That's Fit

Ever noticed how an after-work drink on Friday makes you feel sluggish all weekend, even though a drink on Saturday doesn't have the same effect? You're not alone -- it happens to a lot of people. And according to nutritionist Jane Clarke, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this -- it has to do with how alcohol is processed by your body after a long, hard day or week of work. In other words: If you're tired, stressed or depressed, one drink can be pretty potent, even for the most seasoned drinkers.

Other things that affect how the drink affects you? If you've just come from a workout, a cocktail will affect you more easily than it would if you hadn't worked up a sweat. Similarly, if you haven't eaten a nutritious meal beforehand, alcohol will affect you more than it would have if you had.

However, if you're in college, you're probably thinking this is a good thing. Do your liver a favour and drink wisely.

Most Mondays you'll find me in Bodyflow class (a Tai Chi/Pilates/Yoga combo) with a bunch of ... women. In all the weeks I've been attending, never a guy. All the testosterone sits below in the free weight room. I have one question for fitness guys everywhere -- why aren't you there? My husband can't be the only one in town willing to commit to a Triangle Pose.

According to this article in Yoga Journal, 77 percent of U.S. yoga practitioners are female. Seems the number should be higher based on my personal observation over the years, coupled with the fact that only one in 10 Yoga Journal subscribers is a dude. The author offers a few reasons why men and yoga don't date in this country, here are three I found interesting:

• Yoga is simply foreign territory -- It takes a brave man to enter that room full of calm women, likely led by a woman or if the instructor is a man, not likely the towel-snapping-let's-go-for-a-beer-after-the-game type of guy's guy.
• Yoga hurts -- Scientists don't know why, but men are less flexible, with boys losing flexibility faster than girls by adolescence. Weight-training tends to take priority over flexibility-training in male sports programs.
• It's a brain thing -- namely, mirror neurons. These brain cells receive signals from another person and trigger similar reactions in the observer. Mirror neurons are firing when you're watching and imitating a yoga instructor. It's unknown if women have more of these cells or they're simply more active, but women definitely mimic better than men. Guys, don't lose hope. Your mirror neurons will improve if you keep returning to the yoga mat.
  

OK, guys. Have you tried yoga? Will you try yoga? Let us know in the poll below. The world needs more than a few good Yoga Men.

The days are so short now. By the time I've helped my son complete his homework and get dinner on the stove, it's pitch black outside. When it's dark out when you start your workday and dark when you get home, it can take a toll on your well-being. There are things you can do, though, to keep your energy running high during the darker days of winter. Here they are:

• Sun exposure. This time of year, it's important to get outside and spend some time in the sun. Even if it's just a 10-minute walk during your lunch hour, the sunlight will do you good.
• Exercise. An active lifestyle helps to keep you energized. Commit to exercising every day. That doesn't mean you have to have an intense hour-long workout every day. You can vary your workout doing short 10-minute bursts one day, a moderate 30-minute workout the next, and an intense, longer session on other days.
• Nutrition. Certain foods can help boost your energy. Healthcastle has tips on foods that will help increase energy. AOL Health also has a list of fatigue-fighting foods.

Holidays make me happy. For some, though, holidays bring on the blahs. If the season gets you down, allow food to come to your rescue. Here, five foods that can banish your blues.

• Whole grains Whole grains pump up that brain chemical called serotonin, which regulates appetite and improves mood, food cravings, and sleep. Hey, can't do much better than that.
• Spinach Leafy greens are a great source of folate, a B vitamin also related to serotonin.
• Bananas Get your B6 here and your body will make, you guessed it: Serotonin.
• Salmon Omega-3s are key here. They can decrease your chances of depression and memory loss.
• Water Mild dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue, poor short-term memory, and impaired concentration and cognition. Need I say more? Got to drink your water.
  

Need more holiday inspiration? Click on the Holidash link below.

Feeling a bit grouchy? Include these foods in your diet to improve your mood.

Childhood obesity is becoming a big problem in the United States as well as many other countries. There are many factors that contribute to the problem, including poor nutrition at home, lack of nutrition education, unhealthy school lunches, and marketing/advertising of unhealthy foods to kids. But as the attention on childhood obesity increases, are we going too far and generating a fear of fat in kids?

A recent survey of 150,000 kids found that 1/4 of 10-year-old boys and 1/3 of girls that age are worried about their body image and shape. I found those numbers disconcerting. Yes, children should be at a healthy weight. Being overweight can have long-term effects on a child's health and self-esteem. But, in trying to help kids achieve/maintain a healthy weight, we shouldn't sacrifice a positive body image and shouldn't damage a healthy relationship with food.

Instead of forcing young kids to think about calorie intake and burning calories, we should just model and support healthy eating habits and make physical activity and play a part of every day. If your child is overweight, try these nine positive ways to help them get healthy.

Recently, TV star Katherine Heigl raised a few eyebrows when she said, "I'm finished with the whole idea of having children of my own. It doesn't seem like any fun. I don't think it's necessary to go through all that." Isn't pregnancy supposed to be a gift? A miracle? More meaningful than just some tedious inconvenience?

But Heigel is not alone -- according to The Daily Mail, many women are choosing adoption over pregnancy. The reasons are many but a couple are especially common: To keep their career on track and maintain their figure. Says one adoptive mother: "I am quite slim, so yes, a lot of it is pure vanity. I don't like the thought of changing my body for a child. Giving birth and the idea of all that pain filled me with dread."

Is not giving birth because of vanity a selfish move? Or a practical one? In the end, it all comes down to personal choice, but I'm curious -- what do you think?

Whether the scale is our friend or enemy, there's one role it certainly plays in most of our lives: Trusted confidant, the one thing that always tells the truth about our weight. Or does it?

Recent statistics out of Britain revealed some alarming facts about scales -- specifically, that a third of them are inaccurate, even in hospitals, where obtaining a proper scale reading could mean the difference between life and death.

Obviously, the need to get an accurate reading on our bathroom scales isn't as dire, but most of us know that a scale reading can make or break our days. It can mean the difference between feeling confident and attractive versus feeling frumpy and fat. Remember to calibrate your home scale, or chuck it all together and gage your weight on how your clothes fit.

Whether you think Bush stole the election in 2000 or you're sitting there wondering how Obama could possibly beat your hero McCain, Election Day anxiety is at peak performance right now. Before you sit down to watch CNN's John King work the red vs. blue Magic Map, take 2:50 for your sanity.

In this video, Tara Stiles offers up a few yoga breathing techniques to lower your heart rate and help avoid total freakout as tonight's results pour in. A big cheer if you exercised your right to vote, and whatever the outcome, get up early and exercise tomorrow to relieve some stress.

"Good Lord," I said to my friend as we perused racks of clothing in the mall. "This wouldn't fit my right thigh, let alone my hips. Who is buying these? Thirteen-year-old boys?" That small exchange sums up my feelings towards size zero and its frightening successor, size 00 or double zero. Unless you're less than five feet tall and genetically petite, is it ever healthy to be a size zero? If not, then why are the people who model clothing that slim? Isn't that sending exactly the wrong message to the masses?

That's why I was intrigued by this article titles The Death of Size Zero from the Times UK.

As a Biggest Loser fan, I learned a few new and interesting facts about the show and enjoyed seeing how past contestants have fared at maintaining their dramatic weight loss in the real world -- you know, the land of overwhelming family and job responsibilities, hesitation at purchasing fresh raspberries because they're $4 a handful, no time in the day to read the newspaper, and convenience/fast foods beckoning everywhere.

Did you know:

• Biggest Loser contestants spend 6-7 hours a day in the gym at the ranch?
• Women eat 1,200 calories a day and burn 4,000 calories; men eat 1,800 and burn 6,000?
• 114 contestants have lost over 10,000 pounds?
• Last season's winner, Ali, has kept the weight off (234 lbs to a sleek 125 today) with 5-6 workouts a week and weighing/measuring all her food. Mark (285 lbs, now 189) has kept off the weight and learned how to feel emotions again?
  
• Suzy, Ryan, Erik have gained some or nearly all the weight back, but they're fighting?

Overweight women are having more sex than women of a normal weight. Are you surprised?

Researchers who conducted the study are surprised. "These results were unexpected and we don't really know why this is the case," said one of the study's authors.

What's really unexpected here, I think, is their reaction. Have those persuasive media images that tell us what's "beautiful" influenced even people who should be above such things?

When you put on a couple of pounds, it's easy to ignore it. But eventually, if you keep putting on weight, there will come a point at which you know things just have to change. Maybe it's a depressing shopping trip, or a photograph. Or, if you're Kevin Smith, it's when you break a toilet.

The director/writer/actor has been conscious of his size for some time now -- his doctor called him morbidly obese, which is sure to get anyone's mind on losing weight, but it was after breaking a toilet that he really realized that he needed to do something.

"I'm going away for a while to concentrate on myself," said Smith, "to save my life." Once he's done doing press for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, he plans to get away and focus on counting calories and losing a bunch of pounds. It sounds like he's in a bad place, but he's got a plan, and I hope he's got plenty of friends to help him through it -- we all know support makes a big difference!

Have you ever been in a house of mirrors with all those wacky, warped things that make you look twisted, short and squat, or long and skinny? It turns out those distorting mirrors aren't reserved for festivals and amusement parks ... many clothing stores use subtle mirror tricks to make you look longer and leaner.

It can be a disappointment when, while shopping, you find clothes that look good on you -- only to find that they don't look so great when you get home. According to one Seattle boutique owner, creating a "skinny mirror" is as easy as tilting it slightly back. Your best bet is to know your own body type and dress accordingly. And maybe bring a friend shopping with you to be a reliable judge of how you look.

For many people, it's hard enough to look in the mirror and have a positive body image. Harder still when the mirrors in stores are playing tricks on you. Learning to love the reflection in the mirror starts with a healthy lifestyle. When you make a habit of exercising and eating healthfully, you know you're doing right by your body -- and that's a positive stepping stone toward confidence in your appearance.

[via FitSugar]

Who's afraid of big, bad spiders, bears, lightning, heights, getting lost, tight spaces and being alone in the dark? Many people are so irrationally frightened of one or more of these, they'll never plan a fitness vacation into the backcountry. We allow these fears to minimize our exposure to the wonders of nature, even though we're more likely to be crushed by a vending machine than killed by a bear in Glacier National Park.

Enter cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The cognitive part teaches you the truth about the fear, while the behavioral aspect involves gradual exposure therapy to conquer the phobia. Backpacker Magazine has a terrific article explaining the real truth behind these seven common backcountry phobias, as well as do-it-yourself exposure techniques to beat each one.

I confess to being irrationally frightened of bears, especially grizzlies. I've never slept well in grizzly-land. I even picked black bear over grizzly country for a trip last July, yet still had a devastatingly real dream a grizzly was poised to attack my husband before I could reach for the bear spray. House spiders make me scream. What a bunch of hooey, I'm in need of CBT. Any phobias you're ready to conquer to open nature's door to burning thousands of calories per day hiking or backpacking?