The Cultured Girl

Glamour magazine this month has a sort of interesting, sort of obvious feature story about why Americans eat too much. (The basic message: Portions are huge, nutrition information is misleading, and we are surrounded by food ads.) To me, what hit home the most was the sidebar about how you can change your personal eating habits so you’ll no longer crave those huge portions. It doesn’t seem to be online, but here are some excerpts from the basic tips:

• “Try the 20 percent trick. Whatever you plan on eating, with the exception of fruits and vegetables, put 20 percent less on your plate—odds are you’ll feel just as satisfied.”
• “Make your meals appear bigger. … Pad your hamburger or sandwich with lettuce and tomato so it looks thicker … or serve your meal on a smaller plate or in a smaller bowl.”
• “Eat more slowly. Simple biological fact: It takes time for your stomach to signal to your brain that it’s full. What’s more, when you eat quickly, you spend much less time tasting your food—which make leave you feeling unsatisfied … “

Lately, I’ve really been focusing on point No. 3, watching the clock to make sure I don’t scarf down my food and instead savor it over half an hour or so. Other good strategies including drinking a glass of milk before a meal and trying to leave a few bites of food on the plate. Like the 20 percent trick, you’ll probably be just as satiated without eating the last few bites.

It’s one thing to have a hangover on the weekend, when you can drink a Bloody Mary over brunch and spend the rest of the day laying around the house smoking weed. But pulling yourself together for work after a night of drinking—perhaps a happy hour that went too long—requires an entirely different strategy. Here are some tactics to get you out the door and into the office.

• Down some Alka-Seltzer. If you feel like you want to puke, Alka-Seltzer is a two-pronged miracle cure. It will either get the puking over with or settle your stomach for good.
• De-puff your eyes. They’ll betray your hangover more than anything else, but you can’t wear sunglasses all day. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Origins No Puffery cooling eye gel is a delight.
• Don’t attempt coffee. Perk up with a real Coca-Cola instead—it will be easier on your stomach—paired with something savory like a bagel.
• Dress up. If you put on a skirt and try to look pulled together, your coworkers won’t be nearly as suspicious.

An even bigger conundrum than donning heels in the heat is trying to keep your makeup from melting off during a summer wedding or other outdoor event. I was never very good with makeup, particularly eye makeup, which always seemed to melt within minutes and form messy, gunky creases on my eyelids. That is, until a well made-up friend introduced me to the Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow Stick—a veritable magic wand for making eye makeup stay put. You apply it like a foundation before putting on your other eye makeup, and it creates a matte surface that makes eye shadow go on smoothly and stay put without the ugly creases. With the shadow stick, your eye makeup will look flawless even after countless drunken hours in a sweaty bar. The only problem is that the stuff works so well, you have to get your eye shadow right the first time—or wash off the foundation and start over.

I once thought electric toothbrushes were ridiculous. I figured I was perfectly capable of brushing my own teeth, without the help of some electrified gadget. Then, I got a Sonicare. Once I got used to the bizarre sensation—something like resting my chin on a jackhammer—I realized that the benefit of an electric toothbrush is actully how gentle it is on your gums. The voracious toothbrushers among you are probably brushing too hard and getting admonished by your dentist. But trust me: Get a Sonicare or other comparable model, and all that talk about dangerous gum recession (or, worse, that awful gum-grafting surgery) will cease.

As with noise-reducing headphones, electric toothbrushes are one of those purchases where it pays to pay more. You can get a top-of-the-line Sonicare on Amazon for just over $100. Braun Oral B also has several high-end models that sell for around $75 and are also quite good. The best part is, if you live with a partner, you can split the cost and just get a pair of interchangeable heads.

Like many health-conscious cultured girls, I often worry that I’m not getting enough calcium. … Then I forget I’m supposed to be worrying about it and go on being calcium deprived. But a recent doctor’s visit, I learned that women should consume anywhere from 1000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day to help prevent osteoporosis. (Most of us probably get about half that much.) Here are some easy ways to add calcium to your daily diet:

• Resume the childhood ritual of having a glass of milk for dinner. 1 C of nonfat milk has 302 mg of calcium, and drinking it with dinner also helps control your appetite.
• Start your day with nonfat yogurt. 1 C of nonfat yogurt delivers a whopping 452 mg of calcium, versus 415 for lowfat yogurt, and it’s better for your waistline too.
• Take calcium supplements. These are an easy way to get your daily allowance; just be sure to take the supplements separately from your milk or yogurt. Options include Viactiv and comparable knockoff brands, which come in 500 mg candy-flavored chews (yum!), and Extra Strength Tums, which each have 300 mg of calcium (yes, the commercials are true).
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After letting my mom wax poetic about Dirt hair paste by Jonathan Product, I had to avail myself of one of her jars on my last visit. Now, I’m hooked. This is not just a miracle product for bad hair; it is a sweet, sticky nectar for any head of hair. As Jonathan breathlessly proclaims on the package, “There’s something amazing about the way hair looks and behaves the day after — washing, that is. I created Dirt to help you get that look easily.” And he’s exactly right. The stuff gives hair that great piece-y look without making it greasy, and it’s highly versatile. My mom uses it to spike and finesse her short fine hair, while for long, thick hair like mine, it lends a messy, heavy look. Plus it smells like toasted marshmallows.

I’m normally pretty bored by the whole baby-or-no-baby debate. It seems that some people are absolutely certain they want kids, others are almost violently opposed to the idea, and the majority of us seem happy treat the issue as a big, scary unknown. For that reason, I almost skipped over Emily Yoffe’s thought-provoking column in Slate this week, addressing the baby question. Yoffe’s story actually began a few weeks ago, when she fielded an advice-column question from a woman in her 30s who was about to get married but didn’t want kids. When Yoffe suggested the woman not dismiss the idea so quickly — she might, after all, decide she wants kids someday — it prompted a flurry of angry letters from happy, childless people essentially asking, Why the hell would anyone want kids? Yoffe admits that she used to be one of those people: “If I had stayed childless, I would also have felt I had dodged a sippy cup to the head.” But, she argues, the horrors of child rearing really aren’t as extreme as most of her detractors make it out to be. Regardless of what side you are on, the story will get you thinking, and it’s definitely worth a read.

I never thought I’d feel such affection for a dental product, but I truly love my new $2 G-U-M antibacterial toothbrush cover. It’s a brilliantly simple idea–why use those bulky, hygienically questionable cases when all you need to do is protect the bristles? These colorful snap-on cases also contain an agent inside the plastic that inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Even when you’re not traveling, it might be a good idea to keep these covers on. Researchers have found that brushing your teeth may actually contribute to, rather than prevent, tooth decay and gum disease. The problem is that our warm, moist bathrooms are the perfect breeding ground for those nasty germs, and when tested, the average toothbrush contained more than 2,000 bacterial colonies. An easy preventative measure? Use an antibacterial case or soak your toothbrush in Listerine for 10 minutes every night. If you’re looking for something more upscale, go for the sleek Violight sanitizer. The Philippe Stark-designed canister also banishes 99 percent on the bacteria growing on your toothbrush.

I love seafood, both for its tastiness and its healthiness. But with concerns about over-fishing, high mercury levels, and several other environmental concerns I’m probably forgetting, I’m never quite sure what fish I’m supposed to be eating and which ones I’m supposed to avoid. If you find yourself in the same boat (sorry, had to say it), check out this informative article from today’s New York Times. It sheds light on such topics as why you should resist ordering Chilean sea bass and why “farm-raised” isn’t always a bad word (farm-raised salmon can be unsafe, while farmed tilapia is fine if you don’t mind blandness just bland). To help keep it all straight, there’s also a handy list of fish that are safe to eat as often as once a week.

During a recent spa getaway, my sister–who also serves as my self-appointed beauty advisor–convinced me that I had to try a microdermabrasion rather than the usual facial. She swore it would work wonders on my complexion: Leave it polished, more toned, less prone to breakouts. Turns out she was right, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

While the “abrasion” part made me a bit apprehensive, the half-hour procedure is not nearly as invasive as it sounds. A practitioner simply moves a handpiece over the face to simultaneously exfoliate and vacuum up the dead cells. The result is baby-soft skin that, as clichéd as it sounds, truly does glow. There’s no downtime, and the procedure is pain-free. The price tag, however, is steep: Expect to pay around $100 for an in-spa treatment.

Since the results last less than a month, I limit my visits to special occasions. The rest of the time I use an at-home kit that serves up a surprisingly comparable “insta-glow.” What’s great is that you can also use it to smooth other troublesome body parts like rough knees or stretch marks. Right now, I’m working on the many scars I’ve accumulated over the years, including a surgical scar on my knee that’s already noticeably less distinct. I use L’oreal’s kit but I’ve read good things about several drugstore choices including Olay Regenerist and Neutrogena. There’s also a pricey Philosophy option if Walgreens makes you wary.