Homer Simpson (c) Fox Media

It’s not unusual to think you’re hungry. What might be surprising is that, once you’ve begun losing weight, your brain actually responds differently to the sight of food. However, that seems to be exactly what researchers at Columbia University are finding, as NPR reported yesterday.

The complex dance of hormones and neurochemistry that controls our reaction to food, at both a cognitive and physical level, is something that can be hacked to our advantage, however. It just takes a little insight, planning, and discipline. Fortunately, most weight-loss programs, from the insanely strict to the lifestyle maintenance, consciously or unconsciously include a mechanism that allows you to out-smart your cravings. Some of them are even built around it.

Cheat codes days for the win.  It’s not God Mode, but it’s a start.

There is a communication barrier that exists between self-proclaimed geeks and your typical athlete. Someone who has never spent an entire weekend sitting around a table and rolling dice or who has actually injured something more than just their thumb playing football just doesn’t understand why anyone would want to “waste” their time playing games. In fact, more often than not, it seems like many fitness enthusiasts look upon “geeky” hobbies with nothing short of derision.

This lack of groking is one of the motivating reasons why we launched ShrinkGeek in the first place. We wanted to create a place where people who thought like us could seek out others who had the same kind of interests but who also wanted to improve their health. We firmly believe that it’s entirely possible to be geeky AND healthy, and we actively seek to promote activities that are conducive to both.

via @thatkevinsmith on Twitpic

There’s been a bit of news floating around recently that I have, frankly, been hesitant to comment on here despite the fact that is probably one of the more relevant topics in recent events when it comes to our target demographic. For those of you who are unaware of what, exactly, I’m talking about (and bless you for having the ability to somehow avoid every major news outlet for the last week) – Kevin Smith (director of the highly acclaimed independent film Clerks) recently caused quite a stir on Twitter when he posted about being removed from a flight on Southwest Airlines because he was, well…Too fat.

The story is, honestly, considerably more detailed than that. If you’re interested in all the details you can hear them directly from Mr. Smith himself on his Smodcast web site. You can also see the two official responses from Southwest over on their Nuts About Southwest blog.

Image courtesy of kkimpel on Flickr

From time to time, you’ll see us do a review of a fitness product, exercise game, food or diet supplement, or whatever else around here. Most of the time, it’s because one of us owns it already; sometimes, we’ve gotten a trial sample of something, or are given the use of it for a while. A lot of the time, what you’ll read here originates from very close to home – Mike and Krystalle get a ton of use out of the exergaming titles they have for their Wii; both they and Scott and have made Weight Watchers a guiding principle in their eating habits; and my copy of Starting Strength sits right here on my desk, underneath the notebook where I log my daily workouts. It’s not just fiction authors who live by the dictum, “Write what you know.”

The companies that have been kind enough to send us review samples have done so knowing that we’re going to be giving you, our readers, our honest assessment of whatever they may be offering. Whether it’s effusive enthusiasm, a thumbs-up with a caveat, or some well-earned derision, we’re not going to sugar-coat what we say.

That’s not how we roll, whether it’s 1d4 or 8d12.

It's never too early to play a little RL Dig Dug (image by abbybatchelder on Flickr)

“Strong people are harder to kill, and more useful in general.” – Mark Rippetoe

Having grown up in Buffalo, I’m no stranger to encountering large amounts of the white stuff vigorously and repeatedly burying the upper-right quadrant of the United States. However, living in Florida, we’re missing out on the fun.

I’m not actually being facetious or snarky, for a change. Mowing the lawn on New Years’ Day is nice, but kind of lame when it comes to instilling that whole “winter” motif. We can’t make a decent backyard ice rink, have a snowball fight, or get a “snow day” away from the office.

Put down the shovels, torches, and pitchforks, people. Well, not the shovels. Record snowfall is obviously a huge inconvenience, and we want to make sure everyone stays safe, warm, and all that good stuff. However, you can still turn it to your advantage, even if you’re not a frost-spec Mage.