I will admit to a moth-to-flame reaction at the 52 "miracle" diets a year featured on the supermarket staple, Woman's World.

You know the one, there is always a cover featuring the ubiquitous "smiling and giving thumbs up" lady on the scale. These range from the "I lost 600 pounds in 4 weeks" ladies standing in their old jeans which now fit a family of four, or the soap opera actress who finally conquered those extra 3 pounds by sipping on fish oil and ginsing between meals.

What irks me is that to the bottom left of the Miracle Diet Of The Week is always them most ridiculously fattening dessert! Typically a cake with 20 cups of icing on it to make it look like a hat or a bouquet of flowers or whatever.

This week, the smiling thumbs up lady standing in one leg of her old jeans did something called "carb-cycling" and the dessert under her picture is a real lulu...a "bombe" made with two kinds of ice cream that are layered with TWINKIES!!

And yes, I bought it....but I ain't making that twinkie thing!

Two kinds of ice cream AND twinkies? Oh my goodness.

The way I look at WWM is that it's on the same rack as the Enquirer and other tabloids at my grocery stores... and faaar away from the health/fitness magazines. So I put as much stock in WWM as I do in the Enquirer!

Its a little scandalous. They are actually doing a story on me, though, that (unless they LIE outright) will be about 3FC, Calorie Counting, and Exercise...so perhaps they are trying to turn it around? Or I just make a dramatic before/after.

My motivation for agreeing was to get all of the people who read the "lose 20 lbs in a week" diet plans onto 3FC...is that wrong? :-)

Wow, really? I look forward to it!! A lot of them ARE inspiring but some of the "magic bullet"types are just silly. I ALWAYS read them in the checkstand line, I'm not the only one -- you'll be famous!

What kind of cover shot are the going to do on you? On the scale with the towel wraparound thing, or with the glam clothes? I prefer those to the standing-in-the-old-fat-clothes thing, myself!

Well, we took both on Monday (I went to LA for the photoshoot). The "big pants" picture (and by the way, those aren't the person's actual old pants. They are generic fat pants with a 60 inch waist from Rochester Big and Tall. Apparently this is standard practice), plus glam pictures. Actually, the big pants pics were glam too - me all wardrobe/hair/makeuped out, standing in the giant pants. We didn't take any in a towel, thank heavens.

I actually said to the person writing the article, flat out, "I am really excited to publish in your magazine what actually works, not some 'magic bullet' plan" and she agreed with me that she writes these all the time and she is pretty much convinced that cal counting/exercise is the only way that really works.

They also have my menu plans, calorie guidelines, exercise schedule, and tons of sample recipes to put in, so if they make something up, I'll be pretty sad. But she DID say that 3FC would be getting out there to their whole readership, which is a blessing in and of itself...we can talk them out of the "eat carrots and celery juice, plus ice cream" diet and get them going with support and great ideas from all the chickies here.

Please let us know what issue you'll be in!!!!

Amanda, that's awesome and we're all so proud of you. I can't think of anyone better to represent 3FC!

Its an issue around Halloween - photo shoot was surrounded by pumpkins.

Mandalinn - Please definitely let us know when it is out because I normally don't look twice at those rags, but if you are in it I will definitley want to check it out!

Wow, that's really interesting that they don't use the person's own old pants. Was there any particular reason given?

Congrats on doing this, and giving them all your records! I like what you said about getting people off the celery juice + ice cream diet and onto 3FC for support!

On the old pants thing, I would guess it falls under the category of "photo props."

Yes if you can steer people to this site it would really help a lot of people!

I find 3FC so useful, informativel and inspiring, I really don't have anybody in my life who's dieting or relates to struggling with weight, I live in a house of skinny freakazoids!! Just having people to chat on that subject with is soooo nice.

Halloween! I'll bet there will be some scandalously fattening "ghost cupcakes" or something under her picture, LOL!

As the "CAVEMAN" says "Yea, I have a response....WHAT!?".....

How could it be wrong KIDDO?

Gonna be the best issue ever!!

Why do all the "women's magazines" do this???

P.S. Mandalinn: Please let us know when your issue is on the stands!

Woman's Day does this too - along with a few other things that annoy me. There was a 4 page spread this month about "things I learned from my husband" And they were things like - always check your oil, how to pump gas, how to keep a clean house... I was starting to wonder if I was in a time warp.

The worst is the diet and exercise pages being followed up with the deserts and fattening quick meals. And honestly - I can show you where they have re-used their old cover pictures, recipes, and articles... and yet -I think I have another year to go on my subscription *LOL*

Why are we so addicted to these magazines?! Honestly, I haven't learned anything valuable in one in a very long time. It does however make me wonder if I could write for one... hrmmm...

(i am totally buying that edition of woman's world too!)

The most classic month for women's mags is January. Resolution time!! Besides the inevitable "new year, new diet" stuff is the picture of the mythical "perfect closet" of someone who owns about 10 pieces of perfectly ironed clothing hung up 6 inches apart! Oh and the shirts that are folded up and stacked in color-progressive order. RIGHT!!

You know that's why I really love this website. You see a lot of success stories but not like "FAT MELTS AWAY EFFORTLESSLY" type BS like you see on the newsstand....