If you want to combat winter colds, look no further than your refrigerator. Although there are several cold remedies available in the drugstore, you’ll probably want to deal with your cold as naturally as possible. read full story
If you are trying to break free from your sugar addiction as part of your 2012 self-improvement plan, you are not alone. There are 27,100 global monthly searches for the keywords “addiction to sugar” according read full story
Thinking of signing up for a shiny new gym membership this week? Stop! Read this post before you sign on the dotted line. We want to save you time, money, and self-respect. You don’t need read full story
Almost half of Americans made New Year’s resolutions over the weekend, including me. Although I like to reflect on my life and improve my health habits all year long, I also see the new year read full story
When you are trying to lose weight, you’ll often come across the same old advice about how to avoid temptation – stop eating out, cook at home, and tightly manage your grocery list. Although this advice works in a controlled environment, we all know that you are not a research subject and life is not a bio lab. Real life is messy and sometimes things don’t always go according to plan. Eating out is convenient if you are a single guy or gal. Plus, you won’t always have time to pack lunch for work despite your best intentions.
Eating out isn’t all about convenience either. In most cultures, social experiences are shared around food. Sharing a meal is a way to connect with the people that you love without the distractions of everyday life. Having a fulfilling social life is one factor that helps determine how healthy you are too. Supportive social networks have shown to extend life expectancy in scientific studies.
The squat is almost the perfect exercise. The squat is a multijoint movement that engages the core, glutes, hamstrings, quads, spinal erectors, and smaller stability muscles. All good things have a catch, right? The squat may be one of the best strength exercises around, but squats are extremely difficult to perform correctly. If you don’t perfect your form before you pack weight onto the bar, you could seriously injure yourself.
Try doing a self check the next time that you step up to the rack for a set of squats. Make sure to avoid these 5 common squat mistakes:
Eggs have long been considered a staple breakfast food. Packed with choline, protein, and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, eggs are loaded with health benefits. Although scientists have already identified individual nutrients in eggs, they have just recently discovered why eggs are the perfect morning food. New evidence shows how eggs keep you awake by jumpstarting your brain at the cellular level.
Much ado about something was going on in my RSS reader last week as Paula Deen admitted on the Today Show that she has type II diabetes. Deen is the infamous celebrity “chef” that is equally beloved and despised. Either way, her media personae represents a caricature of the southern US in all of its culinary glory. Whether we see her on her Food Network show Paula’s Home Cooking, or actually eat in her restaurant The Lady and Sons in Georgia, Paula’s message has been consistent: everything tastes better fried, frosted, and dipped in butter. Common sense would say that she would change this message because of her diagnosis. As it turns out, she’s not budging.
In case you were unplugged last week, here’s what went down. On her Today Show appearance, Paula Deen admitted that she was diagnosed with type II diabetes in 2008. She also stated that she is working with pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk to promote a new diabetes management web portal and Victoza, a diabetes drug. In Paula’s words, “diabetes is not a death sentence”, and she is interested in promoting “diabetes management”.
Getting more green leafy vegetables into the standard American diet has never been easier thanks to the growing trend of year-round farmers markets and mega natural grocery stores across America. Despite the ease of getting our hands on a few bunches of greens a week, Americans are still not getting enough leafy greens in our diet. According to the blog One Green Planet, the average American eats 415.5 lbs of vegetables a year. That sounds like a lot, but it’s actually not when you consider other food categories: Americans eat 600 lbs of non-cheese dairy products a year and 141.6 lbs of caloric sweeteners per year.
Why do Americans have such a hard time adding greens to their daily diet? It’s not that we don’t know what to eat, it’s that leafy greens are boring! Eating giant salads day in and day out gets lame after a while. The good news is, you don’t have to eat like a rabbit to get the benefits of a diet rich in leafy greens.
If you have a hard time thinking of creative ways to sneak additional servings of greens into your diet, try these 5 easy tips:
If you want to combat winter colds, look no further than your refrigerator. Although there are several cold remedies available in the drugstore, you’ll probably want to deal with your cold as naturally as possible. Remember when your mom used to throw you on the couch as kid and let you sweat it out without the help of cough syrup or decongestant pills? It turns out that her solution, a healthy dose of rest and a big bowl of chicken soup, could be the best way to help you bounce back from a cold virus.
Last week, my husband woke up with a sore throat and nasal congestion. Yep, all signs pointed to the dreaded first cold of the season. I decided to make him some chicken soup from scratch, and he wondered why I was giving this to him instead of a heavy dose of throat spray. I couldn’t really answer because it is something that I have always made when I am sick. I knew that it was good for him, but I wanted to know more about why chicken soup is the standby of caretakers everywhere. Here is what I found out:
According to a new infographic complied by the folks over at the blog Frugal Dad, the average man in America is married, has two kids, and is overweight. He gets paid $36,100 a year and has $3,100 in savings. He can do 1 pullup, and his 1 rep max for bench press is 160 lbs.
Want to know how you stack up against the average man? Check out the infographic to see how you compair.
Today’s guest post is by Pamela Hernandez. Pamela is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach. Today, Pamela writes about how you can derail your goals by rewarding yourself with food after a workout. Pamela is the owner of Thrive Personal Fitness. Follow her healthy weight loss and fitness tips on twitter: @thrivefit. She is ThriveFit on DailyBurn.
If you are trying to break free from your sugar addiction as part of your 2012 self-improvement plan, you are not alone. There are 27,100 global monthly searches for the keywords “addiction to sugar” according to Google. If so many people are looking for information about sugar addiction, why is it so hard to break the addiction in real life? I think the answer boils down to this: people don’t know the appropriate steps to take to create a positive feedback loop.
A positive feedback loop is an effective tool for changing behavior. According to an article in Wired magazine, a feedback loop involves four distinct stages: data collection, information relay, consequence, and action.
“There must be a clear moment when the individual can recalibrate a behavior, make a choice, and act. Then that action is measured, and the feedback loop can run once more, every action stimulating new behaviors that inch us closer to our goals.”
I’ve created 5 steps will help you create a positive feedback loops in the real world to change your behavior around sugar. If you practice these steps on an ongoing basis, you’ll break your sugar addiction for good:
Thinking of signing up for a shiny new gym membership this week? Stop! Read this post before you sign on the dotted line. We want to save you time, money, and self-respect. You don’t need fancy gym machines and membership packages to get in the best shape of your life. Here are 5 reasons not to join a gym this year:
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