You exercise. You lower your food portions. You eat healthy. You do everything you know you're supposed to do in order to shed some pounds. And yet, you step on the scale and, to your dismay, your weight doesn't go down; in some cases, it even goes up! Doesn't make any sense, does it? I have found myself in a similar conundrum over the years. Eventually, it dawned on me that my near-obsessive habit of drinking Diet Coke was probably working against me. When I probed even deeper, I realized that depriving my body of water was likely making it more difficult to lose weight. I mistakenly assumed that drinking more water would make your body retain more of it. But the exact opposite is true: The less water you drink, the more your body hoards whatever water you have in your system, thereby making you heavier.  I learned years ago that my dark yellow urine likely meant I was dehydrated. (A pale color with a tinge of yellow, on the other hand, suggests the bod...

I grabbed this from a picture someone posted on Facebook. It shows things we should/shouldn't do and consume more/less of if we are to live a truly healthy lifestyle. After reading the text, all I could say is "so true," and I'm sure you'd concur. It certainly makes for a nice list of potential New Year's resolutions for many of us: Less soda, more water Less alcohol, more tea Less sugar, more fruits Less meat, more vegetables  Less sitting/driving, more walking/exercising  Less worry, more sleep Less anger, more laughter Fewer words, more action Everything that follows "more" is known to contribute to a healthier life. For example, sleep is certainly essential to one's well-being. Without sufficient rest, one can't think clearly, adversely affecting their work, social interactions, and even their self-confidence. What's more, people who laugh and exercise more typically live longer lives, as many studies point out.  ...