Weekend Musings

For all those who say they don't have time to cook from scratch: a recent article in the LA Times informs us that buying prepackaged, pre-washed, or pre-cut food doesn't actually save us any time cooking dinner.  The study came out of UCLA.  You can find the article here.  While it does mention that buying prepackaged goods may save you more time buying groceries, I think we should ultimately be encouraged to cook from scratch -- it doesn't have to be creative or fancy to be convenient, healthy, and tasty.

The other day, as I was out shopping, I stumbled upon the Women's Health Kettlebell, which was available in your choice of five pounds or 10 pounds.  When I saw this, it made me incredibly angry.  Why?  I think it insinuates that women can't be strong.  It's the message that I've received my entire life from different gym and media outlets: use the three or five pounds dumbbells, because that's all women can and should handle, especially if they are afraid of "bulking up."  It's just ludicrous.  Since I began weight lifting, I can bench press 110 pounds, and I've lost inches off my arm.  I'm strong, and I'm physically fitter and tinier than I've ever been, with the muscle to prove it.  I look a lot better than I did this summer.  But I still question and doubt my own strength.  I constantly feel like I'm fighting against the message that women cannot and should not be strong.  It's a stigma, an oddity for a woman to deadlift and front squat more than 45 pounds.  But it's a stigma that I will continue to fight.

No matter how hard I exercise, it will never make up for a bad diet, which is clearly a problem for many Americans.  Check out this scary chart on obesity in the United States:

Even scarier?  In 1991, no state had an obesity rate higher than 20 percent (find the information here).

And last, we shouldn't underestimate the power that reading can have over our health: check out this article from Mark's Daily Apple on Bibliotherapy.  In short, reading (and writing) can be therapeutic for our mental health.  And on that note, I'm off to finish reading Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin.