Category: health

Circadian Rhythms

lissa10279Leave a comment

Happy New Year!! I hope you had a wonderful time last night and look forward to posting regularly here at least three times a week … starting … now!

When I lived in El Salvador, I had the world’s best work schedule.

I had just finished grad school at my alma mater (American University) and I didn’t have a job lined up. Luis and I had been dating long-distance international for over a year and wanted to experience living together for a bit, so I moved to El Salvador for eight months and taught English at a private language academy where I made $3/hour and was worked to.the.core.

That said, the schedule — while grueling — was the best because it gave me a ton of freedom and let me capitalize on my own energy levels … something I find myself longing for a lot these days. Continue reading “Circadian Rhythms” →

Advertisement

100 Day Challenge

lissa102795 Comments

My friend (and trainer/Zumba instructor!) created a private Facebook group called the 100 Day Challenge: 100 Days to a Healthier Me. We’re encouraged to post recipes, workouts of the day, photos of us in workout gear, motivational phrases, etc. It’s a great idea and I’m 100% behind it. It’s essentially a three-month-commitment to health and wellness.

And the timing is perfect. As you know, I’ve recently recommitted myself to moving a little more and eating a little better. Nothing earth-shattering or monumental: no over-exercising, no restricting … just awareness and and accountability. Continue reading “100 Day Challenge” →

Pregnant in Lulu

lissa1027911 Comments

* Note: this is NOT a sponsored post.

Oh, Rosie Pope … Pregnant in Heels? No thanks. I prefer Pregnant in Lulu. 🙂

About a year ago, I made my first lululemon purchase. At the time, I loved my totally cute and functional Target and Old Navy workout gear, and was sickened at the thought of dropping so much money on a pair of crops for the gym … It just seemed insane.

But I had a little extra play money for a trip to Chicago and figured, what the hell. Let me see what this much-beloved brand is all about. Would it make me want to retire all my other gear and become a brand advocate? I didn’t think so.

Sigh.

It was love at first luon (one of lululemon’s signature fabrics).

Within a month, I’d consigned all my old gear and was full-fledged on the lulu bandwagon. Continue reading “Pregnant in Lulu” →

Combating Emotional Eating … Hmmm, No Thanks.

lissa102792 Comments

It shouldn’t surprise anyone — as I’ve discussed it here before on numerous occasions — but for as far as I’ve come in my journey and relationship with food, I’m still an emotional eater. Yes, I just admitted that.  That  issue hasn’t gone away.

The difference is now, I just manage it better … i.e., I move on. I don’t over-exercise to compensate, I don’t restrict to compensate, I don’t berate myself to compensate, and I don’t talk about food  incessantly to compensate. Continue reading “Combating Emotional Eating … Hmmm, No Thanks.” →

Oh, Sweet Nap

lissa102791 Comment

Happy Easter to all who celebrate! And hope all “my peeps” are having a good Passover! As a multi-ethnic, interfaith family, we celebrate it all! Religious aspects of either holiday aside, the real meaning of these holidays (to me) is about being with family and friends. If we teach Maya nothing else, I hope she knows how loved she is, and how steeped in familiar love our different but equally important traditions are. Now to today’s post …

—

As a new mom, older, wiser women will tell you, (among a myriad of other things) “Nap when the baby naps!”

Well, Maya is 2 1/4 now and in those 2 1/4 years, I have successfully napped … zero times. Not even kidding. It’s not that I haven’t tried ... it’s just that 1) there are a million things I always felt I needed to tend to during that quiet time and 2) I’ve never been able to turn it off. [“It” being the brain that thinks 24/7 about what it could be doing/should be doing/wants to be doing/feels guilty about not doing.]

I was never a napper before Maya came along anyway (naps seemed like a giant waste of time to me back then — haha!), but ever since becoming a mom, I have literally longed for and dreamed about the day when I could just turn “it” off and lay the heck down and sleep! It just seemed too big a fantasy to actually come to fruition.

Until today, you see. Continue reading “Oh, Sweet Nap” →

5 Reasons To Dine Out With Your Toddler

lissa102793 Comments

Note: I originally submitted this to Babble but they said they had too many pieces touching on a similar topic. So on my blog it goes 🙂

——————-

The scenario: Fifteen straws under your chair, spilled milk soaking your lap, repeating “No thank you” til your voice gets hoarse, rice strewn all over the table… these are the things meals out with a toddler are usually made of.

But dining out with your toddler doesn’t have to be the aforementioned nightmare. We go out to eat about once a week with our 2-year old daughter and though it isn’t always a walk in the park, it can be fun, relatively cheap … and even better for your waistline than a date night would be. Confused? Don’t be. You have a couple things working in your favor that can make dining out with your toddler a great experience for the whole family.

Generally speaking …

1)      They have a small appetite – Toddlers are pint-sized people bursting with energy and blessed with quick metabolisms … but aren’t necessarily the best eaters. And even if your kid isn’t picky, chances are he/she isn’t wolfing down every morsel on his/her plate. Today’s super-sized portions of everything mean even kids’ meals could make a couple of future meals for a toddler. Capitalize on this by divvying their meal into smaller portions to start … or try sharing your meal with them and getting an extra side of veggies – which saves money and calories.
Net gain: 1-2 bonus meals … or a savings of $5 if you skip the kids’ meal and share your meal with your toddler.

Continue reading “5 Reasons To Dine Out With Your Toddler” →

Discipline vs. Regret

lissa10279Leave a comment

A friend linked to a blog post on Facebook and though I couldn’t relate to the feelings she has towards running — I’ve dabbled in running but never really with purpose or anything — I loved, loved, loved the quote at the bottom.

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is the discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” – Jim Rohn Continue reading “Discipline vs. Regret” →

18 Months … A Weighty Discovery

lissa102794 Comments

I am sure there is no way my baby is 18 months old already: a climbing, attempting-to-jump, monkey-who-repeats-everything-she-hears, spinning around, feet-stomping (in song), gleeful little double-dimpled fashionista. Where has the time gone??

I keep hearing the reprise of “Sunrise, Sunset” in my head and we aren’t even at the 2-year mark yet!!!

She is a labyrinth of wonder — every day she amazes us with what she knows or does or says. Today she said “mommy” for the first time (vs. her usual “mama”) and actually blew her nose into a Kleenex a couple times when I asked her to (vs. just dabbing her nose with said Kleenex).

It’s mind-blowing how much, at this age, they absorb.

Continue reading “18 Months … A Weighty Discovery” →

Money, Miles & Mass

lissa102791 Comment

2004 was the year I got my $@%@ together … and I desperately need a refresher course.

Backing up … I went to college and graduate school in Washington, D.C., so I never had a reason for a car. I walked or Metroed everywhere and relied on friends for out-of-the-way places, such as Target and Tyson’s Corner (one of my fave malls). When I went home to NJ, I hopped on Amtrak and made the voyage home.

But by 2004, I was getting sick of not having the freedom to get up and “go.” I wanted my own set of wheels. Unfortunately, I know nada about cars and L was still living in El Salvador and my parents live in NJ … so the only other person I’d trust to help me car shop was my dear friend Jason. Though I was expecting just to shop… I snagged an awesome lease deal (thanks to savvy shopping on the last day of the month and some bartering from Jason) and ended up driving home in my new ride. Continue reading “Money, Miles & Mass” →

Sugar Woes

lissa102792 Comments

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend — sorry for the lapse in posting but we took an 11-hour road-trip to Annapolis for Luis’s 10-year USNA class reunion.

It was a blast–lots of wonderful quality time spent with our besties and a football game to boot–but exhausting and I just haven’t been able to muster up the strength to blog, pathetic as it sounds!!!

I haven’t been to the dentist since December 16, 2010 — 2 days before I was scheduled to have Maya — and I had to cancel a few appointments at the 6-mth mark so yesterday was my first trip in ages.

I braced myself for the verdict of at least one cavity … but, like last time and the time before, I had NONE! Go me! (–>tossing confetti) Continue reading “Sugar Woes” →