Having an active holiday season is what I remember most from my childhood. Rolling-up huge boulders out on the snow-covered lawn in an effort to build an abominable snowman or digging out forts to prepare for a snowball fight are some of my favorite pastimes.

[An oldie but a goodie, this funny comic gets me every winter:)]

But as we grow older and accumulate different responsibilities, maintaining our physical and mental well-being can be difficult through the winter holidays. Throw in shorter daylight hours and we can often find ourselves huddled in our house – or at a shopping mall – stressed out from the holiday pressures of buying presents, attending parties and eating too many of those rich and creamy holiday deserts! Chocolate panatone, I think I love you… Bah humbug we say.

Not so fast! The Christmas season doesn’t have to be an unhealthy time of year. Instead, here are 8 ways to keep you active and healthy during the winter holidays: (more…)

There are countless weight loss articles providing you with tips to avoiding food temptations. Sure, having healthy food choices on hand is one way to fight the urge to reach for an unhealthy snack but… temptation is everywhere! Vending machines, grocery check-outs, lunch rooms, shopping mall food courts, need I continue? Finding something high in fat, sugar, and calories is far easier than we realize.

[An artisty take on Adam and Eve's apple temptation story. If this isn't photoshopped then double kudos to the photographer!]

It seems advertisers have been utilizing images of tasty dishes to persuade people to buy their products forever. However, do I really get week in the knees when I see a picture of a succulent, juicy, well-seasoned burger? Not even close and it sounds like I may not be alone. According to researchers in the Netherlands, food temptation might in fact strengthen one’s self-control. (more…)

If you missed Part 1, click here. Welcome to Part 2…

Between making A) fat much easier to keep off and B) the noticeable increase in mentality acuity after a couple weeks, I’ve almost completely convinced myself on life with dramatically less alcohol.

I am now on another no booze challenge of 60 days, and this is simply to test my own willpower and resolve, and if there are any other noticeable changes.

Now that I am used to the whole “No, thanks I’m not drinking” line, I am able to have more fun with it. At a birthday party at my friend’s condo this past Saturday, everyone was raising their glasses for a photo and I decided to pick up and raise a Palmolive container instead.

[I remember cheap pitcher nights in university. Unfortunately pillow-top mountain was replaced with sprawl- across-the-bathroom-floor valley!]

The important thing is to not be the Debbie Downer of every social engagement like a lot of non-drinkers are.

All in all, what I have learned more than anything else during this challenge is that drinking is almost laughably not worth it.

That’s a lesson I wish someone would have beat into me during my early and mid-20s. It may have saved me six dozen hangovers and more than a few conversations that started with, “I did WHAT last night?!?”

(more…)

On June 14th when I decided to give up alcohol of any kind for 30 days I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

Originally, the goal of this challenge was to experiment with my body to witness what, if any, affect the absence of even the limited amount of alcohol that I do consume would have on my overall health.

However, this challenge quickly evolved into a battle of wills and the ultimate social experiment before I could say, “I’ll have a virgin Pina Colada please“.

[Sure sheep are cute, and love to party, but it's best to climb out of the pen and think for yourself]

I never realized what a central role “drinks” play in our everyday social environment. When I posted the idea for my challenge here, I received a message from a couple of people undergoing the same challenge.

A Facebook friend said when she read my initial post she believed she was the last person to ever use alcohol as a social crutch, yet during her own 30 day challenge she found herself avoiding all social situations that involved drinking (aka most of them). She said she’d rather “avoid temptation then to suffer through it“.

As I contemplated her message I wondered:

“Are many of us really so eager for group approval that something as “everyday” as alcohol has such an enormous impact on how we function socially?”

Unfortunately, it appears the answer is an inebriated and slurred “yes”!

(more…)