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One thing I really struggled with when I made the decision to lead a fit and active life was maintaining relationships with people who were used to the old me—the carefree girl who preferred spontaneity and partying to routines and workouts. What they didn’t understand was that my decision impacted all aspects of my life, not just the time I spent at the gym. And to accomplish the goals I set for myself, I needed a change in mind, not just a change in body.

You absolutely need to surround yourself with positive influences and keep an upbeat, can-do attitude to achieve your goals. Chances are, friends and family may not be the most supportive-tempting you with familiar foods or activities that are not a part of your new lifestyle, making fun of the time you spend on working out, or not supporting you in your new decisions. But there is a reason they are part of your life, and you are part of theirs. So by being patient and keeping the lines of communication open, you can save your relationships and keep making progress in your quest to be fit.

Summer is a terrific time to take advantage of lots of nutritious foods that are in season. To truly make the most of this opportunity and maximize health benefits, consider packing (or carefully purchasing) a salad for lunch! A salad every day may sound boring, but you can jazz it up with fresh fruit, vegetables, and small amounts of nuts to make a flavorful treat. Salads are also an excellent way to introduce new foods or foods you may not want to eat on their own, such as spinach or kale.

Looking at the stars can help guide you in your quest for a balanced diet! No, not the stars in the sky - the stars on food products in grocery stores, a trend popping up in New England grocery stores. The Hannaford Brothers chain has developed a simple system that helps shoppers find the best foods.

Over the last several years there have numerous studies that point to the importance of weight training for women, especially for women over 40. However, there are still many women that do not include weight training as part of their routine. How many of you have walked into a gym, and see the cardio theatre full of women and only a few women in the weights area? Or how many of you have a set of weights at home sitting in the garage collecting dust? It’s time to dust off your weights and start using them again! If you’re still not convinced, here are some compelling reasons why you need to add weights to your workout routine:

1)Be Physically Stronger

According to strength training researcher William J. Kraemer, PhD, of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, moderate strength training can increase a woman’s strength by 30-50%. Being stronger will help with everyday activities such as carrying around children and completing physical work.

Have you ever denied yourself of a food you love then obsess about it, eventually giving in and eating it anyway? Research shows that if you try to suppress your cravings, you may end up eating more of the food you crave than if you had openly admitted that you’re having a craving.

Researchers at the Hertfordshire University recruited 134 students to test for chocolate cravings. One group was told to try to suppress all thoughts about chocolate, and the other group was told to talk openly about how much they enjoy eating chocolate. They then chose between two different brands of chocolate, believing that only their choice of chocolate was being studied. Instead, the quantity of chocolate they ate was recorded. Women that were told not to talk about chocolate actually ate about 50% more than those who openly discussed their cravings.

Have you seen that cute little Cheerios ad where the little boy talks to his father or grandfather about eating a healthy breakfast so the man can pass his ‘test’ at the doctor’s office? According to researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, that little boy was onto something. From a study spanning over 20 years that analyzed data from more than 20,000 doctors, men who ate significantly more whole-grain cereal (7 servings or more per week) had significantly less (28% lower) risk for heart failure than non-healthy-cereal-consuming men. Men who had 2 – 6 servings of whole-grain goodness cut their risk by a solid 22%. While this is definitely not an excuse to overindulge your cereal cravings, it is a good reason to make a healthy breakfast a consistent part of your day. Whole – grain cereals also often pack other health benefits too. Here are some whole grain cereals to try out:

Cheerios

Grape-nuts

Nutri-Grain

Raisin bran

Shredded Wheat

Total

Wheaties

Kashi, various

It’s also important that the study was based on serving sizes – 1/2 cup to 1 whole cup of cereal. Doctors recommend accompanying those grains with skim milk.

One of the principles of volumetrics, developed by Dr. Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University, is that just adding air (by blending foods) can make you feel fuller. If this theory sounds full of hot air, check out these facts.

In a recent study, Rolls and research associates presented subjects with smoothies, monitored their eating habits, and asked them to self-report on satiation levels. One group’s smoothies were blended for twice as long as the other group’s smoothies. This extra blending time allowed more air bubbles to form and increased the volume of the smoothie, thereby making it appear to be and actually be larger, even though no extra calories were added. The blended-longer group reported feeling full for longer and ate 12% less than the other group.

There are several possibilities as to why one variable – the extra air – impacted people’s satisfaction and eating habits. One potential explanation is that the smoothie appeared a bit larger (though the difference would have been very slight) and people felt fuller longer, so they did not eat as much. The second theory, which Rolls supports, is that a higher volume of food is more satisfying than a lower volume of food with the same caloric content.

No matter the reason, the facts remain: people who were served higher volumes felt more full and ate less. Even more exciting is that this approach also works with another famous zero-calorie substance: water! The same effects have also been found with low-calorie foods like lettuce and celery. So next time you have a smoothie, ask for extra blend time!

A new study from researchers in Australia and Finland suggests that a healthy diet can do wonders for your complexion. This confirms what mothers have been saying for ages – don’t eat chocolate, or you’ll break out! At least, don’t eat too much chocolate. Diets that are high in fiber, low-fat proteins, complex carbs like whole grains and whole wheats, are much better for your skin than diets high in sugar and processed food. Good for your body, good for your skin.

Ovarian cancer can be one of the most fatal and malicious forms of cancer. But there’s hope, according to a recent National Institutes of Health study that monitored over 40,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79, for women later in life to cut their risk of developing ovarian cancer. A group of women were assigned to cut their fat intake from 35% of total calories to 20% of total calories. For example, a woman on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet would have had to cut from 700 calories to 400 calories from fat. The women who stuck with this low-fat diet for eight years reduced their risk of developing ovarian cancer by a staggering 40%. You might be thinking, eight years? That’s HUGE. Admittedly, it is a major commitment – and women who stuck with the diet for only four years were not found to have a reduced risk. But the 40% risk reduction for the long-term low-fat dieters is major news, according to researchers. It’s robust evidence that changing dietary patterns later in life can have an impact on cancer risks. Low-fat diets are recommended because of their role in regulating heart disease and other types of health problems, but this is the first word that going low-fat can reduce ovarian cancer risk.

Quick Tip: Half a can of many soups have about ½ the amount of sodium that you should consume in an entire day! Some of the soups with the highest amount of sodium per serving include Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom, French Onion, Chicken Noodle, Vegetable, and Cream of Chicken, Knorr French Onion Mix, and Progresso Minestrone and New England Clam Chowder. Better choices that have low amounts of sodium include Healthy Choice Soups, and Campbell’s Healthy Request line. When selecting soups, pick ones that have no more than 300 mg of sodium per one cup (8 oz) serving