May 2009

The Ghosts of Diets Past (Strong Vomit Advisory)

May 29, 2009

Nothing says SPECTACULAR! like a tower of processed pork products! Mine was a product-centered childhood. Not from any failure on my parents’ part but rather because I was one of the first generations to grow up with a television and TV ads specifically aimed at children. Therefore I have many fond memories of various ’80s paraphernalia: My Little Ponies and Rainbow Bright (side note: Turbo Jennie wore Rainbow Bright shoes to Hip Hop the other day and 20 years later I still almost died of envy.) were my faves but I also have strong feelings about plastic t-shirt clips, fluffy [...]

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What Eating Local Really Means

May 28, 2009

One of these things is not like the other… Anna Wintour – Vogue magazine’s editrix-in-chief – made headlines earlier this month in an interview where she said, “I’d just been on a trip to Minnesota, where I can only kindly describe most of the people I saw as little houses.” In an bit of irony that says God loves Vogue as much as I do, Minneapolis/St. Paul was just named the second healthiest city in the nation, after Washington D.C. All jokes about The Devil Wears Cornbread aside, Ms. Wintour brings up an interesting point: the variability of food cultures, [...]

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New Diet Claims Snacks Make You Fat

May 27, 2009

One onerous cross-county trip, somewhere around mile Nebraska, my husband invented a fun little car game. Turning to me with a straight face he said, “Plastic: pro or con?” “Excuse me?” I said and threw some rice cakes behind me, hoping they’d land somewhere in the vicinity of the kids. “Plastic. Are you for it or against it?” replied the high school debate geek. “You mean like credit cards?” One of the rice cakes came flying back at my head. Note to self: baby does not like rice cakes. “Whatever. Just plastic.” “How can anyone be against plastic?” I said, [...]

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Is Online Personal Training Right For You? (Plus Giveaway!)

May 26, 2009

The efficacy of personal training can be distilled down to one factor: the person in the “personal” trainer. This was the downfall of April’s Great Fitness Experiment wherein I tried out Women’s Health Magazine’s online personal trainer. The problem was that other than me, there were no actual people involved and their computer wasn’t any better at “training” me than their magazine articles are. (I’m still waiting for the trained monkey option.) After that experiment however, I got several e-mails pointing out that I had lambasted the whole online personal training industry unfairly. And while there are many sites run [...]

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The Kitchen Workout

May 25, 2009

Today being a holiday in the States, I’m off picnicking with the family (read: pulling ticks out of the wee ones and screaming at the baby to not throw himself in the lake). But seeing as a lot of gyms are closed to today or if you’re just feeling in the mood for a saucy (you’ll get the pun in a minute) workout, I got your back. Enjoy G.E.’s – yes the refrigerator people – “Strong as Steel” workout:E-mail subscribers and feed readers, click through to see the video. My fave part? Keep your eye out for the woman getting [...]

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Bodily Functions & Fitness 101: Gaseous Emissions

May 21, 2009

I did yoga this morning. Per usual, it was a sweaty-yet-relaxing good time and I enjoyed myself immensely (fave part: the stares when I did my headstand inversion, pregnant belly and all). But there was one part at the end that got a little awkward. It’s called Happy Baby Pose:It ought to be called Embarrassing Baby Pose. Don’t know why? Try it. Just do it. I don’t care if you’re at work. Just tell your boss it’s an experiment for science. Still don’t get it? Pull down on your feet a bit harder and… ahhh. There you go. Hint: it’s [...]

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The Problem With Being a People Pleaser

May 21, 2009

This would also be good reason for a freak-out. And now for an interruption in our regularly scheduled programming (I owe you a dissertation on poo, I know.) The following is an announcement from the Emergency Charlotte Broadcast System. This is not a test. I repeat, this is not a test. (And it’s not a Thursday re-run today either.) So I had my first official meltdown of this pregnancy today. Truth to be told I’ve been building up to it for a while now. A lot of you in the past have asked me how a girl with an eating [...]

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Bodily Functions & Fitness 101: Pee

May 20, 2009

“Just saw the CrossFit WOD (workout of the day). I’m not even at the gym yet and I already have the nervous pee.” When I read this Facebook status update from Reader Amber, I laughed so hard I had to, well, you know. So class, for part two of my Bodily Functions & Fitness series today we will be discussing number 1. And no I’m not giving you an M&M for every time you go. Urine1. The nervous pee – my personal favorite – is that almost uncontrollable urge to go that always happens in the five seconds before public [...]

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Bodily Functions & Fitness 101: Sweat

May 19, 2009

Peeing and pooping, already discussed on this site with alarming frequency, are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the ways your body can betray you during exercise. It matters not whether you exercise indoors or out, in a gym setting or just with a friend, or if you are a die-hard or a fitness newbie; bodily functions happen to us all. That’s just what happens when your kidneys, sweat glands, gastrointestinal system and other body parts are working as they should. So today, I’m going to give you a Fitness Primer in all things icky. [...]

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Walking Barefoot: Fun Fitness Trend or Scientific Practical Joke?

May 18, 2009

Now, if I’d only had these babies… Like many of my ideas gone awry, it seemed like a good plan at the time. First, it involved walking on a beautiful day and that alone can mitigate many a bad consequence. Second, walking is a time honored bipedal tradition – and one I’m learning to embrace more fully as a legitimate fitness method (Charlotte to Brain: “It is TOO a workout! Shut UP!!”). And lastly, many fitness experts backed up by current research extol the salutary effects of walking. You know I’m a sucker for anything involving research and experts. Besides, [...]

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