Celebrate and Love the Most Important Person: You!
By Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)
Valentine's Day is a day on which we celebrate love. Love has many definitions. There is security love, the feeling of being cared for and nurtured. Friendship love is the kind of bond you share with a very close friend where you can be totally open and comfortable in sharing your true self. Romantic love is the kind of love that makes your heart flutter and your knees go weak when you see the person of interest. There is my favorite, unconditional love, the kind of love that endures no matter what. Self-love treats oneself to all of the above. That is in no way a comprehensive list of the types of love, just a quick list for this blog.
Today I want to talk about self-love. This Valentine's Day, I want you to dress so fine that you make your own knees go weak. If you’re alone, I want you to find a close friend and make fabulous plans. If you don’t have a close friend, I want you to work on building relationships and make some plans to celebrate loving yourself. If you do have a love interest, I want you to feel wonderful and enjoy the day with your treasured someone.
Posted 2/14/2011 6:07:41 AM By: : 42 comments 17,441 views
Calming Your Inner Emotional Eater
Editor's Note: Obesity expert Dr. Martin Binks contributes regular guest posts to the dailySpark. Links to products and services contained within do not necessarily imply endorsement by Dr. Binks.
All too often both men and women fail to recognize a core issue that interferes with successful weight management: Emotional Eating. We spend our time looking for the next "right" diet plan or the perfect workout to control our weight when in fact the caloric damage from emotional eating accounts for so much of the struggle with weight for many people. Of course balanced and satisfying meals help control REAL hunger, but rarely when eating off plan is true hunger the primary culprit.
More often, even if we don’t fully realize it, we are using food to meet some type of emotional need. Now this might be as simple as seeking pleasure and a sense of camaraderie (such as is the case for example at a Super Bowl party or July 4 picnic); however at other times we use food to cope with our baseline stress levels, high stress events, boredom, loneliness, anxiety or sadness rather than to satisfy genuine hunger. We learn this skill very early in life when food is used to soothe, comfort, reward, and console. This learned response becomes more automatic as years progress (as we practice and perfect it) until it happens so automatically we don’t even recognize that we are doing it. Turning to food when you have emotional needs that are not being met becomes part of who we are and it can be very effective. Who hasn’t pulled out the delicious dessert after a bad day at the office and felt better or shared some ice cream with a friend to mourn a break-up. In the case of the break-up, unless you dump your mate every week, who cares about that ice cream, one day every once in a while won’t hurt your health. Unfortunately, if it’s being done every day to cope with daily issues, now THAT IS a problem. So you be the judge. How often is food your emotional enhancer or moderator? If the answer is "often" then we have some ideas below that will help you get off that chocolate-covered emotional roller coaster!
Posted 2/8/2011 5:07:27 AM By: : 68 comments 34,281 views
The Real Reasons for the Obesity Epidemic
From our partners at Woman's Day
By Sara Reistad-Long
Take a look around and it’s quickly obvious that too many of us weigh too much. Being obese may mean getting turned away from an amusement park ride or buying an extra seat on a plane, but perhaps more important, it endangers your health: Obesity is a risk factor for four of the six leading causes of death in the U.S.
But what’s really alarming is that it’s no longer an anomaly. Between 1960 and 1980, the U.S. obesity rate held steady at 15 percent—but since then the numbers have spiked. Some studies show that if this trend continues, over 40 percent of us will be obese by 2018. The question is, why?
“We’re not just turning into a nation of people with slow metabolisms,” says Lawrence Cheskin, MD, FACP, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center. Plenty of activists blame the food industry; unhealthy options are all around us and cheaper than ever. Other experts point to broader causes, from our sedentary lifestyles to how we think about food.
“However you look at it, we’ve created a perfect storm of bad influences,” says David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital in Boston and author of Ending the Food Fight.
Luckily, as researchers uncover more and more about what these factors are and how they work together, they’re developing powerful strategies to counteract what’s contributing to our growing waistlines. Read on to find out how you can not only beat the scale but also help America beat the obesity epidemic.
Posted 2/7/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 40 comments 29,168 views
Work Out Anywhere: On-the-Phone Exercises
From our partners at Woman's Day
You don't need to go to the gym to get a workout in. With our newest Woman's Day video series, Work Out Anywhere, our assistant health editor Abby Cuffey demonstrates exercise moves you can do in everyday locations, like your home or at the grocery store. In today's video she shows viewers how to work out while they are chatting on the phone.
Posted 1/31/2011 6:00:00 PM By: : 28 comments 17,523 views
New Year's Fitness and Weight-Loss Tips Roundup
Editor's note: The ladies behind Fit Bottomed Girls, one of our favorite health and fitness websites, have generously shared some great tips to help you stick to your New Year's resolutions.
By Jenn (above, left) at the Fit Bottomed Girls
'Tis the season for making your fitness and weight-loss dreams come true! After all, the New Year is the perfect time to look at where you've been and set some goals for where you want to go. The good folks at SparkPeople asked us to compile some of our best New Year's tips for this guest post. Read on for how you can make the most of this motivational time of year!
5 Ways to Keep Your Resolutions on Track: We all know how easy it is to start the year full of inspiration only to have it disappear by February 1. Follow these tips to keep your resolutions on track and that motivation high!
Top 10 List of the Best Beginner Workout DVDs: We review a lot of workout DVDs, and this is a list of our all-time favorite workout DVDs that are perfect for newbies!
Posted 1/31/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 8 comments 15,532 views
Busting Excuses to Avoid Exercise, No Matter Your Size
By Beth Donovan aka ~Indygirl
I used to think I had to have a goal of running a 5K or working out for at least a half hour a day to get any benefits from exercise. I was dead wrong. Every little bit of moving we do adds up and studies have shown that even daily broken up exercise routines work to reduce health concerns. SparkGuy himself sets a modest goal of 10 minutes a day, which he usually surpasses. I followed his lead and although at first I wasn’t able to do a full 10 minutes, I broke it up into a few minutes a few times a day. Something happens after 10 minutes though, and I find myself reaching for that 11th minute, the 12th minute and more.
If you haven’t moved in awhile, start slowly and ask your doctor what exercises might be right for you, especially if you have chronic pain or a disability. I started my exercise routine with sessions of in-home physical therapy because I was bedridden at the time. Wherever you are at with your fitness level, accept it and find the best workout for YOU, not for your friend or favorite celebrity. Just moving at all for some people is a workout, while others might need more vigorous training. You need to find your personal fitness level and build on it. When looking for a workout routine, remember it needs to be something you will enjoy. Try different things until you find what suits your tastes. Here's what works for me:
Posted 1/27/2011 8:00:00 AM By: : 124 comments 69,283 views
The Coobie Sports Bra: Great Support, No Uniboob!
A chance visit to a fancy lingerie shop recently revealed something completely unexpected: the Coobie, a seamless bra that happens to be great for working out.
A number of features prompted me to try it on: the seamless construction, the padded cups, the fantastic array of colors and the price (just $20 for the scoopneck style and $22 for a lacier v-neck). But what really sold me on the Coobie, despite its silly name, was its in-gym performance.
Posted 1/26/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 110 comments 80,162 views
3 Keys to 'Normal' Eating, from Diet Blog
From our friends at Diet Blog
By Melanie Thomassian, R.D.
Do you feel like you've been on a constant diet-binge-diet roller coaster for as long as you can remember? Perhaps you can’t even imagine having a healthy relationship with food anymore.
Food obsessions can be hugely overwhelming, but you can find a way out. Here are three keys to becoming a "normal" eater:
Posted 1/25/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 70 comments 22,373 views
Work Out Anywhere: Laundry Room
From our partners at Woman's Day
Think you need to go to the gym to get in a workout? Think again! Check out our newest WD video series, Work Out Anywhere, to see various exercise moves that you can do in the unlikeliest of places, such as at the grocery store or in your office. Today's video demonstrates different ways you can burn calories in the laundry room!
Posted 1/24/2011 2:00:00 PM By: : 22 comments 17,247 views
Making Up for Bad Health Habits
Via our partners at Woman's Day
Did you smoke cigarettes for years? Or hardly drink milk or take a calcium supplement during your 20s? Whatever health mistakes you’ve made in the past, our experts weigh in on the specific changes you can make now to improve your well-being—and, in some cases, even reverse the effects of bad habits.
Bad Habit #1: Not Enough Calcium
Your mother told you to drink your milk (you didn’t). Your doctor encouraged you to take calcium supplements (you didn’t). Now what? “Your body will lay down bone mass until your early 30s, so if you are in your teens or 20s, you have time to reverse the years of inadequate calcium intake and start building stronger bones,” says Nikki Tierney, a registered dietitian in private practice in Quincy, Massachusetts. “If you've passed this age, all is not lost. You may have missed the opportunity to build bone mass, but it is never too late to prevent more bone loss.”
Women who are 19 to 50 years old need 1,000 mg of calcium per day; those 51 or older need 1,200 mg per day. “You absorb calcium best from food sources, so be sure to include these in your diet,” she says. “The easiest way to get your calcium is to get three servings of milk or yogurt each day. If you are looking to add in a supplement, get something with 500 to 1,000 mg, such as calcium chews.” In addition to dairy, you can get your calcium from the following sources: 1/2 cup firm tofu (204 mg), 3 oz canned salmon (181 mg), 1 cup pinto beans (103 mg) or 1 cup cooked kale (94 mg).
Posted 1/17/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 31 comments 19,932 views
The (Positive) Power of NO
By Beth Donovan aka ~Indygirl
There is one phrase that I think we may not use enough.
“No, thank you.”
There is nothing wrong with politely refusing.
Too many times I have stuffed my own feelings down and said “Yes” to things I didn’t want to do, staying in a bad situation or one that made me feel uncomfortable, or allowing someone else’s negative mood become my own. Maybe I didn’t set out to do those things, but I didn’t refuse them either. I’ve learned to draw a better line in the sand when it comes to such things and choose my battles with the power of “No.”
How do you do it?
Posted 1/13/2011 5:31:32 AM By: : 153 comments 31,287 views
Meet Tim, SparkPeople's Social Media Expert
Editor's Note: By popular demand, our Behind the Scenes at SparkPeople feature has returned.
Name: Tim Metzner (SP_TMETZNER)
Position at SparkPeople: Marketing and Business Development
Age: 28
Family: Amazing and beautiful wife Kristy, our yellow lab mix Canyon, and Carson, our overly snuggly cat.
How long have you worked for SparkPeople? Started as a co-op in June of 2001 and came on full-time in 2005 (so almost 10 years)!
Tell us your proudest accomplishment at SparkPeople or a fun fact about your job: I'm probably most proud of how early on I got to join the company and the crazy range of things that I've done in my time. Some of my wide-ranging tasks have included: property management in our early days (whether fixing toilets, painting, or showing up in the middle of the night to check on alarms going off), helping sell and flight/traffic ads on our websites, managing all of our marketing, and creating and managing partnerships with other great companies.
I also was responsible for creating and executing our social media strategy and am probably best known by our members as the guy behind our posts on Facebook and Twitter (love interacting with our members there!).
Posted 1/11/2011 6:00:00 AM By: : 23 comments 13,770 views
5 Ways with... Vinegar
From our partners at Woman's Day
Learn how to make the most of common household items, like hair dryers, dryer sheets and toothpicks, when you watch our 5 Ways video series! Each week we will feature a different item, which you most likely have lying around the house, and show you five new uses for it—surprising even the most savvy homemaker. For instance, did you know the absorbent powders in sidewalk chalk can soak up stains on clothing? Or that dryer sheets can calm frizzy-hair flyaways? Today, tune in to their latest installment, in which WomansDay.com Assistant Editor Brynn Mannino demonstrates five new ways to put white vinegar to use as a cleaning product, gardening tool and more!
Posted 1/10/2011 4:00:00 PM By: : 40 comments 24,613 views
Beating the Diet Blahs
By Beth Donovan aka ~Indygirl
Before joining SparkPeople, whenever I started a new "diet," I ended up feeling sluggish, tired and grumpy! I felt hungry, headachy, and blah. Was this my body’s way of telling me something? Was this just a natural response to cutting back? Why did I feel so bad if what I was doing was supposed to be so good for me?
Extreme diets can cause a blah, tired and headachy feeling for some people. This might be due to cutting back on the sugar, white flour or caffeine to which the body has become quite accustomed. Another cause for the discomforts you may experience when first dieting, is that you might be cutting back too much or eliminating a whole food group. Cleanses that rid your body of toxins can make you feel blah, as well. Most often, these symptoms are temporary and occur when just starting out on the program. The problem is, that once off the program, you have to go back on it to maintain weight loss and the diet blahs are there waiting for you.
Instead of something extreme, why not try for progress not perfection? Why not give up diets and choose a healthy lifestyle instead? Not eating enough calories can actually hurt your body and hinder your weight loss efforts by slowing your metabolism. Food’s purpose is to give you energy, so when you stop eating it, it’s no wonder you feel tired and lethargic. Progress can be as simple as switching from ordering large to ordering medium or small. If you take sugar in your coffee, try going sugar free or using stevia. Tweaking your eating plan is a painless way to make changes in things you will hardly miss. Tweak a thing or two, then a thing or two more until you are losing weight. Actually, you may be amazed how fast that can happen!
Posted 1/6/2011 2:13:24 PM By: : 64 comments 30,151 views
How Do You Set a New Year's Resolution That Actually Sticks?
Editor's Note: Obesity expert Dr. Martin Binks contributes regular guest posts to the dailySpark.
We have all been there. The new year rolls around and we take stock of our lives and the way we live them. We decide that this year is going to be different. This year we are going to keep those New Year's resolutions and take on a healthy lifestyle! Then we set a goal: I am going to get healthy. I am going to lose weight. I am going to start exercising. We set the date: January 1, of course. After all it is a brand new year, the first of the month--perfect! Then we go about our holiday of choice celebrating with family, overindulging a little and forgetting all about our new “plan" until we wake up New Year's Day without any real plan to accomplish the goals we have set out. The goal itself is often unrealistic too. It often involves setting up a strict and unforgiving diet that does not allow for a variety of foods or planning to do some ridiculously overexerting several-hours-a-day gym routine.
Then of course we realize that January 1 is still a holiday and think we might as well delay until the second. After all who can watch football or the NHL's Winter Classic without snacks and beverages? Good, so tomorrow it is! January second is still just as good as “New Year's." However, on that date we realize we still have all sorts of wonderful holiday treats in the house. Leftovers, food gifts, beer, wine and so forth. It's a shame to waste all that, so the logical choice is to wait a week or so before getting started. Now it's January 6, and you realize that it is no longer a fresh start to the year, you can't boast to friends about keeping your resolution and what you are left with is about the same as that with which you struggle every year, the need to adopt a healthier lifestyle on a regular old day without any fanfare.
So does this mean New Year's resolutions are a bad idea--of course not!
Posted 1/4/2011 2:24:24 PM By: : 60 comments 27,032 views
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