So I think all of you devoted readers deserve to know that I’m dying.

Ok, not really… but according to a new study, cancer might be brewing inside me as I sip my diet coke. (Why am I such a Debbie Downer today? Wah wahhhhhhhhhh.)

The study found that one of the most popular artificial sweeteners may cause cancer. And I don’t know about you, but that is practically a death sentence for me.

As artificiality has become a societal fundament, I’ve managed to resist plastic surgery and fake tanning. Hell, I don’t even have a fake id. But, because I’m such a lucky gal, the one faux treat that I’ve wildly indulged in is now linked to cancer. Read More »

In our health conscious and body obsessed world, almost any activity you do can be converted into calories burned. Whether you test out websites such as calorie-counter.net or caloriecontrol.org, there is definitely not a shortage of calorie info.

Everytime I walk up the four flights of stairs to my new apartment, I wonder just how many calories I am burning off. I try to justify my exhaustion by reminding myself what great exercise it is and how great my calves will look after a month. This tactic makes me feel better about 5% of the time.

Well, if you are sick of boring and tedious ways of burning a few calories here and there, check out the list from Women’s Health Magazine called “100 Ways to Burn 100 Calories: Who knew fighting fat could be so much fun?”

Just to give you a little taste, here are the top 10:

1. Slather on lip balm 765 times.

2. Relive the ’80s. Lip sync George Michael’s Faith 16 times.

3. DVR an episode of Arrested Development and watch it commercial free. (Ten straight minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories–no joke.) Read More »

Do you fear slipping into that bikini? Do you know that those boxes of pizza and cans of beer that piled up in the corner of your apartment all year will no longer find shelter under a sweatshirt? And with the dawn of summer upon us that means … yes you guessed it, diet and exercise. The two most feared words in a college student’s dictionary. But do not fear; this summer will be different; just wait and read.

I try to stay in shape at college, but diet and exercise take a backseat at the end of the semester when I so meticulously balance my time between finals and end of year parties. So, we must enter summer looking our worst at the time we want to look our best. Thus we embark on a drastic last minute heave to get in shape.

Why should you listen to me? Because you remember that kid who was on a first name basis with Joe the Good Humor man and wore t-shirts in the swimming pool. Well, that kid was me and this emotional scarring early in life created a 20 year old overly obsessed with nutrition and exercise.

So now its time to dive into what you must do to impress that prospective summer fling:

Be reasonable: Do french fries, pizza, or hot wings in any way sound healthy? If you want to get that summer body find an alternative: grilled over fried, salsa/hot sauce/mustard over mayo, yogurt over ice cream, Splenda over sugar, diet over soda, wheat over white, fruit over candy. Read More »

When I was drunk off my ass at some random bar in the Lower East Side last night, making eyes at the hot (or so he seemed at the time) bartender all sloppy-like, inevitably my stomach started to crave falafel. The crunch of the lettuce, the slight sting of the onion, the tahini sauce, oh the tahini sauce…all for around four dollars.

At that moment, oh around 3:30 in the AM, my world seemed to revolve around getting my newly painted mitts (inky violet with sparkles, so hot) on one of those Middle Eastern delights. I was like a junkie or something.

Luckily I could easily get my fix around the corner, because there just happens to be a falafel place in a one block radius of any given point in Manhattan, even in Chinatown I suspect, although I have yet to test this particular thesis. This convenience makes them the perfect drunk food. Sure falafel doesn’t have the melted cheese + marinara sauce appeal of a slice of pizza but those mildly spiced chick-peas…orgasmic. Read More »

Life is dangerous. There are hidden calories lurking around every corner.

Okay, I’m only getting so worked up about calorie counting because I’m on the Body by Glamour Plan, which has promised to help me tone up and slim down in time for swimsuit season. I heart Glamour. It’s like Cosmopolitan, only it doesn’t suck. Fancy that.

Anyway, the folks at Glamour recommend about 1,500 calories a day, so I’m keeping a food log to track just what goes in my mouth. It’s genius really. The log of pain single-handedly prevented me from inhaling a handful of Chips Ahoy earlier today.

But to get to the point…Today I was perusing the online menu for Au Bon Pain to decide what I wanted to get for lunch today and I discovered something shocking, something which filled me with fear and loathing….in my dorm.

Those seemingly healthy sandwiches, the really good ones with all the fresh looking ingredients, a plethora of cheese choices, and that delicious crusty bread….they are like death. Well, I don’t know about death, but if you’re looking to spend about…400-500 calories on your lunch, most of these sandwiches are out of your price range, plus they are filled with fat! Read More »

I’ll admit it, I hate to cook. My definition of homemade is anything that I have to press a button for. Because of this, I end up eating out at a lot of restaurants weekly. Name a restaurant, and I can give tell you every variation of chicken or salad that it has on the menu.

The only problem with all this dining out is that I am very health-conscious when it comes to food, so I weigh all of the options on the menu to find the best choice. But, restaurants can be tricky. You may think you are eating the better option, but in reality, it may be packed with more calories and fat.

Thanks to dietfacts.com, I no longer am a victim to the restaurant trap that so many college students fall into.

Read More »