Poor posture not only causes you to look 10 pounds heavier and feel less confident ... it also hurts! Check out this video from Stacy McCarthy, the yoga expert from She's Active Health Network. Stacy offers up a few simple stretches you can do anywhere at anytime to get you standing as tall as you should.

For more fun, quick, tips and recipes from degreed experts ...

Source

I recently interviewed Erin Andrews, the very pretty and fit sideline reporter for ESPN. While we spoke, Erin told me her secret to staying really fit and trim. After gaining 10 pounds "eating like a guy" with the College GameDay crew, Erin was mortified to see her much larger bum showcased all over the internet.

I was like "Oh my God!" she said. "What happened to my butt?!!!" And with that ... Erin hired a trainer, changed the way she was eating and made sure she didn't try to keep up with her male coworkers at the bar. Can you imagine having the world document each and every pound you gained each day of your life?

Source

Sometimes thinking about changing your lifestyle in order to be happier or healthier seems like a daunting task. I know that times when I decide I'm unhappy with my habits and end up on a mission to make changes and improve my overall well-being, I tend to give up easily because I get in the mind frame that I have to change absolutely everything at once.

Of course, overhauling your entire life in a day isn't necessarily the best way to make changes for the better. A few small steps can be taken each day, week or even month to improve your life. Eventually all of these little alterations will add up to some major life changes.

I like this article from the Canadian Living website because it gives a list of 10 things you can do in the month of October to improve your well-being. There's nothing very difficult to accomplish on the list -- suggestions include eating more berries, doing push-ups, taking the stairs and trying out pomegranate -- but I bet if you made the commitment to try them all throughout the month, you'd find that you feel a bit happier, more relaxed and healthier overall.

If you want to see all 10 tips and find out just why they're all good for you, take a peak at the entire article here.

Source

I'm a bit of a hypochondriac. Specifically, I think that basically any unusual or unexpected ache, pain or swelling is cancer. Fortunately, for my doctor especially, I am usually pretty good at deciphering which symptoms actually need to be checked out and which are likely just random and normal body fluctuations.

There are symptoms, however, that according to the Mayo Clinic should not be ignored. For example, if you lose 5% of your body weight within a month or 10% in 6 to 12 months and you can't explain why, you should have a chat with your family doctor. Unexplained weight loss can be an indicator of a range of conditions including cancer, liver disease and depression.

If you've injured a joint and it has become hot, red and/or swollen, you need to seek help as you may have a joint infection that could eventually lead to the loss of a limb. Other warning signs you should never ignore include shortness of breath, severe headaches, flashes of light and feeling super full when you've hardly eaten anything. To see the rest of the symptoms as well as the reasoning behind why you need to get then all checked out, take a look here.

Source

I like the view in this piece that we shouldn't rely on a pill to get all of the vitamins and minerals we need to keep our bodies healthy. Many exist in abundance in food so why no make a commitment to include them as part of a regular diet rather than always turning to a multivitamin? I'm not saying they multivitamins are useless, but if it's possible to absorb vitamins in food, why not give that a try too?

For those who are interested in giving it a go, here is a list of 10 essentials, along with one of the many reasons each is so good for you and some of the foods that are packed full of them:

• Iron - Prevents anemia, found in tofu, lean red meat, nuts and seeds, dried fruit and fortified cereal.
• Vitamin C - Helps your body deal with stress, found in orange juice and citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli, spinach and bell peppers.
• Vitamin D - Aids in cancer prevention, found in fortified milk and yogurt, salmon and can be absorbed from a small amount of sun exposure.
• Vitamin E - An antioxidant that helps lower the risk of a stroke, found in almonds and sunflower seeds.
• Vitamin K - Aids in blood clotting, found in avocados, kale, spinach and pine nuts.
• Calcium - Essential for bone health, found in milk and dairy products, broccoli, almonds and sesame seeds.
• Folate - Fights cancer, found in peanuts, lentils, corn and spinach
• Selenium - Keeps immune system strong, found in shellfish, Brazil nuts and sesame seeds.
• Magnesium - Helps keep bones strong, found in beans, seeds, nuts and green leafy vegetables.
• Potassium - Works to keep blood pressure level, found in sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, kiwi and bananas.

To find out more about why these are all so good for you, as well as other foods that contain the 10 vitamins and minerals, take a look here. The article even includes a recipe for each, and they all look pretty tasty.

Source

I admit that I've been busted for assuming that just because someone is thin, they're more fit than another, heavier person. Of course, the truth is that a naturally skinny junk-food addict/perennial couch surfer is likely in way worse shape than someone with a bit of extra baggage who exercises regularly and makes a commitment to eat well.

8 other common myths about fitness are addressed and explained in this AOL Body piece. Based on the article, a lot of us are pretty misinformed about a bunch of work-out related issues. Other truths revealed include that you can't just use aerobic exercise as a way to lose weight. Building muscle is essential because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at any given time

The piece also talks about whether you really need to stretch before a workout, if you can skip the exercise and lose weight through diet alone and whether you can get rid of tummy fab with crunches. To find out the truth about these and a number of other common myths, take a look here.

Source

Wow, lets hope not because that would suck! We all have enough trouble with our weight without making it worse with the very makeup we put on to hide flaws -- not point them out. But it works both ways, and by using makeup strategically you can successfully go the other way and look thinner -- as much as 10 pounds thinner! Blush and shadow placed in the right places, like along double chins and cheekbones, can create definition and help extra flab recede into the background. For tips on how to do it see this article on iVillage -- and let us know how it works. Just make sure to practice and do it correctly, or you could easily end up looking 10 pounds fatter!

Source

Even for people who read label's religiously, it's not always easy to figure out the best and worst foods to consume (or not consume). Everybody out there is obviously interested in finding out as is evidenced by Adams' incredibly popular post on the top 10 terrible foods to always avoid. But what about the good stuff?

A dietician from the Mayo Clinic has made a list of what he feels are the top 10 best foods to eat based on a number of factors including:

• Whether the food is a good source of fibre, vitamens and minerals
• Whether the food can reduce the risk of heart disease and other conditions
• Whether the food is high in vitamens A and E, as well as beta carotene
• Whether the food is readily available and,
• Whether the food is high in calorie denstity (ie. larger portions with less calories)

To be eligible for the list, the products had to meet three or more of the points on the list. So what came out on top? Fruits and veggies like apples, broccoli. blueberries, spinach and sweet potatoes. Salmon also made the list as did almonds and red beans. To see the rest of the top 10 and find out why all of these foods are so fabulous, take a look here.

Source

A healthy workplace is a complicated machine that encompasses many things, but some jobs lend themselves naturally to healthier environments. Which ones? Maybe you're already in one, or maybe you're in the market for a new job and you'd like to be in one. According to a survey via eDiets by Monster.com the following list includes the top 10 healthiest jobs out there (excluding professional sports):

1) Activity Specialist
2) Chiropractor
3) Choreographer
4) Florist
5) Massage Therapist
6) Nutritionist
7) Personal Trainer
8) Professor
9) Running Coach
10) Yoga Instructor

There's really no info on exactly what makes each of these jobs so healthy, other than the general idea that they all promote a balanced wholesome workplace environment. But I can guess at why, and it's interesting that all the professions are so different.

Source

This excellent article on the top ten foods to help you fight cholesterol starts out with an amazing fact: there are about 12 million Americans who are on some kind of drug to lower their bad cholesterol! We've covered the food topic before, but with all those drugs being pumped into the body, I bet many people are wondering if there are other natural ways to help.

A startling wake-up call is that not having enough good cholesterol can be almost as damaging as having too much bad cholesterol. That's why this information on the top 12 non-drug strategies to raise HDL levels is so interesting. Like the author suggests, a little bit of the good variety can go a long way, so check out these tactics you can do to help your body naturally.

Trans fats should be a red flag automatically, but understanding why is also crucial. The fats clog arteries and not only raise your bad cholesterol but lower your good kind too. However, consuming more monounsaturated fats can be very beneficial without hurting your overall levels. Are you an onion fan? Apparently having half of a raw onion daily can raise HDL levels by thirty percent. Other strategies include common health practices like exercise and not smoking. Read the rest of the article for more on how to raise good cholesterol.

Source

Gross candy? Is that even possible? We're not talking about that lemon flavored Jolly Rancher that you'd prefer to hand off to someone else either. No, dear reader, these candies are in a league of their own. You know they must be when only the #10 spot is White Chocolate Maggots!

Take a gander at the Top 10 Grossest Candies as compiled by Candy Addict. You'll never look at candy the same way again ... especially the bug variety! Seriously, how appetizing do Harry Potter Cockroach Clusters sound anyway? Just read the description to get an idea: "Each Cockroach has a juicy gummy underbelly and is covered with a crunchy candy shell that has candy cockroach wings!"

Mmm, good eatin'. Probably a big hit with the kiddo's but it doesn't sound like I'm missing much by living fit.

Source