BusinessVoice News Network

High-tech and old-fashioned tools can help you lose weight and keep it off. Using a diet app to track the food you eat and writing a weekly meal plan can help to keep you disciplined. If you can’t plan ahead a cooked rotisserie chicken is a good choice for a quick meal and stock up on fresh fruits and nuts to help at snack time. Source Link

When lawn care season is over, be sure to stow that mower correctly. Clean the deck with a garden hose to remove all grass and use a paint scraper on that caked-on crud. Remove the battery if it’s electric or run the gas engine until the tank is empty, and then add some stabilized fuel and run it again to prevent damage from old gas sitting in the engine all winter long. Source Link

When you can’t wait for that beer or soda to get cold, a hack that uses a paper napkin can speed up the process. Wet the napkin before wrapping it around the drink’s container. Now set the beverage in the freezer for 15 minutes to enjoy a frosty drink in a fraction of the time. Source Link 

When you raid your kid’s Halloween haul for a sweet treat, try to avoid candies that are tough on your teeth. Caramels, taffy and gummy candies stick around in your mouth, giving them additional time to cause tooth decay and sour candies contain sugar and acids. Healthier choices include Three Musketeers bars, peppermint patties and peanut M&Ms. Source Link 

The perfect internet speed for your home depends on what you do and how many people use it. Typical internet use like web browsing, social media or email may require only 5 megabytes per second, while streaming video or online gaming each need another 10 megabytes of speed. Doing all of this at the same time with multiple users shows how your need for speed can multiply. Source Link

When it comes to a safe sleeping space for your baby, bare is best. The way adults sleep is not safe for young children who need a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet or play yard. Keep stuffed toys, pillows and blankets out of that sleeping space to reduce the risk of suffocation. Instead, dress your baby to be comfortable sleeping without covers. Source Link

Buying in bulk may seem like the answer to higher food prices but there are some things that aren’t a good deal. Meat, milk and produce are hard to store for long periods or can go bad fast. The same is true for whole-bean coffee. And buying snack foods in bulk may encourage you to eat more of them, erasing any savings and maybe adding to your waistline. Source Link

Unlike closing the barn door after the horse is gone, you can protect your smartphone after it comes up missing if you act fast. For an Android phone, log into your Google account in any browser, select the phone and click on “Secure Device.” You can do the same with an iPhone at iCloud.com. But don’t use the option to erase everything on your phone until you’re sure it’s gone for good. Source Link 

That Zoom meeting might be fine for most things at work, but it could turn off the creative juices. Researchers found that video conferencing locked your attention to a screen and prevented the mind from wandering around the room as it might in a real meeting. That tunnel vision makes it hard to expand your thinking and maybe come up with the next great idea. Source Link

It’s a popular Halloween prank and there’s a right way to clean up after a tree’s been toilet papered. If it’s dry, you can pull the paper down with a long pole or use a leaf blower to remove it from taller branches. And don’t delay, because if it gets wet, you’ll have to live with a TP’ed tree until all that paper dries. Source Link 

Your dishwasher needs some help getting things clean and the solution may be in the soft drink aisle at the grocery store. A monthly acid bath using unsweetened powdered lemon Kool-Aid can help remove lime scale, soap scum and other stains. Put one package in each detergent cup and run the empty dishwasher for a complete cycle. Source Link

Here’s a quick list of familiar food myths. All fat is not bad, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious as fresh, plant-based milks are not more healthy than cow’s milk, and eating soy-based foods will not increase the risk of breast cancer. And roasted, baked or air-fried white potatoes eaten with the skin on are a healthy, affordable food. Source Link

If you like to catch some Z’s on an airline flight, don’t close your eyes unless you’re up in the air. Sleeping through takeoff or landing doesn’t allow you to adjust to rapid air pressure changes. That could leave your ears blocked up and cause dizziness, eardrum damage, nosebleeds or even hearing loss. Source Link 

It doesn’t take that many more steps per day to help older adults with hypertension lower their blood pressure. Research showed that adding 3,000 steps to a typical 4,000 step-per-day routine can help protect against heart failure, heart attacks and strokes. The speed of walking doesn’t matter, as long as you walk a total of 7,000 steps per day. Source Link

You might be able to save a smartphone dropped in water with some fast steps. Turn off the phone immediately to avoid damage to electronics, wipe it dry with a towel and use a vacuum cleaner hose to suck water out of openings. Putting your phone in rice can lead to a sticky mess. Instead, be ready by purchasing a special drying bag that’s made for smartphones. Source Link

Halloween could be hazardous to your health if you’re not careful when carving that pumpkin. Thousands of people go to the ER each year with pumpkin carving injuries and a leading cause was using a knife that’s not made for thick pumpkin skin. Instead of carving, a safer alternative that kids can enjoy is to decorate a pumpkin by painting it. Source Link 

Can the order in which you eat the food in your meal make a difference for health? Researchers found that eating fiber-rich vegetables or lean proteins first, rather than bread or carbs may help to lower blood sugar levels. This may also help you eat less because it causes your body to secrete higher levels of the hormone that gives you the feeling of fullness. Source Link

Using over-the-counter CBD products should be on the list of supplements you share with your doctor. That’s because the active ingredient in CBD may interact with prescription medications. Antidepressants, sedatives and blood thinners are some of the drugs that could be adversely affected by CBD. Source Link