FitSugar

Fit Tip: Run With a Stranger at the Gym

FitSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 03:00:00 PST

When I step onto a treadmill at the gym, some days I'm just not feeling very motivated to push myself. I'm sure this happens to you too, so you should give this little game a try.

Find someone on a treadmill that looks like they're working hard and pretend you're running with them. It's great inspiration to feed off their fire, and you'll be surprised at how suddenly you have a burst of energy. I find that I can run longer or faster when I'm mock running with someone else.

This of course works for any cardio machine, so the next time you're feeling sluggish, use someone else's drive and passion to pep you up.

Source

SAG Awards Trendspotting: Prismatic Gowns

Marisa Tom — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:24:56 PST

A colorful, rainbow-inspired palette was no stranger to the SAG Awards' red carpet, and Hollywood's A-list starlets opted for a bevy of the most vibrant, striking kind. From warm fire engine red to shocking berry pink to serene Mediterranean blue, the gowns were jaw-dropping, not just for their artful cutouts and stunning owners, but for their playful, prismatic effect. If there's anything we learned, it's that these actresses can give the red-carpet hue a run for its money. Just look to Emily Blunt's diaphanous green Oscar de la Renta creation or Jessica Chastain's cool custom azure Calvin Klein column dress for proof that no color was too bold or too bright. Then, click through to see which other celebs got in on this technicolor trend.

Getting to Know . . . Oscar Nominee Jean Dujardin!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:13:12 PST

It's been a good month for the French actor Jean Dujardin! He capped off what's already been an amazing award season run today with an Oscar nomination in the category of best actor for his performance in The Artist. The silent movie part has already won Jean a Golden Globe, and we'll see if he adds to his trophy collection at Sunday's SAG Awards.

Jean's no stranger to fame, or award ceremonies for that matter. It turns out that he's among the most well known actors in France - click through to find out even more about Jean!

4 Things I Wish I'd Known at the Start of My Weight Loss Journey

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:54:39 PST

No stranger to the Freshman 15 in college, in fact, I experienced something closer to the Freshman 30. It wasn't until I saw a photo of myself heading into my sophomore year that I realized I was carrying quite a few extra pounds and that it was time to do something about it. It took me a very long time to lose the weight (we're talking not until after graduation), all because I thought I knew what I was doing. Boy was I wrong. Here are four things I wish I had known at the start of my weight loss journey.

You Can't Eat Peanut Butter Out of the Jar
While peanut butter is full of heart-healthy fats, it's not void of calories - one tablespoon contains 105. I found myself spooning it straight out of the jar, wondering why my jeans weren't any looser. This is important to remember with all healthy foods: just because they aren't considered junky, doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. Be aware of portion sizes when it comes to whole grains, nuts, seeds, and health food store snacks.

Keep reading to find out what else I wish I had known about weight loss.

Check Out the 2012 People's Choice Nominations Before the Show Airs Tonight!

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:02:20 PST

The People's Choice Awards are tonight, so now's your chance to get a good look at who's up for the trophies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is dominating the movie categories, especially since there was no Twilight film eligible for this year's awards (though Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson still earned nods because they appeared in other movies). Vampires are still big at the PCAs, at least for the TV categories - The Vampire Diaries and its stars are all over this list. On the subject of the small screen, the awards have brought in another distinction for television: network shows and cable series are now separated (and fan favorite Game of Thrones pops up for its first season).

You'll be able to watch the results when the show airs tonight, and remember: we are LIVE from the red carpet and backstage throughout the show! The live show starts at 5 p.m. PST/ 8 p.m. EST, and you can watch us here.

To get the full list of nominations, just keep reading.

Lose Weight and Get Fit With Your Phone

Health — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:14:36 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

A sleeker, stronger body could be just a tweet or a Facebook post away
By Jamie Beckman

One of the best tools for peeling off pounds is already in your bag: It's your smartphone or iPad. In fact, all that texting, tweeting, and posting - the average woman spends more than 80 minutes a day on her phone, according to a recent report from the mobile apps analytics firm Flurry - can tip the scales in your favor.

And one in three of us are already using social sites like Facebook to get slender, reports research from the University of Arizona. So go ahead and steal these suggestions from women who took their shape-up viral.

Tweet Your Way Thin
Nancy Tessier, 50, lost 28 pounds by posting all her meals and snacks to Tweet What You Eat (@twye), an online food journal that lets others eyeball your noshes. "Sometimes it was a lot easier to decide not to eat something than to have to tweet it for the world to see," she says.

Posting your weight-loss numbers can help, too. The University of Arizona research suggests that women who reveal shape-up victories on a weekly basis trim down faster than those who update less frequently. If you're feeling shy, think up a Twitter handle and upload a cartoon character as your avatar so you can share the skinny without feeling self-conscious.

Health.com: Diet Tricks the Pros Tell Their Friends

Gain a Following
Get some virtual support pronto by following Twitter hash tags like #fitblog. Carla Shorts, 27, started chiming in on #fitblog's weekly live chats - and dropped from a size 12 to a size 6 in just a year. "When my weight loss reached a plateau, having women point out that my 30-minute elliptical routine wasn't going to cut it anymore was key," she says. "I started running and began to lose again."

You can also start your own hashtag, like Sherry Pagoto, 38, from Massachusetts, did with #plankaday, a challenge to spend at least a minute in plank pose each day.

Find more ways your phone can help you lose weight after the break.

5 Ways Spending Less Will Create More Happiness

LearnVest — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:15:49 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Recently, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an op-ed piece about the “Haimish Line.” The Haimish Line is an invisible line sometimes crossed when you go from spending less to spending more - in doing so, Brooks contends, you often sacrifice warmth and connection to attain luxury and space. According to Brooks, “haimish” is a Yiddish word that suggests “warmth, domesticity and unpretentious conviviality.”

An exclusive, white-tablecloth, four-star restaurant where servers disappear and diners are on their Blackberries would be north of the Haimish Line. A small, casual diner on the corner bustling with loud conversations from neighborhood folks talking over each other would be south of the Haimish Line. A new dorm building with a shiny, new, unused lounge would be north of the Haimish Line; the well-worn lounge of ratty furniture that students veer toward would be staunchly planted south of the Haimish Line. The Haimish Line even slices across neighborhoods: densely packed urban neighborhoods where kids run home from school and and people have stoop conversations versus spread-out suburbs of isolated living in separate homes and cars.

Brooks advises that we learn to spend our money well and stay south of the Haimish Line.

I found this essay so compelling because money often buys privacy, space, exclusivity and “luxury”-all of which are the very opposite of “unpretentious conviviality.” In America, the picture of success is a bigger house (where the family is more spread out), moving to the suburbs (with more distance between neighbors), a nicer car (to be more vigilant about spills in), and flying first class (ok, so some things are not worth getting all concerned about “the Haimish Line” over).

Read on for ways to spend less and create happiness.

J. Edgar: A Great Cast in a Dull Story

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:26:54 PST

Leonardo DiCaprio is no stranger to onscreen transformation, and takes on the FBI's first director, J. Edgar Hoover, in Clint Eastwood's biopic J. Edgar. With the help of makeup, a Southern accent, and some idiosyncrasies, DiCaprio seamlessly shows us Hoover as both the hero that took criminal investigation to a new level, and the villain who resorted to questionable methods to get there. Though DiCaprio's performance is engaging, the film isn't on par with Eastwood's finest films.

The story is told in Hoover's words, as he relates his career to various young men who are helping him transcribe his life story. The juxtaposition of Hoover's life as a young man (beginning at the start of his career in 1920) and his final years echoes the film's theme of dichotomy. As the FBI's director and a public figure, Hoover is arrogant, stubborn, and adamant about what he wants. Behind closed doors, Hoover is still a scared young man who is paranoid about losing his power and struggling with his sexual identity.

To see why J. Edgar left me feeling underwhelmed, just

read more. Hoover values loyalty more than anything else, which is where Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts come in, as Hoover's right-hand man and secretary who stick by his side until the day of his death. As career-focused Helen Gandy, Watts is restrained but solid, but it's Hammer as Clyde Tolson who really shines. Hoover hires Tolson as his associate director, but the relationship quickly comes much closer. As Tolson and Hoover dance on the line between utmost confidantes and lovers, Hammer humanizes a character who otherwise could be written off as a tall drink of water who lingers in the shadows behind Hoover. Eastwood is successful in taking us back in time, through decades of Communism, Prohibition, and war, in a way that feels authentic. The film is peppered with notable public figures that run the gamut from Richard Nixon to Charles Lindbergh to Shirley Temple. Eastwood uses notable events like Hoover's investigation of the Lindbergh kidnapping to tell the story, but he doesn't go deep enough to create a gripping film. We scratch the surface of the events that shaped Hoover's career and the secrets he kept hidden, but the film falls short of truly striking a chord with the audience. Clint Eastwood finds drama in Hoover's private life, but he treads lightly instead of diving in headfirst with J. Edgar, and the portrait he paints feels incomplete. He provides us with all of the key facts but doesn't fully patch them together into a compelling story.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Michael Chiarello on the Difference Between Top Chef Masters and Next Iron Chef

Susannah Chen — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:45:46 PDT

Michael Chiarello is no stranger to reality TV cooking competitions: he was a runner-up on the first season of Top Chef: Masters and has been a guest on Bravo's regular Top Chef series.

When I caught up with him briefly at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, I was curious to know what would compel the seasoned chef - who's a fan of YumSugar! - to put himself on the cutting board once again.

See what he had to say when you keep reading.

Britney Spears Accused of Glamorizing Violence in Steamy "Criminal" Video

Annie Scudder — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:20:05 PDT

Britney Spears's music video for "Criminal" came out today, and it stars her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick in some criminally sexy scenes. After her posh British boyfriend roughs her around outside a ritzy party, a street-smart stranger, played by Jason, comes to Britney's rescue. He knocks out the Brit jerk, and Britney takes a shot at him too, gratuitously kicking him in the crotch. She proceeds to run away with Jason, and they have a "Bonnie and Clyde" adventure, robbing stores, dodging police, and fitting in a seriously steamy shower scene.

It's one of the more over-the-top sex-filled videos we've seen from Britney, which is saying something, and parts of it could be considered NSFW. But that's not the only thing raising eyebrows, since we'd expect that from the pop princess. The video was shot in Hackney, England, which experienced heavy violence during London riots in August, and local leaders have called Britney's video insensitive and dangerous.

A member of parliament from Hackney said, "It is only a music video, but it's images like this, with pop stars glamorizing gangs, which means that some young people . . . get drawn in." Still, as art, Britney's "Criminal" video could be characterized as reflecting the violence in the area, not creating it. Although, Britney's camp doesn't go there to defend it. Instead they said: "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened."

Watch the video below.