Blog Posts by The Editors of WOMEN'S HEALTH

It's National Women's Health Week! To celebrate, we're challenging you to focus on your well beingWhen was the last time you visited a doctor for a checkup? Do you know what, if any, health risks run in your family? How often should you get a pap smear? Why, you ask, are we playing this game of Twenty Questions?

Now through Saturday, May 18th marks National Women's Health Week, a wellness initiative coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and we think the mission behind this event is too critical for any woman to ignore.

"The truth is, as women, all of us are busy juggling jobs and family responsibilities and everything else, and it's easy for things like healthy eating and exercise to fall to the bottom of the list," says First Lady Michelle Obama in an essay she wrote for us in honor of National Women's Health Week. "However, we all know it's just as important to focus on our own health as it is to focus on the well being of our spouses and, if we're parents, our kids."

RELATED: Michelle Obama on Putting Your Health First

We couldn't agree more.

Take

.Although you can safely lose only about 1 to 2 pounds of body fat a week, you can feel more confident by swimsuit season if you begin making changes today. Here are 7 attainable goals to set and stick to, starting now:

1. Get your sweat on with strength training! If you want a bikini body, this is non-negotiable: Fit your workout in, no excuses! Commit to a full-body strength-training program at least three times a week to burn calories during the workout, boost your metabolism's calorie-burning power for 24 to 48 hours after, and develop lean muscles that look and feel better than flab. Perform exercises that use more than one muscle group such as squats, pushups, rows, and lunges in a circuit to make your workouts most efficient. Tip: Try working out in the morning to get your metabolism revved up for the rest of the day.

RELATED: The Fastest Way to Lose 10 Pounds

2. Make your butt and belly your top priorities. Your glutes (butt muscles) are the biggest muscles in your

Christina Taylor used Facebook to lose more than 100 poundsAs a high schooler in Barrie, Ontario, Christina Taylor, now 25, didn't eat your standard bagged lunch. When she wasn't hitting the drive-through with friends, she was chowing down on pizza from the restaurant her mother owned. "She would send the delivery guy to my school," says Christina. By the time she was 15 and stood 5'7″, Christina weighed 380 pounds.

The Change
In 2003, Christina joined her high school choir on a trip to Italy. But a week in, she was forced to spend the day in bed while her classmates explored Rome. "I was too heavy and tired to move," she recalls. Humiliated but determined, Christina resolved that she would never again let her weight limit what she could do.

RELATED: Top 20 Habits That Are Making You Fat

The Lifestyle
Back home, Christina started doing her mom's old aerobics videos a few times a week and soon joined a gym to use the weight machines. She kissed the drive-through good-bye and dropped 50 pounds in the next seven months. Over six years,

Some fitness partners flake out, miss workouts, or make excuses. But here's a partner that won't: your dog. New fitness classes for out-of-shape people and their pets are popping up across the country. And it's about time: More than 52 percent of dogs in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention's 2012 National Pet Obesity Survey. Compare that to the stats for their owners: About one-third of Americans are obese, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control.

RELATED: 20 Habits That Are Making You Gain Weight

Working out with your dog doesn't just benefit your health, though. It can be a real treat for your pet--and for you. "A dog is the best motivator you'll ever have," says Tricia Montgomery, founder and president of K9 Fit Club, a Hinsdale, IL-based fitness club for people and their pets. "All they want to do is spend time with you and please you," she says. "They look forward to it." And although they

When you're crazy-busy, something's gotta give--and often it's the healthy stuff: regular workouts, good eating habits, a decent amount of shut-eye. But actress Keri Russell has found an entirely different set of sacrifices to make--in the wardrobe and late-night-TV departments. She wears one outfit a week ("My number one style rule," she says with a laugh) and tries to turn in before her own TV series, the hit FX drama The Americans--in which she plays a KGB spy living in 1980s suburban Washington, D.C., with a husband and two kids--comes on at 10 p.m. (Go behind the scenes with Keri Russell at her cover shoot, or read an excerpt of our interview with her in the Women's Health exclusive, Keep Calm and Keri On.)

In order to play a tough KGB agent, Keri worked out with Avital Zeisler, a Krav Maga instructor who moonlights as a hand-to-hand combat consultant. "Working out [this way] makes you feel fierce," says Keri. "I tend to be very internal--getting on the subway and keeping my eyes

Can't remember the last time you changed your makeup look? We're here to help

It's one thing to go through a makeup phase-fuchsia lipstick and glitter nail polish, anyone?-but it's quite another to experience a full-on beauty rut. According to a new survey by CouponCodes4u.com, the average woman keeps the same daily makeup look for 11 years. Eleven! Repeat after us: Change is good. Try these five tweaks to freshen up a stale beauty routine.

Unlike other vacations, exercise breaks generally last longer than you'd like--and the mementos they come with are ones you'd rather not hang on to. You know how it goes: Two missed workouts snowball into two months of zero fitness motivation, and suddenly you can't button your jeans or do a pushup to save your life. In fact, research shows that body fat, weight, and waist size can rise--and fitness levels can dip--after just a five-week hiatus.

We know it's not just physical roadblocks; there are psychological and logistical challenges, as well. That's why we asked experts how to tackle tricky setbacks. No matter where you are now, this plan will help you shape up to a hotter, healthier body.

RELATED: 21 Ways to Make Fitness Fun

You Recently Had a Baby
Intense exercise is usually off-limits for six weeks postpartum. After that, sheer exhaustion can keep moms couched.

Training Tip: Even if you're wiped, pop in a DVD or slip your baby in the stroller for a brisk

Staying up to date on the latest vitamin D research is practically a full-time job--new studies come out so often. The latest findings? Consuming higher-than-recommended amounts of D may give your immune system a boost--potentially lowering their risk of some cancers, heart disease, and other conditions, according to research published online last week in the journal PLOS ONE. While previous studies have linked adequate vitamin D intake to increases in bone strength and decreases in cancer, depression, and autoimmune disorders such as Type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis, this is the first study to show that exceeding the minimum RDA could be key to better health, explains New York City nutritionist Stephanie Middleberg, RD. So does that mean you should start popping vitamin D like candy--or that a deficiency could be to blame for any health issues you might currently have?

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Not so fast. First, the PLOS ONE study was small; it included just eight