Bottled water: 6 Things you should know

Trying to purchase bottled water can leave you feeling more confused than ever. With the myriad of choices out there, how do you pick one that provides you with hydration, MINUS the hype? Water companies make fancy claims, but think about it: These companies are competing for your attention in a market where there is really no need for additives. Devise a game plan for water that makes waves!1. Choose water without artificial sweeteners or added. Terms like Aspartame (brand name Nutrasweet), Sucralose (brand name Splenda), are artificial and have no place lurking in your water! Add lemon, lime, a slice of orange or even cucumber to your beverage for refreshment. Or, choose a bottled water like Metromint (www.metromint.com) that uses mint...

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5 Reasons Why You're Not Getting Healthy

Do you primarily try to be healthy, but have occasional slip-ups? Do you wonder what's getting in the way? It's the holidays and it's getting colder by the minute (depending on your location) forcing our discipline to fly out the window when it comes to certain indulgences. Once you realize the mistakes you are making then it'll be easier to get back on track. Here are five major things that are getting in the way of your healthy lifestyle:1. Comfort foodsWe tend to load up on these as the temperature starts to drop. Instead, realize that you just might need to put on more layers of clothing (not fat) to keep content. Try drinking a hot cup of tea instead of coffee and snack on veggies or nuts instead of chips and cupcakes. If stress is a problem for you, read How to Avoid Stress Eating, because...

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Are You Addicted To Food? 6 Steps Out Of Food Addiction

Is it time to step up to the plate (so to speak), take an honest and courageous look at your life, and make a commitment to loving yourself? Are you ready to let go of belief systems and habits that no longer serve you? Are you ready to step into a healthier 2010?Is your weight stopping you from moving forward? Might you be a food addict? Please take an honest look at the following questions and answer, 'yes' or 'no.'1. Do you find that you have no 'stopping mechanism' and even though you want to 'stop' eating, you can't?2. Are you obsessed with food? Think about food all the time? And your weight too?3. Have you attempted one diet plan after another, with no lasting success?4. Do you binge and/or purge?5. Do you eat in secret? Are you a closet eater?6. Are you an emotional eater? Do you use...

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2-Minute tricks that beat stress

The next time you’re having a bad day (or week or month) take heart: you can perk up your mood quickly and simply. According to experts, life circumstances account for only 10% of happiness. Half depends on your genetic “set point,” which is kind of like the weight your body bounces back to after a crash diet. And about 40% of your happiness is influenced by what you do deliberately to make yourself. Here are a few easy tricks to try:1. Flip through Old PhotosWhen you’re feeling down, break out your kids’ baby albums or pics from your favorite vacation. It may actually make you feel happier than a square of chocolate would! That’s what researchers at the United Kingdom’s Open University found after they examined how much people’s moods rose after eating a chocolate snack, sipping an alcoholic...

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V-Shape Shortcuts

Prep for a spring show-off by working your upper body.By the Editors of Men's Health If you're going to work your vanity muscles (nothing wrong with that!), choose exercises that provide fast results. This routine uses overhand, underhand, and neutral grips, which combine to demand more of your biceps and triceps. Also, the multimuscle moves will build your chest, back, and shoulders, says Matt McGorry, C.F.T., who created the routine. (And if you want to ignite new growth, be sure you work these six muscles you ignore—but shouldn't.)1. Bench pressLie on a flat bench. Using an overhand, shoulder-width grip, hold a barbell straight above your sternum, lower it, pause, and press it back up. Keep your elbows tucked so that when you're in the down...

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Posted in: Fitness,Muscle Building

6 Muscles You Can't Ignore

By: Ted Spiker Where would we be without our supporting cast? Peyton Manning wouldn't have time to throw, captains would be swabbing their own decks, and the Dunder Mifflin paper company's brainstorming meetings wouldn't be considered entertainment. Success typically depends on behind-the-scenes help, and your body is no different. While your abs and biceps receive all the glory, here's a secret: It's the little-known muscles that make the big ones stand out. The problem is, working the muscles you can't see—like the ones deep inside your core, hips, and shoulders—can be a difficult process. But target those areas, and your whole body benefits. Not only will you look better, but you'll also have more strength and suffer fewer...

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Posted in: Fitness,Muscle Building

7 Reasons You're Still Overweight and How to Get Slim Fast

Why do some people pack on the pounds effortlessly? It’s not always genetics and it’s not always gluttony, and you can’t always blame it on lack of exercise. Indeed, becoming overweight is often a result of some simple—and easily correctible—bad habits, especially when it comes to dining out.As we began researching Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide, we discovered plenty of egregious examples of super-fattening foods in both America’s supermarkets and our chain restaurants. And we learned that if you simply know what to order and what to avoid, you can shave off pounds effortlessly. For example, does On the Border really need to stuff more than a day’s worth of calories into its Dos XX Fish Tacos? (Remember when fish was healthy?) And shouldn’t Chili’s warn parents when a selection...

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Should I use hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?

IntroductionOver the past decades, menopausal women have been encouraged to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for its apparent health- and youth-preserving benefits. It is true that HRT lowers the risk of osteoporosis and possibly colon cancer. But, compared to women not taking hormones, women taking HRT have slightly higher rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and Alzheimer's disease as well as other forms of dementia.Although HRT risks are not high for most women, on average, the small risks outweigh the small benefits. As a result, women's health experts now recommend that, for most women, HRT use should be limited to one or both of the following: Short-term menopausal symptom relief.Severe osteoporosis risk (when nonhormonal treatments have been...

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90 seconds to slim

Tired of countless sets and reps? Make "one and done" your workout mantra. With this get-lean routine you'll do each move only once, which will leave you twice as much time to enjoy your sleek new physique!Slow down to firm up. You can tone all over with a single rep. The key? Stretch out each exercise over a full 90 seconds. "Stop-and-hold training is more effective than traditional strength training because it maximizes muscle tension throughout the total range of motion," says Pete Cerqua, author of The 90-Second Fitness Solution (Atria Books), who created these slow-mo moves exclusively for SELF. You'll need A pair of 5- to 10-pound weights and a stability ballYou'll do One rep (or one on each side) of each sculptor twice a week on nonconsecutive days. Go with the sl...

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Busted! 5 Major Eating Mistakes

By Holly McCord, RD, with Gloria McVeigh, PreventionEver get the guilty feeling that you're being watched as you toss the double fudge brownie mix into your grocery cart? Well, you are! We checked with some of the top US nutrition experts, who admitted they secretly spy on the rest of us as we make real-world choices in restaurants and grocery stores. Here are their top five gripes.1. We can't tell the good fats from the bad ones. "Most people still don't get that some fats are actually good for you," says Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, an American Heart Association spokesperson. "You want to avoid saturated and trans fats, but you need more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Good sources are fish, nuts, avocados, and soybean and canola oils."Smarter: Fit in good fats. "If you keep track...

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Instant Ab Flatteners

Achieving a toned, sexy tummy might seem like a pipe dream this time of year. Baggy sweaters abound, egg nog is served and Frosty the Snowman doesn't offer much in the way of flat-belly inspiration. But getting a sleek, sexy stomach is easier than you think. Spend just five minutes a day on toning your abs and you'll get an amazing middle. We rounded up five of the most effective tummy toners around. Work three or four of these exercises into your routine (easing them in will minimize soreness). Do the number of reps indicated, resting one minute between moves. The only equipment you will need is a hand towel. Washboard abs, here you come!Pike 90Lie faceup; raise legs until perpendicular to floor, feet flexed. Lower right leg so it hovers 1...

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Stop Snoring

For most people, snoring is not a major problem, and most people snore at least occasionally. Men and overweight people are more likely to snore and snore more often. The frequency and intensity of snoring will likely increase with age if not dealt with at an earlier stage.Mild snoring might seem harmless, but it can actually lead to more serious health problems, including sleep deprivation. Persistent snoring has also been linked to problems in cardiovascular health, type II diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Snoring is caused when there is a narrowed passageway between the nose and the throat. The passageway narrows because the muscles in your throat are more relaxed when you sleep. When inhaling oxygen while the passageway is...

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Best Anti-Aging Foods

These six food groups hold the "power" to help you lose weight and turn back the clock. Don't miss our easy seven-day meal plan and delicious anti-aging snacks!1. ProducePiling your plate with fruits and vegetables is a no-brainer when it comes to weight loss — they're low in calories, high in nutrients, and filling — but the latest studies show that certain ones can provide surprising anti-aging benefits.There's buzz about blueberries, for instance, for their memory-boosting potential. But berries of all hues are antioxidant-rich, reports Navindra P. Seeram, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in Kingston. That means they combat free radicals, molecules that can cause widespread cell damage and are linked to chronic inflammation. Unlike the inflammation...

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4 Reasons you are "fake hungry"

Our appetites can be quite the pranksters. They often fool 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...

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5 Bogus Diets That Will Do More Harm Than Good

With obesity as one of our number one killers, it is no surprise that Americans are scrambling for any kind of weight loss help. Unfortunately, in this eternal struggle to be thin and healthy, people end up looking for salvation in all the wrong places. Instead of relying on exercise and following the credo "everything in moderation," we turn to miracle solutions, diet supplements, and calorie deprivation. The results are the following bogus diets that may work in the short term, but may also cause severe harm to your body over time.1. The Cabbage Soup DietThe title is self explanatory: the dieter's survival is based on a constant intake of cabbage soup. Even on the Cabbage Soup Diet website, red flags are evident. The first being the opening...

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Top 10 Healthiest Snacks : You Can Just Keep on Eating

Your body needs food - its fuel - in mod - crate doses throughout the day so it always has nutrients available. Having four or five 'mini-meals' daily helps most people prevent cravings and ultimately achieve and maintain healthy weight. The choice of a healthy snack involves - variety, balance, and moderation. Try to limit the snack calories to 100 to 200 calories.Try thinking of snacks as foods eaten between meals rather than as treats or rewards," suggests Barbara Whedon, R.D., a dietitian and nutrition counselor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.Big Benefits from Grazing.Grazing can keep your metabolism, or calorie-burning mechanism, running high. Your body uses calories when you eat and digest food. By consuming smaller...

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