She’s only 19 years old and already an icon of the new generation of musicians. Taylor Swift is also a role model for girls all around the world, being the epitome of talent, elegance, class and common sense. Many say that, despite her age, Swift is more mature than most adults in today’s showbiz, and this also applies to her approach to a healthy lifestyle, as her latest interview with Allure magazine clearly shows.

On a final note, when she’s not singing or training, Taylor shares she’s blogging or signing autographs. For an artist with her level of success and popularity, this one country singer proves to be extremely well-grounded, saying that she knows she is who she is because of her fans, and this is why she’s going out of her way not to lose contact with them. “I never would have sold any records if my fans hadn’t gone out and bought them. It’s so incredible to go out and sign autographs for nine hours straight. That’s just my favorite thing to do, honestly.” Swift explains for Allure.

If you need a hand whipping your body into shape quickly, there are few better people to turn to than Jillian Michaels.  Her exercise DVD Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is flying off the shelves.  Jillian Michaels’ workout and diet is also on display on “The Biggest Loser” and her new show “Losing it with Jillian.”

We recently spoke with the fitness trainer about a common struggle: managing belly fat (it is summer, after all). Here are her top five tips, in her own words:

1. A big part of ab definition is managing water weight. This means that you should reduce your sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams a day and up your water intake to 80 ounces a day. The more water you drink, the less water you will hold.

2. Eat foods that are high in potassium (like watermelon). This will help you reduce bloat, giving definition to your abs. Other things to try: cranberry juice mixed with water, dandelion tea, asparagus, and try taking a couple teaspoons a day of apple cider vinegar. This vinegar helps to maintain healthy levels of potassium in your body.

3. You can spot-reduce belly fat, but you have to engage in a regimen that burns body fat. This means counting calories so that you are burning excess body fat.

4. When you hit the gym, go hard. Work at 85 percent of your maximum heart rate for optimal fat-shedding results. Try workouts that are core-based and use multiple muscle groups, like mixed martial arts or Yoga flow.

5. Avoid processed foods, alcohol, and lack of sleep. Those three things increase cortisol levels, which is one of the hormones believed responsible for storing belly fat.

Jillian’s on her own this summer, starring in a new show, “Losing It With Jillian.” The premise is simple: Jillian travels across the United States, helping families who are desperately in need of health and wellness improvement. Sure, she is dominant and occasionally yells (it’s her signature method for motivation), but she is also kind, encouraging, and very insightful. Just like its sister show, this one is sure to inspire America.

(Source: TV.Yahoo.com and YouTube.com)

Country crooner Carrie Underwood is a longtime vegetarian, but knows that being meat-free isn’t one of those guaranteed quick weight loss tips. “Think of all the pasta you can eat, the pizza. You can do nachos and all sorts of cheesy things,” she told SELF. So how does she stay slim? Here are Carrie Underwood’s diet secrets:

1. Eat for energy. “If I eat too much before a show, I just want to sit down. Too little, and I’m starving. So I eat something small, like Quorn, a tasty meat-free protein, and green beans.”

2. Keep a food diary. Carrie has been tracking her intake for three years! She counts her calories on a regular basis, to see how it all adds up. “Once you realize, it’s like, ‘No wonder I’ve plateaued! No wonder I’ve been gaining weight!’” she says. “Little things really do add up.”

3. Enjoy your favorite foods, healthfully. In 2007 Carrie told SELF “My food indulgences are pizza, and I love… cheese. I have a big problem controlling myself with the cheese.” Two years later, it looks like she found a way to have her pizza and eat it too! Here’s her recipe favorite formula for a healthy, 250-calorie personal pizza: 1 Flatout wrap with 1/4 cup sauce, 1/2 cup fat-free or 2% cheese and loaded up with veggies.

4. Cut the sugar. “My sugar intake is way down, and I have a lot fewer breakouts. Now when I drink tea, it’s unsweetened. Or I’ll have water,” the start told SELF. “Also, I’m off soda. For so long, I’d have a Diet Coke with breakfast!”

Sure, you can probably tone up pretty quickly taking a Louisville slugger to headlights and slashing tires but it turns out that is not the way country idol Carrie Underwood maintains her rockin’ bod. Here are some of the slim and sexy superstar’s favorite fitness secrets:

1.) Make exercise accessible. “I have Exercise TV on cable. Jillian Michaels’s videos will kick your butt. She’s my trainer, and she doesn’t even know it!”

2.) Work toward an event. “Everybody has things they want to look nice for: anniversary, birthday, reunion. I’ll think to myself, Oh, that award show is coming up. Or, I have a photo shoot in four days! It’s nice to set goals.”

3.) Revel in success. “I love it when I feel good about myself. I’ll look at a photo and think, My arms look great!–and then I go work out my arms. Once you’re enjoying things about your body, you realize how much you want to keep them that way or make them better.”

4.) Favorite ab improver: “When I gain weight, it’s in the spare-tire area. I’ve told trainers abs are a physical impossibility for me. And every single time, they’re like, ‘Well, we’ll get you abs!’ So do I have them? No! But they’re as flat as they’re probably going to get. Push-ups work out everything. If you do them right, you’ll feel it in your abs. I do four sets of 10 to 20.”

Behind the Scenes: Carrie Underwood Cover Shoot

The singer rolled up to the set in sweatpants and brought her own snacks: a sandwich, a cup of tea and a bag of baby carrots. Carrie loooved the colorful options SELF’s fashion team brought to the shoot (check out what goes into creating the cover look!), but despite the glam treatment from our hair and makeup team, she admitted that she’s more comfortable out of the spotlight. When is she most confident? Watch our exclusive behind the scenes video from the shoot to find out!

(Source: SELF Magazine)

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