Back in skinny jeans

Older women tend to out pace younger women in running races

When I started to run competitively, one of my training buddies told me that just because you're younger and have been running for years, don't be shocked to see someone 10-20 years older pass you by. Your ego won't get it, but trust me it will happen. And sure enough, when I started to race 5ks and 10ks it happened. In one race, someone who could be my granny sped by me like the Roadrunner, and yes, my ego was bruised because in theory I should have been faster than a AARP member. Youthful arrogance I tell ya!

The NY Times ran this interesting article, "See Jane Run. See Her Run Faster and Faster" where writer/runner Gina Kolata points out something that appears, on the surface, to be unusual in running races: older female runners tend to out pace time wise their younger counterparts. Gina shares her observations:

Jenny McCarthy got back in pre-baby jeans with Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers and celeb mama Jenny McCarthy are using the "Back in Skinny Jeans" dream to lure new moms with lingering pregnancy pounds to sign up for the Weight Watchers program so their new "After" is actually a "Before", before baby that is.

What's interesting is that Jenny isn't a new mother. Her son turned 5 in May, so why is Weight Watchers milking the new mom angle? Now, I could be completely off base and reading too much into the ad. It could be that no matter how old your kid is, if you have pregnancy weight that hasn't gone away, you still aspire to be thin like you were before getting knocked up. Either way, the Back in Skinny Jeans fancy is powerful no matter how you milk it.

The worst thing you can do after a break-up: Compare yourself to others

Wednesday was the worst emotional day I have had since the break-up two weeks ago. I lost it in a monumentally huge way and spent half the day crying, screaming, and feeling the hatred/resentment stage coming on. I even destroyed some nick nacks in a fit of calamatious rage. I just had to literally break some things in order to vent. It all started when Matt told me that our former next door neighbor, Carrie (not her real name) was pregnant.

Now Carrie met this guy through her job and started dating him in February of this year. She moved in with him in May. They got engaged in June, and in August found out that she is pregnant. Carrie is on top of the moon, and blissfully happy. She met her soul mate and is just thrilled beyond belief. Now, I know (logically) that her relationship has happened at Superman speed and who knows if they will last because they really just met, but my emotions don't care about any of that logical stuff.

Oh no! All the emotions heard was "She's getting married to her soul mate and having a kid and living in a new house and you are not and you are 9 years older than her, you childless old spinster bag you who's just been dumped by your non-committal boyfriend of 3 years." Again, it's all insecure irrational break up emotion but that is what bubbled to the surface: my humanness.

The news of Carrie was then the tipping point to comparing myself to everyone else I know and what life changes they have experienced in the 3 years that Matt and I have been together.

5 tips to stay vibrantly beautiful over 40

Turning 40 may mean your youth is gone but it doesn't mean that your youthful look has to go with it. Elle McPherson and Cindy Crawford are looking hotter than ever, and although you may not be a former model, there are some things you can do to help you stay looking vibrant as you age.

• Drink water: The more you keep your body hydrated the longer your skin will stay elastic and supple. Your inside will be happy as well and be less likely to hold on to water weight due to "water faminine" just like your body adjusts and slows down your metabolism for "calorie famine" when you severely cut back on eating.

• Create a support system of positive people: As you get older, life changes become far more stressful thus reeking havoc on your body and your appearance. Life is much easier and less lonely when you have a support system of really wonderful people who will back you up and remind you of your strength and lovability. Your support system will also help make you laugh which is something you need to do more of during those stressful life changes.

• Stay physically active: You don't have to go to the gym more to stay fit after 40, you just need to keep moving and participate in activities that involve movement like dancing, kayaking, or dog walking. As we get older, we tend to sit more thus minimizing opportunities to burn calories and keep the muscles active. Joining activities that involve groups of people can also help you make new friends or make you feel like you belong to a group which leads to better overall happiness.

• Bask in the sun sparingly: If you're over 40 and have a hot bod, by all means you should show it off at the beach or the pool, but do it sparingly. Basking in the sun for hours and days will only increase the rate at which your skin wrinkles, shows spots, and mature faster than your actual age.

• Stop taking yourself too seriously: Because we're grown-ups now many of us feel the need to always act like a grown-up and be serious all the time. After all, we're now parents, leaders, business people, and the "example to the younger ones," so with all that seriousness you smile less and feel more stress. Phewy! You can be the adult and still radiate some kid-like vibrance. So much of your life is spent on the serious things going on that you forget to have fun and be playful along the way. When you lighten up, your whole glow lightens up too.

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Weigh-in Wed:#13 Week

Getting even closer to my skinny jeans. This week I dropped 1.2 pounds and 1.5 inches which makes for an overall shedding of 17 pounds and 14 inches in 3 months. Whoa!

This week marks the official end of summer, and I have to say that despite all the life changes that I have been through in these last 3 months, I am very proud of the fact that I have stayed committed to dropping weight and inches, and I owe you, my lovely readers, a great deal of gratitude for helping me along the way. This is gonna sound cliche but I really could not have done it without you all especially in the last couple weeks since Matt and I broke up.

Report after the jump

A quick schematic of ingredients in common espresso drinks

With so many coffee drink choices around, how can one keep track? Here's a nifty matrix of 9 coffee drinks created by Lokesh Dhakar that illustrate what coffee drinks are made of like a Cafe Breve, Americano, or Espresso con Panna. So, the next time you're at a cafe and what to try something different, you'll be well educated.

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Gisele Bundchen in new season of Dancing with the Stars. Huh?

The cast of the next season of Dancing with the Stars has supposedly been leaked, and TMZ has the spoiler alert before ABCs official announcement this week. On the cast list is uber model millionaire Gisele Bundchen. I don't know about you guys but I have a seriously hard time that Gisele is  going to be tripping the light fantastic for us on Dancing with the Stars namely because she is really hot right now and most of the celebs that go on the show are well, because I don't know how else to say it nicely, B-D listers.

AND, when you look at the other cast list members you'll see just what other Kathy Griffin listers are amongst the competitors, and I just don't see the richest model in the world hanging in this crowd or taking the chance that she'd be voted off by the public amongst people like Jenny Garth and Aaron Carter. So, my snobbish side pokes its ugly head out. Last season's model representative was Paulina Porizcova, and I would believe more that someone like Kathy Ireland or Linda Evangelista would be on this season's cast.

Kill bad breath with lemons and other tarty delights around the skinny-sphere

• Besides making lemonade and seasoning fish, here's a list of other things you can do with lemons including stomping out bad breath. What a handy tip when you've just eaten a bunch of garlic at the Italian restaurant and there are no mints in sight. [FitSugar]

• Guess which former uber model and mother of two is still sporting major hottness at 43. Aging doesn't seem so bad after all. [Daily Mail]

• Friends of Kate Moss are worried about the modelette as she has dropped about 10 pounds off her already skinny frame after her tumultuous break-up with boyfriend Pete Doherty who is back in rehab yet again. Kate eat a sandwich cause that trainwreck of a guy is not worth it. [Daily Mail]

• Here's a list of 10 eating habits to avoid including weekend splurges which I am most guilty of. [Forbes]