Who would’ve thought that being a gym bunny could be bad for your health? Sure, it takes a lot of time to work out too much, and you probably don’t have any time, but it is possible that those daily workouts are a bit too much for your body. Overexerting yourself can be easier than you think.

Most athletes, whether recreational or competitive, believe that running just a little longer or lifting weights just a little heavier during the next workout will be most beneficial to their bodies and, in most of our heads, best for our jean size. Working out daily isn’t the problem, nor is it normally bad for you, but working out too hard daily is when your body cries for help. Read More »

Adam Lambert is bigger than the Beatles?

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are dunzo!

Germans stink in bed. Literally.

Privilege and the Ivy League.

What’s wrong with Tori Spelling?

Lip gloss that curbs your appetite? Hollerrrr.

With all the crazy diet fads, weight loss pills and general hysteria over how to shed extra weight, it’s no surprise when another completely ridiculous tactic comes out.

And I’m not talking “only eat bacon” ridiculous.

Allow me to introduce you to Dr. Nikolas Chugay’s mesh patch. When sewn onto the tongue it becomes so painful to eat, that you just can’t. That’s right this doctor from California who has a PhD in medicine is going to make it so painful for you to eat that you won’t have any other option but to stick to a liquid diet.

Ten women have already done it and – surprise, surprise – some have lost up to 20 pounds. (Really, if you don’t eat any solid food, you’ll lose weight? Who knew!)

Now if this guy has actually found women desperate enough to inflict physical pain on themselves to lose their muffin top, I think the world of medicine is ready to radically expand. Can you imagine how much money can be made inventing other completely unreasonable ways for women to keep their stomachs empty?

I have a couple of ideas already. Read More »

I have this theory that anything that’s good for the planet is good for your health as well.  You’ve heard it all before:  ditching the car, eating organic greens, and drinking tap water are all great ways to maintain your well-being.  But did you know that adding a little green to your workout routine can actually bump it its effectiveness and your subsequent sexiness?  Read on, my friend…

Treadmill vs. Trail: Treadmills use a lottt of energy – about 6 hours of lights on a Christmas tree-worth in only 30 minutes (obscure analogy, I know).  Running outside, however, requires no additional energy except for that needed to manufacture your workout clothes.  I don’t expect you to run outside just for the environment’s sake, but what if I told you that running outside can up your calorie burn and save your joints from strain and impact?  Not only are trails more likely to have inclines that torch calories like a wildfire, they also have a bumpier terrain which causes your muscles to make tiny corrective movements. All in all, this can increase your calorie burn by up to 10%!  Run on sand, and burn 1.6 times more calories!  Plus, dirt trails, wet and dry sand, and even asphalt (never run on the concrete sidewalk!) are softer than the surface of treadmills and will better protect your knees and ankles from impact and future joint pain.  Trust me, running in nature sure beats trotting alongside that 50 year old man sweating like a pig in his 1976 gym shorts. Read More »

I took a yoga class during my senior year of college. Somehow, the dingy and cramped gymnasium-esque room, ratty exercise mats and lingering body order stench kind of zapped the whole “zen” experience. But I still felt great when it was over and wanted more, more, more. However, with limited funds in college, the idea of joining a local studio was out of the question.

That’s why I’m obsessed with Yoga Month and knew you lovely readers would appreciate it as well. You can get a free week of yoga at participating studios across the country anytime during the month of September! I know there’s only a week left (I just found out about it myself!), so go here right now and search your zip code to find a location close to your campus.

Never tried yoga? Well then, this is the perfect opportunity to try it out for a week and see what you think. I mean, it does have just a few benefits: less stress (it can even change your gene response to stress!), boosted mood (and perhaps a cure for depression and anxiety) and better posture (it may even reverse that slumped over look that happens after hours of computer usage). And hey, if the body bonuses don’t do it for you…what about totally adorbs yoga gear like Lululemon (which is cuter/nicer than 90 percent of normal clothes I typically wore to class)? I’ll take any excuse to shop some sales.

Yoga Month is totally free, so why not?

I’ve resisted buying the iPhone for three reasons.

A) It’s freakin expensive.
B) EVERYONE has one and, well, I just don’t want to be like everyone else.
C) If my boss was to find out I have internet access at all times, she will think it’s OK to email me outside office hours.

But recently I spent hours, yes hours, playing with my friend’s iPhone: I visited FMyLife.com, I Facebook-stalked, I discovered there are health and fitness applications! It was the most fun I’ve ever had.

So before I bite the bullet and buy one of these suckers, I want to share my fave nutrition and fitness-related apps with you. Read More »

Despite all the diet mumbo jumbo that overwhelms women on a daily basis, weight loss is a rather simple formula: burn more calories than you eat. The end.

How do you burn those calories? Duh, you workout. You run, you swim, you blade, you work so hard your shirt is soaked with sweat and you smell like one of the guys asking you for money on your way to class. It’s brutal and it’s annoying, but you gotta do it if you don’t want all those late night pizza runs to stick to your booty.

But a new study from LSU has proven that exercise may not help us lose weight after all. In fact, what it does do is make us all hungrier so we end up consuming all those calories we just worked so hard to burn…and end up with the same results we would have had if we had simply stayed home and watched Real World Cancun on the couch. Read More »

"Just smile through the pain. Smile. Through. The. Pain."

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it here another two weeks. I may kill myself. Or someone else.

I say this because yesterday I was forced to do a mini-triathalon. I’m not sure if I’ve ever endured greater agony than what I just experienced. Alright, that’s sort of an overstatement, but it really was incredibly effing hard. I could use a nap right about now. Until next Tuesday.

Since my last post (and weigh-in) I’ve lost at least 7 pounds. A couple nights ago I looked at a picture taken of me the night before I came here and one taken the other day and I saw really exciting results. I’ve definitely halved myself (at least in the stomach area).

Other discoveries since this last weigh-in: Read More »

Having now survived a full week of fat camp, I think I can safely say that I probably have never worked as hard in my life as I have since I got here. I’m incredibly out of shape (which adds to the difficulty), and it’s been a big change for me. It’s been a good change, however; I needed to get out of my comfort zone.

Prior to this, my comfort zone entailed usually half-heartedly participating in team sports and eating bad food. Here I cannot and do not get to do either of these things. The biggest issue for me has probably been waking up early to do a three mile walk each morning. Considering that, if left alone, I can sleep until 8 PM, getting up to do such an activity is a big thing for me.

I’ve really learned how to let myself go a little however, which I definitely needed to do. All my life, I have had no athletic ability and try to hide it at any cost. But for the first time, I now play sports such as soccer and basketball with enthusiasm (meaning I actually run instead of walk), which makes me feel great. I’m forcing myself to take full advantage of this experience (except for when I did a boxing class, taught by a former bodybuilder, and broke down and cried in the middle) and my body is constantly reminding me of that by keeping me sore all the time .

But it’s good sore, right?

Read More »

All my life, I’ve been heavy. When I was younger I was ridiculed and bullied constantly about my weight problem, so I was always fairly depressed. Sure, I ate a lot (…of pastries), but my eating never warranted the amount of weight I would actually gain. It was strange – I went to camp one summer and came back 30 pounds heavier even though I barely ate the slop I was served the two months I was away.

At my heaviest (which was in eighth grade), I weighed 230 pounds. I had been to a fat farm (fat camp, weight loss summer program, what have you) for two weeks before entering my last year of middle school but I had gained everything I lost back. My parents and I realized it was time for more drastic action, and with that I was enrolled at Camp Pocono Trails for eight weeks. Read More »