Health Fitness

Photo: Pond5 You’ve tried them all in your pursuit of flat abs: crunches, reverse crunches, planks, bicycles and even the ab roller. After all, it seems logical. To increase muscular definition and lose fat, you should work your stomach muscles more. But will that really lead to a trim belly? …

Photo: Pond5 We’re only a week and a half into September, but this month has already celebrated National Gyro Day, National Baby Back Ribs Day, National Cheese Pizza Day, National Coffee Ice Cream Day, National Beer Lover’s Day, National Hot Dog Day, and, of course, National “I Love Food” Day. …

Photo by Leonie Wise Let’s be real, it’s damn near impossible to avoid eating a cookie when it’s sitting right on your counter or desk. Sweets and fatty junk foods are just too hard to resist when they’re in plain sight. And that’s not just in your head — science …

Photo: Pond5 Olivia Munn says the 80/20 diet helped her drop 12 pounds; Cameron Diaz and Miranda Kerr also swear by it. Heck, even weight loss guru Jillian Michaels is a fan. But what’s so special about the 80/20 rule? The general concept is simple: You eat clean, nutrient-dense foods 80 …

Photo: Michal Kulesza It’s so tempting: You’ve got something big coming up on the calendar that you want to look your best for. Why not diet hard and exercise a ton to get some weight off? Inevitably, though, even if you succeed, studies show you’ll gain it all back as …

Photo by Taylor Franz It’s no surprise that some coffee shop drinks can seriously break the calorie and sugar bank. America’s fall favorite is no exception: Starbucks pumpkin spice latte with whole milk packs 270 calories, five grams of saturated fat and 37 grams of sugar. That’s more than a Snickers …

Photo: Twenty20 You’d think that adding protein powder to your meals would help simplify your nutritional needs. Unfortunately, the world of supplements and protein powders can be a confusing place to navigate. From whey to casein and egg white protein powders, there are countless protein powder blends — many of …

Snickers, Tootsie Rolls, Butterfingers…all in “fun size” packages. But a close look at their nutrition facts panel, and this year’s Halloween haul is guaranteed to spook you. Loaded with scary amounts of added sugar, artificial coloring, saturated fat and preservatives, a seemingly innocent bag of treats can play a nasty trick …

Photo: Twenty20 You know that success in shedding weight is all about personal motivation and commitment. So it’s probably no surprise that declaring “I’m trying to lose weight” sounds like a floppy half-cooked strand of fettuccine rather than a backbone of intention. “The attitude we have when we approach this …

Photo: Pond5 With the “I Quit Sugar” revolution in full force, most of us are aware that too much of the sweet stuff can be bad news for our waistline, heart health and overall well-being. As a result, many food manufacturers and home chefs turn to natural sweeteners in an …