How to Look Thinner In Pictures

It's spring. And if you're like us, the results of your swimsuit diet aren't quite showing yet. If you've got any graduations or weddings coming up in the warmer months ahead, you're likely to get your picture taken. If the thought of a photographer makes you want to run, relax: We've found a few tips -- online, in books, from experts -- on looking thinner in pictures.

1. Use flashes in sunlight. According to "Geek Sugar", it's all about the lighting. Flashes are good because they override the shadows that overhead sunlight might cast on your face, making for pronounced under-eye and chin shadows.

2. Lean in towards the camera. Digital Camera Tracker says leaning slightly towards the camera is helpful: "Think of having a long neck like a gazelle, and tilt your chin down just a bit to avoid the appearance of a double chin," the site suggests.

3. Stand like a ballerina. No, we're not kidding. While it stops short of recommending you wear a tutu, the 'Rocky Mountain News' says you need to pose like a ballet dancer: "The most flattering (read slimming) pose: Face front and cross one leg in front of the other, then turn your body at a 45-degree angle away from the camera and turn head and shoulders toward the camera. Place feet in ballet third position (one foot angled in front of the other)."

4. Put your hands on your hips. The 'Rocky Mountain News' says your soldiers might look less rounded this way.

5. Get a shot from below, as if you were on the runway. In Camilla Morton's new advice book for women, 'How To Walk In High Heels,' model Giselle Bundchen is interviewed about how to look good, both in front of and away from the camera. For pictures, the runway-veteran agrees that lighting is crucial, but she adds a few tips on angles and poses: "For long legs, point one leg into the center of the frame and get the photographer to shoot looking up your body," says Bundchen. We just hope it's not up your nose, Giselle!

6. Get a shot from above. The best way to hide that double chin is to have someone shoot your face from a few inches above your head. Just find someone who's taller than you. Either you'll look up at them, which makes double chins disappear, or the area below your chin will be in shadow, and won't show up in the picture at all. For a group picture where you want everyone to look good, stand on a chair and have everyone look up at you: We've been using this technique at parties for years. It works!

7. Forget about looking thin and just relax. Not all experts agree with the stand-up-straight, pose-like-a-movie-star advice. We spoke to Edward Keating, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer for the 'New York Times,' who was the principal photographer for the newspaper's 'Vows' column for seven years. He says that the best thing a subject can do to look good in photographs is to be relaxed and happy. "Look at the photographer, not at the camera," says Keating. "If they're connected with me, they're not thinking about the camera and the lens."

Fare Well at The Food Court: Find Healthy Fast Food!

If you adopt some healthy shopping strategies, you can brunch and lunch at the mall with impunity, according to Joseph Piscatella, president of the Institute for Fitness and Health in Tacoma, Wash., and author of 'The Fat-Gram Guide to Restaurant Food' (Workman Publishing, 1998).

But too few people, it seems, think before they order -- or even have time to. These "impulse buys" can have major health implications, especially when you look at the statistics. According to a study by the American Dietetic Association, 52 percent of mall shoppers aren't just going for that killer sale on Nine West pumps but also to appear in "court" to chow down.
You're probably thinking you need to enter a 12-step program to wean yourself off the greasy spoon. Not really, but because we've dispatched a cadre of nutritionists to the food court to gather intelligence on fast-food strategies that won't crimp your taste buds. Here's what they turned up.

Know thy weakness. Research shows that most people will dutifully survey a fast-food menu with seeming objectivity, only to order their old favorites. "If you know you are a burger man or a salad woman, then aim for the leanest offering in the category," says North Carolina nutrition consultant Connie Frey, M.P.H., R.D. A plain single burger at Wendy's, for example, contains approximately 360 calories and 16 grams of fat; McDonald's standard burger has around 280 calories and 10 grams of fat. A salad with chicken has on average from 3 to 9 grams of fat (go light on the dressing, though -- a packet of ranch can add as much as 37 fat grams).

Mix 'n' match. Don't put your fate in the greasy hands of one fast-food restaurant. Order a Chili Cheese from Taco Bell, a garden salad from McDonald's with fat-free dressing, and a 6-ounce orange juice for a meal that won't send your cholesterol through the roof. Sure, you'll have to wait in two lines, but your heart and waistline will thank you for your patience.

Make it a meal instead of a snack. Calories from snacks can easily equal a meal but without any nutritional benefits. The proof is in the pie: One slab of Dutch Apple Pie at Burger King and a medium Coke will cost you around 570 calories and 14 fat grams. Two Chocolate Chunk cookies from Subway and a medium Sprite add up to approximately 630 calories and 20 grams of fat. You'd do better nutritionally with that regular burger from McDonald's and 8 ounces of 1 percent milk.

Go small. Although the fast-food industry hinges on the philosophy that bigger is indubitably better, resist the Super Size urge and order the junior or small size across the board, Piscatella suggests.

Go for the extras. But be picky. Naturally low-fat veggies and condiments like mustard, ketchup and salsa can add both flavor and nutrition to sandwiches, burritos and pizza.

Learn to share. Splitting your Big Mac or box of Chicken Tenders and small fries with a willing friend will cut the damage to your waistline in half.

Strike a balance. If you occasionally give in to your weakness, whether it be a Big Mac, KFC, or a slice of meat-topped pizza, don't then splurge on a milk shake and chili-cheese fries. Balance your high-fat item with a salad or fruit parfait.

Most of all, don't feel guilty about the odd lapse. "You don't wake up one day and find yourself overweight because you had a Whopper the previous day," Piscatella

7 Ways to Jump Start Your Weight Loss!

When you're trying to lose weight, the question isn't whether or not you'll hit a plateau, it's when. Plateaus are like bad weather on a long hike: it's inevitable that you'll run into it, but knowing that in advance won't make it one bit less frustrating or annoying when it happens. Cheer up! Since plateaus are as common as rain, we have a pretty good idea what to do about them. At least one of the following techniques should help you break through a plateau and start losing again.

1. Be a Calorie Detective

When clients tell me they've stopped losing weight, the first thing I ask is this: how many calories a day are you eating? Calories have a way of creeping up while we're not paying attention. Be brutally honest with yourself: how much are you eating? Using a food diary for a while is a great way to monitor this. And yes, sodas and alcoholic beverages count! A good calorie goal for dieters is your target weight times 10.

2. Change It Up

When you're not making gains in an exercise program you change your routine. Same holds true with your eating plan. Low-carbers could go higher carb for a few days, high-carbers might switch to a plan like Atkins or South Beach. Varying calorie intake may have a positive effect: If you're averaging 1,500 calories daily, try dropping to 1,200, going up to 2,000 and then dropping back to 1,500. You get the idea. Your body's gotten comfortable, so it's time to shake things up.

3. Try a Temporary Ban

Food sensitivities can cause weight gain and bloat, and the frustrating thing is that most of us don't always know which foods are the culprits. So play the odds. Highest on the list of "usual suspects" are grains (wheat in particular), and sugar. Temporarily ban all these and see what happens.

4. Take Your Workout Up a Notch

Forget the "fat burning zone." High intensity intervals -- 30 to 60 seconds -- are the wave of the future. If you're accustomed to level three on your cardio machine, ramp it up to level 6 for a minute then slow down, catch your breath and repeat. Ever see a sprinter with love handles? Training like a sprinter will lower your body fat faster than any technique I know of, plus it'll boost your metabolism and lower your weight.

5. Strength Training

If you're not, start now. And if you are, ramp it up a notch. Muscle is your greatest ally in breaking a plateau. Unfortunately many women train with weights too light to produce the metabolic boost they need. Don't be afraid of heavier weights. They should be heavy enough that you can only do between 8 and 12 reps.

6. Up Your Protein!

Studies show that higher protein diets make it easier to lose fat. Protein boosts the metabolism (in one study as much as 100 percent for 24 hours), and increases satiety, making it more likely that you won't overeat. A higher protein diet could be just what you need to break that plateau. Try one of our whey protein products, like great-tasting Lean and Fit or our purest Whey Protein Isolate. http://www.allthewhey.com/allproteins.html

7. Try a Detox

Unsupervised fasting is a really bad idea, but the idea of giving your system a rest makes sense. Try a "smart fast" of nothing but fruits and vegetables for a couple of days. The added fiber is always helpful, and the massive amount of nutrients and phytochemicals is like "spring cleaning" for your metabolism 8. Take InventoryOther things besides diet and exercise could be stalling your weight loss, such as stress, lack of sleep or medication. Take a look at what else is going on in your life that might need attention. Sometimes when you clean up the problems in one area of your life, problems in other areas just naturally take care of themselves.

Good-For-You Fats!

Saturated fat and trans fat increase your risk of heart disease by raising blood cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol, the type that promotes heart disease. Saturated and trans fats in the diet also boost the levels of triglycerides (another type of fat) in your blood. And even worse, trans fat lowers your levels of HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol that helps protect against heart disease. But don’t switch back to butter if you’ve been using margarine. Instead, choose a heart-healthy margarine made with little or no trans fat or saturated fat. This research shows that it’s healthier to replace bad fats with good fats (poly- and monounsaturated fats and fish oil) than it is to cut back on all fats in your diet. That’s because simply reducing fats across the board lowers your healthy HDL cholesterol as well as the damaging LDL cholesterol. It’s like cutting down the whole tree just to get rid of some bad apples.

Ideally, you want to keep LDLs low and HDLs high, and that’s what the good fats help do. When you replace unhealthy saturated and trans fats with healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, LDLs drop more than beneficial HDLs.

Other positive effects come specifically from omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, found in fish, many vegetable oils, and some nuts and seeds. These fats reduce triglycerides, prevent arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), lower blood pressure, and help prevent atherosclerosis. Omega-3s and omega-6s both reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Fish, in particular, appears to offer potent protection against the most common type of stroke — ischemic stroke, which is caused by blockages in the arteries to the brain. In 2002, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study found that men who ate seafood as little as once a month were 43% less likely to have ischemic strokes than men who ate seafood less often. Women in the Nurses’ Health Study who ate fish were also less likely to get strokes than those who didn’t. Monounsaturated fats have not been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, but they do lower LDLs, which means that they’re good for the heart. The liberal use of olive oil in Mediterranean countries contributes to the very low rates of heart disease there.

What does all this mean for you? To reduce your risk of heart disease, replace dangerous saturated fats and trans fats with beneficial polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Why You Should Exercise...Even Though You Don't Want To

The benefits of exercise may sound too good to be true, but decades of solid science confirm that exercise improves health and can extend your life. Adding as little as half an hour of moderately intense physical activity to your day can help you avoid a host of serious ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, and several types of cancer, in particular breast and colon cancers.

In addition to the disease-fighting properties of exercise, regular activity can improve the quality of your life and your general well-being in many other ways, such as helping you sleep better, reduce stress, control your weight, brighten your mood, sharpen your mental functioning, and improve your sex life.

Exercise at a Glance

In a nutshell, exercise can:
-Reduce your chances of getting heart disease.

-Lower your risk of developing hypertension and diabetes.
-Reduce your risk for colon cancer and some other forms of cancer.
-Improve your mood and mental functioning.
-Keep your bones strong and joints healthy.
-Help you maintain a healthy weight.
-Help you maintain your independence well into your later years.

6 Ways to Stay Sharp

Challenge your mind. Staying mentally active appears to help ward off memory loss. Engaging in challenging board games, reading, working crossword puzzles, playing a musical instrument, and acquiring new skills keep your mind fit. Such activities seem to expand the web of neuronal connections in the brain and help keep neurons nimble and alive.

Challenge your body. Just like cells anywhere else in the body, brain cells crave a steady diet of oxygen. Physically active people are more likely to stay mentally active, too. Two Journal of the American Medical Association studies published in 2004 underscore this notion. After testing nearly 19,000 women ages 70–81 enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, researchers found that those who engaged in regular physical activity scored higher on tests of attention, recall, and other markers of cognitive function and exhibited less mental decline than more sedentary peers. Vigorous exercise wasn't necessary — walking at an easy pace for at least 1.5 hours a week was nearly as effective as more active pursuits. Similarly, walking reduced the likelihood of dementia in a study of more than 2,000 men ages 71–93. Compared with those who walked over 2 miles a day, men who walked less than one-quarter mile a day had a 1.8-fold higher risk for developing dementia.

Get your rest. Too little sleep can affect memory. Six hours may be the minimum needed, although researchers testing college students found those who had eight hours were better able to learn new skills. Interestingly, some experts believe sleep inhibits stress hormones.

Limit stress. Researchers speculate that consistently high levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, may impair nerve cells in the hippocampus, which oversees certain types of learning and recall. In a randomized study, healthy adults were given a daily dose of cortisol for four days — either a low dose that mimicked the amount released under everyday stress or a high dose. Those who had higher doses recalled fewer details of texts read to them each day. Their memory impairment was reversible once the cortisol wore off. Meditating, performing yoga or tai chi, or using other stress-reduction techniques regularly helps ease stress.

Watch your weight. Staying within a normal weight range lowers your risk for illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, which can compromise memory to varying degrees.

Check with your doctor. Are you getting annual checkups for hearing and sight? Are there any factors — such as medications, vitamin deficiencies, or chronic conditions — that could be better managed to help you stay as mentally sharp as possible? Discuss these issues with your doctor.

Chocolate: A Sweet Deal

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

Heart Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:

Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Chocolate also holds benefits apart from protecting your heart:
-it tastes good! (duh.)
-it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
-it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
-it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants

Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?:
Here is some more good news -- some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:
Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
Steari Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.
That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.

Chocolate Tip 1 - Balance the Calories:
This information doesn't mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.

Chocolate Tip 2 - Taste the Chocolate:
Chocolate is a complex food with over 300 compounds and chemicals in each bite. To really enjoy and appreciate chocolate, take the time to taste it. Professional chocolate tasters have developed a system for tasting chocolate that include assessing the appearance, smell, feel and taste of each piece.

Chocolate Tip 3 - Go for Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate has far more antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.

Chocolate Tip 4 - Skip the Nougat:
You should look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.

The Positive Side of Stress

As many people have noted, the stress response can be enormously helpful. Surging adrenaline enables people to perform Herculean feats. Fight-or-flight responses are appropriate and essential in such overwhelming situations. When appropriately invoked, the stress response helps us rise to many challenges. These challenges may be external forces, such as a fire or an earthquake, or internal threats, such as your circulatory system teetering on the brink of a deadly collapse. The fight-or-flight response can prove beneficial under far less dangerous circumstances, too.

Physiologist Hans Selye, whose work helped shape modern stress theory, advanced the idea that physical and psychosocial stressors trigger the same physiological response. Selye explored the line between short-term stress that stimulates people to summon the resources to hurdle obstacles (so-called "good" stress) and chronic or overabundant stress, which wears down the ability to adapt and cope ("bad" stress or distress).

Two Harvard researchers, Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson, likewise demonstrated that a jolt of stress isn't necessarily bad. They noted that as stress or anxiety levels rose, so did performance and efficiency — up to a point. At this turning point, further stress and anxiety led to significant decreases in performance and ability.

Where that line is drawn or where that turning point falls seems to differ from person to person. For while the stress response is hard-wired into humans and other animals, the events and perceptions that set it off vary widely. What you perceive as a threatening situation, your neighbor may easily brush aside or even relish.

Who knew stress could be a good thing!?