Want a new way to MAKE yourself workout?

Hi loyal readers,

This is your apparently non-loyal author touching base. I hope you've missed me--I've missed you too.

So this thing called "life" happens sometimes (especially during the summer), and unfortunately, blogging was the thing sent to the back burner.

Now I am back with a great new app to tell you about: GymPact


It's pretty awesome. Here's why...

Basically, you make this pact with yourself that you are going to workout a certain number of days a week. If you don't hit those days, you have to pay whatever amount you agree to. If you do hit those days, you get paid. For example, I agree to workout two times in one week. If I workout two or more times, I get paid. If I workout zero or one time, I pay $5 for each missed workout. 

It's genius--you are good, you get money; you are bad; you lose money.

As far as working out goes, you can't fake it. You either have to:

• Check-in at a gym (includes yoga studies, climbing gyms, etc.) and stay there for at least 30 minutes (uses GPS to track this.)
• Use Runkeeper to track your activity outside by running, walking, or biking at least 30 minutes above 2 mph (also uses GPS to track this.)
• Use the brother app for at-home workouts (I haven't used this yet, but I will likely be using it in the winter.)

Anyway, try it out. It really makes you accountable and doesn't cost a cent unless you don't make your goal. To make it better, you get paid if you make your goal! Moneyzzzzz!

Oh and don't worry about vacations. All you have to do is go into your settings and "schedule a break". It brings a calendar up and you can tell the app when you will be on a hiatus from working out due to vacations or illness or emergencies...whatever. It then puts your account on hold until you get back/better/whatever.

Go make you GymPact soon!

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day...also known as the day we all go to cookouts and watch fireworks.

As much fun as cookouts are, they're dangerous for us health-conscious folks. Here are a few tips from my brain to yours to stay healthy and safe today:

1. Drink lots of water: This will not only hydrate you but also fill your belly making you feel more full.
2. Stay away from the breads: It's very rare that a cookout has whole wheat buns for burgers and hot dogs. Just eat your meat without the bun! Think about it, you can taste the meat better without the bun.
3. Focus on the fruit and veggie table: Load your plate half full with fruit and veggies first. ESPECIALLY WATERMELON. Watermelon is awesome because it's not only low in calories, but it also helps to keep you hydrated. Two birds with one stone is what they say, right? (whoever "they" is).
4. Go with the light beer choice. Do I really have to explain this one?
5. Stay away from fruity cocktails: These guys tend to be pretty high in sugar-->calories. Just think about it.
6. Put on sunscreen. Somehow, mother nature decided to be nice today (well for my area at least). The sun is awesome, but lather up in sunscreen to protect your skin.

Hope these tips help today.

Yay!

What to look for on the package--nutrition facts

I often get questions related to Nutrition Facts on food packaging. 

What should I look for? 
What should I avoid? 
What should I limit? 

The Mayo Clinic has a great explanation of this. When you access the page, hover over the nutrition label for a few little extras/hints.

When looking at nutrition facts, use the Percent Daily Values section as a guide. Now if you are anything like me, a 2000-calorie diet would result in a rapid increase on the scale--blame it on our bad metabolisms. Just adjust what is listed in that section slightly to compensate for your average caloric intake.

I can't tell you 1 specific thing to look for--they are all important. But here are a few things I do when perusing nutrition facts:

1. Limit sugars. I try not to buy anything that has more than 10g of sugar in a serving. And listen, 10g is the max so I typically aim for 6g or less per serving.

2. Ridiculous serving size. I try not to buy things that lists a serving as astronomically small, like 2 chips. Frankly, it just pisses me off so I choose not to support the company.

3. Low saturated fats. These little guys have no double bonds at the molecular level and are typically solid at room temperature. They have been shown to be correlated with bad things like arteriosclerosis and other coronary diseases. Just stay away from them if possible.

4. A lot of dietary fiber. I can't find anything bad about this stuff. Dig in!

5. Low cholesterol and sodium. This is especially important if heart disease runs in your family (like mine). Just keep an eye on these guys...they sneak into packaged foods allllll the time and cause all kinds of a hot mess in your cardiovascular system. 

Hope these hints help!

Chicken sausage? Say what?

This post is not for my vegetarians. Just warning ya...

Have you ever tried chicken sausages? If not, you should. Try the brand Al Fresco. Check out the ingredients and nutrition facts for the different flavors. There aren't too many added ingredients (compared to most packaged foods we have available to us), and they aren't too bad for you either.

Let me tell you, they are delicious. They taste good grilled, pan-cooked, and even microwaved for when you are in a hurry. They serve as a great alternative to hot dogs or sausages for my fellow health-nuts. If you are a car camper, they are great for cooking while camping. Soooo yummy and guilt-less.

That's all for this week. Go get ya some delicious chicken sausages!!

Heat Waaaaaaaave!

Alright folks. The first big heat wave has arrived in New England (thank goodness!) In my years of life thus far, I have determined that the first really hot day of each year is quite possibly the happiest day to ever exist ever in history. Yes, happier than Christmas. Yes, happier than that rare day you miraculously wake up rested. Yes, happier than a slinky on an escalator (I stole that from a commercial...because it's hilarious).

This is what I do on the first hot day of the year: I get so excited and just want to be outside all day and not do anything except be outside. Wellllllll, that's not very smart. In order for you to not be stupid like me, I'm going to give you some suggestions on staying safe in the heat. Let's hope you follow them**:

1. Dehyration
2. Burns

Let's start with dehydration. This one is easy people. Just keep water with you and drink it a lot. I know this makes you pee more, but it's worth it. Trust me. (And please get out of the pool to pee...please...I'm literally begging you. No one wants that on them so stop it.) When the temperature in our environment is high, our body temperature rises as well. Most of us know that our organs, including our brain, are not very good with extreme temperatures. They are kinda dumb in fact. The silly organs just kinda stop working in extreme temperatures. So our body tries to fix the whole sitch by sweating (or shivering in cold weather). This increases blood flow to our skin and cools us down. What is sweat though? basically, it's water and salt, right? correct. Our body still needs water to function correctly so we have to replace that water that we are sweating out. Salt and other necessary electrolytes are super important too. Na is a key component of one of the biggest pumps in our bodies. If it fails, we're screwed. Drink lots of water and get electrolytes!

Okay, this one is tough to talk about--burns. We live in a society where natural tans are considered beautiful and sexy. Sure they are. But UV radiation is definitely not the best thing for our skin. And think about it people, your skin is your body's LARGEST defense from the environment. Wear sunscreen. Wear sunglasses (gotta protect those eyeballs too). Ladies (and gents for that matter), put on face lotion every day that has at least an SPF of 15. The skin on our face is sensitive, especially around our eyes. Avoid early onset of wrinkles and sunspots by protecting your skin. I'm gonna need to follow this advice as well--I'm not that innocent (oh lord, Britney is now in my head. God help me.) I am lucky enough to not have the type of skin that burns easily. Tanning causes damage to the skin too--so be careful. be smart.

Now go have fun in the sun! Summer is here!!!!!

**Keep in mind that these suggestions are for people who are healthy and of an adult age. If you are elderly, a kid, or have certain illnesses, you need to be SUPER cautious with the sun. The sun makes the world go round but it can also cause a lot of damage to our bodies if we don't interact with it appropriately.

Mexican restaurant? Nope...I'm on a diet.

I can't count the number of times I've said that (or at least thought it). Most of you probably have too at some point. Who doesn't love some delicious Latin food though? I honestly can't think of one person I know who doesn't love the taste. Let's not lie--they might not like what happens after consuming the food...but they sure do like it on the way down. Why shouldn't us lifelong dieters be able to enjoy that deliciousness too?? We should...

The problem with going to a, let's say, Mexican restaurant is that it's pretty difficult to make healthy choices. Here are a few tips to help you still get your Mexican fix and not feel guilty afterward:

1. Try not to eat the chips and salsa.
I know I know...it's delicious. But there's really no way to eat this appetizer and still come out high on the healthy-o-meter. Order a glass of water or a glass of unsweetened iced tea and chug it as soon as the waiter puts it down. This will make your belly feel full until your meal comes out. If people at your table want the chips and salsa, dominate whatever conversation is going on--don't stop talking to keep yourself occupied. Or, have them take it to THEIR side of the table--out of arms reach (if you're like me and have T-Rex arms, that won't be difficult).

2. Order a la carte.
These restaurants feed us as if we are about to go into hibernation. And somehow, we end up eating it all. That my friends, is called gluttonous behavior. Basically (and I'm guilty of this too...every time), they put enough food to feed an entire country in Africa in front of us and we go to town. If you order a la carte, the servings come out smaller. Every Mexican restaurant I've ever been to has had an extensive a la carte menu. They have it for those of us who feel like we need something extra. Instead, use it to make your own meal!

3. Stay away from hard shell tacos.
Those babies are deep fried. Need I say more?

4. Fajitas are a fairly safe choice.
Granted we don't know exactly what's in the sauce they cook it in, but it's probably one of your best choices. You've got veggies, grilled meats, and YOU control the amount of toppings you put on it. It's a gimme.

5. Go for the healthier tortilla option.
Some restaurants have a gluten free or whole wheat tortilla option. If they do, take it. Now listen, they don't taste as yummy as the normal kind. I'm not gonna lie to ya. But do you want your tortilla to be the best part of your meal? or what's inside that tortilla to be the best part of your meal? what's inside it, silly!!! Plus you're the one reading this right now...you should be willing to make mini sacrifices.

6. Don't order a margarita.
If you don't know why, then we should talk. By drinking a margarita, you might be having fun, but your blood sugar is gonna go through the roof. When I say 1500 calories in one drink, I'm really not kidding. Not worth it...trust me.

7. Eat more beans, less rice.
Beans actually have health benefits to them. The rice used in these restaurants is refined which basically means you're eating empty calories. Have a few bites of the rice if you must, but go for the beans first. Beans, beans, they're good for your heart. The more you eat, the more you...(go ahead and laugh like a 10-year-old boy...it's fine)

8. Add pepper, not salt.
ESPECIALLY in a Mexican restaurant, peeps--you should want a little spice. If something isn't satisfying you, add pepper to get that extra little kick. It works.

I hope you found these tips helpful. Give them a shot next time you go to a Mexican joint. Don't be skeeeeeered. Stay Strong!!

Squeeze a wee bit o' exercise in

Here's a secret: We are all busy people. We have a lot going on and more to do. We also have to watch our shows...you know the ones: Walking Dead, New Girl, Game of Thrones, HIMYM, Breaking Bad, etc. DVR and other on-demand type of programs have allowed us to watch those shows whenever we want (which is awesome). But now, we are missing out on even more precious time that we could use to do something healthy for ourselves by letting our dinners marinade in our tummies.

Here is my trick: STAY in front of the tv during the commericals and let the commercials play through!

What? You're nuts, Anti-Unhealthy. Stop it.

No. I'm for serious. During each commercial break, do a different exercise:

Push-ups
Crunches
Planks
Squats
Lunges

You can do them in any order you want and however you want. Try doing them in sets of 10 and resting for 10 seconds. Or try doing them on a per commercial basis--hold your plank position until the first commercial is over, rest 10 seconds and go back up until the next one is over, etc. etc.

You'll be sweating by the end. And if you make a habit of this, you WILL notice a difference.

I know it's hard to commit to doing something like this after working all day. I know all you wanna do by that point in the day is sit on your big comfy couch in front of your fabulous tv and veg out. I know. I get it. Me too.

But, it's not as hard as it seems once you get started. Let's not lie, during commercials, we do 1 of 3 things: get a snack, pee, or fast forward. All of those things can wait.

Give it 1 shot and see how you like it.

Consider this your new "fast forward" button for the commercials. :)

What would you do if a Zombie was chasing you?

RUN!

Okay, if you had an awesome Zombie-killing tool or if you were Daryl (if you don't get that reference, go away. or watch Walking Dead), then you'd probably attack. But let's say a huuuuuuuuuuuuge mob of zombies was chasing you...you'd totally run.

In case you haven't heard, there is this pretty fantastical app called "Zombies, Run! " You should install it on whatever device you use to listen to music while you run.

This is why...

It tells you a story and makes you part of that story while you run. The setting is a Zombie apocalypse (no surprise there), and you join an existing group of survivors who are just trying to...well..survive. You have to run to go get supplies and/or just get away from zombies. Your runs are classified as "missions". Prior to starting, you can set an average time that you'd like a mission to be and that's what it has you do.

The app tells this story while you're running, motivates you, and plays 1 song in between each set of dialogue. Also, during the music, this weird voice pops up and announces a supply you picked up. It says, "collected a (fill in the blank)." The most common item I seem to collect is a sports bra. (reallll subtle hint, Zombies, Run...reallll subtle).

Anyway, if you are like me and get bored while running, try this app. It might give you just the twist you need to stay motivated.

Zombies!!! RUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!

Back to that sugar thang

So I recently watched this documentary that everyone should watch. It's called Hungry for Change, and it's on Netflix so there's no excuse not to watch it.

Basically it explains, in detail, the effects that sugar has on your body. It also goes into other negative things for your body (smoking, etc.) which are interesting. But I really want you to pay attention to the overall message of the documentary. ANYone can come back from ANYthing--so don't think it's too late. Just make the change. 

One criticism I have is the expectation to eat the way they explain it at the end. If you have a busy lifestyle and limited income, it is nearly impossible to eat the way they suggest. There comes a point when you HAVE to just consume pre-packaged foods or something manufactured so that you can get something in your stomach.

My challenge for myself (and for you) is to go to the point that is comfortable for your lifestyle: eat fresh/non-packaged foods as often as you can and within your financial limits. If you do that, then you are doing yourself a favor.

That's all for this week. I'm not gonna make you waste your time reading my opinions anymore when the documentary explains it perfectly.

HUNGRY FOR CHANGE...go go go go go.

Here's the website. enjoy!

Thoughts through tragedy

For my readers who don't know me on a personal level, I live in the Boston area--several miles from the Monday attack. If you don't live in Boston or have never lived in Boston, you don't know how big of a deal Marathon Monday is. It is a huge day for the Boston community and has been for years. I haven't had the privilege of being able to watch it live yet. Here's why:

1. My first Marathon Monday was shortly after I had moved to the area. I had no clue what a big deal it was (learned quickly thereafter from several Bostonians).
2. On my second Marathon Monday, I had to work and fight the absurd traffic. That taught me to take the day off to avoid traffic and to go watch it live.
3. This was my third Marathon Monday. My plan was to go watch it in the city with the manfriend, but he ended up having to go to work. So I decided it was better for me to watch it from home rather than to brave the city alone. My gut led me in the right direction :(

No word can truly describe the range of emotions around what happened on Monday. Now, there will forever be a before and after for Boston--before April 15th and after April 15th...The people who were there experienced unnecessary physical AND emotional damage from which they will never be able to fully recover. To those who lost someone dear to you, my heart goes out to you. To those whose life is intact, but body is not, I cannot imagine what you are going through. Some of my fellow dancers can attest to this sentiment: losing a leg is one of the worst things that can happen. Yes there are worse things, but when you are a dancer...I mean a dancer down to your soul...you come alive when you dance. For that to be taken away is unimaginable.

The important thing, folks, is that we all have to mourn. Mourn for those who have lost their lives. Mourn for those who have lost limbs. Mourn for ourselves. Mourn for our city. Mourn for a nation. Mourn for those who have lost faith in humanity. Let's drown the evil with the good.

I feel so much sorrow for all those affected: Those of us who are part of the city. Those of us who were at work. Those of us who were at home. Those of us who were there and witnessed the chaos and sadness. The hero inside all of us comes out the most during tragedy. There were heroes in the crowd that day. Normal people who ran toward the blast rather than away from it. I sure hope I would be one of those heroes: someone whose instinct is to help rather than to run away. Think if we could channel the courage and strength we feel during an event like this and use it on a daily basis to better this world. Think of the differences that would be made! We'll no longer be waiting on the world to change...we would be changing it!

This is the first attack since the tragic event that changed our modern history--9/11. Our lives changed that day. We witnessed the loss of thousands of innocent lives. We witnessed hatred develop. We witnessed tragedy. But New York is a strong city. We came together as a nation, forgot about politics, and rallied our efforts to bring that strong city back to its feet. Boston will do the same.

On April 14, 2014, I plan to run that marathon. Why? 

Because some people will never get the chance to walk or run or dance again. I'm running it for them. I'm running it for those whose lives were cut short. I'm running it for Boston.

I'm going to leave you with something I posted on my Facebook the other day. Stay strong Boston--for you, for our city, and for those who lost so much on that day.

"It's really hard to function normally knowing that so many people were brutally harmed for no reason. Less than 24 hours ago so many people thought they would get to watch an inspirational event and then wake up to go to work the next day...just like us. That didn't happen. Someone decided they had the right to change that path for other people. Some people will never live their lives the same way... due to the horrendous injuries they endured. The reality and severity of the situation is so sad and so disheartening. Times like this should remind us just how lucky we are to have 1 MORE DAY, just how lucky we are to be HEALTHY, Just how lucky we are to be able to WALK, and just how lucky we are to be able to GO TO WORK. For some people, that was all taken away from them in a matter of seconds. And the same thing could happen to any of us at any moment. So take this time to mourn for those who lost so much, to provide aid to those who need it, and to cherish the time we have with those we love. I love you, friends...from the bottom of my heart and cherish each of you dearly."

Sugar is the Devil: Week 1

Day 1: mayyyyyyyyyyybe successful
So my calculations put me right at 30g for the day. The hardest part was the coffee-to-tea switch. I can drink green tea without Splenda, but I can't drink coffee without Splenda. What I didn't realize is how much I depend on coffee mentally. It has been a part of my daily routine for years. At least I can get my caffeine with green tea and I do like the taste...but it's not coffee. Freakin mental addiction. My first big battle will be transferring the positive associations my brain makes with coffee to green tea (and to not get tired for no reason by noon, which totally happened today). As far as other drinks go, I don't really drink juices and I really only drink diet soda with Jack Daniels, which is not common at all either.
Total grams of added sugar: 30

Day 2: praying to the gods of will power
SOMEONE BROUGHT CUPCAKES FROM EASTER TO WORK AND LEFT THEM IN THE KITCHEN FOR ANYONE TO EAT!!! ohhhhhhhhhh emmmmmmmmmmmm geeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I hate this person. They look absolutely delicious, and I see them every time I go into the kitchen to heat my tea up again! If I can overcome this, I can overcome anything. Put an angry hulk in front of me and I can overcome him. Today was quite intresting actually. I got home from work and ate 2 string cheese and a slice of 7-grain bread with a bit of apple butter on it (delicioussssssss). Then I ran, cleaned, and watched tv. I didn't list a play-by-play of my evening to be like one of those people who doesn't understand that the purpose of facebook is not to put your daily agenda online for all of your "friends" to see. I listed that because the funny part is...I didn't get hungry or WANT to eat until 9pm. That is SOOO not like me. Seriously--it was like I was a different homo sapien.
Total grams of added sugar: 15

Day 3: tough early, easy late
My tea this morning was delicious...so delicious, I wish I had a bigger cup so I had a second cup of it. (yes, I know that wasn't a real sentence.) The cupcakes are still in the kitchen but they don't look as delicious now. That could be because I don't want them anymore, or it could be that they aren't as fresh anymore considering they were made at least 4 days ago. I had cottage cheese and grapes for breakfast and then some almonds. Totally got hungry by 10am...fail. I wonder if this is my body starting to realize I'm changing things or if it is because I only ate 15g of sugar yesterday? Either way, I'm gonna push through the hunger until lunch time. After work, I just didn't get very hungry. It was very weird. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't craving anything. For dinner I had sushi wrapped in cucumber instead of rice (say what?!) I didn't know that was possible...until tonight. I'm not gonna lie, it's not AS good as normal sushi, but it gets you your sushi fix without the added sugar--worth a shot.
Total grams of added sugar: 14

Day 4: monster in my belly
I woke up this morning to a monster in my belly. A loud, obnoxious, insatiable monster. But I told it to shut up and started my day with some awesome green tea, a banana, and 2 hard-boiled eggs. It did a pretty good job--must be all that protein! Today was the first day I got really hungry after work. Here's the funny thing: every other day prior, my lunch consisted of 4 grams of sugar or less. BUT today, my lunch had 7 grams of sugar in it! I'm thinking that might have something to do with the hunger I felt after work--maybe hunger and sugar are directly proportional? The more sugar at lunch, the more hungry after work? Also, the manfriend made an amazing impromptu dinner. He called it Healthy Fried Rice. A recipe will be coming soon for sure because it has ZERO SUGAR!!! Downside: this was the first evening I had a huge craving for something sweet. But I resisted...win.
Total grams of added sugar: 14

Day5-- Free Lunch Friday temptation
First, I have one thing to discuss. Last night, I had a crazy dream about sweets. I completely failed on this de-sugaring journey in my dream. Basically, I ate like 5 chocolate chip cookies...okay, "ate" is an understatement--I demolished them. Thank goodness it was a dream. I have NOT failed! Today is Free Lunch Friday at work so there is still time to fail. Get this people, I resisted pizza. PIZZA. I said no to pizza at Free Lunch Friday. One of my proudest moments in life. no joke. And I finished my day with the lowest sugar count to date: 
Total grams of added sugar: 8

So there is a glimpse into my first 5 days of "Sugar is the Devil". Stay tuned for more updates...

Sugar is the devil

So over these last 2 weeks, I've become convinced that sugar is my mortal enemy. I've always known it has an addictive nature, but I never wanted to believe it because I love it so much (doesn't sound like an addiction at all...riiiiight). Here's what I've realized: My body and mind are completely addicted to sugar and sugar alternatives via processed foods like most other Americans. Overall--I am composed of sugar and fake sugar. (That's why I'm so sweet, eh? Don't know why I went Canadian on ya.)

I've battled with healthy weight maintenance, cravings, will power, and a bottomless-pit stomach all my life and have always wondered why. So consider this a little experiment to see if a lifelong consumption of products including added sugar can lead to the above problems. How am I going to do this? By cutting down my sugar intake tremendously. Come along for the ride...

Just a little fact before we get started: I don't add real sugar to anything. nada. zip. When I add sugar, it's Splenda. But let's not lie...sugar alternatives are not the best idea either. There are a lot of opinions and studies out there disagreeing on whether or not sugar alternatives are bad for you. When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight or trying to lose weight, the problem with sugar alternatives is that they are sweeter than regular sugar. Your body ends up craving sweets more often. Yes they don't have any calories, but they aren't natural so your body considers them toxins and has to just get rid of them. Like I said, a lot of controversy out there on this topic, so go search for yourself. When it comes to sugar alternatives, I've found the best reports on Stevia and mixed, but mostly positive, reports on Splenda. My experiment is an attempt to lower my sugar intake and diminish my cravings so I'm cutting out fake sugar as much as possible.

Here's a rule of thumb for limits of added sugar (not including fresh fruits and vegetables) based on a report using American Heart Association data:

men should consume less than 36g of added sugar per day

women should consume less than 20g of added sugar per day

children should consume less than 12g of added sugar per day

This is much harder than you think if you eat a lot of packaged foods. Some things have upwards of 40g of sugar in one serving!! It's nuts.

So I've decided to start by not consuming more than 30g per day because my busy schedule encourages me to eat a lot of packaged foods. Once I've realized I can do that comfortably, I'll cut it down by 5 or 10g.

My experiment started with a trip to the grocery store (ruh-roh!) It's amazing what you notice when you look at the ingredients and grams of sugar for every packaged food you touch. I'm not kidding when I say low-fat, low-sugar, or other "healthy" products are devils in disguise. Here's the real problem--they (this infamous "they" of which no one ever knows exactly who "they" are) puts sugar in EVERYTHING. Then you look at the ingredients and see all kinds of names you can't pronounce, it's most likely the devil in disguise. Here is a good list of names of sugars listed on the Ingredients part of the nutrition label of packaged foods from Dietriffic. If you are interested in eating less sugar alternatives also, be sure to look for other words too including, but not limited to, aspartame, splenda, saccharin, and neotame.

Next week, my post will be a diary tracking my first week of "sugar is the devil". Here is a preview of how day 1 went...

"Day 1--mayyyyyyyyyyybe successful.

So my calculations put me right at 30g for the day. The hardest part was the coffee-to-tea switch. I can drink green tea without Splenda, but I can't drink coffee without Splenda. What I didn't realize is how much I depend on coffee mentally. It has been a part of my daily routine for years. At least I can get my caffeine with green tea so that I don't turn into a de-caffeinated monster. I like the tast, but it's not my coffee. Freakin mental addiction. My first big battle will be transferring the positive associations my brain makes with coffee to green tea (and to not get tired for no reason by noon, which totally happened today). As far as other drinks go, I don't really drink juices and I really only drink diet soda with Jack Daniels, which is not common at all either."

The "Other" Candy-Filled Holiday

Easter--the "other" candy-filled holiday of the year--is right around the corner.

I won't even get into the level of creepy involved with this holiday (a giant bunny sneaks into the house and leaves candy-filled eggs and chocolate bunnies that we decapitate with our mouths???? Whose idea was this???) Kids love it. I loved it. I still love it...let's not lie.

So let's talk about the how to avoid eating all that candy:

Step 1. Don't buy it. Easy. Save money and calories.

Step 2. If you've got a kid or kids in your life in some capacity, you know as well as I know that it's impossible to not have candy around during Easter. Try to get them interested in darker chocolates rather milk chocolates. At least dark chocolate has some health benefits.

Step 3. Fill the plastic Easter eggs with tiny toys, stickers, playdo, or dried fruit instead of candy. In other words, turn the candy eating into some type of activity or fruit consumption.

When in doubt, default to step 1. Just don't buy the delicious junk.

And I'd just like to add: yay for adults dressed as giant bunnies giving candy to our youth! We are weird...no matter how fun it is...we. Are. WEIRD. I digress...

Streeeeetch: hurts so good

Alrighty fellow health-nerds. Let's talk about that thing that we all pretend to do but never actually spend time doing:

STRETCHING

Back in my ballet golden days, I stretched every day...but then this thing called laziness happened. oops.

So why should we stretch?
1. to avoid injury
2. to improve your sport of choice

Stretching your muscles, tendons, and ligaments more flexible. Think about it--I'll use dancing as an example (I wonder why...): Okay, so you are in the middle of performing or competing or just social dancing and you go to try a new move that involves a deep back bend. Then all of a sudden "@#$*!#$&"--crazy bad pain starts shooting in your back. It's probably because you tried to bend your back farther than you should have because it is not flexible enough.

Life Lesson by AntiUnhealthy #1: You stretch more--you bend more.

As for the second reason, stretching obviously helps improve your sport of choice because it enables you to complete more strenuous tasks. No need to explain this one, I hope.

So a few pressing questions:
1. When should we stretch?
2. How long should we stretch?
3. What types of stretches should we do?

1. Muy importante! It is a common misconception that we should use stretching as our warm-up or do it first thing. Nooooooooo sirry. False. Negative. Stop it. You should stretch with warrrrrrrrrrrrm muscles. Walk for a few minutes, then stretch, then exercise. Or use stretching to end your cooldown. Your muscles are still warm from the activity so they are able to stretch deeper. Think of your muscles like a rod of metal (only not as strong of course). In order for welders to bend rods into different shapes, they have to heat them first so they are more malleable. Your muscles should be shown a similar kindness--warm them up so they can stretch easier and don't tear. (Okay, that might have been a poor example...you guys know what I mean though!)

2. Most sources say stretch for 5-10 minutes. When I do actually stretch, I stay closer to the 5 minute side. To help make this time go quicker without getting bored, do your stretches near a tv or while one of your top 5 jam-out songs is on your iPod. It helps distract you from the boredom.

Check out this MayoClinic article for more information on this topic.

3. It depends on the part of the body. Here is a link to the Stretching Injury Clinic website showing excellent stretches for multiple parts of the body.

CAUTION: Don't overstretch! How? By listening to your body. But my body doesn't talk. Shut up.

There is a difference between stretching and pain. If you feel straight up pain, stop immediately. Stretching should HURT SO GOOD, not hurt so bad--kinda like a massage. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments are very complex and interesting tissues. Maybe in another post, I'll go into the anatomy and physiology of how they actually work to provide further insight.

Canker sore or Cold sore?

Okay...let's get one thing straight: canker sore does not equal cold sore.

What is a canker sore?
It's a mouth ulcer--a rather painful, open sore inside the mouth that looks white or yellowish and is surrounded by a bright red area (in case you didn't know, redness is one of the key hints from your body that it is mad at you because something is wrong).

Most canker sores are caused by:

• stress
• hormonal changes
• lack of certain nutrients (iron, folic acid, and B-12 are the ones to keep an eye out for)
• food allergies

Another side note, women are at higher risk to get them (hormonal changes...this happens monthly for us...think about it) and there is a genetic component.

Most of the time, these little jerks go away with time. Check out this PubMed article for treatments and other home remedies. Pretty good ideas here.

Now listen...this is important: If you have a canker sore that won't go away or you get them often, you should ask your doctor about it because there might be something else going on. Remember that your body has ways of giving you red flags or warnings. If you get canker sores a lot, it's most likely your body's way of telling you that you are lacking something important or consuming something you shouldn't be.

What is a cold sore?
AKA a fever blister...this little bugger is a straight up infection. To be specific, it is an infection caused by Herpes Simplex Virus 1. Don't freak out and please pay attention to this next statement: Herpes Simplex 1 does not equal Herpes Simplex 2. HSV-1 is Oral herpes and HSV-2 is genital herpes. There are ways that 2 can be found in the mouth but we won't get into that on this episode of 'Health Education 101 by AntiUnhealthy'.

So to focus on HSV-1, here are some signs you are getting a cold sore:

• itchy, burny, or tingly lips
• sore throat, fever, or swollen glands
• appearance of blister on gums, lips, mouth, or throat

These guys might go away on their on in 1 to 2 weeks or your doc can give you an antiviral. Check out this PubMed article for more ways to make it feel better. This same article also has an excellent list of ways to prevent transmission of the virus. It's not that hard. Check it out.

Okay, so how do you know? Canker sore or Cold sore?
The most straightforward way to tell the difference is the location. Most of the time, canker sores are found on the inside of the mouth and cold sores are found on the outside of the mouth.

Hope this clarified some things for ya. And just some advice, whether you want it or not, don't complain to other people that you have a painful cold sore if it is actually a canker sore. You might get a less-than-happy response...especially if it's your better half. Just sayin...

Why won't my eye stop twitching?!?!

Don't lie, folks...You alllll know what I'm talking about.

It is quite possibly the most annoying, involuntary action your body can make:
the infamous eye twitch.

It's that annoying pulse thing your eyelid does sometimes. Makes you just wanna close your eyes or wear an eye patch like a pirate (argh!), or just hold your eyelid down and scream, "STOP IT EYEBALL!!!!"

My infamous eye twitch has recently gotten so annoying that I decided to ask the all-knowing...google. I asked, "why won't my eye stop twitching?" Google led me to WebMD.

The technical name of this annoyance is blepharospasm. It usually manifests itself as the upper eyelid twitching, but can also manifest itself as uncontrollable blinking. The major causes are also major parts of my life (go figure): fatigue, stress, and caffeine. I'm working on fixing the first two, but the third one helps with the first two so it will not be fixed any time soon. C'est la vie.

Keep in mind though, if this occurrence is regular for you, it could be a sign of a more significant issue and you should consult your eye doctor.

Another note: There are 3 main types of an eye twitch including minor eyelid twitch (which is what I'm talking about), benign essential blepharospasm, and hemifacial spasm. Take a look at the WebMD article for more specifics on these types, especially if you think you suffer from more than the minor eyelid twitch. If this is something that just happens occassionally (like it is for me), then don't fret. It's harmless and painless and is purely annoyance.

The cure? Decrease stress (ha! tell that to my life), sleep more (once again, pretty sure my life would get a kick out of that), and cut down the coffee (is "no" a good enough answer?)

Now it would be great if I could get mine to stop twitching so I could actually proofread this blog...juuuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding...ish.

:-D

Impossibly Healthy Mashed Potatoes

Healthy Mashed Potatoes...say what??? impossible.

That is probably one of the top 5 food oxymorons that exist.

But I'm not kidding. It's a real thing. I made it for dinner the other night and it was not only healthy, but it was also delicious (even according the the manfriend who is an awesome cook).

Here's how you do it for 2 people (of course use your brains and do math if you are making it for more people):

3 potatoes--we did have a ton of leftovers though so it should probably be 1 potato per person instead
1 tablespoon of some form of healthy butter--margarine, butter made with olive oil, low cholesterol butter, etc. There are a ton of healthy-ish butters in the cold food section.
1/2 cup of unsweetened original almond milk
pepper and a tiny bit of salt

1. Peel and cut those potatoes and boil them until you can poke a fork into one easily.
2. Drain the water, add the healthy butter, almond milk, saltpep (that's my new shorthand for salt and pepper...deal with it).
3. Mash mash mash mash mash (hey! you get an arm workout by making this too!)
4. Add more almond milk to match your desired level of creaminess.

**SIDE NOTE: I'm pretty sure the almond milk is the key that makes these delicious. BUT! Make sure you get UNSWEETENED AND ORIGINAL. If you use a sweetened version or the vanilla version, your potatoes will have this strange sweet taste that mashed potatoes shouldn't have. It's just weird. Don't do it. If you trust me on anything...trust me on this.

Here's the lowdown on the nutrition per person (remember the amounts listed above yielded quite a bit of leftovers, so the actual caloric intake is less than this).

A medium potato has about 160 calories.
Half of a tablespoon of margarine has about 45 calories.
A fourth of a cup of unsweetened almond milk has only about 20 calories.

So that adds up to 225 calories for mashed potatoes if you eat WAYYYYYYYY too much (and I've got some Irish blood in me so I can put away mashed taters.) Normal mashed potatoes are a lot more because of the regular butter and regular milk.

Couple this recipe with a lean piece of chicken and some baked or grilled veggies, and you are in for one healthy and delicious meal.

Go enjoy those mashed taters!!

National Chocolate Day

Okay so maybe Valentine's Day isn't actually National Chocolate Day but it might as well be. I admit it: I'm a chocolate lover. But I'm also female, so it basically comes with the whole estrogen territory. As everyone who was ever born knows, today is Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day)...one in the same. Regardless, everyone should eat chocolate. It doesn't count on holidays, right? Well, maybe not in our heads, but our bodies certainly count it. 

Here are a few tips for chocolate consumption on V-day:

1. Take the Dark Chocolate option. Dark choc is loaded with antioxidants that are beneficial for your cardiovascular system. Granted a lot of foods have antioxidants, but if you must eat chocolate, the darker the better. The dark stuff also has lower amounts of sugar than other chocolates. Definitely a positive.

2. Make yourself drink 5 gulps of water after every piece of chocolate. I promise you won't be able to eat as much...or it will take you a lot longer to eat it.

3. Put the box of chocolates in a different room than where you are for the majority of the time. It will force you to walk to go get a piece, which burns a few tiny calories and also prevents you from eating it if you are lazy enough.

4. Have your better half feed it to you. That will force you to take smaller bites or at least eat it slower. Not to mention it's super sexy (or completely ridiculous if I'm involved.)

5. Dip fruit into your chocolate. If you get your chocolate fix that way, at least you are eating fruit at the same time. Yummmmm.

Now go enjoy that deliciousness. Yes puhhhhlease!

Winter Blues

Being cold sucks. 

I. 
hate. 
it. 

I especially hate when my hands are cold...and my feet...and my face...and my ears. Ughhh. What REEEEALLY sucks is when those body parts are so cold that they hurt. It's the worst! I would much rather be sweating profusely than be so cold that it hurts. 

I think part of that has to do with the fact that I grew up in a pretty mild climate down in Northeast Tennessee (please read that in a Southern accent and if you can't do one, I'll demo in person). I always tell my misinformed Yankee friends and family who think that the entirety of Tennessee is a scene from The Hills Have Eyes or that you will hear a creepy banjo playing if you go to a certain place, that TN aint all that bad. Sure our education system sucks (but so does the rest of America's if you compare it to Europe), sure it is in the heart of the Bible Belt which makes for some extremely judgmental and closed-minded people (although there are normal people too!), and sure my town is known primarily for a ginormous Nascar track (yes...the city is compensating for something...), but daaaaaaaaaamn we have good weather. We have normal, bearable seasons. It gets nice and hot in the summers, comfortable in the springs and falls, and cold enough in the winters. Of course we get things like snow, rain, thunderstorms, flooding, and tornadoes; but NONE of those weather events trend on the extreme side. The majority of the time, everything is manageable and not catastrophic. The weather rocks.

The only thing I hate more in Boston than Boston drivers (because you all suck...I love you...but you can't drive), is Boston winters. So last winter wasn't bad at all compared to the one before. (The one before was the one that welcomed me when I first moved up here and that resulted in a black eye...Snow Shovel: 1; Me: 0.) 

But beyond the snow, IT'S COLD!!!!! I consider anything less than 45 degrees as cold...and you crazies up here are like, "ohhhh it's not negative 37 degrees so it's not cold at all, just put on a light jacket." 

Shut up. I'm cold. and I don't like it. Thank goodness my boyfriend has the metabolism of a baby spider monkey and produces heat like a werewolf because basically, he has become my personal space heater. (I was looking for an animal to pick here and I picked spider monkey because he has crazy long arms like a monkey and he's hairy, and it reminds me of Talladega Nights which brings us back to Nascar. bam! full circle).

So now that I spent half the blog prepping the whole point of this blog, I guess I'll finally get to the point:

I get sad in the winter--I gots da Winter Blues. I like to be outside, but I can't go outside in the winter because my body hates the cold. My Winter Blues aren't severe, but there is a more severe version of what I feel. It's a real thing called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD (is it bad that I find it amusing that the acronym is sad?) 

According to WebMD, SAD is basically depression during the winter that is thought to be linked to your body's clock being "out of synch" and lack of enough direct sunlight.

Symptoms include: extreme fatigue, too much sleep, concentration problems, and weight gain.

Here are some ways to fix it without talking to your doc:

• Light therapy--Find a way to get direct light. "Dawn stimulation" is a pretty interesting technique.
• Don't watch depressing things...like the news
• Stay active and force yourself to keep moving
• Don't give in to the cravings for sweets and carbs.
• Confide in someone!

If none of these things work, consider consulting a doctor. There might be actual imbalances in your body that a doc can fix (i.e. melatonin deficiency or seratonin deficiency).

Here's to learning to find joy in the winter! We can do it!

Super Bowl Sunday (aka Super Glutton Sunday)

Super Bowl Sunday tends to be one of those days during the year that calories, fat, sugar, and cholesterol don't count--like Thanksgiving and Christmas (and of course Easter and Halloween if you are around children)! For some people, every Sunday during football season is a calories-don't-count day. Funny how that works. Listen folks, I love nachos, cheesy dips, football-shaped cupcakes, hamburgers, and Sam Adams. But in order to truly live healthy, we've gotta make some cuts (and I say 'we' because I need to focus this Sunday too).

Here are some ideas to help cut down the calories you consume on Super Bowl Sunday:

1. Stick with light beer. I know it's not as delicious as your real beers, but it's worth the extra 100 calories PER BEER! Because let's not lie, you will be drinking more than 1 beer on Sunday...a lot more. A Bud Light has 110 calories. Sam Adams Winter Lager has 193 calories per bottle (tap most likely has more) according to My Fitness Pal. The darker the beer, the more calories. Just sayin.

2. Opt for the chicken wings. This also depends on how they are cooked. Stay away from the breaded ones...you might as well just eat the unhealthy foods if you get the breaded ones. The calorie counts for chicken wings are all over the place. It depends on so many factors including how it's cooked, glaze, dipping sauce, breaded vs. not breaded, skin vs. no skin. In general, go for not breaded, no skin, and skip the dipping sauces. Getting rid of those things takes off a ton of calories! Keep in mind: most chicken wings ring in at under 100 calories (per wing), which is better than some alternatives, but still be sure to moderate.

**Check this site out: Nutrition Facts and Analysis. That's where I got some of my calorie counts for the aforementioned foods.

3. Veggies. Almost every Super Bowl party has a veggie platter. Hang out around that one! Fill up on veggies first thing, and then you won't be able to fit as much of the bad stuff in that tummy.

4. Say no to hot dogs and hamburgers. If you have the option, see if your friend will throw a turkey burger or chicken breast on the grill for you. If you are at a bar, most places now have a turkey burger option. Here's another hint for sandwiches--only eat half the bun...the bread is not the tasty part anyway.

5. Chips...are the devil. They are delicious and salty and have fabulous dips right next to them. Try to moderate your intake of these little gremlins. Just try.

6. Sweet potato fries. Do I really have to convince you to do this? They are delicious. They still aren't the greatest option for you because they are cooked in a ton of unnecessary grease, but if you just GOTTA get your french fry fix on, go for the sweet potato ones.

7. Don't eat the sweets. Okay, believe me, I love chocolate and sugar. But Super Bowl Sunday is about the beer and man-food...not the sweets. Save your sweet-attributed calories for V-Day.

8. Eat with water. Even just a sip after every bite or every other bite will help keep you in check.

9. Don't regress to your college years. Chugging contests aren't worth the calories unless you have the metabolism of a baby horse. Savor the beer...you drink less of it that way. And don't play Power Hour to pre-game. Our bodies can't handle that junk anymore.

10. Work out BEFORE the game. Lord knows no one will be working out during or after the game, so why not go before? You'll feel good about yourself...I promise. (Now I HAVE to workout before the game because I just told all of you to do it...ugh!)

Now go have fun football junkies!!

The Infamous Flu Shot

Influenza. More like Ickuenza. (just laugh...it's more fun to just laugh at it)

So we all know that the Flu sucks...bad. But for some reason, most people have extreme points of view about the flu vaccination--we either swear by it or swear against it. I'm one of those people that swears by it (probably because I studied epidemiology and public health.)

So peeps...let's get real. Why are people so against the flu shot? Okay, I get it, It's a needle. Waaaaaaa (that's a whiny baby sound). Just close your eyes. Don't look at it. Simple. Done. Don't be skeered!

I'd say the most common response I get when I ask someone if they got the flu shot is:

"I don't get the flu shot because I always get the flu anyway," 
or even better, "the flu shot makes me sick."

For the first one, I'm calling a B.S. 
First, when was the last time you actually got a flu shot? If you only took the flu shot once in your life and happened to get the flu last year, all I can say is you need better luck. You didn't get one of the strains covered in the vaccination. You most likely and unfortunately got one of the new morphed strains or you just had a really bad cold.

For the second one, false. That's impossible. This is why:

• The flu shot is a vaccine that is inactivated, aka dead. murdered. killed. A dead virus is not in it's disease-causing state; and even better, they can't go back to the disease-causing state. Even though the virus is dead, your body recognizes the intruder and stimulates an immune response. The immune response makes it so you can't be infected by a live version of this agent if you are exposed later...because the body is smart...really smart.

• Keep in mind there are different doses of the shot for different categories of people. For more information on that, visit the CDC website. (p.s. I am citing my brain for the above information because that's where it came from.) 

• The other type of flu vaccine is the nasal-spray one. Now, this one is the live, attenuated vaccine meaning it is still alive but it is weakened in the lab. This one you snort up through your nose like a little piggy. (p.s. how adorable are mini pigs?) The virus is so weakened that it can't make you sick. But what it does do is stimulate that immune response and antibody production so that you are protected against the normal, strong version of the bug. Another cool thing about this one--it typically can provide lifelong immunity after a few doses. Pretty nifty. 

• Side note: This one is reserved for healthy people.

The flu vaccine includes vaccinations for the 3 types of influenza: two type As and 1 type B. But the real problem with the flu vaccine is that the flu virus is really smart--there are so many different strains of each type because the virus mutates. It knows that we keep making these vaccines, and it keeps mutating itself into brand new strains (that's a lie...it doesn't have a brain so it doesn't "know" anything...why I felt the need to explain that? no clue.). When we find a new strain, we can make a vaccine. However, if people continue to not get the flu shot, and still get one of the old strains, that's just 'fluing' the fire (get it? fluing...fueling...okay, so that didn't work. I'm keeping it anyway).

People...people...people. They are giving it out for free now because the epidemic is getting so bad. It's just a little needle. Getting a tiny little prick is worth it if there is even the slightest chance that you will be exposed to one of those strains. Because this is what we, as American adults, do: 
We get sick, and we go to work anyway because we "have" to. 
We get sick, and we still go out with our friends. 
We get sick, and we still shake hands. 
We get sick, and we still drink after each other. 
We get sick, and we still sneeze so quickly that our arms can't get to our face on time. 

Key phrase here: WE GET SICK! It happens. Germs are going to spread no matter what. So why don't we take a few minutes out of 1 day a year and endure a little prick to help control it a little bit?

Please go get the flu shot...

That is all.

This PSA was brought to you by your resident public health professional...Tiny Danster.