Back in skinny jeans

Manscaping will help save the beach from hairy back horrors

Dudes, it's summer. Time to manscape before you go to the beach or pool party so that the hairy monster that lives on your back and {bleep} and {bleep} doesn't scare little children. Awhile back, I wrote a post about the marketing of the Philips Norelco Bodygroom which made me seriously LOL. Can you imagine having to talk about manscaping the back and the twigs and berries, the pole and tackle, the frank and beans, you get the drift? Matt tried it out back in December 2006, and to this day he still uses it to keep his body bristle tidy and trim. Thank you honey!

Well, Philips Norelco is back with a new Tube-umentary about Frank Sack, a man who's well groomed {bleep} and {bleep} made history and the women swoon. The Sack was the inspiration for the Bodygroom, so please take a moment to learn more about the legend who brings every metrosexual and just plain hairy guy a life of furry freeness.

Lower carb lunch idea: Tuna in endive wrap

Looking for a new way to eat tuna without bread? Try putting the tuna in endive cups.

I used to put tuna in lettuce cups kind of like the PF Chang's chicken lettuce wraps, but in the spirit of creativity, I tried putting the tuna in some Belgian endive leaves. As well, you can make smaller and narrower bites than with the bigger lettuce leaves.

For my tuna, I use a can of tuna and throw in some chopped red onions, a 1/2 Tbs of sweet relish, a dash of garlic salt, and a heaping Tbs of organic mayo. I can't eat tuna without some mayo. A little bit of mayo won't put a huge dent in the calorie bank.

As a topper, I threw some tomato on top. Dee-lish and lower carb.

Can being a diet spokesperson rev up the hottness of a washed up celeb?

Over at Diet Blog, there was an interesting note about how it tends to be "past their prime" celebrities who become the new spokesperson for diet programs. It seems that representing a diet program may help bolster the buzz factor of the "Where are they now" celeb. Let's take a look at some of the notables:

• Rachel Hunter for Slim-Fast
• Kirstie Alley for Jenny Craig
• Valerie Bertinelli for Jenny Craig
• Jenny McCarthy for Weight Watchers
• Anna Nicole Smith for Trim Spa
• Tori Spelling for Nutri-System
• Kristy Swanson for Medifast
• Genie Francis for Medifast
• Carmen Electra for NV diet pills
• Whoopi Glodberg for LA Weight Loss

Yup. There doesn't appear to be any "hot at the top of their game" celebrities in this bunch. I suppose the theory is that an A-lister is already going to be slim and trim so there is no need to pimp diet programs. If you're a former famous celeb who gained a lot of weight, I'm sure the list of movie and TV roles are going to be slim for the picking if any. I guess that diet program spokesperson role starts looking real appetizing to get back in the limelight.

I will never forget when Anna Nicole Smith emerged after her 75 pound weight loss using Trim Spa. That really was one of those magical ad campaigns, and Anna did look spectacular even though I do not believe in the use of diet pills. I really don't get Rachel Hunter for Slim-Fast. The woman is 5'10" at 145 lbs which is hardly fat at all except in distorted model-land.

To wow! a man tell him he has "good feet" and other tootsies around the skinny-sphere

• I always thought complimenting a man on the vigorousness of his one eyed snake was one way to wow him but apparently the "good feet" and "your arms are definitely looking Rocky Balboa" route is far more effective according to this list of "10 Compliments That Wow a Man" from Men's Health. Oh! and if you think doing that kitty cat impersonation is silly, think again. [Yahoo Health]

• Got Frenemies? Well, just being in their presence can literally spike your blood pressure and be hard on your heart. Now you have a good excuse to dump their ambivalent tooshies, and get heart healthy friends. [Revolution Health]

• Gap Kids is selling string bikinis for toddlers. I'm, I'm utterly....[Consumerist]

• Wondering if you talk way too much about how "they did you wrong" and whether or not you're making everyone cringe every time they see you coming. Take a look at Isaiah Washington, and you'll have your answer. [Jezebel]

• My va-jay-jay is all a twingle. Oprah is opening a store at the mall where you can buy cool stuff like this. Oh but wait! Is this allowed on my debt diet? [Chicago Sun-TImes]

Podcast interview: How humor and blogging helped Flabuless lose 95 pounds Part II

In Part II of our interview with Flabuless, the fabulous weight dropping diva from New Zealand, she shares how humor and blogging has helped her shed 95 pounds. In Flabuless' blog, she has cartoons like this one that depict real life stories in her life as a fat woman. Flabuless has such an upbeat attitude which makes her overall goal of losing over 150 pounds total much more fun and inspiring. And that accent. I could listen to her talk for hours just to hear that Australian/New Zealand accent mix. For Part I, please click here. Enjoy!

Play podcast Flabuless Part II

Cheerleaders at my high school never looked like Heroes Hayden Panettiere on the cover of EW

Cutey Hero Claire Bennet is looking rather provoca-sexy in this cheerleader outfit on the cover of the current Entertainment Weekly rag. Scary thing is that Hayden is only 17. She'll be fully legal on August 21 but geez she looks like jail bait for dirty old men. I like my Claire bear better in her sweater rah-rah outfit. And, that "glowy" skin has been most definitely photo retouched.

How young is too young to be over sexualizing girls on magazine covers?

Askmen.com Top 99: The Olympics of babe-aliciousness can make you feel wretched

  Reader Sheila suggested I take a look at the AskMen.com Top 99 list of women who are ranked to the decimal point by their desirability score. Oh yes! Beauty is an Olympic sport at AskMen.com as each lady gets gymnastic type scores based on her ability to drive drool gawking men wild. Officially, this is how they calculate the desirability score:

"A woman's ranking on the Top 99 list is determined by the value of her Desirability Score; the higher the value, the higher her place on the list. Desirability Scores, in turn, were determined by a month-long vote hosted on AskMen.com. Readers were asked to rate each of 150 finalists on a scale of 1 to 10. These results were then averaged out with AskMen.com's staff's own Desirability ratings. The highest median 99 Desirability Scores were then set aside to comprise 2007's Top 99 list."

*NOTE: 8.5 million votes were cast for 2007's Top 99 Most Desirable Women list.

That's a whole lotta people voting which is a whole lotta superficial scariness.

What is frightening about this Top 99 list for female viewers is how it makes you feel after looking at the list. To view the list in it's entirety, you must click through each women 1-99 where along with her score you get tidbits of information on what makes her so hot. Sometimes you even get body measurements because for some women that is their most valuable asset.

Now, as you go through each profile from 99 to 1, your mood starts to change. You may start out happy and confident in yourself as you start at #99 Ivanka Trump, but by the time you get to the top 10 where Jessica Alba and Beyonce reside, your confidence has dwindled and you have feelings have either depression, inadequacy, disgust, or self-loathing. You now feel like something is wrong or not enough with you because you can't measure to these ladies, and if women like Reese Witherspoon and Cameron Diaz can't even make the list, what chance in the world do you have?

But why? Why has some silly list created by a bunch of juvenile buffoons made you feel worse about yourself? You've been brainwashed and you know it, and it will take a few hours or some days to shake off the "You're not good enough" effects of the Top 99 list. That's the power that images and context in the media can have on us even when we don't realize it.

Finally! A newsperson who won't report on Paris Hilton

I just love this clip. Mika Brezezinski from the Morning Joe show on MSNBC refused to report the lead story which turned out to be Paris Hilton's release from jail because it's not important news, and definitely not deserving to be a lead. She even tried to burn the papers with the Paris story on it as a symbol of what she thought of the whole Hilton hooey. Mika's co-stars (male) were not having it. Watch Mika stand her ground. Bravo! Finally, a newsperson with some stance for quality.

Designer Liz Claiborne dies, and we pay her respect

Fashion icon Liz Claiborne died on Tuesday at the age of 78. I love Liz Claiborne designs, and wore a great deal of her clothes during my corporate career. I have no doubt that her spirit and flare will live on in the fashion house she built. We pay our respects to this fabulous fashionista and business woman. To learn more about the history of Liz Claiborne Inc, click here.

[Reuters] [pic]

Weigh-in Wed: #4 Week Status

Here are quick stats for week #4.

Yippeeee! In week #3, I believe I stalled on the pound loss because it was period week and I could feel more muscle on my legs, and muscle weighs more than fat. In week #4, I think more weight came off because of water loss post period bloating, I'm able to exercise at higher intensities than when I started, and I was able to not over eat on the weekend. As I mentioned, the weekends are the hardest days for me to stay disciplined with the food intake. As well, I had a naughty not eating enough day which I'll talk more about in the "emotions" section. (more after the jump)