I watched this commercial at work. I was supposed to be working, but I clicked on the link and watched covertly. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I did anyway. Fortunately, no one noticed my body shaking from hiding the laughter.
Next time I’m on a run outside, I’ll remember the lesson from this commercial: Don’t Let Anything Stop Your Run.
Via: A Passion for Running – toyota running commercial Thanks, Mark, for almost getting me busted!
The Hungry Girl daily newsletter usually seems like a commercial to me, but today’s was really good.
She answers a couple of questions from readers (like she does every Wednesday). One question asks about what to bring for vegetarian lunches and the other asks about frozen vegetables. I would like to add a couple of ideas for the lunch question:
I would recommend purchasing an insulated lunch bag. I have one and cold things usually stay cold enough until lunch and I can put a frozen blue thing in it to keep things colder. It works really well to keep my veggies and fruits tasting good and fresh. If you don’t have a refrigerator at work, that really helps.
Not having a microwave at work really puts a crimp on things. My favorite lunch usually consists of a serving of veggies and leftovers from last night’s dinner. When we cook healthy dinners, we always make enough servings for a few lunches for me to take to work. Not having a microwave would cripple me.
I would recommend doing a little detective work. I find it highly unlikely that there is no microwave anywhere. The CFO at our office ate his meals in his office every day, but I never saw him go up to the third floor to microwave his food. One day, I found the secret first floor microwave hidden between the huge industrial machinery and the CT room. There might be a microwave lurking in your office that you didn’t even know about.
That doesn’t answer the reader’s question, though. What would I have for lunch if I was a vegetarian and had no access to a microwave. Just like Hungry Girl said, the lack of microwave doesn’t affect my fruits and veggies. I bring two servings of fruit and three servings of veggies to work every day. I eat a fruit and a veggie for my morning snack and the same for my afternoon snack. That leaves one serving of fresh cut vegetables for my lunch. These have been the basis of my day for years now.
Main dishes are harder to come by, however. The reader has already exhausted the PB&J sandwich and hummus route. One good thing that wasn’t mentioned at all are cold rice dishes. Cardamon Rice with pistachios and milk is one and Rice Pudding is another. They are meant to be eaten cold and if you make them yourself, you can make sure that they are healthy and not loaded with sugar like most of the storebought versions.
I usually have Cardamon Rice for breakfast, but it would work perfectly for a vegetarian for lunch. Here is how I make it:
The night before, mix these ingredients and place in a Ziploc bowl. Overnight, the rice will absorb some of the milk, so you might want to bring an additional half cup of milk if you prefer things a little runny. This is a filling meal with protein, calcium and carbohydrates. Brown rice will make it even healthier. You eat it cold, so no microwave required.
Have your workouts been feeling like work and drudgery lately? Here is a huge list of inspirational stories from people who have chosen running as their favorite form of exercise.
I remember when I couldn’t run for more than a few feet. I would look ahead of me and say, “I’ll run to that garbage can.” Sometimes I didn’t even make it to the garbage can. Eventually, it got easier to run without resorting to walking, but running has never gotten easier. It is always a challenge, every morning, every run. That’s why it’s a sport that I can live with the rest of my life. That’s why I enjoy each run. There is something different to conquer each day.
Margaret Cho has a nice little entry talking about the new Dove Ads.
The women in the ads are curvy, beautiful and in their underwear. Magazines have ignored curvy women for so long that these ads have rocked the industry. The entire nation is surprised to see normal women on the magazine covers. They aren’t obese. They aren’t fat. They are trim and fit, but they have some curves and a little junk in their trunk.
Remember, you don’t have to be skinny to be pretty.
Here is a great story about a school district that started serving healthy school lunches back in 1995. The administrators and lunch workers suffered through complaining and even a high school petition wanting the unhealthy food back. Now, they seem like they were ahead of the game.
This article mentions that the first year of the change was the hardest. Many of the children started brown bagging it, but the second year, the numbers grew to levels higher than before the change. Now, 90% of the students eat the school lunch.
Best Quote:
“Ms. Payne cautions that it takes time to convince kids to eat a new item — 10 exposures are usually necessary; and it helps if the cafeteria staff can be enlisted to help ‘sell’ the food with a smile.”
Via: CalorieLab Calorie Counter News – Pioneering healthy school lunches — 10 years ago
I contacted Nutrisoda and asked if they would send me some samples of their new beverages to review for Starling Fitness. They were very polite and sent me a sample pack of all the flavors. Mike and I spent the week tasting the new beverages and seeing if they did what they promised.
Sunday: Slender (pink grapefruit + guava) – I started my week out with the beverage that most attracted my attention. It’s the one that promises that it will make me thin. I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s the worst tasting one of the bunch. Mike didn’t like it and I hated it. I didn’t notice any effect on my appetite after consuming it. Shucks…
Monday: Flex (black cherry + apple) – This drink is supposed to lubricate, repair and restore active joints. It tastes like Shasta Cherry Soda. I can’t taste the apple at all. It’s ok and it doesn’t taste mediciney like some cherry-flavored drinks do.
Tuesday: Focus (mango + peach) – This drink is supposed to sharpen your thinking. It’s the best tasting of the bunch. Mike said it tasted like Squirt. I agree. It tastes more like citrus than peach or mango.
Wednesday: Immune (tangerine + lime) – Tastes like lemon-lime. It’s supposed to build your defenses and keep you healthy, but it just tastes like a very expensive 7-Up.
Thursday: Calm (wild berry + citron) – It tasted pretty good. It didn’t help me stay calm. If this drink did what it says it does, I would gladly pay a dollar a can and gulp it down no matter the taste. Unfortunately, I was still the hyperactive girl that everyone knows, except I had a fizzy drink in me.
Friday: Radiant (pomegranate + blackberry) – It tasted nothing like pomegranate juice, but it really didn’t taste like berries either. Just a fizzy fruity drink that was supposed to make my skin look good. I didn’t notice any glowing, however.
Saturday: Energize (mandarin + mint) – Mike is connoisseur of caffeine drinks. I tasted it and didn’t care for the flavor. Mike said as far as caffeine drinks goes, it’s ok. At least it’s not that medicine-like cherry flavor that Red Bull made so popular. As far as promises go, this is the only drink that delivers with 50 mg of caffeine. But remember: Caffeine doesn’t GIVE you energy, it BORROWS energy.
Each can was 8.4 ounces and cost $1 US apiece. They are infused with herbal ingredients that are supposed to provide the benefits listed on each flavor. Each can has this warning in tiny tiny print. I’ll make it bigger for you:
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. As with all dietary supplements, if you are pregnant or nursing, or taking any medication consult your healthcare professional/physician before using airforce products.
My take on that warning: If I’m not supposed to drink it when I’m pregnant, then I don’t think I’ll drink it.
On the whole, they tasted like the flavored carbonated waters that every grocery store has a version of. Even Dasani and Perrier have jumped into the flavored water game. At a little over eight ounces, they are definitely not worth the price.
Via: Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women – Nutrisoda “intelligent” refreshment
A doctor is under scrutiny because he called a patient obese. Here are the details:
This article doesn’t mention what kind of practice Dr. Terry Bennett runs. If I were in to see him for my yearly checkup, then I could understand if he warned me that my weight might be an issue. If I were seeing him because of allergies or any number of other non-related health concerns, then I would be angry. If I go in to a doctor because I have a sinus infection, I don’t need a lecture on my weight, I need an antibiotic.
I have endured the condescending tone of a doctor before. I am still angry with that man to this day. My Irritable Bowel Syndrome wasn’t caused by my fat. Now that I’m thin, I know this. It wasn’t even my diet. Now that I eat a perfectly healthy diet, I still have stomach issues. Some doctors need a reality check and it sounds like Dr. Terry Bennett is finally getting his.
Calorie Restriction sounds like such a normal thing in the dieting world. Weight Watchers is a calorie restrictive diet that has its eye on other macro-nutrients like fat and fiber. So, when I read this Wired article about The Calorie Restriction Society, which promotes a restrictive calorie diet in order to extend your life, I thought they might be pretty interesting.
On the surface, this website seems to promote healthy eating. They suggest moving your diet to calorie-spare, nutrient-dense foods, like green, leafy vegetables and fruits. They recommend that you choose your proteins wisely. They avoid unhealthy fats in exchange for Omega-3 fats.
If you look at it any closer, however, the program falls apart. They promote restricting your caloric consumption to 75% of what your body needs. This is not just to lose weight, this is for the rest of your life, even after you’ve reached a low BMI. If there are any doubts about whether this diet is healthy, the list of Cautions and Hazards is enough to tell me that this diet isn’t something that is a feasible lifestyle change.
The lists of potential problems are as follows:
They continue to say that this is not a comprehensive list of the side-effects of this diet regimen. Do yourself a favor and just pass this one by. There never has been a long-term human study of these theories, so it is an unproven premise. There is no proof that severe caloric restriction will extend your life. There is ample proof that it will make your life miserable, however.
Weight loss is about changing your lifestyle to a more healthy plan, not a less healthy one.
Caffeine is considered a performance enhancement drug. Did you know that? I didn’t until I looked up all the studies that were registered in the American Journal of Physiology over the last few years. It seems that a lot of money is being spent on finding out exactly how much caffeine an athlete can consume, perform well and still be under the tested caffeine limits.
The reason I started looking up all the research registered in the American Journal of Physiology is because it was mentioned in this article about caffeine and performance:
Caffeine can substatially affect the performance of an athlete. Here are some of the most important quotes that I found from the article.
“A response to caffeine is individual and depends on your body size, metabolism and how much you are used to taking.â€
“It works in small doses and there are no gains in performance by taking larger doses.â€
“Taken in excess, caffeine is known to have unhealthy side- effects. It is addictive and consuming the equivalent of six or more cups of coffee a day has been shown to trigger migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal problems.”
I’ve had a lengthy dance with caffeine. I stopped drinking it because my Weight Watcher leader recommended it and was shocked at how much it affected me. Now, I pretty much treat caffeine like a drug. If I have a headache, I take aspirin. If I’m incredibly tired and need to be alert, I drink a caffeinated beverage. It’s very rare. Considering that taking too much caffeine can get athletes kicked out of events, it sounds like something that should be avoided completely.
A study says that milk and dairy products help people lose weight and the dairy industry touts it like it’s the truth. Another study says that HCA helps people lose weight and the supplement industry fills shelves and food products with HCA. Another study says that partially hydrogenated oil causes stupidity and I throw away all the Oreos in the house.
What can we believe when there are so many studies out there that are sometimes contradictory? This article explains why over half of all research findings are false.
If half of all research findings are false what can we believe? Right now, the best bet is to eat fresh foods and save processed foods for treats. It takes years of repeated studies for the scientists to come to a consensus. Until then, we’ll have to trust our instincts just like the cavemen did, except we have much tastier treats to tempt us.
Via: Boing Boing: Journal article: 50%+ of science journal articles have false conclusions
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