Slim

It’s flip-flop season, but if your feet took more of a beating last winter than Goldman Sachs’ PR team, it’s time for some damage control. Even tough guys are hesitant to get out of hot sneaks if what’s inside are calluses, heel cracks and thick, yellow nails. Here’s how to like yourself naked from the ankles down:
Keep them dry. Fungi, yeast and bacteria love warm, moist places, so don’t give them a chance to snuggle in and corrupt and discolour your nails. Avoid being among the 12 per cent of Americans with onychomycosis (even the name for fungal infection is ugly). Get out of sweaty shoes fast after a walk. Towel-dry wet feet, including between the toes.
Cushion them. Slip on well-padded athletic shoes when you’ll be on your feet awhile. Price doesn’t always equal quality, but athletic shoes are one of the five things we think you should overpay for to gain quality. Dead, thick skin (a.k.a. calluses) builds from putting too much pressure on feet often. To prevent the kind of heel pain that has 16 per cent of us saying ouch, check for shock absorption in the heels, which bear the brunt of your weight.
Trim nails. Keep nails short so they won’t curve into the skin or allow infection-causing bacteria to gather beneath them. To soften thick toenails before cutting, soak them in warm saltwater for five or 10 minutes, then massage in a urea-containing cream (Eucerin or Aqua Care). Use industrial-strength nail cutters, since wimpy ones will split nails.
On paper, losing weight is a simple formula: Eat less and exercise more. See the pounds melt away. But that equation crumbles when you face the Number 1 challenge to waist management: emotional eating.
Noshing when you’re bored, stressed, lonely or sad (or more than one of the above at once) is harder to resist than a fluffy puppy. Emotional eating can break you. Yet many diet plans ignore it. Learning how to handle non-hunger eating urges before you grab the glazed doughnut makes the path to a slimmer, healthier you a lot easier. One technique that works: the virtual conveyor belt. For example, when deadline stress makes you crave a giant bag of chips, quickly imagine putting those “I’ll never finish” feelings on a conveyor belt and watching them roll away, growing smaller until they disappear in the distance.
Of course, what you’re really dealing with isn’t just your deadline. It’s at least five brain chemicals that trigger eating urges when you feel down, wired or wrung out. You know you’re in their grip when you crave just one type of food (sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy) and when the urges aren’t from a growling tummy. You want to be soothed or numbed or given a jolt of well-being.
If the conveyor belt doesn’t work, try proven emotion easers like exercise and yoga. Or take a break: Maybe you really need to call a friend, not ice cream. If all else fails, take a nap. Sleep rejuvenates neurons in your brain that naturally release feel-good brain chemicals.
We’re such fans of strength training that we sometimes sound like hucksters on one of those crazy, late-night TV infomercials: “You get a sleeker physique. But wait! There’s more! You burn more calories! Get stronger bones! A healthier heart! More flexibility!”
It’s all true! But the benefits are so tempting that it’s easy to jump in and get hurt. Which is happening: Weight-training injuries are up 50 per cent, and the biggest increases are in people over 45.
Yet they’re easy to avoid. You’re probably not going to drop a 150-pound barbell on your toes (you’d have to pick it up first). You’re more likely to push yourself too hard, cut corners on form to lift more pounds, or do too many repetitions. Instead of stopping if something hurts, you mutter “No whining.” Or you drag your sore self back to the gym every day, even if your body’s yelping.
Don’t. For starters, don’t do strength work every day; every other day is plenty. Begin with light weights and get how-tos on using good form. That’s what those mirrors are really for: to check your form—it’s the key to avoiding strains. Don’t increase weights until you can easily lift the weight you’re using 12 times. If a joint or muscle hurts, stop. Take a couple of days off, then try the move again with a lighter weight or fewer reps.
If you’re patient at first, the next thing you know, you’ll look in the mirror and go, “Wow, perfect form.” Oh, you can go WOW about how you look, too.
The You Docs, Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz, are authors of YOU: Having A Baby. Send questions to the doctors on their website, www.realage.com
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