Blog Posts by SHAPE magazine

By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD

Do you worry about cost when grocery shopping for healthy food?According to a new national poll in ShopSmart magazine, the cost of healthful foods is the number one barrier that keeps women from eating healthfully. The poll found that 88 percent of the women surveyed 'make excuses' for not eating healthfully, with 57 percent citing cost as the top obstacle and 47 percent naming social temptations as the greatest barrier. And while half of women feel good about their eating habits and have tried to buy healthier foods in the past six months, nearly 40 percent believe they could do better. Here are a few more findings:

• 55 percent have tried to get their families to eat healthier, but nearly a quarter have been unsuccessful at doing so

• Dinner and breakfast rank equally as the healthiest meal women eat daily; just 24 percent feel lunch is the healthiest meal of the day

RELATED: 6 Stir-Fry Recipes Better than Takeout

• 63 percent have regular cravings for particular foods, with chocolate at the top

Ever wonder how much your hair weighs or if tossing and turning during a nightmare burns calories ? We did too-so we asked Erin Palinksi, RD, Nutrition Consultant and author of the upcoming Belly Fat Diet For Dummies if there's any truth to these five off-the-wall weight-loss questions.

Do nightmares burn calories?1. Do nightmares burn calories? If your dreams are of the adventurous variety, surely you must burn a few calories leaping tall buildings and soaring through the air, right? Not necessarily, according to Palinski.

"Just because you wake up with your heart racing , doesn't mean that you're burning calories," she says. However, if a dream or nightmare causes you to toss and turn for minutes or hours, this will burn a few more calories than lying still.

On the flipside, if your nocturnal adventures are interrupting your sleep quality, it can actually have a negative impact on weight. Research shows that after a poor night's sleep, hormones that regulate appetite such as ghrelin and leptin can become

the best abs exercises of all time!Bring on the short-shorts and swimsuits! We went to our favorite celeb trainer, Joe Dowdell, to get his top three abs exercises. Here are the moves he swears by to rock those teeny-weeny bikinis:

Instead of just giving you my three favorite abs exercises, I'm going to give you my top three choices for beginners as well as a few options that are great for intermediate/advanced trainees.


Best Abs Exercises for Beginners
1. Plank: Lie facedown on mat. Place forearms on mat, elbows under shoulders. Place legs together with forefeet on floor. Raise body upward by straightening body in straight line (don't let your hips sag). Hold position.

RELATED: The Good Morning Workout

2. Side Plank: Lie on your side on mat. Place your right forearm on mat under your shoulder, perpendicular to your body . Place your left leg directly on top of your right leg and straighten knees and hips. Raise your body upward by straightening through your waist so your body is ridged. Hold this position for 30-60

It's our body's largest organ yet there is still so much we don't know about our skin! From preventing wrinkles to the benefits of facial massage, we went to anti-aging expert Dr. Aaron Tabor to get the scoop on 10 things you don't know about your skin-but should!

"Your skin reflects your overall health," Dr. Tabor says, "so the best thing to remember is to eat a healthy diet and avoid junk food, do not smoke, exercise regularly, and drink plenty of water. It is also important to read the ingredients on all skincare products and avoid any that contain "Glycols" or "PEGS," as they contain harmful chemicals."

Since May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, it's the perfect time to start thinking about preventing future damage to your outer layer. Read on for more of Dr. Tabor's tips!

Decode botanicals1. Decode botanicals: Botanicals, or a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scents, can be very useful in skincare products.

"Botanicals that contain

People's PopsPicture one of your favorite desserts from childhood….but updated for grown-ups and healthy to boot. Cool, right? That's why the all-natural handmade treats at the People's Pops shops in New York City-featuring locally sourced fruits and herbs-are all the rage. Now, straight form the company's new cookbook ($12; amazon.com), come recipes for freezing some fat-free creations of your own.

If you love the two healthy homemade popsicle recipes below be sure to pick up a copy of the June issue for the tangy and tasty blackberry, yogurt , and honey pops recipe (it's the pretty purple one featured top left)

Peach and Bourbon Pops
Makes 10 2.5-ounce pops

Preheat oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine ⅔ cup cane sugar and ⅔ cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Stir until sugar dissolves, then remove simple syrup from heat and let cool.

RELATED: 12 Amazing Alternatives to the Ice Cream Truck

Cut 4 to 5 peaches (about 1¼ pound) in

Roasted eggplant sandwiches1. Roasted eggplant sandwich: Roasting vegetables like eggplant and red onion with a small amount of olive oil is a great way to concentrate their flavors and keep the calorie count down. (Find out how many calories you should eat to lose weight). Add these roasted veggies to whole wheat bread with 2 tablespoons of white bean spread or hummus, and you have a great healthy vegetarian meal. 298 calories

DON'T MISS: Salt Shockers! 5 Foods as Sodium-Packed as Soy Sauce

Grilled mushroom melt2.Grilled mushroom melt: Grilled cheese may not have the reputation of a healthy sandwich, but add sautéed mushrooms and two slices of low-fat cheddar cheese, and you can enjoy your childhood favorite without guilt. Better yet, use whole wheat bread and cook your sandwich on an indoor grill pan instead of a buttery skillet. 271 calories

Tuna Burgers3.Tuna burgers: Using fish instead of hamburger is a great trick to make tasty low calorie burgers. Pack together 1/4 pound minced

By SHAPE Diet Doctor Mike Roussell, phD

What's the single most important change you can make to your diet?If you want to make the biggest impact on your health as a woman, you first need to know the biggest threat to a woman's health. According to the Center for Disease Control, the top three causes of death for women in the United States are heart disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases. Nutrition isn't going to have a huge impact on chronic respiratory diseases, but it can make an immense difference with cancer and heart disease.

Heart disease and cancer are huge public health issues and the span and scope of both diseases is rather broad, however there is one hormone that has been linked to both-and it can be controlled with your diet. I'm talking about insulin.



RELATED: 10 New Ways to Eat Oatmeal

Insulin is a hormone released from your pancreas in response to increases in blood sugar levels. Insulin's job it to get sugar out of the blood and into fat or muscle cells. If you constantly have high blood sugar levels, your muscles can

Shoot like Katniss Everdeen, score like Harry Potter, and sweat like LMFAO (speedo optional!) with these seven new workouts inspired by pop culture:

Sweat like LMFAO (speedos optional!)1. I'm sexy and I know it: For a cheeky take on, um, tanning your cheeks check out this BodyRock.Tv workout based on the number one workout song in America, "I'm Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO. To get yourself into bikini-rocking form like the party rockers, try this short (but intense) 15-minute routine. It uses just a few moves to work every muscle in your body. And to get some additional ab work, laugh yourself silly watching all the parody videos on the Internet.







RELATED: Do You Really Need That? 7 Fitness Items to Ditch


Train like a tribute from the Hunger Games2. Train like a tribute: What gets your heart pumping faster than fighting for your life? Let out your inner Katniss Everdeen, the fierce heroine from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy, with new workouts that cover everything from archery survival skills to hand-to-hand combat. One hugely popular class, the "