Do it like it’s your job!

I understand that changing our health habits can be challenging at times. One of the pet peeves of my job is when clients cancel their appointments – and it’s probably not for the reason that you’re thinking. Its not because I’m not getting paid for that time that I’ve scheduled; it’s because when clients cancel their appointments, it means that they’re not following through with the plan. When clients don’t follow the plan, they don’t see results. When they don’t see results, they wonder why they’re spending so much money on my services and not seeing results. When they don’t see results, they figure that I’m just another ‘diet’ or workout that didn’t work for them. And then they quit. I’ve recently had a string of cancellations from several clients, and so I started thinking about my own health habits. I started thinking about ‘when was the last time I Read More . . .

Feel Better About Yourself: Stop Reading Magazines

Last month, Gary & I went on a short road-trip vacation. Because there wasn’t a lot to do in the town (and I wasn’t currently reading a book), I decided to buy a magazine – I think it was Redbook. It was a guilty pleasure because I used to read a LOT of magazines, but over the years have slowly weaned myself off of them. Yes, I used to read a lot of magazines! It all started with Seventeen, and then I moved on to Glamour & Cosmopolitan. Then, when I started taking better care of myself,  losing weight, and started bodybuilding, I couldn’t get enough: Fitness, Health, Self, Oxygen, Women’s Health, Fitness Rx. OMG! I think the list goes on & on. I was always looking for that little nugget of information that was going to flip the switch; make my life different, make me lose the weight I Read More . . .

The Quality of Your Diet is Revealed at the Grocery Store Check-Out

Have I mentioned that I’m cheap? Well, I don’t want to say "cheap" because I truly believe that you get what you pay for. I don’t like spending money – (okay, that’s better!). I don’t have grocery coupons down to a science like the Economides Family, and honestly never really understood them, but on Sundays I look through the ads of the Sunday paper circular. I don’t really know why I look through the coupons, the stores don’t supply coupons for the foods that I buy. Maybe it’s a curiosity of "What new and evil processed food have manufacturers dreamed up now? And how are they marketing it as ‘not so bad’ to unsuspecting consumers?" Next time you look at any food advertising that you get in the mail, or along with a paper, notice the types of products that they’re advertising. All coupons are for processed foods: microwaveable meals, Read More . . .

Where the Sidewalk Ends

When I was a kid, I remember having this really cool book of poems by Shel Silverstein called Where the Sidewalk Ends. I loved this book because it addressed things that kids care about: boogers, & daydreaming, & annoying brothers & sisters, just to name a few. I grew up in a suburb just West of Chicago. Every street had a sidewalk on both sides. I remember looking at the drawing on the cover of the book, thinking, "That’s silly. Sidewalks don’t end. There are sidewalks EVERYWHERE." And to me, there were. Now I live in Austin, Texas. I moved here about 7.5 years ago. I run on the streets in my neighborhood & surrounding areas. I wear a Road ID because I’m afraid of getting clipped by some distracted driver, and since I run from my home, I don’t carry ID or keys with me. So, you might ask, Read More . . .

3 pounds

One of my guilty pleasures is that I watch Oprah. No, I'm usually not home at that time of the day, but thank goodness for DVRs so that I can record it; saves a lot of time skipping over commercials, but also, if I'm not interested in the topic being aired that day, I'll just delete it. Yesterday she had Gwyneth Paltrow & Mario Batali on her show to promote a new series that is coming out where Gwyneth & Mario travel around Spain eating their hearts out. The first segment of the show was an interview with Gwyneth about her workout routine (see the video). I can only imagine that they did that so that America wouldn't curse Gwyneth after seeing her eating her way through Spain; giving rise to the fact that no one gets a free ride as far as the calorie formula goes – Calories In Read More . . .

I’m just not that important

I was just reading this article about how "Cell Phones Blur Boundaries Between Work and Home", and I think it's true. It seems like many many years ago, but when I started my first business, EDK Enterprises, in 1996, I also got my first cell phone. I loved it when it rang. It was almost like a toy. I was so in touch – so available. My business was important. I was important. But then I was trying to sell myself. I needed to be available because if I wasn't, then maybe someone else would be. But then to put it into perspective, in 1996 I was 28 years old, and still trying to play "grown up". My biggest fear was everyone pointing at me and saying "Fraud". I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but riding the train, and getting a call allowed me to pretend that Read More . . .