There is a definite difference between when someone is "skinny" or "slim" and when someone is "fit" or "in shape". This is one of the most important aspects of health and weight loss. The common conception on weight loss is that "skinny" is in and that losing weight will dramatically alter someones health for the better. The honest fact is that this is not the correct way to focus on weigh loss.
Looking at how "skinny" someone is does not relate to how healthy they are. For example there can be some people who would be considered average weight who eat unhealthy, don't sleep, drink and smoke(otherwise have an unhealthy lifestyle) and be considered healthy because they appear to be healthy. Where as a slightly chubbier person can be be considered unhealthy even though he/she eats nutritiously works out regularly drinks only in moderation and does not smoke. The slightly chubbier person may not be considered as healthy as the skinnier one even though they will most likely have a longer lifespan and less health problems due to their lifestyle choices.
People can easily buy weight loss and in the modern world the view of attractive is starting to get skinnier and skinnier. There are hundreds of "miracle drugs" on the market that promise instant weight loss. Shows like "Dr. 90210" display that some will even get cosmetic surgery and liposuction in order to have their dream physique.
Calling someone healthy just because they have a slender physique is a mistake. The focus in diet and exercise programs shouldn't be just to lose weight, but should be to become healthier. For this reason the BMI is horribly wrong. For example, take a 6 foot tale male who lifts weights regularly and plays rugby or football thus has a large amount of muscle. Say he is about 200lbs, mostly muscle. Well according to the BMI he is overweight. Thus according to the BMI he is at an unhealthy weight and will face serious health risks. However this particular person is in excellent shape. This is where the BMI fails. IT fails to account for muscle or body type when showing someones weight. There are plenty of people who would be considered overweight or underweight due to the BMI but who are actually in perfect physical condition.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Milk: An Athlete's Dream
Fat Free milk is often forgot about in most diets but can be a great source for any person interested in weight loss and having toned muscles. Not only is it rich in calcium did you know that 1 cup of milk has about 8.7 grams of protein. Also diary is a natural fat burner and triggers the most stubborn fat(that around the midsection).
There is a popular add campaign brought about from "Got Milk" called "milk your diet" where sources claim that 27 oz of milk a day could help you lose weight as opposed to the the recommended 8 oz a day. Milk has so much protein that it is no guess why it is a dieters favorite.
Milk also is great for rebuilding muscles after exercise which makes it a great post-exercise drink. For additional details on this study see "Got Milk?" .
There is a popular add campaign brought about from "Got Milk" called "milk your diet" where sources claim that 27 oz of milk a day could help you lose weight as opposed to the the recommended 8 oz a day. Milk has so much protein that it is no guess why it is a dieters favorite.
Milk also is great for rebuilding muscles after exercise which makes it a great post-exercise drink. For additional details on this study see "Got Milk?" .
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Are you getting enough protein?
With all of the recent hype about High Protein diets there doesn't seem to be a source that directly states how much protein a person in supposed to consume in a day. Ask any athlete and they will tell you that protein is one of the most important things you can have in your diet to improve performance and feel better.Not getting enough protein can be dangerous for muscular development but without acknowledge of what "enough" some dieters may become lost confused and may, even if they are on a high protein low calorie diet, be not getting the right amount of protein.
According to Wikipedia a non-athlete should be getting .8-1 gram of protein for every 1kg of body mass. That means a 140 lb person should be taking in 63grams of protein. That is a lot of protein! Elite endurance athletes (marathon runners and triathletes) and athletes who benefit from increased muscle mass (football players and rugby forwards) need up to 1.6 grams of protein or every 1kg of muscle mass. Some sources even recommend from 1.1-1.4 grams of protein for some athletes.
Not having enough protein could cause decreased muscle mass, decreased energy and thus is very harmful for athletes and non athletes alike.
So take the challenge, figure out how much protein you are having in a day. Is it enough? Chances are it won't be.
According to Wikipedia a non-athlete should be getting .8-1 gram of protein for every 1kg of body mass. That means a 140 lb person should be taking in 63grams of protein. That is a lot of protein! Elite endurance athletes (marathon runners and triathletes) and athletes who benefit from increased muscle mass (football players and rugby forwards) need up to 1.6 grams of protein or every 1kg of muscle mass. Some sources even recommend from 1.1-1.4 grams of protein for some athletes.
Not having enough protein could cause decreased muscle mass, decreased energy and thus is very harmful for athletes and non athletes alike.
So take the challenge, figure out how much protein you are having in a day. Is it enough? Chances are it won't be.
Kickboxing
If you have never tried kickboxing before i recommend that you do. Yesterday rugby practice was cancelled and so still on my mission to lose 30 lbs by September 1st i decided to go to the gym. There i thought i would try something different and take the kickboxing class. It was later in the day than I usually like taking classes but i thought it always sounded interesting.
It was awesome. I really enjoyed the class. We spent a lot of time doing jumping jacks and i wish we had more time kicking but it was so much time. I love using rugby as a way of getting out pent up frustration and kickboxing is the next best thing. It is a great core exercise and really works arms and legs. A full body workout that is a lot of fun. You don't even realize you are working out!
Kickboxing or any self defense class is great for any woman who lives in a city. It not only boosts confidence but also teaches self defence. Living alone in a city can be scary at times, especially walking home at night. This is why I recommend to everyone and especially people who feel like they are victims to take a self defense class. It doesn't have to be kickboxing, however if you want a great workout then kickboxing is right for you.
It was awesome. I really enjoyed the class. We spent a lot of time doing jumping jacks and i wish we had more time kicking but it was so much time. I love using rugby as a way of getting out pent up frustration and kickboxing is the next best thing. It is a great core exercise and really works arms and legs. A full body workout that is a lot of fun. You don't even realize you are working out!
Kickboxing or any self defense class is great for any woman who lives in a city. It not only boosts confidence but also teaches self defence. Living alone in a city can be scary at times, especially walking home at night. This is why I recommend to everyone and especially people who feel like they are victims to take a self defense class. It doesn't have to be kickboxing, however if you want a great workout then kickboxing is right for you.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Superfood of the day: Dark Chocolate
It is every chocolate lover' s dream to be able to lose weight and eat their chocolate cake too. Well according to WebMD, and other sources, Dark Chocolate is actually a superfood.
Rick in antioxidants, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure. However, the trick is to choose the right type of chocolate. I personally am a fan of milk chocolate, and love brownies. Nonetheless, for health benefits the darker the better, chocolate with 60% cocoa content or more is best for ones health. It is even lower in fats and sugars, which makes it healthier than milk chocolate.
Next time you have a chocolate craving, skip the snickers and go for high cocoa content dark chocolate. It tastes delicious and is good for you too!
Rick in antioxidants, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure. However, the trick is to choose the right type of chocolate. I personally am a fan of milk chocolate, and love brownies. Nonetheless, for health benefits the darker the better, chocolate with 60% cocoa content or more is best for ones health. It is even lower in fats and sugars, which makes it healthier than milk chocolate.
Next time you have a chocolate craving, skip the snickers and go for high cocoa content dark chocolate. It tastes delicious and is good for you too!
Superfood and Fad Diets
Lately I came across a new diet trend which I found really inspirational. Many people eat healthy food to lose weight, and actually that is the bad rep that a lot of healthier choices for foods get. People loot at a box of fiber rich cereal and think "gross, that is healthy it must be disgusting" or "i am skinny enough i can eat apple jacks instead". What some people don't realize, myself included, is that foods are not just calories and fats. Real foods contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which all have dramatic effects on ones life.
Imagine dramatically changing your life, how you look and how you feel without taking a drug or a pill but simple by changing your eating habits. The switch is simple and the effects are real all one has to do is eat healthier. The problem with most fad diets is that they focus on changing one thing. Some focus on cutting carbs(aka Atkins and in some cases South Beach) some focus on cutting calories (aka Bally Total fitness or Jenny Craig) some focus on cutting fats, but all limit your intake of certain foods which could have a bad effect on ones health.
Yes, losing weight is good for your health, in most cases However, eliminating one food group is also harmful to your health. By eliminating all carbs you can cause yourself to be more hungry overall and thus eat more, or eat foods that don't have carbs but are also unhealthy. The secret to real weight loss is superfoods.
Superfoods are foods that are high in nutrients (higher than most other health foods) and antioxidants to help clear your skin, maintain focus, lower cholesterol, and fight diseases. Switching to a diet high in super foods can have a dramatic and positive effect on ones mood, appearance and outlook on life.
Imagine dramatically changing your life, how you look and how you feel without taking a drug or a pill but simple by changing your eating habits. The switch is simple and the effects are real all one has to do is eat healthier. The problem with most fad diets is that they focus on changing one thing. Some focus on cutting carbs(aka Atkins and in some cases South Beach) some focus on cutting calories (aka Bally Total fitness or Jenny Craig) some focus on cutting fats, but all limit your intake of certain foods which could have a bad effect on ones health.
Yes, losing weight is good for your health, in most cases However, eliminating one food group is also harmful to your health. By eliminating all carbs you can cause yourself to be more hungry overall and thus eat more, or eat foods that don't have carbs but are also unhealthy. The secret to real weight loss is superfoods.
Superfoods are foods that are high in nutrients (higher than most other health foods) and antioxidants to help clear your skin, maintain focus, lower cholesterol, and fight diseases. Switching to a diet high in super foods can have a dramatic and positive effect on ones mood, appearance and outlook on life.
Friday, July 20, 2007
The slip up
I started to slip on my summer diet. Yesterday I had a brownie which put me 300 calories above my recommended amount. Feeling rather sad about the fact that I gave in and ate a brownie I decided to watch The Biggest Loser for motivation and inspiration.
My favorite way of motivating myself to lose weight it to watch the television shows about people who are on a mission to lose weight: i.e. Celebrity Fit club and the Biggest looser. The "players" act like they went through a complete transformation, and to see them step on a scale which says they lost 82lbs(as one man did today on the final episode of Biggest Loser) is facinating. That man lost the weight of an entire person.
While watching The Biggest Loser one of the personal trainers said to a woman on the show "sometimes you go through lags and setbacks as you go through setbacks in life, it is how you get over them". That is what made me realize that it is OK that I ate that brownie and super foods shake, as long as I keep pushing.
The most important thing rugby has taught me is to never give up, even when you are losing horrible. It is OK if you lose as long as you learn from the experience.
My favorite way of motivating myself to lose weight it to watch the television shows about people who are on a mission to lose weight: i.e. Celebrity Fit club and the Biggest looser. The "players" act like they went through a complete transformation, and to see them step on a scale which says they lost 82lbs(as one man did today on the final episode of Biggest Loser) is facinating. That man lost the weight of an entire person.
While watching The Biggest Loser one of the personal trainers said to a woman on the show "sometimes you go through lags and setbacks as you go through setbacks in life, it is how you get over them". That is what made me realize that it is OK that I ate that brownie and super foods shake, as long as I keep pushing.
The most important thing rugby has taught me is to never give up, even when you are losing horrible. It is OK if you lose as long as you learn from the experience.
The gameplan
The week and a half before school starts this year is going to be one of the oddest weeks of my life.
After going home the week before, I plan on arriving back to my apartment in center city on the 23rd. From the 23 of august to the 30th I will be working out,eating nothing but vegetables and milk, and illegally moving my belonging from my apartment in the city to my dorm room in suburbia. This would not be illegal had it not been that the school will not let all upperclassmen move into the dorms until the Saturday before school starts. However, this weekend I will not be in the same side of the country as my dorm or my apartment.
On the 30th I am meeting my sister and her boyfriend at the airport when they are at their layover and then the three of us are getting onto a plane to Arizona. Once we arrive in Arizona it is time to unpack and have dinner with the family before I fall over and fall asleep. On the 31st there is first breakfast with the family, then first rehearsal at a church(all in Spanish), then rehearsal lunch, followed by the rehearsal with the rabbi at the site of the second ceremony, and then ending with dinner and collapsing by the pool. Saturday is the wedding. Sunday I get on a plane and fly back to school where I will unpack my stuff and get ready for the first day of classes on Monday.
After going home the week before, I plan on arriving back to my apartment in center city on the 23rd. From the 23 of august to the 30th I will be working out,eating nothing but vegetables and milk, and illegally moving my belonging from my apartment in the city to my dorm room in suburbia. This would not be illegal had it not been that the school will not let all upperclassmen move into the dorms until the Saturday before school starts. However, this weekend I will not be in the same side of the country as my dorm or my apartment.
On the 30th I am meeting my sister and her boyfriend at the airport when they are at their layover and then the three of us are getting onto a plane to Arizona. Once we arrive in Arizona it is time to unpack and have dinner with the family before I fall over and fall asleep. On the 31st there is first breakfast with the family, then first rehearsal at a church(all in Spanish), then rehearsal lunch, followed by the rehearsal with the rabbi at the site of the second ceremony, and then ending with dinner and collapsing by the pool. Saturday is the wedding. Sunday I get on a plane and fly back to school where I will unpack my stuff and get ready for the first day of classes on Monday.
The End of Summer 7s
So this summer I decided that in order to be less of an idiot on the field I wold play rugby with club team. A few of the girls on my team were planning on joining a club called PW and thinking like it would be a great way to meet new people and learn more about rugby I joined too. I thought that we would have our own side of sevens made up of people from my school team, however after a few unexplainable injuries and lack of insurance only Kendra and I remained.
I had a wonderful time this summer with the PW team. It has been a great learning experience which I value greatly. I also have heard a number of funny stories and witnessed some pretty spectacular rugby.
This weekend is the last sevens game for the summer. It is the championships and I hate to say it but I feel like it is the end of an era. I had a great time this summer and i am sad to see sevens go. Not that I won't be continuing to play rugby during the year and even play touch for the rest of the summer. I just am going to miss the sevens tournaments.
I just wanted to say thanks, PW for an awesome summer!
I had a wonderful time this summer with the PW team. It has been a great learning experience which I value greatly. I also have heard a number of funny stories and witnessed some pretty spectacular rugby.
This weekend is the last sevens game for the summer. It is the championships and I hate to say it but I feel like it is the end of an era. I had a great time this summer and i am sad to see sevens go. Not that I won't be continuing to play rugby during the year and even play touch for the rest of the summer. I just am going to miss the sevens tournaments.
I just wanted to say thanks, PW for an awesome summer!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Team Handball!
I recently became aware of a sort that i never knew existed: team handball. Team Handball which is a relatively new sport takes combines, basketball, sevens rugby, and soccer all in one indoor game. It reminded me of a bunch of kids stuck indoors wanting to play basketball but all they didn't have baskets, they and soccer nets, and they had a volleyball so they decided to play soccer with but use their hands. I didn't believe that it was real at first, and was shocked to read that it is even an Olympic sport!
For any athlete who has played either soccer or basketball or rugby watching handball can be rather amusing. Because it violates the rules of all of the other sports and makes one sport that seems relatively dangerous. Lets just say this rugger has found a new winter sport.
Interested in more about team handball? It's on you tube and wikapedia!
For any athlete who has played either soccer or basketball or rugby watching handball can be rather amusing. Because it violates the rules of all of the other sports and makes one sport that seems relatively dangerous. Lets just say this rugger has found a new winter sport.
Interested in more about team handball? It's on you tube and wikapedia!
How I almost became a shotgirl
In the beginning of this summer I decided that working just one job would not be the most wise use of my time. I am used to the mounds of homework that comes with college and being a student athlete so the thought of down time seemed odd to me. Sure I could study for the LSATs which I wouldn't take for at least another year, but instead I decided that a second job was a wonderful choice.
I then decided that my second job should be nothing like my internship and because the only time I had available was at night my options became limited. I then decided that I would make a wonderful waitress or bartender. However there was a problem, I wasn't trained to be a bartender and had no experience with ether. Finding a job in Philadelphia that would hire me with no experience became an adventure. I applied to every waitress or bar tending position on creigslist when I finally received an e-mail from a bar.
Excited for my first interview I skipped lunch and left my internship early to hop on the train to north Philadelphia. I noticed when I got off the train that I wasn't in the nicest are of Philadelphia, somewhere you would not want to be at night.
When I got to the bar it felt like i just walked into Coyote Ugly just with more floorspace. I filled out my information the manager came over and commented on the picture I sent them. He then said that i would be a "shot girl" which is their equivalent to a bartender. He said that they were a "laid back place" and "encourage shot girls to drink and be friendly". When I told him I was not yet 21 he said that that didn't matter as long as I was "friendly". The first question he asked me was "if we asked you to dance on top of a table would you". I then decided that this job was most definitely not for me.
I then decided that my second job should be nothing like my internship and because the only time I had available was at night my options became limited. I then decided that I would make a wonderful waitress or bartender. However there was a problem, I wasn't trained to be a bartender and had no experience with ether. Finding a job in Philadelphia that would hire me with no experience became an adventure. I applied to every waitress or bar tending position on creigslist when I finally received an e-mail from a bar.
Excited for my first interview I skipped lunch and left my internship early to hop on the train to north Philadelphia. I noticed when I got off the train that I wasn't in the nicest are of Philadelphia, somewhere you would not want to be at night.
When I got to the bar it felt like i just walked into Coyote Ugly just with more floorspace. I filled out my information the manager came over and commented on the picture I sent them. He then said that i would be a "shot girl" which is their equivalent to a bartender. He said that they were a "laid back place" and "encourage shot girls to drink and be friendly". When I told him I was not yet 21 he said that that didn't matter as long as I was "friendly". The first question he asked me was "if we asked you to dance on top of a table would you". I then decided that this job was most definitely not for me.
Yoga and Awesomeness
According to a recent study from UPenn 30 min a day of meditation can help improve school and work performance by improving one's ability to concentrate and focus. I totally agree with this study. Meditation and yoga is one of my favorite things. I have used yoga to get rid of chronic back pain and to gain focus. My recommendation to any student or anyone who is stressed is to take 30 min a day and sit and do light yoga. Just 30 min and you will feel more relaxed and better able to accomplish the tasks in front of you.
ice cream diet
Every good diet starts with not depriving yourself of anything.
One of my favorite diets is where the dieter can eat anything they want just in portion controlled sizes. Apparently when you crave something then you body is actually craving the nutrients that that one thing has or the effect it produces. For example, when you crave ice cream you either want the ice cream because your body is low on calcium(milk could do that trick) or want a creamy summer trick. Thus as long as you keep all portion sizes down you are still perfectly capable of losing weight, AND eating whatever you want.
It is a win win situation.
One of my favorite diets is where the dieter can eat anything they want just in portion controlled sizes. Apparently when you crave something then you body is actually craving the nutrients that that one thing has or the effect it produces. For example, when you crave ice cream you either want the ice cream because your body is low on calcium(milk could do that trick) or want a creamy summer trick. Thus as long as you keep all portion sizes down you are still perfectly capable of losing weight, AND eating whatever you want.
It is a win win situation.
Kick your water up a knoch
I drink a lot of water, and when you get used to it sometimes water can become a little too bland. My favorite thing to do to keep water interesting is to make lemon, orange, or cucumber water. Adding slices of fruit to water is an easily and calorie free way of sprucing up you water.
Want to feel relaxed and refreshed? Try adding a few slices of cucumber and lemon to your water for a cool realizing water which is great for an "at home" spa day. The cucumber adds nutrients to your water so it is like having an sports drink without all of the extra sodium or sugar! This makes it perfect for a warm summer day.
Want to feel relaxed and refreshed? Try adding a few slices of cucumber and lemon to your water for a cool realizing water which is great for an "at home" spa day. The cucumber adds nutrients to your water so it is like having an sports drink without all of the extra sodium or sugar! This makes it perfect for a warm summer day.
Water: the Miracle drug
Water is every athletes secret weapon and every dieters best friend. One of the most dangerous thing s to be is dehydrated. Not getting enough water will cause you to be sluggish, dizzy, disoriented, and tired. In athletics dehydration is one of the worst things that can happen, often times when athletes performance starts to suffer it is really dehydration that is kicking in not lack of physical fitness or athletic ability. Simply drinking the proper amount of water cam greatly improve total game performance.
Most people don't realize it but because some of the effects of dehydration are mild one can easily get accommodated to them. It is easy to become dehydrated and not even notice, especially because the amount of water necessary for proper hydration is larger than one would expect.
The amount of water an average person should have is half their body weight in oz of water, so if you are 150lbs you should be having at least 75oz of water a day to keep proper hydration. If you are an athlete, walk often, work a job that involves a lot of movement or work in a heated or air conditioned building you should have 2/3 of your bod weight in water. Then a 150 lb athlete should be drinking 100 oz of water a day!
Did you know that often times when you think you are hungry you are really thirsty? This is your body's way of telling you that you need more water, however is often misinterpreted being hungry. The tip every dieter should do is drink more water. Every time you think you are getting hungry drink 8oz of water then wait 15 minutes. If you are still hungry then eat something, but most of the time you would be surprised to see that you were really only thirsty.
Pay attention to the amount of water you drink every day, I guarantee that if you drink the proper amount of water you will be more focused, have greater energy and feel better.
Most people don't realize it but because some of the effects of dehydration are mild one can easily get accommodated to them. It is easy to become dehydrated and not even notice, especially because the amount of water necessary for proper hydration is larger than one would expect.
The amount of water an average person should have is half their body weight in oz of water, so if you are 150lbs you should be having at least 75oz of water a day to keep proper hydration. If you are an athlete, walk often, work a job that involves a lot of movement or work in a heated or air conditioned building you should have 2/3 of your bod weight in water. Then a 150 lb athlete should be drinking 100 oz of water a day!
Did you know that often times when you think you are hungry you are really thirsty? This is your body's way of telling you that you need more water, however is often misinterpreted being hungry. The tip every dieter should do is drink more water. Every time you think you are getting hungry drink 8oz of water then wait 15 minutes. If you are still hungry then eat something, but most of the time you would be surprised to see that you were really only thirsty.
Pay attention to the amount of water you drink every day, I guarantee that if you drink the proper amount of water you will be more focused, have greater energy and feel better.
Delicious food for those on the go
Every Tuesday and Thursday I find myself in a pickle. I don't have very much time to eat between work and practice and yet would find myself starving. On my quest to lose weight for the wedding and to save money I turn down fast food for an even better option: easy food i can make at home with very little time. I tend to go for fruits and raw vegetables but sometimes I am in such a hurry and really want the taste of a delicious home cooked meal. This is when i discovered lean cuisine.
Lean Cuisine makes a variety of different microwavable options with lower calorie levels and no preservatives. It is wonderful when you are a calorie counter like me and yet want the comfort of a warm home cooked meal without the annoyance of buying the ingredients and actually cooking it. It even tastes restaurant quality but is less expensive! I personally love the glazed chicken and wasn't a fan of the chicken enchilada but had overall good results. I especially liked how the calories in each box are low so you can eat delicious warm food and keep a low calorie diet.
One of my favorite tips for anyone who eats microwavable meals is to make sure you eat them on a plate. Eating these meals on a plate gives it a meal-like quality, which is great for full food enjoyment!
Lean Cuisine makes a variety of different microwavable options with lower calorie levels and no preservatives. It is wonderful when you are a calorie counter like me and yet want the comfort of a warm home cooked meal without the annoyance of buying the ingredients and actually cooking it. It even tastes restaurant quality but is less expensive! I personally love the glazed chicken and wasn't a fan of the chicken enchilada but had overall good results. I especially liked how the calories in each box are low so you can eat delicious warm food and keep a low calorie diet.
One of my favorite tips for anyone who eats microwavable meals is to make sure you eat them on a plate. Eating these meals on a plate gives it a meal-like quality, which is great for full food enjoyment!
Rasberry Salad
Here is a recepie for a delicious salad which is low in calories and high in deliciousness. It is a wonderful colorful summer salad that brings back memories of summers in the country and relaxed days. The sweetness of the rasberries with the feta makes a wonderful combination.
(serves one)
2 cups of spring greens
10 rasberries
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 cup cucumbers
rasberry vinigarette
mix together and serve(you can even garnish with a piec of mint, however the salad is colorful enough to not need it.
If yo don't want to use rasberry vinigarette you can easilly mix together olive oil and red wine vinigar in a cup(it should be 60% vinigar and 40% oilive oil) and add two pinches of sugar or splenda to make the dressing sweeter. This also makes a delicious dressing and is cheeper then rasberry vinigarette and just as delicious.
Enjoy!
(serves one)
2 cups of spring greens
10 rasberries
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 cup cucumbers
rasberry vinigarette
mix together and serve(you can even garnish with a piec of mint, however the salad is colorful enough to not need it.
If yo don't want to use rasberry vinigarette you can easilly mix together olive oil and red wine vinigar in a cup(it should be 60% vinigar and 40% oilive oil) and add two pinches of sugar or splenda to make the dressing sweeter. This also makes a delicious dressing and is cheeper then rasberry vinigarette and just as delicious.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Coconut Deoterant
So i have an intense love of all things coconut. I have coconut soap, coconut body butter and coconut room spray. I eat coconut sorbet and drink coconut milkshake, i basically have a coconut obsession. When I heard that Lush(my new favorate bath store) makes coconut deoterant i was stunned. Coconut deotarant! Who knew?
One more item to take my love of coconut to the next level.
One more item to take my love of coconut to the next level.
Getting to the gym
About two months ago I joined Bally Total Fittness, which has definatly changed my perception on dieting and weightloss.
I recently read the book The Obesity Myth (or The Diet Myth in softcover), which basically says that the fear that all americans are overweight is actually a manufactured socal problem. There is a lot more to this book which goes behind the science and politics of Obesity as a social problem, and I highly recomend it, however one of the most interesting things about the book was that it said that we like to use dieting as a way of control.
I started the summer with a goal to lose weight, and I have used the gym to accomplish that goal, but the minute I set foot in the gym on onto the gym's website I was bombarded with advertisements that told me the same thing : I am fat and thus unhappy, the only way I can be happy is if become skinny and the gym is the way to do this. Sure working out and dieting is a great way to lose weight, it is actually the best and only plan, however is guilt the best way to get people to the gym.
In the begining I fealt like Ballys was my abusive boyfriend. It told me I was fat, that I needed to lose weight and that only they could help me. It gave me recepies and told me what to eat when to eat and how much. Told me when to work out and that the only way for me to be beautiful was if I worked out.
I beleive in working out and healthy living, however I think that guilt triping people that they will be miserable if they do not work out is not the way to go. Nonetheless I kept goign to the gym, and have lost a rediculous amount of weight this summer. Is scarring peopel to the gym the best way to get them there?
I recently read the book The Obesity Myth (or The Diet Myth in softcover), which basically says that the fear that all americans are overweight is actually a manufactured socal problem. There is a lot more to this book which goes behind the science and politics of Obesity as a social problem, and I highly recomend it, however one of the most interesting things about the book was that it said that we like to use dieting as a way of control.
I started the summer with a goal to lose weight, and I have used the gym to accomplish that goal, but the minute I set foot in the gym on onto the gym's website I was bombarded with advertisements that told me the same thing : I am fat and thus unhappy, the only way I can be happy is if become skinny and the gym is the way to do this. Sure working out and dieting is a great way to lose weight, it is actually the best and only plan, however is guilt the best way to get people to the gym.
In the begining I fealt like Ballys was my abusive boyfriend. It told me I was fat, that I needed to lose weight and that only they could help me. It gave me recepies and told me what to eat when to eat and how much. Told me when to work out and that the only way for me to be beautiful was if I worked out.
I beleive in working out and healthy living, however I think that guilt triping people that they will be miserable if they do not work out is not the way to go. Nonetheless I kept goign to the gym, and have lost a rediculous amount of weight this summer. Is scarring peopel to the gym the best way to get them there?
Fitting into a Dress: Part 1
The moment I looked at the dress on the hanger I knew something had gone wrong.
For my brother's wedding, his fiance picked out what she believed were the perfect bridesmaid dresses. They were the color of wine and would fit to show off all of the bridesmaid's curves. Unfortunately the company who had made the dress had stopped making that model so all of her many bridesmaids had to rush to the store and order one before they were sold out. This was one year ago.
Unable to get to a store sent my sister to go buy the dress. She was roughly my size and height and was able to drive to a store(I didn't have my car at the time). She picked out the dress and bought it in a size 8, thinking that in one year we would be perfectly set to wear it. Unfortunately for both of us something had gone amiss. The dress store had not sent us a size 8 but actually two size sizes, which meant that it was really a size four. To my misfortune I had also gained about 20 lbs in the last year, and the dress, which was already small when I was skinny, is now way to small.
This is where the adventure starts: in the course of three months I have been on a journey to go to a size 4 from a size 10. Impossible, maybe, but I call it an adventure.
For my brother's wedding, his fiance picked out what she believed were the perfect bridesmaid dresses. They were the color of wine and would fit to show off all of the bridesmaid's curves. Unfortunately the company who had made the dress had stopped making that model so all of her many bridesmaids had to rush to the store and order one before they were sold out. This was one year ago.
Unable to get to a store sent my sister to go buy the dress. She was roughly my size and height and was able to drive to a store(I didn't have my car at the time). She picked out the dress and bought it in a size 8, thinking that in one year we would be perfectly set to wear it. Unfortunately for both of us something had gone amiss. The dress store had not sent us a size 8 but actually two size sizes, which meant that it was really a size four. To my misfortune I had also gained about 20 lbs in the last year, and the dress, which was already small when I was skinny, is now way to small.
This is where the adventure starts: in the course of three months I have been on a journey to go to a size 4 from a size 10. Impossible, maybe, but I call it an adventure.
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