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It's Emily Thorne on my @womenshealthmag!!!! Great issue. Loved learning about the 8-hour diet and can't wait to test it out myself! 
As a team, we tried our hands at a lot of health and fitness items this year. While some of these goods didn't make the cut, there were more than a few products that we'll be using well into 2013. From gear to food - and everything in between - these healthy items were the ones we absolutely loved this year for keeping us healthy, happy, and fit!
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With some great health & fitness articles out there this week, it was hard to sift through them all to decide what to highlight. Since it’s getting colder and the holidays are here, it gets harder to get moving this time of year. So, this Saturday, it’s all about exercise: we’ve got pieces about exercise [...]
The post Reducing Car Travel As Effective As Cutting Calories? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.
With some great health & fitness articles out there this week, it was hard to sift through them all to decide what to highlight. Since it’s getting colder and the holidays are here, it gets harder to get moving this time of year.
So, this Saturday, it’s all about exercise: we’ve got pieces about exercise and detox, exercise and national security, exercise and partners, and finally, about exercise and electricity.
There is a lot of talk out there about a relationship between detoxification and exercise, but does one exist? This article discusses why some people believe that exercise has a positive influence on ridding our bodies of toxins, but that many experts aren’t convinced there is enough evidence for this. As the article states, exercise is important because it enables our body to do what it is made to do, whether or not it “detoxes” our bodies.
One man, after receiving news he had diabetes from being overweight, began his own “Biggest Loser” — and involved his whole city. While Memphis is one of the US’s most obese cities, there is hard work going on to change this & at the moment, it seems to be paying off.
Being overweight is currently the primary reason that civilian military recruits are deemed medically unfit for service & apparently it’s not just a new issue; the same reason was recorded during both WWI and WWII. This article suggests that the changes need to come from the school system, and what it could mean if physical fitness and performance is not improved on. Whether you are looking at it from a security standpoint or not, physical fitness is important for all of us to keep us healthy.
A study run with one exerciser paired with a simulation shows that when placed on a team individuals perform better than they would on their own. Not only is the study conducted in an interesting fashion, this is a great idea for those of us who are looking for some motivation to work out just a little harder, a little longer. Team up with a partner & see where it takes you!
A recent study asks whether the outcome of physician-directed weight loss treatment can be improved by adding mobile technology. Since apps & fitness tech has become so ubiquitous, you’d think the answer is yes — and it was: technology can enhance short-term weight loss in combination with an existing system of care. So if you’ve been debating whether to use that app or not, now might be a good time to give one a try!
This article makes the point that our daily car rides & calories ingested are directly linked to body weight, and states that driving even one mile less a day could be linked to a decreased BMI. While the research isn’t finite, there is no question that simply paying attention to caloric intake in addition to moving more can help reduce BMI.
A free outdoor gym paid for by the city council? That’s what happened in Hull, where this gym converts the power generated by peoples’ workouts into electricity. Whether it spreads to more places remains to be seen, but is a cool concept for both green energy and our health!
The post Reducing Car Travel As Effective As Cutting Calories? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.
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Tight hamstrings plague both incredibly active and sedentary folks. Whether you're hard on your legs during a workout or they're tight up from sitting at a desk all day, just about everyone can benefit from helpful, hamstring-opening yoga.
Triangle Pose
Regardless of whether you're a new yogi or a seasoned practioner, you're sure to come across Triangle Pose. It's part of the primary series in Ashtanga, and it's always welcome in my practice: it's perfect for giving much-needed love to your hamstrings.
Foot-to-Hand Pose
Stepping onto your fingers in Foot-to-Hand Pose may look a little intimidating, but with a steady practice, you can reap the benefits of this pose. Not only does it give a huge stretch to the backs of your legs, but also, it helps strengthen and stretch wrists.
Keep reading for two more poses to show some love to your tight hamstrings. Source
Dear Santa,
I never imagined I would spend most of the year fighting breast cancer. Please bring me a full head of hair in 2013 and a cancer-free future for me and all those I love!
Best wishes,
Laura Price, aged 30 ¼, bald and bored of the big 'C'. xx
P.S. Here's the final installment of my chemotherapy diary...
My Chemotherapy Diary: Part IV
Nov. 26: The day before my sixth and final chemotherapy session, the telephone rings. It's Gareth Evans, professor in medical genetics.
"Laura," he says. "It's good news. You got the all-clear."
I could cry with relief. Seven weeks ago, I took a blood test for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer gene mutations and I've become more and more worked up about the result, anxious to know whether I need a double mastectomy, desperate to start planning my future.
Because my maternal grandmother had breast cancer in her 30s, I am expecting to test positive. Having the gene fault would mean having a double mastectomy now, getting my ovaries removed in my 40s, and possibly deciding not to have children so as not to pass on the gene fault. Thankfully, none of this will be necessary.
As I said in a previous blog post, I considered having a double mastectomy regardless of the result, to remove any future breast cancer risk, but after consultation with my oncologist, surgeon and geneticist, the consensus is it would be silly to undergo a huge, risky operation for a relatively small chance of breast cancer recurrence. After all, the greater risk to my life is that my breast cancer spreads elsewhere - my lymph nodes, lungs or bones, for instance - and having my breasts removed wouldn't stop this from happening. Nevertheless, I'm so happy about the result - 'relieved' is not the word.
Nov. 27: Not only am I elated about my gene test result and the fact that this is my final chemo, I'm also semi-high on pre-chemo steroids, so wearing the bunny onesie my friends got me for my 30th birthday seems like an excellent idea. Plus, it's freezing cold outside and I'm about to endure the usual ice torture that goes with Taxotere chemotherapy, so I figure the extra warmth from the bunny suit is ideal!
Strangely, nobody at the Christie Hospital bats an eyelid at my oversized, rabbit-shaped babygro - not even a grin from my oncologist as I exit his room, revealing my little white bunny tail! These people are clearly too used to seeing patients in their PJs...
The nurse gets the needle and cannula into my hand without the usual bother and the chemo infusion whizzes by without incident. Either the freezer at the Christie Clinic isn't working too well or I'm just getting tougher, but I don't find the frozen ice gloves on my hands and feet quite as painful as I did the last two sessions. Before I know it, the hard part is over and I'm out the door, hoping never to return for another chemotherapy round in my life!
Nov. 28-Dec. 1: For the first few days post-chemo, I feel absolutely fine. Alongside the chemo, I'm taking a fairly potent concoction of extra steroids, drugs to offset the side effects of the steroids, a daily self-injection to boost my immune system, Senokot to ward off the constipation and a few essential vitamins, but I manage to combat the usual insomnia and get plenty of sleep.
Dec. 1-4: When the effects of Taxotere kick in, they really do kick hard, and in my case, this happens over the weekend. At certain points during chemo, I feel as if time has stopped entirely, and everyone's life is just going on while mine is on hold. All I can do is lie in bed and stare into space, feeling depressed. It's just like when you spend a Saturday night in by yourself looking at everyone else having fun on your Facebook feed (which I do a fair bit), only times the feeling by a thousand.
The pain also starts to kick in - not as intense as in the previous rounds of Taxotere, but nevertheless an uncomfortable prickly pain in my legs, which later spreads to my back. I also have the usual coated tongue, sore mouth, extreme lethargy, headaches, horrible feeling in my mouth and terrible, terrible hot flushes - it's quite common to experience menopausal symptoms during chemo, but fortunately mine turn out to be side effects of the steroids, and not the menopause just yet. (Phew)
My veins are also twitching and pulsing, as if I can feel the chemo drugs pumping up and down my arm, and my muscles and joints are tight and sore from the lack of exercise. Who knew earlier this year when I was running several times a week that I'd be feeling like an arthritic 90-year-old, six months later?!
Dec. 5: Weirdly, my hair has started to grow back, beginning with a small patch on the back of my head that's growing faster than anywhere else. I am told hair can become resistant to chemo drugs and it's common for it to start growing back after the fifth chemo, but it's likely it will fall out again before it grows back properly.
My eyebrows and eyelashes, on the other hand, have been falling out gradually over the four months since starting chemo and are now thinner than ever before. Fortunately, with a good wig and a little make-up, I can just about transform myself from "Hairless and Ill" to "Healthy and Normal" within 10 minutes!
Dec. 7: I've had a higher-than-normal temperature for four days and a mild, tickly cough, so I decide to go to the doctor for a blood test and a few checks. He confirms I don't have a chest infection or any other visible infection, and the next day he calls me with the test results. Expecting extremely low levels of white blood cells and neutrophils (the ones that fight infection), both the doctor and I are a little surprised to find I have abnormally high levels of both - a sign that I may have an active infection and my immune system is - for once - fighting it.
A quick call to the oncologist, however, confirms the high white blood-cell count is probably just a result of the daily immune-boosting injections and everything is as it should be. Relief doesn't begin to describe how I feel that I don't have to go back to the hospital for another four days of being hooked to a drip and going to the toilet in a cardboard bowl!
Dec. 8-10: I spend a few days in London, visiting a nutritional therapist and seeing friends and family, and I'm so exhausted I end up going to bed at 8pm on a Saturday night. It's fair to say the cumulative effect of six rounds of chemo has left me more tired than ever and I'm pleased to head back to Yorkshire for a few nights of 12 hours' sleep.
Dec. 13: After about a month of having a very slight cough, the winter gets the better of me and I develop a full-blown, chesty, phlegmy cough and a painful sore throat. I wake up having largely lost my voice, and begin taking antibiotics. So much for having a super-strong immune system!
Dec. 17: It's almost three weeks after my final chemo and my hair is starting to look a little bit like that of a baby chick again. Amazingly, I even have some semblance of my beloved sideburns - I never thought I'd be so happy to see those sideburns again!
The nurse at the Christie says my baby-chick hair is likely to fall out before the real, tough stuff starts growing back, but it should begin to return for real about a month after my last chemo. Which brings us nicely to Christmas Day. A bit of stubble on my head - the best present Santa could bring!
Follow Laura Price on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigscaryCword
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Marijuana legalization is back in the minds of British Columbians after voters in Washington state chose to decriminalize recreational use of the drug in November's U.S. election.
The Washington vote has generated enormous interest in Canada. Observers wonder how close we are to legalization in the Great White North, and how it will affect B.C.'s estimated $7-billion marijuana industry.
The legal history of marijuana in B.C. actually stretches back to 1907, when a riot by the Asiatic Exclusion League tore through Vancouver's Chinatown, said a 2002 Senate committee report.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, then-deputy minister of labour and future prime minister, visited the city with the aim of meeting Chinese people who sought compensation after the riot.
He met with activists who wanted to curtail the opium trade, which was brought to Canada by Chinese labourers. Chinese workers used the drug the way that white workers used alcohol — to "treat illnesses and to momentarily forget their social and working conditions," the Senate report said.
King learned that opium was being used by white people as well. Those meetings helped form the Opium Act of 1908 which evolved into today's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Modern-day activists want to see government regulations on marijuana relaxed or eliminated entirely.
The Liberal government tried to relax rules around marijuana in 2002, but it never passed.
Instead, the governing Conservative Party has since imposed mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, drug-related offences.
There is, at the moment, no imminent motion to decriminalize marijuana in Canada.
A history of the marijuana legalization campaign in B.C. and Canada:
Also on HuffPost:
Sweating and getting your heart pumping on vacation is an amazing opportunity, but it can take special preparation to make it a success. My job requires me to travel, so I'm naturally very particular about my leisure travel planning. I enjoy traveling for a fitness or athletic event because it creates an experience you wouldn't ordinarily have in that destination. Taking a trip for a fitness or athletic event is different in many ways than a regular getaway, so I'll share a few of the things I do to make fitness travel great.
Luckily, I have a best friend who is much more of a fitness fanatic than I am. She loves the idea of traveling for road bike races, mountain biking, running and pretty much any other fitness event. We recently traveled to Moab, Utah to participate in the Winter Sun 10K Run. Moab is in red-rock country with ruggedly beautiful canyons and vistas. It's a breathtaking backdrop for a run to say the least.
Don't stress or take yourself too seriously. Please take special note that it was a "run," and not a "race." I mention this because we didn't train, but rather than excusing ourselves from running, we laughed and decided to enjoy ourselves anyway. Some people go to seriously compete -- we are not those people. You don't have to win to have a good time. The Moab run started out on a gorgeous December morning and wound through the town and local parks. We ended at the local high school with a lap around the track, welcomed in by the hundreds of folks who had trained and already finished.
Arrive early and take your time. Give yourself enough time to scope out the town and have a good dinner the night before the event. Try to hit a museum or squeeze in a hike to see a destination from all perspectives. The day after our run we chose to hike Slick Rock. It was painful doing post run, but great views made the day. Going somewhere for a fitness event allows you to see things you might not have seen and to go somewhere you might never have considered.
Pack differently. You're probably going to need extra gear, shoes, clothing and liniment in addition to the essentials. Be prepared to take an extra gear bag, especially if your trip will include all the regular travel plans such as sightseeing or eating out that require a routine wardrobe.
Take advantage of fitness travel perks. Events are often accompanied with events, like fairs, expositions or lectures. Events bring a lot of new people into town that you wouldn't ordinarily meet. Mingle and enjoy the energy and excitement that surround the event. Being around people who love fitness and travel is inspirational.
If you've never taken a fitness destination trip and have an interest, I encourage you to start with a "run." The sense of accomplishment outweighs the temporary muscle soreness. These trips are a good excuse to get out of your comfort zone, run a race, bike or just go somewhere new.
What have you learned from traveling to fitness events? Which trip has been your favorite and was the most worthwhile?
Maile Keone is an entrepreneur, writer and traveler. She currently works in the vacation rental industry helping people stay in cool places.
Connect with Maile via: Email | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn.
Follow Maile Keone on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@mailekeone
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Latkes are the most well-known treat during Hanukkah, but noodle kugel also deserves a home on the festive table. Traditional recipes for this decadent, sweet dish pile the cream, butter, and sugar on heavy - but this lightened-up version is an ideal alternative that brings the same nostalgic flavors. There's still plenty of sugar in this recipe, but more traditional recipes call for more than double this amount! Ready to cook up some healthier Jewish comfort food in your kitchen? Keep reading for this simple noodle kugel recipe. Here is the full post.
It's the holiday season, and we're getting in the spirit with our fourth annual 18 Days of Holiday Giveaways! Every day for the first 18 days of December, one of the POPSUGAR sites will feature a new fabulous giveaway.
For our sixth day of holiday giveaways, we are giving away a Reebok Prize Package worth $1,500. This prize package includes a pair of Rebook RealFlex sneakers, a Reebok CHALLENGER 150 Treadmill and, $200 worth of Reebok apparel!
After you enter our giveaway above, don't forget to enter Must Have's giveaway to win a year of POPSUGAR Must Have plus a sold out Luxury Edition box, POPSUGAR's giveaway to win a $2,500 Barneys New York shopping spree, and TresSugar's giveaway to win a $1,500 Victoria's Secret gift card.
SourceBy Elisa Zied for U.S. News Health
If you're like most Americans who want to stay fit and active, there's a good chance that if you haven't already (or recently) joined a gym, the thought has likely crossed your mind -- especially as the new year approaches. Perhaps financial, logistical or other concerns have precluded you from joining a gym. Then again, maybe the mere thought of joining a gym -- and actually having to go to it! -- makes you sweat (if not break out in hives), because it's just not your thing.
Whatever your excuse for not stepping foot in a gym, the good news is that you never really have to look much farther than your own home, backyard, local park or even your office to get -- and stay -- fit, and reap the many benefits regular physical activity provides.
More from U.S. News Health:
In Pictures: Bikes for Aspiring Cyclists
Want to Maintain Your Weight? Get Moving
6 Ways to Make Time for Your Health
Here are some tips to help you stay fit (and have fun!) without ever hitting a gym.
How do you stay active and fit outside of a gym?
