Health Tech

Shocking News – Some Smartphone Health Apps Are Totally Bogus, and Most Are Shaky at Best

It seems like a perfect fit – we all want to be more active and eat better, and more of us than ever are using smartphones … so it only makes sense that there has been an explosion of health and fitness apps on iPhone and Android devices. Don’t get me wrong – there are some great apps out there, things like RunKeeper, FoodUcate, Lose It, Couch-to-5k, and more. Those apps use the GPS, or maintain a great database that is based on established health science, and so on. In other words, they are good health program – made mobile….

Health and Fitness, News & Features

Things You Didn’t Want to Know – THIS Is One Serving!

I have generally had two thought patterns about Thanksgiving and eating: when I am thin and health-conscious I choose to eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving dinner and maintain my normal eating and exercise routine otherwise … and when I am neither thin nor health-conscious I choose to eat whatever I want for Thanksgiving dinner because – well, just because. Based on my weight and general eating habits, my portions and servings will vary, but regardless I have certainly never really considered my real-world servings compared to ‘single serving portions’. Over at Greatist, they take a pictorial look at the…

Health and Fitness

Outdoor Exercise in Winter – 5 Important Things to Remember

Last weekend the mercury climbed to above 70 F for the last time (until some time in at least April) where I live, and it was bookended by mornings below 20F last week and this week. We also ‘fell back’ an hour, which no longer provides a two-week respite from total darkness at the start of my runs. Winter has arrived in terms of darkness and temperature, and with it we need to remember some basics of safety as we embark on our morning – or evening – exercise routines. Wear a Headlamp and Reflective EVERYTHING Or maybe a waist-lamp…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Virtual Runner iPad App Lets You Experience Great Race Locations From Your Treadmill!

While I have not been so thrilled at the number of sub-freezing morning runs these past couple of weeks, and I have truly relished the couple of warm shorts & t-shirt runs these past couple of days … I cannot ever see myself exercising inside again, unless injury or extreme weather demanded it. But for many, including a good friend at work for whom joint issues derailed her running habit, each morning includes some time on the treadmill. Now imagine that instead of watching CNN or reading a book, your treadmill time could include heading up Heartbreak Hill on the…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Standapp Review

Type of app: Fitness Platform/where to buy: iOS App Store Developer: Lyonel Douge Description: Desk job? Sit too long and often? Did you know sitting can be deadly in the long run? Standapp helps combat “Sitting Disease”. Price: Free Major features: Standapp aims to help you not sit so much. Sitting is bad for our bodies for a number of health reasons, but it’s not always practical to have a standing desk. I know in my office I sit in a cube farm, and it would look awfully weird if I was standing and looming over the top of all…

News & Features

Should the New York City Marathon Be Cancelled?

Sunday is the New York City Marathon. This is a huge event, with 40,000 runners, several thousand volunteers, and countless spectators. Unfortunately, New York was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Sandy, and many runners are unable to make it to the city, or facing difficulties with hotel rooms, transportation, and logistics. Despite the devastation, the mayor of New York and New York Road Runners want the race to continue…but many are wondering if it’s worthwhile! Competitor.com’s editor Mario Fraoli had a great editorial on why the marathon shouldn’t be run at the tail end of such a disastrous week: New…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Beware the ‘HumbleBrag’!

Despite the fact that in February of next year I will mark 24 years since I first ‘went out for a jog’ at almost 23 years old in order to help lose weight, it has been less than 6 months that I can say that I have really been ‘in love’ with running – and even less that I have considered myself ‘a runner’. I recently wrote about achieving a major milestone by completing my first marathon … and it is something I am proud of and want to share. As I have progressed through my training and various road…

Editorials, Health and Fitness

Should Doping in Sports Be Considered Cheating?

I like to skim my news RSS feed every morning just to catch up on headlines, world events, etc. Most of the time I blow off CNN’s Opinion columnists, because frankly they tend to be either fluffy rehashes of public opinion or purposeful bear-poking statements. Today’s, though, has me outraged, as the author had the gall and ignorance to argue that performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs, should be legalized in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. Rather than just rant on my feelings regarding doping (spoiler alert: I think it’s cheating), let me go piece by piece through Prof…

News & Features, Reviews, Yum Log

Dasani Drops Water Enhancer Review

In what surprisingly became a rather hotly debated topic here recently, we discussed the importance of staying hydrated. As was noted, water is the more important than food in terms of survival. But for too many, their liquid water intake is through sugary and caffeine-loaded soda and coffee and energy drinks. The best way to get your liquid water is … from water. For me I am happy with plain water, and have a 30-oz TupperWare cup at my desk all day to offset the heat/AC vent blowing dry air about six feet away from me. But for many, the…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Garmin ForeRunner 10 GPS Watch Hands-On Review

I usually like to lead my reviews with an intro, give the company providing a product the chance to say something, and then dig in … but not this time, because the Garmin ForeRunner 10 is simply that easy to recommend. In fact, here are the only people I would NOT recommend getting the Garmin ForeRunner 10: You run races of more than 50 miles distance or 5 hours duration. You don’t like to sync/charge your GPS watch within 50-60 miles or 5-6 hours of use (or 7 ‘events’). You need to use a heart-rate monitor or other ANT+ wireless…

You Dropped Your Food on the Floor. Do You Eat It?

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

The Five-Second Rule Can Make You Sick

I’d be the first to admit that for years I have used a shorter variant of the five-second rule, which at my house we called the three-second rule. When Sarah was growing up, if she dropped something hard and dry on the kitchen floor, at least one person would gleefully shout out “three-second rule!” and the item would be picked up and consumed. For (what should be) obvious reasons, this rule did not apply to wet or sticky items, but it did apply to adults as well as children. Hey … parenting is all about compromises and on the spot decision…

Health and Fitness, Outdoors, Reviews

iBike POWERHOUSE Complete Cycling Fitness Plan

Through the years, I’ve reviewed several devices for iPhones and iPods that purport to be sturdy protective mounts for bicycle usage. Keeping in mind that there are inherent dangers in listening to music while you’re cycling, especially if you have to worry about dangling headphone wires, it’s important to make sure that safety is your first concern. The iBike POWERHOUSE ensures both the safety of your iPhone and your body with its well-designed mount for the 3 and 4 series iPhones. (No luck for you early iPhone 5 adopters yet.) Add in a software solution for exercise and cycling technique…

Health and Fitness, Outdoors

The New Garmin ForeRunner 10 Prepares for the Wineglass Marathon!

I had posted about the Garmin ForeRunner 10 announcement previously, and we were expecting a review sample but had been notified that they were still waiting for stock before shipping. While acknowledging the message and thanking them for the update, I mentioned that it was too bad it wouldn’t arrive in time for the Wineglass Marathon I am running this weekend, but since I would be running a half-marathon in a month it was no big deal. Justin at Garmin got back to me quickly, saying that he would have one in my hands by Friday (yesterday) … just in time…

Health and Fitness

Is It More Expensive to Eat Better?

We have been pounding the drum of eating better for your health for a while here at Gear Diary. But Dan brought up an interesting point last week, one that gets tossed around as an excuse often: is it really cheaper to eat processed food options over fresh food you prepare yourself? I decided to do some comparison shopping this weekend, buying food for a typical day and comparing the prices for a pre-made, processed substitute meal. The results were …. read on to find out! Here was my “fresh” menu: Breakfast: Two eggs ($.22), one slice Canadian bacon($.36), and…

News & Features

Your Mobile Devices are a Germ Haven, So It’s ionSwipes to the Rescue!

One of the most useful sensory and interactive instruments in the human body are our hands and fingers. They help us easily manipulate our mobile devices, allowing us to communicate and plug into the virtual world around us. Ironically, hands and fingers are a double-edged sword, for in addition to allowing us to communicate virtually via our various electronic devices, they quietly and efficiently spread germs via physical handling of these devices. Germs. That catch-all layman word covering bacteria, viruses, protozoa and some fungi. The stuff that gives Howie Mandel heebie-jeebies. In fiction, the cooties that annihilated wayard Martians,…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Global Bacon Shortage Coming in 2013!

In this age of global shipping and corporate farming conglomerates, we like to think that dealing with seasons and shortages of anything is a thing of the past. But now the British National Pig Association issues a warning that I am sure is being met with great consternation at places like Epic Meal Time: New data shows the European Union pig herd is declining at a significant rate, and this is a trend that is being mirrored around the world. Pig farmers have been plunged into loss by high pig-feed costs, caused by the global failure of maize and soya…

Editorials, Health and Fitness

“Weight of the Nation” Documentary Series Challenges Obesity on DVD

Film documentaries can weigh heavy on our hearts with stark, realistic presentation on prevalent issues in our lives. In the Emmy nominated 2012 documentary film series The Weight of the Nation, filmmakers present individual testimonials, interviews, stories, and day-in-the-life footage through many perspectives on our obesity epidemic. Individual health narratives, economic factors, health care system, food industries, and genetic history/biological consequences from unhealthy diets provide the evidence and support that a multidimensional solution is essential to stop the “obesity epidemic” in our nation. Part 1, titled Consequences, contains many personal stories including a landmark study in a small Louisiana town….

Health and Fitness, Reviews

SOUND+SLEEP Nomad Sound Machine Review

I tend to fall asleep with earphones in and soft music on. It works for me and helps me fall asleep fairly quickly. (The fact that I usually go to be quite late and get up fairly early doesn’t hurt either.) My wife Elana, on the other hand, has a tough time relaxing and an even tougher time falling asleep some nights. That’s why I was interested in getting a review sample of the SOUND+SLEEP Nomad Sound Machine. The nomad is the smaller of the company’s two sound machines and it is primarily intended for travel. (It works just fine…

Health and Fitness, News & Features

My Five Day ‘Juice Detox’ Experience

The expression goes that a juice diet has three stages: “I’m hungry”, “this isn’t so bad”, and “please someone shoot me NOW”! I had the opportunity to get a package from ‘A Choice for Life’ for a 5 day detox, and as I had just spent the past several months losing weight and getting into shape I was intrigued about the ability to ‘press reset’ on my system. So I decided to give it a shot. Of course there were a few concerns and caveats: – The ‘check with your doctor’ advice should always be taken seriously: I had a…

Health and Fitness, Reviews

Aqua Zinger Water Bottle, Review

Water! It is wet. Water! It is cold (when it comes out of the fridge at least)! Water! It is key to a healthy life. Water! Too often it has been replaced by sugary soda and “sports drinks”. And it is killing us. Water is healthy. Soda is not. Unfortunately soda tastes awesome and waters… well it tastes like water. It is, in fact, why I have been drinking (way too much) Crystal Light for the past few months. Yes, diet drinks are bad for us too but I like the flavor and miss the flavor when I drink water…

Health and Fitness, Yum Log

The Most Amazing Breakfast Frittata Ever

Ok, so the title of this recipe might be slightly exaggerated, but the great thing about it is that you can make it with practically any ingredients, so while my fully customized frittata may not be your favorite, the base recipe can be used to make one you think is pretty darn good! Sarah and I eat this for breakfast almost every morning, but it would make an equally good lunch or dinner. I love it because it stays well for a few days in the fridge, and only requires 10 minutes of prep time. This covers two days of…

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