We’ll be seeing a lot less of Ricky Gervais and his girlfriend, Jane Fallon, now that they’ve moved to Hampstead Heath – up to a collective 40 lbs. less, according to the newly buff couple.

“I lost 20 [or] 22 lbs.,” Gervais told PEOPLE Saturday night in New York at Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism.” “It wasn’t so much about the weight. It was more that I was a fat, lazy, out of shape slob, to be honest.”

So, how’d he do it? Running around his London neighborhood rather than diving into late-night meals. “I stick to the paths,” he says of Heath jogs, adding, “I didn’t eat differently. I probably just stopped having that second meal at 11:30 at night.”

Jane Fallon, Gervais’s partner of more than 25 years, believes that she, too, had a role in his weight loss. “I think it is because I was trying to lose weight as well,” she said. “So I was cooking healthier version of what we were eating. He didn’t realize that I was probably feeding him less calories at the same time he was running.”

The cooking of “healthy versions of big fat things” really paid off for the couple. “I lost about 18 lbs.,” Fallon said. “I tend to run about three or four miles and he does the same. ”

One drawback? “Now I’ve got to stop making jokes about fat people, which is annoying,” Gervais said. “When I was fat, it was okay.”

Source

When the demure Duchess Kate celebrates her 30th birthday on January 9, the Palace, as usual per their private royal ways, is mum about how this not-yet-a-mum shall celebrate the guaranteed-to-be-exclusive joyous occasion. U.K.’s Daily Mail reports that the slender Duchess of Cambridge will enjoy a “low-key and private event.” And, because Kate is known to follow a strict diet, the odds of mountains of Mounds bars and climbably high cake are low.

U.S.A. Today, however, reported that initially a “a wild party was in the works,” supposedly planned by Pippa and Harry and featuring “a karaoke machine for the 80′s-themed bash, and guests were said to include David and Victoria Beckham.”

One prediction: at some point on Kate’s royal birthday, she’ll enjoy chips. Us magazine reported that although she “sticks to healthy picks like oatmeal, dried fruit and almonds” to stay slim, an aide revealed that “she does love Kettle chips!”

This dress is called Limelight and like all their dresses, it has a functional slit up the side for ease of motion.

Nothing will snap you out of a rut faster than trying something new. From closet cleanouts to reconnecting with long-lost friends, these ideas should keep you recharged and ready for action.  These ideas are also great if you are feeling the urge to nibble when you are not hungry!

1. Take an evening class
Have you always wanted to write an award-winning screenplay, whip up Celtic bracelets or speak French like a native of Provence? The time is now! Call your local community center and sign up for a noncredit course.

2. Get a makeover
Fancy yourself a redhead? Ask your hairdresser for a dye, or try a semipermanent rinse at home. And what about your makeup? Book an appointment with a department store cosmetics specialist, and leave looking like a new person, even if you only actually buy a lipgloss.

3. Spend quality time with your parents
Invite Mom and Dad out for dinner and a movie.

4. Find a blast from the past
Stop wondering what happened to your best friend from primary school — track him or her down and find out. It could rekindle a great friendship!

5. Clean out your wardrobe
Be brutal! If that dress clings in all the wrong places or that jacket looks like a tent since you lost weight, bag them for charity.

6. Put your hand up
Give something back to the community by volunteering to help a charity. Deliver meals to the elderly with Meals on Wheels. Sign up as a Red Cross volunteer. Help your local Humane Society by cleaning, feeding and walking stray dogs.

7. Spice up your social life
Spend a night at a karaoke bar or theme park or line-dancing with a group of friends, and tighten your stomach muscles with all the laughing you’ll do.

8. Formalize your weight goal
Set on reaching a certain weight by your niece’s wedding or your partner’s 40th? Then try strategies to motivate yourself. List 10 things you’ll enjoy when you’re slimmer. Take two more walks a week. Drink one more glass of water per day.

9. Trace your family history
Who knows, you may discover some interesting skeletons in the closet or a famous long-lost ancestor. Local genealogical societies are a great resource, and a lot of information can be found online.

10. Create a fragrant oasis indoors
Go on a shopping spree for scented candles, soaps, essential oils and potpourri. Want to be more hands-on? Hit the crafts shop and snap up some “how to” books on candle-making and soap kits.

11. Overdose on fresh air
Head to the park, but don’t languish on a picnic blanket — get moving! Ride a bike, feed the ducks, throw a Frisbee, walk your dog, play a game of tag or rent some inline skates.

12. Absorb more culture
Art and history can be good soul food — spend an afternoon at a gallery or museum catching the latest exhibition. Can’t be bothered fighting the crowds? Then check your local paper for smaller exhibitions at libraries or community centers.

13. Decode your dreams
Was that snake you dreamed of an omen of danger? Keep a dream diary by your bed to record your dreams right when you wake up. Then discover what your subconscious is telling you with a dream analysis book or by looking it up online.

14. Feel young again
Thumper in Bambi, Ariel in The Little Mermaid — recapture the wonder you felt watching them by spending an afternoon at a kids’ movie. If you don’t have kids of your own, offer to take your sister’s or friend’s children — they’ll love you for it.

15. Sit around a campfire
Tell ghost stories, roast marshmallows and bellow old campfire favorites. The warmth of friends and flame will relax and mesmerize you.

16. Go bazaar
With bright scarves, the smell of fresh flowers and straight-from-the-farm food, open-air markets give your senses a complete workout. Enjoy one-stop shopping by picking up ingredients for tonight’s dinner, buying a new outfit, choosing a rug for the kitchen and purchasing some new house plants.

17. Plan the ultimate party
Choose a theme: make it an evening of wine-tasting, a literary occasion, a “fortune-telling” night (organize a psychic to come and give readings) or a beauty session where you and your friends give each other manicures and pedicures while sipping Champagne.

18. Redecorate your bedroom
For a touch of the Orient, place large, black, square candles atop a bed of cloves on square saucers for a romantic safari vibe. Or try mosquito netting hung from a ring above your bed. The only limit is your imagination — so decide what ambience you want to create, then go for it.

19. Get the team spirit
Want to have fun, make friends and burn calories all at the same time? Then sign up for a team sport such as basketball, soccer or ice hockey.

20. Make your own greeting cards
Indulge in the artistic challenge of design using colored cardboard decorated with anything from rose petals or leaves to watercolors combined with ink. The satisfaction is two-fold — you’ll enjoy surprising friends and family with such a personal statement.

21. Save at the sales
Tired of the frantic, last-minute dash to find birthday presents? Banish the panic factor by buying gifts for friends and relatives well in advance at mid-season sales.

22. Breakfast in style
Pack a scrumptious breakfast, then take it to a scenic spot such as the beach or a local park. Bring either a book or a friend.

23. Be a dancer
But don’t play it safe. Instead of ballroom dancing, try Latino, Irish, belly or tap dancing. It will do wonders for your waistline and your coordination.

24. Consult on color
Should you buy that fabulous jacket in taupe or cream to best suit your complexion? Ask a color consultant (go to the department store to find one).

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Girl Get Strong’s Holiday Gift Guide

Giving the Gifts of Health and Fitness

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Book Edition

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Books are meaningful gifts at affordable prices and they’re the perfect presents to cuddle up with in front of the fireplace this holiday season.  Here are five books on health and fitness that caught our attention and would make great gifts for any budget.

Women’s Home Workout Bible

by Brad Schoenfeld

Shed unwanted weight, sculpt your physique, tone muscles, reduce joint pain, or simply be healthier and more fit. Women’s Home Workout Bible will show you how–all in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

In Women’s Home Workout Bible, best-selling author and renowned personal trainer Brad Schoenfeld shares his secrets on the perfect at-home workout. Step by step, you’ll identify the home gym setup and workouts for your fitness goals, schedule, and budget.

You’ll learn how to set up your personal gym for as little as $100, or expand your options with more equipment for $500, $1000, or more than $2500. Whatever your budget, with over 160 exercises, you’ll have plenty of variety, including bands, balls, free weights, and fitness machines.

Women’s Home Workout Bible will then ensure you get the most out of your investment. You’ll learn how to set up workouts and organize your training for noticeable results. To get you started, there are 12 four-week programs for conditioning, sculpting, and core stability, plus three levels of fat-burning cardio workouts. And with expert advice, exercise tips, and answers to the questions you always wanted to ask, it’s like having your very own personal trainer and fitness consultant. If you’re ready to reclaim your body without the expense or scrutiny of public health clubs, you need the  Women’s Home Workout Bible.

The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough

by Sean Foy

Introducing a breathtaking promise: transform your body and get fit in just 10 minutes a day. Incorporating the latest research in exercise physiology, The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough is an ingenious program of interval, circuit, aerobic, and resistance training that accrues the benefits of hours at the gym in daily 10-minute workouts. And these are workouts that can be done anywhere, any time—home, office, hotel room, the park, and, of course, the local health club.

Created by Sean Foy, an exercise physiologist and behavioral coach, The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough counters the #1 reason people don’t exercise—not enough time—with a scientifically proven, clinically tested 4-3-2-1 program: 4 minutes of high-energy cardio, 3 minutes of resistance, 2 minutes of core, and 1 minute of stretching and deep breathing. The step-by-step illustrated exercises are simplicity itself—air boxing, wall push-ups, chair jogging, stationary high-knee marching—and are presented in three levels geared to the reader’s fitness, with four weeks of routines per level. Their potency lies in the benefits of nonstop movement, thermal effect, intensity, and more: in other words, why it truly takes just 10 carefully crafted minutes to boost metabolic rate, exercise all the major muscle groups, increase cardiovascular endurance, have a positive effect on cholesterol and blood pressure, and deliver a sense of well-being. The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

by Christopher McDougall

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.

Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.

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Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness

by Brendan Brazier

In an easy-to-apply system, complete with detailed exercise descriptions and pictures, author Brendan Brazier explains his ground-breaking approach to fitness and how you can gain maximum results in minimal time.
As one of only a few professional athletes whose diet is 100 percent plant-based, Brazier is a professional Ironman triathlete, two-time Canadian 50k ultra marathon champion and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called VEGA. Brazier researched and developed this easy-to-follow program to enhance his performance as an elite endurance athlete. In addition to being completely plant-based, the recipes in Thrive Fitness are free of all common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, soy and corn.

Click here to read the rest of the GGS Holiday Gift Guide

Not surprisingly, Jessica Simpson has made the news again regarding her weight. We’ve learned she has signed up with weight loss giant Weight Watchers to lose her baby weight. So what makes that newsworthy? She hasn’t even had the babyyet.

Simpson has signed a $3 million contract with Weight Watchers to start trying to lose weight immediately following the birth of her first child in 2012. This endorsement deal can give the impression that immediate focus on weight loss after delivery is the norm. It also highlights the popular celebrity trend of having your pre-pregnancy body back six weeks after giving birth, which isn’t realistic for most women. Sources state that Simpson will also be preparing for her wedding to Eric Johnson shortly after giving birth, which offers some insight into her wanting to lose weight so quickly. Although it has been stated that Simpson will only be trying to lose her pregnancy weight, it is questionable that weight loss be her main focus immediately after giving birth. During that time, her body will be making some big adjustments going from growing the baby to feeding and caring for the baby. If Simpson plans to breastfeed, she will actually need to consume more calories instead of cutting back. 

For new moms, losing baby weight is not discouraged, but it must be done in a healthy manner. You have to give your body time to heal from the delivery and take things slowly. Some of the best pointers from moms who have been there include drink lots of water, keep healthy snacks available, eliminate junk food and try to fit in exercise whenever you can. The most important thing to remember is not to go overboard with cutting calories. If you are breastfeeding, cutting too many calories can hurt your milk supply. If you’re not breastfeeding, cutting too many calories can put your body into starvation mode, hindering your weight loss.

Many women neglect their own health after having their baby. Remember to make some time for yourself, which will help in your weight loss journey. Weight Watchers does offer arrangements within their plan for moms who are breastfeeding, so their program can be used after giving birth. Hopefully, Jessica Simpson will remember to take the proper healing time before jumping into weight loss after giving birth.

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