The Thanksgiving and Christmas period is known for its ability to bust diets, increase waists, and send exercise routines to the couch. But, it doesn't have to be this way.
An article in the December Glamour issue titled "Don't diet - eat!," went through the different drink and food options so that we would know exactly how many calories we were consuming (not exactly information we want to think about while we're having fun, but worthwhile knowledge if we think about the long-run).
So, here's what they said:
Starting at the bar:
- light beer and wine are the best everyday drinks, with just 100 calories each (if you stick to the serving limits - 12-oz. for beer and 4-oz. for wine).
- champagne is the best special occasion drink, with just 85 calories per 4-oz. glass (why they didn't put this as the best everyday drink too, I'm not sure. I drink it year-round and I think it's great because it gives you a good buzz, and in my experience, is less likely than wine to give you a hangover, and also I think it tastes better).
- hot buttered rum is the best Christmas drink, with 220 calories per 8-oz. glass. (As an FYI, eggnog with brandy can pack up to 460 calories).
Now, to the food:
- mashed potato is better than candied sweet potato, because sweet potato often has both the butter and the sweet stuff, so one cup can have up to 500 calories.
- turkey gravy is better than cranberry sauce - 80 calories per half cup, compared to 180 calories. (They didn't say why, but I'm assuming it's because the cranberry sauce is filled with sugar).
- pumpkin pie (270 calories) is better than apple pie (350 calories), which is better than pecan pie (700 calories!).
And here's a few tips of my own:
- Keep up your exercise routine (I know a lot of people go to gyms during the year, and then don't have access to one when they go and visit families). But, in this instance, instead walk or run. I tell everyone to run - and most people basically tell me, "Nah, you're crazy," but they have to admit it is the most convenient form of exercise. All you need is a pair of running shoes, any workout gear, and a good running bra (if you're a girl).
- If you're going to go crazy with the alcohol, go a little easier on the junk food.
- And finally, eat and drink whatever you want on the actual days of celebration, and then try and eat fairly normally on all the in-between days.
Overall though, I say have a good time. I watched an Oprah episode over the summer, and the guest speaker (I think it was Dr. Oz, but I'm not sure), said that the average weight gain over the holiday period is only a pound. Now, that's not even worth worrying about.
So have a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Red Lipstick To Kill?
OK, here's a post for the ladies (and the closet drags).
Apparently, there is a rumor out there that some brands of red lipstick contain potentially harmful levels of lead, a known neurotoxin. Now why it is just red lipstick that is targeted, I'm not sure.
But, anyway, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, decided to test to see if this were in fact true.
What they found was that one third of the 33 red lipsticks they tested showed lead levels greater than 0.1 parts per million (the federal limit for candy). A full report of the study is available here.
However, don't immediately put away your sexy red lippy, because as critics from the FDA, point out, you're not ingesting lipstick, like you are candy, so it is like comparing the caffeine levels in skin moisturisor to the caffeine levels in coffee.
Therefore, while future studies might say otherwise, for now you can flaunt your red lipstick as much as you want, and feel perfectly safe while doing so.
Apparently, there is a rumor out there that some brands of red lipstick contain potentially harmful levels of lead, a known neurotoxin. Now why it is just red lipstick that is targeted, I'm not sure.
But, anyway, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, decided to test to see if this were in fact true.
What they found was that one third of the 33 red lipsticks they tested showed lead levels greater than 0.1 parts per million (the federal limit for candy). A full report of the study is available here.
However, don't immediately put away your sexy red lippy, because as critics from the FDA, point out, you're not ingesting lipstick, like you are candy, so it is like comparing the caffeine levels in skin moisturisor to the caffeine levels in coffee.
Therefore, while future studies might say otherwise, for now you can flaunt your red lipstick as much as you want, and feel perfectly safe while doing so.
The Economics of Toilet Paper
Toilet paper is something you can't live without - well, unless you're willing to try some other cleansing method, which I doubt.
So, most people just chalk it up as a necessity, and don't think much about how much they consume, and therefore how much they spend on it.
But, like anything else, it is something you can scrimp on.
Now, I'm not suggesting you rip a square in half or anything, but there are ways you can use a little less.
The first scrimping technique is to change the way you use toilet paper.
According to Dave Praeger, the author of "Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped By Its Grossest National Product", toilet-paper-users fall into two categories - folders and scrunchers (the former being the most economical).
He asserts that while scrunching is more time-efficientl, folding is more cost-efficient, because you get a greater surface area, and therefore need less squares to get the "job done," so to speak.
In case you were wondering, I am a scruncher - I simply don't put that much thought into what I'm doing. Maybe I will change this now (but probably not).
Another scrimp technique you can try is to use the cheap, scratchy brands. You will likely save at least $50 a year.
However, I'm not sure how willing people are to put their butt through the sandpaper routine, especially when as Praeger says, sometimes the expensive brand is better, because if people use more of the scratchy stuff to compensate for the roughness of it, then they might as well just buy the expensive brand.
So, really, what I got from this article, was that it is possible to save money on toilet paper, but only if you are willing to put more time into wiping your butt, and less thought into how soft and comfortable the experience is for you.
As one of my roommates said, "I buy store-brand everything, but I always buy "Northern Quilt."
I personally buy store-brand - it doesn't bother me much (as long as it is double-ply). However, I realize that I am probably de-sensitized to cheap toilet paper since in my first year of college, my roommates and I would steal rolls of single-ply from the school bathrooms (we needed money to go out!)
So, anyway, I guess the take home message is do what works for you, but if you find yourself low on cash, toilet paper is something you can save on.
So, most people just chalk it up as a necessity, and don't think much about how much they consume, and therefore how much they spend on it.
But, like anything else, it is something you can scrimp on.
Now, I'm not suggesting you rip a square in half or anything, but there are ways you can use a little less.
The first scrimping technique is to change the way you use toilet paper.
According to Dave Praeger, the author of "Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped By Its Grossest National Product", toilet-paper-users fall into two categories - folders and scrunchers (the former being the most economical).
He asserts that while scrunching is more time-efficientl, folding is more cost-efficient, because you get a greater surface area, and therefore need less squares to get the "job done," so to speak.
In case you were wondering, I am a scruncher - I simply don't put that much thought into what I'm doing. Maybe I will change this now (but probably not).
Another scrimp technique you can try is to use the cheap, scratchy brands. You will likely save at least $50 a year.
However, I'm not sure how willing people are to put their butt through the sandpaper routine, especially when as Praeger says, sometimes the expensive brand is better, because if people use more of the scratchy stuff to compensate for the roughness of it, then they might as well just buy the expensive brand.
So, really, what I got from this article, was that it is possible to save money on toilet paper, but only if you are willing to put more time into wiping your butt, and less thought into how soft and comfortable the experience is for you.
As one of my roommates said, "I buy store-brand everything, but I always buy "Northern Quilt."
I personally buy store-brand - it doesn't bother me much (as long as it is double-ply). However, I realize that I am probably de-sensitized to cheap toilet paper since in my first year of college, my roommates and I would steal rolls of single-ply from the school bathrooms (we needed money to go out!)
So, anyway, I guess the take home message is do what works for you, but if you find yourself low on cash, toilet paper is something you can save on.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Drunk Bladders Can Burst
A new risk of binge drinking - a burst bladder - is becoming increasingly common among women, according to a report in the British Medical Journal, printed here on the BBC website.
This adverse side effect of drinking was previously only being reported in men.
Apparently, a bladder can burst if it is overly full - if you're wasted, you don't realize that you need to pee, so you keep consuming alcohol and then BANG, your bladder pops, and you have to have surgery to sew it back together.
Physicians once thought only men could have a burst bladder because since they have a longer urethra than women, they need more pressure to get the urine out of the bladder. Which, I guess means, that it is easier for men to not realize that they need to go. (They thought women would simply "leak").
But, now that women are coming into hospitals with burst bladders, that reasoning has been discarded.
I should point out that you don't actually feel a BANG, you just get an intense lower abdominal pain. This symptom is synonymous with appendicitis and urinary tract infections, so it is commonly misdiagnosed.
Therefore, the message of this little report is that you need to keep peeing if you're going to drink large amounts of liquid (alcohol). And also maybe that if you're so drunk that you don't know when you need to pee, it might be time to scale back.
This adverse side effect of drinking was previously only being reported in men.
Apparently, a bladder can burst if it is overly full - if you're wasted, you don't realize that you need to pee, so you keep consuming alcohol and then BANG, your bladder pops, and you have to have surgery to sew it back together.
Physicians once thought only men could have a burst bladder because since they have a longer urethra than women, they need more pressure to get the urine out of the bladder. Which, I guess means, that it is easier for men to not realize that they need to go. (They thought women would simply "leak").
But, now that women are coming into hospitals with burst bladders, that reasoning has been discarded.
I should point out that you don't actually feel a BANG, you just get an intense lower abdominal pain. This symptom is synonymous with appendicitis and urinary tract infections, so it is commonly misdiagnosed.
Therefore, the message of this little report is that you need to keep peeing if you're going to drink large amounts of liquid (alcohol). And also maybe that if you're so drunk that you don't know when you need to pee, it might be time to scale back.
IMG Field Trip
Yesterday, our class caught a gigantic bus to the IMG/Bollettieri Academy, and spent about four hours touring around the slick, grown-up, yet kiddie-infested complex.
I played tennis for a long time as a child/teen, and I had heard of the Bollettieri part of the academy when I was growing up, so it was fun seeing what it would have been like if I had had a million dollars to spend on my tennis "career" back then (and been good enough), and thus been able to go to the academy. One guy I went to school with actually did go to there, but I wasn't friends with him, so I never really heard what it was like.
So, yesterday was my chance. And I was not disappointed. It is a beautiful facility, with a great staff (although, they were not all great speakers). "The trainer," was especially bad (well, overly technical), but I think part of that was that he obviously assumed we were aspiring trainers too - I don't think anybody would refer to a journalistic interviewee as a "client."So, he gave us the most difficult running drills to try and do (trust me, we did not do the simple butt-kick or anything. We did ballet-inspired, plyometrics).
Anyway, one talk that I did enjoy was with these two former actors. They led the "game on" aspect of the program, which basically teaches sports stars, or wannabe sports stars, to not bore everyone with their talk about their training, their sports performance, and their diet. They need to have "coins" (interests, personal qualities, something fascinating to say), so that people will want to be friends with them, and so that they don't look like stupid jocks when the media interviews them.
Another point of this class was to teach them to think of these other things they have going for them when they're under pressure (e.g. matchpoint), so that they won't choke. Instead, they will be able to relax and think this isn't the most important thing in my life, the game that will decide if I get a multi-million dollar sponsor, the game that will decide if my pushy "helicopter parent" loves me, but instead will be able to think I have ordinary qualities (like enjoying the beach) that are just as important as my sporting achievement. Or so the theory goes. Whether this works for everyone, I'm not sure, but it was the most entertaining part of the day.
The nutritionist was a bit of a let-down (not that she didn't clearly know her stuff), but she talked about how she gives her clients real-life translations of what 30 percent protein looks like, but we got nothing more than a statistical analysis.
The sports psychologist was interesting (well, the quiz we took was fun), but he didn't really give us any information about his job. I wanted to hear the advice he gave Pete Sampras or Anna Kournikova or something. But, maybe because we arrived late (despite having a GPS, we got lost), so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that if we had had more time, he would have given us some interesting tit-bits.
Anyway, despite a lot of it being a bit elitist and technical, I really did enjoy the day, and I can see how for a teenager, or a professional athlete, it would be an amazing thing to experience on a daily basis.
I played tennis for a long time as a child/teen, and I had heard of the Bollettieri part of the academy when I was growing up, so it was fun seeing what it would have been like if I had had a million dollars to spend on my tennis "career" back then (and been good enough), and thus been able to go to the academy. One guy I went to school with actually did go to there, but I wasn't friends with him, so I never really heard what it was like.
So, yesterday was my chance. And I was not disappointed. It is a beautiful facility, with a great staff (although, they were not all great speakers). "The trainer," was especially bad (well, overly technical), but I think part of that was that he obviously assumed we were aspiring trainers too - I don't think anybody would refer to a journalistic interviewee as a "client."So, he gave us the most difficult running drills to try and do (trust me, we did not do the simple butt-kick or anything. We did ballet-inspired, plyometrics).
Anyway, one talk that I did enjoy was with these two former actors. They led the "game on" aspect of the program, which basically teaches sports stars, or wannabe sports stars, to not bore everyone with their talk about their training, their sports performance, and their diet. They need to have "coins" (interests, personal qualities, something fascinating to say), so that people will want to be friends with them, and so that they don't look like stupid jocks when the media interviews them.
Another point of this class was to teach them to think of these other things they have going for them when they're under pressure (e.g. matchpoint), so that they won't choke. Instead, they will be able to relax and think this isn't the most important thing in my life, the game that will decide if I get a multi-million dollar sponsor, the game that will decide if my pushy "helicopter parent" loves me, but instead will be able to think I have ordinary qualities (like enjoying the beach) that are just as important as my sporting achievement. Or so the theory goes. Whether this works for everyone, I'm not sure, but it was the most entertaining part of the day.
The nutritionist was a bit of a let-down (not that she didn't clearly know her stuff), but she talked about how she gives her clients real-life translations of what 30 percent protein looks like, but we got nothing more than a statistical analysis.
The sports psychologist was interesting (well, the quiz we took was fun), but he didn't really give us any information about his job. I wanted to hear the advice he gave Pete Sampras or Anna Kournikova or something. But, maybe because we arrived late (despite having a GPS, we got lost), so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that if we had had more time, he would have given us some interesting tit-bits.
Anyway, despite a lot of it being a bit elitist and technical, I really did enjoy the day, and I can see how for a teenager, or a professional athlete, it would be an amazing thing to experience on a daily basis.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Paula Radcliffe wins the NY Marathon
Paula Radcliffe, the British runner who holds the world record in the women's marathon (2.15!), this weekend won the NY marathon - after giving 
birth to her daughter (Isla) just ten months ago.
This is even more remarkable when you consider that since her pregnancy she has had two severe over-use injuries (a stress fracture in her lower back, and an inflammation of the capsule surrounding one of the bones in her forefoot).
What made this win possible, however, was that being pregnant for nine months and spending weeks injured, did not stop her from training.
According to this article, for the first five months of pregnancy, Paula ran twice a day, 75 minutes in the morning, and 30 to 45 minutes in the evening. As her birth date drew nearer, she cut back and ran an hour in the morning, and did the stationary bike at night.
This sounds like a lot (for a pregnant woman, especially), but for Paula it was an easy load. She was careful to keep her heart rate below 160 beats a minute, and thus was able to complete her runs without much trouble.
Most pregnant women could not do what Paula did, but most can still do quite a lot of exercise.
A couple of decades ago, exercising during pregnancy was a big no-no, but these days it is accepted and even encouraged.
The key thing is to listen to your body and not do anything too too intense. This article provides some good tips for pregnant women who want to run through their pregnancy, but the basic idea is just that "listen to your body."
birth to her daughter (Isla) just ten months ago.This is even more remarkable when you consider that since her pregnancy she has had two severe over-use injuries (a stress fracture in her lower back, and an inflammation of the capsule surrounding one of the bones in her forefoot).
What made this win possible, however, was that being pregnant for nine months and spending weeks injured, did not stop her from training.
According to this article, for the first five months of pregnancy, Paula ran twice a day, 75 minutes in the morning, and 30 to 45 minutes in the evening. As her birth date drew nearer, she cut back and ran an hour in the morning, and did the stationary bike at night.
This sounds like a lot (for a pregnant woman, especially), but for Paula it was an easy load. She was careful to keep her heart rate below 160 beats a minute, and thus was able to complete her runs without much trouble.
Most pregnant women could not do what Paula did, but most can still do quite a lot of exercise.
A couple of decades ago, exercising during pregnancy was a big no-no, but these days it is accepted and even encouraged.
The key thing is to listen to your body and not do anything too too intense. This article provides some good tips for pregnant women who want to run through their pregnancy, but the basic idea is just that "listen to your body."
Dr. Oz
OK, so I will confess, I am quite the Oprah fan. Not so huge that I'll rearrange my plans to watch her show, but just big enough that I wouldn't consider watching anything else on TV when her show is on. So, when I heard that our class was having a teleconference with Dr. Oz (Oprah's doctor, in case you didn't know), I was pretty excited. I think I have seen every Oprah episode in which he has appeared, so even though I missed the class where we watched his show "Most Embarrassing Questions," I felt prepared, because of course I had already seen it.
Plus, I had my question ready.
A group of us (all girls) had gone out to lunch the previous day, and this query had come up: "Is it true that you can get pregnant and then still have up to two periods, so that you'd be about three months pregnant before you knew it?"
The answer (in case you were wondering), is that it is possible, but very unlikely. And your period would be different to how it normally was, so that would be a clue that something was up. So, there we go. Burning question answered.
In addition to answering questions like mine (although, most of the questions were very journalism orientated - a bit more serious, I guess), Dr. Oz also gave us a few tidbits of other information to chew on.
The ones that stuck out to me, were that:
- One third of the time, your doctor will give you a wrong diagnosis. (Isn't that scary? I will be much more wary now of what the doctor tells me - although, I admit, I rarely go to the doctor anyway. But if I do...).
- If you take six or more medications on a daily basis (including over the counter medication), you have a 94% chance of having a drug to drug interaction. (Now, I don't often take pills - except for calcium supplements and the occasional ibuprofen. But other members of my family take a colorful assortment everyday, so I will be checking with them to see just how many they do take. Dr. Alex is on a mission!).
- People who exercise (especially as they get older) have better skin tone, because the skin can't "rust." (I exercise a lot- I run for nearly an hour five times a week, and I take my pup on multiple little works, so this is good to know).
- Only you can be the world's best expert on your own body (this actually is something I did know, since running coaches have been telling me this for years - "you have to listen to your body." But since it's been a few years since I had a running coach, it was nice to be reminded of this).
- People who write better, communicate better (as an aspiring journalist, this was a bit of "feel-good" news for the day, because I like to think that I can write, so therefore must be a lucid communicator).
There was lots of other good stuff that he said too, but that was what ressonated with me. If you want more Dr. Oz, I'm sure he'll be reappearing on Oprah sometime in the future. Talk shows; you've got to love 'em.
Plus, I had my question ready.
A group of us (all girls) had gone out to lunch the previous day, and this query had come up: "Is it true that you can get pregnant and then still have up to two periods, so that you'd be about three months pregnant before you knew it?"
The answer (in case you were wondering), is that it is possible, but very unlikely. And your period would be different to how it normally was, so that would be a clue that something was up. So, there we go. Burning question answered.
In addition to answering questions like mine (although, most of the questions were very journalism orientated - a bit more serious, I guess), Dr. Oz also gave us a few tidbits of other information to chew on.
The ones that stuck out to me, were that:
- One third of the time, your doctor will give you a wrong diagnosis. (Isn't that scary? I will be much more wary now of what the doctor tells me - although, I admit, I rarely go to the doctor anyway. But if I do...).
- If you take six or more medications on a daily basis (including over the counter medication), you have a 94% chance of having a drug to drug interaction. (Now, I don't often take pills - except for calcium supplements and the occasional ibuprofen. But other members of my family take a colorful assortment everyday, so I will be checking with them to see just how many they do take. Dr. Alex is on a mission!).
- People who exercise (especially as they get older) have better skin tone, because the skin can't "rust." (I exercise a lot- I run for nearly an hour five times a week, and I take my pup on multiple little works, so this is good to know).
- Only you can be the world's best expert on your own body (this actually is something I did know, since running coaches have been telling me this for years - "you have to listen to your body." But since it's been a few years since I had a running coach, it was nice to be reminded of this).
- People who write better, communicate better (as an aspiring journalist, this was a bit of "feel-good" news for the day, because I like to think that I can write, so therefore must be a lucid communicator).
There was lots of other good stuff that he said too, but that was what ressonated with me. If you want more Dr. Oz, I'm sure he'll be reappearing on Oprah sometime in the future. Talk shows; you've got to love 'em.
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