can there be a BB feed post every once in a while?  we need to discuss some things.

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, chances are you’ve seen some ideas on how to do so:

“Eat what you want and lose weight!”
“Lose thirty pounds in thirty days!”
“Finally, a diet that really works!”
“Lose one jean size every seven days!”
“Top three fat burners revealed”
“Ten minutes to a tighter tummy!” 

But these claims are readily rebuked by anyone who’s tried to lose five, ten, or one hundred pounds. Losing weight ain’t that easy. It’s not in a pill, it doesn’t (usually) happen in thirty days, and judging from the myriad plans out there, there is no one diet that works for everyone.

Looking past the outrageous claims, there are a few hard truths the diet/food industry isn’t going to tell you, but might just help you take a more realistic approach to sustained weight loss.

1. You have to exercise more than you think.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting at least thirty minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week; this includes things like shoveling snow and gardening. And while this is great for improving heart health and staying active, research indicates that those looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss have to do more—about twice as much.

For instance, members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)—a group of over 5,000 individuals who have lost an average of sixty-six pounds and kept it off for five and a half years—exercise for about an hour, every day.

A study published in the July 28, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine supports this observational finding. The researchers enrolled 200 overweight and obese women on a diet and exercise regimen and followed them for two years. Compared with those that gained some of their weight back, the women who were able to sustain a weight loss of 10 percent of their initial weight for two years exercised consistently and regularly—about 275 minutes a week, or fifty-five minutes of exercise at least five days a week.

In other words, things like taking the stairs, walking to the store, and gardening are great ways to boost activity level, but losing serious weight means exercising regularly for an hour or so. However, this doesn’t mean you have to start running or kickboxing—the most frequently reported form of activity in the NWCR group is walking.

2. A half-hour walk doesn’t equal a brownie.
I remember going out to eat with some friends after a bike ride. Someone commented on how we deserved dessert because we had just spent the day exercising; in fact, we had taken a leisurely twenty-minute ride through the park. This probably burned the calories in a slice of our French bread, but definitely not those in the caramel fudge brownie dessert. Bummer.

And while it’s easy to underestimate how many calories something has, it’s also easy to overestimate how many calories we burn while exercising. Double bummer.

Even if you exercise a fair amount, it’s not carte blanche to eat whatever you want. (Unless you exercise a ton, have the metabolism of a sixteen-year-old boy, and really can eat whatever you want). A report investigating the commonly-held beliefs about exercising, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, concludes that although exercise does burn calories during and after exercise, for overweight persons, “excessive caloric expenditure has limited implications for substantially reducing body weight independent of nutritional modifications.” In other words, to lose weight, you have to cut calories and increase exercise.

3. You have time to exercise.
If you have time to check email, watch a sitcom or two, surf the internet, have drinks/coffee/dinner with friends, go clothes shopping, and on and on, then you have time to exercise. Yes, sometimes you have to sacrifice sleep, TV, or leisure time to fit it in. Yes, sometimes you have to prioritize your exercise time over other things. But your health and the feeling you get after having worked out is well worth it.

4. Eating more of something won’t help you lose weight.
The food industry is keen to latch onto weight loss research and spin it for their sales purposes. A prime example is the widespread claim that eating more dairy products will help you lose weight. However, a recent review of forty-nine clinical trials from 1966 to 2007 showed that “neither dairy nor calcium supplements helped people lose weight.”

This idea—that eating more of a certain type of product will help you lose weight—is constantly regurgitated on supermarket shelves (think low-fat cake, low-carb crackers, high in whole grain cookies, and trans fat-free chips), but is in direct opposition to the basic idea behind weight loss—that we have to eat less, not more.

 

so a friend asked me if i knew how popular my screen name was and if i didnt then to look it up on certain search engines and see what came up. this is the first thing that popped up when i searched my name.

Well my friends are comin over today cause my Japanese foreign exchange roomate is outta town for 3 days. Its funny how he's been here for only 4 weeks but hes seen more of california then ill ever care to bother to see. But ... i think my friends are bringin drinks so hopefully itll be good times...unless i get caught with the alcohol. In that case Ill probable be kicked out of UCLA and have to go home. But being the brave and alcoholic person that i am,  I am willing to take that risk

wow, i was such a tool.

Why We Crave

Understanding why we desire certain foods. Cravings are a fact of life. Up to 97 percent of Americans get seized by strong and specific urges to indulge. And for American women, chocolate tops the list.

The term "craving" hardly does justice to that four-alarm fire raging in your brain. Must....have....warm brownie still gooey in the middle. Must....eat.... entire container of Super Fudge Chunk. Can't...stop...scarfing down chocolate kisses.

We've all been there. Cravings are a fact of life: up to 97 percent of Americans get seized by strong and specific urges to indulge. And for women in the U.S., chocolate tops the list.

It seems like there's nothing to do but either fight off the cravings or give in to them. Mostly, we give in, figuring it's hopeless—a simple biological fact of life.

But research from the University College of London shows that the yen for chocolate and other tasty treats may be an acquired habit. In humans, hunger and eating are strongly influenced by context. That seems to be true of cravings, too. Even though the desire feels deep-down and basic, habit and conditioning seem to have a lot to do with it. The wonderful implication: cravings for rich, fatty foods might be conquerable. You don't have to be a slave to your appetite; you'll like yourself better in the morning.

Psychologist Leigh Gibson, a professor at the university's Health Behavior Unit who studies appetite and food choice, rounded up several dozen student volunteers to find out whether people could be "trained" out of their cravings. The students in the study ate half a bar of milk chocolate twice a day for two weeks. Half ate their chocolate ration 15 minutes after finishing a meal; the other half waited at least two hours after a meal before having the sweet. The students filled out a diary rating the strength of their cravings and of the appeal of the chocolate bar by answering questions like: "If any amount of chocolate was available, how much would you want to eat right now?" Volunteers included both people who loved chocolate and those who could care less.

After two weeks, the volunteers who had been eating the chocolate on an empty stomach reported that their yen for chocolate was stronger. By contrast, the students who had been eating the chocolate on a full stomach said their cravings were much weaker. That was true for both cravers and non-cravers.

What's more, people who'd been eating the chocolate when full actually said that it now seemed a bit less pleasant to the taste. It seems that by eating the sweet when they weren't hungry, the volunteers had trained themselves to like it less.

"I do believe that one should be able to retrain one's appetite, or reduce one's craving, for particular foods by eating them only when not hungry," says Gibson. "However, this may only apply to foods that are relatively energy rich." He tried a similar experiment with dried fruit bars and got very different results, suggesting that lower-calorie foods may not have the same effects.

But Gibson points out that most commonly craved foods—ice cream, pizza, cake—are also very rich and energy-dense. "It's a lot easier to walk past the green grocers or fruit stall without being tempted to buy than to walk past the confectionery counter or cake shop, isn't it?"

The bottom line, he says, is that it's a good idea not to eat foods you are trying to avoid or eat less of when you are very hungry. "The trick is to eat frequently enough to avoid strong hunger, but without eating too many calories in total." Easier said than done, he admits—but his finding may explain why people who "graze," or eat small amounts throughout the day, may often be healthier and slimmer.

Watermelon: Best Not Chilled

Ice-cold watermelon on a steamy summer day really hits the spot. But you'll be best served by keeping it on your countertop until cutting time.

Whole watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more cell-protecting antioxidants (specifically lycopene and beta carotene) than refrigerated or freshly picked melons. Here's why.


A Chilling Effect
After it's picked, watermelon continues to ripen and build up antioxidants. Cold temperatures appear to cut this process short. So leave your watermelon out, as long as you haven't sliced it. After it's cut, it should be stored in the refrigerator for food-safety reasons.

For an ice-cold treat, chill the fruit right before serving.
And don't forget to wash your watermelon before cutting it to avoid this.

A Walk on the Cerebral Side

Hate the thought of losing your mental edge -- or worse, growing senile -- as you age? Well, here's a simple way to slash your risk of dementia by 73 percent:

Go for a power walk. People who regularly walk may be that much less likely to develop dementia compared with their couch-potato peers. Yeah, it's that simple!

More Blood, Please
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's. It's the nosedive that memory and other cognitive functions can take when ailing blood vessels restrict -- and sometimes block -- the flow of blood to the brain. But because exercise -- even mild exercise like walking -- increases cerebral blood flow, it may shrink the risk.

Other Brain Savers
People with high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol up their odds of vascular dementia, so controlling those conditions is a start toward staying sharp. Here are a few other brain boosters to try:

• Drink up! (Juice, that is.)
  
• Slim down. Get your BMI under 25.
  
• Pop the right pills. Vitamin E and a daily aspirin are a good start.
  

Make a Healthy Nut Even Healthier

Straight out of the can, peanuts are one amazing health food. But you may get more antioxidants if you buy them in the shell and do this: boil 'em.

In a recent study, peanuts boiled in their shells had a significantly higher concentration of disease-fighting phytochemicals -- more than their raw, roasted, or oiled counterparts.

Nutrition in a Nutshell
The hulls of peanuts are loaded with polyphenols, and the skins are packed with flavonoids. Researchers suspect that boiling peanuts in their shells releases these heart-healthy antioxidant compounds into the water, and the amped-up water is in turn absorbed by the nuts. The result? One powerfully healthy peanut.

How to Do It
This isn’t a newfangled food idea. In the South, boiled peanuts are part of the culinary heritage, though raw or not-quite-mature peanuts are traditionally used. Cover the peanuts with salted water in a large stockpot. Simmer until the peanuts inside the shell are soft -- anywhere from 1 to 3 hours

11 Delicious Treats Under 50 Calories!

Just because you are watching your weight doesn't mean you have to say farewell to the occasional sweet treat -- especially when your treat weighs in at 50 calorie or less!

Sink your teeth into these simple, yet satisfying snacks:

1. Fruit Bars! They're a healthy alternative to the sugary Popsicle. Several companies put out bars made of fruit juice and/or fruit pulp without added sugar. Check your grocer's freezer.

2. Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn! Make four cups of popcorn and put it in a bowl. Add three packets of Splenda or Equal, one teaspoon of cinnamon, one tablespoon of light brown sugar, and one melted tablespoon of a zero-calorie butter substitute. Mix it all up and you have four servings of one delicious snack -- perfect for sharing with family or friends.

3. Root Beer Float! Fill a tumbler about three quarters of the way with diet root beer, then drop in a quarter cup of light vanilla ice cream. It tastes darn close to the "real thing!"

4. Eight Large Strawberries! If unadulterated strawberries aren't sweet enough for you, cut it back to five, and cover them with two teaspoons of confectioner's sugar. Either way, you're looking at only around 45 to 49 calories.

5. Jelly Toast! It’s not just for breakfast anymore! Toast a slice of whole grain bread and coat with that zero-cal butter substitute. Spread a teaspoon of your favorite jam or jelly on it.

6. Gelatin! There's always room for gelatin... pick a flavor, any flavor. It's surprisingly filling, and only about 10 to 40 calories, depending on the brand.

7. A Medium-Sized Peach! We're talking around 38 calories, plus you get some fiber and vitamins. And here's a great little variation to just eating it: cut the peach in half and grill it. You'll caramelize the natural sugars, and it tastes great.

8. Five Maraschino Cherries! Give the sundaes to the kids and keep the cherries for yourself. They're a savory sweet special treat.

9. Pudding! Get a sugar-free, fat-free pudding mix, and make it with skim milk. You can add a little Splenda if you want it sweeter.

10. Two Large Marshmallows! If you want to scorch 'em with a lighter and pretend you're camping, go right ahead. Or eat just one coated with chocolate syrup.

11. Watermelon! It just wouldn't be summer without watermelon. One cup of sweet watermelon chunks equals 50 calories, not counting the seeds.

BONUS TREAT: A Medium-Sized Tomato! Slice it up and sprinkle lightly with your favorite seasoning. Refreshing and delicious... and just 35 calories.

By Camille Noe Pagan , Camille Noe Pagan is a New York-based freelance writer.

Perfectionism may seem like a desirable trait, but to boost your health, aim for "just enough." "Trying to do everything right promotes an all-or-nothing attitude," says Martin Binks, PhD, a psychologist at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, NC. So if you can't do something perfectly (i.e., work out an hour a day), you don't do anything at all (i.e., watch TV instead). A better mindset: Believe that every little bit counts. "It's small changes that are most effective," Binks says.

 

So forget perfect!

 

Here, the "good enough" guidelines for nine common get-fit recommendations that will ensure you're on your way to a longer, healthier life.

 

 

 

OATMEAL MASK RECIPE

An oatmeal mask is great for your skin. Oatmeal possesses some wonderful skin care properties for oily, dry, or sensitive skin. It is a gentle and effective natural skin cleanser and removes surface dirt and impurities. It restores the skin’s natural moisture balance by protecting the skin from water loss and drawing moisture to the skin from the surroundings. It is a gentle facial scrub and skin exfoliant. It soothes the skin and eases the discomfort of skin irritations caused by rashes, abrasions, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, etc. It provides relief from skin itch and skin redness.

All skin types benefit from exfoliation (removal of dead skin cells), and moisturizing ingredients. The following masque was designed to exfoliate and moisturize and can be used by all skin types. It is recommended for those with sensitive skin, so you can be confident about the results.

You will need:

½ cup hot water (do not boil)

1/3 cup quick oatmeal (the label should say 1 minute or 3 minute cooking time)

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1 egg white from a small egg

First, mix water and oatmeal. Set this aside to thicken. It should form a paste. While the oatmeal is thickening, mix the other ingredients with a mixer. Add the oatmeal paste and mix until the mixture is well blended.

To use, apply a fairly thin layer evenly to the face, avoiding the eyelids. However, if you do get this masque in your eyes, just rinse out with warm water. No contents of this mixture should cause harm to the eyes. Leave on your face for 10 to 15 minutes. Your face should feel tight, but the masque does not need to dry completely to work. When your time is up, simply rinse your face with warm water.

This mixture should be just enough for one application. If you have any left over, you can refrigerate it for up to one week.

For an extra treat, place used tea bags on your eyelids while your masque is working. This will reduce any puffiness on your eyelids, and give you a refreshed appearance to complement the new glow of your facial skin.

Superfood No. 1: Açaí

Nature's Energy Fruit




It may seem odd to start this list of superfoods with one you’ve likely never even heard of. But studies have shown that this little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Açaí (ah-sigh-ee) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores (often in juice form). A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available, and I highly recommend that you choose this form of açaí.

Açaí pulp contains:


The fatty acid content in açaí resembles that of olive oil, and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is important for a number of reasons. It helps omega-3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane; together they help make cell membranes more supple. By keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors function more efficiently. This is particularly important because high insulin levels create an inflammatory state, and we know, inflammation causes aging.

While the health and wellness community is overflowing with excitement about antioxidants, you may be wondering how they work, what their benefits are, and in what foods are they most plentiful.

It may not be your fondest memory, but recall high school chemistry class where you learned about things like chemical reactions and electrons. Now think of your body as a beaker or test tube where everyday life-sustaining chemical reactions occur inside each tiny cell.

NOTE: The top antioxidant food, the acai berry, is pictured at right.                            

A normal end-product of these life-sustaining reactions are free radicals. As the name implies, they're highly unstable, volatile molecules. They are highly reactive because they are missing an electron.

In order to stabilize themselves, free radicals seek to collide with others so that they may steal electrons. When they steal electrons from healthy cells, those cells turn into free radicals as well…and the cycle ensues on. The multiplication of free radicals can lead to many different types of damage throughout the body.

Under normal conditions, healthy antioxidant defense systems are in place to manage the production of free radicals so that balance is maintained. But when we engage in other free-radical producing activities (smoking, drinking to excess, overeating, etc), the additional free radical load may be too much for our body’s normal systems to handle.

Antioxidants work by replacing lost electrons in the molecules of cells throughout the body, replenishing electrons in the previously healthy cells, and by strengthening impaired antioxidant defense systems. By performing these functions, antioxidants prevent a host of different types of cell damage.

As result, antioxidants have many reported health benefits that include protecting and rejuvenating hair and skin cells, improving immune function, increasing energy, and reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, cancer and aging.

In order to reap the health benefits of antioxidants, make sure to consume a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and healthy oils like omega-3s. Antioxidants are rated by their ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). The USDA recommends an intake of 5,000 ORAC units per day to achieve optimum wellness. There are many foods and herbs you may already have in your own home that have a surprisingly high ORAC level.

Make sure to incorporate the following top 10 antioxidant foods and herbs into your healthy diet:

Foods (ORAC Units per 1 gram)
1. Acai berry 3,800
2. Mangosteen 3,000
3. Cocoa Powder 809
4. Goji Berry 253
5. Dark Chocolate 208
6. Pecans 179
7. Elderberry 147
8. Walnuts 135
9. Pomegranate 105
10. Cranberries 95.8

Herbs (ORAC Units per gram)

1. Cloves 3,144
2. Cinnamon 2,675
3. Oregano 2,001
4. Ground Turmeric 1,593
5. Parsley 743
6. Curry Powder 485
7. Sage 320
8. Ginger 288
9. Thyme 274
10. Chili Powder 236

Tighter Arms In Minutes A Day

There's good news. The triceps is the FASTEST MUSCLE to show results if -- and this is a big if -- you exercise it with a bombs-away burn-it-off workout. I've developed a way to work the triceps in minutes a day–using the secret of the giant set within body parts.

This means you do three different exercises for the same body part before taking a rest.

You'll see results in ONLY 3 WEEKS, and it only gets better after that. Keep raising your weights as you get stronger and you'll keep that muscle developing.

The beauty of this method: it works for all body parts including the chest, shoulders, biceps, back, hip-butt, abs and thighs.

Using a 5-pound dumbbell to start, do one set of 12 repetitions for each of the following exercises... without resting. As you get stronger you can do a second set with 8 pounds doing 10 repetitions. And as you get even stronger, you can add in a third and final set with 10 pounds doing only 6-8 repetitions.

YOUR WORKOUT

Seated overhead press: Sit holding a dumbbell directly over your head, arms straight up, one hand on each end of the dumbbell.

Movement: Extend your arms behind you bending at the elbows and feeling the stretch in your triceps muscles. Without resting, and flexing your triceps muscles, return to start. Repeat until you have done 12 repetitions. Without resting move to the next exercise.

Close bench press: Lie on the floor or on a bench holding a dumbbell by grasping each end with one hand. The dumbbell is held just grazing your middle chest.

Movement: Flexing your triceps muscles as you go, extend your arms upward until your arms are completely extended. Without resting, return to start position, and repeat until you have done 12 repetitions. Without resting, move to the next exercise.

Lying extension: Lying on a bench or the floor hold a dumbbell with one hand at each end. Extend your arms straight up.

Movement: Flexing your triceps as you go, and bending at the elbows, making sure to keep your biceps close to your head, extend the dumbbell behind you until you cannot go any further. Without resting, return to start position. Repeat the movement until you have done 12 repetitions.

For a total body workout using this method -- plus some fat-burning aerobics -- go to my website (www.joycevedral.com) and look for the DVD package deal The Cougar Workout. I'll help you via email as work to tighten and tone your arms and other body parts.

A Better Butt: The 5 Best Exercises

Exercise #1. Single Leg Squat on Bosu Ball (at home you can do this on the floor)
To make this exercise more challenging, stand on a Bosu ball. Lowering your body down, sit back into your heel and keep your core tight. Make sure you knee does not go over your toe. Make sure your knee stays in line with your ankle and squeeze your gluts on the way up. Perform 12-15 on each leg 2 times!


#2. Side Lunges
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step to your right about 3 feet away. Bend that knee and sit back in your heels. Make sure your knee does not go over your toe and your hips stay back. Push back into starting position and repeat. Perform 12-15 on each leg 2 times.

#3. Romanian Dead-Lift
Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold either a weighted bar or dumbbells. Lower the weight down your legs. Keep your chin up, your back flat and maintain soft knees. Bring the weight to about your shins and return to starting position by squeezing your glutes. Repeat 12-15 times, then a second time if you can.


#4. Jump Squats
If you have not mastered the squat first, I suggest starting with squats and progressing to jump squats. Begin with a squat, with your feet shoulder width apart, toes facing forward, sit back as if you were to sit in a chair with your weight in your heels. Make sure you are sitting back with your hips and that your knees stay in line with your ankles and behind your toes. Keeping your shoulders back and your chin up, lower you thighs to about parallel with the floor. Return to the starting position. If you are ready, jump up as high as you can then landing into a squat. This is a plyometric move. You want to land softly and in the balls of your feet. This improves your power and also increases your heart rate burning more calories! Repeat 15-20 times. 2-3 sets.

#5. Stairs!
My favorite exercise to blast fat and tone the butt is to add stairs to my workout! If you want to tone up quick, add 20 minutes of stairs a day. Whether it is at the gym or at the local school stadium, climbing stairs, sprinting stairs, or just simply walking up and down them will lift those buns!

I like to do this routine at the gym but you can do this at home too. Walk up the stairs for 5 minutes (at home up and down), jog up the stairs for 2 minutes, walk for 3, skip a step for 2 minutes, walk for 3, sprint up the stairs for 1 minutes and walk for 4

Random comment i saw on a health message board.

I was raised on potato chips and pepsi. I am 46 years old. After fighting breast cancer, having a heart attack by 40, I finally decided to "check out" the natural lifestyle. I have started eating quinoa, wild rice, organic fruits and veggies. I am cancer free, my heart is doing great, plus I have lost 0ver 85 lbs! I feel I have been given another chance at life, I am now teaching my Kids to "drop that big mac" and they, too, are really enjoying all this "new" food! Ya, they tried to fight it at first... but now "Lovin it"!!
 
         - Deborah

5 Great Reasons to Try Quinoa

Everyone knows that whole grains provide a whole host of health benefits including lowering heart disease risk and helping with weight maintenance.

I love to experiment with different whole grains and by far one of my favorites is Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa).

Over the past few years, I would often start my day with a big bowl of hot quinoa mixed with walnuts, flaxseeds, berries and protein powder. It is one breakfast that leaves me feeling satisfied and full of energy for the rest of the day.

Recently, my wife has become an expert at cooking quinoa and we now eat it as a side dish more often than rice or sweet potatoes.

If you have never eaten quinoa, here are 5 reasons to add it into your diet:

1. Price - Quinoa is inexpensive.
   One of the biggest challenges that I hear from patients is that eating healthier is often too costly. I agree that many organic foods are more expensive, but whole grains are one exception. For only $2.95 per pound- you have enough quinoa to eat several times in one week.
2. Quinoa is gluten free
   With the rising incidence of Celiac's disease in many populations, Quinoa is one grain that contains no gluten, so it is safe for anyone with Celiac’s disease or a suspected intolerance to wheat products.
3. Quinoa is a good source of protein.
   A ½ cup serving of dry quinoa has approximately 11 grams of protein. When cooked, one cup of quinoa is about 254 calories and has almost 9 grams of protein.
4. Quinoa is loaded with minerals
   Quinoa contains potassium, magnesium and manganese. Of these three minerals, magnesium is one of the most common mineral deficiencies in the body. Magnesium helps regulate the absorption of calcium, energy production and aids with muscle contraction.
5. Quinoa is easy to cook.
   One of the easiest ways to make quinoa is to take 1 cup of quinoa and boil it with 2 cups of organic chicken broth. This normally takes about 15 minutes. As the quinoa is finished, add 1 Tbsp of curry powder. Now you can sprinkle in anything you want from raisins to sautéed mushrooms and enjoy.