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Wah! Wah! Wah! Temper Tantrums Deconstructed

Natasha Dantzig — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:07:00 PST

Head banging. Feet stomping. Screams at maximum volume and intensity. Any parent knows these are some of the telltale signs of a dreaded temper tantrum. While many parents have resigned themselves to dealing with this unpleasant, but perfectly normal part of toddlerhood, scientists studying the meltdowns may have found ways to empower parents to help their children through the episodes, rather than just praying for them to be over.

Published in the journal Emotion, the study found that tantrums aren't simply out of control, emotional meltdowns, but rather have specific rhythms and sounds that represent distinguishable feelings. Take the following quiz to see how your tantrum knowledge stacks up against the new research, and if there are better ways to cope with the dramatic fits.

Take the Quiz

Men Love Love, Too

BuzzSugar — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:18:36 PST

As Valentine's Day approaches, I've got romantic movies on the brain. Apparently, so do many men! According to a recent U.S. study, men are more fond of romantic movies than originally suspected. Kansas State University psychology professor Richard Harris surveyed 250 men and women, having them watch a romantic film together and rate it from 0 to 7, 7 being the highest. The average score from women was about 6, while men rated the films around 4.8 - much higher than expected. The Reuters article continues:

"Everyone thinks that women like romantic movies and that they drag guys along to them," Harris told Reuters.

He said movie studio executives should put aside stereotypes about "chick flicks" and recognize the fact that there is a moderate interest among men in romantic movies.

"There are a lot of men who go to these romantic movies and enjoy them. I wouldn't write off the male audience just because it is a romantic film. I would suggest marketing to the men in the audience," he said.

I for one am all for getting rid of the term "chick flick," and I'll tell you why if you

A label like "chick flick" is an automatic deterrent when couples are trying to choose a movie they'll both enjoy. Also, nowadays "chick flick" implies something insubstantial and silly, which seems to become a comment on women and the kinds of things we find interesting and relevant. Ultimately, movies don't have to have a gender assigned to them. Sometimes a romantic film is just a romantic film.

Nighttime Fasting: A New Way to Lose Weight?

Shape — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:09:52 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian with master's degrees in both nutrition science and public health.

If you couldn’t let anything cross your lips from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., but you were allowed to eat anything you wanted for eight hours a day and still lose weight, would you try it? That’s the apparent bottom line of a rat study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, which recently stirred up the weight loss pot.

Top 50 Summer Diet Foods for Weight Loss

Scientists put groups of mice on different diet regimens for 100 days. One group of rodents ate healthy food while animals in two of the groups chowed down on high-fat, high-calorie feed. Half of the junk food eaters were allowed to munch whenever they wanted to while the others only had access to feed for the eight hours they were most active. The conclusion: even though they ate a fatty diet, the mice who were forced to fast for 16 hours were almost as lean as those who ate the healthy fare. Interestingly, the round the clock junk food eaters became obese and developed health problems, even though they consumed about the same amount of fat and calories as the time-restricted junk food fed mice.

See if a nutritionist thinks nighttime fasting works after the break!

Glee-ful Highlights From Season Finale "Goodbye"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:40 PDT

We say goodbye to McKinley High's graduating class of 2012 on this week's season finale of Glee, and while we'll be seeing a lot of these characters next year, for some, it was their swan song (pardon the pun). Everyone is feeling nostalgic, not the least of whom is Mr. Schue, who gives the kids an assignment of picking a goodbye song. The episode is mostly devoted to the characters giving each other touching send-offs, which made me feel sentimental too.

There's a pretty big development at the end of the episode that I was expecting, but it surprised me by how bittersweet it actually is. Ready to break down the highlights of the Glee season finale? Just keep reading.

Yogini Kristin McGee Dishes on Bethenny Frankel's Fave Pose and Getting Ready For Beach Season

Lizzie Fuhr — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:36:21 PDT

I was lucky enough to take a class taught by Manhattan-based yoga teacher Kristin McGee right here in San Francisco! Although one busy lady, Kristin traveled across the country to teach Vinyasa Vibes (a new offering at The Sports Club/LA), a flow-based, powerful yoga sequence enhanced by music. The most musical part of the practice? During Savasana, the class culminated in a live sax solo by Grammy-nominated musician Dave Koz. After class, Kristin and I chatted about her yoga journey, getting ready for bikini season, and what it's like working with one of her famous clients, Bethenny Frankel.

FitSugar: Some of the moves in Vinyasa Vibes are Ashtanga-influenced. Is that what your yoga teacher training background was in?
Kristin McGee: My original background was really eclectic because I started in the early '90s. I started taking [yoga] at NYU; some of my very early teachers were Jivamukti teachers who did study Ashtanga. Then I did study with Richard Freedman for a while, who is pure Ashtanga, and Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga. I wanted to get deeper into Iyengar classes and get into the alignment and the detail. Now in my practice I want to get more into Pranayama, more of the breathing, and maybe take some more Kundalini classes. I just feel like it constantly evolves.

FS: The Vinyasa Vibes class has live music during final relaxation. Can you elaborate on the experience of live music and yoga combined?
KM: In yoga practice, it’s a very intimate, immediate place. It's almost like live theater or live music where it brings you right into the moment. Music is a universal language, just like our breath is a universal breath. I think the second we're in this surrounding, in this environment with that live music and the intimacy of a live class, it brings it all together in one beautiful experience.

FS: You’ve collaborated with Bethenny Frankel on some projects. What's her favorite pose?
KM: Bethenny’s all-time favorite pose is Straddle Forward Bend because she says it feels like the weight of the world is falling off of her shoulders. Someone like Bethenny Frankel has a million things going on, and I don’t know how she does it! But I think you also noticed it in the practice tonight. Right when we finally got to that Straddle Forward Hang, it was kind of just like, "Ugh! Such a release!" You feel like you could stay there for quite a while.

Keep reading for Kristin's favorite snack before class and how to get your body ready for Summer.

Find Out More About Virgin Olympian Lolo Jones

Tara Block — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:23:37 PDT

Track and field star Lolo Jones isn't an Olympic virgin, considering she competed in the 2008 games, but she is a virgin in the traditional sense. You might think that an almost-30-year-old virgin would not advertise the fact that she's never had sex, but Olympian Lori "Lolo" Jones isn't shy about her virginity. Later-in-life virgins have a new celebrity role model in 29-year-old Lolo, as she's been opening up in interviews and on Twitter about online dating difficulties and keeping her V-card until marriage. On HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, the hurdle jumper said:

"This journey has been hard. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Harder than training for the Olympics. Harder than studying for college has been staying a virgin before marriage. I've been tempted. I've had guys tell me . . . 'Hey, you know, if you have sex, it'll help you run faster.' If you marry me, then yeah."

Keeping her virginity hasn't been the only hurdle Lolo has had to overcome. She grew up bouncing from school to school with a single mom who had to work multiple jobs to support her family, even living in a church basement at one point. After splitting from her family to pursue her track-and-field dreams, Lolo went on to excel in school and to become the accomplished Olympian she is today. Now, Lolo gives back to those in need with her charitable activities and involvement in Christian ministries. She definitely proves that you don't have to be having sex to be a strong, sexy woman to watch.

See more pics of Lolo in action and on the red carpet now!

Healthy Tip: Wait 30 Minutes After a Meal to Brush Your Teeth

Leta Shy — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:25:09 PDT

A healthy lifestyle means taking care of your teeth - after all, excess plaque has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, and too much icky bacteria in your mouth can lead to gum disease and cavities. But if you're an après-lunch brusher, take note: you should wait at least 30 minutes to brush your teeth after a meal, according to a report in The New York Times.

The directive is based on a study that followed people for three weeks, looking at the impact of postmeal brushing after they drank diet soda. The researchers found that those who brushed their teeth within 20 minutes of finishing their sodas had increased loss of dentin, the tissue found underneath your teeth's enamel. That's because, researchers say, brushing too soon after an acidic meal pushes the acid further into your teeth, causing erosion of tooth enamel and dentin.

So the next time you are eating a particularly acidic or sugary meal, wait at least 30-60 minutes before you brush your teeth. In the meantime, rinse your mouth with water or a solution of eight parts water to one part baking soda to get rid of the acid in your mouth, researchers recommend. Chewing gum afterward can also help.

Do you brush your teeth immediately after meals?

Do You Avoid Eating Late at Night to Prevent Weight Gain?

Leta Shy — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:18:46 PDT

On one hand, knowing how to eat right can be simple - eat when you're hungry, and stick to nutritious foods that fill you up and keep you satisfied. But another component of playing the weight loss game is when you eat, and that's when things can get complicated.

While studies have proven that eating late at night doesn't automatically lead to your body storing more fat, a new study in mice has found a link between when you eat and weight gain. Researchers looked at two groups of mice, both of which were fed the same amount of a high-fat diet, and found that the mice who were only allowed to eat during an eight-hour period during the day ended up gaining less weight than the mice that were allowed to eat the same amount of food any time during the day and night.

Researchers believe that the difference in weight gain is due to the fact that the body's organs operate at peak efficiency at different times, so everything from your liver to your muscles may be burning more calories and working harder depending on the time of day or night. Frequent eating throughout the day and night, they say, may throw off your body's metabolic cycles, so you may be more successful with weight loss if you stop eating at a certain point during your day (even if you are eating the same amount of food).

This newest study is just one more piece of information in the late-night eating debate, but the theory hasn't been tested on humans yet. And it's important to note that this study doesn't prove the myth that you shouldn't eat past a certain time to avoid your food turning into fat - the study is just saying that restricting when you eat to a certain time period may help regulate your metabolic cycles. In any case, what's your take on the issue: do you avoid eating late at night to prevent gaining weight?

Are Working Moms Really Happier Than Stay-at-Home Moms?

Lisa Horten — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:04:39 PDT

Balancing (or choosing between) career and motherhood is a decision (or struggle) that every mom faces. This weekend, Motherlode, The New York Times' parenting blog, took a look at the results of a Gallup poll on the emotional satisfaction of working vs. nonworking mothers. Survey says . . .

Non-employed women with young children at home are more likely than women with young children at home who are employed for pay to report experiencing sadness and anger [for] a lot of the day . . . Stay-at-home moms are also much more likely to report having ever been diagnosed with depression than employed moms. Employed moms are about as emotionally well-off as working women who do not have children at home.

The standout results supporting these findings? Twenty-six percent of stay-at-home moms experience "sadness," versus just 16 percent of working women, and 28 percent of stay-at-home moms report depression, versus 17 percent of their employed counterparts. Other emotional benchmarks, like smiling, laughing, and experiencing enjoyment or happiness, had closer results.

While the pool of women surveyed was of a fairly substantial size (60,000 women responded to Gallup's phone survey), we can't but help but wonder how other factors, like salary, job flexibility, commute time, and spousal support, weighed in.

Do you agree with the study's findings?

Did You Give Up All Your Vices When You Got Pregnant?

Lisa Horten — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:05:52 PDT

We all have our guilty pleasures, but when a new life comes into play, it's time to give them up . . . or so we thought. A recently released study from the Center For Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality was intended to evaluate the breakdown of substance use during pregnancy by race. But the outcome that shocks us most is that one in five women smoke while they're pregnant! Of those, Caucasian women are most likely to smoke, followed by black women, and then Hispanics.

When it comes to consuming alcohol, Caucasian and black women are about equally likely (12 percent) to imbibe during pregnancy, while Hispanic women are least likely.

Back in 2009, expectant mom Rebecca Gayheart caused a stir when she was spotted smoking, and in a more recent (and perhaps less extreme) example of pregnant celebs behaving badly, Kourtney Kardashian was seen with highlighted tresses. Now we're wondering . . . did you give up your bad habits when you were pregnant?