healthy and beautiful

Last night, on Instagram, I read a blogger’s caption for her photo. It read “New year, same food.   My eating doesn't change just because it's January first.” I say, good for her. She’s probably one of those people who says “I’m thankful every day” on Thanksgiving. Call me a cliché’ (I’ve been called worse) but I love a clean slate; I'm not shy about my glee when goal setting.   I’m not suggesting “whole new you” type aspirations.   I like the majority of myself; however, I am perpetually tweaking. If you’re feeling resolutiony, here’s how I’d channel your newfound motivation. Be a creature of freshness I can’t find the right, uplifting word that’s the opposite of habit. Habits and routines are great but monotony is not. Especially in the wellness realm, mixing it up is vital. Kale all day and night would make me find a new profession. What do you want to try in 2017? You can experiment anywhere. Maybe it’s a new form of self-care. I believe I’ve written about my adoratio...

I realize she's not a "company" but some find this humor offensive For some reason, I’ve encountered multiple accounts of sobriety lately. My friend Aidan Donnelley hosted Elizabeth Vargas for one of her “Happier Hour” book events. Elizabeth’s book tells her story about anxiety and alcoholism. Aidan has written about and been fairly public with her sobriety as well. I also read Love Warrior , Glendon Doyle Melton’s memoir. And most recently, a friend turned me on to the Home podcast, specifically an episode about eating and addiction. The nutritionist interviewed tells her story about her issues with alcohol. I think the topic of women and alcohol is an important one. I know, from years of counseling, that for many people alcohol may not be a major problem but it’s not a non-issue either. A lot of clients worry about their drinking, being open and having conversations privately or publicly is vital. I come to the table from a slightly different vantage point. I like a coc...

Meditation stresses me out.  While I’m fully on board with all meditation can do for me, I couldn’t find a way to work it into my life. Some people meditate first thing in the morning. That’s great but I like to write at that time. Others suggest meditating before bed but at that point, I just want to go to bed. I’ve spent money on apps and programs and nothing stuck until my most recent discovery. One of my favorite things in life is a sauna. I love the dry heat and the quiet. I find it to be one of the most relaxing things but I don’t have a sauna at home. I do have a steam shower, which was never my thing (more of a bath girl). Marc insisted on it when we renovated. I’ve slowly come around and find it sauna-esque, now I set the steam for 10 minutes whenever I shower. I’ve been pretty anxious the last couple of weeks. It’s nothing major but the usual not enough hours in the day stuff that comes with the kids being back in their routines and work kicking up for me....

We had our first taste of summer yesterday with 80-degree weather in NYC. We also sent our April newsletter featuring some new Foodtrainers’ favorite products . Snickerdoodle almond butter sound interesting? In the newsletter, we announced our May Pre-Summer Squeeze Program These programs have been an unexpected hit. We pride ourselves on providing reasonable, doable, livable advice. What we’ve found is that while that works week in and week out there is a time for a push. And there has to be something better than a juice cleanse. After our most recent program, we asked participants for words to describe how they felt. They said: “virtuous, healthy and slim” “disciplined, energized, proud” “in control, leaner and lighter” “empowered, more in tune with myself” “back on track” “much, much better” We are offering two 10-day Squeeze sessions this May. You don’t have to be in NYC as it’s all email based May 9 th -18 th  Carolyn will Squeeze you May 16 th -24 th lauren will Squeeze you I...

Dreaming of owning one of these  Tell me you’ve heard of Story. I thought the word is out but I still come across many people who don’t know about it. I describe story as a rotating pop-up but it isn’t a pop up in that it doesn’t pop down (that made no sense).   Every month or so the entire inventory of the shop changes based on a theme. If you haven’t been, you really should check it out before the Feel Good Story closes on February 28 th . Story teamed up with Cigna to help New Year’s resolutions come to life. Carolyn and I were lucky enough to attend a breakfast at the store. The store is divided into sections. There was a food section with curated snacks and cookbooks. I spy moon juice goodies Technology also figures prominently in the offerings. The piece de resistance was clearly Cigna’s meditation pod. And I must apologize to Cigna. Prior to the event, I hadn’t given Cigna much thought. However, as we chatted up the Cigna folks, we learned how cutting edge (yup Cigna is...

Our newsletter today focuses on healthy rituals. We culled top food and fitness experts for their daily rituals and the answers were inspiring (and funny).   Some responses were too in depth for our monthly newsletter and so we’ll feature them here this week. In the meantime, the newsletter also mentioned those rituals you wish you did which we call “wishuals”. Meditation has been a wishual for me for some time. I think it’s been a New Year’s resolution.   I’ve polled my Facebook friends to find out their favorite meditation teachers,  I even went to an intro session on transcendental meditation (the twice a day requirement and weird cult-like infomercial ruined it for me).   This past summer, I registered for a meditation retreat at The Garrison Institute retreat taught by Jack Kornfield (who I had heard about as I own one of his books). But I didn’t go; I didn’t read the book or attend classes either.   And if New Year’s resolutions were superstitions, I’d be...

Recently I saw a client* I hadn’t met with in some time. We first connected years ago; she was single and traveling a lot for work. In fact, our very first session was the day before she was leaving for a 3-week trip.  I devised a plan but would be lying if I said I had confidence she would make many of the changes while away. At our next meeting she proved me wrong. She had left my office that first day and picked up the non-perishable items we discussed. While away she found a pool to swim in for exercise and had the hotel prepare food for her long workdays and erratic schedule. She proved to me that when you’re ready you can do “healthy” anywhere. Our check-ins continued for years. She faced challenges and loss, had professional twists and turns and more recently got married and had a baby. Though every stage even if she was diverted she returned to her wellness, to the habits and systems she created. And yes, though there were fluctuations the weight she lost when she first sta...

Big problems and stress.  Image: healthonabudget.com Everyone has experienced the pressure and stress ; even the happiest person also must have experienced it. Every person basically has been blessed with stress blocker feature in their brain. Workload, financial problem, and personal issues or family problems can be triggers of stress. Even though everyone is trying to avoid the pressure coming, but not everyone is able to cope with their problems.  If the pressure was coming too often, then you need to take certain actions, so that stress does not attack your immune system. Reducing the stress in your life will take a lot of reflection and action, but it will be worth it. There are some smart steps you can take so that you can reduce the stress in your life, so that you can be passionate to perform all of your activities.  Please continue reading and get tips and solutions as mentioned below: 1.     Before you can move forward, you need to be able to id...