More and more health-minded eaters are opting to become pescatarian--and getting slim. Fast. Plus, the five rules of fish eaters.
by Courtney Rubin, DETAILS

What was once a rest stop on the way to vegetarianism is now Hollywood's hottest diet. The pescatarian regimen--basically a vegetarian approach supplemented by fish and shellfish--is a low-fuss way to stay on the chic-eatery circuit and reap some serious benefits: It can help you lose weight, build muscle, and even improve your sex life.Little wonder, then, that this dietary lifestyle has become the choice of in-the-know, health-conscious celebrities like Olivia Wilde, David Duchovny, Common, and Ben Stiller. Top TV trainer Jillian Michaels feasts on fish-and-veggie combos, and on New Girl, the frequently shirtless Schmidt (Max Greenfield) announced on Thanksgiving that he was, for the most part, "a refined and enlightened pescatarian."

The schools of fish lovers are swelling, and the reasons are both simple and compelling. For

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It's been a big week for Sports Illustrated. First, a blogger leaked the swimsuit issue's much-anticipated cover, upstaging David Letterman's big reveal on Monday. Now website Jezebel is calling out the men's magazine for using minorities as "props" in photos featuring models in bikinis posing in seven different continents.

Sports Illustrated coverJezebel argues that the magazine is perpetuating racial stereotypes by drawing power and class lines between the Westernized models and the "primitive locals" and points to a long history of media using people of various ethnicities as "extras", citing Nylon magazine, the Free People catalog, British Vogue, and J-Crew.

Depending on where you look, the reaction has been mixed, even among the men who are supposed to be titillated. On Jezebel's website, one male commenter wrote, "Pics of woman with local natives is NOT hot, it's exploitative, so the mission is fail right there. Oh and exploitative. I do not know what they were thinking….fail all around."

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Jonathan Kantor/Fitness MagazineBy Melissa Daly

If you're anything like me, I'm betting this will sound familiar: You try to eat right. And you exercise regularly. But still those last five pounds don't want to budge. So what's up with that? Turns out, much of the conventional weight-loss wisdom is just plain wrong, many experts say. It's not about deprivation or getting more veggies or eliminating certain food groups from your diet. Instead it's about a smarter and more enjoyable way of eating every day that will give you energy, boost your mood, and help you reach your happy weight and stay there. Here top nutritionists spill the new diet dos they swear by.

Related: Get Sweetener Savvy: The Need-to-Know Facts

Find your balance.
Calories in, calories out. We've been told that dropping pounds or maintaining our weight rests solely on this simple equation. Wrong! "In reality, not all calories are created equal," says dietitian Ashley Koff, RD, a coauthor of Mom Energy and a FITNESS advisory board member. "Quality

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Chocolate may be the right prescription for a healthy heart.

By Marc Gillinov, MD and Steven Nissen, MD

Heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are everywhere on Valentine's Day. The intriguing question, debated by scientists for decades: Does the candy inside help your heart?

Popular mythology holds that chocolate is good for your heart, and that dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate. If chocolate does turn out to be an effective heart medicine, this is one prescription most people will be happy to fill. In fact, the average American already consumes 14 pounds of chocolate per year.

How It Helps
When it comes to chocolate and the heart, the focus is on the dark stuff. Small, short-term studies suggest dark chocolate has some potential heart health benefits, including decreased blood pressure and blood clotting, increased blood vessel health, and improved LDL cholesterol.

Dark Chocolate Fights Sun Damage

Of these, chocolate's effect on blood pressure has gotten the most attention. In most studies, short-term use of dark

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A few simple exercises can trim away that belly fat.

Okay, so it's not exactly a newsflash that, along with eating a healthy diet, you're going to have to exercise-and stick with a routine-to reduce a muffin top. "It's not just going to go away overnight," says Fredina Usher-Weems, fitness program manager for the Center of Lifestyle Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic.

MORE: Can Certain Foods Speed Up Weight Loss?

Along with cardio (Zumba, walking, jumping rope-take your pick) and resistance training, it's important to make sure you are doing exercises that specifically challenge and strengthen your core, aka your abdominals. The good news? Simple exercises can help add some definition to your midsection. Best of all, you can do all of these ab moves sitting down.

If you're sitting in a chair right now, notice your alignment. Bet you're hunched forward, forcing your back-rather than your abdominals-to do all of the work. Instead, start practicing exercises that engage your core while sitting in your cubicle at work or

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Photo: ThinkstockBy Jena Pincott

Mistake #1: Skipping Your Morning Joe

Too many cups of coffee make you feel as restless as a puppet and as highly strung. So the smart thing to do when you're stressed is to avoid the stuff completely, right? Not necessarily, finds a study at the U.K.'s University of Bristol. So long as you're female. When women collaborated with other women under nerve-racking conditions (like most stress studies, public speaking was involved), they performed better when they drank about three cups of caffeinated coffee (compared to decaf). They trusted their colleagues more, had more confidence in their performance and coped better overall. Meanwhile, coffee-drinking male groups performed worse under pressure. Stressed women often "tend and befriend," the researchers contend, while their male counterparts resort to "fight or flight." Caffeine appears to augment these behaviors--and, at least for women, that's a real perk.

RELATED: The Self-Esteem Repair Kit

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POPSUGAR FitnessSource: 7 Healthy Reasons to Have Sex - Tonight!

Skipping the gym for a romp in between the sheets isn't something you should do every day, but it's still a healthy distraction - it does burn calories after all! With Valentine's Day just around the corner, check out what other health benefits come from having sex.

• Improve Sleep : The hormone oxytocin increases when you have sex, and the heightened level helps you sleep better. Getting enough sleep is an important part of your overall health, so if you're having trouble sleeping, sex is the perfect activity before hitting the hay.
• Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease: Research has shown that men who have sex two or more times a week cut their risk of developing heart disease (and stroke) in half.
• Relieve Stress: Do yourself a favor and get busy to reduce your blood pressure. The feel-good endorphins released during sex will help you forget about your bad day too.
• Boost Immunity: People who have sex once

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POPSUGAR FitnessSource: 10 Unhealthy Foods to Give Up For Lent, and the Calories You'll Save

After next week's gluttonous Mardi Gras celebrations, Lent, the Catholic season of penance, will start. Many Catholics give up a vice during this 40-day period, and even if you don't do it for religious reasons you may find that giving something up for Lent is a good way to start a healthy habit or lose weight.
To see just how effective avoiding an unhealthy food for 40 days can be, we've rounded up 10 popular foods that many people choose to give up for Lent, along with the total calories you'll save if you avoid them. Read on for the 10 foods and the calorie counts, based on typical eating habits.

• Soda: Soda is the source of hundreds of unneeded calories, so now's the time to make the switch to water. Forgoing a soda a day for 40 days will save you 124-189 calories a day.

  Total amount: 40 sodas
  Total calories saved: 4,960-7,560 calories

• French Fries: They're salty,

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