Start by accepting the blunder. It has happened and you cannot change what you have already eaten, but what you can change is your next meal. By making a good, healthy decision the next time, you will feel better mentally and physically and avoid falling into a slump possibly leading to another poor nutritional choice.

5 Natural Jet Lag Remedies

Expecting and preparing for setbacks can permit for damage control and allow you to take control of the situation to avoid further setbacks like weight gain and disappointment. Keep these tips in mind and realize that having a recovery plan is all a part of successful meal planning and weight loss.

• Forgive yourself. You are human and are allowed to make mistakes. Realize that this mistake and help you regain control and eliminate a craving that may have caused an overindulgence ahead.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Foods You Should Eat For Younger Looking Skin

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9 Foods That Reduce Stress Levels

Red Wine
Many of us have heard of the heart healthy benefits of red wine, but according to the National Cancer Institute the antioxidants in red wine may actually aid in cancer prevention! The NCI also notes that the over-consumption of alcohol can actually increase the risk of cancer, so this isn’t a license to guzzle a glass with every meal. The American Heart Association recommends no more than two glasses a day for men, and no more than one glass a day for women.

Skinnygirl Margaritas
Hats off to natural foods chef Bethenny Frankel (Bethenny Ever After) for branding a practical 100 calorie margarita recipe. The Skinnygirl™ Margarita can be made at home, or purchased in stores.

If you can’t locate a bottle in your area, here is the recipe straight from her website:

2 oz of Clear Premium Tequila (count 1, 2 while you pour, no need for measuring)
Tiny splash of Orange Liquor
Juice of 4 Fresh Lime Wedges

Vodka
The great thing about vodka is that it has no carbs. The bad thing about it, is it’s still alcohol, and there’s nothing beneficial about consuming the empty calories. But if you must have a drink or two while out, vodka and freshly squeezed limes can be very refreshing, or for a mixer try the vodka with freshly squeezed limes and Sprite Zero or Diet 7Up.  Or order a classic martini; it’s less than 200 calories.

Get More Here

How To Make Over Your Body From The Inside Out

How To Get Your Diet Back On Track

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And while I also love keeping my body tight and right, passing up sweet treats is not a sacrifice I am willing to make. I am also not willing to subscribe to silly suggestions like, “Just take one bite of chocolate cake and walk away. You’ll be satisfied.” Get. Real. It’s like asking an alcoholic to walk into a bar and just take a sip of vodka. Foolish right? I’m eating the WHOLE slice, and you can too. Every girl deserves a little sweetness every know and then, so ladies dive into these guiltless goodies next time you need a sugar fix and walk away satisfied for real.

Skinny Red Velvet Cupcakes

These are absolutely fabulous. Definitely won’t miss the calories in this popular sweet treat. The applesauce is a great low fat substitute for oil. And the moisture that it provides?! Child please. You’ll never use oil again. So grab your blender and whip these babies up for your next party.

Servings: 26 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • Calories: 140

For the Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
1 tbsp red food coloring

For the Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tins with liners. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, salt, cocoa, and baking powder. In a large bowl beat sugar, applesauce and butter. Add egg, egg whites and vanilla, and mix well. In a small bowl mix baking soda and vinegar; set aside. Add half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Mix well, and then add buttermilk and red food coloring. Add the remaining dry ingredients and then fold in the vinegar and baking soda mixture. Pour in prepared cupcake liners 3/4 of the way. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. In the meantime make your frosting. Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let the cupcakes cool, then frost away.

Frozen Greek Yogurt Sandwiches

If you scream for ice cream you will flip when you taste this frozen goodness. Not only does it taste good, but its also good for you…Greek yogurt has twice as much protein and less carbs than regular yogurt, so double clap to that ice cream lovers.

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 sandwiches • Calories: 175

2 cups plain 2% Greek yogurt
4 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp cinnamon
4 rectangle graham crackers (8 squares)

In a freezer-safe metal bowl combine the honey and the yogurt with a few quick stirs so that the honey forms “ribbons” in the yogurt but is not blended completely. Cover bowl and freeze for 1 to 2 hours. Spread 1/4 cup of the frozen Greek yogurt between 2 graham cracker squares and enjoy.

Quick Very Berry Cobbler

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup • Calories: 185

When it comes to comfort desserts cobblers definitely take the cake (pun intended). Loaded with mixed berries, this goody is an excellent source of both fiber and antioxidants. Delicious treat that taste good and is good for you…yes please!

For the Filling
Cooking spray
2 (12 oz) bags of frozen mixed berries, thawed
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp orange zest, finely grated

For the Topping
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp chilled unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, toss the berries with whole wheat flour, sugar and zest. Transfer the berry mixture to the baking dish and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter until many small pebble-sized pieces are formed. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and oil. Add the buttermilk-oil mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Do not over mix. Drop the batter onto the fruit forming about 6 mounds. Sprinkle with the remaining tsp of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.

Simple Workouts You Can Do Without A Gym

How To Beat The Mid-Afternoon Energy Slump

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Brunch anyone? Check out this locale

Take yesterday for instance. I had a great ride around Brooklyn–mostly for cost-effective commute purposes, admittedly, and also because I can get just about anywhere faster on my bike over the bus and sometimes the train. The health benefits are a plus, I enjoy it, and my legs are looking better than I expected.

But then I got hungry. Instead of eating a salad like one would expect, I headed to KFC and ordered a crispy strip combo with potato wedges (and a Diet Pepsi, of course). It’d been a while, and I just wanted to eat something that tasted good even if it’ll slowly kill me.  I don’t really want to have to answer questions, or have a discussion as to why I’m eating fast food when I’m watching my weight. Sure we talk about it here, but in my daily life, folks aren’t really in on this conversation. Just do what you have to do, and STFU about it.

There are a number of ways to avoid this phenomenon.

“One is simple — you can keep your mouth shut,” Gollwitzer says. “Another one is to form different kinds of intentions, not only say what you want to do but also when, where and how you want to do it.”

Such planning helps create situational action control, he explains. When you find yourself at the gym before work, the situation you mentally mapped out controls your behavior instead of your intention to exercise more.

The third way, Gollwitzer says, is to tell only one or two people who hold power over you (metaphorically) so that they help you stick to your intentions. [SOURCE]

GET MORE HERE

How To Get Your Diet Back On Track

Procrastinators Unite…Tomorrow: Are Your Bad Habits Holding You Back?

Start by accepting the blunder. It has happened and you cannot change what you have already eaten, but what you can change is your next meal. By making a good, healthy decision the next time, you will feel better mentally and physically and avoid falling into a slump possibly leading to another poor nutritional choice.

5 Natural Jet Lag Remedies

Expecting and preparing for setbacks can permit for damage control and allow you to take control of the situation to avoid further setbacks like weight gain and disappointment. Keep these tips in mind and realize that having a recovery plan is all a part of successful meal planning and weight loss.

• Forgive yourself. You are human and are allowed to make mistakes. Realize that this mistake and help you regain control and eliminate a craving that may have caused an overindulgence ahead.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Foods You Should Eat For Younger Looking Skin

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9 Foods That Reduce Stress Levels
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Following are some ways your significant other is unknowingly undermining your diet, and how you can balance that tipping scale from blackdoctor.org:

You Constantly Eat Out

When you’re single, you tend to prepare healthy foods at home. But once you’re in a relationship, it’s decadent dinner dates followed by caloric brunches. That’s bad news for your waistline: A recent analysis of 24 national chains revealed that the average entree at a sit-down restaurant contains 867 calories. And that doesn’t include apps, sides, and dessert.

The fix: Eat in. Instead, cook together. It can be intimate and food is very sensual, especially when you take turns tasting it. Plus, of course, you can control the fat and calories by using healthy recipes and ingredients that are low in fat. When you do dine out, eat a healthy snack that contains protein and fiber a few hours before your meal. Nonfat yogurt and a piece of fruit or a small bowl of cereal with low fat milk are smart choices.

7 “Bad” Foods That Are Secretly Good for You

You’re Constantly in Bed

Or on the couch. Or anywhere but the gym. Research shows that couples who live together for two or more years are less likely to be physically active, and the women are more likely to become obese. Relationships can be great and positive, but they can also affect your normal routine – You schedule more couple’s activities and have less time to yourself.

The fix: Get him involved. Women who exercise with a partner tend to lose more weight than those who sweat solo. Doing it together, makes it more likely for you to stick with it. So sign up together for a 5-K, go for a bike ride instead of watching a movie, or join the same gym. When you don’t feel like going, he’ll drag you there, and you’ll do the same for him.

READ MORE HERE

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The Truth About Fitness Myths

1. Old rule: You should burn every calorie you eat through exercise.
To lose weight, it’s true that you should burn more calories than you consume. But some people misinterpret this weight-loss equation, thinking they must burn off every calorie they eat—and then some—by exercising. Besides being inaccurate, this practice can be unsafe and lead to exhaustion, overuse injuries and stalled weight-loss, among other problems. Remember, your body is constantly burning calories throughout the day, even when you’re not physically active. This is known as a basal metabolic rate (BMR), and it accounts for more than 1,200-1,500 calories per day (on average). Add to that all the calories you burn by moving, walking, standing and yes, exercising, and you can see how easy it is to “burn more calories than you consume” without spending your life in the gym.

New rule: Move more and exercise moderately.
Try to achieve an active lifestyle by adding more physical activity to your days. Not all of this activity needs to be planned exercise (although it’s best to exercise 3-6 times per week for 30-60 minutes per session to help burn additional calories and enhance your health). Small things that get you moving more—taking the stairs, walking to a co-worker’s desk instead of e-mailing, or playing an active video game instead of watching TV—add to your daily calorie burn and help you lose weight. There is no need to resort to exercise extremes; you only need to burn about 200-600 calories per day (not thousands) through actual exercise to safely lose weight.

2. Old rule: Skip meals to lose weight faster.
Many people believe that skipping meals like breakfast will help them eat fewer calories and therefore speed up weight loss. In theory, this idea seems to make sense, but skipping meals to save calories backfires more often than not. When you go several hours without food, you will be ravenous by the time your next meal comes along and this will make you more likely to throw your eating plans out the window and consume anything within reach. In addition to this, eating too infrequently may slow down your metabolism, sending your body into conservation (or “starvation”) mode because it thinks calories are scarce.

New rule: Eat sensible portions at regular intervals throughout the day.
Try to keep your body’s metabolism running as efficiently as possible by fueling it at regular intervals. Try eating small, balanced meals every 3- 4 hours to properly nourish yourself and encourage weight loss, or at the very least, eat three meals (including breakfast) and a couple healthful snacks to curb hunger and keep your metabolic fire stoked.

3. Old rule: Eating low-carb is the way to win at weight loss.
Over the past several years, low-carb diet fads have given carbohydrates a bad rap, but this reputation is unfounded. Carbohydrates are an important fuel source for your body and they are necessary for safe, steady weight loss, too. Your body needs carbohydrates to efficiently burn fat, so skimping on the carbs could actually hurt your weight-loss efforts and be detrimental to your health.

New rule: Cut back on processed carbs and choose whole foods instead.
It is true that some carbs (whole grains, vegetables, legumes, etc.) are better for you than others (white bread, sugary cereals, sweets). Rather than omitting carbs from your diet plan, be more selective. Choose more whole grains and unprocessed foods like brown rice, quinoa, whole-grain bread and oats, and limit your intake of unhealthy carbs that sneak into your diet via processed foods, sweets, caloric beverages and refined flours.

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Red Wine
Many of us have heard of the heart healthy benefits of red wine, but according to the National Cancer Institute the antioxidants in red wine may actually aid in cancer prevention! The NCI also notes that the over-consumption of alcohol can actually increase the risk of cancer, so this isn’t a license to guzzle a glass with every meal. The American Heart Association recommends no more than two glasses a day for men, and no more than one glass a day for women.

Skinnygirl Margaritas
Hats off to natural foods chef Bethenny Frankel (Bethenny Ever After) for branding a practical 100 calorie margarita recipe. The Skinnygirl™ Margarita can be made at home, or purchased in stores.

If you can’t locate a bottle in your area, here is the recipe straight from her website:

2 oz of Clear Premium Tequila (count 1, 2 while you pour, no need for measuring)
Tiny splash of Orange Liquor
Juice of 4 Fresh Lime Wedges

Vodka
The great thing about vodka is that it has no carbs. The bad thing about it, is it’s still alcohol, and there’s nothing beneficial about consuming the empty calories. But if you must have a drink or two while out, vodka and freshly squeezed limes can be very refreshing, or for a mixer try the vodka with freshly squeezed limes and Sprite Zero or Diet 7Up.  Or order a classic martini; it’s less than 200 calories.

Get More Here

How To Make Over Your Body From The Inside Out

How To Get Your Diet Back On Track

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Tara Gidus, R.D., of the American Dietetic Association, says “A snack should fill you up, be reasonably nutritious, and be in the 100- to 200-calorie range.

Kashi Chewy Granola Bars

These are the chewiest bars going (don’t confuse them with other types of Kashi bars — look for “chewy” on the label). They have 130 to 140 calories each, 4 grams of fiber, 5 g of protein, and they’re made with real nuts and whole grains. And they actually taste good.

Frozen Juice Bars

Unwrap a frozen juice bar and you can practically hear the ice cream truck rounding the corner of your cul-de-sac. “They’re sweet and tangy, and anything frozen takes longer to eat,” Gidus says. “They’re just a few calories, and they’ve even got some vitamins.” Edy’s Tangerine, with flavor as bright as its color — and a mere 80 calories.

Total Yogurt

Skip the usual fruit-on-the-bottom suspects — high in sugar, ho-hum in texture. Try Fage Total Greek Yogurt instead. This imported greek yogurt is strained, which makes it fluffy. It’ll fool you into thinking it’s fat-filled, but the “0%” on its label tells you how much fat it really contains.

The 80 calories per serving give you room to maneuver, so sweeten the pot with chopped apricots or dates. “There’s evidence that dairy calcium helps you lose weight, and this also adds protein and fiber,” Gidus says.

A Dressed-Up Apple

A 2003 Brazilian study found that three apples a day can keep weight gain at bay — and can even help you lose.

“The best way to lose weight is to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. That increases volume and decreases calorie density.” If you’ve got 5 minutes and a knife, cut your apple up and mix it with some chopped walnuts and a teaspoon or two of maple syrup. Or eat it with a tablespoon of peanut butter to add about 100 calories’ worth of the satiating power of nuts. READ THE REST HERE!

7 “Bad” Foods That Are Secretly Good for You

4 Simple Ways To Keep Your Portions A Healthy Size

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1. Abstain From Alcohol (kind of)
“Alcohol is taxing on your liver, plus it lowers your inhibitions, making it harder to resist unhealthy foods,” says nutritionist Joy Bauer. Drinking too much not only increases your risk of high blood pressure and obesity, it also messes with your skin!

What to do? Stick to water, seltzer, tea and coffee most of the time, but do indulge in an occasional glass of red wine. Resveratrol, the potent antioxidant in red vino, may help prevent cancer, keep your heart and brain healthy, reduce inflammation, and even help stave off diabetes!

8 Low-Calorie Ice Cream Treats You Can Still Indulge In

2. Pump up proteins
Lean proteins from sources such as chicken and wild salmon preserve your lean body mass, and having some at every meal stabilizes blood sugar levels and helps you feel fuller longer. Divide your body weight in pounds by 2—that’s how many grams of protein you should aim to get each day, Bauer says.

What to do? Pumping up your intake of protein from non-animal sources such as whole-grain cereal, tofu, unsalted nuts and beans may also lower your blood pressure. These foods are also rich in fiber and magnesium, which can help reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by 5 percent.

4 Non-Food Related Tips To Help You Eat Less & Lose Weight

3. Skip added sugars
“White sugar, brown sugar, honey—all sugar pumps calories into your diet and spikes your blood sugar,” says nutritionist Joy Bauer. Consuming too much of it also promotes inflammation, which can increase your risk for heart disease and certain cancers and make you feel foggy and fatigued.

What to do? Stay away from foods that list sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or dextrose on the ingredients label. High-fructose corn syrup sweetens many processed foods, including cold cuts and ketchup, and food makers often add it to reduced-fat foods to make them tastier. Just like table sugar, HFCS can cause spikes and dips in your blood sugar, and some research suggests it may mess with the hunger and fullness signals the hormone leptin sends out, leaving you less satisfied. READ THE REST HERE!

Weekly Goal: By next week, I must weigh in at 200 pounds even. By June 2011, I want to be at 163lbs.

DAY 1

5:00 am: Good Morning! Got up at 5am and got dressed for work. Stared at the mirror for longer than I intended. Told myself, “I HAVE to let go of this weight.”
7:00 am: Arrive at work, change into my sneakers. I’m going for a walk!
8:30 am: Just got back from my walk. I feel invigorated and ready to take on the day. Oh, yea, and I’m starving, so I scarf down a banana. Hoping it holds me over until brunch.
11:00 am: For brunch I’m having a yogurt (100 calories), soy milk (70 calories), and a salad (75 calories). Sounds good, right? But it was hard! My boss had donuts!
2:30pm: I couldn’t help myself and had a slice of pizza for lunch. Extra pepperoni too! Will need extra time on the treadmill later.
5:00 pm: Hunger pains were attacking so I took a walk by the vending machine. I’m proud to say that I didn’t give in. Instead, I went back to my desk and had a grapefruit!
7:30 pm: Dinner is light tonight. Having grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies. No more food for the day! I had pizza today so I am in fighting-food mode! Tomorrow, I work out at Curve!

DAY 2

7:30 am: Wake up. Drink some water before I eat anything. On Saturdays I fast until noon and I only work-out for 30 mins & drinks lots of water. I’ll be honest though, in my mind I’m thinking pancakes and eggs…
12:00 pm: But in the real world, I have yogurt, soy milk, a large grapefruit & a whole wheat English muffin.
1:30 pm: I haven’t eaten anything since lunch. My stomach is doing something not cute. I’m going to lay down – maybe I’ll feel better later in the day.
9:30 pm: I had a weight-loss setback. I just came from the ER. It turns out working-out on a 500 calorie diet is NOT a good idea. I wasn’t drinking enough water and I was severely dehydrated. The doctor suggested I consume at least 500 more calories to continue my work-out regiment. I have to remember it’s not all about looks; we have to stay healthy! Since tomorrow is Sunday I will just recuperate and stock up on protein and water.

DAY 3

8:00 am: Good morning! Happy day light savings time! I am at work. Breakfast is wheat English muffin, a bottle of water, one red apple, one green apple, orange, and a banana.
9:00 am: Work out for 45 minutes. For the rest of the day, I’ll take it easy. I’ll drink a lot of water.
12:00 pm: Lunch is a large grilled chicken salad. I had one cookie but I don’t feel that guilty!
4pm: Feeling a strong craving for Pop-Tarts. I am a sucker for Pop-Tarts! But at 210 calories, I’d better stay away.
10:00 pm: Bedtime! I had a really fulfilling dinner. I had salmon and mashed potatoes and veggies. I feel physically and mentally prepared for a good work-out tomorrow.

DAY 4

7:00 pm: Just got home from work where I had long day! For breakfast I had the same things ate yesterday. For lunch, I had a chicken teriyaki sandwich. I am about to change clothes so I can start my work-out!
7:30 pm: Riding the stationary bike for 30mins. Wish me luck!
8:15 pm: Dinner is a salad made of spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes and a fat free dressing (watching the sodium) Oh, and half glass of Mojito…I know, I know.

DAY 5

5:40 am: Good morning! Another day and another chance for improvement! Breakfast is  one banana, wheat English muffin, water, lite yogurt and one orange.
6:30 am: Time to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Ladies, if you can’t go to a gym or afford one? No worries, use your stair steps!
6:30 pm: Work was crazy! I could not stop for lunch but my snack was a cup of instant oatmeal (160 calories), water & an orange.
7:00 pm: On my way home to my favorite salad! Capri salad! & 30 mins on the stationary bike!

DAY 6

7:00 am: Good morning! I’m on the treadmill and I’m inspired! I am now 204 pounds even! it’s time to step the game up. Walking for an hour today.
10:00 am: Snack is 8oz of soy milk, water, one orange, one cup of cereal.
1:00 pm: Lunch is a chicken salad, 8oz of soy milk and water!
8:00 pm: Spending an hour on the stationary bike. It’s great because I can catch up on my reading! I even answer emails while I work out.

DAY 7

2:00 pm: For lunch I had 1 Portobello mushroom sandwich, whole wheat bun, half glass of house wine and salad.
6:30 pm: For dinner I had tostadas, which had lettuce, shredded cheese, refried beans, turkey meat, sour cream & salsa! It was delicious and I didn’t even feel guilty!

TOTALS: Despite a health setback, I was able to go from 207 to 203.5 with exercise and diet. I realized that going from 207lbs to 200lbs in seven days is not the healthiest option. I still have a long way to go, but I’m very confident that I’ll make my June goal. I can’t wait to check back in with HelloBeautiful to show you my progress.

Read more “Diaries” entries here:

The Ad Sales Girl With A Crush On Sweets

The Business Analyst Who’s Fighting With The Food Devil

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Whoopi Slams Trump For Obama “Birther” Comment

Individuals new to an exercise program typically achieve astounding results in the first 3, 6, or 12 months simply because their bodies are unaccustomed to vigorous activity. The central nervous system slowly employs additional muscle fibers to maximize performance; the body becomes stronger, more efficient, and capable of greater performance. The increase in muscle fiber increases exercise performance which, in turn, improves body composition. However, there is a limit to these “newbie gains” (as often called by the bodybuilding community).

So, what can you do to push beyond the inevitable plateau? Here are some tips from blackdoctor.org:

1. Clean up your diet.

As your body fat percentage lowers the body clings to its remaining fat stores making it harder to lose additional body fat. Your diet must remain very, very clean to drop below 10% for males and 15% for females.

De-jiggle your flabby arms

2. Cheat or re-feed.

Ok, this may be counterintuitive and in conflict with number 1 above. However, if you follow a very clean diet your body may need to be shocked. This is when eating pizza, nachos, etc. can actually jumpstart your metabolism and help push beyond your plateau. Many folks don’t believe in a dirty cheat meal (pizza, nachos, French fries, etc.) but believe in a re-feed meal or day. A re-feed meal is a clean meal (very little saturated fat) that’s high in complex carbs or good fats. READ MORE HERE

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5 reasons why you need cardio

The nutrition bars are light, chewy, and actually taste really good.  They’re intended to be a supplemental part of a six meal a day diet. They have 15 grams of protein, 22 vitamins and minerals, and are still just 190 calories. This is great for people like me who are too busy to cook every meal, but want to be conscientious about dietary decisions.

The shakes are pretty good too. They weren’t chalky or diet-tasting, and were full of flavor. They also have 20 grams of protein, and at just 170 calories, that’s nothing to be guilty about!

13 Flat-Belly Foods To Beat The Bloat

Gym Etiquette: Do You Make These Mistakes?

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Weekly Goals: Workout 3-4 times per week, eat healthy, and try to lose 2-3 lbs per week

Day 1:
6:00 am: Fell asleep at my girl’s house that lives 20 minutes away (with no traffic). Goal is to get to work early because I have to leave work early today for training in the city (I work in northern New Jersey).
7:30 am: Major accident on the bridge. No time for breakfast. All I have time to do is shower, change and get back into traffic to drive to work.
8:30 am: I’m supposed to be at work by 8:30 am. Stop at my favorite national coffee chain to buy tea and a protein plate.
1:00 pm: On my way into the city for training. Fortunately I have an apple at my desk that I can take with me and eat while driving.
2:30 pm: I’m half-hour early for training so I stop for a salad. I try to eat something small and healthy, as I’m meeting one of my best girlies for dinner.
7:00 pm: Walking out of my girlie’s office and on our way to dinner. Our initial plans were to have hot chocolate and yummy holiday goodies but unfortunately (and fortunately for my diet) the restaurant had a 45 -minute wait and was packed with tourists (no bueno). We decide on a place down the street to have our festive holiday meal.
8:00 pm: I was trying to not eat carbs but what the heck…ate like a bird all day. I ordered a chicken club with sweet potato fries. Tried to be somewhat good and eat half!
8:45 pm: On my way downtown to meet another one of my girlies. Decide on a sports bar as our meeting place to watch Monday Night football. As I’m walking from the train, I see one of my favorite mini-cupcake spots. I buy a box to share with the rest of the crew.
9:30 pm: I order a beer and I don’t feel bad because its one of my favs. I’m then bullied to take a monster shot of tequila and thus my diet is killed for the day.

Day 2:
6:30 am: Wake up early enough to pack snacks and eat a bowl of cereal before heading off to work.
10:00 am: Mid-morning snack-time! Organic smoothie filled with fruit and vitamins. So far, so good.
12:30 pm: Work is madness and I remember I have a lean cuisine in the work freezer. Doesn’t taste as good as expected, so I only eat half.
3:00 pm: I’m starving since I only ate half my lunch, so I eat the whole-wheat crackers that I brought as a snack.
6:00 pm: It is ridiculously cold outside AND inside (the heat in my office is broken) so I stop at my local Italian restaurant for soup. All is well in the world.
8:30 pm: I’m known on occasion to go to bed ridiculously early. Today is just one of those days. Buenas Noches!

Day 3:
5:45 am: I wake up to the sounds of my Lady Gaga ringtone. Time to pull my 20+10 butt out of bed and workout. I wait 2-3 days after getting my hair done to start my workouts. Vain…I know.
8:00 am: I tend to start doing things around the house in the morning and lose track of time. Today is one of those days because I start doing laundry (SMH at myself). Rush out of the house and don’t have time to grab breakfast or lunch.
8:30 am: Yes I am late again. Stop at my favorite national coffee chain for tea. Don’t have much of an appetite this morning!
2:30 pm: The day has flown by and I run to the local deli for a plain bagel.
6:30 pm: I completely lost track of time at work and call for take-out (soup again) at my favorite local Italian spot.

Day 4:
5:45 am: Day 2 of my weekly workouts. I live in a condo building and the gym doesn’t provide classes, so I’m a huge fan of Exercise on Demand! She doesn’t know it, but Jillian Michaels is one of my bff’s.
8:15 am: Stop at my favorite national coffee chain for a hot tea (don’t have much of an appetite this morning)
1:00 pm: Off to buy my homegirl cupcakes for her birthday. I buy two boxes of mini cupcakes and three cupcakes for my girlie, cousin and I. Surprisingly I don’t eat mine on the spot and take a sample of banana pudding instead (I’m a sucker for sweets!)
1:45 pm: Stop at the deli around the corner of my job for a bagel (stomach isn’t doing well today, hoping this will do the trick!)
6:30 pm: Meet my cousin at my building. While she’s changing out of her interview suit, we’re snacking on pretzels.
9:30 pm: On our way to the birthday festivities. My cousin and my girlie eat their cupcakes, I give mine to my girlie’s cousin…my stomach is mad at me and didn’t want it to go to waste!
11:45 pm: The three of us are starving. My girl suggests pizza. I do the sign of the cross and hope that my cousin, Earl doesn’t stop by for a visit.

Day 5:
8:30 am: Working from home today due to a doctor’s appointment in the city. Eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast
10:30 am: I schlep into the city via bus and train. Since I missed my workout this morning, I’m trying to get as much walking in as possible. Stop at my favorite national coffee chain for a hot tea.
3:00 pm: Back home and off to meet my favorite male for lunch. End up eating pasta e fagoli soup and two slices of my thin crust pizza (as I watch him eat clams and pasta in envy).
6:30 pm: I’m supposed to on the road headed to see my parents. I’m too sleepy to drive the 4 hours. Decide to eat the rest of the pizza and take a nap.
9:00 pm: Wake up from my nap craving something sweet. I raid my fridge and decide on a cup of eggnog. Back to sleep I go for my 5 am wake-up.

Day 6:
4:00 am: I naturally wake up at this God-forsaken hours. As I read twitter and see people just going to sleep, my crazy self is waking up!
9:30 am: On the road headed to see my parents and I stop at my second favorite national coffee chain. I buy a bagel twist and a skim mocha latte.
1:30 pm: I’ve arrived a few hours prior to my parent’s house and I’m sent to buy Chick-Fi-La for my mother. I’m so temped to buy a milkshake, but instead I order her meal and had back to the camp. Success!
2:30 pm: Lunch with my dad at my favorite hometown brunch spot. I order a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat and chicken noodle soup.
4:00 pm: Visiting my best friend and her Persian rug store. Dying of thirst, so I go to the restaurant/deli next door and buy myself an iced tea and her a diet coke.
7:00 pm: Off to dinner with the parents. They have yet to arrive, so I sit at the bar and drink a glass of red wine while I’m waiting. I order soup and salad as my dinner. Considering I’m in my hometown, proud that I haven’t gone nuts on all my fav foods that I normally don’t have access to.

Day 7:
9:30 am: Stop for a ham, egg and cheese sandwich and hash browns on my way back north.
5:00 pm: Order soup once again from my local Italian spot (can you tell I have an addiction to soup in the winter?)

Totals: I only worked out twice this week, but in my head I secretly did three since I got an hour in of walking on Day 5. Lost 2 pounds (woohoo). My eating habits this week weren’t up to par, must work on adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. Will consciously work on this going forward. On to the next…

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Prep Time: 20 min

Start to Finish: 45 min

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 cup finely chopped green and/or red sweet pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 package (12 oz) Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers® frozen Niblets® Corn

1 cup Progresso® reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 cups fat-free milk

8 ounces peeled and deveined cooked medium shrimp, thawed and drained if frozen, and halved, if desired

2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup Yoplait® fat free plain yogurt

Fresh cilantro sprigs

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet pepper and onion; cook about 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add curry powder, salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute.

2. Stir in corn and chicken broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook about 5 minutes or until corn is tender. Cool about 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the corn mixture to a blender or food processor.* Add 1/2 cup of the milk. Cover and blend or process until mixture is nearly smooth. Return pureed mixture to saucepan; stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk and the shrimp. Heat through (do not boil). Stir in snipped cilantro.

4. To serve, spoon soup into soup bowls. Top individual servings with yogurt and cilantro sprigs.

5. *Note: If using a food processor, process half the mixture at a time using 1/4 cup of the milk with each half.

Get health tips, recipes and more at yoplait.com/yoplaittoday.

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1) Carrot Cake Muffins:

Don’t let the word “carrot” fool you! One serving of a carrot cake muffin from a bakery or fast food chain can give you about 680 calories and 40 grams of fat.

2) Doughnuts:

Because doughnuts are fried, they contain higher amounts of calories and fat. One honey-glazed doughnut contains 200 calories and more sugar than you need for the entire day!

3) Frozen Waffles:

Store bought frozen waffles are basically refined grain combined with sugar and trans fat. It lacks health promoting vitamins, minerals and fiber. If you like to top yours with butter and syrup, that only increases the calorie count.

4) Bacon, Ham and Sausage

These are processed meats, which means that they are high in fat and sodium. In the long run, consuming these foods regularly can lead to heart problems. Sodium nitrite, which is found in most processed meat, has been closely associated with a higher risk of cancer. Yikes!

Instead of these foods, choose a healthier breakfast that’s rich in protein, calcium, and potassium and you will start off your new year and new diet plan on the right foot. Good Luck!

Get health tips, recipes and more at yoplait.com/yoplaittoday.

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Give The New Year A Healthy Start

Fashionable Fitness Tips For 2011

Weekly Goals: Workout 3-4 times a week, loose 5 lbs, and return to my weekly Weight Watchers meetings.

Day 1
5:30 a.m.: I woke up to the loud sounds of my alarm and cell phone. I tell myself I’ll get up in 10 mins to work out and have breakfast. I then roll over and press the snooze button.
7:00 a.m.: I am now up. Of course, I’m rushing for work and must be out of the house in an hour. I shower quickly, flat iron my hair, and iron my clothes. All the while, I am thinking, “what am I going to eat for breakfast?”
8:00 a.m.: I am finally dress and ready for work. Thankfully, I prepared lunch last night so I just grab my healthy lunch of cooked cabbage, an apple, roasted sweet potatoes from the fridge. For a snack I grab a rice cake and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter. I’m determined to reach my goal this week.
9:00 a.m.: I grab a fruit salad on the way to work. However, as soon as I walk in the door to my office, I hear loud chatter coming from the office kitchen. OH NO!!!! Someone decided to bring in dozens of baked cookies from a weekend holiday party. Oh hell naw, the devil is trying to sabotage me!
10:15 a.m.: I can’t resist the temptation. I convince myself that it’s ok to just look at the goodies. Wrong move! I grab two chocolate chip cookies and head back to my desk. As I indulge in the bliss of those cookies I feel a sense of pleasure and agony. Oh well I start over the next hour.
12:00 p.m.: I eat my healthy lunch. I’m completely satisfied. Yes I messed up a little this morning but if I stay on track I can reach my goal.
3:00 p.m.: I eat my rice cake and peanut butter. Its ok, but lord knows I would love another one of those cookies. I give into the devil and grab 2 sugar cookies from the office kitchen. I think to myself I’m going to have to workout an extra 20 mins tonight.
6:30 p.m.: I meet my trainer for our one-on-one session. I put my all into our 1 hour together. I’m going to work off those cookies!
8:00 p.m.: On my way home from the gym, I stop by the grocery story. Its cold outside and I want to cook some collard greens and turkey neckbones. It’s a country meal, I know lol. But it’s healthy and would be tasty.
8:45 p.m.: I arrive put my turkey neckbones in the slow cooker. I’ll let them cook over night. Eat a small salad and prepare for bed.
11:00 p.m.: In the bed I say a quick prayer to God asking him to help me on this journey. Lord, knows its going to take Him to help me fight the food devil.

Day 2
7:00 a.m.: I’m tired and sore as hell from working out last night. I snooze for 25 more minutes.
9:15 a.m.: I had already decided on my drive to work that I deserve a treat this morning. I mean I worked my butt off last night. So, I stop by my favorite deli to grab a freshly baked blueberry muffin.
12:00 p.m.: I eat my boring lunch. I’m satisfied at the moment. But I know I’m going to be hungry later.
3:30 p.m.: Yep I’m hungry. I grab my coat and head out into the cold to make a quick trip to the Subway Restaurant, about 5 blocks away. I grab a healthy oven-roasted chicken salad with fat-free Italian dressing.
6:00 p.m.: My salad from Subway was so good that I decide to get another one on the way home from work.
7:15 p.m.: I get home eat my salad quickly. I start cooking the collards I had brought yesterday by first reheating the neckbones in the slow cooker. I figure that while these are cooking I can get 30 mins of cardio in. So I run down to the gym in my condo building.

Day 3
5:30 a.m.: I hit the snooze button for the first of about 20 times this morning.
7:30 a.m.: After snoozing for 2 hours and trying to convince myself to get up, I finally decide to get out the bed. I cut the TV on and decide that I don’t care whether or not I’m extremely late this morning. It’s just one of them days…
11:00 a.m.: I’m extremely hungry because I didn’t eat breakfast. I decide to eat my lunch early. I’m excited because I’m finally eating the collard greens and neckbones I slaved two days over. They are just as yummy as I thought. The only thing missing is the sweet-buttery cornbread my grandmother makes. But of course, I had to pass on that. Oh well, for now this will do.
2:00 p.m.: I’m hungry again. I eat a salad that I brought from home. That satisfies me for a short moment but I’m now starting to crave something sweet.
3:00 p.m.: I’m really not trying to give into my craving for chocolate. I do everything to avoid breaking down. I try eating a pear but that does nothing for me. I eat a spoonful of natural peanut butter, that does nothing. I overhear my co-workers discussing the new box of chocolate covered cookies someone brought in. I give up this battle. I can’t fight the food devil this time. I grab two chocolate covered wafers. It felt like heaven
4:30 p.m.: I’m not feeling too well. The first few days of my monthly friend are horrible for me. I text my trainer telling him I wont be able to make our session today.
6:30 p.m.: I’m finally home after a long day. I heat up a plate of collard greens and open a bag of salad. Dinner is yummy and satisfying.
9:30 p.m.: I’m in the bed early for a change. But I’m still craving chocolate. I breakdown once again and grab one of the mini Take-5 bars I keep in the freezer. I eat the chocolate bar quickly and proceed to bed.

Diaries Of A Skinny Fat Girl, Part I: The Media Maven Who Appreciates A Good Fad Diet

Day 4
7:30 a.m.: I actually slept through my alarm clock and didn’t wake up until my body was ready. Damn! Once again I’m rushing this morning.
8:15 a.m.: I eat a quick bowl of Special K-Blueberry and head out of the house.
9:30 a.m.: On the way to work I get excited thinking about my Weight Watchers class this evening. I haven’t been there in months! I have promised myself that I can’t make any excuse this week for not going.
12 p.m.: I eat more of collard greens and neckbones. They are still quite tasty but I’m starting to get bored.
3:00 p.m.: I eat a pear, 2 rice cakes and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter.
6:30 p.m.: I left work early to make it to Weight Watchers. This is the first time I have been to this particular location. Weight Watchers has a new plan that they just released 2 weeks ago. Damn, this means I gotta learn the entire program all over again. During the meeting, I stepped on the scale and become disappointed because I have only lost 2lb since Sunday when I last weighed myself. I beat myself up because I know I shouldn’t have had any of those cookies or chocolate bars this week.
7:15 p.m.: I get the best text in the world from my trainer! He tells me he isn’t going to weigh me in the morning because he knows my monthly friend is here this week. The Lord steps in right on time!!!! I definitely didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on his face tomorrow.
8:30 p.m.: I eat a bowl of Special K – Chocolate Delight. I can’t stop it with this chocolate craving.
9:00 p.m.: I quickly prepare my gym bag and clothes for work. I have to get up bright and early in the am to meet my trainer.

Day 5
5:00 a.m.: I wake up eat a bowl of Special K – Blueberry flavor and slowly get ready to meet my trainer.
6:30 a.m..: I arrive at the gym. I put my all into my workout session although I feel like crap.
9:30 a.m.: I eat a pear at my desk.
12:00 p.m.: I meet my sister for lunch at Union Station. I really want to have a lunch full of grease. But I opt to get a sandwich from Subway Restaurant. Sure it’s boring, but I’m just happy to have a piece of bread.
8:00 p.m.: After a long week of work I decide to spend Friday night alone. I cook a big and juicy turkey burger and bake French Fries. Watch a little tv and then I’m out for the night.

Day 6
11:30 a.m.: I rush to my bi-weekly hair appointment. I try to talk myself out of eating one of the mini red-velvet cupcakes they have displayed. Of course I give in. Thankfully, it wasn’t as good as it looked. Otherwise, I’m sure I would have grabbed another one.
6:00 p.m.: I did a bunch of errands today and semi forgot to eat. I say semi only because this evening I have a holiday party at one of the most fabulous hotels in the city. I’m not going to think at all about calories this evening. Nevertheless, because I don’t want to over do it, I eat a salad and bake French Fries.
9:00 p.m.: At the party I enjoy a few mixed drinks and the best damn chocolate mousse-fudge cake I have ever had. I don’t even feel bad at all. Shoot, sometimes you just gotta live in the moment.

Day 7
12 p.m.: After church I head to brunch with a group of friends at the trendy restaurant Matchbox. Matchbox has the best pizza and I couldn’t resist. Instead of ordering brunch food, I order a personal pizza: ½ veggie and ½ chicken. I eat every piece of that pizza. Damn it was good. I’m stuff and won’t eat anything else today.

Totals: Overall this week was a moderately successful. I did reach my goal of working out at least 3 times this week and attending Weight Watchers. However, I lost 3lbs instead of the 5lbs I wanted to lose. I blame myself for giving into my love of sweets. Oh well, we will try again next week.

Do you want to share your Skinny-Fat Girl Diaries with us?  Tweet us @hellobeautiful or write on our Facebook wall.

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Who doesn’t want a flat, firm sexy stomach, especially as summer gets closer and closer? What busy woman and mom doesn’t want to lose stomach fat and finally feel good wearing her swimsuit or tight tank top and skinny jeans?

I can count on one hand the number of women I’ve trained who were totally satisfied with their stomachs, and I’ve been training women for years and have logged thousands of personal training sessions.

But what does it take to get that flat, firm stomach? How does a woman lose stomach fat? Does she really need to do lots of crunches, buy the latest gizmo, follow some weird diet or go on mind-numbingly boring walks or jogs with her friends?

In short, no. I’m going to reveal to you the top 3 secrets to flat, firm abs for ladies. Follow them and you will lose stomach fat and you will have that flat sexy tummy you want.

1. Nutrition is Key.

You really can’t overlook nutrition. You’re probably saying to yourself “No kidding, smart guy.”, but I’m serious. No workout will ever outperform a bad eating plan, no matter how tough the workout plan may be. You just can’t look past your nutrition.

That doesn’t mean that you need to eat like a bird, nor does it mean you need to stick with some crazy fad diet that your co-worker, sister, mom, or the other moms at the park told you about.

You need to eat sensibly and you need to eat more than you think. First you need to cut out all the processed carbohydrates found in boxes and bags, yes that includes all those so-called “healthy” crackers and snacks. Most are wolves in sheep’s clothing that will do nothing but make you gain fat, especially stomach fat.

You need to consume lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. You may have heard that fruits make you fat because they’ve got too much sugar, but that’s a total lie. I’ve never known anyone who eats lots of fruit and gets fat. Quite the contrary, everyone I know who eats lots of fresh fruit is very lean with very little body fat and the majority of them have flat, firm stomachs that look awesome in tank-tops and swimsuits. So stick with fresh fruits and veggies if you want to lose stomach fat and get that flat, firm stomach.

You also need to make sure you’re getting enough protein. That doesn’t mean you need to eat tons of meat, though. You can get plenty of protein by consuming lots of healthy nuts and legumes like almonds, peanuts, black and white beans, etc.

Whole-grains are also a good source of protein as is soy.

However if you’re going to get your protein from meat sources or dairy, just make sure it’s low in fat and if at all possible organic.

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2. Switch from long steady-state boring cardio to interval training.

Long, steady state cardio is a favorite for ladies wanting to lose stomach fat and get that firm, flat stomach. I always see women out on the sidewalks, streets and bike trails with their friends walking for hours upon hours everyday hoping to get rid of their stomach fat, yet most of them look the same today as they did a couple months ago.

That’s because long, steady state cardio as a means to lose stomach fat is a thing of the past, especially for a busy woman like you.

There’s a better way and that better way is through interval training.

Doing interval training doesn’t mean you have to turn yourself into some kind of world-class sprinter or “hardcore” athlete. It just means you have to step up your intensity every 60-90 seconds and work harder.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

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De-jiggle your flabby arms

Diet is the biggest component to losing fat — you can burn 600 calories (for example) in a workout, but you can easily eat 2-3 times that much in one sitting if you’re eating junk food. As they say, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. I’d still recommend getting active and burning calories as much as you can (with adequate rest), but if you really want to lose fat, you need to look at your diet.

So if diet is important, how do you stick to a good diet? The meal plan is often the simplest answer — plan out the foods you’re going to eat, measured for your calorie goal, and then just eat those meals (for the most part). You don’t have to track your eating because it’s already planned out.

Sticking to the meal plan is often the hard part, though. Most people aren’t used to it, and they often fail and feel guilty. So I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned, what’s worked for me, in hopes that it’ll help you.

I’ve gotten pretty good at sticking to my plan, and I actually enjoy it. Go figure.

The Simple Method

So here’s what I’ve done, and what I’d recommend. Keep it simple.

1. Eat real, whole foods you love. Do NOT see this as a sacrifice. If you hate carrots or eggplant but you eat them because they’re somehow “virtuous” or you think that sacrifice is the only way to lose that fat, you’ll fail. You cannot stick to something you hate for very long. Instead, go for healthy foods you actually enjoy eating. For me, this is berries, fruits of all kinds, raw almonds, veggies cooked tastefully in stir-fries or chili or what have you. Your list will be different, and it could take some experimenting with different recipes you find online, in magazines or in cookbooks to find the healthy foods you like best. Main rule of thumb, though: try for real foods, not packaged ones (not even “healthy” convenience foods). In as natural a state as possible — meaning, not processed or extracted, not fried or smothered with cream or sauces.

2. Improve in iterations. Cut back a little at a time. You don’t have to go from Standard American Diet to a diet of Only Raw Carrots in one day (nor should you ever eat only raw carrots, but you know what I mean). Try a meal plan that’s a little better than the diet you’ve been eating for years — perhaps cutting out the liquid calories at first, or adding more fruits or veggies you love. As I said above, cut the calories just a little. This first meal plan doesn’t have to be perfect — just a little better. Then, once you get used to that, make a meal plan that’s a little better yet — maybe a couple hundred calories less, more veggies, less fatty stuff, less snack food, or more real food. With each iteration of your meal plan, get a little better. I’m still getting better at mine.

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3. Look ahead for bumps, and plan. We all have those bumps in our routines: an office party, someone’s birthday dinner, going on a date with your honey, taking a trip, being on the road all day and not having access to your usual foods. The key is to think ahead — what’s going on tomorrow? How will I deal with it? Should I pack food, or find out what the menu is at the restaurant so I can pick something healthy, or should I use this as a cheat meal? Thing is, don’t just do cheat meals all the time — then you’re not on a meal plan anymore. More on that below. Again, plan ahead and prepare — as you keep doing this, you’ll get good at packing snacks or meals so you’re covered, no matter what the occasion.

READ MORE HERE

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- Swimsuit season is here and pretty much everybody is beginning their quest to develop their beach body. Just yesterday, one of my classes was double it’s normal size. Last week, one of my students told me she was giving herself four weeks to get in shape, and another said she’s going out of town next week and wants to see some results by then. “Only one week?” I thought to myself, but I can’t control people’s desires, I can only offer advice and help them. Seven days isn’t much, but I gave her a few things to try which may help her achieve something in that period of time.

Exercise

Of course, exercise is a must, but it’s the type of exercise that matters. The goal is to fire up the metabolism, and long, slow paced jogs simply won’t do the trick. My suggestion was interval training – tabata style. This method involved 20 seconds of all out 120% effort followed by 10 seconds of rest. This cycle is to be 8 times, for a total of four minutes. Following the sprints, bodyweight exercises can be performed in a similar fashion – push ups, squats and burpees, giving a total of 16 minutes. Granted, 16 minutes doesn’t seem like much, but by the end of the session, you will feel so wiped out that you will think you worked out for an hour.

Want to lose weight? Dance it off!

Sleep

Sleep plays a key role in losing weight. Research shows that sleep deprivation triggers the release of a hormone that inhibits the production of leptin – a hormone which inhibits hunger – and simultaneously increases ghrelin production. Ghrelin has the opposite effect of leptin – it sends hunger signals to the brain. If you are serious about losing weight, get some shuteye. No more late night talk shows and video gaming (I’m guilty of that one, too.)

READ MORE OF THIS STORY HERE

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Turn your workout into playtime

(BlackDoctor.org) — When it comes to beauty and looking your age, black women are very lucky. Because of darker skin pigmentation and the heightened amount of melanin in the skin of women of color, there is a minimum amount of flaws and imperfections that appear with the coming of age, such as: crow’s feet, wrinkles and sagging skin. And even though we know that weight gain knows no race, women of color wear their weight differently; usually in the lower half of the body, and at times this too can increase with each birthday.

The truth is that a great nutrition plan, diet regiment and exercise will all help to ensure that you stay on Mother Nature’s good side. In the meantime, a little extra help doesn’t hurt. Here are a few simple tips that can keep people asking, “How old did you say you were again?”

1. Buy a good bra, not just a pretty one

Sometimes we get a little too taken with lace, sheer and embroidery and forget the best thing of all is the fit. Most overweight women wear bras that let their breasts fall too low, making them look older and heavier. However, a good bra can make you look leaner and slimmer. If you are unsure, get fitted in the lingerie department of your favorite department store. You will see the difference next time in your favorite shirt

2. Make it a point to add color in your wardrobe

Because black women come in so many shades, why limit yourself to dark and neutral colors. Venture outside of the box. Try beautiful pastels and earth tones, and even some vibrant patterns. Try bright colors on your good features and dark colors on problem areas. Since black women come in all colors, so should the wardrobe. Color will make you look much younger.

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3. Know yourself is knowing your size.

Another common mistake that plus-size women make is that they squeeze in the wrong size trying to look thinner. But, the unfortunate and blatant truth is that this only makes you look bigger and older. Women believe that if they risk going up a size than they have to eventually deal with that weight gain, which might be true. But who says that you have to look terrible while waiting to lose the weight. If you look your best at any weight, you might find yourself in a better frame of mind to take on a diet and exercise routine.

4. Boot camp on boot cuts

Please, please, please ladies; throw out tapered and ill-fitting jeans. As mentioned, black women tend to carry weight at the bottom making a lady looking larger and shorter. If you want to make your hips appear slimmer, try boot cut jeans. These jeans flare out at the knee and give you the appearance of being slimmer and taller.

Get Mary J’s get-fit-anywhere secret

5. Accessorize Your Wardrobe

Black women are naturally beautiful. To enhance that beauty, try a host of attractive accessories. Scarves, long dangling earrings, pins, handbags and shoes all help you look very attractive before and after you lose weight. After all, it’s very hard to notice problem areas on your body when you are adorned with an array of eye-catching accessories.

Lastly, don’t try so hard to be noticed, just being yourself will get you plenty of attention. Black is beautiful no matter what!

Take a look at the hottest celeb pics on the net

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The key to raising healthy kids is teaching them how to make healthy decisions. To do this, you must be informed about health issues that affect your child and be willing to take an active role as a parent. Childhood obesity is the biggest health threat facing kids.Follow these steps, and you can take action to stimulate healthy decision-making and prevent obesity:

Step 1

Begin with a healthy pregnancy. Make sure you consume the recommended amounts vitamins and nutrients. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that pregnant women require higher daily amounts of vitamin A (770 mcg), calcium (1,000 mg), iron (27 mg), vitamin C (85 mg), vitamin B12 (2.6 mcg), folate (600 mcg) and folic acid (400 mcg). Some prenatal vitamins now provide DHA Omega-3 to support brain and eye development.

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Step 2

Take an active role in your child’s health care. Discuss concerns about important issues, such as circumcision, medications and vaccinations with the pediatrician. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Step 3

Provide a supportive environment. Children excel when they feel safe and comfortable. By creating a welcoming, open atmosphere at home, your child will be less likely to seek gratification in other ways, such as overeating, drugs, alcohol, promiscuous behavior or some other unhealthy alternative.

Click here for more tips

Are you really there for your kids?

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you just might be planning your night of sexy fun with your man. There’s a really easy way you can make your V-Day even sexier but just changing some things in your diet! The old saying “You are what you eat” is very much true and definitely affects how you taste down there. This isn’t just advice for the ladies. Men can also change how their body chemistry tastes and smells through their diet. Here’s a guide to which foods to eat and which ones to avoid:

Things You Should Eat:

• Lots of Water
• Pineapple, papaya, cranberry, melon, apples and grapes
• Cinnamon, cardamom, peppermint and lemon
• Citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits

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Things To Avoid:

• Alcohol
• Caffiene
• Nicotine and illegal drugs
• Red meat
• Garlic
• Fish
• Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and asparagus
• Dairy
• Junk Food (preservatives!)

Changing your diet just a week or so before a special bedroom romp can make you and your partner a little sweeter to the taste. Follow these rules and you’re destined to have an explosive Valentine’s Day!

Check out some sexy EYE CANDY to get your V-Day started off right!

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Our appetites can be quite the pranksters. It often fools us to think we are hungry, when often, we may be suffering from something completely different. Distinguishing between false hunger and true hunger will help you know when your body really needs food and when it needs something else.

1. Hunger Due to Eating the Wrong Food: Symptoms include craving high sugar foods or feeling “hungry” soon after eating a meal. If you just had a big meal that is high in simple carbohydrates and did not contain fiber, protein or healthy fat, all of which help provide a sense of satiety, you may have experienced a drop in blood sugar. In this case, have a healthy snack, such as a piece of fresh fruit and nuts, or cottage cheese or celery and peanut butter or 1/2 of a sandwich on whole grain bread.

2. Emotional Hunger: Sometimes, our appetites can go haywire when we are experiencing boredom, fear, anxiety, stress or loneliness. Try taking a walk, journaling, listening to some favorite music, calling a friend or chewing a piece of mint gum instead. Read a book, go to a “safe place” like a library or museum or park where you will not be tempted to overeat or distracted by food. Take a bath, meditate, or think about what REALLY would satisfy you, vs. eating to stuff down emotions you do not want to confront.

READ THE REST HERE!

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Check out the hottest celebs pics on the net!!

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(From Glamour)

No bossy list of health to-dos here! Just insider info from Dr Oz, that’ll make you want to treat yourself right:

What Happens When…You Try a Fad Diet

The Master Cleanse and other restrictive weight-loss plans seem to have become more popular than ever. But let me fill you in on something: After a few days of massively scaling back food intake, your metabolism starts to plummet. That’s because your brain senses that there isn’t enough food coming in. It tells your body to cling desperately to the fat stores it already has, and starts burning lean muscle tissue for fuel—two things that ultimately increase your percentage of body fat. After several days on a very low-calorie diet, levels of omega-3 fats in your brain can fall as well. Around 30 percent of the brain is made up of these fats, and without enough of them, you may be more prone to depression.

How to help your body: The healthiest, most effective way to lose weight is to eat small, balanced meals and snacks every few hours so your brain never goes into that starvation panic mode, and to never, ever drop below 1,200 calories a day.

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What Happens When…You Skimp on Sleep

After even one night of four hours’ sleep instead of eight, you’ll feel crankier and generally “down.” You’ll have more difficulty processing complex information, and you’ll want to eat more—specifically simple carbs like sweets. Why? Your body wants a quick energy fix any way it can get it. When you don’t get enough rest, your body also produces less growth hormone, a substance that helps tissues regenerate and repair themselves, keeping you younger longer.

How to help your body: The exact amount of rest your body needs is very personal, but, on average, I recommend women get no fewer than seven hours. Men are a bit needier (as you probably already knew). They have to get closer to eight.

What Happens When…You Eat a Fatty Meal

Once a bacon cheeseburger gets into your system, the saturated and trans fats cause blood vessels to constrict. They stay that way for about four hours—boosting blood pressure and reducing blood flow and oxygen supply. And here’s the kicker: As soon as those tough four hours are up, it’s time for your next meal; choose another fatty one, and the cycle happens again. Someone who eats this way most days is almost always walking around with tightened arteries—a prescription for heart disease.

How to help your body: To feel your best and live longer, make high-fat splurges like this the exception, not the rule.

What Happens When…You Have a Glass of Wine

Piles of studies have linked light drinking—whether it’s wine, beer or the hard stuff—to a healthier heart. One study illuminated the possible reason: After one drink (4 ounces of wine or 1.5 of liquor, not a glass the size of a soup bowl), your blood vessels relax. That’s a good thing, but having a second drink stresses your circulatory system. And it’s worth noting that men have more of an alcohol-digesting enzyme in their stomach than women do. More of the alcohol you drink gets into your bloodstream than it does for men, making you drunker quicker. Once boozed-up blood hits your brain, your reaction time and your ability to process information slow. And your liver gets pulled away from its work of clearing out toxins to focus on neutralizing the alcohol. Research suggests that alcohol may be two to three times riskier for a woman’s liver than a man’s, even when they drink the same amount.

How to help your body: You’re far better off having a glass of wine a day than having none all week and then seven on Saturday night.

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Full Figured Tips From Deborah Gregory!

Society pushes the image of the super skinny models and starlets on the average women making us feel like we are too big to be sexy. But if this finding is true then the reverse is true that being overweight leads to thicker hair? One can make the argument that over-eating feeds the hair follicles allowing them to grow. When we feed our bodies with protein, vitamins and minerals it can maximize the function of hair giving us fuller locks. A diet high in fat and protein may give you thunder thighs, but who cares if you have a full head of hair to help balance the thick gut and lack of a waist. So does this mean that big girls also have bigger booties and thicker, fuller heads of hair?

The downside is that studies have also shown that obesity in women leads to thick, coarse facial hair because of a hormone imbalance, while obesity in men leads to the appearance of male breast.

Pick your poison: which one would you chose thin hair or thunder thighs?

THICK VS. FAT: Aren’t They The Same???

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Artichoke always look so inviting but ever wonder “how the hell do I eat this thing??” Alas, we found a great guide from simplyrecipes.com on how to cook and then eat an artichoke!

How to Cook an Artichoke

1. If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.

2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.

3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

4. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. Alternatively you can cut off the stems and peel the outside layers which is more fibrous and bitter and cook the stems along with the artichokes.

5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.

6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook.

Now the artichoke is ready to eat! Check out the rest of the article on simplyrecipies.com for dips and sauces for your artichoke plus what to do with the artichoke heart!

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month approaches, we need to think about realistic ways to protect ourselves from getting the second most common cancer for women. Here’s how making smart food choices might just lower your breast cancer risk.So why bother trying to prevent breast cancer? For one, second to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer women face.

Here’s what you can do to lower your risk according to eatingwell.com:

1. Stay lean, move more
One of the most important ways to reduce risk of breast cancer is to avoid gaining weight, suggests a recent review article in the journal Cancer. That means balancing a healthy diet with plenty of exercise. And a study of over 100,000 women reported that those who got regular, strenuous exercise had a lower risk of developing breast cancer than others who didn’t. Exercise may help lower levels of hormones that are involved in breast cancer. Commit to regular exercise, if you haven’t already.
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2. Enjoy fats in moderation
The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS), a major clinical trial of postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer, found that those who followed a low-fat diet significantly reduced their risk of cancer coming back. They also lost an average of 4.6 pounds after the first year of the trial, while those in the control group gained a half pound. Because weight gain is linked with breast-cancer recurrence and lower survival rates, perhaps the key benefit of a lower-fat diet is the weight loss it encourages. Watching your fat intake can help prevent you from gaining weight and may thus be a cancer-fighting strategy.

3. Eat soyfoods, not supplements
In countries like China and Japan where soyfoods are commonly eaten, breast-cancer rates are among the lowest in the world-and one analysis of 18 studies found that eating soyfoods, such as tofu and soy nuts, slightly lowered breast-cancer risk. But don’t be tempted to pop a soy supplement, warns Laurence Kolonel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the epidemiology program at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii: the high doses of soy phytoestrogens found in supplements can behave like estrogen in the body, causing breast-cell changes that could potentially lead to cancer. Breast-cancer survivors and women at high risk for the disease should avoid soy supplements.

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Late nights. Hard partying. Yo-yo dieting. It’s the lifestyle of many young people, but the bad habits of our youth can take a toll on our face years later. In fact, it’s precisely such reckless behavior that can impact skin long-term.

1) Smoking
Between the drying out and the toxins and the oxygen-zapping and the above-the-lip, pucker-inhale wrinkles, smoking does absolutely nothing good for your skin and really just makes you look old and gray-faced before your time.

2). Booze
Ooh. I bet you liked those four Mojitos last night, but you know what? Your skin hated them. Alcohol dehydrates the skin, it can cause tiny red veins to rupture on your visage, and make you look as blotchy and flushed as Nick Nolte in a mugshot. To combat this: Down a glass a water between spirits, and limit consumption to just a couple of booze-y beverages per night.

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3). Sugar
Dear chocoholics, cookie monsters, and anyone who regularly polishes off a pint of Chunky Monkey: Sugar messes with your skin’s collagen; it can lessen its repair function and speed up elasticity loss, leaving your face dull and saggy. Curb sweet tooth cravings by turning to natural sugars like those found in fruit or, even better, snack on a handful of almonds which are packed with both antioxidants (good for skin!) and protein.

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]]> http://hellobeautiful.com/499767/3-things-that-ruin-your-skin/feed/ 2 3 Things That Ruin Your Skin (thumbnail) ionehellobeautiful picture-13 http://hellobeautiful.com/480637/breakfast-foods-that-will-sabotage-your-diet/ http://hellobeautiful.com/480637/breakfast-foods-that-will-sabotage-your-diet/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:30:55 +0000 HelloBeautifulStaff http://hellobeautiful.com/?p=480637 ]]>

There are some breakfast foods that will totally derail your diet.  Here are some of the most common unhealthy grab-and-go breakfast foods along with healthier alternatives for a morning meal from sheknows.com:

Breakfast croissants can crush your diet

There’s a reason why croissants taste so buttery and delicious: They’re loaded with butter — or partially hydrogenated oil. For example, Aunt Jemima’s Sausage, Egg & Cheese on a Croissant Sandwich, from the freezer to the microwave, is a mini-meal of 350 calories. It contains more than a day’s worth (2 grams) of trans fat from the partially hydrogenated oil in the white-flour croissant and a third of a day’s saturated fat (7 grams) from the sausage and pasteurized process cheddar cheese. There’s half a day’s cholesterol (150 milligrams) from the egg patty and a full day’s worth of sodium (680 milligrams) from all four of these culprits.

Basically, it’s a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin with trans and extra saturated fats, waiting to destroy your diet.

Breakfast sandwiches can pack on the pounds

Aunt Jemima, well known for her pancakes, now offers pancake sandwiches in the freezer aisle. The pre-made frozen Sausage, Egg & Cheese on Pancakes Griddlecake Sandwich consists of sausage, egg and cheese packed between pancakes with syrup flavoring. While it has no trans fat, it does boast 8 grams of saturated fat as well as an unhealthful mix of salt (930 milligrams of sodium) and sugar (11 grams). This hearty little morning meal weighs in at 360 calories.

Breakfast biscuits may bust your buttons

If you’re gunning for a fast-food fix, that Burger King Breakfast Biscuit is 300 calories — for a plain one. Add in the sausage, egg and cheese, and you’ll end up consuming a whopping 590 calories, 40 grams of fat and 1,640 milligrams of sodium!

Hardee’s Monster Biscuit is another chart-topper when it comes to unhealthful breakfast sandwiches. It’s a 700-calorie biscuit behemoth that contains nearly a full day’s worth of sodium (2,250 milligrams) and saturated fat (7 grams).

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