More Coffee & Eggs, Please! The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Explained

Eggs and coffee can be part of a healthy diet. Whoo-Hoo!

Coffee and eggs are hip. In a big, fat healthy way.

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services assemble experts every five years to study and recommend dietary guidelines. Why? Because it's a dynamic thing. Scientists and experts are continually studying and learning new data. New dietary guidelines will be released at the end of 2015 but preliminary recommendations were released on Thursday.

Among the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's recommendations:

• Eggs Are Ok - experts say that dietary cholesterol is "not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption". In English - don't be so worried about the cholesterol in egg yolks or shrimp, for that matter. 
• Coffee Is Cool - between 3-5 cups of coffee per day can be a part of a healthy diet and can actually reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Don't add extra calories with tons of milk, cream or sugar. Out on coffee? Drink green tea. 
• Watch Added Sugar - added sugar should be no more than 200 calories a day. Average Americans are getting about 268 calories from added sugar right now. These are completely empty calories.
• While You're At It, Watch The Salt - stay under 2300 milligrams per day. This can add up quickly. 
• Eat A Plant-Based Diet - duh. We know we need to do this. 

Read the full 571-page 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report HERE.

So much of what they are promoting is good, old-fashioned common sense: eat more produce and lean protein, enjoy saturated fats and sugar in moderation. The news on cholesterol in eggs is a reversal of what the government told us for years.

Sounds A Bit Like The Mediterranean Diet, Doesn't It? 
Their recommendations sound strikingly similar to the principles that make up the Mediterranean Diet which focuses on produce, lean protein (fish primarily), nuts, olive oil, wine and chocolate. Learn more about the Mediterranean approach to eating (and why it's my favorite) HERE.

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As always, take all this advice to heart but check with a trusted medical professional if you plan on making significant dietary changes.

Image via Justin Leibow

10 Mistakes To Avoid Making During Your Internship

From jocksniffing to dawdling and donkeyjacking (the art of doing nothing when you should be doing something), I have seen interns do it all. Too often, we see interns doing things they shouldn't be. It's not solely their fault. Many times young professionals come into an internship without a solid understanding what is and isn't acceptable behavior. While we don't want to dwell on negative experiences, it bears discussing.

Whether you're a first-time intern or a seasoned, internship pro like Suzi Mellano (click HERE to read Suzi's story), here are important things to consider during your internship.

Dermaplaning Facial Review: A Simple Way To Get Glowing Skin With No Downtime

What Is Dermaplaning?
Dermaplaning is a fancy name for shaving your face with a scalpel blade. It takes off superficial layers of dead skin cells while also removing hair. It leaves your skin baby-bottom soft.

Every time you shave your legs don't they feel super soft? You're dermaplaning them! That's because you just shaved off superficial layers of skin.

But just how well does it work on your face?

How To Diet On A Date

If you are dieting and happen to have an avid dater (first of all, Lucky You!), the marriage of the two can be a bitch, though. You don't want to be that person who orders a salad with no dressing or pulls out your Weight Watchers app to calculate your point total for the day.

So how can you date while you're on a diet? It's not that difficult. You can still find love without losing control over your eating habits. Here are a few tips:

4 Tips To Diet While Dating & NOT Be High Maintenance

1. Don't Hesitate To Recommend The Restaurant - pick a place whose menu you know and trust.
2. Plan Ahead - when you know where you will be dining, check out the menu online so you can  figure out what to order and what works within your diet.
3. Give Yourself A Break - this is perhaps my favorite tip. When you eat a quality, well-balanced diet, you don't have to be that high maintenance chick on a diet. There are so many ways to incorporate dining out into an overall healthy eating strategy.
My Bonus Tip: Order two appetizers for dinner: select the smaller one as a starter and the larger one as your main course. The portions are smaller while the options are generally more interesting. Plus you can always nibble on your date's dish.

U.S. News & World Report has more. 

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Tips For New Moms Struggling With Breastfeeding

I'm sorry. I can't help it.

I have to vent: I have met so many new countless new-moms who are struggling with breastfeeding their newborns. You are not alone.

Three years ago, I was that struggling-to-breastfeed, sleep-deprived, maniacal new mom. I hear loads of stories from mothers who went through the same thing when their kids were young, too.

There are thousands of mothers out there struggling with this and not enough women talking about it.

The Price Of An Hermès Birkin: More Than A Car, Luxurious Jewelry, Designer Bags & Shoes Combined. Really.

I love luxury goods as much as the next girl but I just don't think I could do this. Moda Operandi is offering Hermès goodies from Dallas' Heritage Auctions. There are a three iconic Hermès Birkins costing $75,000.

How To Love Exercising...Even When You Hate It

Even when I was fat, I loved to exercise. A good workout produces chemicals, called endorphins, that make you feel better. 

If you absolutely dread the thought of exercise, there are some tricks to help you learn to love it more. 

• Listen to a book or podcast on your iPod while walking or running. They key is to allow yourself to listen to them ONLY while working out; not in the car, at home or at the nail salon. This will get you excited about your workouts. A long power walk while listening to a book becomes an indulgent retreat. Listening to Stieg Larsson's Dragon Tattoo trilogy had me pushing my hour-long power walks to 90 minutes or two hours when I was trying to lose the baby weight. A good story makes time fly.
• If you're at the gym, download some favorite TV shows or movies on your iPad. Sign up for Amazon Prime and watch whatever you like  (assuming your gym has WiFi) while doing your cardio. Currently, I am catching up on season 2 of the The Americans on Amazon Prime when I do my cardio workouts. This is an easy way to, again, enjoy every minute of your workout.
• Think of it as an indulgence. Just like a massage, facial or visit to the nail salon, exercise is a brief moment during the day when you focus solely on yourself. You're not folding laundry, running errands or doing office work. You're doing something for you. And it's awesome.
• Focus on how good you will feel AFTER your workout. This takes some energy but it works. When you're dreading that trip to the gym or power walk, remind yourself that you will feel a million times better after your workout. This simple act has gotten me out the door. And the thing is, it's not hooey. You really will feel a million times better after your workout. 

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