FitSugar

The Best Life Diet Challenge Starts

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:30:00 PST

Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer and author of The Best Life Diet is getting several lucky people in shape for The Best Life Weight Loss Challenge and you can follow along and get in shape too!

Before you get started, Bob wants you to ask yourself these questions:

Why am I overweight?
Rather than "I don't have time to make healthy food" or "I have to eat out a lot," recognize the feelings that lead you to overeat. For example, you're really anxious about work and ice cream calms you down. Or, your husband is emotionally distant and eating fills the void.

Why do I want to lose weight?
If you say, "To look better," push further to ask, "Why?" Maybe you're afraid your significant other will leave you for someone prettier. But what does that mean about your relationship? Maybe you're trying to meet someone. Fine, but are there other changes you should be thinking about? After all, it's not only thin women who have partners. When people think that getting thinner will make them happy only to find it doesn't, it almost always leads to the misuse of food and a return to being overweight.

Why have I been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?
Think back to the trigger that turned you from staying on a healthy program to eating out of control. Was the diet too rigorous? Did your spouse think you would fail? Many people have a core belief that they're not meant to be happy and so they continually find ways to sabotage themselves. Figuring out what drives you to relapse is the beginning of success.

Watch Oprah tomorrow, February 22nd, to learn more about the participants, the Best Life and the challenge.

The Benefits of Homeschooling Your Kids

LearnVest — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:05:49 PST

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

In the past, LearnVest spoke to parents who chose not to use diapers with their children and dove into the stay-at-home parent debate. This time, one mother shares why she has decided to homeschool her children.

In 2002, we had our third child, 10 years after our second was born. Our eldest two boys were in a private school, but we began to consider the best way to educate our newest addition. Although we loved the school our boys attended, each year cost us about $10,000. We questioned how feasible it would be to put additional kids through there, too.

We had three more children in the following years for a total of six, and with each new baby came further confirmation that putting our four youngest through private school was out of the question financially. Our two eldest were approaching college age, which put even more pressure on us.

The decision was simple. We elected to educate our four youngest at home.

Why Public School Wasn’t an Option

We always knew that we wouldn’t send our children to public school. Parents who opt out of public school do so for many reasons: safety, quality of education, religious conviction, and many others. My husband and I both went to public school, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know what schools are like today. For us, religion was the main reason. We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to raise, train, and educate their own children. Many parts of the Bible talk about training your children - to us, that includes education.

For more, read after the jump.

Kate Winslet Reveals Dreams to Play a Man and Liz Taylor in Golden Globes Press Room

Molly Goodson — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:52:27 PST

Kate Winslet stepped back into the Golden Globes press room shortly after accepting the latest statue for her collection. She won for her work in Mildred Pierce, but backstage, talk turned to future roles. She apparently has her eye on playing Elizabeth Taylor as well as taking on the part of a man someday. Plus, Kate told us why roast chicken became a favorite in her household:

On the rumors both she and Lindsay Lohan want to play Elizabeth Taylor: "I think I’ll decline to comment, that’s the first I’ve heard of that story. It’s a massive undertaking for anybody who should be fortunate enough to get that part. I’m not gonna go there, dude!"

On dream future roles: "I would like to someday play a man. That is something that I do know. I don’t know what kind of man. I don’t know whether that would ever happen or not. That would be the ultimate challenge."

On learning to cook for the part: "I was taught to section up a chicken by Tom Colicchio! He used a technique that was quite old-fashioned so it married up. My children were eating a lot of chicken!"

On how Ricky Gervais is doing as a host: "He seems to be doing absolutely fine. I’ve been back here for about the past half-hour, so unless he’s fallen over or started drinking too much, I think he’s doing OK."

Best fashion advice she's ever received: "Wear something that I feel comfortable in, not to wear something just because someone else is telling me to. I think that is true of life as well."

Is Pregnancy a Disability?

BabyCenter — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:16:40 PST

Shortness of breath. Inability to lift heavy objects. Need for specific seating. Exhaustion. Months of nausea followed by months, possibly a year, off work. Are these the markers of a disability?

Sorry, ladies. You aren’t disabled. You are pregnant.

A month ago I pulled my car into a disabled space in front of a baby store. My daughter is disabled, and we have a badge. Next to me a man waited in his car, also in a disabled spot. No badge.

I knocked on his window. I tried - and probably did not succeed on any level - to not sound annoyed. “Sorry, but you are parking in a disabled spot.”

“But, my wife . . . ,” he sputtered, “she’s pregnant.” He gestured toward the baby store. “She’s inside, and I’m waiting for her.”

First of all: disabled spaces are not for “waiting” in. They are for ease of loading and unloading people in wheelchairs. They are for people, like my daughter, who suffer from seizures and might need be rushed back to the car and then the hospital, so need to be as close as possible to the car.

Let’s be clear, if his wife can stroll through a megababy store - it is literally the size of Kansas - she can walk the extra 10 feet across the lane to the nonhandicapped parking. She is not disabled.

However, as The Huffington Post reported this week, Jeannette Cox, a law professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio, thinks pregnancy is a disability. According to her research, the Americans With Disabilities Act should be expanded to include pregnant workers.

"The recent expansion of the ADA’s protected class now includes persons with minor temporary physical limitations comparable to pregnancy’s physical effects," said Cox. "This invites reexamination of the assumption pregnant workers may not use the ADA to obtain workplace accommodations."

To some extent, I agree with Cox. There is a culture of discrimination in America about pregnancy. I live in Britain and I am astounded by how little time and leeway American pregnant women are accorded. Policies and legislation that encourage women to work up until the moment of birth (and Cox encourages employers to consider that, with proper accommodation, women would be more able to do this, not less) and to return to work as swiftly as possible or else lose their job, are irresponsible in the extreme. Establishing breast-feeding, recovering from a C-section - these things all take time, and I doubt any health professional thinks only a few months, or as is the case for some women, a few weeks is long enough for mother or baby.

But a disability? Sorry. No.

Disability is a serious, life-altering complication. As such, the classification should be assigned only to those that need that level of protection and assistance. Return to my initial list of conditions: pregnant women do not require oxygen masks, care workers, wheelchairs, tube feeding - the symptoms of pregnancy are not such that a woman’s life is irrevocably and devastatingly changed long-term.

As soon as we start calling pregnancy a disability, disability itself is reduced to the challenge level of pregnancy. Never forget that - though exhausting and nauseating - pregnancy will pass. Feel grateful for that and the glimpse it gives you of a more challenging life.

Do you consider pregnancy a disability?

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
Mom jeans no more!
Did you get the name you wish?
Getting highlights gives me guilt
How to overcome the baby blues
Katherine Heigl on "failing" as a mom

Source: Flickr User elicash

Fresh Start Resolution: Improve Your Public Speaking

SavvySugar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:19:03 PST

It's a new year and a new you! We're highlighting 12 helpful tips to start off the year right, from quitting your caffeine addiction tp mastering time management. Here's another way to start afresh in 2012.

Public speaking is a regular - and regularly feared - part of life, so it's important to refine your skills. This year, challenge yourself by learning to lecture like a pro. Here are four tips to help you polish your public speaking.

Assess yourself. What part of public speaking makes you nervous? Where have you slipped up in the past? One reason public speaking is so nerve-racking is because there's so much to manage - your presence, your words, your delivery, and your reaction. Determine your weakest points, from stuttering to stiff hands, in order to tailor your speech improvement.
Find opportunities to practice. It's hard to feel confident about speaking if it's something you rarely do, so look for the chance to polish your technique in everyday life. At a dinner party? Offer to give the toast. Working on a new project at the office? Present it at the weekly staff meeting. Public speaking is like anything else: the more you do it, the better you'll become, and the more comfortable you'll feel when the moment arises.

Keep reading for more public speaking tips

"Failed Painter" Angelina Jolie on Defying Rules, Clint Eastwood, Defining Success

Allie Merriam — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:55:40 PST

Angelina Jolie's directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, a love story set during the Bosnian War in the '90s, opens here in the US on Friday. She was in NYC earlier this month doing press for the film and joined her cast for a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria. Leading ladies Zana Marjanovic and Vanessa Glodjo, as well as actors Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija, sat with Angelina on a panel moderated by NPR's Tom Gjelten. The conversation was all about the movie, with Angelina speaking about the process of creating the script with input from survivors. She also touched on the directors she has learned from and the challenges of making a movie in a foreign language. Angelina said:

On learning about directing: "You learn from everybody. Clint Eastwood taught me a lot about working with people that you love, that you think are great people, and making a family - working with nice people, good people. He's also very fast, so I had to learn about the economy of a shoot and a budget."
On deciding to make the movie in Bosnian and English: "When you want to do a film about this subject matter, many people tell you, 'Well, you're going to have to do a lot of different things in order to get people to see this.' One of them being, English, and the other being you're going to have to cast people who people recognize. We decided to do neither."
On how she'll define success for the movie: "We had a very low budget, so we're starting at a good base. It's gonna be alright I think . . . I hope it's received as a film. I hope people see it as a piece of art as well. I hope the actors involved are recognized for being extraordinary actors. So my fingers are crossed for that."
On the importance of art themes in the film: "I think Zana and I are both failed painters. We both tried to paint. I would have loved to be a painter. This part of the world - they're artists. During the siege, a film festival started under the siege of Sarajevo! Plays were put on, art was made. It was their art that just stood stronger and stronger while they were being starved and shot at. Art is representative of the region. As a woman and an artist it was a beautiful tool to express the internal side of a character."

To read what Angelina said about her road to making the movie, using real-life stories from the cast in the plot, and finding her directorial voice, just read more.

The Most Stylish Gifts Under $100!

Allison McNamara — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:49:10 PST

It's that time of the year again! It's time to start buying gifts for all the fashionable ladies in your life. But if finding something for your incredibly stylish best friend and your trendsetting sister sounds like a huge challenge with a hefty price tag, don't worry. We've rounded up several chic gift ideas that will please any fashion-loving gal - and the best part? They're all under $100, so you might even have a little money left over to buy one for yourself. On Allison: StyleMint top, Zara jacket, and Lia Sophia necklace!

The X Factor's Ken Paves on the Hair Trend That Needs to Die

Jaime Richards — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:13:13 PST

As part of the style team on The X Factor, hairstylist Ken Paves is charged with creating a wide array of hairstyles for each of the contestants. And when he's not working on the show, Ken keeps more than busy working on charitable endeavors, styling his celebrity clientele, and backing his line of hair products and Hairdo clip-in extensions. Ken is in one of the busiest times of his life as part of the glam squad on Simon Cowell's latest American series, but he's loving every minute. Read our Q&A.

Moving Lines From Hillary Clinton's Gay Rights Speech

Annie Scudder — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:30:42 PST

Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took up the issue of gay rights. After reviewing the adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the hard-fought victories achieved since for racial and religious minorities as well as women, Hillary said, "Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today." Here are some of the best lines from her speech, which some have called the "I Have a Dream" moment for the global LGBT community.

It starts at home: "Until 2003, it was still a crime in parts of our country. Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people, bullying and exclusion are daily experiences. So we, like all nations, have more work to do to protect human rights at home."
LGBT rights are human rights: "Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights."
LGBT people are members of the global community: "In reality, gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes; and whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors."
Religion is not an excuse: "Perhaps most challenging, issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens. This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation."

What Would You Do Differently the Second Time Around?

BabyCenter — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:33:30 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Jennifer Borget about what she'll do differently with future pregnancies.

I sometimes wonder, knowing what I know now, what would I do differently with my next child - whether it be with my pregnancy, the birth, or shortly after? I love the way things went down with my daughter, but that doesn’t mean I’m not up to try things differently.

I mean, what if I had given my daughter a pacifier when she was small? Would my boobs have gotten an occasional break? Next time I’ll try that.

Us first-time moms haven’t a clue what we’re getting into. Now that I’ve walked this path and learned a lot along the way, I have a short list of things I’ll do differently with my next child.

Not find out the gender: This is something I never thought I’d be able to do. I’m a huge planner. But since I really wanted a girl, and got that the first time, I’ve gotten all of the pink out of my system. The next nursery will be majestic blue regardless of gender, so I don’t really need to know beforehand. It will be a fun challenge for me and a great surprise for us all.
Get a 3D/4D ultrasound: I didn’t do this last time, but I envied all of my friends who did. Seeing their cute little faces on the screen before they are born is adorable. And if I’m not finding out the gender, this could be my alternative fun.
Buy maternity clothes: I refused to buy them the first time because I thought it was a waste of money. I should have bought them the first time then saved them for next time, but whatever, I’ll do the opposite. But I won’t be stretching all of my cute nonmaternity tops.
Not freak out about the birth: The first time around I read too many horror stories and worried about every little thing - whether or not I’d birth naturally, or if I’d need a C-section. I spent so much time stressing over a teeny, tiny portion of my daughter’s life.
Automatically add two weeks to my due date: I was so sure my daughter would come before her EDA. Then, I agonized every day after that date passed for a week and a half. Next time, once I calculate my due date, I’m adding on two weeks so I don’t have that crazed feeling when someone asks me when my due date is and I have to say "last week."
Have a water birth or get the epidural ASAP: Unfortunately it’s one or the other. I hear water helps with pain, so if I go that route and it helps, cool. If not, I’m not going to wait like I did last time. Hook a sista up!
Move the baby to his/her room sooner: Last time my daughter slept in our room for about five months. The moment she was in her own room she started sleeping better. I’m keeping that realization in my back pocket for next time.

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
Did you space your kids the smart way?
Your daughter is not pretty.
7 must-take holiday photos.
Thankful for my miscarriage.
How many gifts per kid?

What things do you plan to do differently next time around? Or did everything just work out perfectly for you?

Source: Flickr User rahego