On Women

I have to say I'm proud of Britney Spears. (OK, I admit, I've always been a fan of hers and thought many of us took too much pleasure in observing her train wreck of a life.) But here she is, looking radiant and toned on the cover of this month's Glamour magazine, professing to have more body confidence now than before she had kids. And I'm pleased to see her admit how hard it was to slim down—how she literally had to drag herself to the gym three days a week—after having two babies in 12 months.

I've been thinking about the numbers on the scale a lot as the holiday season revs up to full throttle. I'm facing three holiday parties next week and would like to get through them without gaining any weight.

In fact, Wall Street Journal blogger Jacob Goldstein cites studies showing that people gain about a pound, on average, during the holiday season, far less than you'd think. But it's a pound that's really, really hard to lose come January. And over time, those pounds can really add up. This probably explains why my size 4s no longer fit.

Continue reading »