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If you’re trying to lose weight and absolutely refuse to feel hungry, protein is your best friend. It passes through your system slowly, taking longer to metabolize. That means you stay full longer. It also is (if you choose it wisely) low in fat, sugars and an array of other ingredients that “diet” foods sneak into you. These high protein foods will save you calories, money and time.

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When you indulge in a bag of Swedish Fish, there’s no question if you’re spiking your blood sugar. But did you know there are 56 different names for sugar? And they sneak up in almost every category of food. What you often perceive as the naturally sweet flavor of a healthy food is actually hidden sugar.

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While the act of eating always makes you happy, the aftermath can have the opposite effects. We’re talking bloating, lethargy, and even feelings of depression (and guilt, depending on what you’re snacking on!) But these foods are guaranteed to make you feel sharper, brighter, energized and positive. So if you want to emotionally eat, be sure you’re eating the right emotions!

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You probably tried cutting out carbs completely, and while you maybe dropped weight fast, you also likely felt so lethargic you couldn’t stick to your exercise routine! And you were probably a smidge moody too. So you want to incorporate the no-no category of food back into your diet, in a healthy way now? Here are 14 surprisingly slimming carbohydrates that should be a regular part of your diet.

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Hate to exercise? Feel allergic to it? Is it your idea of torture? You’re not alone. But you still want to be slim and healthy, right? Forget complicated machinery, personal trainers, and expensive workout clothes. Here are 14 no-workout ways to lose weight that almost anyone can do.

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We could all use a little encouragement to keep more produce in the house. But if your knowledge on what to do with it is limited, you’ll end up buying pricier, pre-made dishes with your favorite veggies. Save your money, and do it yourself with these 14 different ways to cook almost any vegetable.

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The scariest thing about switching to a healthier lifestyle is thinking you have to kiss your favorite foods goodbye, forever. But there are actually healthy varieties of almost every “junk food” that still maintain all the aspects of your favorite fatty foods, minus the guilt.

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We’ve all been missing Jazmine Sullivan since she gracefully exited stage right via her Twitter page in 2011, announcing that she would be backing away from the spotlight because she wasn’t “having fun anymore”.

“I promised myself when it wasn’t fun anymore I wouldn’t do it and here I am. I love you all and appreciate you soooooo much. You have no idea how much you’ve inspired me and fed my ego but the truth is that I have to believe in me whether you all do or not and that’s what I’m lookin for. That belief in myself. Me. I love us. Thanks for being here for me and riding with me on this journey,” she tweeted.

Slowly, but surely she appears to be making her way back to center stage, though. The “I Need You” singer has reappeared the social media scenes of Twitter as well as Instagram where she recently shared a photo of herself rocking a chic black evening gown from the Marquette Collection while on her way to a holiday party.

We don’t even have to ask what she’s been up to during her hiatus because her new slim body tells the entire story. Jazmine looks amazing!

We’re hoping that her reappearing act means that she’ll be blessing us with some more great music soon. If her recent tweets revealing her aspirations of receiving a Grammy someday serve as any indication of this, then we definitely don’t mind waiting.

“Work isn’t too bad if u have a goal!! Work with Intention!! Mine is to win grammy’s… What’s urs?” she tweeted.

Welcome back, Jazzy. We’ve missed you!

What do you think of Jazmine’s trim new figure?

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Image via Facebook

By now most Americans have either seen or heard of Dr. Ian Smith. He’s appeared as a medical contributor on various TV programs, the latest being The Rachael Ray Show” He hosts the nationally syndicated radio show “HealthWatch” on American Urban Radio News. And he doles out medical and diet advice to the stars on VH1′s Celebrity Fit Club.

Besides the broadcast exposure, Smith has authored several best-selling books including The Fat Smash Diet, Extreme Fat Smash Diet and The 4 Day Diet. And he has just completed SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet.

Recently, we talked with Dr. Smith about his career, health and wellness.

MadameNoire: Why did you write SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet?

Ian Smith: I had been working with just a few friends who called me up and were frustrated because they had tried everything, but couldn’t break through their weight-loss plateau. They wanted me to come up with a program specifically for them that would get them shedding pounds again. So, I created SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet. All of them were losing lots of weight on the program. I held it in reserve for some time, then decided to tweet some of it to my followers on Twitter to give them a weight-loss boost. So many people were losing so much weight that my publisher and I decided to publish the book and make it available to everyone this December.

MN: You have had several bestsellers. Why is writing a book a good business move?

IS: I never really looked at it as a business move.  My motives were to help people and to continue to do what I have been doing for some time. Being a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, I travel the country speaking about fitness and nutrition and other health issues. So this was really an extension of that. However, dieting is a big business and it is one that unfortunately is not going away. People spend billions of dollars each year on dieting programs, services and products. People like me want dieting to be a shrinking business instead of one that’s growing.

MN: What are the three biggest diet mistakes people make?

IS: 1) Unrealistic expectations. People want to lose too much weight too fast.  They set unrealistic goals and when they don’t meet these goals they get upset and frustrated and leave a program that is probably good for them in the long run.

2) Obsession with the scale.  People want to weigh themselves every day to see if they are losing weight. Once a week is enough.

3) Starting too early. Weight loss is a journey and often it’s difficult. Too many start a program at the wrong time and when they are not ready or in the best position to succeed. Start when you’re ready and when you have control of your food and exercise environment.

Source: Damajority.com

From EurWeb

The 5000 year old, ancient art of Ayurvedain India is the natural science of balance.

Indian medicine’s long history makes it one of the oldest catalogued systems of medicine in the world.  In fact, Greek and Chinese medicine are both based upon ancient Ayurvedic arts. The earliest concepts of Ayurveda are documented in the Indian sacred writings called the Vedas.

I say all of this to say, Ayurvedic lifestyles offer an alternative resource African-American women can deploy to help defeat many of the illnesses that have plagued our community. Ayurvedists have developed diets and health plans to battle fatal diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, lupus, obesity, high blood pressure and depression.  These ailments have shackled our community for too long.

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