When is the last time you wanted to get down and dirty with your man? Do you find yourself making excuses and turning away from his advances? Did you used to initiate, and now wait for him to? Were you once the horny girl who couldn’t get enough sex, and now you don’t crave it at all?

Letting a low libido continue may seem harmless, but is it really fair to your mate? Hell, is it even fair to yourself to give up orgasmic release, and all the health benefits associated with maintaining healthy, functioning, sex organs?

And if you aren’t in a relationship, a low libido could be keeping you from seeking one, in which case you could also be missing out on the benefits of the emotional connection that comes with a loving, sexual relationship.

Staying Fit After Thirty means staying on top of things sexually. (Pun fully intended!) Ideally, women would have their hormones tested when their libido is at its healthiest and strongest - possibly in their early twenties, for a baseline measurement of all sexual hormones. Then they would have a “norm” to compare to, if things start to change in their thirties and beyond.

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We’ve long known that folate helps reduce the risk of birth defects in babies, but now there is evidence that it also cuts the risk of premature births, which come with a host of health risks for the baby. It is important to note that the results were dependent on the mother supplementing with folate for at least a year prior to conception! The important take away is that ALL women of childbearing age, whether they intend to become pregnant or not, should be taking a multivitamin with folate in it. And women who do intend to become pregnant, would be wise to plan further ahead - nutritionally - than most women do. Read the full details here.

Growing up in Arizona, I was indoctrinated into the belief that fruity, sweet slushy beverages are God’s nectar, not so much by what my mother said, but by what she did. Let’s just say, the blender was her favorite appliance, and also her closest ally in the never ending quest to keep five kids and their friends hydrated during the sweltering summer days of our childhood.

It can be hard to convince adults, let alone kids, to leave the swimming pool long enough to guzzle a glass of bland water when they don’t feel thirsty.  But throw ice and any bright liquid in tall, plastic mugs with straws sticking out of them, and watch what looks like a mass exodus from a body of water that rivals any beach scene from Jaws.

My mom wouldn’t have to say anything; all she had to do was bring the smoothies outside, set them on the mini lawn tables, and step back to avoid the stampede of dripping bodies as we raced from the pool to get the glass that was filled the highest. 

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In their new book,The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All The Difference, Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, explore a number of examples which prove that small efforts can accomplish big things. The book is NOT a diet book, but it got me thinking about how important the message is to the dieting process.

It’s easy to get intimidated by the idea of losing any number of pounds in the double digit range. Even as ten pounds can seem overwhelming. It’s easy to convince yourself that it’s an all or nothing proposition, and that your entire diet has to become something Richard Simmons would write home about, when in fact, if even just one of your small, daily habits could change, you could see visible results quickly. 

But if you think about the challenge in terms of the small efforts needed to make it happen, compounded over time, it is not nearly the feat that it seems. Ask any distance runner if they get through a marathon race by thinking “26 miles, 26 miles, 26 miles”, they will tell you it would be hard to complete the race with that mindset. Instead, most runners focus only on the few steps in front of them at that moment.

My long time favorite spiritual writer and speaker, Wayne Dyer, has said in some of his books, that he gave up his addiction to alcohol by fighting the temptation one minute at a time. You’d be best served to approach dieting in the same manner - focusing on something small - like the amount of calories that make up a snack.

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In the last ten years, I’ve become increasingly passionate about the subject of the mind-body connection. It is one of the things that inspired me to start this site, because I feel that achieving fitness and health goals, and attaining the body you want, starts with the mind. That is why I was excited to interview Dr. Shahram Jacobs, again, about the recent research done with stroke victims, which I feel truly highlights the power the brain has over our bodies, and even over the unhealthy parts of the brain itself!!

Suzy: Thanks for lending me your brain to help explain this brain research, because although the stroke aspect won’t apply to most of my readers, I believe that what it teaches us about the brain can truly empower every woman (or man) if that power is employed in other health pursuits. When I heard about this research, I thought of you, because you are so well versed in the mind-body connection.

Dr. Jacobs: Suzy, you always have great ideas for topics, and this one is up there with the rest! I am happy to enlighten you and your readers.

Suzy: Let’s get right to it. What is the brief explanation of mirror therapy and then we can talk about how it can relate to weight issues.

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Over the weekend my friends and I were discussing the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners  - and no, my friends aren’t nearly as nerdy as I am with this stuff, but they are becoming increasingly interested in losing a few pounds and treating their bodies right. So it dawned on me that I have never told all of my *f.a.t. readers about Stevia, the herb that is a natural sweetener!! How could I have forgotten, as this is truly a way to go from “fat” to *f.a.t. (Fit After Thirty)!

I discovered it at my health food store when I was just a hot young co-ed. Actually, I’m not sure I ever was one of those, but I should have been for as healthfully as I ate. (I know you regular readers are thinking, geez, she read the fiber diet book in high school and she hung out at the health food store in college, what a geek!) I’m not denying it, but the good thing is it allowed me to have years of experience with the natural sweetener, so I could pass along that information to all of you! 

Stevia is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. The leaves of this small, green Stevia rebaudiana plant have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. It has been available in liquid and powder form for many years, and is a God send for diabetics. The reason is, because stevia does not spike blood sugar levels. This is why it is a good diet aid for all of you!

I know it sounds too good to be true, so for all of you naysayers, put your positive cap on while you read the next few sentences. It has zero calories, zero carbs, and is even believed to lower blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and even improve digestion. You can bake with it, mix it in drinks and sprinkle it on cereal, just as you would sugar.

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Okay, so you’re ditching work early to head out to the Cinco De Mayo Happy Hour Bash at your local El Torito, or other Mexican restaurant! What can you expect to be consuming in calories for the evening, and how do you plan accordingly so you aren’t having to spend ten hours on the treadmill to make up for it, you ask? Well, I have the answers for you here! 

We’ll start with the most important item first:

Margarita: 153 calories, 7g carbs, 0g fat - be sure to multiply times the number you drink!!

Enchilada - with sauce and sourcream: 210 calories, 13g of fat and 9g of carbs in each enchilada

Taquito - 256 calories, 14g of fat and 22g of carbs in each taquito (5.3 oz)

Beef Taco - 200 calories, 9g of fat and 21g of carbs in each taco (3.5 oz)

Steak Taco - 270 calories, 16g of fat and 20g of carbs in each taco (4.5 oz)

Chicken Taco - 270 calories, 14g of fat and 21g of carbs in each taco (4.8 oz).

Taco Salad with shell - 780 calories, 36g of fat and 78g of carbs in each salad (1 lb 3.2 oz)

Guacamole - 150 calories, 13g of fat and 8g of carbs in each serving (3.5 oz)

Tortilla chips - 140 calories, 7g of fat and 19g of carbs in each oz (1 oz) or 11 chips.

Taco size flour tortilla - 90 calories, 2.5g of fat and 12.g of carbs in each tortilla

Corn tortilla - 52 calories, 7g of fat and 10.7g of carbs in each tortilla (0.8 oz)

Hot Salsa - 20 calories, 0g of fat and 3g of carbs in each serving (3.5 oz).

So you work your butt off getting your body beach ready and in total Fit After Thirty shape. You lift weights and train your butt off and get flat abs and a tight rear until you successfully achieve a body you can be proud of. But in all your enthusiasm to strut your stuff in your hot bikini, you forget to use enough sunscreen and so you become a burned lobster. Sound familiar? (After this weekend, it sounds familiar to the lower quarter of each of my left and right butt cheeks and it also sounds familiar to the two inches of lower back above my bikini bottoms.) Yes, my sunscreen application needs improvement!!

You want a hot bod, yes - but not the sunburned kind of hot bod! So what do you do if the sun ends up adoring your sexy, fit bod more than you want it to? Here are my top ten sunburn home remedies to soothe, ease pain, prevent peeling, and heal skin!

1. Oatmeal bath or oatmeal applied as a paste - soothes and helps ease pain

2. Apple Cider Vinegar applied from a spray bottle or with soaked towels - soothes and removes heat.

3. Aloe Vera gel - Cools and soothes and helps heal

4. Vitamin E oil - hastens the healing, and helps prevent peeling

5. Calendula ointment - soothes and helps heal

6. Black tea spritzed or soaked in clothes

7. Hemorrhoid cream - contains cortisone to soothe inflammation

8. Emu oil - a wonder oil for many types of skin irritations and inflamations

9. Tomato puree or tomato juice soaked in washcloths - the lycopene helps diminish sun damage. You might try lycopene pills as well, taken internally.

10. Ibuprofin taken internally - anti-inflammatory and pain reliever - though I always recommend using in conjunction with some of the above topicals.

And in order to prevent this again, here are sun protection options I recommend:

Anthelios sunscreen - it contains Mexoryl XL and SX which means you won’t have to reapply as often. It also blocks both UV A and UV B rays. 

Big Sun Hat 

Beach Umbrella - perfect for sitting under on the beach