After years of avoiding question about her 160-pound weight loss, Star Jones Reynolds comes clean in the September issue of Glamour.

In it, Star finally admits her "medical intervention" was gastric bypass surgery she underwent in 2003. The former View co-host says her insecurities kept her from owning up to the surgery, despite a frenzy of speculation.

Her article talks about her food issues and how she made the decision to have surgery. Even more importantly, she shares the pyschological healing she went through after the operation.

Check out the full story and see what you think. And while you're at it, take a peek at Glamour's fitness tools and
calorie math of healthier alternatives.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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If you're looking for inspiration in your weight-loss battle, check out the story of Tennessee couple Andy and Maggie Sorrells.

The duo had a combined weight of nearly 1,000 pounds when they married in 2002, according to a CNN report.

The couple joined The Weigh Down Workshop, a faith-based weight loss program, and now weigh a combined 360 pounds.

Get Maggie's and Andy's weight-loss secrets and see if their method might work for you.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Need help losing weight? Your firm may be among a growing group of companies turning to health coaches to trim insurance costs.

Bertha Coombs of MSNBC writes that companies are using outside firms to help at-risk employees stick with prescription-drug and behavior-change regimens.

But critics object to firms peeking into employees medical records. Check out the full article and see what you think.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a study that suggests obesity is "socially contagious" and can spread easily from person to person.

Even worse, the study found that living far apart from loved ones didn't make a difference, according to an Associated Press report.

The study found a person's chances of becoming obese went up 57 percent if a friend did, 40 percent if a sibling did and 37 percent if a spouse did. In the closest friendships, the risk almost tripled.

I must say, I didn't find the results shocking, especially since a lot of friendships and familial relationships revolve around food. I have several friends with whom I've gained and lost weight by virtue of us influencing each other's food choices.

What do you think? Do your friends and family make you fat?

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Ever thought about going vegan to lose weight? In this week's Dieter's Diary, Paula Zindler tries the eating plan in an effort to help her heart.

Zindler followed ideas outlined in "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease," written by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. The doctor claims you can cure heart disease through diet and nutrition.

Check out how she did and peruse our full gallery of the Dieter's Diary.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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A new trend is afoot in the hotel industry: resorts and spas are offering healthier fare to guests.

Some are even going as far as color-coding food labels, according to the Arizona Republic.

Others are eliminating trans fat and going organic.

Now, if they can just go low-carb, I'll be home free.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Despite what experts say, I've long been a fan of weighing every day. Facing the scale keeps me honest and on track.

But most experts think weekly weigh-ins are more than enough. So who's right?

Charles Stuart Platkin takes on the topic in this week's Diet Detective. Check out what he has to say.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Diners in New York City will soon be able to get calorie information on dishes in more restaurants. The big question is, will it make a difference in their eating habits?

Roni Caryn Rabin explores that question in the New York Times' Consumer column this week.

Call me overly optimistic, but I think the nutritional info can make a difference in the fight against obesity. More times than I care to admit, the calorie labels at Dunkin' Donuts have stopped me from getting a chocolate coconut donut.

So what do you think? Will the new calorie labels help?

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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This week, amNewYork's Dieter's Diary takes a look at the Snack Factor Diet, which posits that healthy snack throughout the day will help you lose weight.

Dieter Abby Rabinowitz recently tried the diet. See how she did and if the diet will work for you.

And check out the complete gallery of Dieter's Diary.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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A new study that estimates that by 2015, 75 percent of adults will be overweight and 41 percent will be obese, according to a FoxNews.com report.

The percentage of adults in the U.S. that were obese increased from 13 percent in the 1960s to 32 percent in 2004, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Human Nutrition.

The proportion of overweight and obese Americans has increased at an average rate of 0.3 to 0.8 percentage points a year. Poorer Americans and some minority groups have been affected disproportionately, according to the analysis, which was published online in advance of the 2007 issue of the journal Epidemiologic Reviews.

Check out the full report at FoxNews.com.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Helping switch on an energy-burning type of fat called brown fat may offer a way to prevent obesity, researchers reported on Tuesday.

They found a gene called PRDM16 in brown fat but not in white fat -- the type of fat found all over the bodies of most adult humans, according to a Reuters story.

It may be possible to use this gene, or the protein whose production it controls, to help stop people from making too much white fat, the team at Harvard Medical School and the French research institute INSERM in Toulouse said.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Losing weight has largely been considered an exercise in willpower. But that approach may be changing according to a Columbia University Medical Center doctor.

Dr. Barron H. Lerner writes in the New York Times that strategies for promoting weight loss have recently begun to shift from a focus on individual behaviors to a public health approach.

He cites New York City's transfat ban as an example of the environmental theory of obesity. But the question is, will it work?

Check out the full article to see what Lerner says.

What do you think? Is obesity about willpower or environment? How do you think we should approach the growing obesity crisis?

Write in and let me know what you think.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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While doctors say being obese increases your chances of having a heart attack, researchers have found a paradox: the heavier among us have a better chance of surviving one.

Scientists are stumped over why that seems to be the case and pose several theories, according to an Associated Press article.

There may be physiological differences in the hearts of obese and normal-weight people. Or perhaps it depends on where the fat is on their bodies.

A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine by scientists at Duke University examined nearly 16,000 people in 37 countries. The authors found that one year after a heart attack, the death rate for normal-weight patients was 4.3 percent. For obese patients, it was just 2.2 percent.

But doctors warn against using the news as an excuse to be fat. "These results do not mean it's OK to be fat. Being fat is still dangerous to your health for lots of other reasons," said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Nearly everyone I know is or has been on a diet at some point. In fact, I've been dieting most of my adult life.

But Slate has a new piece attacking the conventional wisdom that diets are good for you. Pediatrician Sydney Spiesel says that weight loss plans can actually encourage weight gain in the long run.

Gasp! That's heresy, you might say. But his arguments are pretty convincing, based on a paper entitled "Medicare's Search for Obesity Treatments: Diets are not the Answer" done by UCLA's psychology department.

Check out Spiesel's thoughts for yourself and let me know what you think. His article is definitely food for thought, even if it's not exactly what I need to hear when I am craving french fries.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Weight-loss programs that feature dietary counseling help dieters shed six percent of body weight more each year, according to a new study. For most people, that translates into a loss of 10 to 15 pounds, researchers say.

The team at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, analyzed 46 studies focused on weight loss, according to a HealthDay News report. They compared data from almost 6,400 people whose programs included dietary counseling and almost 5,500 people who were not in these types of programs.

Programs with frequent meetings and calorie restrictions resulted in more successful weight loss over time, according to the study, which is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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We've all been there. You've been dropping pounds left and right for a while, but all of a sudden your weight hits a plateau. You can't lose anything, except your patience.

Weight loss plateaus are more than frustrating, though. They're dangerous because we sometimes get totally off track when they hit. Instead of keeping up the pace, we can lag or lose focus.

American Chronicle recently posted some helpful hints on getting past plateaus and back to your weight loss.

Writer Alien Sheng suggests exercising more and shaking up your eating regime. Check out the full article to get more tips.

And feel free to let me know how you get past plateaus. I'm sure I hit one sooner or later, too.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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