The 7-Minute Workout For The Busy People

It is hard to make an excuse when it is only to spare 7 minutes of our time in a day to engage in activities that will enhance our health and wellbeing. 7 minutes. It can't be that hard, right?

Well, good news for everyone who is always busy, always have an excuse to miss gym sessions or not to exercise, always forgetting to devote time to be physically fit, and those who just have lazy behinds like myself. I am guilty! So, when I saw this free 7-minute workout in the web and watched how easy it is to follow them, I feel so ashamed. I practically have no more excuse to make after watching it. I take more time sitting, thinking of what to eat for dinner compared to getting myself dressed for a good workout and actually engaging on the 7-minute workout.

Visit the Well Workouts (site: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/workouts/) developed by the New York Times especially for busy folks like us. I am not sure if it was created by Gretchen Reynolds as her name appears on the workout diagram but I give credits to her and NYC Times for this amazing compilation of easy-to-follow movements to help me and you to get going.

There are 2 kinds of 7-minute workout available in the site. 

Scientific 7-minute workout

According to the site, it consists of 12 exercises using your body weight, a chair and a wall. I can live with that!

Advanced 7-minute workout

This is the more intense and demanding workout out of the two in the site. It requires you to have dumbbells. It also takes only 7-minutes to complete the routine.

The site comes with a choice of 2 voice overs, Phoebe, your female cheerer or Alastair, your male voice coach. And if you want silence, just the visuals, then you can disable the voice over as you please.

This 7-minute workout is a great routine and they are not complicated unlike the other fitness videos I have seen before.  Now, I don't have any reason not to exercise even for just few minutes in a day.


(Photo credit: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/workouts/)

Entrusting Your Family's Oral Care To Your Family Dentist

Oral care is one of the earliest forms of habit instilled in me by my parents at an early age. My family went to the same dentist until his retirement, and we were very happy to be taken under the care of his grand daughter who became our dentist/orthodontist in the process.

Oral care is very valuable to us. I believe it should be the case for everyone. Oral health and its care are required to be introduced to the young members of the family to help establish a good practice of oral hygiene, a better understanding of its importance, and develop that trust needed to successfully go through every dental appointment with the family dentist without any fear nor mistrust.

A good way to begin the practice of oral care is to find a suitable family dentist who can provide professional dental care and service to all the members of the family. It is important to find the right dentist that will understand every member of the family's oral care case and needs, and will be able to adjust to his/her client accordingly whilst maintaining proper decorum, professionalism, and yet, have that feeling of genuine care to his/her patients.

Like our family dentist, he was a very friendly man. I did not feel any fear whenever my siblings and I visited his dental office.  It was odd but we looked forward to our regular dental checkups as I remembered getting small tokens for behaving and not crying; rewards that became part of my achievements for putting a lot of effort to care for my teeth. The same professionalism and care was experienced even when we were passed on to his grand daughter. So, the grand daughter also treated my malocclusions, and also my siblings.

The whole family set appointment all at the same time when needed and it saved us time, and effort too. That is one of the many benefits of entrusting your family's oral care to a family dentist you can rely on.

A family dentist can be a practitioner your family already knows or someone highly recommended by relatives or friends. Make sure that when you find a suitable family dentist, you are able to speak about your concerns in oral care and hygiene. A good family doctor will also ensure that you get proper advise on how to take care of your teeth, and be able to provide you explanations for your treatments and why you should need one not because it is a paid service  but because it is required.

No matter where you are located in this world, finding a suitable family doctor you can trust must not be difficult. You can check from the internet and search with keywords pertaining to your location, for example, dublin ohio dentists or family dentist in ohio. You can visit various websites of dental clinics that offer family dentistry services and call up their clinic to set an appointment to meet the dentists and discuss your needs and concerns to have a family dentist. And as mentioned earlier, you can take note of recommendations too.

Entrusting your family dentist with your oral care and dental needs is a good way to make the dental visitations an experience everyone will enjoy and look forward to.

Beach Body Ready!

Image from poshreviews.com

It’s time to take out those bathing suits and strut your fit physique in the beach area this summer. However, are you shy of your flabby tummy, jingly arms and wobbly thighs? Fret not! You can tone your body and prep yourself for that summer beach body you have been aiming for.

Be realistic with your goals. You cannot lose the fats just like that in few weeks times but you can tone and firm them if you regularly exercise and workout.

Here are some ways to burn some serious flabs and get fit for summer!


Do ab crunches

Lift weights

Jog, brisk walk, run or cycle and get that cardio pumping

Do the Zumba! (Check with your doctor first)
Do the Insanity workout! (Check with your doctor first)

Avoid The Holiday Binge-Eating

photo credit: oxypowder.dk

It's party season and you may be one of those very sociable people who has so many invitations for holiday parties, Christmas parties, New Year's Day parties and even your own family and friends' circle parties. It cannot be avoided but you will be in one or many of those parties mentioned above. And you know what is in a party? Not just merriment and cheers but also loads of delectable food and tasty cocktails for you to eat and drink respectively.

Holiday season is one of the biggest pitfalls of those who are on diet or at least, trying to cut back on their calorie intake. It is quite a feat to stay in a healthy eating habit during this time because of the delicious temptations around. Do not worry! These simple tips will help you avoid the holiday binge-eating phenomenon.

Be conscious of the food you will eat

The holiday season is not your ticket to throw your proper eating habits to the wind.  There is nothing wrong about eating but try not to over-stuff yourself. Fill your plate with healthier selections like steamed vegetables, salads, roasted or grilled entrees and fruits as dessert.


Eat only what you can

While every dish on the table looks sumptuous, it does not mean you have to eat or taste all of them. If you are curious and just would like to have a bite, then get a small amount and not a plate-full.


Pick out the food that you want in very small servings

You have been making a beeline in the desserts section and been battling it out with your will-power to resist it. Hey, do not punish yourself as you will only make your cravings worse. Go ahead, pick a sliver of the pie or a very small serving of that yummy pudding but that is it.


Say not to second servings

So that roasted duck was tasty or that pot roast was divine and you think you didn't even have enough serving. Stop right there. You have already eaten and do not even attempt to get a second serving. Move on to the healthier options of fruits and salad greens if you like to satisfy your craving.


Choose water or tea over cocktails or sugary juices

Drink plenty of water or sip hot tea instead of cocktails or sugary juices. Water does not contain sugar nor any bad calories so don't pile those calories by drinking more bad drinks. Besides, it is nice to come home remembering what happened to that nice party than coming home drunk and waking up with a major hang-over.



The holiday season is a wonderful time to socialize, see old friends and get-together with families but it also means, you have to make healthier choices with your food selections come eating time. Don't beat yourself up by not attending those parties because of your fear of binge-eating. Enjoy the moment but be responsible "eater" and "drinker."

Have fun and enjoy the holidays!

What The Snack Girl Says About Weight Watchers

Lisa, the Snack Girl, writes about healthy eating, particularly in the area of healthy recipes, simple snacks and products that she believes have helped her win the battle against her insatiable love for delicious but unhealthy foods such as donuts, when consumed in large quantities.

Anyone considering joining Weight Watchers so that they too can find out if it works for them may want to visit Weightlosstriumph.com where they will be able to get a discount coupon of their choice to defray the cost.

Recently, Lisa decided to sign up for a free subscription to Weight Watchers. You can read about her story, but the following are some of her thoughts about this weight loss program.

Lisa with her husband and two boys

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Emphasized

Lisa was especially impressed by the fact that Weight Watchers emphasizes the use of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet. You can eat as much of these as you like, because for the most part they are not counted on the PointsPlus calorie calculator. This is great news for those who fear going on any diet plan will leave them feeling hungry all the time. By filling up on fruits and vegetables, there is no room for hunger pains.

Although Lisa was encouraged by the amount of information and resources offered by Weight Watchers, she would have liked to have found a little more support from the “program leader” assigned to her efforts. When she did ask questions, the answers were short and to the point rather than offering her someone with which to relate. In her opinion, unless the individual has a support system of their own, such as a friend who is also following the weight loss program with them, they may be setting themselves up for failure.

Actual Weight Loss Through Valuable Insight

According to Lisa, the best part of the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program is that it actually helped her lose weight, four pounds.

Like others who have decided to join Weight Watchers, Lisa believes that she gained a lot of valuable insight into weight loss that she may never have learned anywhere else. For one, she learned the beer is loaded with calories and that if she wanted to reduce the size of her waistline she would need to cut back on her consumption of this beverage.

Something else she learned was that she needed to stop eating as many snacks. However, when those snacks are fruits and vegetables, like grapes, apples, celery, tomatoes, and broccoli, she is able to eat as much as she likes. The only thing is that you should keep track of any dressings, dips or sauces used with them. This is all just common sense, but Weight Watchers helps you understand how to eat healthier as you watch the pounds disappear.

Lisa was not Keen on Journaling

Although Lisa was able to learn a lot from her experience with the WW PointsPlus program, she quit because she is not all that interested in keeping a journal. Of course, she admits that this in not the program’s fault, but rather her own.

Flatten Your Belly With These Moves

How many do you know who does not complain about their mid-section? I know a lot and that includes me! I have been trying so hard to lose the bulge but ever since I reached the big 4-0, losing weight has become a nightmare. The girth is following my age! And I am not losing weight as much as I exercise. It could be due to metabolic issues but I am sure there are natural ways to achieve weight loss and a flatter belly by moving around - a lot.

Here are some moves I have read from RealAge.com on how to flatten your belly. It does not require gym equipment nor membership. It won't certainly take so much of your time but just spare few minutes a day to do these moves and you may see an improvement.

I have to see it for myself but no harm in trying. Now, try these steady plank moves for a great core workout.

Photo credit: yahoo.com/images

Lie face down on a carpet or yoga mat with your arms folded close to your body and hands by your ears.
Push up your body about 6 inches so only your toes and forearms touch the ground; your body rests like a plank between them.
Keep your stomach pulled in by contracting and keep your buttocks tight. Your body must be kept straight and eyes on the floor.
Hold as long as you can. If you can hold the position for more than a minute then you're a superman/superwoman! There's no need to hold it as long as 1 minute but you're encouraged if you can.

These movement will tighten your core, the very foundation of your body which are the torso muscles, abdomen and hips. Sneak in few minutes of these movements during your break time or while watching TV and you'll see results. A strong core will prevent back pains and will burn fats. When you have no belly fats then you'll have a flat stomach.