Kiss strict diets good-bye! We’re to reveal how you can eat all your forbidden favorites- like the candy bars our favorite Friend loves- and still drop your most stubborn pounds.
With the possible exception of Ring Ding-loving Roses O’Donnell, Friends beauty Courteney Cox just may have the most notorious sweet tooth in hollywood. On the set, insiders have been quick to point out "Courteney’s Candy Cabinet," the actress's private cache of M&Ms, Butterfingers and other goodies that she dips into often. "Acting is a high for me," Courteney says. "And when it’s over I want to eat candy bars." We’ll bet the stress of public life feeds her craving for comfort foods, because the Friend doesn’t stop there! She’s also been seen downing her share of treats like cookie dough-plus munchies like pudding and potato chips and Cheetos. No wonder she battles to keep her slim figure! Arriving on the show biz scene in 1982, the now-svelte starlet carried two extra dress sizes. Of her days on Family Ties, she says, "I can’t believe I was that heavy!" And though shape-up efforts Southerner skips fatty "fixings" tricks whit a regular workout regimen-her candy cravings plague her to this day. Not only do her oft-lost pounds rumors of Courteney’s sugar binges have sparked painful gossip that she has an eating disorder. "I go up and down," concedes the actress, who has said she gains about five pounds every three shows."Do I eat a lot of candy? Yeah. Do I have an eating disorder? Not at all."
"I was bigger then Michael J. Fox!" said Courteney, the now-slim Friend, of her time on Family Ties.
Can Courteney’s cravings be conquered?
Courteney has tried everything to compensate for her sweet tooth. Exercise is one weapon-especially running and power yoga. Once a reporter spied a bottle of appetite suppressants in her kitchen. And most recently, she’s trying to go cold turkey. "I haven’t had sugar in almost three months now," the self-proclaimed perfectionist bragged in May. "I got a little crazy whit certain foods. Now I’m in a transitional period... I care about staying fit." These days, Courteney-who was once heard admonishing photographers to show her skinny side ("Don’t make me look like I have rolls under my meck," she said) is supremely slim from all angles. At 5’5, she slips easily into slinky size 2 dresses-and says she feels better then ever! But according to experts, Courteney (who was seen scrambling for her candy cabinet a year ago after a devastating breakup from longtime love Michael Keaton doesn’t need to give up the candy she loves to maintain the figure we envy. "In fact," says nutritionist Shari Citron, M.S., R.D., "Courteney-and anyone else whit a big sweet tooth-would be smarter to include her favorite treats in her diet plan."
"Have your cake and lose weight too!"
"Strict diets set you up for failure," she explains. "Cravings build and build until you go crazy with the urge to eat forbidden foods." And yes, Courteney was caught whit her hand in the candy cabinet again before Friends wrapped for the season. The key to success, Citron says, is balance. Feed your cravings and watch your overall fat and calories. "Most moderately active woman easily lose weight on sixteen hundred calories a day," our pro explains. "You can cover your nutritional bases for about a thousand calories. That leaves room for a candy bar every day-while you are still lose weight!" It’s a plan even confirmed candy-craver-like Courteney Cox could love.
Susan Vaughn