FitSugar

ShopStyle.com Joins the Sugar Team!!!

FitSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:01:13 -0700

I’ve got some great news for you guys! (No, it’s not that they’ve finally found the magic bullet for weight loss, but it’s just as exciting.)

ShopStyle.com, a fabulous and fun online resource for finding that specific thing you’ve been scouring the Internet for, has gotten even sweeter. Yes that’s right, ShopStyle has joined our Sugar family and we couldn’t be more delighted!

Need a great new pair of running shoes that are not only supportive, but also match that cool wicking tank you’ve also been eyeballing? ShopStyle will help you find the perfect pair faster than it takes you to warm-up for your jog. Need new yoga pants for attaining the optimal downward dog? With ShopStyle you’ll easily find the cutest and most flexible pair. So welcome ShopStyle to our family by joining in on the fun – I can’t wait to see all your great finds!

Check out these two fun looks for working out that I threw together in just a few minutes. Now only if I could claim the same for when I get dressed in the morning!

Nike 'Club' Dri-FIT Short Sleeve Tee - $38.00	Nike Racerback Sports Bra - $35.00
Mizuno - Wave Elixir 2 (White/Jade-Dress Blue) - $80.10	adidas 'Gym' Capri Pants - $40.00
Nike Dri-FIT Anti-Blister Socks (2-Pack) - $15.95	Women's Scoop-Neck Pullovers - Artichoke - $24.50

Basic tank - $29.00	adidas Women's Amyrina Sneaker - $59.95
Oona Sera Red Parasols - $65.00	adidas 'Adilibria' Long Sleeve Tee - $40.00
adidas Tie Front Pants - $55.00	Living Arts Living Essentials Brick - $10.98

Coke Launches New 90-Calorie Mini Can

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:00:35 -0700

Coca-Cola is giving consumers even more ways to manage their calories with the introduction of its new 7.5 oz. mini can. The 90-calorie can will be released in select East Coast cities this December, with a nationwide rollout set for 2010.

“As the world’s largest beverage company, we take seriously the need to help consumers balance calories consumed with calories expended,” said Sandy Douglas, president, Coca-Cola North America. “The Coca-Cola mini can innovation reinforces the Company’s support for healthy, active lifestyles.”

This announcement is coming on the heels of the company's move to put calorie information of the front of all its packaging. They've also partnered with Healthy Weight Commitment, a group of retailers and food manufacturers committed to reducing obesity in America.

By all accounts it sounds like the soda giant is becoming quite concerned over the nation's growing waistline and its contribution to it. But some argue the company is trying to skirt the impending soda tax. Don't be fooled by the small packaging, the recipe remains unchanged and is still filled with HFCS, but may be a good option for consumers who keep tabs on calories.

Coca-Cola will also be offering the mini cans in Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq's Root Beer.

Knuckle Cracking Is A-OK

FitSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:00:48 -0700

I have written about knuckle cracking in the past, exposing the notion that doing so causes arthritis for what it is a health myth - one that is perpetuated by grandmothers all over the US. One doctor took his research on the subject quite personally.

For 60 years Dr. Donald Unger cracked the knuckles of his left hand repeatedly, but used his right hand as the "control group" and left them well alone. After 60 years of cracking, his left hand did not develop arthritis. For his decades long research, Unger was awarded an Ig Noble award, a lighthearted version of the Nobel prizes, which were announced this week. The Ig Noble Prizes "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative - and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology."

Scientific bottom line on your knuckles: keep on cracking.

Are Health Factors the Real Reason Behind Coca-Cola's New Labels?

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:00:01 -0700

Will larger labels help offset weight gain? That's what the folks at Coca-Cola are hoping.

New Coca-Cola packaging will feature prominent nutritional labels on the front of all its products by the end of 2011. The company hopes that the "at-a-glance" labeling will allow consumers to quickly find important nutritional information while grocery shopping.

"One thing nearly everyone agrees on, though, is that balancing calorie intake with regular exercise is the key to weight management," announced Coca-Cola in a press release. "And label literacy is the key to sensible calorie intake - people need information and it needs to be easy to find and understand."

The effort is not without controversy though. Many find the attempt by Coca-Cola to be a shrouded move to wield off the government's consideration of imposing a soda tax on the beverage industry, as health experts blame these sweet sodas for the rising rates of obesity.

What do you think of Coca-Cola's new move?

Indoor Tanning Is Out

FitSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:00:00 -0700

I've already talked to you about how harmful it is to use a tanning bed to get a base tan before the summer (or ever for that matter), but I'm not the only one trying to get the message out. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has just launched a series of Public Service Announcements with the motto, "Indoor tanning is out."

These PSAs are trying to make people aware that just like the sun, the rays from tanning beds also cause melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Current research shows that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetimes, and that UV rays are a known cause. Remember that UV rays from tanning beds can be as much as 15 times higher than midday sun. Choosing not to use tanning beds is a great way to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.

Many people go tanning because they think that darkened skin looks better. If vanity is inspiring people to lie in tanning beds every week, maybe it can prevent them from stopping too. Hopefully these PSAs will remind people that tanning not only causes deadly skin cancer, but it also causes premature aging, wrinkles, and sun spots. If people are tanning to look healthier, that plan is going to backfire majorly in the future.

Want to see their serious TV ad about the dangers of tanning beds? Then read more

Here's the TV ad you can expect to see running through the entire month of May, which is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month.

Do you think these ads are a good idea, or are they just reiterating the facts that most people already know but choose to ignore?

Tennis 101: How to Score

FitSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:00:03 -0700

Welcome back to Tennis 101. While Maria Sharapova is showing us how it's done during this week's riveting US Open tournament, I'm offering a primer for the rest of us.

Now that you know what to expect from your first lesson and how to behave on the court, it's time to tackle the more complicated stuff: scoring a tennis match. I'm not going to deny that learning how to keep score can be confusing at first. But once you learn the basics, it's actually pretty simple. Here's what you need to know to get started scoring in singles.

The Framework

Each tennis match is made up of two to three sets. To win a set, you must win at least six games.
The games are scored starting at "love" (or zero) and going up to 40, but that's actually just four points. From love, the first point is 15, then 30, then 40, then game point, which wins the game.

For the details on games, sets, and matches, read more.

Starting the Game

To determine who serves first, you flip a coin or (more likely) spin a racket. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide one of four things: that she wants to serve first, that she wants to receive first, which side of the court she wants to start on (in which case, the opponent chooses who serves first), or that she wants to leave the choices up to her opponent.
Whoever starts serving continues to serve until that game is over. Then the serve moves to the other player.
You serve from behind the baseline, starting on the right-hand side of the court, anywhere between the singles sideline and the center mark on the court.

Scoring the Game

Before serving, you should announce the score, with your score first, then your opponent's. So if you have zero and your opponent has 30, say "love-30."
Every time you serve, you get two tries. The serve must go over the net, land in the service box opposite you, and bounce once before your opponent returns it.
If it doesn't land in the service box, you take a second serve. If the second serve also misses, then you lose the point.
If your serve grazes the net but still lands in the service box, the serve doesn't count, and you must take that serve over. This is called a "let."
If your serve goes in and the opponent returns it, you continue hitting back and forth until someone hits the ball into the net, hits it out of bounds, or misses a shot. If that person is you, then your opponent gets a point. If it's your opponent who hits it into the net/out of bounds/misses a shot, then you get the point.
Whoever is serving continues serving until the score reaches 40, calling out the score before every serve.
If the score is tied at 40 ("40-all"), that is "deuce," which is essentially another word for tie. To break the tie, someone must win two points in a row. If you are serving at deuce and you win the next point, then you say "my ad," which means "my advantage." If your opponent wins, it goes back to deuce, and someone again must win by two points in a row. Yes, this could go on forever.
Once the game is over, the other person serves. After odd-numbered games (so after game one, game three, game five) you switch sides on the court.

Scoring a Set

Before the first serve in each new game, whoever is serving announces the score in sets. Say your score first, then your opponent's. So if you won the first set, you would say "1-0."
To complete a set, someone must win six games; the first person to win six games wins the set.
However, as with "deuce," you must win a set by at least two games. So, if the score is 6-5, the person with 5 must win by two games. If the score ties at 6-6, you play a tiebreaker.

Scoring the Match

The whole shebang is called a match. The match is determined by the best two out of three sets. So if you win two sets, you win. If you each win a set, then you play a third set to determine the winner.

Diabetes Awareness Has a New Face: The Rock

FitSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:00:55 -0700

As the new national ambassador for the Diabetes Aware campaign, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson says,

"Get outside. Play a game. Do something active together. We can make a difference in our own families through exercise, eating right, and teaching healthy behaviors to our children."

Past ambassadors include Halle Berry, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Dustin Hoffman, so hopefully The Rock can continue to raise awareness about reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by living a healthy lifestyle. Diabetes Aware helps educate folks on type 1 diabetes as well.

We should be seeing Diabetes Aware public service announcements starring The Rock soon, but until then, if you want to see the most recent PSA starring Kevin Kline and Jon Lovitz, then read more.

"Stayin' Alive" Keeps Man Alive

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:03:40 -0700

A seemingly silly public service announcement helped Debra Bader save her husband's life. The couple was walking in the woods when 53-year-old Christopher Bader suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest, the same heart problem that recently led to Michael Jackson's death. Thankfully, Bader recalled the American Heart Association's campaign from last year, teaching people that the Bee Gees song "Stayin' Alive" has a perfect tempo to match the recommended pace of chest compressions. So she called 9-1-1 and started singing.

"I sang the song and gave directions to the EMTs at the same time. It was like, 'Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take a right here, take a left here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take this path down here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive,' " Bader remembers.

For 15 minutes Bader, who had never taken a CPR class, beat on her husband's chest until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs delivered a shock to his heart with a defibrillator. Christopher Bader survived, even though 95 percent of people who go into cardiac arrest die before they get to the hospital.

Wow! What a heartwarming story, and don't you love hearing that a funny PSA actually worked? Perhaps it helped that an episode of The Office also featured a riff on the "Stayin' Alive" connection. Want a laugh? Check out the clip.

Polar Heart Monitor Help on Twitter

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Twitter is not just a frivolous social networking site, it is a place where you can have important questions answered. Recently, I twittered Chris@PolarUSA this question:
"How can I get my FT60 HRM to work in the pool? Shows HR before getting in water, but not while I swim. Please help."

He replied promptly and here is what he had to say:

Next time I swam laps, I tightened my chest strap and once again my HRM monitor worked in the pool. For those of you unfamiliar with Buh Bump it is a heart rate monitor electrode cream, which helps the electrodes in the chest strap read your heart rate.

Speaking of Polar heart rate monitors, we gave a few away a while back, and I would like to announce the lucky winners. They are:

I hope these winners know they can contact Chris with any questions about their new Polar fitness gear.

Plus-Size Version of The Bachelor: Cool or Not?

FitSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Television networks can get away with a lot during the Summer when most shows are in rerun mode. We've grown to expect reality programming up the wazoo, and this season the lineup includes a new Mike Fleiss (executive producer of The Bachelor) creation called More to Love.

Premiering July 28, the dating show will feature "a single and eligible man with a big waist and an even bigger heart as he romances several confident and secure plus-size women." As with Fleiss's original unscripted dating shows, the leading single guy will whittle the group of 20 women down to a final two. Plus-size supermodel Emme has signed on to host the show.

The idea of More to Love drew criticism when it was announced earlier this year; there's a sense that the show's contestants will be mocked and exploited. There's something that makes me uncomfortable about suggesting people of a certain size can only love and be loved by someone of similar proportions. At the same time, when's the last time you turned on the TV and saw overweight people featured in a show without a weight-loss focus?

What do you think of the show's concept, is it cool or not?

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