Alcohol and Exercise

Good Morning! Happy Monday!

So, for the first time in, well, possibly ever, I actually benefited from my terrible Facebooking habit... (stay with me here...)

Yesterday morning, while enjoying my perfectly-healthy-in-moderation cup of coffee, I came across a friend's updated activity on my Facebook newsfeed that grabbed my attention.... "Person I barely know but still stalk on Facebook just read an article on Washington Post Social Reader -  Drinking and Exercise: How Alcohol Affects Your Body."

I debated for a short minute on not reading the article... I thought to myself that this article is for those 21 and 22 year old's who start their weekends on Thursday and end them on Tuesday... definitely not me...but then I flashed back to my week.... 1 beer with dinner on Saturday.... 2 happy hour beers on Friday... glass of wine with friend on Wednesday.... hmmm... maybe I should read this article...

...so I did... and as a die-hard runner and exerciser... not to mention a girl finding it a tad harder to fit into her khaki pants... I'm rethinking this whole post college "I don't drink a lot" mentality.

Here's a brief overview of the article, but I highly suggest you read it in it's entirety.

How Alcohol Affects Your Body:

• Slower Recovery 
• Packed-On Fat
• Disrupted Sleep
• Depleted Water and Nutrients 

Check it out here: Alcohol and Exercise

How much is alcohol a part of your life?

For me, any sort of social situation involves alcohol... it's for sure a challenge that's hard to avoid. 

Stay Healthy,

Aw, Sugar, Sugar.

It's no shocker that sugar is  e v e r y w h e r e  ....

 I was in Target the other week, I mean, I was in Target yesterday (who am I trying to fool... I'm probably there 5 times a week) and walked down an aisle and found discounted Valentine's Day candy.... I turned down another aisle only to find just the beginning of at least 5 aisles stacked with Easter candy....

Like I said... its everywhere, and while it may seem easy to avoid, you know... like dodging all aisles filled with brightly colored bags of chocolate.... it's the other aisles that you need to be worried about... the aisles that may seem healthy, but in all reality have just as much, if not more sugar than the chocolate covered marshmallow Easter Bunnies that you strategically looked away from moments earlier...

Hidden Sugar.
It's dangerous.
It's why America is so fat.
and worst of all...

it's hidden.

Take for example this cereal breakfast bar below:

 

The box highlights the nutrition facts that you want to see:

• low sodium
• low fat
• high fiber
• high in vitamins

Flip the box over and discover the sugar content: 16 grams.

You could eat this delicious processed cookie:

Oreo Cookie:
14 grams












and consume 2 grams LESS sugar than the granola bar.


Or this flavored yogurt for 3 additional grams of sugar:

flavored yogurt: 19 grams

Don't let the terms organic, natural or low fat fool you. Just because it may seem healthy at first glance... doesn't mean it is healthy.... read the nutrition facts - all of them. 

A recent study revealed that most people only read the first 5 lines on the Nutrition Facts. 

Sugar content is typically line 9.

Do me and your body a favor and take the extra time at the grocery store to find the hidden sugar in products before you buy them. 

On that note, I'm off to make some oatmeal....

plain oatmeal:
1 gram

Stay Healthy,