For Cha-Cha and Robin:

Q: Does water go down the drain counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere?

A: It all depends upon how the water was introduced and the geometric structure of the drain.

One can find both counterclockwise and clockwise flowing drains in both hemispheres. Some people would like you to believe that the Coriolis force affects the flow of water down the drain in sinks, bathtubs, or toilet bowls. Don’t believe them! The Coriolis force is simply too weak to affect such small bodies of water. Read more →

This POM smoothie is full of super healthy antioxidants from the pomegranate juice and the almonds. And the banana provides a great source of potassium.

Just how rich in antioxidants is POM pomegranate juice? Take a look at the image below rating high antioxidant juices. POM scores the highest.

Oh yeah, what about the POM Smoothie recipe? Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 cup POM wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 3/4 cup soy or low-fat milk
• 2 ice cubes
• 1 large banana
• 2 tablespoons almonds
• 3 table spoons protein powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon honey or stevia sweetener

Preparation

In a blender combine all ingredients. Cover and blend on high for at least 30 seconds (make sure the almonds aren’t visible) then pour into two glasses.

Makes 2 servings.

At 7:25 a.m. this morning, amidst mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 30s, Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa.

According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Had Phil not seen his shadow, it would have meant “there will be an early spring.”

If Phil’s forecast is right, it signals a dramatic reversal from the mild weather pattern affecting much of the country. Many parts of the central and eastern U.S. have seen temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal in recent days. On February 1, just 19% of the Lower 48 had snow cover compared to 52% at this time last year.

Historic odds heavily favor a forecast for winter to last deep into March. Since the Groundhog’s first prediction in 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 99 times and failed to spot it just 16 times. There are 9 missing years in the record, but Phil has issued an forecast without exception.

But just how accurate is the prognosticator of prognosticators?

It depends on the source.

The official website of Punxsutawney Phil, perhaps not impartial, claims the Groundhog has issued a correct forecast 100% of the time.

AccuWeather’s grade for the groundhog’s accuracy is slightly lower, but still quite respectable.

“Because the year’s coldest quarter, also known as meteorological winter, runs from Dec. 5 to March 5, Phil’s accuracy in predicting a longer winter is about 80 percent,” AccuWeather wrote.

But StormFax.com says Phil has gotten it right just 39% of the time.

NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center issued the harshest assessment of the accuracy of the “seer of seers” finding “no predictive skill for the groundhog during the most recent years” in its analysis. It concluded: It really isn’t a “bright” idea to take a measure such as a groundhog’s shadow and use it as a predictive meteorological tool for the entire United States.

Noting long-range prediction is hard, at least one scientifically-minded meteorologist expressed resentment over the attention-grabbing rodent.

“…Punxsutawney Phil is a punk when it comes to weather forecasting,” blogged Tim McGill, a meteorologist for WGN in Chicago.

Many folks feel so guilty that they throw their hands up in failure and give in to even further temptation before they get back on track. They think, “Well, I’ve already failed, so why bother even trying now?”

Don’t let this happen to you. Everyone has a weak moment here and there — and that’s OK. If you fall into a trap, immediately recognize it and declare a consequence for yourself. For example, give yourself extra chores around the house. Or, take away a weekly treat like your Friday night glass of wine.

By adding a consequence to your slip-ups, you’ll stick to your workout and diet routine — or you’ll pay the piper — instead of feeling guilty.

How do you bounce back from temptation? Share your thoughts by clicking “Comments” above.

January’s motivational shirt is a reminder that everything we do in the world, throughout each day, is connected to everything else. Doing good creates more good.

The back reads: everything is connected and features each of the causes we have supported since March 2010:

• Piedmont Park Conservancy
• Open Hand
• Camp Twin Lakes
• Every­body Wins
• Adopt a Golden Atlanta
• PATH Foun­da­tion
• Kate’s Club
• Get Grounded Foun­da­tion

To date, we’ve been able to donate $46,000 to these wonderful organizations — thanks to you and your hard work!

Please post your results and improvements from today’s PT test — we want to hear your success stories!

See you next month — well, really later this month — on Tuesday, January 31st.

Getting too little sleep can make you hungrier than normal and may lead to weight gain, a small study suggests.

The team at Uppsala University in Sweden used functional MRI to observe the brains of 12 normal weight males while they looked at images of food. This was done on two occasions — after a night of normal sleep and after a night without sleep.

The results showed that a specific brain region that plays a role in appetite shows more activation in response to food images after a night without sleep than after a night of normal sleep.

This suggests that poor sleep habits can affect a person’s risk of becoming overweight in the long run, according to the study published online Jan. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

“After a night of total sleep loss, these males showed a high level of activation in an area of the brain that is involved in a desire to eat,” researcher Christian Benedict said in a university news release.

“Bearing in mind that insufficient sleep is a growing problem in modern society, our results may explain why poor sleep habits can affect people’s risk to gain weight in the long run. It may therefore be important to sleep about eight hours every night to maintain a stable and healthy body weight,” Benedict added.

There is no exercise that works your abs more effectively and efficiently than the plank. All of your abdominal muscles (transverse, obliques and upper) have to work together to stabilize and support your entire body weight.

It also engages your glutes, shoulders, lats, arms and legs. Almost every muscle in your body is being toned and tightened when you perform this power move.

Get ready to flatten and tone your midsection in as little as 60 seconds with all the variations of this super pose.

Master the Plank

Before you try some of the more creative poses it’s essential the you master the basic pose.

Remember:

1. Draw your navel towards your spine. Think about really pulling your belly up, no sagging!
2. Don’t overarch your back. You want your whole body from the top of your head to your ankles to be in a straight line.
3. Engage your glutes. This will help you keep that straight line.
4. Keep those angles at a 90 degree angle. This helps your entire body stack correctly.
5. Don’t collapse into your shoulders or let them rise towards your ears. Pulling your abs tighter will help you direct the hold to your core instead of your neck and upper shoulders.
6. Keep your gaze about 6 inches in front of your face. This will keep your neck from straining.
7. Work up to a 60 second hold, focus on perfect form. If you need to rest during your plank drop your knees down to the ground and then rise back up again into the pose.

Plank Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic plank, check out these fun and challenging takes on the basic movement:

Oblique Plank: Moving your legs while holding the plank increases the work your lower abs and obliques have to do, plus it gets your heart rate up burning a ton of calories.

Side Plank: Shifting the plank from one arm to two forces your obliques and lats to engage– say goodbye to love handles.

Mountain Climbers: Want to tone and tighten your abs while ramping up your heart rate? Try this fast paced ab move as a cardio interval between strength moves.

Exercise Ball Planks: Doing this balancing exercise on an unstable surface dramatically increases the challenge to your core by forcing it to tighten and lift to stabilize your body.

From Eating Well:

We’ve taken the frying and fuss out of crab cakes by shaping and baking them in muffin tins. For the best taste, look for pasteurized crabmeat in the refrigerator case at your market’s fish counter, a better choice than canned varieties. Make It a Meal: Try these cakes with some tangy tartar sauce and coleslaw.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound crabmeat
• 2 cups fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs, (see Tip)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 10 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco (Editor’s note: actually, Old Bay seasoning would be a better option here)
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 6 lemon wedges, for garnish

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Generously coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix crab, breadcrumbs, bell pepper, scallions, mayonnaise, eggs, egg white, hot sauce, celery salt and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Divide mixture evenly among muffin cups. Bake until crispy and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

TIPS & NOTES
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave or serve cold.

Tip: To make fresh breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor until a coarse crumb forms. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup crumbs.

NUTRITION INFO
Per serving: 183 calories; 5 g fat ( 1 g sat , 1 g mono ); 124 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 2 g added sugars; 21 g protein; 6 g fiber; 574 mg sodium; 96 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (60% daily value), Zinc (20% dv), Calcium & Vitamin A (15% dv).

Tuna or salmon? Spinach or kale? We pit food rivals against one another and let them duke it out to see which edible packs a more powerful nutritional punch. The prize? Champions win premium real estate in your shopping cart. Let’s get ready to rumble.

Frozen Blueberries vs. Fresh Blueberries

The shipping necessary to stock fresh, cultivated berries ups the price and lowers the shelf life. On the flip side, frozen blueberries are typically the wild variety, which have higher levels of disease-fighting antioxidants than their plumper, farm-grown counterparts. “Frozen fruit is picked at peak ripeness and frozen very soon afterwards. This process locks in nutrients, antioxidants and flavor,” says Rebecca Scritchfield, RD, a marathoner and dietitian based in Washington, D.C.

The Champ: Frozen Blueberries

Sneak more in: Toss berries straight from the freezer into smoothies, oatmeal and baked-good batters.

Kale vs. Spinach

Kale’s nutritional power would have Popeye dropping anchor. This leafy green contains 60 percent more beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can bolster your immune system, as well as eye and bone health. Other perks include 25 percent more vitamin C and more than double the amount of vitamin K, which has been proven to help prevent diabetes. Kale also boasts three times more lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants that work together to protect eye health.

The Champ: Kale

Sneak more in: Gently sauté chopped kale leaves in a skillet with garlic, sesame oil and a touch of salt.

Canned Tuna vs. Canned Salmon

Sorry, Charlie. When it comes to canned fish, salmon reigns supreme. Ounce for ounce, salmon has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce the inflammation your body creates during exercise. Salmon also gets brownie points for containing more vitamin D, which Scritchfield says is, “Important for bone health and may help to prevent cancer.” If you consume salmon’s soft bones, you’ll also get a higher dose of calcium.

The Champ: Canned Salmon

Sneak more in: Use protein-rich canned salmon in lieu of beef when making burgers and meatloaf.

Traditional Yogurt vs. Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt has gained a loyal following due to its creamy texture and tangy taste, but the big bonus comes in the form of protein. It contains twice as much as traditional yogurt. Tara Gidus, RD, marathoner and author of Pregnancy Cooking & Nutrition For Dummies, says, “The extra protein can help with muscle recovery during training and makes it more satisfying.” Each tasty spoonful also serves up probiotics, which improve digestive and immune health.

The Champ: Greek Yogurt

Sneak more in: Use it as a replacement for sour cream or mayo in cold salads. When baking, swap half the oil or butter for yogurt.

Peanut Butter vs. Almond Butter

Although almost identical in calories, almond butter has less saturated fat but twice the amount of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat as peanut butter. “Monounsaturated fat reduces inflammation and also helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol,” notes Gidus. Almond butter also bests its peanut counterpart for containing bone-building calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as three times the antioxidant vitamin E.

The Champ: Almond Butter

Sneak more in: For a healthy snack, slice apples and dip into almond butter or mix a spoonful into your post-run shake to make a banana-nut smoothie.

Goat’s Milk vs. Cow’s Milk

When Spanish researchers compared cow’s and goat’s milk, they found that the two had equal amounts of essential amino acids needed for muscle-building, but the latter contained more omega-3 fatty acids as well as the bone-building trio calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. For those who have trouble digesting cow’s milk, goat’s milk may be used as an alternative since its protein contains less lactose.

The Champ: Goat’s Milk

Sneak more in: Use goat’s milk as you would the bovine version in cereal, smoothies and coffee.

Whole Wheat Bread vs. Rye Bread

While many equate whole wheat with healthy, rye bread has nearly twice the fiber per slice. “Women want to keep fiber intake high to maintain a healthy digestive tract, control weight and assist with proper blood sugar,” says Gidus. Fiber also may help remove toxins from the body and lower cancer risk. To avoid investing in a dark-colored imposter, look for true rye bread, which will list “whole rye flour” or “rye meal” as the first ingredient.

The Champ: Rye Bread

Sneak more in: Use rye bread to make sandwiches and morning toast.

Chicken Breast vs. Turkey Breast

Gram for gram, turkey has more muscle-friendly protein, energy-boosting iron and the ultra-important antioxidant selenium. This poultry powerhouse also contains additional zinc. “It’s estimated that 50 percent of female distance runners don’t get the recommended levels of zinc, which can make a person more prone to illness and therefore impede training and performance,” says Scritchfield. Just make sure you enjoy your gobbler sans the fat-laden skin.

The Champ: Turkey Breast

Sneak more in: Power up salads with diced turkey breast or use the ground variety in stuffed peppers, tacos and meatballs.

Green Bell Pepper vs. Red Bell Pepper

This one is no contest. As star among its brethren, red bell peppers, which are simply green peppers that have ripened, have significantly more immune-system-boosting beta-carotene and vitamin C. Stritchfield says, “Vitamin C helps the body protect itself from cell-damaging free radicals.” Harvard scientists have also found that higher intakes of vita¬min C reduce the risk of upper respira¬tory tract infections in women.

The Champ: Red Bell Pepper

Sneak more in: Add sliced red bell peppers to tacos, salads, sandwiches and slaws.

Popcorn Kernels vs. Microwave Popcorn

Popcorn has a bad rap due to the butter-laden movie theater version, but when properly prepared, it makes for a healthy, low-calorie snack. Popped kernels have an antioxidant capacity on par with most fruits and vegetables, and they’re packed with fiber. Stick to loose kernels found in jars or bulk bins. The bagged version is not only pricier, but the industrial chemicals used to line some microwavable pouches may contain carcinogens, according to Canadian researchers.

The Champ: Popcorn Kernels

Sneak more in: Jazz up kernels with creative toppings such as smoked salt, cayenne pepper, curry powder, shaved Parmesan cheese or grated dark chocolate.

Brown Rice vs. Quinoa

Quinoa may be the best whole grain a runner can put on her dinner plate. Compared to brown rice, a cup of cooked quinoa contains more protein, fiber, iron, potassium, zinc and folate. Scritchfield says, “Folate is required for the body to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen to your muscles.” Quinoa also contains a full complement of essential amino acids, making it a valuable protein source during training.

The Champ: Quinoa

Sneak more in: To cook quinoa, place 1 cup of the grain in a saucepan along with 1-cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until all the water has absorbed (10 to 15 minutes). Use as a side dish or incorporate into pilafs and stir-frys.