Julia Roberts, where you been girl?! For a while, you were the hottest mama in Hollywood. Your megawatt smile, great acting chops and beachy waves won us over (and also made us intensely jealous), then out of nowhere, you disappeared. Poof! You had to go get married and have babies…twins and all. We had to salvage what we can and pretend we were happy for you. But thank god you’re back. We’ve really missed you.

In honor of your return to the silver screen as Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie adaptation of the book, “Eat Pray Love” (which is, BTW, honestly the best soul-searching summer read ever), we here at CollegeCandy like to pay homage to your top 5 roles. No matter who or what you played, from a classy (relatively speaking, of course) hooker to a mastermind thief’s wife, we can’t help but love you. Read More »

We all feed our stomachs daily, but are we really giving them what they want and deserve?

Sometimes it’s hard to fit healthy food into a busy schedule, making it even harder for us to keep our digestive tract happy and healthy.  Unfortunately, one of the most common side effects of an unhappy tum-tum is bloating (ew).  Luckily, with a few easy tweaks to our diet, we can get on our way towards a fitter and flatter stomach.

Tummy Tip #1: Drink tons of water.  Water is probably the closest thing to a silver bullet you’ll ever find.  Not only does it improve the look of your skin and stimulate mental clarity, it also aids in digestion.  This translates into a flatter, bloat-free stomach for you.  Make sure you’re getting enough agua by listening to some advice from the Institute of Medicine.  They recommend that the lovely ladies, like ourselves, drink about 9 cups of H20 a day.

Tummy Tip #2: Hold the salt. As a general rule of thumb, wherever salt goes water will follow.  This is good for maintaining a good balance of minerals in the blood, but can be bad when it comes to belly bloat.  You don’t have to cut out salt completely to diminish bloating, but try to avoid overly salty foods like chips, canned soups, frozen meals, and salted nuts. Read More »

Believe it or not, what you eat actually influences how you feel on the inside and look on the outside.  I’m not just talking about your weight here – I’m talking about your skin.  Feeding your body tons of nutritious foods leads to happy skin and in turn, a happier you.  So what should you eat?  Check out the list below for some of the top recommended “skin foods” from the specialists at WebMD.

Water – Water is probably the most important thing you ever put in your body throughout a given day.  Having enough water in your system helps everything run smoothly, including your digestion, thought processes, and alertness.  Plus, it helps flush (read: pee pee) out all of the toxic byproducts of your normal body processes.  This is the part that makes your skin glow, look fresh, and appear more rested.  While how much water you drink is constantly in dispute, my general rule of thumb is to drink enough water to keep your pee light yellow.

Omega-3 Rich Foods – This includes foods like salmon, flax seeds, walnuts, and certain types of beans.  Eating these foods on a normal basis increases your intake of essential fatty acids, which help your skin remain plump and fresh by holding water into your skin cells.  Omega-3s also act was an anti-inflammatory agent, which can improve the blood flow to your face, making you glow.

Selenium-Rich Foods – Studies have shown the power of this mineral in preventing damage to the skin cells.  Foods high in selenium include whole grains, turkey, and tuna.  Selenium can help prevent oxidative damage, which can age and roughen skin cells.  Pour yourself a bowl of whole wheat cereal in the morning to get closer to your daily selenium needs. Read More »

You’re biting into a big juicy hamburger and what do you crave to go along with it? French Fries? Boring.

You know what would really spice that meal up? Onion rings! Unfortunately, those little rings of fried goodness are not always an option when you’re eating at your favorite hamburger joint. And you cry.

But wipe those tears, sister. Say TTFN to that restaurant and head home to whip up your own tasty onion rings. Why not? They’re delish, easy…and they involve beer! Read More »

A few years ago researchers and doctors discovered that people who did not sleep enough were more likely to gain weight. That seemed obvious enough to me; not sleeping would make someone too tired to workout and more likely to sit around and eat. And, since those people were awake longer, they had more time to stuff their faces. The research findings were a lot more scientific, though.

It turned out that people who slept fewer than 8 hours a night had increased levels of Grehlin – a hormone that increases appetite – and a decrease in their levels of Leptin – a hormone that makes us feel full. So, people who slept less ate more, which, naturally, caused them to gain weight.

Doctors started urging people to get more sleep. They recommended creating a relaxing setting at bedtime (candles, nature sounds, sex?), avoiding caffeine and exercise in the evenings and keeping a notepad near the bed to jot down notes in order to clear the mind. They begged Americans to slow down a little and focus on their health instead of the million other things that plague us on a daily basis. And for the love of God, stop with the all-nighters.

And what happened? It backfired. Well, sorta. Read More »