Librarian Lifestyle

Archive for the ‘Health & Fitness’ Category

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Biking in Style

In Conferences, Fashion, Health & Fitness, Shopping, Travel on July 23, 2012 at 4:12 am

This week we’re headed to Cycling for Libraries and of course, the first thing we did to prepare for the ride was to find the cutest cycling clothes and accessories around. Here are some of our favorites.

April’s Picks (aka Not being a sporty girl, but wanting to look like Sporty Spice…)

Shopping for padded drawers is new for me. I was hoping that they would add a little junk in the trunk and I’d look like JLo. Turns out they made my butt look even flatter (which I seriously didn’t think could happen). Plus, as an added bonus, it feels like you are wearing a diaper. Knowing that I would really appreciate that padding after 12 days of 35 miles each, how was I going to make these cute?

Leave it to a fashionable, professional triathlete to figure out how to make it work – she added an adorable skirt! Check out Skirt Sports. I laughed when I read that this skirt would get you whistles, but I did get my first cycling cat call while wearing it the first time.

Bling out your bike with LED wheel valve lights. Check out the pink. I need to do some serious night riding now!

First off, how can you go wrong with that name like We Flashy, second these are really cute designs for guys and gals. It’s “reflective clothing for modern times” and they work the reflective material right into the pattern of the adorable clothes. I’m in love with this polka dot pullover.

Being a big fan of the handbag, I couldn’t just get any bag for my bike. Po Campo combines style and function. The ladies from Chicago know how to make a cute versatile bag. It can be used on the bike, to carry your yoga bag, or even as a diaper bag.
The clutch is perfect, it goes from the handlebars to the bars seamlessly.

Po Campo is offering a 15% discount to our readers – just enter PoCampo15 when checking out at pocampo.com

Another accessory that is must, but is usually not very attractive is your helmet. Yakkay is making helmets into hats. Pick the color of your helmet and then pick the cover you want. Then, you can change the look by changing the cover. My favorite is the Tokyo Flower and Karen is a fan of the Tokyo Blue Stripe. We both want to check out the 60s shaped hat, you know the one that looks like a horse riding helmet. These could be perfect or so wrong.

Karen’s Picks:

From bells to bags, I love accessories!  Since we started training for Cycling for Libraries, I’ve been doing lots of research to find the cutest accessories around, and here are some of my favorites.

With all of the things you need to buy for your bike, who doesn’t love getting a good deal?  Chain Love offers primo pieces of cycling gear on their site for ridiculously low prices. Sign up for Instant Alerts so that you always know what the deal is.

I find the most adorable and unique things at museum shops, and these all weather bike lights from Stockholm’s Moderna Museet are no exception. Functional and adorable, they come in 4 cute color ways.

                          

These horns, also from the Moderna Museet, are a blast. Cute and retro, they are sure to help you make any pedestrian or cyclist aware of your presence.

Electra makes some of my favorite bicycle bells. They have some really fun abstract designs and I love the simplicity and the pink color of this I Heart My Bike bell.

Helmet design has come a long way in the last 5 years and there are some great designs out there for women.  I’ve become a big fan of the Bern helmet and I love their color combos.

(Who doesn’t look great turquoise!)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the cute helmets for kids. I just got this adorable Nutcase helmet for my daughter. She hates hats, but she loves her cute helmet and refuses to take it off.  Nutcase also makes some fun helmets for adults. The best part is that on the back it says “I love my brain.” I can’t think of anything more fitting.

April already mentioned these, but I just wanted to say that Po Campo bike bags are the best!  Seriously, if there is one accessory you buy (apart from a helmet and lights), get one of these bags. They fit easily onto your bike rack, so you don’t have to worry about what to do with your bag, and when you’re done with your ride, you have a cute bag to carry around. I just picked up this cute satchel at Rocket Electrics in Austin. (They have last year’s styles if you’re looking for Po Campo vintage.)  Also, you can use our discount code if you buy at PoCampo.com. Enter the code PoCampo15 to get 15% off.

Me, my Bianchi, and my Po Campo bag.

Interested in seeing more great cycling clothes and accessories?  Check out these sites!

Cycle Chic

Cycle Fashion

By April Kessler and Karen Holt. April and Karen are librarians at The University of Texas at Austin and they departing tomorrow for Cycling for Libraries in the Baltics. They tweet @bizologie and @karenholt respectively, and you can follow their biking adventures on Librarian Lifestyle and Bizologie.

Of Memories and Muscles

In Health & Fitness on July 6, 2012 at 5:36 pm
When I read Marne Setton’s “Natural Woman” Saveur post last week, I felt a pang of nostalgia for my childhood which roused mixed emotions. 
Today, I’m a foodie (with a lower case “f,” because I have a budget, and value leaner options over fat-laden ones).  But as a child, and even through early adulthood, I maintained a mostly vegetarian diet.  And many of the references and experiences Marne shared triggered similar memories and associations for me from my early years. 
We didn’t have a Lindberg Nutrition health food store as she did in South Central Los Angeles, but we had an Apple a Day health food “store front” that was in a converted house.  And I have a vague recollection of another store in a nearby small town stuffed with shelves of powdered supplements, grains and vitamins.  The chocolate and vanilla protein drink powder, canned and frozen Loma Linda and Worthington meat substitute products, whole wheat flour, Weetabix cereal, carob treats and other prized goodies we found there were eked out over time.  The funky way those stores smelled was just as Marne described.
I have somewhat fond memories of my Mom’s Johnny Marzetti, an egg noodle, tomato sauce and Granburger meat substitute casserole.  But I never developed a taste for her Special K Loaf or Cottage Cheese Patties.  Many of her recipes were taken from the An Apple A Day Cookbook – Vegetarian Cookery by Doctors’ Wives (I see there are multiple volumes; we had Volume 1).  They yielded dense, nutrient-packed entrees that were relatively quick and inexpensive to prepare.  I was a slow eater as a child; if you try some of these recipes, and they are available on the Internet, you’ll understand why I was always the last to clean my plate.
Marne’s post mentions Frances Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet, which I remember, and my Dad lived by Harvey Diamond’s Fit for Life II: Living Health.  Tidbits from these books and the dietary habits my family maintained – which for years included my Dad’s delicious homemade whole wheat bread – sustained life, nurtured physical growth, and engendered a deep love of and true appreciation for nuts, whole grains, Medjool dates and dried fruit, local u-pick berries, and garden-grown vegetables (minus the parsnips).

           
As an adolescent and teen, I was very involved in 4-H, and it was through my food projects that I discovered the wonders of herbs that we didn’t use, like basil and oregano, selected meats, and…garlic.  The Pollo alla Cacciatore recipe in my 4-H Foods with an International Flavor project manual, along with the Broccoli alla Romana recipe that called for lemon juice, changed my life forever.  I distinctly remember eating two meals the night I prepared those recipes.
Over the past year I’ve added more lean meat to my diet: salmon, white fish such as tilapia and cod, shrimp, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, sausages made with chicken, turkey or beef, and extra lean ground beef.  These lean meats, prepared in healthful ways and consumed in small portions, help me meet the protein requirements of my current muscle-building exercise regimen.  I balance those sources of protein with more affordable black beans and other legumes, unsalted crunchy peanut butter, and sweet potatoes.  Apparently, this dietary shift places me in the minority.  A few days before Marne’s post, a post on NPR’s Food Blog The Salt on “Why There’s Less Red Meat On Many American Plates” caught my eye.
This survey asked 3,000 adults across the country about their meat consumption as part of the latest NPR-Truven Health Analytics Health Poll, and defined red meat as all meat products except poultry and fish.  And only 6 percent of the respondents said they had increased their (red) meat consumption in the past three years.  The survey didn’t ask respondents about their poultry and fish consumption, so it’s possible that some of those who indicated that they eaten the same amount or less have actually been substituting more poultry and fish for red meat during the time period in question.
Given that my at-home diet growing up excluded meat of any type, I tend to categorically define meat as the flesh of any animal, on land or in water.  While I haven’t increased my red meat intake much since I tend to favor poultry, fish and shrimp, I most certainly eat more of the latter now than I have at any other point in my life.  But the survey post made me stop and think.
My parents opted to eliminate meat from our family diet for health-related reasons.  I would say that there were cost-savings associated with the choice, but I recall that the meat substitute products we purchased were pricey.  Animal welfare and environmental issues were cited as reasons other than health effects and cost influencing survey respondents who have limited their meat consumption, with health effects being the most statistically significant motivator.
While I have increased my lean protein intake, I have also altered other aspects of what was my routine diet.  I restrict my carbohydrate and sugar intake, which is challenging because I adore artisan bread, crunchy granola cereals, pasta, brick oven pizza, and homemade baked goods.  I don’t consume much dairy, although I once regularly ate yogurt and cheese, and enjoyed skim lattes.  And I’ve increased the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables I consume throughout the day.  I also drink more water and green tea.  And while still bake regularly, and make homemade waffles, scones, coffee cake or pancakes for weekend brunches with my family, I partake only after a workout session or when I can couple the sweets with lean protein.
                       
In an age of fast food, soda wars and childhood obesity, I’m thankful, like Marne, that I was the kid who didn’t eat meat and wore clothes sewn by my Mom.  My older daughter told me yesterday her favorite foods are those I make from scratch.  Before she could read she thought that McDonald’s was a farm.  I don’t make Special K Loaf or Lentil Loaf, but I do take time to prepare healthful foods that my family enjoys, buy the best-quality lean meats and produce we can afford, and share with my own children the flavors, techniques and joys of a wholesome, healthful lifestyle.
By Jenifer Flaxbart. Jenifer writes about food, cocktails, fitness and management best practices for Librarian Lifestyle.  She is the Head Librarian for Reference and Information Services at the University of Texas at Austin. Her interests include personal fitness, nurturing healthy habits in herself and others, mentoring staff and facilitating professional development, cooking, baking and cocktails. She tweets @jflaxbart.

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Fitness on the Cheap

In Health & Fitness on July 2, 2012 at 3:43 pm

The lovely Karen Holt recently wrote a great blog post on working out with a personal trainer. This post is about do-it-yourself fitness with little cash outlay.

Getting Started

If someone had told me almost 10 years ago that I would not only work out 6 days a week, but actually look forward to it, I would have said, “no way in hell!” But, I started and persisted and now feel better than I ever did when I was younger. Exercise helped me get through a very uneventful menopause, and keeps me feeling positive. Gotta love those endorphins!

The first thing I did was get a good pair of walking shoes, and cushioned socks. Try on lots of pairs until you find what works best for you – no need to be uncomfortable! I’ve had good luck with Nike, New Balance, and Avia (Academy stores in Texas have lots of variety and good sales prices). Walking is free, and unless the weather is horrible, you can walk just about anywhere. A good brisk 20-30 minute walk can make you feel great, and you might even be able to focus your thoughts on something that’s bugging you. I also recommend getting walking shoes to put in your office and car – you never know when you’ll get the urge to move it. You may even want to try jogging. (NOTE: check with your doctor before starting a workout regimen – there may be reasons why you shouldn’t do certain exercises. Consulting with a nutritionist might be useful, too.)

If you can’t get outside, especially in a hot and humid place like Houston, consider building a library of workout DVDs. My favorite place to get them is Collage Video. This site has hundreds of DVDs and all of them have been done by the staff at Collage. There are also reviews by customers (I have reviewed a bunch of them). My favorite instructors are Ellen Barrett (cardio Pilates, free weights), Leslie Sansone (1-5 mile walks, toning band), and Kathy Smith (cardio, weights, toning, yoga). I also have other DVDs, including several from The Firm, and a really fun new one from Jazzercise, the Burlesque DVD (sexy moves!).

Variety is good!! It’s boring to do the same routine every day, and you don’t get as much out of it if your body gets used to it. With a good blend of DVDs, you can craft a fun set of routines, interspersed with walking if you want. Most fitness experts recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio five days a week, with strength training and toning on alternate days (don’t do weights every day – your body needs time to repair and rest).

Equipment

Basic fitness gear doesn’t have to cost a lot. A set of free weights – 1, 3, 5, 8, and 10lb – can get the job done (again, Academy is a good place to go, or try Amazon.com or Collage). A yoga mat is nice, too. If you work out at home on a carpeted surface, you really don’t need sneakers – I always work out in bare feet.  Just make sure the carpet has good padding, especially if you are doing brisk walking or mild jogging. Working out in bare feet is also good for building bone density, something to think about as you get older. I also have resistance bands in a variety of strengths – several of the Leslie Sansone DVDs come with these. You can also get kettle bells, step workout platforms, and stability balls. They don’t cost a lot and don’t take up much space.

I don’t like working out on machines, but you may want to have an elliptical machine, incline walker or some other piece of equipment. You’ll see lots of these for really low prices, usually starting in February, when a lot of people who start an exercise program as part of their new year’s resolutions fall off the wagon (or machine). Again, I think you’ll work out more consistently if you mix working out on machines with walking or DVDs (there are DVDs specifically for machine workouts, too).

Keeping a record of your food and exercise

If you are trying to lose weight, or maintain it, many health experts recommend writing down everything you eat, all your exercise, and water intake on a daily basis. You can keep a handwritten diary, but there are some great FREE apps and websites that make it so much easier (if you are a member of Weight Watchers, they have some great tools, and an online community, but you’ll need to be a paying member). I have been using My Fitness Pal on my iPod, Droid, and computer for about two years now and I love it!  (I admit I sometimes skip it if I’m on vacation or at a conference.) It really keeps me honest, and I’ve been able to keep my weight down by using it every day. You can add your own recipes, so if you like to cook, you can find out what’s in the food you’re making and adjust the portions as needed. There are also many restaurants listed, so if you went to P.F. Chang’s and pigged out, you’ll be able to see the the exact calorie and nutrition content of what you ate.

Staying with it

If you make exercise part of your life and just do it (I know Nike already owns that), it will become as natural as breathing, and breathing will be a lot easier. You don’t have to work out an hour a day, 7 days a week – do what works for you and enjoy it. As for me, if I don’t work out almost every day, I feel restless and sluggish at the same time. It doesn’t have to be to a DVD – put on fun music and dance in the house or go walking with an iPod/Nano, etc. Housework is also good exercise, and I know how much you love to vacuum and dust, right? And when it’s time to put your feet up and rest,  you’ll feel so good!

I try not to be a fitness fanatic, but really, it makes such a difference when you feel healthy. Sweat is good!!! I highly recommend it.

Alex Simons is the History/Political Science/Government Information librarian at the University of Houston. She doesn’t feel as old as she is, and plans to keep it that way.

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Working out with a Personal Trainer…It’s Not as Scary as You Think!

In Health & Fitness on June 15, 2012 at 6:18 pm

When my partner, Mike, gifted me with 10 personal training sessions for Christmas, I was thrilled. I had been exercising somewhat sporadically and trying to lose the baby weight for three years.  (In fact, it felt a little ridiculous to call it baby weight when I had a toddler!)

At first I saw the personal trainer as a great opportunity to work on my fitness. Then, the doubts set in. What if the trainer was mean and barked at me like a drill sergeant? What if I couldn’t handle a whole hour of crazy, intense exercise? What if I hated it?

I love new experiences and I try to conquer my fears on a daily basis, but working with a personal trainer really scared me in some deep, dark place, and I made excuses for months about why I hadn’t scheduled the appointment.

Then, I signed up for the awesome Cycling for Libraries unconference and as reality set in, my first thought was OMG, I really have to get in shape now if I’m going to cycle 370 miles in 12 days!

I went to the YMCA in Austin (my gym) and booked the sessions with Travis. He asked what my goals were and I told him that I needed to get in shape to do this crazy bike ride with some amazing librarians. He decided that we were going to work on my legs.

 Travis the Trainer

 The first session consisted of so many squats that I seriously had trouble walking for 4 days!

Now I go once a week, and the sessions consist mainly of circuits with weights that work my overall body with some cardio like running, boxing, and jumping rope thrown in. His goal is to push me to do more each time, which he does in the nicest, most encouraging way possible, and I’m happy to say it’s working!

The role of  a trainer is to push you more than you would push yourself and in that one hour I do as much work as I would do in 3 hours by myself.  I love that every week is different and each time I can do at least one thing that I thought I couldn’t do.

I’ve only been to 6 sessions so far, but I find myself amazed that I didn’t start working with a trainer sooner. It is really fun and I just feel so much more fit and full of energy. I’m motivated to exercise a lot more throughout the week, and I look forward to my sessions with him. In a way it has revolutionized my life.

If you’re thinking of trying a personal trainer, I highly recommend it. There are lots of guides online about selecting a personal trainer and this About page has some basic information to help you search for a trainer that is right for you.

I am a big supporter of the YMCA, and I have had great experiences at all three YMCAs I’ve belonged to. So, if you’re looking for a new gym with qualified trainers where your money goes to support great programming for your community, I highly recommend checking out the YMCA.


Written by Karen Holt, Librarian Lifestyle Founder. Karen is the Communication Librarian at The University of Texas at Austin, and she’s working on cycling up to 40 milles per day before July 27.

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