The WannaBuddy Blog: 2014

New Years Resolutions: How to Keep Them

Everybody does it! It's New Years Eve and you promise yourself that this year is the year that you lose weight, get back in shape and (maybe) spend less time on Snapchat. You've made these resolutions before, but THIS TIME YOU MEAN IT! Here are some tips for keeping those New Years resolutions strong though the entire year.

We spend countless hours obsessing over the minutiae of our appearance, only to have our hard work and diligence undone by simple, unattractive (or worse) habits. A recent episode of the Dr. Oz show picked a "Top 8" list of bad habits for our immediate attention. How many of these nasty habits do you have?

Everyone seems to be on a diet, and no two people choose the same one. Picking a diet is hard, although there is some great help available. A recent research paper took a scientific look at the popular diets and rated them, based on total pounds lost. Did your diet make the grade?

She calls it the "Amazing Inch Loss Plan" and promises that you will, yes, lose inches (amazingly) and pounds if you follow it. No stranger to diet advice, Rosemary Conley made her name in the weight loss business back in the 80s with her book The Complete Hip and Thigh Diet. She is still something of a big deal in the United Kingdom. Now it seems that she has set her sights on the rest of your body.

Ah, sleep! We never seem to get exactly the right amount of sleep. Although experts can't agree on how much sleep we should get, the Dr. Oz show recently had some tips on how to tell if you're not getting enough. Here is his Top 10.

Stores everywhere sell pills, powers and shakes that all claim to boost your nutrition, burn fat and build muscle. Many people do not realize that these supplements are only slightly governed by the Federal government. Does that matter? It might, especially if you take a supplement that contains a mystery ingredient that just happens to be dangerous.

Dr. Oz is getting older, as are we all. It only makes sense, then, that he talks more and more about maintaining our youth into our golden years. Recently, he proposed four simple ways to restore our energy and vitality.

There are been numerous research studies trying to prove (or disprove) the healthful effects of drinking wine. It is easy to see how a glass of wine after a long day can help reduce stress, but can it really help your overall health? A new study seems to take a conservative approach, a reasonable number of volunteers (sign me up!) and a long study period, all in an attempt to show the way for the wine-drinking public. Here's what they found.

Want an easy way to start a fight among diet gurus? Just ask which strategy is better for weight loss and overall health: a low carb or low fat diet? Then stand back and watch those temperatures rise. There must be an answer, right? Finally, a scientific, broadly-based study might just put this controversy to rest. Now, no peeking, which strategy do you think is best?

If you are going to dedicate the time to work out, the least you can do is be sure to get the most out of the time you've invested. Why not max it out? Here are ten tips for squeezing the last drop of goodness out your sweat time.

Salt has played a central role in human existence from the dawn of time. Early civilizations used it for money. Everyone uses it for seasoning. Good people are considered the salt of the earth. Wow, as ubiquitous as salt is, why is there so much disagreement over salt in our daily lives?

We seem to be obsessed with exercise equipment. One visit to a health club is enough to boggle the mind. The variety and complexity of workout apparatus is truly amazing! On the other hand, something as simple and ubiquitous as the humble stairway might be the answer to our swelling waistlines. Could this be? Climbing stairs as a health initiative?

Most diets involve cutting cherished foods out of our daily meal plan. It seems that the fact that a food tastes great automatically means that the latest diet fad insists on its avoidance. There is one noticeable exception to this secret rule: the ice cream diet! Can it be? Is it possible to lose weight while eating ice cream?

Stress is a part of our daily lives. Many of us deal with extreme stress at least once a year. If ignored, stress can lead to a broad range of health issues. What can be done to deal with stress? It may be easier than you think.

Dr. Oz is getting older, but aren't we all? Thankfully, he has come up with a few easy strategies to counteract aging and get the energy and vitality of youth. Are you ready to rev up your life in only seven days?

A lot of foods are considered Super Foods because of the wonderful things they add to your body. But broccoli deserves a special label (maybe Super Duper Food?) for the things that it REMOVES from your body. New research shows that eating broccoli can cause your body to flush out some chemicals that are just plain nasty!

Dr. Oz is usually on the giving end of cross examinations, not the receiving end. So when he was called to testify before the Senate panel on consumer protection, it was only natural that he would be a bit defensive. The panel was, shall we say, skeptical about some of the claims made on the Dr. Oz show and wanted to understand the scientific basis for these claims, directly from the doctor himself.

A ruptured cerebral aneurysm leads to death more than one third of the time. That makes identifying people who may suffer a rupture a key to extending their lives. New research has identified new tools for screening people who may be at increased risk.

The debate has raged for years: does drinking diet soda help or hinder your weight loss? Several research studies have produced conflicting results. Now, a study funded by the American Beverage Association shows that dieters who drank diet soda lost more weight than comparable dieters who drank water. Revolutionary results, or a keen understanding of how to fund future research?

Diets come in every shape and size. Just keeping up with the weekly deluge of new diets is a full-time job. I don't know how Dr. Oz keeps up. But each and every diet has one fatal flaw: eating less JUST IS NOT FUN. Sooner or later, the call of eating will overwhelm the yearning for weight loss. We just aren't equipped for long-term starvation. Enter a new concept: Intuitive Eating. Could this be the magic formula for long-term weight loss?

We all hope for a long and healthy life. From the dawn of human existence, the secret of long life has drawn the attention of kings and paupers. If only the secret was known! Recently, some scientists have proposed one thing that might actually help us to live longer!

Dr. Oz never runs out of diets! A big fan of juice cleanses, it was only a matter of time before he made his way to Ayurvedic cleanses. A recent episode of his show gave viewers an introduction to Ayurvedic juice cleanses and some tips on selecting the right cleanse for you. As usual, he simplified everything and told us exactly what we needed to know.

No, this isn't the title of a new thriller, although his diets can be pretty thrilling. Instead, the good doctor is challenging his viewers to lose 10 pounds in a month. Are you ready to accept the May Diet challenge?

For years we have been encouraged to eat polyunsaturated fats to reduce our risk of heart disease. Billions of fish oil capsules have been purchased to provide omega-3 fatty acids thought to be crucial for heart health. Bad news, folks, two (yes, two!) new studies tried to prove the beneficial impact of polyunsaturated fats. They both came up empty. Boom: mind blown!

Everyone knows that you eat less to lose weight, right? Well that may be the accepted wisdom, but "Hungry Girl" Lisa Lillien believes that there’s a better way. She suggests eating MORE to lose weight. That’s right, by eating more, actually Supersizing your portions, you can drop 10 pounds in a month. What?

Everyone knows the best diet, right? Oh, wait, your idea of the best diet is different than mine? And it’s different from the other twenty people we might ask? There have been magazine reports that searched for the “best” diet, but how about something truly scientific? Well now there is a report out of Yale University that attempts to answer the age-old question, “What is the best diet?”

GQ Magazine had a recent article with 10 tips for better health. Nothing earth-shattering, but each gentle tweak to the daily grind can make a difference in the long run. Some ideas are easier than others to implement, but we can all benefit from most of them. How many can you adopt?

Juice cleanses are very trendy right now. Every Hollywood star raves about them, Dr. Oz gushes over each week’s new juicing diet, and juice bars are springing up to offer every possible fruit reduced to its purest nectar. But are juice cleanses safe? How about effective?

In a blow to Atkins Diet proponents around the world, new research seems to indicate that low protein and high carbohydrate diets can actually extend life. Mind blown! No wonder the cave man died out! Does this mean that decades of diet books are wrong? Maybe so.

Losing ten pounds in ten days seems unbelievable! Especially if those ten pounds are lost by burning belly fat. Unbelievable or not, that is exactly the promise of the 10 Day Detox Diet. The diet's author, Dr. Mark Hyman was on the Dr. Oz Show recently to promote his book "The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet", where he made these claims and more!

It seems that body fat is the guest that just won’t leave. Diets, pills, exercise; nothing seems to get rid of that roll of fat that crept in while you weren't looking. Dr. Oz has a surprising idea for getting that fat to burn itself away: three secret food groups to eat!

Mary Poppins said that a “spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” While that may be true, the spoonful of sugar might actually make the medicine a requirement! Yes, it seems that sugar can actually make you sick. And it may be worse than you thought.

Most of us think that burning fat requires sweat. Lots of sweat. We run on treadmills, suffer on the elliptical, struggle with the weight machine, just hoping to burn some of that pesky fat. Did you know that there’s an easier way to burn fat? Just turn down the thermostat!

Are you interested in losing a bunch of weight in only 14 days? What if this diet is named after the godfather of all diets, Dr. Oz? His latest recommendation could get you slimmer, lighter and even feeling better. Here’s what you should know.

Coffee is wonderful, tea is grand, and soda (at least low-calorie) is great. Not only does the caffeine make mornings easier to handle, new research shows that your memory gets a boost too. Isn’t life wonderful?

Not every weight loss idea that comes along makes sense. If life made sense there would be no reason for research, or diet books. This idea, though, is seductive because it is easy, yet challenging because it flies in the face of common experience. So here it goes: the color red makes you eat less. Boom, mind blown?

Rocco DiSpirito earned his fame as a chef. Cooking amazing food every day is not conducive to weight control, and Rocco was no exception. A few years ago he found himself pegging the scale at 230 pounds, and thought that there must be a way for him to enjoy food while controlling his weight. His quest to lsoe 50 pounds became the basis for his book, The Pound A Day Diet.

Emergency Room doctor turned TV host, Dr. Travis Stork has a new diet for you. His plan starts with a break-up – with sugar. Beating an addiction to sugar is Dr. Stork’s secret to diet success. Could this diet be right for you?

Dr. Ian Smith is really prolific when it comes to diet plans. Making his name as a judge on the TV program Celebrity Fit Club, his first diet, the Fat Smash Diet, sold very well. That diet was followed by the Shred Diet, which also enjoyed success. Now Dr. Smith trumps himself by releasing a new book and diet, called the Super Shred Diet. What could be better than a diet that’s super?

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