FIRST DATE DOS AND DON'T

(Glamour) Who pays? Who stays? The night, that is. First dates, can be fun, not fraught, with these tips:

• Do limit your expectations. Put the "It is the first night of the rest of your life" stuff away and enjoy the evening.
• Do be open to someone you do not have a lot in common with. "Relationships where two people are too similar result in boredom or, at best, good friends with no passion," says Rachel Greenwald, author of "Have Him at Hello."
• Do know you have been Googled. Be ready to explain that pole-dancing photo. Check him out as well, but give him what you want the benefit of the doubt.
• Do get dressed up. Why not? And expect some effort on his part too.
• Do break your own rules for the right guy. "A client of mine who swore she would never date a guy more than five years older is now happily married to a man 14 years her senior," says Greenwald.
• Do let him know if you want to see him again. "Refer to something from the evening, like, 'That story about your dog will have me laughing for the rest of the week whenever I think about it.' Then say good night," says Greenwald. Or novel thought just say, "I would like to see you again."
• Don't talk about your exes. Do you want to hear about his? No. Done. The ban applies online too. "Your date does not want to see you making out with three ex-boyfriends in your photo albums," says Greenwald.
• Don't give up too fast. Not everyone has mind blowing fireworks after the first kiss. Sometimes sexual chemistry is a slow burn, not a strike anywhere match.
• Don't text at the table. Unless one of you is a doctor on call in which case, was there really no other time to meet up, the girl chat can wait.

One nation under a buzz
America, the land of the free. America, home of the amped. From the 24-ounce Cafe Americano to the 64-ounce Mountain Dew Double Gulp, from ubiquitous coffee shops to the widespread use of the prescription drug Ritalin (read: legal speed) as a campus study aid, we are one nation under a buzz, indivisible from our next fix, with 5-Hour Energy shots and caffeine-spiked chewing gum for all. To understand the depths of our perked-up desire, consider:

• The average American ingests as much as 300 mg of caffeine a day, equal to three No-Doz pills;
• From June 2010 to June 2011, amid ongoing economic malaise, energy drink sales rose a whopping 31.6 percent.
• At an Army lab in Natick, Mass., military scientists reportedly have taken time out from developing Global Positioning System-guided helicopters to test and develop ... caffeinated meat.

Or, just visit a Starbucks.

Once upon a time - say, the 1950s - there was the standard, 5-ounce cup o' Joe, containing about 70 mg to 100 mg of caffeine. Quaint. In the here and now, the standard16-ounce cup of regular Starbucks coffee contains 330 mg of the same substance.

Six diet trends you should never try
Before you even think about starting a diet to drop pounds fast, I've compiled a list of the worst diets around so you won't waste your time on them. This list isn't just my opinion, either; I sought the help of registered dietitians who are members of the Weight Management Dietetic Practice group of the American Dietetic Association. Here are the nominees:

1. Raw Food Diet
Eating raw is based on trying to get the majority of your calories from unprocessed and uncooked foods. Rawists believe that eating foods above 116°–118° F will destroy enzymes that provide many health benefits. While most dietitians would agree that eating lots of minimally processed fruits, vegetables, and grains is best, we also understand that processing actually boosts the bioavailability of several key nutrients, primarily the phytonutrients, and inactivates some of the unhealthy compounds. The raw food diet is rich in all plant-based foods including fruits and vegetables; nuts and seeds; and sprouted seeds, grains, and beans. Don't get me wrong; these ingredients are great?and you can make plenty of meals (here are five delicious ones) using these guidelines. But following this type of diet to a T requires a lot of complicated food preparation?creating pine nut and yeast "cheese," for example?that makes it impractical for most working women. I have had plenty of experience with raw foods because I live in Marin County, Calif., where Roxanne Klein, the coauthor of Raw, started Roxanne's Fine Cuisine, a line of pricey prepared raw food creations available at our Whole Foods and other high-end supermarkets. I've tried several of the items but have found them to be extremely expensive and not very tasty?certainly nothing I could follow for more than a day or two at most. As a "flexitarian" and part-time vegan, I know that eating lower on the food chain can help promote weight loss, but I also know that caloric content is not related to the heated treatment of food. Skip the raw food diet, and eat more healthful whole foods?cooked or raw?to help whittle your waist, not your wallet.

2. hCG Diet
The hCG diet is a very low-calorie plan (500 to 800 calories per day) supplemented with injections of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Any diet that drops below 1,000 calories is really unsafe for most of us to begin with, and you're apt to lose a lot of weight even if you're getting injected with milk shakes. Of course, the golden rule of dieting is that the faster it comes off, the more likely you are to regain it, so this diet would be on my list no matter what... but the hCG shots raise so many red flags I don't know where to begin. Bottom line: Scientists don't know if hCG is safe to inject when you're not producing it naturally, so please don't be a weight-loss guinea pig.

3. Master Cleanse
In southern California, this is a big trend. Dieters are trying the "cleanse" by drinking a concoction of squeezed lemons, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper several times a day for 10 days, says Karla Campbell, RD, a dietitian in Long Beach, Calif. Then they down an herbal laxative tea at night and a quart of salt water first thing in the morning, supposedly to clean out the GI tract and bowels. Needless to say, there are no studies to suggest that our GI tracts and organs need any help in removing waste or so-called toxins from the body. The diet is only 650–1,300 calories, and it lacks key nutrients like protein, calcium, iron, and zinc?so no dietitian recommends doing it for more than a day or two. Campbell also adds this warning: "Dieters who try it end up losing lean body mass, and then when they are 'cleansed' and go back to their old ways, they gain fat. They end up being a fatter version of their old selves."

4. Cabbage Soup Diet (and all of its single-food-diet cousins)
Contrary to rumors, this diet is not recommended by, nor did it originate with, the American Heart Association (AHA); the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital, in Spokane, Wash.; or any other health organization. In fact, AHA and others have made it known that you should steer clear of this fad diet. While there are several versions of the diet, all have a seven-day cycle based on all-you-can-eat "fat-burning" cabbage soup (a mix of cabbage, carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, and onions). Since the diet provides plenty of liquids and nutrient-packed veggies, it's not as bad as many other fad diets. However, if you enjoy food at all or have a life, you won't be able to stay on any diet that restricts food groups or relies on one or two superfoods for very long. And then you'll be back where you started right after you go off it.

5. Ear Stapling
This relatively new fad is based on a theory among acupuncturists that an area of the ear regulates your appetite. The procedure is like getting an ear pierced, but the constant pressure of the staple on the "stomach" of your ear is supposed to curtail your eating. Fat chance. There is no science behind ear stapling for weight loss, but there is plenty of evidence that stapling could lead to serious infections and deformities. If you need help in controlling your appetite, better to try something that really works, like eating more fruits and vegetables and less of everything else.

6. Breatharian Diet
This one takes the cake. (Oh, but only if it did.) It's a diet that promotes living on air alone, no food or water. Hmm. That is pretty contrary to what I learned in undergraduate and graduate school while studying nutrition. I believe our bodies will only survive a few days without water and a few weeks without food. The mumbo jumbo on this diet is that you align yourself to the universe and you won't need water or food. You know what this sounds like to me? Starvation.

THE BEST DAY TO SHOP

You may prefer to shop on Sundays because it fits your schedule or you choose Tuesday afternoons because the stores are less crowded. Maybe it's time to rethink your strategy and instead shop on the day that offers the best deals. What day is that? It depends on what you're buying. SmartMoney did the legwork and figured out the best days for the deepest discounts. That means that prices for the exact same item in the exact same store could be lower on Monday than they are on Friday. Here is SmartMoney's advice on what to buy on which days:

Sunday
Appliances: Prices for washers, dryers, ovens and refrigerators are about 1 percent to 2 percent cheaper on Sundays, which works out to about $10 saved on a mid-range model.
Groceries: While most grocery stores publish their weekly sales circular on Wednesdays, Sunday is the best day to shop. Clip coupons from Sunday's newspaper for more savings.
Personal Care Items: You'll find the best deals on toothpaste and deodorant at the drugstore chains on Sundays. You must go early to get the best deals.
Skirts and Dresses: Skirts sell, on average, for 77 percent off the retail price, while dresses are discounted, on average, 54 percent.

Monday
Cars: Cars are cheapest on Mondays as dealerships are more willing to negotiate. This holds true whether weekend sales were lackluster and they want to make up for that or whether weekend sales were robust and they want to continue it.*Sunday
Electronics: Computers, televisions, digital cameras and even video games are between 2 percent and 4 percent cheaper on Mondays.

Tuesday
Airfares: Since most domestic fares are posted on Monday evening, there is a scramble by the other airlines on Tuesday morning to match prices. The number of cheap seats peaks at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Thursday
Clothing: Both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers tend to begin their weekend sales on Thursday. You'll find the best deals and the most in-stock items. However, there are exceptions. See Monday.

Saturday
Books: Books are 11 percent cheaper on Saturdays; they are priced at their highest on Fridays.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The most annoying word is "whatever." And it's had this dubious honor for three years running, according to the new Marist Poll of 1,026 adults nationwide. Specifically, 38% of U.S. adults said "whatever" is the most annoying word in the English language, most likely because it can be used to pointedly dismiss others as being inconsequential. That's down from the 47% in 2009 who thought it was the most annoying word. The top 5 most annoying words:

1. Whatever: 38%
2. Like: 20%
3. You know: 19%
4. Just sayin': 11%
5. Seriously: 7%

CONVERSATION STARTERS

95% of employers say they use social media sites to find out more information about prospective job candidates. if those employers they don't like what they see, then you can forget about that job. Reppler, a company that offers a tool for scrubbing social networking accounts of job-damaging material, recently commissioned a survey of 300 hiring managers to find out how they are using social networking sites. 69% of employers surveyed said they have rejected a candidate because of what they saw about that individual on a social networking site. So, why are employers nixing job candidates based on their Facebook pages:

• Lied about their qualifications: 13%
• Posted inappropriate photos: 11%
• Posted inappropriate comments: 11%
• Posted negative comments about a previous employer: 11%
• Demonstrated poor communication skills: 11%
• Posted content about using drugs: 10%
• Made discriminatory comments: 10%
• Posted content about drinking: 10%
• Shared confidential information from a previous employer: 7%
• Have never rejected a candidate because of information on a social networking site: 7%

However, some employers like what they see on candidates' Facebook pages so much, this becomes part of their hiring decision. What can you do on Facebook that makes an employer sit up and take good notice of you?

• Gave a positive impression of their personality and organizational fit: 39%
• Had a profile that supported their professional qualifications: 36%
• Had a profile that showed the candidate was creative: 36%
• Had good references posted by others: 34%
• Showed solid communication skills: 33%
• Had a profile that showed the candidate was well-rounded: 33%
• Had a profile that showed the candidate had received awards and recognitions: 24%
• Never hired a candidate because of information on a social networking site: 18%