Blog Posts by Self Magazine

By Beth Janes, SELF magazine

Before you hit the market, follow these tips to shrink your bill (without compromising your healthy-eating habits). Our writer tried it, and reduced her weekly bill from $120 to $75!

See More: 5 Ways to Banish Post-Holiday Bloating

1. Plan Ahead to Get Ahead
Every food and finance pro I spoke to told me that meal planning and shopping lists are key to preventing impulse buys that jack up your bill. My first thought: Duh. My second: Um, I should probably stop being lazy and try it. Terry Conlan, former chef at Lake Austin Spa Resort in Texas, had a tip for making planning a breeze: Determine how many dinners you'll have at home that week, write down a lean protein (fish, chicken) and veggie side (salad, steamed broccoli) for each meal, and then add any ingredients for specific recipes, like soy sauce and bamboo shoots, if you're turning Monday night's chicken into a stir-fry.

2. Seek Out Sales
A store's sale items, not your stomach, should dictate which

By Bari Lieberman, SELF magazine

If you're looking for something that will take your workout to the next level but don't want to camp out days before its launch, SELF has you covered. Let's meet the latest in workout tech support:

See more: 12 Ways to Think Yourself Slim

Up by Jawbone
If you've read SELF's November issue, then you've already heard about the latest from mobile lifestyle purveyor Jawbone. Up is a sleek wristband ($99, available soon on Jawbone.com) which features sensors that monitor calories burned and sleep patterns. (It should be no surprise that sleep plays an important factor in your slim-down plan.) The device syncs with an app that crunches the numbers for you (it also includes a food diary) and it'll send you personalized tips to help maximize your goal.

Striiv
Released in late-October, the Striiv device is like a portable fitness gaming device. The pedometer-style gadget ($99 available on Stiiv.com or HSN) features walking-based games--win challenges by adding

By Bari Lieberman, SELF magazine

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has announced its top fitness trends to watch in 2012, can you guess what made the cut? (If you're a loyal SELF reader, most of these trends should already sound familiar!)

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

1. Whole-Life Training: Being fit and healthy isn't just about training the body. Expect to see a streamlined approach to health that incorporates the entire body including a nutritious diet and stress management.

2. Community Collaboration: Your new trainer might just be your mayor! ACE believes that local communities will continue to expand their health programs through activities and services just like this program in New Jersey high schools! Think your city is fit? See how it ranks next to other towns.

See more: 3 High Tech Tools That Will Change Your Workouts

3. High-Tech Fitness: From video games to gadgets (and even SELF on your iPad) technology is the new aid in your journey to be fit. ACE expects 2012

By April Hussar, SELF magazine

Good news for those of us who feel like getting in bed at about, oh, say 6 p.m. these days because it's already been dark for more than an hour: We have less than a month to go until the official shortest day of this year, December 22!

The bad news -- we have almost a whole month to go before the days start getting longer again. Sigh. If you're one of the millions of people who start feeling blue during these short dark days (and loooong dark nights), allow us to brighten things up...

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

Dr. Stephen Josephson, a cognitive behavioral psychologist and Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell in New York City, explained to us exactly what's going on with these dreary feelings and how we can combat them.

So why do we get the "winter blues" in the first place? Is it purely psychological? Why no, it is not. According to Josephson, we feel sleepy because we ARE -- the lack of sunlight promotes the

By Sarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF magazine

It's not fun to talk about it, but we've all experienced it before--enjoying a nice meal only to regret it later when our stomachs hurt due to indigestion. Some of the symptoms of indigestion include: bloating, belching, gas, burning or pain in the stomach or abdomen, and even nausea. None of these are pleasant, but the good news is...

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

...that they often can be prevented by taking some simple steps toward better digestion. Here are the top 7 things you can do:

1. Eat foods containing probiotics, which are good bacteria that can be found in some foods as well as in your digestive tract, where they promote digestive health. Look for yogurts, such as Activa, that are labeled as containing live active cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Other foods that contain probiotics include kefir, buttermilk, and probiotic drinks, such as GoodBelly, which is a line of non-dairy, non-soy and vegan probiotic juice drinks. I

By Bari Lieberman, SELF magazine

Do you suffer from EIBD (exercise-induced breast discomfort)? Don't worry if you do; you're in the majority. A 2007 study found that more than 50 percent of women report breast pain during exercise, and with good reason. Researchers found that breasts can bounce up to 21cm during a workout.

"Whether you're a jogger, a dancer, a kick boxer or a yoga enthusiast, you need a well-fitting sports bra that keeps your breasts firmly in place during any activity-even if you're a small-breasted woman," says Jene Luciani (pictured), author of The Bra Book: The Fashion Formula to Finding the Perfect Bra and Fashion Correspondent for NBC's Today.

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

Sports bras generally come in two basic designs; "Encapsulation bras are constructed with two cups (just like typical bras) while in the compression style, your breasts are pressed together, flat against your chest, in an attempt to reduce motion," Luciani says. And according to

The Workweek Diet: Day 2By Marge Perry, SELF magazine

Call it Sunday remorse: After a weekend of freestyle dining and drinking, you resolve to get your diet on track. So on Monday, you skip breakfast, eat an apple for lunch, nibble salad for dinner and sip only water. But day by day, you slip a little-and come Friday, you can't resist cocktails and pizza. Sound familiar? Nearly 75 percent of women in a Self.com poll said they overindulge on weekends and will often start a major diet on Monday.

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

"This eating style makes you feel lousy about yourself and may even cause you to gain weight," says SELF contributing editor Joy Bauer, R.D. In fact, spartan days may slow your metabolism, making it tougher to burn off a weekend binge. The fix: Our exclusive plan, designed with Kathy McManus, R.D., of Boston, trims calories (not satisfaction) early in the week to make room for later feasting. You could still drop 1 pound a week, but in a healthy way.

Monday: 1124 calories

Breakfast
1

Unwrap a clean bill of health this season by warding off the Grinches-sickness, stress, food poisoning-that halt wintry fun.

1. Unfestive Flu
Parties can expose you to a slew of new bugs, says William Schaffner, M.D., president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. Traveling can make you sick, too, given the close quarters, coughing fellow passengers, and germy tray tables, seats, and armrests. And feeling stressed can majorly increase the odds you'll catch a cold, a study in Epidemiology notes. Low humidity in cooler months also means viruses stay in the air longer and are more easily picked up, Dr. Schaffner explains.

Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks

Seasonal solutions: Go fish. A study of stressed-out students at The Ohio State University in Columbus found that popping fish oil capsules cut anxiety by 20 percent. To fend off germs, tote alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And you should also guzzle water and get a flu shot: The vaccination takes about