Exercise improves memory, attention, and decision-making.

You probably knew what was in this Science Daily article, and you may have already increased your heart rate for at least 30 minutes this morning.  If not, you still have time to do your mind and your body some good today, even if today is the first day that you do it.  The benefits of regular exercise are well documented, and beyond the temporary discomfort that you may feel while doing it, there is a feeling of great accomplishment when you are done.

For some, the rewards come during exercise, like running that third mile split a little quicker without really feeling it. For many, the reward of exercise comes right after, when the endorphins are flowing and you feel a bit euphoric.  For most, the benefits take a while to be realized, as mental and physical endurance improves along with body efficiency (weight, heart rate, and blood pressure reduction).

There is a benefit to all three phases of the reward scheme, and they are all worth a little effort.

Are you jinglin', or jigglin'?

What did LL Cool J mean exactly? Was it Christmas and she had bells on?  Was she carrying extra change in her purse, and was running to feed the parking meter? Maybe it was her jewelry, "bamboo earrings at least two pair"? Or maybe it was something else LL was taking poetic liberties with.  While technically jingling is a sound, MCs have long been imaginative with their verbiage, so why not have jingling be a word used to describe how something moves, and why am I writing about this?

This morning, while doing a bit of cardio, we may have noticed some, well,  jingling. In actuality it's jiggling, but there was no sound. It wasn't terrible, and hopefully nothing on us is big enough to smack us in the face and knock us out, it was (and has been) present nonetheless.  While some might say it's nothing to worry about, it is that abdominal girth that puts us at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and all the associated problems. That's what I am working on reducing my risk of.  In general, women have body parts that because of their size and composition, may be prone to "jingling" - real talk. What's not really supposed to jingle on any of us is our mid-section, our core.

A strong core helps with posture, reduces back pain, and makes you better able to maintain good form during your workouts.  Overall, working on your core strength should be a major part of your exercise plan.  The beautiful thing about core workouts is that they can be done anytime and do not all require getting on the floor or putting on special clothing (...if that took you somewhere lewd, stop it!) There are tons of core exercise examples online from the very simple to far more complex. So do a little googlin' to find out what you can do to work on the jinglin', go 'head...

Grocer + Bodega + Talent = ?

The tweet was food related (as so many of them are). A very engaging actress commented on how expensive (and tasty) food was at a particular grocery chain, and went on to say that she was "just trying to eat right". For some of us, taste and goodness beats affordability everyday. With the means to pay, we can choose what we want from the menu.

I asked her (very publicly mind you), if she'd consider engaging in work related to food deserts and obesity with said grocer. Not working for the grocer, and not being even an acquaintance of hers, I recognize that my query was at once presumptuous, and very forward, but I think it was worth the shot. Talented, engaging spokes-people can help drive traffic and therefore drive behavior change - companies use this rationale regularly. In this case, if a partnership was to develop b/w said grocer, and a corner-store in a financially strapped neighborhood, and be promoted by an advocate (like the actress), then we might see a couple things happen. For starters, as a "pseudo-satellite" to the high-end "good" grocery store, the bodega would have to adjust it's selections so there were less processed foods on the shelves. Next, prices would be placed in line with (previously sold) similar products. Last, there could be some sort of shelf labeling implemented so that diabetics, for example, would know that this aisle has food that is in line with what your healthcare provider suggested you eat as you work on bringing your blood sugar down.

Sure, I'm pitching something here, because I believe it can work. If you have the connects to make this happen very soon, keep me posted on how it goes so we can learn from your experience.  The only way to do it is to try it. Walmart, Target, Whole Foods...my number is 443-....

PV