FitSugar

Health By Chocolate

FitSugar — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:55:00 -0800

I know when I have PMS, I crave sweet treats, particularly chocolate. I just found a chocolate bar that's specially formulated to soothe my PMS symptoms.

Ecco Bella, known for its beauty products, is branching out and has created Health by Chocolate bars, made with organic, dark chocolate and enhanced with herbs, antioxidants, and minerals to soothe your mood, build your bones, and help your skin. The Women's Wonder Bar is made with a blend of soy, Chaste Tree berry (clinically proven to relieve symptoms), and pampering rose oil to soothe and alleviate the symptoms of PMS and menopause.

Their Beautiful Bones Bar is fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin K to support healthy bones. It is flavored with a hint of orange.

The Instant Bliss Beauty Bar is a delicious way to "feed" your skin. It contains lutein, lycopene, beta-carotene, and astaxanthin. These powerful antioxidants are derived from marigolds, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, and algae and have great skin protecting powers.

Well, now you can eat your chocolate knowing not only does it soothe the soul, but it's great for your body too. You can buy them directly from the Ecco Bella website in packages of 24 bars for $82.

Hump Day: I'm Self-Conscious About Receiving Oral Sex

TresSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Welcome to Hump Day, TrèsSugar's sex advice column. Are you confused about sex? Do you have trouble having an orgasm? Is there something you'd like to try but you're worried it's too weird? Send your questions to TrèsSugar, and our friend Dr. Charlie Glickman from Good Vibrations will offer his sound advice!

Today's Question:

"I'm very self-conscious about my body, and that extends to receiving oral sex. I like to give blow jobs to my boyfriend, but I worry about smelling and tasting good so I rarely let him reciprocate. I wonder if I never get satisfaction when I let him go downtown (he has to practically beg!) because I can't relax enough to enjoy it. Any advice?"

To hear what Dr. Glickman has to say, read more

First off, the vagina is self-cleaning, as long as it's healthy. I mention that because I want to make sure that it's very clear that all of the myths about the vagina being dirty have more to do with sexism and sex-negativity than anything else. That was a bit different in the past, when women's medical needs weren't really addressed and things like yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis went untreated. At the same time, if you ever suspect that your scent has changed, that can be a sign of these or other conditions and it's worth getting checked out by a medical professional.

But assuming that there isn't anything like that going on for you, you definitely have my sympathies. Worries about our bodies and how our partners perceive us is a serious mood-killer. And the irony is that our partners often either don't mind or actively admire exactly those parts of our bodies that we're worrying about!

From what you've written, it sounds like your boyfriend has no problem going down on you. After all, if he's begging for it, it's probably something that he's into. How does he describe your scent or taste? If he's just as enthusiastic about that, maybe that can help you reframe how you feel about it. As the saying goes, we each have our own tastes (sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn't resist).

Try taking a shower before having sex. If you do it together, then it becomes part of the warm-up instead of a chore. While it may not be strictly necessary, if it helps you relax, there's no reason not to. Just don't overdo it with the soap. The vulva (the exterior female sex organs) is covered with sensitive skin and some women find that washing too much can be irritating. And don't get soap inside the vagina - it can be irritating or even set off a yeast infection if you're sensitive.

It might also help if the two of you approach oral sex as a pleasure in itself, rather than worrying about whether you'll have an orgasm from it. Set the bar a little lower for a while and aim for discovering ways that it can feel good for you, even if you don't have an orgasm. Make it a science experiment and have him try different techniques so you can discover how they feel. One great way to do that is for him to do two different things, such as sucking your clitoris or making circles with his tongue for a little bit. Then you decide whether you liked A or B more. It's a fun way to explore new sensations and keep your focus on what you're feeling, rather than worrying about your scent. If he needs some ideas for things to try, Tristan Taormino's Expert Guide to Oral Sex is a great DVD on the topic. Or check out Violet Blue's book Ultimate Guide To Cunnilingus for a fun read.

It could also be helpful if you ask your boyfriend for some positive reinforcement afterwards. After all, you're moving into an edge of your comfort zone and you deserve some hugs for that. When you're ready to move on from the oral experimentation, you'll probably feel better about it if he tells you how much he enjoyed it and that he's glad that the two of you are trying it out. If he goes too far and starts seeming pushy about it, that could backfire, so a light touch is better. But that's a really good way to make sure that you end on a positive note.

I hope that this helps. I know that it can be really hard when exploring out things that feel uncomfortable. It's a good idea to stretch enough to give it a serious try without going so far that it's too much. Take it slowly and remember - you want it to be fun!

America's Sugar Lovers Need to Cut Back

FitSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0700

I have a huge sweet tooth, and it looks like I'm not alone because a new report shows that Americans are consuming tons of the white stuff - an average of 22 teaspoons a day! That's about 355 calories from sugar, which is equivalent to two cans of soda and a chocolate bar. No wonder America has an issue with obesity.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is urging people to cut way back and recommends that women get no more than six teaspoons (100 calories) of sugar a day. No, they're not talking about the natural sugars found in fruit, veggies, or dairy products. The AHA wants you to cut back on added sugars found in soda, artificially flavored fruit drinks, cookies, candy, sugary cereals, and the like.

Sometimes it's tough to tell how much of a product is natural sugars and how much is added sugars, since nutrition labels list sugars in one lump amount. So look at the ingredients and try to limit foods containing sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses, or evaporated cane juice. Sugary foods don't offer you a sustained amount of energy and they also don't satisfy your hunger, so soon after eating a sweet treat, you'll find you're hungry again. That's why eating sugary foods contributes to weight gain, so if you're trying to lose weight, take a look at how much added sugar you're consuming.

You Asked: What Gives With Women's Bikes?

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering . . .

Dear Fit,
I'm in the market for a new bike, but while shopping I've noticed that there are bikes made for guys and then that company will make the same bike but designed for women. The colors are usually very feminine, which I hate. I'm wondering is it OK to go for the guy's model, or is there really a huge benefit to riding a women's specific bike?
-Tomboy Tara

This is a great question since so many of our readers are into cycling. To find out what I think read more.

Regardless of gender, you need to choose a bike that's right for your body type. Most women specific bikes are made to suit the average size woman who typically has a shorter torso than the average man, as well as shorter arms and legs. The benefit of choosing a bike designed for women is that these physical differences are taken into consideration in the construction of the geometry of the "cockpit" - the top tube, length of the handlebar stem, and the position of the seat. Here are some basic differences in women specific bikes: the frame is smaller, the distance between the seat and the handlebars is shorter, the distance from the seat to the peddles is also shorter, the brake levers are closer to account for a woman's smaller hands, and the bike is lighter weight so it's easier to carry. Sometimes the front bar is lower as well to protect your lady business in case you fall forward.

The bottom line is that women specific bikes aren't just made in girly colors, they're actually made to fit a female's body better than male specific bikes. Since fit is the most important thing, try to look beyond the color of the bicycle. If you tend to be on the shorter side, bikes designed for women will offer you more benefits in regards to fit and ease of riding. If you're taller, then the larger frame male bikes may be your best bet.

Fit's Tip: My advice is to test drive all brands and models, both male and female specific bikes. Some companies also make bikes in different sized frames such as extra small, so give those a spin too. If a rugged appearance is important to you, be sure to check out bikes made by Cannondale (like the one shown), Trek, and Giant since their women specific models don't necessarily look girlish.

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Judge Throws Out Case Against "Ladies' Night": Right Call?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:15:54 -0700

A judge in New York City has thrown out a lawsuit alleging that "Ladies' Night" pricing at bars and nightclubs discriminates against men. The lawsuit was brought by an attorney known for his fight against gender-specific constructs like suing Columbia University for its Women's Studies department. (Have you heard the one about the Men's Studies department? It's called "History." But I digress.) Now the gender-equalizer is taking his fight to the $3 cosmo.

The judge tossed the case saying that bars and nightclubs have a right to price their product any which way they'd like because they're not acting as representatives of the state. The attorney's case tried to prove that through the state-run liquor license program, it does just that. After losing, he called the judge a feminist and said that the toss-out was right on par with the deeply embedded gender discrimination in tons of American institutions.

It makes one wonder if this crusading lawyer has ever gotten his hair cut or clothes dry-cleaned. I reckon he makes back the difference in "Ladies' Night" at the bar right there . . .

Does any gender preference signify discrimination? Drinks aside, is the lawyer fundamentally wrong?

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Spore Mania: My Interview with Ocean Quigley

GeekSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:00:18 -0700

We have just a few more days until Spore hits the streets, and I couldn't be more excited! In preparation for the release, I got a chance to speak with Ocean Quigley, Spore's Art Director, about the making of the game, and all the challenges they faced while producing this trailblazing title. We also talked in depth about Spore's Creature Creator; the thing that allows you to mold and sculpt your creatures to life.

I'm assuming that you've already been toying around with it, because there are more than three million creatures created and submitted to the Sporepedia - Spore's answer to the encyclopedia!

Not surprisingly, with all the fun creatures, buildings, and planets you can make (and take over) in Spore, this game has been in development for quite some time. But you won't believe just how long it took to get made! Read on for my full interview!

So exactly how long have you been working on Spore?
A great long time! I started on it back in '99 after finishing up Sim City 3000, doing a few months of conceptual design with Will Wright (the creator of The Sims and Spore), then took a break to work on Sim City 4. So I've been noodling with it, well, geez, since back in the 20th century!

You must be totally relieved now that it's finished!
It's kind of hard to believe that we've come to the end of such a long development cycle. I've accumulated about six months of vacation, so I'm going to disappear for a while!

To check out the rest of my interview with Ocean, and why Spore will change the face of 3D modeling forever, just read more.

Where did your career start? Did you always know that you wanted to get into video games?
I started out as an oil painter, but it's not too often that you get to be on the ground floor of a new medium like that has been done on computers. Oil painting has been around for centuries, and people have been painting on cave walls before that, so if you think about the opportunity to be in the thick of a formation of a new art form, those opportunities are really rare. With the explosion of computer power we've seen over the last few years or so, it's become possible to make no-holds-barred, straight up artwork. It's was obvious to me in the early '90s that I needed to be a part of this.

Coming from a fine arts background, was it hard for you to relinquish that control of what will be produced in the game by the players?
That was kind of interesting! Because you have to hold back a little bit. Usually, when you're an artist you say, "This is what I want this object to look like," and you sort of bang on it until it looks like what I want it to look like. But in Spore, I had to step back because how it works out will be up to the player. In Spore, you're really experiencing a new kind of artwork where it's made by the interactions of the player. It's not this static, inert object. It's a dynamic art form. It took years to figure out and get used to.

Spore's creation editor is similar to some professional 3D modeling programs out on the market. How do you think Spore's creation editor is better or different than those programs?
The main difference is that the professional programs like Maya don't make any assumptions about what you're doing, so you're working up from bits and pieces. If you wanted to make a creature, you may start with a cube, and then pull those shapes where you want them to be. Whereas in our Creature Editor, we've given a lot of thought about making creatures and how they are put together. So instead of starting with a triangle or cube, we give you the structure of creatures (spine, muscles) and they are just waiting to be sculpted. So really, you could make creatures, like, a thousand times faster in our editor than in other programs.

I get the feeling that Spore will spawn a whole new generation of 3D modelers and animators. Did you have that in mind when creating the game?
No question. It's such a wonderful experience to create things and bring them to life. But the barrier to enter the 3D modeling world is incredibly high - not only are the production tools really expensive, but they are really hard to use. So one of the things that I wanted to do was give that experience of creation - of what it's like to shape something and see it come to life and basically give tangible form to your imagination - to millions of people, not just the handful of artists that use these expensive programs.

I'd expect that Spore will be a gateway to thousands of visual artists, but also that professional modeling programs are going to have to learn from Spore's user interface. You're going to have these artists coming from Spore, and then into these higher level programs like Maya, and they will realize how awful they are to use.

You worked on The Sims, which has been hugely popular with the female gaming community. Did this fact have any impact on how you made Spore?
Yeah, no question. We have a lot of women in senior positions, and we wanted to make sure that we didn't just make something that would appeal to the guys on the team, so at every stage the art direction was critiqued by the women that were on the project. The final art direction that you see reflects the years of ideas we thought would appeal both to men and women.

Will you play Spore, or are you completely Spore-d out?
Yes, I will play, but I'm actually waiting for a release copy, just like everyone else! I've got a pretty good sense about what the play will be like, but I'm needing a little bit of a break so that I can play with fresh eyes. My kids are very excited to play it as well.

Do you play any other video games?
I like all kinds of games, but the only type that I really don't play are the World of Warcraft, or online games in general. I've got the kind of personality that I know it would just take over my life! It's good to know your limitations.

DVD Review: Tracy Anderson Mat Workout

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

I wasn't too thrilled with Tracy Anderson's cardio dance workout. It seemed more personal performance than cardio, but I was still interested in trying her Mat Workout DVD ($29.95). Tracy's approach to body sculpting is to tone without bulking, so she avoids working the large muscle groups as well as heavy weights. Muscles are worked from a variety of angles, which makes sense since muscle fibers rarely run in a straight line. Many of the motions are small and isolated targeting the smaller, underworked, supporting muscles. She calls this "strategic muscle exhaustion," and you will feel the burn. Much of the workout reminded me of the Bar Method with a dash of sexy jazz dance thrown.

As with her cardio dance workout, this DVD is shot in a very lovely studio, with just Tracy leading the workout and soft music with a beat playing the background. The workout is divided into sections: standing legs, arm work without weights, arm work with weights, standing ab work, floor work for the legs, and a variety of crunches. All in all, I felt pleasantly worked following the workout, and my heart rate stayed slightly elevated in a fat burning zone for the majority of the workout. The entire workout takes just under an hour.

I do have some problems with the workout. To hear my pros and cons, just read more.

The warmup is incredibly short and involves some intense stretching, which if you have tight hamstrings could be dangerous. I prefer, and think it is safer, to get my body warm and blood flowing with a little light cardio before I stretch. Now, I know many women worry about bulking up and fear lifting heavy weights for that reason, but I am just not one of them. I feel this arm workout might tone the arms and give them endurance, but I am not so sure it will make my arms stronger. So in the future I will probably skip those sections. I liked the standing abs and the wide variety of crunches included in the workout. Similar to the dance cardio workout, I feel like Tracy is not leading me, the DVD viewer, through a workout, but trying somehow to make pendulum standing leg swings look sexy. She gives so little verbal cuing that you have to watch the TV constantly or you will miss something, and the worst of this is the ab routine on the floor. I would be crunching with my head positioned correctly when I would glance at the screen and see Tracy had moved onto another variation and not uttered a word. Unlike the overly chipper demeanor of Denise Austin or the infectious enthusiasm of Billy Blanks, Anderson often looks either bored or shy throughout the video, which I just find odd and uninviting.

Since I am always looking for ways to tone my booty, running and lunges do wonders, but so do back attitudes on acute angles, so I will definitely do the legs and abs part of the workout again. The only problem is the workout portion of the DVD isn't formatted in chapters for ease of locating the section you would like to follow. For arm work I will stick to my push-ups, and higher weights for strength training. Have you tried this DVD? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

You can buy the DVD directly from the Tracy Anderson Method website.

Selk' Bag, The Outdoorsy Mom's Must Have

LilSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:00:23 -0700

Sporty moms are known for carting oranges and water to their kids' games, but the women endure wind, rain and chill as they root their offspring on from the sidelines. So why not give the faithful fans that wrap themselves in hats, coats, blankets and scarves to steady the camcorders in their cold hands a uniform to keep them snug in the bleachers? If you can get past its fluffy and spacesuit like appearance, the Selk' bag ($70) is wonderfully snug. To read about its pros and cons, read more.

The wearable sleeping bag is spacious and covers your entire body with compartmental arms and legs so you can carry on your regular activities or make a snack bar run. While the hooded suit also keeps your head and neck warm, it certainly makes an interesting fashion statement. My son stared at me when I slipped into the one the company sent me to try out. If an almost two-year-old gives it a second glance, fellow fans might think you have lost your mind. But, you may not notice you'll be so toasty and content. If you aren't game for that idea, the sack-suit is ideal for family camping trips when you have to get up in the middle of the night to take your tot to the bathroom or get him a cup of water, as you won't even have to get unzipped!

Ask E. Jean for DearSugar: What am I Missing Here?

E Jean Carroll — Wed, 23 May 2007 23:30:00 -0700

Dear E. Jean--

From the outside I have it all. A handsome husband who is a big-shot lawyer at a prestigious international firm, bringing in the big bucks. I’m a lawyer too, at a less prestigious, but nonetheless great firm. We are building our first house, a big, brick Colonial McMansion in the tony suburbs of a big city. We have nice clothes, jewelry and cars. We donate our time and money for worthy causes, have great friends and family. BUT . . . . . I feel totally worthless.

The material things never defined me, so I derive little satisfaction from them. I hate being a lawyer. I feel stuck by the house and my profession, and, at times, my marriage. My husband refuses to leave the state, and all I want to do is pack up and move somewhere else, for a new perspective or god knows what. Sometimes I feel the only thing I have done right is married a great man and treated my dog well. Good things, but sad.

Is this just a bad case of wanderlust or the typical crisis late-twentysomethings go through?

To see E. Jean's answer read more

NOW, NOW, My Young Trollop: Of all the letters I receive, the #1 career complaint is from women who are attorneys. Why? It happens like this:

You are brilliant
You graduate from college
You frown. An Angelina Jolie frown -- your eyebrows crash into your cheek bones
Question: WHAT should you do with your life?
Some dingbat answers: “Dude, why not go to law school?”
Having nothing better to do, you go to law school
Boom
You graduate . . . again!
Dang
You do not particularly want to be a lawyer, but your parents say, “Hey! Take the bar. We spent thousands putting you through school, the least you could do is take the damn bar.”
You take the bar
Unfortunately, you pass
“Great! Great!” cry your parents, “You passed the bar! Fantastic! Now, hunny. You know it would be just terrible to waste all that time, wouldn’t it? Why don’t you just see if you like being a lawyer.”
You get a job as a lawyer with some dried-up, boring, snotty, hideously desiccated, old white shoe firm
And. You. Fakking. HATE. It.

No wonder you feel stuck and “worthless.” I’m amazed you haven’t duc-taped yourself to the barco lounger and refused to budge from the house. It’s time to do what you want to do.
Quit.

You were already half-way to being a freed woman merely because you value what is to be valued: A good man and a great dog. (Not necessarily in that order.)

With your charm, your alertness, your savage skills, there is pretty much no limit to what you can achieve -- especially with the big city near by. Hundreds of wonderful organizations need a lawyer who is clever, motivated, and wants to reach deep down inside herself and find what she has to give to the world.

For example:
The Innocence Project (a national organization dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted people.)
Kiva.org (a stunning organization that lets people “lend small amounts of money to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.)

If your husband doesn’t mind (and he sounds like an excellent chap) pulling in the lion share, go work somewhere you will LURVE working. You won’t make much dough, but you will feel alive and happy inside that big brick house.

P.S. And, please, darling. Build something that doesn’t look like the Burger King lives there.

To see more advice from E. Jean visit Elle Magazine and AskEJean.com

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Would You Give Up Your Password For a Chocolate Bar?

GeekSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:00:15 -0700

Researchers in London surveyed people to find out what it would take for them to give up their office network password, and nearly half of the women said they'd give it up for a bar of chocolate (the men? Just 10 percent said they would)!

I guess that giving up the office network password is a bit different than email and MySpace passwords, so I wonder who these ladies are - disloyal workers, or just hungry? But really: a chocolate bar?! Was it some crappy drugstore brand or some good German stuff? Um, I mean, for shame, password-giving-up ladies. For shame.

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