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Showing posts from August 27, 2018

Is It Okay to Have Aesthetic Goals?

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Recently (well, ok, it’s always been a thing), my attention has been drawn to all the contradicting messages on social media regarding health and body image. It feels like every time I scroll through my feed, I’m hit with something different: “Detox to lose 7 lbs in 7 days!” “You don’t need to diet – love yourself the way you are.” “This 30 day workout plan will get you abs in no time!” “Work out for health, not to look a certain way.” And on and on… my head hurts just thinking about it. Maybe you’re a fitness competitor and you’re training and eating to look a certain way. Or maybe you’re happy with your body and are just committed to enjoying your life. You’re just doing YOU – but it doesn’t matter because according to social media either lifestyle is wrong. There is no right way – you’re either completely devoted to your appearance or you don’t care at all. What happened to the middle ground? That gray area ? Does it even exist anymore? Did it ever? For the record, I don’t

Dear Mark: Is Coconut Oil Pure Poison?

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It appears that we’re well into “outrageous media frenzy over terrible or misleading claims by nutrition scientists” season…. Last week I covered the “low-carb” and mortality study, and for this week’s edition of Dear Mark I’m covering the (latest) coconut oil controversy. A Harvard professor recently launched a dramatic harangue against coconut oil, calling it “pure poison.” Is it true this time? Are we indeed killing ourselves? Let’s find out: Speaking of fat, I’d be interested in Mark’s take regarding the latest attempt to put the kibosh on consumption of coconut oil–specifically, a Harvard professor saying it’s pure poison, probably because it’s so heavily saturated. I can’t stand the stuff, personally. I don’t like anything made with coconut, and it doesn’t like me either, possibly because I’m sensitive to the overload of lauric acid. However, this and many other websites tout coconut products as being super healthful. So is there any truth to these new claims that coconu

Weekend Of Many Courses

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We had such amazing weather this weekend: crisp and cooler, but still plenty warm for outdoor activities! Thursday night I went out with a group of girlfriends to celebrate a birthday and couldn’t resist getting the usual at Zocalo: a virgin jalapeno rita and the pepper! I saved half the pepper (so full!) and had the leftovers for dinner on Sunday night. On Friday, I met Mazen and the neighborhood crew at the bus stop. The first week went well! Mazen’s biggest complaint was that he didn’t like having his lunch packed and wanted to go through the lunch line, so he bought his lunch on Friday. It was pizza day, and I told him he would be expected to take a fruit and vegetable (and eat it). I *think* that all went well, but it is kind of strange that he’s so independent that I really don’t know what he had for lunch! (And as an RD, I’d rather be packing, but as a mom I would be thrilled  not to have to pack a lunch every day, so it’s kind of a wash!) We’ll see how it goes from here