Foods that are high in sugar and high in fat are generally also high in calories.  In addition, they're generally not very high in nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Eating too many of these types of foods can make it difficult to maintain a balanced diet.  Maintaining a balanced diet does not mean avoiding favorite items like sweets or high fat indulgent foods like macaroni and cheese. Choose these foods in moderation and enjoy them occasionally and in portion controlled servings. Decide what moderation is for you.  It may mean splitting dessert every Friday night or going out to your favorite burger place twice a month. Drinking liquid calories is a common way to throw off a balanced diet quickly.  They're high in calories and sugar and can rapidly increase your total intake of sugar.  Monitor how often and how much you're consuming items like:  beer, wine, mixed drinks, sodas, sweetened tea or juice.  Although 100% fruit juice does have some nutritional benefit, juice still contains a relatively high amount of sugar and should be consumed in moderation.  Drink four to six oz occasionally.  Skip sodas and sugary drinks.  If you still need the caffeine, consider coffee or tea with skim milk and limited sweetener. Limit alcoholic beverages as well:  one drink or less daily for women and two drinks or less daily for men.  An occasional glass of wine or sweetened tea is OK.  Again, it's important to enjoy these items in moderation. Exercise is an important part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.  Although it doesn't necessarily affect your diet, regular physical activity can help maintain your weight and health when you occasionally indulge in favorite foods.  Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio activity each week. Exercises like jogging, biking and swimming are good options.  Aim to participate in strength training at least two times a week.  Lifting weights or going to a Pilates class are good options.
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One-sentence summary -- Limit your sugar and saturated fat intake. Limit alcohol and other liquid calories. Engage in physical activity.


The bright, fresh flavor from these popsicles comes from the orange zest. Use a zester, microplane or grater to zest an orange until you've collected 1 tablespoon. Place them all in a blender and blend until completely smooth.  Lemonade or grapefruit juice also taste delicious in popsicle form. You can sub the orange juice for root beer if you want a root beer float-inspired concoction.  It will take at least 3 hours. Resist the temptation to take them out before they're hard - these popsicles melt quite easily!
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One-sentence summary -- Zest an orange. Blend the orange juice, ice cream and zest. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds. Freeze the popsicles until they're solid.


You can find a number of pre-made building plans online, showing you exactly how to make all sorts of different buildings yourself. This is great for beginners, who haven't gotten used to the materials available to them yet.  Minecraft Building Inc is one great example. There are a couple of sites on the net that will let you create your own building plans, drawing out exactly what materials should go where. The most common site for this is MineDraft. There are loads of videos on YouTube that show you how to build cool houses and other fun structures. Spend some time exploring and getting ideas for what other people have made.
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One-sentence summary -- Use building plans. Use drafting tools. Watch YouTube videos.


Dropping pounds may help to reduce bad cholesterol. Even a loss of 10lbs can start the lowering process along. A combination of diet and exercise will be the most efficient way to do this. Fat is especially calorie-dense (9 calories per gram, whereas as carbs and protein only have 4). If you're counting calories for your waistline, cutting out fat is an easy way to keep the numbers down. . Being physically inactive is a huge culprit when it comes to having high cholesterol. The recommended amount of exercise each day is between 30 and 60 minutes; 150 minutes is recommended each week (75 minutes if the activity is vigorous). You'll be healthier and feel healthier. Choose activities that you enjoy most, like swimming, jogging, bicycling, hiking, walking, or dancing. If it's something you enjoy, you'll stick with it. Make sure it's convenient, too! You don't have to lift weights or go running—as long as you're moving, that's physical activity. For starters, if you don't drink, don't start. But if you do include wine in your socializing routine, keep it in—in serious moderation. Having just one glass of red wine a night (two if you're male) can help lower your cholesterol. But just the one!  Too much alcohol, on the other hand, can serious raise your triglyceride levels. Anything more than the occasional drink will do damage to your system and put you at risk for alcoholism. One drink is defined as 5oz of wine. . It is a well-known fact that smoking can decrease your good HDL cholesterol levels. Smoking can also make it more difficult to exercise, which may affect your cholesterol levels overall. And for your general health, it's a great, great idea to stop.  If you haven't already bombarded with the plethora of reasons you should quit smoking, you must be living under a rock. Smoking is a serious contributor to heart disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. It also negatively affects those around you. It's not too late. In fact, as soon as you stop smoking, your lungs begin to repair themselves. And the same goes for your wallet!
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One-sentence summary --
Lose any extra weight. Start a regular exercise routine Have the occasional glass of wine. Quit smoking