In theory, self-compassion makes good, healthy sense. Go easy on yourself, the research suggests, and you'll be happier, healthier, slimmer, too. But with America's breathless pace of living, the practice of meditating on loving-kindness has been a hard sell. In our high-speed nation, which values "doing" more than "being," exhaustion...

Maria Menounos would never say, "Nice girls finish fat." No, Hollywood's adorable entertainment reporter, actress and now author is just too sunny to suggest such a gloomy possibility for the people-pleasers of the world. Plus, she's just so gosh darn nice.

How would I know? After meeting Menounos and...

When Art Smith talks about losing weight, people listen and change for good. This chef to the rich and calorie-conscious has inspired waist-watchers far and wide to resurrect hope, if not shape up and slim down. If I hadn't been changed for the better by a recent phone...

"Muffin top" may have recently entered the Oxford English Dictionary, but that doesn't mean English-speaking dieters are any more eager to embrace this figure of speech to describe their figure.

In case the term has yet to enter your vocabulary, the OED, also known as the definitive record...

Dieters have a dysfunctional marriage with the bathroom scale. Case in point: Carrie Fisher. You might know her better as Debbie Reynold's daughter, Princess Leia or Jenny Craig's new spokeswoman.

In one breath, the actress-turned-diet-advocate is telling Oprah viewers, "I'm terrified of scales." In the next breath, she's...

The practice of self-compassion -- treating yourself like a good friend or loved one -- may be centuries-old news, but suddenly it's new again. Not only did Tara Parker-Pope's blog on the subject make headline news this week, it was the number-one most e-mailed New York Times article...

Bullying yourself slim may make for good TV drama (think fitness trainer Jackie Warner tormenting her overweight trainees), but if you're serious about slimming down, the bully shape-up strategy is nothing but bad news. If I hadn't yo-yo dieted through my teens, dedicated my career to helping clients with eating...