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By Becky, May 26, 2011 10:45 am

It must be May because I got my first sunburn of the season.

You’d think I could remember from year to year that my tender winter-wrapped skin needs a bit of babying every spring. But you’d be wrong.

In my defense, I had to get up at the crack of early on a Saturday — I KNOW! — for a morning meeting, then I rushed home to a weedy field to watch my husband play in a vintage base ball game. (Parenthetically, this was oodles of fun. Think Civil War Re-enactors meets College Fraternity. Everything inside the baseline had to be from the era around 1870 which meant drinking from flasks, no strike zones, and colorful language. My favorite exclamation is “Flapdoodle!” which I use all the time now, and probably incorrectly. Check out the Vintage Base Ball Association to join or find games in your area.)

At any rate, the sunscreen was forgotten and I got a sunburn on my face and chest. (Note to self — don’t wear the chunky necklace when you’ll be out in the sun. It makes for a really interesting design.)

But I had recently blogged about the benefits of coconut oil and remembered — I KNOW! — that Dr Oz said he liked its skin healing properties. So I’ve been slathering it on. Guess what? No peeling and the sunburn is gone!

I know I’ve done damage to the invisible layers of my skin by stupidly getting a sunburn, but at least I don’t have to be reminded of it by sloughing off layers of dead skin. And maybe there was even a bit of healing going on, but I’m not banking on that.

The coconut oil I use looks similar to lard in the container. But when you rub in a teensy bit it feels very silky. I didn’t put any on if I was in public because I figured it would look greasy, but while I was puttering around every morning and sitting around every evening I smoothed some on.

I’m not going to say it’s a miracle cure or anything, but it sure worked well this time. I don’t intend to get another sunburn in the near future, but let’s face it, I probably will next spring sometime. You’ll know because you’ll hear me yell, “Oh, flapdoodle!”

Do you want to play vintage base ball? Are you careful in the sun? In what circumstance do you see yourself using the word ‘flapdoodle’? Will you be willing to slather coconut oil on yourself the next time you get a sunburn?

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By Becky, May 20, 2011 10:43 am

My delightfully snarky niece Robin visited Colorado. I’ll be the first to admit she has numerous reasons to mock me, but when she questioned my liberal use of coconut oil, I had to take a stand. Of course, my mind is like a sieve so I couldn’t remember anything I knew about coconut oil and therefore could not take a stand. But now that she’s back home, I’ve revisited my information, and in fact, found even more!

Coconut oil gets a bad rap because it’s a saturated fat, solid at room temperature. We’ve been taught both those things are bad. And they are, if you’re talking about Crisco or the fat from your steak. Those are both saturated fats comprised of long chain fatty acids.

But coconut oil is comprised of medium chain fatty acids. Totally different beast.

Long chain fatty acids can’t be metabolized in your body. Medium chain can be. Dr Oz talks about coconut oil’s Super Powers here. His favorite uses for coconut oil include weight loss, skin care, and to fight bacterial conditions. (I tested him about the skin care thing when I got a sunburn.)

The Coconut Research Center says, “Published studies in medical journals show that coconut, in one form or another, may provide a wide range of health benefits.” They list a gazillion — yes, I counted — but these might be of interest to you:

• kills viruses, bacteria, fungi and yeasts

• improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose

• reduces health risks associated with diabetes, osteoporosis, ulcers, and heart disease

• reduces inflammation

• dissolves kidney stones

• helps promote weight loss

So, Robin, my love … the next time you visit I will once again spread coconut oil on your sprouted grain toast, offer you sodypop sweetened with stevia, and frown at your filthy cigarette habit. But I will try to refrain from running red lights with Grandma in the car.

Do you use coconut oil? Do you have a delightfully snarky niece? Have you ever run a red light with Grandma in the car?

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By Becky, November 8, 2010 8:25 am

I’ll say it again. I love Dr. Oz.

I stumbled on this article about his 5 Rules For Weight Loss. If you’ve spent any time in LazyLand, you’ll see they are very similar to mine. Of course, I’ve never put mine quite so succinctly or all in the same place. Hmm.

For the first four, he and I are tighter than spandex on Queen Latifah ….

1. don’t drink soda
2. don’t eat 3 hours before bed
3. exercise every day … he says 10 minutes, I know you can do more
4. portion control ROCKS

But we part ways on #5 — weigh yourself every day. He’s basically saying to hold yourself accountable and he does advocate the use of a food journal just like I do (he’s so smart!), but I think it’s a waste of energy to step on the scale every day. We all know it fluctuates from hour to hour, and day to day. I think if you care what that number says, stepping on the scale once a week is plenty.

If you buy into rules #1-4, then #5 will take care of itself.

Dr Oz — and I — know that losing large amounts of weight is overwhelming. But he’s a doctor and he also knows that losing just ten pounds can make you significantly healthier. So he’s created the Just 10 Challenge. He’s offering free ‘Just 10′ bracelets to remind you of your fitness and health goals. Click over there and get one for yourself.

But if you, like me, are simply too lazy, just use a rubberband. If you’re feeling artistic, you could even write YOUR goal on it. I think mine will probably be “find the Sharpie so I can write something on this rubberband.”

But that’s probably just me.

What would you write on your bracelet? Which of Dr Oz’s rules are hard for you? Which are easy? How often do you step on the scale?

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By Becky, August 17, 2010 7:15 am

We’re Off To See The Wizard

Dr. Oz, that is.

The adorable Dr. Oz has a column in my local newspaper that I enjoy. I trust him and he tells it like it is. He told someone the other day they should get smarter friends. Gotta love that! But I found this particular Q and A interesting because I hear the same thing all the time. (Not that I need smarter friends … aw, nevermind.)

Q: Recently, one of my co-workers said that eating too much fruit can make you gain weight because of its high sugar content. Is this true? — Anonymous

A: Not unless you eat two or three large watermelons or a peck of apples on top of a regular day’s worth of food. You’d have to stay pretty darn determined about fruit eating to do any real damage to your waistline.

Look at the math: To gain a pound of weight from food, you need to consume 3,500 calories more than what your body uses. To gain a pound from fruit alone, you’d have to eat about 54 apples, 875 strawberries or 18 cantaloupes. And while it’s true that 100 extra calories a day can leave you 10 pounds heavier at the end of a year, chances are that most people’s weight gain comes from piling on foods that aren’t fruit. (That afternoon Snickers habit you picked up? That’s about 280 calories per bar.) Fruit is full of water, fiber, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals, and it puts a lot of bulk in your belly for not a lot of calories. That makes it a diet buddy, not diet saboteur.

That makes perfect sense to me. But I wouldn’t mind eating 875 strawberries.

Do you read Dr Oz’s column? Do you think he’s adorable? What kind of relationship do you have with sugar? Are you a Fruit Fiend?