Source: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/02/15/how-to-not-suck-at-a-first-date/

Ahhhhh, the dreaded first date!

Your palms are sweaty, your arm pits are sweaty… okay pretty much all of you is sweaty. Wandering into the unknown, your head explodes, imagining every possibility: Is this date gonna suck? Is it gonna be awesome? Is this going to be the person I spend the rest of my life with? What if this or that happens?

For so many Rebels I’ve talked to, trying to get healthy is closely related to our hopes of finding someone special to spend our lives with. It certainly influenced why I started getting healthy and has continued to play a role in my decision to exercise!

Having been on my fair share of both amazing and cringe-worthy first dates (way more of the second one than the first), I feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on how to kick ass at first dates.

No falsifying yourself… no being somebody you’re not. Instead, we’re just going to present ourselves in the best light so we have the best chance to make a real connection with somebody.

Here’s how to stop sucking at first dates and go in with confidence.

Where Does One GO On A First Date?

You may not think it, but where you go on your first date can have a HUGE but subtle impact on how things go. It can also be the difference bet…

Source: http://www.runningonrealfood.com/baked-cinnamon-raisin-protein-oat-bars/

Hi. I haven’t seen you guys in a while. Like almost 2 months. Why..well, a few reasons. Firstly, I’ve been so stuck in self-doubt and perfectionism that it’s prevented me from posting anything at all. I have a ton of stuff I want to share, and I’m sure it would be huge help to many…

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The post Baked Cinnamon Raisin Protein Oat Bars appeared first on Running on Real Food.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/hMxfqi4xlf8/

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~Chinese Proverb

You are a slave to stress.

I can relate.

Stress Crushed My Life And Dreams

I started a business and faced intense criticism over this decision.

Everyone was sure I’d fail. My friends and family attacked me while I was combating my own self-doubt.

My stress level was insanely high.

Then the worst happened. My business failed and I lost all my savings. I was crushed.

It took a long time to finally accept this failure.

Today, whenever I work, stress still lingers in my body like the shadow of my dark past. But now I know how cope with it. Let me teach you how.

1. Consider getting a pet.

Sharing negative feelings with close friends can significantly reduce stress. Studies show that spending time with pets relieves stress in the same way. Also, when you’re accompanied by a pet in stressful situations, it prevents your stress level from rising.

I have a cat. He was my only friend when nobody was supporting me. I’m grateful to have him by my side.

If you don’t have a pet, consider getting one. It may change your life in surprising ways.

2. Stop dwelling on your problems.

Kant State University had an eye-o…

Source: http://www.dailycupofyoga.com/2016/02/15/25-ways-to-be-kind/

A photo posted by Manduka (@mandukayoga) on Aug 12, 2015 at 3:31pm PDT

You don’t need a reason to help people. Let’s remember to be kind to one another. It isn’t always apparent on the outside when we are facing struggles on the inside. After all, when this is all over, all that will really matter is how we treated each other.

When we enter this world our Kindness IQ is intact. We can keep it that way through our actions. Kindness is like a muscle–it gets stronger the more you use it…or atrophies if you don’t.

You don’t need a reason to be kind to people. Instead, here are 25 suggestions and ideas of ways to be kind.

25 Ways to Be Kind.

Smile and make someone’s day a little sweeter
Look for ways you can promote peace
Just listen
Offer a hug or embrace
Invite someone new into your friend tribe
Send out a kind email or card
Give someone a genuine compliment
Help someone out in a practical way, just because
Hold open the door for the person behind you
Encourage a friend or family member when they are uncertain or 
unmotivated
Make peace with someone that has hurt you
Strike up a conversation with a stranger
Let someone into your lane while driving
Pay for the person behind you in line
Give your time to a friend or someon…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/6agxibqSYy8/

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Days after the initial divorce from my ex-partner, I wanted to meet two very close friends in the city. I knew they would be loving and supportive and that the experience would good for me. But I was so grief stricken and overwhelmed with emotion that even leaving the house felt like a monumental effort.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, picturing all the steps it would take me from where I was now to where they were seemed insurmountable. Normally, I would have jumped in my car and traveled to them with ease. But I wasn’t at home; I was staying with my family and I didn’t have a car.

Being in unfamiliar territory, there was the challenge of working out the public transport timetable (not one of my strongest traits even at the best of times), the fear of breaking down on the bus, and a general air of vulnerability and shame.

Weeping silently, I considered simply staying at home. But the idea of being alone brought a fresh wave of pain. The thought of spending the morning by myself in an empty house was too much to bear.

I was caught between two painful ideas: stay at home alone with my grief or face the anxiety of traveling in a fragile state.

Thankfully,…

Source: http://greatist.com/move/best-gym-machines?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Despite the fact that kettlebells and bodyweight workouts might win the gym popularity contest right now, fitness pros agree: Not only are exercise machines totally fine to use, they might be especially helpful if you’re new to working out.

“It’s true that if you’re using free weights you have to recruit so many stabilizing muscles,” says Shannon Fable, certified trainer and programming director for Anytime Fitness. “But when you’re getting started, using selectorized equipment (the machines with weighted plates) and just learning the movement pattern is OK.”

Another bonus: “If you haven’t got full strength, or balance, or full range of motion, machines are much safer,” says Stuart Munro, certified personal trainer for the New York Health and Racquet Club.

For those who have been on a gym hiatus or are gaining back strength post-injury, weight machines are an easy way to get back in the game—without the risk of dropping anything heavy on your foot, Munro says. And, as you’ve likely noticed, weight machines remove the guesswork since they usually have helpful how-to cards right on the machine.

With that in mind, here are the top machines the trainers we spoke with suggested. Each one will help you build strength and train your body to use the right muscles, so you can be on the leg press one day and do weighted squats with perfect form the next.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/14/466565785/farmer-john-boyd-jr-wants-african-americans-to-reconnect-with-farming?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

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All Things Considered

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Transcript

John Boyd Jr., with his father.

Fred Watkins /Courtesy of John Boyd Jr.

As an African-American, John Boyd Jr. might not be what Americans imagine when they think of a typical farmer. But Boyd has been farming his entire life, like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him. He grows wheat, corn, soybean and has cattle at his southwestern…

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/02/the-food-movement-australia/

My daily walk to the Charles Perkins Centre at Sydney Uni takes me past Ground Up—the campus community garden.

It has a greenhouse.  And vegetables.

It’s summer here!

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Source: http://greatist.com/eat/same-food-every-day?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Routines: Some people swear by them, while other loves to mix it up. But what if we’re talking about your weekday turkey wrap lunch, or that bowl of cereal you have nearly every morning? Does it matter if your diet is, well, boring? We found out whether variety really is the spice of—a longer and healthier—life.

The Need-to-Know

First of all, people tend to stick to the same stuff—at least on a weekly basis, says Rania Batayneh, M.P.H., author of The One One One Diet. “Those foods are the ones they know and like and have recipes for,” she says. And there’s more than just comfort in having a routine meal plan.

If you’re filling up on fruits and veggies, rest assured that you’re flooding your body with nutrients and antioxidants, and bolstering your immune system in the process, say Lyssie Lakatos, R.D. and Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D., co-owners of The Nutrition Twins. Since this go-to strategy means you’re never wondering what to eat, you’re less likely to deplete your Dorito supply (if you even have one) while pondering your next meal, Batayneh says.

“It also triggers more healthy habits,” Lakatos says. “It takes time to mentally prepare to eat healthily, so when one thing’s out of the way, you can focus on other habits.” Think: squeezing in a workout or carving out time to meditate.

Plus, a structured eat-and-repeat routine may help keep your waistline in check. Consider this: A recent study found that a more d…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/cdc-drinking-guidelines-women?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

The CDC released new guidelines that recommend sexually active women who aren’t on birth control avoid drinking… altogether. Because, you know, you can never be too cautious when there’s a slight chance you’ll get pregnant and an even slighter chance your child would be harmed by that drink you had at happy hour. Thankfully, the Internet is (at times) an amazing place and many people responded with outrage on social media (see our faves below).

A quick primer on the new guidelines: About half of pregnancies are unplanned, and we know drinking during pregnancy is dangerous, so the CDC says women who could get pregnant should go cold turkey. But these recommendations make it seem like, at least in the CDC’s eyes, women’s sole purpose is to carry babies. Plus, they make no mention of male contraception and completely forget women having sex with women, who won’t get pregnant—at least not without some extra planning.

It’s true that most women don’t know they’re pregnant at the moment of conception, but Hal Lawrence, M.D., the CEO of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told NPR it’s not usually an issue if women have some alcohol before realizing they’re pregnant. So there’s no need to cancel those after-work drinks.

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