Thursday, May 31, 2012

Spinach

One of Eat This, Not That's 8 Foods You Should Eat Everyday. It may be green and leafy, but spinach is no nutritional wallflower. This noted muscle builder is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. Folate also increases blood flow to the nether regions, helping to protect you against age-related sexual issues. Spinach is packed with lutein, a compound that fights macular degeneration. Aim for 1 cup fresh spinach of 1/2 cup cooked per day.

Substitutes: Kale, Bok Choy, Romaine Lettuce
Fit it in: Make your salads with spinach, add it to scrambled eggs, over pizza, mix with marinara sauce and then microwave for an instant dip.

Source: Eat This, Not That

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Facial Masks for Spring


Spring weather on your skin is a little like a squirrel in the park: You're just walking along, minding your own business, admiring the flowers and then BAM! When you least expect it, it sneaks up behind you, freaks you out, riles you up and then scampers off again--only to leave you shrieking to yourself, like a crazy person. (Can you tell I've had some traumatizing experiences in Central Park?)

Anyhow, it's around this time of year that my skin either needs some serious moisture or some serious oil sucking-upping--it just depends on the weather we're having that week. For my weekend beautifying sessions (it seems it's the only time I have to spend some Q.T. in the shower or bathroom) I've been alternating between these two bad boys to ward of spring-induced skincare issues:

MALIN + GOETZ Detox Face Mask ($40, beauty.com): I love this as it feels like it's working--and it does work: It bubbles a bit while it's sitting on your skin (which I read as being productive) and when you wash it off, your skin feels dewy, but not in a greasy or heavy way. Good stuff.

Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask ($4, drugstores): It's an oldie, but a goodie--I've used it since college. (And for years, have been confused as to why EVERY drugstore puts it on the bottom shelf! It's $4 of awesomeness--they should put that front and center!) It's mint green, it dries up greasy pores and when you walk around your house wearing it, it makes you feel like you're in some '80s John Hughes film, prepping for the prom or something. All of which I dig.

I asked some of the lovely ladies here which facial masks they're into and here's what they recommended:

Fresh Rose Mask: "I have both the Fresh Brown Sugar and the Rose Masks--I switch back and forth depending on what I feel like my skin needs. The brown sugar exfoliates and the rose is pore-refining. I’ve been using them for years!" -Megan Gustashaw


Sjal Pearl Enzyme Exfoliating Mask($165, skinstore): "For years this has been my go-to mask for anytime I need to look better, fast. Whether my skin is dry, oily, irritated, dull, or breaking out, a few minutes with Sjal's Pearl Enzymes makes a world of difference. It's soothing, pore-minimizing, micro-exfoliating (but super-gentle), and after I use it, my makeup goes on super-smoothly—sometimes, after using it, I don't need to wear makeup at all, it's that good. The only thing I worry about when I'm using it is running out—at $165, it's a total splurge." -Danica Lo

DDF Sulfur Mask ($40, Nordstrom) "It smells like hell but dries up a zit like no one's business." -Beth Shapouri


Source: Glamour

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Good Carbs

Potatoes - Potatoes are full of vitamin C, potassium, and resistant starch.
Beans
- They're loaded with fiber, protein, and resistant starch.
Pasta
- Yes—pasta! It has resistant starch, too. Try noodles made with chickpea flour for a fiber bonus.
Strawberries
- They've got lots of vitamin C, fiber, folate, and potassium. Full of natural sugars, these berries are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.  
Beets - Scrumptious when roasted, peeled, and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar, they have healthy doses of iron, folic acid, and fiber.  
Artichoke hearts - Add them to a salad or an omelet for a rich taste and a fiber boost.
Quinoa
- Sub high-protein quinoa for rice or pasta in salads and soups. Try Village Harvest Rice Frozen Quinoa ($7.99; SuperTarget stores).

Source: Health Magazine













Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Get Perfect Skin


How to Fake Perfect Skin: Mattify Without Powder
For those who aren’t a fan of translucent powder (which can settle into fine lines and appear cakey), a mattifier like Mally Beauty Evercolor Face Defender, $40, gets rid of shine without the added weight. Carry the palette with you during the day for easy touchups—the product’s clear, so you can’t overdo it!

Source: Glamour

Monday, May 21, 2012

Taylor Lautner: Push Your Limits


Push Your Limits
To grow large, your body needs to become comfortable with heavy loads. "That's why I had Taylor 'taste' a much heavier weight," says Yuam, who would stack a bar (or use dumbbells) with about 40 percent more weight than Lautner could normally lift 10 times.

So if you can lift, say, 120 pounds 10 times, go with 170 pounds. Then, using a spotter, perform only the lowering half of lifts. ("It's critical that your spotter be strong enough to lift the weight back up by himself," Yuam says.) For a bench press, that means slowly lowering the weight to your chest. This lets your body adjust to the new weight even before you're ready to raise it. The move is taxing on your muscles, though, so limit your "tasting" to 2 or 3 sets of 5 reps every other week.

Source: Men's Health


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Steam Facial


Skip Buying: the Steam Facial
Oxygen facials are pretty pricey, but its cheapest alternative is actually right in your kitchen. Open clogged pores by hovering your face over steaming tea tree oil-infused water (antibacterial and anti-inflammatory), encapsulating the vapors with a towel completely draped over your head and shoulders. For best results, (i.e., a smoother, more youthful skin texture and less visible fine lines and wrinkles) repeat thrice weekly.

Source: Glamour

Friday, May 18, 2012

Eat...More BBQ!

The calories have been counted for you. Which would you choose?
You can have this..

1 half rack baby back ribs (about 5 ribs, or 4 oz. meat)
480 calories, 30 grams fat

Or you can have this...
BBQ Meal
4 oz. barbecue pulled pork, one 2-oz. piece corn bread with a pat of butter, plus 1 cup collard greens
480 calories, 20 grams fat

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Green Tea


Green tea is a bona fide fat burner because it contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant that increases resting metabolism and stimulates fat-burning. In a Dutch study, researchers helped 76 people successfully lose weight, and then asked them to consume either a placebo or a 270 mg capsule of green tea daily for the next 3 months. The group who supplemented with green tea continued to lose weight, but the placebo poppers soon regained their flab.  “EGCG alone has the potential to increase fat oxidation in men and may thereby contribute to the anti-obesity effects of green tea,” concluded a 2008 study by German researchers reported in 2008. Studies show EGCG catechins in green tea also improve cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) health and may help prevent cancer.

Conditions: Cancer risk, Heart health, Weight loss
Recommendations: 1 cup of hot green tea daily
Interactions & Side Effects: MAO inhibitors, Mixing with caffeine can cause problems, Folic acid, Drinking green tea may decrease absorption of folic acid

Source: Men's Health

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Low-Carb May Make You Bloat

Low-carb diets bloat your belly! Think carbs are the reason you can’t zip your pants? Think again. According to the National Institute of Digestive Diseases, belly bloat is one of the key symptoms of constipation. And constipation is a common side effect of a low-carb diet. In one study, as many as 68% of participants on a low-carb diet complained of constipation. That’s compared to just 30% of the general non-dieting population and 35% of dieters who ate more carbs.

Source: Health Magazine

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Side Kick

Total-Body Stress-Buster Workout - No time for hour-long exercise? No problem. Here is one amazing workout that takes just 15 minutes. It can be completed without sacrificing much of your precious time. Plus, they don't require much equipment, so there's no need to even set foot in a gym; you can do them anywhere. Perform as many reps as you can in 60 seconds, then move to the next exercise and so on. After completing all seven moves back to back, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit.

Side Kick - Assume a left-food-lead boxing stance, fists up. Raise your right knee toward your chest. Rotate your hips and left foot and kick your right leg to the side, pushing through the heel, while punching with your right arm. Quickly bring your right leg down, placing it staggered in front of your left. Bring your right arm back in. Repeat with your left leg and arm. That is one rep.

Source: Men's Health

Monday, May 14, 2012

Coenzyme Q10

 (Co Q10)
This compound—which is naturally produced by your body—improves the ability of your muscle cells to convert the oxygen in your bloodstream into usable energy. A University of Iowa study of 20 people with chronic fatigue syndrome showed those who took 100 mg Co Q10 every day for 3 months eradicated 90 percent of their symptoms and doubled their energy levels. Get it now!

Conditions: Energy
Recommendations: Try Solanava's 30 mg capsules once daily
Interactions & Side Effects: You may need more CoQ10 if you are taking statins, beta-blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, or oral diabetes drugs.

Source: Men's Health

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Stay In The Game

If your sport is multidirectional, your warmup should be, too - Think about the wild gyrations you perform during one turnover from offense to defense in basketball. If your groin, back, and leg muscles aren't ready, you'll pull up in pain. Before the game, run backward, forward, sideways, and in quick combos of all directions.

Videotape your mistakes, just like Pam and Paris - The camera knows and sees all, Dr. Laskowski says. "But only when you have a knowledgeable person to interpret it." Which is where that coach or pro comes in.

Source: Men's Health

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Worst Appetizer


Worst Appetizer
Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler
2,430 calories
166 g fat (48 g saturated)
6,070 mg sodium

Sample platters are the lairs wherein all menu miscreants hang out and nearly every chain offers a criminal version. Applebee's is the undisputed kingpin. Its repository of cheap, fried, monochromatic foods is a lesson in the perils of restaurant eating. It begins with chips and spinach-artichoke dip, a euphemism for a crock of cream and cheese with a few token shards of vegetable matter. From there, it gets worse: fried chicken wings, fried mozzarella sticks, and greasy cheese quesadillas. You could eat the celery on the plate to make yourself feel better, but by that point, the damage is done.

Source: Eat This, Not That

Get Perfect Skin


How to Fake Perfect Skin: Try BB Cream, the New Miracle Product
If primer is one too many steps for your makeup regimen, give BB Cream a try. BB stands for beauty balm, and a pea-size amount of this multipurpose product moisturizes, smoothes, covers, and provides substantial sun protection! Think of it as tinted moisturizer but kicked up a notch or five. Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35, $39, comes in five skin-matching shades.

Source: Glamour

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Front Kick

Total-Body Stress-Buster Workout - No time for hour-long exercise? No problem. Here is one amazing workout that takes just 15 minutes. It can be completed without sacrificing much of your precious time. Plus, they don't require much equipment, so there's no need to even set foot in a gym; you can do them anywhere. Perform as many reps as you can in 60 seconds, then move to the next exercise and so on. After completing all seven moves back to back, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat the circuit.

Front Kick - Assume a left-foot-lead boxing stance, fists at chin height. Raise your right knee toward your chest. Kick straight out as if you're slamming a door closed with your heel. Quickly bring your leg back, placing it staggered behind your left. Repeat with your left leg (That's one rep) and continue alternating.

Source: Men's Health





Saturday, May 5, 2012

Acne Facial


Splurge: the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Acne Facial
Popping pimples is such a slippery slope. You know what they say—once you pop, you can’t stop! Leave it to the experts to gain control of your acne-prone skin through a series of in-depth treatments, which typically consist of deep cleansing, extractions and Intense Pulsed Light therapy. (Translation: a heat-generated light pulse laser that penetrates the skin to tackle and destroy acne-causing bacteria trapped beneath the skin.)

Source: Glamour

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Stay In The Game

Crouch, tiger - Seventy percent of ACL injuries occur when players are pivoting or landing awkwardly after a jump. Hitting the ground with your knees bent instead of nearly straight greatly reduces the risk, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.


Figure the heatstroke equation - Heatstroke harms many an unwary athlete. Do the math: "If the temperature and relative humidity combined equal 160,stay cool and hydrated," says Dave Janda, M.D., director of the Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine. If the number tops 180, exercise indoors, or move to Canada. Tee-hee.

Source: Men's Health

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