1. Flour and cereal products comprise 23 percent of our calories every day, nearly all of which (89 percent) are refined. That means that they've lost most of their vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants.Refining of grains can affect blood-sugar levels and lead to inflammation throughout the body. 2. We eat 17 percent of our calories from refined table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. The current estimate...

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If you're on your third cup of coffee already today, there may be a simpler way to perk up. Just thinking about your significant other can boost your mood and energy, according to a new study from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.  Researchers found that daydreaming about your love triggers a chemical reaction that increases your levels of cortisol and blood...

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We all want a toned, flat stomach. No surprise there. But since many women are still relying on crunches to get it, we want to make one thing clear: Crunching is not the most effective abs workout. "Crunches work only the muscles on the front and sides of your abdomen, but it's important to target all the muscles of the core to get more defined abs—including...

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The term "lower abs" is actually a misnomer—your rectus abdominis muscle, or abdominal wall, actually covers your entire midsection and connects at your pelvis. Still, women (and men!) are constantly searching for exercises that will help eliminate that dreaded lower-belly pooch. (We got your attention, right?) And now the search is over! Most of these effective exercises target multiple abdominal muscles, so you'll maximize...

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Workout details: Do a quick dynamic warm-up (1-2 minutes of jumping rope, jacks, or high-knee marches), and then do 1 set of the prescribed number of reps (or time) for each exercise. Move quickly from one move to the next with little rest in between. After you've finished the last exercise, rest 1-2 minutes, and then repeat the entire circuit 1 more time for...

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Mix up your abs routine with this circuit that takes top moves from three belly-toning practices—Pilates, yoga, and ballet—to strengthen your midsection and erase any muffin top. Try it on its own for a complete workout or tag it to the end of a cardio session for an extra core challenge (which is never a bad thing!). Live in NYC and want to...

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