Blog Posts by The Editors of WOMEN'S HEALTH

Is there time in your daily schedule to work out? The secret to finding time for a workout is really about one simple strategy: ditching the stuff that's wasting your valuable time. Here are 15 easy ways to shave 15 extra minutes out of your day--and put them toward your fitness goals.

1. LOG OFF FACEBOOK People average seven hours a month on the social site. Do the math and it works out to 105 minutes each week, or 15 minutes every single day. You don't have to banish FB, but limit it to two short sessions a day.

2. SAY NO! When someone (not your boss) asks you to do something you don't have time for, say, "I'm sorry, I can't"--and feel the freedom wash over you.

3. PLAN YOUR DAY Schedule your biggest task of the day for when you're most focused and productive. You'll get it done more quickly than if you try to tackle it during a natural low point.

21 Ways to Make Your Workout More Fun

4. RESIST MULTITASKING Trying to do too many things at once often means getting nothing done. Pick an item from your to-do list, and do it and only

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Turkey Sandwich

Turkey Sandwich with Sweet Potato Hummus

Homemade sweet-potato spread is lower in fat than anything you'll buy in a package, plus it's full of beta-carotene, which has been linked to reduced cancer risk. And for bread with the most nutrients and hunger-quelling fiber, look for rye or pumpernickel with whole rye flour as the first ingredient.

Sandwich

4 slices rye bread (or pumpernickel)

1/4 cup sweet-potato hummus (recipe at right)

1 1/2 cups sliced cooked turkey (dark meat, without skin)

1/2 cup broccoli sprouts or other sprouts

Toast bread and spread two pieces with 2 tablespoons of hummus each. Add the turkey and sprouts. Top with remaining pieces of bread; slice in half.

Sweet-Potato Hummus

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (or use 1 cup leftover mashed sweet potatoes)

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup tahini

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp

Read More »from 3 Crazy-Good Leftover Recipes You Probably Haven’t Tried

.Looking to score a more pleasing rear view? Start on your yoga mat. As Mark Blanchard of Power Progressive Yoga in Los Angeles says. "Muscles will get worked, calories will be burned," but, he cautions quite bluntly, "don't expect results after the first time out." Patience and persistence are the keys to getting a tighter backside, known to some as the yoga butt.

Remember that when you can no longer maintain the integrity of a pose, that's when it's time to come out. "You're defeating the practice if you're struggling and imbalanced, because you're trying to create symmetry in the body," Blanchard explains. Practice these posterior postures regularly for two weeks and then check the mirror.



CHAIR POSE (utkatasana)
Begin standing in mountain pose--arms at sides, sternum lifted. Bend your knees deeply. Squeeze your inner thighs together and straighten your arms, lifting them overhead and stretching your fingertips toward the sky. Accentuate the lift in your arms and chest so your

Read More »from 2 Great Ways to Sculpt a Better Butt

"Now I feel confident in everything I wear"

BEFORE 225 lbs
AFTER 140 lbs

Although Deana Custer was on the volleyball and golf teams in high school, she carried 150 pounds on her 5'4" frame. Her weight began creeping up when she started cosmetology school in August 2005 while working two part-time jobs--she couldn't find time to exercise or cook. Fast food took its toll, and she was 200 pounds at her December 2006 graduation. She got a job as a hairstylist in Washington, Iowa, but the irregular hours had her scarfing takeout between clients or skipping lunch and overeating at dinner. She put on 25 pounds in three months. "I was ashamed of letting myself go that far," she says.

The Easiest-Way-to-Lose-10-Pounds Workout

THE CHANGE Because Deana stood all day at work, the extra weight made her feet and back ache. But worse was the blow to her self-esteem. "In the beauty business, you have to look the part," she says. "And I didn't." When her scale hit 225, she'd had enough. "I knew I was

Read More »from I Lost 85 Pounds and Ran a Half-marathon

undefinedExpert cooking tips for your main dishes: Turkey, Ham, Lamb, and Rib Roast

When it comes to big get-togethers, it's the main meat dish that counts the most. That's what guests will rave about if it's great--and groan about if it's not.

By Matthew Kadey, R.D.

Turkey
In addition to giving you a tryptophan fix, lean turkey meat is a stellar source of the antioxidant selenium and vitamin B6, which may reduce heart-attack risk in women, according to scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health. To slash fat calories, lay off the skin.

Buy this: Generally, turkey that's frozen is just as good as fresh. Larger birds are a better value because they have a higher meat-to- bone ratio, says Peter Berley, an instructor at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and author of The Flexitarian Table. Avoid turkey labeled "basted"--it contains extra water and seasonings that can ruin your recipe.

Chef's secret: Brining--soaking in salted water--draws water out of cells,

Read More »from Thanksgiving Dinner Without the Fuss

Photo by M.E. Wood via FlickrThe rising fat acceptance movement says being overweight isn't necessarily bad for you-and some doctors agree. Other experts contend that's a dangerous, even irresponsible, point of view. Here, we look at both sides of the debate.

TODAY'S WOMAN Tyra Banks has a new mission: Hold a contest for an unlikely group of aspiring models--namely, those whose curves can fill out a size 14--for a plus-size competition. "Plus-size is really the average American woman," Banks has said. "And that woman is healthy." That woman is also, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 20 pounds overweight.

In fact, a growing collective of doctors and activists have begun to argue that lifestyle and genetics are what determine a woman's health. Even our new (zaftig) surgeon general, Regina Benjamin, M.D., recently said, "Being healthy is not about a dress size."

That's hopeful news for the 33 percent of Americans who are overweight (this doesn't include the 34 percent who are obese).

Read More »from Can you be healthy at any size?

Photo courtesy of The U.S. Army via FlickrThe women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first generation of female soldiers to endure the horrors of war at close range--and they bear the physical and psychological scars of that experience. Yet when they come home, many are treated as though they had been tucked safely behind a desk. Women's Health talks to three such women about their postbattle suffering... and their fight to feel safe and happy again.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take that pen."

LaTisha Bowen reaches across the restaurant table and swipes the ballpoint from my hand. The pen I had been clicking unconsciously and, apparently, incessantly. She sets it down on the table next to my tape recorder and flashes a shy smile, the first I've seen from her all evening. "It's just that I...well...sometimes little noises like that set me off. You can understand?"

I think I can. I have been around dozens of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who suffer from varying degrees of post-traumatic stress.

Read More »from Invisible Soldiers

Your heart is one impressive, overachieving organ: In the minute it takes you to read these paragraphs, it will have pushed a whopping 1.5 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels-that's more than twice the circumference of Earth. Yet despite your ticker's superpowers (and the fact that it keeps you, well, alive), most women don't do enough to safeguard their heart health.

That's right, we're talking to you. Heart disease is the number one killer of all women, says health advocate and former U.S. surgeon general Richard Carmona, M.D.

"It can and does affect young people," he stresses. In other words, it's not just a problem for geezers. The following are simple lifestyle tweaks that can help you live a long, healthy life.

HAVE MORE SEX Getting busy at least twice a week can reduce your risk for heart disease by lowering blood pressure and reducing stress, says ob-gyn Andrew Scheinfeld, M.D., a clinical instructor at New York University Langone Medical Center. You'll

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