Social Health Nut

How To: Stay Fit During Conference Season

I work in social media marketing at a startup. We like to go to conferences and talk about things like the ROI of a Tweet. I also go to startupish events because I like hanging out with passionate young minds like myself. This stuff is fun! However, the booze-filled nights of mingling at bars then *sitting* idly at a convention center isn't necessarily the best for your waistline. Here are things I try to do.

BYOB - Bring Your Own Breakfast.

A lot of times conferences serve breakfast, but it's probably catered breakfasts of pastries and muffins. All of these things are okay in moderation of course, but a healthier option is probably in your own kitchen. Bring some oatmeal packets and use the hot water from the tea station to make something with fewer calories. You'll feel much better the whole day with a healthy breakfast to start the day off with.

Don't Skip Your Workout

Don't skip your workout just because you're traveling. It feels better to stay on a schedule. Do it in the morning or it won't get done, with networking meetups and other events most likely happening right after the final keynotes of the conference. Plus, it's a networking opportunity, right? You never know who is staying in your hotel, too and who is on the treadmill next to you.

Dessert Or No Dessert?

If you really want the cookies they serve in the afternoon, have one, obviously! But remember, a cookie should be the size of say, a Chips Ahoy - not a frisbee. I try to keep in mind that even when it's a special day in my mind and I try to make excuses (it's a conference...I'm traveling...I can slack) my body knows no difference. A calorie is a calorie.

Drink In Moderation - Or Not at All!

Networking mixers often include meetups at bars which means drinking. We all know that I can be a lush. But alcohol does have a lot of calories so I try actually keep it at a minimum and pick one drink I can get really excited about for the night and keep it at that. Wine is usually around 150 calories a class. Or, choose vodka. It's around 100 calories a shot and if you mix it with soda water or diet then you can save few calories than if you mix it with juice. Also, you don't have to drink at all. It is an option, and don't let others make you awkward about it. :) 

Any other tips? How do you stay fit during conference season?

100 Calorie Desserts vs. The Real Thing

Recently while cruising through the aisles of Stop n' Shop, I made an impulse purchase of the fat free Jello chocolate puddling. I thought, "Awesome! I can get my chocolate fix, only 100 calories at a time."

Over the course of about a week, I had about one pudding cup a day. Each time I told myself it was only 100 calories, so it didn't really matter.  But at the end of the 6-cup pack, I'd had about 600 calories in "dessert."

Let's be serious. If you're gonna have dessert, don't half-ass it. For 600 calories, I could've had...

 

A slice of red velvet cake.

 

Or this...

Or this...

The point is, for 600 calories, I could've enjoyed a real, delicious, honest-to-God sweet treat. Maybe at a restaurant, with a friend or such, as opposed to scooping pathetic spoonfuls of chemical-based fat-free, fun-free lame pudding while standing in my jammies barefoot next to my kitchen sink.

I think a lot about how moderation is key when it comes to diet and exercise. What form does moderation take? Maybe it can take small, daily portions of a sweet treat. Or, perhaps it can take the form of the occasional splurge of the real deal. I've been thinking about it, and really, I am probably consuming more calories doing that former. Personally, if I'm faced with a huge piece of cake at a restaurant, I'm just not inclined to finish all (600 calories perhaps) of it. I might have half. An actual "splurge" wouldn't even add up to 600 - more than a meal's worth - of calories. But 100 little pudding cups each day for a week? Oh I'm definitely doing that, barefoot in my jammies next to my kitchen sink in fact.

Sometimes it's best and easiest to simply look at food as nourishment. It takes the guess work out. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. Don't fixate on it. But there's more to life and food than that. Food can be an experience--a very enriching, enjoyable, shared experience to be taken in and savored bite by bite or sip by sip.  100 calorie pudding cups don't quite do this. They don't nourish you like this.

How do YOU stay in moderation?

All images from www.smittenkitchen.com

Focus On The Numbers That Matter

I haven't posted in forever! I'm sorry I've neglected you. Having settled in to my new job as the Community Manager for a startup oneforty, (we're the Twitter app store don'tcha know) I'm ready to get back to making sweet blog love to Social Health Nut on the regular.

Instead of sharing another video or posting some random study I've read lately I thought I'd share a personal story of weight/fitness and see what you think.

I never usually pay attention to what I weigh. I typically have a general idea, but as a former gymnast and swimmer I tend to fall on the more muscular side of the spectrum. Muscle is denser than fat (a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh a pound...but one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat, make sense?) and I'm almost 5'6. I thought I weighed around 145, but since my pants had been fitter looser the past six months or so I figured I was around 140 or something.

So then I go on my annual visit to the "lady doctor" (ifyaknowwhatImean...fun. wow.) and I decide to let them tell me my weight for once.

154.

Wait what?

154.

As if the damn "lady doctor" isn't horrific enough...

If you haven't sensed this, here's the truth: I'm terribly insecure. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a girl my age who deep in her heart isn't sometimes.  So, this was hard to process. It was a "glass half empty" kind of moment, and I saw this as half way to 200. I kind of flipped.

Here's what I decided: I can't ultimately control what I weigh, so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm only going to worry about the numbers I can control. Those are the ones that matter.

I can control the number of times a week I go to the gym. I can control my portion sizes, my calories. I can control my choices. How my body reacts to the healthy choices I make and what weight it settles at is out of my control, at least that is the way I see it.  I have cellulite and ribs, biceps and a little tummy roll. I eat mostly fruits and veggies. Because of my new migraine medication I can't drink anymore.  This is...actually...the best I can do.

Maybe I'm just never going to look like a Pussycat Doll. That's ok. I have better things to do.

The Onion: Dominos Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat

Buy me this.

 

I saw this Threadless t-shirt on The Chicktionary, a great blog written by that fierce Asian chick Lena Chen who used to write the Sex and the Ivy blog. I love her and I love everything about this t-shirt. Can I haz?

Does Your Job Make You Fat? And What Ever Happened To Lunch and Recess?

We're missing out on our mid-day break! 

Today, an article in the LA Times highlighted the results of a Career Builder survey with 44% of respondents saying they gained weight at their current jobs.  Stress was noted as a contributing factor.  The article also pointed out that only 9% of employees use their lunch hours to exercise.

Now rounding out my first year as a full-time desk jockey, a child of the public relations school of workaholism, I'm just impressed when people actually take lunch breaks. The concept of taking a mid-day break to exercise is that much more foreign. I need me some subtitles homeslice.

I think if we all went back to how it was when we were kids, we wouldn't be so stressed out and fat. Remember how you brought your lunch to school, saving money AND calories by munching on a homemade sandwich versus the deceivingly calorie-laden deli sandwiches? And remember going outside and running around at recess? Remember coming back feeling all relaxed and refreshed for the afternoon?

Last week I read an adorable NY Times piece about 5 men who have been having lunch together for 25 years.  It made me think about all the fun and bonding people like me are missing out on.

It's a sunny and gorgeous time of the year in Boston and I'm making it a personal goal of mine this summer to take a lunch break a few times a week and walk around a little bit. I challenge everyone else to do the same!

photo: http://shows.savedisneyshows.org/recess/images/recess_wall1_800.jpg

New Ad: Jennifer Aniston Amazing and Fit As Always

I mean, seriously. How can you not have a crush on her? She's fit and healthy.  And um, she's not on a baby food diet thankyouverymuch. Anyway, I just think she looks so athletic and amazing in this new ad for Smart Water. This = motivation haha. Oh and PS Brad, you are an idiot.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/18/jennifer-aniston-bares-ri_n_580319.html

How Many Calories Do You Burn on Twitter?

I saw a great piece on Mashable yesterday that begs the question: How many calories do you burn while using Twitter?  Want to find out? Check out a fun Twitter application called TweetCalories, which shows how many calories you burned over the last 24 hours by Tweeting.

I didn't Tweet too much over the weekend, so I only scorched a measly 2.06 calories. I think you burn more calories sneezing. I might Google that. Furthermore, this isn't actually meant to be a top-notch weight-loss tool, but rather, it's a marketing trick for a fitness center in Brazil.  I happen to think this is a cute technique though, not to mention somewhat successful on the viral side of things.  I mean, they got me to blog about it, right?

Check out the application and tell me what you think.  Is this successful marketing?

Chia Seed Diet: Would You Try It?

A friend of mine recently made me aware of a new diet her friends were trying: The Chia Seed Diet.  As in...Chia Pets? Huh?At first blush, I thought this was some ridiculous diet hoax championed by Skinny Bitch crazies who Bible-thump "portion control methods" like...laxatives. And also at first, I thought this meant to literally eat the Chia Pet plant. (Talk about laxatives. Yikes.)

But no. There is some actual science and legitimacy to this trend.  The Chia seeds are sold in a specific variety called Salvia hispanica.  According to EatingWell.com, "this type of chia reportedly packs more alpha-linoleic acid, an omega-3 fat, than flaxseeds, and also provides fiber, antioxidants and even some calcium and iron. A member of the mint family that is abundant in Mexico and South America, chia was highly prized by the Aztecs, who believed it provided supernatural powers. Today, it’s being touted for having cardiovascular benefits, reducing blood sugar levels and perhaps even squelching hunger pangs."It may help with hunger because of the gel-like form the seeds take on when they get wet in your digestive system.  According to research, this gel may help some of your calories from being absorbed.The articles I read recommend sprinkling the seeds in yogurt, oatmeal or salads the same way you would eat flax seeds.

To boot, Dr. Oz chatted with his BFF Oprah a little about Chia seeds during a segment about anti-aging tips. I do whatever Oprah says, so I might actually give this a go. What do you think? Is this something you would try?

Glee Gets Physical.

Happy Tuesday! A new Glee episode is on tonight. In oh-so-Social Health Nut fashion, they re-did Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" last week.  If you aren't already watching Glee, here is a snippet of the awesomeness you are missing.