The holiday season is truly magical. In fact, it’s my favorite. But it can be a real challenge to your personal care.

You want to make a serious impact in your career; so, you’re pushing hard for a strong close to the 4th quarter. You’re going to all the holiday parties, drinking all the signature cocktails and sampling all the holiday cookies.

You also want to make a significant impact in your family. You’re pouring extra special attention into creating memorable holiday celebrations for your loved ones. You’re visiting, and shopping, and wrapping, and carroling.

Replenish Your Energy

And therein lies the issue - you're so focused on giving your Energy away that you are less focused on replenishing your Energy. And the holiday season is over two months long. So, this inattention to your self-care tends to last at least as long.  

Until … you guessed it! New Year New You! And then you're seduced and coerced into taking massive action like a detox or a diet or a new gym membership ...

Summer is - hands down - my favorite season. So, I’ve been lamenting the end of summer for weeks. In the Northeast, the summer break is often extended until after the Labor Day holiday. That just allows me to be in denial about the start of school for a little bit longer.

But, in late August, I had to face the music. I had uniforms and folders and water bottles to buy. And I had schedules to plan and calendars to synchronize.  The flurry of back-to-school activity made it pretty hard to ignore that September was coming. Well, that and that pumpkin spice latte that just won’t go away. And now September is here! 

If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you may have realized that I really embrace new seasons. In January, my blog post focused on making your New Year’s resolution a habit. You can find that post here.  On July 1st, I offered The Real Summer Reset in celebration of doing a mid-year follow-up for your 2019 goals. And now September presents us with yet another opportu...

Do you wish you could just press the “easy” button on having a healthy lifestyle? Yeah, you’re not the only one. And I don’t want to burst your bubble, but ... you can’t. Whether you made a decision to be the healthiest version of yourself one decade ago or one day ago, you should know that your goal will require daily effort from you. It’s going to take some work.

So, now that you know that your new lifestyle won’t be easy, I have good news for you! It can be simple. So, please let it be simple. Simple, not easy. And, because I’m a nerd, let’s look at the definitions of easy and simple, as according to Merriam-Webster.

Definition of easy:

1. causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort

2. requiring or indicating little effort, thought, or reflection

Definition of simple:

1. free from ostentation or display

2. sheer, unmixed

3. free from elaboration or figuration

4. readily understood or performed

As the old adage says, nothing worth having comes easy....

Nutrition science is fascinating but also frustrating. Like anything in science, the facts of nutrition science can be proven. But if you wait long enough, these facts can also be disproven. That’s just the nature of science. The worldwide community of physicians, nutritionists, biologists, chemists and the like is constantly searching for answers and gaining knowledge. So, what we know is always changing.

And what we now know about nutrition science now is so far removed from what we used to believe, say, in the 90s. That means if you’re eating according to 1990s knowledge, you might not be serving yourself well. And who knows what truths we’ll uncover in the next 20 years! But it’s likely that some of today’s nutrition recommendations will become moot. That’s just the nature of the science game.

But hang onto your hats. Because keeping up with the facts is hard enough, but it’s even more difficult to separate fact from fiction. There are an infinite number of opinions about what yo...

I love talking about dreams. In a nutshell, here is my philosophy on dreams:

Dreams are big and beautiful and they come true by setting and getting a series of goals. You reach your goals by mastering healthy habits. And as I wrote in my post, “The #1 way to achieve your dream life,” healthy eating is a cornerstone habit. You can read that post here.

I love to be future-focused, but I want to be clear. What you do now determines what you will be in the future. What you eat now determines how you will feel in the future. Start now. Your dream is not sitting around and waiting for you. So, why would you wait to eat healthfully? 

Don’t wait! Take care of yourself now and everyday. Eat well now and everyday. And this routine of healthy eating will help you reach your dream. More than that, when you do, you’ll have a body and mind fit enough to enjoy it to the fullest.

Healthy eating is everyday self-care.

In a previous blog post, called “What is self-care?,” I offered the following de...

I coach because helping you get from where you are to where you want to be lights me up!

It’s an honor for me to be by your side as you dream big and knock down your goals, one by one. 

With every goal that you set and meet, you get closer to your dream. I think of your goals as the roadmap to your dream. So, if you want to make your dream come true, you need goals. And you have to make reaching your goals inevitable. 

But how do you do it? How do you reach your goals? 

To be successful, you need a system. And an essential part of that system is your habits. But not just any habits - healthy ones.

For this to really work, you need to understand it. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of meaningless steps. With that said, here are some key ideas about habits:

• What is a habit?
• What makes a habit healthy?
• How do you make a healthy habit anyway?
• And how long will it take to make this healthy habit?

What is a habit?

First of all, without your knowledge, there’s a lot going on inside...

It’s July 1st!

July 1st has a special meaning for physicians and surgeons. Traditionally, it’s the first day of the training year. What does that mean? 

It means that brand new doctors start their first day of work, internship, on July 1st. With the flip of a calendar page, they go from medical student to doctor. On June 30th, they couldn’t possibly order a medication or a test for a patient, but on July 1st … Bam! They’re instantly capable!

It’s an incredibly exciting, albeit chaotic, day in teaching hospitals all across the country. I’ll be honest - it’s a chaotic month. Ok, really the first three months of the year can feel kinda wild. Oh, the memories!

The inside joke is don’t go to the hospital in July! I kid. I kid! You’ll get great care. Just know that July 1st is a big switch day. All of the young doctors are getting acclimated in new roles. It’s a time of transition and transitions can be slow. Or messy. Even confusing. 

But there’s an exciting, new world on the other sid...

It’s officially summertime! And summertime is synonymous with summer vacation! My last blog post was about detox diets, but a good vacation is a detox of sorts. You get to unplug and unwind. You get to reset and reconnect.

But sometimes parents can find it stressful to travel with kids. And stress can seriously ruin your vacation high! So, I’d like to offer 5 simple tips for healthy travel with kids. Use them in good fun and in good health!

Have fun!

My first tip is to keep it positive. Let’s be honest - traveling with kids is work. It isn’t relaxing. But it should be fun! So, make having fun your priority.

It’s been said that you only have 18 summers with your kids. When you think of 18 years as 18 summers, it sounds like so little time. And, in a way, it is! Many more experienced parents have advised me -  your children’s early years will fly by. I know … tears. But it has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? So, make the most of those summers by creating vivid, fun memories!

Let i...

Now that sunshine and 70 degree days have come to New England, it finally feels like spring. And with spring comes the realization that summer will be here soon!

Summer is my favorite! I love the long days of sunshine with my sweaty, bronzed kiddos. I love trips to the beach and, of course, barbecues!

I hope your summer weekends are full of barbecues! These summer gatherings are about food, yes, but there’s also all about family, friends, and fun!

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of barbecue season, is coming right up. The 4th of July will be here before you know it, and I’m willing to bet your Independence Day celebration will likely involve a barbecue. And, if you’re fortunate, just about every other weekend will also come with its own barbecue opportunity.

What comes to mind when you think of a barbecue? I think of music filling the air. Volleyball and badminton. Lemonade and iced tea. Grills. And food! Glorious food!

You know the barbecue menu - hot dogs, hamburgers, pota...

“We’re not who we say we are. We’re not who we want to be. We are the sum of the influence and impact that we have in our lives on others.” - Carl Sagan

“My job is to somehow make them curious enough, or persuade them, by hook or crook, to get more aware of themselves and where they came from and what they are into and what is already there … just to bring it out. This is what compels me to compel them, and i will do it by whatever means necessary.” - Nina Simone

When Beyoncé was announced as the headliner for Coachella 2017, I had a brief delusion that I would trek to the desert for her show. But I was pregnant. My daughter was actually born in April when Coachella is held.

Turns out Beyoncé was pregnant too - with twins - so she didn’t make it to Coachella 2017 either! So, when she rescheduled for Coachella 2018, I renewed my delusion of going to Indio, California, for a year. I imagined that I would even take my baby to simplify the weekend at home without me for my husband and...