When I broke up with my last boyfriend I was ecstatic to have my personal time back. It had been a long time since I’d had my own routine and I couldn’t wait to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. I had grand plans of daily visits to the gym, cooking my weird healthy meals and eating them on the couch while watching marathons of Say Yes To The Dress.

I gained ten pounds during that relationship and while he didn’t care – he loved seeing me in the buff despite the extra junk in my trunk – I was ready to take back the control of my life, shed the extra weight, and hit the single scene with my svelte new frame.

Only the reality was so, so different.

Not only is the single scene rather sad and over-saturated with douche bags, but being single is actually making me fatter!

There is something to be said about having someone around, and not just for the comfort and companionship that comes with a boyfriend. Passing the time with someone else keeps your mind occupied so you’re talking and cuddling and giggling instead of mentally surveying what’s in your fridge. And, not that I care about eating in front of a boy (trust me – I ate a burger and fries in front of some models once), but having anyone around forces me to check myself before I start grazing through the cupboards and housing anything I can get my hands on. Now that I’m alone I’m to my own devices, and apparently those devices involve dipping everything into peanut butter, whether I’m hungry or not.

And forget the gym. Since I don’t have anyone to look good for, I often give in to that fat little devil sitting on my shoulder and trade in Spinning time for catching-up-on-my-DVR time. I keep telling myself I’ll go tomorrow; I have so much free time, why wouldn’t I go? But then I don’t go. I put on sweats, think of things to melt cheese on and retire to the couch for the rest of the night. Read More »

“For this workout you’ll need a roman chair, a set of 5 pound weights, 10 pound weights, and 12.5 pound weights, a Bosu ball, an incline bench, a cable machine, a pull-up bar, two resistance bands, a mat and a partner.”

WTF?

Whenever I see workouts in magazines/online that tell me that I need 23,494,201 pieces of equipment to get a full-body workout all I think is, “I’ll stick to the elliptical thankyouverymuch!” But while the elliptical is a great cardio workout, it’s not enough to get into shape and stay healthy. A girl’s gotta lift some weights.

But where? And how?

Typically, the weight room on college campuses is the “man’s domain” (as we control the cardio machine kingdom), so walking in there – never-mind actually using different machines while frat guys look on with tongues hanging out – seems less than appealing for many women. You think I’m gonna do some squats while that meat head looks on? No thank you.

And that’s pretty much why I designed this workout. The routine hits all the important areas of the body and doesn’t require a lot of time, equiptment, or beefy guys staring at you as you fumble with the inner/outer thigh machine. All you need is one flat bench and a set of weights, anywhere between 5 and 15 pounds depending on your strength level.

I recommend starting with the biggest muscles (legs) and then moving on from there, but the order is totally up to you! Read More »

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Lady Gaga does Gossip Girl.

6 must-wear textiles for right now.

"Everything huuuuurts."

Between the nightly orders of cheese fries and the daily “I’m too tired/busy/stressed/wrapped up in this Friends marathon to go to the gym” you’ve let yourself go. And based on how much work it takes to get those bootcuts over your thighs, it’s all beginning to catch up with you.  So when Sunday night rolls around you put your (chubby) foot down and decide it’s time to get back in gear.

You eat a salad for dinner (with the dressing on the side), enjoy some Smart Pop Kettle Korn for a late-night study snack and set your alarm for a pre-class workout. “You’re gonna get up this time,” you tell yourself before you crawl into bed.

You shoot out of bed when Pitbull starts “singing” in your ear at 7am. You slip into the workout clothes you laid out the night before, brush your teeth and run out of the house before your brain has a chance to realize what is going on and lures you back to your warm, cozy bed. You’re still slightly out of it when you get to the gym, but 10 minutes into your elliptical session you’re awake, alert and ready for a serious workout.

You start with 30 minutes on the elliptical, rotating incline and resistance. You work up a pretty good sweat but decide to switch to the Stairmaster for a little more gluteal attention. Twenty minutes later you move to the weight room. You don’t want those big, beefy guys to think you’re some prissy little girl so you pick up some weights and start working.  3 sets of 15 reps of triceps, biceps, chest presses and lunges later, you’re soaked in sweat and feeling great.

Those workout endorphins have kicked in and you’re walking around, Britney Spears blasting into your earbuds, wondering why you aren’t doing this more often. You’re energized and productive for the rest of the day – going to class, doing your laundry, getting ahead on that reading for Wednesday. You even pass on the leftover mac and cheese your roommate made for dinner. You’re back on track and nothing is going to stop you. Read More »

"I think I'm just gonna take a little snoozer right here for a minute...."

You know those days when, no matter how much you know you should workout, you just can’t bring yourself to put on a sports bra and sweat for an hour or two? You’re too tired. The futon is too comfortable. And those Project Runway re-runs need to be watched again so you can analyze the way Heidi Klum says “Yooah in, oar yooah owit”…

Well, don’t be too hard on yourself – you only have so much willpower. Literally.

According to a recent study at McMaster University, you have a limited amount of willpower. Whether you’re avoiding the cookies your roommate baked, or forcing yourself to concentrate on finishing that essay that’s due in a few hours, you use up your willpower throughout the day. You can burn up your stores of willpower mentally or physically. And as the test subjects demonstrated, loss of willpower causes you to work out at a lower intensity, work out less often, and makes your workout less effective.

So looking back, you might think that you were justified by not working out. “Oh well. That’s all of the willpower I had for today!” Well, woman, that is not the case. Read More »

School is in full swing, which means you’ve got classes, student groups, long hours in the library, late night binges after a long night of drinking….

And you gotta fit the gym in there somewhere.

I know, it’s always the first thing to go when things start getting busy, but it shouldn’t be! Working out regularly will keep you fit (obvi), and also help ease the stress and give you that much needed energy to get through those 16 credits, rush meetings, group projects and everything else you need to get through before Friday.

If that’s not enough to motivate you, perhaps some cute clothes will do? It’s obviously not easy to pull yourself out of bed and trek to the gym when you look (and therefore feel) like crap. Those baggy sweats and dirty t-shirts aren’t doing anyone any favors, especially you. And with all the super cute workout-wear that’s out there right now (in every. single. price point), there’s no reason to look drab for the gym. If you’re super busy, you can pile this stuff on before class and sneak in a workout during lunch; the clothes are so cute, no one would ever know. And if you’re just lazy, having cute and trendy pieces around will make you feel better and motivate you to get your butt moving. (It really works!)

If you need a kick in the (yoga) pants to get back to the gym, I’ve got 16 right here for ya. Enjoy. Read More »

I have this theory that anything that’s good for the planet is good for your health as well.  You’ve heard it all before:  ditching the car, eating organic greens, and drinking tap water are all great ways to maintain your well-being.  But did you know that adding a little green to your workout routine can actually bump it its effectiveness and your subsequent sexiness?  Read on, my friend…

Treadmill vs. Trail: Treadmills use a lottt of energy – about 6 hours of lights on a Christmas tree-worth in only 30 minutes (obscure analogy, I know).  Running outside, however, requires no additional energy except for that needed to manufacture your workout clothes.  I don’t expect you to run outside just for the environment’s sake, but what if I told you that running outside can up your calorie burn and save your joints from strain and impact?  Not only are trails more likely to have inclines that torch calories like a wildfire, they also have a bumpier terrain which causes your muscles to make tiny corrective movements. All in all, this can increase your calorie burn by up to 10%!  Run on sand, and burn 1.6 times more calories!  Plus, dirt trails, wet and dry sand, and even asphalt (never run on the concrete sidewalk!) are softer than the surface of treadmills and will better protect your knees and ankles from impact and future joint pain.  Trust me, running in nature sure beats trotting alongside that 50 year old man sweating like a pig in his 1976 gym shorts. Read More »

Best class ever?

We’re all well aware of the fact that we are the technology generation. We spend our entire day with our eyes glued to computer screens, sending more texts and BBMs a minute then our hearts beat, and accompanying our lives with a personal soundtrack courtesy of our iPods. After Twitter made it possible to tell the world what you’re doing every 2 seconds (and I found out how often some of my guy friends poop), I thought nothing could shock me.

That was until I heard that the University of Houston now has an entire class dedicated to the Wii. No joke.

The course is listed in the catalog as “online aerobics activities” and the description? A class for PE credit where students work out 20-30 minutes twice a week by playing the Wii Fit video game.

Why the heck can’t my college offer this course? I’d enroll in a nanosecond. Play video games the whole semester and knock going to the gym off my daily schedule twice a week? I’m sorry but that sounds like perhaps the most amazing thing ever. Read More »

As the semester begins, I’ve found myself back to the daily grind, sitting in classes and willing that minute hand to tick just a little freaking faster. But despite so many things being the same (the classes, the books, the late nights IMing the roommates down the hall…), it is a brand new year, and the perfect time to make some big changes.

Your slate is clean (and your pants still fit!), so let this new school year be your opportunity to start fresh and make good, healthy choices.  It’s always good to start out with goals you actually will end up completing, so here are some small, completely doable changes for you to consider so that this year finds you healthier and even more fabulous than the last!

Dear Water: We Love You.
We all know water is muy importante. It keeps you feeling full, prevents dehydration, and clears your body of toxins. Sweating, drinking alcohol, and merely functioning every day (especially in college) cause a loss of said water and it’s up to you to replace it.

Yes, if you want to be healthy with a fabulous complexion, you need to drink the water.

That being said, don’t freak out about the eight glasses per day thing – its not just plain water that does the trick, and the amount you need depends on how active you are. Also, if you’re one of those people who hates drinking water by itself, don’t forget that fruits, vegetables, tea, and other things we consume everyday have water in them, too. And don’t forget about Crystal Light – make it your BFF this year. Read More »

So the fall semester is rolling round again. For you freshies that means the dreaded “Freshman 15.” For the rest of us it means the shame of gaining an undisclosed amount of weight even though we are supposed to be “adjusted” and know how to stay healthy while we’re away from home.

It’s not like we don’t know what is healthy and what isn’t – we do. And we all vow that the next year will be different – that we’ll stop getting seconds at the caf and drinking 6 nights a week – but then classes start, beer pong ensues and it all goes out the window right to our asses.

To most of us calories are just confusing; who the hell knows how many calories we actually consume on a daily basis. How much work we need to do in order to burn off dollar pitcher night.  How many calories we burn walking to the library? But those things definitely need to be figure out if we want to steer clear of the not-so-attractive muffin top.

So, I thought I’d break it all down in a way everyone could understand: comparing the things we love to eat to our daily activities.

There’s always going to be that day when you have two tests to study for and an essay to write, which means zero time to cook yourself a healthy meal. But perhaps those days will be a little further in between knowing that you’ll have to wash dishes for five hours the next day to burn it off:

Two Slices of Domino’s Cheese Pizza (540 calories)= 3 hours of vacuuming (which is probably 1,214 laps around that 10X12 box of yours)

One Order of “General Tso’s Chicken” From Your Favorite Chinese Place (844 calories)= 2 hours of running on the treadmill at the gym

One Grande Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte (330 calories)= 3 hours of taking notes in class

One Plain Bagel With Cream Cheese (436 calories)= 1 ½ hours of dancing at a party

One Bowl of Ramen Noodles (296 calories)= Walking around campus for an hour

One Subway 6” Philly Cheese Steak (520 calories)= 4 hours of doing laundry Read More »