Blog Posts by FITNESS Magazine

Alexa Miller/Fitness MagazineBy Lia Huber

The islands of Okinawa, a lush archipelago southwest of the main island of Japan, are home to the largest and healthiest population of centenarians on earth. They suffer significantly fewer heart attacks and 80 percent fewer incidences of breast cancer and prostate cancer, and have lower rates of diabetes and less than half of the ovarian and colon cancer cases that we do. Their secret? A nutrient-dense diet and stress-proof lifestyle.

Before you pack your bags and say sayonara to your on-the-go American fast-lane life, consider this: "It's the little tweaks to your everyday routines that can make the biggest difference in your lifelong wellness," says Peter Martin, PhD, director of the gerontology program at Iowa State University in Ames. Think of today as the first day of the rest of your long, healthy life. Get started with these six simple steps.

Related: What to Eat to Live to 100

Maintain Your Weight
Okinawan centenarians tend to stay lean throughout their lives

Brian Bowen Smith/Fitness MagazineWorkout by Susan Antonaccio, a certified instructor for Bikram Yoga NYC

Rebecca Romijn credits her smokin' post-baby bod to steamy Bikram yoga sessions. Try this five-asana sample of a typical 90-minute class from Susan Antonaccio, a certified instructor for Bikram Yoga NYC in New York City. Roll out the mat!


Related: Rebecca Romijn's Diet Tips and Playlist Faves







Balancing StickBalancing Stick
Targets butt and legs
• Stand with feet together, arms by sides. Step forward with right leg and hinge forward at hips as you reach both arms overhead, interlacing fingers and pointing forefingers up.
• Simultaneously lift extended left leg behind so that body is as close to parallel to floor as possible from fingertips to left foot. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds.
• Return to start, switch legs and repeat. Then repeat sequence.

Related: Yoga 101: Poses for Beginners

Half-MoonHalf-Moon
Targets arms, abs, obliques, and butt
• Stand with feet together, arms by sides.
• Extend arms overhead and interlace fingers,

Karen Pearson/Fitness MagazineIt's not just because we're hungry. Here, two writers dish on what happens when their feelings meet food.

Related: The 10 Best Foods for Flat Abs

Please Stop Watching Me Eat!

By Rory Freedman

When it comes to emotional eating, I've been through the gamut. As a child, I was picky with what was put on my plate, so dinner was a constant battle of wills. According to my father, I had two choices: eat my vegetables or spend the night at the kitchen table. But I would not be bullied. I discovered an effective alternative: throwing up on my plate. I was excused.

As a teenager, I had long stopped letting a man -- my dad -- tell me how to eat. But apparently I still had some hurdles to clear. When my college boyfriend cheated, then confessed his infidelity, I lost about 10 pounds in two days. My roommates begged me to eat, even bringing me my favorite meals. But I felt empty inside; food had lost its allure. My body disappeared, along with my sanity and my faith in men.

Bonnie Holland/Fitness MagazineSlow and steady wins the weight-loss race, right? Not according to a new study from the University of Florida, which found that people on plans that gave them a speedy initial drop were five times more likely to be 10 percent slimmer 18 months later than those who didn't accelerate their diet. "Not seeing results soon enough is the number-one reason women give up on weight-loss plans," notes Patricia Bannan, RD, author of Eat Right When Time Is Tight.

Whoa there! Don't resign yourself to using the latest cleanse or juice fast just yet. Super-restrictive diets lack the nutrients you need, leaving you sluggish, weak, and starving. So what's the happy medium? A plan that targets your biggest diet downfall, allowing you to get slim quickly but safely. Try these easy, no-hunger strategies to outsmart every craving, and watch the post-holiday pudge melt away in record time.

Related: How to Cheat Without Wrecking Your Diet

Diet Derailer: You're a carbs queen.

Maybe man

Karen Pearson/Fitness MagazineBy the editors of FITNESS Magazine

Six exercises to burn fat and tone your body in less time than it takes to sip a morning latte with this total-body workout from Sarah Slattery, a trainer at Equinox Fitness in New York City.

Related: Lose 10 Pounds: The Firm and Burn Workout

1. Windmill
Targets: Abs

• Stand tall with arms extended out to sides, abs engaged.
• Bending from waist, reach right arm toward left toes; repeat on left.
• Do 25 reps, alternating sides.

2. Pulsing Lunge
Targets: Butt and legs

• Lunge forward with right leg; hold for 4 seconds, then pulse up and down 5 times.
• Repeat on left.
• Do 2 reps.

Related: Look Hot from Behind: 5 Butt-Shaping Exercises

3. Triceps Kickback
Targets: Triceps

• Hold dumbbell in right hand.
• Bend at hips until almost parallel to floor.
• Bring elbow to ribs, straighten forearm back, and return.
• Do 15 reps on each arm.

4. Plank/Push-Up
Targets: Chest and core

• Start in plank position (palms on floor, hands below

Joseph Montezinos/Fitness MagazineBy Maura Kelly

A relationship can add so much to your life -- including extra weight! The bittersweet gains: three pounds, on average, for cohabitators in the first five years and nine for new brides, says a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Let your love -- but not your waistline -- grow with these tips from Jenna Bergen, author of Your Big Fat Boyfriend.

Related: How Many Calories Do You Really Need?

Take charge of takeout.
"Volunteer to make the call," Bergen suggests. "That way you can be sure your food is grilled rather than fried, has the dressing on the side, or comes with brown, not white, rice."

Ask for a shelf in the fridge.
When he offers you closet space, tell him you'd love some in the refrigerator too. Then stock up on healthier snacks than his chips and dip.

Related: How to Banish Belly Bloat Now

Save the couch for non-meal activities.
Eat in front of the TV and you'll mindlessly overindulge. Bergen's advice: Sit at the kitchen table, even if

Laura Doss/Fitness MagazineBy the editors of FITNESS Magazine

If anyone knows why Americans overeat and how to stop it, it's Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, New York. He pioneered the field of food psychology, and for 20 years he's been studying our oh-so-odd eating behaviors -- how we eat more popcorn, even when it's stale, if the tub is giant; how we underestimate how much soup we've consumed if the bowl is secretly rigged never to empty; even how we enjoy a meal more if we believe the wine we sip alongside it is expensive. These and other findings demonstrate what Wansink calls "mindless eating" -- which is the topic and title of his new book, Mindless Eating (Bantam). We pulled Wansink out of the lab and asked him to share his strategies for eating healthier for life.

Related: Stick-to-It Weight Loss Strategies

The #1 Reason We Eat Too Much

"We use external cues, like there's no more food left, rather than internal cues, like feeling full, to tell

Get your sexy back.By Dana Hudepohl

When desire dips, there is no magic pill to -- poof! -- instantly restore it. The good news is, you don't need one. There are little things you can do each day to light your own fire. "Don't wait for libido to explode like some magical volcano in your body," says Susan Kellogg Spadt PhD, director of sexual medicine at the Pelvic and Sexual Health Institute in Philadelphia says. "You have to foster and nurture it." Here's how.

Related: 10 Health Perks of Getting Naked

Work out to get turned on.
Research shows that women who exercise feel better about their bodies and have more energy for sex. Physical activity releases hormones, such as endorphins and dopamine, that are believed to affect sex drive. Best of all, working up a sweat increases sexual sensations almost immediately, according to Cindy Meston, PhD, director of the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Texas in Austin has found. "It's the best cure for sluggish sexual arousal that we have,"