Exercise Your Right to Kate Middleton's Royal-Worthy Arms

Source: Exercise Your Right to Kate Middleton's Royal Worthy Arms

All eyes were on Kate Middleton last week as she made her first official solo royal engagement at a London charity ball. As amazing as the Duchess of Cambridge looked in her pale blue gown, we were distracted by how toned her arms and shoulders were! Keep reading to find out how Kate keeps in such great shape and what it takes achieve a set of shapely arms and shoulders worthy of a royal setting.

• Arm-Emphasizing Cardio: In order to show off all that toned muscle you've been building, you'll also need to trim down the fat. The easiest — and healthiest — way to lose weight is through a consistent cardio program and a healthy diet. If you're hoping to get shapely arms like Kate, maximize your cardio efforts by picking arm-emphasizing workouts. Kate is a regular on the ski bunny and is also quite the rower — both of these activities require a lot of upper body movement.
  Can't make it outdoors? Just hop onto your gym's elliptical or rowing machine.
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• Lateral Arm Raises: Lateral arm raises (aka side-arm raises) work your deltoids, which will help deliver strong, sexy shoulders.
  • Stand with your feet hip distance apart. Hold a three- to five-pound dumbbell in each hand, with your palms facing in.
  • Start with the right side. Keeping your arm straight (but don't lock that elbow), raise your arm until it's parallel with the floor. You should be able to see your hand in your peripheral vision — your arm isn't directly out to the side, but slightly forward. Exhale, and slowly lower your hand down.
  • Repeat with your left arm.
  • Then lift both arms at the same time.
  • Continue this sequence of right, left, together, right, left, together, for a total of 10 to 12 reps. Do two sets.
  
  
  More from FitSugar: 5 Fitness Classes Where You'll Likely Spot a Celeb
  
  
  
• Triceps Dips: To tone your triceps — the muscles on the backside of your upper arm that run from your shoulder to your elbow — do triceps dips. It's a great, basic exercise that requires little equipment.
  
  • Position your hands shoulder width apart on a secured bench or stable chair.
  • Move your booty in front of the bench with your legs bent and feet placed about hip width apart on the floor.
  • Straighten your arms and keep a slight bend in your elbows — this maintains the tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints.
  • Slowly bend your elbows and lower your upper body toward the floor until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. Be sure to keep your back close to the bench.
  • Once you reach the bottom of the movement, slowly straighten your elbows, pushing yourself up to return to the starting position.
  • Repeat for a total of 12-15 times. Do two sets.
• Hammer Curls to Overhead Press: Hammer curls to overhead presses work the biceps, but serve double duty by also helping you achieve Kate's shapely shoulders.
  
  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
  • Pick up a set of three- to eight-pound weights, with your palms facing in toward your legs.
  • Inhale as you bend your elbows, raising your hands toward your shoulders with your palms still facing in.
  • As you exhale, straighten your arms up over your head.
  • Inhale to lower your elbows back down toward your ribs.
  • Then exhale, straightening your arms back down toward your legs.
  • Repeat for a total of 12-15 times. Do two sets.
  
  
  
  More from FitSugar: How Stacy Keibler Got Those Killer Legs
  
  
• Reverse Flies: Reverse flies are a great exercise for toning and strengthening the upper back.
  
  • Sit on a chair or the end of a bench.
  • Place a light dumbbell (around five pounds) in each hand and lean over your thighs. Don't collapse onto your legs, but keep your chest about six inches from your quads. Straighten your spine and engage your abs.
  • Maintain this position in your torso as you lift both arms up, drawing your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the dumbbells back toward the ground with control.
  • Do three sets of 12 to 15 reps.

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Weight Watchers is Not an Ideal Diet for Diabetics

By Descygna Webb for DietsInReview.com

November is diabetes awareness month, and we want to help the 25 million Americans living with this disease make smarter choices to help manage and even reverse it. Those suffering from type 2 diabetes are in need of a healthy eating plan that can help them lose weight while managing their diabetes.

While Weight Watchers is one of the most popular diet programs available (it's number one on our Best Diets of the Year list), it is not designed for diabetics. Weight Watchers has a nearly 50-year history, and the program embraces several principles of healthy living making it ideal for most people who want to lose weight in a sustainable way. However, because Weight Watchers is not for diabetics, if you truly want to participate in the program, it's advised that you seek advice from your physician for adaptations that can work for your dietary needs.

One thing that can make Weight Watchers somewhat difficult to follow for those with type 2 diabetes is the fact that you cannot convert the PointsPlus program values into diabetes exchanges or grams of carbohydrates. Another reason is that Weight Watchers recommends that diabetics choose foods with a low glycemic index. If you choose to follow a low GI diet, you really have no need for the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program.

Weight Watchers is a lifestyle program that is better suited for those who have not been told to follow a specific diet or exercise regimen by their doctor. The DietsInReview.com resident pharmacist, Dr. Sarah Khan, warns that carbohydrates don't have enough of a focus on the program.

"The diabetic diet consists of eating less than 130 carbs per day and Weight Watchers may not have a clear diabetic guideline for that," she said. "When I say carbs I mean whole grains like whole wheat pasta, bread, and brown rice. They have a lesser effect on blood sugar. Eating things like pasta, breads and rice that are not whole grain make the sugar go up dramatically and in type 2 diabetics this can force insulin levels up as well. I encourage people to go on diabetic diets and to eat nutrient dense food like lean meats, protein and fiber rich foods."

Thankfully, there are helpful options for those with diabetes who want, or need, to lose weight. The key is to find a diet program that can safely meet your needs as a diabetic without being too complicated. As Dr. Khan says, find a program that includes healthy foods and the proper types of carbs. Always seek advice from your physician or nutritionist for assurance that you are following a plan that is appropriate for your health needs.

"For diabetics specifically we focus on the DASH diet (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) which is high in fruits and vegetables, low-fat or non-fat dairy and whole grains," said Dr. Khan.

You can learn more about the DASH Diet benefits at DietsInReview.com, where you'll find more resources like:

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The Latest Science on Happiness

Photo: Thinkstock

If you're a cheery person, you may have your DNA to thank. Researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science found that people tend to be more satisfied with their lives if they possess a version of the 5-HTT gene that is more efficient at transporting the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin.

RELATED: Deepak Chopra on the Happiness Solution

Making joy a goal may not be the best idea. According to a study in the journalEmotion, women who place a high premium on happiness tend to be more depressed, perhaps because they feel disappointed with their failure to meet their high standards.

RELATED: 6 Ways Giving Makes You Healthy

A rigorous review in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed that for depressed people, finding contentment may be as simple as doing nice things: "Positive activity interventions"—such as performing acts of kindness, counting one's blessings, and writing letters of gratitude—reversed apathy, stimulated the brain's pleasure circuits, and restored happiness.

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25 Secrets Your Nurse Won’t Tell You

1. "We're not going to tell you your doctor is incompetent, but if I say, 'You have the right to a second opinion,' that can be code for 'I don't like your doctor' or 'I don't trust your doctor.'" — Linda Bell, RN, clinical practice specialist at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses in Aliso Viejo, California

2. "When a patient is terminally ill, sometimes the doctor won't order enough pain medication. If the patient is suffering, we'll sometimes give more than what the doctor said and ask him later to change the order. People will probably howl now that I've said it out loud, but you have to take care of your patient." — A longtime nurse in Texas

3. "Feel free to tell us about your personal life, but know that we're here for 12 hours with nothing to talk about. So the stuff you tell us will probably get repeated." — A nurse in St. Petersburg, Florida

4. "A lot of my patients are incontinent, and I'm supposed to just use a wet washcloth to clean them.But if it's a patient who's been really nice and appreciative, I'll go all the way to intensive care to get some of the heated wet wipes, which are a lot more gentle. Somebody who's constantly yelling at me? I just use the washcloth." — A nurse in St. Petersburg, Florida

5. "I've had people blow out arteries in front of me, where I know the patient could bleed to death within minutes. I've had people with brains literally coming out of their head. No matter how worried I am, I'll say calmly, 'Hmmm, let me give the doctor a call and have him come look at that.'" — A longtime nurse in Texas

PLUS: 15 Secrets ER Staff Won't Tell You

6. "I'd never tell a patient that he's a moron for waiting a week for his stroke symptoms to improve before coming to the hospital. Although I'd like to. Especially if his wife then complains that we're not doing anything for the guy." — A longtime nurse who blogs at head-nurse.blogspot.com

7. "If you're happily texting and laughing with your friends until the second you spot me walking into your room, I'm not going to believe that your pain is a ten out of ten." — A nurse in New York City

8. "When you tell me how much you drink or smoke or how often you do drugs, I automatically double or triple it." — A longtime nurse in Texas

9. "Your life is in our hands — literally. We question physicians' orders more often than you might think. Some of the mistakes I've headed off: a physician who forgot to order a medication that the patient was taking at home, a doctor who ordered the incorrect diet for a diabetic, and one who tried to perform a treatment on the wrong patient." — A nurse from Pennsylvania

10. "These days, you can't get admitted unless you're really sick, and you'll probably get sent home before you're really ready. So we don't get any easy ones anymore." — Kathy Stephens Williams, RN, staff development educator for critical care at St. Anthony's Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri

PLUS: 41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share

11. "People have no idea of the amount of red tape and charting we have to deal with every day.We spend hours at the computer just clicking boxes. They tell us, 'If it wasn't charted, it didn't happen.' So I always chart with a jury in the back of my mind." — An intensive-care nurse in California

12. "Despite nurses' best efforts, hospitals are still filthy and full of drug-resistant germs. I don't even bring my shoes into the house when I get home." — Gina, a nurse who blogs at codeblog.com

13. "The No. 1 thing you should never say to me: 'You're too smart to be a nurse.' I went to nursing school because I wanted to be a nurse, not because I wanted to be a doctor and didn't make it." — A longtime nurse in Texas

14. "Grey's Anatomy? We watch it and laugh. Ninety percent of the things doctors do on the show are things that nurses do in real life. Plus, there's no time to sit in patients' rooms like that." — Kathy Stephens Williams, RN

15. "The sicker you are, the less you complain. I'll have a dying patient with horrible chest pain who says nothing, because he doesn't want to bother me. But the guy with the infected toe — he can't leave me alone." — An intensive-care nurse in California

16. "No matter how many times you use your call light, even if it's every ten minutes, I will come into your room with a smile. However, if you don't really need help, I will go back to the nurses' station and complain, and this may affect how the nurses on the next shift take care of you." — A cardiac nurse in San Jose, California

17. "When your provider asks for a list of the medications you're taking, make sure you include over-the-counter drugs and herbals. People think that if an herb is 'all natural' and 'organic,' it's not a medication. But that's not true. Herbals can interact with other medications and can cause serious complications." — Kristin Baird, RN, a health-care consultant in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin

18. "This is a hospital, not a hotel. I'm sorry the food isn't the best, and no, your boyfriend can't sleep in the bed with you." — A nurse in New York City

PLUS: 13 Things Your Podiatrist Won't Tell You

19. "I know you asked for mashed potatoes, but that sound you hear is my other patient's ventilator going off." — A nurse in New York City

20. "If you ask me if your biopsy results have come back yet, I may say no even if they have, because the doctor is really the best person to tell you. He can answer all your questions." — Gina, a nurse who blogs at codeblog.com

21. "When you ask me, 'Have you ever done this before?' I'll always say yes. Even if I haven't." — A nurse in New York City

22. "In my first nursing job, some of the more senior nurses on the floor refused to help me when I really needed it, and they corrected my inevitable mistakes loudly and in public. It's a very stressful job, so we take it out on each other." — Theresa Brown, RN, an oncology nurse and the author of Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between

23. "It can be intimidating when you see a physician who is known for being a real ogre make a mistake. Yes, you want to protect your patient, but there's always a worry: Am I asking for a verbal slap in the face?" — Linda Bell, RN

24. "Every nurse has had a doctor blame her in front of a patient for something that is not her fault.They're basically telling the patient, 'You can't trust your nurse.'" —Theresa Brown, RN

25. "If you have a really great nurse, a note to her nurse manager that says 'So-and-so was exceptional for this reason' will go a long way. Those things come out in her evaluation — it's huge." — Linda Bell, RN

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6 Secrets of Happy Eaters

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SELF magazine

Diets? Who needs 'em? Not these women. Happy eaters relish food,stress less about their bodies and still stay slim. Here are 6 secrets you can steal from them.

1. Happy Eaters Go on Fewer Diets
According to a survey of 4,000 women that SELF conducted with Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, happy eaters are much less likely to have started dieting before age 20. "If you start early, dieting can become a lifestyle," says Bulik. Julie Waldrop, 40, the owner of an eBay store in Crestwood, Kentucky, is 5 feet 6 inches and makes choices daily to maintain her 130 pounds. "I plan to have protein, veggies and fruit at meals. I avoid anything fried; I have irritable bowel syndrome, and junk food makes it worse," she says. "I don't know if it's a diet, or just healthy living."

2. Happy Eaters Have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Lisa Dolan, a 44-year-old mother of five from Cazenovia, New York, organizes three moderate meals a day for her entire brood. "I take a few extra steps: TV off, music on, the table set," says Dolan, who is 5 feet 2 inches and weighs 114 pounds. "We sit down instead of standing at the kitchen counter. I take my time—I've actually gone on yoga retreats where I wasn't allowed to talk while I was eating." The rest of the day, Dolan says, "I don't focus on food too much. I enjoy it, but I don't ritualize it."

3. Happy Eaters Use a Scale, But Not Daily
"Patients tell me, 'Getting on the scale tells me how my day will go,'" says Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher, Ph.D., director of the eating disorders clinic at the University of Illinois in Chicago. "That's a lot of power for one little number." Happy eaters, she says, know that weight fluctuates daily and that weighing each morning doesn't give you an accurate measure.

4. Happy Eaters Splurge With No Regrets
When happy eaters do treat themselves, they don't beat themselves up. "If I want a bag of chips, I'll have it. I don't deny myself," Dolan says. "Everyone needs Dairy Queen once in a while, right?" Waldrop reasons. Eve Metlis, a 33-year-old real estate agent from Orlando, Florida, builds splurges into her regular meal plans. Metlis is 5 foot 4 and weighs 140 pounds—a number she's proud of, as she lost 70 pounds to get there. At a party, she says, she'll choose a glass of wine over cake. "I might take a forkful of icing," she says. And she knows when going whole hog is the happy choice. "On holidays like Thanksgiving, I indulge. I can enjoy it because it's about being with my family," she says.

5. Happy Eaters Know Women Come in All Sizes
Danielle Trentacosti, 32, is 5 foot 7 and a size 0 and freely admits she has a blessed metabolism. "I thank my mother for that," says the stay-at-home mom in Toms River, New Jersey. Food and body image are not her issues—except to the extent that other women single her out. "I was at the beach with my friends, and someone hopped up to take a photo," Trentacosti recalls. "All the women scrambled to move away from me, saying they didn't want to be next to the 'skinny mom.' I was embarrassed and uncomfortable. I would never comment on what other women weigh or eat."

6. Happy Eaters Exercise Without Anxiety
For happy eaters, "exercise is a means to have a healthy body and cope with stress. It doesn't define them," says Graham Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, and coinvestigator for the National Weight Control Registry. Happy eaters "listen to their body and rest when they need to," says Gregory Florez, CEO of FitAdvisor.com, a corporate health-coaching service in Salt Lake City and spokesman for the American Council on Exercise. "Give your body time to recover and your next workout will be of a higher quality."

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