mercredi 19 août 2015

Why You're Not Losing Belly Fat

Can't budge the belly fat? If you've been targeting your tummy with little success, it's time to find out if you're sabotaging your efforts. Here are 10 common traps to avoid in the battle of the bulge.

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mercredi 12 août 2015

Weight Loss Success Story: "I Got My High School Body Back"

Danica Bellini
25, 5'3"
Bradley Beach, N.J.
Before: 183 lb.
Dress size: 12
After: 123 lb.

Dress size: 2
Total pounds lost: 60 lb.
Sizes lost: 5

Some people gain the freshman 15. I gained the college 50. Here's what happened: I grew up vegetarian, eating my mom's dinners built around fresh produce from her garden. Then I went to college, where the only meat-free options in the dining halls were oily pizza and fries. And with my mind focused on studying for my double major, I stopped paying attention to what I was eating. By the time I graduated in 2012, I was up to 183 pounds.

Good-bye, greasy grub
Fast-forward nine months; I was living and working in Manhattan and finally had some disposable income. I decided to prioritize my health and sign up for Nutrisystem. I had never been good at meal planning, so the structure was perfect for me. Each day, I got four preportioned meals, including dessert. I supplemented them with fresh grocery items, like little packets of peanuts that kept me satiated between meals. By just nixing the fast food and hoofing it through the city, I knocked off 40 pounds.

RELATED: 9 Little Tweaks That Make Walking Workouts More Effective

Making it on my own
Still, I knew that walking alone wasn't enough, so in February 2014, I joined a gym and loaded up on classes. (Zumba was a fave!) Within a month, I shed those last 10 pounds. These days, I live in a New Jersey boardwalk town; being by the beach—where I can swim, bike and run—inspired me to work off 10 more pounds. I still get meals delivered, but only because it makes life easier. I'm once again the healthy eater my mom raised.

Drop It Like Danica
Get all the tricks that helped Danica keep off the pounds, and find even more tips at http://ift.tt/1EzX92l.

Bring your gym anywhere
I love the Cardio Sculpt and Black Fire videos on DailyBurn. They're amazing for tightening my abs!

RELATED: How to Stick to a Workout Plan

Pump the beats
I'm a music writer, so I'm always adding to my workout playlists. Social Distortion's "Highway 101" is an old fave!

Get good grains
My power pick: quinoa. It's versatile and filling. I add it to salads with sliced grapes.

Find a friend
I've never been a big runner, so I grab a buddy if I need an extra push. Or, if we want a break from running, we'll do yoga on the beach.



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mercredi 5 août 2015

14 Ways You Lie to Yourself About Your Weight

No, your jeans did not shrink in the wash. Here are the common fibs that could be sabotaging your slim-down.

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lundi 3 août 2015

4 Lower-Body Moves to Tone Your Legs and Butt

Squats and lunges aren't the only moves that will get your lower body in top form. In this video, Health contributor Tracy Anderson demonstrates 4 exercises that target those tough-to-reach muscles that help you pull in your stomach, boost your backside, and sculpt your thighs.

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mercredi 22 juillet 2015

4 Calorie-Torching Leg and Butt Exercises

Get ready to break out those short-shorts! These plyometric moves from Nora Tobin are sure to slim down your legs and butt. Watch this video to learn how to do this high-powered, lower body workout.

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Get in the Best Shape of Your Life

Excuses for those extra pounds? Oh, you've got good ones: Maybe you had a kid or two. Maybe an injury came between you and your Zumba addiction. Maybe you moved, switched jobs, got really busy. Or perhaps it was just the damn holiday cookies. Whatever the cause, you're eager to reclaim your shape; you're just not sure how.

Celeb trainer Tracy Anderson, 37, feels your pain. You'd never tell by looking at her rock-solid body, but 14 years ago, five-foot-tall Anderson struggled to shed the 60 pounds she gained while pregnant with her first child. "I ate everything in sight," she says. "I swam if I felt like it, or did a walk, but I had no exercise strategy or regimen." After getting back in shape, she used her experience to create The Tracy Anderson Method, an ever-changing set of exercises designed to whittle the body into shape; they helped her drop the 30 pounds she gained while pregnant with her second baby in just four months.

The program uses lower resistance and high reps that firm without adding bulk, inspiring a devoted following that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Richie, and Molly Sims. Anderson's shape-up, designed especially for Health readers, "will sculpt the arms, legs, and core and pull your body into its healthiest proportions," she promises—even if it's been a while since you were on speaking terms with your abs. As she says, "Our muscles are really powerful; they'll do what we empower them to do."

The workout basics: an hour of exercise four to six times a week, split up into 30 minutes of cardio (whether it's Anderson's dance aerobics DVD or a combo of running, skipping, and galloping sideways on a treadmill) and 30 minutes of muscle sculptors. If you can't fit one focused hour of exercise into your schedule, break up the cardio and the moves; just make sure you do the full 30 minutes of each.

As for the food part of the program (you knew that was coming!), it's a 1,400-calories-a-day mix of lean protein, nonstarchy veggies, and healthy carbs, created by Ashley Koff, RD, author of Mom Energy. Stick with the single serving sizes and do not skip meals, Koff cautions: "It'll play with your body's energy signals, making it harder to make good choices and reach your goal."

Follow both parts of Health's plan and you could drop up to 12 pounds in one month, ultimately lose more than 35 pounds, and get the most buff you've ever been. "Once that first breakthrough happens," Anderson says, "it's the most freeing thing in the world."

Here's how to do it:

How to Stick to a Workout Plan
Anyone who's paid for a gym membership knows this much: Starting a workout program is one thing, but keeping at it? Challenging! Stay motivated with the help of Anderson's seven stick-with-it strategies.
8 Moves to a Stronger and Leaner You
These exercises by Anderson are designed to work body parts in the most muscle-targeted, time-efficient way. (All together now: Woo-hoo!)
How to Eat Right on 1,400 Calories a Day
Koff has a philosophy—that you should eat the right amount of nutrients at each "eating occasion"(that's Koff-speak for three meals and one snack a day). To make it easier, follow the RD's six pound-melting tactics.
The 1,400-Calorie, Metabolism-Boosting Meal Plan
When Koff tells her clients they get to eat at least 1,400 calories on her plan, they're pleasantly surprised. But it's overly restricting calories or skipping meals that backfires.
How Molly Sims Lost the Baby Weight
Molly Sims has had her share of firsts in the past 16 months. She got married to producer Scott Stuber in September 2011. Then last June came the most thrilling production of the model/actresss life: the birth of her first child, Brooks Alan Stuber. But she soon found herself facing another first—losing the 50 pounds she gained during pregnancy. Anderson and Koff to the rescue!






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Before and After Weight Loss: Once "Lumpy," Now Lean

If I hadn't taken up running, I'm not sure how much I would weigh now—but I know it would be a lot. By the time I found the sport, I tipped the scales at more than 200 pounds. It didn't help that I had just moved to New York City, where fit, slim people surrounded me. I felt lumpy and bumpy, like America Ferrera at the beginning of Ugly Betty! So I started walking—and before long, I was running. Within a few months, I had dropped 40 pounds.

Found: my inner athlete Getting lighter made running easier and, in turn, more fun. To stay on track, I signed up for the New York City Half Marathon. I trained for 3 1/2 months, even through winter. Logging all those miles had a direct impact on my diet. The more I ran, the better I ate. I ditched meals that came in greasy paper bags (think burgers and fries) for ones that fueled my runs, such as pasta, eggplant and kale. The combination of eating clean and training hard helped me shed another 10 pounds (and gave me a pair of killer legs!). In March 2011, when I crossed the finish line at the half marathon, I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment. I was hooked.



The hardest race Six months later, I ran my first marathon. I've since completed four more, including this year's Boston Marathon. I finished minutes before the bombs went off. It was very scary; I was close enough to feel the explosions in my bones. Although I'm signed up to run the Chicago Marathon next month, I'm not sure if I will. I'm afraid to race right now. But I know I'll keep running. It has changed my body—and my life.

Secret Weapons, Shared Cipriana reveals what keeps her going strong every day.

The Inspiration: My Brother, Federico I ran my first marathon to help raise money in his name for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He died from complications relating to diabetes when he was 23.

The Go-To Snack: Trader Joe's Instant Miso Soup Honestly, it doesn't get any easier: Just add water, and you have a quickie snack in seconds. Plus, it's filling and low-calorie.

The Idol: Allyson Felix She is a beast! Not only is she gorgeous, she's superpowerful and superfast. She has also dominated the last couple of Olympic Games in track and field. I'd love to run like her.



The Must-Have Gear: Girlie Skirts I dress ultrafeminine when I run. I'm talking sparkly headbands and skorts with ruffles. No one expects the girl in the skirt to be an actual athlete—that is, until my pretty, ruffly skirt bounces away in front of them!



Share Your Transformation

Have an amazing body makeover of your own?

Tell us about it at health.com/i-did-it and let us know what diet and fitness tricks worked for you.

Share your transformation! Have an amazing body makeover of your own? Tell us about it. E-mail before-and-after photos to IDidIt@health.com and tell us what worked for you. Please include your phone number.



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