DIET | DETECTIVE^®

I always thought the buzz about Carrie Underwood’s post-Idol weight loss was kind of funny. She was thin to begin with, and probably didn’t lose more than ten pounds or so, but ED rumors started flying. One blog even hinted that her vegetarianism was a low-grade eating disorder. Huh?! Besides, while Carrie was going from small to slightly smaller, Ruben Studdard was busy shedding 100 pounds—but the tabs left him alone. (Whether he liked it or not.)

So that may be why Carrie has always downplayed her weight loss in interviews—there’s just not much to discuss. She lost ten pounds in a year. She could’ve feasibly done that by lopping off 100 calories each day. But in the recent issue of Glamour, she finally reveals exactly how she lost the weight. No surprise, it’s completely reasonable—and easy to emulate.

She does cardio and works out with an exercise ball. But more importantly, she keeps track of her intake. “I'm slightly obsessive compulsive about what I eat,” she says. “I write down everything that I eat...I started doing it last year. And in the last year is when I've gotten more healthy and lost weight.”

Here’s why it works: Cutting out 100 calories a day isn’t a daunting task. It’s just hard to define unless you know exactly how much you typically eat. And most of us don’t. You know those financial experts who tell you to write down every penny you spend? And then point out that by skipping your daily coffee run, you can sock away a million dollars by the time you retire? That philosophy also applies to eating. When you keep a food journal, you suddenly remember the little things, like that handful of candy corn you grabbed on the way out the door. (And by “you” I mean “me.”) Those little nibbles add up—and when you realize you’ve consumed 300 calories in mints, pretzels, and sips of cider, “dieting” almost becomes a no-brainer.

Thing is, most celebs don’t want to admit they scrupulously track every bite. They’d rather credit their fabulous genes and a bit of yoga. So it’s nice to hear a celeb admit to a less glamorous set of weight loss tools—a notebook and a big rubber ball.

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