In the News: Making Healthy Choices

On the front page of our local newspaper, the Standard-Examiner, there's an article about how high fructose corn syrup can be linked to America's obesity problem. Then, as soon as I got online, I saw an article put out by Eat This Not That about the worst drinks at grocery/convenience stores and thought that with spring break coming up, it might come in handy for all those road trips we like to go on. (Okay, so I'm thinking WAY ahead but if you had 4 feet of snow in your yard, you would be too! LOL)

I'm by no means a health nut, but I am a bit of a label-reader and I'm always interested in finding out what foods and drinks are hiding under heathy facades but are actually really bad for us. This info was in Men's Health magazine as part of the popular Eat This Not That series, and it shows just how much sugar is in some popular bottled and canned drinks. I love that ETNT has equated the amount of sugar in each drink with a sweet treat so we can get a better idea just how much sugar we're talking about.
The Worst Tea: Snapple Lemon Ice Tea has 250 calories and 58 grams sugars. That's as much sugar as you'll get in 6 original Fudgsicle bars.
The Worst Flavored Water: With 150 calories and 33 grams sugars, Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water sounds healthy, but you'd have to eat 3 bowls of Honey Comb cereal to get that much sugar.
The Worst Bottled Lemonade: You can eat 5 Good Humor ice cream sandwiches or drink a bottle of Minute Maid lemonade for the same amount of sugars (67 grams).
The Worst Soda: A 20-oz bottle of Sunkist packs 325 calories and 88 grams of sugars which is about what you'd get if you chomped 17 chewy Chips Ahoy cookies.
The Worst Coffee Drink: Did you know Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino has 290 calories, 4.5 grams fat (2.5 saturated), and 46 grams sugars? If you'd rather have 3 1/2 scoops of Dreyer's double fudge brownie ice cream, it's about the same.
The Worst "Heathy" Drink: Naked Protein Zone Banana Chocolate has 480 calories, 3 grams fat (1 saturated), 32 grams protein, and 70 grams sugars. That's as much sugar as 5 Breyers Oreo ice cream sandwiches! (I was glad that my favorite healthy drink, Bolthouse vanilla chai, is the healthy alternative they recommend.)

Here are some additional grocery/convenience store drinks you might want to pass up: SunnyD Smooth Style (for a kid drink), Rock Star (for an energy drink), Nesquick chocolate milk (for a bottled milk), and Sobe Lizard Lava (for a fruity beverage).

If you want little updates from Eat This Not That, you can follow them on Twitter here. And now, I'm curious: Do you read labels on foods and drinks before you buy them? What's your favorite bottled or canned beverage?

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Fun Health

I'm jumping in here a day late (sorry!) but I've been in a remote Alaskan lodge and its surrounding lakes and rivers for the past week and am just now getting back to a computer. So if you don't mind, I'm going to take you back to last week's subject of Health for a spell and then we can get back to what Lauren, Jen, and Erica are discussing this week.

When I was in Alaska, I got to hang out with a beautiful lady named Judy, who lives in Achorage. We went kayacking and she told me about how she and about 30 of her girlfriends have something active planned for every single day of the year. They do miss days from time to time, but there's always something going on so no one has the excuse (or luxury) of saying "there's nothing to do." They go mountain biking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, boating, snow mobiling, running, walking, hiking, climbing, etc, etc.

I'm going to be honest with you. I'm in an exercise rut. I bought a punch card at a new gym that's only 10 minutes away (that's very close because I live in the country), and I've only been able to go to power yoga twice. I have three little boys, and finding someone to take all three is nearly impossible. Not to mention I'm totally behind on my writing and I'm planning a writers' conference for October, and time is getting away from me.

So I asked Judy if she was this physically active when her two boys were little. She said no, and that my time would come. That made me feel better. So I'm going to do whatever exercise I can (like jumping on the trampoline with my boys), when I can (like when the baby's sleeping and the laundry's drying), and enjoy my kids and my writing. Because another important part of health is being happy. :)

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Pretty Persuasion

I have this friend, she’s a mother of two adorable girls. And every night before they go to bed they play this game where they name a part of themselves that they like, and then explain why it’s perfect. I love this. When my friend told me about it, I actually cried. Of course, I pretended it was just steam rising up from the Jacuzzi, but the truth was, I was touched.

I didn’t grow up loving much of anything about myself. I felt awkward and obtrusive and wondered why I got stuck with wavy hair when my friend’s all had straight hair (okay, I still battle with this). But the thing is, nobody ever sat me down and made me write an ode to my baby toe. And I can’t help but wonder if it would’ve made a difference. My friend’s daughters are wonderful, and confident, and charging through life, and if they’re any indication, I’m thinking it would.

Growing up in California, a place where Christmas can find you wearing shorts and heading for the beach, you can’t help but be a little body conscious. There’s no hiding under big winter coats and bulky sweaters when it’s short sleeve weather for most of the year. But even if you don’t live in a warm weather place, there’s still that pervasive celebrity culture we’re constantly bombarded with. And the ironic thing is, that most of the stars we’re all trying to emulate don’t exactly look like that either. As a former flight attendant who flew the LA to NYC route more times than I care to remember, I had my share of celebrity sightings and I know this to be true. (With the exception of Natalie Portman and Beyonce who are even more beautiful in person—but I digress.)

The last two years I’ve spent a lot of time in cancer wards as several people I love and care about were diagnosed with the disease. And it gave me a whole new perspective on what makes someone beautiful. When people complimented my sister in law on her weight loss, she’d laugh and say it was the cancer diet. And suddenly being healthy grew way more important than being thin. Having a good hair day is always nice, but the courage and strength I saw when my brother in law lost his, was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in a world that’s all too willing to point out your flaws, I think my friend’s solution is the perfect antidote. So the next time you’re looking in the mirror and hating on something, why not try to turn it around and pick one thing, anything, and remind yourself why it’s perfect.

Which part are you willing to love today?

Alyson Noel is the author of KISS & BLOG- which is in stores now!

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Avoiding the Freshman Fifteen!

{Waving hello at everyone!}

Hey gang! Great to see you all here...thanks for checking out our corner of the World Wide Web. I'm Marley Gibson and next spring (that's right...join me in the wait), my sorority sister series from Penguin Putnam's Puffin Books will be released. The first two books, Rush - A Sisterhood Novel and Pledge Class - A Sisterhood Novel, will be released simultaneously, followed by Greek Week - A Sisterhood Novel in the summer and Spring Formal - A Sisterhood Novel in the fall. I'm having a blast writing the books and I hope you'll enjoy reading them.

What's fun about writing my sorority sisters is that I'm really trying to work the whole idea in of how when young women go off to college, they still need to maintain a balance of exercise, sleep and nutrition. It's so easy to fall into the late night pizza fests (which my girls do!) and drinking too much (which my girls try not to do!) and quick delivery and odd hours. That "Freshman 15" is not an urban legend. It's for real, people.

In my books, one of my characters is a diabetic who is struggling with controlling her disease while still participating in all of the activities of her new sorority. Another swims every day for stress relief and exercise. And my third heroine-just like that friend we all know and have-can eat anything and never gains a pound.

But staying physically fit when heading off to your new college life doesn't have to be, like, this total, major overhaul for you. There are easy ways to keep off those dreaded Freshman 15 and still have fun, participate and get the most out of school. Here are a few tips:

Walk to class. Walk to see your friends. Basically...walk. Walking is one of the best exercises for you. It strengthens your muscles, is good for your legs and helps with good breathing.

Ride your bike. Instead of driving places around campus, get a bike and literally put the pedal to the metal. Just remember to lock it up so sticky fingers don't walk away with it.

Portion control. Any major weight loss program will tell you that portion control is one of the biggest things you can do to control, lose or maintain your weight. Sure, you can join the gals at the sorority house for pizza...you just don't have to eat five pieces! LOL!

Get your rest. College is a time for breaking free, enjoying life and celebrating your freedom. Who doesn't want to stay up all night chit-chatting with your chicas, hanging out at the fraternity house with the cute guys or pulling an all-nighter for that big test the next day. Still take care of your health by getting plenty of rest. If your body is well-rested, you'll avoid catching the "germs of the week" that make their way around campus, which means missing out on less things.

Drink plenty of water. Water is the best thing you can put in your body. Doctors recommend it heartily for a healthy life, and, let's face it, water is easy to get. You can carry a water bottle around with you and it's much better for you than all those sugary (and sodium filled) sodas. Plus, lots of water helps you have glowing skin.

Hope these tips are helpful! If you have any other tips, please be sure to post here and let us know what you think.

Back to those book revisions...oh yeah...let me fill my water bottle while I'm at it!

Marley = )

Sorority Rush Begins - Spring 2008!
Puffin Books

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