It’s easy to let your workout habits slide during the holidays and cold months, but taking one to three months off can cause you to lose almost all of your fitness gains. Experts have a number of recommended ways to…
Read more on How to Make This the Winter You Finally Stay in Shape at I Am Herbalife.
Planning your diet resolutions for the New Year? Try making a few small changes every month – all year long.
When January 1st comes around, it’s time to dust off that list of diet resolutions you made last year (and perhaps the year before that?) and vow to tackle them again.
It’s in our nature to look upon the New Year as a time to start fresh. It’s a time of promise and hope. We promise ourselves we’re going to eat right and get into shape, and we hope we can stick with our resolutions. But we often don’t. A lot of times it’s because our diet and lifestyle “to-do” list is a mile long, and it’s just too hard to make many changes all at once. We’re creatures of habit, and it just takes time for new habits to take hold.
Diet Resolutions for the New Year – A Step-Wise Approach
Make a Few Small Changes Every Month
Here’s a suggestion for you. Go ahead and make that to-do list, but just don’t try to make all your changes at once. In fact, I’m going to suggest that you tackle just three small changes in January – another three in February, three more in March, and so on until the end of the year. And here’s why. If you work on establishing just three new habits for a month, you won’t be overwhelmed with trying to focus on too many things at once. By the end of the month, the three new habits will be part of your routine, and you’ll be ready to take on three more changes in the following month.
Keep Your Diet Resolutions Going All Year Long
Suppose that those three changes you make in January cut out a total of 100 calories a day from your diet. That might not sound like a lot, but let’s say the same thing happens in February and March and April and May. Five months into the New Year, you’ve made a total of 15 small, sustainable changes to your eating habits, and you’re now saving 500 calories a day – enough to lose up to a pound a week.
Think about what you’d like to work on first. Maybe you’d like to cut your fat or sugar intake. Maybe your portions are just too large, or your problem is that you don’t eat enough fruits or vegetables. Maybe you’re an emotional eater and you want to work on that. Then determine the three things you plan to do in January and get to work.
Three Small Diet Changes a Month
Let’s say you want to cut back on your sugar intake. Your diet resolutions for January might be:
Maybe eating too much fat is your problem. In that case, your January diet resolutions might be:
If it’s portion control you need to work on, your January resolutions might look like this:
Maybe this is the year to take a different approach to your diet resolutions. Make a few changes, give them a month to settle in, and then build on those changes month after month. True, this step-wise approach isn’t the complete diet overhaul that you may attempt every January (and abandon by February) – but what have you got to lose?
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Whatever the season, good skin is a cornerstone of beauty confidence. Sometimes good skin is harder to achieve in winter, but it’s possible to look and feel flawless. If you’re worried about losing your summer glow now that colder weather is upon us, don’t be. There are plenty of basic winter skin care tips that will keep your skin glowing all year long.
As the northern half of the world is starting to feel the chill in the air with the change of seasons, many of us are also starting to see changes in our skin. A winter skin care routine is a necessity, especially for those of us who live in cold, dry climates. In winter, there is less moisture in the air, and indoor heating systems can be dehydrating to the skin. It’s important to address this dryness in your winter skin care plan to keep your skin looking luminous.
With hot temperatures during the summer months, it’s natural to automatically drink more fluids. Don’t lessen your water intake just because it’s getting cooler outside. You might not be craving a tall glass of ice water like you would in summer, but try room temperature water or a refreshing cup of warm tea to keep yourself hydrated.
Chapped lips in winter are a downer. They can be painful when exposed to extreme cold temperatures, and chapping makes it harder for any cosmetics to stay in place and look good. Make sure to protect your lips with a moisturizing balm that includes SPF. Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean the sun can’t harm your lips, so don’t skip the sun protection either. Which brings me to my next winter skin care rule…
Just because it’s not warm outside doesn’t mean there aren’t UV rays in the air. So, don’t skimp on the SPF just because it’s winter. If you need extra moisture in your winter skin care regimen, look for moisturizing sunscreens or wear your sunscreen over your existing moisturizer.
Just like your lips, the skin on your hands is thin and delicate and can be susceptible to chapping in cold weather. Keep your hands moisturized with hand cream, and reapply throughout the cold days. To make it convenient, carry travel-sized hand cream wherever you go—keep some at your office, in your car and in your bag. And don’t forget gloves. When venturing outside, gloves will not only keep you warm but they’ll protect the skin on your hands from cold temperatures!
Ever notice how foundation or blushes don’t apply as easily during wintertime? That’s because skin tends to be drier in winter, leading to flaking and dry patches. In times like these, using a primer will help cosmetics go on more smoothly. You can also try tinted moisturizer, which will moisturize and give your skin a little coverage without drying. When picking cosmetics during winter, look for moisturizing formulas. Generally speaking, cream blushes and liquid foundations will give you more moisturizing benefits than those that are powder-based.
Your skin care needs may change drastically between seasons. That’s particularly true if you live in an area with extreme temperature fluctuations between summer and winter (or between outside and inside air temperatures, thanks to fearsome central heating). Only you know what feels good on your skin. If you have skin that experiences more dryness in winter than other seasons, for example, you might consider switching to moisturizing formulas in everything from cleansers to cosmetics.
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Here’s how to stop using excuses and finally squeeze in a workout.
When it comes to finding motivation to get up off the couch and improve your fitness level, sometimes it takes more than willpower alone to make it happen.
‘I’m too busy and I can’t find the time.’
This is the number one excuse I hear for not exercising. You may find it hard to believe, but this was also my go-to excuse after having triplets. It was an excuse that really worked, because who would ever disagree? My four young kids sure do take up a lot of time.
And this ‘I’m too busy’ excuse sounds so much better and less embarrassing than the truth: ‘I’m just too tired and I don’t have the motivation.’
The reality is that we can all make time to add activity into our life. All we need to do is realize that excuses will only hurt us in the long term. Sometimes it takes a health scare or an embarrassing moment to force us to address the issue. But why wait for that to happen before improving your life?
My changing moment occurred when I was asked to leave a steam room at the spa after being lectured in front of a crowd on how heat could harm my unborn child. Sounds awful, right? The real problem was that I wasn’t even pregnant—my babies were five months old already. Talk about a cringe worthy moment! This was all the motivation I needed to get my body and fitness back on track.
This may seem like an obvious tip, but it definitely takes motivation not to hit the snooze button and lie back down.
If you’re not a morning person, then it’s time for Plan B: the lunchtime power-walk. Schedule it in like you would a dentist or your hair salon appointment. It’s funny that we wouldn’t dream of not getting our hair cut, but taking care of our health often gets overlooked or sidelined.
If finding a full 30 minutes is too difficult, then try to do three or more mini workouts. It’s fine to accumulate your workout throughout your day.
Making an activity part of your lifestyle instead of a chore makes results easier to achieve.
Once I decided to ditch my excuses and made time in my day to exercise, I was able to quickly progress to a regular spinning class, and being active became something I just did rather than something I had to think about. People even started complementing me on all the extra energy I seemed to have.
So, no excuses––everybody can find time to exercise.
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The new year is the perfect time to start a healthy routine, but between work, kids and errands, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time.
These sweet and sour lettuce cradles are the answer to your busy schedule.
They’re quick to make yet healthy, and they’re a good source of protein to satisfy your hunger.
Ingredients:
Sauce
2 TBSP oyster-flavored sauce
2 TBSP light soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 TBSP brown sugar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground white pepper
Stir in a small bowl to mix well. Set aside.
Meat
1 tsp canola oil
1 lb. ground chicken breast or turkey breast
Place skillet over high heat. Add canola oil, then ground chicken. Stir and cook between 4 and 5 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Wipe pan with paper towel, return pan to heat.
Vegetables
1 tsp canola oil
1 medium carrot, grated
⅓ cup canned water chestnuts, minced
2 green onions, chopped
Add canola oil. Add vegetables and stir until they soften. Add cooked meat, then the sauce. Stir until evenly coated. Spoon mixture onto lettuce leaf.
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Anyone who thinks healthy food can’t taste good clearly doesn’t understand the power of fruit. Sweet, juicy and delicious, grab-and-go fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber associated with an impressively long list of health benefits, including…
Read more on Environmental Nutrition: Picking the healthiest fruits at I Am Herbalife.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “tighten your core,” “strengthen your core,” or “engage your core,” in a workout class. Instructors go on and on about your core, and for good reason. A stronger core will help you in every aspect…
Read more on Too Busy to Exercise? Do This for 5 Minutes Instead at I Am Herbalife.
Using digital devices before bed may contribute to sleep and nutrition problems in children, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. After surveying parents about their kids’ technology and sleep habits, researchers found that using technology before bed…
Read more on Screen Time Before Bed Linked with Less Sleep, Higher BMIs in Kids at I Am Herbalife.
It seems there’s always an excuse to start a new diet; the enviable summer beach body, fall weddings, winter holidays, and spring cleaning. While it’s always smart to keep your diet in check, it’s healthy to switch things up as…
Read more on These Are the Foods You Should Be Eating Every Season of the Year at I Am Herbalife.
Cardio workouts aren’t the only option when you want to burn calories and improve your health. In fact, a 2012 review study published in Current Sports Medicine Reports found that full-body resistance training doesn’t just build muscle and improve…
Read more on 7 Gym Moves That Are a Full-Body Workout at I Am Herbalife.