Or, as close to it as my non-exercising butt will get.

So far, the days have been going relatively well, but I am having problems achieving the boundaries of “sensible dinners”. I love the shakes, and have no problem drinking them for breakfast, but when you spend just about every evening at some variant of a cocktail party, how do you achieve the right mix of crab cake and shrimp on a stick? I don’t know.

My friend Carolyn of The Daily Obsession is also on the challenge, and we were attempting to negotiate this at a few parties this week. We also noticed that eating less substantial meals during the day made us able to handle less alcohol at night – also a good thing. But should we start to eat pre-event and not let ourselves fall prey to sliders and shirmp tempura? It seems the logical answer, but not a not really fun one.

This weekend, I’m in Atlantic City – here, sensible dinner is even harder to negotiate. Buffets are, by definition, the opposite of “sensible”.

Yes, my friends – that is my biggest issue. I can shake by day, I can bar by afternoon, but I still can’t lose my issue with portion control and eating the right foods! Which is probably what GOT me to this situation.

What I love about Slim-Fast: It really is delicious! And it is filling, too – AND, I noticed, saves money. I shake for lunch is a lot more affordable than anything I’d buy. So, I’m going to keep at it. It’s the only sensible thing to do.

Image: Sxc.hu

Post from: eBeautyDaily

It’s that one-of-a-kind smile.

Despite her recent share of personal woes, Brinkley’s smile hasn’t faded. Her public persona seems unmarred by her real life drama, and when she flashes those pearly whites, we get a feeling that all is well.

Following are highlights from Dear Doctor – Dentistry & Oral Health’s exclusive new interview with Christie Brinkley in the Vol. 2, Issue 4 edition.

On how her smile helped her career:

“I think my smile was really my passport to success in the modeling industry.”

On her best beauty secret:

“Smile! It’s instantly UPLIFTING. Both for the face and the spirit! And today my theory has been scientifically proven, that a smile actually releases chemicals into our brain that makes us feel immediately happier! So go out and SMILE!”

On her brief foray into the “expressionless” world of runway modeling:

“I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face!”

On the secret to her famous smile:

“I am very fortunate, it’s called genetics, which is the most precious gift any of us could have along with the intelligence to take care of that gift by practicing good oral hygiene and having regular dental appointments.”

On not needing braces as a teenager:

“I lucked out and got my mom’s beautiful straight teeth— I never needed braces and I never got cavities. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want braces, because it seemed like the coolest kids had them— I wanted them so badly I would bend a paper clip and wear it like a retainer.”

On whether the modeling world required her to have cosmetic dentistry work done:

“No, they just wanted me to STOP CHEWING!!!!! They always want you thinner!”

On the power of a smile:

“I think a smile makes EVERYONE beautiful! It’s the greatest gift we give each other. It’s an expression of friendship, love and peace!”

On what currently makes her smile:

“Saturday Night Live cracks me up! The cast is fantastic; the political humor is spot on. Let’s face it we all need a good sense of humor these days!”

On the back country skiing helicopter crash that nearly changed her smile forever:

“I fractured two molars in the back of my mouth and I had to get two dental implants. While I am grateful for the dental implant technology that feels and looks so natural, just thinking of that accident makes my teeth ACHE! OUCHIWAWA!”

On how she began her career:

“I moved to Paris at 18 to pursue art studies, and worked briefly there as an illustrator. In the spring of 1973, my life changed when I was spotted walking down Rue Pernety in Paris, by a fashion designer looking for a special look for an assignment. He told me later he immediately thought, ‘That’s the girl!’”

On how the modeling industry has changed since she began her career:

“I am happy to say that beauty has evolved to include all ethnicities, shapes, sizes and ages… And models have gone from nameless ‘clothes hangers’ to fully branded household names… It’s a REAL career today!”

On Hollywood’s obsession with white teeth:

“When it comes to teeth, keep it as natural as possible— do not go OVER board on whitening. You want your teeth to compliment your face. Your friends should not be required to wear sunglasses when you smile!”

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This test is all good and all – but it seems like it was missing something. Especially the “happy the way I am part.” I am not, but not psychotic to change it either. I guess that means my image is 84% ok. Who knows.

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Frutels are a nifty and yummy newish product that has been created to help fight your acne from the inside out. They contain a plethora of vitamins and minerals that your body uses to fight acne – the full spectrum of B vitamins, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Zinc, Choline, Inositol, and two Herbal components that are a mystery to me at this point (but I have sent an email for more info, so hopefully I can update with some later).

From Frutels, about the beginnings of their company:

Frutels was born in the kitchen. Ellie Sawits, a scientist by training, developed acne as an adult while working on Wall Street. Taking a page from the long-standing tradition of research into the function of vitamins and minerals in the human body. First treating herself and then her own children, Ellie realized the broad applicability of her formula for acne-sufferers. She found a vehicle for her fomula in gummy candy, as it is one of the most popular and familiar candies for teens.

Frutels are sugar free – so don’t let that stop you. With the inclusion of the B vitamins, they also have a “vitamin-y” smell when you open the canisters, but they taste great. I am used to taking B-vitamins, so the smell doesn’t bother me at all, in fact, I rather like it.

I have a one month supply ($24.95 from Amazon) and am going to try them and see what I think – the only caution I have is that if you take vitamins already, be sure you aren’t taking too much of any fat soluble vitamin. I may be mistaken here, but I don’t think there is anything in here that you can’t take on top of a good multi-vitamin, but always do your research before adding another supplement to your diet.

Have you tried these? I’d love to know your thoughts, as always.

Post from: eBeautyDaily

I have been a proponent of a low carb diet from the first time I ever tried it – breaking that craving for sugar/carbs was every bit as horrid as quitting smoking. Well, darned near that bad. With withdrawals that are that bad, I have NO doubt that sugar must be truly awful for your body. And mine. Of course, I am sucked right in to a sugar addiction at the moment – the worst thing for me to give up is milk. I LOVE milk, and always have. Way too much. So anyway, I have been thinking about getting regimented here.

In December, when my dear friend Hsien was recognized by Dr. Manny at FOX as one of the best health blogs, I discovered another blog and podcast that haven’t been around for too long, but have been getting amazing traffic – the Livin La Vida Low Carb blog and podcast , by Jimmy Moore. I have been reading the blog a bit, but listened to the podcast today for the first time, and its interesting – Jimmy is quite lively and the podcast is long enough to give valuable info, and short enough so you arent stuck listening for what seems like forever. Good stuff, check it out if you haven’t.

And tell me what you are doing to shed those unwanted pounds. I am shopping around for something that works – cause I need it!

Post from: eBeautyDaily

I have some serious poundage to work off, from (how many is it now?) about 5 attempts over the past 2 years at quitting smoking, but I am geared up to do it. I have also been drinking my water, taking my vitamins and washing my face every night. Good for me. How are you doing on your resolutions?

Post from: eBeautyDaily

I was really excited to see that Olay has jumped into the wellness and “beauty from the inside out” market with their line of vitamins and supplements. The item pictured, Total Effects, contains a multivitamin and antioxidants to combat aging all in a convenient daily dose pack. They also carry a Daily Energy Pack and two Multivitamins – one for women under age 50, and one for women over 50. As my current stock of vitamins runs out here in a week or two, I am going to sit down and take note of what I can eliminate and replace with Olay Vitamins.

They can be found in your local drugstore in the vitamin and supplements aisle, or at drugstore.com.

It should be noted here that if you take other supplements, look at what they offer compared to what the Olay Vitamins do, and make sure you don’t get too much of anything that can damage the body you are trying to make better!

Post from: eBeautyDaily

I am sitting here watching my very favorite movie, The Full Monty – and if you have never seen it before, it is the story of 5 “regular” men who are down on their luck and decide to do a Chippendale’s type show to make some money. And it is oh-so hilarious – rent it if you have never seen it before, you will have to watch it a few times to get all of the heavy accented English. Dave, the “fat” guy, who isn’t very fat really, is all worried about his pudgy tummy and is going through all kinds of insecurities about it – pretty much like I am over mine. He says: “Anti-wrinkle cream there is, but anti-fat bastard cream there is not.” LOL What a shame. We are what we are, and no overnight sweating it with Saran Wrap or mad amount of exercise during the last week is going to make any difference. Mine is particularly bad from my last bout with quitting smoking – and the 2 or 3 attempts over the last couple of years – I packed on about 20 pounds with each time. *sigh* I am very thankful I am tall.

But, I was never a skinny chick before, and I likely never will be – but I keep trying to eat healthy, get a reasonable amount of exercise, and hope that someday it will all kick in. And I hope my classmates from 20 years ago still love me for my charming personality! Ha!

Post from: eBeautyDaily

I haven’t quite figured out the ups and downs and how-to’s of SparkPeople just yet, but I have looked at eDiets and WeightWatchers and South Beach online many times, and just can’t bring myself to pay for membership, so we will give SparkPeople a shot and see if they can manage to help keep me motivated (as if a high school reunion isn’t enough motivation!). There seems to be a lot of little motivational tools, and socialization with other dieters, which could be fun. You accumulate points as you follow the program, but I don’t yet have a clue what you do with those points.  Anyway, if you are like me, and want to give an online diet/fitness program a shot but have been unwilling to pay for one, sign on up and look me up, my username is CCJONES. Come on and join me, it is WAY more fun dieting together!

Post from: eBeautyDaily

As I have talked about many times here, I have terrible problems with acne. Not really classic breakouts, per se, but more blackhead and whitehead problems.

For the last couple of months, I have had a nagging feeling that it has a lot to do with my coffee habit. Although my skin problems in general started just after my second child was born (thanks Noah), it has become worse since I moved to Texas, which was when I started really drinking coffee regularly, every day. I have been blaming it on the heat and dust, but as I have been working diligently on my skin with very thorough and regular cleansing, microdermabrasion and most recently using an AHA peel, and just not seeing results like I would like to see, I am coming quickly to realize that this is an internal problem.

The facts about coffee and acne are pretty fuzzy, just like they are with the pizza and chocolate acne connection. Some say that the problem is with dehydration, and others say that it is acids in the coffee itself that causes the problem. This snip from acnetreatmentcenter.com offers another thought:

Stimulants, like coffee, tea, cigarettes, and excessive sugar from sweets and soda, should be avoided. Anything that affects your entire body, brain, and nervous system — can easily stimulate the sebaceous glands, making your acne worse.

That makes sense too. Something else I am questioning is the well water that I use to make my coffee every day. I don’t drink it at all otherwise, because it is so minerally and salty tasting, but it does brew a fine cup of coffee.

So, I am going to test out some of these theories one at a time, leaving the elimination of coffee altogether as my last solution. Starting today, I am going to drink one extra glass of water in between cups of coffee (in addition to my regular 8 glasses a day), without changing my skincare routine at all, and see what happens. Watch for my progress report next week!

Post from: eBeautyDaily