Social Workout

Scientific

The Vitamin D Situation Is Worse Than We Thought

We've talked about our collective vitamin D deficiency before. But today's New York Times chronicles the trouble in greater detail, and the news is pretty bad. Here's the trouble: All of our tissues, from the brain to the heart to the immune system, rely on vitamin D, and we evolved a system for getting our vitamin D from the sun back when we were running around in the sun all day near the equator without any clothes on. Now that we wear clothes and live indoors, there's just not enough vitamin D in food, even with supplements in milk and cereal and OJ, to meet our needs. And it's not like we can simply shrug it off. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and lots of other bad stuff. So what should you do? Dr. Michael Holick, an expert on vitamin D, suggests the following:

Scientific

Your Beach Umbrella Is Kinda Wussy

Don't get me wrong, a beach umbrella is still a good idea if you're spending the day at the beach, but a new study shows that beach umbrellas fail to block a full 34% of UV radiation. The trouble is that pesky light coming in from the sides. Bad news in terms of skin cancer. Though potentially good news in terms of treating our collective vitamin D deficiency?

Scientific

Half Of Us Aren't Getting Enough Vitamin D

You're probably vitamin D deficient, according to an article published in this month's Endocrine Today (What? You're not a subscriber?) In North American and Western Europe, experts estimate about half of us aren't getting enough vitamin D. Elsewhere in the world, the numbers are more like two-thirds. What gives?

Poet Laureate

The Pilates Olympics Involved Boiled Eggs and Dixie Cups

My Pilates experiences have all been horrible: Sweaty, dark classrooms populated by scowling, grunting women and lead by teachers who neither explained positions or adjusted students. I’ve walked out of every class. Yet, somehow, Saturday afternoon I found myself exiting Grand Central, negotiating the tourist gaggle, and looking for Pilates on Fifth to report on “The Pilates Olympics.” Think of it like American Idol meets Dancing with the Stars, but replace obligatory Brits with Lululemon pants and the audience is a scruffy blogger and an adorable, older gentleman there hootin’ and hollerin’ and supporting his wife. While wearing American flag shorts.

Workout

Frisbee

I played about 80 minutes worth of ultimate frisbee today. It felt so good to be out in the sunshine! I was also super jazzed about not spending the entire game wheezing and out of breath. (So yay for winter exercise?!)

Workout

34 Miles + 2 Boyfriends

9:30am - 2 mile bike ride (Each way) to Target for Liberty of London collection!  Wah wah, because my store is West Hollywood, the line was already out the door before the opening, and by the time i rolled through, EVERYTHING was gonzo!  Oh well, at least I got some clean air in my lungs.

12pm - Drove to the office to drop off some boxes.

Day 14: The sunshine made me do it!

I've been feeling a bit gimpy the last 2 days. I really wanted to get in a good hard workout today but I still have these ridiculous knots in my calves that make me squeal each time I walk down stairs. Or walk upstairs. Or walk, really, at all. So I set out on a run with a back-up plan in mind and my gym card in my pocket, ready to change course and hit the elliptical if need be.

Other Places

Day 9: Thrashed by cute shoes

It was so fucking beautiful out yesterday that I decided to walk to everything rather than take cabs or public transport... walked from 50th St and 6th ave to 34th and Madison, and back again, and up to the Upper West Side, with stops all over the place to smile at other people smiling at the sun.

New York

On the 7th day there was Zumba... and sunshine for dinner...

... well, not literally, of course, but Kashi's Honey Sunshine... I do enjoy being able to say I'm eating sunshine-- I love little absurd sounding sentences like that...
and the reason I'm eating dry cereal for dinner? I'm exhausteddd, been up since 4:30 am, and just don't feel like cookin somethin up...

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