Getting Better One Step at a Time
-
What Makes Food Delicious?
Fat. Sugar. Salt. But what if you’re trying to improve the nutritional value of your food, and maybe try some options that don’t rely on fat, sugar, and salt to be palatable? One of the best ways to jazz up food is spices. And few (possibly no) traditions have as sophisticated a spice palate as…
-
A Bright Moment for the President’s Council on Fitness
At the start of 1963, Kennedy discovered Roosevelt’s 1908 order establishing the 50-mile march for officers. He sent it to Marine Commandant David M. Shoup, noting that the leathernecks of the time had been able to complete the trek within 20 hours on a single day, and asking if “the strength and stamina of the modern…
-
Vegetable, Fruit, Berry
So it turns out a tomato is not only a fruit but — botanically speaking — is also classified as a berry. This is rough news for aggregate fruits like strawberries and blackberries, which, it turns out are not, technically, berries at all. Fun! But all it really means is that scientific classification of plants…
-
A Year from Now You’ll Wish You’d Started Today
Maybe. One problem is that we sometimes don’t recognize the future self as “self” — consider the example of the young person who smokes even though they know the health risks. A stronger connection to our future self can help. That doesn’t necessarily mean “visualizing,” which can actually distract us from doing the day-to-day work…
-
Comfort Zones and Safety Zones
When you make a new commitment to exercise, you get exposed to a lot of motivational sayings and aphorisms that come out of the competitive sports environment. “Obsessed is how the lazy describe the dedicated.” “You can feel sore tomorrow, or you can feel sorry tomorrow.” “Quitting is unacceptable.” It’s common to hear that you…
-
Are You Enjoying It?
Do you have a particular food you can’t have “just a little bit” of? Some foods are easy to keep eating — not only do they leave you hungry, they may even leave you thinking you want (“need”) more of the same. Candy and chips often have this effect — people will eat as much…
-
The Best Reason to Exercise: Health and Well-Being
Being obese is a risk factor for bad health outcomes, but it’s far too simple a story. Anyone, whatever their size, can improve their health with exercise. Exercising won’t necessarily cause weight loss, but anyone can improve their heart function, blood sugar, sleep quality, and bone density. Exercise even improves cognition and mood. So why…
-
The Right Running Shoes
They can be tough to find. A dedicated running store can help you understand the basic types available and make some recommendations. Many do gait analysis, and some even have treadmills so you can try shoes in action. Traditional: The style shown in the photo, these shoes came to dominate running in the 1980s and…
-
Why Athletes Love to Sleep — and So Should You
You can have a perfect eating pattern, a flawless exercise regimen, and still be unhappy, moody, and struggling with your performance if you’re sleeping too little. (See the whole infographic at Fatigue Science.) And yet many of us make every excuse for not getting enough sleep. OK, so most of us are not Olympic athletes…