Musical motivation
Upbeat music won’t make you overlook the pain of pushing yourself harder during a workout but it does get you to “accept, or even prefer, a greater degree of effort,” says a British study.
Add comment August 26, 2010
Black is the new superfood
Move over acai berry and mangosteen. The latest antioxidant-rich superfood making headlines? Black rice.
Add comment August 26, 2010
Just plain swell
Add comment August 26, 2010
Weight watcher
Not exactly the research finding I want to be reading after five indulgent days in NYC that included drinks with most meals, mac ‘n’ cheese for brunch (never heard of that, but on all the brunch menus in NYC, love it!), dessert with every dinner (like this plate of four fresh beignets with raspberry sauce and nutella at The Little Owl), a decadent 10-course meal at Momofuku Ko, all paired with zero gym time:
A study published in Nutrition & Metabolism has found that four weeks of increased gluttony and decreased exercise can cause increased weight and fat mass more than two years later.
(gulp)
3 comments August 25, 2010
Watered down
An easy way that may help boost your weight-loss efforts? Drinking two glasses of water before each meal. A clinical trial south of the border found that those who did this lost five pounds more while following a 12-week diet compared to those in the group who didn’t down H2O before each meal.
Add comment August 24, 2010
Good to go
Health & Swellness was frolicking in the Big Apple the past few days with a jam-packed itinerary in hand (Pizza at Grimaldi’s! A Broadway show! Brooklyn Flea! And, but of course, let’s not forget shop, shop, shopping!). And things I toted to NYC to make the trip a little easier?
Kevin Murphy Angel Jet.Pack (available at Blonde salon in Toronto). Didn’t stay at a hip boutique hotel, so those hotel toiletries just didn’t cut it. With everything from shampoo to body lotion in this Jet.Pack, I’m all set. And I kinda like that the squat cubes are personalized with my initial :)
L’Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base ($15.95). Our itinerary was BUSY. One day started with 7:45AM shopping at Century 21 (gotta maximize shopping time!) and ended with coveted dinner reservation at 9:50PM at Momofuku Ko (sooo good, fill ya in lata), so there was little time to be spent powdering my nose. This super light, whipped primer helps minimize pores and kept my shiny nose matte all day.
My Nintendo DSi XL and Picross 3D ($19.99). Health & Swellness can own up to being one impatient girl, which means she and airports are not a good match whatsoever. This addictive game kept me distracted from the dreary wait in LaGuardia. (I only hope I don’t start having the game playing in my mind 24/7 like I did with Tetris back in the day).
1 comment August 24, 2010
Jonesing for this journal
I’ve got certain things I obsess over: manis and pedis (loving my You Don’t Know Jacques OPI Axxium manicure from Tips Nail Bar!), bacon, blush, dogs, lip gloss, cats, Chicago, eating, and stationery–amongst many, many other things, of course, those are off the top of of my head.
And if you love good paper products as much as I do, you’ll want to check out the video at RevolveR Bound Books and Journals to see how these gorgeous journals go both ways (you’ll get it when you view it).
Add comment August 20, 2010
Operation hydration
When the aesthetician’s eyes practically popped out of her head, I knew my skin was in really, really bad shape. “Your skin is not dry, it’s dehydrated,” she said. I could tell that my skin was unlike any dehydrated skin she’d ever witnessed–I’m surprised she didn’t whip me straight into the company’s laboratory to use me as a case study.
Yes, Health & Swellness readers, along with my running, my water consumption’s gone off the rails, too. But, I’m determined to get back on track. For running, stylish gear and freshly downloaded iTunes (namely Ladyhawke and Lady Gaga) are inspiring me. Now onto Operation Hydration:
I used to think people who swore by their Britas were crazy–and then I became one of them. It so does taste different then plain ol’ tap. Alas, my Brita pitcher had seen better days so I ditched it months ago, along with my commitment to proper hydration it seems. Thankfully, I’ve got a new Mavea pitcher–which is very slick in terms of design plus it’s got a special screen to cut down on those floating bits of black carbon (I used to think I was the only one scared of the floating crud but then I read Save Karyn and was relieved to learn I wasn’t alone). A neat bonus is Mavea’s computer meter, which measures the length of time the filter has been in use and the volume of water filtered.
Something else I fear even more than the “crud” (aka black carbon particles) floating in my water pitcher? How unclean my reusable bottles are. Thing is I’m way too cheap to invest in a special brush and cleansing tablets to clean my bottles and so I never feel like I’m getting the bottle squeaky clean. And when I spotted an editor on a press trip chugging from a Alex Bottle, it’s funky shape intrigued me–what was that thick band across the middle, I thought? She gave me a quick demo and I immediately added it to my must-have list. This new line of bottles twists apart in the centre, so you can properly clean the insides (which also means you can drink juice, powder sports drinks or smoothies in it, too, or toss in ice cubes with ease).
Now that’s something I’ll drink to.
Add comment August 19, 2010
