We all love to go out to eat, but it’s important to remember that comes with unintended consequences – primarily, trying to eat healthy.

But there are some easy tips to keep in mind when sitting down at a restaurant if you want to keep up your healthy lifestyle:

• Keep track of calories – they can really add up – you may think a burger, fries and soda is just one meal, but it could be over 1,000 calories, about half of the recommended total! Consider a lower calorie meal, or only have half and save the rest for later.

• You can also make the same meal more nutritious depending on the way it’s prepared. Instead of fried or crispy, consider having the meat grilled, steamed, or baked.

• If you do order a sandwich, the carbs in bread can really add up fast – you might be able to get it bread-less entirely or on a lettuce wrap.

• When it comes to sides, fries and chips are fun, but consider a healthier choice like a salad or fruit.

• And when that salad does arrive, ask for any dressings on the side, so you can control your own portions and decide how much you really need. You might even prefer less!

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Building muscle is important, but many of us can’t find the time.  But that’s no longer an excuse – because all you need is 3 seconds!

A new study shows that performing one bicep curl, at maximum effort, will give a 10% increase in muscle strength in just a month.

So, 3 seconds day, for 30 days – it’s less than 2 minutes total for the entire month!

However, it’s not sufficient for true muscle building goals – but the study does show that it can work. And you also to have to do it complete and properly – lift all the way up, hold it, and then lower it back down.

But if you can do it once…well once is all you need!

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You ever feel like it’s getting harder than ever to remember important info – or even what you need to get at the grocery store? Just because it’s easy to put things down in the Notes app on your iPhone, if you really want to remember things – use the old tried-and-true method of writing it down on paper.

A new study shows that writing on physical paper allowed students to retain the information an hour later as opposed to other methods like taking things down on a laptop.

Researchers found that paper was more useful to our memories because each sheet of paper is physically unique – as opposed to a screen which stays the same, only what appears on it changes.

Also, those participating in the study who used paper completed tasks 25% faster than those who used digital tools.

They also tested differences between using physical pen and paper or using a tablet with a stylus and because the paper allows for uneven strokes or variations of letters, or even folds in the paper, and our brains retained the info from paper more.

So if you really want to remember what you need to grab at Stop and Shop…grab a pen!

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Did you brush your teeth today? Well, hopefully you did – but, more importantly, did you brush correctly?

Many of us brush our teeth wrong – and there are big mistakes dentists say they see all the time.

First – brushing too hard. It’s bad for your gums, and the bristles can’t do their job – and that goes for both manual and electric toothbrushes.

Also, don’t rinse right after you brush as it flushes the fluoride away – you should wait at least two minutes.

You also should swap out your toothbrush more often – every three months, instead of every time you go to the dentist.

When you brush is important – you want to wait at least 30 minutes after having something too sugary or acidic.

Finally, you may have heard baking soda is good for your teeth, but it’s too abrasive and can damage your enamel.

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