I know. It's NOT the new year...but I can't help it. September feels like it might as well be. And you know what happens over the summer. We get complacent. Lazy, even. The long days stretch out and all we want to do is luxuriate in the extra light and lounge as if we're laying on the beach (even if we're not). It's not a "bad" laziness, but rather a type of laissez-faire, laissez le bon … [Read more...] about Re-Setting Your Exercise Mojo
Health
Wondering About the TransFat Ban?
The word “fat” is so confusing – whether it be the type that we wear on our bodies or the type we put into our bodies. Good fats, bad fats, healthy fats, trans fats. What does it all mean? Let’s start with the one that’s been in the news lately – trans fat. A brief history: In the early 1900s a German chemist named Wilhelm Normann discovered a way to turn vegetable or fish oils from liquid … [Read more...] about Wondering About the TransFat Ban?
Pedaling Like Mad (and Getting Nowhere Fast)
“Let’s go to spin class together, mom! There’s a new Soul Cycle that opened in Westport.” How could I resist my darling 29-year-old son’s request? I’m an empty-nester, after all, and we don’t get to spend much one-on-one time together. Jonathan was planning on visiting for the day, and what better way to kick off the morning than with some high-energy exercise? I thought back nostalgically to … [Read more...] about Pedaling Like Mad (and Getting Nowhere Fast)
Five Ways to Enjoy a Pain-Free Vacation
You’ve looked forward to it all year…researched, planned and anticipated. It’s finally here - vacation time! And you’re determined not to let anything ruin it. Unfortunately, no matter how meticulously you plan, there are a lot of things that can derail a vacation. Some are simply out of your control – like delayed flights, lost luggage, and perhaps the most infamous of all – the weather. … [Read more...] about Five Ways to Enjoy a Pain-Free Vacation
Tylenol and Advil: Not Created Equal for Pain Relief
As we move merrily along into our so-called midlife, it's not uncommon to feel pesky, everyday aches and pains from things like headaches, back pain, arthritis, sciatica...the list goes on. Because I exercise pretty frequently, it's not unusual for me to feel pain from time to time (yes, I'll admit pushing myself beyond my reasonable limits every once in a while!). I suffer from sciatica pain … [Read more...] about Tylenol and Advil: Not Created Equal for Pain Relief
What Wake-Up Calls Teach Us
Not to be all depressing and morose, but this past week has been kind of sad. I've heard one bad story after another. A friend's 17-year-old daughter diagnosed with ovarian cancer; a cousin's 28-year old son's thyroid cancer diagnosis; a co-worker of my husbands with a blood disease so rare I've never heard of it nor can I pronounce it or understand just how the body can turn on itself that … [Read more...] about What Wake-Up Calls Teach Us
Fitness Expert Joel Harper: How To Train for a Half-Marathon
One of the most exciting and fulfilling things I recently did was complete my very first half-marathon. I never like to use this so-called midlife as an excuse not to do or try something new, but I must admit that I was a just bit wary that I might not be able to do it. But... I did it! And what a feeling of accomplishment that was. So now I'm anxious to spread the message that you can do it, … [Read more...] about Fitness Expert Joel Harper: How To Train for a Half-Marathon
When Nothing is Sure…Everything is Possible
Yesterday, I eavesdropped on Dame Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. “How many new lives can we have?” asked Ms. Dench. She answered her own question with the best five words I’ve heard in a long time: “As many as we’d like.” Lest you think I hang out in such royal company, I don’t. That question comes from the movie, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Have you seen it yet? I haven’t – my efforts … [Read more...] about When Nothing is Sure…Everything is Possible
Gotta Dance!
Do you like to dance? If you do, when is the last time you danced? Dance was a childhood passion that came to a pause long ago. As a young child, I was passionate about ballet dancing. The more lessons I took, the more I loved it and the more I excelled until my local teacher, Judy, recommended that I pursue more serious dancing at a more serious-type dance studio in New York City. I guess I … [Read more...] about Gotta Dance!
Why We All Need to Strength Train (and a giveaway, too!)
Having celebrated a big birthday recently has made me more sentimental about aging than normal. But with sentimentality comes complaints. Granted, they're not in a a "woe-is-me" kind of way- but with a bit more humor and irony attached to them. Humor? My feeling is that if we don't laugh about creaky joints, gray hair, diminishing eyesight, hearing and skin tone, then all that bitching becomes … [Read more...] about Why We All Need to Strength Train (and a giveaway, too!)