Summer is coming! Get your body beach ready

• 0 • Live Well

No. I’m not talking swimsuit ready.

You know how to get your body swimsuit ready. You buy a swimsuit and you put it on.

I’m talking BEACH ready.

20160612c

Fitness is about what your body can do, not how your body looks.

Our desire to look attractive on the beach stems from a hope for connection, which I can sympathize with, but why do we want to look good?

So we can attract someone fun to have fun with.

But most of the people I know who have found people to have fun with don’t look like airbrushed models on beach-body-ready advertisements. Looks shouldn’t be the focus; they’re not a true prerequisite for connection and fun.

Are you ready to paddle, swim and haul?

Being beach ready should have nothing to do with what we LOOK like on the beach, and everything to do with how to get all our picnic items, beach chairs, and beach toys down to the beach and still have energy left for body surfing.

Think about how much further you could paddle that kayak this summer if you started lifting some weights now.

Glorious thought, isn’t it?

What if you could haul all your stuff down to the beach in one trip?

You know that working out makes you stronger and increases endurance, right?

Forget about how your arms look and think about how much #$(* you have to CARRY TO THE BEACH.

Don’t “tone”. Strengthen.

Think about what you want to do this summer, and use your spring training to get ready to have some fun 🙂

20150218c

IMG_4564c

fireworksc

IMG_4363c

IMG_4300c

20160821c

20160821 - Wake board 17c

IMG_4308c

Focus on what matters! Happy Spring training everyone 🙂

 

Exciting News!

• 0 • Live Well

Baby, baby, baby, baby, BABY!!!!

gbaby

I have a new nephew!

He was born yesterday (you can’t say that about everyone) and I can’t wait to go up to Maine to meet him this weekend.

He was named after my grandfather, who got to hold him in the hospital a few hours after his birth.

May he inherit my grandfather’s thoughtfulness, brilliance, curiosity about the world and even temperament.

In other wonderful news, I am now made of beer.

IMG_9850c

I donate blood, and when I do that I like to replace it ounce for ounce with beer within 12 hours. (You are not supposed to do this, you’re supposed to wait 24, so please don’t try this at home.)

By my calculations, I have now donated my entire body’s worth of blood. (9 donations = 9 pints, average adult holds 8-10 pints of blood.)

That means I have finally replaced all of my blood with beer and can visit Seattle without worrying about friends of the Cullens. #twilightreference

I also may have helped up to 27 different blood donor recipients, maybe even in an emergency situation since I’m a universal donor (O-) and the blood they reach for when they don’t know a recipient’s type.

Kind of cool.

If you’re wondering what kind of beer I am, I’m an IPA.

If you’re wondering how you can donate blood, you can find out more and schedule a donation at redcross.org.

February Break

• 0 • Live Well

20170224 - Feb_Break 01-2c

Enjoying the last of our February vacation up in Maine near family!

We had dinner out just the two of us in Portland while the kids spent the night at their grandparents.

They went sledding at sunset with cousins.

We visited all four great-grandparents.

I went to a spin class taught by my sister-in-law.

We sat in the evening sipping port and talking to my in-laws after they’d read to their grandsons and put them to bed.

I went for long solo walks on the beach, and fun family seaweed filled walks too.

It was amazing.

It’ll be hard to go back to the morning school routine. Rushing around, packing lunches. Carline.

I like sipping coffee until nine while the kids run around in pajamas and then walking down to the ocean before going to see my grandparents. It’s pretty amazing.

I’m trying to remember that I also like dropping the kids off at school and having some blissful hours to myself.

Which you know I’ll be spending in class. Aquasport? Vinyasa yoga? The laundry will do itself, I’m sure of it.

I’m even thinking about taking up running. Any of you run? 😉

Hope you had a wonderful February break if it applies, and make the transition back easier by remembering the things you love about your normal routine! If you can’t think of any, it’s time to incorporate meditation, a piece of chocolate, cup of tea, phone call with friend, a good book, or Jimmy Fallon lip sync videos into your schedule.

Or whatever makes you happy 🙂

20170224 - Feb_Break 04c 20170224 - Feb_Break 05c

New Year’s Eve! Resolution Brainstorm

• 0 • Live Well

oceansnow2

Happy New Year’s Eve!

We’re in Maine enjoying being near family and the ocean. We’ve been sledding, making snow dragons (my parents gave Andrew THE cutest sand/snow kit from LL Bean) and enjoying a week away from the normal routines.

oceansnow1

I love New Year’s because a) champagne and b) New Year’s Resolutions.

I. Love. Resolutions.

My heart sings when I think about finding a goal for improving life somehow. Big or little. I love the communal tradition of believing things can be a bit better and the New Year is a great time to start.

It doesn’t mean you’re not happy with yourself or your life; I’ve read anti-resolution rhetoric about accepting who you are, and YES accept and love yourself. But also accept that you have the power to make something in your life better. To embrace one of your personal strengths or passions and find a way for that part of yourself to shine through.

What will I do this year? 

Make more of my own non-toxic house cleaners? Try 10 different homemade granola recipes? Try every class at my gym at least once?

Maybe a relationship goal, like having coffee with a friend at least once a month, or hosting a game night at least four times in 2017.

The trick to enjoying resolutions is finding ideas that make you excited and happy, and then setting reasonable goals.

I love New Year’s Resolutions so much because I use them as a springboard to do something I really want to do anyway, I just haven’t gotten to yet. I’ve never chosen something I didn’t really want to do. Those are the resolutions where the backlash against resolutions makes sense.

But what if I need to do something I don’t want to do, to protect my health?

Ok. Maybe there’s a place for the New Year to help you turn a new leaf. But consider how to make them as positive as possible. Instead of saying you’re going to give up doughnuts for breakfast, have a goal of trying one new breakfast smoothie recipe a week, or find a whole-grain muffin recipe you absolutely love.

Me in 2017

I want to continue to work on my swimming and have a great Tri for a Cure in July. I want to do more vegan volunteer work. I’d like to plan more meals (using lighter.world!) and read out loud more to my kids in the afternoon, not just at bedtime. I want to host a local Cowspiracy screening, and write more regularly for Sustainable Wellesley.

I guess I want 2017 to be more of the same, just better! I’ve found my path, and I love it. Finding micro-goals within my themes will be fun, and I plan to mull them over with champagne tonight and get excited for the New Year 🙂

Wishing you a wonderful 2017!

A Good Night’s Sleep Starts With How You Wake Up; A Quick Tip

• 1 • Live Well

Want to sleep better?

It may help to get outside first thing in the morning. Your ability to fall asleep at night and sleep well is linked to your circadian rhythm, which is hormonally triggered by light.

Getting at least some exposure to outside light between 6:30 and 8 a.m. may be particularly helpful in getting your body to fully wake up in the morning, which allows it to produce and use its daytime hormone cortisol in time to make way for the nighttime hormone melatonin.

Shawn Stephenson

I learned this little tidbit (among others) listening to Shawn Stephenson on the Rich Roll podcast. He’s the author of Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success.

It was a great podcast (I listened to it on my long run yesterday) and a lot of his tips were pretty manageable. Especially for us morning runners who are often outside anyway!

I highly recommend checking out the podcast, and I’ve already reserved the book at the library. If it’s added incentive, Shawn has a lovely voice and personality to match. It made the miles fly by… and I wasn’t flying.

Go For The Low Hanging Fruit

One thing I loved that Shawn kept saying about his own journey towards health was that he’d always start by going for the “low-hanging fruit”. The most obvious, easiest changes first.

That’s such a great strategy, because it’s easy to get overwhelmed by self-help books and internet advice. But we can usually find some low-hanging fruit. It’s easier for me to add going outside in the morning for 10 minutes every day to my routine than it is for me to stop reading in bed. That’s what Shawn would call a “pain point”, something that is hard to give up even if there’s evidence it’d be healthier for you.

So reading in bed is my pain point. I can get exposure to morning light. Use the “night” setting on my iphone and put it away 90 minutes before going to bed. Stop drinking coffee by mid-morning. These are low-hanging fruits for me.

I recommend checking out Shawn’s work and finding your own low-hanging fruit.

Who isn’t better when they’re rested?!