Runways and Red Carpets

Victoria Beckham.  Photo:  Elle Magazine 2014

Bring on the spice! Over the past year, I've been working with stylists and makeup artists and health experts who make the stars look so good.  They've been sharing secrets from the runway to the red carpet. 

I was never one of those girls who's obsessed with fashion or makeup or perfectly flat abs. Now I have a new appreciation for the creative ones who work in those industries. Instead of shunning the culture of beauty, my goal has been to embrace it in a way that's helpful to women. 

One of the God-given desires of a woman's heart is to feel beautiful. I was being handed so many helpful ways that have transformed my confidence that I wanted to share them. Here's a compilation of videos with guests from my lifestyle webisodes. For more on any of the A-list tips, you can check out full videos on my YouTube channel.

I'm so grateful for you, creative ones. And for you, for sharing this beautiful adventure!

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Running for the Rangers!

This is happening! After losing 50 pounds, I got this crazy idea to run a half-marathon!  And, with your help, every step will be supporting our wounded military heroes.

As the daughter of a retired U.S. Army officer, I drew on the perseverance and faith my dad modeled to kick obesity's butt.  My dad wasn't the strongest or biggest soldier, but he had the courage to fight segregation and rise through the ranks.

Now I plan to run the San Francisco half marathon to raise funds for an incredible non-profit called Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund. Created by the family of Sgt. James Regan who was killed in action in Iraq, the Fund helps active duty and wounded Special Operations U.S. Army Rangers and families of soldiers killed in combat.

Here's a video if you want to hear more about why I'm running:

Also, please check out my GoFundMe page and thanks for helping me run for the Rangers!
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If you want to read the story of how I lost 50 pounds, click here.

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Katie Couric's No Sugar Challenge: My Astonishing Results

Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't feed her kids sugar, gluten, dairy or soy. Photo from her cookbook, "It's All Good" www.linenme.com

Going sugar-free like Gwyneth Paltrow or vegan like Beyoncé is too extreme for me.  That's why I didn't immediately commit when I heard about Katie Couric's challenge to give up added sugar for 10 days (I also did a video for Katie's "Co-host for a Day" contest).

Fed Up is Katie's new film about our health crisis. The challenge, promoting the movie's launch, intrigued me because of my own struggle with obesity and family history of stroke, diabetes and weight-related issues.

Afraid I'd be setting myself up for failure, I decided to try it for three days instead of 10.  While I've mostly beaten food cravings, some of my choices are still high in sugar:  flavored yogurt, chocolate, fruit juice. I'd already given up most processed junk foods and sodas, so what was the benefit in going totally sugar-free?

Turns out there were plenty!  Starting with a shrinking gut, clearer skin, weight loss, shinier hair.

photo www.katiecouric.com

I share more about how I'm beating genetic obesity on the health and fitness site, Feel Rich, started by music mogul Quincy Jones' son but suffice it to say my body was showing astonishing benefits from being sugar-free for the first time ever.

Most surprising was the rapid weight loss. I wish I'd taken measurements on the first day of the challenge. I didn't expect to firm up and get toned like Kelly Ripa (ok, that might be overstating the results a bit).

Surprisingly, I felt compelled to keep going after the first three days.  It wasn't nearly as brutal as I'd feared; no major withdrawal like headaches or jitters.

the amount of sugar I'd normally consume in just three days!
a 'Katie' viewer suggested putting what you give up in a jar - stunning visual

I believe in listening to our bodies, which is how I lost 50 pounds defying traditional diet wisdom (read my article, Throw Away Your Scale to Lose Weight for Life) and why I kept going for 10 days.

I did feel VERY deprived at first. I especially missed drinking tea with sugar, which I replaced with sparkling water.  I also missed fruit juice - particularly since I'd already given up soda.

Quitting desserts was the hardest part. I'd already swapped super poor choices - cookies, cupcakes, Ben & Jerry's - for healthier ones like frozen yogurt and power bars but those were taboo since they have added sugar.

There were some drawbacks like afternoon exhaustion (managed with a nap) and intense sweet cravings (tamed with fresh berries).

My conclusion?  My body wants far less sugar than I've been eating - even the 'good' kinds like honey and 100% fruit juices.

So will I religiously avoid sugar like Gwyneth Paltrow and other Hollywood stars? Nah, a girl needs her occasional red velvet cupcake. But I do plan to make some permanent changes, like avoiding sweetened salad dressings and peanut butter.

Check out the challenge at www.fedupmovie.com - start your own if you missed this one!

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'Ditch Your Scale!' - Lent Event: Getting Started

'Ditch Your Scale!' Lent event is underway over on my Facebook page.  Here's how to get started if you want to join us.  We're not going to be on a diet. No gimmicks. No short-term fixes. Just you and God on a faith-based journey to lifelong health for the next 40 days.

Most of these ideas are in my 'Getting Started' video and there are a few more below:

1.  Take starting weight/measurements if you want.

2.  Set aside time for a daily date with God.

3.  Ask God for a verse, poem, song, art, watever speaks to you about His love for you.

4.  Read my article, 'Throw Away Your Scale to Lose Weight for Life' about changing a deprivation mindset (www.feelrich.com).

5.  Journal.

6.  Ask others to pray for you, or join you!

7.  Seek God about setting healthy goals - but don't worry about making them happen just yet, we'll get to external changes later.

8.  I'll be posting healthy recipes from contributors, inspirational stories and more on my Facebook page - like it to join us daily.

Get creative!  I believe God has a plan tailored for you.  Come discover it!

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Ditch Your Scale! Lent event

Starting a health-focused Lent event tomorrow! The vision is to spend the 40 days of Lent on a faith-based journey toward lifelong health.

Here's how to get involved:

1. Commit to a RADICAL approach to health during Lent.  But get this - no fasting required!

Instead, we'll ditch our scales and entrust these areas to God...and end up healthier than ever. How? I'll share more later but there's insight in my article on the health & fitness site, Feel Rich (click here)

2. Share your creativity, passion & gifts.
You might have a song, a recipe, a verse, a fitness tip to encourage others. I'd love to share these on my Facebook page.

Here's more about 'Ditch Your Scale in my introductory video.

Starting on Lent March 5th, I hope you'll check out the videos and posts on topics like forgiveness and health, cultivating an abundant mindset, loving others to maintain health. Ditch your scale and get healthy for life!

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Oscars-Inspired Looks

We all want to know the secrets to how the stars get that red carpet glow. With the Oscars this week, I interviewed a celebrity makeup artist about Oscars-inspired looks to do at home. Check out the video below.  

We also answer beauty questions you've asked on my Facebook page. Flaking mascara?  Dark undereye circles? Solutions to those problems and more for an A-list look - anytime you feel like it!

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Get Fit. Get Gorgeous!

Hop on over to my Facebook page and check out a special beauty offer and my latest video with celeb beauty expert Dana Waldie.  We're getting fit and gorgeous! 

Here's the video below (or here on YouTube):

Also working on another article about the critical role of detoxing unhealthy emotions to help lose weight. You can read some of my previous articles on the health and fitness site, Feel Rich. 

Doing a little change each day will make a big difference.  Let's do this! 

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Awards Season & Body Image Video

Attending a screening of 'August: Osage County' with George Clooney, Julia Roberts & cast 

It's that time of year again - Hollywood awards season!  

The studios host screenings to boost their film's chances to take home statues at the Oscars, SAG Awards, Golden Globes and more. Being a member of the Screen Actors Guild pays for itself this time of year when invites outnumber spam in the inbox.

My co-host, Danika Brysha, and I sat a few feet from George Clooney, Julia Roberts and cast members of August: Osage County at a recent screening. 

Danika and I were celebrating our last night together in LA since she's heading East to rock the plus size modeling world. Before she left, we shot this video on handling body image issues. 

I've written pretty extensively on the topic here in my blog since it's been an on-going struggle for me and I know for many of you. You can read more by clicking "body image" on the topics section.  Also, I'm contributing to the health and fitness site, Feel Rich, so check that out for ideas about becoming your best self. 

Have a fabulous holiday season!

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The Image in the Mirror

Thrilled to be shooting a web series with Wilhelmina Models Danika Brysha!  Danika's a plus-size model helping girls and women fight eating disorders and body image issues. 

I think every woman wrestles with the reflection in the mirror at some time.  At my first TV job, viewers would tell me I was too fat. To my face.  And then I'd go home and look in a mirror that also condemned me...

I still don't own a full length mirror. 

I've written about the pressure to be thin in TV before and how it nearly sabotaged my career (click here to read) but I've never really shared the depth of the issue.  

That's why I love partnering with Danika - because she's so vulnerable and honest about her journey as you'll see in our latest video:

We plan to shoot a few videos before she heads to New York to take her modeling career to the next level. We'd love your feedback and check out my Facebook page for more.

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Designing a Dream - Fashion Series pt. 2

Ever wonder how fabrics are hand-stitched and pleated into clothes we wear?  Babette's designers share this fascinating look at how it's done at their Oakland, CA workshop. (video by One Hundred Seconds) 

In Part 2 of my fashion series, designer Josephine Tchang shares why she's so passionate about Babette's signature textured garments PLUS an exclusive giveaway!

Shay:  Babette has been making fashion news since the 1960's - what's the secret to your success?

Josephine:  We produce clothing nobody else does. Our garments are not mass-produced - every piece has a story.  We also use very unique textiles.  We look for the best fabrics all over the world to find what works for our brand. 

We always try to improve our designs.  I have to ask, "How am I going to give my customer a fresh take and give her a fresh color story?"  We might be able to sell a pink color this season but next season it might be a mint color or it might be colors and textures combined in new ways. 

Josephine (l) and Babette buy fabrics in Paris

Shay:  What are some of your favorite pieces? 

Josephine:  I love the pleated pieces.  We actually buy the fabrics flat and create the pleats and textures ourselves.  I'll wear one of our pleated dresses as a tunic with skinny jeans for work, then at night take off my jeans, add heels and a handbag and I'm ready for dinner.

Babette's Santa Monica, CA store

Shay:  How has opening more stores affected the brand?

Josephine:  Opening stores in warmer climates like Santa Monica (California) and Santa Fe (New Mexico) definitely plays a role in the direction of our line.  Designing for Los Angeles is different than designing for New York.  As a general trend, clothes are more form-fitted, more colorful and playful.  As a designer, you have to listen to your customer so our line has diversified.
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Fasion designers work a year in advance so Josephine is already creating clothes we'll see on the runways soon.  Find out what inspires her designs in part 1 of 'Designing a Dream'  here.

FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY!
Babette has designed a one-of-a-kind scarf for a lucky fan!  To enter, simply like my new Facebook page and share today's post.  Sorry, this drawing is closed.

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Freefalling!

say your prayers!

Every once in a while we experience that surreal moment when a dream becomes reality.  

Skydiving was one of those moments.  

I've wanted to go ever since I was a kid growing up on military bases where we'd watch the paratroopers train. 

Fast forward a few decades.  One of the deadliest natural disasters in history.  Haiti.  A team of strangers risking their lives to save others.

They're the kind of fearless souls who pull people from burning buildings. climb Mt. Everest. fight wars for our freedom. attempt feats most of us wouldn't dare.

At first I felt out of place.  They save lives; they know what to do with bloody wounds and cracked skulls.  Me?  I know what to do with a camera and a pen. 

But somehow we fit. 

And that's how skydiving came up.   We got the idea to jump as a way to raise funds for an orphanage.  Our Heights for Haiti jump fell through but two of us decided to go anyway.

Ironically, we were assigned to the same plane for our tandem jumps as a team of training soldiers.  As the plane climbed, they'd suddenly vanish out the open door, sometimes mid-sentence.  I thought my heart would fail each time. 

When my turn came, I looked into heaven and began...screaming.  "Oh!  My!  God!"  

Freefalling at 120 mph (experts say it's like floating, not a rollercoaster drop; I felt both) all I could do was pray. And scream. 

When we finally landed an eternity later (ok, about five minutes), the Skydive Arizona crew made me feel like a hero just for strapping on the harness.  

But the real heroes are the Haiti team and those who risk their lives for others - you are the courageous ones.

YouTube link of my jump! My favorite part is 2:24 when Chad jumps - and I realize I'm next. "Chaaaad! Oh my God!!" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XlkSz4QFJU&feature=youtu.be

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Almost Jump Time!

Three days until the big jump!  Of course, the news would keep showing video of the 80-year-old grandma's near fatal skydive when her harness malfunctions...*

Still, we're ready (my jump partner is an EMT I met heading to Haiti after the  earthquake).  I'm more worried about the heat. It's supposed to get up to 110 at the drop zone - could be trouble for someone used to 70 degree coastal temps.

Skydiving Magazine says freefall doesn't feel like the roller coaster drop most people expect so that makes me less nervous.  They say freefall is more like "a comfortable sensation of floating; the closest thing to human flight." 

So why skydiving?  I'm still trying to answer that question but maybe it just comes down to this:  adventure.  

Whether reporting in a disaster zone or caring for orphans in a Third World slum, adventure forces me to draw on my faith in ways ordinary life doesn't.  Away from our comfort zones, we're far more dependent on God and can sense a grace higher than any adrenaline rush.

Who knows, maybe facing fear opens the door for greater grace?  And grace always precedes great exploits.  

A demon-possessed man who lived in tombs?  Grace restored.  

A soldier whose ear got cut off ambushing Jesus?  Grace healed.  

A woman caught in adultery?  Grace forgave. 

And a grandmother who almost died skydiving?  Grace saved.

Grace and skydiving? Who knows.  In any case, I like what the thrill-seeking grandma said to a reporter who suggested safer hobbies: "Knitting is boring." 

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Grandmother's near fatal skydive:

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/256956/81/Grandmother-talks-about-terrifying-skydiving-jump

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