Happy Weekend!

I'm in Livingstone for the weekend, going to see Victoria Falls and some rhinos and whatever else we come across.

Internet connection is spotty at best, so just going to post this fabulous video- a recreation of a fairly well known experiment testing kids' ability to balance immediate gratification against long-term reward. They draw all kinds of Big Conclusions from the real study (summarized here), but basically, I'm posting this because it's cute, and it's Friday.

Have a great weekend!

Week 5 Round-Up: Olympic Edition

I just love the Olympics, like the great big jingoistic fool that I am. Not surprisingly, there've been tons of great health and and athletics articles out around the games.

This is my favorite link of the week:

I just love her. (Michelle, call me! I totally love vegetables too! We can hang out!)

And my 2nd favorite, demonstrating how NBC is propagating its homosexual agenda (and thank god for it) (Really NBC? Seacrest? REALLY?)

Source: buzzfeed.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Week 4 Round-Up

It's crazy to me that this blog is old enough to have traditions, so it's with great relish that I am going to break with the "traditional" format of my weekly round-up.

Instead of talking about a bunch of articles from this week (and there were a number of good ones) I want to focus on just one.

Scientific American, which is a real, legit news source in my book (sorry, Shape) ran a story this week in which the author looked at the rules of the Paleo Diet-type diets (also called primal eating, or ancestral) and compared them to what is really known about what people ate in the Paleolithic era.

This could not be more dead-on what this blog is about, so I'm going to devote the whole post to talking about it.

Week 3 Round-Up

Week 3: July 13-19

Week 3 done! Each day seems so long but each week is so short.

I am ready to start Paleo next week- I'm looking forward to starting the Experiment fo' realz. I am looking forward to eat salmon steaks for breakfast, testing out new recipes, and losing a little weight. I'm looking forward to reporting on some results, too.

The Fitbit has been a great success- it's already given me some interesting insight, and it's motivational. I'll do a full report when I have a little more experience with it, but so far, I love it.

A lovely weekend to everyone!

Top Story of the Week

The article: Weekends in the Kitchen with My Fat Dad. Dawn Lerman, NYT, July 19, 2012.

What it says: The author has written a series of articles about growing up with a morbidly obese father. She spends a couple of weeks with him at a weight loss spa, and taught herself to cook as a way to deal with her fear and conflicting feelings about him.

Why it's interesting: Lerman explores the impact of growing up with her father's self-destructive behavior, her family's unhealthy food habits, and establishing a healthy relationship with food for herself. It's a really interesting discussion of how our families impact the way we see ourselves and our world, and about learning from your history and using it as a tool to set your own path, rather than allowing it to trap you. 

Week 2 Round-up

Ouch.

Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Week 2: July 6- 12

Done with Week 2! Below, I've posted the best of the news of the week. If you know of anything I missed or any sites I should be checking regularly, please let me know.

Next week, I'll launch Phase 1 of the experiment and kick off my Paleo Diet. I am excited to actually get started- I have to speed read through Cordain's Paleo Diet book so I can a) figure out exactly what I'm going to be eating and b) report to you what I think of it. Until then... happy weekend!


Top Story of the Week
The article: In Dieting, Magic Isn't a Substitute for Science. Gina Kolata, NYTimes, July 9, 2012.

From Chicago-Hearald-Tribune

What is says: The article profiles an interview with an obesity researcher, Dr. Jules Hirsch, responding to a recent JAMA study which showed that, "after losing weight, people on a high-fat, high-protein diet burned more calories than those eating more carbohydrates."

Dr. Hirsch spends the rest of the article poking various holes in the study, including the fact that there were only 21 participants- not nearly large enough to draw conclusions. He also brings up what I think is essentially the Law of the Conservation of Energy, or at least the dieter's equivalent of it. The Law of Conservation of Energy is a physics principle which states that matter (i.e. energy, i.e. calories) can neither be created nor destroyed. That is, calories going into a system (your body) will always equal calories leaving the system. Therefore, it doesn't matter what form you eat your calories in, you're not going to get rid of extra calories (ie, stored fat) without creating a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you put into your system, either by reducing your calorie intake, or increasing your energy output through activity, or a combination of the two.

Why it's interesting: The question of whether a calorie is just a calorie is really the key issue for every single diet. On one hand, I took physics; I understand the principle and, you know, I'm not really ready to take on whatever genius came up with it. On the other hand, I can't quite believe that my body will really react to 250 calories of Doritos in the same way it might react to 250 calories of blueberries. That's what this blog's about- finding out for myself! One other note: Loren Cordain, who wrote the Paleo Diet book, would argue that a high-fat, high-protein diet like what was studied in the JAMA article is TERRIBLE for you. Paleo is a VERY high protein, moderate fat, low carb diet, and he would argue that that is a significant difference.

Bonus:  Someone suggested on Twitter yesterday that the staff at NYT must wander around with "If you like Gina Ko-la-ta, getting caught in the rain..." stuck in their heads. Ha! That must kill them.

Week 1 Round-Up

This is neither Gary Taubes
nor Mark Bittman. Getty Images.

A quick run-through of relevant news items from the week- I'll keep a running tab of all of these on the "In the News" page, too.

Would love suggestions for other good sources for health news- please tell me in the comments if you know of one.

July 5, 2012
Chinese athletes are suffering from meat withdrawal. Or is it the lead they're missing? NPR.

July 4, 2012
Eat a hot dog! It's what Thomas Jefferson would want. Also, you know what will kill you way faster than your diet? Shooting fireworks out of your butt.

July 3, 2012
This lady can eat whatever she wants and she's got great skin too. Feel free to shake a fist. Washington Post.