Cynthia Stadd just slashed our diet in half, telling us to cut way down on hydrogenated oils and booze. But she does it in such a nice, smart way, we're up for the challenge.

Why are partially hydrogenated soybean oils so bad for you? I know I'm supposed to avoid them, but I'm not totally sure why.

Yes, they are the devil. The biggest problem is that they clog arteries, contributing to high lipid levels in the blood. This sets the stage for major heart disease. But trans fats also cause lots of unnecessary inflammation in the body. And you will see me say this over and over: inflammation = overactive system = harder to lose weight!

Avoid any label that has the word "hydrogenated," "partially-hydrogenated" or "shortening" in it. These fats were once healthy vegetable oils that have been pumped with hydrogen atoms to make them more stable, thereby allowing your favorite cookies and crackers to sit on the shelf of the food store for a year and not go moldy. Ever think about that one??? (I think I heard once that a Twinkie can live for seven years!!)

So here is a list of common places you will find the evil trans fats: 

• All commercially produced cookies, cakes, crackers, baked goods (health food stores have excellent trans fat-free options for all your favorite goodies)

• Protein and energy bars--the trans fats are in the coatings

• Snack chips and processed foods that come out of a bag

• Margarine and shortening

• Fried foods

• Microwaved popcorn

• Anytime you heat a vegetable oil past its heat point--don't cook on high heat with oils like canola, sunflower, safflower

Shit, they're in everything! Except boooze. Now, I heard that drinking alcohol won't make you gain weight (though it will cause other health problems) because the body burns a lot of calories processing it. Is this true? When you said recently that alcohol causes more problems than we realize, what did you mean exactly?

Ha! I love diet myths. Let's get it straight lovelies: alcohol CAN contribute to weight gain because it is broken down into pure sugar. Sugar, when not burned, turns to fat. That's it! You can twist it, turn it, pray for it, pretend it is not real, but it is. So, if you drink a big mojito and then dance like a maniac for an hour, you may have an argument. But if you are sitting on your hiney in a bar downing some cosmos, forget it.

Western medical reasons alcohol sucks:

• Liver disease

• Contributes to osteoporosis

• Premature death

• Long-term irregular heart beat leading to stroke

• Directly affects how much oxygen gets to the brain, thereby potentially causing amnesia and other nervous disorders

• Infertility (and more, too!)

Eastern medical reasons why alcohol sucks:

• Depletes the body of precious nutrients, thereby reducing your qi (life energy)

• All intoxicants and chemicals weaken the kidneys, and the kidneys affect almost every other major organ.

In short, drink it in moderation!!

Yeah, or once we sober up we may never be able to get preggers!