Swap cotton for silk for brighter skin and smoother hair. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Friday, 26 February 2016
Meet Tracy Anderson at Health's Total Wellness Weekend
Work out with Tracy Anderson and meet other Health experts at our wellness weekend at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., April 22-24, 2016! You'll get to participate in exclusive fitness and cooking classes, and listen to inspiring speakers. For more visit http://ift.tt/1AYb7dA #HealthTotalWellness http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 23 February 2016
The Best Laundry Detergents for Sensitive Skin
Clothes making you itchy and red? Try one of these dye-free, fragrance-free detergents. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 24, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Which Non-Dairy Milk Is Right for You?
If you're craving milk—without the milk—try a dairy alternative like soy, almond, or cashew. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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February 24, 2016 at 01:16AM
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February 24, 2016 at 01:16AM
Monday, 22 February 2016
6 Ways to Upgrade a Basic Squat
Five squat variations so you can chisel your core and build a better butt http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Right Bangs for Your Face Shape
Soft and side-swept or bold and blunt? Find your most flattering new look. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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9 Things Every Woman Must Know About Her Fertility
Whether or not you want babies, your fertility can be a window into your overall health. Here's a puberty-to-menopause handbook covering the facts of life every woman needs to know. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Best Advice From the Happiest People on the Planet
Looking to boost your mood for the rest of your days? Here's some feel-good advice from some of the happiest people on the planet. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Treat 4 Different Kinds of Headaches
Bad headache? ID what's causing your agony and find the right remedy to treat it. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Best Sheets to Keep You Cool All Night Long
Stop waking up sweaty. These cooling sheets will keep you cool and dry until morning. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 23, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Friday, 19 February 2016
A Faster Metabolism at Any Age
You'd like to do something—anything—to speed up your metabolism, but it's out of your control. Right? Not quite. Although genetics and your age both play a role, recent studies suggest you have plenty of say over how well your metabolism—which involves your body's ability to break down food into usable energy—functions.
In fact, you can all but negate the metabolic slowdown that happens after 40 by tweaking your diet, exercise, and sleep habits. "Think of your body as an engine—your metabolism is the rate at which your engine runs," explains Scott Isaacs, MD, an endocrinologist in Atlanta and author of Hormonal Balance: How to Lose Weight By Understanding Your Hormones and Metabolism. "By making adjustments to these three elements, you can actually make your engine rev higher."
The eating and exercise plans on these pages were designed to keep your metabolism humming to the tune of up to 10 pounds off in 21 days. Read on for the keys to not only losing, but losing for good.
Key 1: Eat early
Your basal metabolic rate—the number of calories your body burns at rest—is based on things like age, height, and body type, so there isn't much you can do to alter it. But there is a lot you can do to change the number of calories you burn above that, beginning with your diet. Specifically: Eat breakfast.
We already know the reasons you may not want to (you don't have the time/energy/stomach for it), but leaving for work on an empty stomach is like hitting the pause button on your metabolism. Here's why: When your brain senses your stomach is empty, it sends a message to your cells to conserve energy in case another meal doesn't arrive. In other words, your body holds onto the fat stored in your cells instead of helping you burn it off.
"Breakfast triggers a process called thermogenesis, where the body signals the brain to activate the metabolic process of turning food into energy," says Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Blood Sugar Solution.
Key 2: Eat often
To keep your metabolism humming, Dr. Hyman suggests eating small meals every three or four hours. Aim to make each of those meals at least one-quarter protein—whether it's animal protein, beans, or dairy, says Marissa Lippert, RD, who designed the eating plan on page 39. A recent study in the journal Neuron suggests that consuming protein stimulates the cells responsible for switching on the body's calorie-burning mechanism.
Foods high in sugar and processed carbs, on the other hand, can lead to another problem: insulin resistance. "As we get older, it's crucial to pay attention to how much sugar we're consuming," says Diane Kress, RD, author of The Metabolism Miracle. "Too much messes with your metabolism by causing your body to store extra calories as fat."
Key 3: Sweat off the weight
Even more important? Exercise. "Not only does it affect your metabolism while you're doing it, but research shows you can keep burning calories up to 24 hours after you finish because your metabolism stays elevated," Dr. Isaacs says.
That's especially true if you challenge yourself: A new study in the journal Cell Metabolism suggests that intense bouts of exercise can "turn on" genes responsible for energy metabolism. Researchers found that the activation of these fat- burning genes was higher in cyclists who pedaled at 80 percent of their aerobic capacity versus those who did a more moderate cycling session at 40 percent. So although you can't permanently change your DNA (if only!), experts say exercise can fire up certain genes that initiate the fat-burning process.
Exercise is particularly helpful once you pass the age of 40, when your metabolism naturally begins to slow down. Experts used to believe it slowed due to an inevitable loss of muscle mass. However, a study in the journal The Physician and Sports Medicine found that fit women ages 41 to 81 who continued to exercise four to five times a week as they got older had little change in body composition. The real reason you lose muscle with age? You stop using it. "We now know that women who keep up a regular vigorous fitness routine don't experience the metabolic decrease," Dr. Isaacs says.
Key 4: Sleep away the pounds
No, it's not your imagination. Too little sleep can cause you to gain—and not just because you're spending those extra waking hours in front of the TV nursing a bag of chips. Research suggests that people who sleep two-thirds of their usual amount (five hours instead of eight, say) eat an average of 549 extra calories the following day without realizing it. Experts believe this is because too few zzz's upset the balance of important appetite-regulating hormones.
But that's not all: A Swedish study found that even one night of disrupted sleep can cause the body to burn up to 20 percent fewer calories the following day. "Sleep deprivation impacts multiple hormones related to metabolism," Dr. Isaacs says. "Resistance to leptin—a hormone that regulates body weight—increases, while levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals to your brain that you're hungry, also increase."
Aim for seven to eight hours of pillow time a night, advises Dr. Hyman. "Just a small change in your sleep schedule can make a big difference in your health." Not to mention your ability to burn calories.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 20, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Diet & Fitness - Health.com http://ift.tt/1TqxzaD
In fact, you can all but negate the metabolic slowdown that happens after 40 by tweaking your diet, exercise, and sleep habits. "Think of your body as an engine—your metabolism is the rate at which your engine runs," explains Scott Isaacs, MD, an endocrinologist in Atlanta and author of Hormonal Balance: How to Lose Weight By Understanding Your Hormones and Metabolism. "By making adjustments to these three elements, you can actually make your engine rev higher."
The eating and exercise plans on these pages were designed to keep your metabolism humming to the tune of up to 10 pounds off in 21 days. Read on for the keys to not only losing, but losing for good.
Key 1: Eat early
Your basal metabolic rate—the number of calories your body burns at rest—is based on things like age, height, and body type, so there isn't much you can do to alter it. But there is a lot you can do to change the number of calories you burn above that, beginning with your diet. Specifically: Eat breakfast.
We already know the reasons you may not want to (you don't have the time/energy/stomach for it), but leaving for work on an empty stomach is like hitting the pause button on your metabolism. Here's why: When your brain senses your stomach is empty, it sends a message to your cells to conserve energy in case another meal doesn't arrive. In other words, your body holds onto the fat stored in your cells instead of helping you burn it off.
"Breakfast triggers a process called thermogenesis, where the body signals the brain to activate the metabolic process of turning food into energy," says Mark Hyman, MD, author of The Blood Sugar Solution.
Key 2: Eat often
To keep your metabolism humming, Dr. Hyman suggests eating small meals every three or four hours. Aim to make each of those meals at least one-quarter protein—whether it's animal protein, beans, or dairy, says Marissa Lippert, RD, who designed the eating plan on page 39. A recent study in the journal Neuron suggests that consuming protein stimulates the cells responsible for switching on the body's calorie-burning mechanism.
Foods high in sugar and processed carbs, on the other hand, can lead to another problem: insulin resistance. "As we get older, it's crucial to pay attention to how much sugar we're consuming," says Diane Kress, RD, author of The Metabolism Miracle. "Too much messes with your metabolism by causing your body to store extra calories as fat."
Key 3: Sweat off the weight
Even more important? Exercise. "Not only does it affect your metabolism while you're doing it, but research shows you can keep burning calories up to 24 hours after you finish because your metabolism stays elevated," Dr. Isaacs says.
That's especially true if you challenge yourself: A new study in the journal Cell Metabolism suggests that intense bouts of exercise can "turn on" genes responsible for energy metabolism. Researchers found that the activation of these fat- burning genes was higher in cyclists who pedaled at 80 percent of their aerobic capacity versus those who did a more moderate cycling session at 40 percent. So although you can't permanently change your DNA (if only!), experts say exercise can fire up certain genes that initiate the fat-burning process.
Exercise is particularly helpful once you pass the age of 40, when your metabolism naturally begins to slow down. Experts used to believe it slowed due to an inevitable loss of muscle mass. However, a study in the journal The Physician and Sports Medicine found that fit women ages 41 to 81 who continued to exercise four to five times a week as they got older had little change in body composition. The real reason you lose muscle with age? You stop using it. "We now know that women who keep up a regular vigorous fitness routine don't experience the metabolic decrease," Dr. Isaacs says.
Key 4: Sleep away the pounds
No, it's not your imagination. Too little sleep can cause you to gain—and not just because you're spending those extra waking hours in front of the TV nursing a bag of chips. Research suggests that people who sleep two-thirds of their usual amount (five hours instead of eight, say) eat an average of 549 extra calories the following day without realizing it. Experts believe this is because too few zzz's upset the balance of important appetite-regulating hormones.
But that's not all: A Swedish study found that even one night of disrupted sleep can cause the body to burn up to 20 percent fewer calories the following day. "Sleep deprivation impacts multiple hormones related to metabolism," Dr. Isaacs says. "Resistance to leptin—a hormone that regulates body weight—increases, while levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals to your brain that you're hungry, also increase."
Aim for seven to eight hours of pillow time a night, advises Dr. Hyman. "Just a small change in your sleep schedule can make a big difference in your health." Not to mention your ability to burn calories.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 20, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Diet & Fitness - Health.com http://ift.tt/1TqxzaD
Thursday, 18 February 2016
The Best and Worst Foods for Your Thyroid
Thyroid problems can be helped (or hurt) by what you eat. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
from Food & Recipes - Health.com http://ift.tt/211ErRy
February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
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February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
Sit Less Every Day: Take Our 3-Week Challenge
Even if you work out, heavy sitting may put you at greater risk of developing diabetes or dying of heart disease or cancer, per a new study in Annals of Internal Medicine. "We haven't cracked the formula for how much light activity versus more traditional exercise we should do," says study co-author David Alter, MD. "But taking the 'move more' mentality more seriously is a good place to start."
The action plan
Give yourself points every time you complete one of that week's tasks. Try to rack up at least 15 points a week.
RELATED: Your Slim and Strong Walking Workout
Week 1
Get on your feet: "Find out what your personal sitting traps or triggers are, and create reminders to stand or move around," suggests Nolan Peterson, a wellness exercise specialist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program.
Count your steps: Keep your smartphone or tracker on you all day to get a rough idea of how many steps you take. Whatever your personal best is, aim to log 1,000 more steps daily. [1 Point]
Wear comfy shoes to work: "You're not going to stand or walk around more if you don't have the means to do so," says celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak. [1 Point]
Set a timer: "Your computer mesmerizes you and you lose track of time. You need something to remind you when it's a good idea to make a postural change," says Alan Hedge, PhD, an ergonomics professor at Cornell University. Program your phone to vibrate every hour as a cue to stand or do laps for 10 minutes. [2 Points]
Switch to a standing desk: "I've found I'm more likely to move naturally into different positions when I use mine," says Peterson. To DIY your own, check out these standing desk ideas. [3 Points]
RELATED: Walk Off Every Bulge
Week 2
Move it: Make some aspects of life less convenient, recommends Hedge.
Find excuses to move: Do away with the printer at your desk; at home, transfer your mugs to a cabinet away from the coffeemaker. [1 Point]
Pace during calls: Get in the habit of taking extra steps whenever you answer the phone. [1 Point]
Be a mom in motion: Stroll the sidelines instead of sitting on the bleachers at your kid's baseball game, or get out of the car and walk around at school pickup. [2 Points]
Keep the remote out of reach: During TV time, leave the clicker across the room. Hop up to hit mute during commercials. [2 Points]
RELATED: Best Sneakers For Walking
Week 3
Up the burn: It's crucial to pair small pockets of movement with real exercise, says Dr. Alter, who's a cardiologist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Climb the stairs: "Going up uses three times the energy as going down," says Hedge. Walk up one to two flights whenever possible this week. [1 Point]
Work out at lunch: Bonus: Exercising during work hours for 2½ hours a week may maintain or boost productivity, per a 2011 study. [2 Points]
Sneak in some action: Schedule a walking, jogging, even SoulCycling meeting instead of settling into conference-room chairs. [3 Points]
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Healthy & Happy - Health.com http://ift.tt/21bFawj
The action plan
Give yourself points every time you complete one of that week's tasks. Try to rack up at least 15 points a week.
RELATED: Your Slim and Strong Walking Workout
Week 1
Get on your feet: "Find out what your personal sitting traps or triggers are, and create reminders to stand or move around," suggests Nolan Peterson, a wellness exercise specialist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program.
Count your steps: Keep your smartphone or tracker on you all day to get a rough idea of how many steps you take. Whatever your personal best is, aim to log 1,000 more steps daily. [1 Point]
Wear comfy shoes to work: "You're not going to stand or walk around more if you don't have the means to do so," says celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak. [1 Point]
Set a timer: "Your computer mesmerizes you and you lose track of time. You need something to remind you when it's a good idea to make a postural change," says Alan Hedge, PhD, an ergonomics professor at Cornell University. Program your phone to vibrate every hour as a cue to stand or do laps for 10 minutes. [2 Points]
Switch to a standing desk: "I've found I'm more likely to move naturally into different positions when I use mine," says Peterson. To DIY your own, check out these standing desk ideas. [3 Points]
RELATED: Walk Off Every Bulge
Week 2
Move it: Make some aspects of life less convenient, recommends Hedge.
Find excuses to move: Do away with the printer at your desk; at home, transfer your mugs to a cabinet away from the coffeemaker. [1 Point]
Pace during calls: Get in the habit of taking extra steps whenever you answer the phone. [1 Point]
Be a mom in motion: Stroll the sidelines instead of sitting on the bleachers at your kid's baseball game, or get out of the car and walk around at school pickup. [2 Points]
Keep the remote out of reach: During TV time, leave the clicker across the room. Hop up to hit mute during commercials. [2 Points]
RELATED: Best Sneakers For Walking
Week 3
Up the burn: It's crucial to pair small pockets of movement with real exercise, says Dr. Alter, who's a cardiologist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Climb the stairs: "Going up uses three times the energy as going down," says Hedge. Walk up one to two flights whenever possible this week. [1 Point]
Work out at lunch: Bonus: Exercising during work hours for 2½ hours a week may maintain or boost productivity, per a 2011 study. [2 Points]
Sneak in some action: Schedule a walking, jogging, even SoulCycling meeting instead of settling into conference-room chairs. [3 Points]
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
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3 Times It's Good to Be a "Bad" Patient
Several years ago, I had a pregnant patient who did not seem to grasp the significance of her illnesses (uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes). What she did understand is when she didn't approve of her care. She complained about everything from our nursing staff to how our fluorescent lighting "made her blood pressure go up." She was That Patient.
Some months later, my child underwent a small biopsy to investigate an uncomfortable skin problem. Three weeks went by, and I found myself with a still-miserable kid and no results. I called the office multiple times, but "the doctor was out" and could never be reached. One day, I wasn't having it anymore; I asked to speak to the office manager. Those records? Are my property. You? Will fax them over immediately. And I? Will need to speak to your supervisor if this does not happen today.
The doctor called me two hours later with the results and an apology. I realized: I was That Patient. And you know what? It felt good.
The question is, can you be the super-empowered patient who fixes the problem—without being the rude one who makes the situation worse? The answer is yes. Here's the right way to act up to get the best possible care.
RELATED: 5 Myths Even Doctors Believe
Nobody is returning my phone calls!
I once had a patient call to report her symptoms of an impending herpes outbreak; she legitimately wanted to be seen and start her antiviral medication right now. But she called Friday afternoon after my office hours. When she spoke to the secretary, she didn't say what she needed—just that she wanted to talk to the doctor. I didn't work at that office on Mondays, so the first I knew about it was Tuesday morning, when I came in to eight angry messages and a livid patient in my waiting room. She was right to be upset and push—but she didn't know the best way to do it.
Part of being proactive is knowing how your doctor's office works. What—and who—are between you and what you need, and how can you get through? Most offices must have someone to cover when their primary provider is not available. So get specific: You need someone who can write a prescription or see you today. Be prepared to give the front desk staff some details about your situation. Once they know that you have a medically urgent problem, they can be your greatest ally in getting a provider to help you.
It's also smart to investigate ahead of time what options your office has—an affiliated clinic? A nurse practitioner who can assess your need today? An electronic portal that can be used to contact your doctor? That way, you're ready to go to the backup plan if you have to.
In my patient's case, instead of leaving increasingly angry messages with a secretary, I wish she had known to utter the magic words "Is there another provider I could speak to?" (I also wish my clinic had had a culture that encouraged the secretary to let patients through more easily; that's something we worked on as a result.)
I've been in this waiting room so long that I'm getting mail here!
Endless wait times make me madder than almost anything else—even as I cause plenty of them. Although my goal as a physician is to see a patient within 15 minutes of the appointment time, that doesn't always happen. Thirty minutes is reasonable for most practices. If you haven't been called in by then, check with the folks at the front desk. Remember: They're probably having a crappy day, too, so demand attention firmly but constructively: "Unfortunately, I can't wait much longer, and I need to decide whether to reschedule. Can you give me an estimated time for when I will be seen?"
There are emergencies and snafus that put even the best-run office out of whack. But if you know where things are heading, you can decide if waiting longer is worth it to you. And if the answer you get is that this is "just how they always run," well, that's important to know, too. For me, that kind of attitude toward my time is a deal breaker. An office that always runs drastically late can be an honest threat to our health, because if doctor's visits take the whole day, most of us are much less likely to seek care when we need it.
Even better is knowing how to avoid delays in the first place. Try to snag the first appointment in the morning (when the doctor isn't yet running behind). There's usually a break between the morning and afternoon sessions, so nabbing the first slot in the afternoon might also help (since, by then, she's hopefully all caught up).
RELATED: 15 Diseases Doctors Often Get Wrong
I didn't get a call about my test results!
When you don't hear about your lab results for a week, does that mean everything is fine? Or did they forget you? Sometimes the lab is still cooking. Depending on the test, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for the results to come back.
That said, I know that any amount of time feels like forever when it comes to your health (or your child's!). So every time you get a test, ask when and how you'll receive a result. Unfortunately, many offices only call to tell you about "concerning" results. Even (or especially) if this is their policy, it's wise to push: Find out when you can call to hear the boring good news.
This is important because no news sometimes means that no one has looked at the lab report—and that can be dangerous. It may lead to delayed treatment or a missed diagnosis, neither of which is ever OK.
In the case of my kid's biopsy, when the doctor apologized and explained that she had put off telling me the result because she wanted to call me herself, I was mollified. For what it's worth, I've never had to throw a fit at that practice again.
How to get what you want (nicely!)
DO: Try to call for appointments or to ask clinical questions long before the end of business hours; morning is often best so the staff has a chance to grab the doctor before she gets behind or needs to leave.
DO: Politely ask for a call back from someone higher up on the ladder if you're not getting what you need. For medical issues, you might ask for a nurse or a doctor; for procedural stuff (appointments or forms you need filled out), you'll want a nursing supervisor or office manager.
DO: Be aware that the provider you love—the doctor or midwife or nurse practitioner—may have no idea how difficult it is to reach her. Let her know (gently) so she can assess and try to adjust how her staff works. These days, many practices are owned by a hospital, which employs the physician, and so the doctor may not have as much power to change things quickly (the way she would if she ran a private practice). But talking to your doctor can at least start moving your complaint up the chain of command. If she's defensive, or if the office can't seem to get a handle on the problem, you may want to move on.
DON'T: Start out sounding angry (even if you are). Obvious but always worth repeating: Acting as if people are doing their best is a lot more effective in rallying them to your cause than yelling or being condescending. Open with a smile and, if you can, some sympathy—that's more likely to score you that secretly available appointment with the nice doctor and the gowns that close all the way.
RELATED: 19 Medical Tests Everyone Needs
Chavi Eve Karkowsky, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health Services at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Healthy & Happy - Health.com http://ift.tt/1RaDj67
Some months later, my child underwent a small biopsy to investigate an uncomfortable skin problem. Three weeks went by, and I found myself with a still-miserable kid and no results. I called the office multiple times, but "the doctor was out" and could never be reached. One day, I wasn't having it anymore; I asked to speak to the office manager. Those records? Are my property. You? Will fax them over immediately. And I? Will need to speak to your supervisor if this does not happen today.
The doctor called me two hours later with the results and an apology. I realized: I was That Patient. And you know what? It felt good.
The question is, can you be the super-empowered patient who fixes the problem—without being the rude one who makes the situation worse? The answer is yes. Here's the right way to act up to get the best possible care.
RELATED: 5 Myths Even Doctors Believe
Nobody is returning my phone calls!
I once had a patient call to report her symptoms of an impending herpes outbreak; she legitimately wanted to be seen and start her antiviral medication right now. But she called Friday afternoon after my office hours. When she spoke to the secretary, she didn't say what she needed—just that she wanted to talk to the doctor. I didn't work at that office on Mondays, so the first I knew about it was Tuesday morning, when I came in to eight angry messages and a livid patient in my waiting room. She was right to be upset and push—but she didn't know the best way to do it.
Part of being proactive is knowing how your doctor's office works. What—and who—are between you and what you need, and how can you get through? Most offices must have someone to cover when their primary provider is not available. So get specific: You need someone who can write a prescription or see you today. Be prepared to give the front desk staff some details about your situation. Once they know that you have a medically urgent problem, they can be your greatest ally in getting a provider to help you.
It's also smart to investigate ahead of time what options your office has—an affiliated clinic? A nurse practitioner who can assess your need today? An electronic portal that can be used to contact your doctor? That way, you're ready to go to the backup plan if you have to.
In my patient's case, instead of leaving increasingly angry messages with a secretary, I wish she had known to utter the magic words "Is there another provider I could speak to?" (I also wish my clinic had had a culture that encouraged the secretary to let patients through more easily; that's something we worked on as a result.)
I've been in this waiting room so long that I'm getting mail here!
Endless wait times make me madder than almost anything else—even as I cause plenty of them. Although my goal as a physician is to see a patient within 15 minutes of the appointment time, that doesn't always happen. Thirty minutes is reasonable for most practices. If you haven't been called in by then, check with the folks at the front desk. Remember: They're probably having a crappy day, too, so demand attention firmly but constructively: "Unfortunately, I can't wait much longer, and I need to decide whether to reschedule. Can you give me an estimated time for when I will be seen?"
There are emergencies and snafus that put even the best-run office out of whack. But if you know where things are heading, you can decide if waiting longer is worth it to you. And if the answer you get is that this is "just how they always run," well, that's important to know, too. For me, that kind of attitude toward my time is a deal breaker. An office that always runs drastically late can be an honest threat to our health, because if doctor's visits take the whole day, most of us are much less likely to seek care when we need it.
Even better is knowing how to avoid delays in the first place. Try to snag the first appointment in the morning (when the doctor isn't yet running behind). There's usually a break between the morning and afternoon sessions, so nabbing the first slot in the afternoon might also help (since, by then, she's hopefully all caught up).
RELATED: 15 Diseases Doctors Often Get Wrong
I didn't get a call about my test results!
When you don't hear about your lab results for a week, does that mean everything is fine? Or did they forget you? Sometimes the lab is still cooking. Depending on the test, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for the results to come back.
That said, I know that any amount of time feels like forever when it comes to your health (or your child's!). So every time you get a test, ask when and how you'll receive a result. Unfortunately, many offices only call to tell you about "concerning" results. Even (or especially) if this is their policy, it's wise to push: Find out when you can call to hear the boring good news.
This is important because no news sometimes means that no one has looked at the lab report—and that can be dangerous. It may lead to delayed treatment or a missed diagnosis, neither of which is ever OK.
In the case of my kid's biopsy, when the doctor apologized and explained that she had put off telling me the result because she wanted to call me herself, I was mollified. For what it's worth, I've never had to throw a fit at that practice again.
How to get what you want (nicely!)
DO: Try to call for appointments or to ask clinical questions long before the end of business hours; morning is often best so the staff has a chance to grab the doctor before she gets behind or needs to leave.
DO: Politely ask for a call back from someone higher up on the ladder if you're not getting what you need. For medical issues, you might ask for a nurse or a doctor; for procedural stuff (appointments or forms you need filled out), you'll want a nursing supervisor or office manager.
DO: Be aware that the provider you love—the doctor or midwife or nurse practitioner—may have no idea how difficult it is to reach her. Let her know (gently) so she can assess and try to adjust how her staff works. These days, many practices are owned by a hospital, which employs the physician, and so the doctor may not have as much power to change things quickly (the way she would if she ran a private practice). But talking to your doctor can at least start moving your complaint up the chain of command. If she's defensive, or if the office can't seem to get a handle on the problem, you may want to move on.
DON'T: Start out sounding angry (even if you are). Obvious but always worth repeating: Acting as if people are doing their best is a lot more effective in rallying them to your cause than yelling or being condescending. Open with a smile and, if you can, some sympathy—that's more likely to score you that secretly available appointment with the nice doctor and the gowns that close all the way.
RELATED: 19 Medical Tests Everyone Needs
Chavi Eve Karkowsky, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health Services at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
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This Is The Last Diet You'll Ever Need
There's a reason so many of us struggle with losing weight (and keeping it off). Cutting-edge research is pointing toward a surprising new explanation—one that has little to do with lack of willpower. (Thank goodness.) In fact, the problem is that you've been doing what you were told to do—slash calories, cut fat.
Conventional wisdom holds that weight loss is nothing more than simple math. Take in fewer calories than you expend, and the pounds will fall off as predictably as leaves from an autumn tree. But thousands of failed diets have shown that the low-calorie approach doesn't work, says David Ludwig, MD, an endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. "When you cut calories, the body fights back, making you hungrier, among other things," he explains. "Weight is controlled by our biology more than our willpower."
RELATED: 16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast
What's more, despite everything you've heard for years, all calories aren't created equal. "Although a bottle of cola and a handful of nuts may have the same number of calories, they have dramatically different effects on metabolism," says Dr. Ludwig. (Bet you can guess which is worse.)
Three new books offer insights into the latest thinking on smart eating, and they're all penned by eminent weight-loss experts: Dr. Ludwig; Louis Aronne, MD, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; and Mark Hyman, MD, director of The Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. Health chatted with these groundbreaking diet crusaders to uncover what we all need to know to slim down and stay healthy for good.
Minimize simple carbs
"The 'calorie is a calorie' myth is perhaps the most misleading nutrition lie ever," says Dr. Hyman. Here's why: Sugary snacks and drinks and low-fat, highly processed starches raise blood sugar quickly, which triggers your pancreas to release a flood of insulin—the hormone Dr. Ludwig calls "the ultimate fat cell fertilizer" because it instructs your body to store calories as fat, causing fat cells to increase in number and size.
Once insulin ushers calories into your fat cells, it closes the door, restricting their ability to get out. With calories, aka fuel, trapped in your fat cells, there's too little glucose and too few lipids circulating in the bloodstream to power your brain and muscles. Your brain, sensing the fuel shortage, prompts you to feel hungry and slows down your metabolism—the worst possible combination for long-term weight control.
RELATED: 26 Weight-Loss Myths You Shouldn't Believe
"Overeating hasn't made our fat cells grow," says Dr. Ludwig, whose book is titled Always Hungry?. "Processed carbs and added sugar have programmed our fat cells to grow, and that makes us overeat." And it becomes a vicious cycle. Break it: "If you're going to have simple carbs, like bread with dinner, have them after you've eaten some protein and veggies first," says Dr. Aronne. "Our studies show that when you save them for later in the meal, they don't trigger as big a bump in blood sugar—or insulin."
Enlist your metabolism
Doctors have long known that when you lose weight, your metabolism slows down, says Dr. Aronne, author of The Change Your Biology Diet. "If you lose 10 percent of your body weight, the number of calories you burn during the day drops by 30 to 40 percent, because a smaller body requires fewer calories and your muscles become more efficient," he says. But research shows that what you eat when you're trying to shed pounds can determine how big a hit your metabolism takes.
In a 2012 study published in JAMA, Dr. Ludwig and his colleagues looked at 21 people between the ages of 18 and 40 who were overweight or obese. They had each participant lose about 10 to 15 percent of their body weight, then put them on three different maintenance diets—low-fat (with about 60 percent of daily calories coming from carbs); low-glycemic-index (with about 40 percent of daily intake from carbs that cause only moderate spikes in blood sugar, such as legumes and vegetables); and a very low-carb approach, with just 10 percent of daily calories from carbs. All three diets involved the same total number of calories. And every participant tried each diet for a month.
RELATED: The Best Weight Loss Foods of All Time
After each diet period, the researchers tested the folks' metabolic rates—and found that the low-carb diet completely prevented the metabolic slowdown often seen after weight loss. "People on the low-carb diet burned an average of 325 more calories a day—about the same number you'd burn during a moderately vigorous workout—than those on the low-fat diet, and those on the low-glycemic diet burned 150 more calories than those on the low-fat diet," he says. One theory for why that happens: Reducing processed carbs, and as a result insulin levels, allows fat cells to release calories back into the bloodstream, helping to readjust the body-weight set point naturally, speculates Dr. Ludwig. He posits that reducing carbs even moderately—with a focus on the quality of your carbs—would be beneficial for shedding weight as well.
Let go of your fear of fat
"Dietary fat has been unfairly demonized," says Dr. Aronne. "Olive oil, nuts and monounsaturated fats play an important role in a healthy diet, and these days the jury is even out on saturated fat." Dr. Ludwig agrees: "The fats in dairy appear to be healthier than those in red meat, and saturated fat is worse when you eat it in combination with processed carbs." Fat can actually be surprisingly helpful when you're trying to lose weight. Healthy fats can shut off craving centers in the brain and help you eat less sugar and refined carbs—"the primary cause of obesity and diabetes," says Dr. Hyman, whose book is titled Eat Fat, Get Thin.
One of the strongest studies vindicating fat was published in The New England Journal of Medicine several years ago. In it, researchers assigned 322 overweight people to either a low-fat diet, a moderate-fat Mediterranean diet or a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet. The trial lasted two years—a relative lifetime in the realm of diet studies. What they discovered: Those on the low-carb, high-fat diet not only lost the most weight but also had the most favorable changes in heart-disease-related factors, like levels of triglycerides and HDL cholesterol.
Don't cut too many calories
Sure, if you starve yourself, you'll slim down, so it seems like the strategy would be an instant success. But eventually everyone regains. Why? "Because when you drastically reduce the amount you eat, your body launches potent countermeasures designed to prevent additional weight loss," says Dr. Ludwig—and the more weight you lose, the more fiercely the body tries to gain it back.
RELATED: 57 Science-Backed Weight Loss Tips
For one thing, it shifts into conservation mode and simply burns fewer calories, notes Dr. Aronne. In addition, he says, levels of hunger- and satiety-related hormones change to increase your desire to eat, making you feel less satisfied with a reasonable amount of food and more obsessed with high-calorie, highly processed goodies. "It's sort of like your brain goes haywire," explains Dr. Aronne, "and you can no longer trust the messages it's sending about hunger and fullness."
But eating the right foods can help you minimize these biological defenses. The key: Consume a satisfying amount of protein, high-quality fat and fiber-rich, low-starch carbs from veggies, legumes, nuts, and seeds. "When you eat that kind of diet, insulin levels decrease and you reprogram your fat cells to release excess calories," says Dr. Ludwig. "So there's more glucose and lipids available as fuel—which means you're not battling hunger and your metabolism stays high."
To bolster these new dietary strategies, there's some tried-and-true advice you should absolutely abide by: Move more, sleep plenty, stress less—all of which can keep insulin levels, as well as hunger and satiety hormones, at optimal levels, says Dr. Ludwig. Diet guidance may evolve, but these three fundamentals have stood the test of time.
RELATED: 31 Quick-and-Easy Fat-Burning Recipes
A day of eating, reimagined
While each MD's diet approach varies in its specifics, the general strategy is the same: To keep your body from fighting your slimdown efforts, eat whole foods with adequate protein and plenty of healthy fat, and reduce sugar, refined carbs and processed foods. Here are a few recipes pulled from the pages of their books.
Morning
Breakfast: Southwest omelet made from 4 to 6 egg whites with onions, peppers, tomatoes and salsa, plus 2 slices of turkey bacon.
A.M. snack: 1 small container of plain Greek yogurt with ½ cup of blueberries.
From Dr. Aronne's The Change Your Biology Diet ($26, amazon.com)
Midday
Lunch: California kale Cobb salad with ½ bunch kale, ¼ avocado, 3 or 4 halved cherry tomatoes, ¼ can water-packed artichoke heart quarters, 1 slice of turkey bacon and 4 ounces of diced, cooked chicken.
Snack: ¼ cup of raw, organic nuts and seeds. For a greater nutritional punch, soak them in warm salt water overnight, rinse thoroughly, then dry in the oven at no more than 120 degrees.
From Dr. Hyman's Eat Fat, Get Thin ($28, amazon.com)
Evening
Dinner: 1/3 pound of white-fleshed fish or salmon broiled with garlic and lemon, plus ½ medium roasted sweet potato and 1 cup of chopped greens (such as chard or kale) sautéed in olive oil, garlic and a pinch of salt.
Dessert: ½ medium pear, apple, peach or apricot poached with cinnamon, cardamom and ground nutmeg.
From Dr. Ludwig's Always Hungry? ($28, amazon.com)
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Diet & Fitness - Health.com http://ift.tt/1SCisvG
Conventional wisdom holds that weight loss is nothing more than simple math. Take in fewer calories than you expend, and the pounds will fall off as predictably as leaves from an autumn tree. But thousands of failed diets have shown that the low-calorie approach doesn't work, says David Ludwig, MD, an endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School. "When you cut calories, the body fights back, making you hungrier, among other things," he explains. "Weight is controlled by our biology more than our willpower."
RELATED: 16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast
What's more, despite everything you've heard for years, all calories aren't created equal. "Although a bottle of cola and a handful of nuts may have the same number of calories, they have dramatically different effects on metabolism," says Dr. Ludwig. (Bet you can guess which is worse.)
Three new books offer insights into the latest thinking on smart eating, and they're all penned by eminent weight-loss experts: Dr. Ludwig; Louis Aronne, MD, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; and Mark Hyman, MD, director of The Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. Health chatted with these groundbreaking diet crusaders to uncover what we all need to know to slim down and stay healthy for good.
Minimize simple carbs
"The 'calorie is a calorie' myth is perhaps the most misleading nutrition lie ever," says Dr. Hyman. Here's why: Sugary snacks and drinks and low-fat, highly processed starches raise blood sugar quickly, which triggers your pancreas to release a flood of insulin—the hormone Dr. Ludwig calls "the ultimate fat cell fertilizer" because it instructs your body to store calories as fat, causing fat cells to increase in number and size.
Once insulin ushers calories into your fat cells, it closes the door, restricting their ability to get out. With calories, aka fuel, trapped in your fat cells, there's too little glucose and too few lipids circulating in the bloodstream to power your brain and muscles. Your brain, sensing the fuel shortage, prompts you to feel hungry and slows down your metabolism—the worst possible combination for long-term weight control.
RELATED: 26 Weight-Loss Myths You Shouldn't Believe
"Overeating hasn't made our fat cells grow," says Dr. Ludwig, whose book is titled Always Hungry?. "Processed carbs and added sugar have programmed our fat cells to grow, and that makes us overeat." And it becomes a vicious cycle. Break it: "If you're going to have simple carbs, like bread with dinner, have them after you've eaten some protein and veggies first," says Dr. Aronne. "Our studies show that when you save them for later in the meal, they don't trigger as big a bump in blood sugar—or insulin."
Enlist your metabolism
Doctors have long known that when you lose weight, your metabolism slows down, says Dr. Aronne, author of The Change Your Biology Diet. "If you lose 10 percent of your body weight, the number of calories you burn during the day drops by 30 to 40 percent, because a smaller body requires fewer calories and your muscles become more efficient," he says. But research shows that what you eat when you're trying to shed pounds can determine how big a hit your metabolism takes.
In a 2012 study published in JAMA, Dr. Ludwig and his colleagues looked at 21 people between the ages of 18 and 40 who were overweight or obese. They had each participant lose about 10 to 15 percent of their body weight, then put them on three different maintenance diets—low-fat (with about 60 percent of daily calories coming from carbs); low-glycemic-index (with about 40 percent of daily intake from carbs that cause only moderate spikes in blood sugar, such as legumes and vegetables); and a very low-carb approach, with just 10 percent of daily calories from carbs. All three diets involved the same total number of calories. And every participant tried each diet for a month.
RELATED: The Best Weight Loss Foods of All Time
After each diet period, the researchers tested the folks' metabolic rates—and found that the low-carb diet completely prevented the metabolic slowdown often seen after weight loss. "People on the low-carb diet burned an average of 325 more calories a day—about the same number you'd burn during a moderately vigorous workout—than those on the low-fat diet, and those on the low-glycemic diet burned 150 more calories than those on the low-fat diet," he says. One theory for why that happens: Reducing processed carbs, and as a result insulin levels, allows fat cells to release calories back into the bloodstream, helping to readjust the body-weight set point naturally, speculates Dr. Ludwig. He posits that reducing carbs even moderately—with a focus on the quality of your carbs—would be beneficial for shedding weight as well.
Let go of your fear of fat
"Dietary fat has been unfairly demonized," says Dr. Aronne. "Olive oil, nuts and monounsaturated fats play an important role in a healthy diet, and these days the jury is even out on saturated fat." Dr. Ludwig agrees: "The fats in dairy appear to be healthier than those in red meat, and saturated fat is worse when you eat it in combination with processed carbs." Fat can actually be surprisingly helpful when you're trying to lose weight. Healthy fats can shut off craving centers in the brain and help you eat less sugar and refined carbs—"the primary cause of obesity and diabetes," says Dr. Hyman, whose book is titled Eat Fat, Get Thin.
One of the strongest studies vindicating fat was published in The New England Journal of Medicine several years ago. In it, researchers assigned 322 overweight people to either a low-fat diet, a moderate-fat Mediterranean diet or a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet. The trial lasted two years—a relative lifetime in the realm of diet studies. What they discovered: Those on the low-carb, high-fat diet not only lost the most weight but also had the most favorable changes in heart-disease-related factors, like levels of triglycerides and HDL cholesterol.
Don't cut too many calories
Sure, if you starve yourself, you'll slim down, so it seems like the strategy would be an instant success. But eventually everyone regains. Why? "Because when you drastically reduce the amount you eat, your body launches potent countermeasures designed to prevent additional weight loss," says Dr. Ludwig—and the more weight you lose, the more fiercely the body tries to gain it back.
RELATED: 57 Science-Backed Weight Loss Tips
For one thing, it shifts into conservation mode and simply burns fewer calories, notes Dr. Aronne. In addition, he says, levels of hunger- and satiety-related hormones change to increase your desire to eat, making you feel less satisfied with a reasonable amount of food and more obsessed with high-calorie, highly processed goodies. "It's sort of like your brain goes haywire," explains Dr. Aronne, "and you can no longer trust the messages it's sending about hunger and fullness."
But eating the right foods can help you minimize these biological defenses. The key: Consume a satisfying amount of protein, high-quality fat and fiber-rich, low-starch carbs from veggies, legumes, nuts, and seeds. "When you eat that kind of diet, insulin levels decrease and you reprogram your fat cells to release excess calories," says Dr. Ludwig. "So there's more glucose and lipids available as fuel—which means you're not battling hunger and your metabolism stays high."
To bolster these new dietary strategies, there's some tried-and-true advice you should absolutely abide by: Move more, sleep plenty, stress less—all of which can keep insulin levels, as well as hunger and satiety hormones, at optimal levels, says Dr. Ludwig. Diet guidance may evolve, but these three fundamentals have stood the test of time.
RELATED: 31 Quick-and-Easy Fat-Burning Recipes
A day of eating, reimagined
While each MD's diet approach varies in its specifics, the general strategy is the same: To keep your body from fighting your slimdown efforts, eat whole foods with adequate protein and plenty of healthy fat, and reduce sugar, refined carbs and processed foods. Here are a few recipes pulled from the pages of their books.
Morning
Breakfast: Southwest omelet made from 4 to 6 egg whites with onions, peppers, tomatoes and salsa, plus 2 slices of turkey bacon.
A.M. snack: 1 small container of plain Greek yogurt with ½ cup of blueberries.
From Dr. Aronne's The Change Your Biology Diet ($26, amazon.com)
Midday
Lunch: California kale Cobb salad with ½ bunch kale, ¼ avocado, 3 or 4 halved cherry tomatoes, ¼ can water-packed artichoke heart quarters, 1 slice of turkey bacon and 4 ounces of diced, cooked chicken.
Snack: ¼ cup of raw, organic nuts and seeds. For a greater nutritional punch, soak them in warm salt water overnight, rinse thoroughly, then dry in the oven at no more than 120 degrees.
From Dr. Hyman's Eat Fat, Get Thin ($28, amazon.com)
Evening
Dinner: 1/3 pound of white-fleshed fish or salmon broiled with garlic and lemon, plus ½ medium roasted sweet potato and 1 cup of chopped greens (such as chard or kale) sautéed in olive oil, garlic and a pinch of salt.
Dessert: ½ medium pear, apple, peach or apricot poached with cinnamon, cardamom and ground nutmeg.
From Dr. Ludwig's Always Hungry? ($28, amazon.com)
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 19, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Diet & Fitness - Health.com http://ift.tt/1SCisvG
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
13 Healthy High-Fat Foods You Should Eat More
Low fat is officially over! Here are more than a dozen high-fat superstars you can and should enjoy as part of your healthy diet. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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February 17, 2016 at 01:16AM
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February 17, 2016 at 01:16AM
Thursday, 11 February 2016
9 Superfood Upgrades That Will Make Your Meals Even Healthier
Give every meal an upgrade with these hot superfood add-ins—all it takes is a sprinkle or scoop. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 12, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Wednesday, 10 February 2016
7 Essentials for Healthy Hiking
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 11, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Gear Up for the Great Outdoors
From hiking boots to lightweight clothing, all the gear you need to enjoy the great outdoors all summer long. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 11, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 9 February 2016
20 Signs You're Too Obsessed With Your Weight
When dropping pounds is all you think about, you're setting yourself up for an eating disorder. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Hearty Soups and Stews
Warm, low-cal dishes that you can serve to a group http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
4 Delicious Weeknight Recipes You Can Make Ahead of Time
You can whip up these make-ahead recipes in no time http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
10 Anti-Aging Products Women Swear By Outside the U.S.
In every nation, glowing skin is in. Get the skincare scoop from beauty experts around the world. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Where to Buy All the Products in the March 2016 Issue of Health
The March issue of Health features anti-aging skin creams, the best spring running sneakers, an "athleisure"-inspired jacket, stylish new workout clothes, and much more.
Discover where to buy all of them with this guide.
Page 14: What's That?
Page 14: Petal-Powered Anti-Agers
Page 14: Trending: A Must-Have Moto Jacket
Page 16: A Beauty Game Changer: Fibers!
Page 20: Tech Tip
Page 26: The "It" Haircut
Page 28: Skin Secrets From Around the World
Page 42: Strength Up, Weight Down
Page 49: Feel No Pain
Page 57: Best Running Shoes for Spring
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Discover where to buy all of them with this guide.
Page 14: What's That?
Page 14: Petal-Powered Anti-Agers
Page 14: Trending: A Must-Have Moto Jacket
Page 16: A Beauty Game Changer: Fibers!
Page 20: Tech Tip
Page 26: The "It" Haircut
Page 28: Skin Secrets From Around the World
Page 42: Strength Up, Weight Down
Page 49: Feel No Pain
Page 57: Best Running Shoes for Spring
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Best Running Shoes for Spring 2016
Health's fitness editor picks the road and trail sneakers that will rock your world. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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4 Stretches You Should Be Doing (But Aren't)
Did you know your neck crick or shoulder ache may actually mean you're tight somewhere else? Troubleshoot your sore spots and work out the real pain points in just a few minutes a day. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Ashley Benson: "You Have to Become One With Your Own Body"
If you're searching for Ashley Benson, don't look in the center of the room. "Big crowds make me really anxious, so I usually find myself a corner and sit there," says Ashley, 26, who—ironically—plays the outgoing "it" girl Hanna Marin on the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars, now airing the second half of season six. "I'm just really shy with people I don't know."
But one-on-one, over brunch in West Hollywood, the California-born actress is incredibly friendly and real. She opens up about her struggle with panic attacks, the crazy pressure on women in Hollywood to be skeletal (no, thanks!) and how exercise and meditation help her feel happy.
So Pretty Little Liars is back—and you guys have jumped forward five years. What is the best thing about that leap for you?
To finally be out of high school! I hated being in the school set. The lights were really draining. And being in a classroom just makes you feel "ugh," like I'm back in school.
What's your morning ritual?
I play with my two dogs. I get coffee. If I don't have coffee, I don't function. And I usually do Pilates three days a week for an hour, and I try to box or do SoulCycle two or three times a week. There are times I just want to do nothing! But then I don't feel good about myself.
Which workout move gives you the biggest results?
Probably squats—and not for my butt but for my legs. We usually do circuit training, so I'll do 25 squats, then I'll run back and forth, and then I'll do lunges to the other side of the gym both ways, run, then squats. I can't move for days!
Do you have a healthy-living idol?
Gwyneth Paltrow. I have one of her cookbooks, and I think she looks beautiful. I'm not the best cook, but I made fish, this stew and some soups and salads. When I look at all the pictures in her cookbook, I'm like, "Wow, I already feel better," you know?
If you could trade bodies with any famous woman, who would it be?
Jenna Dewan-Tatum. She is, like, the cutest thing. Her body right now is so incredible—and she's had a kid! I would obviously say, like, every supermodel, like Candice Swanepoel and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley—but that is just so not my body.
It seems like you have acceptance about not being a supermodel.
Yeah. It's come up a few times in the last few years, like, "You're too fat for this." And I'm just sitting here like, "Wait, what? Do you want a skeleton?" But I feel good. I don't want to lose 20 pounds, because I don't need to.
You feel pressure to be skinny to get acting work?
Absolutely. I get told all the time to lose weight. I got that a month ago. It's just weird. With my stuff recently, it's been, "You have to be skin and bones or you're not getting it." There was a point where it was getting to where a size 2 was great. I'm a size 2, but I think that a size 4 is healthy. I think that all of these sizes are healthy.
What's your body-confidence strategy?
I'm still working on it. Really, honestly, if I have to go to an event and I'm not feeling my best? Spanx all the way. Literally. Even if you don't need them.
You're so active on social media. Do you ever tire of putting so much out there?
I've always been very wary about social media. Snapchat I love because you don't see comments. I love Instagram, but God, it's like every post, there's so much bullying in the comments. And that's the one thing about social media that I can't stand. There are times I want to delete the picture because I don't want it to happen.
Are you dating anyone?
Dating is so complicated. No, I'm not dating. I hate it. It's the worst!
Because it's awkward?
The thing is, I have a lot of guy friends, and they are all, like, my brothers. I love to hold hands with people. And my guy friends—especially Tyler Blackburn [who plays Hanna's ex-boyfriend Caleb on Pretty Little Liars]—everyone's like, "You guys are dating!" And I'm like, "He is literally my brother." I love him forever, but there would never be anything there.
Why not? Haven't you seen When Harry Met Sally…?
I know, I know. I'm much more of a guy's girl. I love hanging out with the guys. I'm not the type of girl who's like "Everybody put on party dresses, and let's get our makeup done!" I'm like, "Let's go to a dive bar."
So what does a guy have to do to be more than a friend?
He has to make me laugh, 100 percent. Be respectful. Personality is key. Likes to travel, and… I don't really like guys who work out. [Laughs]
Wait—you prefer flabby?
Like, there are guys who work out, and there are guys who work out, in the mirror every day, with protein shakes and "I'm at the gym for 12 hours." I don't like big guys like that. I like skinnier guys. If there's a guy who's super in shape, out the door! Making me laugh is number one. And being adventurous, because I love to just do things last-minute. I've never been on a date, I don't think. I will never go on one.
That's a bold statement: You'll never go on a date.
I will never! A group date, hanging out one-on-one, yeah. But not, like, an actual date. I don't know what I would talk about! All my friends are like, "Go on blind dates." I'm like, "No. Nope."
What helps you manage your stress?
I try to take an hour nap. If I don't get sleep, I found that I get really bad anxiety. I started getting panic attacks for two years straight. I think it was 2011 to 2013. I could barely go to work. It would get so bad that I would have to leave set. Or I'd be driving, and I would have a panic attack.
How often would you have panic attacks?
Every single day. Because I had a crazy incident on set: I had heart palpitations, and I thought I was having a heart attack, so I fainted on set and turned blue. The paramedics were there. Once that happened, I was like, "That's going to happen to me every single day," and it was just that constant fear. So anytime I felt some sort of weird thing, I'd be like, "Here it goes…"
Did you ever share this on social media?
No. If you've never felt it, you can't explain it. The person I was seeing at the time didn't understand, and my friends didn't understand, so there weren't people I could talk about it to. I felt crazy: Why am I feeling this way? I think a lot of people suffer from anxiety and have panic attacks. And I think it's good to talk about it.
Do you still suffer from them?
I do still get them a little bit. That's part of why I work out, too, because it has cancelled out the anxiety. I was on Xanax for a long time. It helped, but I decided I was going to be able to self-medicate through meditation, working out, sleeping, eating healthy and drinking more water. I have this meditation app on my phone. I use it at least three times a week. There will be times where I will get [anxiety], but it's not a full-blown panic attack. It's just, like, for a couple hours I feel as if I'm going to die. I had a friend who was like that for, like, seven years. She wouldn't leave her house, and then she finally dealt with it. Anxiety is horrible.
You Instagrammed a quote that said, "Everything you are going thru is preparing you for what you asked for." What inspired that post?
That was when I got told that I was too fat. I was just like, "Why am I even in this industry?" It's just so depressing sometimes. But no matter what challenge you're going through, if you're having the worst day or the worst week or the worst year, everything that's happening to you right now is happening for a reason that you will see in the future.
Ashley fills us in:
This month, I have been obsessively… Googling the Olsen Twins. I go on the blogs to see what they're wearing.
I'm secretly kind of awesome at… Cleaning. Like, really OCD about it. Everything in my house has to be spotless.
I was mortified when… I ripped my pants at a friend's surprise party. I jumped up, wrapped my legs around him and ripped my leather pants straight down the middle. Like, you saw my butt! It was really embarrassing—and really funny.
If I knew I couldn't fail, I would… Go to cooking school in Paris. I've been saying that for, like, the past five years. I think I'm going to.
The most surprising name in my iPhone contacts is… Taylor Swift, from four years ago. She's friends with Selena [Gomez]. Before Selena and I did Spring Breakers, we were hanging out, and Taylor had put her number in my phone. I have never texted or called, because it's just weird. It's probably not the right number!
My favorite spot in the whole house is… My bed. I could be in there all day long—just sit in bed, watch TV, play with my dogs and be super comfortable. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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But one-on-one, over brunch in West Hollywood, the California-born actress is incredibly friendly and real. She opens up about her struggle with panic attacks, the crazy pressure on women in Hollywood to be skeletal (no, thanks!) and how exercise and meditation help her feel happy.
So Pretty Little Liars is back—and you guys have jumped forward five years. What is the best thing about that leap for you?
To finally be out of high school! I hated being in the school set. The lights were really draining. And being in a classroom just makes you feel "ugh," like I'm back in school.
What's your morning ritual?
I play with my two dogs. I get coffee. If I don't have coffee, I don't function. And I usually do Pilates three days a week for an hour, and I try to box or do SoulCycle two or three times a week. There are times I just want to do nothing! But then I don't feel good about myself.
Which workout move gives you the biggest results?
Probably squats—and not for my butt but for my legs. We usually do circuit training, so I'll do 25 squats, then I'll run back and forth, and then I'll do lunges to the other side of the gym both ways, run, then squats. I can't move for days!
Do you have a healthy-living idol?
Gwyneth Paltrow. I have one of her cookbooks, and I think she looks beautiful. I'm not the best cook, but I made fish, this stew and some soups and salads. When I look at all the pictures in her cookbook, I'm like, "Wow, I already feel better," you know?
If you could trade bodies with any famous woman, who would it be?
Jenna Dewan-Tatum. She is, like, the cutest thing. Her body right now is so incredible—and she's had a kid! I would obviously say, like, every supermodel, like Candice Swanepoel and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley—but that is just so not my body.
It seems like you have acceptance about not being a supermodel.
Yeah. It's come up a few times in the last few years, like, "You're too fat for this." And I'm just sitting here like, "Wait, what? Do you want a skeleton?" But I feel good. I don't want to lose 20 pounds, because I don't need to.
You feel pressure to be skinny to get acting work?
Absolutely. I get told all the time to lose weight. I got that a month ago. It's just weird. With my stuff recently, it's been, "You have to be skin and bones or you're not getting it." There was a point where it was getting to where a size 2 was great. I'm a size 2, but I think that a size 4 is healthy. I think that all of these sizes are healthy.
What's your body-confidence strategy?
I'm still working on it. Really, honestly, if I have to go to an event and I'm not feeling my best? Spanx all the way. Literally. Even if you don't need them.
You're so active on social media. Do you ever tire of putting so much out there?
I've always been very wary about social media. Snapchat I love because you don't see comments. I love Instagram, but God, it's like every post, there's so much bullying in the comments. And that's the one thing about social media that I can't stand. There are times I want to delete the picture because I don't want it to happen.
Are you dating anyone?
Dating is so complicated. No, I'm not dating. I hate it. It's the worst!
Because it's awkward?
The thing is, I have a lot of guy friends, and they are all, like, my brothers. I love to hold hands with people. And my guy friends—especially Tyler Blackburn [who plays Hanna's ex-boyfriend Caleb on Pretty Little Liars]—everyone's like, "You guys are dating!" And I'm like, "He is literally my brother." I love him forever, but there would never be anything there.
Why not? Haven't you seen When Harry Met Sally…?
I know, I know. I'm much more of a guy's girl. I love hanging out with the guys. I'm not the type of girl who's like "Everybody put on party dresses, and let's get our makeup done!" I'm like, "Let's go to a dive bar."
So what does a guy have to do to be more than a friend?
He has to make me laugh, 100 percent. Be respectful. Personality is key. Likes to travel, and… I don't really like guys who work out. [Laughs]
Wait—you prefer flabby?
Like, there are guys who work out, and there are guys who work out, in the mirror every day, with protein shakes and "I'm at the gym for 12 hours." I don't like big guys like that. I like skinnier guys. If there's a guy who's super in shape, out the door! Making me laugh is number one. And being adventurous, because I love to just do things last-minute. I've never been on a date, I don't think. I will never go on one.
That's a bold statement: You'll never go on a date.
I will never! A group date, hanging out one-on-one, yeah. But not, like, an actual date. I don't know what I would talk about! All my friends are like, "Go on blind dates." I'm like, "No. Nope."
What helps you manage your stress?
I try to take an hour nap. If I don't get sleep, I found that I get really bad anxiety. I started getting panic attacks for two years straight. I think it was 2011 to 2013. I could barely go to work. It would get so bad that I would have to leave set. Or I'd be driving, and I would have a panic attack.
How often would you have panic attacks?
Every single day. Because I had a crazy incident on set: I had heart palpitations, and I thought I was having a heart attack, so I fainted on set and turned blue. The paramedics were there. Once that happened, I was like, "That's going to happen to me every single day," and it was just that constant fear. So anytime I felt some sort of weird thing, I'd be like, "Here it goes…"
Did you ever share this on social media?
No. If you've never felt it, you can't explain it. The person I was seeing at the time didn't understand, and my friends didn't understand, so there weren't people I could talk about it to. I felt crazy: Why am I feeling this way? I think a lot of people suffer from anxiety and have panic attacks. And I think it's good to talk about it.
Do you still suffer from them?
I do still get them a little bit. That's part of why I work out, too, because it has cancelled out the anxiety. I was on Xanax for a long time. It helped, but I decided I was going to be able to self-medicate through meditation, working out, sleeping, eating healthy and drinking more water. I have this meditation app on my phone. I use it at least three times a week. There will be times where I will get [anxiety], but it's not a full-blown panic attack. It's just, like, for a couple hours I feel as if I'm going to die. I had a friend who was like that for, like, seven years. She wouldn't leave her house, and then she finally dealt with it. Anxiety is horrible.
You Instagrammed a quote that said, "Everything you are going thru is preparing you for what you asked for." What inspired that post?
That was when I got told that I was too fat. I was just like, "Why am I even in this industry?" It's just so depressing sometimes. But no matter what challenge you're going through, if you're having the worst day or the worst week or the worst year, everything that's happening to you right now is happening for a reason that you will see in the future.
Ashley fills us in:
This month, I have been obsessively… Googling the Olsen Twins. I go on the blogs to see what they're wearing.
I'm secretly kind of awesome at… Cleaning. Like, really OCD about it. Everything in my house has to be spotless.
I was mortified when… I ripped my pants at a friend's surprise party. I jumped up, wrapped my legs around him and ripped my leather pants straight down the middle. Like, you saw my butt! It was really embarrassing—and really funny.
If I knew I couldn't fail, I would… Go to cooking school in Paris. I've been saying that for, like, the past five years. I think I'm going to.
The most surprising name in my iPhone contacts is… Taylor Swift, from four years ago. She's friends with Selena [Gomez]. Before Selena and I did Spring Breakers, we were hanging out, and Taylor had put her number in my phone. I have never texted or called, because it's just weird. It's probably not the right number!
My favorite spot in the whole house is… My bed. I could be in there all day long—just sit in bed, watch TV, play with my dogs and be super comfortable. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 10, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Monday, 8 February 2016
How to Tone and Flatten Your Belly
This quick exercise targets your abs and your obliques to give you a toned and flat stomach. In this video, watch a FlyBarre instructor demonstrate how to work your abs by doing a plank and side crunch combination move. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 09, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Wednesday, 3 February 2016
A Quick Cardio Move You Can Do Anywhere
This is a great move to throw into your strength training routine if you want to add some cardio into the mix. It involves no equipment so you can do it anywhere. Watch this video for a demonstration on how to do heel clicks. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 04, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Best Exercise to Sculpt Your Legs
These small pulses might not feel like much, but they make a huge difference in toning the muscles throughout your legs, especially your hips. Watch this video to see a FlyBarre instructor demonstrate how to do a leg pulse exercise for lean stems. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 04, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tighten Your Abs with This Move
Use a small stability ball behind your lower back to engage your core in this ab strengthening move. Watch this video to see a FlyBarre instructor demonstrate how to do this move so you can get a flat belly and tight abs in no time. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 04, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Best Exercise to Tone Your Outer Hips
The outer hip is a difficult area to reach, but strengthening it is important to keep you limber and injury-free. Watch this video to see how to strengthen and tone your outer hip so you can stay healthy with a slim physique. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 04, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Sculpt Killer Abs
Score killer abs and a strong core with this simple workout from the founder of AKT InMotion. Watch this video to see how to get into a modified side plank in order to build strength and tone your abs. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J February 04, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Friday, 29 January 2016
Jillian Michaels: Weight-Loss Tips That Work
The Biggest Loser trainer shares easy everyday strategies that will keep the pounds permanently away. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 30, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Fastest Exercise to Lift Your Butt
Lift and tone your rear fast with this move, which activates your abs, hamstrings, and glutes and fires up your muscles. Watch this video to see a flyBarre instructor demonstrate your favorite—fast!—new exercise. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 30, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Thursday, 28 January 2016
The Secret to Burning More Calories on Your Run
Whether you consider yourself a tortoise or a hare, your workouts will benefit big time by periodically upping the tempo. "It not only helps you become a faster runner overall but also boosts your metabolism by forcing you to work harder and then recover," notes David Siik, a running coach and instructor at Equinox in West Hollywood, Calif.
That's because when you're always running at the same pace, your body gets a little lazy. Take things up a notch—even for just a few minutes—and you leave that comfort zone, which translates into greater fitness gains. The big one: calorie burn. You can torch about 20 percent more calories simply by running an eight-minute versus a 10-minute mile. And when you do repeated speed intervals, you're creating a bigger "afterburn," with oxygen consumption (and therefore caloric expenditure) staying high as your body works to return to its pre-exercise state. You'll also better engage your glutes and calves, which will help power you forward, adds Siik, while your abs work extra hard to help counter some of the torque that occurs at higher speeds.
You don't have to be an elite athlete to reap the benefits. "Just doing one speed day a week where you up the pace for 8 to 10 minutes can make a difference," notes Chris Heuisler, a certified running coach in Boston and the RunWestin concierge. Be sure to build up gradually, he warns: Too much of the fast stuff can lead to injuries like Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and shin splints, since the lower legs tend to bear much of the added impact that comes with speedwork. (Do speed workouts no more than twice a week.)
Finally, remember that you don't need to run so hard that you feel like you're going to lose your lunch all over your Nikes. "The key is to move away from that easy-run pace into an area where saying more than a couple of words at a time is difficult," says Heuisler. And don't worry: Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you'll feel. Our handy guide will help you navigate the speedways.
More: 5 Fat-Burning Plyometric Exercises
The Run-Faster Warmup
You're asking a lot of your body when you increase the intensity, so it's crucial to warm up properly. Add these four moves before going faster, advises Eric Barron, coach of Track Club LA and cross-country coach at Santa Monica College. Oh, and always begin your runs with a few minutes at an easy pace.
Strides: Start to run at your regular pace, then take a few longer and slightly quicker steps. Do about four to six strides on each leg for about 250 feet (or about 25 seconds).
Leg swings: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Swing left leg forward and back 8 to 10 times, moving through the full range of motion. Switch legs and repeat. Then swing each leg side to side 8 to 10 times.
Carioca: Think of this like the grapevine move from aerobics. Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees soft. Push off with left foot, crossing it behind right foot, then step to the right with right foot. Then cross your left foot in front of you and step to the right again with right foot. Keep moving to the right for 8 to 10 reps, then repeat, switching directions.
Skips: Skip forward, bringing front foot high above knee and using arms for momentum. Continue for about 100 feet (or about 10 seconds). Then repeat, this time bringing front foot to about midcalf height. Finish series by lifting front leg just above ankle.
More: 7 Moves for a Better Butt
3 Get-Faster Workouts
Treadmill trainer
By manipulating the machine's speed and incline, you get a tough workout you can easily adjust to suit your pace, says creator David Siik.
How it works: After a three- to five-minute easy warm-up, run fast for 30 seconds and recover with a slow jog for one minute. Repeat six times, building each segment by 0.2 mph. Next, run at your last speed, adding a 1 percent incline to each 30-second interval. (Rest for one minute between each.) Repeat six times, finishing at a 5 percent grade. Last, run at your fastest speed on a 5 percent incline. Begin with a 30-second interval, recover, then add 10 seconds to each interval until you're at 60 seconds. End with a few minutes of easy jogging. For more, go to http://ift.tt/1t5HRzp.
Hill climber
Strength and speed go hand in hand, which is why hill work is so essential to runners. For this workout, find a steep hill that takes about 20 seconds to run up. Core stability is crucial to good running form, says Heuisler; adding planks to your warm-up will help you build strength in that area. Finish with a few minutes of easy jogging.
How it works: Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging, followed by two one-minute planks (forearms on floor, legs extended behind you, body forming a line from head to toe). Sprint up the hill at close-to-maximum effort for 10 to 20 seconds. Walk slowly back down to recover. Repeat four to five times, building up to 10 to 12 reps.
Track Star
No traffic lights and a forgiving surface make tracks ideal for speedwork. And the distance is a cinch to measure—typically about a quarter mile around. Plus, "it's easy to stay consistent, even during your speed intervals," notes Barron. These repeats help you build both strength and stamina, challenging you to work harder with each sprint session.
How it works: Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging. Then do the dynamic stretches (see Getting Warmer, previous page). Run once around the track at a hard effort, then jog slowly to recover. Repeat for a total of four to six intervals. Finish with 5 to 10 minutes of easy jogging. Each week, add another interval until you get to a total of eight.
How to Build a Better Running Playlist
One simple way to get swift: Turn up the tunes. Research shows that it can be a great motivator. To build a better playlist, download these music apps.
PaceDJ: Have a favorite running tune, but its tempo doesn't fit your workout? No problem. This app will speed up or slow down the song to match your target pace. ($3; pacedj.com)
TempoRun: Once you select your pace (speedy or snail), the app analyzes the songs in your library, then categorizes them by beats per minute. ($3; temporunapp.com)
FitRadio: Choose a genre plus your target pace (for speedwork, that's between 120 and 140 beats per minute), and this app will formulate a playlist to match your taste and preferred tempo. (Free; fitradio.com)
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That's because when you're always running at the same pace, your body gets a little lazy. Take things up a notch—even for just a few minutes—and you leave that comfort zone, which translates into greater fitness gains. The big one: calorie burn. You can torch about 20 percent more calories simply by running an eight-minute versus a 10-minute mile. And when you do repeated speed intervals, you're creating a bigger "afterburn," with oxygen consumption (and therefore caloric expenditure) staying high as your body works to return to its pre-exercise state. You'll also better engage your glutes and calves, which will help power you forward, adds Siik, while your abs work extra hard to help counter some of the torque that occurs at higher speeds.
You don't have to be an elite athlete to reap the benefits. "Just doing one speed day a week where you up the pace for 8 to 10 minutes can make a difference," notes Chris Heuisler, a certified running coach in Boston and the RunWestin concierge. Be sure to build up gradually, he warns: Too much of the fast stuff can lead to injuries like Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and shin splints, since the lower legs tend to bear much of the added impact that comes with speedwork. (Do speed workouts no more than twice a week.)
Finally, remember that you don't need to run so hard that you feel like you're going to lose your lunch all over your Nikes. "The key is to move away from that easy-run pace into an area where saying more than a couple of words at a time is difficult," says Heuisler. And don't worry: Like anything else, the more you do it, the better you'll feel. Our handy guide will help you navigate the speedways.
More: 5 Fat-Burning Plyometric Exercises
The Run-Faster Warmup
You're asking a lot of your body when you increase the intensity, so it's crucial to warm up properly. Add these four moves before going faster, advises Eric Barron, coach of Track Club LA and cross-country coach at Santa Monica College. Oh, and always begin your runs with a few minutes at an easy pace.
Strides: Start to run at your regular pace, then take a few longer and slightly quicker steps. Do about four to six strides on each leg for about 250 feet (or about 25 seconds).
Leg swings: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Swing left leg forward and back 8 to 10 times, moving through the full range of motion. Switch legs and repeat. Then swing each leg side to side 8 to 10 times.
Carioca: Think of this like the grapevine move from aerobics. Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees soft. Push off with left foot, crossing it behind right foot, then step to the right with right foot. Then cross your left foot in front of you and step to the right again with right foot. Keep moving to the right for 8 to 10 reps, then repeat, switching directions.
Skips: Skip forward, bringing front foot high above knee and using arms for momentum. Continue for about 100 feet (or about 10 seconds). Then repeat, this time bringing front foot to about midcalf height. Finish series by lifting front leg just above ankle.
More: 7 Moves for a Better Butt
3 Get-Faster Workouts
Treadmill trainer
By manipulating the machine's speed and incline, you get a tough workout you can easily adjust to suit your pace, says creator David Siik.
How it works: After a three- to five-minute easy warm-up, run fast for 30 seconds and recover with a slow jog for one minute. Repeat six times, building each segment by 0.2 mph. Next, run at your last speed, adding a 1 percent incline to each 30-second interval. (Rest for one minute between each.) Repeat six times, finishing at a 5 percent grade. Last, run at your fastest speed on a 5 percent incline. Begin with a 30-second interval, recover, then add 10 seconds to each interval until you're at 60 seconds. End with a few minutes of easy jogging. For more, go to http://ift.tt/1t5HRzp.
Hill climber
Strength and speed go hand in hand, which is why hill work is so essential to runners. For this workout, find a steep hill that takes about 20 seconds to run up. Core stability is crucial to good running form, says Heuisler; adding planks to your warm-up will help you build strength in that area. Finish with a few minutes of easy jogging.
How it works: Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging, followed by two one-minute planks (forearms on floor, legs extended behind you, body forming a line from head to toe). Sprint up the hill at close-to-maximum effort for 10 to 20 seconds. Walk slowly back down to recover. Repeat four to five times, building up to 10 to 12 reps.
Track Star
No traffic lights and a forgiving surface make tracks ideal for speedwork. And the distance is a cinch to measure—typically about a quarter mile around. Plus, "it's easy to stay consistent, even during your speed intervals," notes Barron. These repeats help you build both strength and stamina, challenging you to work harder with each sprint session.
How it works: Warm up with 10 minutes of easy jogging. Then do the dynamic stretches (see Getting Warmer, previous page). Run once around the track at a hard effort, then jog slowly to recover. Repeat for a total of four to six intervals. Finish with 5 to 10 minutes of easy jogging. Each week, add another interval until you get to a total of eight.
How to Build a Better Running Playlist
One simple way to get swift: Turn up the tunes. Research shows that it can be a great motivator. To build a better playlist, download these music apps.
PaceDJ: Have a favorite running tune, but its tempo doesn't fit your workout? No problem. This app will speed up or slow down the song to match your target pace. ($3; pacedj.com)
TempoRun: Once you select your pace (speedy or snail), the app analyzes the songs in your library, then categorizes them by beats per minute. ($3; temporunapp.com)
FitRadio: Choose a genre plus your target pace (for speedwork, that's between 120 and 140 beats per minute), and this app will formulate a playlist to match your taste and preferred tempo. (Free; fitradio.com)
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Run Happy All Winter Long
Chilly days? Not a problem. Just follow our primer for safely logging miles when the temperature drops. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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10-Minute Moves For Strength, Speed and Agility
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The Best Post-Workout Stretches
Relieve and relax tight muscles with these four soothing stretches. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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5 Ways to Treat Injuries and Speed Recovery
How to ease your aches and pains at home. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Run a 5K
Running just might be the most convenient workout going. You don't need to be a skilled athlete, and there's no fancy equipment involved; just lace up your sneaks and go. It's also one of the most efficient ways to blast fat and burn calories—about 600 an hour.
Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for beginning joggers. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You're new to running and generally don't work out consistently.
The goal: By the end of 10 weeks, be able to run for 30 minutes straight—and build up to a 5K challenge.
Your coach: Susan Paul is an exercise physiologist and training program director at Orlando Track Shack Fitness Club in Orlando, Florida.
The plan: Very flexible, it involves a combination of run/walk intervals three days a week. Start with three minutes of running and one minute of walking for a total workout of 12 minutes. As you get fitter, increase the running by one or two minutes, and decrease the walking. By Week 8, you should be running without any walking. Your ideal pace? One where you can carry on a conversation, but still feel like you're doing a brisk walk.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Beginner 5K Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Start off on the right foot
Making a small investment in gear now will save you loads of aggravation later—you'll feel more comfortable and avoid aches. "A good pair of running shoes can help ward off injuries like knee pain," says Paul. Get a gait analysis at your local running store (it's usually free) to help determine your ideal shoe type.
2. Stop side stitches
Beginners are often plagued by this cramp, which strikes like a boxer's body blow and happens when an overworked diaphragm begins to spasm. To ease the pain, slow down and forcefully exhale each time your opposite foot strikes (so if the stitch is on your right side, breathe out when your left foot comes down). It also helps to massage the area with two fingers. And don't eat too much before you head out; a full stomach can be a culprit.
3. Think tortoise, not hare
"The biggest mistake most new runners make is they start out way too fast," says Paul. "It takes time for your body to get used to the demands of running. You have to condition your muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones, not just your heart and lungs." No matter how tempted you are to push yourself, don't. Slow and steady wins the calorie-burn race!
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
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Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for beginning joggers. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You're new to running and generally don't work out consistently.
The goal: By the end of 10 weeks, be able to run for 30 minutes straight—and build up to a 5K challenge.
Your coach: Susan Paul is an exercise physiologist and training program director at Orlando Track Shack Fitness Club in Orlando, Florida.
The plan: Very flexible, it involves a combination of run/walk intervals three days a week. Start with three minutes of running and one minute of walking for a total workout of 12 minutes. As you get fitter, increase the running by one or two minutes, and decrease the walking. By Week 8, you should be running without any walking. Your ideal pace? One where you can carry on a conversation, but still feel like you're doing a brisk walk.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Beginner 5K Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Start off on the right foot
Making a small investment in gear now will save you loads of aggravation later—you'll feel more comfortable and avoid aches. "A good pair of running shoes can help ward off injuries like knee pain," says Paul. Get a gait analysis at your local running store (it's usually free) to help determine your ideal shoe type.
2. Stop side stitches
Beginners are often plagued by this cramp, which strikes like a boxer's body blow and happens when an overworked diaphragm begins to spasm. To ease the pain, slow down and forcefully exhale each time your opposite foot strikes (so if the stitch is on your right side, breathe out when your left foot comes down). It also helps to massage the area with two fingers. And don't eat too much before you head out; a full stomach can be a culprit.
3. Think tortoise, not hare
"The biggest mistake most new runners make is they start out way too fast," says Paul. "It takes time for your body to get used to the demands of running. You have to condition your muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones, not just your heart and lungs." No matter how tempted you are to push yourself, don't. Slow and steady wins the calorie-burn race!
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
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8 Gear Essentials for Summer Races
Gear for getting to the finish line feeling great http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Train For a 10K
Running just might be the most convenient workout going. You don't need to be a skilled athlete, and there's no fancy equipment involved; just lace up your sneaks and go. It's also one of the most efficient ways to blast fat and burn calories—about 600 an hour.
Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for intermediate runners. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You're a "sometimes" runner who does at least three miles without stopping a couple of days a week, most weeks.
The goal: Increase your endurance, run for an hour straight and tackle a 10K by the end of 10 weeks.
Your coach: Jonathan Cane is an exercise physiologist and co-founder of City Coach Multisport in New York City.
The plan: Do three different running workouts every week, on alternate days. In the first run, build speed through intervals; start with a two-minute speed burst at a challenging but sustainable pace, followed by three minutes of easier recovery jogging. Repeat six times for a total of 30 minutes. As the weeks pass, alternate between building up the speed bursts and balancing out the recovery time. For your second weekly workout, which focuses on mixing speed and endurance, begin with running for a couple of miles and build up to 4 ½ miles over the course of the plan. The third day helps you build endurance. Focus on covering the distance, not your pace. Kick off with a 2 ½-mile run. Over 10 weeks, try to work up to running 5 ½ miles.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Intermediate 10K Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Make three the magic number
If you're used to running twice a week, says Cane, "three times is your sweet spot—you'll get a big bump in both speed and endurance, but it's not so much more that you'll risk getting injured." And if weight loss is a goal, remember that adding just one extra day of running helps you burn an additional 300 to 400 calories, depending on your pace and size.
2. It's OK to hit the treadmill
Some running purists say there's no substitute for the outdoors, but all things being equal, "your heart and lungs don't really know the difference between the road and the treadmill," says Cane. So if it's late in the day, raining or just not a good time to go outside but you really want to keep up your training, feel free to hit the "on" button. To compensate for a lack of wind resistance and natural terrain changes, keep the treadmill deck set at a 1% incline.
3. Turn down the music
Yes, pumping JT through your earbuds can power you up that hill, but don't forget to tune in to how your body feels. "At this stage, you know you can already run for a while," says Cane. "But it's important to be aware of cues: how heavy you are breathing, or if you have a small twinge in your knee and need to slow down. It helps keep you from getting injured and makes you more aware of when you can bump up your pace or give a little more effort."
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for intermediate runners. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You're a "sometimes" runner who does at least three miles without stopping a couple of days a week, most weeks.
The goal: Increase your endurance, run for an hour straight and tackle a 10K by the end of 10 weeks.
Your coach: Jonathan Cane is an exercise physiologist and co-founder of City Coach Multisport in New York City.
The plan: Do three different running workouts every week, on alternate days. In the first run, build speed through intervals; start with a two-minute speed burst at a challenging but sustainable pace, followed by three minutes of easier recovery jogging. Repeat six times for a total of 30 minutes. As the weeks pass, alternate between building up the speed bursts and balancing out the recovery time. For your second weekly workout, which focuses on mixing speed and endurance, begin with running for a couple of miles and build up to 4 ½ miles over the course of the plan. The third day helps you build endurance. Focus on covering the distance, not your pace. Kick off with a 2 ½-mile run. Over 10 weeks, try to work up to running 5 ½ miles.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Intermediate 10K Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Make three the magic number
If you're used to running twice a week, says Cane, "three times is your sweet spot—you'll get a big bump in both speed and endurance, but it's not so much more that you'll risk getting injured." And if weight loss is a goal, remember that adding just one extra day of running helps you burn an additional 300 to 400 calories, depending on your pace and size.
2. It's OK to hit the treadmill
Some running purists say there's no substitute for the outdoors, but all things being equal, "your heart and lungs don't really know the difference between the road and the treadmill," says Cane. So if it's late in the day, raining or just not a good time to go outside but you really want to keep up your training, feel free to hit the "on" button. To compensate for a lack of wind resistance and natural terrain changes, keep the treadmill deck set at a 1% incline.
3. Turn down the music
Yes, pumping JT through your earbuds can power you up that hill, but don't forget to tune in to how your body feels. "At this stage, you know you can already run for a while," says Cane. "But it's important to be aware of cues: how heavy you are breathing, or if you have a small twinge in your knee and need to slow down. It helps keep you from getting injured and makes you more aware of when you can bump up your pace or give a little more effort."
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Your Half-Marathon Training Guide
Running just might be the most convenient workout going. You don't need to be a skilled athlete, and there's no fancy equipment involved; just lace up your sneaks and go. It's also one of the most efficient ways to blast fat and burn calories—about 600 an hour.
Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for experienced runners. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You run three to four times a week for at least five miles nonstop.
The goal: Boost your overall performance—speed, endurance and distance—over the course of 12 weeks, then challenge yourself with a half-marathon.
Your coach: Andrew Kastor is coaching director at Asics L.A. Marathon and head coach at Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth, California.
The plan: In Week 1, run three to four miles at an easy pace (think 5 on a scale of 1 to 10) on your first day; four to five miles on Days 2 and 3; and five to six on Day 4. In subsequent weeks, keep doing one easy-pace day, and vary half-mile-long to mile-long speed intervals. The detailed schedule also tells you how to add in race-pace workouts, so you can hold your speed for longer distances.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Expert Half-Marathon Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Buddy up
Face it, sometimes you just don't feel like going for a run, especially when you've been seriously challenging yourself. Having someone by your side is a great way to make the miles more tolerable and maintain your performance. "When you train with a group or pack, you almost always run a little harder or faster," says Kastor. Grab a friend or find a new jogging pal at buddyup.com or the Road Runners Club of America (rrca.org). Choose partners who are a bit better than you; you want a challenge but don't want to get burned out or injured.
2. Take the plunge
Kastor, who works with many elite runners (including Olympian Deena Kastor, his wife), recommends a cold bath right after a hard workout. "It helps reduce inflammation by constricting the blood vessels, so there's less blood pooling through the muscle tissue, and you're not as sore the next day," he explains. Massage can speed recovery, too: Give yourself a five-minute rubdown using a foam roller; roll slowly up and down your legs, butt, shoulders and back. You can also alleviate soreness by gently pressing into the area with your fingers.
3. Write down your goal
You're amping up your workouts—pump up your motivation, too! Jot your goal time for the half-marathon or just 13.1 on a sticky note, and post it onto your mirror. As Kastor puts it: "Seeing that number will remind you to make the best choices for your body."
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Sure, walking has its benefits, but research shows that running kicks its butt when it comes to shedding pounds. One recent study of 47,000 runners and walkers, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., found that the runners burned more calories and had a far greater decrease in BMI over a six-year period. The joggers who started out heaviest (those with a BMI over 28) lost up to 90 percent more weight than the walkers did.
Dropping pounds and toning up are hardly the only benefits of this killer cardio workout: You'll also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, boost your mood, temper stress and build muscle, especially in the lower body and core. You don't even need to dedicate a lot of time to reap these rewards; do 20 to 30 minutes, three to four days a week, and you'll see significant improvement.
Ready to hit the road? Here's a plan for experienced runners. And it's smart to add in one day of cross-training (think cycling or swimming) to rev up calorie burn and help prevent injury. Soon enough, you'll feel as if you were born to run.
Your stats: You run three to four times a week for at least five miles nonstop.
The goal: Boost your overall performance—speed, endurance and distance—over the course of 12 weeks, then challenge yourself with a half-marathon.
Your coach: Andrew Kastor is coaching director at Asics L.A. Marathon and head coach at Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth, California.
The plan: In Week 1, run three to four miles at an easy pace (think 5 on a scale of 1 to 10) on your first day; four to five miles on Days 2 and 3; and five to six on Day 4. In subsequent weeks, keep doing one easy-pace day, and vary half-mile-long to mile-long speed intervals. The detailed schedule also tells you how to add in race-pace workouts, so you can hold your speed for longer distances.
HERE'S YOUR GUIDE: Expert Half-Marathon Training Plan
Train smarter!
1. Buddy up
Face it, sometimes you just don't feel like going for a run, especially when you've been seriously challenging yourself. Having someone by your side is a great way to make the miles more tolerable and maintain your performance. "When you train with a group or pack, you almost always run a little harder or faster," says Kastor. Grab a friend or find a new jogging pal at buddyup.com or the Road Runners Club of America (rrca.org). Choose partners who are a bit better than you; you want a challenge but don't want to get burned out or injured.
2. Take the plunge
Kastor, who works with many elite runners (including Olympian Deena Kastor, his wife), recommends a cold bath right after a hard workout. "It helps reduce inflammation by constricting the blood vessels, so there's less blood pooling through the muscle tissue, and you're not as sore the next day," he explains. Massage can speed recovery, too: Give yourself a five-minute rubdown using a foam roller; roll slowly up and down your legs, butt, shoulders and back. You can also alleviate soreness by gently pressing into the area with your fingers.
3. Write down your goal
You're amping up your workouts—pump up your motivation, too! Jot your goal time for the half-marathon or just 13.1 on a sticky note, and post it onto your mirror. As Kastor puts it: "Seeing that number will remind you to make the best choices for your body."
MORE: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race
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11 Fitness Foods to Help You Get in Shape Faster
The right foods can help you build muscle, improve endurance, and speed recovery. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
8 Best Foam Rollers to Ease Your Aches
Not on the foam rolling bandwagon yet? This is a fitness trend that's here to stay. Here's how to buy the best one for you. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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15 Running Tips You Need to Know
Want to get faster and fitter as you rack up the miles? Follow this all-star advice. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them
Logging lots of miles? Here's how to sidestep the most common pain-related issues. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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7 Tips for Running Your First Race
Running is even more fun when you have a goal in mind. Here's everything you need to know to make your first race an awesome experience. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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13 Super-Flexible Running Shoes for Women
Have your running shoes seen better days? Upgrade to one of these super flexible pairs. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Hydration and Exercise: How to Get It Right
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Yes, You Can Run a 10K!
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Buy the Best Running Shoes
Looking for a new pair of running shoes? We can help. In this video, learn the key things you need to look for when shopping for sneakers, so you can avoid injury and be the best runner you can be. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 29, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Common Dieting Mistakes, Solved
"I eat mostly veggies and I still haven't lost any weight!" the woman wailed. A mom of three, she was in my office on her first ever visit to a dietitian, 20 pounds overweight—and unknowingly derailing herself with her limited diet. Time and again, I see both classic and modern-day eating mistakes that have a huge impact on weight, health, and quality of life. These are the top blunders and the simple solutions I tell clients that will help you, too.
Assuming 'good' calories don't count
I constantly see women overdoing it on whole grains because they're good for them. They are so important for your health, but large portions cause weight gain, period. The other day at a Mexican restaurant, I noticed women ordering gigantic bowls of brown rice with beans and chicken and cheese and guacamole, and it took every inch of willpower not to tell them, "Those foods are all good for you, but together they're way more calories than your body needs at one meal!" The truth is, unless you burn off as many calories as you take in, you'll put on pounds. Even fruit and veggies (gasp!) get converted to fat.
RD Rx: Know what your daily portions should be. Here's a plan for a 5-foot-4, 150-pound woman who walks 30 minutes two to three days a week:
4 servings of veggies (1 serving = 1 cup) 4 servings of whole grains (1 serving = a slice of whole-grain bread or a half cup of brown rice) 4 servings of lean protein (1 serving = 3 ounces of meat or a half cup of beans) 4 servings of healthy fat (1 serving = 1 tablespoon of oil or a quarter of an avocado) Ditching a food group (or three)
I'm seeing more women on vegan and gluten-free diets, not for ethical or health reasons but to shed pounds. Thing is, if you don't replace those lost carbs, protein, and fat—a.k.a. macronutrients—it can lead to weight gain, fatigue, irritability, and digestive issues. You need the Goldilocks approach to macronutrients: not too little, not too much.
RD Rx: Complement a veggie-centric meal with a half-cup of beans, or a couple tablespoons of nuts; get in healthy carbs with gluten-free quinoa or brown rice. You'll see a difference! One vegan client used to eat just raw veggies, oil, and vinegar for dinner. Once she switched to a few cups of roasted veggies with wild rice, herbed lentils, and a few tablespoons of walnuts—adding carbs and protein—she broke her weight-loss plateau (thanks, newly revved metabolism) and vanquished her chronic bloating and fatigue.
Not eating often enough
It may be tempting to "save up" calories for dinner out or the weekend, but that can sap energy, mess with your mood, and force your body to burn muscle for fuel—which slows your metabolism. One study found that when people ate just one large meal late in the day, they upped their risk of prediabetes. I once had a client who stopped losing weight because she moved her afternoon snack to the evening—which meant a seven-hour stretch of no food between lunch and dinner and two rounds of eating at night, when her activity was low.
RD Rx: It's simple: Eat every three to five hours. Once my client moved her snack back to 4 p.m., the scale dial budged again.
Eating your feelings
One woman I work with regularly overate. She had a high-pressure job and a demanding family, and she was a perfectionist with a spotless home. I'll never forget the stunned look on her face when I asked how she felt while overeating. "It feels like reckless abandon, like a moment of freedom," she said. Ta-da!
RD Rx: Keep a log of what you eat, how much, and your feelings before and after. It's an eye-opener; one client saw that she craved crunchy or chewy foods when she was mad at her boss or husband. The trick is to replace eating with other coping mechanisms. The perfectionist started going salsa dancing; the thrill of polishing off a pizza dwindled, and she shrank two sizes in three months.
Doing a quick fix
Every woman I've counseled has tried a fad diet. A drastic low-cal plan sends your body into conservation mode, so you burn calories slower. It can also cause headaches, moodiness, fatigue, cravings, and, of course, only temporary weight loss.
RD Rx: Jot this on a sticky note for your fridge: NO fad diet is good for my health or happiness. Then avoid them like the plague.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Assuming 'good' calories don't count
I constantly see women overdoing it on whole grains because they're good for them. They are so important for your health, but large portions cause weight gain, period. The other day at a Mexican restaurant, I noticed women ordering gigantic bowls of brown rice with beans and chicken and cheese and guacamole, and it took every inch of willpower not to tell them, "Those foods are all good for you, but together they're way more calories than your body needs at one meal!" The truth is, unless you burn off as many calories as you take in, you'll put on pounds. Even fruit and veggies (gasp!) get converted to fat.
RD Rx: Know what your daily portions should be. Here's a plan for a 5-foot-4, 150-pound woman who walks 30 minutes two to three days a week:
4 servings of veggies (1 serving = 1 cup) 4 servings of whole grains (1 serving = a slice of whole-grain bread or a half cup of brown rice) 4 servings of lean protein (1 serving = 3 ounces of meat or a half cup of beans) 4 servings of healthy fat (1 serving = 1 tablespoon of oil or a quarter of an avocado) Ditching a food group (or three)
I'm seeing more women on vegan and gluten-free diets, not for ethical or health reasons but to shed pounds. Thing is, if you don't replace those lost carbs, protein, and fat—a.k.a. macronutrients—it can lead to weight gain, fatigue, irritability, and digestive issues. You need the Goldilocks approach to macronutrients: not too little, not too much.
RD Rx: Complement a veggie-centric meal with a half-cup of beans, or a couple tablespoons of nuts; get in healthy carbs with gluten-free quinoa or brown rice. You'll see a difference! One vegan client used to eat just raw veggies, oil, and vinegar for dinner. Once she switched to a few cups of roasted veggies with wild rice, herbed lentils, and a few tablespoons of walnuts—adding carbs and protein—she broke her weight-loss plateau (thanks, newly revved metabolism) and vanquished her chronic bloating and fatigue.
Not eating often enough
It may be tempting to "save up" calories for dinner out or the weekend, but that can sap energy, mess with your mood, and force your body to burn muscle for fuel—which slows your metabolism. One study found that when people ate just one large meal late in the day, they upped their risk of prediabetes. I once had a client who stopped losing weight because she moved her afternoon snack to the evening—which meant a seven-hour stretch of no food between lunch and dinner and two rounds of eating at night, when her activity was low.
RD Rx: It's simple: Eat every three to five hours. Once my client moved her snack back to 4 p.m., the scale dial budged again.
Eating your feelings
One woman I work with regularly overate. She had a high-pressure job and a demanding family, and she was a perfectionist with a spotless home. I'll never forget the stunned look on her face when I asked how she felt while overeating. "It feels like reckless abandon, like a moment of freedom," she said. Ta-da!
RD Rx: Keep a log of what you eat, how much, and your feelings before and after. It's an eye-opener; one client saw that she craved crunchy or chewy foods when she was mad at her boss or husband. The trick is to replace eating with other coping mechanisms. The perfectionist started going salsa dancing; the thrill of polishing off a pizza dwindled, and she shrank two sizes in three months.
Doing a quick fix
Every woman I've counseled has tried a fad diet. A drastic low-cal plan sends your body into conservation mode, so you burn calories slower. It can also cause headaches, moodiness, fatigue, cravings, and, of course, only temporary weight loss.
RD Rx: Jot this on a sticky note for your fridge: NO fad diet is good for my health or happiness. Then avoid them like the plague.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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8 Easy Ways to Kick-Start Your Metabolism
Trying to burn more calories? These simple diet and workout tricks will get your metabolism moving in no time. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Burn Off 24 Holiday Foods
Try these inventive (and fun!) ways to work off that sweet potato casserole. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Surprising Health Uses for Everyday Foods
Kitchen staples that soothe sunburns, boost your mood, and more. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
8 Celebrities Who've Struggled With Lyme Disease
These celebrities have been vocal about their Lyme disease symptoms, treatment, and more http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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16 Things You Must Know About Sex After Pregnancy
From "ouch!" to "oh yes!," the truth about sex after giving birth. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 28, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 26 January 2016
26 Weight-Loss Myths You Shouldn't Believe
Get the scoop on the diet strategies that really work and keep the pounds off for good. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Lose Weight With a Busy Schedule
Hectic schedules and full-time jobs don't have to get in the way of your weight loss. Stick to these tips to get past the roadblocks. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Eat Your Way to Health and Happiness
Pump up your mood, energy, and brainpower too with these scientifically proven superfoods http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The Top Fat-Burning Foods
Certain foods have a very high thermogenic effect, so you literally burn calories as you chew. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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30 Foods Under 40 Calories, with Recipes
Negative calorie foods, which burn more fat and calories than they contribute, are a myth. But these low-calorie foods and recipes come close. Eat them several times a day for fast, easy weight loss. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 27, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Monday, 25 January 2016
15 Signs You May Have an Iron Deficiency
Iron can make the difference between you feeling on top of the world and downright miserable. Check out these surprising signs you need to pump up your iron levels. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 26, 2016 at 01:16AM
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16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast
From Zumba to yoga to ditching junk food, these simple lifestyle changes will help you lose 10, 30, even 50 pounds! http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 26, 2016 at 01:16AM
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10 Signs You Might Be a Narcissist
When does self-confidence cross the line to self-obsession? http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 26, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Thursday, 21 January 2016
49 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Feeling Full
Drop pounds and slim down with these mental tricks. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 22, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Wednesday, 20 January 2016
5 Ways to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition, but the good news is that lifestyle changes can help prevent or delay a diagnosis. Watch this video to see five changes that you can make to help avoid type 2 diabetes. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 21, 2016 at 01:16AM
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7 Foods That Help You Sleep
Can't sleep? Try adjusting your food intake before you hit the sheets. Watch this video to see seven foods you should consider eating to have a great night's sleep. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 21, 2016 at 01:16AM
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7 Ways to Get Slim Without a Diet
No, you don't always have to diet to lose weight. There are other ways that will help you shed pounds. Watch this video to see how you can get slim without going on a diet. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 21, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Why You're Not Losing Weight Yet
Are you dieting but not seeing results yet? You might be stalling your weight loss. Watch this video for the reasons why you're not losing weight yet. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 21, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 19 January 2016
14 Reasons You're Always Tired
Feeling sluggish? Ditching these bad habits that drain your energy will help. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 20, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Wednesday, 13 January 2016
15 Ways Being an Introvert Can Affect Your Health
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 14, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 12 January 2016
25 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be a Happier Person
Expert-backed ways to improve your outlook, fast. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 13, 2016 at 01:16AM
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30 Sleep Hacks for Your Most Restful Night Ever
Beat insomnia now with these science-backed sleep tips. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 13, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Friday, 8 January 2016
The 50 Best Weight Loss Foods of All Time
Incorporating these healthy, slimming foods into your diet can help your body burn more calories, feel full for longer, and avoid weight gain. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 09, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Thursday, 7 January 2016
5 Gorgeous Ways to Shake Up Your Makeup Routine
Pretty? Please! Try just one of these simple, on-trend updates and you'll rock a beautiful new look. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 08, 2016 at 01:16AM
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The New Superfoods for Weight Loss
Nutrient Powerhouse: Jackfruit
This tropical tree fruit is a source of resveratrol, and new animal research indicates that the antioxidant may be key to trimming inches. The 2015 study, done at Washington State University, reported that mice that were fed a diet containing 0.1 percent resveratrol were able to convert their excess white body fat (the type that can lead to health risks) into metabolism-revving beige fat. The researchers suggest that two or three servings per day of fruit with resveratrol could supply a healthy dose. (Think: jackfruit, red grapes and blueberries drizzled with yogurt.)
Eat more: You can buy jackfruit fresh (they can be as large as a watermelon), frozen, dried or freeze-dried. Trader Joes even sells chips. Thanks to its thick texture, the fruit is also being used as a meat substitute. Look for products from The Jackfruit Company and Uptons Naturals, in flavors that range from curry to barbecue.
Everyday Hero: Pulses
If you havent heard much about pulses, thats about to change. The United Nations named 2016 the International Year of Pulses. And the research on the health perks of this familiar (and cheap!) food group—which includes beans, lentils, chickpeas and yellow split peas—keeps piling up. (Disclosure: I wrote a book, Slim Down Now, about the weight-loss power of pulses.) One study in the British Journal of Nutrition revealed that having an extra five cups of pulses per week is about as effective at reducing waist circumference as cutting 500 calories a day. The pulse eaters also experienced a boost in protective HDL cholesterol. The high fiber content of legumes is another boon: Previous research has shown that increasing daily fiber intake by about 16 grams leads to a loss of 4.4 pounds over 20 months.
Eat more: You can squeeze in a serving by snacking on roasted chickpeas or lentil crackers. Another simple trick: Toss pea protein powder into a smoothie.
RELATED: 10 Protein-Packed Pulse Recipes That Satisfy
Burn Booster: Coffee
Another reason to heart your daily brew: It spikes your metabolism—and can make a workout extra effective. A 2015 Spanish study found that fit people who consumed caffeine before they exercised torched 15 percent more calories in the three-hour period afterward than those who didnt. The magic caffeine dose for a 150-pound woman: About 300 milligrams, just under the amount in two cups of joe.
Eat more: For an easy slow-cooker meal, combine brewed coffee with chicken breast, veggies (like sweet potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes), low-sodium broth and a little molasses, olive oil, garlic, pepper, sea salt and chili powder. You can also blend instant-coffee crystals into a smoothie, or stir them into yogurt or oatmeal (1 tablespoon contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine).
RELATED: 10 Coffee Drinks Worse Than a Candy Bar
Overnight Fix: Kiwi
It turns out that this furry little fruit may be a potent sleep aid, and adequate shut-eye has long been linked to a leaner midsection. When researchers in Taiwan asked insomniacs to snack on two kiwis one hour before bed, they found that these folks were nodding off faster and snoozing more soundly than before. The scientists speculate that the effect comes from kiwis high levels of antioxidants and serotonin, which helps regulate the bodys internal clock.
Eat more: Whip up a sleepy-time smoothie by blending two kiwis with a cup of warm, unsweetened vanilla almond milk (calorie cost: 119). Or slice and garnish the tart flesh with 2 tablespoons of coconut flour (144 calories).
The Next Quinoa: Sorghum
Meet the new gluten-free It grain. Sorghum (pronounced SORE-gum) has an edible hull, so you eat the entire thing, which means more nutrition in every morsel. Its actually one of the healthiest whole grains, which are bona fide belly flatteners. Research from Tufts University that analyzed the diets of nearly 3,000 adults found that those who ate the most whole grains had less visceral fat (the most risky kind).
Eat more: Sorghum can be popped like popcorn, or ground into flour for baking. When cooked, it has a consistency like Israeli couscous and makes a hearty porridge or grain bowl. A tasty combo: Sauté chopped onions in olive oil. Add minced garlic and ginger, sliced mushrooms and broccoli florets; simmer in low-sodium broth until tender. Top a scoop of cooked sorghum with the vegetables and 3 ounces of cooked shrimp.
Probiotic Punch: Fermented Cauliflower
Cauliflower has always been a belly-shrinking standout. (A 2015 study found that, on average, women weigh 1.37 pounds less per each additional daily serving they consume!) But when this cruciferous veggie is left to ferment in brine, it becomes infused with probiotics that improve the balance of bacteria in your gut—which may have a big effect on the size of your waist. Research on animals and humans has shown that a variety of probiotics can help with weight control. And probiotics commonly found in fermented veggies also show promise in lowering cholesterol, boosting immunity and even fighting cancer.
Eat more: You can buy fermented cauliflower from brands like Wildbrine (look in the refrigerated section). Add a dollop to turkey or salmon burgers, omelets, tacos and baked potatoes.
RELATED: 13 Best Foods for Your Gut Health
Oldies but Goodies
You already know to get your fill of these shape-shifters. Heres how to enjoy them in delicious new ways.
Make a NUTTY sauce. Thin a few tablespoons of almond butter with vegetable broth and brown rice vinegar. Stir in minced garlic, grated fresh ginger and crushed red pepper. (Try it over steamed broccoli, shrimp and soba noodles—yum.)
Use AVOCADO in salad dressing. Puree it with a little lemon or lime juice, garlic and herbs.
Eat EGGS for dinner. To cook a crustless veggie quiche, sauté spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions with garlic and herbs in coconut oil over low heat. Fold into whisked eggs and bake in a quiche or pie pan at 350°F for 40 minutes.
RELATED: 13 High-Protein Breakfast Recipes
4 Packaged Picks
Because you can't always carry crudites.
Hope Dark Chocolate Hummus When afternoon cravings strike, slather this sweetened (but low-glycemic) pulse spread on a sliced pear and youll sail right past the cookies in the pantry.
Simple Squares Coffee Organic Snack Containing organic cashews, almonds, honey, coconut, vanilla, sea salt, coffee beans and nothing else, one of these bars packs less than a third of the carbs in a Starbucks coffee cake.
Komplete Ultimate Meal Replacement Shake This blend of fruit and veggie concentrates (pea protein! acai!) provides up to 19 grams of protein and 20 percent of your daily fiber for under 350 calories.
Mini Pops A snack-size bag of this organic air-popped sorghum snack will satisfy your “crunch tooth” for just 100 calories. Choose from flavors like Baby White Cheddar and Subatomic Sea Salt. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 08, 2016 at 01:16AM
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This tropical tree fruit is a source of resveratrol, and new animal research indicates that the antioxidant may be key to trimming inches. The 2015 study, done at Washington State University, reported that mice that were fed a diet containing 0.1 percent resveratrol were able to convert their excess white body fat (the type that can lead to health risks) into metabolism-revving beige fat. The researchers suggest that two or three servings per day of fruit with resveratrol could supply a healthy dose. (Think: jackfruit, red grapes and blueberries drizzled with yogurt.)
Eat more: You can buy jackfruit fresh (they can be as large as a watermelon), frozen, dried or freeze-dried. Trader Joes even sells chips. Thanks to its thick texture, the fruit is also being used as a meat substitute. Look for products from The Jackfruit Company and Uptons Naturals, in flavors that range from curry to barbecue.
Everyday Hero: Pulses
If you havent heard much about pulses, thats about to change. The United Nations named 2016 the International Year of Pulses. And the research on the health perks of this familiar (and cheap!) food group—which includes beans, lentils, chickpeas and yellow split peas—keeps piling up. (Disclosure: I wrote a book, Slim Down Now, about the weight-loss power of pulses.) One study in the British Journal of Nutrition revealed that having an extra five cups of pulses per week is about as effective at reducing waist circumference as cutting 500 calories a day. The pulse eaters also experienced a boost in protective HDL cholesterol. The high fiber content of legumes is another boon: Previous research has shown that increasing daily fiber intake by about 16 grams leads to a loss of 4.4 pounds over 20 months.
Eat more: You can squeeze in a serving by snacking on roasted chickpeas or lentil crackers. Another simple trick: Toss pea protein powder into a smoothie.
RELATED: 10 Protein-Packed Pulse Recipes That Satisfy
Burn Booster: Coffee
Another reason to heart your daily brew: It spikes your metabolism—and can make a workout extra effective. A 2015 Spanish study found that fit people who consumed caffeine before they exercised torched 15 percent more calories in the three-hour period afterward than those who didnt. The magic caffeine dose for a 150-pound woman: About 300 milligrams, just under the amount in two cups of joe.
Eat more: For an easy slow-cooker meal, combine brewed coffee with chicken breast, veggies (like sweet potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes), low-sodium broth and a little molasses, olive oil, garlic, pepper, sea salt and chili powder. You can also blend instant-coffee crystals into a smoothie, or stir them into yogurt or oatmeal (1 tablespoon contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine).
RELATED: 10 Coffee Drinks Worse Than a Candy Bar
Overnight Fix: Kiwi
It turns out that this furry little fruit may be a potent sleep aid, and adequate shut-eye has long been linked to a leaner midsection. When researchers in Taiwan asked insomniacs to snack on two kiwis one hour before bed, they found that these folks were nodding off faster and snoozing more soundly than before. The scientists speculate that the effect comes from kiwis high levels of antioxidants and serotonin, which helps regulate the bodys internal clock.
Eat more: Whip up a sleepy-time smoothie by blending two kiwis with a cup of warm, unsweetened vanilla almond milk (calorie cost: 119). Or slice and garnish the tart flesh with 2 tablespoons of coconut flour (144 calories).
The Next Quinoa: Sorghum
Meet the new gluten-free It grain. Sorghum (pronounced SORE-gum) has an edible hull, so you eat the entire thing, which means more nutrition in every morsel. Its actually one of the healthiest whole grains, which are bona fide belly flatteners. Research from Tufts University that analyzed the diets of nearly 3,000 adults found that those who ate the most whole grains had less visceral fat (the most risky kind).
Eat more: Sorghum can be popped like popcorn, or ground into flour for baking. When cooked, it has a consistency like Israeli couscous and makes a hearty porridge or grain bowl. A tasty combo: Sauté chopped onions in olive oil. Add minced garlic and ginger, sliced mushrooms and broccoli florets; simmer in low-sodium broth until tender. Top a scoop of cooked sorghum with the vegetables and 3 ounces of cooked shrimp.
Probiotic Punch: Fermented Cauliflower
Cauliflower has always been a belly-shrinking standout. (A 2015 study found that, on average, women weigh 1.37 pounds less per each additional daily serving they consume!) But when this cruciferous veggie is left to ferment in brine, it becomes infused with probiotics that improve the balance of bacteria in your gut—which may have a big effect on the size of your waist. Research on animals and humans has shown that a variety of probiotics can help with weight control. And probiotics commonly found in fermented veggies also show promise in lowering cholesterol, boosting immunity and even fighting cancer.
Eat more: You can buy fermented cauliflower from brands like Wildbrine (look in the refrigerated section). Add a dollop to turkey or salmon burgers, omelets, tacos and baked potatoes.
RELATED: 13 Best Foods for Your Gut Health
Oldies but Goodies
You already know to get your fill of these shape-shifters. Heres how to enjoy them in delicious new ways.
Make a NUTTY sauce. Thin a few tablespoons of almond butter with vegetable broth and brown rice vinegar. Stir in minced garlic, grated fresh ginger and crushed red pepper. (Try it over steamed broccoli, shrimp and soba noodles—yum.)
Use AVOCADO in salad dressing. Puree it with a little lemon or lime juice, garlic and herbs.
Eat EGGS for dinner. To cook a crustless veggie quiche, sauté spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions with garlic and herbs in coconut oil over low heat. Fold into whisked eggs and bake in a quiche or pie pan at 350°F for 40 minutes.
RELATED: 13 High-Protein Breakfast Recipes
4 Packaged Picks
Because you can't always carry crudites.
Hope Dark Chocolate Hummus When afternoon cravings strike, slather this sweetened (but low-glycemic) pulse spread on a sliced pear and youll sail right past the cookies in the pantry.
Simple Squares Coffee Organic Snack Containing organic cashews, almonds, honey, coconut, vanilla, sea salt, coffee beans and nothing else, one of these bars packs less than a third of the carbs in a Starbucks coffee cake.
Komplete Ultimate Meal Replacement Shake This blend of fruit and veggie concentrates (pea protein! acai!) provides up to 19 grams of protein and 20 percent of your daily fiber for under 350 calories.
Mini Pops A snack-size bag of this organic air-popped sorghum snack will satisfy your “crunch tooth” for just 100 calories. Choose from flavors like Baby White Cheddar and Subatomic Sea Salt. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 08, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Wednesday, 6 January 2016
How to Do Back Behinds to Tone Your Back
Look strong and sexy in sleeveless tops thanks to this back-sculpting POP Pilates move. In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do back behinds so you can get a sculpted shoulders and a toned back. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Criss Cross Scissors for Your Thighs
If you want to completely tone your thighs, you will love this effective POP Pilates move. Watch this video to see Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do criss cross scissors to tone your inner and outer thighs. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Oil Riggers for Strong Triceps
This classic POP Pilates move will have your triceps burning, but it's totally worth it! In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do oil riggers so you can get toned arms. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Cross Butt Kick
This POP Pilates move will lift and tone your butt in no time, just be sure that you're doing it properly! In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do the cross butt kick. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Crunch Twist for a Strong Core
You've done a regular crunch before, so why not try adding a twist to the move? Watch Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do a crunch twist in this video for a strong core. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Fire Hydrant + Heel Up Move
This POP Pilates combination move will target two areas at once, leaving you with burning legs and a lifted butt. Watch this video for Cassey Ho's demonstration of the fire hydrant + heel up move. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Frogger Abs
This combination move will strengthen your hard-to-reach inner thighs as well as your core. In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do the frogger exercise to help tone and flatten your belly. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Heel Kicks for a Tight Butt
This fun move really activates your hamstrings and your butt, leaving you with a stronger lower half. In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do heel kicks so you can tone and tighten your glutes. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Hot Potato
A fun children's game turned into a fat-blasting workout! In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do the hot potato move to tone your butt and thighs. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to do Plié Squats to Tone Your Legs
This squat variation will have your legs burning in no time. Watch this video to see Cassey Ho demonstrate this POP Pilates move for stronger, leaner legs. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Scissor Sit Ups
Short on time but still want to get in a good workout? Try doing scissor sit ups, which work your abs and your thighs at the same time. Watch this video from Cassey Ho to see how. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Side Lunges for Lean Legs
Get lean, toned legs with this POP Pilates move. Watch this video to see Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do side lunges, so you can strengthen and tone your stems! http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Windmill for Your Obliques
It's not all about crunches—this move will have your core burning in no time. Watch Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do the windmill move for stronger obliques in this video. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Wing Pulses to Sculpt Your Back
This POP Pilates exercise does double duty—it strengthens your core and sculpts your back. Watch Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do wing pulses in this video. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Reverse Plank Triceps Dips
For leaner arms, target your triceps by doing reverse plank dips. In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do three reverse plank variations for stronger arms. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do the Pushing Grasshopper Move
This move combines two exercises into one highly effective workout for your triceps and your butt. In this video, Cassey Ho demonstrates how to do a pushing grasshopper to work your arms and tone your glutes. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do T-Stand Pulses for a Tighter Butt
This POP Pilates move requires a bit of balance, but it will lift and tone your butt in no time. Watch this video to see Cassey Ho demonstrate T-stand pulses. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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How to Do Bridge Butterflies
Here's a great POP Pilates move to tone your thighs and lift your butt. Watch this video to see Cassey Ho demonstrate how to do bridge butterflies so you can strengthen your core. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 07, 2016 at 01:16AM
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Tuesday, 5 January 2016
5 Ways to Work Coffee Into Your Beauty Routine
You've seen the power of a cup of joe: All it takes is a few sips to bring you back from the Walking Dead. Happily, it's a perker-upper for skin and hair, too. "The coffee bean is rich in stimulating caffeine and polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants," says Heidi Waldorf, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. "When used topically, it can brighten skin, ease puffiness and soothe inflammation." Get your fix with either a DIY treatment or our product picks.
1. Body scrub
An exfoliator with caffeine helps reduce a dimpled appearance by temporarily deflating fat cells.
DIY it: Stir up a skin-renewing body scrub with 1 cup coffee grounds and 1/2 cup sugar. Add 1 cup hydrating coconut oil and mix well. In the shower, massage the mixture onto wet skin using circular motions and strong pressure; rinse off and pat dry.
Buy it: Java Coffee Bean and Raw Sugar Body Scrub ($28; javaskincare.com).
2. Glow-getter
Coffee provides a gentile exfoliation to reveal a fresher, more radiant complexion.
DIY it: To make a mask, combine 1/2 cup coffee grounds with 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Add 1 cup whole milk, which packs exfoliating enzymes; stir until mixture forms a paste. Mix in 1 tablespoon honey to lock in moisture. Rub over clean skin and let dry for at least 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
Buy it: Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask ($30; amazon.com).
3. Natural volumizer
Treating hair regularly with coffee can help keep the roots active and stimulate growth, according to a recent study at the University of Lübeck in Germany.
DIY it: Once a week, mix a handful of coffee grounds with a dollop of conditioner and work through roots, gently massaging your scalp to stimulate circulation; wait five minutes before rinsing.
Buy it: Aveda Clove Conditioner ($21; nordstrom.com).
4. Post-sun soother
Coffee's anti-inflammatory properties ease redness, and antioxidants fight off UV-induced free radicals. Even better? Researchers found that when applied topically, caffeine helps protect against some skin cancers at the molecular level.
DIY it: Dilute a cup of brewed coffee with cold water, then soak a soft cloth in the solution and blot over sunburned areas. Your skin will immediately feel cooler.
Buy it: Alba Botanica Hawaiian Replenishing Kona After-Sun Lotion ($7; amazon.com).
5. Undereye balm
Caffeine helps drain the fluid under eyes that causes puffiness, and it constricts blood vessels to dial down dark circles, explains Dr. Waldorf.
DIY it: Create a cold compress by soaking two cotton rounds in a chilled cup of coffee. Wring them out, place over closed eyes and relax for 10 minutes as the liquid absorbs into your skin.
Buy it: 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Eye Cream ($25; birchbox.com).
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 06, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Beauty & Style - Health.com http://ift.tt/1O9bHLa
1. Body scrub
An exfoliator with caffeine helps reduce a dimpled appearance by temporarily deflating fat cells.
DIY it: Stir up a skin-renewing body scrub with 1 cup coffee grounds and 1/2 cup sugar. Add 1 cup hydrating coconut oil and mix well. In the shower, massage the mixture onto wet skin using circular motions and strong pressure; rinse off and pat dry.
Buy it: Java Coffee Bean and Raw Sugar Body Scrub ($28; javaskincare.com).
2. Glow-getter
Coffee provides a gentile exfoliation to reveal a fresher, more radiant complexion.
DIY it: To make a mask, combine 1/2 cup coffee grounds with 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Add 1 cup whole milk, which packs exfoliating enzymes; stir until mixture forms a paste. Mix in 1 tablespoon honey to lock in moisture. Rub over clean skin and let dry for at least 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
Buy it: Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask ($30; amazon.com).
3. Natural volumizer
Treating hair regularly with coffee can help keep the roots active and stimulate growth, according to a recent study at the University of Lübeck in Germany.
DIY it: Once a week, mix a handful of coffee grounds with a dollop of conditioner and work through roots, gently massaging your scalp to stimulate circulation; wait five minutes before rinsing.
Buy it: Aveda Clove Conditioner ($21; nordstrom.com).
4. Post-sun soother
Coffee's anti-inflammatory properties ease redness, and antioxidants fight off UV-induced free radicals. Even better? Researchers found that when applied topically, caffeine helps protect against some skin cancers at the molecular level.
DIY it: Dilute a cup of brewed coffee with cold water, then soak a soft cloth in the solution and blot over sunburned areas. Your skin will immediately feel cooler.
Buy it: Alba Botanica Hawaiian Replenishing Kona After-Sun Lotion ($7; amazon.com).
5. Undereye balm
Caffeine helps drain the fluid under eyes that causes puffiness, and it constricts blood vessels to dial down dark circles, explains Dr. Waldorf.
DIY it: Create a cold compress by soaking two cotton rounds in a chilled cup of coffee. Wring them out, place over closed eyes and relax for 10 minutes as the liquid absorbs into your skin.
Buy it: 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Eye Cream ($25; birchbox.com).
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 06, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Beauty & Style - Health.com http://ift.tt/1O9bHLa
6 Serious Health Risks Lurking in Your Office
Next time you plop down at your desk, consider the ways your office space—where you'll be spending the next eight-plus hours—might impact your body. "When you think about it, it's frightening how little we know about how our work environments affect us," says Carolyn Rickard-Brideau, an architect in Arlington, Va., who studies the link between design and human health. Everything from energy-efficient lighting to open floor plans has the potential to mess with your well-being. Here, leading experts highlight six dangers of the 21st-century office job and pitch their best tips to help you work smarter and feel better at the end of a (very) long day.
The hazard: Fluorescent lighting
As incandescent bulbs go the way of the fax machine, CFLs are becoming an office fixture. Although they're certainly greener, they can be meaner when it comes to your skin: A study done at the State University of New York at Stony Brook found that tiny cracks in CFL coatings allow the bulbs to emit UVC rays, which can damage epidermal cells at close range. In other words, overhead fluorescents are A-OK, but you should rethink your desk lamp. "Sitting within 2 feet of this type of bulb for lengthy periods could be harmful," says lead study author Miriam Rafailovich, PhD.
Work well: Brighten your space with an LED light, which poses no health risk, says Rafailovich.
The hazard: Working nonstop
While budget-cutting corporations squeeze more and more from their employees, it's not surprising that nine-to-fivers (read: nine-to-niners) are more stressed than ever. But women seem to have it worse. Twenty percent of us report that our stress level is above an 8 (out of 10), compared with 16 percent of men, according to the American Psychological Association. And 43 percent of women say their stress is on the rise. That kind of chronic stress raises heart rate, blood pressure and levels of inflammation—all risk factors for heart disease, says Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, director of women's heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Work well: Hit the water cooler. Walk a lap around the floor. Pee often! Worker bees who take short, frequent breaks experience less emotional exhaustion, more job satisfaction and fewer aches and pains than those who don't, according to 2015 research from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Can't find time to press pause? Suggest moving one of your meetings outdoors. Studies have shown that simply being in nature lowers blood pressure and levels of fight-or-flight hormones.
The hazard: Lack of privacy
Silicon Valley-inspired open floor plans are meant to encourage collaboration. But they also tend to generate a steady hum of distractions, as chatter, rings and pings travel freely through the airy space. One 2014 study found that workers lost up to 86 minutes of productivity a day due to various interruptions. "Every time you're disturbed, you must not only let go of the distraction but then reconnect with the original subject of attention," explains John Weaver, PsyD, a psychologist in Waukesha, Wis. This process just adds extra stress to your day.
Work well: See if you can expense some noise-cancelling headphones. Bose's QuietComfort 20 model ($300; amazon.com) has an in-ear design, so you can drown out the din without messing up your perfectly tousled bun. No dice? Take a breather in a quiet spot with a pretty view whenever you hit a wall, suggests Rickard-Brideau. "Thanks to a phenomenon called unconscious processing, your brain will keep working on a problem even though it's no longer in front of you," she explains. Expect a breakthrough on the way back to your chair.
The hazard: Beaucoup screen time
On average, we spend more than half our waking hours staring at electronic devices—a habit that can affect more than your neck. A 2014 Japanese study found that office workers who were parked in front of a computer for most of the day experienced a reduction in their tear fluid, a typical symptom of dry eye. (Ouch.) This is partly because we tend to blink less when we gaze at a screen. Poorly lubricated peepers can lead to strain, irritation and blurry vision.
Work well: Optometrists recommend giving your eyes regular breaks—which allows them to recoup that natural lubrication—by following the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, gaze at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
The hazard: Slouching
American workers maintain good posture for a little more than a third of their workday, studies show. The rest of the time, let's just say we're not sitting pretty. "Aside from back pain, slouching causes a slowdown in digestion and circulation," says Brad Thomas, MD, founding partner of Beach Cities Orthopedics in Manhattan Beach, Calif. It can even affect your mental state. A study in Health Psychology found that people who slumped while working under pressure had more negative thoughts than those who sat up straight.
Work well: Check yourself. Is your butt in the back of your chair? Feet on the floor? (A lumbar support or foot stool might help.) Can you type without changing your posture? Good. If you'll need reminders to stay this way, try the Lumo Lift ($80, amazon.com), a personal tracker that vibrates every time you hunch.
The hazard: The kitchen
When you grab a juice from the pantry, you may pick up more than kale-beet. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that an employee sick with a cold, the flu or a stomach bug will likely contaminate the fridge door, microwave and coffeepot within two hours!
Work well: Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly kill a lot of bacteria, but they aren't as effective as good old soap and water when it comes to knocking out viruses. And when you wash your hands, don't rush it: A thorough job—including rubbing hands together vigorously to jar all those germs loose—should take a solid 20 to 30 seconds. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 06, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Healthy & Happy - Health.com http://ift.tt/1MuKiS2
The hazard: Fluorescent lighting
As incandescent bulbs go the way of the fax machine, CFLs are becoming an office fixture. Although they're certainly greener, they can be meaner when it comes to your skin: A study done at the State University of New York at Stony Brook found that tiny cracks in CFL coatings allow the bulbs to emit UVC rays, which can damage epidermal cells at close range. In other words, overhead fluorescents are A-OK, but you should rethink your desk lamp. "Sitting within 2 feet of this type of bulb for lengthy periods could be harmful," says lead study author Miriam Rafailovich, PhD.
Work well: Brighten your space with an LED light, which poses no health risk, says Rafailovich.
The hazard: Working nonstop
While budget-cutting corporations squeeze more and more from their employees, it's not surprising that nine-to-fivers (read: nine-to-niners) are more stressed than ever. But women seem to have it worse. Twenty percent of us report that our stress level is above an 8 (out of 10), compared with 16 percent of men, according to the American Psychological Association. And 43 percent of women say their stress is on the rise. That kind of chronic stress raises heart rate, blood pressure and levels of inflammation—all risk factors for heart disease, says Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, director of women's heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Work well: Hit the water cooler. Walk a lap around the floor. Pee often! Worker bees who take short, frequent breaks experience less emotional exhaustion, more job satisfaction and fewer aches and pains than those who don't, according to 2015 research from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Can't find time to press pause? Suggest moving one of your meetings outdoors. Studies have shown that simply being in nature lowers blood pressure and levels of fight-or-flight hormones.
The hazard: Lack of privacy
Silicon Valley-inspired open floor plans are meant to encourage collaboration. But they also tend to generate a steady hum of distractions, as chatter, rings and pings travel freely through the airy space. One 2014 study found that workers lost up to 86 minutes of productivity a day due to various interruptions. "Every time you're disturbed, you must not only let go of the distraction but then reconnect with the original subject of attention," explains John Weaver, PsyD, a psychologist in Waukesha, Wis. This process just adds extra stress to your day.
Work well: See if you can expense some noise-cancelling headphones. Bose's QuietComfort 20 model ($300; amazon.com) has an in-ear design, so you can drown out the din without messing up your perfectly tousled bun. No dice? Take a breather in a quiet spot with a pretty view whenever you hit a wall, suggests Rickard-Brideau. "Thanks to a phenomenon called unconscious processing, your brain will keep working on a problem even though it's no longer in front of you," she explains. Expect a breakthrough on the way back to your chair.
The hazard: Beaucoup screen time
On average, we spend more than half our waking hours staring at electronic devices—a habit that can affect more than your neck. A 2014 Japanese study found that office workers who were parked in front of a computer for most of the day experienced a reduction in their tear fluid, a typical symptom of dry eye. (Ouch.) This is partly because we tend to blink less when we gaze at a screen. Poorly lubricated peepers can lead to strain, irritation and blurry vision.
Work well: Optometrists recommend giving your eyes regular breaks—which allows them to recoup that natural lubrication—by following the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, gaze at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
The hazard: Slouching
American workers maintain good posture for a little more than a third of their workday, studies show. The rest of the time, let's just say we're not sitting pretty. "Aside from back pain, slouching causes a slowdown in digestion and circulation," says Brad Thomas, MD, founding partner of Beach Cities Orthopedics in Manhattan Beach, Calif. It can even affect your mental state. A study in Health Psychology found that people who slumped while working under pressure had more negative thoughts than those who sat up straight.
Work well: Check yourself. Is your butt in the back of your chair? Feet on the floor? (A lumbar support or foot stool might help.) Can you type without changing your posture? Good. If you'll need reminders to stay this way, try the Lumo Lift ($80, amazon.com), a personal tracker that vibrates every time you hunch.
The hazard: The kitchen
When you grab a juice from the pantry, you may pick up more than kale-beet. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that an employee sick with a cold, the flu or a stomach bug will likely contaminate the fridge door, microwave and coffeepot within two hours!
Work well: Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly kill a lot of bacteria, but they aren't as effective as good old soap and water when it comes to knocking out viruses. And when you wash your hands, don't rush it: A thorough job—including rubbing hands together vigorously to jar all those germs loose—should take a solid 20 to 30 seconds. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J January 06, 2016 at 01:16AM
from Healthy & Happy - Health.com http://ift.tt/1MuKiS2
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