Blog Posts by FitSugar

POPSUGAR FitnessSource: 6 Habits For Successful Weight Loss

If you're trying to lose weight, you may be confused by conflicting information about how diet and exercise affect dropping pounds. To lose weight and keep it off, you need to create a healthy lifestyle and healthy habits. Put thes six habits of successful dieters into practice and watch the pounds begin to melt away.

• Eat Your Veggies: Eating five to seven servings of fruits and veggies a day is important for everyone, but dieters who go heavy on the produce are more likely to lose and keep the weight off. Fruits and veggies are low-calorie foods often loaded with fiber and water, which is filling. Eating a diet full of plant-based foods offers a greater variety of nutrients with fewer calories.
• Get Cooking: Dining out occasionally is a lovely way to spend an evening, but don't make a habit of it. The secret ingredient at many restaurants is butter and excessive oil - in other words, fat. Studies have repeatedly shown a

Source: 7 Ways to Curb Junk-Food Cravings

Decadent hot-fudge brownie sundaes, greasy chili cheese fries, and ooey-gooey pizza - sometimes it's hard to resist the temptation of these delicious, high-calorie, sodium- and sugar-laden foods. If your junk-food cravings are taking over and it's affecting your mood or your weight-loss goals, here are some ways to control your desire for not-so-healthy foods.

• Set some limits: Going cold turkey and restricting yourself from every single type of crave-worthy junk food may be asking a bit too much (translation: you're bound to go crazy from want and overindulge). Start off with small limitations such as no artificial sweeteners or no soda, and then add to your list of no-nos as you feel ready.
• Indulge on the good stuff: Allow yourself one small indulgence each day to avoid feeling deprived, which can heighten cravings even more. Forget low-quality, cheapo junk when cravings strike. Choose treats made with real, rich ingredients like a

Source: 4 Reasons to Hit the Hay Earlier Tonight

Functioning on six or fewer hours of sleep might be the norm for you, but consistently not getting enough z's can affect your mood and your health. Here are four reasons to make an earlier bedtime a priority.

• To avoid weight gain: You wake up groggy from lack of sleep and reach for some kind of edible pick-me-up. Chances are it's sugary or high in fat, which means it's high in calories. Fatigue encourages mindless snacking and more calories consumed, which can lead to an expanding waistline. That coupled with skipped workouts from lack of energy means even more weight gain. A foggy head can also impair your judgment, making you more likely to give in to cravings. If you're trying to lose weight, getting enough sleep can make all the difference.
• To prevent heart issues: Lack of sleep raises your blood pressure, putting unnecessary strain on your ticker, which puts you at risk for a heart attack or stroke.
• To strengthen your

POPSUGAR FitnessSource: Sculpt Muscles Faster With These Tips

Your busy schedule hardly allows for time to exercise, so when you steal away for an hour, you want to make that workout count. If a toned physique is your goal, here are essential strength-training tips for quickly achieving the sculpted muscles you desire.

• Work Out More Often: Hitting a total-body bootcamp session on Saturdays is awesome, but if you really want to see your hard work pay off, include strength-training sessions three times a week. Be sure to include rest days in between workouts, since this recovery time is what builds muscles. Mix up the exercises you do at each session, the equipment you use, and the order you work your muscles, and you're bound to notice a sculpted physique faster than if you only strength train once a week.
• Don't Just Sit There: While doing shoulder presses or other arm exercises, it's tempting to sit down on a bench, but you'll get more out of your workout if you stand on a BOSU ball,

POPSUGAR FitnessSource: 13 Myths That May Be Messing With Your Workout

There's lots to learn about being healthy and staying fit, and there's lots to unlearn as well. If you believe any of these common fitness myths, they just might be hurting your workout. Read on to set yourself straight!

• Walking a Mile Burns the Same as Running a Mile: If you're not a runner, walking may seem to be the next best thing. And while walking can achieve many fitness goals, it'll take you much longer to accomplish if you never ramp up your walking workout to a run. In fact, running requires 40 percent more energy than walking, which translates to major calorie burn.
• Muscle Weighs More Than Fat: A pound of muscle weights exactly the same as a pound of fat. But since muscles are dense and compact, it may seem that by having more in your body you are becoming heavier. In fact, you may gain weight when you start working out once you start putting on more muscle, but you'll probably notice that your clothes

eating appleSource: 3 Ways Apples Can Help You Lose Weight

An apple a day may or may not keep the doctor away, but it sure can help you see results on the scale. Make these apple-inspired choices throughout your day and see how this fruit can help you lose weight.

Breakfast: Low-Calorie Swap Oatmeal for breakfast is an excellent choice. You can sweeten your bowl of oats with maple syrup (one eighth of a cup is 100 calories) or pour on four times as much unsweetened applesauce instead: half a cup contains 52 calories. Make this switch for a whole week of breakfasts, and you'll not only save 336 calories, you'll gain 10.5 grams of filling fiber.

Morning or Afternoon Snack: Fill Up on Fiber to Prevent Mindless Snacking Full of flavor, apples are also great sources of hunger-satiating fiber. Snack on one large apple (with the skin) for 116 calories, and you'll consume 5.4 grams of fiber. The high water content and amazing amount of fiber will keep you full until your next meal, curbing hunger, and

Source: Want to Change Your Body? The Workout Rules to Follow

It can be frustrating to feel like you are logging hours in the gym without seeing the efforts manifest on your body. What gives? You may be doing it wrong, says fitness trainer and healthy chef Katy Clark, a former contestant on Food Network Star. I spoke to her at the recent International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association convention about how to ramp up your workouts and see results; check out her top tips here.

• Reassess your workout: It's time to ask yourself - are you really working out to make a change? A good workout will leave you feeling in one of three ways, Katy says. "You need to be sweating, you need to be breathing heavy, or you need to be sore the next day," she advises. "If you didn't hit any of those three, it wasn't a good workout."
• Be consistent: Find something you like so you'll stick with it, says Katy. "Anything you do consistently is going to bring about change," she says.

Source: Get Back on Track Fast With These 5 Tips

If your Easter weekend was filled with nonstop friends and family time, indulgent dishes, and a mimosa or two, now's the time to get back on track. Here are five ways you can start the week off fresh.

• Eat detoxifying foods: It may be tempting to continue to indulgent celebrations, but starting off on a healthy foot is crucial to making sure you don't waste the week as well. Pick a few of these detox recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so you spend the day eating fresh foods that help you feel your best.
• Energize: That cup of coffee may not cut it if you're feeling tired and bloated and underperforming. For a quick pick-me-up without the wired feeling, mix up this cranberry and apple cider vinegar energy drink.
• Sweat it out: Feeling exhausted? No, you shouldn't skip that workout - even a few minutes working up a sweat will actually make you feel better and more energized. If you're not into a full hour-long