Health-and-Fitness online information.

WHY NOT

GIVE TO A CHARITY?

Shop for holiday gifts and support a good cause by logging on to www.greatergood.com. Just click on a charity to support, then hit Shop and order from more than 100 retailers and name-brand clothing, electronics and furniture labels. Up to 15 percent of each purchase goes to your chosen organization. Charities include the Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Make-a-Wish Foundation.

HOT NOW!

Faux Real

You don't need a fortune to look like a million bucks--especially this season, when luxurious fake fur and animal prints accent skirts and jackets, baguettes and belts. (Even beauty essentials like this hair dryer have jungle fever.) Our fashion editors say the look to wear now is luxe--whether real or faux. So go ahead and be fabulous!

`I never considered it a disadvantage to be a Black woman. I never wanted to be anything else. We have brains. We are beautiful. We can do anything we set our minds to do.'

--Diana Ross, Black Women: In the Image of God (Pilgrim Press), edited by Dorothy Winbush Riley

HEALTH UPDATE

fitness on the fly

Between stuffing the stockings and decking the halls, fitting in your regular workout this month is bound to be difficult. But there are shortcuts to keeping fit while hustling around for holiday preparations: At the gym, opt for a 30-minute circuit-training session instead of spending an hour in aerobics class. When shopping, park a little farther from the mall entrance and walk briskly while inside--you can easily cover a mile or more on a typical trip. Taking the stairs at the office or elsewhere will strengthen and tone your legs and glutes. Take stretch breaks while you're secretly gift wrapping in the basement. Need a cardio kick? Just five minutes of moderate rope jumping can burn 50 calories. Or give your man or kid a break from shoveling the snow and knock off 180 calories in 30 minutes.

# posted by Medical Information : 12:46 AM