How to Lose Weight As a Pear Shape

Someone with a pear-shaped body gains most of her weight below her waist. Her thighs, hips and buttocks get larger long before her chest, shoulders and stomach. Luckily, weight in your legs and thighs is easier to lose than fat around your abdomen, according to Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed. With proper diet and exercise along with a lower-body focus, you should be able to lose weight despite your pear shape.

  1. Watch what you eat. Avoid foods that are high in fat, especially if they feature saturated or trans fat. Include fruits and vegetables with each meal along with lean proteins such as turkey, fish and kidney beans.
  2. Avoid consuming too many calories each day. Use a calorie counter to determine how many calories you need to eat in order to maintain your current weight and pear shape. You can find a sample calculator on the American Cancer Society website. To lose weight, consume fewer calories than the number determined by the calculator.

Positivity Bracelets by Alex’s Angels

There is a new trend that has begun. Bracelets with “Positivity” by Alex’s Angels are a thing that will have everyone talking. They are new and very unique but great to have around at the same time. These will help for those that wear them to think positive at all times.

Alex’s Angels has different varieties to choose from. Some are made with crystals, some with sets. You can get them in black, different colors or even just a tee shirt printed with “Positivity” on them.

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, they also have Irish “Positivity” bracelets for you to choose and wear. As the old ways are, if you’re not wearing green, someone will pinch you. They can’t if you’re wearing these.

The “Black Positivity Bracelets” will match any occasion, style or just for every day. Check out the photo for a unique view of these and how they are shipped, wrapped and carefully packaged.

This is brought to you by Alex’s Angels and written by Lia Burres. The item was given to me in exchange for my honest thoughts and review. There has been no other compensation, nor is there any intended.

Beautiful Baubles: Layering Bracelets 101

There’s nothing we like more than a good arm party, but there is an art to curating the perfect wrist full of blinged-out bracelets. A few simple tricks will help you nail a complementary combination and prevent bracelets from toppling to the front of your hand every time you move your arm. To master the art of stacking of baubles, we asked accessory aficionado Shahrnaz Shifteh to give us a crash course in how to properly rock an arm party. Click through for Shifteh’s foolproof tips — your naked wrists will be glad you did.

Mix & Match

When layering bracelets, don’t shy away from mixing and matching a variety of colors and materials. “The trick is to make sure they’re all the same diameter so they don’t topple to the front of your hand,” advised Shifteh. “Gemstones, beads, rubber — anything goes if you keep the diameter of your bracelets consistent.” This trick also ensures that any charms are visible when the bracelets are stacked.

Similar Stack

“Layering a bunch of the same bracelets results in a more dramatic look,” said Shifteh. “To create this layered effect, you should stock up on bracelets when you find ones you like.” In this look, Shifteh piled on rhinestone bracelets and pearl bracelets in two iridescent shades, pale green and lavender. Again, the bracelets should have the same diameters to prevent unwanted toppling.

Curating Classics

For an updated take on a classic look, pair a variety of gold bangles with several of the same pearl bracelets. Gold bangles with simple details nicely complement pearl bracelets with black and gold accents. “This look works because the diameter of the bracelets are similar so they fall together nicely,” explained Shifteh.

Time to Layer Up

Incorporate a watch into a layered look by pairing it with several thick bangles of similar widths. Be sure to match your metals for a complementary combo. “Don’t be afraid to wear large pieces on one wrist — or even on both wrists,” said Shifteh. “If you have one or two bangles on one wrist, wear a watch on the other to balance it out.”

Statement Bangles

“Animal prints can be mixed and matched much more manageably when it’s done with jewelry because it’s such a small amount of print,” explained Shifteh. The key is to choose animal prints that play off your outfit’s color palette. In this look, the leopard bangle complements the red skirt while the zebra print bangle is a variation of the stripe motif.