I Am Not a Hardcore Biker -- 151.8

I am glad to see that my weight loss trend is continuing. Since late October I've been gaining steadily and that strangely coincided with all the stress we'd been under. For me stress management boils down to food. And no, munching on a carrot does not fix anything, it has to be cheese or something else that's fatty and hopefully salty. I've been doing better but of course not being able to run is not making things easier. I am glad though to see that after yesterday fast I am not famished today. Last night dinner was light at best and still I am feeling OK, so today I got a big salad for breakfast (yes, a salad for breakfast!) with 1/2 avocado and later I will have some strawberries. Life is good.

Decisions, Decisions
Today morning is cold and windy. Kenneth has a last class at his college. I need to get a haircut but then I am free so I could go biking but I am a wuss. I could go to the gym but I would lose time for driving. All these considerations and complications (of my own making) to get some movement into my life. 
So I checked the weather forecast and they say maybe hail? Now I won't be biking in that! What is more, I see pretty dark clouds on the horizon. That does it. No biking! 

Day's Finale
Rowed but only 5,422m. Felt sluggish. I know, it is my PMS now so all my workouts may look like that, meaning pathetic.
Food:  ate more than planned but still not too bad. The problem is cheese. We have it in the house = I eat it.
 

Sunscreen and Skin Cancer

I have always been skeptical about sun being such a villain. Our ancestors lived on hot African planes and some people still do and don't develop skin cancers. My theory is that it is not the amount of exposure but the suddenness of it that causes damage.  We spend hours on hours inside, covered top to bottom and when we go outdoors our skins are not conditioned to take all that sun. I can't possibly believe that mother nature would have overlooked something as basic as protection from the sun. What is more, I have always known that we needed sun to get vitamin D. Now why is that news now when I knew that way back when I was a kid in this primitive country of Poland? The concern then was that kids were not getting enough sun in winter months so were were given cod oil to drink (YUCK!) Most of my family, and I have a huge, extended family, lives on farms. None of my grand-aunts, grand-uncles, their kids and their kids has ever had any skin cancers. Nobody ever thought of protecting their skin from the sun. Sunscreen was unknown then and summers were way too hot to wear long sleeves. So their skins were gradually exposed to spring sun, then stronger summer sun, happily producing vitamin D. Many of my family lived long lives without broken bones either. 
Now my life is not like theirs. I spend too much time indoors to allow myself carefree exposure to sun rays. But it does bother me when I read reports that many sunscreens contain chemicals that are damaging to our bodies. It bothers me that FDA knew for years that vitamin A in sunscreens accelerates cancer growth and did not do anything about it. It bothers me that there are no truly reliable studies that prove sunscreens protect us from melanomas but we are being sold on buying sunscreen lotions as if it was certain they offer protection. 
There are several articles on the subject: 
this one about studies done by Environmental Study Group talks about vitamin A effects on cancer growth
and these two address issues with science behind sunscreens usefulness and dangerous chemicals in them.
I need to make a disclaimer that I often find Mother Jones website alarmist but now it seems there are other sources that validate concerns about sunscreens. 
So what am I going to do with all that? For one, I will be looking for as natural sunscreens as possible. I will be gradually exposing my skin to the sun especially in the spring so it is ready to handle the summer. I will stop listening to what industry tells me is good for me. I cannot possibly believe greedy corporations could have any interest in my well being.