I am not a fan of exercise. There, I said it. When I used to live in New York City, I was very into taking stairs, walking instead of riding, and just being generally active. Now I live in Los Angeles and my car is my subway, and my ass has paid for that privilege. Even though I'm always thinking, "Hey, I could stand to be in better shape," thus far nothing has inspired me.

When I found out two weeks ago I was going to be covering The Oscars for The Stir, well, that did it. It's not every day you get to hang out with all of the beautiful people of Hollywood, so you need to be prepared. It's true that no one will be looking at me when Jen, Angelina, Viola, and Michelle walk by, but I don't want to feel like I'm the ugly step-cousin at the party either.

That is why I was determined to put these last two weeks to work, and at the very least, build some muscle. I know! Only two weeks! But this is how it all went down.

Get your crock pots ready, because this is one soup you're going to want to get cooking soon. Dubbed taco soup, it contains many of the same ingredients that tacos do -- ground beef, salsa, black beans, and the like. Instead of stuffing them into shells, however, they come together as one delicious and hearty soup.

This recipe from Like Mother, Like Daughter Food could not be any easier. You throw in all the ingredients, let them simmer, then six hours later, dinner is served. Topped with a few tortilla chips, cheese, maybe avocado slices or some sour cream, it's a dream dinner.

Women lie about their weight. Shocking, I know. Anyone who has ever been a woman for five minutes knows that it's the not-so-secret little "secret" of womankind. When a woman says her weight, we can typically add about 10-12 pounds to get to the real weight and call it a day.

A 2011 survey shows that, in fact, 70 percent of women lie about their weight in some way. They lie to their doctors, they lie to men, and they even lie to the DMV. I know it's true because I have done it, too. The reasons are varied, but the reality is they contribute to the problem and only lead to more lies. 

For many, we lie because men have no idea what women weigh. Seriously. My husband thinks Kelly Brook, a very curvy woman who is 5'8," weighs 120. Online, some claim 118. As a woman who knows body types, I would say she is closer to 130, maybe even more.

Those of you who've been feeling smug about trading in sugary sodas for diet carbonated beverages might want to brace yourselves: People who drink diet soda every day are 48 percent more likely to have heart attacks and strokes -- and to die from those events -- than people who don't drink diet sodas, a new long-term study has concluded.

You heard me right ... a 48 percent higher risk!

Can you imagine how sick you'd be if you ate only fast-food chicken nuggets and nothing but chicken nuggets (apart from the occasional order of fries) for years and years and years? Um, yeah … pretty sick, as it turns out. A British teen named Stacey Irvine apparently learned that the hard way. After eating a diet almost exclusively comprised of fast food nuggets for the last 15 years – yes, since she was only 2 – the 17-year-old factory worker was rushed to the hospital two weeks ago after she collapsed, unable to breathe. Her unhealthy fast food addiction (no fruits, no vegetables; only fried chickenish items and french fries) had caused her to suffer from anemia, extreme deficiencies in vitamins and nutrients, and (get this) inflamed veins on her tongue. (Ick!)

First they came for your trans fats. (Gross.) Then they came for your soda. (Whatever, water's cheaper anyway.) But now a group of scientists has a food ingredient in its sights that will really hit a lot of us where it counts: sugar.

Researchers at University of California, San Francisco, say sugar's damage goes way beyond making us fat through empty calories -- that it's actually toxic, leading to metabolic changes that can cause diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other deadly diseases. Eating sugar to excess, they say, is like drinking to excess. Consequently, they suggest, public health policy should be reshaped to control sugar the way it does alcohol and tobacco: possibly by boosting sales taxes on sugary products, controlling access to them, and changing licensing requirements on vending machines. 

Sometimes, you should just stick with what you know. While Jay-Z is an amazing musician and a mogul in many respects, the food biz doesn't seem to be his place to shine. This weekend his high-end New York sports bar, the 40/40 Club, was shut down for some major health code violations.

Guess that's another problem to add to those 99 other ones. The things the health inspectors found will make your stomach turn.

It seems like everyone I know has jumped with full force on the exercise bandwagon lately. Whether they're hitting the gym or running marathons or sitting in hundred degree rooms doing yoga and sweating buckets, they are exercising in some way. And, personally, I find it disturbing. What ever happened to good, old fashioned walking? Like, to the refrigerator for a snack?

If you are like me and wondering what everyone else sees in that 10K that you don't, I present to you ten reasons NOT to exercise. Pull up a chair ...