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From Sneaky Sugar Cravings to Speedy Sprinting – How Caffeine Affects Performance, Weight Loss and Mood

May 15, 2012

Photo Credit: Fail Blog You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that diet pills don’t work. If they did, we’d all look like Carmen Electra and spend our nights partying away with the Zantrex dancers. (Not to be confused with the Valtrex dancers – that kind of party is a straight shot to the Jerry Springer Show.) And yet they sell. So who’s buying? We are, apparently. I hate the diet pill ads and yet I’m mesmerized by them. The first time through a mag, I read it for the articles but the second time – I’m all [...]

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Unconventional Ways to Deal With Sore Muscles

May 10, 2012

I am so completely creeped out right now. The ‘stache, the look on his face, the fact that she looks 16. Plus jeans shorts? The mesh tank wasn’t enough of a statement on its own?! Last week found me kicking the laundry basket down the hallway with my foot. No, I’m not making my household chores into sports (although there’s an idea). It’s because my shoulders were too sore to lift the blasted thing. Of course it’s not just me who’s resorted to doing weird workarounds because of soreness. The DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as the reason [...]

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Mud, Fire and Armour: My First Obstacle Race!

May 10, 2012

Notice how I’ve never done a triathlon as an Experiment? Or channel swimming? Or deep sea cave spelunking diving? While I’m really good at pushing myself to try new things, I lean towards trying new things that I think are fun. And also, if you look at my list, things that don’t involve swimming. We’ve gone over why I don’t like to swim. Short story: I can do it. It’s fine. I hate being wet and cold. This reticence may not be a bad thing – I’m sure there is an excellent evolutionary reason that I am mortally afraid of [...]

‘Must-Have’ Fitness Items You Really Don’t Need

May 3, 2012

Totally unrelated to anything but it’s TRUE. If they’d added “playing Word Scramble obsessively” this would be the recap of my weekend. Everywhere you go someone is trying to sell you fancy fitness equipment and the primary tactic they use is that you simply must have it. Something about that word just makes me feel rebellious (or feel like talking in a fake British accent, one or the other). I must have something, must I? I daresay I mustn’t! While there is lots of fitness gear that is fun to have, there are some things that not only aren’t necessary [...]

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Cheribundi and True Lemon Giveaway Winners

April 29, 2012

Just a quick note to let you know that Redhead won the Cheribundi package and Tracy won the True Lemon package from the drinks giveaway! I’ve emailed both winners so send me your deets ladies and I’ll get you hooked up!

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I Eat Beef Fat. And I Like It. [Learning to Love Saturated Fats]

April 26, 2012

Confession #1: Today I stopped and bought my boys t-shirts at a garage sale to wear because I haven’t had time to do laundry for two weeks now and everything they own has been worn twice. (Once right side out and once inside out – for the latter, I just tell everyone they dressed themselves. I don’t add that I told them to dress themselves that way.) I hang my motherly head in shame. But that is nowhere near as shocking as my next confession. If Charlotte-from-10-years-ago knew what I was about to confess, she’d have had me committed then [...]

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What to Eat for Breakfast When You’re Sick of Oatmeal, Part II* [Crap in a Cup!]

April 24, 2012

Mug muffins! Like many trends I am way late on this bandwagon but I’m here to tell you that it’s totally worth jumping on because this stuff is awesome. It may look like crap in a cup but this is one breakfast that is as nutritious as it is tasty. (Note: I did not write “as tasty as it is nutritious” because I am known for eating some pretty foul stuff just because I think it’s good for me. This is not one of those things. It’s genuinely delish.) Plus it only takes 2 minutes to make and cook, is [...]

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Health and Fitness Tips From Old Hollywood Glamour Girls!

April 19, 2012

She’s actually modelling swimsuits in this photo spread but check out Jean Harlow working the cable machine!! (Although I’m not sure what move she’s doing – triceps kickbacks? Lat pull-throughs? Shoulder somethings??) Did you know that Marilyn Monroe was one of the first women to publicly embrace weight lifting? Or that Katharine Hepburn could still walk on her hands at 80 years young? Or that Jean Harlow struggled with yo-yo dieting for her entire career? It turns out that the Grand Dames of Old Hollywood, while they were born with amazing bone structure and talent, still had to work hard [...]

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My (Only Slightly Exaggerated) Near Death Experience With Health Food

April 18, 2012

“Pumpkin!” That was the final word that I needed to win Mrs. Julkunen’s second-grade Fall Festival bingo game. The stakes were high: winning meant not only bragging rights on the playground but also a beautiful package of scented pencils that I lusted over and begged my mom endlessly for quarters so I could buy some out of the vending machines at my school. Cinnamon, bubblegum, even rootbeer! Ineeded those pencils. And Mrs. J just said “pumpkin!” I was the second-grade Bingo Star! Except… except that we were using pinto beans as bingo markers and I’d, um, eaten all my remaining pinto [...]

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Apologies and a Quick Update: I have emerged from the dark tunnel!

April 12, 2012

Huge thanks to Meanliving for tweeting me this pic!! If she were wearing a tutu, it would totally be me. As you probably already know (I think I’ve mentioned it on here elventy times now) I’ve been going through some rough stuff emotionally. There was all the PTSD drama around Christmastime – it was really bad – and I know I promised to explain that breakdown in more detail but now that I’m on the other side of it I think that is a dragon best left sleeping. And then there was my medication screw-up with my anti-depressant which sent [...]