Debra’s Top 3 Trim-Down Tips Trash your trigger foods. “Even after losing the weight, there are a few foods that I’ve learned that I simply can’t have in my house, or they’ll trigger a binge: Peanut butter, cereal, and chocolate. I no longer buy them.” Go meatless. “I was vegetarian years ago, but came back to it while I was training,” says Debra. “I choose to do it because of my compassion for animals—it’s a spiritual decision for me....
With so many people offering advice on weight loss, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. All too often I’ve overheard a hardworking gym-goer sharing a well-meaning but ill-informed tip with another exerciser. And I’m not the only one who’s heard fitness folklore being swapped on the training room floor. I spoke to top experts in the field to find out the common fitness myths they hear from clients....
You’ve been walking nearly your entire life, so surely you know a thing or two about putting one foot in front of the other, right? Not so much. “Walking for fitness isn’t the same as taking a walk in the park,” says Katherine Dreyer, co-author of ChiWalking: The Five Mindful Steps for Lifelong Health and Energy. In order to stay injury-free while reaping all of the disease-fighting, fat-blasting, and mood-boosting benefits of walking, it’s important to pay attention to what your body is doing from head to (big) toe....
We hereby authorize liberal use of air quotes when discussing these “healthy” foods—items that come plastered with health-related packaging claims but consistently fall short in the nutritional department. Here’s the unfortunate truth about 15 “healthy” products, plus suggestions for what to buy instead. (Lose up to 15 pounds WITHOUT dieting with Eat Clean to Get Lean, our 21-day clean-eating meal plan.) [block:bean=mkt-course-eatcleanstaylean] Twig & Flake Cereals Just because a cereal is organic, made with whole grains, high in fiber, or studded with flax seeds doesn’t mean it’s automatically good for you....
15 High-Sodium Foods to Avoid Canned vegetable soup (1 cup): 940 mgBloody Mary mix (8 oz): 840 mgPasta sauce (1?2 cup): 756 mgReduced-calorie Caesar dressing (2 tablespoons): 620 mgCranberry-Walnut bagel (1): 590 mgVegetarian baked beans (1?2 cup): 550 mgPancake mix (two 4-inch pancakes): 477 mgPan Pizza (1 slice from large cheese pizza): 470 mgCottage cheese (1?2 cup): 456 mgCanned green beans (1?2 cup): 390 mgInstant chocolate pudding (1?2 cup): 380 mgChocolate fudge cake mix (1?...
Why Migraines Happen “Migraine is a neurobiological disorder involving both neurological and vascular changes in the brain during an attack,” says Susan Broner, MD, medical director of the Manhattan Headache Center in New York City. “People with a genetic predisposition have a reduced threshold for the activation of the brain’s ‘pain centers’ and become hypersensitive to stimuli that cause pain. These set off a wave of nerve cell activity and neurotransmitter release that activates blood vessel inflammation, feeding pain structures deep in the brain....
Fissures are tears or ulcers in the lining of the anal canal most often caused by trauma, the most common being a hard bowel movement,” says Edmund Leff, MD. Research points to anatomical problems that can contribute to chronic anal fissures, as opposed to isolated problems with the painful lesions. Increased pressure in the internal anal sphincter muscle and reduced blood flow to the area in which fissures occur may make you more prone to chronic problems....
Eat Smaller Meals Stomach acids can be forced up into the esophagus when there’s too much food in your belly. Fill your belly more, and you’ll force up more acid, says Klein. (And try these 9 foods that soothe heartburn naturally.) Limit Foods That Fan The Flames Certain foods are more likely to cause heartburn than others. Fatty foods, including meat and dairy, tend to sit in the stomach for a long time and foster surplus acid production, says Larry I....
Michaels is focusing on this mental aspect of getting fit even more in her new roles, as the “Chief Energy Officer” for natural energy drink purveyor EBoost and an inspirational speaker traveling the country on her “Maximize Your Life” tour, which just kicked off this month. (She also talks about it a lot in her newest book, Slim for Life.) “The fact is that I can provide all of the information in the world, but if a person isn’t motivated to use it, then none of it matters,” shes says....
And now a new study in PLoS ONE reveals a way to fight the chronic kind of inflammation that leads to disease: Improve the number and function of your infection-fighting white blood cells so your body’s better prepared for battle. Start by eating these three foods: Strawberries: The fruit is rich in vitamin C, which research shows helps stimulate the production of white blood cells. One cup offers almost 150% of your daily value of C....
If so, this upper-body workout is especially for you. It focuses on the arms, shoulders, and chest. Trust a tape measure to chart your progress. As you build muscle, remember that the scale may stay the same, but you won’t. Your Toning ProgramDo two 30-second sets of each exercise. Work up to 1-minute sets. Keep the movements slow and controlled; rest for 30 to 60 seconds between sets. Do two or three sessions a week....
Even if you’re generally in tune with your eating M.O., there are a few less-obvious factors impacting your appetite that you may not even be aware of. Lisa Young, PhD, RD, author of The Portion Teller Plan, explains four surprising things that may be making you hungrier. Beware of these sneaky weight-loss roadblocks. Air Conditioning. You know how you end up eating more in the winter and may even gain a few pounds between November and February?...
DIY acupressure. Muscle pain is the most common type of pain, says Teitelbaum. Tender, marble-size knots in your muscles are called trigger points, and many trigger points correspond to acupressure points used in treatments such as acupuncture or sports massage. “Push on the trigger point with enough pressure to see a white mark from your finger and hold for at least 45 seconds,” advises Teitelbaum. “It will hurt at first, but doing this increases the energy flow to help release the muscle the same way a sports massage works to ease the pain....
