Speed Bump

I've kept a journal for as long as I can remember. I started writing down my thoughts from the time I was in grade school and kept journals through my mid-thirties. My writing changed when I started this blog. No one, not even me, would want to read the sort of drivel I wrote in my journal on a daily basis. Nonsense, ramblings, internal drama that I needed to work out. It was cathartic at the time, but as a general rule I don't like reading back over my journal entries. The exception to this is when I wrote while traveling or living abroad - my journal entries take me right back to a camel ride in Cairo, a trail run in Vienna, a bottle of wine sipped underneath the Eiffel Tower... I purchased these beautiful journals while living in Florence. They make me want to return to pen and paper.  For me, writing blog posts is very different than writing in a journal. There are pros and cons and I waver back and forth as to which forum I like best. I am careful about what ...

Photo courtesy of Outside Magazine.  I stumbled across this article that appeared in Outside magazine a few years ago. This man tried 6 different diet plans over the course of a year, two months on each plan. He chose popular diet plans like the paleo diet, the Mediterranean diet, and one based on the USDA food pyramid. He had his cholesterol, body fat and weight measured during and at the end of each diet.  His health improved on some diets, declined on others. He was more hungry and tired on one diet compared to the others. It was a very interesting experiment in food, and I like the final analysis. There is no one ideal eating plan for anyone.Our bodies and our goals (fitness, weight loss, over all health) are all different and our food plans should be too. Do you know what works for you? Our eating plan of choice is mostly the Mediterranean diet (they had me at the red wine!) with juice or smoothies for breakfast and copious cheating on the weekends. We try to eat ...

Like everyone else this time of year, I am thinking about how to improve my health. I like to keep my health resolutions pretty simple. Move more, cook it yourself. Drink H2O. But every January I feel the need to kick sugar to the curb. I have learned over the years that I am very sensitive to sugar's seduction and it doesn't take much to get me hooked. The holidays present endless opportunities to over indulge and it is tough to limit sugar - it is in everything. When I resort to a Starbuck's cinnamon dolce latte sometime in December (it just fits with the season) I know I am in a sugar rut. I feel sluggish and unhealthy and out of sorts. Every New Year's Eve we have a blow out dinner party with friends - amazing and excellent food courses, all paired with wine and spirits. It is fantastic! And it puts me over the edge of the holiday food cliff. I can't wait until January when I can get back to consistent, healthy eating. There is no need to diet or do anythi...

Feeling blessed, to be sure. Wishing everyone a fantastic 2015!