Missed the Philly Tri? It's not too late to sign up for SheROX, ladies!
 Channel your inner Superwoman at the upcoming SheROX Tri. Photo by Action Sports International. Celebrate girl power on August 7th at the SheROX Triathlon. A sprint-distance triathlon, the race is composed of a .37 mile swim, 15.5 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. Not much of a swimmer? Enter the duathlon and substitute the swim for an additional two-mile run instead. Sign up soon: Registration is open through today—July 29th—after which the only chance to register will be at the expo on August 6th.
$115, August 7th, 7 a.m., Fairmount Park, Martin Luther King Boulevard at Black Road.
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Low fat, low calorie, and delicious—nine spots for the best summer treat
 A delicious, fruity, healthy treat from Tutti Frutti There may not be a more satisfying summer dessert than a good cup of frozen yogurt. As temperatures tick upwards, we want something cool that won’t pack on the pounds. Frozen yogurt to the rescue.
The creamy texture of low-fat, low-calorie, probiotic-rich fro-yo topped with fresh fruit hits the spot without killing your diet. Here are nine of our favorite local frozen yogurt destinations, where you can concoct endless flavor combinations for a treat that never disappoints.
Kiwi
This perky shop is usually brimming with students from nearby Penn and Drexel universities. Customers here serve themselves, allowing them to mix flavors and pay per ounce. Most of the flavors are fat-free, and a few have no added sugar. And at an average 115 calories per half cup, it’s a relatively healthy dessert (as long as you stick to the fresh-fruit toppings and avoid the crushed Oreos and Heath bars). After you’ve scraped every morsel of creamy goodness from your cup, wash it down with a glass of fruit-flavored water that Kiwi keeps in a pitcher at the counter.
3606 Chestnut Street, 215-387-1222; other locations in Haverford, West Chester, and Cherry Hill.
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The search for this year's Be Well Philly Office Challenge teams is now underway!
 Philadelphia magazine and UnitedHealthcare are in search of the area’s most competitive office employees to compete in the Second Annual Be Well Philly Office Challenge. Six lucky offices—two more teams than last year!—will face off to drop the most pounds and improve their overall wellness throughout the eight–week challenge, which will begin on September 12, 2011.
Last year’s winning team lost a total of 166 pounds and walked away with a grand-prize package that included a free year membership to Sweat Fitness, a hair makeover from Salon Royale Court, a facial from O2 Skincare, Zoom whitening from Pennsylvania Center for Dental Excellence, and a $100 gift card to Philadelphia Runner. Altogether, our four teams lost more than 450 pounds! If your office is in desperate need of a total health makeover, sign up at BeWellPhilly.com/OfficeChallenge by Friday, August 5th. Good luck, and we look forward to hearing from you!
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Can summer’s sun-ripened peaches and tomatoes today, and you’ll eat well—and local—year-round
 From now until mid-September, two of the season’s most-awaited fruits, locally grown peaches and tomatoes, will be at their peak. Can a few jars over the next few weeks, and you’ll be able to enjoy their sweet summer taste and nutritional benefits long after the first school bus hits the streets. “Canning has become increasingly popular in the Philadelphia area over the past few years, because people want to know what they’re putting in their bodies,” says Marisa McClellan, local canning-ista and author of the award-winning blog FoodInJars.com. “You have total control over what goes into that jar, so you can keep the amount of sugar and salt firmly in check.”
What’s more, canning local produce in reusable glass jars minimizes your carbon footprint and reduces your exposure to cancer-causing BPA, which often lines store-bought cans. The best part: Fruits and vegetables captured at the peak of their season taste so much better than anything you’ll find on a shelf. “They taste like sunshine,” says McClellan, who plans to preserve 25 pounds of peaches and 100 pounds of tomatoes this season, which she’ll pick up from South Street’s Pumpkin Market and Rittenhouse Square’s Farmers’ Market. Come winter, the tomatoes will find their way into soups, sauces and salsas, and the peaches will grace cakes, cobblers and sides of cottage cheese. “There’s a deep satisfaction that comes from taking raw ingredients and turning them into something that lasts,” says McClellan. “I always look forward to seeing a new row of jars on my countertop.”
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Developed by a bariatric surgeon, this bar claims to work like gastric-bypass surgery to help you eat less and lose weight
 A diagram showing how Fullbar increases fullness and thus reduces your meal size During one recent bout of the 3 p.m. munchies, I stopped at a nearby convenience store to grab a granola bar. I stood surveying my options for a good 10 minutes (Chewy? Crunchy? Organic? One with peanut butter?) before my eyes fell on the Fullbar.
Developed by bariatric surgeon Dr. Michael Snyder, the Fullbar is meant to aid weight loss using the same principles as gastric-bypass surgery. Eat it 30 minutes before a meal with a glass of water, and you’ll be too full to overindulge when you sit down at the table—just like a surgically shrunken stomach prevents you from consuming too much food.
I found this out only after the fact; I bought it because it was the biggest bar and promised to make me full. But after examining the label I had to check it out further. The ingredients—brown-rice syrup, puffed wheat, honey, soy protein—didn’t seem particularly unique to me. So how does an ordinary bar achieve such extraordinary results?
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Beach camping and a free pass to Morey's Piers make this the most fun race of the summer
 The Wild Half route will take you underneath this iconic sign. Photo from thewildhalf.cgiracing.com. Looking for the perfect excuse to spend a day down the shore? Sign up for the Wild Half, an oceanfront half marathon spanning everyone’s favorite shore destination: Wildwood. The 13.1 mile route begins at the Convention Center, continues along the famous boardwalk for 1.5 miles, stretches into North Wildwood along the sea wall, and eventually ends back in the Crest. If you need an incentive to train, consider this: Every runner gets a free day pass to Morey’s Piers, and campsites on the beach allow you to forgo the cost of a hotel room. Just don’t forget to slather on the SPF.
$75, August 28th, Wildwood Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk.
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Organic beats out processed in recent poll of American-consumer preference
 Check out the Fairmount Farmers Market for colorful organic veggies. Organic farmers, rejoice! A recent health poll [PDF] by NPR and Thomson Reuters found that, when given a choice, more consumers prefer to eat organic foods rather than nonorganic. Let’s go to the score board: Organic food-1, Conventionally-processed food-0.
Of the 3,000 participants interviewed in the national telephone poll, 58 percent said they side with organic food in the ongoing battle against those way-too-long-of-a-shelf-life wannabes. The numbers of organic supporters rise even more among young adults and those with higher educations: Sixty-four percent of voters with a bachelor’s degree prefer organic food, as well as 63 percent of voters under the age of 35. (And they think we’re still shoveling Twinkies down our throats at night—this will teach ‘em!)
But the big win here lies in why people choose to go organic. Thirty-six percent said they do so to support local farmers’ markets. And when asked where they prefer to obtain produce, 43 percent said farmers’ markets, 20 percent cited their own gardens, and 5 percent said CSA programs. I’d bet if you asked residents of the Greater Philadelphia Area, that CSA number would be considerably higher—we’ve got a whole slew of farmers’ markets and CSAs right in our own backyard.
Chalk it up to a win, farmers. Looks like you have the upper hand now.
So tell us, Philly, where do you turn for all of your organic needs?
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A Philly-area native comes home running (literally)
 At about mile 6 of last year's Philly Half—that's me on the left, with my intrepid running buddy, Abby Good morning, Philly! I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself—I’m Emily, the new health-and-fitness editor here at Philly Mag. I took the reins earlier this week and have been settling in to my new digs here at Philly Mag HQ.
A bit about me: I grew up in Media but have been living in DC for the past several years. Most recently, I was at Washingtonian magazine, where I covered health and fitness on the Web and in print. I absolutely fell in love with the beat; it jibed nicely with my interests and growing love of running.
See, I’ve always been athletic—I played field hockey and basketball in high school (go, Knights!)—but never really loved to run. Actually, if we’re being totally honest here, I hated it. With a passion. Every year, I dreaded field hockey preseason, when I was supposed to have been running all summer, but hadn’t, so I was completely out of shape. The physical pain of it was excruciating (or so I told myself); every step felt like work.
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PHS partners with Franklin Institute to create "Science in the Garden"
 Looking for ways to encourage your kids to enjoy the sunshine? Bring them to the PHS Pop-Up Garden on 20th and Market for a free gardening workshop. Philadelphia Horticultural Society partnered with the Franklin Institute to host a series of kid-friendly special events called “Science in the Garden.” These free workshops offer kids the chance to learn how fresh, healthy food from the garden makes your body strong with fun and interactive demonstrations.
Bonus: Kids 12 and under receive a passport that will be stamped at each workshop they attend. Collect five stamps and kids get a free general admission ticket to the Franklin Institute. The family-friendly series runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m.
For more info check out the PHS Pop-Up Garden events calendar here.
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The Ouchless Needle takes the pain out of beauty
 Hey Main Liners, you could soon have a pain-free Botox treatment—no, seriously. Last week, Louisville-based plastic surgeon Dr. Marc J. Salzman launched a state-of-the-art, pain-reducing technology for cosmetic injections. He calls it the Ouchless Needle.
The needle is actually a disposable attachment that snaps onto the syringe of common cosmetic injectables and dermal fillers, such as Botox, Juvederm and Restylane. With the push of a button, the attachment dispenses a spray of what’s called vapocoolant onto the injection site just before the skin is pierced; it acts like a super cold ice cube and immediately freezes the skin, so you know longer have to brace yourself for the sting of the needle.
Traditionally, physicians would use a numbing cream to reduce the pain associated with needles, but these creams can take up to 40 minutes to kick in and often leave patients with post-injection numbness. The Ouchless Needle claims to instantly reduce the pain of injections; minimize post-injection numbness, swelling, and bruising; and eliminate waiting time by freeing up staff and allowing patients to be in and out in just minutes.
The docs in our area don’t seem to have caught on to the Ouchless Needle just yet, so drop a hint to your MD next time you book an appointment. Whoever said beauty has to be pain, anyway?
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