is starting by replacing "soda with water, white bread with wheat."

Have you blogged about your goals for the new year yet? If yes, did you write how you plan to meet them? If not, please share your plan since writing goals helps you figure out how to meet them. Each blog post you write in the Get Fit For 2010 group increases your chances to win the weekly prize - $100 gift card from Nike. You have until Sunday Jan. 17 11:59 p.m. (PST) to meet this challenge. And since we know change takes more than a week, out Get Fit For 2010 is three months long with a new challenge every week to stay on track.

Enter Our Get Fit For 2010 Giveaway!

FitSugar — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:45:38 PST

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, Jan. 17, to complete your first challenge. I can't wait to read what your goals are. Ready. Set. Blog!

Strike A Pose! Challenge 1 Winner!

FabSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:30:33 PDT

Congratulations to Fab reader twiggychic3, winner of Strike A Pose! Challenge 1! This petite fashionista stepped right up to the plate and gave the challenging pose a shot. And as you can see, she nailed it! To thank her for bending backwards for us, she'll be receiving a Fab tee to pose everyday in.

All you other aspiring models, stay tuned for another Strike A Pose! challenge soon...

Strike A Pose! Challenge 1 Reminder!

FabSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:45:22 PDT

Many of you expressed interest in our new Strike A Pose! challenge, yet I don't see any of your imitations in the Strike A Pose! group. C'mon ladies - get those cameras ready and strike a post like there's nothing to it...

As a reminder, I will always start you off by imitating a difficult pose and then I want to see you try. Subscribe and then post your photos in the Strike A Pose! group and for this week's pose tag it with "Strike A Pose Challenge 1." I will select the best attempts and feature them on Fab! And the winning post will receive a FabSugar tee to pose away in 24/7.

A Whole Lotta Lil in This Week's Links

Rebecca M Gruber — Sat, 26 May 2012 04:26:41 PDT

These sweet Memorial Day treats may steal the show at your barbecue!
What to do with all that stuff baby outgrows.
These personalized baby gifts are perfect if you have any new babies in your life!
Planning a birthday party for your tot? Don't miss our favorite birthday party themes - ever!
Don't head to the beach this weekend without reading our guide to packing a beach bag for a toddler.
Are you on Instagram yet? If so, then join our first Instagram challenge and load a picture that demonstrates motherhood!
Tired of waiting for baby to arrive on her own? Try one of these tried and true methods for inducing labor on your own!
Hats off to the lil preschool graduate with these graduation ideas for tots.
Todd Oldham's beautiful collection of arts-and-crafts projects and supplies hit Target this week. See which are Todd's favorites.
We love Valentina Pinault's impeccable style and jet-setting ways!
Have a stack of used baby food jars sitting around? Try reusing them for more than just food!

Celebs Parents' Best Photos of the Week

Rebecca M Gruber — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:47:37 PDT

You weren't the only one snapping pictures of your kids this week! Celeb moms and dads whipped out their cameras to capture their lil ones doing everything from helping out around the house to preparing for a flight home. Check out the pictures they shared over Twitter and Instagram, and if you happen to have your phone in hand, then go ahead and join our first Instagram Motherhood Challenge. We can't wait to see how you do!

Hysteria Director Tanya Wexler Talks Vibrators, Faking It, and Duck Sex

Tara Block — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:15 PDT

Don't be shy . . . It's time to talk sex toys! And Hysteria director Tanya Wexler is writing us a prescription for pleasure. Tanya's film - what she calls "the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to" - is in limited release and stars Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Rupert Everett. When working on a romantic comedy that centers around the invention of the vibrator, you end up with some entertaining and embarrassing situations along the way, and lucky for us, Tanya spilled all the hilariously dirty details. From teaming up with the film's partner Jimmyjane for a drive-by vibrator drop-off to a certain female Oscar-winner to trying unsuccessfully to get ducks to shag on command, Tanya was bursting with great stories from working on this very unconventional film. And while Tanya isn't ashamed to discuss the sexy subject matter of her latest film with us, the mother of four and her partner of 21 years did have a tricky challenge telling her preteen kids what her movie was about. (She eventually gave them the script and let them figure it out themselves!) Check out our interview with the fun-loving director now, and we dare you not to have a girl crush on her by the end!

TrèsSugar: What were some of the challenges to getting a movie made about vibrators?
Tanya Wexler: Getting the script right was tricky because if you just make a movie about the invention of the vibrator, it's actually a really short movie: you go "bzz" and it's done. And we had a kind of light romantic comedy. I say I made the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to. But some people wanted it to be raunchy or some people wanted it to be more serious and about feminism. People project a lot onto this movie of what they want, because there isn't a lot out there about vibrators and women's pleasure, and we still don't really deal with that topic very well, or we're overly antsy around it. And as a result, people have a lot of ideas of what the movie could and should be, and you can't please everyone. [laughs]

TS: Ha, good one.
TW: It's nonstop!

TS: Do you find sex toys inherently funny or something to be seriously celebrated?
TW: Yes!

TS: Both?
TW: Yes! Yes. I think they make me laugh, and I think that the inner kind of Beavis and Butt-head in all of us goes "[laugh]." You know, that inner 13-year-old, like, "Hahaha vibrator . . . " and yet they're awesome and fun.

TS: What shocked you the most when researching the movie?
TW: That ducks are the rapists of the bird world, and you'll see when you see the movie, because there's a little bit of questionable duck behavior - or awesome duck behavior - in the movie. It's totally a sidebar, but you cannot make ducks shag on command. I'm just saying.

TS: What about the whole history of hysteria being a medical condition?
TW: When I first heard the idea, I was like, "What do you mean it was invented in Victorian times?" I knew about hysteria, but the idea that the treatment was manual [British accent] massage deparaxism - which is what they called it - and, of course, the denial. The most shocking thing is the denial, that they didn't think it was sexual.

TS: Do you think they were really in denial?
TW: No, I don't think that some people were. My college roommate was with her high school boyfriend for two years and she had never had an orgasm. I think there's all kinds of denial, especially with women's sexuality. So the fact that there are young women today who haven't had an orgasm, whether self-induced - which is insane - or with a partner, then why wouldn't we think back then that women wouldn't know what orgasms were?

They would get a massage, and the doctor's saying, "Without a penis, this isn't sex, because sex is about procreation," so what is this? The best physical therapy you've ever had. So once you don't think of it as something other than what the doctor's supposed to do to cure your uncontrollable crying or uncontrollable laughter or whatever, then it's just an awesome muscle spasm. If you don't think women have their own inherent sexuality, then you're not thinking about it like that.

Keep reading for Tanya's thoughts on Fifty Shades and more!

Cannes Minireview: On the Road

Allie Merriam — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:50:15 PDT

Required reading for teenagers in America, Jack Kerouac's On the Road is now a big-screen film, and the finished product just debuted at Cannes. It's one of the most anticipated movies to be screened at the Grand Palais - read on to see what we thought.

Who's behind it? Walter Salles, of The Motorcycle Diaries, was tasked with directing the picture, which is of course based on the Kerouac classic. Salles has a long list of stars - at one point, I wondered who isn't in this movie. Sam Riley, who had a star-making role in 2007's Control, plays the lead role of Sal Paradise, and Garrett Hedlund is his pal Dean Moriarty. Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst have smaller parts as Dean's love interests, and Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Tom Sturridge, Steve Buscemi, Elisabeth Moss, and many more have other cameos. The production has been in the works for decades. Francis Ford Coppola secured the movie rights back in 1980.
What's it about? It's the beat generation in the USA during the 1940s, but Sal Paradise can't seem to get past his writer's block. Sal takes up with a group of friends who love drinking, talking, dancing, and moving. Dean Moriarty enters the picture and offers adventure. He likes to move around the country, not caring where the money comes from or which hearts he breaks. Sal's a devoted friend to Dean, and they travel the country meeting up with friends, family, strangers, and going wherever the road takes them.

To read what I thought, just read more