WATER WORKS

Thirst can masquerade as hunger, which is one reason dieters should stay hydrated. Now German researchers have found another reason: Water fuels your body’s fat burners. For 90 minutes after drinking 16 ounces of chilled H2O, adults saw their metabolisms rise by 24 percent over their average rates. According to the study author, Jens Jordan, M.D., the mechanism is partly due to the energy your body generates to warm the water during digestion.

LOSE BIG, STAY SMALL If your goal is longterm success, perhaps the “best” diet is simply the one you can best stick to. In a recent study, Brown University scientists tracked the diets of people who had dropped at least 30 pounds and maintained their new weight for 3 years. Contrary to popular opinion, the researchers discovered A mouthful of fruit prevents you from stuffing your face. that low-carbohydrate dieters were just as successful at keeping weight off as dieters who followed a low-fat approach. Which just goes to show that more than one weight-loss method can be effective. Interestingly, the carb cutters— who didn’t bother to count calories—reported feeling less deprived than their low-fat counterparts.

Sculpt and injury-proof your body from head to toe with these 4 muscle builders

“Most men spend time training what they see in the mirror and neglect their back, rear shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes,” says the Men’s Health Muscle Guy, Mike Mejia, M.S., C.S.C.S. But just because you aren’t looking doesn’t mean she isn’t. Rebalance your body with highly effective exercises to strengthen those weak spots. Perform all four moves without rest. Break for 90 seconds and repeat the circuit two more times.

SWISS-BALL LEG CURL
Lie on the floor with your calves on a Swiss ball. Raise your hips so that your body forms a straight line. Pull the ball toward your butt with your legs, pause, and roll the ball out. Do 10 reps.

DUMBBELL REVERSE FLY
Lie facedown on an incline bench holding a pair of dumbbells with an underhand grip. With your elbows slightly bent, raise the weights out from your sides. Pause, then lower the weights. Do 12 reps.

SHE COULD BE THE ONE. HERE’S HOW YOU FIND OUT FOR SURE.
She’s the eye-catcher in your peripheral vision, the one you’d like to turn into a focal point. But how do you move beyond a polite smile? “You see her often,
so you don’t have to use all the stuff in your bag the first time,” says Lisa Altalida, author of The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Getting Girls. Below are your
strategies for approaching, and maybe even docking.

When the rain hits and the water stands, you’ve got a problem in your hands. Your tires hit a patch, lose traction and end in a crash. The bad rhymes won’t kill you but aquaplaning will. Discover how to avoid it.

Aquaplaning (or also known as hydroplaning) happens when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your vehicle’s tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. The water pressure can cause your car to rise up and slide on top of a thin layer of water between your tyres and the road, essentially floating your wheels momentarily. To better conceptualize aquaplaning, imagine your vehicle riding on top of the water, like a wake boarder on a lake as the motorboat pulls it along at speed. The faster the motorboat progresses, the more lift the wake boarder experiences. In less than a second on the road, your car can completely lose contact with the ground, putting you in immediate danger of sliding out of your lane.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup diced smoked turkey
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 lb ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic
¾ cup red wine
¾ cup chicken broth
1 can (14 oz)
chopped tomatoes
¼ cup milk
4 oz penne pasta4 Tbsp grated

HOW TO MAKE IT
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the smoked turkey, carrot, celery, and onion, and cook until lightly browned and very tender (about 10 minutes). Peel the garlic and lightly crush the cloves with the back of your knife. Add it to the pan along with the beef. Cook until the beef is browned (about 5 minutes). Add the wine, stirring well, and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, and milk; simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for

POWER SIDE:
Blue Cheese Salad

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
2½ cups mixed greens
½ cup berries
1 Tbsp chopped onion
1 Tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tsp ground
fl axseed
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

HOW TO MAKE IT
Combine the greens, berries, onion, blue cheese, nuts, and fl axseed in a bowl. Toss with the vinegar and oil. Makes 1 serving

PER SERVING
235 calories
6 g protein
24 g carbohydrates
15 g fat
(2.7 g saturated)
7 g fiber
160 mg sodium

1 Tea off in the morning
Hot tea can slash your risk of kidney cancer by 15 percent, according to a review in the International Journal of Cancer. Try pu-erh tea, which is better than green or black tea at preventing DNA damage.

2 Sleep smarter
Too much sleep, or not enough of it, can kill you. A British study found that getting more than 9 hours of sack time a night, or less than 6, doubles your risk of an early death from any cause. Aim for 7 to 8 hours a night.

3 Pop in your lenses postshower
Soaping up while wearing your contacts can expose your eyes to infection-causing waterborne microbes, say University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.

4 Drink wine, stay lean
Polyphenols, the compounds found in red wine, help your body block fat absorption, an Israeli study found. Red-wine marinades work, too.

5 Lose the lint
Taking 2 seconds to empty the lint trap in your clothes dryer can prevent you from being a dryer-fire victim.

6 Check your neck
An American Journal of Medicine study found that a mildly underactive thyroid can boost your heart-disease risk by 65 percent. A quick blood test can assess your level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

7 Lean back
Parking your torso at a 90-degree angle strains your spine, say Scottish and Canadian researchers. Instead, give your chair the La-Z-Boy treatment and recline the seat back slightly. The ideal angle is 45 degrees off vertical.

8 Scent your air safely
Some air fresheners contain phthalates, compounds that may disrupt hormone processes, Natural Resources Defense Council testing reveals. Stick with Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects.

9 Boost your defenses
An Archives of Internal Medicine review reports that 400 IU of vitamin D a day reduces your risk of an early death by 7 percent. Try Carlson’s vitamin D (carlsonlabs.com).

10 Skip the spray
Using household spray cleaners just once a week increases your risk of an asthma attack by 76 percent, say Spanish researchers. Use wipes instead.

11 Steam your broccoli
Italian researchers recently discovered that steaming broccoli increases its concentration of glucosinolates (compounds found to fight cancer) by 30 percent. Boiling actually lowers the levels.

12 Stretch it out
Genes in your body linked to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity can be “turned on” if you sit for hours on end, reports a study in Diabetes. Hit the “off” button by taking hourly laps during TV, book, and Web sessions.

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Your hero training
Do 2 or 3 sets of each exercise in this routine, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets. Perform the workout 2 or 3 times a week, and rest at least a day between sessions.

Grab a pullup bar with an overhand grip, your hands a bit more than shoulder-width apart. Pull up toward your right hand as you simultaneously bend your right knee and lift it toward the bar. When your chin is above the bar, lower back down and repeat to the other side. Do 10 reps.

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