Are you confused by all of the seemingly conflicted nutritional advice out there? I know I am, and I’m a doctor. I actively seek out nutritional information and for the most part feel like I am well informed. Yet I still question my food choices. Both what I chose to eat for myself and my…
What did you do last weekend? I spent the whole weekend at a Masters swim meet. Sounds super fun doesn’t it? NOT. I almost didn’t go, but my husband was going to be away, and I figured instead of a weekend at home, my daughter and I could take a trip to Boston. She could…
Last weekend I ran a 10-mile race, the Mid-Winter Classic in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I realized afterward that it has been exactly three years since I received the call that changed my life. I remembered the race, three years ago. I did not compete, but my husband did. That year the race was a few…
Have you seen all the stuff about mindfulness and meditation out there? How could you miss it? Are you sick of hearing about it? Yeah, me too. I, probably like you, have been hearing about how great meditation is for a few years. And there are mountains of scientific data to back it up. It…
I have been struggling with blank page syndrome. I have tons of ideas about what I want to write about, and then when I sit down to do it, the blank page is staring at me. I cannot seem to get started. When I do finally start something, I don’t like it and don’t finish…
The new year is upon us. Time to reflect on the year that is over and consider what you want to accomplish in the year ahead. Otherwise known as New Year’s Resolutions. I have mixed feelings about NYRs. On one hand, NYRs are all about changing or establishing new habits, which is a good…
Did you see these headlines last week? The New York Times said, “Happiness Doesn’t Bring Good Health, Study Finds” and similarly, the Atlantic stated, “Happiness Doesn’t Help You Live Longer.” These headlines came from a study published in the Lancet last week on happiness and mortality. It was a large prospective study, which lends validity…
Losing weight inevitably requires changing eating and exercise habits. Interestingly, it’s not always a simple calculation of calories in vs. calories out. Fortunately, there are ways to achieve eating less without feeling deprived, and sometimes it is the time spent being still that is just as important as the time spent moving. Be mindful. There…
Happy and healthy go hand in hand. Happier people are healthier. They live longer, have less chronic disease, become sick less often, and if they do get sick, they get better faster. Being happy is clearly in our best interest, and we do have some control over our own happiness. We control approximately 40 percent…
Good sleep is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. When people think of healthy behavior, diet and exercise usually top the list. But it all starts with sleep. When you are well rested, not only do you feel better, you can handle life’s inevitable ups and downs more easily. You perform better at work or…