Speak Up

We have all medicated our moods with chocolate or pizza at some point in our lives. While experts know that certain meals soothe us, the exact reasons remain a bit of a mystery. New research, however, sheds light on the hows and whys of emotional eating. Researchers found that even without seeing, smelling, or tasting food, study participants were better at battling negative emotions with saturated fat in their bellies rather than saline solution. High levels of saturated fat are found in hard-to-resist comfort foods like ice cream and bacon.

Although the study was small, the results illustrate that the comfort you derive from comfort food isn't all in your head; there's a physiological component too — independent of our sensory experience or emotional attachment to the food. The exact mechanism is unclear, but researchers believe saturated fat triggers a release of stomach hormones that positively stimulates the brain.

We know that high levels of saturated fat are not good for the body, and while a bit of mac-n-cheese might soothe you in the short term, it's good to find other means of calming your nerves and buoying your spirit. Exercising outside can boost your mood, but what happens when you find yourself feeling down at midnight? Psychologist Dr. Susan Albers, author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, suggests tuning into your senses rather than reaching for the Doritos. Focusing on what you hear, see, and smell, in a kind of sensory medication, can help you side step an emotional food craving.

There must be countless ways to soothe yourself without food. How do you calm your stressed nerves or fend off negative emotions that don't involve raiding the fridge? Share your methods below, because we can all use new ways to avoid using food for comfort.

Flickr User Worth the Whisk

Exercise and fitness don't always come easy. You may be convinced that you hate to exercise, but it might be that you just haven't found the activity that best suits you. I was a regular at a yoga and Pilates studio, but I wasn't in love; to be honest, I'd force myself to attend class. I've since discovered that rock climbing is my fitness passion, an activity that has also opened up the door to hiking and camping. What's funny is that I now love Pilates, yoga, and all other sorts of fitness classes. Keeping active has become a way to complement my outdoor lifestyle, and my love of the outdoors makes me want to stick to a regular fitness routine.

I'm not alone in this. Many people I know who have completed a triathlon started off by discovering a passion for running or cycling. My friend became a personal trainer after learning that she's a gym rat. I've also met people who avoided the gym like the plague but now can't wait to get to their Bar Method classes. (Admittedly, there are some who may never find their fitness calling but stick to it for the benefits.)

Did you have a gateway drug into fitness? If so, please share it in the comments field below!

When deciding what to eat, there are countless camps to choose from: omnivores, vegans, vegetarians, and more (don't forget the g-frees!). With all the ways to eat, identifying with a certain label can be convenient for conveying the restrictions of your diet without having to list every single thing you can and can't eat.

But what about modified diets like seagan? Lately we've been hearing this term more and more; "seagan diet" was coined to differentiate between pescetarians, who like seagans don't eat other types of meat except seafood, but unlike them still eat dairy and eggs, and seems to have a growing following. While the diet sounds healthy — lots of fresh whole foods and omega 3s! — the idea that a seagan is in any way a vegan has struck some as odd, since vegans often avoid all animal products for reasons that are more than diet-based.

Seaganism isn't the only modified diet on the block; every day there's a new word for a new diet (flexitarians, anyone?) that has more to do with what you allow yourself to eat rather than lifestyle changes. What do you think of terms like "seaganism"? Do you identify with a diet whether or not you agree with the other aspects of the lifestyle?

I know that wearing high heels has some benefits, but Coco, Ice-T's wife, takes things to the next level by wearing stripper heels while strength training (something I learned from watching her new reality TV show, Ice Loves Coco). And that's not all I learned. She also runs on the treadmill (replacing her stripper heels with running shoes) with her bulldog Spartacus —  as in, Coco and Spartacus share the treadmill together. It's clearly working for her, too. Coco may be curvaceous, but she also boasts a flat stomach and tiny waist.

While I've never seen a woman work out in heels at the gym, I have had my share of unusual sightings. Most recently I encountered a guy dressed head to toe in '80s hair-metal attire, blaring his iPod while flexing and grunting at himself in the mirror. Think you can top that? What's the craziest thing you've ever seen at the gym?

Fergie makes her third appearance on the cover of Allure, this time for its July 2011 issue. Inside she puts to rest all those pregnancy rumors and says:

"I think people think that I’m pregnant sometimes because my weight fluctuates . . . My problem is my discipline. I see a Jack in the Box or a Del Taco, and I will impulsively want it. I’m a work in progress in that area."

For anyone that strives to eat whole, healthy foods, Fergie's weakness for fast food is probably understandable. I'm not much of a fast food junkie, but cocktails and cake are definitely my weakness — especially when served together!

We already know what your healthy dessert alternatives are, but what are the not-so-healthy foods that make you go weak in the knees?

It's been in the 80s all week, so after dinner last night, Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream was calling my name from the freezer. I'm all about indulging every once in a while, but I was worried my sweet tooth might cost me the entire pint! So I posted this on Facebook:

Fellow Facebookers posted some great suggestions like green apples with almond butter, frozen raspberries, and fruit salad with some fresh lemon juice sprinkled on top. Delish. I love fruit in the Summer!

I'm sure we could all use some new healthy dessert ideas so tell us what quenches your dessert cravings below.

I'm going on vacation in a few weeks, and I can't wait. I'm excited to see the sites and enjoy springtime in Europe, and I'm probably disproportionately excited about trying the local cuisine in every city.

Of course, going on a food-filled tour is not the same as taking an exercise-focused vacation like a fitness retreat, but I still am strategizing about how I'll be incorporating exercise into my daily vacay routine. I'm planning on renting bikes to tour around London as well as hitting the hotel gym, and I know I'll be the walking a lot with all the things to do around town.

Whether it's sightrunning or always booking a hotel with a gym, how do you stay fit on vacation? Or do you use vacation time to take a break until you get back home?

Recently while at my neighborhood nail salon, I overheard a group of medical school students in heated discussion about whether or not to exercise. "I don't have time," one said, and after everyone agreed another added, "And after all, if you start building muscle and stop exercising, all that muscle turns into fat anyway. I'd rather just not start!"

Even these future doctors didn't know that that statement is, in fact, completely false (they're two different types of cells), and I'm sure they aren't alone. There are so many theories about the best way to lose weight, banish fat, or build muscle floating around that it's no wonder myths often become commonly held beliefs before long. A friend told me that she believed six-pack abs could be had just by doing lots of crunches and nothing else, and I didn't quite believe in the importance of weight training.

What about you? What exercise myth did you believe to be true for a while? Tell me in the comments!

There's a reason (or two!) why people just can't say no to fast food. It's fast. And easy. And sometimes regrettably delicious. But, there's also a reason why we shouldn't be gobbling up Krispy Kremes with coffee and chowing down on Big Macs at lunchtime. It's just not good for the body. What is good for the body are unprocessed, straight from the garden raw foods that can give us nutrients, vitamins, and other essentials to keep our natural fuels running.

In an effort to get back to the basics with healthy eating, Lisa and Jason Leake gave up unprocessed for an entire 100 days. The North Carolina parents of two decided it was time to give up the sugar infused packaged goods for a period of unrefined choices straight out of their backyard. After reading In Defense of Food ($9) by Michael Pollan, the couple changed their ways of eating for good. And lucky for us, Lisa isn't keeping her journey to herself. She's sharing her learnings, recipes, and little secrets with her devoted readers and challenging them along the way in her blog 100daysofrealfood. She realizes going 100 days with "real food" may be too tough for some but asks people to try it for 10 days.

Could, or would you take the pledge to go 10 days without any processed foods. Perhaps you're already doing it?

Two thousand ten is over, which means not only are we going through all the Best of 2010, but it's also time to get serious about New Year's resolutions. We're curious if you have any healthy resolutions for 2011, so speak up and share them in the comments section below. No resolution is too big or too small to share —  we want to hear them all. And, if you're worried about veering off track, check out our video on how to make resolutions stick.