Source: http://greatist.com/move/fitness-trackers-workouts?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Fitbits and Jawbones track your sleep, steps, and heart rate (including how it spikes in the middle of a breakup). But a new study found that collecting all of that data makes whatever you’re doing a lot less fun.

The study looked at two groups who spent time coloring, walking, or reading, and tracked one group but not the other. The people in the group that was tracked did their activity the most. But there’s a big catch: They also rated themselves as enjoying the activities much less than those who weren’t measured.

The researchers found that measurement makes people focus almost exclusively on output. All of a sudden exercising (or coloring or reading) feels a lot like work. The thinking goes: Work is something we have to get done, so it’s not as much fun as the kickboxing class we do just for the thrill of it.

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Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/03/paho-issues-nutrition-standards-for-ultraprocessed-foods-beverage-associations-object/

Cheers to the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization for releasing nutritional profile standards for making it easier for governments to distinguish fresh and minimally processed foods from ultraprocessed.  The idea here is to encourage populations to consume traditional diets (see press release).

Ultra-processed foods are defined as industrially formulated food products that contain substances extracted from foods (such as casein, milk whey, and protein isolates) or substances synthesized from food constituents (such as hydrogenated oils, modified starches, and flavors). Drawing on the best scientific evidence available, the model classifies processed and ultra-processed foods and beverages as having “excessive” amounts of sugar, salt and fat according to the following criteria:

Excessive sugar if the amount of added sugars is 10% or more of total calories
Excessive fat if the calories from all fats are 30% or more of total calories
Excessive saturated fat if calories from saturated fats are 10% or more of total calories
Excessive trans fat if calories from trans fats are 1% or more of total calories
Excessive sodium if the ratio of sodium (in milligrams) to calories (kcal) is 1:1 or higher.

PAHO’s point in setting these standards is to encourage governments to:

Restrict the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children (see PAHO Plan of Action for the Prevention of Obesity in Children and Adolescents)
Regu…

Source: http://greatist.com/move/treadmill-dancing-video?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Treadmill dancing videos are trendy at the moment. But that doesn’t make them any less fun to watch, especially this one with perfectly synchronized dance moves from German duo Run a Beat. Watching these two guys effortlessly float around—they do some gravity-defying upper-body moves at 1:40—made us forget that we usually feel like hamsters on a wheel during treadmill workouts. This is one of those things you probably shouldn’t try at home, so we’ll settle for hitting replay (again).

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Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/02/29/nyc-girls-weekend-adventures/

Hello my friends! I’m back in DC after a fun girl’s weekend in New York City!

It had been YEARS since my whole UNC grad school crew got together – smaller groups of us have met up for trips more recently but we were always missing a couple of the girls. So glad we finally made it work for a full reunion! My heart was happy seeing all these ladies again. I really miss getting to see them every day in class! <3

I arrived in the big apple on Friday afternoon and we all had cocktails at our f…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/effects-of-big-agriculture/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJ9jt9Uxq4

In this video Jack Algiere, the farm director at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, shares with Sonia Jones, the founder of Sonima, some of the effects of big agriculture in the United States. While large-scale industrialized farming helped grow the American population and economy after World War II, it has also caused a major disassociation among consumers about where their food comes from and the manner in which it is produced. Industrial farming practices involve crop specialization, use of synthetic chemicals, government subsidies, and a large amount of fossil fuels. While it is impossible for smaller farms to compete against these organizations, it is important to support independent farmers who are able to bring different products to the table and re-educate Americans about where their food comes from. Watch the video to learn more.

Related: A Vibrant Winter Kale Salad

The post The Effects of Big Agriculture on the Way We Eat appeared first on Sonima.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/29/468301837/denmarks-new-grocer-is-selling-expired-food-and-its-a-hit?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

A crowd waits on the sidewalk for the WeFood grocery store in Copenhagen to open. It’s not the first grocer in Europe to sell surplus food. But unlike so-called “social supermarkets” – stores which serve almost exclusively low-income people — WeFood’s offerings are very intentionally aimed at the general public.

DanChurchAid

Denmark is once again distinguishing itself in the race against food waste — this time, with a supermarket hawking items once destined for the trash bin.

Those items might include treats for a holiday that happened last week, a ripped box of cornflakes, plain white rice mislabeled as basmati, or anything nearing its expiration date. In other words, perfectly edible items that are nonetheless considered unfit for sale by the retailers and manufacturers who donate them.

WeFood is not the first grocer in Europe to sell surplus food. But unlike so-called “social supermarkets” – stores which serve almost exclusively low-income people — WeFood’s offerings are very intentionally aimed at the general public.

“If you call it a ‘social supermarket,’ it’s difficult to get customers to go there. Who wants to be poor?” explains Per Bjerre with DanChurchAid, the charity behind th…

Source: http://greatist.com/live/tinder-swiping-addiction?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Tinder has changed the dating landscape for good. And man, this video about the downsides of the dating app is depressing. Long gone are the days when we read through a full dating profile before sending a rambling message. And meeting someone IRL? That’s so 1990.

Now we swipe to our heart’s content. And many people aren’t looking for love or even a warm body for cuffing season. They’re just swiping for swiping’s sake—after all, Tinder is designed to be addictive, just like Candy Crush or Angry Birds. All of this makes it a little less surprising that 42 percent of Tinder users aren’t single. Perhaps they’re bored or looking for the instant gratification of a quick, virtual match. (We envision couples lying next to each other on the couch, swiping to see who gets the most matches. Loser has to clean the dishes.) Regardless, the stat is yet another reason not to get your hopes up with every new match.

Luckily, there are more fish in the sea, and Tinder is one big ocean (there are more than 100 million users). But that becomes a problem too. Sure, your first date went well, but was there really a spark? It’s easy for the grass to seem greener when you know the perfect person could be just a swipe away. And that can make the dates you do go on seem superficial: Is it worth getting emotionally invested if one or both of you decide you’d rather go back to swiping? It’s enough to make us give up on dating apps. Even a seedy bar sounds m…

Source: http://greatist.com/eat/whole30-breakfast-recipes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Not familiar with the Whole30? Well, it’s pretty much what it sounds like: For 30 days, you’ll eat only whole foods—meat, seafood, veggies, fruits, spices, oils, nuts, and seeds—in order to reset unhealthy cravings and habits. Can’t pronounce it or don’t recognize the ingredients? Don’t eat it.

What’s off-limits? Sugars, grains, dairy, alcohol, anything processed, and—the tricky part—anything that resembles those foods (no Paleo pancakes, gluten-free oats, or Whole30-approved cupcakes allowed).

Since yogurt, cereal, toast, and even oatmeal are off the table, breakfast tends to be the toughest meal on the program. A few of us here at Greatist HQ recently completed the Whole30, so we can attest to that. (Eggs get old—fast.)

Lucky for you, we’ve gathered 30 creative Whole30 breakfast recipes from bloggers around the web so you can equip yourself for easy and delicious mornings, all month long.

Bowls

Photo: The Almond Eater

1. Zoodle Breakfast Bowl

We’ll admit it: We have a zoodle obsession. And …

Source: http://www.sonima.com/fitness/breathing-during-exercise/

Picture this: A gym-goer on the treadmill is breathing hard, maybe even grunting, as he pushes the pace, well beyond his threshold. His strained facial expression reads “this hurts,” but he’s so determined, it doesn’t matter. Another person, down the aisle on the elliptical trainer, is quietly working, too, and about to break a sweat, but nothing like the buckets coming off the treadmill guy. Her face is calm, neutral, and equally focused.

If this sounds like something you’ve witnessed or experienced—whether you’re the one on the treadmill or the elliptical—you might have wondered, is the person who’s audibly panting getting a better, more effective workout than the one who’s silently chugging along?

Noiseless exercisers can continue to breath easy: The answer is a clear-cut “no.” Recent studies in sports science reveal that labored, erratic, or rapid breathing may actually hinder your movements and even cause harm.

“A cardiovascular reflex is activated when the breathing muscles are forced to work hard during exercise that restricts blood flow to the limbs,” says Alison McConnell, Ph.D., the world’s leading expert on breath training and author of Breathe Strong. McConnell also points out that this type of breathing compromises the stabilizing muscles in the trunk, which translates to weaker limb movements. This puts you at risk for injuries, especially in high-im…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/29/467954091/herring-headache-the-big-obstacles-to-eating-small-fish-in-california?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Herring are delicious, with flaky, mild meat and oil that sizzles on their skin when grilled over a flame. Chefs and ocean advocates have been promoting the environmental and health benefits of eating small fish like this. But the case of the San Francisco Bay’s herring shows some of the obstacles to spreading that message.

Alastair Bland for NPR

Every winter, a small fleet of commercial fishing boats sets gillnets in the San Francisco Bay. Their target: Pacific herring, which enter the estuary in huge numbers to spawn and are easily caught by the millions. The…