The more health reports I do the more interested I am in the way the body works at its fullest potential… ways to build muscle better… how much cardio you should mix with weight training to achieve maximum results… several small meals vs. a few larger ones… you name it and I am interested in it…

Sometimes, it is hard to tell the difference between a headline that is there just to sell the magazine or website and one that really has some great information you can use…

I subscribe to Women’s Health magazine and Shape magazine.. a friend shares her Runner’s World magazine with me as well… I would order more magazines if I had time to read all of them

My latest WH has a slug on the front that says “60 second stress cures” I found about half of the article to be useful… typically any article with this title has something in it about better breathing techniques… I was just trying the whole deep breathing on my way into work today… sometimes the car is the only place I find much down time for such things… it also said something about “finding a hobby” - sometimes those stress me out even more - like when I was trying to learn how to play guitar - I couldn’t find time to practice - I stressed out about going to my lesson and being ill prepared… and all around grew to think of it as a chore - suddenly, I was back in middle school with my big ugly saxophone, failing the most basic of music scales…

Ultimately, I believe we would all be healthier if we forced ourselves to find more time to relax or do something fun.

There was also a great article about why Norway doesn’t have the obesity problem that has become so prominent in the U.S. - Much of it had to do with the fact that people walk and bike to a lot of their destinations and don’t eat the mega food portions we have grown accustomed to…

I think we don’t make enough time to do what our bodies truly crave… activity… our dogs like to run around and play… kids like to run around and play… but somewhere along the way we get “too adult” and “too busy” to take time to do something active that we love…  For me, running has filled that void…  Is there something that would fill that void for you?

On the flat belly foods articles - most of them end up with a common theme - less refined sugar - more protein and more fiber.. so what does that mean?  It means we need to read labels more or buy more fresh foods to know exactly what we are putting into our bodies… which are nothing more than machines we are responsible for properly fueling… we don’t put sugar in our gas tanks and we often times get more check ups for our cars than ourselves…

Thought of the day - “Try putting yourself first today and make the time to do something that is active and fun for YOU!

Link to http://www.calorieking.com calorie calculator

Link to Women’s Health

Link to Shape

Link to Runner’s World