Slim chance

I've been frustrated lately with my health regimen. I've recently increased my weekly hours at the gym, and yet it seems I'm only managing to hang on to what I've already got. This question is often on the minds of we who exercise a lot with the desire to attain a sylphlike, ethereal slenderness yet can't seem to predict the results: is it possible to exercise more and still gain (or not lose) weight? If so, why bother at all?

There is a common misconception that the increased poundage that often accompanies increased exercise is "muscle gain" but this is only rarely true, even if the exerciser devotes most of his or her time to popular anaerobic workouts like pilates, yoga and weight lifting, which are usually not sufficient to significantly alter body composition on their own, and have less slimming merit than higher impact cardio workouts (running, spinning, step class) as they burn far fewer calories.

However, increasing cardio activity can deceive as well: the added effort can contribute to the mindset that we have earned a dessert which far outweighs calorically what we have burned off (bringing us back to square one and beyond), or, on a physiological level, to enhance the ability of the body to hang on to water or even to hoard those same pounds that we would like to shed.

This illuminating article briefly illustrates this. In short, most yoginis (and probably most runners or spinners) won't likely look like Gwynnie unless they also follow her diet. (While it does not mention GP, it does emphasize the need to revisit your caloric intake if you wish to have results from your exercise routine beyond just feeling fitter.)

Just for kicks, from the Goop web site, here is Gwyneth's "detox diet." 800 calories a day, anyone?

GC

If you are very familiar with Vogue magazine, or you have already seen "The September Issue," then you know who this woman is.



No? Recognize her now?

(She's on the right.)

How about now, in her modeling heyday?

Grace Coddington wearing Nina Ricci, photo John French. England, 1965

If you have heard the name Grace Coddington, you are likely more familiar with her work than who she is as a personality.

She is the Creative Director of American Vogue, and it is her romantic yet spirited, and sometimes even very edgy vision that elevates a spread in Vogue to high fashion fantasy - miles above what might run in a different type of ladies' mag that has articles on 100 ways to wear a pair of black pants to the office.

A typical Grace Coddington photo shoot


...and another

Ms. Coddington has worked as the yin to Anna Wintour's yang since 1988, and although thanks to that devil book she is less well known than "the Wintour of our discontent," she is equally influential in setting the elite tone of the fashion tome, pushing back creatively against Ms. Wintour even as she lumbers about the Vogue offices in heavy sandals, her signature red mane frizzing about her face and shoulders. She is the top witch in the Vogue coven - almost.

A tribute to Grace featuring model Karen Elson


The real Grace Coddington, holding her own with Karl Lagerfeld.

Ms. Coddington finally catches some of the spotlight in the Vogue documentary "The September Issue" and it's great fun to watch this interesting creature of fashion at work in her most natural habitat.

The Horrors

I like these guys. We saw them at Bowery Ballroom in 2007 after buying their garage-y, punky, retro album, "Strange House." They played a 15 minute set, the most memorable part of which was the really really tall lead singer stepping down from the stage as if it were a step in a staircase, propelling himself to the bar at the back of the room, standing on it and guzzling half a bottle of red wine, which he then brought back to the stage and tossed open into the audience. It was pretty dumb but it worked for him.

Quoth the Horrors... dodge this bottle!

They're back this year with a new, shoegazey sound and we're excited to see them in October at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. We were extra nerdy and got our tickets months in advance. Hopefully they've got enough material now to play more than 15 minutes.

This video from 2007 showcases their attitude, musical style and dark, modish image.

Summer visited briefly

And this lovely, melancholy film by illustrator Jeff Scher perfectly captures its end.

Click here. Heave sigh.

Ovomaltine chocolate bars

I am obsessed with these chocolate bars. Not only because they are delicious, but also because they are rare -- they are completely unavailable in any store or on any web site in the US.

Country of origin: Switzerland

Flavor: milky and sweet, with the bitter, malty tang of Ovaltine crystals that are mixed right into the chocolate.

Texture: first smooth, and then slightly stickier and gritty as the drink powder bits melt on your tongue after the chocolate surrounding them has disappeared.

If you love milk chocolate, and you have a friend or family member traveling to Switzerland, ask them to bring some back for you to try.



We had two bars in our home a day ago, and now they are gone!

I'm so there!

I'm dorkily excited to see The September Issue.

I've had two face to face run-ins with Anna Wintour. One was many years ago near Times Square, and she accidentally looked me right in the eye. Her gaze turned my blood to icewater in my veins. It was awesome.

The other was very recent, as I was leaving Scuderia after a meal with a friend. I thought, wow, that's a slightly overdressed, very lean 45 year old European lady standing in our way in the doorway - oh wait...

we spied on her and her young male dinner companion for a few moments but they did not sit down in Scuderia, opting instead for the tried and true Conde Nast staple, Da Silvano, right across the street.

Will we eat even one small piece of popcorn during this film? Would Anna?? I think not!!

Desperate times call for sensible measures

Although the notion of growing one's own vegetables in a community plot is a little twee for me, the rest of this article is a big "no duh."

A "legacy of the recession?" This should have been a legacy left by our grandparents' and even our parents' generations, who bought only what they could afford and saved every penny. How did all of this go out of the window?

American gothic?