Antioxidants

Glowing Skin! Antioxidants keep your skin healthy by blocking out cell-damaging free radicals from pollution and UV exposure.  Aim for one serving of antioxidant-rich foods a day.

For example: 1 cup of berries, 20 pecans, a few cups of green tea. Also good: kiwifruits, prunes, artichokes, and pinto beans.

Beta-carotene

Silky Skin! The vitamin C helps produce skin-smoothing collagen.  Plus, beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A, which keeps your eyes and immune system strong. Aim for about 15 mg per day.

For example: 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes.  Also good: carrots, winter squash, spinach, and kale.

Calcium

Strong nails, teeth, hair, and bones! Aim for 1,000 mg of calcium into your diet each day.

For example: 3 cups of milk. Also good: low-fat dairy products like yogurt, and cheese. Go organic to avoid added hormones or antibiotics.

Healthy Fats

Supple skin & Shiny Hair! You’ll like the effects of consuming these essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3.  Healthy fats will give you a radiant complexion, shiny hair, and also decrease inflammation in the body.

For example: 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day. Also good: salmon, walnuts, avocado, and olive oil.

There is a lingering suspicion among girls… that boys don’t value cleverness as an essential quality in a life partner. Given a choice between gorgeous or brainy, there is no guarantee they’ll do the right thing, because men think they’re clever enough for two. Well, it turns out they’re wrong. Swedish scientists have discovered that long life and good health have nothing to do with a man’s education and everything to do with his wife’s. Men married to smart women live longer — simple.

And why might this be so? Well the answer is not as exciting as you might imagine.  It’s simply that “educated” women know the value of good health, a proper diet, exercising, getting enough sleep, not smoking, sky diving, or skipping breakfast, etc etc etc, and are able to encourage (nudge? harass? just kidding!) their husbands into better habits. Another added benefit might be the “healthy, strong, intellectual bond that keeps them alive for years to come!” Keeping your mind sharp has shown to increase life span and slows the onset of dementia, Alzheimer and similar diseases. A wife who keeps her man on his toes is good for him in so many ways!

Image from NY Daily News: Men with educated wives live longer lives: study

Here are some of their secret weapons to help you get sexy for the season!

Plan toward your Goal

Chris Gaines of Equinox Fitness in Palo Alto, California offers these key steps:

1. Set a goal: Get specific about what your goals are, write them down and make a firm commitment to achieve them. (For example: Loose 10 lbs in the next 6 weeks)
2. Set a plan: By creating “stepping stones” or short-term goals, we give ourselves the opportunity to celebrate minor victories, which help us stay motivated. (For example: I will aim for 1.5-2 lbs a week.)
3. Practice time management: It is critical that we set aside the appropriate amount of time in each day to accomplish daily goals and schedule it in like an appointment with the same urgency and priority as a dress fitting. (For example: I will go running in the morning twice a week, work out at the gym 3 afternoons a week, and go swimming twice a week.)
4. Reward yourself: Set specific rewards for your accomplishments, such as spa treatments or favorite treats, when you achieve a short term goal. This way you will have incentives to look forward to. (for example: After every 2 lbs lost I will celebrate with a girl’s night out at the movies!)

Don’t Starve– Diet Smart

“Every bride wants to look her very best on her wedding day, but when they pursue drastic weight loss at any price they traditionally end up walking down the aisle with lackluster energy and a haggard look,” says Oz Garcia, PhD. “The best diet is eating frequent healthy small meals and snacks throughout the day consisting of fruits and vegetables of every color, fish and lean protein.”

If you omit carbs completely, you will lose weight initially because carbohydrates make you retain water. However, a carbs-free diet often backfires because it increases your desire for carbohydrate-rich food and it’s quite hard to stay on track. Instead, Oz Garcia advises that you replace breads, pasta and potatoes with one small serving a day of basmati rice, millet, squash or sweet potatoes, which are digested more slowly and are therefore more filling. Brett Hoebel suggests the following substitutes: agave (for white sugar), whole grain (for white flour), brown rice (for white rice), almond milk (for white cow milk), Celtic sea salt (for white salt).” Alcohol is also filled with empty calories and should be avoided.

One glass of raw vegetalbe juice a day has also been show to help dieters loose weight, according to celebrity trainer Marco Borges “Besides the weight loss, juicing will also significantly increase your Vitamin C intake along with many other important vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.  Juicing also reduces your appetite and you’re much more likely to meet the recommended three to five servings of vegetables daily. Increased energy, stabilized insulin levels, improved immune response and too many more benefits to ignore.”

A 3-Part Workout

Here’s a 3-step routine, designed byPJ Stahl, an elite personal trainer in Los Angeles:

1. At each workout, start with strength training exercises. This will kick-start your workout by burning a large amount of calories and will get your body tight and toned for your wedding day.

2. Move as many joints as possible: During your strength training workout, do multi-joint exercises, which work more muscles and burn more calories than the traditional isolated exercises.

3. Finish with cardio. Even if it is only 10 minutes (20-40 minutes is ideal), cardio exercise will burn additional calories and decrease your percentage of body fat.

Partner with your Partner

“When you have someone to help motivate you or someone else relying on you to make good on the evening jog or workout class, you are much more likely to stick to your goals,” says Peter Park, trainer to cycling champion Lance Armstrong. If you can grab your fiancé as your workout buddy, that’s great! Otherwise, ask your maid of honor or a good friend, and setup a few workouts a week. It not only forces you to stay focused, but  exercising with a buddy is a lot more fun that doing it alone!

image from effortless movement

Have you thought about your dinner plans for tonight? If so, did those thoughts bring a smile to your face or a knot in your stomach? Will it be a quick trip to a nearby fast food joint on the way home this evening? Take out? Or maybe you’re going to take a couple of hours out of your schedule and swallow a $20, $40 or even $60 bill for dinner at a “nice” restaurant because you would like to think you are eating healthier. But your plans certainly don’t include a home-cooked meal because you think you can’t cook!”

Does this speak to you?? It speaks to me! I’m thinking that we need Nancy Geiger’s new cookbook, “A Bride’s Cookbook or Surviving the First Year” availible in hard-bound or downloadable version.

What can this cookbook do for you? It will teach you how to stock your pantry, educate you on menues and recipe terminology, learn how to subsitute when you don’t have all the ingredients, gives tips on entertaining and of course, easy, fun, and healthy recipes.

You may be surprised to know, says Mrs. Geiger, that cooking at home is almost always

• less expensive than eating out
• healthier than eating out
• less time-consuming than eating out

“A Bride’s Cookbook or Surviving the First Year” will save you time, money, stress, and many a frantic call to mom. You can even sign up to recieve one free sample recipe a day for a whole month, with no obligation. I did it!