Blog Posts by Healthy SELF, SELF Magazine

April Daniels Hussar, SELF magazine

It's time to get ... lucky! Whether you're single or coupled up, Amy Levine, sex coach and founder of Ignite Your Pleasure, says when it comes to your love life, you can make your own luck ... even on an "unlucky" day.

According to Levine, it all starts with feeling sexually empowered. "Stop the self-sabotage, and harness your inner vixen," she says. "When you make changes about how you feel about yourself inside, you radiate on the outside and experience more pleasure."

Related: Yoga Moves for Flat Abs

If you're single and you want to meet someone this spring, Levine has these tips for getting in the right mindset and taking action to meet Mr. Right (or even Mr. Right Now!):

1. Have a mini makeover so you feel confident in your skin. This can be anything from investing in some sexier underwear to getting a blow-out and your makeup done at your fave cosmetics counter.

2. Flirt! "Whether it's winking, smiling, bantering or complimenting someone

April Daniels-Hussar, SELF magazine

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday that it will require certain birth control pills to come with a warning label because they carry a higher risk of potentially life-threatening blood clots than other pills.

As HealthySELF reported back in December, the FDA announced at that time it was considering requiring the warning labels, based on evidence that newer forms of birth control, such as Yaz, which use a hormone called drospirenone, appeared to have a higher likelihood of causing life-threatening blood clots than older forms of birth control that use a different type of hormone: the progestin, levonorgestrel.

Now, they've completed their review of what they call "recent observational studies regarding the risk of blood clots in women taking drospirenone-containing birth control pills," and they've made their decision. "Based on this review," states the FDA website, "FDA has concluded that drospirenone-containing birth control

April Daniels-Hussar, SELF magazine

Made it to the gym four times this week? Awesome! Your feet are killing you? Not so awesome. Working out might be a pain in the butt (literally), but it shouldn't be a pain in your foot.

"Foot pain in not normal," says Dr. Marlene Reid, podiatric physician and surgeon and spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association. According to Dr. Reid, any sustained or repetitive pain or discomfort is a reason to visit a podiatrist. There are many ways in which working out can wreak havoc on your feet. In honor of National Foot Health Awareness Month, here are some of the biggest:

Related: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

1. Wearing the wrong shoes
The biggest culprit, according to Dr. Reid, is wearing the wrong shoes for the sport you're doing. "You definitely want to wear a sport-specific shoe," she says, "because every sport has different requirements in the foot." For example, she says, tennis involves a lot of side-to-side motion, so tennis

April Daniels-Hussar, SELF magazine

We may live in a country where we can pretty much buy any type of produce, in some form or another, all year long, but there's something to be said for biting into a yummy piece of fruit that's fresh and in season.

And there's definitely something about spring that makes juicy, fresh fruits even more appealing (especially after Easter candy overload!). Yahoo! searches for "fruit trees" are up 125 percent this month, and lots of other fruit-related searching are buzzing. So what are some of the best, healthy picks for treating your sweet tooth now?

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SELF contributing editors Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh, registered dietitians and co-founders of C&J Nutrition, shared their top three picks for delicious, in-season fruits to buy and eat now:

Strawberries: There really isn't anything better than a perfectly ripe strawberry! Nutritionally, they're low in calories and packed with fiber and vitamin C (a powerful

Bari Lieberman, SELF magazine

There are the run-of-the-mill, hop-on-the-elliptical-machine-for-20-minutes cardio workouts, then there are the kick-butt, leave-you-breathless cardio workouts that practically melt fat off the body. Which would you prefer to do?

Trainer Jeff Halevy, CEO of Halevy Life in New York City, is an expert at helping clients shed unwanted layers of fat, fast. To make sure you're maximizing the fat-burning effect of your workout, it might be time to give your cardio routine a makeover. (Bonus: check out more of Jeff's fat loss tips with his free ebook download--he dishes on the scientific cheats to a sexy, healthy body in record time. Grab your copy now!)

Related: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

"The biggest takeaway about using any type of cardio machine is that it will be most beneficial to fat loss if high-intensity intervals are utilized, and if either weight lifting or lighter, steady-state cardio is done immediately after -- yes after. This

Photo courtesy of balancetrack.orgSarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF magazine

What's scarier: That stash of leftover Easter chocolate calling your name ... or the fact that you have T minus 7 days to get your taxes in order?

If it's a toss-up, don't worry. We're going to help you get it all under control. First -- enjoy one last piece of chocolate, then throw the rest away (that's right -- in the garbage!). Then, read on for everything you need to know to make sure you're in great shape for Tax Day 2012 -- Tuesday, April 17th!

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HealthySELF checked in with Avani Ramnani, CPA and Director of Financial Planning at Francis Financial, Inc. in NYC, and Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO of LearnVest.com, a personal finance website for women, to get the scoop on what you should be doing right now. This is what they had to say:

1. Don't procrastinate any further! "Try to ignore the desire to put off your taxes until the last second," says Ramnani. "Procrastination can cause headaches, stress and [cost]

April Daniels-Hussar, SELF magazine

Bikinis, beach trips, outdoor concerts and rooftop parties -- isn't summer the best? Er, that is, unless you're talking about relationships. According to recently released Facebook data, the season when the livin' is easy is also the time of year you're most likely go through a breakup. Mai tai, anyone?

Using U.S. Facebook data from 2010 and 2011, the Facebook Data Team looked at how different times of the year affect the beginning and ending of relationships. Specifically, they tabulated the changes from a non-coupled relationship status, like "Single" or "Divorced," to a coupled status, like "In a relationship" or "Engaged" -- and compared that to the opposite moves (going from coupled up to single). They found the net gain for relationships (more people getting together than breaking up) is highest right around Valentine's Day (go figure!), while the worst time for relationships is May through August.

See more: Your Top 10 Superfoods

"It's

Sarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF magazine

Everyone knows that milk is packed with calcium that builds strong bones (and helps you slim!), but are all milks created equally? There are lots of options and they are all very different. One pass through the dairy section of your local grocery store is enough to make anyone's head spin. What is soy milk? Does it have the same benefits as cow's milk? What about coconut milk? The list goes on and on! Let me help you sort it all out. Traditionally, milk is defined as "a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young," as is the case with cow's milk. However, milk can also be used to describe liquid resembling milk that is derived from a plant source, such as coconuts or soybeans. Plant-derived milk substitutes have gained popularity in recent years, leaving many consumers to wonder, "What are the nutritional differences between cow's milk and milk substitutes?" Let's look at the key nutrients.

See more: Your Top 10