Source: http://greatist.com/eat/healthy-snacks-that-arent?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Catch us at 3 p.m. on any given day, and chances are we’re planning our mid-afternoon snack (we see you, cheesy popcorn). In theory, this is smart: “Snacking is great when it’s used to tide you over until your next meal and can fill in gaps in nutrients you’ve missed at other meals,” says Toby Smithson, R.D.N., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and founder of Diabetes EveryDay. And while research has mixed results on how snacking affects your weight, healthy snack choices have been associated with lower BMI.1

The only problem? Many snacks marketed as “healthy” actually aren’t. A good number contain sugars that raise your blood sugar and then cause an energy crash. Others contain empty carbs, lacking the fiber and protein needed to keep you full and energized.

For a healthy and sustaining snack, choose foods high in fiber, protein, and water, which fill up your stomach, let your brain know you are full, and take a while to digest, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D.N., author and nutrition consultant to the Chicago Cubs. Read on for 12 sneaky snacks that might be sabotaging your health routine. Surprised? We were.

1. Pretzels
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Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/bandit/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

When we walked away from the corporate world in 2011, both of us intended to support ourselves financially by working at a local coffee shop. But then our writing quickly spread and our coffeehouse dreams never became a reality. Until now…

Our friends Sarah and Joshua Weaver—the husband and wife duo responsible for many of the photos on our website and book covers—are opening a beautiful independent coffee shop, Bandit Coffee Co., in one of our favorite cities, St. Petersburg, Florida.

The shop opens later this month, January 2016, and, to celebrate, The Minimalists will join Bandit Coffee Co. for three days of special events:

On Saturday, January 23, Joshua & Ryan will host a private charity screening of our upcoming film, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. (Tickets)

And then we will join the Bandit team as guest baristas for two days: Sunday, January 24, 12–4 PM, and Monday, January 25, 7–11 AM. Both days are free and open to the public. (RSVP)

All of the profits and tips we earn will be used to fund the family-style orphanage we’re building. (Note: even if you can’t make it to Florida in January, you ca…

Source: http://greatist.com/grow/what-you-can-control-for-happiness-success?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

In my experience, life can be pretty complicated. Although most of us have plenty to manage in our day-to-day lives—jobs, relationships, family, exercise, sleep, you name it—there are really only a few things we truly have control over. I changed my life by identifying these variables and learning how to master them. And I think you can too.

Happiness and success (however you define either one) have a lot to do with each other. In fact, greater happiness has been found to lead to greater success. I think both can be achieved with some simple and straightforward habit hacking, or making small tweaks to your routine which, little by little, add up to major changes in how you’re living your life.

We make millions of little decisions all the time, and the result of each one is either net positive, net negative, or neutral. The more net positive decisions we can make (and the fewer net negative ones), the better. Net positive decisions—brushing your teeth before bed, eating healthy meals, and regularly going to the gym—help you feel good and bring you one step closer to your goals despite the effort they entail.

Net negative decisions, such as filling up on food that doesn’t make you feel good, skipping the nightly teeth-brushing, letting that downer friend cramp your style, or forgoing the gym—make it difficult to reach your goals because your decisions don’t make you feel good, empowered, or confident. They take more out of you tha…

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

Fact: You don’t need to break into a sprint or execute plyometric moves to get a great workout. Sometimes small movements, with little resistance and a higher number of repetitions, are all you need to feel the burn.

And that’s where this week’s 35-minute Pilates-style workout from Grokker comes in. There’s no jumping, punching, or running—but it’s still a great workout that will help build muscle in your lower body and work small muscles you’ve likely been neglecting.

You’ll start on the floor and work your abs, glutes, and thighs. Next, you’ll use the barre in a series of movements that will stretch and extend your legs. For this workout, you’ll need a barre (the back of a chair will work), a Pilates ball (or a soft cushion), light hand weights (optional), and a resistance band you can tie into a loop. You’ll start slow, so there’s no need for a warm-up. Just hit play below when you’re ready.

…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/08/462422610/campbell-soup-switches-sides-in-the-gmo-labeling-fight?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Campbell Soup has announced it supports federal legislation requiring labeling of genetically modified ingredients.

J. David Ake/AP

The fight over genetically modified food, or GMOs, has long resembled battles on the Western Front in World War I. Pro-GMO and anti-GMO forces have aimed plenty of heavy artillery at each other, but neither well-entrenched side has given much ground.

This week, though, for perhaps the first time, a major combatant switched sides on one hotly contested question: whether the government should require labels on genetically modified ingredients in food. The Campbell Soup Co., after years of staunch opposition to mandatory labels, now says that it “will advocate for federal legislation that would require all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs.”

In a letter to the company’s employees, posted on Campbell’s website…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/08/462429929/ugly-fruit-is-ripe-for-a-close-up-as-shark-tank-takes-on-food-waste?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Evan Lutz of Maryland-based Hungry Harvest makes his pitch to the Shark Tank investors on Friday night’s episode. The company rescues ugly and surplus produce that might otherwise have landed in the landfill, and sells it to subscribers instead. It also donates a significant amount of produce to groups that feed the hungry.

Tyler Golden/ABC

TV is usually a place where the beautiful people shine. But tonight, it’s time for the uglies to step into the spotlight — ugly fruits and vegetables, that is.

Evan Lutz of Hungry Harvest, an organization that’s trying…

Source: http://greatist.com/health/will-eating-night-make-me-gain-weight?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Forget the boogeyman—eating directly before bedtime can cause nightmares too, and these feature expanding waistlines. Studies have suggested a range of connections between late-night eating and weight gain, but does consuming calories after sunset really lead to a bigger gut?

The Midnight Munchies—Why It Matters

Eating before bed has long been touted as a cardinal sin of weight loss, leading some weight-conscious individuals to forgo any food after 8 p.m. One study with more than 400 participants found that nocturnal snacking was associated with higher body mass index (aka BMI). 1 Several others determined that eating food when a body should be at rest can be detrimental. One study found that mice—our smaller, furrier, nocturnal friends—gained significantly more weight when fed during the day, when they’d normally be asleep. The results were a loose proxy for what can happen when humans eat a bunch of calories at night (when we’d normally be asleep). 2 When the mice followed a time-controlled diet (not just eating whenever)—the risk of metabolic diseases decreased. 3

We’re not mice, but sometimes we don’t act much differently: “It’s important to realize that nighttime eaters tend to skip breakfast, which ends up in a vicious cycle where the person is hungrier and more li…

Source: http://greatist.com/happiness/unhealthy-relationship-exercise?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Goals like getting up for morning jogs, hitting the gym after work, or sticking to healthy meals can be tough. And when someone we care about doesn’t support us, those goals become even more difficult. But should you leave your significant other simply because he or she doesn’t get your yoga obsession? The truth is, conflicting health habits are often manageable, but occasionally they can be the sign of a much deeper problem.

The Need-to-Know

It’s science: Romantic partners who exercise together stick with their relationships and their exercise plans for longer than those whose routines diverge. Plus, sharing an exercise high can make partners feel closer, increase a woman’s sex drive, and even lead you to burn more calories.1 But not all duos are each other’s best allies when it comes to staying healthy. One survey of gym-goers in Boston and Washington, D.C. found nearly half of them have partners who think their gym sessions are unnecessary.

The survey also found a partner’s lack of support was a huge barrier in sticking to fitness goals. (Think: “You’re going to the gym now? But I really wanted to grab a drink tonight.”) Face it: Any situation involving healthy habits and love could get complicated.

But should that added complication be a de…

Source: http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/priorities-of-dieting-3/

How to Diet, And More Specifically, How to Structure Your Diet in Terms of Priorities

You see, nutrition has a lot of variables. If changing your body composition is an equation, each of these variables has a place. While all variables are important to some degree or another, in order to get the best possible results, you’ll want to adjust these in the correct sequence.

Let’s Go Back To Math Class

I know, I know. You were told, “there’d be no math.”

Don’t worry; you won’t have to actually do any math; I just want to make an analogy to illustrate a point.

When you were learning math early on, you were probably taught the correct order of operations was PEMDAS–parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. You were taught that these needed to be done in this order, and you remembered it with clever sayings like Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

This was important. If you didn’t know the order and you came up against a complex equation, you’d have no idea how to solve it. Doing things out of order would not, generally, work out well for you. Assuming you could actually “solve” the equation, the answer would almost definitely not be correct. And, the process would be frustrating as hell.

Which brings us back to dieting, and my point.

A General Equation for Body Change

As I said, making changes to your body is like an equation. Unlike math,…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/yoga/new-beginning/

With the inauguration of a new calendar year comes the invitation for fresh thinking. It’s our time to ignite. In honor of the palpable potential a new beginning brings, we yogis can use our bodies in tandem with our breath to mark the transitions mindfully. This sequence is designed to stimulate the metabolism, generate heat, and rid the body of excess. It is a playful series that will strengthen the core, detoxify from the old, and open into the new.

It takes strength and trust in oneself to be willing to begin again; starting new is no easy task. This yoga sequence asks us to be brave: to let old stories melt away, and find transformation in our physicality. Use the breath to move into a conscious state of presence. Each exhale is a letting go. Each inhale is an opening. The movements in between are yours for expression. Repeat all poses to both sides and breathe with intent.

Down Dog Split

ShareTweetPlusPinFrom Downward-Facing Dog, gracefully lift one leg long and straight. Square the hips and draw the toes back to activate the entire leg.

Down Dog Split with Bent Leg

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Slowly bend the knee and…