Ellie Goulding doesn't Exercise to keep thin

Singer Ellie Goulding says she doesn't want to be thin but she exercises to stay "fit and strong".

The "Burn" hitmaker, who is currently dating McFly's bass player Dougie Poynter, insists her motivation to workout has always been health related, reports contactmusic.com.

"Don't exercise to be thin. For me, the appeal has always been to be really fit and strong. I think a pair of powerful legs on a girl, or a bigger bum from doing squats, is so sexy," she told Stylemagazine.

The 27-year-old, who showed off her bikini body on a recent trip to Ibiza with her boyfriend, also revealed she suffered from confidence issues and severe panic attacks when she was younger.

"I was torn between that really simple life and this life of madness. My brain was getting all these crazy signals, and I'd have these faux heart attacks that felt real," said Goulding.

"On my way to the studio, I'd have to cover my face in the car with a pillow. I couldn't shop, couldn't go outside, couldn't see people, because there were just so many triggers. And I didn't want to tell anyone, because I just felt so stupid. I never wanted people to see me as weak," she added.

Computer Sitting Posture

If you're a slave to the corporate world, sitting in front of a computer can get quite tiring.

Without good posture when sitting at the computer, you could end up welcoming back pain, neck pain, knee pain and experience strong tingling sensations in your hands, fingers and wrists. Thus, it is best to follow some good practices and sit with the right posture. Good posture entails holding your body in a position, which is ideal when standing, walking, sitting, or lying down - posture that doesn't put any strain on the supporting muscles or ligaments.

It is important to keep bones and joints in straight alignment so that muscles are used effectively. Right posture aids in keeping the abnormal wearing of joints at bay. Especially when sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time, right posture helps in keeping the spine stress free and prevents muscular pain and backache. Apart from contributing to better appearance, good posture helps in keeping muscle fatigue at bay, allowing the body to use less energy.

For starters, you must sit straight with your back straight and your shoulders perfectly stable. Your buttocks should ideally be touching the back of your chair.

Use a small lumbar cushion or a rolled-up towel, which might help in maintaining the normal curve of your back. In order to find a good sitting position, sit at the end of your chair and slouch completely in the front. Now, straighten the curve of your back as much as possible. Hold yourself in this position for a few seconds. Release this position by 10 degrees, by distributing your body weight evenly on both the hips.

Sit at arm's length from the screen and regulate the space for your vision. Bend your knees at right angles and avoid sitting crossed legged. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your eyes at a firm level with the computer screen - neither too low nor too high. Rest your arms and elbows on the chair or desk and keep your shoulder relaxed.

Breaks are important. Avoid sitting in the same position for more than 30 minutes. Perform simple neck exercises when you feel you have worked for a long stretch. Tilt your head slowly from front to back, from side to side. You can also practise forward resistance and backward resistance exercises by placing both your hands on the back and holding yourself in this position for one to two minutes.

Remember to get up every 30 mintues to an hour and involve movements like fetching yourself a glass of water, or visiting the washroom, your neighbour's workstation, or the office lounge for some leg stretching. As you get used to this better posture at work, you will realise that you stand taller, and feel limber in everyday activities post work, which would otherwise tire you.

Read more Personal Health, Diet & Fitness stories on www.healthmeup.com

How To Distress Your Denim Jeans

You can buy distressed jeans at any store, however, you can take any pair of denims and turn them into a trendy favourite with these tips.

   

- Prefer an old pair: Pick a pair of denims which is relatively inexpensive. It's wise to practice on a pair that is not your all-time favourite or very expensive.

- Protect the other side: Slip something inside the leg of your jeans, like a piece of cardboard, a small ironing board, or any firm surface, so that the areas other than the ones you want distressed are protected.

- Use a cheese grater: An easy way to distress your jeans is with a cheese grater where the distress look can be created by vigorously grating the fabric. You can also use a knife or the blade of a scissor.

- Add bleach: Bleaching is necessary when it comes to distressing jeans. When applied properly, bleach can make a new pair of jeans appear quite lived in.

- Wash and Wear: Wash your jeans several times before wearing. Washing will both soften the denim as well as emphasize the fraying of the distressed edges.

Kim K's Super Tight Flesh Coloured Vest

SHE'S known for her curvaceous figure, and Kim Kardashian made no attempt to cover it up as she stepped out in New York today.

The 33-year-old reality TV star was pictured arriving at a vineyard in the Hamptons today, and she left little to the imagination thanks to her figure-hugging attire.

Onlookers could be forgiven for thinking that Kim wasn't wearing anything up top due to the super tight, flesh coloured vest that she was wearing.

She teamed the clingy garment with a high-waisted olive green skirt which featured an assymetrical hemline and fell just above the knee.

Not one to wear flip flops, Kim accessorised her look with a pair of nude strappy heels and a simple gold necklace as she joined sister Khloe and their good friend Jonathan Cheban on the day trip (Image not Clear).

The trio appeared to be filming scenes for the upcoming series of 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' as they were later seen enjoying glasses of wine while surrounded by a film crew.

Earlier on in the day, she wore the same outfit for her appearance on The Today Show, where she spoke about her desire to have a big family with husband Kanye West.

The pretty brunette said she would love to have a Kardashian clan of her own, and that four children is her ideal number.

However, she added that she is not looking forward to going through pregnancy again.

Speaking to Matt Lauer, she opened up about her relationship with Kanye, their daughter North and plans for more children.

"If I could just snap my fingers and have four, I would. But I do realise I'm going to have to go through the pregnancy again."

Dwayne Johnson teases Shazam superhero role

Action man DWAYNE JOHNSON has teased fans by suggesting he is set to bring comic book superhero SHAZAM to life on the big screen.

The Fast Five actor has been in talks with studio executives at Warner Bros. for several months to find him the perfect role in a new DC Comics adaptation, and now he has dropped the biggest hint yet about the kind of character he is preparing to play.

In an interview with TotalFilm.com, the actor reveals he initially wanted to star as John Stewart, one of the many characters who take on the identity of Green Lantern, but it was too soon after the 2011 film flop that starred Ryan Reynolds as the title character.

Instead, Johnson hints that he will play Billy Batson and his alter ego Shazam, a man with incredible strength and the power of light.

The new Hercules star says, "He has the power of Superman. And it's not the Green Lantern by the way. Believe me - John Stewart - he is a character who I wanted to play, but there was already a version of Green Lantern, and so now we've gone in a slightly different direction. But this character has the power of Superman. He can throw down."

He adds, "Just say the word. That's all I'm going to say."

In the comics, Batson famously just has to utter the name of his alter ego to transform into the red and gold costumed superhero.

Director Peter Segal had previously been linked to a Shazam movie in 2010, but the plans stalled and the proposed project was shelved indefinitely.

Dwayne Johnson’s Path to Solo Stardom Is Still Rocky

This weekend saw the release of Hercules, the latest bid for solo superstardom for wrestling-legend-turned-action-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Now, more than a decade into his film career, the actor has reached Hollywood’s top tier: aided by last summer’s smash Fast & Furious 6, he was the top-grossing star of 2013, with his four films taking a total gross of $1.3 billion. 

And yet there remains doubt over whether he’s the true heir to Ahnuld, Sly, and the other action stars of yore. So far, Johnson’s biggest hits have seen him piggybacking on top of established franchises, while his solo vehicles — including last year’s Snitch — tended to underperform.Hercules is the latest in that line. The film’s $29 million opening is decent, but it’s clear that Paramount was hoping for numbers closer to the debut weekends of 2006’s 300 ($70 million) or 2010’s Clash of the Titans ($61 million) — and not to have been out-performed by the smaller-budgeted Lucy. 

So will Johnson ever prove himself a true Hollywood leading man? Or is he destined to be eventually pushed out of the big-screen ring? Yahoo Movies investigates … 

Pro: He’s got charisma to burn … After a false start to his pro-wrestling career — fans never warmed to his initial incarnation as Rocky Maivia — Johnson quickly rebranded himself as the lovable WWE bad guy (or “heel,” in wrestling terms) called The Rock. Partly due to his physical prowess but mostly due to his radiant charisma, the hero with the raised eyebrow quickly became a much-loved superstar in the sport. And Hollywood paid attention: After he scored with audiences in a cameo in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, Universal paid him a whopping $5.5 million — a record payday for a first-time leading man — to star in 2002’s spinoff, The Scorpion King. Even in his worst movies, he was always likable and bright, and that helped him build a wider fanbase away from the WWE world. 

Con: … But that didn’t stop many of his early films from floppingThe Scorpion King did fairly well, taking more than $160 million worldwide, but none of his follow-ups really stuck. Action films The Rundown (2003), Walking Tall (2004), and Doom (2005) allowed him to show off his tough-guy chops, but were middlingly received by audiences. And his attempts to move into action-free fare didn’t pay off either: In 2006, he starred in the sports drama Gridiron Gang and the oddball indie Southland Tales: Both underperformed, and the latter was an infamous flop. Johnson — still retaining his ring name on posters — was attracting leading roles, but the crucial hit proved elusive. It might be because despite his background as a villain in wrestling, he’s always lacked real edge. Unlike many action stars, you don’t necessarily buy him projecting anger or menace. That’s fine for Journey 2; less so forWalking Tall. 

Pro: He has a sense of humor Johnson’s always had a welcome wit in the ring, and in 2000, he became the first wrestler to host Saturday Night Live since Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in 1985. With his early action movies failing to connect, Johnson took a cue from Vin Diesel, who’d had a hit with 2005’s The Pacifier and smartly capitalized on his innate comic timing, taking the lead in family comedy The Game Plan (2007). The film — the last in which Johnson would call himself “The Rock” — was a hit for both the actor and Disney, grossing $147 million worldwide. He stayed visible with roles in other successful comedies like 2008’s Get Smart and 2010’s The Other Guysand Tooth Fairy. Despite his success, it was becoming clear that Johnson wanted more from his career: He switched agencies afterTooth Fairy, telling The Hollywood Reporter recently that “I felt there were bigger and better opportunities.” Still, his willingness to diversify helped him maintain his leading-man cred, though it speaks to his wholesome, multigenerational appeal that he made his big-screen name not with actioners, but with family movies — perhaps another reason that audiences don’t flock to his more adult fare.  

Con:  His solo action-flicks tend to tankOver the past few years, Johnson course-corrected back to focusing on action movies, but he’s had a hard time top-lining a project. 2010’sFaster made only $20 million in the U.S., and last year’s Snitch and Pain & Gain each did only about double that (Another 2013 release, Empire State, in which he co-starred with Liam Hemsworth, didn’t even get a theatrical release.) These setbacks may not necessarily be a referendum on the star as much as the genre. With the exception of Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables movies, these sort of ’80s throwback actioners have been struggling to find audiences. It helps that he’s a good 20 years younger than his genre forebearers, but for now, audiences seemed to have lost their taste for these movies either way. 

With Channing Tatum in 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Pro: His franchise flicks are huge …Johnson seems to be aware of the fact that he’s better when playing on a team — thanks, presumably, to the immense success he’s had in movie franchises. Three times now, with Fast Five (2011) Journey 2 (2012), and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), the star has joined pre-existing series and seen grosses soar with his presence. G.I. Joe director Jon M. Chucalled Johnson “franchise Viagra,” and the evidence is certainly there to back that up. Most significantly, the movies have helped Johnson develop an overseas fanbase: Even the most successful of his early films weren’t big performers in the increasingly important foreign markets, but the franchise pictures were huge abroad, aided by Johnson’s dedication to promoting them (New Line President Toby Emmerich told The Hollywood Reporter, “… he’s building an international audience with good movies and boots on the ground. That’s the recipe for a global movie star.”). No surprise, then, that he’s made two more Fast & Furiouspictures and is said to be attached to future Journey and G.I. Joe movies, too. 

Con: … But he still needs a series to call his ownBut the downside of being box-office Viagra is that there’s little sense of ownership for the success of the movies. The Fast & Furious franchise was already on the upswing, with Johnson just one piece of a larger ensemble, and while G.I. Joe was bigger than its series predecessor, it was only by a slim margin. And the fanbases for those films don’t seem to have crossed over to Hercules, given the disappointing opening weekend numbers. Johnson needs a franchise he can call his own, and neither Hercules — nor next summer’s disaster movie San Andreas, which would seem to be more of a one-off — look likely to provide it. 

Pro: He’s making plans … Even with the minor disappointment of Hercules, Johnson’s a smart cookie, and has always been in this for the long haul. As such, he’s got various projects in the works, any of which could finally be the clincher on his path to mega-stardom. There’s been some talk of a Fast & Furiousspinoff focused on his super-cop character, which would give him ownership of a new franchise away from Vin Diesel and Co. He’s long been hinting at a potential DC Comics superhero movie, rumored to be a version of Shazam!, which also has the potential to be a big hit. But he’s still willing to mix it up: He’s starring in and producing HBO comedyBallers — a sort of sports equivalent to Entourage — and he’s developing an All Is Lost-style survival drama called Not Without Hope. Despite the setbacks, we can smell what The Rock is cooking, and it smells very promising indeed.

Photos: Hercules, Kerry Brown/AP Photos/Paramount Pictures

Zelda Williams Suspends Social Media in Wake of Father's Death

                                                       Zelda and Robin Williams (Getty Images)
Those sending negative thoughts to the Williams family pushed Robin's only daughter too far. Zelda has quit Twitter and Instagram following online harassment over her father's death.

Robin Williams was found deceased in his home in Tiburon, California, on Monday. The cause of death was suicide by hanging, authorities stated, and a rep for the actor confirmed the tragic news, saying the Oscar-winning actor had been "battling severe depression of late."

While the 25-year-old actress's social media accounts were flooded with mostly well wishes, a few anonymous users criticized the fact she didn't post enough pictures of her father; several sent graphic photoshopped images along with crude and hateful remarks.

[Related: Robin's Children Speak Out]

"I will be leaving this account for a [sic] but while I heal and decide if I'll be deleting it or not. In this difficult time, please try to be respectful of the accounts of myself, my family and my friends," she shared on Instagram alongside a photo of a butterfly. "Mining our accounts for photos of dad, or judging me on the number of them is cruel and unnecessary. There are a couple throughout, but the real private moments I shared with him were precious, quiet, and believe it or not, not full of photos or 'selfies'.

"I shared him with a world where everyone was taking their photo with him, but I was lucky enough to spend time with him without cameras too," she continued. "That was more than enough, and I'm grateful for what little time I had. My favorite photos of family are framed in my house, not posted on social media, and they'll remain there. They would've wound up on the news or blogs then, and they certainly would now. That's not what I want for our memories together. Thank you for your respect and understanding in this difficult time. Goodbye. Xo."

On Tuesday, Zelda released an official statement on her Tumblr page regarding her father's passing.

"My family has always been private about our time spent together," Zelda began. "It was our way of keeping one thing that was ours, with a man we shared with an entire world. But now that’s gone, and I feel stripped bare. My last day with him was his birthday, and I will be forever grateful that my brothers and I got to spend that time alone with him, sharing gifts and laughter. He was always warm, even in his darkest moments. While I’ll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there’s minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions. It doesn’t help the pain, but at least it’s a burden countless others now know we carry, and so many have offered to help lighten the load. Thank you for that."

[Related: The Family Robin Leaves Behind]

In typical Robin fashion, Zelda also addressed those who weren't sending warm wishes her family's way with Williams wit.

"To those he touched who are sending kind words, know that one of his favorite things in the world was to make you all laugh," she continued. "As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling  part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car. Right after you’ve had it washed. After all, he loved to laugh too… Dad was, is and always will be one of the kindest, most generous, gentlest souls I’ve ever known, and while there are few things I know for certain right now, one of them is that not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence. We’ll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again.”

Robin's last Twitter and Instagram post was a message of love to his daughter on her 25th birthday: "#tbt and Happy Birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl. Happy Birthday @zeldawilliams Love you!"

While Zelda may have suspended her social media accounts on a negative note, she appreciated those making donations to St. Jude in his honor.