GLOW Blog

When we imagine a fit, attractive figure, most picture a flat belly. Indeed, a taut midsection looks great on men and women of all shapes and sizes. A flat tummy can make you look curvy in the right places and overall leaner.

The stomach is often the first place that suffers when we put on excess weight, and also the last place to lose the fat when we diet and exercise. It also tends to get bloated when we eat or drink the wrong things, and “sucking it in” only does so much.

Women of all shapes and sizes find that gravity can — and does — take its toll on breasts. When breasts start to sag, they can look less full, and can even make the rest of the body look heavier or less shapely.

Why do breasts sag? Aside from obvious factors of normal aging and time, breasts tend to sag when they get larger or smaller throughout a woman’s life. This occurs as a result of pregnancy, weight changes, and hormonal shifts. Skin and tissues stretch with changes in breast size, and don’t always bounce back to their original shape. In addition, as we age, breast tissue becomes less dense, leading to less firmness and perkiness, and the connective tissue that supports the breasts tends to lose some of its elasticity.

Diet and exercise are a great way to stay healthy – but they can’t always give you the figure you desire. Many women who’ve lost weight or gotten into shape find that areas of fat or excess skin can’t be spot reduced. In addition, when you lose weight, you might lose the curves and volume you once enjoyed in your breasts or buttocks.

Exercise is one of the healthiest activities for mind and body, and can help relieve stress, strengthen immune system function, and ward off major diseases such as cancer. From an aesthetic standpoint, exercise can help keep your skin looking youthful, tight, and smooth as a result of increased blood circulation. However, if you fail to take care of yourself properly given how often you exercise, you may be susceptible to developing dry skin, wrinkles, stretch marks, and an uneven silhouette, or figure.

It’s November. Thanksgiving is coming. Then Christmas. And then, before you know it, it’s time for New Year’s resolutions. You know, stuff like, “I’m going to be better about getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising more.” Why wait for New Year’s? Why not get a jump on those resolutions now, and save the New Year’s version for something like, “I won’t torment my kids on Halloween for Jimmy Kimmel next year”?

Studies suggest most of us exercise to lose weight.   Though exercise is an important element of any weight loss program, it offers many more benefits then just fitting into our favorite pair of jeans.   Regular exercise combats a number of health conditions including heart disease, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Regular physical activity has been found to reduce the incidence of breast and colon cancer.  It is also known to improve sleep habits, lift moods and decrease the rate of functional decline associated with aging.    Given the positive impact it is no wonder exercise has been called the best medicine available.  So now that we all agree exercise should be a mainstay of our daily lives, how do we go about making that concept a reality?  Here are five tips to help you stick to your workout program: