Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/05/23/fit-foodie-5k-fairfax-race-recap/

Hey friends! I hope you all had great weekends! Ours was fun but very soggy – it poured all day on Saturday and Sunday. Bummer!

Friday was beautiful, though, so Matt and I took advantage and kicked off the weekend with a nice stroll and an al fresco dinner at Rustico. I love their market salad – the chew of the barley, the chopped lacinato kale, the crunchy fennel, the juicy blueberries – perfection. I got the large size and asked for salmon on top – enough for leftovers the next day too!

Matt and I also shared some of their truffled fries, which are phenomenal. Perfect crispiness.

We spent the rest of Friday night cozied up on the coach with Netflix! We watched a documentary on the Barkley Maratho…

Source: http://zenhabits.net/exercise-obstacle/

By Leo Babauta

There are so many benefits to exercise, from cancer prevention to brain health, from heart health to better weight management, from stronger bones to less stress and more happiness … so why is it so hard for most people to stick to a regular exercise habit?

It turns out that there’s really only one reason.

You might say you’re too busy, but if you spend any time on social media like Facebook, news sites, blogs, Netflix or Youtube … you have the time. You’re just choosing to do other things.

You might say you’re too tired, and that might be true … but actually, exercise results in having more energy over time, so the truth is that we’re prioritizing the short term over the long term when we skip exercise.

And this is the crux of the problem: we are making a choice to do other things over exercise.

It’s a choice, not a problem of time or energy.

Why are we making this choice to not exercise? If we dig down a bit deeper, it comes down to a belief that underlies the choice.

I’m going to steal from the Clean Slate blog, which talks about the myth of addiction being a disease … and says that instead, drug or alcohol use is a choice that comes down to one thing:

People freely choose to use drugs and alcohol because, at the time they’re doing it, they believe it will make them happy. At the time they do it, they believe it is their best available option for attaining happiness.

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Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/heal-chronic-pain-naturally/

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

Severe or chronic pain affects nearly 50 million American adults, reports a new study prepared by National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which was published in The Journal of Pain last summer. About half of these people are suffering from chronic pain every single day. Steven, the subject of Sonima.com’s new video series called “Becoming Pain Free,” is one of them.

The 34-year-old independent filmmaker and photographer, who just moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Melanie, and 5-year-old son, Victor, has been battling consistent joint pain in his legs, wrists, and lower back—a byproduct of his profession that requires holding heavy camera equipment for hours—for about nine years. It’s common for Steven to wake up with numb arms and feet and unable to walk. When doctors couldn’t help him address the pain, he turned to Pete Egoscue, Sonima.com’s pain and anatomy advisor, author of multiple books including Pain Free, and creator of the Egoscue Method, an exercise therapy program—taught at more than 25 clinics worldwide—aimed at healing chronic pain without prescription painkillers or invasive surgery.

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Source: http://greatist.com/live/womans-defiant-response-to-body-shamers-is-too-good?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Hannah Battiste was tired of internet trolls making comments about her weight and clothing choices. So in the best response to body shamers maybe ever, the 18-year-old from Canada decided to chin up—literally. In a series of selfies she posted on Facebook, she revealed a line written on her chin aimed at her haters: “F*ck you.”

Photos: Hannah Battiste/Facebook

In the post she wrote:

My reaction when someone judges me…”You gained weight.” So what? Being thick is a choice! “Why do you wear dresses?” Why TF not? If I wanna wear a dress through all the seasons, then I’m going to! No matter what you do, whether it’s right or wrong, people are going to judge you…go ahead and judge me, I know who I am, and I know my purpose in life.

As she told BuzzFeed News, “I made humor out of it because I don’t really care what people think of me.”

Mic drop.

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Source: http://clubindustry.com/news-central/blink-fitness-names-david-collignon-vice-president-operations

This press release was provided by Blink Fitness. The Club Industry editorial staff was not involved in the creation of this content. 

Executive Move Signals Staffing Up for Accelerated Growth and Expansion

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Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/05/congress-foia-and-checkoff-programs/

Congress in its infinite wisdom is now doing Big Ag a big favor.  It wants to exempt checkoff programs from having to deal with pesky Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The House Appropriations Committee just approved its version of the 2017 Agriculture Appropriations bill along with committee report language getting checkoffs off the hook.

Checkoff programs, you will recall are commodity research and promotion programs run by boards and overseen by USDA.   The Milk Board, for example, does the milk mustache campaign.

Checkoffs mainly do generic marketing.  They are not supposed to lobby.  The USDA is supposed to manage the boards—but not with federal money.

So are checkoffs government programs or not?

The checkoffs like to say they are government when convenient, but not government when inconvenient.  This is one of those times.

The report language says because checkoffs are “not agencies of the federal government,” they should not be subject to FOIA laws.

I learned about this latest example of congressional protection of industry from a tweet on May 2 from Associated Press reporter Candice Choi.

Food commodity trade groups, she shows, wrote a letter to Congress to exempt checkoff programs from being subject to FOIA r…

Source: http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/sweet-sweet-strawberries/

I am so excited because Hood Strawberries are starting to appear in the local Farmer’s Markets.  These are  tiny bombs of sweet, tasty goodness that only last for a short time each year here in the Northwest.  When they hit, I feel I have to squeeze them into my diet anyway I can.  Strawberries are an excellent source of anti-oxidants and regular consumption of strawberries has been shown to decrease chronic inflammation in the body and help with blood sugar balance.  Strawberries are a low GI food loaded with Vitamin C, manganese and fiber.  Their high Vitamin C content is thought to be helpful in boosting immunity and fighting cancer.  Their high fiber and water content is excellent for fighting constipation.  With all these incredible health benefits, it seems important to sneak as many of these health boosters into your diet as possible.

One way to take advantage of all of the amazing health benefits is through making a Strawberry Nut Milk.  I have seen recipes for all sorts of different nut milks but started tinkering in my kitchen until I arrived at this particular combination to sneak in more strawberries.  Making nut milks is easy but takes a little planning because you have to soak the nuts over night befor…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/fitness/nichelle-hines/

“I was used to standing out, from a very young age,” says Nichelle Hines. Born and raised in San Francisco, where she was one of five black students in a graduating high school class of 340, Hines recalls her diverse upbringing with fondness. Today, as one of the most beloved instructors at Los Angeles’ highly sought after Cycle House, and a part-time actor, Hines continues to stand out. Bold and enthusiastic, Hines attracts fitness enthusiasts, professionals, and celebrities alike. Hines’ classes have an entirely different timbre than other boutique fitness classes of similar acclaim. Hines commands her room of riders, packed in bike-to-bike—an enthralling mélange of ethnicities, fitness levels, body types, and style.

She moves about the room pronouncing Jay-Z lyrics with gusto, and calls out individual riders with verve—moving them to work harder, and give more. The feeling post-Nichelle is more than a typical exercise-induced euphoria; it’s also one of communal excitement. Hines toes the line between warm and intense in her pedagogical style, undoubtedly polished by her refined acting technique from her early years at graduate school at NYU. A young talent, Hines continues to act today, honing her art, but not placing too much weight on what she considers a craft that’s never been the perfect fit for her path.
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Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/theaters/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

The time has finally arrived! Our first feature-length film, Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, directed by Matt D’Avella, hits United States and Canadian theaters starting tomorrow, May 24, 2016. Find your nearest showing here. You can also pre-order the online version of the film worldwide here, which includes six hours of bonus content. Enjoy!

#MinimalismFilm

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Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/05/healthy-natural-its-up-to-the-fda/

The terms “healthy” and “natural” help to sell food products.  They are about marketing, not health.

This makes life difficult for the FDA, which has the unenviable job of defining what the terms mean on food labels.

In a victory for the maker of KIND bars, the FDA has just said that the bars can be advertised as healthy—and that the agency will be revisiting its long-standing definition of the term.  This is what that definition says now:

You may use the term “healthy” or related terms as an implied nutrient content claim on the label or in labeling of a food that is useful in creating a diet that is consistent with dietary recommendations if the food meets the conditions for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and other nutrients…In addition, the food must comply with definitions and declaration requirements for any specific NCCs [Nutrient Content Claims].

The chronology :

March 2015: FDA issues a warning letter to KIND stating that product labels make nutrient content claims without meeting the requirements for making such claims.
December 1, 2015: KIND files citizen petition asking FDA to permit use of “healthy” because nuts, even though higher in fat than FDA permits, are healthy.
April 20, 2016: FDA says KIND products now mee…