Diet/Nutrition

Dana Delany Recalls Her Botox and Eating-Disorder Nightmares

Courtesy Prevention

Think getting Botox is just a silly little procedure with no potential long-term downside? Listen to actress Dana Delany’s story. “Seven years ago, I had never heard of Botox,” the former Desperate Housewives star tells Prevention magazine in its November issue. “My dermatologist was saying, ‘You should try it.’ He injected my forehead, hit a nerve, and created a huge hematoma. The nerve has been dead ever since. It affected the muscle in my right eye, so my eye has started to droop a little bit.” The experience left Delany, 54, wary of plastic surgery, and impressed by women in Hollywood who shun it. “I won’t do it, no,” she says. “My hat’s off to Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s so smart, and she doesn’t dye her hair or anything. And Meryl Streep still looks like herself. Diane Keaton, too. I think the really great actresses don’t worry about that kind of thing.” Delany, who stars in the new ABC medical drama Body of Proof, also relates her struggles as a young woman with an eating disorder. “When I was a teenager and in my twenties, I had eating issues,” she says. “I binged. I starved. I was one step from anorexia — a piece of toast and an apple would be all I would eat in a day.” But despite her misadventures with Botox and food, Delany says she has a healthy outlook when it comes to the heaviest issue of all — her own mortality. “I think I have a pretty good relationship with death,” she says. “Ever since I was a little kid, it wasn’t something I feared.” To hear more from Dana’s interview visit prevention.com, or pick up the November issue of Prevention magazine, on newsstands tomorrow. –Tim Nudd

Courtesy Prevention

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PHOTO: Svelte Jennifer Hudson Flaunts Her Figure

Janet Mayer/Splash News

Looks like someone isn’t cheating on her diet! Jennifer Hudson, who recently revealed that she’s lost an additional 20 lbs. since April, appeared even more svelte at the seventh annual Black Ball for her Keep a Child Alive foundation in New York on Thursday. The Weight Watchers spokesperson, dressed in a stunning strapless black gown, clearly had a blast on the red carpet as she flaunted her figure for the photographers. Earlier this month, Hudson, 29, said she’s still getting used to her new look. “I go into the store and they try to put me in 4s and 6s and I’m like [she looks over both shoulders] ‘Who are you trying to talk to?’” says the former size 16 star.

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Mia Hamm’s Modified Mommy-Fitness Regimen

Vince Bucci/AP

There was a time when soccer star Mia Hamm would work out for seven hours a day. “That was my life,” she says, “everything was geared around playing soccer, about being healthy. I would literally be active all day long.” Flash forward to today: The 38-year-old mother of three-year-old twin girls has new priorities–and they don’t include seven-hour workouts. “Things have changed,” she says. “I spend a lot of time with my kids, so I can’t dedicate as much time [to exercise].” When she does work out, Hamm says she spends an hour at the gym. “I like to be toned and fit, which is harder for two reasons. First, I’m older. Second, I like to eat. I never thought about my caloric intake when I was playing soccer. Now I have to pay attention to it.” Her guilty pleasure? “If I had to choose one food that is my weakness, it would be chips and salsa,” she says. “I don’t know what it is, but I love them. But other than that, I try to eat healthy, fresh food. Or at least in moderation.” These days, Hamm is a spokesperson for Give Your Health A Shot, a public awareness campaign to educate adults about vaccinations and total body wellness. It’s a message that hits close to home. “I’m like every other parent,” she says. “My health often takes a backseat to my kids.” But now more than ever, Hamm says, her health is important to her. “I don’t want to have a negative impact on their lives,” she says of her daughters, Grace and Ava. “I want them to be happy and successful, and the best way is making sure the entire family is healthy.” And her advice for parents struggling to find time to get to the gym? “You’re worth it,” she says, before rethinking her answer. “No, your family is worth it.” –Steve Helling

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DWTS’ Margaret Cho: I Went 40 Years Without Any Exercise

Adam Larkey/ABC

Comedian Margaret Cho hasn’t had a problem making other people laugh and feel positive, but now, at 41 years old, the Drop Dead Diva star is finally focused on making herself feel good. The funny-lady says all of the exercise she’s done in the short time she’s been on Dancing With the Stars has completely changed the way she feels about her body and herself. “I’ve never been so excited about something in my life,” Cho told PEOPLE backstage at Tuesday night’s DWTS elimination show. “I’m so into it. I’ve never worked out—never. Now that I’ve been moving, I realize how good it feels.” Cho, who says she isn’t using a scale to measure her progress, already notices dramatic physical differences. “I can see it in my face,” she says. “I can feel it in my whole body. I have lost a lot of weight. It’s the first time I’ve ever been there, and I feel great about it.” Cho promises her new healthy lifestyle is permanent and not just for DWTS. “I’ve really made a commitment to [my partner] Louis [van Amstel],” she says. “I told him after this, I’m staying physically active. I’ve never been physically active in my life, and I know that Louis has added years to my life, and this is a really important thing. I want to stay in my body, I want to stay in my skin.” –Dahvi Shira

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Did Kathie Lee Fudge Her Weight on ‘Today’?

Frank Micelotta/Getty

Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford made a brave move on Monday as they took to the airwaves to share information that many women fiercely guard: their weight and age. To get the skinny on Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee’s Today show reveal, PEOPLE spoke with Kotb at the Self magazine Women Doing Good awards on Tuesday in New York, where she confirmed that their on-air age revelation was in fact accurate. “She said she was 57 and I say I’m 46, which is true. You can figure it out,” said Kotb. “But the weight was on the honor system! She revealed hers as 129 [lbs],” she added. “Now you know there is some jiggling going on the scale, some shifting: just the idea that it didn’t tip over into the 130s. I honestly said I weigh 146 [lbs], which was painful to say, but there it is, I said it. And people were, like, 146? Girl, turn around…let me see.” That said, Kotb pointed out that there is a significant height difference between the two hosts. “She’s 5-ft. 5-in.” said explained. “She’s actually small…I’m 5-ft. 9-in.” Wearing buttons on-air that were emblazoned with their ages had more of an impact than Kotb said had expected. “I thought it would just be one of those things where you say it, and move on. But people were like, 46, huh?” And I said, “There went half the dating pool… just dried up in five seconds when you say the number 46.” Tell us: Would you be brave enough to reveal your age and weight on television? –Jeffrey Slonim

SEE THE BIG REVEAL ON ‘TODAY’ HERE!

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