sexiest figure

Breakfast may indeed be the most important meal of the day -- as long as that meal is not a doughnut -- a study suggests.

Using data from a national health survey of U.S. adults, researchers found that people who ate lower-calorie foods for breakfast tended to have a higher-quality diet overall.

Furthermore, men who ate a healthy breakfast generally weighed less. Among women, breakfast eaters -- regardless of the food involved -- tended to weigh less than those who skipped the morning meal.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, give some support to past studies finding that breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight -- and that eating a high-quality breakfast, rather than grabbing a pastry, is the key.

Research has shown, for example, that people who eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast have a lower average weight than either those who skip breakfast or those who sit down to a plate of steak and eggs.

What's "unique" about the current study is that it suggests that breakfast foods low in "energy density" -- low in calories for a given amount of food -- "appear to predict better food choices for the rest of the day and may help with better management of body weight," Dr. James Rippe, one of the researchers on the work, said in a written statement.

Fruits, vegetables and high-fiber whole grains, for example, are low in energy density, while confections like Danish pastries and doughnuts have a high energy density.

The current findings underscore the importance of choosing low-energy- density options for breakfast, according to Rippe, a cardiologist with the Rippe Lifestyle Institute in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

The Rippe organization manages the Breakfast Research Institute, an industry-sponsored group that funds health and nutrition research. The BRI financed the current study.

The findings are based on responses from more than 12,000 U.S. adults who took part in three federal health surveys between 1999 and 2004.

Overall, people who reported eating a low-energy-density breakfast in the past day were more likely than their counterparts to choose lower-calorie foods for the rest of the day as well. As a group, they also had a higher-quality diet -- eating a wider variety of foods and more vitamins and minerals.

Among men, those who ate a breakfast low in energy density tended to weigh less, even with factors like exercise and income considered. For women, any type of breakfast was related to a lower likelihood of obesity -- though the calorie density of other meals did seem to be important.

More research is needed to confirm those particular findings, Rippe's team notes. For now, they suggest that men should be encouraged to eat a breakfast low in energy density, whereas women should eat breakfast but also focus on choosing low-energy-density foods throughout the day.

source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

When you get that perfect new mini skirt or little black dress, the whole outfit is ruined by hairy legs. Do you want to shave your legs and get them as smooth and silky as possible? Follow these tips for super smooth, sexy, sleek legs that will have the opposite gender gawking at you.

Steps

1. Make sure the shower (or bath) is warm to open pores, which will give you a closer shave.

2. Use shaving gel to get a closer and smoother shave. Squirt a nice, plump dallop into your hand and lather up on your legs as if it were shampoo. It should create a nice thick cream, like a second skin.

3. Use a loofa and run water over it to get a closer shave by removing the dead skin cells. Once you have massaged in the exfoliation cream, use the loofa to wipe off any remaining residue.

4. Use a good razor to shave your legs, making sure you do it carefully so that you don't cut yourself. Shave up your legs, not down your legs.

5. Rinse your legs with cold water to close the pores, pat them dry with a warm towel.

6. Put on some moisturizer and massage it in well.

Tips

* Be careful around ankles and knees. These areas are uneven and difficult to shave. You may want to use cream for these areas.
* If you don't have a shaving foam, use conditioner. It works just as well!
* Take your time, don't rush, or you could end up making a very bad job of it.
* If you do nick yourself while shaving, try dabbing on some antiseptic cream or lotion to help heal the cut faster.
* There are other methods of hair removal: waxing (it hurts a lot at first, but you will get used to it), using hair removal creams (there is a myth that all hair removal creams smell, but there are nice smelling creams out there!), and bleaching the hair on your legs. For first timers, try shaving, but since there are down-sides to shaving such as re-growth and stubbles, you may want to consider getting them waxed. Gather up your courage and get an appointment today - you won't regret it! You'll have silky smooth legs that last for four months! No more messing around with razors in the shower!
* Try not shaving your legs for 2 weeks; it will be smoother when you shave.
* Make sure your exfoliation lotion has solid beads in it, bursting beads and moisture beads won't really work.
* If you're not that good with shaving your knees and you nick yourself a lot, try using something like nair so it will be smooth and nick-free and will not have as bad stubble!
* If you have pretty dry legs you NEED to moisturize otherwise when the hair starts to grow back it will feel rough and unpleasant.

Warnings

* A sharp, newer razor works best. Don't use a blunt or rusty razor. Dull razors require more pressure, which causes a more likely chance of cutting.
* Don't shave when your legs are dry! It is extremely bad for your skin and will create more scrapes if you don't use soap or shaving cream.
* Be careful using hair-removal creams. Half of the ingredients of Nair and other hair removal products are there to repair the skin damage that the hair removal agent caused in the first place.

When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight.

If your family members are obese, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. And your family also helps form your eating and lifestyle habits, which can lead to obesity.

Also, our busy lives make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals. For many of us, it's easier to reach for prepared foods, go out to eat, or go to the drive-through. But these foods are often high in fat and calories. Portions are often too large. Work schedules, long commutes, and other commitments also cut into the time we have for physical activity.

There is no quick fix to being overweight. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in.

Miss Russia has been crowned Miss World 2008 at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Miss India Parvathy Omanakuttan has finished as the first runner up. Miss Trinidad and Tobago is the second runner-up.

Among the other five finalists are Ms Angola, Ms Trinidad and Tobago, Ms Russia and Ms South Africa.

The final round was being held in Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg and the country was said to be expecting one billion-strong TV audience for the event aired on Zee Cafe

Exuding charm in her white gown, Parvathy cat-walked confidently on the stage to answer her question in the final round. She was asked what being in South Africa meant for her. To this she compared the "similarity in the cultures" of India and South Africa and thanked the locals for their hospitality. She also compared legends Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and how inextricably linked the two countries' fates have been.

Earlier, a collective cheer went up in the audience when Paravathy’s name was announced at the end of a 15-name long list of semi finalists.

Other semi-finalists included Ms Trinidad and Tobago, Ms US, Ms Guatemala, Ms Venezuela, Ms Ukraine, Ms Croatia, Ms Brazil, Ms Angola, Ms Kazakhstan, Ms Puerto Rico, Ms Spain, Ms Russia and Ms South Africa.

Who is Parvathy?

Twenty-one-year-old Parvathy stands tall at 5 feet 9 inches and hails from Kerala.

Two days before the final round, she appeared sure of her victory and said she was confident of carrying forward the legacy of India’s glamour queens Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (1994), Priyanka Chopra (2000), Diana Hayden (1997) and Yukta Mookhey (1999).

"I am very much confident about my victory. Femina Miss India World is not merely a crown of joy for me. With the crown, the responsibility of upholding the name of the country has also fallen on my shoulders," she said in a statement.

Asked on December 11, about her preparations for the pageant, Parvathy said, "Preparations have started ever since I won the Femina Miss India contest in April this year. Apart from just concentrating on my appearance, I am trying to be a stronger person to face the contest." "I'll try my level best to make every Indian all over the world proud," Parvathy said.

Born on July 23, this Cancerian charmer's "never say die" attitude has helped her conquer one beauty pageant after another- be it the Navy Queen contest held in connection with the annual Navy Ball or Femina Miss India, South held in Hyderabad last year.

Today's lifestyle is super hectic for everyone! You have the kids, the spouse, work, bills... The list just never really stops. Here are a few smart lifestyle changes that can help you charge your batteries back up and make it through the day!

* determination to change your current habits

Step1
The first thing your body needs in order to recharge is sleep. Small steps you can take to make sure you get enough sleep include setting a relaxing routine for bedtime. Make sure you go to bed and get up at the same time every day (even on weekends). Make sure you finish eating two to three hours before bedtime for a more restful sleep. Keeping your body on a set routine decreases the amount of energy you waste when your body is required to adjust to "schedule" changes.

Step2
Eat for energy, not just to eat. Be sure to eat breakfast every day to start yourself off with an energy source. Drink plenty of water to transport the nutrients throughout your body. Eat lean protein with each meal to help keep blood sugar levels stable and prolong the feeling of being satisfied with your meal. Eat slowly to give your body time to feel full. Overeating will increase your fatigue.

Step3
Get moving! Exercise, even just ten minutes, eases pent up stress, relieves muscle tension, sends oxygenated blood to the brain and boosts the efficiency of your heart and lungs. It's best to try for thirty or more minutes, but even just ten minutes is better than none at all.

Step4
Incorporate these simple lifestyle changes into your life and, within days, you'll start feeling much more energized and feel much healthier!

You can make a daily highlighting shampoo by simply adding 6 tablespoons of fresh squeezed Lemon Juice to 1 cup of your regular shampoo and mix well. Depending on the length of your hair and how much shampoo you use within a 2-3 day period, you may want to half this recipe. It also helps to extend the life of the shampoo to store it in the refrigerator.

Reason? All the hunks of Bollywood — Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor — will be steering their wheels towards their fave hairstylist Aalim’s new salon that opens up on that day.

The celebrity hairstylist already runs a salon in Bandra but his hi-fi clients find the drive too long. So, by popular demand, Aalim decided to open one in Versova, where most of the stars live. Another of his clients Abhishek Bachchan won’t be there for the opening but that’s not an issue at all, as Aalim will be flying to the south where the actor is shooting for Raavana, style his hair and fly back for the opening of his salon. It’s so much more easier for these hunks to let their hair down now, isn’t it?

PS: Aalim’s father Hakim used to style Amitabh Bachchan’s hair. His look in films like Don, Kabhi Kabhi, Natwarlal was done by Hakim and now Aalim continues to style Abhishek Bachchan. It’s ‘hair’editary!

Being sexy is often perceived to be a key essence of femininity. And, now a new study has found that women feel most sexy at the age of 34.

Researchers have based their findings on a survey of over 1,000 women who were questioned about their sex lives - the majority of respondents said that it was at the age of 34 when they had felt more sexy.

The survey also revealed that middle-aged women have half as much sex as they did when they were younger - in fact the researchers found that that on average women aged 45 to 60 have sex 4.5 times a month, compared to 10.4 times a month in their 20s and 30s. However, 56% of the respondents said they enjoyed it now more than they did when they were younger, British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported.

Sex and relationship advisor Dr Catherine Hood said: “Many of us make the assumption that older people have less sex than the young, and this research appears to confirm this.

However, it does show that women are still enjoying great sex lives as they get older.

“Women’s sexual needs, libido and lifestyle change over time, but there is absolutely no reason why older women can’t enjoy an extremely fulfiling sex life in their middle age and well into their senior years.

“The fact that over half of those quizzed said they had better sex now than in their 20s and 30s suggests that these women are more confident and self-assured than they were in their younger days and aren’t afraid of getting what they want.”

The research commissioned by moisturiser brand Astral questioned 1,031 women about their sex lives.

Thousands of years ago, a man sat with his eyes closed, deep in meditation, yet aware of the connection between all beings. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a beautiful, strong tree. But instead of breaking the meditative state and experiencing the tree as "over there," he had a shift in perception.

He saw, for the first time, that there was no separation between himself and the tree. They were made of the same molecules, they breathed the same air, and they could not live without one another -- they actually were the same being in different physical forms.

The man spontaneously stood up, balanced on one leg, and shot his arms into the air in a passionate expression of the bhav (feeling) of the tree. He had channeled his tree-ness, and was so overtaken with compassionate feeling that he couldn’t help but spring into the pose to experience being the tree: "I know how it feels to be you, it feels like this..." This was the beginning of hatha yoga.

Beyond words, yoga is the experience of union that we once thought was outside ourselves. The yogis pictured here went on a personal journey within to channel their own nature of asana. And because the focus of this issue is on our environment, we especially wanted to explore yoga’s connection to nature.

Women prefer males with deep voices because it signals strength, dominance and good genes, a new research suggests.

The research among African hunter-gatherers found that men with deeper voices attract women more than those with squeaky ones when they are at their most fertile. Deeper-voiced men are deemed better hunters who offer more protection, the study claimed.

According to the study, women who were nursing a child prefer higher-pitched male voices than fertile women who had not recently given birth, reports New Scientist. Coren Apicella, an anthropologist at Harvard University and leader of the study, said the Hadza - hunter-gatherers native to northern Tanzania - have limited exposure to the mass media.

Cut off from the daily bombardment of advertisements, pop songs and newscasts that''s typical in much of the world, they were an ideal population in which to study innate sexual preferences, Coren said. To reach the conclusion, the boffin spent six months studying vocal preferences among Hadza men and women.

She tested the vocal preferences of 88 Hadza men and women. They heard a member of the opposite sex saying the Swahili word "hujambo" - loosely translated as hello - in a computer-altered high and low register. Women were asked whether the voice belonged to someone likely to make a good hunter and husband, while men rated the voices in terms of skill as a forager and suitability as a wife. Apicella found that the Hadza men judged deeper-voiced women to be better foragers, but they fancied the highest-pitched women.

Nursing women favoured higher-pitched tones, while fertile women showed a slight preference for the deeper voices, she found. When Hadza women start breast-feeding, their foraging falls off. "They rely on men a lot more to bring in food and resources. Maybe a higher-pitched voice is signalling pro-social behaviour,” the expert said.

Wearing the blazer Winter's here and you must make the blazer work to get the look perfect this winter. Here are a few pointers:

A denim blazer works well for daytime. Pairing it with a fine knit sweater makes it casual yet stylish. For the evening, put it over a bold woven shirt – stripes, spots or plaid in bright colours. A Tweed or Herringbone blazer in classic brown or black is hot this season. Pair again with vivid colours. You can also pair the blazer with a dark washed denim for the party or friends' gathering at the pub. Keep it informal, though. Ultimately, remember that the look to put together isn't fussy, but makes you feel comfortable and relaxed.

A new study, conducted by researchers at University College London, has revealed that diets and creams claiming their antioxidant properties could slow ageing, have little or no effect.

While conducting a study with Nematode worms, the researchers found that even those given enhanced antioxidant powers to deal with tissue damaging "free radicals" did not live longer.

The researchers said that there was "no clear evidence" they could slow ageing.

Antioxidants are a staple of the beauty and health industries. This has been based on a 50-year-old theory.

In 1956, it was suggested that ageing was caused by a build-up of molecular damage caused by reactive forms of oxygen, called superoxides or free radicals, circulating in the body.

This is known as oxidative stress. Antioxidants supposedly worked to mop up these free radicals, minimising their damage.

However, the new could help explain why many studies aimed at proving the theory have been inconclusive.

The research team, led by Dr David Gems, genetically manipulated nematodes so that their bodies were able to "mop up" surplus free radicals.

However, these worms lived just as long as the others, suggesting that "oxidative stress" is less of a factor in the ageing of our cells and tissues as some have suggested.

"The fact is that we don't understand much about the fundamental mechanisms of ageing - the free radical theory has filled a knowledge vacuum for over 50 years now, but it doesn't stand up to the evidence," BBC quoted Gems, as saying.

"It is clear that if superoxide is involved, it plays only a small part in the story - oxidative damage is clearly not a universal, major driver of the ageing process," Gems added.

He said a healthy, balanced diet was important for reducing the risk of many "old age" diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis, but there was no clear evidence that eating antioxidants could slow or prevent ageing, and even less evidence to support the claims made by antioxidant pills and creams.