On Top Chef Masters, Christina Hendricks Whisks Us to the Sixties

Hungry for a little taste of Mad Men during the hiatus? Tune into Top Chef Masters tonight to see Christina Hendricks (who plays Joan Holloway on the AMC show) and her husband thrown down the latest challenge: re-creating (and ideally improving upon) dishes from the 60s. The retro theme got us thinking about the diet and fitness advice that Joan and her contemporaries would have followed to avoid letting too much meat loaf or Jell-O mold go to their hips. Here's our breakdown of "then and now":

Now: Joan's trainer would put her through the wringer to tone her tummy, glutes and legs.

Then: Joan would get a pat on the back for the extra padding on her curves. (In fact, the Mad Men series creator told Hendricks to stop working out before filming began.)

Now: Play Twister for a fun, fat-blasting party game. Or, just dance the night away to burn calories.

Then: Stand on the rotating Trim Twist and let it cut a rug for you at parties. Yay, electronics!

Now: "Let's move," as Michelle Obama says - with a little cardio to raise your heart rate and burn fat.

Then: Stand still and let the machine do the work - like the "jiggler" belt massager and the wooden roller.

Now: Choose water over soda.

Then: Grab a Diet Pepsi or a Diet Delight - never mind the cancer-causing sweetener...

Now: Eat a combo of lean protein, whole-grain carbs, and fruits and veggies; and make sure you burn more calories than you consume, if you want to lose weight.

Then: Hello - haven't you read the book "Calories Don't Count"? Eat as much fatty protein as you like, then wash it down with a pill of vegetable oil. (Would it shock you to know the book's author was convicted of fraud?)

Melissa Pheterson is a health and fitness writer and trend-spotter. Follow her on preggersaspie.com and on Twitter @preggersaspie.