Blog Posts by SHAPE magazine

Is intuitive eating for you?What would happen if you ate chocolate chip cookie dough for every meal for two weeks straight? Conventional wisdom says "disaster." And yet this is exactly how Geneen Roth, author of many books on intuitive eating, saved her sanity, gave up dieting forever, and ultimately lost 40 pounds (and kept it off for more than two decades).

Roth's story started like many others with chronic yo-yo dieting and chronic body dissatisfaction, but instead of continuing down that road, one day Roth decided she was finished telling her body what it should and shouldn't eat. It was time to let her body tell her what it wanted. This small change turned into a revolution, and by the time I discovered Intuitive Eating three years ago, it had grown into a phenomenon of Oprah-level proportions. (Seriously--Oprah loves Roth.)

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What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive Eating (IE) is a style of non-dieting that teaches people to trust their body's signals--the opposite of what

by Elizabeth Goodman Artis for SHAPE.com

All the single ladies!What are the attributes that make a city female-friendly? Ample outdoor spaces, well-paying jobs, healthy food, single guys, a great cupcake shop or three, a non-creepy sex toy store (to name a few).

We poured over lists and statistics and crunched the data-then compiled this quick list of U.S. cities with enough key features to appeal to the XX chromosome crowd, whether in search of a soulmate or happily single.







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1. San Francisco: Yes, climbing all those hills practically guarantees a killer butt, but San Francisco also rated No. 2 on the American Human Development Index, a scale that measures information on women's educational attainment, life expectancy, and median earnings (meaning female inhabitants are well educated, live long, and make money).

San Francisco also rated 10th in a Gallup-Healthways poll of fittest cities, has the second lowest obesity rate in the country, and boasts one of the

by Heidi Kristoffer for SHAPE.com

Say goodbye to back pain and hello to a strong, sexy midsection with these six poses!

Side plank1. Side plank: Side plank strengthens the obliques, while the abdominals work to stabilize the entire body.

How to do it: Assume a pushup position, keeping your arms straight and palms flat on the floor. Raise your left arm to reach up toward the ceiling as you shift your weight onto your right arm and the outside of your right foot. Rest your left foot on top of your right foot so that it does not touch the ground. Keeping your wrist, elbow, and shoulder in one straight line, open your chest as you look toward the ceiling. With each breath, contract your abs and breathe deeper into the posture. Hold for 30 seconds.

Floating triangle2. Floating triangle: This post lengthens and strengthens the obliques, abdominals, and back.

How to do it: From warrior II, straighten your right leg so both legs are straight. Lean your torso forward over your front leg, keeping both

by Nora Tobin for SHAPE.com

Losing weight without feeling hungry? It's possible!Two things you might not know about me: I love to eat, and I hate feeling hungry! I used to think these qualities ruined my chance for weight-loss success. Luckily I was wrong, and I've learned that feeling hungry is more than just no fun; it's not healthy and can actually make it harder to lose weight.

The Secret to Losing Weight for Good
You don't have to follow a strict diet plan to lose extra pounds and keep them off. In fact, the best strategy is very straightforward: Fill up on nutrient-dense foods throughout the day. Rather than focusing on how much you're eating, it's much more effective to watch what you're eating. It's almost impossible to overeat if your plate is filled with high-fiber, nutrient-packed foods.

I made the shift from calorie counting (and constant frustration) to filling up and leaning out (without counting calories) by adopting a vegan lifestyle. By eliminating animal products from my diet, I was able to make lasting positive

by Joe Dowdell, CSCS, CPT

Are you wasting your time with ineffective exercises? We wanted to know so we went to celebrity trainer and owner of Peak Fitness in NYC, Joe Dowdell, to ask him this question: If you could only pick three exercises to give women their best chance at getting lean and fit, what would they be? Here's what he had to say:

Trap bar deadlifts1. Trap bar deadlifts: This is a great exercise for your lower body, especially your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, as well as your entire core. It's relatively simple to learn the proper form, so even if you're new to strength training, you can (and should) start doing deadlifts.

If your gym doesn't have a trap bar (sometimes called a hex bar), use dumbbells instead. Your hand position will be same-palms facing in.

Form tip: Make sure that you push your hips back and place your weight in the mid/back part of your feet. Hold your chest high, eyes forward, and maintain a neutral spine during the entire movement.

To snack or not to snack? That depends on the snack. Done the right way (calorie-controlled, nutrient-rich), snacking can keep cravings in check and up the nutritional quality of your diet. But all too often some of the most common snacks-even the ones that seem healthy-are filled with salt, sugar, excess calories, and even harmful chemicals, according to Tiffany Jackson, ND, and Kate Kennedy, RD, practitioners at Cenegenics Carolinas, an age-management medical practice in Charleston, South Carolina. Here, they share the 5 worst snacks for your health:

Canned peaches1. Canned peaches: Canned fruits and veggies may seem like a great snack in a pinch, but not only are canned fruits (particularly the highly popular canned peaches) loaded with excess sugar, their nutrient content is typically much lower than fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, which are flash frozen at the peak of ripeness.

Canned fruit, on the other hand, has had its flavor bolstered by sweeteners so there's no need to use the

Treat yourself to better health and happiness before the summer's over. You deserve it!

Go barefoot this summer1. Go barefoot: You don't have to go as far as barefoot running. Simply kicking off your shoes and going for a walk through the sand or grass is just as beneficial by helping to strengthen the muscles in your feet, says Dr. Abigail Allen, director of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Clinic at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. That's important considering your feet are the body's base of support and the foundation of all movement.

Just be sure to use common sense for safety, Dr. Allen says. "Your body will likely tell you when you've been walking barefoot for too long; if you start to feel pain, then put those feet up for a while."

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Eat more chocolate2. Indulge in heart-healthy dark chocolate: We'd be happy to eat more dark chocolate year round, but research shows it might benefit your body the most during summer months. Flavonols (the

by Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, for SHAPE.com

Are you in denial about your weight?A lot of my clients realize they've gained weight when their jeans get a little too tight, or they see a picture of themselves and think, "uh oh." But according to a new study from the University of Washington, most Americans don't actually know whether they're gaining or losing.

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In a large public health survey, people were asked about their year-to-year weight changes, and they didn't do a very good job at assessing the truth. Most said they had lost weight , but obesity rates actually increased. Researchers say if they had relied on the self-reported data they would have undercounted over four million obese adults.

Interestingly, of those who did report gaining weight unintentionally, they tended to fall into one of the following groups:

Men and women under 40
Those who identify as black, Native American, or Hispanic
Current and former smokers
People who