This Weekend...

NanLawson

Whether you're training hard or resting up, have a lovely weekend! It's gonna be a warm one.

Love It Or Hate It: Eat Pray Love.

I love it. Not because it's the best film I've ever seen but because this movie came out when I was going through a bit of a tough time and it was just what I needed.

Maybe it won't be that for you. Maybe you'll find it boring. Maybe you'll think Julia Roberts is just annoying. Or maybe, like me, you'll wonder how she managed to travel around the world with just one suitcase and never wear the same outfit twice.

But if you're not in the most positive state of mind and you're looking for an escape, this might just be the thing. Well, for 142 minutes at least.

And if, by chance, it also makes you keen to try mediation – check this out. A little quiet soul searching never hurt anyone...

Has Anyone Got A Map?

Map My Run

I've had the Map My Run ap on my iPhone for yonks, but I've never really used it. Silly me. It's gold. You can map any route and it will give you the stats, like how far you're going and how hilly the roads are. And it's too easy – even for the technologically challenged. I reckon even my mum could map a run. Like I said, it's gold.

Top Of The Crops.

$45 each from Performax.

Times It Is Useful To Have A Big Bust:

1. When you are trying to get served at the bar.

2. When you are at a lingerie sale and all the bras are either a DD or a G.

3. When you need somewhere to store your lipgloss. Or if you happen to be particuarly blessed in the boob department, your lipgloss, credit card, drivers license and phone. (You can talk to my friend Jess about that one.)


Times It Is Not Useful to Have A Big Bust:

1. When you are running.

Breasts can bounce up to 15cm when you run (that's scary, right?) and it can be hard to keep those babies secure. So I always double up with a sports bra and a crop top. I wear a Triumph Triaction bra (seamfree with no underwire – oh, the comfort!) and the best crop top I've come across yet is this one from Performax, which doesn't rub or chafe and somehow never feels soaked in sweat, even when, well, it is. I bought one six months ago and now have it in pink, blue, purple and black.

Jennifer Aniston Just Turned 42.

Glacéau Smartwater

And she looks smokin' hot! Oh Jen, how ever do you do it...

"I’ve always had a regular workout routine. As long as you have cardio as well as a good sweat, it’s really good," Jen told a mag recently. "I’m very committed to workouts and I’m very committed to a healthy diet. I’m always committed to going for it and then having a delicious night of pizzas and fun. It’s a balance of everything – I have a lot of fun, but I’m very disciplined with it."

You heard the girl, get out there – sweat. Then go have a pizza.

Add This To Your iPod: Tinie Tempah

Tinie Tempah

Okay, so I'll admit that my music taste is not often held in high regard (yes, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have pride of place on my iPod and I nearly wet my pants with excitement when I heard Kelly Clarkson had a new abum in the works) but when it comes to tunes that are totally awesome to train to, I've built up a pretty good playlist.

The newest addtion to which is Tinie Tempah's Disc-Overy. If you listen to Nova at all – ever – you will have no doubt heard his hit Written In The Stars – every day they play it about eight times... and that's just before lunch.

And if you're totally over that song, you can just skip it and listen to one of the other 13 very cool tracks. Perfect for running to. Perfect for lifting weights to. And if you've got a set of those wacky waterproof earphones, I'll bet it's completely perfect for swimming to as well.

Five Things I Learnt From The March Issue Of Women's Health.

Women's Health

1. Ultimate Frisbee is actually a sport. There's even a NSW Flying Disc Association. For real.

2. Apparently being part of a few different sporting groups or teams can boost your mental health and help you cope better with stress.

3. Green tea is good for you. Like, really good for you. As well as helping you to lose weight, it's also been associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, skin cancer and stroke. And it's good for your chompers, too.

4. About one in 100 Aussies are coeliacs (pronounced seel-lee-aks, it's the medical term for those with a gluten intolerance) and around 157,000 remain undiagnosed.

5. A company in the UK called Big Bloomers is now making underwear in XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL for women with 2.7m waistlines. Scary.

If You've Got $9.95, Go To The Fruit Shop.

This one definitely didn't get a Heart Foundation tick.

Or to Sushi Train. Hell, even go to Subway... Just please, please, for the love of The Biggest Loser, don't spend it on the new Favourites Combo at McDonald's – 'cause that big mac, cheeseburger, medium fries, medium Coke and regular chocolate sundae contains to a whopping 1623 calories. (Just FYI, that's almost your entire daily calorie intake in one meal.)

As for the fat – a whopping 68.5g. More saturated fat than you should be consuming in a day.

Oh god, I can feel the heart disease coming on just looking at it.

I Hate Soft Sand.

Bathing Beauties

That's what I discovered this weekend when a fit little friend of mine convinced me to join her at bootcamp. I've always had trouble running on hard ground (shin splints and all) – it's why I'm such a big fan of the treadmill – and people have often suggested I try running on the sand. Thus far, I have always politely fobbed them off. The only thing I like to do on the soft sand is lay down on my towel and sunbake.

Apparently at bootcamp, laying down is frowned upon. What's not frowned upon is burpies, squat jumps and laps of the soft sand... uphill, of course. Suffice to say, about half way up the hill for the second time, my legs were burning and if I'd had any breath to spare I would have been cursing my friend. But as it was, I was just trying my best not to keel over and spew on the beach. Not a great first impression, I'm sure.

I've since done a spot of research and read that there's a real technique to soft sand running that I'll definitely need to refine if I want to keep it up. I also read that it works your calves and quads extra hard. And I'm pretty sure my poor suffering legs would agree with that.

Everyone Should Watch This.

 It's no secret that Jamie Oliver and I have a great relationship in the kitchen. His Ministry Of Food cookbook made a half decent cook out me. Me... The person who made packet mix cupcakes look like badly done crème brûlées, who cooked everything in the oven on a grill setting for three months and couldn't figure out why nothing was baking right.

But why I really love Jamie is this video. From his 2008 TV special Eat To Save Your Life. It's shocking, it's eye opening, it's the boot up the arse most of us need to eat better and live longer. I revisit it every now and again, just to be reminded of how much rubbish really is the food we serve up. 

This is my favourite bit, where Jamie cuts up a corpse and you get to see how much damage crap food and not enough exercise really does to your body. Enjoy.

Are You Too Healthy?

Felt Playground

I recently came across this article in the UK's Daily Mail. It talks about a condition called "orthorexia" – an extreme fixation with eating "pure" food that can lead to malnutrition, chronic ill health and depression.

"Women are much more likely today to become exercise and diet-addicted because of our celebrity-obsessed culture and the pressure to be  slim," says Lucy Jones of the British Dietetic Association. "While this condition is not as dangerous as anorexia, any obsession that cuts out entire food groups can lead to long-term health damage  such as a lack of bone density,  heart attacks, strokes and diabetes."

It's more difficult to spot than anorexia or bulimia because sufferers can simply insist that they're "looking after themselves" or "have a wheat intolerance".

We're constantly hearing that different food groups are "bad" for us – that our bodies weren't designed to digest meat, that carbohydrates are bad for weight loss, that we should be trying to avoid even the natural sugars in fruit... but when does cutting healthy food groups out of our diets entirely become excessive?

One of the most interesting interviews I've done was with James Duigan, the trainer that keeps celebs like Elle Macpherson in tip top shape. He preaches about eating "clean and lean". It's pretty simple – shop more from the outsides of the supermarket (the fresh fruit and veggies, the meat, the diary) and less from the aisles, where all the processed food lives. It's an unquestionably healthier way to live – as long as you don't take it too far.

Even James admits Elle eats chocolate every now and then. It's all about moderation.