By Cindy Pearlman for KnowMore.tv
Every once in awhile, I like to ask a big group of stars: How the heck do you stay so skinny. Here are their answers:
Jennifer Garner "Lie to yourself. Get on that darn treadmill telling yourself it will just be for 10 minutes. I promise that once you get up there, you're going to stay on longer. Those 10 minutes pass, you're sweating and it feels good. It's all about getting on the thing in the first place."
Brenda Strong, star of "Dallas" "I recently got a new puppy and she keeps me walking and very busy. I take her out on the trails. The other day, I was filming in Dallas and instead of sitting around during a break, I took the dog out for a long, long walk. We did two hours of walking, which just makes you feel great and your skin looks gorgeous."
Linda Grey, star of "Dallas" "I bring my little Magic Bullet mixer to work and my own food. I don't eat Craft Services. I don't eat anything that I don't bring, which is good advice for anyone in a job where food is all around you. Bring you own stuff and make a rule that you won't eat the other food.... You can make delicious shakes with fruit and almond milk," she says. "If you make your own shakes then you have something sweet and healthy. You're not as tempted when the tray of chocolate chip snacks goes by you. "I'll say, 'No, not going to do it! Not going there!'"
Dolly Parton "I stay so skinny because I starve! I gained a bunch of weight when I was middle aged and I knew that I couldn't continue to eat like a country girl anymore. I still cook a mean chicken with dumplings. You have to allow yourself cheats. I don't mean one piece of pie. Eat the whole damn pie if you want, but then get right back on track the next day."
Allison Janney "Diets are a thing of the past for me. You get to an age where you just never want to go on another diet or be on another diet. The way I do it is that I eat to live. I ask myself, 'Is this good for me?' It's such a simple question, but it gets rid of a lot of the junk food you might crave, but you honestly can't say is good for you. Before you take that bite ask yourself...Is it good for me?"
Angela Bassett "I do try to eat well and I do well about 75 percent of the time. I do love sweets. But I try to counter-act anything I do that's bad with something very good. I do love raw restaurants. Even if you're not eating all raw foods, it's great to go out to lunch or dinner at one of those restaurants. You won't eat anything that's processed, so you won't feel so guilty about it. I promise that you won't gain weight eating raw. And I like to eat, so you can go for bigger portions. I also like to make sure the food is prepared in a healthy way. I taped an article to our microwave with a note to my husband that read: "Honey, please stop microwaving food. I'm not sure if it's good for us.' I figure that we didn't grow up microwaving our meals. What is that doing to the cells in our bodies?
Angie Harmon "There is all the usual stuff like limiting sugar and eating lean protein. But I will eat some Doritos if I want them. They're so tasty and the secret to staying thin is to not deny yourself. If you get a craving, eat just a little bit of what you want. You get to an age when you think, ''You know what? An occasional Dorito is okay.' Trying to say, 'I will never eat sugar or never have a piece of birthday cake doesn't do anyone any good. Once you cut out anything, all you do is want it!"
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