That's Fit

I have been both shivering with disgust and giggling my head off all day today. I grabbed the March 31st issue of OK! magazine off the rack at my gym this morning to keep me company as I ran on the treadmill, and I nearly fell off from laughing. Ugly Betty star, Vanessa Williams, admits to having almost smeared urine all over her face in an effort to get rid of acne.

Oh my! Acne is stressful and embarrassing I'm sure, but I think my face would have to be falling off before I considered doing that! Apparently, someone told her that urine cures acne and she almost followed through with it. Her confession suggests she put her valuable "morning urine" in a container, but just couldn't follow through with applying it.

Forget the number on the scale -- measure your weight compared to celebrities and historical figures with the Celebrity Weighing Scale. Are you the size of the Karate Kid, or are you teetering on the size of Mr. Ed? Maybe you're on par with Jay Leno's head. Whatever the case, the goal is to stop you from dreading the scale and the number on it -- instead, the makers want you to be laughing at what you see. You can still make goals, but instead of aiming for a number, you'll aim for, say, Woody Allen.

What do you think ... interesting idea or waste of space?

Motivation is a problem for many when it comes to fitness, and I really believe that if you don't enjoy working out on some level, you won't be able to keep it up in the long-term, no matter how motivated you are to maintain the perfect body. So it's important to keep your fitness routine fun. How? Well, this time, we're asking you. How do you keep fitness fun?

For me, it's trying new things, new activities. I'm always up for a challenge and if it looks like fun, I'm there. And I love to dance so I'm always on the hunt for cardio dance classes. For more tips, check out these reader's tips from Yahoo.

Although hula hoops are most commonly thought of as a little girls game they're becoming more and more popular as a means of fun fitness for adults. I think adults hula hooping is fine and dandy, but this Hula Chair just makes me laugh. I guess it goes along with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles that we'd want to hula while sitting down! I honestly have no idea if this gadget has any health benefits or not because I couldn't stop laughing long enough to find out. But I do know laughing is good for you, so if nothing else check out this video of the Hula Chair and get your dose of laughs in for the day.

Seriously!?


Via Shiny Shiny

As the saying goes: he who laughs last, laughs hardest. What they don't tell you is that he's probably healthier too! It's no secret that laughing is darn good for your body. Surrounding yourself with happy people can cause a mirror effect in your own brain that improves social behavior. And having a good laugh can not only help you lose weight, but a new study has linked it with preventing heart disease as well! Now that's a chuckle worth having.

The University of Maryland did research that found a link between healthy people who laugh more and individuals with heart problems of the same age who don't laugh as much. It turns out the people with heart disease are 40 percent less likely to have a laugh than those other guys. After all, cardiovascular health depends on regular exercise daily, and 15 minutes of laughter is also recommended.

No one needs to be told how to laugh, but a little help never hurts. For instance, watch this video of a laughing baby and you just might get your daily dose in one sitting! We can sing the benefits of laughter all day long, but think about it: don't you just feel better after a good giggle?

Obesity wasn't a problem when I was a kid. My friends and I spent our days running around, pausing only to have a snack when hunger got the best of us or our moms told us it was time to eat. TV time was restricted and besides, it wasn't as fun as water fights with the neighbours and bike rides to the 7-11 to load up on whatever candy our $.50 could buy. Those were good days.

In this article, Gabby Reece encourages us to channel our inner child, for our physical and mental health. Play. Sleep lots. Say what's on our minds. Eat only when we're hungry. Laugh. Live in the moment. That's what kids do, and I agree that we'd all be happier, healthier and more well-adjusted as adults if we tried to live life as simply as we did when we were young. Underneath all the corporate mumbo-jumbo that comes with being an adult, life really is simple, you know. Most of the time, though, we're too caught up in all the red tape to notice.

How do your kids inspire you?

We could all use a bit more fun in our lives to break up the humdrum of every day life and make us appreciate the things we have, like our health and our family. So on your next day off, why not head to the park with your kids or your dog (or both)? Do what you did at the park when you were a kid: run around, take the slide, swing on the swings, dig in the mud and basically have fun. You'll relieve stress, burn calories, nurture relationships and get some much-needed fresh air that you don't have at the office. If, like me, you don't have kids or a dog, offer to babysit or dogsit for a friend. There's also a multitude of other fun to be had: you could fingerpaint, ride a merry-go round, go rollerskating -- the options are endless. The only rule is: have fun.

The holidays are almost over but that doesn't mean that the stress is gone from your life. Sure, you can relax now that you don't have to rush around finding the perfect gifts and planning fabulous feasts. But there's still the stress of every day life, which might be intensified by those holiday bills.

Now that you have some extra time, it's the perfect opportunity to start de-stressing. De-stressing is easy -- it's just finding the time for yourself that presents a problem for many. Here are some tips: laugh, cry, exercise, meditate, eat well and sleep. These are all things that help us relax and help us feel better every day. And for further inspiration, check out our Stress Less feature.

What tips do you have on de-stressing?

Have you ever heard that laughing is great exercise? Well here's a new fitness fad that takes that principle to heart: laughter yoga. Described as part traditional yoga, part improv, and part silliness, laughter yoga is quickly growing as a popular way to get fit. Originally invented in India, there are approximately 60 instructors in the United States now training practitioners nationwide. And although they are spread all across the country, the majority of laughter yoga clubs are in California.

Jeffrey Briar, who teaches both traditional and laughter yoga in Laguna Beach, CA, says that laughter enhances the breathing exercises that are so important to yoga and creates social interaction that isn't normally a part of his traditional classes. He even says that the laughter can be pretend at first -- because if you're fake laughing in a group it becomes real laughter very quickly.

There have been many studies on the effects of laughter on health, and links have been found to suggest laughter can ease depression, lower blood pressure, and boost the immune system. I'll have to check around and see if this laughter yoga is offered at all in my area, it sounds like fun!