Bodybuilding Professors Outmuscle the Stereotype
As an assistant professor of philosophy at Washington and Lee University and a professional bodybuilder, Melina Bell is used to people judging her body of workâand her body.
Guess which form of scrutiny gives her the sweats.
“When I’m standing up there all tanned and flexed, I am free of anxiety,” she says. “It’s when I’m presenting a paper that I start to feel exposed.”
Yeah, somehow excruciating physical effort STILL sucks less than a university job interview.
Full article, with photos and interviews with heavyweights Anne Bolin, Leslie Heywood, and Jan Todd
The Vegetarian Myth
Conscious eaters ask themselves how to eat ethically. Or how to live in good health. Or how to care for the environment. Lierre Keith has tackled all of these questions throughout her life. Like many people, she assumed that being vegan was a good way to implement her desire to care for her health, animals, and the environment. She diligently followed a vegan lifestyle for two decades. Then, she writes, her body gave out. Wracked with pain from a degenerative spinal condition; with insulin whiplash; with depression and cognitive problems; and with plain old hunger — all of which, she says, were caused by twenty years of self-imposed malnutrtition in the name of ethical eating — she knew she had to change.
Anti-obesity ad shocks New Yorkers
Hard to imagine New Yorkers can be shocked by anything, but whatever. A glass of thick, yellow human fat, marbled with blood vessels, is the latest weapon in America’s war on obesity…
Flu shots and danishes
Great little “WTF” post by KB queen Pamela McElree. Mandatory flu shot, mandatory sugar menu.
Why crystal meth lattes are bad for you
An important piece from Mike Mahler below, about stimulant use.
He confirms my own longstanding concerns about stimulant use in the fitness/nutrition population. (Thus he must be right. Ha ha!) It seems like every “serious” fitness type is jacked up on something, all the time. In the past I’ve used ephedrine and allowed my caffeine intake to drift up to something like 300 mg daily. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
‘Cause here’s the thing about stimulants. They do not “give” you energy. They BORROW energy from the future. Energy doesn’t come from nowhere. (Cf. Laws of Thermodynamics.) (Clicky to read more…)
Scooped again: NYT on Vitamin D
As usual the New York Times steals my ideas. (Hee!)
This one is particularly interesting for youse guys as site readers because it discusses the role of Vit D in athletic performance.
One of the important things to remember is that athletes typically need more nutrients than the average couch sloth. Thus, an intake that would be entirely adequate to prevent malnutrition in Jane Sixpack (the beer, not the abs) would be INadequate in Jane Sixpack (the abs, not the beer). Indeed, we don’t just want to prevent malnutrition; we want the body running at optimal condition.
So, if you’re active regularly, you may indeed need to supplement your diet even if you are already eating well.
The people benefiting from food allergies
From Slate.com, an interesting read about who benefits from the increase in food allergies over the past few decades. Food allergies of course are very real (I have some mild contact allergies with certain fruits, and shrimp for my sister equals a trip to the hospital), but this article asks some provocative questions about who ultimately cashes in.
Beware the Skinnymunch, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that crunch!
According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, which examines how other peoples’ weight and food choices influence how much we eat, we are more likely to eat more in the presence of a thin person who eats a lot.
I’m not really sure how broadly (sorry) applicable these findings are, but they at least add to a growing body (double sorry) of evidence that indicates how our eating behaviours are shaped by social cues.
The press release, as usual, oversimplifies the concepts underlying the research…
1 in 6 obese Australians believe their weight is normal, says survey
According to results released Sept 15 by Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) and the Heart Foundation in their joint second annual Zurich Heart Foundation Heart Health Index:
Australians have a risky, distorted perception of their health status, and are unwittingly putting their heart health at risk… [T]his year even more Australians have been shown to be obese or overweight (54 per cent)… Many Australians are clearly unaware that making lifestyle changes could lower their risk of heart disease…
[Clicky to read more…]
Knocked Up: A Female Nutrition Researcher’s Pregnancy
A great blog series by Cassandra Forsythe, one of the authors of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Cassandra’s in her first trimester, and journaling the ups, downs, and upchucking of pregnancy as an experienced weight trainer and nutritionist. First discovery: The George Costanza nap is a great innovation.
