Tired of yo-yo dieting and endless hours on the treadmill? The secret to real and lasting weight loss is simpler than you think.

Subsisting on low-calorie foods and skipping meals is no way to lose weight - and no way to live. Instead, we should rid our diets of toxins and inflammatory irritants. As a byproduct of cleaning up our bodies, we'll shed extra pounds.

If your weight-loss efforts seem stalled or stymied, heart-rate-based interval training may provide just the metabolic boost you need.

Ready to dust offyour fitness commitments and polish up your plans? Here, fresh from Experience Life's how-to files, we've gathered the guidance, inspiration and practical tips you need to do the job right.

Lurking under all that unwanted abdominal fat are hidden dangers that can hurt us to the core.

Forget what you've been told. Forget what you think you know. Start breaking the rules, and you might just start making some headway.

If you want to take off – and keep off – unwanted pounds, a healthy metabolism is your body's best fat-burning friend. Find out which habits can make or break your body's ability to produce energy from would-be pudge.

Your body is changing for the better. But is your brain on board? A cognitive psychologist explains how to be on the lookout for the unconscious "mental frames" that can bring your progress to a halt.

The Tabata Protocol isn't easy, but it can dramatically increase your aerobic and anaerobic capacity in just minutes a month.

The humble rowing machine can play a powerful role in propelling your cardio fitness.

Feel like you're failing at weight loss? Forever stuck in the remedial class? Don't despair! Here's the study guide you need to make the weight-loss honor roll once and for all.

Mapping out the peaks and valleys of your workout program will help you achieve better results in less time.

Discover one of the world's fastest-growing and easiest-to-learn fitness routines: Nordic walking.

Determined to get into better shape? Don't drive yourself to exhaustion: Coach yourself to satisfaction – and real results that last.

Low on motivation? These tips will get you to – and through – your workout with ease.

Plagued by chronic running injuries? Perhaps it's time to try ChiRunning, an intuitive style that works with your body and draws from your physical and spiritual center.

What is that sound coming from your joints, and should you be concerned? Find out what’s normal, and what you might want to get checked out.

You worked hard - and now you're feeling the hurt. Time to get wise about delayed onset muscle soreness.

Every athlete can benefit from training with a partner or group. Here's how to be sure you're getting the most out of your time together.

Weary of working toward weight loss – or worse, toward nothing in particular? Choose one of our four real-life goals, employ the accompanying workout plan, and get ready for some inspired spring training!

Has something derailed your fitness plan. Here's how to get back on track.

Are "Unidentified Fitness Obstacles" sabotaging your fitness goals?

Stuck in a rut?  Bust out for greater gains!

Oh yes, you do too have time to exercise! And these abbreviated, highly concentrated workouts will prove it.

You've got a heart-rate monitor, but do you know how to use it? With a little guidance you can tap into your monitor's full potential – and get closer to reaching your own.

Whether you want to lose weight or improve performance, knowing your anaerobic threshold can help you achieve optimal results in minimum time.

Knowing your maximum heart rate is essential for effective aerobic workouts. But if you're using "220 minus your age," you may be missing the mark entirely.

What your heart monitor is trying to tell you.

Feel like your fitness regimen is stalling? Grab a heart-rate monitor for instant feedback and lastin motivation.

Eager to be leaner? Don't work harder (or wait longer) than you have to! Learn the art of heart-rate training for optimal fat loss.

Because our bodies are exposed to a constant barrage of harmful toxins, the best detoxification regimen is a daily one. Here are some simple steps to keep your body running clean.

Whether you're trying to drop unwanted pounds or flush out unwelcome toxins, you need a healthy liver to make it happen. Here's how to keep this overachieving organ in optimal shape.

Detoxing is all the rage these days. But what's the right way to approach it? Here's everything you need to know to lose your toxins without losing your mind.

Say goodbye to internal grime and grunge. Your body is begging you to take out the trash!

Why what you don't clean out can kill you, and how optimizing your body's gunk-removal system may save your life.

Not only does fast food tend to be unhealthy, but some of its ingredients are downright addictive. Here’s how to kick the habit.

Office parties. Vending machines. Desktop candy jars. Power lunches. They can spell nutritional disaster for the average working person. Learn how you can sidestep fattening fare and feel better – starting now.

During the convenience-driven, newfangled-food frenzy of the past half-century, many nourishing essentials like bone broths, legumes, root vegetables and sprouted grains all but disappeared from American plates. Now they're coming back – and starting a contemporary legacy of their own.

The food industry has turned out some scary stuff in recent decades, but that doesn't mean you have to stand quaking in your kitchen. Here's how to take the fear out of your food choices – and put common sense back in.

Salads! Yogurt! Grilled chicken! It sounds so alluring. But wherever there's a massive marketing plan, there's also often a catch. So is it safe to go back to the drive-thru?

Wake up and smell the statistics.  America's eating has gone bonkers, and it's up to us to stop the madness.

Are you feeding your hunger, or just feeding your face? Maybe the thing your appetite craves isn't more food, but more attention.

Hi there. This is your conscience speaking. I happen to know you are still digesting the dinner you ate an hour ago, so I'm curious about what you are doing there with that king-size bowl of chips ...

Set aside your obsession with calories, carbs and fat grams for a moment and consider this: Some unhealthy eating habits do worse than make you fat and tired - they age you from the inside out.

Hormonal imbalances can lead to a host of serious health problems, including inflammation, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia and more. Here’s how to get your body back in balance.

Learn how your genes interact with your habits, lifestyle and surroundings to create a healthy body - or an unhealthy one.

You know that your genes are central to your health. But did you know that they have their own nutritional needs? Discover how the emerging field of nutrigenomics may help us nourish our DNA - and lower our risk of certain diseases.

Thought you knew everything about cholesterol? Perhaps you should think again.

You know that restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally? No, not that scene. I mean the part where Sally orders her food prepared to minute specifications. I’m starting to do that. I suspect a lot of us are.

Insight gleaned from the Human Genome Project may have many of us looking deeper into the mysteries of our own DNA - and how our own diet and lifestyle choices can impact it.

Allergy-like food sensitivities may be the blame for at least part of your pudge. Lay off your problem foods and you could lose unwanted pounds and inches - fast.

Stocking your kitchen with healthy, easy staples is the best way to guard against regrettable food compromises. Here are some items worth building into your grocery list, plus expert tips on how you can use them to make mealtime magic - fast.

Low-calorie food replacements have promised to make our weight-loss dreams come true, but research indicates that these pseudo-foods rarely deliver. In fact, they may set our weight-loss efforts back.

Dr. Mark Hyman weighs in on the top-five foods to eat regularly – and the top five to avoid.

Determined to start the year healthier? Wellness and weight-loss expert Mark Hyman, MD, advises us to beware the pitfalls that await us in the grocery aisles.

Want to feed your family right? Start at the supermarket. This eight-week guide provides the shopping know-how you need to give your cart a healthful overhaul - without facing a mutiny from your family.

A well-functioning digestive system is the cornerstone of good health. Find out how the gut works, what makes it vulnerable - and what you can do to keep your own digestive tract in tiptop shape.

Overcoming barriers to self-care can be difficult, especially for women. But making time and space for ourselves - and getting over any residual emotional guilt - is critical to our well-being and happiness. In the long run, it’s better for those around us, too.

Trained to listen and support, rather than simply dole out advice, health coaches are attracting more attention than ever - from patients and from a healthcare industry desperate for solutions.

Once perceived as the domain of medical experts tasked with keeping our symptoms at bay, the realm of personal healthcare has expanded. It now includes broader definitions, more integrated, preventive approaches – and, perhaps most important, us.

With age comes wisdom. And if you make wise choices, it can also come with robust health and fitness, great energy, and a generous dose of satisfaction. Discover the variables that play the biggest role in determining your vitality for a lifetime - and why it pays to start focusing on them now.

Good health, at core, is less a destination than life-enhancing journey. But if there is any clear path toward the promised land of healthy living, it begins not on any treadmill or diet plan, but on the fertile ground of our own thoughts, assumptions and beliefs.

Your body is your most valuable piece of personal property. Shouldn't you be the one in charge of keeping it safe and sound?

Lack of solitude can lead to increased stress and undermined health. Here’s how to find some quality time - with yourself.

When it comes to the quest for greater happiness, waiting and hoping are out. Learning and practicing are in.  Here’s how to create your own happy reality - starting now.

Is your resolve dissolving in the midst of setbacks and  challenges? Here’s how to spot the obstacles blocking your way - and then put them behind you.

You'd like your loved ones to be happy and supportive about your positive life transformations. But what if they're not?

Before you rush into setting health and fitness goals for the year ahead, stop and appreciate what you've already accomplished.

Imagine if everything went the way you wanted: your workouts, your relationships, your grandest career ambitions. Visioning can bring your life goals into clearer focus – and help you make them a reality.

Neurotic about your body? For your kids' sake, deal with it. The body burdens of parents are easily passed along – and lived out by their children.

Tired of feeling blue, or just so-so? Positive psychology pioneer Martin Seligman, PhD, believes you can mentally exercise your way to greater happiness.

Discover why good dental health depends on more than brushing and flossing – and why a clean, happy mouth gives your whole body something to smile about.

The questions we ask can lead us down paths of discovery and delight, or down corridors of doom and gloom. Which road are you taking?

Looking for that special someone? Wishing you could change the person you're with? You may need to start by taking a good long look in the mirror.

Are you being held hostage by your negative thoughts? Here's how to negotiate a truce.

How might life be different if we approached it without assumptions and preconceptions, without "knowing" anything at all.

Can the way you think influence your life chances? Is it possible to think yourself away from failure and toward success? The of Positive Psychology says - YES!

A constant barrage of political advertising and infighting can raise your anxiety level. Here's how to calm down.

Whether recovering from an injury or making a first foray into fitness, folks of all ages have found that tai chi delivers dramatic results for body, mind and spirit.

Not all stress is bad for you. But the response system that was designed to save your life can also do some serious harm. You can take steps to see that it doesn't.

Want to work for someone who pushes you relentlessly, criticizes your efforts and makes your entire life miserable? Of course not. So why are you doing it to yourself?

Like it or not, emotions share some very real biochemical links with your nervous, endocrine, immune and digestive systems. Isn't it time you learned something about how your body responds to what you feel – and vice versa?

Are you revving too high, running on fumes and sputtering at stops? Get yourself into the fix-it shop for diagnostics and a 10-point tune-up.

The first and last moments of your day can steady or destabilize everything that comes in between. Are your mornings and nights propping you up, or tipping you over?

A centuries-old Chinese system for cultivating health, vitality and enlightenment, qi gong is now gaining a reputation here in the West - as one of the most effective stress-busters around.

Whether you're at home or the office, whether you have five minutes or 20, you can meditate. Really. Here's a beginner's guide.

Discover hos guided imagery can help you beat stress, improve your mood, up your immunity and heal your body faster. It's definitely not all in your imagination.

Frazzled? Scattered? A few moments of meditative silence can ground you in peace and calmness for the rest of the day.

Getting enough sleep is essential to health, happiness and productivity. Here’s how to give your slumber the priority it deserves.

It's the first thing to go when we're stressed. It's the last thing we get when we're busy. But not sleeping enough can lead our bodies into big trouble. Want to be fit and healthy? Find out why your shuteye should be a top priority.

What you eat (and what you don't) can have a powerful influence on how well you sleep.