We bet you didn’t know it was National Sleep Awareness Week. According to the National Sleep Foundation, this year’s focus is on “springing forward,” the process of losing that precious hour of sleep for Daylight Savings Time. The amount of rest you get is directly related to how you perform…
Bicycling is great exercise. In fact, riding your bike for an hour at a steady pace can burn up to 533 calories for a 140-pound individual. However, it’s important to keep safety precautions in mind when you go for a ride. Most people don’t even consider wearing a helmet when…
Frozen entrees are a dieter’s best friend…and with good reason. They’re convenient, low in calories and come in a variety of meals. Even better, these ready-made meals fit with just about any weight-loss plan. When a Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or Weight Watchers meal is for lunch, you know the…
It’s far too easy to blame other people for your weight problem. Maybe your spouse is critical of your appearance or weight, and it drives you to eat. Perhaps obesity runs in your genes. We can all come up with a million reasons why we’re overweight. However, playing the blame…
If you’ve made the resolution to snuff out smoking this year, then one of your best allies in the fight can be exercise. It’s great if you’re already committed to a workout plan – after you quit, you’ll see even better results because smoking and exercise have opposite effects on…
It’s a major challenge for many of us to limit the sugar in our diets, mainly because the white stuff is everywhere, especially in processed foods. Take a look at your diet and the sneaky ways sugar makes its way in there, even in seemingly healthful foods. Many fruit juices…
There are benefits of working out muscles in a certain order. Training large muscle groups first when your energy level is the highest usually works best. These muscles include thighs, chest and back. The smaller muscles like forearms, biceps and triceps should be saved for last. Strengthening your muscles through…
There are plenty of supposedly quick fixes for the nasty stuff women call “cottage cheese” or “orange peel” – aka cellulite. The biological explanation for it is the connective tissues that separate fat into compartments. These patterns tend to be horizontal or crisscrossed in men, but women’s compartments tend to…
Microwave popcorn might be an on-the-go dieter’s best friend. It’s a convenient, sometimes lower-calorie salty snack option. It’s a whole grain, and it offers plenty of fiber per serving, which fills you up. And it’s certainly better than the movie theater’s fat- and salt-laden offerings. But microwave popcorn is far…
Weight loss can be tough for anyone. Many of us have a pesky 10 or 20 pounds to lose, but what if your weight loss goals are bigger – much, much bigger? It takes time, determination and a plan to lose 100 pounds or more, but it can be done….