Calm During the Storm

You won't always see eye-to-eye with everyone. Recognize that having different opinions doesn’t have to change your opinion of one another. If an argument is spiraling out of control, step back from the situation. A brief time-out can help you keep things in perspective.

All systems Go

What you eat makes a huge difference in how effectively your digestive tract works. Stick to plenty of fiber-rich foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains to avoid stressful tummy aches.

Get Back on Track

Over-snacking isn't the end of the world, but get yourself back in gear quickly after a binge. For example, have a lighter dinner of a bowl of cereal and milk, a container of yogurt with fruit, or a big salad (with low-fat dressing).

On the Road

You know the story ― you go on vacation or a business trip and your exercise routine goes out the window. Well, it's time to break that pattern! Next time you have to stay in a hotel, look at it as an opportunity to change up your workout. Bench dips, lunges, squats, and push-ups don't require any special equipment. Many hotels have gyms and pools. If there's only a pool, do your strength-training exercises in the water, which provides some extra resistance. If the hotel doesn't have any exercise facilities, do your homework ― search the Internet for a gym nearby that offers day passes ― most do.

Amazing Arms

Looking at Hollywood's red carpet, you can tell the stars are all about developing and toning their upper arms. Even First Lady Michelle Obama often proudly shows her fantastic biceps. But buff arms can be yours too! What you need is a move that will make what I call the "belly" of the biceps really pop! Ready? Get in the right mind-set — it's time to concentrate!


Concentration Curls: Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and sit on the edge of a bench or a chair with your feet a few inches wider than your hips. Lean forward from your hips, and place your right elbow against the inside of your right thigh, just behind your knee. The weight should hang down near the inside of your ankle. Place your left palm on top of your left thigh. Exhale and bend your right arm, curling the dumbbell three-quarters of the way up toward your shoulder. Hold for a beat, then inhale slowly, lowering the weight, and repeat. Do a complete set (10 to 15 reps) on one arm, then switch to the other. Note: The concentration curl really helps isolate the biceps by taking any assistance from the back and shoulders totally out of the equation. Be careful not to cheat by leaning back for help when you are lifting the weight.

Now What?

When you are fulfilled ― say you have a productive job, joyful activities, and healthy relationships ― you're much less likely to mindlessly eat. If you start taking charge of the external things in your life, it will be easier to take charge of the internal ones. Finding nonfood ways to fulfill yourself will pay off for your body, but it will also help you relax and become a happier human being. When you take the time to look after yourself, you tell the world that you're worth it, and that you deserve the best life has to offer. Once you're able to project this kind of attitude, you can't help turning it into reality.

Say Yes to Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

When you see the nutritional information on a bottle of olive oil, you might be shocked using it for cooking. Yes, it's high in fat, but the fat is a good kind that you need in order to think, grow, and absorb essential vitamins and antioxidants. The fat in extra-virgin olive oil helps your heart and feeds your brain. It raises your HDL, or "good," cholesterol, lowering your risk of heart disease. That doesn't give you a license to use as much as you want. Pour with a light hand when using it to sauté foods or when adding it to recipes.

Be Golden

After training, during a period known as the golden hour (45 to 60 minutes after a workout), muscles absorb the most nutrients, and glycogen is replaced the most efficiently. You don't have to have a huge meal — just a little something that contains both protein and carbs will give the best results.

Last 10 Pounds

You know what I like to call those last 10 or 15 pounds that won't come off no matter what you do? Vanity pounds. The term describes our desire to lose weight that, as far as our bodies are concerned, actually feels healthy. Today's society pressures us to want to look a certain way, so for aesthetic reasons we try to be thinner than our bodies want us to be. Personally, I have gained and lost the same eight vanity pounds more times than I care to admit. Losing your first 50 pounds might have been tough, but believe me, dropping those final few stubborn pounds is a whole different challenge. The body struggles to hold on to that last bit of fat for survival purposes. Now, don't get me wrong, you can lose the weight if you want to, but it will require you to muster a tremendous amount of restraint and willpower. If you're really up for it, do the following for 30 days:


Cut your sodium to 1,000 mg a day.


Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.


Cut out processed foods.


Abstain from alcohol.


Train at 85 percent of your MHR (maximum heart rate) for 1 hour 5 times a week.


You can do a lot in 30 days — in fact you will lose at least 5 pounds. And you'll feel like a rock star!

Veggie Delights

Encourage your kids to try at least one small bite each time vegetables are offered, and continue to offer them over and over again. Eventually, as vegetables become more familiar, the distaste may wear off.

Tame Temptations

Survey the buffet and pick only those foods you really crave. Take small samplings of a wide variety of dishes. Savor that bite and pass on seconds — remind yourself that more won't taste any better.

Do Cardio You Love

Jumping rope and doing jumping jacks are excellent forms of cardio that you can do anywhere. It takes time to build up endurance for jumping, though, so try doing intervals at first — jump one minute, rest the next, and so on. You'll find that by jumping, you'll burn calories and tone your quads, hamstrings, and calves. Try different types of jumps to target different leg muscles. When jumping rope, try kicking your butt or bringing your knees up as high as you can in between jumps. The possibilities are endless with this simple activity.

Choose Vibrant Veggies

People often think green when they think of vegetables, but some are vibrant-colored veggies in orange, yellow, red, and purple. By eating vegetables of varying colors (BEST CHOICE: tomatoes), you'll automatically get a range of phytonutrients, each of which has its own particular health-promoting strengths. These colorful plant foods also happen to be incredible sources of soluble and insoluble fiber ― both essential for hormonal balance and impossible to get from animal products. Make sure to eat five servings of veggies a day ― both raw and cooked ― and try to pick from each color category.

Getting (Re)Started

So you are ready to lose weight and get fit? That's awesome! How do you get started? It looks like you already have. The simple fact is that you can change your life by changing your mind. Nothing is impossible for the willing mind! We all have the power to gain control of our lives, reach our goals, and live our dreams. The challenge is locating, nurturing, and believing in your ability to do so.

The Big Balance

You know a mantra: Calories in, calories out. There's something more than weight loss going on in this equation: It's balance. It applies to everything from hormones and nutrition to relationships and careers. Make sure that you strive to keep a healthy balance in your life. Work hard to be who you want to be, take care of yourself, do the things that matter, and everything's likely to fall in place. Calories in, calories out. Breathe positive energy in, breathe negative energy out. Take love in, give love out. Ebb and flow.

Holiday Help

Holidays should be a wonderful time filled with family and friends, laughter and memories. Don't be so stressed that you don't take time to appreciate these blessings. If left unmanaged, stress could do a number on your system, sending levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, through the roof and messing with your all-important sleep patterns. Realign your priorities and carve out some moments this season just for yourself.

Help for Hips

Currently, the number one injury that requires older adults to enter a nursing home is a broken hip suffered in a fall. Want to live out your years on your terms? Then work the muscles of the hip at home with exercises like squats, lunges, and pelvic thrusts, and use the adductor and abductor machines at the gym. Activity keeps joints supple and healthy, and the strong muscles, balance, and coordination you develop by working out can help prevent falls.

Do Dynamic Stretching

The best kind of warm up before a tough workout is a few minutes of cardio (such as jumping rope or jumping jacks) followed by dynamic stretching. We were taught years ago to sit or stand and stretch one muscle group at a time. Contrary to popular belief, this kind of static stretching — which helps prevent muscle soreness and improves flexibility — is best performed AFTER a workout, when your muscles are very warm and loose. In the past several years, fitness experts have discovered that there is a much more effective and healthy way to stretch BEFORE a workout: the dynamic stretch. Dynamic stretching is basically stretching with motion, so your body gets a chance to warm up the muscles slowly and in a functional way. It's a 1-2-3 punch: You warm up your body, get your heart rate up, and stretch all at the same time! Do them on a level surface for a total of about five minutes before you begin your workout. You will notice that with time the exercises will become easier and they will help improve your coordination, flexibility, and balance. High-Knee Walking and Trunk Rotations are some good ones to try!

Face Your Problems Head-on

It's easy to emotionally eat when you're feeling stressed or anxious about things in your life ― especially around the holidays. Put down that junk food and pay attention to what is really eating you up inside. Focus on finding short and long-term solutions instead of sabotaging your diet. Track you food and your feelings in a food log, then look back at it later to see what was happening in your life when you were at your best and worst. Think before you eat! You've worked way too hard to get where you're at to just blow it in the heat of the moment.

Sleek Shoulders

Small muscle groups like the rear delts can't handle a lot of stress, so this won't be the move where you impress others by dropping huge dumbbells to the floor after a set. In fact, don't be surprised if you have to start with very light weights — within the 3-to-15-pound range. Progress, measured by both amount of weight and number of reps, might seem slower than with major muscle groups like the quads. Don't get discouraged or drop these exercises from your routine. Remember, you are striving for a healthy, balanced physique.

Cook the Right Rice

Brown rice is DEFINITELY more nutritious than white rice. White rice is processed so that the bran and germ layers are removed -- this essentially robs the grain of its nutritional value because those layers are the ones that provide the most nutrients. Brown rice retains its outer bran layer, which provides six times the fiber of white rice -- and that’s NO joke. The bran also provides many vitamins and minerals that are lacking in white rice. Brown rice also has a nuttier flavor than white rice. In terms of cooking, it doesn't make a huge difference which way you choose to make rice. If you’re short on time and need to use the instant, that's okay. You certainly don’t always have the time to slow-cook brown rice, and it's okay sometimes!

There's Always an Alternative

You really can't control yourself around a trigger food, like chocolate. One tiny bite is never enough. Before you blink, that entire jumbo-sized bar is gone. In that case, find an alternative that satisfies your craving for salt, sugar, or fat but doesn't do as much damage as the real thing. For example, if your weakness is potato chips, try having some air-popped popcorn as a snack instead. In time you'll adapt so that small amounts of trigger foods will not set you off on an all-night binge.

Be Thankful

All it takes is a simple thank you. Showing your appreciation to your family and friends and being thankful for the good things in your life can lift your mood. And it makes other people feel good, too.

Drink Your Veggies!

Vegetable juices offer a quick, low-calorie way to get all the benefits of veggies, and they also contain much less natural sugar than fruit juices. But vegetable juices can be high in sodium, so opt for a low-sodium version whenever possible.

Switch Up Snacks

Eating between meals isn't bad — it helps stave off hunger and keeps your diet on track, as long as you make smart choices. Try a handful of pretzels, hummus with pita bread or veggies, or a small square of dark chocolate.

Fiber's Perfect Pairing

The more fiber you eat, the more water you need. Water helps fiber smooth digestion. As you add fiber, make sure you stay hydrated.

Forgive Yourself

After fighting with your spouse, you caved in and ate that pint of chocolate ice cream. Big deal! Remind yourself that an occasional lapse won't wreck your weight-management goals. If you lose control and eat too much, use that experience as a guide for how to handle it the next time — and get back on track with your next meal.

Write Yourself a Love Letter: You Rock!

Don't believe it? Well, you should because it's true. Stop and think about all of your strengths, and then get some paper and a pen and write yourself a love letter. Make a list of all the admirable things about yourself, all the things worth loving, everything that makes you special. If you get stuck, imagine that you're your own best friend and think about all of the things that friend might say to you about why you're such a wonderful person.

Be Assertive

One of the best ways to get out of a stressful situation is to be assertive and confront it. Brush up on your assertiveness by practicing what you want to say beforehand, and by being direct and honest about your goals and intentions. Don't feel uncomfortable saying no to unreasonable demands.

Fab Abs

So many people believe that they have to aim for chiseled six- or eight-pack abdominals. To achieve this ideal physique, a lot of people devote a big chunk of their workout time to crunches and basic abdominal exercises. Unfortunately, this type of blanket-approach to abs training isn't very effective. Keep in mind, your abdominals are actually comprised of three major muscles: the rectus abdominis, the obliques, and the transverse abdominis. Each muscle has its own function and thus specific ways to target it. They are divided into external and internal muscle groups, and reside on both sides of your midsection. Both sets of obliques have the same two main functions: torso lateral flexion, which is bending the upper half of your body side to side, and torso rotation, which is twisting your upper body away from your torso. The obliques are used in any movement in which your torso bends laterally or twists. Besides helping you get a sleek, defined look, oblique exercises play an important role in core strengthening and preventing lower back injuries. Target them by doing exercises like Oblique Side Crunches or Standing Oblique Crunches with Leg Raise.

Diabetics and Weight Loss

Diabetics should always have 100 percent whole-grain carbohydrates that contain as much fiber as possible. This is because fiber helps stabilize your blood sugar. Eating complex carbohydrates with low values on the glycemic index (low-GI foods won’t raise your blood glucose as much as foods with high GI values), for diabetics this is an absolute MUST.  Forty percent of the total calories in carbohydrates is a perfectly acceptable daily amount for diabetics. In your recipes, there is a carb count in the nutritional breakdown, so go ahead and start counting your carbs if that helps you feel more in control of your condition. In addition, always remember that a 40/30/30  balance of macronutrients is NOT written in concrete. If you feel that a 40 percent portion of carbs is too much for your dietary needs, go ahead and adjust!  Make sure your food plan works for YOU.