I read a lot. I try to stay away from those women's magazines that solely focus on goofball sap stories & so forth. I realized a long time ago those were of no help to me. (More power to anyone they DO help, tho, or who simply enjoy sap!!)

I like to read magazines that EMPOWER women. Like SELF, Fitness, Women's Health, Oprah, MORE, and Prevention. I get a lot of information from these magazines, and I do believe them to be reputable. But I've recently realized that the magazines ALWAYS have a cover story about WEIGHT LOSS. Some have more than one, of course. I really enjoy the "I DID IT!" articles in Fitness, and SELF has good ones, too. They help me SEE that "if she can do it, so can I!!" - I also get that good vibey thing from the success stories on these forums, and I also read A LOT of on-line articles (usually from the CNN health page.)

But the more I read, sometimes the more confused I get. So many articles; so many contradictions. A lot of agreements, too of course, but sometimes I get really "bogged down" in the how's/why's/but's of everything.

Still, I enjoy reading! Do you read health & weight loss articles? Do they help you learn more about how the body works & what's good (& bad!) for you? (ever get an A-HA moment from an article??)

Oh yes. Knowledge is power. I soon learned to study what I read. Some stuff is tooo wierd. Some stuff sounds logical.
As long as it doesn't contradict the "FOUR BASIC TRUTHS TO WHICH I HOLD" (see my signature) I take it into consideration. And when in doubt I ask the folks here at 3FC.

If you want a truly empowering women's magazine, I suggest checking out *****. It isn't the fluffy kind of thing you get with most "women's magazines". And ironically, what I love best about it, is that it does not have WORD ONE about weight-loss or beauty, 99% of the time. In a society that values women for how they look way more than for how they think, that's a rarity, and refreshing.

But I digress. Yeah, there are a lot of contradictions out there. I like Susan's method. Figure out your bottom line, those things which just *speak* to you on some visceral level and you KNOW, beyond doubt, that they're TRUE. Then measure everything by how well they agree with that bottom line. Take it from there.

But always, always, ALWAYS double-check sources. If it cites a study, find out who the study was done by - and who paid for it. If it's a doctor or other "expert opinion", find out whose payroll that expert is on. That sort of thing.

Good luck sorting through the morass of facts! Think like a baleen whale; take in lots of seawater, squish it back out, keeping only the tasty plankton nuggets for yourself.

I don't know which magazine you're referring to! - it's "starred out".

I find myself being drawn to magazines that contain atleast one article on diet/fitness/weight loss. I do however get sick and tired of looking at certain magazines that come out weekly and each week they taunt a new "miracle" plan that helped so and so on the cover lose 100 lbs! I read the plan and I think are you kidding me??? The plans are n't realistic, are too restricing and most of the time require you to go out and spend loads of money on unnecessary suppliments/vitamins/roots (lol! i know) etc. It's wonderful if one woman was able to achieve her goal through that but most women can't afford to or don't have the willpower to stick to something like that. I'm one of them. I prefer the Prevention and Self magazines though I take alot of their advice with a grain of salt unless it's just commen sense stuff like eating less, exercising more, drinking more water! Those are the basics for any successful diet!

I've noticed, too, that the "I did it" stories - stories by real women who experienced real weight loss...big shocker...all have one theme - move more, eat less! They have other themes too - whole foods, lots of water, losing slowly but steadily....the women who have successfully lost weight are never using any of the restrictive/gimmicky/supplement filled plans. Something to consider.

Articles about weight loss and health have become a new fascination for me. When I was overweight, I was never interested in them (hmmmm, maybe that was part of my problem ) but now that I've started exercising regularly and eating better, I'm very interested in them. Not so much in the gimmicky articles, but the ones that seem grounded in reason.

I agree that a lot of the info seems confusing and contradictory though. Because of this, I let a lot of what a read go in one ear and out the other (or, is that "in one eye and out the other"?) I read it and think, "hmmm, that's interesting," but then I just keep doing what I'm currently doing.

I love love love "I did it" stories, esp. with pictures!

Argh, sorry about that, BeachPatrol. Think itch with a b. Tis a great magazine.

There's a magazine called B****? I had no clue. Where can I pick one of those up? (I don't think I've ever seen one!)

It always KILLED me that in the SAME issue of Shape there would be an article lecturing that "active women should eat no less than 1800-2000 calories a day" to lose weight, and then another article would have a 1200-1400 calorie eating plan. The same issue.

I found that magazine at my college bookstore, which is both surprising (the bookstore is corporate, after all) and unsurprising (I live in Santa Cruz, fer goshsakes). I'm sure you could also find it online...

Ennay, that's...amazing. Either their editors were asleep, or they really don't care if they give conflicting advice. I'm not sure which is worse.

I did find B*** magazine online... and subscribed!