Gals' Guide

Eating a Meal Alone is OK. Try It.

Gals' Guide — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:00:42 +0000

One of my favorite things to do in the city is grab a book or magazine, find a cozy corner and eat my lunch. On a recent trip to Montreal, I saw tons of young ladies doing this very thing. From the newspaper to the Economist, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many of you reading and enjoying your lunch. All while learning a thing or two about the world.

Do you continue to eat alone? Why or why not?

Could Buying Trendy Fashion Hurt Other Women?

Gals' Guide — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:35:41 +0000

I came across this article on my trip back from Montreal: 'The high cost of cheap fashion'.

I continue to see stores like Zara and H&M sprout up. With the newest fashions being more affordable for those of us that look to save a few dollars, could we be supporting an industry that doesn't treat its female workforce fairly?

What are your thoughts? Worth paying $20 for a 'now' piece of clothing - knowing that the woman who crafted the item is, at times, getting paid in pennies?

The Discount Shopping Challenge

Gals' Guide — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:29:02 +0000

After the birth of my little one, my ability to budget went into turbo charge. From bringing more lunches to work to being cognizant of how often I purchased coffee at work, every penny's been counted. Along with this penny pinching, I rediscovered my love of shopping on pennies. I always loved going to Marshall's and TJ Maxx, coming through racks and seeing what treasures I came home with. Lately, however, I've warmed up to visiting Sears, Old Navy, Target and H&M more often.

Because I try to shop like a French woman, I didn't frequent the 'discount' stores too much. Main reason? Quality of the material. I'd rather buy something that is a bit pricier, but will last me a longer period of time. When I was preggers, the bulk of my maternity clothes came from Old Navy, Target and GAP. My love of Old Navy and Target continues as I've been able to find easy post-baby bod transition pieces for summer. Last week, I was at the Sears Portrait Studio getting six month shots of the babe. I had some extra time to sift around the clothes and was pleasantly surprised. Their stuff ain't so bad, ladies.

Here's the kicker: since most of us look for the 'big sales' at BCBG, Macy's, Nordstrom, etc. there is a lower likelihood that your fellow gal pals will be perusing the Sears and Target racks on a daily basis (ok, perhaps Target). This means that you'll have a better chance of looking unique mixing up expensive and cheaper pieces than your girlfriends.

Hence, the challenge. I, along with a few of my friends are aiming to visit Sears, Wal-Mart, Big Lots and other 'discount stores' over a weekend. From there, we will see what types of treasures we will uncover. Once this happens, I will report back our findings. In the meantime, I highly recommend you give shopping outlets like Sears a second look - you may be quite surprised!

Pause is Almost Over

Gals' Guide — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:39:33 +0000

We've been on a bit of a break.

Daily tips will be back tomorrow!

Drinking water: The great temperature debate

Ralph Griffiths — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:53:47 +0000

Drinking water. Who would have thought something so simple could be the cause for so much conflict and confusion? I’m talking about the debate over whether we should drink cold, or body temperature water. Growing up I preferred cold water. I never questioned why. It tasted better than warm, and that was good enough reason for me. It wasn’t until I started my tertiary studies that the “best” way to drink water was brought in to question. Here’s a quick summary of different opinions I have gathered over the years, and my own take on their validity, although I encourage you to make your own.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that water be consumed between 59°F and 72°F—a relatively cold beverage when compared to the average body temperature of 98°F. This recommendation is made on the assertion that people simply prefer drinking water cold. Still, this does nothing to prove if one temperature is better than the other, only that we prefer the taste of cold. Some believe that by drinking cold water they burn more calories, a theory based on the idea that the human body uses energy to bring cold water up to body temperature before metabolizing it. I can think of many more effective and efficient methods of burning calories, but I digress. Others say that cold water can help cool us down during exercise. This makes sense to me, but some sources argue that the water is raised to our bodies preferred temperature BEFORE it is distributed into the blood stream. Yet another theory states that due to the increased density of cold water, it can pass through the stomach and into the small intestine quicker, therefor providing expedited hydration delivery. I found little to no evidence to support this point.

So what justifies drinking warm water?
The case for drinking warm water hinges on the fact that it is already body temperature, and therefor can be metabolized more quickly. This is a good point, but still needs further research to prove or disprove it’s validity. Besides this, there isn’t a whole lot to support the drinking of warm water, besides the myth that drinking cold water solidifies undigested fats in the stomach. Supposedly the solidified fats then line the intestinal walls and lead to an inhibited metabolism and increased risk of cancer. Barbara at snopes.com does a good job of falsifying this rumor.

Obviously, we’re a little confused, and so, it seems, are the industry professionals. So what should we do, faced with such vague reasoning and limited research? I suggest sticking to which ever you prefer. Forget the temperature debate, just make sure you’re staying hydrated throughout the day. If you don’t like sipping on room temperature water, then drink cold, and vice versa. Either way, it’s not going to hurt you. Bottom like: Stay hydrated.

Do you have an opinion, or can you point us in the direction of a legitimate thesis on the subject? Lets hear it in the comments.

Barefoot Running

Ralph Griffiths — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:28:39 +0000

I recently finished a great book called “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall. In his book, Mcdougall travels to the Copper Canyons of Mexico to learn from the Tarahumara Indians of South America, a culture of champion endurance athletes. The Tarahumara idea of a good time involves running anywhere from 24 to 48 hours at a time and covering up to 100 miles in a single sitting. In his book, Mcdougall explores another mostly unheard of running phenomenon, barefoot running. Members of this school of thought believe that running barefoot is the most natural and enjoyable way to run. They also think that rather than helping runners avoid injuries, wearing running shoes increases the chance of damage to our bodies.

Although it might seem far fetched, the barefoot runners have significant scientific evidence to back their claims. A compelling case for barefoot running has been made by Daniel E. Lieberman, a Harvard professor of biology who, along with other Harvard scientists, has performed numerous studies on how shoes affect a runners gait. Their findings are well illustrated in this short youtube video documentary. The gist of the barefoot runners thesis is further incapsulated by the aptly named Amby Burfoot of RunnersWorld, who explains: “When you run barefoot, your body precisely engages your vision, your brain, the soles of your feet, and all the muscles, bones, tendons, and supporting structures of your feet and legs.” The proprioceptive response Burfoot refers to is hampered by running shoes, which substantially affects the way people run, changing them from primarily fore and midfoot strikers to the more jarring heel striker.This dramatic, and sometimes traumatic change to a persons gait can be seen here.

With the backing of reputable scientists like Dr. Lieberman, the shoe industry has started taking notice of barefoot running and have posed themselves the question “how can we make money out of people who want to run barefoot?” You can see their first attempts at an answer with shoes like the Nike free and Vibram fivefingers, which curiously have you paying as much, if not more for literally less shoe! The jury is still out on these minimalist shoe offerings.

Even if running barefoot does carry all the benefits it’s advocates proclaim, the stress on muscles of the foot, ankle and leg are substantially different from those “shod” runners are accustomed to. Therefore, the body would probably benefit from having time to adjust from running with shoes to running bare. If interested in giving it a try, I would suggest a structured progression plan. This might include a transition stage, in which you perform a short barefoot run as compliment to your regular running regime, then incrementally add more barefoot running as your body adjusts.

If we put aside personal opinion and bias, the barefoot running movement has a whole lot of common sense and some decent research to back it. I see barefoot running progressing from an oddity to a respected niche market in the very near future.
If you’ve ever tried it, or plan to, let us know in the comments.

Reconnecting with Solid Friends

Gals' Guide — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:21:02 +0000

When's the last time you called an old friend? I don't mean text, IM or chat. I'm talking a real solid phone conversation?

It hit me the other day that I'm letting my job, new role as a mother and life in general keep me away from some of my oldest and dearest friends. Oh, sure I know that being a full-time working mom means I can't stay as connected to folks. I do, however, miss my old friends that helped shape who I've become - and I've ignored them by accident.

My to-do list had bullet points like 'call XYZ', 'don't forget to write to XYZ'. Today, I made an effort to change and I hope to continue the pattern on a consistent basis. To all my dearest friends, I'm slowly coming back. Thanks for your amazing patience.

Gals, don't forget to reach back out and touch someone.

Tell Us About Your Mom

Gals' Guide — Sat, 08 May 2010 22:58:02 +0000

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.

Tell us why YOURS rocks.

As for me, being a new mom means even more when my mom is there to help me get through the rough times of mommyhood. I love ya mom!

The 411 on stretching

Ralph Griffiths — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:10:00 +0000

Applied correctly, stretching can warm you up, cool you down and help avoid exercise related injuries. Beyond decreased risk of injury, stretching also helps improve posture, create more efficient movement patterns and boost circulation. Despite all the benefits, a back seat approach to stretching is still the norm. The majority of people I know stretch as an after thought, if at all! The only people wise to the importance of stretching seem to be those who have suffered injuries and been forced to see the errors of their ways. “If only I’d stretched (insert injured body part here)…” they say. But why wait until you mangle a shoulder, hip or knee? Let’s look at two different types of stretch and how you can utilize each more effectively in your exercise routine.

Static stretching is the most common, and involves stretching a muscle to it’s near maximum length, then holding that position for a set time. In order to have any lasting benefits, a static stretch should be held for a minimum of 1 minute. Static stretches are great for releasing tension and returning tight muscles to their natural length after a hard workout. Post-workout, take 10-15 minutes to perform a few static stretches. Be sure to focus on the areas you’ve worked. For example, if you’ve just run, take time to stretch your hips, hamstrings and calves, which can take a real beating on the treadmill. Static stretches aren’t ideal before a workout. They relax and loosen your joints, which can increase your risk of injury during exercise.

Dynamic stretching also involves stretching a muscle to a taunt position, but adds movement (e.g. swinging your leg back and forth to stretch your hip and hamstring.) Dynamic stretching is a great way to fire up muscles, gently increase heart rate and prepare both physically and mentally for your workout. Set aside 5-10 minutes pre-workout for dynamic stretches.

Both forms of stretching are important and should be included in your workout routine, but as suggested above, different stretches should be used at different times. Learn how to stretch appropriately and your body will thank you for it.

If you have any questions or comments about stretching, or would like help choosing stretches, go ahead and post a response below. I look forward to your thoughts!

Video: Prioritize Your Financial Goals

Leslie Banks — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:27:00 +0000

For the month of April, Christine Benz, director of personal finance at Morningstar has been sharing money tips as a GalsGuide.com guest. In this video, she talks with me about how GalsGuide readers can start prioritizing their financial goals and anchoring the decision in the numbers – from debt and building an emergency fund to saving for the future and investing.

Read Christine's previous Money Monday posts for GalsGuide.com:

Keep Your Investments on Track

Simple Ways to Start Investing

Why You Need an Emergency Fund

Decisions Decisions: Is It Better to Invest or Pay Down Debt?

Enter to win a signed copy of 30-Minute Money Solutions by Christine Benz today! It’s easy – just post a comment following today’s Money Monday post and you’re entered to win!