Source: http://greatist.com/live/what-the-color-of-your-pee-means?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Ever take a peek inside the toilet bowl before flushing and wonder why your pee is nearly clear one day and dark yellow the next? This infographic from Self magazine shows what the hue could be telling you. Although there’s no “right” color, one thing is for sure: Darker urine means you’re less hydrated. Some unusual colors may be cause for concern—if your pee is pink, it’s time to see a urologist. But others could be connected to what you ate (a brown color could mean you’ve eaten lots of rhubarb and a blueish green tint can come from some food dyes).

To see what urine you’re in for, check out the full graphic below:

(h/t Self)

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Source: http://greatist.com/eat/healthy-winter-side-dishes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Side dishes are the perfect way to boost your veggie intake and pump up the flavor in any meal. During the cold winter months, they’re the ultimate comfort food that just make you feel good. Bring one of these to a friend’s, a potluck, or just make it for yourself to spice up a drab and dreary night.

A word of caution: A few of these recipes take up to an hour to cook, but they’re worth the wait. They taste so good (and are chock-full of nutrients) that you might be tempted to skip the main course.

Photo: A Beautiful Plate

1. Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Squash With Dried Cranberries and Dijon Vinaigrette

Brussels sprouts and squash—tried-and-true seasonal favorites— come together for a hearty medley in this dish. Add it to your weekend meal prep, as it takes 40 minutes to whip up. Don’t be afraid to make a big batch. It’s good hot, warm, or even cold.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/kRtIjz1Ob5Q/

“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

Diets are extremely seductive.

We get lured in by the promises they make:

The temptation of a smaller jeans size.

The possibility of having a beach-ready body.

The idea that everything would be better if you just weighed ten (or fifteen, or twenty…) pounds less.

When you’ve overloaded yourself with sweets and feel horrible about your body, it’s easy to get sucked into attempting a diet as a quick-fix to your weight issues.

In my own life, I struggled with gaining and losing the same sixty pounds for about twelve years. I would start over on Monday, swear off sweets and dessert, and then be knee-deep in a gallon of ice cream by Friday.

If there was a diet out there, I tried it. Cleanses, detoxes, Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, The Zone Diet, Weight Watchers, and even diet pills.

Even though I was continually seduced by the promise of weight loss, I never kept it off. I would inevitably end up failing miserably, but would still be seduced by the promise of “well, next time, I’ll really stick with it!”

So when you’re seduced by the promise of weight loss and tempted to start another diet, let me save you weeks of frustration and tears…

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/01/27/snowy-fitness-food-highlights/

Hey friends! On the fitness front this week, it started alllllll about the shoveling.

Who else has been counting “shovel ALL the snow” as their main form of fitness lately?! Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were filled with shoveling. It is a serious workout!

Yesterday I ditched the shoveling, made it back downtown to my coshared office, and treated myself to a lunchtime yoga class. The class was packed – everyone else had the same idea! Stretching out was necessary and felt great.

As for this morning, I gave the Winter Shape Up week 1 workout a try! I did 3 rounds of just the strength portion and then counted my snowy walk to the metro as my cardio. Whew – it was legit! Quick and sweaty. Have you tried it yet? Don’t …

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/27/462929374/why-the-southeast-could-become-the-napa-valley-of-oysters?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Capers Blades “singles on a half shell” oysters grown by farmer Dave Belanger (aka Clammer Dave) in Capers Inlet, S.C.

David Malosh/Bloomsbury

Oysters are the sea’s version of fine wine: Their taste varies with the water they grow in. And slow-growing oysters from northern waters — like the briny Wellfleets of Massachusetts and the sweet, mild Kumamotos of the Pacific Northwest — are among the most coveted.

That may be changing now. An oyster renaissance in the Southeastern U.S. is underway — from Virginia all the way down to Florida’s Apalachicola Bay. The region is adopting the aquaculture that restored a decimated oyster industry in the north, and it has led to a huge boost in oyster production.

“The oyster industry is now casting its eye down the Southeast coast and seeing paradise,” says Rowan Jacobsen, author of The Essential Oyster: A Salty Appreciation of Taste And Temptation to be published in October. “More than 6,000 miles of shoreline unmarred by a single metropolis and all ripe for growing oysters.”

Americans already eat roughly 2.5 billion oysters every year, according to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. Around 85 percent of those oysters are from the Atlantic coast, and…

Source: http://greatist.com/move/got-good-workout?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Go hard or go home. Train insane or remain the same. If Pinterest was your personal trainer, every workout would be crazy-tough and include extreme sweat and soreness. But that thinking is flawed.

Even though challenges are great for you—and could lead to a sweat-soaked shirt and achy muscles—exercise shouldn’t leave you drained.

“Working out shouldn’t be breaking us down,” says Jessica Matthews, assistant professor of exercise science at San Diego Miramar College. “It should be building us up.” Plus, neither sweat nor soreness is a good way to measure how effective your workout is. Instead, here are six science-backed ways to know you’re putting in the right kind of effort.

1. Your heart rate says so.

This one’s probably the most objective way to measure how good your cardio workout is. “A good workout—by most definitions—involves a heart rate of three-fourths the maximal heart rate, sustained for 20 minutes [or longer],” says Daniel Vigil, M.D., who specializes in sports medicine at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

So how do you calculate that…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/food/healthy-weight-loss/

You might be wondering why a neurologist wrote a weight loss book. It’s a valid question—one that Kulreet Chaudhary, M.D., might have asked some years ago, back in medical school, before she had completely changed her approach to healthcare, which eventually led her to pen this new book, The Prime: Prepare and Repair Your Body for Spontaneous Weight Loss, released earlier this month. Like many of us, Chaudhary had to learn through personal trial and error how tweaking her diet and lifestyle could vastly improve her overall health. Slimming down was never her intention, as she openly admits, but healthy weight loss became a beautiful byproduct of her plan and, ultimately, the driving force behind this book.

Related: 4 Things That Affect Weight That Have Little to Do with Food

It all started about a decade ago when Chaudhary’s migraine headaches had worsened around the time she took on her own medical practice in San Diego. She quickly learned that taking prescription medication to solve one problem led to many others, including weight gain, terrible neck pain, exhaustion, and grogginess. While looking for an alternative solution to her ailments, she turned to Ayurvedic medicine—a 3,000-year-old healthcare system that originated from Chaudhary’s native India—and began combining its ancient practices with her knowledge of Western medicine to stop bandaging her symptoms (as well as those of her patients) and fix …

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/01/two-industry-funded-studies-with-results-that-must-have-disappointed-sponsors-the-score-10511/

Sharp-eyed readers have sent in two studies sponsored by food companies with results that will be difficult to use for marketing.  This brings the score since mid-March to 105 sponsored studies useful in marketing to 11 that are not.

Effects of Pomegranate Extract Supplementation on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Physical Function in Hemodialysis Patients. Wu Pei-Tzu, Fitschen Peter J., Kistler Brandon M., Jeong Jin Hee, Chung Hae Ryong, Aviram Michael, Phillips Shane A., Fernhall Bo, and Wilund Kenneth R.. Journal of Medicinal Food. September 2015, 18(9): 941-949. doi:10.1089/jmf.2014.0103.

Conclusions: Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were reduced by 24±13.7 and 10±5.3 mmHg, respectively, in POM (P<.05). However, the BP differences in POM were no longer significant after controlling for baseline BP…However, pomegranate supplementation had no effect on other markers of cardiovascular disease risk, inflammation and oxidative stress, or measures of physical function and muscle strength. While pomegranate extract supplementation may reduce BP and increase the antioxidant activity in HD patients, it does not improve other markers of cardiovascular risk, physical function, or muscle strength.
Funding: This work was supported by the POM Wonderful, LLC.

The association between dietary saturated fatty acids and ischemic heart disease depends on the type and source of fatty acid in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer an…

Source: http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/productivity/

This past weekend, I spoke at a conference that–I kid you not–was called “The Bad Ass Mentor’s Retreat.”

Yes, I’m wearing a shirt with Topanga on it.

Seriously.

Organized and hosted by my old friend Jason Capital, an extremely savvy entrepreneur I’ve known for a long while, the conference was filled with nearly 300 men, all looking to become better versions of themselves.

I personally spoke about increasing testosterone, and how that can make you more successful in life, business, and relationships. My talk was well-received, and I think I gave out a LOT of great information that going to help people increase their productivity and all around crush it in 2016.

One of the things all of the speakers talked about was the importance of “NOT To-Do” lists. That is, make a list of all of the things you absolutely refuse to do, and then stick with it. 

DO NOT check email before noon. Email is a reactive exercise; it forces you to move on things that you don’t need to. Instead, spend the first 3-5 hours of the day working on a big project.
DO NOT watch TV with weak male characters. One of the things I detest about mainstream entertainment media is that married men are always portraye…

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/tqxF4YEICm0/

“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” ~Jean dela Bruyere

The image in my mind is vivid, like an old photograph etched into my brain, where every facet is clearly discernible.

It was a frigid, blustery December night, right before my son’s seventh birthday. The heating unit had gone on the blitz, and the house was so freezing it seemed as though ice crystals would form on the inside of our windows.

Grabbing as many blankets as possible, I wanted to envelope my son with covers, hoping he would feel safe and warm in the cocoon. Time for bed, I reassured him that all would be fine despite the bitter cold, and to have sweet dreams of sweltering, sunny summer.

He then uttered a sound that I’ll never forget: “Da-ye.”

I screamed for my wife, needing a witness to convince me that the frosty air had not played tricks on my brain or ears. She ran upstairs in great haste, anticipating some dire emergency that required her immediate attention.

I relayed what had just transpired. One minute later, my son uttered the sweet sound again, “Da-ye.”

My wife started crying—and not because she wanted his first word to be “Mom” or some close variation.

Tears cascaded down her face because we were told ou…