by beautybrief

Beauty Brief has compiled a list of the best tips for 2009 on how to look great and feel great!

Tip#1: Myth: Eating Causes Wrinkles?!? Fact or Fiction?

It’s true! Overtime, eating sugar can actually make skin appear wrinkled and dull. A chemical process takes place in our bodies to cause this wrinkling effect known as glycation. Glycation occurs when sugar in the blood stream attaches to proteins and forms molecules called AGE (advanced glycation end-products). The easiest way to minimize the effects is to avoid eating foods high in sugar, and to definitely always wear sunscreen. Additionally, vitamins B1 and B6 inhibit the formation of AGE molecules, so try getting 1 mg a day of each.

Tip#2: Know Your Food Portions!

Portion control is an integral part of dieting and maintaining a healthy weight. To help identify what correct portion sizes are we have outlined proper serving sizes and related those portions to everyday items.

* 1 serving of meat (6oz) is about the size of a deck of cards

* A single serving of pasta, rice or potatoes (1/2 cup) is roughly the size of a golf ball or a small scoop of ice cream.

* 1 serving of vegetables or fruit is about the size of a tennis ball or a fist.

* 1 serving of cheese is just the size of 2 dominoes or 4 dice.

Tip#3: Get Lots of Sleep!

Getting enough sleep is essential to look younger, lose weight and feel great. Unfortunately, a recent survey found that 75% of Americans believe they are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Sleep deprivation causes our skin to look older and drier because during sleep is when our skin renews itself. So, make sure you are getting enough sleep every night. Make it a priority!

Tip#4: Eat Foods That Make Your Skin Glow!

Our skin is the body’s largest organ and it requires proper nutrition to stay healthy, beautiful and youthful looking. A, C, E & Selenium are necessary vitamins to help you look your best!

Foods Rich in Vitamin A: Broccoli, Spinach, Hale, Kale, Halibut, Red Peppers

Foods Rich in Vitamin C: Strawberries, Citrus Fruits, Tomatoes, Cantaloupes

Foods Rich in Vitamin E: Almonds, Asparagus, Avocados, Seeds, Olives

Foods Rich in Selenium: Nuts, Garlic, Poultry

Tip#5: Get Your Body Moving!

When you feel like there’s not enough time in the day or you just don’t know where or how to begin, we’ve put together a few tips on ways you can sneak exercise into your busy life without having to sacrifice anything on your to-do list.

1) If you take public transportation, get off a stop or two early and walk. Or, take the stairs instead of the elevator. And if you work in a high rise get off the elevator a few stories early and take the stairs the rest of the way. When going shopping, park at the far end of the parking lot.

2) Join a health club near your work so that you can more conveniently get a work out in during your lunch or before/after work.

3) Use you speaker phone at work and walk around the room while speaking.

4) Make sure you either stand, walk around or stretch at least once every hour, for even just a minute. It’s important to keep your blood circulating.

5) When traveling, walk around the airport while waiting for your flight instead of just sitting at the terminal.

Just doing a little bit of exercise every day counts. While you should try to get in at least 30 minutes a day, sometimes you just can’t, remember these simple tips and try to work them into various times throughout your day.

Remember, every little bit helps! Use common sense and reward yourself with a good book or iced tea instead of grabbing an unhealthy snack when you are following your diet. Take little walks around the building on your break, and call a friend to walk on the weekends. If you use these tips this year you will be on the road to not only looking beautiful but feeling good!

by 104inc.com


Shoehorning your workout into a few days a week is challenging enough—don’t make it tougher by buying into those nagging exercise misconceptions that may divert your attention from pursuing your better body goals.

SELF went to the pros to poke holes in these popular fitness myths that pervade gyms, pools and exercise classes. Arm yourself with the facts to keep you slim, strong and even smarter.

MYTH: Muscle turns into fat

REALITY: Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues that have different functions, so it’s physiologically impossible to turn one into the other. If you stop exercising, your muscles atrophy, so you lose the tone you worked so hard to create. And if you eat more calories than you burn, you’ll gain fat.

MYTH: You need to exercise 30 minutes straight to get fit.

REALITY: Three 10-minute cardio stints offer the same healthy payback as a single 30-minute one. If you are trying to peel off pounds, of course, the more you do, the faster you’ll succeed. But don’t feel guilty if all you can squeeze in is a few minutes here and a few minutes there—it all adds up.

Short on time? Ratchet up the intensity of your workout: Go hard for 30 seconds on the elliptical or jog for a minute in the middle of your walk to maintain your fitness level and your habit. And remember, anything you do—whether it’s a brisk 5-minute walk or carrying heavy groceries to your car—for any period of time, provides some benefit.

MYTH: Overweight people have a sluggish metabolism.

REALITY: Though some folks do have metabolic disorders that slow their metabolism, fewer than 10 percent of overweight people suffer from them. In fact, the more you weigh, the more calories you’ll burn during exercise at the same relative workload as a slimmer person. If you notice the scale climbing higher, worry about your activity level, not your metabolism. Try this fat-burning workout to really see results.

MYTH: Lifting heavy weights make women bulk up.

REALITY: Women don’t have enough of the muscle-building hormone testosterone to get bulky, even using heavy weights. The truth is, some people will gain muscle faster than they lose fat, so they may look bigger until they shed some of the flab and reveal the slim, toned muscles underneath. Shape sleek muscles with this workout from The Biggest Loser’s Jillian Michaels.

MYTH: You can’t lose any weight by swimming.

REALITY: OK, it’s true that long-distance swimmers who navigate colder waters tend to retain body fat for insulation. But ask anyone who laps it up while training for a triathlon: You will sizzle off pounds in the pool, since swimming burns 450 to 700 calories an hour! One reason you might not shed flab doing freestyle? If you throw in the towel and cut your workout short. Keep it going with this full-body water workout from gold medalist Amanda Beard.

MYTH: Stretching before exercise prevents injuries and enhances performance.

REALITY: Researchers are still scratching their head over this one, since studies have yet to show conclusively that limbering up has any effect on staving off strains and other injuries. But they do know that stretching regularly can make bending, reaching, twisting and lifting easier. Best move: Save your stretching for post-exercise, when muscles are warm.

MYTH: You burn more calories exercising in chilly weather.

REALITY: If you shiver through a long run in the frigid winter air simply to experience the extra calorie burn, you might want to come in from the cold: You do torch a few extra calories during the first few minutes, but once you get warmed up, the caloric expenditure is the same whether you’re exercising in Siberia or the Sahara. Try a treadmill circuit workout with a great playlist to keep you going!

MYTH: When your body gets used to an exercise, you’ll burn fewer calories doing it.

REALITY: Unless you’ve adjusted the intensity, you’ll burn as much jogging or cycling today as you did last week, last month, even last year. Experts say that this principle only applies to exercises that we’re naturally inefficient at, such as using the elliptical machine: After five to six sessions, you’ll be smoother in your movements and expend fewer calories—but the difference is only about 2 to 5 percent.

MYTH: The calorie readout on machines is accurate.

REALITY: If only! Research has shown that some types of machines can be off by as much as 70 percent. The culprit? Contraptions such as the elliptical machine haven’t been around long enough for exercise scientists to develop the appropriate calorie-burn equations. On the upside, stationary bikes and treadmills, the grandfathers of the gym, generally give a fairly precise reading, particularly if you enter your age and weight.

Rather than swearing by what the machine says, use the calorie readout to monitor your progress. If the tally climbs during the same workout for the same duration, you’re working harder and getting fitter. An online calorie calculator can give you a sense of which activities burn the most. 

Score more tips on making your workout more effective and fun at 104Healthy.com. Find ways to fit in more workouts on the Fresh Fitness Tips blog.