Author: catherine w

I'm a feminist public health ethicist (yes, that's a thing). I'm interested in heath behavior change, particularly around eating and activity, and how things other than knowledge affect our health decisions.I'm also a cyclist (road, sort-of-off-road, commuter), regular yoga-doer, occasional swimmer and kayaker and leisurely social walker.
Self-care tips Catherine learned from spending a week at (not in) the hospital
fitness · self care

Self-care tips Catherine learned from spending a week at (not in) the hospital

catherine w3 Comments

This week I’ve been in South Carolina at a local hospital where my mother is staying following a bad fall in her house, alongside rapidly accelerating dementia. I was on my way to a public health conference in San Antonio last Saturday when I got a text from my sister. Rapid travel plans were made, and emails canceling life and works plans were sent. Flights were taken, and a car was rented.

The good news: thanks to a few experienced, powerful and compassionate folks who work in the broken healthcare system here, we are making progress in finding a safe care facility for my mother where she will be cared for and where we and other family can visit her. I cannot adequately convey how complicated this process is, how many barriers there are to getting appropriate care, and how underfunded, understaffed and inequitable the elder care facilities and services are (in South Carolina and the United States in general).

Moving on…

My sister and I have been at the hospital for a week now, and we learned some things about navigating hospital environments where there’s high stress, lots of waiting, and no real control over schedules or outcomes. Herewith a short list. I would love to hear from any of you who have tips of your own to share; feel free to add them in the comments.

One: get outside of the hospital when you can, even if it is on the hospital sidewalks and grounds.

Get outside of the room of your family member intermittently, even if it is to walk some loops around the hallways. Get to the ground floor where there is more ordinary bustling activity (people ordering and eating food, people delivering flowers, student health workers in groups walking and talking).

Talking with doctors, nurses and social workers has been super-important, but it doesn’t comprise the bulk of my day. Sitting makes me feel creaky and cranky. So moving, changing locations (even within the hospital) and walking outside (even for short bursts) helps me regulate and reset.

Two: find out where the hospital staff get their meals and snacks at the hospital and go there for food.

This hospital has a few commercial vendors of sub sandwiches (Firehouse Subs) and coffee (stripped down Starbucks), but it also has a local family-owned and run cafe called Sweet Tooth. On the front counter you can see baked goods galore. But in the back, there are homemade chicken salad and pimento cheese salad sandwiches, homemade green salads, and a delicious soup of the day. On our second day, we spotted a line of staff in scrubs, all waiting for the soup and sandwiches, and have been frequenting the place ever since.

Three: leave the hospital each day at a decent hour (however that translates) for downtime before attempting to sleep.

My sister and I have our laptops, phones, chargers, cooler bags, notebooks, etc. with us each day and have gotten good at turning my mom’s room and corner cafeteria tables into temporary offices. We’re both juggling work tasks, logistical healthcare decisions and family caregiver tasks. Our mom is well looked after by nurses, techs and hospital sitters assigned to her. She prefers our company, though, and gets distressed when we take temporary breaks or leave at the end of the day. It’s hard to go, but we do it in order to recharge as best we can for the next shift and the next day.

Four: do what you have to do to find a place and a way to sleep each night. Sleep deprivation is the enemy of everything good and important.

My sister and I are staying at my aunt Cathy’s small and lovely house, ten miles from the hospital. There is one guest bedroom, which my sister is using because she is not an easy sleeper. I have been encamped on her living room loveseat, which I’ve made work by creating a combined soft infrastructure of ottoman, loveseat, mattress pads, pillows and throw blankets.

One of my superpowers is being able to sleep anywhere, partly through willingness to commandeer anything in the house and partly through my determination to rest no matter what. 🙂 I also travel with sleep mask, pairs of ear plugs and soothing audiobooks. Developing whatever strategies help has been key to surviving this latest family emergency.

Five: find a little time away from the situation in whatever way you can.

My way to achieve this is by driving my own rental car to and from the hospital, or to my mom’s house, or to do errands. Even ten minutes by myself in the privacy of my own (for the week) Hyundai Elantra gives me space to breathe.

I hope that my mother will be settled in a care facility by the end of this coming week, so I will be taking my own advice (and looking for more strategies for self-care) this week. Any tips you all might want to share?

So much pink, so little time... By FS for Unsplash. Women’s only gyms are back (did they ever leave?) and the PINK vs. NOT-PINK debate continues
equipment · femalestrength · fitness · gear · weight lifting

Women’s only gyms are back (did they ever leave?) and the PINK vs. NOT-PINK debate continues

catherine w3 Comments

Last week, the New York Times, the paper of record, known for taking on the hard-hitting issues of our day, put a crack team of reporters to work on a riveting investigative story:

The return of the women-only gym. As more women lift, some are seeking out weight rooms of their own.
The return of the women-only gym. As more women lift, some are seeking out weight rooms of their own.

Honestly, I’m not sure women-only gyms ever went away. I used to go to a women-only gym in Boston called Healthworks, which has been in business since 1977. I started going there as a grad student on a very-cheapo membership. Since then, I bounced around various gyms and now spend my money for a monthly membership to my yoga studio, Artemis in Watertown.

But while I wasn’t paying much attention, the NY Times tells us the following happened to women’s gyms.

By 2003, Curves had become the largest fitness franchise in the world, and inspired other successful chains, with names like Slender Lady and Contours Express.

But by the 2010s, the 20th century model faltered, thanks in part to a younger generation who associated it with their moms or grandmothers. For many millennial gym-goers, boutique studios that attracted mostly women, like barre and Pilates studios, largely took the place of the women-only gym, said Shay Kostabi, co-founder of Fitcarma, an exercise industry consulting firm.

And yet, several members of the new women-only gyms said the difference between working out among mostly women and all women felt significant.

But recently, some women opened women-only gyms, complete with Barbie pink decor, and (in one case) pack-and-plays near the weight benches (not sure if baby is optional or included in gym experience).

A very pink montage of gym photos from the NY TImes,
A very pink montage of gym photos from the NY TImes,

Sadly, my expectations for searing revelations in this allegedly-news article were disappointed. The article ended with this cogent comment: “I think there’s a recognition that everyone that walks into that gym, they’re walking in with their stuff.”

Uh, okay. Agreed.

But lest you think that’s the whole story, fear not: the good folks in the NYT comments section picked up on the controversy bubbling just beneath the surface. Yes, I’m talking about PINK vs. NOT-PINK. I thought Team NOT-PINK would completely dominate. Here is a sample of some of their responses:

  • for heaven’s sake, why do they have to be PINK?! I’m soooo sick of all-things-female having to be pink. It’s infantilizing. Knock if off, corporate America.
  • I don’t need to work out in the Barbie mansion.
  • Women only, yes. Pink equipment? Absolutely not.
  • I don’t want to work out in a gym designed for a newborn baby girl.
  • I despise pink! I have this beef with athletic apparel and shoe manufacturers, too: Not every woman wants to wear pale shades and pastels, people!
  • Yes to everything, except pink.
  • Fine concept. Did it really have to be pink?
  • only gym I go to isn’t pink or purple. Just soothing greys.
  • That Pepto Bismal pink which signifies “women” is ugh. I am all for women gyms, but surely it can be women-centered without being pinkified.
  • Why does Barbie pink have to be the default color?

However, there was non-trivial pushback from Team PINK. And honestly, a few of the comments were somewhat persuasive:

  • I would love to work out in the Barbie mansion!
  • I think pink works because men typically hate it. So it serves to repel men who otherwise might try to join.
  • I like pink.
  • Did you know in the Victorian era, that pink was considered masculine for boys and blue was considered feminine for girls?
  • What’s wrong with pink? It’s literally just a color.
  • I would love a pink gym.
  • What’s wrong with pink, anyway? These gyms look so much better than the scuffed white walls and fluorescent lights seen at most other gyms.

So readers, where do you stand on the PINK vs. NOT-PINK debate for women-only gyms? I thought I knew, but I must admit that perhaps women’s gyms do contain multitudes (of shades).

So much pink, so little time... By FS for Unsplash.
So much pink, so little time… By FS for Unsplash.
A field of white lights, with golden lights illuminating mausoleums in the background. Taken by the author. It’s night garden walking season (again)!
fitness · season transitions · walking

It’s night garden walking season (again)!

catherine wLeave a comment

One of the (perhaps few) advantages of the calendar sliding into late fall and winter is the opening of night garden walking season. What do I mean here?

For some years now, I’ve been enjoying the evening lights and programming that local gardens (and even one cemetery!) orchestrate to attract visitors and offer alternative experiences for the months that the plants are on vacation.

Now it seems like this is going on everywhere. Zoos, botanical gardens, historic estates, outdoor shopping areas (and at least one cemetery near my house) are lighting up the darkness and luring us out of the warmth of our homes to venture out into the fall and winter nights. I wonder if the stringed lights companies are experiencing a surge in profits because of the trend.

Honestly, I think this is a good trend.

  • It provides an excuse to go out and move around in a well-maintained space.
  • It’s an opportunity for group friend outings and enjoying conversation while strolling and seeing pretty light exhibits.
  • It offers evening novelty in a space that we might know well in the daytime (this is one of my favorite features of night garden walking).

Like night bike riding, I find night garden walking to pack an extra little thrill– I’m out and about at an unusual time. Because it’s dark, the environment looks different, which makes the experience of moving through it feel new in a way. Yes, it’s a low-key thrill, but a thrill nonetheless.

This year I plan to attend the Solstice light exhibit at Mount Auburn cemetery in December, and I hope to go to the Brookgreen Gardens Night of a Thousand Candles when I’m visiting my family in South Carolina.

Here’s a post I wrote about the Garden in the Woods Night of Illumination a couple of years ago. The pictures are fun, and maybe they will inspire you to head out to find of light-strewn bushes in your area of the woods.

Garden walking in the dark
an owl in the night. From Unsplash. Night owl Catherine responds to lark Samantha about exercise and getting up early
fitness · motivation · research · sleep

Night owl Catherine responds to lark Samantha about exercise and getting up early

catherine w1 Comment

In Tuesday’s post, Samatha, noted morning person, discussed this study that found connections between both sleep duration and timing of sleep to quality and duraction of exercise the following day. This article from Real Simple summarizes their results like so:

  • New research shows that earlier bedtimes are linked to higher levels of physical activity—independent of how long you sleep.
  • Quality sleep supports muscle recovery, hormone balance, and energy levels, all of which are essential for getting the most out of your workouts.
  • Starting your day with water, natural light, and a balanced meal—and limiting caffeine before bed—can help maximize your energy and performance.

I think we can all agree that being well-rested helps us get motivated for physical activity and supports both its quality and the pleasure we get from it.

And this is good news for people who are habituated to an early-to-bed, early-to-rise regimen.

But what about us 24-hour-party-people? Those who tip toe back home in the light of day, and then spend other people’s productive hours slumbering?

Tiptoeing back from the club...
Tiptoeing back from the club…
Slumbering in daylight. decadent.
Slumbering in daylight. decadent.

There is nothing in these pictures to suggest people who would welcome a text or– gasp!– a phone call from their morning yoga class accountability buddy. And as one of said people, I concur. No, just no to the 6 or 7 or 8am nudges to get out the door for that run, walk, ride or swim.

Honestly, on the rare occasions that I’m up at the crack of dawn and moving about in the outside world with friends, doing something gloriously physical (and Samantha has instigated some of them, as has my lark friend Janet), I’ve had a great time.

But does this mean I will or can manage to make it a habit on my own? No. Believe me, I’ve tried. It just doesn’t happen. My night owl identity is just too deeply set into me. So I grudgingly meet people for 10am rides, 11am yoga classes, and happily go on afternoon swims. But I really like evening yoga classes and evening walks on the beach (and evening swims, too, under the stars).

Morning friends, you just don’t know what you’re missing…So let me show you– an evening solo swim in Arizona under an inky sky, in a pool with blue lights (that my iphone thought looked better in purple).

lavender me, against fuschia water.
Watery selfie, all shades of blue and purple.
Inky black sky, blue fountain.
just me and the pool and the night.

Friends, have any of you enjoyed the pleasure of a late night swim? Is it maybe time for another one soon? I thought so.

Nine drawn images of an eye and brow, all different. From Adobe stock photos royalty-free site. At the office, Catherine learns about looksmaxxing and thinks about misogyny
beauty · body image · eating disorders · fitness

At the office, Catherine learns about looksmaxxing and thinks about misogyny

catherine w1 Comment

CW: mention of self-harm practices including extreme dieting and body deformation procedures. Also discussion of misogyny. But there’s a positive message in here, too, I promise.

One thing I really enjoy about my job is the occasions where I get to visit classes taught by my colleagues. It’s fun to see them in action, bringing their special talents and personalities to philosophical questions, some of which I cover regularly, and others that I rarely think or talk about.

This past week, I got to hang out with my colleague Eric’s Ethics Bowl class. Ethics Bowl is an intercollegiate competition in which teams prepare cases based on current issues. By the way, if you click on the link, you’ll see a picture of a bunch of guys all interacting around one guy, the one woman in the group with her head down and taking notes. That is definitely not what it looked like in Eric’s class.

In real life on my campus the women aren't relegated to being stenographers. Photo from Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl site.
In real life, on my campus, the women on teams aren’t relegated to being stenographers. Photo from Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl site.

One of the cases on the docket that day was the ethical ramifications of looksmaxxing. I had vaguely heard about this — a set of practices designed to maximize male attractiveness. These practices range from skin care regimens to something called “bone smashing”, which is as bad as it sounds. The putative purpose is to deform one’s jaw line to make it fit some internet-based notion of masculine beauty. Do not try this at home, or any other place. Ever. But of course you all know that.

Back to class: students presented their cases arguing against the ethical permissibility of looksmaxxing, some of them focusing on the physical and psychological harms to individuals, including body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety.

They’re right, of course. Doing a quick search, I found lots of medical sites with articles for parents of boys and young men, explaining the harms of looksmaxxing and offering suggestions for ways to spot patterns that could lead to harms. You can check out a couple of them here and here.

What really struck me, though (metaphorically only, in case you were worried) is what isn’t said in some of the standard arguments against looksmaxxing.

What isn’t said, or at least not said loudly enough to hear, is this: the practices and procedures advocated for boys and men by looksmaxxers are exactly those that girls and women have been subjected to for decades (centuries, actually). What do I have in mind here? Glad you asked– here’s a short list:

  • extreme dieting
  • other disorderd eating behaviors
  • cosmetic surgery on all body parts of all age girls and women to conform to a narrow beauty standard
  • purchases of (often expensive) products marketed as necessary for achieving social acceptability
  • extreme exercise regimens aimed at achieving specific bodily forms (whose effectiveness is uninformed by scientific evidence)
  • continuous life-long engagement in these practices regardless of expense, time, and pain required

There’s a lot-a-lot to say about what is harmful about looksmaxxing. If you want a deeper dive into hegemonic masculinity and its effects on men, check out this great article by an interdisciplinary group of Canadian academics on lookism and self-improvement in the manosphere.

The big takeaway for me, from our class discussion that day, is that the current alarm over looksmaxxing gives us an opportunity to see how it’s yet another symptom of a deeply misogynistic culture. We inhabit a world that has normalized the deformation of girls’ and women’s bodies and appearances to meet a rigid and narrow standard for social acceptability and attractiveness. Now that it’s moved on to apply similar standards to boys’ and men’s bodies, we’re starting to notice how corrosively misogynistic some so-called self-care and beauty practices can be.

This realization can (and should) lead us to reject the abusive norms of looksmaxxing, not just to protect men and boys, but to protect all persons in all kinds of bodies from harm.

And the best lesson I learned that day was the students had already gotten it; this was no news to them. They’re literally on the case. And this was the best lesson I learned in a long time.

A grey ladnscape with railroad tracks. By Matthew Bedford for Unsplash. In life and training, avoid the grey zone
cycling · fitness · self care · training

In life and training, avoid the grey zone

catherine w2 Comments

When I was in my 40s, I spent a lot of time training for long rides, short intense rides, hilly rides, and yes, bike racing. Mountain bike racing was the most fun, and I also did some crits, some cyclocross races and a few road races (my least favorite).

For a while, I had a cycling coach, the marvelous and wise Steve Weller. He was in his 20s then, racing and also beginning coaching. He saw and appreciated my strengths (cornering, bike handling, general enthusiasm) and helped me improve on my weaknesses (sticking to a training regimen, developing high-end power and hill-climbing coping strategies).

I’m still on Steve’s email list. He sends out weekly posts about training, mental states and attitude, seasonal shift advice, etc. Last week’s post was about research on intense workouts featuring 30-second all-out intervals with 15 second breathers.

And then there was this one small mention of the grey zone. What’s that? Here’s what Steve wrote:

The grey zone is the intensity band between genuinely easy and genuinely hard. It’s not Zone 2. It’s not a threshold interval. It’s the moderately hard effort that feels productive — the group ride that’s too spicy on the hills, that solo endurance ride where you keep the power “comfortably uncomfortable” for two hours.

Those rides take some effort, they feel like a workout, and they’re definitely not easy.

But physiologically, this approach is a dead end. You ride too hard to truly build an aerobic base, but not hard enough to create a meaningful high-end stimulus. You accumulate fatigue without triggering the adaptations that will actually make you faster.

Yep, I can speak for myself that I’ve spent way too many minutes on the bike going harder than I might like, but not in a focused or intentional way with a particular goal in mind (other than to get this ride over with or keep up with folks who are faster or peppier than I am). All cycling coaches and all cycling training advice tells us that the grey zone is where motivation goes to die. We don’t get the benefits of focused threshold or top-end-power training, and we don’t get the advantages of long slow distance. We just get tired and then frustrated when we don’t see results.

Oh my god, I can so relate to this now, even though I’m not doing bike training.

Reading Steve’s posts, it was clear to that this is a thing I do in life as well. When I’m feeling behind or pressed by tasks and obligations piling up, I’ll often speed up a little, trying to catch up, but without a real plan or purpose or specific and reachable end point. Instead, it’s all about Go faster! Try to catch up! When will this be over? When can I take a break?

We all know that frantic flailing rarely works in any context, but it is an easy go-to move. Maybe there are other options.

Can I push myself to go hard for a short period of time, a particular goal in mind (e.g. finish that abstract, grade that set of exams, write that report draft, do that group family call)? Can I schedule in rest or relaxation or recreation for some amount of time (e.g. crafting, reading, watching a movie, calling a friend, taking a nice walk, swimming with my favorite toddler)? I’m thinking that yes, I can do that. I can do that more often.

The grey zone sounds scary, but really it’s just a place where we can’t see our way clear to resting or focusing. Let’s clear things up and see how that makes us feel. Thanks, Steve, for reminding me how to train for life as well as cycling!

Nothing says October like pumpkin boat racing
boats · fall · fitness · holidays · racing · season transitions

Nothing says October like pumpkin boat racing

catherine wLeave a comment

Forget pumpkin spice– the real October fans eschew such commercial trends and head straight to the source (the pumpkin patch, naturally), in search of the largest pumpkins on the planet for, what else: pumpkin boat racing!

If you hurry (that is, finish that coffee, take a quick shower and find your car keys), you might be able to make it in time for the Damariscotta, Maine Pumpkinfesr Regatta. It’s the marquee event of the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest, which features the following lineup:

So many events to choose from!
So many events to choose from! Just so you know, this is a pumpkins-at-every-size friendly festival.

In case you think this is just a silly event (well, it is, but it’s not just silly– it requires skill and coordination), here’s a little reporting about the difficulty and expertise needed:

“Keeping the boats straight up,” said Weiss. “It’s like trying to get into and, if you can imagine, trying to paddle a basketball. They don’t stay up very well.”

Weiss said frogmen are in the water to assist the numerous competitors that fall in. The giant pumpkins in the regatta are harvested by commercial growers.

A lot goes into the preparation for the boats. This guy, who must be basing his design on washing machines, shows how one sizes the cockpit.

We should ask this guy if it's harder to paddle a pumpkin boat or a washing machine boat. I'm sure he knows.
We should ask this guy if it’s harder to paddle a pumpkin boat or a washing machine boat. I’m sure he knows.

I’m not sure what the actual rules are regarding assistive technology for regatta entrants. I mean, can you pilot an e-pumpkin boat, or is it paddles only? Maybe there’s a gnome-exemption rule– dress like a gnome, you can use whatever aids you want. We should ask this guy:

Pumpkin motorboat, anyone? Extra gnome passengers optional.
Pumpkin motorboat, anyone? Extra gnome passengers optional.

I wish I could say I was going today. But, hey, there’s always next year to look forward to.

Dear readers, how are you commemorating pumpkin season? Any pumpkin runs planned? Spooky kayaking? I’d love to hear from you.

Dairy Queen Oreo blizzard milkshake Chicken and rice vs. DQ Oreo Blizzard shake: the internet should not be your nutritionist
fitness · food · nutrition · research · Science

Chicken and rice vs. DQ Oreo Blizzard shake: the internet should not be your nutritionist

catherine wLeave a comment

Nutrition advice, especially if it’s surprising or counterintuitive, should always be taken with a grain of salt (maybe use the kind with iodine? you make the call). I mean, who among us decided to embark on a diet of mainly twinkies after seeing this post online? I’m hoping no hands are raised out there…

Earlier this year, there was a flurry of posts about a new-new study, done by HARVARD and THE MAYO CLINIC (so it has to be legit, right?) showing that “a Dairy Queen Blizzard eaten after training raises muscle protein synthesis 43% more than the classic chicken breast and rice.”

For those of you unfamiliar with DQ’s menu offerings, here’s what they’re talking about:

FB post from Iron Ladies saying that DQ blizzard spikes muscle protein synthesis 43% higher than chicken and rice. Hmmm.
FB post from Iron Ladies saying that DQ blizzard spikes muscle protein synthesis 43% higher than chicken and rice. FYI, the Iron Ladies aren’t a group of nutrition experts promoting essential minerals in our diets.

Huh. You might think this is a funny internet jokey thing. However, the Iron Ladies’ post provided supporting details:

Key findings:

  • A medium Oreo Blizzard straight after the session produced a 43% higher MPS reading at the 3-hour mark than a 40g protein chicken and rice meal
  • The proposed mechanism: a large insulin spike from the sugar, a casein and whey dairy blend, and fats from the mix-ins, described in the paper as “anabolic napalm”
  • Participants who stirred in extra cookie pieces and ate it from the cup while still sweaty reached +51%, which the authors call the “primal Blizzard ritual” effect
  • Chicken and rice group: a respectable early bump, then a flat line after 90 minutes.
  • Lab quote: “The Blizzard delivers fast carbs for glycogen, dairy protein for sustained release, and enough joy to flatten cortisol. Chicken and rice is what you eat when you have made peace with sadness.”

After reading more, I’m even more convinced that this is an internet jokey thing. Why? Well, I’ve never read a phrase in a scientific paper like “anabolic napalm”. Also, the last quote is too funny. Scientists aren’t trained to be funny.

Turns out,

  • THIS IS, IN FACT, AN INTERNET JOKEY THING.
  • THERE IS NO SUCH STUDY.
  • SOMEONE MADE IT UP AND POSTED IT ONLINE.

I’m shocked.

One of my favorite quotes from the film Casablanca, which significantly predates this fake study.
One of my favorite quotes from the film Casablanca, which, by the way, significantly predates this fake non-study. If you don’t know it, check out a clip here.

Here’s the thing about nutrition and fitness: human metabolism is complicated, food is complicated, and measuring effects of food on human metabolism is double-complicated and super-contextual. It turns out that, under constrained circumstances (e.g. lacking better options), eating say, a pop tart or sugary cereal with milk after a heavy workout may provide some muscle recovery needs. Are there foods that better support recovery and overall nutritional needs? Of course there are, and we have loads and loads of studies to show which ones, what macro- and micronutrients to look for, etc.

One so-called junky food that has been shown to have post-workout beneficial effects is chocolate milk. In this PubMed meta-analysis from 2018, scientists looked at 12 studies comparing chocolate milk with sports drinks on its effects on various post-recovery biomarkers. They concluded:

CM [chocolate milk– they can’t even bring themselves to write it out in full] provides either similar or superior results when compared to placebo or other recovery drinks. Overall, the evidence is limited and high-quality clinical trials with more well-controlled methodology and larger sample sizes are warranted.

Okay, this is half-hearted and mild advice. But I’m going with it. What do you think?

I don't think the studies had this in mind as recovery drink, but doesn't it look yummy? Thanks Israel Pina for Unsplash.
I don’t think the studies had this in mind as recovery drink, but doesn’t it look yummy? Sprinkles are optional. Thanks Israel Pina for Unsplash.

Take-home messages:

  • Nutrition is complicated.
  • But, don’t trust messaging that relies on non-existent studies.
  • Still, sometimes results come out that are counterintuitive.
  • Which brings us back to: nutrition is complicated.
  • Have a nice day.
The words good on a shop winder. By Jon Tyson for Unsplash. A good week. Yes, definitely a good week.
fitness · functional fitness · habits · self care

A good week. Yes, definitely a good week.

catherine wLeave a comment

It’s been a good week.

My courses are settling into what they’re going to be, which is a smooth-ish and pretty amiable set of class meetings on topics I’m into and the students are enjoying/tolerating (so far).

I’m organized enough to vary my going-to-work footwear more than usual, color coordinating it (yes, I have shoes in many colors– sue me) with my more-colorful-than-the-average-person’s clothing. And jewelry, too. Ain’t I fancy…

I acquired three baby spider plants from my FB Buy Nothing group. They are joining my indoor aspiring jungle and appear to be getting along well with everyone.

On Wednesday morning, I went to yin yoga with my friend Kathy, joining Norah, who goes (almost) every week. I usually sign up for the zoom recording, leaving it for later (or not), but I thought to myself, I can make time for this. So I did.

Afterwards, eating sandwiches with Kathy, I got a preview of what it might be like to be a lady who lunches (well, I am a lady who has lunch but you know what I mean). It’s pretty damn good.

On Saturday I went swimming with Rachel and her 3-year-old Teagan. We (Rachel and I) traded off hanging out with Teagan in the kids’ pool so the other could do some laps in the lane pool. It worked out well, each of us doing 4 laps (8 pool lengths). Rachel said afterwards that it would be nice to work up to 50 laps. I corrected her, saying 20 laps was a more pleasant-sounding goal. She agreed (for now).

The swimming was at a local indoor pool and it cost the three of us $10 total. A bargain.

I’d really like to a) re-establish a weekly in-person yoga class; and b) go swimming once a week. Both feel really good. Can I do this? Yes, I think so. Okay, let me rephrase that:

Yes We Can.

Bob says “yes we can!”

By “we”, I mean me plus my friends, who support me in most/all of my social and physical activities. It’s much more fun and happens more often when I enlist the company of others. Of course you all know this. But it doesn’t hurt to remind oneself from time to time.

Who are you heading out the door with this week for physical activity, fun, or frolic?

A black coffee mug with splashing coffee from Unsplash. Research focus: is coffee really good for you in every way? If you ask the Finns, they’ll say yes
fitness · Science

Research focus: is coffee really good for you in every way? If you ask the Finns, they’ll say yes

catherine w2 Comments

Honestly, I checked and rechecked the date on this research article blurb, making sure it wasn’t from April 1. Vice magazine broke the news about a new study out of the University of Oulu (in Oulu, Finland, of course) with the results that higher coffee intake groups showed lower total and visceral fat and higher skeletal muscle mass, among other desirable metabolic features (although BMI didn’t change between coffee drinkers non-drinkers). Here’s how the Vice folks put it:

Vice headline saying "Study Finds Coffee Drinkers Have Less Fat, More Muscle, and Are Better Than You in Every Way". Whoa.
Vice headline saying “Study Finds Coffee Drinkers Have Less Fat, More Muscle, and Are Better Than You in Every Way”. Whoa.

Could this be true? Who wants it to be true?

Me-- I do, I do! Thanks Naomi H from Unsplash for the picture.
Me– I do, I do! Thanks Naomi H from Unsplash for the picture.

The researchers noted a bunch of sex-specific hormonal effects, although many of them were transient. Which just goes to show that steady consumption of coffee throughout the day and night might just be the ticket to some improved health metrics… 🙂

Might as well set out enough for the next couple of hours to avoid too many trips back to the coffee machine. Thanks again Unslpash for image.
Might as well set out enough for the next couple of hours to avoid too many trips back to the coffee machine. Thanks again Unslpash for image.

Hmmm. So does this mean all the tea-drinkers out there will need to throw it into the nearest harbor (sorry, that’s a Boston joke) and embrace the bean instead? Not really. What the researchers concluded was what is often (read virtually always) concluded after a finding like this: it merits further study.

No food or beverage can actually work miracles on our health, fitness, appearance or mood. Coffee has its place and its devotees, among them a bunch of folks in Finland and me. We should feel free to drink it or not, given the information we have about it and about us and about its effects on us. And if it makes us feel very very good on occasion, we should feel free to do a little coffee dance.

I'd be dancing if I had that fancy coffee machine in my kitchen. Thanks Travis C from Unsplash for the pic.
I’d be dancing if I had that fancy coffee machine in my kitchen. Thanks Travis C from Unsplash for the pic.

Happy coffee Friday, all!