What do Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, supermodel Kate Moss, and Nicole Richie have in common?

They all have super-slim bodies that are virtually unattainable – and the unfortunate thing is, television and other media have become so pervasive that women all over the world desire to attain these physiques at all costs.

This portrayal of the “ideal body shape” in celebrities applies an unpleasant cultural pressure for women of all ages to be thin.

Even the more mature stars of the hit TV series “Desperate Housewives” feel the demands, because they know that in La-La Land, ‘looks’ are everything.

Pressure starts from childhood

Women who were on the “chubby” side during their growing-up years know the pain of enduring teasing and being called unfriendly names by their playmates.

In school, girls compete for the attention of young men who predictably avoid overweight girls. They search for social acceptance and often end up relentlessly aiming for a hard-to-achieve body weight, often harming themselves in the process.

In a study conducted by Hargreaves and Tiggemann, it was found that media affects the people around girls (i.e., men and boys) in the way they hold unrealistic expectations for an ideal partner.

When asked about the characteristics they looked for in girls, the item, “slim figure” surprisingly ranked higher than “intelligence.”

Aggravating the situation is the over-zealousness of some sectors to fight obesity.

Their good intentions may actually backfire when overweight children are singled out, subjecting them to measures such as controlled diets and strenuous exercises.

This can lead to stigmatization and may pressure kids into trying out extreme diets.

This, apart from the direct effect media has on women, continues to destroy the self-esteem of women who don’t – and can never have – the unbelievably frail physiques that these celebs have.

Where in the 17th century, famous painters such as Peter Paul Rubens glorified curvy and well-endowed women, today, the ideal size has been whittled down to Size Zero – that is, one with a waistline of 23 inches, which is similar to that of an 8-year-old girl’s.

A Size Zero is nearly impossible to achieve today unless one goes on a strict diet or has had some sort of operation.

In the 19th century, ladies had to wear uncomfortable corsets to simulate hourglass figures.

In the 1920s, women starved themselves and even bound their breasts to attain the ideal body shape at the time.

And perhaps one of the more controversial weight-loss methods by celebrities was that of opera singer Maria Callas allegedly ingesting a tapeworm to lose almost 80 pounds during the years of 1953-54.

Rather than be criticized for the sudden drop in body size, she was even hailed by the likes of opera conductor Nicola Rescigno and Sir Rudolf Bing, GM of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, who remarked that Callas was an “astonishing, svelte, striking woman” after the weight loss.

Waifish is again what’s “in” this 21st century, and many parents are concerned.

Even Barbie has become slimmer since she came out in the market in 1959!

Solution to the problem

Of course, we all know that there are health problems linked to obesity – risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer.

But crash dieting also leads to severe health problems, and is without doubt not the answer to weight problems.

To keep women from desperately emulating reed-thin celebrities, the images and messages that the media portrays about the ideal figure have to be changed.

Media should use an extensive variety of models of various sizes, shapes, heights, and looks. This approach would enable viewers to visualize a broad range of acceptable body shapes.

Some countries have already acted on the alarming cases of anorexia in models.

Organizers of Madrid’s Fashion Week did not hesitate banning girls who were underweight, while designers in Italy required their models to submit medical evidence that they did not suffer from eating disorders.

But supermodel Gisele Bundchen is firm on stating that media is not entirely to be blamed for women’s obsession on slimming.

She claims that because of her strong family base, she never experienced eating disorders such as anorexia (excessive dieting) or bulimia (self-induced vomiting after binging). Indeed, family members should play a role in boosting the confidence of girls as they are growing up by providing them with the needed love and support.

M. Jamal

I’m about to hand you a special report that’ll set the ground rules for your workouts.

You’ve probably heard some of these before, but are you doing them?

What I mean is… you can use this as a basic check list every time you workout (these tips can even inspire you to come up with new ways to modify or improve your current training routine).

This report is courtesy of ‘Wameed’ and it goes into tips such as:

• How to have all the benefits of a gym without buying a single machine.
• Why it might take you a while to get a hang of this simple training concept and how to tweak it to target the right muscle groups.
• Plus, this type of training may be just right for people on the go. After all, you can’t pack a pair of dumbbells in your suitcase and you won’t need to scout for gyms when you’re out of town. (One thing: you’ll need to understand the limitation to this type of workout and how to work around it).
• 5 rules to setup a home gym on a budget. (hint: how to get your money’s worth and when to consider a refurbished piece of equipment. Plus: how NOT to miss the ‘progress’ factor in your home gym).
• 5 tips to ensure you ‘buy wisely’ and avoid common home gym blunders: 3 safety features to look for,  3 more ‘adapt to your workout’ features NOT to skip, why spend some time on the machine you’d like to buy, another thing to look for in refurbished units.
• Which 4 home gym gadgets give you the best value for money – skip this and setting up a full home gym can easily cost you thousands.
• 3 ways to easily get a dumbbell set without the expense.
• One of the most versatile workout tools you can buy for cheap and how to make sure it’s the right size for you.
• The one reason your diet starts to lose steam and your progress stalls – explained in simple terms. Plus what to do when this happens to swing things into you favor (this may seem unusual, it even runs against what you naturally wish to do, yet it works). You get 6 ways to implement this technique.
• Trying to get slim? Can’t stop checking your weight? Here’s why you shouldn’t panic when the scales won’t budge.
• 5 ways to keep your diet on track. (hint: do this to avoid breaking your own rules – it won’t be so easy to quit this time… plus, a simple way around having to give up comfort foods entirely.)
• …And much more.

You can download the report by clicking here.

Grab your copy today. Check it out and let me know what you think.

M. Jamal

P.S. You’ve probably noticed I’ve been quiet most of December. Turns out my trusty laptop needed an upgrade.

Well, to be honest it burnt out and I had to get a replacement and get back up to speed. Anyways, I hope you gave yourself a break in December… distressed, enjoyed the holidays and now you’re filled with new found motivation for 2009 (oh, the years seem to fly by so quick. Don’t you think? Make the most out of 2009)

We can’t really get an exact definition of a fad diet, because “fads” generally refer to things that are fleeting.

Some of the diets discussed below, however, call for a long-term observance for them to be effective at maintaining a desirable weight, but they have come to be called fad diets because of the hysteria they provoked on their introduction.

>> The Atkins Diet:

Dr. Robert C. Atkins’ 1998 book, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution, and the 1992 version, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, have sold more than 10 million copies.

This plan is based on the principle that a low-carb diet switches the body’s metabolism from one that burns glucose to one that burns stored body fat, which we all want to eliminate.

This also buries the ages-old belief that saturated fat is the source of all weight problems.

Dr. Atkins claimed that only trans fats, such as those from hydrogenated oils, are to be avoided.

Furthermore, in this diet, you can have your fill of meats and cheeses, as they don’t have the prohibited carbs.

No-nos are grains, cereals, fruit, rice, pasta, potatoes, candy, sugars and alcohol.

Detractors say that this diet makes one feel lethargic, but Atkins rebuts that fatigue may occur only during the first few days of the program when your body is still adapting to the shift in metabolic pathways used.

>> The Low-Fat Diet:

Popularized in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, this umbrella name is comprised of several diets, some of which are low fat (where 20-30% of calories come from fats), and some are very low fat (where 0-19% of calories come from fats).

Very low fat diets are:

• Scarsdale – came out in the ‘70s; it has a peculiar nutrient ratio of 22.5% fat, 34.5% carbohydrate, and 43% protein. The target weight loss is 20 pounds in just 2 weeks!
• F-Plan – became a fad in the ‘80s; a high-fiber diet
• Hip and Thigh Diet – popularized in the ‘90s, particularly in the U.K.; forbids all oils, nuts and seeds, butter, and dairy (except skim milk, low-fat cottage cheese, and low-fat yogurt). It didn’t take off because we now know that spot reduction is a myth
• Pritikin Diet – a high-carb diet which involves considering the overall calorie content of a meal
• Ornish Diet – banned foods are refined carbs, nuts, oils, seeds, avocados, and all fats; not recommended as restricting nuts, seeds, and oils deprives the body of essential fatty acids (EFAs) like Omega-3

>> The South Beach Diet:

Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Kim Cattrall, Nicole Kidman, and many other celebrities swear by it.

Originally developed by Dr. Agatston for heart patients who needed to lose weight, the South Beach Diet has three phases…

with the first producing a drastic weight loss in 2 weeks via the avoidance of carbohydrates.

This is followed by a second phase where some of the restricted foods are reintroduced, albeit sparingly.

The last phase involves maintaining a lifestyle of eating only healthy foods.

The downside is that the foods suggested in this diet cost more than highly processed foods, so it doesn’t appeal to everyone’s budgets.

>> The Cabbage Soup Diet:

Its star is a simple recipe for cabbage soup, which you are free to have your fill of all throughout the diet.

This program is designed to go on for 7 days, with some days allowing beef and rice and others restricting it or asking you to limit yourself to only one kind of fruit in a day.

It’s friendly on the budget, but the soup can be rather tiring to eat, because you get to sip it three times a day for 7 days.

Detractors say that this diet is just a step away from starving yourself, but it has been pretty successful for many.

You also can’t get the RDA you need when your diet revolves around a single main ingredient and just a little of the other food groups. Another undesirable effect of the cabbage soup diet, by the way, is gas.

>> The Zone Diet:

This plan is all about meal ratios: 30% fats, 30% protein, and 40% carbs.

It has a lot of forbidden foods, and has often been criticized for having extremely low caloric recommendations.

There are several other diets which are less popular and did not last as long.

Some gave results that were too negligible while others were too risky to follow.

Nutritionists, dietitians, physicians, and even fitness instructors are always on the lookout for the perfect slimming diet that won’t fatigue us, won’t deprive us of nutrients, and that would show impressive results in a few days.

What’s your pick?

Have you been on any of these and got the results you so desired?

M. Jamal

Many women resort to crash diets to get them bikini-ready for summer or to help fit themselves into their wedding dress before the big day.

The principle is simple – they try to accommodate in two or so weeks what should be a weight plan normally designed for 6 months or more.

Crash diets entail radical reductions in caloric intake.

They range from soup diets to cleansing diets, but a common factor among them is the deprivation of nutrients needed by the body for proper metabolism and production of energy.

They last from several days to a few weeks, and there is almost always a radical reduction in weight, but crash diets are not in all aspects successful.

The Body Mechanisms Affected By Crash Diets:

Dieting is not as easy as reducing fat intake and losing pounds.

We need to look into the mechanisms in the body affected by these diets to understand what we should watch out for.

First, if you want to fit into that bikini or wedding dress in two weeks’ time, then you just might be able to do so because crash dieting is a few steps away from starvation – and we know how hunger strikers look like after a few weeks.

But the question is… is it healthy for you?

Since our body uses various sources of fuel to convert to energy, the fuel used by a 200-meter-dash athlete is different from that used by a basketball player at the second half of a game.

Studies have shown that lean tissue and muscle are the first to be broken down than stored body fat.

Thus, when people subscribe to crash diets, it’s the muscle that breaks down first before the body fat which they are actually targeting.

During extreme diets, your body will think it’s starving when you’re losing too much weight too fast, and responds by conserving fat.

The same thing happens when a person cuts down on caloric intake but does not exercise at the same time – your body will tend to whittle muscle tissue, not fat.

How Is Muscle Tissue Different From Fat Tissue?

Besides their appearance, muscle tissue is metabolically active – that is, you have to work on them to keep them healthy.

Notice how some patients recuperating from accidents lose muscle mass but gain weight?

It’s because if they can’t benefit from therapy that helps them exercise their muscles, the muscles can atrophy. However, the fat cells will stick to them like glue.

The Basal Metabolic Rate:

In order to maintain your metabolism’s health, muscle tissue is extremely important to help your body function properly in all aspects.

If there is a reduction in muscle mass, there is also a drop in metabolic rate.

Muscle that is metabolically active has to be fed well, and this is why bodybuilders have diets that can compete with those of sumo wrestlers.

How does the body respond to crash diets?

When it senses that it has been deprived of the nutrients it needs for an extended period, it makes up for the lack by lowering the basal metabolic rate, or BMR. This is the number of calories burned in a day by an at-rest body so it can maintain normal body functions.

If it decreases, it means that calories are burned more slowly by your body.

Its implication in crash diets is once you get off a crash diet and revert to your normal food routine, it will become easier for your body to deposit fat. This is what happens in the so-called “yo-yo dieting,” when someone’s weight see-saws between diets.

How, Then, Should You Keep Muscle?

Researchers recommend a target of not more than one pound a week. It may not be much, but that’s 20 pounds in 5 months, and your body will thank you for the less drastic change.

M. Jamal

P.S. Been on a Crash Diet before? How did it feel… and… was it worth it?