health fitness

Vervegirl.com is a social network allowing young women to experience and share life online. Share your feelings and stories through blogs, forums, rooms and chat. Get advice from articles and experts.

Summer Fun - Artists & Entrepreneurs

Get ready to step out of hibernation and see what your neighbourhood (and the rest of Canada) has to offer this summer.

Get ready to step out of hibernation and see what your neighbourhood (and the rest of Canada) has to offer this summer.

Artists
Free your inner designer, sculptor, or dancer.

Stage a photo shoot with your friends – add a dash of diva, a pinch of paparazzi…stir briskly and voilà!

Redesign your room. Repurpose everyday items in unique ways to add your own flavour. For example, mount a basket on your wall and use it as a display cubby.

Take dance classes. Try salsa, hip-hop, or belly dancing whatever-moves you.

Entrepreneurs
Revitalize the economy and put some change in your pockets!

Have a garage sale or organize a swap meet with your girlfriends to buy/swap clothes. Donate leftover clothes to a women’s shelter.

Offer express manicures to neighbourhood moms. Marketing tip: spread the word to your babysitting clients!

Neighbourhood Movie Night: You’ll need an LCD projector, laptop and a screen (or the side of your house). Charge admission, set-up chairs, couches, a snack bar etc.



By Aparna Allam

More summer activities



Essential Oils: Vitamin E
What is it good for? This natural oil has a multitude of benefits - One oil that can (pretty much) do it all.

Happy Planet: New Beverage
These little but mighty shots can give you the extra boost your craving.

Fit In Your Fave Demin
Us gals can all relate to having those days when jeans feel a little too snug (blame it on cupcake cravings). Never fear, Kim is here.

Youth Week 2009
Are you an activist? Do you have a burning desire to champion causes and tackle youth community issues? Do you want to be a catalyst for change in your community? If so, this coming week is your opportunity to experience the works of people just like you. By Aparna Allam

Sleep Deprivation
A to-Zzzz – Why Sleep Truly Matters. By Lisa Van de Ven

Waste Not
A greener option for that time of the month.

Healthy Snacks
Fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are power foods that you should definitely include in your diet this spring. Not only are these tasty fruits rich in disease-fighting antioxidants – which also contribute to keep skin in top condition – they can also help boost your memory and other brain functions.

Healthy Smoothies
Eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruit does a body good and when you treat your body well, you’re automatically rewarded with glowing skin, healthy hair and a feeling of well-being that you just wouldn’t get if you were eating junk food.

Healthy Snacks
Contrary to popular belief, snacking often throughout the day is actually helpful when you want to lose weight or improve your diet – as long as you keep snacks healthy. So next time you get those 4 p.m. hunger pangs, stay away from processed food and munch on one of these healthy treats.

Healthy Eating Part 2
CUTTING EDGE SNACK SOLUTIONS WITH LESS CALORIES. By Frank Monaco

Healthy Eating
CUTTING EDGE SNACK SOLUTIONS WITH LESS CALORIES

Vegan Cuisine
Winter is always a good excuse to chow on some fattening comfort food but with spring only a few weeks away, many of us feel the urge to start making healthier choices.

Hot Cocoa
Calling on ski bunnies - move over Paris! This weekend fluff up your winter wears, because Monday night you’re hitting the slopes. Guys Night Out – Girls Ride Free (sounds like a ploy to me), happens Monday nights (until March 16th) at Mt Seymour (1700 Mt Seymour Road, North Vancouver) starting at 6pm.

Reading Week Rock Climbing
Reading week is a well-deserved break from school that gives busy girls like us some time to breathe and recharge our batteries. Ideally, it would be spent in an exotic paradise, with white sand beaches and turquoise water, but until we figure out how to sneakily add a few zeros to our bank account balance, we found another great and inexpensive way to spend reading break.

Toronto Fitness Studio
This year we'd like to infuse our usual workout routine (cardio, weights, rinse, repeat) with something a little more motivating. Maybe we've watched one too many episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, but we're game to give a few dance classes a try, so we've turned to Toronto dance studio Flirty Girl Fitness for sweat-spiration.

Happy New Year!
You’ve been living it up ever since the holidays started, made some excesses, maybe skipped the gym a few times – we know the feeling. Now that 2009 has officially started, it’s time to get back on track and keep those New Years resolutions! Here are a few ideas to make 2009 the best it can be.

Eating Healthy During the Holidays
10 tips to help you make smart food decisions this holiday season.

Straight Talk: Sober Thoughts
What you need to know about drinking, smoking and drugs once the party’s over.

Straight Talk: Lighting Up
What you need to know about drinking, smoking and drugs once the party’s over.

Straight Talk: BUTTING OUT
What you need to know about drinking, smoking and drugs once the party’s over.

Straight Talk:
What you need to know about drinking, smoking and drugs once the party’s over.

Hot Yoga Deal
After eating so much candy and chocolate over the weekend, it’s time to lay off the sugary treats and do something good for your body.

Quick Fixes
Perfect products for your purse.

Beauty Tip of the Week: Exercise
Beauty Expert, Charmaine Gooden tells us why it's important to stay active.

The Problem With Perfection
Why trying to be perfect is an imperfect goal.

Get In Shape and Save Money with Studio Danse Montreal
Don’t just watch So You Think You Can Dance, wishing you could pull off those moves – learn how! Dancing is such a fun workout, it’s no wonder more and more people are swapping their boring cardio routine for dance classes.

Breaking The Mold Of Perfection
By Elizabeth Diane & Andrew Marshall, authors of Listening With Heart: The New Paradigm for Women.

Olympic Spotlight: Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, 25, from Whitby, Ont., knows how to make us stand up and take notice.

Olympic Athlete: Samantha Taylor
She’s a livewire!

GTA Yoga with Passport to Prana
We’re giving yoga a serious try over the next few months, with a seriously good Toronto-wide deal.

Olympic Hopeful: Tyler Christopher
Canada’s medal hopeful for Track and Field

Olympic Spotlight: Alexandre Despatie
Now that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are in full swing, all eyes are on our local athletes – the gold rush is officially declared! We’re particularly proud of French Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie. This gifted Adonis definitely has what it takes to bring home the gold, here’s why.

Olympic Spotlight: Anna Rice
This North Vancouver's Golden Girl is one of Badminton's toughest players to beat.

Stéphanie Dubois
This month, Vervegirl Daily wants to put our local athletes in the spotlight, and with the Rogers Cup creating buzz all over town, who better to start with than with tennis pro Stéphanie Dubois?

Superfoods to the Rescue!
Whoever said beauty is skin deep was definitely on to something. Not only is eating right good for our bodies, but certain foods can also enhance inner beauty. Expert nutritionist Yanni Papanikolaou gives you the scoop on superfoods. by Toni-Marie Ippolito

Olympic Spotlight: Adam van Koeverden
We’ll be glued to our TV sets on August 8 for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Partly to see all the whole Canadian team, the international athletes, the spectacle, -- all that. But mostly, we’re waiting to catch a glimpse of 26-year-old Oakville resident Adam van Koeverden.

Stop Violence in the Home
Support The Body Shop in their campaign to stop violence at home.

The Green Beauty Guide
Life just got a little easier for eco-minded gals interested in looking their best, thanks to Torontonian author Julie Gabriel’s new book, The Green Beauty Guide.

Summer Activities
Ten ways to savour summer

Solutions for Acne
Take action against ACNE with these solutions for all over clear skin.

Swinging (on a Trapeze!) Into Summer
We’re thinking of stretching ourselves this summer. And we don’t mean yoga. No, we’re thinking about the flying trapeze.

Bikes-1, Exam Stress-0
Every exam cram-session requires a break. We vote for a break of the two-wheeled kind: good for your lungs, your brain, your mood and even good for the earth.

SUMMER WARDROBE ADDITION: MBT ANTI-SHOE
It always seemed like there was some sort of fashion rule that cool shoes equaled blisters and band-aids. And then we stumbled on the Anti-shoe by MBT.

Smoothie Recipe
Try one of these delicious summer smoothies!

Breast Friends
Ashleigh Dempster and Amanda Blakley are searching for a cure in all the right places

3 steps to clean
Cleanse, buff and moisturize your skin regularly. These everyday essentials will get the job done right.

Boarding School
Your crash course in board sports

Music as Medicine
Exploring the Healing Power of Sound

Music as Medicine
Exploring the Healing Power of Sound

Dealing with Stress
Finding healthy ways to deal with stress

Model Citizens
Introducing OUR glam guest editors! 19-year old Michelle Valencourt from Barrie & Toronto’s Irina Funtikova, 20, are TOP MODELS and really good friends!

Workout Quiz
Find a workout regime that works for you!

Sun Protection
Vervegirl’s Summer Strategy to Help Save Your Skin

Drinking at Your Prom
Prom is a great time to celebrate our achievements. So why ruin the big night by making poor choices about alcohol?

GOURMET NUTRITION + GREENS+ = SMOOTHIE HEAVEN
Confession: A healthy breakfast is something we sometimes skip when we’re in hurry. Or it was, anyway, until we discovered the (gorgeous!) new cookbook Gourmet Nutrition and Greens+ Instant Smoothie mix.

STELLAR SUNDAY: RIDE, BRUNCH AND SHOP
Same old Sunday? Not THIS weekend.

AFFORDABLE TREAT: SHIATSU SCHOOL OF CANADA
Much as our muscles love getting massages, sometimes they’re a little tough on the budget. But now that we’ve discovered the Shiatsu School of Canada’s mini-massages -- $10 for 10 minutes – we’re hooked on our weekly fix.

Recipe for Smoores
You’ll melt for s’more!

Exercises For Your Back
Try this workout to get toned and ready for prom’s daring, backless dresses

Green Living: Mind the Water Gap
Battling for water equality for green living across the globe. Turn on the tap. Pour yourself a glass of water. Now pour another. Keep pouring until you’ve got about 2,445 glasses full.

Becoming a Vegetarian
Is going GREEN healthier?

The Big Bam! Self- Exam


Legal Drinking Age
The dangers of drinking go far beyond a morning-after headache. Now there is talk in Ontario to increase the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 years of age.

Take the Vervegirl Poll!

Exercise Tips
Hot New Ways to Dance Yourself in ShapeTake the Vervegirl Poll. Do you exercise?

Healthy Lunches
Schools Prepare Healthier Lunchtime Options

Tealish Brews Healthy Treats for St. Patty's Day
For us, St. Patrick’s Day is like an unofficial start to spring, what with the whole “green” theme and all.

New Balance: Feeling the Need for Speed
It’s just about time to say buh-bye to the treadmill and hello to the great outdoors again. And even though the running routine might still involve a little layering action, nothing motivates quite so much as a pretty new piece of workout wear.

Healthy Eating
Tips and Tricks for Healthy Eating

Eat Healthy Foods for a Prettier You!
What you eat is as important as the beauty products you use to get gorgeous. A balanced diet rich in the right vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will give you that beautiful glow you’ve always wanted.

Swim your Heart Out This March Break
If heading south for March Break isn’t in your budget this year but you are dying to bust out your bikini and fabulous faux tan, then a trip to The Wave Pool is a must.

Nutrition for Mental Health
What you eat affects how you feel BY LISA VAN DE VEN

Cultural Cuisine
Ever wonder what traditional Moroccan cuisine is like? Or maybe what Finnish families snack on? If the surest way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, then it’s got to be one of the best (and tastiest) ways to learn about their culture.

Workout DVD
Kick it into high gear with a workout DVD - something for everyone from beginners to experts.

Beauty tips for getting ready for the Prom
Get Fit in Time For Prom! Prom is only one night, but it can take weeks to get yourself ready. From skincare and hairstyling to nutrition and excercise, vervegirl’s simplified it all into a 4-week plan.

Nutrition Tips
In a diet dilemma? The mystery of healthy eating is easily solved when you know the facts.

How to become a vegetarian
Knowing the power of plants (and what they lack) can fuel your mind and body Poll: Are you a vegetarian?

How Can Girls Maintain a Normal & Healthy Body Image?
It’s an extremely difficult time for young girls to be growing up. It’s hard for them to have any concept of reality when music videos and magazines are consistently airbrushing and warping the celebrities we look up to. It’s always a hard concept for me to grasp [that I am a role model] since I too have insecurities and am still deep in the process of figuring myself out and being comfortable in my own skin!

Crash Course on Vitamins and Minerals
From foods to supplements, vitamins and minerals are vital to your health

How Can Girls Maintain a Normal & Healthy Body Image?
It’s an extremely difficult time for young girls to be growing up. It’s hard for them to have any concept of reality when music videos and magazines are consistently airbrushing and warping the celebrities we look up to. It’s always a hard concept for me to grasp [that I am a role model] since I too have insecurities and am still deep in the process of figuring myself out and being comfortable in my own skin!

Healthy Eating
Eat healthy on the go! With busy schedules, pressures to eat like friends, and body image issues that make dieting commonplace, it’s no wonder that healthy eating isn’t at the top of the priority list for many teenage girls.

Should Teens have plastic surgery?
Should teens have plastic surgery to look good? The death of a Florida teenage cheerleader , Stephanie Kuleba, due to complications from breast surgery has once again brought the subject of breast augmentation for teens to the forefront. In Canada, surgery to correct asymetical breasts among teenage girls is the third most popular consmetic surgery for young women.

Preventative Medicine
Human Papillomavirus (HPV), more than 50 per cent of women might be infected with it before they turn 50. For some, there are no symptoms at all.

Your Holiday Diet Dilemma Solved!


Lighten Up!
The holidays are full of parties, shopping and tons of food. So much that the whole affair can easily get out of hand! Read on as experts share tips on how you can indulge this holiday season, yet still find time to stay fit, save cash, and CHILL OUT.

What’s up, doc?
Your most pressing health questions answered!

Get a move on!
Sabrina Bryan of The Cheetah Girls has a message for girls everywhere: have fun, get fit and be you. As the face of BYOU, a new dance work-out video, Sabrina is encouraging empowerment through healthy living.

Take your Pick
Cool choices for managing your period


Youth Culture  |  401 Richmond St. West Suite 245  |  Toronto, ON M5V 1X3  |  t. 416 595 1313  |  f. 416 595 1312

line break

  YouthCulture.com                 Vervegirl.com