picking

Drink Yourself Skinny
No calorie counting, no carb watching. For half a century, meal-replacement shakes have been a no-brainer way to drop pounds. Why? They work For Rob Nager, the epiphany occurred at Abercrombie & Fitch. He was picking through a stack of cargo pants and asked a clerk if they were available in a 42-inch waist. Dude, the kid sneered, we don make pants that big. Nager, 38, faced a choice. He could ask the little weasel to step outside, or he could do something about his 250-pound frame. He opted for peace and a new waistline. He tried Weight Watchers, then Atkins. Both plans helped him slim down, but the flab always returned. Finally, Nager tried a weight-loss strategy thats been around since TVs were black-and-white; a strategy so old-school that one of the studies showing that it works went on for a decade. His throwback approach: meal-replacement beverages MRs, in the weight-loss world. Nager just said no to solid food. Instead, he quaffed shakes in place of meals, eventually ...

Player Etiquette
There are some lessons men can learn that will instantly improve their chances; here are a few techniques on Player etiquette that will show her you’re a class act. Bad habits Chewing your nails, picking your teeth, picking your nose, smoking -- it happens all the time, and I’ve seen more guys do it involuntarily than a Player should. Displaying your bad habits when you’re picking up a woman is going to instantly kill your game; your little nuances are as glaring as the skin flakes on your shirt. Really, is that appropriate? I think not. A Player has to be prudent about the little things he does. While on the surface it may seem harmless and subtle, to her it’s an obtrusive turnoff that’s going to net you a handshake good-bye rather than the desired fervent lip-lock. Be mindful of what your intuition wants you to do, and think about the consequences if you fall back into your bad habits. Then, think about what kind of benefits you’ll get from her if you suppress your otherwise ...

Tough times reward smart thinking and sticking to a Plan
I have a strange affinity for remembering every recession this country has had since I could read. It probably wasn due to my quirky preoccupation with the news, but more so with how strongly each recession affected our family. So, as a kid I made a passionate pledge to ensure that in the future my own family wouldn suffer so stingingly from market turbulence. Theres something to be said for keeping past economies—and family financials—in mind when managing your money. Here are a few lessons from the rear-view mirror of history to keep you steady despite the markets Patagonia-like peaks and valleys: The markets gonna do what the markets gonna do. Its one thing to watch the Dow gyrate up and down every day, but why torture yourself by regularly sneaking peeks at your investment portfolio? Its like picking at a scab. Unless you e going to retire in less than five years, that tiny return or big loss you e looking at this year needs to become background noise, not cause for panic. ...

Seduction, Fast and Easy
Jack remembers the moment vividly. His fiancée, Tamara, pulled the sheet over her head, afraid to face him. She blurted it out: Jack, I don come when we do it. His head spun. Theyd been having sex for 2 years. She seemed, well, satisfied. To his--and her--credit, they talked about it; they didn let this bombshell wreck their relationship. And they tried everything: vibrators, romantic weekends, oral sex--until my jaw ached, Jack says. After a month of effort, he came to my office, desperate and distraught, not sure what to try next. Maybe you have to stop trying so hard to turn her on, I said, and learn how to turn her off. Jack looked at me. Who was I, Yoda? I switched from Zen-speak to sex-therapist mode, explaining that a womans arousal depends on deep relaxation and an absence of anxiety. Ive counseled countless women, and its universal--when they e relaxed, it happens. There are brain scans to prove it. Fun in the Lab In the Netherlands, scientists used ...