5 beauty tricks to make your face look thinner

Are you looking for quick and easy ways to make yourself look thinner without eating healthy or going to the gym?

Yes?

Then you’ve come to the right place!

You see, I’m finding it REALLY hard to remove myself from our couch these days. I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather, the shorter days, or the fact that I’m generally just a lazy person, but I’d much rather spend my evenings staring at the TV with a tub of ice cream in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other than running on the treadmill next to Mr. McFarty, you know?

The good news?

The internet is FULL of awesome beauty tricks to make your face look thinner, and after trying some of them out, I feel at least 5 lbs lighter.

Actually, I feel 10 lbs lighter, but that has more to do with the fact that I finally shaved my legs…

Anyway, I figure I’m not the only person who does a double-take when she sees herself in the mirror these days, so I figured I’d share the love.

You’re welcome! via

Best Tips for Losing Belly Fat Fast

Is there a faster way to lose your stubborn belly fat? No single person has no belly fat even though they have flat abs. But, too much fat in your belly makes you feel uncomfortable to use any type of clothes. It can also affect your self-confidence and fashion statement. Too much visceral fat can really ruin your passion to wear clothes that you like. | via

20 Best Fitness Tips to Build Muscles and Burn Fat Effeciently

The best way to get a flatter stomach is an exercise I call table push-backs. That is, push baaack from the table and stop stuffing your face. Contrary to the latest infomercial, you won't get flat abs by using the latest and greatest ab contraption. The secret to flat abs is your diet. That right: It's 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise.

You can do a million crunches until you're blue in the face and that lovely muffin top will remain covering your toned abs until you change your diet and start to eat clean. A clean diet means eat everything closest to its natural state (so skip commercial snack foods...donuts, cakes, cookies, chips--even the organic ones, processed foods, high-fat salad dressings, all fried foods, fast foods, alcohol, soda, sugary juice...you get the idea). Eating a quality diet of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat proteins (in the appropriate amounts) is the best way to get better abs and a better body overall.

As far as exercise goes, cardio is primarily for toning the heart muscle and burning fat; strength training is for toning muscle (through body weight exercises, free weight training, kettle bells, weight machines). Get in a good cardio workout most days a week, and make sure to do toning exercises that also target your abs. Try to do toning exercises at least two to three times a week on non-consecutive days. | via

5 Minutes To Leaner Legs

Winter, spring, summer, fall – it’s always a good time for leaner legs! Just when you think you can put the shorts away and forget about them, out come the jeans that might not slide up as quickly as you’d like. Well, then time to get at it! Let’s create something a little leaner, stronger, and get rid of some of that extra “stuff’ on the outer edge that we don’t like so much!

This workout gives you five great exercises that will tone and tighten your thighs. Combine this five minute routine three days a week with two to three days of cardio a week and clean eating, and you’ll be ready for lean jeans and short shorts in no time! via

9 Butt Exercises Better Than Squats

Want a good hip workout ? Here are 12 stretches and workouts for flexibility and strengthening of the hips. These exercises help loosen tight hip flexors and finally get those slim and sexy hips. Perfect for men and women. Also great for runners to recover after injury or strain. | via

Do 3 sets of 12 of each of these exercises every two days for fast toning results.

To do the squat simply stand with both feet about shoulder width apart. Hold both hands in front of you at shoulder level. Bend both knees down and descend, taking your butt backward. Make sure to keep a straight line with your back and make sure your knees don’t pass the line of your toes. To avoid placing too much strain on your legs, bend no lower than a 90 degree angle. | via

20 Effective Shoulder Exercises You Should Include In Workout

Any upper body exercise, or in fact, anything that involves the use of your upper body, needs strong shoulders. Shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries people suffer from. The reason is neglecting your shoulder muscles and not giving them the TLC they deserve.

Here are the top 20 shoulder exercises to strengthen not only your shoulder muscles, but also to strengthen the bones and joints; improve their range of motion; and sculpt those sexy shoulders. | via

7 Ways to Lose Inner Thigh Fat for Good

Summer is right around the corner and you know what that means – swimsuit season.

​If you’re working to lose that last bit of weight, specifically around the thigh area that you can never seem to get rid of, check out these 7 best exercises for thighs that will have you toned and shapely, and help you lose the weight there for good. Yes, it is possible to actually be happy with the way your legs look!

​If you combine the following workouts and do them three times a week, you will see definite results. Keep that in mind once you are feeling the burn! via

The 7 Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight

In case you are reading this article, then probably you should be someone who is trying to lose weight, but is unable to.

You hit the gym not once but twice a day. You have injected strict dieting into your regular routine. You have banned sugars, fats and most ‘unhealthy’ carbs. You have been solely surviving on fibre and water (I am personally happy water doesn’t contain fat. Or else, sigh) | via

10 Moves for Your Inner and Outer Thighs

Thighs are tough. It’s just like arm flab; there seems to be too much there and you don’t know how to get rid of it! Everyone complains about their thighs and the only solutions seem to be either cosmetic surgery or exercise. Now, some people might opt for surgery, but the cheaper and safer solution is to exercise and tone your thighs. Here are a few great moves specifically for working out your inner and outer thighs. Before you know it you won’t have anything to complain about! via

9 Tips To Slim Down Quickly

Did you know that strict dieting and certain types of exercise can actually trigger a biological “switch” in a woman’s body, that forces your fat cells to greedily TRAP fatty acids, or even store MORE fat?

And that simply flipping that same switch to "fat-release" mode is quite simple, yet probably goes against everything you’ve heard or even believed about losing weight?

Would it shock you to learn that the stubborn lower body fat 91% of women struggle with is a direct result of this simple biological switch?…

And that no matter how hard you’ve tried in the past, it's simply NOT your fault that you never managed to slim your thighs and bum, no matter how much weight you lost?

You see, it is now clear that your fat loss and weight gain are controlled at a cellular level by something called Adrenoreceptors (1)…

These are like SWITCHES that react with a hormone called adrenaline that is released naturally by your body, and makes you store or release fat…

Everyone — women and men alike — have both Beta Adrenoreceptors and Alpha Adrenoreceptors…

Now, when you turn on your Beta receptor “switch”, you trigger fat burning…

However, when you turn on your Alpha receptor “switch”, you store and trap fat in your fat cells…

Now, the bad news for women…

Researchers have discovered that women have 9 TIMES more Alpha receptors than Beta receptors in their stubborn lower body fat2…

And now you see why stubborn trapped fat has NEVER been your fault!

However, in the rest of this short article, you’ll discover 3 simple strategies that activate your fat-burning Beta receptors and suppress your fat-trapping Alpha receptors — in even your most stubborn trouble spots — so you will melt away your embarrassing fat zones without depriving yourself of your favorite foods or spending useless hours on exercises that make your trouble spots even worse. | via

5 Exercises That Will Keep Your Abs Sore For Days

If you want to up your abs game, do these five out-of-the-box exercises to fire up the muscle fibers you didn’t know you had. | via

Top 10 Barbell Exercises For Women

Barbells have been around forever now and if you go to a gym and don’t see a set of barbells, you need to leave right away. Barbells effectively work out most of the major upper and lower body muscle groups to promote body mass, strength and stamina. These ten barbell exercises are sure to help you achieve all you can from a simple set of barbells.

Bench press is a barbell exercise routine for beginners that helps develop chest mass. Keep your body flat on a bench and grasp the barbell with a shoulder width grip. Inhale as you bring the barbell down to your lower chest and keep your elbows close to your sides throughout. Exhale even as you press the weight up. Repeat this eight to ten times in three sets.

Rest your arms on a flat bench; keep your wrists firmly down with your palms up just a little over the edge of the bench. Stay steady throughout this routine. Now relax your wrists and curl your hands up as you lift the barbell close to your forearms. Do 3 sets without counting repetitions. Do them till you are tired. This challenging method builds greater mass for your forearms.

This method mainly helps strengthen your back. Take hold of the barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip and bring the weight up into your midsection with your arms back. With an underhand grip and your legs slightly bent with your upper body leaning forward, pull your arms back and draw the weight to your waist. | via

9 Tricks To Improve Your Posture

You probably already know that the effects of yoga on the body are almost magical. I certainly can think of no other exercise routine that better connects my mind and body while managing to both restore and strengthen my frame. And on the days I skip out on my yoga time, my neck and shoulders feel 10 times worse than normal — but no matter how tight my upper body feels after writing for hours, just 10 minutes of yoga usually makes me feel pretty fantastic.

So if you don't already do daily yoga, give it a shot — not only does it improve flexibility, focus, and help with anxiety — it will improve your posture, too. You can find loads of great yoga poses for good posture on Pinterest, but this slideshow from Medical Daily is a great place to start, too. | via

4 Ways to Use Yoga Blocks to Improve Flexibility

On the Yoga Forum for more yoga chat with likeminded people. It's a great little supportive corner of the internet, and I'd love to chat with you there! 

Personally, I find improving flexibility one of the toughest things to do because it takes a lot of time and patience - two things that the majority of us don't have (#amiright?!). I really haven't found any way around that (sorry!), but using props like yoga blocks is definitely a way to work on your flexibility if you feel like you've hit a plateau. 

1. Forward fold - for forward fold, we're working on our hamstring flexibility, so placing a yoga block on the legs (any which way works for you is fine - it can be vertical or horizontal) may help. Rest your head on the block and with each exhale, visualize your stomach coming down toward your thighs. Try to stay here for 5 - 7 breaths (or more, if you can).

Related 3 ways to improve your forward fold

2. Janu Sirsasana A - This is forward fold but with one leg bent, and it's working on the hamstrings and the inner thigh and hips as well. So, same idea. Place the yoga block on the floor this time, any way that works for you, and rest the head. With each exhale, visualize your stomach coming toward toward your thighs, visualize the shoulders and hips even. Breathe fully here for 5 - 7 breaths or more.

Related The one thing I highly recommend for deepening your practice

3. Lizard pose - Lizard pose is hip opener can be super tough for people with tight hips and a block sort of raises the floor so you can spend some time here without wanting to scream (or is that just me?!). Anyway, place the block any way that works for you, and bring the forearms down to the block. With each exhale, visualize any tension you're feeling totally released. Breathe 5 - 7 breaths or longer.

4. Wide leg forward fold - This is a good one for the hamstrings, too. Bring your head down and rest here, breathing into the backs of the legs. Visualize the hip joints in line with the ankles and hold here for 5 - 7 breaths. | via

Common Mistakes in Upavistha Konasana B

This is one of my favorite (unexpected) poses to pop into a fun vinyasa flow. I like to come out of it by crossing the ankles out in front and then rocking forward and jumping back into chaturanga. The thing about this pose, however, is that I find myself teetering precariously (and often tipping over, who am I kidding) so I wanted to go over some pointers in case anyone else was dealing with the same thing. The biggest tip I can give with this pose is to focus on keeping the chest open by drawing the shoulder blades toward one another. This helps to bring everything into alignment, and then on an exhale, focus relaxing the shoulders away from the ears.

If the flexibility isn't there yet in the back of the legs, I would suggest bending the knees and keeping the shins parallel with the ground and then focus on getting the rest of the pose in alignment. | via

Yoga for your mind / Help yourself to some yoga theropy!

Feeling the stress of the holidays? Oh, we're with you. Consider this our gift: a 10-minute routine that will stretch, renew, and revive you for your next holiday event. Break it out as many times as you need throughout the week.

The Workout

Slowly and gently move into each of the yoga poses below. Once you’ve settled into each full pose, focus on deep breathing from your belly. Allow your breath to flow into the lower part of your abdomen, so that it expands as you breathe in and deflates as you exhale. This is diaphragmatic breathing. With each exhale, consciously relax and release tension throughout your body. Focus on slow and controlled breathing, inhaling to a count of five and exhaling to a count of three. Take five to 10 deep and slow breaths in each pose (on both sides when applicable) before moving onto the next. | via

5 Moves That Will Change Your Body

Derek DeGrazio, celebrity trainer and managing partner at Barry’s Bootcamp South Florida, is known for his butt-kicking workouts. Here’s a 60/30 routine he created just for SELF readers…

Compound exercises are the secret sauce to having a quick and effective workout. Simply put, these supercharged moves are two isolated exercises that join forces to become one amazing exercise that engage multiple muscle groups at once. In my fast and effective routine below, you’ll find five of my favorite compound moves that will activate and tone your core while sculpting lean muscles from head-to-toe. I’ve also incorporated a few “burnout” exercises that will exhaust your muscles and help shed fat. Consider my 60/30 routine your fast and furious #UpNOut challenge—all you need is eight minutes and a set of dumbbells. 

The 60/30 workout: Perform each compound dumbbell exercise for 60 seconds completing as many reps as you can. Then, ditch the weights and immediately do 30 seconds of the “burnout” exercise.

What’ You’ll Need: One set of medium dumbbells (start with 8-10 lbs.)

Set 1

60: Squat and Press Stand with feet hip-width apart and holding a weight in each hand directly above shoulders. Hinge hips back and lower into a squat keeping weight in heels. Stand and press both weights overhead. Return weights to above shoulders and immediately lower into next rep.

30: Squat Jump Stand with feet hip-width apart. Hinge hips back and lower into a squat. Push through heels to stand and explode off the ground. Land and immediately begin next rep.

Set 2

60: Lunge and Curl Stand with feet together and a weight in each hand. Step right foot forward and bend both knees to create two 90 degree angles with legs. Turn palms to face away from body and curl weights to shoulders. Lower weights back to sides, stand and step right foot back to meet left. That’s 1 rep, alternate sides with each rep.

30: Flunge (flying lunge) Start in a lunge position with right foot forward. Jump off the ground and switch legs in mid-air, landing in a lunge position with left foot forward. Continue alternating sides with each rep.

Set 3

60: Deadlift and Pull Stand with feet hip-width apart with arms in front of body, palms facing in and a weight in each hand. Keeping a soft bend in knees and back flat, reach weights toward floor, stopping near ankles or shins. Return to standing, pressing hips forward slightly. Now raise weights to chest-height, keeping elbows higher than hands. Return arms to start to complete 1 rep. 

30: Squat Thrust Stand with feet hip-distance apart. Place palms on ground and jump legs back into a high plank position. Jump feet back towards hands and jump straight up, immediately lowering into the next rep.

Set 4

60: Tricep Extension and Leg Raise Lie face up, arms raised in the air directly above shoulders with a weight in each hand, palms facing each other, and legs extended on floor. Keeping elbows still, lower each weight toward floor until hands are next to ears with elbows pointing to the sky. Press weights back up and lift legs to sky until feet are above hips. Lower legs back to ground to complete 1 rep.

30: Flutter Kicks Lie face up with arms by side and legs extended away from body. Raise arms, legs and torso six inches off floor and begin to “flutter” legs, alternating up and down a few inches with opposite feet.

Set 5

60: Push-Up with Row Start in a push-up position with each hand holding on to a weight that is resting on the ground. Do one push-up then row right arm to torso keeping elbow close to torso. Repeat with left arm to complete 1 rep.

30: Plank Jacks Start in a high plank position with wrists under shoulders, abs tight and spine long. Quickly jump feet in and out while maintaining a plank position. | via