My husband and I recently adopted a 5-month-old puppy named Stevie. She came to us with zero training, but the cutest little squishy face and sweet personality that would make even a non-dog lover melt. As she’s jumping on my back and eating my hair, messing in the house and chewing every household item that isn’t nailed down (and even…
Imagine the following: You’re eating a salad. But, this isn’t just any salad. This is your first salad on the first day of your new nutrition plan after years of yo-yo dieting, fast food drive-thrus and late-night snacking. You feel a sense of accomplishment in choosing this salad over the drive-thru or vending machine. That is until a well-meaning friend…
Thinking of consistently doing something or changing a habit for the next 362 days seems incredibly daunting no matter who you are. So how about shortening it up a bit? Instead of a New Year’s resolution, consider setting New Weeks’ resolutions. Each week, for the next 12 weeks, focus on one area that you’d like to improve. The beauty of…
If you have a fairly sedentary job, you may have noticed that it can be easy to let the pounds creep up. And it’s not just the prolonged sitting or job stress that influences our habits. Turns out our office mates can affect our choices, too. According to research by Cornell professor Brian Wansink (who also wrote the foreword for…
I feel like I say this every year, but I don’t know where the summer went. While fall may not be officially here, football is gearing up, summer festivals are winding down and school is back in session. Fall is my favorite season and is a great time to kick start, or restart, your healthy habits. It’s also the perfect…
I recently watched a documentary about the founders of a popular outdoor sportswear company where one of the founders noted, “when everything goes wrong, that’s when adventure starts.” I heard this at the perfect time – during a vacation to visit family in the Pacific Northwest where things didn’t go quite as planned. Prior to my trip, I had hoped…
“Good enough” rarely cuts it. If you were having surgery or your car were being repaired, you likely would not settle for good enough and would want to be as close to perfect as possible. But there are other times when good enough is, well, good enough. Take your meal or exercise plan, for example. Have you ever beaten yourself up for…
I don’t think I’ve ever actually been at the weight listed on my driver’s license. I’m not sure if it’s more of a vanity thing, or if I think I will one day reach this weight. Many of us have that certain magic number in mind when it comes to our weight. Maybe you’ve said or thought, “If I could…
This week I’m excited to have Jen Ede, Editor of TOPS News magazine and fellow TOPS member, as my special guest blogger. Get Your Inner Six-Year-Old to Eat Broccoli by Jen Ede Over the past year, I’ve done my fair share of adulting. For the most part, I eat right, I exercise often and I get enough rest. As a…