Avoid Being Stuffed, Like the Bird. From: Microsoft Images Why does giving thanks have to lead to food comas and indigestion?  While Thanksgiving dates back to a group of European settlers and Native Americans feasting over a plentiful harvest at Plymouth in 1621, most harvesting performed these days involves a bit less manual labor.  Rather, we’re driving over to the local supermarket and filling our carts with turkeys, pumpkin pie and the ingredients for mashed potatoes and

Is She Adding Years to Her Life? Image: stockimages, Freedigitalphotos.net Session Speakers: Dr. Ed Diener, leading “happiness” researcher & psychology professor, University of Illinois Elizabeth Somer, Registered Dietitian and author of books focusing on food and mood My Challenge To You: Do one of the following actions listed at the end of the post to naturally boost your happiness levels.  Then comment and tell me about how it went/how you felt. As I have worked with more

Best Green Curry Ever: I Made It! And a Snazzy Apron to Boot. I’ve been back from Thailand for almost two weeks now (time flies, sheesh!).  Here’s the second installation of my lessons learned from staying healthy when traveling to the other side of the world.  This post focuses on tips to stay healthy and happy while enjoying your vacation destination: Indulge in local treats rather than “usual” ones Thailand had many of the usual indulgences available, from ice cream to Ore

Kayaking in Railay Bay Howdy everyone, I just returned from beautiful (and sometimes rainy) Thailand!  Two weeks of amazing fun with the woman that I love, and am now married to!  We spent one week trekking around, exploring a friendly, welcoming country full of history and nature (including monkeys and elephants).  The other week was spent relaxing (and climbing, kayaking, etc.) on the confines of a pristine beach surrounded by natural limestone cliffs. Needless to say, I wa

Getting Married: A Game Changer? Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net I’m getting married on Sunday, yay!  I’ll be away for the next few weeks (will be back end of Sept.) but wanted to leave you with a post that’s relevant to my current situation and applicable to us all during many other times in life.  Are you prepared for game changers? Imagine you’ve started eating healthier (soup and salads a few days per week at lunch, cooking healthy dinners at home, preparing snacks on Sunday

Whole Wheat: Friend or Foe? Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net *Warning: A long post, but please stick with me here and let me know what you think. Gluten-free foods have become all the rage the past five years, from quinoa pasta to rice-based crackers.  Many people swear by eating gluten-free: more focus, weight loss, greater energy, you name it.  But do you really need to give up gluten entirely?  Understanding the causes of and differences (or lack thereof) between gluten intole

The Brain Behind the Blog I want to provide you with a look into what’s going on in my brain (scary!) when I’m creating training programs for my clients.  Because if you can learn and  understand the basic tenets of creating effective workouts and exercise routines, the more empowered you will be to stay active, healthy and most importantly, injury-free! This post is focused on my general training philosophy, not necessarily specific exercises.  While this post is a bit more

A Pill a Day? Or Eat Better and Exercise? Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net With the recent FDA approval of two new weight-loss drugs, Qsymia and Belviq, I wanted to briefly discuss the potential benefits and risks of the existing FDA-approved weight loss medications (yes, by prescription) which are: Qsymia Belviq Xenical (Orlistat) and its smaller-dosed, over-the-counter (OTC) equivalent: Alli. Yep, until about two months ago, the only other weight-loss drug on the market was app

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net It is entirely possible to eat all day and lose weight.  The key is what you choose to eat. When you eat, your body’s goal is to get all of the necessary nutrients (carbs, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and water) into your system regardless of the number of calories you consume.  Of course you must eat a minimum number of calories to keep your body functioning properly, but the calories themselves are just one variable. The other important fact

Even Small Steps Lead You Toward Your Destination Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net Most of us want to live a little bit better.  Be a little stronger.  Look a little better.  Feel a little more in control.  We can talk about how we need to go to the gym more eat less “junk food”…while sitting around and eating chips.  Our logical minds know we should do something better…but somehow we still don’t do anything about it.  Why? Keeping the status quo is easier, because that requires

Burning Calories? Not So Much. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net Many of us are spending more and more time at work these days, getting in early or staying late to deal with increasing demands. As a result, we’re eating more meals away from home, which can often lead to non-ideal nutrition decisions, especially if we go many hours between meals. Paired with an increasing rate of sedentary jobs (a.k.a. jobs where we do little more than sit on our butts and type all day),

Dancing…Fun For the Whole Family! Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net For many of us, spending time with friends or family means food.  Hey, we’ve gotta eat, right?  So why not do it with others?  In fact, a relationship-building book was written about it, “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi. But what are we usually eating when we socialize with others?  Salads and green smoothies?  Or buffet-style pot lucks with a few glasses of wine or beer?  Or a three course dinner at a restaura

Is this from all day, or just dinner? Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net America sure likes its dinner.  While other countries view lunch as the biggest meal of the day and dinner as a “don’t go to bed hungry” snack, our busy schedules don’t give us a chance to breathe or eat until 6, 7, 8 PM.  And then the feast is on! I’ve talked to a number of people whose daily eating habits sound like riding a roller coaster: Wake up not very hungry – Maybe a piece of toast and some coffee

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Making an exercise harder is easy: do more reps, choose a heavier weight, go faster, etc.  But some of the most “basic” exercises such as pushups or squats are beyond the ability a number of people.  And I’m not just talking about the ability to do it…I’m also talking about the ability to do it right.  My time working at Hospital for Special Surgery and Hamilton Health and Fitness over the past year has given me an even greater appreciatio

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Obesity is an epidemic and because of this, most of the research out there focuses on weight loss.  However I wanted to provide a shout out to those who have trouble gaining weight.  While many of us may view “hard gainers” (the title given to those who need to work to gain weight) as people with a “good” problem, talk to any of them and you will find out that they have just as many frustrations involved in gaining 15 to 20 pounds as

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The weather is getting warmer, birds are chirping, April showers are falling and spring cleaning is in full effect for many of us throughout the house…kitchen included!  During this time we may be looking to renew our commitment to eating better by tossing out all of the high sugar, salt laden tempting foods lurking in our fridges, freezers and pantries.  Soda, cookies, candy bars, chips and highly processed frozen meals/pizzas to name a f

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Newton was a smart guy.  Knew a lot about physics and why things move.  Little did he know that I would take is exquisitely simple, yet effective laws of motion and apply it to not just why things move…but why we move, or not.  Today is his first law, which states: “Every body [he always knew!] persists in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force

Image: imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net These words are used so often in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of frustration in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll see that the words themselves can provide a renewed sense of meaning to our journey towards eating better and being physically active. Today’s word:

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net These words are used so often in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of frustration in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll see that the words themselves can provide a renewed sense of meaning to our journey towards eating better and being physically active. Today’s word: Moderati

Image: nixxphotography / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Over the next few blog posts, I will be discussing three of the most commonly despised, yet misunderstood words in the health and wellness field.  These words have been used so much in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of dread in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle.  But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll se