September 23, 2008

Sex-22, Comfort food, & Ask Cranky Fitness

Thanks to Crabby and to John-the-Designer for putting together the new template! (They both put a lot of work into it.) And I totally love the "Random" link on the sidebar. Click it and you're instantly transported back in time to a previous Cranky Fitness episode.

[Intrusive Note from the Crab.... ironically, we are having technical difficulties this morning with the random post function so I had to remove it. It's been working fine up until last night! Since I don't know how it works--I just swiped the code from a blogger help site--I have no idea why it stopped working. I really liked it too! Sorry, will check into it and try to bring it back...]

Maybe to other people this has all the fascination of looking at someone's old photos, i.e. very little, but I think it's great fun. Also, I love random things in general, which is why this post came into existence. Yes, it's Random Tuesday.

Could this be the end of Ask Cranky Fitness?

That's what's known as a cheap attempt at an attention-getting headline. Did it work?


Here's the scoop:

Turns out we've got competition in the advice department. No, I'm not talking about that woman whose name rhymes with Crabby; I'm talking about Sidetaker.com.

It's a website that lets couples give their sides of an argument. People vote on which one is right, and leave comments giving advice. Not nearly as funny as the Ask Cranky Fitness posts, in my modest opinion but they get a whole lot of people writing in. There's something for everyone.

My latest favorite (favorite irritant) is the boyfriend who wrote in complaining that because his girlfriend was overweight, he was thinking of cheating on her. Her response was that she was 10 pounds over her ideal weight. (My own response would have been 'Get lost!', but maybe this guy had hidden depths that I can't appreciate. I mean, c'mon, 10 pounds over ideal makes him want to stray? If she were only 5 pounds over the ideal weight, would he flirt only half as much with other women?)

And how much does he weigh, hmmmn?
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Please don't let this site stop you from sending in a question to Ask Cranky Fitness!

Weird Science about sex and the ultimate Catch-22

There was a story in the news about a woman who had a stroke, at 35, because of having sex. Geez, not only do you have to worry about smog, global warming, trans fats, and what to do with excess squash, now sex itself can be bad for your health.

If that wasn't bad enough, there's a study out that says having sex can help men to avoid ED (which in this case does not stand for eating disorder).

But... wait a minute. If you had ED, then you wouldn't be in a position (so to speak) to use the remedy that they're advocating for your condition. You're kinda... um, well, I have to say it... screwed. I suppose what they really mean is that you should practice preventative measures just in case the problem comes up. (I swear, there are times when every phrase I can think of seems to have a double meaning. Luckily, you are all too pure and innocent to recognize any double entendres ... oh, who am I kidding.)

Are your co-workers giving you the cold shoulder?

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Social isolation makes people feel physically cold, find University of Toronto psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong, PhD, and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, PhD.

Moreover, they find that making people feel left out makes them more likely to choose hot soup or coffee over warm or room-temperature foods and beverages.

"It's striking that people preferred hot coffee and soup more when socially excluded," Leonardelli says in a news release. "Our research suggests that warm chicken soup may be a literal coping mechanism for social isolation."

Gee... comfort food is a coping mechanism? Film at 11!

Is your boyfriend acting extremely cranky? Is he on a diet?

In the Depressing News department, a low-fat diet can also be detrimental to your health. Findings suggest a link between low cholesterol and violent death. "According to Dr. Beatrice Golomb, staff physician at San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California, it is possible that low cholesterol is accompanied by a reduction in the brain chemical serotonin, which is believed to control violent behavior. 'We know that low-serotonin people are more likely to commit suicide, especially by violent means, and homicide,' explained Golomb, who also works as a research professor of psychiatry at the University of Southern California."

I don't know how much faith to put in this finding, specifically the correlation between a low-fat diet and low-cholesterol & low-serotonin levels. I mean, yes, I can see that being on either extreme of the cholesterol range can be bad for you. A diet of 100% iceberg lettuce or 100% ice cream ditto. Being on the extreme of any range carries a risk. (Especially a firing range.) Doesn't mean I'm going to stop eating that oatmeal. I think I could live healthy & happy on the lower end of the low-fat diet, so long as I'm not on the edge.

The three Cs -- Carrots, Celery, and (the occasional) Cupcake!

Besides, if someone prone to anger went on a low-fat diet, would the first sign be an urge to grab an axe and go out looking for someone to harm? I would think that a person would first start with feelings of slight irritation, mild anger, moderate anger, working up to intense fury. This doesn't seem to me to be a reason to avoid low-fat diets. It seems like Yet Another Reason to practice that moderation stuff, the low-fat-with-the-occasional-treat diet.

Please tell me if you think differently about this. Or if you are on the side of the boyfriend of the woman who's 10 pounds overweight. Or if you have problems with the idea of cliff-hanging headlines. Or frankly, anything else. I promise, no cold shoulder.

34 comments:

  1. You know, I've been on a low fat diet for a while (whole packets of ginger nut biscuits notwithstanding)

    I feel a touch of the homocidals coming on. Where's this poor woman's boyfriend!?

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  2. Sorry all, (and especially Merry) for the technical glitches. I expect a few more of them will arise as we get used to the new design.

    And shoot, yet another reason not to be smug about my low cholesterol levels! Though so far I haven't killed anyone, so I'm not going to switch to sausage McMuffin's for breakfast any time soon.

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  3. I don't know whether to be relieved that 64% of the voters are on the girlfriend's side or disturbed that 36% are on the boyfriend's side. She's not even anywhere near overweight for Pete's sake! And even if she were, if the boyfriend's not attracted to her anymore, he should break up with her, not start seeing other people on the side.

    The only weight the girlfriend needs to lose is whatever her idiot boyfriend weighs.

    (Probably would've posted this on SideTaker but I can't get the comments to work over there. It's probably for the best; I don't have to see what the 36% morons are saying.)

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  4. Ha ha all good stuff! Love your blog! :) Makes me smile.

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  5. There's so much good stuff here to comment on. Sometimes it makes you wonder who sits around to even study some of this stuff. Low cholesterol and violence? Where does that hypothesis even come from?!

    And I agree about the woman who is 10 pounds over her ideal weight (which is most likely still a healthy weight)...she should leave him. Stat.

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  6. me? Ive got 3 cheers for sidetake first as I love that site.

    and Im with the IF YOU ARENT ATTRACTED TO HER LEAVE HER SO THAT SHE CAN DO BETTER THAN WHAT YER OFFERING side.

    (is that a side?)

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  7. I'm shocked! You can't have Cs and leave out Coffee and Chocolate! You just can't!

    I manage to be quite homicidally enraged without any low-fat nonsense. It just takes a Low Idiot Threshold.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  8. Wow - so many good articles to discuss! You guys know I have wicked carpal tunnel that you are totally not helping, right??

    The boyfriend is a shmuck. If he wrote in about thinking of cheating because of 10 lbs, my guess is he is already cheating and just looking for an excuse to justify his bad behavior.

    And I have been reading a ton about cholesterol lately. I think people forget it is essential to our bodies functioning properly. You do not want too much but you also don't want too little. Science. Sheesh.

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  9. Like the new template.

    I have to ask... who gave those people research money to find out about the chicken soup/social isolation deal. Perhaps I'm unfeeling, but why is this even important? Perhaps next time they'll give me the money and I can prove how relaxing a week on the beach in Hawaii is.

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  10. I'm with chicken girl and MizFit about the jerk.

    BK's about the most levelheaded person I know, however, I've been getting frustrated faster, although I'm chalking it up to not having much to do right now (I'm in the training process for one job, and only have like 3 hours at the other).

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  11. That poor lady. Even if she loses weight, he's going to keep looking for "reasons" to cheat on her. Like Mary Ann in Kentucky, I tend toward a low idiot threshold (I like that term).

    Low fat = violent? Maybe that explains why I get so upset when I find muddy footprints on the couch and permanent marker on the walls...

    messymimi

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  12. ED...I was watching a program (aka take with a grain of salt) and they said that cardiovascular health is associated with it. That guys are more prone to heart attacks if they have ed (or impotence was what they said)...I guess since it's all associated with blood flow!

    Never heard of sidetaker before, but wow...great stuff. I would hope that anyone who feels that way about their boyfriend (compared him to sleepin with the enemy) would leave immediately. Do not pass go. No $200. Just my 2 cents.

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  13. All the articles are interesting and great for the water-cooler, but I had to say CHEERS on the redesign! I likey!

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  14. "Low fat diet" is a very general term. I excluded virtually all fat from my diet and eliminated virtually all fat from my body and Yes I wanted to die and Yes I also had a very short fuse and often felt like I wanted to punch (not kill I hasten to add) people around me. Luckily I was too weak in mind and body to do either.

    I think the message to be taken from the study is that the body is nicely balanced, and if you deprive it of the things it needs to run (like a nice squishy bit of fat to support and sustain your internal organs) then your brain will stop working quite as rationally as it did.

    I accept that my case is extreme, but you can possibly begin to see where this low-fat = low-serotonin theory came from?

    And, maybe I've lead a sheltered life, but men like that EXIST? Maybe I should have pointed my skinny murderous ass in their direction and done the world a favour....

    TA x

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  15. I broke the Random Link feature! My very bad :(

    That couple on Sidetake... sometimes you have to wonder how afraid people are of being alone, even for a short while. I can't imagine another reason for their being together, even based on that short snippet of dialog.

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  16. Yes. Yes. Yes. Social isolation and feeling/being left out does make one feel cold. Finally some science to back up what I've always known from personal experience.

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  17. Good lord, what a shallow guy. Run, girl, run! Run away from the jerk!
    I think I need to make up some sort of study so I can apply for an eleventy million dollar grant for research! What do ya think?

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  18. It's a slippery slope! 10 pounds, then 20, then 100!! Once they stopped letting Pluto be a planet, there's no stopping the slip :-)

    PS I'm worrying about brain shrink myself :-)

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  19. Cheating over 10 lbs? That's the shallowest thing I ever heard...if he's in it for the looksa dn is willing to cheat on her he obviously doesn't love her...

    AS for "practice preventative measures"...well now I have extra incentive to make sure I..um...keep up with things. Ahem.

    I could see the cranky murdering low cholesterol thing - when my husband doesn't eat he is, shall we say, less than charming. I don't know if he's in teh axe wielding area of cranky, but we don't have an axe, so it's hard to say...:)

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  20. The boyfriend is an idiot and is probably already cheating and looking for justification. Dumb Ass!

    Also have I mentioned that I love the new template!

    Jenn

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  21. That study about fat and cholesterol is a propos, as I'm coordinating a cookie week at work next month (we have at least two people bringing in cookies every day), so I'll just call it a morale boosting effort, so we don't all kill each other violently! :)

    The dude seriously needs to break up with her if he's not attracted to her after 10 pounds. 50 pounds I understand a bit more, but 10? I second the motion another poster made that people are sometimes just so afraid to be alone. I almost went out with someone from match.com once who told me before we went out that he was living with someone, but didn't love her anymore. Well, uh, dude, break up with her, move out, and figure yourself out before you start to date again....

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  22. Love the redesign, Crabby -- don't worry about the glitches, I've definitely done worse to The Office Diet's template in the past...

    And like everyone else, I'm horrified about that poor woman's boyfriend. Ten pounds?! My bf is about a hundred pounds overweight and I'd never leave him or cheat on him because of it (and I know if our weights were reversed, so to speak, it'd be the same).

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  23. the redesign is fantastic! Also, the only "3-Cs" that matter are cheese, (diet) coke, and cheese.

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  24. if she is the height/weight she says she is (5'8", 145lbs) ... i so take her side (5'9", 170lbs over here). i also like charlotte's point in that he may just be looking for an excuse as he already is cheating.

    and the isolation/chicken soup thing? yeah, i love pointless studies.

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  25. my ex used that as one of the reasons he cheated on me.....he said I didn't care about taking care of my body like he did, I didn't go to the gym etc........and that is why he strayed again, and again. What a jerk :)

    Current hubby loves me no matter what my size and has even started getting more "worried" when I leave the house ;) ........too funny!

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  26. Boyfriend's a jerk. She should run away, really fast. (But she should kick him in the nuts first.)

    (I'm totally kidding about the nut-kicking.)

    (I think.)

    (Or maybe I'm serious. Just not very mature.)

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  27. I agree about the boyfriend - he's already cheating, even if he isn't actually cheating.... did that make sense?

    Chickengirl said it best - the only weight that girl needs to lose is him.

    5'8" and 145 lbs is NOT FAT!!!!! Sheesh.

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  28. too much good stuff to comment individually.
    tech nical stuff sucks, but we are all so hopelessly addicted you know it will take more for us to leave than a little glitch.

    maybe a fire hose.

    Kelly Turner
    www.groundedfitness.com

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  29. Heart the 3 C's. Had them all today and lo and behold I ain't that cranky at the moment!

    I feel sorry for that woman about the sex (I mean, damn, does that suck or what?!)

    The girls boyfriend? Asshole! But funny that there's actually a website for that. That could be lots of fun... hehehe.

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  30. Great new site!! Looks so modern! But the LOL cats remind me I'm home :-)

    The idea of a low-fat diet leading to violent outbursts makes me think of that fabulous Tina Fey/SNL skit for Annuale, the once-a-year "birth control pill that will grow you a second vagina>" Loved that! I think the axe reference made me think of it.

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  31. All I have to say is that guy should ask Gina Carano if 145 is fat. She a kickboxer/mixed martial arts lady, smokin' hot, and fights at 145. She can then kick his face off.
    That seems a tidy, all-in-one solution, no?

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  32. Argh, I don't much like the sound of that low fat-low seratonin connection! Like Merry, I'm quite skeptical, but I would be very interested in follow-up studies. I'm currently eating quite low fat, and so is my husband.

    I really like the new design of your blog! :)

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  33. Like the new site design Merry & Crabby - well done to you. I like the idea of a devilish cupcake.

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  34. Actually I can kinda see the low fat/ low cholesterol / low serotonin thing... although cholesterol levels are also very hereditary. Mine are very healthy, but I probably have an uptake problem, 5http seems to help with that. So does fat, I just had a nice slice of brie and I feel much calmer about the guy I gave my dead pc and Sony Trintron monitor to in exchange for just pulling the data off it, and who just called to let me know that now that he has my data hostage wants me to pay for the power supply i told him it needed and who knows what next.

    Maybe that's why fatty foods are more mood calming and are such a big part of "comfort" food.
    Other study explains why I can drink hot coffee all summer long.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky, thanks for explaining LIT to me, I have that too! and I agree, my first two Cs are Coffee and Chocolate. ;D

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