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August 4, 2026

Lili Kazemi

How to get a great workout at the pool

Most pools opened after Memorial Day. Time to soak up the sun on the weekends at your house or condo complex. But did you know this is a great opportunity to work out? And I am not talking your grandma’s acquatics. I mean a challenging cardio and strength wrokout. Let’s dive in. Why workout in water? Besides the fact that it is cooler than a gym in the hot summer, water offers heavier resistance than air, so basically everything you do is going to burn major calories. Just look at an example of what Michael Phelps ate in a day…

fruit salads

DAOFitLife Hotlist: Best Lunch Prep Ideas

We all are so crazed and running around during the day. Lunch is well, inconvenient. Now is a good time to refresh your lunch playlist with some very fast and easy prep ideas. But first – don’t skip lunch! A good dose of nutritious food midday will keep your bloodsugar from crashing and you from reaching for that brownie at 4pm. And it will help you fly through the afternoon and be super productive. They key is to eat the right balance of foods for a light yet satisfying lunch. Shopping list Here are the components you will need to…

gym equipment inside room

The Best Hotel Gyms and How to Work Out in Them

What do you look for when you choose a hotel for travel? Thread count of the sheets? Size of the room? Enhanced Wi-fi availability? One thing you also need to stay connected with is your health. If you have not already, check out my post on how to fit in workouts when you travel. In this post, I will give you a complete guide to finding the best hotel gyms and how to work out in them. Why working out in hotel gyms is an adventure Everywhere you go is a new experience, and the hotel is no exception. Constantly…

black flat screen computer monitor on brown wooden desk

The DAO of Deskercise

“I’m chained to my desk all day. I don’t have time to work out!” So not true. Introducing the “DAO of Deskercise”. You can exercise right at your desk and burn hundreds of extra calories all day. And you can preempt later body aches and pains from tech neck, wrist tension, and lower back compression.  But how? Read on. 

happy birthday to you greeting card

Get your grit back: 13 things mentally strong people don’t do

May is mental health awareness month – whichhich is why I am excited to blog about what I learned from one of my favorite books, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, by Amy Morin. Amy Morin is an acclaimed psychotherapist who lost her mother and husband in her twenties. Amy’s emotional challenges motivated her to engage in a deep study of mental resilience and culminated in four widely successful self-improvement books.   What I learned from this book is the importance of grit and perseverance. Of not running away and facing the hard things. It’s a case for mental toughness….

The DAOFitLife Weekly Hotlist May 11

If you are on the hunt for a good graduation gift or Father’s day present, check out the SkyBorne iPhone Wallet More Zoom video etiquette from Anna Bey (no beds in the background, don’t take your phone to weird places). Want to avoid the traps of ordering from Amazon in foreign countries? Here’s how (Wise) A pocast on the transformative power of mindfulness, with Peter Attia How to exercise for your sign, according to an astrologer (Well and Good). Which leads me to my throwback video of the week: Awesome arm toning exercises (Women’s Health) How to recognize when you…

red and green apples on red plastic crate

8 ways to eat fruits and vegetables without the hassle

There are two main barriers for most busy professionals when it comes to getting in more fruit and vegetables: 1) they are not as fun to eat as M&Ms; 2) They are also way harder to prepare – we don’t all have time to make unicorn food smoothies . And the last reason makes it really problematic for thoe of us who barely have time to eat in the first place. So here is your no-muss, no-fuss guide to getting in more fruits and vegetables for a healthier, leaner you in time for summer.

woman wearing black sleeveless top using gym equipment

Bringing Sexy Back – DAOFitLife’s Top 10 Back Exercises

How much thought do you put into training your back? If the answer is not much, this article will convince you otherwise. Working your back is essential to counteracting the 3 C’s – couch, computer, and the chair you sit in all day. Your back plays an integral role in all of your workouts. Running. Yoga. Pilates. Strength Training. Your back is literally your core. Even if you are not working out, your back muscles hold you up and help you do all the random menial tasks like laundry and emptying the dishwasher. Also, your back takes up a lot…

woman in gray crew neck t-shirt holding iphone

Cold, Flu or Covid? The DAO weekly Hotlist

Do you have the sniffles? Below is a guide from the CDC website on whether it is more likely to be a cold, flu, or COVID. Of course you will not know for sure unless you get tested. Even if you are fully vaccinated, doctors are still recommending that you get tested if you have the symptoms of a common cold just to rule it out, since the latest variants of COVID have symptoms that start off as a common cold. Still, this guide is good to have while you are in limbo. You can also read this article for…

food photography of varieties of sushies

How to order healthy sushi

Sushi is one of my favorite go-to foods as the weather starts to get warmer. The sticky rice, salty taste and fun eating with chopsticks is a perfect way to end a hard workweek. While sushi can be a great choice if you are trying to be conscious of your diet, you definitely need to have the right info so that the wrong choices don’t make your sushi meal the equivalent of McDonald’s. Here is the DAO guide to ordering sushi, according to my personal recommendations and research I have gathered from nutritionists. Can sushi even be healthy? The answer…

How Igniting Your Why Can Get You What You Want

“This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.”- Bertrand Russell, prelude to autobiography In my post about leaving a toxic relationship, I talked about a jumping-off point. There is a basic crossroads here – you either accept where you are at, or don’t. If you do accept where you are at, then you can keep things exactly the way they are. If you don’t accept where you are at, then decide to do something about it. A decision to commit to change, to transformation, and…

woman placing sticky notes on wall

A crash refresher course on business etiquette (Part 1)

The art of business etiquette has largely dwindled as we have spent the last two years in isolation. But now, we are traveling again, meeting clients and teams in person, and going to lunches and dinners. The lack of practice is causing a lot of people anxiety about how to act, and that anxiety is amplified in business settings. How do we carry ourselves with class and walk with confidence (for some, in HEELS?) What fork goes with what again? This post will break it down and feature a great YouTube playlist you can watch to get all the basics…

slices of carrots, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes on round white ceramic bowl

How to make condiment substitutions and keep the taste

Condiments may not seem like a big factor, but think of it like a debt. It’s not the principal (the meal) that can drive you deep in debt all of a sudden. You know that amount. It’s the late fees (and the late fees on the late fees) and the interest (and the interest on the interest). So while we could be eating all the “right” foods you may not be seeing results because of this saboteur. The devil, as always, is in the details. Fortunately, readers, I have

The DAOFitLife Weekly Hot List

Do you know if you are actually dehydrated? This article explains the tetlltale signs. Hint: you should always drink BEFORE you get thirsty. If you are even five percent underhydrated, you experience the symptoms including fatigue and headache. Considering hydrating with a zero sugar hydraftion drink? Read this before you do. Here are some ways you can make regular water more interesting and therefore drink more of it! An awesome water combo I recommend is one teaspoon of chia seeds, water, and Persian rosewater. The combination comes out like a Bubble Tea but at only about 20 calories for 16…

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