The Best Social Networks for Fitness Junkies

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

When you survive a crazy boot camp session or set a personal record on a run, there’s one thing you want to do (besides shower): Tell the world. The thing is, your Facebook friends and Twitter followers probably don’t want to hear it. More than half of social network users think fitness- and diet-related posts are the most annoying updates, according to a new survey conducted by Sweatband.com, a U.K.-based e-commerce site.

Surveyors asked 1,793 Brits about the most irksome social media habits. Fifty-three percent of those polled said bragging about diet and exercise is the worst. Almost as annoying: people who share food photos, write cryptic status updates, invite others to play online games, and post baby pictures. More than 50 percent of respondents said they avoid Facebook and Twitter altogether to avoid these irritating updates, and 38 percent have quit a social media site because of them.

Do you clog others’ feeds with fitness updates? No need to risk losing friends over it—or stop using the web to stay motivated. Instead, share your fitness triumphs with people who actually want to hear about it. All of these social networks are made for workout fiends:

Fitocracy
Unlike other social networks, Fitocracy rewards you with points for being active. Earn enough points, and you’ll get special profile badges (aka bragging rights) and advance to the next fitness level. On this game-like network, you can log and save workouts, monitor your progress, and connect with your most fitness-minded Facebook friends—or meet new ones via shared interest groups. Then, use the corresponding Android or iOS app to broadcast good news or share before and after pictures. You’ll also see friends’ fitness updates via a Facebook-like feed. The best part? You can give each other “props” (the Fitocracy equivalent of a Facebook Like).
FREE, or $ 4.99/month to compete in fitness challenges and save more than eight fitness routines

Daily Mile
If logging every single workout, tracking your mileage, and posting after-workout updates helps keep you motivated, head over to DailyMile.com. You can also search for routes or map your own. Then, connect with fit friends on your DailyMile feed. For even more fun, share a running route and challenge your DailyMile buddies to follow in your footsteps. Not a runner? You can also log swims, bike rides, and other fitness routines.
FREE, or $ 49.95/year for extra features like bulked up analytics, a calendar to plan workouts, and a prettier interface

Map My Fitness
Billed as the world’s largest online community of fitness fanatics, the MapMyFitness family (which includes MapMyHike, MapMyRide, MapMyWalk, and MapMyRun) lets you log in with your Facebook credentials, then record your outdoor workouts using Google maps to automatically tally mileage. Better yet? Link up with friends from your other social networks to swap routes and make sure they’re the first to know when you hit a training goal. You can also access others members’ routes and join groups through the sites to find local events. The coolest part: You can input your workout stats from the tracking device you already use, like Nike+ or Fitbit, and selectively email fitness feats to people outside the network—so even your Facebook-averse mother can stay in the loop.
FREE, or $ 5.99/month for an ad-free MVP Membership with extra features like cadence analysis, training plans, and mobile coaching

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Ear News You’ve Got to Hear

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

Ear buds may be clutch while you’re on the elliptical or the treadmill, but they’re also dangerous as far as the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is concerned: A public education campaign is in the works to warn New Yorkers about the risks of listening to personal music players at excessive volumes.

About 15 percent of Americans ages 20 to 69 have high-frequency hearing loss that may be a result of exposure to loud sounds, either on the job or during leisure activities, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Noise exposure can wear down the hair cells of your ear’s cochlea, eventually causing hearing loss or tinnitus (ringing in the ear). Some people are more susceptible than others—research suggests that genetic and medical factors play a part—but experts say that anything louder than 85 decibels can cause damage after prolonged exposure.

Here’s the thing: Even sounds made by household objects like hair dryers and kitchen blenders can tip past 85 decibels. “Anything that makes you raise your voice to be able talk to somebody an arm’s length away is probably above 85 decibels,” says Deanna Meinke, PhD, an audiologist and associate professor of audiology at the University of Northern Colorado. So when you regularly listen to your headphones at a high volume, spend time in loud clubs and bars, or attend concerts (which can average 110 decibels), you risk doing permanent damage.

The good news? You can take steps now to prevent noise-induced hearing loss down the road:

Get tested
“A baseline hearing test can identify early damage even in someone who hears normally,” says Hannah Shonfield, an audiologist and supervisor of audiology at the Weill Cornell Medical College Hearing and Speech Center. Visit an audiologist for the test, and then schedule follow-up visits about every three years (presuming everything’s normal at the appointment and you don’t notice any changes in the meantime).

Do the “silent room” check
Since different music players have different output levels, experts can’t say, for example, that your MP3 player volume should never exceed a certain percentage of what your device can produce. To find a good limit for your volume, try this trick: Sit in a quiet room, put your headphones in, and find the maximum volume that’s still comfortable to listen to. Then never turn the music up past that level, no matter how hard it may be to hear your music on a busy street, at a train station, or in the mall. “The misconception is, ‘If I can’t hear my music, I can turn it up over the noise,” says Shonfield. “But the end result is the same. If you were to play that loudness level in your quiet bedroom, you would yank the headphones out of your ears and scream. It would be painful because it was so loud.”

Get ear-friendly gear
Noise-cancelling headphones and noise-isolating ear buds don’t run cheap, but if you can swing it, consider making the purchase. The less your music is competing with the noise around you, the lower you’ll set the volume level, and the better it is for your ears. Also, if you’re heading to a concert or know you’ll be around a construction site, definitely pick up some earplugs from the drug store—they’re super cheap. Shonfield even recommends giving them a try at a packed club or bar. “Girls with long hair can wear them and no one will know,” she says. Not thrilled about accessorizing with neon pieces of foam? Custom-made earplugs made by an audiologist are much more discreet. They’re expensive, but if you’re a musician or you’re regularly in a noisy environment, they might be worth the investment.

Take a cue from your surroundings
Even heavy traffic noise can reach unsafe decibel levels. “A fire truck siren, a subway train barreling through the station, a bus letting air out of its tires to let a passenger on—that can all be additive,” says Shonfield. If you live in a city, you might want to wear earplugs for your commute (noise-isolating ear buds or headphones won’t cut it—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they’re not appropriate hearing protection devices). If nothing else, be sure to plug your ears when you’re passing a jackhammer or you see a train approaching the platform.

photo: Hemera/Thinkstock

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Are You Reading Lean In?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

Every month, the Scoop hosts our 60-second book club, where we invite you to take a quick peek inside a buzzed-about new book and let us know what you think. This month’s pick: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.

Since you clearly have an Internet connection, we’re assuming you don’t live under a rock and that you’ve heard about (or maybe even started reading) Lean In, the career guide for women by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Some people have applauded Sandberg’s candid approach, while others fault her for saying women often stand in the way of their own career success—but you can come to your own conclusion. Here’s a preview:

Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling, and ultimately rewarding endeavor. Now imagine a marathon where both men and women arrive at the starting line equally fit and trained. The gun goes off. The men and women run side by side. The male marathoners are routinely cheered on: “Lookin’ strong! On your way!” But the female runners hear a different message. “You know you don’t have to do this!” the crowd shouts. Or “Good start—but you probably won’t want to finish.” The farther the marathoners run, the louder the cries grow for the men: “Keep going! You’ve got this!” But the women hear more and more doubts about their efforts. External voices, and often their own internal voice, repeatedly question their decision to keep running. The voices can even grow hostile. As the women struggle to endure the rigors of the race, spectators shout, “Why are you running when your children need you at home?”

What do you think? Does this quote make you want to read more? Did you already burn through the book? Share your thoughts in the comments!

photo: Courtesy of Knopf Doubleday

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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This Just In: Sugary Drinks Can Be Deadly

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

If you’re still struggling with a soda habit, this new research might be just what you need to abstain from the sweet stuff: About 180,000 deaths around the world may be associated with sugar-sweetened beverages each year, according to a new study presented today at the American Heart Association’s spring meeting in New Orleans. In fact, about 25,000 U.S. deaths were linked to the consumption of sugary drinks in 2010 alone.

To come to this conclusion, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the amount of sugary drinks being consumed worldwide, as well as the number of deaths related to obesity and diabetes (two proven long-term effects of consuming too much sugar and too many calories). Based on previous research, they knew how the consumption of these beverages would factor into a person’s risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. From there, they were able to determine how many of those deaths were likely caused by sugar-laden drinks. And they weren’t just looking at something you buy in a Big Gulp cup—sugar-sweetened beverages include sports drinks and fruit juices, as well as sodas.

“When you drink a sugary beverage, you’re consuming a large number of calories, but it doesn’t make you feel full and it doesn’t have a lot of other nutritional value,” says study co-author Gitanjali Singh, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. Plus, all that sugar can disrupt your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels. The result is a lethal combination: Not only are you packing on extra pounds, but you’re also screwing with your blood sugar, which can set you up for diabetes.

The American Health Association recommends cutting yourself off after you’ve consumed 450 calories from sugar-sweetened beverages each week. “Ideally, it would be better to limit consumption as much as possible,” says Singh.

Need help stepping away from the sweet stuff? Here, more motivation and strategies for skipping sugary drinks:

Stroke Risk and Soda

How Much Sugar Is In That Coffee?

Healthy Soda Recipes

Know Your Daily Liquid Calorie Intake

Unhealthiest Juices In America

photo: iStockPhoto/Thinkstock

More from Women’s Health:
Curb Your Sweet Tooth
Drinking Alcohol to Shrink?
The Sugar Calorie Quiz

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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The Random Thing That’s Stressing You Out

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

It’s not just you—listening to someone chat away on the phone is a pet peeve for pretty much everyone. People who overheard a one-sided cell phone conversation reported being more distracted and irritated than those who overheard a two-person conversation, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS One. And good luck tuning it out—you’re also more likely to remember parts of a distracting cell phone conversation than you are to remember an actual nearby discussion.

To mimic real-world situations, researchers told participants they were completing a study on anagrams and reading comprehension. While they were working on the anagrams, a nearby participant (who was actually a fellow researcher) either talked on his or her cell phone or chatted with a third participant. After the study was finished, the participants filled out a questionnaire about the situation. They also completed a memory task about what they had overheard. The people who heard the one-sided conversation reported the experience as being more distracting and irritating. Plus, they actually scored twice as high on the memory task as the participants who overheard a full discussion—even though many said that they were actively trying to tune it out.

“The brain wants to understand patterns,” says lead study author Veronica Galván, PhD, assistant professor at the University of San Diego. “Having no context for that speech is what seems to be so attention-grabbing.” Essentially, hearing only half of a conversation makes you more likely to perk up and listen because you automatically try to figure out what the convo is about—even if you’d prefer not to hear it at all.

It’s tempting to confiscate someone’s phone the next time they’re yapping loudly right next to you, but there are other strategies that won’t cause a scene. Here, a few ways to deal with the rudeness:

Try to relocate
It can be brutal to give up a prime coffee shop seat just because the person next to you won’t shut up, but it might be your best option. “If you can move away, it’s going to be easier than trying to police someone else’s behavior,” says Anna Post, co-author of Emily Post’s Etiquette, 18th Edition. “Especially if this is a stranger, because you really don’t know who you might get.” Try to read the situation: If there’s no way this person is quieting down—let alone getting off the phone—you might want to pack it up and move.

Make eye contact
Sure, some people truly don’t care if you hear them having a full-blown fight on their cell. But others may just get caught up in their conversation and forget where they are for a moment. When you’re stuck next to someone like this and they seem a little oblivious, try to catch their eye. This spark of awareness may be all they need to remember that they’re not in soundproof bubble, says Post.

Pop in your ear buds
If escaping the noise isn’t an option and the eye contact trick doesn’t work, grab your headphones. Not only will listening to Adele chill you out, but it’s easier to tune out your own music than it is to ignore a one-sided conversation (since your mind won’t be working overtime to fill in the blanks). Or, if your headphones help muffle the noise, you could wear them and not play any music at all.

Call for backup
If you’re in a public place—like a restaurant or nail salon—and stuck sitting next to a loud cell phone talker, you may be able to ask management to step in. Just discreetly excuse yourself to find the manager and see if they can either ask the person to quiet down or move you away from the noise, says Post.

Speak up—but be careful how you do it
Whether you’re brave or you’ve just run out of other options, sometimes you really want to say something to the offender. In this case, always keep it short, simple, and neutral. “Don’t start commenting on how rude it is—that’s implied because you’re speaking up,” says Post. But on the other hand, you don’t want to go overly sweet, which can come off as disingenuous. Simply smile and get straight to the point by saying, “Hi, would you mind lowering your voice a little? Thanks.”
But here’s the clincher: Make sure your “thanks” is undeniably neutral and not loaded with condescension and cattiness. “I can’t stress enough how many people do well until the thanks,” says Post. “They blow it because they say thanks with that snide, snarky, superior tone and it just destroys any progress you made prior to it.” Her advice: Be bland and unmemorable—but direct.

photo: iStockPhoto/Thinkstock

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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March Madness for Cyclists

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

Whether or not you’re filling out a bracket right now, there’s another tournament that should be on your radar this month: Fly Madness. In honor of March Madness, the indoor cycling studio FlyWheel Sports is hosting a competition in which teams of two compete to see which pair can log the most miles every week for four weeks. The top teams in each round will advance, and at the end of four weeks, a winning team in each of the eight Flywheel regions will walk away with prizes like Flywheel swag (think: clothing and a gym bag), class packages, and—of course—bragging rights.

Flywheel locations in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Charlotte, Florida (Miami Beach and Boca Raton), Chicago, Texas (Plano and Dallas), and Seattle are all participating in the tournament.

If you’re already an avid cyclist—or you just want some extra motivation to squeeze in more workouts in the next four weeks—grab a friend and call your local Flywheel to sign up your team. The final day to register is tomorrow, March 20. Visit Flywheel’s website for more details.

photo: Courtesy of Flywheel

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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Daily Dose: March 19, 2013

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:

Listening to uplifting concertos from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons may help increase mental capacity, according to a new study. Spotify, anyone? [Medical Xpress]

The bad news: In developing countries, 200 million fewer women are online than men. The good news: The United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development wants to make sure that women across the globe have equal access to the web by 2020. [Business Week]

More motivation to get to the gym: Athletes’ brains take in and respond to new information more quickly than non-athletes’ brains do, according to new research. [EurekAlert]

In a recent survey, more than 10 percent of the airline passengers with peanut or tree-nut allergies polled said they’ve had an allergic reaction while in flight. So why do some airlines still serve peanuts? [WebMD]

Swine flu just got scarier: About 2 percent of cases globally are now drug-resistant. [Bloomberg]

New research finds that constant job stress may increase your risk of getting Alzheimer’s. [Mail Online]

More than 17,600 men went to the ER for zipper-related genital injuries between 2002 and 2010, according to a new study. Really, guys? [The Atlantic]

Heidi Klum is the star of the new Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s commercials (which are basically burger porn). Really, Heidi? [The Cut]

Lululemon has stopped selling its popular black yoga pants because it says they were too sheer. If you own a pair, you can bring them in for a full refund or exchange—but unfortunately for people who’ve worn them to yoga already, some things can’t be unseen. [USA Today]

photo: Lifesize/Thinkstock

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Do Short Emails Piss People Off?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by admin

Everyone has their own style when it comes to technology: Some people kick off emails with a “Dear so-and-so,” while others don’t even type “hi.” Some people send novel-length text messages, while others send incomplete sentences. In a recent New York Times article, writer Nick Bilton makes the case that many short emails and texts are rude.

His argument? Sending emails or text messages that just say “Thank you”—or leaving voicemails when someone doesn’t answer the phone—can be a waste of time for the person on the receiving end, particularly since their digital mailboxes are likely already overflowing.

Regardless of whether you agree with Bilton’s point of view, the fact remains that people today are inundated with emails, texts, calls, and voicemails—and it can sometimes be hard to decide how (or if) you should respond.

A lot of it comes down to the preference of the person on the receiving end—especially in an office setting or if that person is your boss. “You have to know who the audience is, how they operate, and how they want to be communicated to,” says Dan Schawbel, Gen Y career expert and author of the forthcoming Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success. Follow the person’s lead, or if you’re feeling up to it, ask what they prefer. If your boss is heading out for a meeting and expecting a message, for example, say, “What’s the best way for me to get this information to you?”

Keep reading for other tech etiquette tips:

Your email strategy
“All emails really should contain a specific purpose,” says etiquette expert Lisa Mirza Grotts. Even a message that just says “thank you,” for example, can let the recipient know that you received their email. If your boss sends you an assignment and you don’t respond—even with a quick “Sounds good!”—she has no way of knowing that you’re on top of the task. The same goes for responding to an appointment cancellation, a completed assignment, or even a congratulatory message.

“You’re welcome” emails, on the other hand, aren’t necessary. A good rule of thumb? Before you fire off a short email, ask yourself if it has a point. Is it to show receipt? Go for it. Is it for the heck of it? Hold off.

Your texting strategy
You know the unspoken rules for texting friends, but texting in a business setting can get a little trickier. Definitely check with your managers or colleagues before you start texting them. And even if they give you the green light, Schawbel says text swapping should only be done for small messages. “The package you were waiting for just came in” works well here, but save any conversation that requires emotion or tone for a different medium.

Your voicemail strategy
Voicemail is dying, says Schawbel. “Why call when I can just send a quick text and I know it will get through?” he says. “People don’t even have time to listen to voicemails anymore.” Point being, it’s probably safer not to leave voicemails for other people.

That said, if you receive a voicemail, you cannot just ignore it. You could miss a call from your credit card company or a recruiter—yikes. Plus, it’s just more considerate to the person on the other end of the line. “With any type of communication, the faster you respond, the better,” says Schawbel. “That’s also part of what’s happening with our culture.”

Business-related voicemails are their own story. If you’re calling someone for work-related purposes, managers and colleagues expect you to know how to leave a message that’s professional and on-topic. Never just say, “Call me,” says Jacqueline Whitmore, etiquette expert and author of Poised for Success. State your name, number, and the purpose of your call. It might sound silly, but it gets the right message across.

TELL US: When do you think it is and isn’t OK to send a short email or leave a voicemail? What are your biggest tech-related pet peeves? Sound off in the comments!

photo: Stockbyte/Thinkstock

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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Pregnant? Put Down the Coffee

Posted on March 18, 2013 by admin

If you have a bun in the oven, you might want to rethink your daily coffee habit: New research shows that drinking too much caffeine while you’re pregnant could result in a lower birth weight for your baby.

Researchers from Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden asked 59,000 pregnant women to complete questionnaires about their health, lifestyle, and diet habits at various stages throughout their pregnancy. Then, during the 22^nd week of their pregnancy, they completed a food frequency questionnaire—including how much caffeine they consumed per day. Researchers analyzed the results, as well as data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, which contains each baby’s birth weight. What they found: More than 10 percent of participants consumed an excess of 200 mg of caffeine per day (about what you’d get from drinking two cups of coffee). These women were 20 to 60 percent more likely to have a baby who was small for gestational age (SGA). As newborns, SGA babies have trouble staying warm. They’re also more likely to have lower neurodevelopment scores throughout their childhood and to remain small as adults, says Verena Sengpiel, MD, PhD, one of the study authors.

It’s important to note that, while a low birth weight was associated with caffeine intake, that doesn’t prove causation. Mary Jane Minkin, MD, FACOG, an OBGYN and clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, recommends setting up a pre-pregnancy consultation with your OBGYN if you plan on becoming pregnant. That way, you can map out what kind of new health habits (including reduced caffeine consumption) you may need to establish. If you do decide to cut back on caffeine, don’t go cold turkey. Wean yourself off of it gradually so that you don’t experience withdrawal headaches, suggests Minkin.

One trick to try: Water down your regular cup of joe by pouring yourself a cup of half regular coffee, half decaf.

Still need an energy boost (sans java)? Try these tips and strategies.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

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Need a Brain Boost? Try This

Posted on March 18, 2013 by admin

It’s 4 p.m., and you’ve still got a ton to tackle on your to-do list—but zero motivation to do it. No need to chug a triple-jolt espresso; the solution may be as simple as pulling out a stick of gum. A recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology finds that chewing gum improves cognitive performance.

For the study, researchers divided 38 participants into a gum-chewing group and a control group. Both groups listened to a recording of numbers being read aloud in a seemingly random manner and were told to look for a pattern. The people who chewed gum had quicker reaction times and were more accurate in discovering patterns than the people who didn’t chew gum.

Why the difference? “Brain imaging suggests improved flow of oxygenated blood to the brain, which may cause the increase in concentration,” says Christopher Miles, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Cardiff and one of the authors of the study. Another reason chewing gum may help: It gives your brain something to, well, chew on. “The stimulus of chewing gum causes a spike in dopamine, which is a chemical that helps the brain focus,” says John Medina, PhD, director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University and author of Brain Rules.

And it’s not only gum that can produce that effect. The next time you need some help overcoming a mid-afternoon slump, try one of these out-of-the-box (but research-proven) tricks:

Change locations
Moving your laptop from your cubicle to the conference room could give you all the motivation you need to pound out that project: “The brain responds positively to novelty,” says Medina. “When it encounters something new, it will produce the dopamine surge that can translate into increased cognitive functioning.” If you’re not allowed to ditch your desk for a few hours, something like a quick gossip session with a coworker or even switching to pen and paper for a while should also do the trick.

Visit cuteoverload.com
Researchers in Japan found that images of baby animals significantly improved cognitive performance. Similar studies have also found that watching humorous videos can restore willpower and help you get back on track.

Pop a mint
Research has found that peppermint and cinnamon scents can increase alertness and mental performance. Applying some peppermint-scented hand cream also works, or you could just buy a small bottle of essential oil and keep it on-hand so you can take a whiff when your mind starts wandering.

Take a hike (or at least a walk around the parking lot)
Cognitive performance improves while walking, according to research. Dealing with a bang-your-head-against-the-desk problem at work? Take a break and head outside—by the time you’ve taken a few laps around the block, you may have come up with the answer that eluded you while you were sitting at your desk.

Hit the gym
The above tricks have a short-term effect, but exercise can actually enhance your concentration abilities for the long-haul (plus, recent research shows that quick bouts of physical activity can improve your self-control). “A total of 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise is the minimum required for a sustained change,” says Medina.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

What’s the 15-Minute Fat Loss Secret? Find out here!

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Athens Java Hut

Serving Jittery Joe's Coffee, Cecilia Villaveces, Cakes and Italian Gelato

Ear News You’ve Got to Hear

Are You Reading Lean In?

This Just In: Sugary Drinks Can Be Deadly

The Random Thing That’s Stressing You Out

March Madness for Cyclists

Daily Dose: March 19, 2013

Do Short Emails Piss People Off?

Pregnant? Put Down the Coffee

Need a Brain Boost? Try This