we are back with more of "today" on a tuesday morning. the 18th day of august, 2009. it is officially a heat wave here in new york. what makes it official? -- we have reached that. we he our crowd outside looking for shelter and enjoying the morning temperatures and a little face time out on the plaza with ann curry hanging out there. meanwhile, the mayor has suggested visiting a movie theater or shopping mall, where the ac is on full blast so you can keep it low at home. and reduce the risk of a pouter outage. >> and spend money at the same time. >> bingo. >> inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and al roker. >> and ann. >> scoot out early this morning. she's out on the plaza.

>> nobody scoots like ann. >> she's going on assignment. >> she will be scooting in just a couple of minutes. >> coming up, jenny sanford -- >> she's scooting. >> what are you talking about? >> they said you were scooting out early, ann. so start scooting already. no, no, the other way. scoot the other way. >> there's no way out there. >> coming up in this half hour, jenny sanford, the first lady of south carolina and the wife of governor mark sanford is candiddy speaking out about her husband's infidelity. we're going to hear what she had to tell vogue magazine about her husband and where she thinks their marriage may be headed. >> also tributes to the king of pop, michael jackson, have been everywhere over the last two months but the changes to his face over the years kind of inescapeal. no one knows exactly what he did but today we're going to reveal one magazine's educated guess compiled with the help of one of his plastic surgeons. >> you may think of shopping as retail therapy but it can only add to your anxiety. we're going to tell you the six questions you should be asking

yourself before you swipe your credit card or take out more cash from the atm. >> all right. and a little later on how to keep the peace in your family as you handle your aging parents. and this is some really good advice. before we get to that you've got the morning headlines. >> that's right. new violence today in afghanistan where a roadside bomb has killed two u.s. troops, and wounded three others. earlier today, seven people were killed, including two u.n. workers, when a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of british troops and two mortar rounds stuck near the presidential palace as the taliban tries to disrupt thursday's elections. disturbing new details in the murders of byrd and melanie billings, the florida couple who adopted special needs children. newly released documents reveal their 10-year-old son was sleeping with his parents when masked gunmen burst in. in the boy's words, two bad men said, you are going to die, one, two and three. and a 9-year-old who was asleep in another room said he heard seven booms and a scream. eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the case.

a california grand jury has indicted sunday school teacher melissa huckaby for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old sandra cantu, who disappeared in march. she could face the death penalty. huckaby's also charged with drugging a 7-year-old girl, and a 37-year-old man. a computer program is accused of masterminding the biggest i.d. theft in u.s. history. cross vr prosecutors say 28-year-old albert vonz less of miami and two russian partners hacked into corporate computers and stole data for 130 million debit and credit card accounts. gonzalez is already facing trial in a separate case. the theft of 40 million credit card numbers that cost at least $200 million. the wife of south carolina governor mark sanford is speaking out in-depth for the first time about her husband's affair with a woman in argentina. jenny sanford tells "vogue" magazine that she googled the other woman to find out what she looked like. and that she -- that her husband was obsessed with this other

woman. mrs. sanford calls his affair an addiction and describes learning of the philandering and quote punches to the gut. she also says it's up to him to save their marriage. a cameraman covering taiwan's worst worst flooding in half century nearly became a victim himself when he was swept away by a strong current. he was fortunately rescued downteam. today, taiwan's president apologized for the government's slow response to last week's typhoon, which has claimed at least -- as many as 500 lives. and tropical depression ana left ankle deep flooding in parts of puerto rico on monday and today could dump heavy rains on parts of haiti and cuba. you're up to date right now. four minutes past the hour. matt and al, busy time in the tropics right now. >> you've got your eye on a lot of that. >> first of all, talk about the heat here in the east and the pacific northwest where we're looking at a big area of high pressure. bermuda high pumping up the heat along the eastern seaboard as we

have our third day in a row of temperatures above 90. low 90s from washington, d.c. up to bangor, maine. out in the pacific northwest, more of that. more high pressure building in, and causing warmer than normal temperatures, and as we go out into the atlantic and show you the latest on tropical storm bill, category 2 storm, 100-mile-per-hour winds, moving west/northwest at 17. track of the storm will bring it early saturday morning, sometime out into the atlantic. and bermuda, we've got to keep an eye on. this could become at one point at least a category 3 hurricane. right now not threatening the mainland u.s., but we still keep an eye on it because some of the >> waiting for clouts to arrive and lots of humidity to be dealt with today. causing a chance for scattered thunderstorms in late afternoon and early evening. te

that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. if you're about to head out the door with the mall as your mission, stand by. before you purchase that designer dress there are six questions you need to ask yourself to make sure it all looks good on you, and on your bottom line. adam glassman is the creative director for oprah magazine, which breaks it all down for us. >> good morning. >> these six questions. i know "o" magazine created this list, this go-to list before you go out and purchase. before you run that credit card again. what are you hoping that people think of, and they ask themselves? >> well, i'm hoping that people really think about great buys. and shopping, with some smarts, really. you don't want to -- you want to avoid impulse shopping, ultimately. >> tough economic times. tough market right now. >> very tough. and i think it's also very important to shop with a debit card or cash, not just a credit

card. >> you're not telling women not to shop? >> oh, no, no, no. shopping is really fun and enjoyable. >> it's retail therapy for a lot of women. >> it is. but there are needs that we have and there are wants. so we really have to think about the two things. >> first question that you say you should be asking yourself is have i covered my basic monthly expenses? so, we're talking about your mortgage, your rent, whatever it may be. >> all of that. the most important. >> okay. >> that's the most important question. if you have any left over money, then you can think about shopping. >> but you do have to set aside, of course, your money for your savings and all of that. >> of course. >> you're talking about discretionary money. >> correct. you don't want to buy a new burr beurrely trench before you pay your electric bill? >> cash or credit card? >> cash or debit card. i think so. go with the amount of money that you want to spend. if you want to spend $100. just bring $100 with you. >> next you say to look at the price, obviously, looking for the lowest price possible. but you say there's a formula that you can follow to figure out if you're really getting your money's worth. >> i love this formula. you think about -- you look at

the price of the garment. and you think about the number of times you're going to wear it over a lifetime. divide the two, and if it works out to about $3 or less per wear, it's a great buy. buy it. hold onto it. wear it. >> getting a lot of wear for your bucks then. >> correct. >> you also say before hitting the stores ask yourself, do i really need this? i mean this is a mistake that all of us fall into. do we ask ourselves that question? a lot of us don't. what is the easiest way to determine what you really need versus what you want? >> well, you want to make a list, really. you want to take stock of your closet. and you need to look and think about all the basics first. if you're missing a white shirt, add that to the list. if you're missing a black pant, add that to the list before you start buying a trendy item that will go out of style quicker than you could even probably wear it. >> i think the mistake a lot of us make is we buy on impulse and we tend to buy things that we already have something very similar, right? >> correct. >> do we even know what we have in our closet half the time? >> i think about 20%. most women really only wear 20% of what they have in their

closet. and you really want to buy stuff that works with other things you have. we've all made that mistake. what do i do with it? >> okay next thing you really want to make sure that you ask the question, does this purchase, this dress or whatever i'm buying, suit my body? so important the fit, right? >> the most important thing. you want it to flatter your body. you want clothes that sort of play up your assets, and downplay parts of your body that you want to perhaps camouflage. you also want clothes that make you feel alive and happy. so befriend your tailor. the most important thing. because everything needs a little nip and tuck. >> so it should look like it was made to fit you. >> correct. >> next you say, that the other important question is, is it comfortable? and is it low maintenance? i mean, so there are certain fabrics that are going to allow that a little bit better than others? >> correct. and you know, i have this test. you don't want fabrics that are going to wrinkle every time you square it. >> right. >> which means you have to go to the dry cleaner every time you wear it, because that adds to the cost of the garment.

just scrunch the clothing when you're in the store. crunch it. if it gets very wringly, avoid that piece of clothing. >> when it does say dry cleaner only. does that mean you always have to take it to the dry cleaner? >> i really supg it. some things can be hand suggested. but you really want to find things you don't have to dry clean all the time. >> another thing to consider is the longevity of the piece that you're buying. you really, if you want to get your money's worth, buy something that you think you're going to look good in maybe ten years from now. are we really buying purchases that are going to last us a lifetime? >> i think we should think like that. because it is an investment. no matter what you spend, it is an investment. so great classics really last a lifetime. if you like it now, when you're 40, are you going to like it on yourself when you're 50 or even 60? >> all right. so words to live by. things for us to consider before we impulse buy. adam glassman thanks very much. i feel very guilty this morning. still to come, if you're worried about fitting into that perfect outfit you decided that you can afford, and since we talked about fit being so perfect, we're going to get some secrets

from the flat belly diet cookbook. but up next the many faces of michael. medical insight into the evolution of the king of pop and his many faces. right after this. announcer: there's a place called hidden valley. where kids not only eat their vegetables, they can't get enough. hidden valley ranch, makes vegetables delectable. now rediscover the delectable taste that can only come from hidden valley, the original ranch. the sparkly flakes. the honey-baked bunches! the magic's in the mix. my favorite part? eating it. honey bunches of oats. taste the joy we put in every spoonful. honey bunches of oats. we call the bunches in honey bunches of oats the prize in the box. well, now there's a prize inside the prize. pecans! pecans! baked into crunchy oat bunches.

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(announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good. the evolution of michaelle jackson's face over the years continues to fascinate fans. and while the reasons behind many of those changes may never fully be revealed the september issue of "alou" magazine has some theories. kristen is the magazine's editor. a lot of people point to 1981 as the beginning of this transformation of michael jackson. what happened in 1981? >> well, 1979, michael jackson suffered a huge fall during a concert and broke his nose. and this was the beginning of

the plastic surgery. and what we wanted to look at as a magazine was a lot's been talked about with his appearance. his appearance was as important to his performance as his music. >> sure. >> yet, people always sort of dismissed the oddities in his appearance to body dismorphic disorder and we found there were a series of medical issues that influenced his style, the way he dressed, the way he looked. from 1981 he gets his first nose job but when you go to 1983, he has a revegs of his nose job. which is very common. >> and when you say revision, what did they do? >> they basically narrowed his nose a bit more. and this is something that is 20% of all patients have this. now when we spoke with his doctors, and people in the offices, you know, a lot of speculation has been made about how many nose jobs, nose surgeries did he have? >> he only admits to two. >> correct. now we had some doctors who look at pictures who say it looks like he has 20. no one knows for sure. but the doctors had an interesting -- an interesting

theory as to what may have caused his nose to continue to change. we will get to that picture. >> but in 1984, there was another change. this time it was his hair. and it was pretty publicized reason for that. >> right. when michael jackson was filming the pepsi commercial in 1984 his hair caught on fire. what people don't realize is he did lose a lot of hair in this. he suffered major scarring on his scalp. he had to -- he scarred wearing wigs and hats, so this is where you see his looks start to change. and he also had to undergo a number of very painful surgeries. scar revision for years to come. >> could this have been really in a sense the most transformative issue that happened to him? because it sounds like this was extremely painful. and when we recently saw that video from behind when it happened, it was probably extremely traumatic. >> right. the sources we spoke with, they definitely indicated this would have been very traumatic for anyone to go through. never mind someone who is in the spotlight. >> and when you're talking about

scalp revisions, that's got to be pretty painful. >> it is painful and it's a number of surgeries over a series of years. >> 1986, there's a really dramatic change here. >> yes. in 1986, you start to see that he has tattooed his eyebrows, his lash line, his hairline, and what's happening, the doctors explained to us, is that michael was not only had he suffered the burns, but he is now diagnosed with lupus, which is cause hair loss. and also vitiligo, which causes uneven -- >> splotchiness. >> yes, exactly. so one of the treatments is to, of course, disguise the hair loss with tattooing, and then also to start using hydroquinone, which is a cleeching. >> the pailness could be the result of this drug and pale makeup? >> right. it could be a combination of both. there's a lot of possibilities. but these are things that, you

know, you and i don't have to deal with. >> when you're talking about you've talked with doctors. are these actually michael jackson's doctors? >> yes, we spoke with his longtime plastic surgeon, arnold klein, nurses and staff from their office and a number of other doctors who had worked with these teams. >> 1987, again, another difference here. >> okay. 1987 is where you really start to see his nose changing. it's a lot thinner. the tip is raised. and where some people might say he had more surgery, what the doctors did say to us is that they suspect he was actually getting injections of a steroid, and what kenalog does, it's a steroid sometimes used in the nose to decrease star tissue. >> is this a very painful procedure. >> it's incredibly painful and patients are typically put under using diprivan, which of course has been implicated in michael jackson's death. but it's a very, very painful injection. and if you get it over a series of years, which most people would not do, it can really cause your nose to shrink and

also can thin the skin. >> the controversy, of course, is that the color of his skin. we really start to see him lightening from 1990 on into 1996. >> yes. and this is the doctor, our sources said could be a combination of makeup, but also the fact there could be bleaching agents used because of the vitiligo. if you do notice, we spoke with a friend of his who did say, if you notice, michael is always wearing long-sleeved shirts. >> high collars. >> and high collars. could be because with vitiligo you have a speckled appearance. >> there's a picture of him from 2002. a lot of people think the word you've always heard, his nose was falling off, that he had a prosthetic nose. >> our sources say his nose was not falling off. in this picture what he has on his nose is actually paper tape which is used, patients wear it for a week after rhinoplasty. so he could have had a revision of his nose. >> so sad to look at. and then in 2009, his -- i mean, almost skeletal. >> yes. and now this is something,

michael has -- he's very gaunt, and it could be a result of weight loss, which we do know he did lose a considerable amount of weight. of course we also lose a lot of fat in our faces as we age. what dr. klein admits is he was giving michael jackson filler injections to help fill out the face. it looks a little uneven. that could be because of a thinning of the skin from the kenalog, he had a lot to deal with, such a public figure. and having all of these medical problems that would be challenging for anything. >> kristen per at to, thanks so much. >> still to come, mark mcgrath explains why sugar ray is targeting cougars. really? but first, these messages. i want my students to have something that they could apply the next day at work if they have to. for my students, they need to know that i'm there for them; - it's a passion of mine. - for them to say, 'you've helped me develop, uh, ideas, you've helped me grow and become a better person,' those are the reasons why i like to teach.

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you're so special, you deserve a very special dog food. [ woman ] introducing chef michael's canine creations. the deliciously different way to serve up your love at mealtime. chef-inspired. dog-desired. chef michael's canine creations. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at some of our top story. the normally grid locked streets of baltimore could soon see cars

whizzing by at over 100 miles an hour if city of this is our their way. after the success of the soccer match, the city council is backing a plan to move irl indy car race. this season -- city leaders seem big dollar signs. >> $30 million economic impact. like posting it three days straight and are city of baltimore. >> it is a huge boon for downtown baltimore. i think for all the more in general. >> the proposed course was run by both camden hearts and inner harbor. it competes with four other cities. the league will make its decision in july of next year. now let us take a look at the forecast. hi, jim. >> hello. it is a move monday -- muggy start. it will be another hot and humid day with increasing clouds from the afternoon. 91 degrees to 95 degrees. whenever we have this much heat

and humidity we run the risk of scattered thunderstorms, late in the afternoon and early evening hours. stormy pattern continues through the end of the work week with temperatures holding steady until the end of the weekend. low to mid 80's and gorgeous sunshine. >> thank you for joining us. we will have an update at 9:55 a.m..

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during what can be a very difficult time. and sensitive. >> very important advice. also, we're going to catch up with the stars of the real estate reality show called "flipping out" and just like everyone else, jeff lewis himself is a real estate slump but he's going to show us how to reinvent a room in your home on a shoestring budget. and he's still got that same old personality. >> how is he? >> also coming up a little bit later, how to dump the spare tire around your waist with recipes from the flat belly cookbook. important information to get to. but first, the weather. >> that's right. a little on the toasty side in the northeast. for today, we do have hazy, hot, humid conditions with air quality advisories in the northeast. warm in the pacific northwest. risk of some strong storms in the central plains. for tomorrow, that risk moves into the upper ohio river valley. wet weather in the northern plains. record highs in the pacific northwest. and the heat continues in >> muggy start to the tuesday

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♪ fiberplus bars from kellogg. fiberplus so much more. this morning on "today's family," who's going to take care of mom and dad? for a lot of us it's a family decision. but when you start disagreeing with one another, it can lead to major problems and broken relationships. eleanor ginsburg is with aarp and dr. jane taylor is a psychiatrist and contributor to momlogic.com. this is a big problem. all of a sudden you wake up and your mom and dad are old. and you're not expecting it. when -- when you're dealing with your folks, eleanor, what are some of the -- the signs that you see that maybe it's time for you to start stepping in and --

and maybe taking a little more control? such an important issue. for aarp, this is all about what we call assessing the situation. so that means when you are visiting, whether it's a holiday or just a weekend visit, if you live near or if you live far, you're checking up on them. you're looking at how they are looking. how they're walking. you're checking out the condition of the house. you're looking at such things as are they -- do they seem to be engaged the way they used to be with their friends and community around them? or have some things changed? and you're looking for those changes, as indicators that maybe things need to happen. >> and if you see that there are these changes, and things have to happen, it's got to be a pretty fine line to walk, because these are adults. they raised you. they're not used to it being the other way around. >> absolutely. and they're always going to be your mom and dad, aren't they? absolutely. and you know, at aarp we think that family conversations about what's going to happen as mom and dad get older are a great idea and they should happen early, happen often, start when

things are okay. >> right. and, in fact, it's kind of like fixing the roof when it's not raining. and, janet, when you talk about siblings who have to, you know, kind of come to some sort of consensus about taking care of mom and dad, is now the time to have those discussions, before things get worse? >> well, absolutely. communication is key. because if you think about with your sibling. there are always going to be conflicts, tensions, old sibling rivalries that you haven't resolved that come up. the fact that you can talk about the commitment to your parents and at the same time talk about the commitment to yourselves, as siblings, is important, especially before a time of crisis. before a change has to happen. >> what do you do, though, if there are really divergent opinions about what to do about your parents among your siblings? >> well, the first thing you want to do is clearly hear the message that your parents are giving you. and that's why it's so important that if you can witness something firsthand, when you're talking to your parents about making a change and say i notice this. but certainly, communication is key. if there are old issues, resolve those old sibling conflicts.

grow up, so to speak. and really think about what -- how you communicate the best, and so that you're doing it in a way that is not antagonistic, but really meant to help your family. >> can some of this go back to other, older issues? you're dealing with a younger brother, older brother, sister, something like that? >> oh, sure. >> and now you're trying to take care of mom and dad. maybe it's not about mom and dad. maybe it's about your relationship. >> absolutely. and the point of view of making this a family issue, if the siblings can come together and decide who's the best one to carry this message. it might not be the professional. it could be the oldest adult male child whether he is the smashtest and most well versed. prep him, if he's the one listened to by mom and dad, he'ses one you want carrying the message. >> you want to aim for understanding, but also be open. the one who used to be the decision maker, the oldest child may not be the most organized. you have to give room for maybe the youngest to step in if

they're the best communicator, the most organized, and really get the opportunity for some role changes there. >> if there have been fractured relationships, you say there's some ways to fix this. you say first of all, identify the root of the problem. >> identify the root of the problem, if it is old feelings like mom always trusted you, resolve those issues. >> and then recreate most successful ways of communications. >> if you notice that outside of the crisis you can communicate best by e-mail, and then face-to-face or a phone call. think about a time not related to mom and dad when you were able to communicate and get your point across and use those same techniques. >> talk about what needs to happen. >> exactly, stay focused on the problem at hand. not the fact that at the last barbecue you made some dish that they didn't like. really stay focused. >> and try to listen, support. listening is so important. >> listen and support, not judgment. again, that will help with communication. the key is to really get what mom and dad need. >> quickly, what if you're the spouse of all this, your husband or wife is going through this. what do you do? >> you're part of that picture, too.

i think it's so important for the family to remember who is in this family and recognize all of the members of that family, including that spouse, as well. >> it's important for sibling ties. your sister or brother knows you better than your spouse ever would because they have that context, they have that history. so as a spouse, really be supportive of what's happening, and it's an opportunity for the spouse not to be judgmental, either. >> all right. well thank you so much. eleanor ginsburg and janet taylor. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and up next, advice for surviving the real estate crunch from "flipping out's" real estate maven jeff lewis. when i was seventeen i was not good to my skin.

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this morning on "today's home," the mad house flipper is back. jeff lewis, the star of bravo's "flipping out" returns for a new season. and boy do things heat up. take a look. >> i need an assistant that's prepared. >> and i'm not prepared? >> no, you're not prepared. you don't have the numbers. today you're not prepared. >> one day. i made a mistake. >> you're not prepared today. >> and you need an assistant that's prepared? >> yes, i do! what is so hard to understand about this? every not. every day i need you prepared. every day. >> whoo. jeff lewis, good morning. >> good morning. >> you are tough as a boss. >> i wish they wouldn't show you that clip. because, it's -- >> but there are a lot of scenes like that throughout the last two seasons that i've seen. >> right. but this season in particular, it's faster, and it's funnier and i wish they would show you that. and not just the jeff lewis losing it. >> don't worry. we'll see a lot more of you. this season of "flipping out," a

lot of fireworks still, as we said, though, right? >> kwrap >> that is jenny, your assistant. >> yes, of course. i mean, hopefully jenny will never leave. and i'll do whatever i can to stop her from leaving. >> we've got jeb jenny over here in our kitchen. >> she's in the kitchen. >> follows you everywhere you go? >> absolutely. we are completely codependent. me more so than jenny. i wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't within eight feet of me. >> this season of "flipping out" you're actually not flipping homes anymore. which is different. you know, you're actually, you've changed your focus to remodeling and designing homes because that is what you started out doing. but like with the real estate market it doesn't, as everywhere else and everyone else is feeling the effects. so are you. how has it been for you because you're used to being the boss and now you have to be, now he, you have to listen to what everybody else wants. you have to do what they want you to do. >> well i've learned, i'm really honing in on the communication skills. i've learned to be nice to people, which is really difficult. the flipping business dried up

and i was very depressed for a few months and i got through it without medication, natalie. because i know that was your next question. and i'm doing okay. i restructured my business. i've formed jeff lewis designs. it's doing really well. in this economy. and i have a lot to be grateful for. and i've been able to keep all my employees and hire a few new ones. granted we've had some turnover. because not everybody fits into our eccentric, quirky family. >> you do a lot of hiring and firing and retiring. >> not by choice, natalie. we -- you know we -- i do. i skew the personal/professional boundaries. and it's not for everybody. >> meanwhile, jenny speaking of which, she's gone through a big personal change in her life. >> yeah. >> last seine she got divorced. this time, i mean, you really are trying to help her out, get back out there in the dating world because she just divorced her husband. so you've really crossed the lines between your personal and professional life there, right? >> i care about -- >> how important is that to you to care about the people. >> it is important.

i care about every one of my employees. i want jenny to be happy. i want her to find somebody who appreciates her and respects her and wants to provide for her. she tends to pick the wrong person. the wrong man. so i'm stepping in. i'm going to set her up with somebody who i think -- >> go jenny. >> -- deserves her. it's turning around for her. you wouldn't believe the kind of guys that are asking her out. doctors, lawyers, actors, working actors. so i'm really, really pleased with the progress. >> i've got a viewer e-mail i've got to get to because a lot of people asking for your advice to remodel their homes. and from our viewer amanda from new hampshire, she writes -- can you please give me a few suggestions on how i can remake my kitchen? >> okay. >> you have any tips for her? >> good news. whatever you do is going to be an improvement over that kitchen because it's pretty bad. now i would love to reconfigure

that whole kitchen, give her more counter space. >> more light, more open. >> but that may not be in the budget. so in the meantime, to fluff it, to freshen it up, i would suggest certainly painting right off the bat. get rid of that self-adhesive border. i don't know who sells those. in regard to the countertops. you can get a really well-priced lamb that countertop at lowe's. i think they start six feet, start at about $6. butcher block countertop from perfectplank.com. you can order them. have them delivered to your home and have a handyman install them. cabinet pulls. that is one of the biggest things -- >> that's such a little thing to do and it's not that expensive, right? >> these particular -- i happen to love restoration hardware. they have beautiful cabinet pulls. you can get these, they start at $6 for a knob, $8 for a pull. bare paints from home depot have a great color palette. i use that all the time. amanda needs lighting.

and i notice that if you -- i thought about under cabinet lighting. these are l.e.d. under cabinet lighting from home depot. they start at $18 for a three-light set. i prefer l.e.d. over fluorescent. not -- people just don't look good in fluorescent. i do and you do. but most people don't. >> maybe you do. >> i look good in any light. >> glad we have that out there. and very clear. >> only black lighting. >> we're glad you're back. thanks for being here. "flipping out" season three premieres tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central time on bravo. coming up next, the secrets to the flat belly diet. it's never too early to start saving up for christmas. get your christmas club card and use it... to start saving up now... and we'll add a 3% bonus to your card -- just in time to shop for christmas! yes, the christmas bonus is back! one more way to shop your way, only at kmart and sears. cash for clunkers is available at your chevy dealer. with more eligible models to choose from than anyone.

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this morning on "take it off today," getting rid of belly fat. prevention magazine recently polled its readers and 67% said their stomach is the number one

body part they would love to change. now prevention is releasing the flat belly diet cookbook and they claim they have found the key to conquering those pounds around your waist. liz vaccariello, editor in chief of prevention, good morning. >> good morning. >> we're talking about the moofas. but it's good for your diet? >> moofa is the secret sauce. it's sounds for monounsaturated fatty acids. and these are the healthy oils found in many plant foods. and there's groundbreaking science out of australia and europe that shows eating a cali controlled diet rich in moofa, specific small portion makes weight loss easier and targets belly fat. >> how does the monounsaturated fat? >> the research is so new they don't know exactly what is happening metabolically inside the body but they do know this is the most dangerous fat that you can have on your body. so it's very important and exciting that they found a way to target it. >> right.

i mean, those love handles can increase your chances of heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, i mean a lot of things that can be really bad for you. >> even small excess amounts of it. even if you don't have that much weight to lose, if it's all in the belly, it can be very, very dangerous. which is why we were very excited. we tested the diet and found the health markets. we tested it at yale and found blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, all the important health markers improved, as well as the belly shrinking. >> yeah, it's great information. so let's get to some of the diet food that you want to add into your diet. these are things that you should be eating? >> yes, these are the five categories of mootoos. we're going to start with oil. so olive oil, our sauteing chicken breasts in collive oil. >> vegetable oil is okay, too? >> flax seed oil, safflower oil. all the oils are good except for the tropical oils. those are dangerous. avoca avocado. >> often gets a bad rap. >> but again these are healthy fats. these are not the unhealthy trans saturated fats. >> nuts.

now important these kinds of nuts. >> yes. you're going to have almonds -- >> peanuts? >> peanuts and by extension peanut butter. so there's peanut butter on the flat belly diet. olives. black olives, green olives. olive tapenade. and the fifth moofa is dark chocolate. you're going to love this diet because you can eat really great food. you start off first with the water. >> okay. >> tell us what's in it. this is something you should be drinking liberally from. >> this is part of the four-day jump-start. which is the start. >> -- people lose up to seven pounds and five inches in four days. i just got a call from a reader the other day who lost 11 pounds. in four days. keep in mound this is water weight. you're getting rid of the puff, the bloat. >> lifestyle changes. >> the ingredients in water are meant to soothe the g.i. tract, cucumber, ginger, lemon and spear minute. tastes like spa water.

>> on a hot day that's perfect. >> we don't have much time. breakfast. >> this is a granola parfait. the granola, there's a recipe in the book and it contains walnuts. the turkey sandwich. you have a couple olives. >> hello. >> avocado and tortilla chips. a snack. >> we love that snack. >> there's 26 chicken recipes in the flat belly diet cookbook. chicken piccata is easy, made with olive oil. >> and then the dark chocolate mousse. >> ten minutes it takes. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. here is a look at some of our top stories. a state delegate said he plans to reimburse city police department for their role in helping him pop the question to his fiancee or earlier this month. as the eye team reported, delicate john carter and used police boats and helicopters to stage a scene for his proposal -- delegate john cardin.

the nephew of senator ben cardin says he should have used better judgment. an internal investigation is underway in the department to determine a possible misuse of

let us take a look at your forecast. good morning, jim. >> we are dealing with lots of heat and humidity. a few clouds of to the west heading our way through the afternoon hours. whenever we talk about heat and humidity on this scope, we have

to talk about afternoon and evening under storms. 91-95 on the thermometer with increasing clouds. it will feel a little bit warmer than that one effect in humidity. forecast shows stormy through the end of the work week with temperatures holding steady and then the stronger system friday and saturday, taking temperatures to 80's. pleasant setting up for sunday and monday. low 80's with lots of sunshine. >> and just a reminder, sandra shaw is on her way to new york to guest co-host "live with regis bolten." you can catch it live at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. also sarah caldwell is along with the trip and she will provide behind-the-scenes details. stay tuned to wbal tbi 11 and wbaltv.com for the latest updates. it also follow sandra shaw on twitter. log on to our website, wbaltv.com, for more information. thank you so much for joining us. see you back here for 11 news at noon.