BusinessVoice News Network

In the race to shed those pounds and improve your health, it doesn’t matter if you’re the tortoise or the hare. Research has shown that losing weight quickly doesn’t offer any more health benefits than slimming down slowly. Some believe that faster weight loss may be better at reducing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Source Link 

The office binder clip is a multi-purpose tool in the kitchen. Use one to seal a potato chip bag or hold parchment paper to a sheet pan when you bake. A binder clip can tame a tangle of power cords on a kitchen counter, hang bags of veggies from a freezer wire shelf or serve as guard rails to keep horizontal bottles from rolling around in the fridge. Source Link

You can find ways to fit in fitness at work. Every 30 minutes, do stretches to relax your neck, shoulders and fingers, or stand up and bend at the hips to touch your toes. Take a walk across the office to talk to someone face-to-face instead of calling or emailing and maximize your lunch break by including a walk or climbing a few sets of stairs. Source Link

Self-esteem is considered a must for emotional wellbeing but it’s also important to know how to give yourself a break. With self-compassion, you can show yourself the same empathy that you extend to others. Being understanding and not judgmental with yourself offers a kind of immunity against negative influences like fear. Source Link

Teaching kids the value of saving now to enjoy a purchase later might start with one simple word on an everyday shopping trip. When you go into a store, remind them that you aren’t there to buy anything “fun.” If that’s what they want, they’ll need to save money for it. Do this along with creating a savings goal chart for that purchase. Source Link

A clogged showerhead can ruin your daily routine but there’s an easy way to fix it. Fill a plastic sandwich bag with a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water and attach this around the showerhead with a rubber band. Let it soak for 60 minutes to clean out the mineral buildup and get that shower going full blast again. Source Link

Is there a big threat to your waistline lurking on desktops and in the break room at work? One study found that the typical worker ate nearly 300 calories a day in food from the office. Think before you grab a free cookie or cupcake and avoid the urge to hit that candy dish by bringing your own healthy snacks to work. Source Link

The blue spray that keeps your windows clean can do wonders all around the home. Try it as a stain remover on non-silk washable fabrics or a kitchen degreaser for cooktops, cabinet door handles and stainless steel appliances. It’s ideal for cleaning your car’s dashboard and steering wheel and will work on most surfaces in the bathroom. Source Link

Here are some fast and easy cleanouts for a few trouble spots in the home. Pull out all of the phone chargers and cords you have to see which you still need and recycle the rest. Empty everything from beneath the sink to discard old sponges or cleaners you never use. And only keep enough reusable shopping bags in your car for one grocery run. Source Link

Posture may be an important factor in how fast that pill you’ve taken begins to work. There’s nothing wrong with taking a pill while standing or sitting up, but testing showed that leaning to your right side could speed absorption by about 13 minutes. On the other hand, leaning to the left could add an hour to the time it takes that pill to dissolve. Source Link

Finding the best lighting angle for that outside photo is as easy as raising your hand. Hold your hand in front of you with your palm pointing out and turn your body in a circle until your hand has no shadows on it. That’s the direction to point your subject or stand yourself to ensure a shadow-free photo. Source Link

Just wearing a step-tracking watch can lead to taking more steps per day, even if you never check your progress. Researchers found that people who wore step trackers took about 300 more steps per day than before testing began. They got the “before” numbers by using a little-known feature in every iPhone that automatically tracks your steps. Source Link

You can deal with stress on the job by changing your approach to work. Find things you can control and focus your energy there, like using a lunch break to re-energize. Be intentional with your time and try to plan more of what energizes you, make a manageable to-do list by breaking big tasks into several smaller ones and practice saying “no” to projects that don’t fit for you. Source Link 

Remember these numbers to build a better to-do list – one, three, five. Pick the biggest job of the day and put that number-one on the list. Then choose three smaller, but still important tasks, and complete the list with five small items that you can finish easily. This technique lets you avoid the need to sort your to-do list by time or urgency. Source Link

When you’re wondering if your child has an unhealthy relationship with social media, ask these questions. Do they do anything significant each day besides going to school or spending time on screens, and how many hours a day do they use social media? Also ask yourself, does your child have a very hard time stopping, and does social media interfere with their sleep, homework or general daily functions. Source Link

Getting kids to eat their veggies starts long before they’re eating anything. Moms can help develop that taste by eating vegetables during pregnancy. Model good habits for infants and toddlers by eating the same vegetables they do during a meal. And let kindergartners help in the kitchen to see how vegetables can be an important part of a meal. Source Link

Seniors don’t need to be afraid of the weight room because resistance training pays big dividends as we age. Consult with your doctor and a personal trainer and start with free weights that can build muscles and help with balance. Weight training can help the heart learn to pump harder to avoid fatigue. Source Link

A few common household products may be all you need to keep your phone free of dirt and grime. Use a disposable wipe or a solution of 70-percent isopropyl alcohol on a microfiber cloth to clean the screen every day. And a strip of Scotch tape can pull up any lint or sand that’s struck in crevices on your phone. Source Link