Live Well Be Gorgeous

By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert

Not another crunch! If that’s what you’re thinking, let me give you three eye-opening reasons why you should commit to weekly crunches: First off, crunches are easy to do. Second, they target numerous abdominal muscles – including your internal and external obliques and rectus abdominus – all at once. Third, abdominal muscles can actually improve back problems – and posture – by lending greater support to your torso. So what are you waiting for? Let’s crunch:

Step 1: Lie on a mat or towel. Place your hands behind your head. Pull your heels toward your butt as far as you can. Keep your elbows and chin up, abs tight.

Step 2: Using your upper abs, breathe slowly as you crunch up while simultaneously pulling your knees in through a count of 10 seconds.

Step 3: Hold and squeeze at the maximum tension point for 2 seconds.

Step 4: Return to the starting point through a count of 10 seconds, never letting your upper back touch the ground.

Step 5: Repeat three times without resting. (Note: The range of motion on this exercise is very short, so be sure to adjust your speed so that you hit the MTP on the count of 10.)

Your coach,
Jorge Cruise

Oh yes! perk it up without loosing your skinny!

LWBG favorites includes the ready made Starbucks Doubleshot Light ( 70 Cals, and aroung 4 g of fat) and fresh brewed vanilla flavored coffee with skim milk.

Take a look at the suggestions by Leah Greenbaum of The Lifescript Staff

Those iced, frosty coffee drinks seem like a refreshing treat for summer. But they’re also packed with hidden calories that can ruin your summer diet.

Decadent iced coffees – topped with fluffy whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate can give you a caffeine fix on a busy day, but know what you’re getting into. A medium Frappuccino at Starbucks has 460 calories, and the whipped cream alone has 80 calories. A large Frap can contain a whopping 700 calories… that’s a full meal for most people!

Thankfully, Starbucks and other coffee chains carry low-fat, low-cal options. Starbucks’s Light Caramel Frappuccino has about 300 fewer calories and 1.5 grams of fat, compared to the full-calorie version which has 480 calories and 15 grams of fat.

Better yet, try to ditch the frosty blended drink and order a coffee or latte over ice – and ask your barista to use non-fat or skim milk instead. An iced Caffe Latte only has 130 calories, and still offers about the cool, energizing quench of a summer beverage.

By Jennifer Gruenemay, Special to Lifescript
To improve your workouts, you’ll need some real equipment. But you don’t have to buy the biggest, baddest, most expensive home gym system to get in shape. Check out our 10 essentials for every woman’s workout (starting with your bra), plus our top pick for each category…

1. Sports Bra
When you talk about wanting more bounce in your step, we know you don’t mean your chest. Bouncing breasts can be a major exercise deterrent. One in two women complain of breast pain during exercise, according to a 2007 study by researchers at the University of Portsmouth, England.

It’s no wonder: Breasts can bounce up to eight inches vertically, the study also reported. They move side to side and in and out, creating a painful, tissue-jostling, ligament-stretching figure-eight pattern. Ouch!

So what’s a curvy gal to do?

Encapsulation bras get a big thumbs up. They hold each breast separately, rather than smashing them to your chest, as compression bras do. Even better? A bra that encapsulates and compresses.

The pick: Moving Comfort’s Fiona Bra (pictured right) is an encapsulation and compression bra. It’s designed for C cups and up, and is especially recommended for high-impact exercises such as running. If you’re blessed with a smaller cup size, Moving Comfort also carries sports bras to keep those perky puppies well kept.

The price: $44

2. Heart Rate Monitor
Do you run on the treadmill just so you can watch the numbers under “Calories Burned” tick up? Then this device is for you.

Enter your information – height, weight, age – into the watch, strap on the chest transmitter and this handy gadget will display calories burned. Anywhere, anytime, any type of exercise.

By Suzy Cohen, Lifescript Pharmacist
Between the shaky stock market, plunging home values and unemployment, there’s plenty to keep you awake these days. Don’t let the constant toss-and-turn ruin your health. Here are 12 remedies that’ll help bring on the zzz’s. Plus, test your sleep smarts with our quiz…

It’s 2 a.m. and you’re still awake. You’ve tried reading, watching TV, maybe even downed a cocktail or two – nothing works.

Sound familiar? It’s not just a matter of not feeling rested. Without enough sleep, you’re likely to gain weight, eat unhealthy food, smoke and skip exercise.

Whether you’re sleepless in Seattle, St. Louis or Salem, you have lots of company: According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, more than a quarter of Americans are losing sleep over financial worries.

Read on for a list of the most common (and strange) remedies that can help you wake up refreshed. (As always, check with your doctor before using any of these.)

Over-the-Counter (OTC) Sleep Aids

1. Nytol or Sominex (Diphenhydramine)
These two popular over-the-counter remedies contain antihistamine, an ingredient usually for allergies.

They relieve sneezing, itchy eyes and other allergy symptoms, but the active ingredient – diphenhydramine – also makes you sleepy. So the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved these drugs as sleep aids.

Who’s it for? People who worry about becoming addicted to prescription drugs. They don’t require a doctor’s visit, and they’re often cheaper than prescription drugs.

Watch out: Too much of these drugs will cause side effects such as dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention and blurred vision.

They can also cause headaches and daytime dizziness, so don’t drive if you feel “fuzzy.” Men with enlarged prostates should avoid them because the drugs may inhibit their ability to urinate.