Pippa Middleton Is Actually a Serious Athlete

Photo: Getty Images

Pippa Middleton is currently taking some well-deserved time off, vacationing in St. Barts and showing off her slamming bikini body—ah, the rough life of a “nearly royal.”

Yes, our first reaction was a bit of sarcasm, too. But it turns out, Middleton is in between competing and training for a number of downright badass fitness challenges.

Sure, naysayers may still balk at her accomplishments, throwing out things like, “she has all the time in the world to train—does she even work?” (For the record, she’s the editor of The Party Times, a blog from Party Pieces, the party supply store founded by her parents.) Or, “she can hire anyone she wants to whip her into shape!” But the thing is, you can’t pay someone to cross a marathon finish line for you or swim from island to island in Sweden…more on that later. These are the kinds of things that take grit and determination—something the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister seems to have no shortage of. Here are five things that really impressed us, including what she’s doing next.

RELATED: 7 Tips for Running Your First Race

She ran a high-altitude marathon in Africa…a week after a 54 mile bike race

What do you do after you bike 54 miles for charity? If you’re like Middleton, a week later you head to Kenya and compete in the Safaricom Marathon. Because of the high altitude on this course (5,000 ft.), the air is much thinner, making it that much harder. Despite the tough conditions, she crossed the finish line this June in less than four hours. The event raised money for Tusk, a wildlife protection and sustainability charity in Africa. (Prince William is a “royal patron.”)

She biked across America

Plenty of folks have a cross-country road trip on their bucket list, but they usually mean driving it, not biking it. Last June, Middleton participated in the Race Across America, a 3,000-mile relay ride from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Her team, which included her younger brother James and friend James Matthews traversed the Rockies and Appalachians to raise money for the Michael Matthews Foundation, which builds schoolhouses in countries that may not be able to afford them.

She keeps competing in the winter

Back in 2012 Pippa completed a whopping 56-mile cross-country ski race in Mora, Sweden (her brother also skied with her), facing sub-zero temperatures, and finishing the race in just over 7 hours. That was her first introduction to cross country racing, and so naturally a year later she did another race, ticking off the Engadin cross-country ski marathon in Switzerland, and finishing the 26.2 miles in under three hours.

RELATED: Cycling for a Cure: 10 Bike Races for a Good Cause

She ran a “fell” race

You’ve got to be in hella good shape to run a fell race (“fell” is the term for rugged, remote terrain in the U.K.). So no doubt, Pippa competed in one—the Highland Cross in Scotland, just a couple of months after her sister’s wedding. The race includes a 20-mile rocky, muddy off-road run, followed by a 30-mile bike ride, which she completed in a little over five hours—finishing an impressive 12th out of 150 women.

Her next challenge: the Ö TILL Ö Swim-Run Race

In just a few weeks Pippa will compete in the Swedish Ö TILL Ö Swim-Run race, where teams of two people swim between 26 islands, and then run over them (!). No big deal. The course makes for a total of 75 kilometers of action—with 10 kilometers of open-water swimming, and 65 kilometers of running, according to the event web site. And all of that must be completed from dusk till dawn. On top of that, Pippa will be fundraising once again for the Michael Matthews Foundation.

Now off to start Googling fell races—or see if that Swedish swim-run is still accepting entries for 2016. (Just kidding, no way we’re ready for that yet.)

RELATED: You Got a Running Injury During Race Training…Now What?

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Seniors More Likely to Wind Up in Hospital After Outpatient Surgery: Study

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Seniors are much more likely than younger people to find themselves in the hospital after outpatient surgery, a new study finds.

“These seniors were supposed to stay out of the hospital since the procedures were performed in the ambulatory setting, but they were admitted to the hospital within 30 days,” corresponding study author Dr. Gildasio De Oliveira Jr., an assistant professor in the Center for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a university news release.

“Age was the biggest factor associated with readmission and complications. It’s not because they are sicker, it’s because they are older and have trouble understanding their discharge instructions and medication dosing, which often are not clearly explained,” he said.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 53,000 Americans who underwent outpatient surgery in 2012, and found that those aged 65 and older were 54 percent more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days than those younger than 65.

Patients’ health before outpatient surgery was not a factor in the higher readmission rate for older patients, according to the researchers.

The study was published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

To prevent hospital readmissions after outpatient surgery, seniors need to be given more understandable discharge instructions and they need to be evaluated for their ability to care for themselves after the procedure, De Oliveira said.

Over the past decade, outpatient procedures in the United States have increased 300 percent. About 9 million outpatient surgeries a year are performed on patients aged 65 and older, the study authors said.

“When patients are sent home on the same day, a lot is required of them to take care of themselves, and it’s beyond the capability of a lot of older individuals. They have to administer opioids [narcotic painkillers] and monitor themselves for emergency problems such as bleeding or infection,” De Oliveira said.

“Before allowing patients to get ambulatory [outpatient] surgery, surgeons also should verify if patients are able to take care of themselves at home, and if they have support. If not, patients should be admitted to the hospital after surgery or have some type of formal support by a nurse to help them at home,” he concluded.

More information

The American Society of Anesthesiologists has more about outpatient surgery.

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After Heart Attack, Quitting Smoking Boosts Mental Health, Quality of Life

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new study offers more evidence that quitting smoking after a heart attack is a no-brainer: Researchers found it reduces chest pain and boosts mental health and quality of life.

The study looked at more than 4,000 American adults who were assessed one, six and 12 months after suffering a heart attack. It included patients who were smokers at the time of their heart attack (37 percent), smokers who quit before their heart attack (34 percent) and people who never smoked (29 percent). Forty-six percent of current smokers quit smoking within a year after their heart attacks, the researchers found.

Patients who had never smoked had the best health by the end of the follow-up period. The health of smokers who didn’t quit after their heart attack continued to decline. They were more likely to have chest pain, poorer physical functioning and quality of life, along with worse mental health, the study revealed.

Levels of chest pain and mental health among smokers who quit before their heart attack and of smokers who quit within a year after their heart attack were similar to that of patients who never smoked, the study found.

The study was published Aug. 25 in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

“Health care providers should counsel patients about how smoking cessation not only reduces the risk of death and having another heart attack, but also reduces the risk of having chest pain and may likely improve general mental health,” study author and psychologist Donna Buchanan said in a journal news release.

The findings offer more evidence about the harmful effects of smoking and the need for more education for heart attack patients, added Buchanan, a researcher and manager with Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute’s cardiovascular outcomes research group.

Buchanan suggested that the results might give current smokers more motivation to quit.

“Current educational efforts tend to focus on how continued smoking increases the risk of recurrent heart attack and death, but health-related quality of life is often equally or more important to patients than longevity,” she concluded.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers recovery and health tips for heart attack survivors.

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Parents’ Clothing Can Infect Newborns in Intensive Care

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The clothing of parents and visitors may spread dangerous respiratory infections to infants in an neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a Australian study suggests.

Four percent of swabs taken from the personal clothing of caregivers and visitors in the NICU at Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney had detectable respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), researchers found. RSV is the leading cause of respiratory-related hospitalizations among premature babies, the researchers said.

The investigators also found RSV on 9 percent of high-touch areas in the NICU, including nurses’ computers, chairs next to infants’ beds and bed rails. RSV was not detected on the hands of doctors, nurses or visitors in the NICU.

“Though the detection rate is low, personal clothing of caregivers/visitors do get contaminated with RSV,” study author Nusrat Homaira, of the University of New South Wales, said in an American Society for Microbiology news release.

Currently, caregivers and visitors aren’t required to change their clothes when they enter the neonatal intensive care unit, the researchers said.

“There is a need for further research to evaluate how long the virus remains infectious on personal clothing, which will have policy implications in terms of need for use of separate gowns by the visitors while they are in the NICU,” Homaira said.

The study was presented Monday at the International Conference on Emerging and Infectious Diseases, in Atlanta. Studies presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more about RSV.

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American Kids Growing Fatter Than Their Canadian Cousins

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — American kids have a harder time controlling their weight than their counterparts to the north, a new U.S. study indicates.

About 17.5 percent of U.S. kids aged 3 to 19 are obese, compared with 13 percent of Canadian children the same age, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These findings could open up an exciting new field of obesity research, given that the United States and Canada share a common language and quite a bit of culture, said Peter Katzmarzyk, a professor of pediatric obesity and diabetes at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

“There are a number of factors that could be contributing to this difference, but no one’s really done a study to uncover what those factors are,” said Katzmarzyk. “It gives us an opportunity to explore why these differences are and maybe lead us to some interventions.”

Obese children are at risk of becoming obese adults, and therefore more likely than normal-weight kids to develop health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. More immediately, they are at risk of social problems, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol, the researchers said in background notes in the report published in the August issue of the CDC’s NCHS Data Brief.

In the CDC study, American and Canadian epidemiologists and statisticians collaborated to create an apples-to-apples comparison of childhood obesity in the two countries.

The investigators found that in the late 1970s, the United States and Canada had similar childhood obesity rates — roughly 5 percent.

Both countries also experienced a steady increase in childhood obesity through the 1980s and 1990s, said study lead author Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

But for as-yet-unknown reasons, U.S. kids experienced a greater increase. By 2004, about 16.6 percent of U.S. children and teens were obese, compared with 12.4 percent of Canadian kids.

Children in the two countries appear to diverge around the time they enter school, said Kristi King, a clinical instructor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

U.S. and Canadian kids aged 3 to 6 have similar obesity rates. But for children aged 7 to 12, the rates differ dramatically — 19.2 percent in the United States versus 11.8 percent in Canada, the report said.

“I think this report is going to give us a wake-up call about what we’re doing different in that age group that’s different from our cousin, Canada,” said King, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

While both countries seem very similar, there are countless small distinctions that likely add up to create the observed gap in obesity rates, said Dr. Bruce Lee, director of the Global Obesity Prevention Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

“People live and work and play within systems, and they are affected by the environment around them,” Lee said. “That all impacts what they eat, how much they move around, how much they exercise. It’s important to shift away from blaming the individual and look at what’s going on around the individual.”

Eating patterns could be one significant difference. King and Katzmarzyk said that earlier research has shown that U.S. families eat out much more often than Canadian families.

“We know that kids who eat at home with their families tend to have lower rates of obesity,” King said.

Portion sizes in Canadian restaurants also tend to be smaller than those in the United States, King added. “If families are eating out in the U.S., they’re going to be consuming more calories than they would be if they ate out in Canada,” she said.

Canadian children also tend to not have televisions in their bedrooms, Katzmarzyk said.

Inactivity connected with TV-watching contributes to obesity, he said. “The American Academy of Pediatrics already recommends that parents remove televisions from children’s bedrooms, but I’m not sure how many people actually do it,” he added.

Other differences could include availability of healthy foods and city layouts that are designed to promote walking or bicycling, Lee said. It’s also possible that Canada does a better job promoting ways to prevent childhood obesity.

“There’s a need for more studies,” Lee said. “These are things that need to be explored.”

More information

For more on childhood obesity, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The Strange Way Fighting With Your Spouse Can Wreck Your Diet

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Heading straight for the fridge after a blowout with your partner? Marital stress and bickering can in fact work up an appetite, per a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science.

Researchers at the University of Deleware and Ohio State University studied the interactions of 43 couples, who have been married for longer than three years, by filming them eating a meal together and then attempting to talk through a problem within their relationship. While the couples’ “problem discussions” took place, the scientists observed how the pair communicated, their hostility levels, and even subtle details like put-downs and eye rolls.

They also used blood tests to track the men and women’s hormone levels before and after the exchanges and examined their heights, weights, BMIs, and typical diets.

RELATED: Couples Who Don’t Fight Much Aren’t Likely to Start

It turns out, couples who had hostile exchanges and showed signs of a distressed marriage saw a surge of the appetite-triggering hormone ghrelin post-argument, and they had poorer diets overall. However, this was only the case for those who were in a normal to overweight BMI range (30 or lower).

The amped up hunger some couples may experience after a spousal spat could have negative longer-term health implications, the study explains, such as worsened emotional eating behavior or obesity.

“Ghrelin’s not just pushing you to eat,” lead study author Lisa Jaremka, an assistant professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Delaware, told Today. “It’s creating a craving for specific types of foods: those that are high in sugar, high in fat and high in salt.”

RELATED: 4 Ways to Control Your Appetite

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9 Cool New Gadgets to Sleep Better Tonight

Photo: Courtesy of DailyBurn

The research doesn’t lie: Getting a good night’s sleep is so important. A solid eight hours can help you boost concentration, stress less and exercise more. The problem? There are distractions all over the bedroom, including your addictive smartphone, that blaring, flat-screen TV and a never-ending battle for the ideal sleep temperature. Check out the hard numbers for size: Americans sleep an average of seven hours and 36 minutes every night. And while that may sound solid, 45 percent say that poor or insufficient sleep affects their daily activities at least once a week, according to a December 2014 study. Luckily, thanks to a host of ingenious inventions, there are new tools, toys and gadgets promising to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. So turn out the lights, put on your PJs and shop our favorite sleep savers below.

RELATED: Can These Special Sunglasses to Help You Sleep Better?

9 Items to Sleep Better, Stat

1. The Total-Sleep Tracker

The two-part Withings Aura tracker is designed to help you snooze better, aiding you in falling asleep, waking up and figuring out your sleep cycle over the long run. First, there’s a movement sensor that sits beneath your mattress and an LED lamp that promises to relax you at night and gently rouse you in the morning. The unit also promises a library of custom light-and-sound patterns that’ll help with “activities” like power napping, getting over jet lag and chilling out with a good book. And now you can pair it with Nest, Google’s home-temperature maintenance tool — and both, of course, have the ability to be controlled from your iPhone. ($300; amazon.com)

2. The Must-Have Curtain Liners

Darkness is key to getting rest, so outfit your space with a pair of Sound Asleep Blackout Window Curtain Liners. With a seal of approval from the National Sleep Foundation, this surprisingly elegant set can transform any bedroom into a veritable sleep pod with just the help of a single curtain rod. Consider ‘em the biggest eye mask you’ve ever seen. Because anything less than pitch-black isn’t ideal for your overnight snooze session. External lights have been shown to affect sleep patterns. ($60; bedbathbeyond.com)

RELATED: The 5 Most Common Sleep Problems — and How to Solve Them

3. The Multi-Tasking Pillow Case

Drift off to soothing, melodic tunes with this pillowcase that gently vibrates and plays soft music through any MP3 player (iPhones and Androids included) — all without bothering your bed companion, thanks to patented Intrasound technology. By using the DreamPad Pillow System, you can expect a deeper, more sensory-based level of calm and relaxation than you’d get from music playing off speakers. Want Bluetooth connectivity? Shell out an extra $30. Need tunes? Spend $70 for a pre-loaded Sony Walkman. Vintage, right? ($179; amazon.com)

4. The Intuitive Alarm Clock

Another two-piece system, the Sense by Hello is a sleep tracker and alarm clock in one. And it’s not just any old alarm clock — rather, a modern, spherically-shaped intuitive one. Say, for example, you’ve set your alarm for 7 a.m. but Sense, well, senses that you’re rousing closer to 6:45, it may wake you up earlier instead. The sensor, which is cheekily dubbed “the pill,” has a corresponding app that tracks sleep temperature, humidity and ambient lighting. What separates Sense by Hello from the pack, though, is its particulate monitor, which checks the air quality in your sleep space. And no more throwing the alarm clock across the room — this one shuts off with motion-sensor technology that requires only a wave of your hand. ($129; hello.is)

RELATED: How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

5. The Not-Bright Lightbulb

Need a little light? Swap out those fluorescents for these top-of-the-line LED bulbs designed to help you nod off. The Definity Digital Good Night Bulbs filter out the blue light found in normal bulbs (or on your smartphone screen) that blocks your melatonin production, a chemical that the body produces, which is critical for sleep. While the bulbs may take a few days to really have an effect on your sleep cycle, the result is worth it — as is the five-year warranty behind it. ($62 each; amazon.com)

6. The Temperature Regulator

Getting to a comfortable temperature in bed can be nearly impossible — especially if you and your partner have different ideas of which temperature is the right one. That’s where the BedJet Climate Dual Control comes in: Powerful ventilation from the device (which rests under your bed) can wick moisture and cool you instantly, while the almost-instant heat improves poor circulation. Since this particular model has dual air jets, you and your partner will be able to sleep comfortably regardless of whatever temperature each of you prefer. Plus, the corresponding Bluetooth app allows you to change your settings by grabbing your cell — because would you really want to get out of bed? ($1,149; amazon.com)

RELATED: 15 Research-Backed Sleep Hacks

7. The Perfect Sheets

Want bedding as good at regulating your body temperature as your favorite Nike top? The 37.5 Queen Sheet Performance Set have your back — so much so that QVC nor the company can keep them in stock. These sheets don’t wick away sweat like most performance fabrics do. Instead, 37.5’s technology turns excess heat and moisture into a vapor, which in turn causes the fabric to dry quickly and regulate your body temperature faster. If you’re shivering, it does the opposite, holding in heat to bring you back to a normal body temperature. ($229; qvc.com)

8. The Ultimate Sound Machine

Studies show that white noise works: By reducing the difference between background sounds and “peak” sounds, like a door slamming, white noise helps give you a better chance of sleeping undisturbed. If you have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, creating a constant ambient sound could help mask activity from inside and outside the house. The Homedics Deep Sleep Therapy Machine has 12 different sounds, as well as pre-customized sleep therapy noise programs. Keep the machine across the room and stash the remote atop your nightstand. ($80; amazon.com)

RELATED: 9 Ways to Finally Get a Good Night’s Sleep

9. The Ridiculous Splurge

Although we can’t recommend spending a whopping $30K on a napping spot in good conscience, we can admit that the Hammacher Schlemmer Tranquility Pod is the stuff that dreams are literally made of. By using pleasant sounds, gentle vibrations and soothing light, you’ll instantly be transported to a far more tranquil state. The ultra-suede-topped memory foam pad is just a bonus to the totally transformative relaxation experience. ($30,000; hammacher.com)

Disclosure: All products featured on our site are hand-picked by our editorial team in the hopes of getting you closer to your health and fitness goals. We only recommend products we love and believe that you will, too. In some cases, you might come across an affiliate link on our site, which means we receive a small commission should you decide to make a purchase. 

More from Life by DailyBurn:

10 Simple Snacks for Better Sleep

19 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Becoming a Morning

25 Kitchen Gadgets to Make Healthy Cooking Easy

Life by DailyBurn is dedicated to helping you live a healthier, happier and more active lifestyle. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain strength or de-stress, a better you is well within reach. Get more health and fitness tips at Life by DailyBurn.

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New Moms Can Avoid Back Injury When Caring for Their Babies

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — New moms need to reduce their risk of pain and injury when lifting and carrying their babies, an expert says.

“Initially, mothers may start off lifting their child of seven to 10 pounds numerous times per day. Slowly, the weight load increases and if the proper lifting techniques aren’t used, this can lead to back strain,” Dr. Sabrina Strickland, an orthopedic surgeon and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, said in an academy news release.

After getting their doctor’s OK, new moms can begin exercising to restore muscle tone to their abdomen and back, Strickland said. While baby naps, mothers should spend 10 minutes a day on the floor doing strengthening and stretching routines. This will help restore hip and back flexibility and strength, she said.

Strickland also advises moms to start eating a healthy diet immediately after giving birth and try to return to a normal weight within six months.

Both moms and dads can use the following tips to prevent back pain and injury:

• Don’t lift your baby with outstretched arms. Instead, bring the baby close to your chest and then lift. Do not twist your body. When picking up a child from the floor, bend at your knees, not at your waist. Squat down, tighten your stomach muscles and lift with your legs.
• Remove the tray when putting a baby in or taking a baby out of a high chair. When lifting a baby out of a crib, bring the baby close to you while slightly bending your knees.
• Use a “front pack” to carry your baby when walking. Try not to carry your child on your hip, because it overloads the back muscles. If you must do so, alternate sides.
• Prevent upper back pain while nursing by bringing the baby to your breast, rather than bending over the baby. While nursing, use a pillow or specially designed nursing pillow to elevate the baby.

More information

The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has more about preventing back pain.

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Many Young Adults Think Hookahs, E-Cigs Safer Than Cigarettes

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Many young American adults believe electronic cigarettes and water pipes are safer than traditional cigarettes, a new study finds.

“This is concerning as it suggests that even a substantial proportion of nonsmokers may view hookah as being a relatively safer and acceptable way to use tobacco,” wrote study authors Cristine Delnevo and Olivia Wackowski, of Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Those younger than 25 were more likely than those aged 25 to 34 to say that hookahs (water pipes) and e-cigarettes were safer than cigarettes, according to an analysis of results from the National Young Adult Health Survey. Nearly 2,900 smokers and nonsmokers aged 18 to 34 participated.

Overall, nearly 58 percent of the respondents said e-cigarettes were less risky than cigarettes, and more than 11 percent said they were unsure. More than 24 percent of smokers and nonsmokers alike said hookahs were less risky than cigarettes, according to the study published Aug. 24 in the journal Health Education & Behavior.

Fifty percent of respondents said menthol cigarettes, hookahs, cigars, smokeless tobacco and snus were about as risky as cigarettes, while 30 percent believed smokeless tobacco, menthol cigarettes and cigars were more risky than cigarettes.

The belief that some of these tobacco products were riskier than cigarettes did not stop young adults from using them, the researchers said.

More than 31 percent said they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes and smoked regularly at the time of the survey.

The finding “might be associated with differences in advertising messages these groups are exposed to, the variety of flavors these different products are offered in, and in the case of e-cigarettes, possibly an inclination for younger people to attribute more positive feelings toward newer products that are seen as new and ‘techy’,” Wackowski and Delnevo said in a journal news release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed rules that would ban e-cigarette sales to people under the age of 18 and require warning labels, but those rules have not been finalized. Earlier research has suggested that e-cigarettes might spur teenagers to try smoking.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about hookahs and e-cigarettes.

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9 Ways To Get Rid Of ‘The Bitch In Your Head’

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We all have been paid a visit by that mean girl inside our heads—the one who tells us things like “You’ll never lose the weight” or “You always make mistakes; no wonder you can’t get a promotion.” But would you ever say things like that to a friend? “No. It would be too hurtful,” says Jacqueline Hornor Plumez, PhD, in her new book The Bitch In Your Head ($14; amazon.com). “So why would you do it to yourself?” Some people may think that voice is encouraging you to work harder, smarter, or just be plain better. “But most people are so used to self-criticism that they hardly hear The Bitch and have no idea how discouraging, demoralizing, and self-destructive she can be.” Here, Plumez shares a few ways she can hold you back—and what you can do about it.

RELATED: 12 Worst Habits For Your Mental Health

How to get rid of the “You Look Fat Bitch”

Make health a priority, and don’t feel bad about it
This “Bitch” makes women feel guilty about taking time for themselves, even if it’s for their own health, putting them in a no-win position. A real-life example: If you don’t work out, “The Bitch” says you look flabby. If you do work out, she says you are being selfish and “should” be doing other things. Be aware of this lose-lose position whenever you start to feel bad about exercising (or not exercising).

Foster self-acceptance
Focus on the things that you like about yourself when you look in the mirror—giving yourself a smile and a compliment. It also means not letting “The Bitch” berate you when you fall off your diet, but making a plan to avoid temptations in the future.

Take a day off
Went a little overboard on Brie during your healthy eating plan? Why not just say to yourself, “I had a bad day” instead of “I’m weak and fat and bad and bloated.” Weight-loss programs that don’t allow for occasional treats or “falling off the wagon” are unrealistic.

RELATED: 9 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic

How to get rid of “The Work Bitch”

Take credit for your success, and don’t be afraid to ask for more
“The Bitch” in the workplace repeatedly holds us back, convincing us to accept less than we deserve out of fear. Self-esteem and self-confidence are built by absorbing compliments and believing them, not by attributing success to luck.

If work isn’t making you happy, change it
No matter what your field or level, if you have to force yourself to get out of bed each morning to go to work, something is very wrong. Don’t let her tell you everyone hates their job. That simply isn’t true.

Break the stress habit
Constantly checking your phone and working extremely long hours is unpleasant and exhausting, but it becomes a habit that’s hard to break. People literally get addicted to the adrenaline rush, the stress, and the feeling they are needed and important. Real life begins to seem dull by comparison until the habit is tamed or broken. If you can’t give yourself a free hour with your family or friends without checking messages, something is very wrong, no matter what “The Bitch” says. Schedule forty-five minutes with your phone off, and then check it for fifteen minutes—and turn it off again.

RELATED: Your Guide to Positive Thinking

How to get rid of “The Blame Bitch”

Stop wallowing in guilt
Even when you’ve made a mistake, torturing yourself with endless thoughts like, “You’re a terrible person!” or “You don’t deserve to be forgiven!” is merely self-indulgent. If you are really sorry about something you did, find a way to make an apology. If that apology would do more damage than good, find a way to clear your conscience without inflicting pain on another person.

Confront denial
If “The Bitch” is whispering, “They’re making a big deal about nothing” you’re probably in denial. And denial usually makes the problem bigger. Often an honest apology can help heal the wounds you’ve created, no matter what they are. You might not be forgiven, but at least you have tried to take ownership of the problem and make amends.

Regain your pride
If you want to be proud of yourself, do something that makes you proud. That can start with admitting your mistakes and making amends to the person you hurt—including yourself. Learn from your mistakes and live a life that gives you healthy pleasure and pride. And don’t ever let “The Bitch” say you don’t deserve that.

RELATED: 7 Strategies to Love the Way You Look

Want more? Follow @dr_plumez on Twitter.

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