Food. Body image. Health. Things we think about everyday. With ads on TV, in magazines, on the radio and with restaurants and fast food places changing menus to provide healthier options, it’s not our fault that food is on our minds a little bit too often. But did you know that even thinking about food could be having a dangerous affect on us?

Eating disorders have always been around, and are spreading like wildfire nowadays. But we’re not just talking about anorexia and bulimia, disorders where you either starve yourself or binge and purge. We’re talking about a new disorder associated with eating healthy. Meet Orthorexia, a serious disorder that may plague a lot more people than you think, including yourself.

Orthorexia nervosa is a condition in which people become obsessed with eating the “right” kinds of foods. We may roll our eyes and call them “health freaks” but the truth is that this is a very serious condition. Orthorexia causes people to obsess over what is eaten, how much is eaten, and how it is prepared.

So what’s so bad about being obsessed with eating healthy? Read More »

Gossip and rumors are main staples on college campuses across the nation, and the website Juicy Campus (which was recently shut down), shows just how far people are willing to go to spread gossip. At some point in everyone’s life, gossip comes up – good or bad. Gossip, in moderation, can be just another thing, but in a culture that obsesses about pop culture and dishing dirt (think of websites like Perez Hilton), the fixation of dishing dirt about someone else isn’t going away any time soon.

Although many of us love to gather on Monday nights to watch Gossip Girl and watch the scandals of the Upper East Side unfold, no one likes it when their own personal life is exposed in the cafeteria over wilted lettuce or when private information rolls off the lips of classmates before the professor starts the class. While gossip may seem like something that comes and goes, it can leave its dirty scars behind all too often.

Maybe because it’s an all-women’s college and women often use each other to bring others down, or maybe it is the size of the university, but the Hollins rumor mill never seems to cease on campus. It constantly peeks its nasty little head around the corner for students that least expect it. Whether it hurts friendships, ruins reputations, or isolates students from campus events — gossip can cause tremendous damage. Read More »

I know I’ve taken a mini-hiatus for the holidays on my no smoking resolution, but let me fill you in. The holidays for me require lots of drinks, food, laughs, and the obligatory smoke here and there. So, I let myself smoke when I wanted for the holiday…I smoked up until New Years Eve. One week ago.

And since then, I have been completely 100% smoke free.

No packs. No puffs. No nothing. I went completely cold turkey after NYE and I’ve maintained it for an entire week. It’s very difficult; especially when I had a few glasses of wine this weekend and desperately wanted one, but I had the will power to say NO to myself.

I am a strong willed person and if I set my mind to something, I stick to it. After seeing a series of horrific smoking commercials, I made a serious resolution to myself that, on top of not wanting my teeth to turn yellow and my hair to permanently smell like an ashtray, I don’t want to die from lung cancer (cliché but true).

So, for now, I’ve a week smoke free. I feel cleaner, healthier, and will hopefully continue on this path. Wish me luck!

(Photo courtesy of smokefreezone.org)

…And now researchers have found that there is a new worry for non-smokers out there: “Third-hand smoke.”

According to an article in the New York Times, scientists have discovered a toxic yet invisible residue left behind after someone smokes. Unlike the second-hand smoke that someone can blow out a window or fan out of a room, these dangerous particles get stuck to surfaces like rugs, clothing and the fabric on a couch.

Also unlike second-hand smoke, which people can obviously see, people do not realize that these particles exist, which makes them even more dangerous. The article explains that the smell on someone’s clothes or in a room after someone smokes is a sign that the toxic chemicals are still present. So, just because the smoke has cleared from a room or car doesn’t mean that the air is clean and safe.

“There are carcinogens in this third-hand smoke, and they are a cancer risk for anybody of any age who comes into contact with them.”

This is something to think about if you are a smoker or know someone who is. This may also be a sign that banning smoking in restaurants and bars isn’t enough; soon they may make you change your clothes when you get back from having that much needed cigarette.

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Ew. Ew. Ew.

I always knew I was consuming extra calories when I had a bar night. But, if you ask me, if you can’t read the “Nutrition Facts” label, the calories don’t count. That’s why I refuse to buy full-fat Ben and Jerry’s, but don’t mind ordering dessert at Olive Garden. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?

If that’s your mantra, you may not want to click here.

This lovely little program lets you enter in how many drinks you consumed last night… and then tells you approximately how many calories you imbibed… and then proceeds to tell you how much food would be equivalent to that number.

Let me tell you, I wanted to cry after what was a reasonably low-key night, by my standards. Since I want to lose weight, I’ve been torturing myself with Smart Ones and steamed vegetables. Little did I know, I could have eaten three slices of pizza and a few donuts if I hadn’t downed a bottle and a half of wine last night.

It sucks, because you don’t always get full from drinking, and it’s hard to look at liquids as fatty foods. So many of us brush it off, gain the freshman fifteen, and have new beer guts for bikini season. Well, the new year is upon us, and it’s time for some resolutions. You want some motivation? Click the link.

Well, if you remember correctly, I was fed up with my smoking-only-when-drinking rule, so last week I went cold turkey. It went decently for a few days, until I craved and had one during a SERIOUSLY stressful day at l’office. I have had a few here and there, but I must say, the thrill and sensation of lighting up a smoke and taking that first drag is gone for me.

Now, I just have to get my brain to agree with the rest of my body.

I have come to hate the smell and, almost equally, hate the taste. When my non-smoker co-workers won’t come near me because I reek of smoke, it makes me feel a little embarrassed, so I have been working on not smoking at all. I’m a human and have a weak moment here or there, but, for the most part I am doing much better.

The thing is, I really want to quit. I know it’s a horrendous and dirty habit, not to mention completely unhealthy. That said, there’s still a small part of me that needs that smoke when I’m stressed or upset, which – granted – is not very often, but still makes me want that smoke when I need it. I need to find another outlet as a way to deal with my stressful situations that arise from time to time.

So far, I am less than pleased with my progress, but hey, it could be worse. This week I am focusing on trying to bite my cravings with gum or something else to stop my smoke craving. This morning I smoked one and was so grossed out I vowed to not smoke anymore the rest of the day. I know for all you non-smokers out there, it may seem odd that I just can’t quit even though I say I want to, but it’s more strenuous than it seems to be. When you’re body is used to something, cutting it out right away is hard to do.

Ever since our family dentist looked at my brother’s teeth and asked him if he routinely fell asleep with candy in his mouth and my mother saw the amount of money it would take to clear his teeth of cavities, I haven’t had anything but diet soda.

Sugary sodas and juices went out the window as soon as my parents realized the havoc they were playing with our health (not like the aspartame in diet soda is any better…but…I mean…let’s not think about that), and since that fateful dentist appointment 13 years ago, I have been very conscious of the hidden bad stuff inside innocent-seeming liquids.

Sometimes, even the good, “healthy” stuff can stab you in the back. Need some examples?

Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz)

This shiz has 130 calories and 33 grams of sugar. I love VitaminWater because it makes me feel like I’m ingesting actual vitamins, but when I force myself to think about it…how healthy can something that tastes THAT sweet really be?

Pina Colada

This summer drink has 625 freaking calories and 75 grams of sugar. Do you KNOW how many miles on the treadmill that is? Give me some rum and a splash of lime — still tropical, but waaayyy less mean to the waist line. Read More »

This past weekend was crazy. Well, for after-college-Lauren, that is. I went out both Friday and Saturday night and got D to the Runk (which makes drunk) both nights. My drink of choice: Rum and Diet, with a refreshing squeeze of lime. Not only delicious, but the perfect blend for a happy, fun, drunk Lauren.

Sunday morning, though, was not so great. I felt like sh*t. I crawled out of bed and right onto the couch where I spent a good portion of my day watching TV and playing online. Which only made me feel worse. It turns out that feeling like crap was only the beginning of my problems. My weekend bender had me drinking crap.

And, no, I am not referring to lovely and magical alcohol as crap. I am literally talking about poop. In my drink.

According to a study discussed in this article, the little lemon wedges that adorn the top of water/soda/alcohol cups is not quite as clean and refreshing as we once thought. In fact, of the 76 lemons tested, “a total of 25 different types of germs were found.”

Ew.

Read More »

All I want today is a doughnut. A big, sticky, sugary, flaky doughnut.

And I’m f*&cking incensed over it.

All I want to do today is be elbow deep in butter cream frosting and rub it all over my face like war paint, while making Indian battle cries over my victory of gluttony.

And I’m so irate over it, that I cursed my salad for tasting like a f*&cking salad, instead of a cupcake.

No, I’m not about to start my period. I’m just being reminded that my eating has to be conscious in order to not fall back into a period of my life that was unhealthy and dark. A period where I let my mind, stress, and brutal standards for myself take over.

I used to have an eating disorder.

Back then, I would never acknowledge that’s what it was, the words too difficult to even think in my head. I never CALLED what I had a disorder. Instead I used words like hardcore dieting, choosing healthy options, and on the bad days I was having a “Free day“- though most people’s free days didn’t include 4 stops to 4 different fast food chains, followed by 2 boxes of cereal, followed by candy bars, followed by liquor, followed by pastries, followed by immobility. And often followed by vomiting. Read More »

Bulimia and Anorexia are old news. Isn’t it about time for a new type of disorder to grace the covers of our magazines? Well, thanks to a professor at the University of Iowa, girls all over the country now have another potential eating disorder to worry about: Purging Disorder.

Wait, I thought bulimia consisted of purging after eating large amounts of food? So, what’s the difference?

According to news reports, “The disorder is similar to bulimia nervosa in that both syndromes involve eating, then trying to compensate for the calories. What sets the disorders apart is the amount of food consumed and the way people compensate for what they eat. Women with purging disorder eat normal or even small amounts of food and then purge, often by vomiting. Women with bulimia have large, out-of-control binge eating episodes followed by purging, fasting or excessive exercise.”

Still confused? I was too.

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