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Welcome to Workout Wednesdays, the new Playboy.com fitness blog by Jayde Nicole—personal trainer, fitness nutritionist, health nut, TV personality and, last but not least, Playboy’s 2008 Playmate of the Year. Check back each week for Jayde’s latest tips, and be sure to visit her all-new fitness website JaydeNicole.com.

Click on Jayde’s Twitpic gallery (to the right) to see what she’s been up to this week.

Stress is something we all deal with on a daily basis. We have demanding jobs, busy schedules, family life, and of course our love lives that cause us stress and in turn cause us to gain weight! Stress can also cause sleep irregularity, loss of sex drive, autoimmune diseases and even heart disease. Most people just accept the fact that they are stressed and don’t do anything about it. I’m here to teach you how easy it is to eliminate and deal with your stress and become a healthier, happier you!

Think about the things really trigger your stress hormones. Is it a certain person at work? A roommate or partner who always leaves their stuff lying around? A family issue not dealt with? Whatever it is, you need to confront it head-on! Tell your roommate that leaving dirty dishes in the sink drives you crazy. Deal with your issues, resolve them and try to eliminate as much unnecessary stress as possible.

It sounds silly, but creating a routine, using your handy cell phone calendar and making to-do lists can really help. Having everything in order allows you to feel less overwhelmed and out of control—a huge cause of stress.

There are so many foods out there that actually help tame or counterbalance the hormones that stress causes and enhance your mood. Oatmeal is a great breakfast food: It sends an amino acid called tryptophan to your brain, which triggers the creation of serotonin. This creates a calm and happy feeling. Other foods that trigger a similar reaction are pistachios (one of my favorite snacks), pineapple, dark chocolate, spinach, eggs, water, avocado and a glass of red wine. So head to the grocery store and stock up!

Now that you’ve gotten rid of all the triggers you can, its time to manage the type of stress you just can’t avoid. If you want to be successful you are always going to have to deal with some sort of stress. Using things like lavender or sandalwood scented candles in your home (don’t worry guys— it’ll be our little secret), drinking chamomile tea and taking a supplement with calcium and magnesium can all help you de-stress when your done with your work day.

Yes, girls and guys alike seem to always use the excuse of stress as a reason not to have sex, but did you know that it is actually a huge stress reliever? When you have sex your body releases oxytocin and endorphins that in turn make you feel happy and energized. More sex in a relationship usually results in a happier partnership as well, and less arguing also means less stress! Exercise is another great way to release these hormones. So hit the bedroom and the gym!

Have questions or suggestions for an upcoming Workout Wednesday? Message me on Twitter (@Jayde_Nicole) or in the Locker Room at JaydeNicole.com.

Next week: Five Great Workout Dates

Top photo by KefskiPhoto.com

Macao showed off its Playboy pride earlier this fall when the 12,000 square-foot Playboy Club hosted its version of Hef’s annual lingerie party off the southeast coast of China. For a night better depicted with footage than words, watch the video recap below and see how our Asian Bunny vixens brought the sexy soirée to life.

Oktoberfest came and went, but we’ve still got beer on the brain—sexy beer ads with smokin’ spokesgirls on the brain, that is. And in honor of the glorious German drinking season, we raise our beer boots to five foreign brewski campaigns that we decided were just too good not to share. Cheers.

Bulgaria Kamenitza Beer
Because beer and booties go well together. Very well together.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Greece Apuana Beer
Home of saganaki and…human can openers?

Click here to view the embedded video.

New Zealand Tui Beer
Hard at work, Down Under

Click here to view the embedded video.

Australia Thirsty For Beer
Try these beer goggles on for size.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brazil Bavaria Beer
Brazilians know their bikinis, and lack thereof….

Click here to view the embedded video.

Subscribe to Tuesday Trivia

Every week @MissKassieLyn tweets a trivia question, giving you the chance to win a Playboy prize pack. To enter, send your answers to @Playboy on Twitter within 24 hours after the question is posted.

This week’s question:

Which Playmate was a Barker’s Beauty on The Price is Right?

Follow @Playboy on Twitter to find out the answer tomorrow! Click here to read the official Tuesday Trivia contest rules.

Subscribe to Laugh of the Day

The rumors that MTV is thinking of replacing the cast of Jersey Shore may be true. At least, it could be true if these audition tapes from Paul Rudd and Anne Hathaway were really real. Either way, they’re a riot. We’d love to see Pauly R. and A-Wow on the next season of the Shore.

Laugh of the Day archive

October 4, 2011
Director: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount

With the popularity of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and recurring debates about the legalization of marijuana, abortion and gay marriage, now is the perfect time to revisit Prohibition—the movie, not the banning of alcohol. This fascinating three-part PBS documentary directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick with narration by Peter Coyote reminds us all of what happens when one group tries to impose its moral code of conduct on everyone else. One word: disaster.

In 1920, under pressure from Christian women’s groups who wanted to keep their men at home providing for the family and out of the saloons, the U.S. government banned the sale and consumption of alcohol. Over the next 13 years, this misguided 18^th Amendment to the Constitution had some unforeseen consequences that this documentary covers in loving detail. For every saloon that closed down a few speakeasies sprung up that catered to both men and newly liberated women—the flappers—of the Roaring Twenties. Bootleggers popped up like mushrooms across the country and many criminals—from Al Capone to small-time whiskey-jobbers—saw an opportunity to circumvent the law and give thirsty citizens the liquor they craved. Before long, otherwise law-abiding citizens became lawbreakers overnight and we became a nation of “Wets” vs. “Drys.”

When the nation slid into the Great Depression and Franklin D. Roosevelt rose to the presidency, few could deny that Prohibition was a disaster and Americans suddenly came to their senses and repealed the 18^th Amendment. The next time you are in a bar, tip your glass to these illuminated Americans who fought to end the lunacy.

Prohibition stretches out almost six hours and is divided into three parts: A Nation of Drunkards, A Nation of Scofflaws and A Nation of Hypocrites. The film intertwines a treasure of vintage video footage and extraordinary photographs with commentary from various historians as well as a few seniors who share their memories of the failed “Noble Experiment.” In addition to showcasing the culture revolution that Prohibition unintentionally sparked in the speakeasies, the documentary sheds light on the discrimination of immigrants that Prohibition intensified by persecuting their customs. It’s a remarkable dark tale of fear-mongering, intolerance and smear campaigns that will hopefully make you question the role of government with regard to our individual rights and personal freedoms the next time you are in a voting booth.

Best extras: Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain the “In the Studio” featurette, several bonus scenes and interview outtakes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Subscribe to the Daily Eye Candy feedAgent Provocateur has long been a leader in ultra-sexy, high-end lingerie. Now the British company has added boudoir furnishings to its empire with the introduction of its Home collection, which includes cashmere throws, eye masks and plush towels. Even more reason to never leave the bedroom.
Daily Eye Candy archive

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I have three favorite things in life: eating, having sex and sports. And those are in no particular order. It rotates.

If it’s kickoff on a Sunday then sports becomes No. 1 in my life. If it’s Monday morning and I am pooped out from watching so much NFL the day before and am full from an all-day barbecue, then my favorite thing to do is to wake up and have morning sex. That glow will last me until Monday Night Football kicks off. Now, if it’s a Wednesday and I had a lot of meetings or skipped lunch, then my favorite thing to do is eat. And let me tell you, I can eat like a man.

So it all depends on how I’m feeling, who’s playing and what’s cooking.

But in the case of last week, I literally got it all. This past week in sports, all the stars aligned and the heavens parted and I was given a giant sports orgasm. Obviously, I was eating while watching all of these sporting events, which is what truly made it a trifecta.

There was Tuesday and Wednesday, when you had four baseball teams fighting for Wild Card spots. No one expected it to come down to the final game for those teams. Then you had the MLB playoffs starting on Friday, which included a team in the Tampa Bay Rays that came back from 10 games to claim a playoff berth, and a rainout in New York, which added to the anticipation.

Then on Saturday, you had two great teams in college football, Alabama and Florida, matching up in prime time, along with four MLB playoff games. Then there was Sunday—which is already my favorite day of the week—that had almost every NFL team playing plus more playoff baseball.

It literally became one giant orgasm. Sunday was the climax because I had eaten and watched sports. I didn’t even need to have sex. I would trade physical sex for a week like that.

Ironically, I even got spanked on Sunday…in fantasy football. My ass is still stinging. I was getting crushed by Kevin Klein from Playboy Radio heading into Monday’s game. Kevin’s team, The Stinky Pinkies, was beating me 132-53 in my Play-By-Playmate league.

That loss will leave me with a record of 1-3 at the season’s quarter mark. Plaxidental Shooting, owned by Andrew Isaac of Guyism.com, is the league’s only undefeated team. Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much trash talk among the league’s owners. The only real trash talker has been Edmondson Spoilers, owned by John Cupoli, who was one of the fans invited to the league.

Remember, the prize for the league’s winner is a photo shoot of me and Pilar Lastra in their two favorite sports teams jerseys. So I’m kind of doing the rest of the league and all of my followers a favor by losing, because if I win the league, nobody would want to see, say, Kevin Klein pose in sports jerseys. There are some things that can’t be unseen.

Meet the Johnnie Walker Double Black Label, the newest addition to the Scotch whiskey family. A fraternal twin of the popular Black Label, this single malt emulsion offers the same 40-plus whiskey blend but adds a smokier and more intense flavor, complemented by vanilla and spice for a soft, sweet finish. At $40 a bottle (only six bucks more than Johnnie Walker Black), this limited edition release is now available in stores and online, until supplies last.

Check out the trailer for the action role-playing game, Dark Souls, out on PS3 and XBox 360 October 4.