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The combination of diet and exercise — like jogging two miles a day — can help you lose weight if that's your goal. Image Credit: lzf/iStock/GettyImages Running two miles a day might have you huffing and puffing, but it won’t lead to fast weight loss. Exercise doesn’t burn as many calories as you might think; the combination of diet and exercise will do more for you than exercise alone. Advertisement Tip At a pace of five miles per hour, you burn approximately 192 to 284 calories per workout....

Circuit training can contribute to weight loss and body composition improvements. Image Credit: Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images Strength training all major muscle groups for a full-body program provides an efficient way to gain muscular strength and endurance benefits. This type of circuit training sequences four to 10 exercises with brief rest intervals between. Your muscle strength benefits will only be as great as your adherence to sound exercise principles. Consider your intensity, your level of training and the required rest to determine your optimal frequency....

Baking a ham roast takes time, but it's easy. Image Credit: Magone/iStock/GettyImages Whether you’re expecting a crowd for a holiday feast or you’re simply in the mood for a delicious pork ham roast, getting the meat just right is a skill that needs practice. Fortunately, there are chefs willing to share their tips and recipes to make your time in the kitchen a lot more successful. Advertisement Prepping Ham to Cook First things first: If your ham is frozen, take the time to defrost it in the refrigerator before tossing it in the oven....

Close up of taped boxer's hand. Image Credit: Xiaoxing Zhao/iStock/Getty Images Working as a cutman to treat the bleeding and swelling to a boxer’s face during a fight requires years of determination, training, and self discipline. The crude, but necessary, first aid a cutman applies in the 60 seconds between each round can make the difference between a win and a loss for a fighter. They have to know what they’re doing....

references U.S. Geological Survey: "Hardness of Water" International Journal of Preventive Medicine: "Potential Health Impacts of Hard Water" CDC: "Preventing Waterborne Germs at Home" U.S. Department of the Interior: Map of Water Hardness Even though you only boil water in your teapot, you still need to wash it pretty often. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative How Bad Is It Really? sets the record straight on all the habits and behaviors you’ve heard might be unhealthy....

Malabar spinach leaves on a kitchen towel. Image Credit: Brian Yarvin/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images Malabar spinach has stiff, slightly spongy leaves reminiscent of chard. Because of its texture, it’s best used cooked rather than in salads. Malabar spinach, also called Mong Toi, originates in India, where it readily grows on vines. This healthy green is easy to grow, as the tough leaves are more tolerant to heat than most spinach varieties. It is rich in iron; its taste lends itself well to sauteing....

Grilling mushrooms to replace hamburger buns is another option. Image Credit: IslandLeigh/iStock/Getty Images Mushrooms are often cooked and served as a meat substitute in dishes, including as burger patties. But, if you really like mushrooms or are seeking an alternative to bread, try swapping your buns for a portobello mushroom burger “bun.” Advertisement The portobello (alternatively, "portabella") is a fully grown, mature cremini mushroom that comes in the size and shape of hamburger buns....

Innocent in its appearance, white wine vinegar can taste bitter. Image Credit: Saaster/iStock/Getty Images Vinegar is a popular ingredient used worldwide. In moderation, it’s delicious, but too much vinegar can result in a sour, bitter flavor. It’s hard to neutralize vinegar’s taste once it’s become unpleasant, but certain common ingredients can help you counteract its overpowering flavor. Advertisement Read more: Is Balsamic Vinegar Good for You? Video of the Day Vinegar Uses and Benefits Many types of vinegars are made and consumed around the world....

Sirloin steaks and roasted vegetables. Image Credit: Magone/iStock/Getty Images Sirloin steak is a prime cut of beef from the rear quarter of the steer, and tends to be leaner than most other prime cuts. Sirloin is not as expensive as the choicer cuts of beef, but it is just and tender and juicy when prepared in the correct manner. The way to achieve good results when broiling a sirloin is not to overcook the meat....

1 of 12 Overview Salt, which is composed of sodium and chloride, often gets a bad rap. But sodium is necessary to maintain the body's fluid balance, nerve transmission, muscle contraction and other key functions. And even though it hasn't been definitively shown that a low-salt diet positively impacts heart disease or death (unless you already have hypertension or cardiac disease), many health agencies still recommend limiting sodium. The story of salt isn’t as black and white as you may think....

Are your workout moves hurting your back? Image Credit: David Pereiras/AdobeStock Have you ever thought about why you do the exercises in your current workout routine? Probably not. Because the fact is, most people, even personal trainers, learn their moves from coaches or from a book, or maybe even from an online video and continue doing these exercises indefinitely. Advertisement It's always a good idea to occasionally stop and evaluate the worth of an exercise, assess its risk to reward ratio....

Is your workout hitting ALL your key muscles? Image Credit: Mike Harrington/Taxi/Getty Images You have more than 600 skeletal muscles in your body. Can you name them all? Don’t sweat it. Most men focus on three: guns, pecs and abs. And women? Butt, arms and tummy. Advertisement That's too bad, because the muscles you're missing can relieve pain, lower your injury risk, improve your posture, and improve your overall performance. Video of the Day "[By ignoring these muscles], you hold yourself back....

references Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine: "Caffeine Effects on Sleep Taken 0, 3, or 6 Hours before Going to Bed" Risk Management and Healthcare Policy: "Effects of caffeine on sleep quality and daytime functioning" Harvard Medical School: "Twelve Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep" Healthcare: "Electronic Device Use before Bedtime and Sleep Quality among University Students" American Sleep Association: "Sleep and Electronics" Cleveland Clinic: "Put the Phone Away! 3 Reasons Why Looking at It Before Bed Is a Bad Habit" Cleveland Clinic: "Common Sleep Disorders" American Psychological Association: "Can't get your 40 winks?...

A swollen taste bud is probably caused by something you ate, but sometimes it's a sign of another condition. Image Credit: Deagreez/iStock/GettyImages Quick: Look at your tongue. Those bumps? Those are called papillae. Most of those papillae contain taste buds. According to Britannica, your tongue has 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds. Advertisement And, just as you guessed, these taste buds can get swollen. Video of the Day Oftentimes people don't even know they have swollen taste buds until they have a reason to look into their own mouths, Michelle Robin Yagoda, MD, an otolaryngologist (and taste bud expert) with Northwell Health in New York City, tells LIVESTRONG....

How long can you hold a plank? Thirty seconds? A minute? Two minutes? What about 10 minutes? OK, so you won’t ​exactly​ have to hold a plank for 10 minutes with the above 10-minute plank workout, but your core will burn. Advertisement In this video workout, Cassey Ho, Pilates instructor and creator of Blogilates, takes you through a series of planks, ranging from easy (knee plank) to intense (single-leg Spiderman plank)....

You don't have to leave you bed to get a solid 5-minute ab workout! Image Credit: Cravetiger/Moment/GettyImages Before you roll out of bed to start your long day, you can wake up your body and strengthen your core from the comfort of your mattress. Advertisement "Workouts in bed can be beneficial, as they're more accessible for people working through specific injuries, rehab, joint pain, arthritis or degeneration," says Joanie Johnson, CPT, founder of Strong Mom Society and former professional dancer....

Select exercises that won’t exacerbate back pain. Image Credit: Wavebreakmedia/iStock/GettyImages Staying physically active while battling an infection that causes back pain is not easy. If back and groin pain is getting in the way of your workouts, you might be wondering if you can exercise with a kidney infection. The good news is yes, you can, but there are a few things you should know. Advertisement Kidney Infection Causes and Symptoms A kidney infection, otherwise known as pyelonephritis, is a type of urinary tract infection....

Increase muscle and lose inches by lifting weights. Muscle is much denser than fat, so it's quite possible for you to experience an increase in body weight at the same time as you lose inches from your frame. If you include strength training into your workout routine, this is a definite possibility. It's for this reason that tracking your weight-loss progress is better done by measuring inches rather than pounds. Advertisement Pounds Although a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, the space these two bodily tissues take up in the body are much different....

Kiwis are filled with a lot of vitamins. Image Credit: ozgurdonmaz/iStock/GettyImages While bananas and apples are common options for people looking to add more fruit to their diet, the kiwi fruit should absolutely be part of your weekly rotation. A single fruit contains a number of important vitamins and minerals, including potassium, vitamin C, vitamin K and beta carotene. Advertisement Tip The skin of the kiwi fruit is entirely edible, containing 50 percent more fiber than the interior....

A woman lifting weights at a gym. Image Credit: boggy22/iStock/Getty Images Big arm muscles can make a huge difference to your physique. Your arms are an important muscle group if you compete in bodybuilding, and even if you don’t, big arms can still turn heads in the gym and help you become stronger. While you won’t be able to build huge arms in just two weeks, you can certainly increase their size, provided you perform an intense workout twice per week, focusing on both the biceps and triceps....