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Filed under: Fitness

The fact that summer is almost over is enough to put a big, fat damper on your positive outlook. But while the days are still hot and the water is relatively warm, here’s a surefire way to boost your mood: Go surfing. Recent studies from the University of Iowa have found that just 30 minutes of hanging ten can increase your positive energy while blasting negative feelings and fatigue.

“If you ask any surfer, he or she guaranteed will tell you, ‘Oh, man, I feel a lot better after I get out,’” study researcher Ryan Pittsinger told Live Science. To test this, he and his colleagues asked 107 surfers on Manhattan Beach in California to answer a questionnaire before and after surfing. The results were overwhelmingly positive: Not only did the participants report an increase in positive feelings after 30 minutes of surfing, but they also said they felt calmer and more tranquil. “Because you are out there alone — it’s just you — it’s really an activity where it allows you to clear your head,” Pittsinger added.

But maneuvering a heavy surfboard through open water can be a bit daunting for beginners, so we asked Larry Scharmota of the Chicago Surf Shop for his top tips:

Learn from the pros. “Learn from your mistakes and take advice from others to shorten your learning curve and get beyond the early frustration to actually catching your first wave and riding it,” he said. Lessons are a great way to get started because not only do they include hands-on training and water safety pointers, but equipment rentals are usually included so you can give it a try before investing in a surfboard.

Master the basics. Learning to position yourself is the first step to surfing. After that, there are a few moves you’ll need to practice: “Paddling, the duck dive, the pop-up and the pivot turn are the basics to surfing,” Scharmota said.

Paddle properly. “Paddling is the hardest part of surfing,” said Scharmota. “Instead of using a butterfly stroke to assist in going straight, use a crawl stroke to provide smoother acceleration and a more proficient application of power. Your back will thank you.”

Stay low. Once you master standing up, maintaining a low center of gravity is crucial. “Your core strength and thigh strength are key,” he said. “Feel the wave with your feet and manage your board position and your balance with slight movements.”

Turn with your feet. “Don’t lean with your upper body — that only works at places where the waves are big enough to carry the speed,” he said. “Instead use your heels and toes like a skateboarder and make those slight shifts to ease your line of travel into another direction.

Keep your eye on the prize. One of the hardest things to master is your gaze. Keep your eyes looking in your direction of travel and up toward the horizon — do not look down at your feet,” Scharmota said.

Still not convinced? You might want to give stand-up paddleboarding a try. “The learning curve is very short, and it’s great exercise,” he said. It’s also popular with celebs like Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson.

Above all, “the spirit of surfing is to have fun,” Scharmota said. It may take a while to get proficient at it, but the verdict is in: Becoming a surfer will have amazing benefits for both your body and your mind.

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Filed under: Fit Beauty, Fitness

As we’ve mentioned before, one of the biggest hindrances to morning workouts is getting ready for work/school/life afterward. For most of us, it’s hard enough to get up an hour earlier than usual to fit in our workout, and we don’t want to add any more time than absolutely necessary for post-workout beautification!

Hair can prove to be the biggest challenge of all, especially if you find yourself in between styles or with partially grown-out bangs. Making your do look done is almost impossible without a ton of time, but if you have the right accessories, it can be a snap.

For a headband that works at the gym but doesn’t look out of place elsewhere, we’re loving the Pilayo braid headband ($12, Athleta). It’s super functional for workouts, but its retro vibe and gorgeous greenish hue make us want to wear it out and about as well.

If your day calls for something a little more professional and polished, you can’t go wrong with Ban.do’s Heart L headband ($35, Lock & Mane). The beaded peacock feather gives it a little edge, but the colors are low key enough that you can totally sport it at the office. Plus, it works equally well with a sleek pony, a frizzy bun or loose hair.

For ladies with long hair, this Tasha Chiffon flower clip ($38, Nordstrom) is a wicked-cute option. When you’ve got an accessory that’s this bold and feminine, you can get away with messy tresses tied back in a sloppy chignon and look oh-so-chic.

Don’t have time to wash your hair but worried about your greasy roots showing? If you have the option to keep things casual, we can’t think of a better option than this adorable Consomme cap ($48, Anthropologie). It’s girly and sweet but totally practical; wear it with cropped jeans and a button-down or with a floaty dress and cardi. We promise it’ll work!

Headbands are always a great way to pull back your bangs, and we keep coming back to this taffeta wire headwrap ($3.80, Forever 21). Subtle it is not, but we’ve always said subtle was overrated anyway. It is funky and attention getting, and it’ll get the job done. Besides, who’s going to pay attention to whether you’ve perfectly blown out the back of your hair when you’ve got something so bright and shiny going on in the front!

If you’re not sure you want to go with something quite so bold but still want something feminine and funky, look for some small hair clips that suit your personal style. We’re digging these Tiger Lily hair clips ($18, ticklebean on Etsy) because they bring enough of their own pizazz that we don’t have to worry about what we’ve done with the rest of our hair. Use them to hold your bangs to the side or secure a few small braids back into a ponytail.

Of course, every girl needs the basics, and a true fit beauty’s gym bag is never without bobby pins. They’re cheap ($3.19 for 50, soap.com), they’re easy to carry around, and they can be used in a multitude of ways. Like above, you can use them to brush bangs aside or hold back some braids, or you can get creative by using them to create a “poof” in the front or a haphazard French twist in the back. You can even use the bobby pins themselves as part of the design, as Diane Kruger did last summer.

For more fun hair tips, check out this post on how to update the boring ponytail.

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Filed under: Motivation, Tipping the Scales

To write a weight loss blog, one must lose weight. One must exercise. And one must quit letting life interfere with the big picture. I’ve been relying on the philosophy that I will restart after this meal, after this snack, on Monday, on Tuesday, after the move is complete, etc. One poor decision shouldn’t ruin an entire day or week. Unfortunately, I’ve allowed myself to fall further into the bad habits that helped me tip the scale at nearly 260 pounds just a few short months ago.

Another two weeks have gone by, and yet another two weeks I’ve seen the scale show a weight gain instead of a weight loss. Just as I suspected, the move from Michigan to Virginia proved to be catastrophic for my weight loss project. I was in Virginia for a week before even buying groceries! I relied on fast food and a variety of full-fat yet delicious home-cooked meals as nourishment.

Not only have I made poor food choices, but my exercise levels have been nearly nonexistent. There is no need to sugarcoat my behavior; I have been lazy. Sadly, the seat to my stationary bike is still in the trunk of my husband’s car. Why is it so hard to exercise and eat healthy when I know all about the positive reasons to continue these habits? I always feel better after I’ve worked out, and I always have more energy when I’ve had balanced meals. Yet I have been inconsistent in both departments over the past couple of weeks.

I do not write this next statement for sympathy but because this is a project that is supposed to follow me through the good, the bad, the healthy and the in between over the next year: I am also learning how to be healthy in the wake of tragedy. Shortly after our move, we received word of the death of my mother-in-law. Shocked and sad barely begin to cover the array of motions I’ve felt since getting that awful phone call.

Right now I’m learning how to incorporate healthy food choices into a time filled with confusion, sadness, traveling and saying goodbye to a loved one. Food is the universal method of comfort, but I must find other ways to channel my grief. I need to choose to make my health a lifelong commitment, and I must learn how to continue to make choices that are consistent with a lifestyle change, not just a “when-it-is-convenient” change. Life is full of difficult and stressful situations. It is not practical to simply use those times as excuses to make poor choices. Rather, I must look at these times as ways to use health and fitness to work through my emotions.

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Filed under: Fitness, Fit After 40

If you’re over 40 and still haven’t found that single motivator to convince you to embrace exercise, how’s this: the odds are in your favor that you’ve got another 40 years ahead of you, and if you’re not strong, that’s a really long time to feel frail and stale. This premise is the driving force behind the popular book series “Younger Next Year,” by co-author Dr. Henry S. Lodge. Here are some of his straight-to-the point directives for making your life extraordinary and youthful all the way through.

Join a gym: Even though you may do non-gym activities like biking, skiing and running, you still need to drag yourself to a place twice a week to lift some weights so you can continue to build muscle. And FYI, curling three-pound dumbbells isn’t weight training. “The weights should feel heavy and challenging and require you to engage your legs, back, arms and core. You should also have access to a variety of machines and props so you can work your muscles in all sorts of ways,” said Lodge.

Which is the best gym for you? “The one you’ll go to,” he said. “In most cases, the gym closest to your home or office is best. That said, if you don’t like that one, look farther away. Your muscles could care less where you go. Ideally you want a gym with members of all ages.” And if you’re self-conscious at first, the author promises you’ll eventually get over it.

Work out — hard: “The ‘park further from the mall so you can walk more’ advice is stupid,” Lodge said. “Or it’s a viable strategy if you’re planning to die just short of your 70s. But for those of us who plan to live well into our 80s, a higher level of fitness is required.”

It’s true: All the science says your level of brain function, energy, optimism and sex drive is directly tied to your level of fitness. “Sure, being a little bit fit is better than being sedentary, but why stop there?” said Lodge. “That’s like saying, what’s the least good life I can have versus what’s the best?” If you’re not sure what vigorous, respectable exercise means — and here’s a hint: It’s not a brisk walk — take a spin class.

Celebrate your fit body and sharp mind: Obviously Helen Mirren knows she’s a knockout in a bikini, and I’m guessing it makes her feel young and incredibly cool. Do the same for yourself. Whether you speed through your first tri or just feel sleek walking down the street, take pride in how you feel and appreciate your efforts. I take particular note when I bound up the subway steps while everyone around me is trudging and how sexy I feel when I’m drenched in sweat after a five-mile run. Maybe for you it will be noticing greater performance at work or an increased libido. Working out translates to a better version of you by a huge margin.

Just do it: You don’t have to like the investment; you just need to like the reward. “When it’s not fun, so what? You have to have the discipline to do unpleasant work sometimes. The bottom line is the payoff is enormous,” said Lodge. “Your body’s cell turnover provides you with brand-new muscle cells every 100 days. It’s like getting a new body every few months. Whether that body is better or worse than the old one is up to you.”

Learn how yoga can also help you live longer.

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Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss

Dr. Oz has long been a proponent of locally grown, organic foods, but in the latest issue of Time, on newsstands today, America’s favorite doctor reminds readers how important certain food additives have been to public health, like vitamin D in milk. He also shares his tips on how to get the benefits of organic food without burning a whole in your wallet.

“While locally grown, organic food is always a great option, there are ways to get the benefits of organic without paying the price,” Dr. Oz told That’s Fit. “It’s also important we not discount the public health benefits of certain vitamin additives that have played a role in eradicating diseases. Because of its prevalence in our marketing vernacular, a closer examination of the benefits of ‘organic’ is helpful, and I think it’s important for our national discussion.”

Check out Dr. Oz’s tips below for getting many of the advantages of organic food without actually buying organic, then pick up the latest issue of Time for the full story.

1. Avoid synthetic colorants.

2. Choose foods without labels, which are better than packaged foods.

3. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, preferably with a vegetable brush, which can enhance pesticide removal. Some foods absorb more pesticides than others and are easier to clean. The top five common items that I recommend always be washed are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery and nectarines.

4. Peel fruit if possible since that removes pesticides and allows you to save money by buying non-organic.

5. Buy seasonal fruits. It lowers your grocery bill. And bear in mind, frozen veggies retain most of the health benefits of fresh ones.

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