4 Helpful Tips for Clothes Shopping with Confidence

Trying on clothes can be a chore. You carve out time to go to the store, find three sizes of every dress/pants/shirt you think you might be flattering, locate the dressing room, pry a toddler off your legs and proceed to try on one thing after another, examining yourself from every angle, only to decide that every single thing looks awful and why did you even bother doing this in the first place?
 
You hurriedly hang up your items before handing them to the room attendant or dumping them onto the overflowing "Land of Misfit Clothes" shelf, leaving with nothing but the clothes you were wearing, your purse and the little bit of self-esteem that you have left.
 
In an ideal world, dressing rooms would be more inviting or at least well-lit and free of stray straight pins. You'd also be able to bring along a friend who could tell it to you straight. But, friends aren't always readily available when you need them, and toddlers--well, you can't really trust their opinion at all. Without the buddy system or ideal accommodations, how can you know what the real you actually looks like. How can you be confident with your clothing choices if you can't trust what you see in front of you?

SparkPeople Instagram Hits 20,000 Inspired Followers!

We have something amazing to celebrate--and we have you to thank! You must really love us--really love us--because we have reached 20,000 followers on Instagram! Thank you so much for motivating us to keep motivating you!

We enjoy inspiring you every day on Instagram with motivational, laugh-out-loud, smile-inducing quotes. It's our inspirational outlet and we love that it helps get you in the mood to hit the gym, treadmill, park or pavement! In case you missed them, here are the top five most engaging posts ever:

12 Affordable Athleisure Brands that Look Great As You Lose Weight

Losing weight is hard work, but if you've witnessed any success in your own weight loss efforts, you know that the work is worth it. As you begin to lose weight, you'll find that your whole attitude about yourself is rosier, sunnier and more positive. But, as you reach to turn off the 5 a.m. alarm, are you still reaching for your old workout clothes? The unflattering ones that hang off your body, slouch in all the wrong places and look like they belong to someone else? If so, it's time for a change. 

8 Gym Bags, 78 Items Fitness Pros Never Leave Home Without

When​ ​you​ ​get​ ​ready​ ​to​ ​go​ ​to​ ​your​ ​favorite​ ​fitness​ ​class,​ ​do​ ​you​ ​have​ ​your​ ​bag​ ​packed​ ​and​ ​ready to​ ​go?​ ​Or​ ​are​ ​you​ ​the​ ​person​ ​frantically​ ​scrambling​ ​at​ ​the​ ​last​ ​minute,​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​think​ ​of​ ​what​ ​you might​ ​need​ ​on​ ​your​ ​way​ ​out​ ​the​ ​door?​ ​Sure,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​always​ ​pack​ ​a​ ​water​ ​bottle,​ ​hair​ ​ties​ ​and change​ ​of​ ​clothes,​ ​but​ ​what​ ​other​ ​items​ ​are​ ​you​ ​missing?​ ​When​ ​you​ ​get​ ​to​ ​the​ ​gym,​ ​do​ ​you​ ​try​ ​to sneak​ ​a​ ​peek​ ​into​ ​other​ ​gym​ ​bags​ ​as​ ​they​ ​sit,​ ​open​ ​on​ ​the​ ​bench​ ​in​ ​the​ ​locker​ ​room?​ ​What​ ​do other​ ​members​ ​have​ ​in​ ​there​ ​that​ ​you​ ​don't?​ ​What​ ​can't​ ​they​ ​live​ ​without?​ ​Which​ ​items​ ​might you​ ​enjoy,​ ​too?  

10 Must-Have Healthy Living Items You Can Get for Less Than $20

If I could write a "wanted" ad for all of the healthy living items currently listed in my phone's notes, several big tickets items would top the list. But while a treadmill and workout bench are great investments, I find that oftentimes the smaller, inexpensive items that I use on a daily basis make the biggest difference in achieving my healthy living goals.

Learn to Love At-Home Workouts With This Folding Treadmill

You've probably heard the horror stories of treadmills gone bad: Machines purchased with the best of intentions as daily morning running resolutions sour sooner than you can say "DVR." Instead of looking at your equipment with hope, you look at it with annoyace for taking up so much room in your basement. The right treadmill, though, can change the way you approach your fitness goals. It can keep you honest (it's a lot harder to decline a workout when all you have to do is walk to the next room), safe (when inclement weather or lack of daylight hampers your outdoor workout) and within budget.

5 Beginner Booty Moves for Glorious Glutes

The recent pop culture obsession with the derriere aside, there are a huge range of reasons for making glutes gains. Not only will you be able to jump higher, stand taller and run faster, but you'll also experience fewer lower-body aches and pains when you engage your rear. And, bonus: Increasing lean muscle mass anywhere also ups your calorie burn when you're at rest.

Luckily, you can feel the booty burn without using a bunch of fancy equipment. We curated a wide variety of lower-body videos, many of which call for nothing more than a little sweat and your own bodyweight. Go ahead and give these well-rounded routines a go!

Learn How to Fill Your Plate--and Lose Weight!

We're here to give it to you straight: Losing weight can sometimes be hard work (okay, a lot of the time). You have to worry about portion sizes, eating the right mix of healthy foods, drinking enough water and keeping yourself accountable for what you eat.

What if we said we could serve up weight loss on a silver platter? While we can't exactly deliver it to your door--you still have to do the work--we did break down the facts in an easy-to-follow graphic that puts you on the path to weight loss success. 

Learn to Exercise for Weight Loss Success

Just the thought of losing weight can be daunting. Even though you know by now that exercise is a crucial component to your weight-loss efforts, you could find yourself stuck as to where to begin. How often do I exercise? What kind of exercise should I try? How hard should I be working out? Should I strength train?

Rest assured--you're not the only one with questions. Starting an exercise routine is something many of our readers struggle with, but sweat sessions can be fun with the right information and attitude. This easy-to-follow graphic answers all of your queries and so much more. We break it down for you with a suggested plan of action for the week, including which days to work and when to rest. The graphic also offers cardio ideas and an exertion chart, so you'll know when you're putting in enough effort. You'll learn how to balance your cardio sessions with three key strength moves, plus discover additional fitness tips to keep you motivated.

From Garden to Picnic, 12 Ways to Store Summer Food Favorites

These days, you can't drive past a strip mall or check your Facebook feed without coming across a Container Store or coworker selling kitchen items promising to solve all of your storage issues. And with summer comes plenty of food storage conundrums. If you're blessed with a bountiful garden you'll likely have more produce than you can eat. A great problem to have, sure, but how should you store it?

Big News: SparkPeople App Now Connects With Google Fit

You work hard every day to fit in your exercise, and to make it count. It doesn't matter if you enjoy running, walking, biking, hopping, skipping or jumping--you want your hard work to be reflected in the final tally of your day, whether you're tracking your exercise in an app or a fitness tracker. 
 
If you use an Android device, Google Fit can automatically track your fitness as you work, and automatic tracking is great. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could bring that information on over to your SparkPeople app? Wouldn't it just be the best if you could pair your fitness data with the nutrition data you track with us? We think so too, which is why we're happy to announce that we've integrated Google Fit right within the SparkPeople app you know and love.
 
Android phone and device users running version 4.0 or higher can automatically log their exercise with Google Fit. If you already have Google Fit on your phone, you only need to join your Fit account to your SparkPeople account one time and everything will work magically. (If you don't have Google Fit yet, you can download it here. Once you've downloaded it, take a minute to go through their setup process & you'll start tracking your fitness, automatically!)

10 Frozen Dinner Finds You Won't Believe Are Healthy

When you think of "frozen meals," what comes to mind? Do you conjure up memories of eating off the metal TV trays that conveniently folded up and tucked away nicely between the couch and the armchair?

6 Ways to Reach Napping Nirvana

Sleep: Try as we might, we cannot do without it. We can delay it with caffeine in an attempt to sneak in just one more hour of work or we can try to stay up to binge-watch "House of Cards," but eventually our eyelids will draw the final curtains on the day.

While sleep always wins, do you know if the sleep you're getting is of the quality kind? According to a report by the National Sleep Foundation, the answer is "no." "Americans report sleeping an average of seven hours and 36 minutes a night. [However], despite sleeping within the recommended number of hours, 35 percent of Americans report their sleep quality as 'poor' or 'only fair.' Twenty percent of Americans reported that they did not wake up feeling refreshed on any of the past seven days."

Beyond basic survival, sleep is needed for a myriad of health reasons. Regular sleep deprivation can lead to heart disease, heart attack, weight gain, stroke, diabetes and depression. A little extra sleep can help you relax and accomplish your tasks more quickly and effectively, which reduces your overall stress level.

The Finish Line: SparkPeople Reflects on the Flying Pig Journey

In a sea of 39,692 people from all 50 states and 17 countries, we were but four. But we were a mighty foursome who trained for and ran Cincinnati's Flying Pig half marathon. For four months, we ran in every kind of weather, together and apart. We bought running gear and clothing; worried about hydration and nutrition; and spent time and money fixing our injuries. Now that the day has come and gone, we wanted to share our race day reactions. Read on to find out how we all fared in the piggiest race of them all! 

Get #Healthy with SparkPeople Mobile Hashtags

When you’ve taken steps toward living a healthier lifestyle, it’s natural to want to connect with the health and fitness community. After all, who better to motivate and educate you than the people who are working hard to accomplish their own goals?