Topic: Natalie Portman

Going Vegetarian For Your Cataracts Is Doing It Wrong

As a vegetarian, any opportunity to promote a meatless diet amongst my peers is usually seized with pleasure (just ask my friends, they are sick of me talking about this already). Vegetarian and vegan diets are no longer relegated to the realm of hippies, crumbums, and surfer-dudes. Its mainstream acceptance has permeated Hollywood, with many celebrities going veg. (We even won a big name back to the fold from veganism recently – Natalie Portman announced this week that she’s going back to vegetarian during her pregnancy). The benefits of vegetarianism range from a longer life and lower risk of heart disease to weight loss and even reversing diabetes. And a new survey from Reuters, indicating that a vegetarian diet could reduce the chances of developing cataracts, seems to fit well within my personal anti-carnivore agenda. Remember when your mom told you to eat your carrots because they’re good for your eyes? Turns out that theory has merit. Oh, the benefits galore.

But wait, there’s another study that says the exact opposite. More »

Vegan Roll Call: Natalie Portman Out

Natalie Portman eats eggs! And cookies made with butter! The actress, who announced her vegan philosophy on Huffington Post, and announced her current pregnancy by Benjamin Millepied even louder, is dipping into dairy now that she’s eating for two. Portman told the Q100 Bert Show that she’s let her strict vegan diet slip: “I actually went back to being vegetarian when I became pregnant, just because I felt like I wanted that stuff,” citing nutrition and cravings as her main motivation to put eggs and dairy back on the menu. “I know there are people who do stay vegan but I think you have to just be careful, watch your iron levels and your B12 levels and supplement those if there are things you might be low in in your diet,” she said. “If you’re not eating eggs, then you can’t have cookies or cake from regular bakeries, which can become a problem when that’s all you want to eat.” More »

Natalie Portman’s Eco-Friendly Style

Everyone may be talking about red carpet fashion, but YourDailyThread put the spotlight on Natalie Portman‘s year-round eco-friendly style. Check out their tips on getting her favorite green looks:

All eyes were on Natalie Portman as she accepted her award for Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars. We applaud her win for Black Swan, but it’s her in-the-know, ethical fashion sense that has our attention. On the red carpet, this eco-chick wears glam gowns and timeless looks by designers like Stella McCartney (who shares Natalie’s eco-friendly sensibility). Out of the spotlight, however, she opts for laid-back wear telling InStyle magazine “I usually dress very casual…I’m always like ‘Can’t I just wear sweatpants?’” More »

More Black Swan Workouts — If you’re obsessed with getting Natalie Portman’s Black Swan physique, you can sign up for ballet classes with Mary Helen Bowers (her teacher) online. But surely everyone is sick of trying to look like a calorie-deprived ballerina, right? (Well + Good NYC)

Before and After: Reporter Tests Natalie Portman’s Black Swan Diet and Workout Routine

Natalie Portman’s dramatic weight loss and ballet training for Black Swan is getting almost as much attention as the movie, inspiring an entire fitness craze centered around ballet-inspired workouts. We’ve investigated whether Pure Barre workouts can get you Natalie Portman’s body, but New York Post reporter Mary Huhn went hardcore, mimicking Portman’s 1,200-calorie per day diet and workout routine with the goal of losing five pounds and toning up in time for her wedding. The results? As you can see above, she looks pretty good, but admits that it was tough to stick with the low calorie count. More »

Can a Pure Barre Workout Give You Natalie Portman’s Body?

Unless you live underneath a stage trapdoor, you know that actress Natalie Portman has been getting loads of attention and scooping up awards for her portrayal of tortured dancer Nina Sears in Black Swan. Though not a dancer, after a year of training which included five hours of ballet and toning exercises daily, Natalie’s body transformed into a figure that rivaled any top ballerina or fitness freak.   (Portman even trained to the point of injury, like these Hollywood actresses in our gallery.) Thankfully, to achieve a rock-hard butt, chiseled abs, and lean thighs, you don’t need to endure Natalie’s rigorous balletic training program. But Pure Barre technique classes (a fusion of ballet, Pilates, and weights) are emerging as a fun, challenging, and different way for the rest of us mere mortals to get fit that doesn’t require multiple hours on the treadmill.   This week, Blisstree had the opportunity to join a class at Pure Barre in Brentwood, California, and it seriously kicks ass. You’ll break a sweat within the first five minutes of warming up. You’ll do everything in your power to steady a shaking leg as you attempt to maintain your balance doing tiny movements that rock your entire body. Oh, and you’ll also use arm weights, a stretchy exercise band, and a smaller version of a grade-school kickball to enhance the workout.   If you’ve never taken a dance class in your life and find yourself less flexible than you’d hoped, don’t worry. Pure Barre instructor Brookelin Gottlieb says: “It takes four to five classes to get the hang of it, and the class will eventually make you more flexible.” We asked Marni Chaikin, owner of Pure Barre in Brentwood, for the low-down on Pure Barre technique, and the benefits you can reap from this hardcore class: More »

Gallery: 10 Hollywood Celebrities Helping to Save the Planet

Whether they’re putting their star power or their money (or both) into projects to protect and save the earth, or just help make it a better place for all of us to live, Hollywood celebrities have a long history of supporting environmental programs and projects. (And the good PR doesn’t hurt their careers, either.) And while it’s all too easy for spoiled celebs to end up in rehab or make the news for less-than-noble antics (Mel and Charlie, this means you), the ten who made our gallery are doing the opposite — setting a good example for others by living environmentally-conscious lives, and encouraging the rest of us to do the same. Here’s who and how: More »

Is Natalie Portman a Fair-Weather Vegan?

We’re sick of talking about Natalie Portman (it was an awful year in movies, people; “Black Swan” wasn’t that great), but the recent announcement that she is new face of Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie perfume got us so riled up that we had to comment. The vegan actress, whose refusal to eat or wear any animal products is frequently cited on PETA fliers, didn’t seem to mind compromising her values in order to shill perfume for a very leather- and fur-friendly company.

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Schooled by Natalie Portman's Ballet Instructor, Mary Helen Bowers

You always read about the total-body transformation that celebrities undergo for their roles in movies. But what’s it really like to physically prepare for a Hollywood production?

In Darren Aronofsky’s recently released “Black Swan,” Natalie Portman plays a principal ballerina of a leading dance company. In order to play the part of a professional dancer, Natalie trained with Mary Helen Bowers (left), a former City Ballet dancer, for months leading up to the film. Last week, I had the chance to take a one-on-one lesson with Mary Helen to find out exactly what kind of workout regime Natalie took on for her physically intensive role. More »

What We're Reading:

Gallery: How Hollywood Glorifies Exercise Injuries

If you’ve ever twisted your ankle on the treadmill, you know that getting injured while you exercise isn’t cool. But that’s not what Hollywood stars and films would make us think: It seems there’s always someone getting injured on set or working out so hard they need crutches, somehow making them seem “tough” or signaling dedication to their roles. We hope there aren’t producers or PR people out there telling them to get out and break a leg for publicity’s sake, but regardless of where the pressure comes from to work so hard it hurts, we don’t think it’s a good trend. More »