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At this time of year there tends to be a lot of leftovers in the fridge, cookies in tins and jars, and sweets out on display in living rooms as a result of holiday festivities.

In my extended Italian family, instead of rhyming off all of Santa’s reindeer, I would go around the cookie trays and name all the homemade delectables that family members would offer up. Come Panatone, Pandoro, Caggionetti… now amaretti, pizelle, terrone, and on nuchata, sicilian cannolis and biscotti.

[You either like Venetian or Sicilian when it comes to cannolis. There's nothing more polarizing in an Italian cookie argument.]

Don’t worry about pronouncing them, “just try one” would be the answer from my family. As if cravings weren’t difficult enough to handle without 20 different homemade dessert varieties staring me in the face!

Where do these urges come from?

Cravings can result from many different factors including: (more…)

Let’s all admit one thing right from the start: It’s so much more enjoyable to complete a cardio workout through a game or sport then by traditional means.

 
[HINT: The sport I'm talking about in this post is a close relative to tennis. Err... excuse me sir, you have something stuck in your back!]

Forget treadmills, ellipticals, step-machines, or whatever other piece of equipment you’ll find at your local gym. I’d rather be testing my physical abilities, or lack thereof, opposite another person or group of people playing basketball, soccer, football, or ultimate frisbee to name a few.

But mainstream sports aside, today’s article is about a sport that suffers from a reputation as a pastime for only the elite in society. How ironic is it then that it was likely invented by prisoners in the 19th century? You can find the complete history lesson over at Wikipedia.

What Sport Am I?

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Anybody else overwhelmed about the information regarding H1N1 this past month? It’s practically impossible to escape the crush of swine flu related facts and vaccination options. No matter the medium, be it the Internet, TV, radio, we’ve been overloaded with information regarding this pandemic and it seems to be a popular conversation with just about anybody you talk to these days.

Worst of all, the amount of email forwards I receive on a daily basis where poor Piglet is getting abused by Winnie the Pooh and company!

[Seems like something out of a movie but this was Mexico earlier this year!]

One thing to remember in all of this hoopla is the media and how they always reports things that go wrong, but rarely seem to find enough ink to talk about things that go right. Therefore, we hear about and subsequently pay more attention to the few people who ended up very sick or unfortunately died from the swine flu than the many people who successfully recovered from the swine flu.

What should you be doing?

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This time of year always makes me feel more tired and exhausted. It’s come to the point where Daylight Savings is circled on my calendar like a family members’ birthday! During my office work days, I can remember my visits to Tim Horton’s – the Canadian version of Starbucks – increasing as the weather changed and so many things starting up again.

[Once someone yawns, it's like an open-mouth game of dominoes. We all fall down...]

Just thinking about all the activities we commit our time to – job, kids going back to school, fundraisers, driving kids around to extra-curriculars like hockey or piano lessons – makes us all feel so fatigued.

Je suis fatiguee, but why?

Pardon my french, but it’s one of my first french phrases I learned back in elementary school and I couldn’t resist – translation: I’m tired. The U.S. National Institutes of Health defines fatigue as “a feeling of weariness, tiredness or lack of energy.” Some causes of fatigue include stress, overwork and not enough sleep. Fatigue is differentiated from drowsiness or sleepiness but fatigue is often accompanied by a desire to sleep. (more…)

We’ve all had our fair share of stressful moments in life. Looking back, some events may seem silly now (a grade 10 science exam, who cares about memorizing the periodic table?) while others were monumental like a driving test or your first job interview.

It doesn’t get any easier as we grow older with financial burdens, relationships, or a loved one’s illness making life particularly challenging and frustrating along the way.

[Oh my god... this poor girl is so stressed her tongue turned into a...remote control? What the hell is that thing?] 

The idea for this article was conceived during my last trip to the grocery store and walking by the magazine stands. September is “back-to-school” season in most parts of the world and there was no shortage of article headlines talking about stress: how to cope with stress or try these stress blasting workouts or the best stress busting exercises uncovered and well… you get the picture.

The Reality of Stress and Weight Gain

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Everyone can do it, but so few people know how to do it well. Breathing is something we just do!

It’s not something talked about in great lengths in main stream media or print but if you’re into activities like Yoga or meditation (which I’m starting to take a liking too) then you can appreciate the many benefits of breathing better and taking note of your improved physical and mental well-being.

[Found this pic along with a bunch of other cool underwater shots at H2o Photography . I always wondered what it would be like to breathe underwater and the possibilities of possessing this super power. I'm such a comic book geek... ]

I know in my own past experiences and of some of those around me, that life’s challenges can be overwhelming at times, and can result in the development of poor breathing habits which in turn can lead to stress and declining health.

Many researchers have observed that over time, we tend to develop short, shallow breathing patterns replacing the slow, deep belly (diaphragmatic) breathing that most (if not all) of us started with as children. This could impair skeletal muscle and metabolic function, and lead to muscle atrophy and exercise intolerance.

Can Better Breathing Really Help?

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