Magazine Reading

Recently I have had the time and luxury of reading a few magazines. I may have only read a few pages at a time, but it has been very relaxing.

It has also been mind boggling. Or maybe I'm the only one who notices the odd things 'experts' have to say about diets and beets.

First off, you know you are getting old when you are reading a magazine with an article on hair loss: "What Happened To My Hair?" along with tips on puchasing a wig. I quickly skipped that article. The inevitable can happen later.

Another article begins, "Next time you're roasting beets..." I don't think I have ever in my life roasted beets. I could count on one hand how many times I have eaten beets. The article, from a family magazine, must assume that a)fresh beets are readily available to everyone and b)beets are a common dish. Neither are true for my household. You might as well say, "Next time you're visiting Antarctica," or "Next time you're pregnant with triplets."

Now on to Lucy Liu. The actress is apparently a role model for those reading Fitness Magazine. As an actress, she works 16-hour days, works out, and sticks to a healthy diet. Her healthy diet consists of eating 'only juice before noon, usually made with bananas and berries." If she's really hungry, she 'might have a breakfast burrito with spinach, a fried egg and tomatoes." But that's just if she's REALLY hungry. Tsk, I sure hope that is egg white only. Then for dinner usually fish and steamed veggies OR a salad. Not both. She does eat veggie pizza or pasta also, especially if she is doing more physical activity. How human!

So maybe she sneaks in a candy bar that she's not telling us about, but regardless, that sounds like about 700-900 calories per day. I'm no expert, but if you are working a 'demanding' 16 hour days and on a strict work-out regiment, I'm not sure a sub 1000 calorie diet is healthy. Should she be promoted as a fitness role-model?

Stress seems to be a big issue today. One article talks about stress and how to deal with it and even turn it into 'good' stress.

Stressful Situation #4: "Waiting in Line for your lunch."

Let that sink in for a minute.

If you get stressed waiting in line for your lunch, then I would be glad you break it to you: You have a problem.

I also began to consider all of the things that a magazine suggests you purchase, so I went back and made a list of items that are mentioned - excluding advertisements: (If there was a list of similar items, like bags, I picked one)

- athletic pants: $78

-tank top: $42

-Spotify account: $10

-winter makeup: $52

-sunscreen: $10

chocolate cosmetics: $55

-Straight Iron: $28

Microgreen growing kit: $40

-green ski poles: $125

-nail products (including some of the 'hottest new hues'): $85

-more make-up and personal products (never knew there were so many...): about $200, picking about half

-more skin care: $50

-'winter' running shoes: $75

-gym bag: $72

-workout DVD: $20

-ski apparel: $400-900

Grand Total: $1342+ And that's just February, folks.

Out of the magazines I have read recently, I do have a favorite. It is something of a guilty-pleasure. I think for normal women it would be trashy gossip magazines. But we all know I'm not normal. And since you already know many of my secrets, I'll share. Esquire Magazine. Yep, the men's magazine. I stole it from Wayne and have yet to give it back. I love the drastic contrast it has with women's magazines. How it talks about real issues and doesn't focus on the '5 tips to better nails' or 'Brand New Cleaning Tips' that you have heard your whole life. And the best part is that their fashion adverts are generally clothing you might actually wear. If you are a guy, that is.