To make your bath most effective, remember these tips:

Remove your makeup before a steamy bath

Spa treatments that use steam to open pores and cleanse the skin require makeup removal because any residue will only clog those pores and cause harm.

Drink water

Since baths stimulate your organs, drinking water (always a health plus anyway) will help flush your body.

Find a good temperature

I like my baths warm enough to turn my skin pink. A friend and masseuse once told me she knew she was applying the right amount of pressure if the skin was pink, which meant the blood was flowing and the health benefits were there. I apply the same principle to my baths.

Some women have fainted and had related accidents from too-hot baths because they didn't let their core temperature return to normal before standing up. Make sure you bring it back down before you're off and running again. Drinking cool water is one way to do this.

The best time to moisturize your skin is following a good soak. Your dry winter skin will soak it up and get summer-ready.

There are countless bath recipes, but I have a top three. One of them might be the kind of luxury you like:

1. Epsom salt

Adding this magnesium sulfate compound to your bath can relax muscles, diminish bruises, have laxative properties, and help your body run smoothly. After a hard workout or a long day, this is among the most medicinal of bath options. And you just gotta know...Epsom salt is used as a fertilizer for organically grown plants. Mix two tablespoons for every gallon of water (although I mix mine in smaller batches) and use as often as desired (but at least once a month) for stronger, greener plants.

2. Milk and honey

If you're into homemade makeup, face masks, soap, or other beauty products, this adventurous bath may be for you. Mix two cups milk and half a cup of honey to running water; the milk will cleanse your skin and the honey will soften it. You can even add a homemade scrub by putting oatmeal (not the quick cooking kind) in a nylon, tying the top, and using it to scrub your body. And you just gotta know... this was a favorite of Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen known for her intelligence and beauty.

3. Bubble bath - the expensive kind

Consumerism can seem like a despondent trap, but if you turn it on its head, it becomes powerful. Splurge on extraordinary everyday products, like bubble bath, to reinforce that you're dedicated to the cause it represents, which is worth it. In this case, that's your mental and physical health. Any body wash can double as bubble bath. Just add a squirt to running water and the tub will fill with bubbles.

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Do not avoid calories

Calories are energy, and without them your body will diminish. They are not your enemy. Undereating will actually cause you to gain weight, since your body will think that it's starving, go in to survival mode and hold on to every last morsel it gets right in your trouble area (around your abdomen which is really a storehouse). The purpose of eating is to give you energy. There are different kinds of calories, fat calories take more energy to burn than carbs, which is why they taste better and are more satisfying. Try not to consume too many calories in liquid form (juices, milk, soda). They can be good for you in moderation, but they are not a balanced diet.

Read the product's ingredients list. If there are any you can't pronounce, don't buy it

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't try new or exotic foods and flavors. But you should avoid food that contains chemicals and preservatives, which are commonly packed into processed foods.

Eat dessert for breakfast

No, seriously. I don't mean eating chocolate cake, but starting the day off with chocolate crepes, stuffed French toast or whatever makes you smile, will start the day happy. It will also cut down on, if not eliminate, your sweets cravings for the rest of the day.

Eat full-fat dessert

Again, seriously. You are better off having a small portion of the most delicious and caloric dessert on earth than having more of a reduced fat dessert because your body knows what is real and what is not. Your body will be more satisfied, which will help curb the sweets cravings and binges you have later in the day. Natural fats (the ones companies try to convince you that they're avoiding by using substitutes) are better for your body anyway. Our bodies are designed to consume things that came from the earth.

Snack on dried fruit and nuts

Not the whole container, just a handful. They're good for you and a single handful can provide a huge energy boost.

Get your sauce or dressing on the side

Dip your fork in your sauce or dressing and then skewer your food; you get the same flavor, but in reduced amounts. This can prevent you from consuming a hundred or more calories.

Have a spoonful of peanut butter

This is my secret weapon. A single spoonful is a huge energy boost. If your energy is waning during the day, instead of grabbing a sugary snack or a convenience food, try peanut butter and see if the hunger or craving goes away. (It will.) It's healthy for you because it provides protein and the same kind of pleasure you get from a dessert (if you enjoy peanut butter). Put it on a banana or on crackers or simply have a spoonful out of the jar.

Consider fish oil

This is a personal choice, but it's one that I like. Fish oil helps your brain function, keeps your skin clear and causes weight to fall off.

Make your meals at home from raw ingredients when possible

This does not need to be complicated. A simple dish with three raw ingredients. Even a homemade cheeseburger is better than anything that comes premade or prepackaged. It doesn't have to be inconvenient or expensive either. Frozen vegetables can actually be healthier and more nutritious, than 'fresh' produce that has slowly lost nutrients while sitting on the trucks.

Skip the soda, especially the diet soda

I enjoy soda, especially when I eat out, but if you are trying to exercise regularly or especially if you're trying to lose weight, it's not helping. Soda is not food. Soda is a drug. You are not doing your body a favor by drinking diet soda, because instead of the synthetic "foods" and syrups of regular soda, diet soda has even scarier chemical substitutes. Food is supposed to be caloric. If it has no caloric value, it was never meant to be consumed by a living being.

Never completely exclude a food group from your diet

You need a little of everything - literally. Your body is made up of a little of the vitamins and minerals found in all types of foods, and it needs replenishing. Fad diets will not keep you healthiest in the long term. Try to eat a variety of foods (and colors, as they tell kids in schools) to get different vitamins. Also, take a supplement on top of that if you feel it's appropriate.

In the end, it only takes a little of the right food

Eating portion-appropriate meals is always better than eating more, even if that means eating more small meals throughout the day. Studies have shown that a reduced (but still sufficient and satisfying) diet results in a much longer life because the body becomes more efficient. Save overeating for your birthday and Thanksgiving.

The post How to eat healthy without really trying appeared first on FamilyToday.

1. Have a balanced workout

Include cardio, weight training and flexibility. Do not skip any of them. If you do any one of these more than the other, your body will not reach its peak performance for whatever level of exercise you're doing. Weight training was the most intimidating to me. Women shouldn't be afraid of bulking up, because they don't have enough testosterone for this to happen. Five pound weights are heavy enough to tone you without destroying you, and you will see results even if you're only lifting them for 10 minutes before you jump in the shower each morning. Weight training even proved the most rewarding of the three because you see results within two weeks (and also lose it just as fast, so keep it up). To see different exercises that qualify as cardio, weight training and flexibility, open another tab and do a quick search or look in your favorite magazine.

2. The best exercise to do is one you like. You may already be doing it

In each of the three areas of exercise, there are activities you will enjoy and that are probably already a part of your life. An effective and productive routine can be as simple as stretching in the morning after you get up, taking a substantial walk (your heart rate should be up), and moving things around your apartment (or lugging and holding kids).

Eventually, you may want to build on these two principles with new challenges to keep your body improving. Do the research and be wise. Keep in mind that every trainer and dietician is going to have a different - even radically different - idea of how someone should maintainĀ her body and health. Really, there is no one great set of truths, and the reason there is such varying advice is that everyone is different, and no one thing works for everyone. Some of the most important principles I found in further challenging myself are these:

Spot reduction does not exist

While you can, and absolutely should, target different muscle groups on different days, you cannotdo only ab workouts and get better abs faster. Your body works as a whole system, and you will drop your total body fat percentage, not lose fat in only one place. If you target one muscle group instead of doing a balanced workout, you are only retarding your growth and fatiguing your muscles. The best way to slim down is to do a variety of exercises for different groups, known as a total body workout. If someone has a flat tummy or toned shoulders, it's because of their hard work and body type, not because of spot reduction.

Don't be afraid to join a gym or a class

Find one in your time and monetary budgets. Physically going to the gym creates a mental space for exercise in your mind. Having a designated place to go, especially one I paid hard-earned dollars to access, was what catapulted my success. Magazines and DVDs try to empower people with workouts they can do at home, but it's difficult for a lot of people because home can damper motivation. Plus, seeing an instructor in person will help you learn correct form, which is the secret to effective exercise. Instructors are the bottom line of what helped me change my life.

Don't get freaked out if you don't lose pounds fast

If you want to lose weight, you should plan to do it over the span of a year or more. It is more important to do habitual exercise of less intensity than to do an intense workout once a week. The consistency is what drops the weight - not the intensity. Your body will not let go of its safe-guard cushion if it doesn't feel it will continue getting exercise and appropriate amounts of nutritious food. As you work out, you will gain muscle and lose fat. Muscle is heavier than fat and people are often fooled into thinking they're not losing fat as their body makes the trade. There is no healthy way to lose weight without gaining muscle mass - accept and embrace this. Many people get discouraged when you see the first few pounds drop quickly, only to come to a screeching halt. This happens because your water weight burns right off, but when weight loss slows is when you're getting to the real progress. Water weight will always fluctuate. This is why it's easy to lose five pounds and hard to lose 10.

Leave your house

This seems like an obvious one, but being outside for evenĀ 10 minutes increases your happiness level. And physical health aside, a lot of people never get to do all the things they want to do in life because they never leave their living room. It's hard when you work or go to school all day already, but unless being on your feet is an occupation advantage, find something you enjoy and do it.

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