Tag Archives: holidays

Burn More Calories Than Sex: Getting Sweaty on Valentine’s Day

valentinstag

by Mariah Edwards-Heflin

It’s Valentine’s Day, the holiday where all are taught to express our undying love with copious amounts of chocolates, desserts, and of course, sex. We’ve all heard that you can burn up to several hundred calories in a sex session with your boo, so who cares if we polish off those chocolates in one sitting, right?

Sorry, but no. 150 pound person can expect to burn just 72 calories during 15 minutes of sex. While fun, your little Valentine’s Day shenanigans won’t replace the calorie burn of the gym.

So does this mean you need to stress going to the gym to lift some weights on the most romantic day of the year? Not necessarily, unless you are really that committed to the #gymlife. Then by all means, be my guest, it’s actually pretty powerful foreplay before the main event. But there are a ton of fun, active, and healthy dates you can do on Valentine’s Day that work up more of a sweat than a roll in the hay.

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Low Calorie Holiday Recipes to Bring to Any Party

Christmas mulled wineThe holiday season is all about giving, and you never want to show up to a party empty handed. The benefits are two fold: your host will love you, and you know you’ll have some lower calorie options you can stick to no matter what’s on the menu. Bring one of the following quick and easy, low calorie holiday recipes to your next get together and enjoy yourself, guilt-free.

Noshes and Nibbles

Appe-teasers are simple to prepare and simple to eat, making them great for informal cocktail parties. Look for recipes high in protein to keep you full for hours, like our gal Oprah’s favorite meatballs and stick to lower calorie variations of your favorite traditionally high fat, high calorie dips.

A Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip 

Oprah’s Turkey Meatballs

Cottage Cheese Dip with Veggies

Steamed Artichokes with Red Pepper Dip

Black Eyed Pea Hummus

Perfect Party Salmon Bites

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The Best Food Gift Recipes You Still Have Time to Make

Food gifts are one of the most popular of the gift-giving season, and almost always one of the most well received. Whether it’s a last-minute gift or just a desire to share something wholesome and homemade with friends and loved ones, this menu is all you need to share awesome food gifts.

Skip the expected boxes of drug store chocolate and tins of stale popcorn; these 14 treats and snacks will truly be unexpected, welcome surprises.

Pomegranate Pistachio Bark

POMEGRANATE PISTACHIO DARK CHOCOLATE BARK

This foodie gift is beautifully shared with wrapped in brown butcher paper.

chocolate covered pretzel protein balls

CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZEL PROTEIN BALLS

These bite-sized gems are like a homemade Lara Bar. Fill a Mason jar with the balls and wrap in a ribbon.

homemade sour mix

FRESH SOUR MIX

Prepare the mix and pour the juice in to clasp-top bottles or re-use wine bottles. Give this gift with a bottle of vodka or tequila. (more…)

The 4 Rules for Finding That Perfect Little Black Dress for Holiday Parties

little black dress guide 2014
The holidays are a time for joy and gratitude…and a million feasts and parties. How are you expected to enjoy yourself, indulge mindfully, and still look fabulous? Emily Ho, plus-size fashion and fitness blogger, has come to our rescue to help any body type find a way to look fabulous this season.

Rule #1: There are no rules!

The biggest trend right now? Ignore the trends! Toss aside the rules you thought you had to follow and create whatever look will showcase your confidence.

“Wearing whatever makes you feel amazing is the most important ‘rule’,” says Ho. Now is the time to try a bolder color, horizontal stripes, or a chunky scarf that you otherwise thought you couldn’t pull off. Your attitude is the best fashion statement you can make, regardless of what the rulebooks say. (more…)

Crustless Pumpkin Pie Mini Muffins: Clean Eating Dessert That’s Entirely Decadent

crustless-pumpkin-pie-muffins

The holidays are here and that means we get to feast! Whether you do so mindfully or mindlessly, the point is to enjoy the time, the family, and definitely the food.

I LOVE sweets, however I don’t love how I feel afterwards. This means that some of my greatest ingenuity in the kitchen happens while trying to create desserts that still taste sinful without punishing my tummy later on. And this becomes especially necessary during Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season.

Enter: the Crustless Pumpkin Pie Mini Muffins. This quintessential holiday dessert does not need to be on your “No-no” list this year. I have adapted this recipe from 58 Day Dreams into a cleaner more health-friendly version. Why wait until New Year’s to start eating right again?

mini-pumpkin-pie-muffins

My favorite way to watch portions with most delectable treats is to make mini versions, and in this case that’s mini muffin pies. I often find that those few bites are enough to satisfy me for the rest of the night. (more…)

The 16 Most Hilariously Terrifying Holiday Fitness Stock Photos

holiday-stock-photos

I’d like to sit in on the photoshoot brainstorming where someone sees a need for poorly dressed, overly excitable models to pose for completely unrealistic holiday pictures. We’ve consolidated the 16 best (or worst) images (17 if you count the thumbs-up weight loss gal) so that you can join us in shuddering to some pure unadulterated what the Frosty is going on here confusion. Try to focus on happy sugar plums or sing a line of “Jingle Bells” if necessary…

 

Ho-ho-hold on a second. I don’t want anyone like this sliding down my chimney.

1 santa barbell

Because one creepy Santa photo isn’t enough.

3 santa weights

Help your kids eat more veggies by putting a terrifying Santa on top! A day’s worth of vitamins with a side of nightmares.

4 santa veggies (more…)

17 Cocktails and Mocktails You Must Drink This Summer

Summertime makes everything better, and when it comes to your beverage, prettier too. All of those fresh fruits, berries, and herbs making filling a glass seem like a delightful reprieve from the heat (or maybe just life) each and every time.

Cool off, hydrate, or treat yourself from Fourth of July weekend right on through Labor Day with our oh-so-sippable list of the best summer bevvies.

watermelon mojitos

WATERMELON JALAPENO TWIST MOJITOS

frozen-talenti-sangria

TALENTI FROZEN SANGRIA <– 18,000 pins can’t be wrong!

jalapeno cherry limeade

FIZZY JALAPENO CHERRY LIMEADES

Red-white-and-blue-sangria

RED WHITE BLUE SANGRIA

strawberry balsamic milkshake

FRESH STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC DRIZZLE MILKSHAKES (more…)

Go Green! 6 Great Green Foods to Enjoy This St. Patrick’s Day

It is easy being green! At least it is today. St. Patrick’s Day is here again, and with it comes the desire to wear, eat, and drink all things green.

green foods

Though traditional Irish fare can be a little heavy, we think you can still celebrate the spirit of the holiday with green foods worked into some of our favorite healthy, and delicious, recipes.

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Seven Ways to Avoid Binging at a Buffet

Cooking over the holidays has most of us to closing our home kitchens for a few days to recuperate. If you’re still entertaining family and friends, hitting up the local buffet may seem like the best way to keep everyone fed without spending an arm and a leg. Buffets are also great for New Year’s hosts who want to set up a variety of food options for people to munch on as they count down the last hours of 2024.

buffet line

Whatever your reasoning may be, buffets seem like an answer to many holiday eating conundrums. However, they can create more problems than they solve, especially when it comes to your waistline. We’ve got tips from Brian Wansink, PhD, of the Cornell Food and Brand lab, as well as ideas of our own to help you navigate buffet-style eating.

Choose a smart seat
Where you sit can have a big impact on how much you eat. By sitting with your back to the buffet, you are less tempted to go up and grab another dish. You also may want to consider choosing a booth over a table. Wansink found that slimmer individuals tend to go for booths. This creates a more comfortable seating arrangement like what you would find at a sit-down restaurant, and can discourage you from eating more than one plate of food.

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Overindulge Over the Holiday? Exercise Every Day to Counteract the Effects

If you’re clothes are feeling a little tighter today, you are certainly not alone. Christmas is a time for family and feasting, and we understand if you subjected yourself to some holiday binging. However, the overeating you did yesterday doesn’t have to completely derail your health. In fact, according to a new study published in The Journal of Physiology, the adverse effects of binge eating can be solved by continuing to exercise.

holiday exercise

Studies taking place before this one showed that even just a couple of days of consuming more calories than you burn negatively impacts health. The energy imbalance this creates can have a major impact.

The new study shows that daily exercise, even if it’s for a short amount of time, can greatly improve your health even if you ate thousands more calories than you burn.

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These 14 Christmas Movies are Your Guide to Holiday Dieting

With the holiday season barrelling down, we know you’re going to be dusting off those Christmas classics and watching them around the warm glow of the tree. Did you know that besides giving you the giggles, making you feel warm and fuzzy, and providing your family with a slew of quotes to lob at each other – You’ll shoot your eye out, kid! – your favorite movies can also serve as a holiday dieting guide? In most cases, it’s a an example for what not to eat, but still, so much fun to watch.

Holiday Dieting Guide – Christmas Movie Style 

Elf

We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

Michelle Obama would not approve. In Elf, Will Ferrell’s diet was every child’s dream but someone really needs to introduce him to the new My Plate rules.

elf 1 crop

Christmas Vacation

Clark: Where is Eddie? He usually eats these &%$#-ing things. Catherine: Not recently, Clark. He read that squirrels were high in cholesterol.

Christmas Vacation Crop

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