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8 Diet and Exercise Mistakes That Age You | Yahoo! Health

8 Diet and Exercise Mistakes That Age You | Yahoo! Health

FIVE EXERCISE STRATEGIES FOR MOMS WITH “ACTIVE” KIDS

After having my daughter, losing weight was easy. No sleep. No time to eat. Breast feeding. Trudging up the steps 20 times a day to clean up yet another blowout. Not to mention the incredible anxiety eating away at me about caring for this tiny, fragile little being. But after a while, the anxiety began to fade, I started to sleep again, the diva weaned herself and my ass expanded seemingly overnight.

When you’re pregnant, it’s assumed you can eat whatever you want. I mean when you spend all day creating new LUNGS you need the extra fuel. Same with breast feeding – although you actually need a few more calories when breast feeding than when your pregnant. I guess becoming a maker of liquid gold as opposed to creating a living, breathing human takes more work. Go figure.

But as my life was transforming and my stay-thin tactics started to flitter away, my eating habits didn’t change. Going from eating whatever, whenever back to a diet of rabbit food and tasteless chunks of chicken is not an easy feat. So here I sit, on my exponentially enlarged butt.

I don’t have time or money for the gym. The last time I attempted an exercise DVD, I ended up with a 27 pound 18 month old sitting on me yelling “Bounce! Bounce!” Not exactly motivating, people. I went in search of exercises I can do without getting up before the sun and while entertaining an “adventurous” toddler. So if you hate 5 a.m. AND have a household to run, read on.

Walking – Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. It’s low impact. Free. And best of all, you can wear out a toddler in just 20 minutes.

Pump up the jam! – If that reference eludes you, get off my blog right now! Seriously. Just kidding. Don’t go anywhere, I have 3 more tips for you! Is there a better way to play with your child and get a good workout in than dancing? Turn on the music – it doesn’t matter if it’s top 40 hits or Mickey Mouse singing nursery rhymes – anything that will get you moving will surely entertain your toddler while you burn some serious fat.

Get outside! – Hike, swim, participate in a fun game of hopscotch, ride bikes (don’t forget the helmets!), garden, play a game of soccer or kickball or softball. Whatever it is, have fun and get moving!

Jump in the game – Too cold or rainy? Bring the fun inside. Jump rope, do jumping jacks, run in place, lunges, squats, play tag. Surely you can take a cue for how your kids play to get involved.

Grab a controller – Got a video game addict in your child … or hubby? Turn on the Wii or Kinect (no, they didn’t pay me to say that) and challenge your kid to a serious game of tennis or bowling or whatever it is that they also enjoy.

Do these in short bursts and you’ll end up with the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Now get off your tushie and MOVE!

By: http://motherhoodontherocks.com/

Six smart snacks to eat after your workout

Jennifer Hellickson (www.examiner.com)

Breakfast may hold the title of most important meal of the day, but did you know that your post-workout snack comes in a close second? Topping off the tank after vigorous exercise is vital to helping your body repair muscle tissue and replenish glycogen levels.

The size of the meal depends on your respective calorie range and the duration and intensity of your workout, but it should contain a mix of both protein and carbohydrates. Studies have shown that this combination provokes the most effective muscle refueling and building response, plus it reduces cortisol, a stress hormone that breaks down muscle during strenuous activity.

For best results – regardless of time of day– aim to eat within 30 to 60 minutes of your workout, when muscles are most receptive. During this window, there’s an uptick in enzyme activity that makes the body more efficient at storing glucose for energy and rebuilding fatigued muscles.

Here are six of my favorite snacks for rewarding myself after a particularly tough workout:

Protein shakes. Experiment with protein powder, various fruits, ice and milk in a blender for the freshest and most satisfying recovery drink. Or when I don’t have the time (or energy) to be creative, my new go-to is the chocolate-flavored Shakeology, which claims to offer a salad bowl’s worth of fruits and veggies in a single glass. Sure it’s a little pricey at around $4 a pop, but take a one look at the ingredient label and you’ll see why it’s considered the Cadillac of meal replacement shakes – it contains a proprietary blend of digestive enzymes, prebiotics, antioxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogens and all sorts of other rare ingredients from around the world (açai and goji berries, camu-camu, quinoa, wheatgrass, maca root and sacha inch, anyone?).

Yogurt with berries. Skip the super-sugary fruit-on-the-bottom varieties, and indulge instead in plain or vanilla flavors (try the new Greek varieties, such as Oikos or Chobani) with fresh fruit. Not only is this an easily-portable and -palatable snack, but low-fat yogurt can also pack nearly 15 grams of protein. Here’s another handy tip: Use frozen berries, which are less expensive – depending on the season – and will help keep your yogurt perfectly chilled in your gym bag.

Peanut butter. However you spoon it or spread it, one tablespoon of peanut butter contains only about 100 calories and seven grams of healthy unsaturated fat. ‘Nuff said.

Breadless sandwich. If you’re not in the mood for a full meal, eat a plate full of fillings! Make easy turkey rolls by spreading flavored cream cheese (my favorites are the savory ones from Philly) on lean deli meat, rolling it up for a quick, high-protein, on-the-go snack. Serve with a side of sliced fruit for extra energy-boosting carbs.

Eggs. Yes, they’re still incredible, amazingly-versatile and highly-edible as a post-workout snack. Both the yolk and the white contain protein, along with zinc, which aids in metabolism and immunity, and vitamin B12, which supports cell production. Eggs are also an excellent source of low-cost, high-quality protein, providing 6.3 grams of protein (13 percent of the daily value for protein) in one egg for a mere 68 calories. EatingWell offers a list of 12 healthy, easy egg recipes here.

Low-fat chocolate milk.Got milk? Try it after your next workout for more effective recovery. A study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition named chocolate milk as an ideal post-workout beverage for building muscle. Compared to plain milk, water and sports drinks, it has twice the protein and carbohydrates, plus it packs an added nutritional bonus of calcium. Wear your milk moustache proudly next time at the gym!

12 things not to do if you want healthy, good-looking Skin

By Stephanie Watson (webmd.com)

Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it takes a lot of abuse. Constantly exposed to the elements, your epidermis (and the layers beneath) can really take a beating, especially if you're guilty of the following skin sins.

Want to preserve your skin? Here's what not to do.

1. Get Overexposed

There was a time when people thought it was perfectly fine to slather their bodies in baby oil and spend entire days baking in the sun. Over the years, dermatologists set us straight, telling us in no uncertain terms that sun worshipping will only put us on the path to premature aging -- and skin cancer.
"If there's one thing in the world that one can do to avoid the ravages of injury to the skin, it's avoid the sun," says Norman Levine, MD, a dermatologist in Tucson, Arizona and the author of Skin Healthy: Everyone's Guide to Great Skin."The sun has effects on the cells that renew the skin, and when those cells are injured irreparably you get skin aging and you are more prone to skin cancer."
You can tell right away when someone's been spending a lot of time in the sun, says Jennifer Stein, MD, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Medical Center. "Their skin looks very wrinkly and is covered in lots of brown spots, and that's from years and years of sun damage."

2. Skimp on Sunscreen

Your sunscreen probably isn't shielding you from sun damage because most of us don't apply the shot-glass-sized amount (1 ounce) of SPF 30 or higher sunscreen -- the minimum experts say we need to protect us.
"Most people under-apply by one-fourth. Whatever you're putting on is probably too little, so at least double it," says Jeffrey Dover, MD, FRCPC, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine] and director of SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Many people also don't apply sunscreen every two hours as dermatologists recommend.
If you’re going to be outside, don’t forget to wear protective clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, and seek the shade, as well as wearing sunscreen (and reapplying it as needed). Then your skin is as protected as possible.

3. Head to the Tanning Bed

Think a tanning bed is safer than being outside in the sun? Think again.
Tanning beds give you a concentrated burst of ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B light, which causes skin aging and could triple your risk for melanoma skin cancer. "Never go into a tanning parlor," Levine says. "There couldn't be a worse thing to do to your skin."

4. Smoke

If the risk of lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and stroke aren't enough to scare you off cigarettes, how about all those wrinkles you'll get?
Study after study shows just how extensively smoking ages the skin. "It does a lot of what the sun does. It just does it inside [the body] instead of outside," Dover says. "It makes the skin weak, tired, and listless looking."
If that weren't enough, smoking also yellows the skin, interferes with its blood supply, and slows wound healing. "So if you injure your skin it may not heal as well if you're a smoker," Levine says.

5. Use the Wrong Cleanser

A big mistake people make when they wash their face is using a harsh soap that's meant for their body. Keep the bar soap in the shower. Use only a mild cleanser for your face, especially if you have sensitive skin, Stein advises.
If your skin is acne-prone, make sure the cleanser you use is oil-free and noncomedogenic, which means it does not promote acne. People whose skin is on the dry side should follow up each wash by applying a layer of lotion (preferably one that contains sunscreen) to seal in the skin's moisture.

6. Scrub Your Skin

Washing your face is a good idea. Scrubbing it isn't. 
"Scrubbing can be very irritating to the skin," cautions Stein. "A lot of times people who have acne will feel like they have to scrub the skin to make it better, but that can actually worsen the acne."
Be gentle to your skin. Wash your face using a soft, circular motion.

7. Pop Your Pimples

Whenever you feel tempted to pop a pimple, control the urge. "Picking can actually make the acne worse and lead to permanent scarring," Stein says. "Better to leave it alone."
Instead of popping pimples, try an over-the-counter pimple remedy containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. If that doesn't clear up your breakouts, call your dermatologist.

8. Stress Out

It's not your imagination. When you're stressed out, it really does show in your skin. 
"It's not well understood, but it's clear that stress makes many skin conditions worse," Dover says. 
Stress can flare up psoriasis and rosacea, as well as acne. It may also lower the skin's ability to keep out harmful irritants and infections. Plus, people who are wrapped up in their stress have less time to care for their skin properly.

9. Overdo It

Looking young and vibrant is highly prized, but the quest for it can have a price, especially if you trust your chemical peel to someone without an MD after his or her name. "I think they should be done under the guidance of a doctor because they certainly be very irritating, particularly to sensitive skin or people who have skin conditions," Stein says. In the wrong hands, a chemical peel could leave you with an infection or permanent scars.
You also don't want to overdo home microdermabrasion and peels. Instead of making you look younger, they'll leave your skin red and irritated. Let your dermatologist guide you if you are going to try at-home skin procedures.

10. Overeat

Before you take another bite of that bacon double cheeseburger, consider this: When you gain a lot of weight, your skin has to stretch to accommodate your new girth. Lose the weight and you'll be left with flabby, saggy skin. If your skin isn't elastic enough to bounce back, you may have to resort to surgery to tighten it up.

11. Fall Short on Sleep

More than a quarter of us aren't getting the seven to nine hours of sleep we need nightly, and our exhaustion is as obvious as the pallor of our skin and the bags under our eyes. 
"Your skin rejuvenates while you're sleeping," Dover says. He warns that a lack of sleep makes your face look "dull and listless" and can exaggerate the appearance of dark circles.

12. Ignore Warning Signs

A changing mole is one of the clearest signs of skin cancer. Spotting it early gives your doctor a chance to treat it before it has time to spread. But how will you ever know a mole is changing if you never look at your skin?

Once a month, you should be checking your skin from top to bottom, front to back in a full-length mirror. "You're looking for changes in the size, shape, and color of moles, or new moles," Dover says. If you spot anything, or if you've got a personal or family history of skin cancer, let your dermatologist do a full exam as well, Stein says.

Eating lots of chocolate helps people stay thin, study finds

By Ryan Jaslow (cbsnews.com)

(CBS News) What's the best way to stay thin? A new study finds it's exercising and eating a healthy diet full of - chocolate?

Mindless eating: 8 food goofs that pack on pounds

The study found that people who frequently ate chocolate had a lower body mass index (BMI) than people who didn't.

Is it time to ditch fat-free for fudge?

For the study, published in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers examined more than 1,000 healthy men and women who were free of heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol problems. They were all enrolled in another study that measured the effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, but for this study researchers assigned them questionnaires that gauged how often participants chowed down on chocolate.

The researchers found that the participants - who were an average age of 57 - ate chocolate for an average of twice of week and exercised roughly 3.5 times per week. But the more frequent chocolate-eaters had smaller BMIs, a ratio of height and weight that's used to measure obesity.

What explains the effect? Even though chocolate can be loaded with calories, it's full of antioxidants and other ingredients that may promote weight loss, the researchers said.

"I was pretty happy with this news myself," study author Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San Diego, told USA Today. "Findings show the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining ultimate weight."
Does that mean all diet regimens should include a daily chocolate bar? The researchers say it's too soon to tell.

"Our findings - that more frequent chocolate intake is linked to lower BMI - are intriguing," the authors wrote. However, "It is not a siren call to go out and eat 20 pounds of chocolate a day," Golomb told HealthDay.

This isn't the first study to suggest a daily dose of chocolate can do the body good. Last summer, a study of more than 100,000 people found those who ate the most chocolate were 39 percent less likely to get heart disease and 29 percent less likely to have a stroke, HealthPop reported. Months later a 10-year study of 33,000 women found a 30 percent reduced risk of stroke among chocaholics.
But experts warn not all chocolate is created equal, and some could contain lots of sugar and calories, which could lead to other health issues if consumed daily.

"I would not want people reading this to think that all [they] need to do to lose weight is eat more chocolate," Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn., told WebMD. "That would be a huge mistake." Katz suggests dark chocolate, because of its bitter flavor,  may suppress appetite whereas sweet chocolate may stimulate it.

The Mayo Clinic has more on chocolate.

Drinking and Exercise: How Alcohol Affects Your Body

Susan Rinkunas for Women's Health

Alcohol in your system is detrimental to any kind of fitness activity (except maybe on the dance floor). Here's how booze wreaks havoc on your regimen.

1. Slower Recovery
Hard workouts drain the glycogen stores (carbs stored in the liver and muscles) and leave your muscle tissue in need of repair. "Pouring alcohol into your system as soon as you finish stalls the recovery process," says Tavis Piattoly, R.D. High levels of alcohol displace the carbs, leaving your stores still 50 percent lower than normal even eight hours later, according to one study. Sip or snack on a combo of muscle-repairing protein and carbs (think low-fat chocolate milk or peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers) before tipping back.

2. Packed-On Fat
When booze is on board, your body, besides having to deal with the surplus of calories, prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol over burning fat and carbs. Alcohol also breaks down amino acids and stores them as fat. "For some reason this process is most pronounced in the thighs and glutes," says Piattoly. "Excessive alcohol consumption really chews up muscle in those areas." It also increases levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), which further encourages fat storage, particularly in your midsection.

3. Disrupted Sleep
Boozing also blows your muscle recovery and performance by sapping your sleep. In a study of 93 men and women, researchers found that alcohol decreased sleep duration and increased wakefulness (particularly in the second half of the night), especially in women, whose sleep time was decreased by more than 30 minutes over the night. "Disrupting the sleep cycle can reduce your human growth hormone output—which builds muscle—by as much as 70 percent," says Piattoly.

4. Depleted Water and Nutrients
Alcohol irritates the stomach lining, which can reduce your capacity to absorb nutrients (the reason you have an upset stomach after a few too many), says Brian R. Christie, Ph.D.—not to mention that alcohol makes you pee. For every gram of ethanol you suck down, you pump out 10 milliliters of urine (that's about 9.5 ounces for two beers). As little as 2 percent dehydration hurts endurance performance. And by the way, you can't rehydrate with a dehydrating drink (e.g., beer).

RELATED: Learn more about exercise and alcohol

The 5 Worst Types of Foods to Eat Late at Night

Leta Shy for FitSugar

There's no need to deny yourself a late-night snack if you're feeling hungry, but you still have to think smart when it comes to eating late. Eating the wrong foods will disrupt your sleep while also adding a lot of unneeded calories to your day. Instead of just diving into the nearest, tastiest-looking item in your fridge, here are five types of foods to avoid at night and why.

1. Greasy or fat-filled foods: Greasy, heavy, fatty foods not only make you feel sluggish the next morning, but they also make your stomach work overdrive to digest all that food. Stay away from things like fast food, nuts, ice cream, or super cheesy foods right before bed.
2. High-carb or sugary foods: A little bit of something sweet before bed may be just what you need to rest happy, but if you gobble a huge slice of chocolate cake, the spike in your blood-sugar levels could cause your energy levels to spike and plummet, disrupting your sleep in the process. Avoid cake, cookies, or other desserts as well as carby snacks like crackers or white bread and munch on an apple instead.

Read more foods to avoid late at night after the break! 

3.  Red meat and other proteins: Like fatty foods, eating red meats late at night will sit in your stomach and make it hard for you to fall asleep while you're digesting (red meat may affect you the worst, but eating a large portion of chicken or pork would have the same effect as well). You don't have to avoid protein altogether, just make sure you go for lean and small portions, like deli-sliced turkey breast or a cup of yogurt. 
4.  Spicy foods: Spices may be a natural cure-all for a range of ailments, but when you're craving something to eat late at night, step away from the hot sauce. Spicy, peppery foods may upset your stomach, and not only that, chemicals in spicy food can stimulate your senses, making it hard to fall asleep. 
5.  Big portions: Late-night snacking shouldn't turn into a late-night meal. Keep the total amount of calories under 200 so you won't have any problems going and staying asleep. You'll also feel good knowing that you didn't undo all your healthy eating habits of the day right before bedtime.

So what should you eat instead? Small, light portions that will also calm cravings and help you sleep. Try these five sleep-inducing snacks under 200 calories or these five low-calorie late-night snacks that hit all your sweet or salty cravings. And remember to limit how much alcohol you drink as well, since too many drinks can keep you up at night.