SUN SKINNY

New research has been released that shows a correlation between thin people and higher blood levels of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D, also known at the "sun vitamin", also helps to prevent osteoporosis and certain forms of cancer.

So get out in the sun! You only need 15 minutes of unprotected sun-exposure each day to get your recommended dose of Vitamin D.

Soak up the sun and start getting skinny!

FORGET THE FAT

HERE is an article with a list of 30 foods that help your body shed excess fat. The list:






1) Cottage Cheese (look for non-fat)

2) Egg Whites

3) Oatmeal

4) Sushi

5) Peanut Butter

6) Beans

7) Fat-free plain yogurt

8) Lemon

9) Energy Bars (make sure to read the ingredient list and calorie count! Clif is great)

10) Carrots

11) Soy Chips (great replacement for potato chips!)

12) Part-skim string cheese

13) Hummus

14) Edamame

15) Dried Fruit (WATCH PORTION SIZE! And watch out for added sugar)

16) Shrimp

17) At-home Thin Crust Pizza (add tons of veggies to sneak in an extra serving!)

18) Tofu

19) Salsa

20) Poached Chicken

21) Sweet Potatoes (especially the purple kind! Read more about them in my old post HERE)

22) Baked Apples (or raw apples dipped in peanut butter... mmmm!)

23) Fat-free Cool Whip*
*THIS IS A NO-NO! The article may say that this treat is low calorie, but it's also made ENTIRELY from hydrogenated oils... aka trans-fat aka created in a lab aka your body doesn't know what to do with it so it just stores it in your mid section! Stick with regular old light whipped cream (read labels! Watch out for high fructose corn syrup!) and smother some blueberries in it. Great treat and still low calorie!

24) Frozen fruit (watch for added sweeteners!)

25) Fudgesicles (create your own with some vegan chocolate pudding placed in the freezer with a toothpick in the middle!)

26) Fat-free sugar-free pudding (avoid artificial sweeteners and, yet again, READ LABELS!)

27) Angel food cake

28) Fat-free hot cocoa

29) Virgin mimosas

30) Herbal tea (and green tea!)

SOLO DANCE PARTAY!

As of late I have noticed how sometimes our lives become so chaotic and jam-packed with "to-do" lists and responsibilities that we lose sight of what matters most: our emotional and physical health.

Without a healthy body and mind you can't work and you can't pay your bills... let alone get around to living your life! And so, for those days that are just too jam packed to lace up your running shoes or hop in the car to head to the gym, I give you Dance Party.

Set up either your computer or i-pod docking station in a room where you can be alone and have plenty of space to move around. Create a list of up-beat, fun songs (I use guilty pleasures like Britney Spears and techno) that is a total of 30-60 minutes long. Click "play" and DON'T STOP DANCING TILL THE WHOLE PLAYLIST ENDS!

Hop around, swing your hips, try moves that look completely ridiculous. You'll find it not only fun and invigorating, but do this at least 3 days a week and you'll start seeing some serious toning all over your body!! Dancing works muscles that you didn't even know you had, plus it's great cardio! Not to mention how nice it is to let go of your self-consciousness for a while :)

So when you don't feel up to pounding the pavement, turn up the tunes and get an awesome workout right at home! Also fun: use YouTube and try to copy dances from your favorite music videos. Totally lame, but no one will ever know!! SOOO much fun!