TOTAL HEALTH NEWS N VIDEOS

Monday, January 11, 2016

The Ultimate Fat-Frying Tabata Workout

These high-intensity interval workouts are popular in gyms around the world. Here’s how you can use them at home to shrink your belly

But the 4-minute, high-intensity interval workouts named after Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata can burn about 14 calories a minute, say scientists at the University of Wisconsin. It also improves aerobic and anaerobic fitness more than an hour of steady-state, moderate cardio.

That’s probably why it’s one of the most popular workouts ever. You’ll see it used in CrossFit boxes, home workout DVDs, fitness bootcamps, team sports, and personal training sessions.

Here’s the thing, though: In Dr. Tabata’s original study, he had elite cyclists do 20-second, all-out sprints followed by 10 seconds of rest on stationary bikes for 8 rounds straight.

The level of intensity required was off the charts. Most of the world-class cyclists couldn’t make it the full 8 rounds.

Nowadays, people take this protocol—20 seconds on, 10 seconds off—and bastardize it. If you browse social media or search YouTube, you’ll find “Tabatas” that are borderline silly or downright dangerous.

Why? Because they choose the wrong exercises.

If you want to work at a high intensity with a negative work to rest ration (you’re working twice as long as you’re resting), then you need movements that are as low-skill and as low-impact as possible. That’s why cycling worked well in the original study—it’s not technical or complicated.

So doing endless joint-jarring plyometrics, high-skill Olympic lifting, or gymnastics moves is a recipe for injury.

You also need exercises that can be done with enough velocity so that your heart rate shoots into the stratosphere. Doing slow, grinding moves like heavy deadlifts just doesn’t make sense here.

As a rule of thumb, you should be able to get at least 10 reps within every 20-second work period—unless you’re doing a locomotion movement that’s measured in distance, like running, rowing, or cycling.

You should use light loads or regressed exercise variations, too, so you can move fast and hit your total reps every round.

After all, the goal here is continuous movement at maximum velocity to achieve the desired cardiovascular and metabolic response.

The Ultimate Tabatas
So what are the right exercises to use in the protocol?

I use them in the Lightweight Leanout workout, which you can check out in the video above. You can find this routine in THE 21-DAY METASHRED, my all-new, body-shredding DVD plan. (You’ll also get 8 other 30-minute fat-loss workouts. One guy lost 25 pounds in just 6 weeks.)

Instead of doing Tabatas with just on exercise the entire time, you’ll do two—an upper-body exercise and a lower-body move—and alternate between them. That way you can keep the intensity high throughout the session, manage fatigue, and push for longer than just 4 minutes.

The exercises are as low-skill and low-impact as possible, too. In fact, the workout requires only a light pair of 5 to 10-pound dumbbells and your bodyweight, so you can move fast with good form.

These Lightweight Leanout movements are also more functional, taking your body through multiple planes of motion and moving you up and down in away that a bike can’t. The result is a greater calorie burn, a higher heart rate, and improved athleticism.

Finally, the workout is structured so you can go 30 minutes. This hits the right blend of intensity and density to maximize calorie burn during and after your workout. So you’ll burn fat while you sit at your desk!

Do it: Do each exercise below in order for 20 seconds, resting 10 seconds between each move. Once you complete all 8 exercises, rest 1 minute. That’s 1 round. Do 6 total.

1. Jumping jack
2. Skier swing
3. Thruster
4. Rotational punch
5. Diagonal chop (switch sides halfway)
6. Discus (switch sides halfway)
7. Ground and pound
8. Speed Z press

By: TAJA KHABAR On 3:08 AM

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Intimate Details: Your Sexual Health Guide

You're well versed in taking care of your body from head to toe. Yet when it comes to your sexual health, you're less certain that you're doing the right thing. Have pressing questions? We've got answers. Read on for our top docs' advice.

How Your Weight Affects Your Sexual Health
Wearing a paper gown featuring a peekaboo bum does not exactly foster self-confidence and a speak-your-mind attitude. But the thing is, we want to talk. We really, really do. In fact, 72 percent of those participating in a Women's Sexual Health Foundation survey said they would welcome their doctor initiating a discussion with them about anything related to sexual health — and one in two of them is still waiting. Looking for an opening line? Borrow a page (or just a thought) from FITNESS's must-know guide.
What Your Weight Has to Do with It
What scares women more than the speculum? The scale, say experts. "I know many people are self-conscious about their weight," says Mona Saint, MD, an ob-gyn in Orange County, California. "But it's important to be open and honest with your doctor about your eating and exercise habits so you can brainstorm together ways to get your weight in check." Why is it so important? For starters, shedding pounds can...

Boost Fertility
Excess pounds can cause your body to produce extra estrogen, which may throw off your menstrual cycle, hampering your chances of conceiving. Losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight may help improve your ovulation and pregnancy rates.

Ease PMS
Very overweight women are almost three times more likely to have severe PMS symptoms, such as period-related cramps, bloating, and mood swings, than those at healthy weights, a study shows. Changing hormone levels are a likely cause.

Reduce Incontinence
If you're carrying extra baggage, losing 8 percent of your body mass can cut leaky episodes nearly in half, according to a University of California at San Francisco study. Why? Most likely because additional fat around the belly puts pressure on your bladder.

Make Your Pregnancy a Healthy One
Women entering their first trimester with a high BMI are at greater risk for developing high blood pressure and diabetes during their pregnancies and having complications during childbirth.

Solutions to Common Sexual Health Problems
We asked the experts for the tips and tricks they use to keep a handle on these sexual health issues.

The Problem: Heavy flow
Expert Fix: Take ibuprofen.
Why It Works: It reduces levels of prostaglandins, chemicals that cause blood vessels to open.

The Problem: Nausea from birth control pills
Expert Fix: Try taking them at different times of day or night.
Why It Works: Hormones in the pill may be easier on your stomach depending on the time of day.

The Problem: Pee leakage during exercise
Expert Fix: Switch from high-impact exercise to lower-impact in the two weeks before your period.
Why It Works: Incontinence peaks during the second half of your cycle. Likely reason? An estrogen dip. Less-strenuous exercise is better during that time.

The Problem: Vaginal aroma
Expert Fix: Wax or trim your bikini area.
Why It Works: Hair traps sweat and bacteria, causing odor.

The Problem: Squeaky sex
Expert Fix: Do four daily sets of 10 Kegel exercises.
Why It Works: They strengthen vaginal muscles that may have stretched out.

Your Biggest Sexual Health Secret
Nearly two out of three women have felt pain during intercourse at some point, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, yet "patients have a hard time speaking up about it, to their doctors or partners," says Mona Saint, MD. Endometriosis, vaginismus, vulvodynia, fibroids, cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease, and an infection, among others, can be causes — and all are treatable conditions. Your gyno can do a pelvic exam and possibly an ultrasound to diagnose you. Unless your pain is severe, try increasing foreplay for added lubrication, or use an OTC vaginal lubricant and experiment with different positions, since pain is often caused by the angle of penetration or pressure on certain muscles and joints.

Your Top 5 Sexual Health Concerns
Chances are, the sexual health concern you've been putting off talking to your doc about is a worry many women share. Here's what's topping the list right now:

Mystery Discharge
Doctors get more calls and visits about funky vaginal fluids than practically anything else. "Four or five patients come to my office every day just for this," says Amy Rosenman, MD, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA School of Medicine.

What You Need to Know
If it's gray or greenish and smells bad, you may have bacterial vaginosis or an STD; both can be treated with antibiotics. Thick, odorless, burning, and itchy? Could be a yeast infection. Three-day over-the-counter remedies may not pack enough punch, so try a five-day one instead, says Dr. Saint. Condition not improving? See your doc.

Human Papillomavirus
"A few years ago, almost none of my patients had heard of HPV," says Suzanne Trupin, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "When the HPV vaccine came out in 2006, everyone started asking about it."

What You Need to Know
Between 11 and 27? Get the vaccine; it inoculates against HPV strains that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts, says Hilda Hutcherson, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University. Thirty or over? Get the new DNA test for HPV along with your next Pap to assess your risk for those strains.

Birth Control
More possibilities can mean more uncertainty. "Women are excited about the new choices that are available to them, but many patients have questions about the safety of some of the options, like no-period pills and vaginal rings," says Dr. Saint.

What You Need to Know
Pills that eliminate your menstrual periods are fine, say experts (you may have occasional breakthrough bleeding). Other options: The NuvaRing, a thin, flexible vaginally inserted hormone ring that you remove and replace monthly; and FC2, the new and improved female condom.

Herpes
"Genital herpes causes more angst than any other STD," says Dr. Rosenman. The reason? It has no cure and few symptoms, and up to one in four women has it.

What You Need to Know
If you have a history of STDs or more than one sex partner, you're at higher risk and should be screened. Tested positive? Genital herpes is contagious; use latex condoms, and ask your doc about antiviral meds.

Fertility
"I'm seeing more women who want to start families later in life than ever before," says Lisa Masterson, MD, attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and cohost of the TV show The Doctors.

What You Need to Know
If you're in good health but having problems conceiving, talk to your ob-gyn about a fertility evaluation — imaging studies and blood tests can help pinpoint why. If you're in your 20s or 30s and want to delay childbirth, ask about freezing your eggs.

Your Doc's Favorite Products
Ever wonder what your doc uses after hours? We polled our panel of ob-gyns for the products they swear by.

For Worry-Free Workouts
Gaiam Silver Linings panties ($20, gaiam.com). Antimicrobial-treated organic cotton is breathable and helps banish odor and prevent infections during your 90-minute Spinning class.

For Relief of Vaginal Dryness
Try an OTC product like Replens ($16.99, drugstore.com), or talk to your doc about a prescription estrogen cream.

For Maximum Comfort During Your Period
Seventh Generation tampons ($5.19, drugstore.com). They're chlorine-free and cut down on irritation and itch.

For Smoother Sex
Creme de la Femme ($14.95, amazing-solutions.com). This lube with mineral oil is especially silky (but don't use it with latex condoms or a diaphragm).

For Safe Encounters
Inspiral condoms ($13 for 12, condomania.com). As exciting as prophylactics get: The spiral-shaped tip helps increase sensitivity for both of you.

By: TAJA KHABAR On 2:06 PM

How I Treated My Panic Attacks and Anxiety—Without Pills

At 24 years old, one writer experienced his first panic attack—and the scary physical sensations that go along with it. Take note of the natural solutions that helped him take control of his anxiety.

In early November 2012, two EMTs wheeled me out of my office in a wheelchair. I had lost the ability to stand up. "What the hell is going on?" I thought. I was just 24 years old at the time, and migraines had been my only prior health issue.

Approximately one week before that, Hurricane Sandy had hit, and, not-so-luckily for me, I lived smack in the center of downtown New York City. Translation: I was without power and water. When the storm finally subsided, work resumed, and I was ready to reestablish a routine. I didn't take into account how exhausted I was from a week of traveling uptown to charge my phone, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge to crash at a friend's, and cleaning the rotting food out of my fridge. The first day back, I had to force myself to stay awake and get through the day.

I never tolerated caffeine very well, but I needed an energy boost. About six cups of green tea later and a few hours into work, I swore I was having a heart attack. Out of nowhere, I became frighteningly dizzy and my pulse skyrocketed. I opened my mouth to breathe, but my lungs weren't letting in any air. I was inhaling so rapidly that my limbs felt numb, and I was on the verge of losing consciousness. I thought to myself, great, this is how it ends. (I only learned later that research suggests there may be a connection between caffeine and panic attacks.)

After an entire lifetime of avoiding ambulances, I was riding in one to Beth Israel Hospital. I was terrified to find out what was wrong with me. Maybe it was an allergic reaction? A heart condition? After waiting for many hours, I finally met with a doctor who told me that I had a panic attack. She offered me a prescription for an anxiety relieving medication and left. I had always dismissed panic attacks as B.S., so I refused the medicine and went home.

Over the next several months, I had one more giant panic attack while grocery shopping, and experienced continuous lightheadedness and heart palpitations. I felt like something else health-related had to be the underlying cause, but after several medical tests and therapy sessions, I accepted that what I was experiencing were the real physical sensations that go along with anxiety.

The big question on my mind was how could I manage my anxiety on a daily basis without taking pills? After trying many methods, what ended up working best for me was a combination of clean, healthy eating, acupuncture, therapy, and vigorous exercise such as high-intensity interval training. I started to feel better, both mentally and physically.

There is a stigma associated with anxiety, but shaking off the shame tied to therapy and talking to someone who specializes in stress management can be a life-changer. As with many of life's challenges, the first step is admitting there's a problem, and the second is getting help. I'm glad I did both of those, and I encourage everyone who is quietly suffering to do the same. The process of figuring out what helps you manage your anxiety can take weeks or even months, but if you stay consistent, you'll start to feel the calm after the storm.

By: TAJA KHABAR On 2:04 PM

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Sculpt Strong Abs with This 10-Minute Routine

Feel the burn and sculpt a stronger core—without spending hours upon hours in the gym.

The desire for a six-pack isn't the only reason to work on strengthening your core (although that's the perk most people think about). Research shows that strong abs benefit for your health in a lot of other ways, like improving posture, lessening back pain, and boosting your running performance, just to name a few. And yeah, you'll earn some serious bragging rights when you rock your sports bra sans shirt in spin class.

While a healthy diet and overall fat-burning workout routine are crucial in blasting belly fat—as you well know—ab exercises can help take your core game to the next level. Too busy to hit the gym? Most core exercises require barely any space or equipment to execute, which means you can work them into your routine whether you're on the road or at home—no gym membership, no excuses.

Prime example: This video, the first part in a four-week slim-down series, includes two sets of exercises that engage the entire circumference of your core, not just your front abdominal muscles for a full-on ab blast. Grab an exercise mat and light ball and prepare for 10 minutes of core-burning exercises, led by personal trainer Sarah Kusch.

Hey, no pain, no gain, right?

By: TAJA KHABAR On 9:40 PM

Why My New Year's Resolution Is to Eat MORE Dessert

Not only is resolving to eat more dessert 10 times more delicious than swearing off of sweets forever, but studies show that factoring the foods you love into your diet plan can help keep you slimmer and stress-free

Every year I make the same New Year's resolutions: Eat better. Work out more. Lose some weight. In my mind, my health and fitness goals are the only things that can help me find true happiness. I create a diet plan, join a gym, and have every intention of completely turning my life around.

Then January 31 rolls around, and like clockwork, I've already failed.

It wasn't until I graduated from college that it hit me! I finally realized why none of my New Year's resolutions ever lasted more than a week or two: I have a truly terrible relationship with food and my body.

Don't get me wrong. I love food. If I could eat all day and not gain a pound, I totally would. The problem I have is with the whole process of eating. When I'm not counting calories or weighing the pros and cons of different types of protein, I'm beating myself up for something I've already eaten or thinking awful things about my appearance and blaming it on a lack of self-control. I essentially bully myself into dreading every meal. This turns eating from a joyous, nurturing experience that I should for thankful for (I mean come on, there are hungry people all over the world!) into something stressful and shameful.

So it's no shock that my resolutions each year reflect a desire to change the bad habits I have with food and guilt. I vow to give up dessert or tell myself that lemon water and salads are enough to make me happy. Spoiler alert: They aren't.

The worst part about this insane resolution spiral is how I beat myself up over the failure. And even though it often feels like it, I'm not alone. A recent study from the University at Buffalo says that while one-third of American adults claim to be on a diet at one time or another, 60 percent are still overweight or obese.

The study suggests a variety of factors are to blame, all of which lead back to the notion that how you feel about a diet is just as important as how you plan to execute it. If you're bummed about ditching dessert, or hate the bland food your plan tells you to eat, you are almost guaranteeing that it won't work.

Think of dessert as the boy from high school that your parents said you were absolutely NOT allowed to date. You were going to date him anyway because he was hot and popular. But now you want him even more because your parents said he was off-limits.

Not only are we less likely to stick with diets that make us feel cranky or deprived, but constantly falling off one wagon only to jump on another crazy diet wagon is seriously bad for our health. A study from the Society for Neuroscience claims that yo-yo dieting can lead to higher stress levels, which can derail your commitment and lead to more emotional eating.

Another resolution villain: half-assing it. The Loyola University Health System outlined the top four reasons why we fail at diets, and all four reasons are connected with poor planning. We underestimate calories, overestimate exercise, eat mindlessly, and fail to get enough sleep. So how do we set ourselves up for success that will last longer than a month?

Here's how to follow through: Set realistic resolutions with attainable goals. Then hold ourselves accountable without being too tough on ourselves if we mess up. You won't be able to starve or bully your way toward a goal. And even if you do, you probably won't feel satisfied when you get there. Enjoying delicious healthy food while also making room for what you love will help you turn a temporary resolution into a permanent lifestyle.

That's why this year I resolved to stop worrying about my weight and start working on the relationship with my body. I want to focus on the kind of food I'm eating instead of how often. I'll be looking for healthy and tasty swaps, instead of trying to give up dairy, gluten, or anything else I really enjoy. Plus, any diet that tells me I can't have a slice of dark chocolate cake is not a diet for me.

In fact, this year I'll be eating all the dessert I want. Because in the words of Emma Stone, "You're a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake."

By: TAJA KHABAR On 1:50 PM

Friday, January 8, 2016

Where To Spend $100, According to Mark Cuban, Dave Ramsey, and 6 Other Rich Guys

He’s a fellow journalist, so suffice is to say he doesn’t make a lot of money. He recently informed me that he dropped $100 on Powerball tickets.

Like I said, he’s a dumbass.

Now granted, the current Powerball jackpot is nothing if not tempting. It’s up to $700 million, the largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

But the odds of picking the right numbers? 1 in 292.2 million.

The statistical chance that a freaking meteorite will fall out of the sky and splatter you like a cockroach is 1 in 700,000.

And yet, if you walked around nervously staring at the sky, people would never stop laughing at you. But stand in line for a lottery ticket? Everyone’s like, “Hey, can you pick one up for me?”

At $2 a ticket, my friend has acquired 50 tickets, which he’s convinced is a strategic move, putting him at a mathematical advantage over the people who only bought one ticket.

“You know you’re an idiot,” I helpfully informed him.

He just shrugged. “I don’t care,” he said. “It’s just a hundred dollars. I can afford to lose it. What’s the harm? I want to take a wild risk on my future. Where else should I throw that money?”

It’s an interesting question. When you think about making a meaningful investment, $100 seems laughably small.

What can you actually do for just five twenty dollar bills? Nothing all that significant, right? It’s not like you're going to buy the perfect stock at the perfect time and next month you’re a millionaire.

Although according to Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money, that’s exactly what we should be doing.

“Every penny of money, every penny, until you have saved $10,000, must, must, must be invested in an S&P 500 index fund,” he tells us. “The stock market has been the most wonderful wealth creator in history.”

That sounds like an exciting plan. Unless you read any news at all, which recently has included scary headlines like “Stock market plummets” and “Dow closes down nearly 400 points” and “Is this another 2008 for the stock market?”

There’s got to be a better option—something between buying lottery tickets like a fool, and investing in the stock market (which, depending on who you believe, may also make you a fool.)

I reached out to a bunch of self-made millionaires, financial gurus, and entrepreneurs to find out what they’d do with an extra $100.

Would they put it in the bank? Hide it under their mattress? Use it as seed money for a new business? Buy a bunch of canned goods in anticipation of the world economy’s collapse?

Or, who knows, maybe buy 50 lottery tickets

The best return on any investment is one that’s guaranteed,” says Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank star and billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

“If you have any credit card debt or any other debt, pay it down with your hundred dollars. You will have just earned the amount of interest you would have paid.”

If you’re one of those assholes who doesn’t have any credit card debt—wait, no, we don’t mean assholes. We mean “responsible people who pay their bills on time” . . .

If you’re one of those guys, you probably still have debt somewhere.

“Put the extra $100 toward paying off your mortgage for a guaranteed return equal to your mortgage interest rate,” says Teresa Ghilarducci, Ph.D, an economics professor at the New School for Social Research and a financial advisor for Hillary Clinton. “No mortgage? Pay off all other debt.”

If you don’t have any outstanding debt whatsoever (first of all, wow, who are you? Will you be our financial advisor?), then Cuban suggests “putting it in the bank for a rainy day. Stuff breaks. This will help when it happens.”

Build Your Personal Library

Author Steve Siebold interviewed 1,200 self-made millionaires and billionaires for his book, How Rich People Think, and he found one thing in common among all of them: They bought a lot of books.

Not the latest John Grisham or Tom Clancy. Fiction is for beach reads. The super-rich (or soon-to-be super rich) usually invest in “the acquisition of specialized knowledge,” says Siebold.

“Invest the $100 in your own self-education,” he continues. “Start building a library of personal and professional development books that will help you grow. Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Richard Devos are all great examples of billionaires who built their empires using this strategy.”

Robert Kiyosaki—a businessman, investor, and founder of the Rich Dad Company, a private education company—wholeheartedly agrees with this approach.

“Our mind is our greatest assets,” he says. “Investing in yourself could be a subscription to a financial magazine or newspaper, a course or seminar, a book that will teach you more about asset classes and how to create passive income.”

Don’t know what “passive income” is? Neither do we! But there’s probably a book about it. Here’s one that looks good.

And after you buy it, you still have $90 for more books!

Give It Away

Remember that rumor going around for awhile that Mark Zuckerberg was giving away $4.5 Million to 1,000 random Facebook users? Yeah, that was bullshit. But giving away money isn’t the worst investment scheme.

Or so says Dave Ramsey, CEO of Ramsey Solutions and bestselling author of Total Money Makeover. “If I was looking to invest an extra hundred bucks, I’d invest in one of my team members,” he explains.

And not just by adding a few dollars to their paychecks. He’d do it in person.

“I’d take a little walk around the office, listen to someone on the phone serving a customer,” he says. “I wouldn’t even have to interrupt them. Maybe I’d just give them a hundred dollar handshake, smile and be on my way.”

Unprovoked kindness has a way of paying off in the long run. It can lead to helpful things like loyalty and trust, things that rarely come with a price-tag.

Related: How Money Can Buy You Happiness

“People yearn for acceptance, approval, appreciation, attention, and affection,” Ramsey says. “That might be the best investment I make this week.”

Become a Lender

We’re not talking the kind of lender who breaks people’s knees when they don’t pay back their loan on time, or uses phrases like “you owe me five large and the juice is still running.”

It’s all done on the (relative) safety of the Internet

Duane Jackson is a former convicted drug trafficker who turned his life around to become a self-made millionaire and CEO of accounting software firm KashFlow. His best suggestion for that hundred bucks? Open an account on Funding Circle, a peer-to-peer lending service.

“I’d set it on autopilot, so it lent out $20 each to five different businesses,” he says. “As they made repayments on the loans, it would automatically lend it to more businesses so the money would grow and grow.”

Not an investment plan if you’re looking for immediate big returns—Funding Circle claims an average 7.1% return rate “after fees and bad debt”—but with a little patience, it could lead to some surprising profits in the coming years.

Buy Some Silver Coins

This suggestion made us briefly wonder if Robert Kiyosaki—who’s co-written a book on investing with Donald Trump—is secretly an obsessive Game Of Thrones fan.

“I might put that $100 to work for me by buying a few silver coins,” he says, without a trace of irony.

Really? No. Seriously?

Other than preparing for the inevitable collapse of modern society, in which we all go back to bartering with precious metals, why would somebody do that?

Kiyosaki calls it “a small and simple investment that should heighten awareness about markets, commodities, and the way silver plays a role in our lives.”

Silver, he adds, “is used in cell phones and medical devices and computers. It’s a part of our daily lives, and there’s a finite supply of it.”

The first step, Kiyosaki says, is finding a local coin dealer. “He or she will explain ‘spot price’ and other basics related to purchasing precious metals and coins.”

The next step, according to us, is filling your bathtub with coins, and then giving yourself a money bath, Scrooge McDuck-style.

Don’t Do a Damn Thing With It

Mark Spitznagel is the hedge fund manager for Universa Investments, and the author of investing bible The Dao of Capital. And full disclosure, he’s also my brother. I remember him from before he had enough cash in his wallet to buy a helicopter.

Up until a little while ago, he and his family lived in a five-bedroom French villa in Bel-Air that he’d bought from Jennifer Lopez. The place was surrounded by a moat. A moat!

He lived in a house designed to fend off Spanish conquistadors. Now he lives on a property with a hedge maze so large, you can see it from space.

Which is to say, he has some monies. Many, many monies. I was particularly interested in what he’d suggest doing with an extra C-note.

“I say do precisely nothing with it,” he says.

Oh for fuck’s sake! I assume, of course, that he’s messing with me, as he’s been known to do. But he assures me it’s sound advice.

By: TAJA KHABAR On 3:20 PM

How Getting Hit by a Car Helped My Eating Disorder Recovery

Broken bones; healed spirit. One woman shares how a car accident pushed her to make huge strides toward recovery from an eating disorder she struggled with for years.

I'm supposed to be at home picking out the perfect pair of wicking socks and supportive sports bra. Instead, I find myself the middle of a busy street with my foot shaking uncontrollably and a big "goose egg" bump on my head. A stranger quickly forces his car into park and rushes over to me—the girl he hit. Wait, what just happened?

Rewind to eight years earlier: I was sitting in a doctor's office as a result of starving my 5-foot-6-inch frame down to 94 pounds. It began in junior high when the struggle with my weight hit its peak. I reached nearly 180 pounds, and I thought all my problems—social, physical, and otherwise—would be solved if I lost weight. So at 15, I started on a "health" kick, swapping in grilled chicken for my beloved fried chicken fingers and visiting the gym each day after school for 30 minutes on the elliptical. I started seeing results, and so did my friends (boys included, finally!). I began cutting portions even more and adding minutes to my sweat schedule. Forty pounds lost by six months became 86 a year later, and I barely recognized the skeletal girl I saw in the mirror.

At that point my parents were at their wits' end. During the battle against my eating disorder we consulted a family doctor, dietitians, psychologists, you name it to try to find a solution, but nothing stopped my downward spiral. At one point, I was eating about 800 calories and exercising more than two hours every day. I knew I was too thin and, since I had basically no energy, I also felt myself pulling away from the new friends I gained as a result of my newfound confidence. Despite all that, something inside me wanted to keep losing. I needed to prove to the kids who used to taunt me as "big tit Karla" that I was in control and was not the chubby girl they used to know.

But then, my typically unemotional dad sat me down and said, "Look. We're worried that your heart is going to stop because you're so thin. If you lose one more pound, we're putting you in an inpatient treatment facility." I was officially scared straight.

After a few lapses and years of visits to my psychologist, I got my body back on track. My brain? I discovered that recovery is a much longer process there.

Seven years later I signed up for my first marathon as part of a cancer fundraiser. Three days before the event I was on my one-mile walk home, jamming to the new Justin Timberlake album. Then, as I was midway through the crosswalk, my foot made contact with the front wheel of an SUV. The driver didn't see me as he was turning through a "yield to pedestrians" green light. The impact from the car and my foot getting briefly pinned underneath sent me tumbling to the cement, where I bumped my head and smashed my elbow.

I sat up and pushed myself to a stand as the driver stopped his car, hurried out and shouted a worried, "Are you okay?!" I immediately shifted into make-it-work mode and said, "Yeah, I think so. I'm just going to keep on walking. I have a race this weekend!"

With the first step, I noticed my foot wouldn't stop shaking and decided against strolling home. One urgent care clinic, ambulance ride, ER visit, and countless X-rays later, I was sent home with a boot to protect the four fractured bones in my foot and a splint to brace my broken elbow.

Extreme disappointment about the run quickly turned into determination. I had to still participate in some way! So I drove to the race five hours away to cheer on my friends instead.

Once race day came and went I began to worry, as I realized that there was no end in sight to my exercise hiatus. With my upper and lower body out of commission, running, biking, swimming, yoga, and even brisk walking were pretty much out of the question. Within the last few years, I'd come to a place of moderation, exercising four to five times a week, and thought I'd beat my eating disorder. But had I really?

I started to fill the slots I used to spend at the gym with coffee dates, dinners, and movies. Once a workaholic, I slowly became a social butterfly, meeting new friends and dating more than ever. For the first time in years, I took time to reflect on what I could accomplish not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Rather than skimping on calories to make up for the lack of exercise, I found myself in the kitchen experimenting with new ingredients, and enjoying new foods while dining out with friends who were adventurous eaters. I was counting neither calories nor miles, and it was pure bliss.

As I started rehab with my physical therapist, I began to channel the drive I learned in the gym. After three months of sessions that challenged my balance, strength, and endurance, I was given the green light to start running again. The go-ahead came just two weeks before a half marathon ironically also centered around cancer fundraising.

Before that half, I squeezed in a total of four training runs and told myself, "For once in your life, who cares how fast you finish? Just running or even walking the course will be a win."

It turns out, a little more rest and a little less pressure was all that I needed, as I crossed the finish line just two minutes shy of my PR. The relief I felt at the finish line triggered a whole new kind of shaking: This time as tears of relief. Finally, I was exercising because I wanted to, not because I needed to.

By: TAJA KHABAR On 1:56 PM