As Easter approaches, it can be challenging to resist the temptation of indulging in sugary treats. Especially if you have kids and Easter baskets to fill. But even without, there are aisles of colorful candies in every store, office candy bowls, and commercials witth the clucking bunny.
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You probably have seen it on some form of social media – women rolling odd shaped jade tools over their faces. This practice of gua sha is centuries old, but it has resurfaces as a way to decrease puffiness and act as a “natural botox”.
But is it really that magical? Here is what you need to know and my experience. As an initial reaction, I found that a regular gua sha practice was so much more than skincare. It helped relieve tension in my jaw, forehead, and sinus pressure. So read on if you have any of these issues especially at your job! This is now part of my daily routine – rise, wash face, coffee, lemon water, meditate, and gua sha. By the end of this five minute routine, I feel like a million bucks and ready to face the world!
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Spring is here, and it’s time to start thinking about getting those arms ready for tank tops, sundresses, and other warm-weather attire. Whether you’re looking to tone up, build muscle, or just feel more confident in your own skin, there are plenty of ways to get nice arms for spring.
Here are some tips to help you achieve your goals. It might be only spring but it generally takes about 8 weeks to notice a difference when you start a new training program. Be patient, and follow along!
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Spring break is a time to let loose and enjoy yourself, but it doesn't have to come at the expense of your health and fitness goals. Whether you're planning a…
In a morality-laced wellness culture, the world is divided into two food groups: Virtue-signaling “clean” foods, and evil, bad foods.
You know what? In many cases, the virtue signaling-food is actually not materially healthier. I have identified several common categories that compare the demonized food and the halo effect, then shine a light on reality. As for a solution, you can now eat the food you really want knowing that there is no real moral superiority to the alternative. OR you do what I do in many cases which is identify the core craving behind wanting a particular food and satisfy it with a healthier alternative, not a “faux healthy” version of that food.
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“You don’t need to do cardio if you lift weights!” “Weights will make women bulky.” “You have to lift heavy to see your body change.”
Ever since bros have been lifting, there has been “broscience.” A classic way to spot one of these broscientists is the guy walking around the gym with a protein shake and a brightly colored pre-workout drink. And he may also be sporting a bag of trolli gummi worms, because it’s “chest day.”
A lot of the myths surrounding strength training make it more of an intimidating world to approach. How can you dedicate hours of extra time a day to doing sets when you can barely tear yourself away from that spreadsheet?
Here are 5 common beliefs about strength training and how to keep your busy schedule without having to become a “bro” parked in the gym for hours.
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Do you ever wander through a grocery store, and you start snaking through the center aisles through the bright beautiful colors of foods in boxes and bags? If you stop and pay attention to how you feel, it may be giddy, excited or just want to eat everything in sight?
Believe it or not, you are being seduced.
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Is your daily life consumed by jumping from one tab to another? Do you constantly lose track of what you are working on and find yourself staring blankly at a row of open tabs? Have you ever opened a tab for an article you are interested in reading, knowing deep down you realistically will never read it but it just makes you feel better to have the tab open? Do you multitask during calls, clicking through different tabs and then totally have to make someone repeat a question?
We have ALL been there. Modern corporate culture has a twisted, tab-hoarding problem that is draining our productivity. So how can we take it back?
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You want to try a diet. I get it. I am not here to stop you. It’s that time in the middle of winter when you have that panic moment – you’ve been super busy at work the holidays threw you off and you started a fitness kick but stopped it at the end of dry January.
So here is a list of popular diets – and some criteria to consider before going on one. I am also including DAO resources with deep dives on the super popular ones – Keto, Paleo, and Intermittent Fasting.
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If you have been listening to mainstream media, you probably are convinced that sugar is the devil incarnate when it comes to healthy eating and weight loss. Yes, sugar is delicious and tempting and even comforting. But eating too much can lead to all kinds of problems – including weight gain and obesity, . And most Americans eat way, way too much. (up to 5 times the recommended amount by the American Heart Association).
Sugar is also really sneaky. It is EVERYWHERE…in places you don’t even suspect. So when you are at a conference and innocently picking up that cup of yogurt at breakfast, thinking you are being “good”, you are likely just inhaling a bunch of sugar. You might as well have had that danish! Even when it comes to less obvious “evils”, there are so many conflicting opinions. Fruit is good. No, fruit’s just like sugar, it’s bad. White sugar is bad, but honey and date syrup are legit “clean eating.” Or the “sugar is sugar is sugar” trope.
It all comes back to being smart, not being dogmatic. In this article, I boil down what you need to know to be smart about sugar. Most of the reason we overconsume is lack of information and marketing hacks. This article will give you the knowledge you need, so you don’t have to deprive yourself.
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The Wall Street Journal had a recent article, “Why Working Out During the Workday Is the Ultimate Power Move”. The article has an interview of CEOs who humblebrag about being able to disappear for two hours unaccounted for to do sets at the gym. This is the exact kind of messaging that makes the rest of us think that we have to be some big wig to “get away” with midday workouts.
I beg to differ. I have been doing mid-day workouts for years – when I was an on the clock government worker, as a junior associate at a law firm, and now as a director at a Big 4. The secret is knowing exactly what you will do and exactly how you will do it. And being PREPARED. You may not be the CEO of a company, but you should be the CEO of your own body.
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Yes, that’s right, 2023 is going to be our year! But first, you have to get through day 1. And most of us will not wake up on January 1st fresh as a daisy. It’s ok, you earned the right to celebrate. Whether you stayed up later, ate more treats or just had one too many glasses of champs (or um, shots) here is your ultimate DAOFitLife hangover toolkit.
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– and sustain it. If resolutions are not sustainable, then what IS sustainable? Changing your daily HABITS is a sustainable way to make lifelong differences. That is because you…
It’s cold outside. It’s snowing. You are so ready to sit under your Ugg throw and snug with a book or a binge watch.
Maybe you already got your workout in, and it’s time to relax. But what you nosh on during that sesh can totally erase whatever calories you burned during spinning.
But that does not mean you have to miss out on what you love to eat when the weather is so chilly. I have found a way to enjoy my favorite comfort foods without guilt, and I am sharing a list of the usual suspects with you, and my recommended substitution.
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Would you rather be sad, or skinny? Would you rather be fat and happy, or thin and sad? These are questions that magazines are actually asking mostly women about the fact that treating depression and anxiety would some forms of medication could potentially cause weight gain
The articles featured in Vice and Self magazine echo a deeper sense of self- conflict about mental health – at what cost do we pursue our well-being and happiness? For some this can mean taking prescribed medication, which can lead to intended and unintended consequence. And one of the biggest ones whispered about in anonymous forums is this: weight gain.
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According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the world’s first selfie was taken in 1839 by Robert Corneulius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast, in the back of the family store in Philadelphia.
Whether you remember taking rolls of film to the drugstore or only have ever taken pictures with a Smartphone, photos define our lives – our headshots invite potential employers and connections on LinkedIn, and we capture real life moments on vacations, with friends and family in real time.
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If you are in a professional services field, you know that conferences are like our Superbowl. It’s the ultimate opportunity for companies to showcase their talent, swag, and brand power.
It’s also the ultimate opportunity to pack on the pounds. A lack of choice for food options, many of which are not healthy. Wining and dining. Little sleep from compressed schedules for presentations and time zone differences.
Slowly, you make decisions that you would never make if you were at your own home base. Like, maybe that stale mini cheese Danish IS a good idea.
If I know one thing from being a professional in this workforce for many years, pre and post-pandemic, I know how to navigate this minefield. And I am here to tell you all the best tricks and tips so you can come and go like the fit boss that you are.
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It’s Halloween already, and we are officially sanctioned to go back to trick-or-treating and Halloween parties. The drugstores and grocery stores are teeming with bags of fun-size candy bars and candy corn pumpkins. Offices and schools have candy bowls and homemade cookies EVERYWHERE. You may be going to one or a few Halloween parties this weekend. This is NOT the time to white knuckle. There is a better answer.
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“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.” – Rumi
The thrill of the pandemic workout craze is fading. UpSwell’s survey found that while 50% of respondents returned to the gym within 9 months of restrictions lifting, nearly a third (27.71%) of all respondents still have not yet returned to the gym, and 31.23% are working out less in 2022.
Peloton, the exercise bike company that saw huge success in the early days of the pandemic only to flounder as sales slowed, reported a $1.2 billion quarterly loss recently.
SoulCycle will close up to a quarter of its studios across the U.S., including six reportedly in the New York City area, amid adjustments related to the pandemic, the fitness company said Tuesday.
How do we bring it back? Enter Rumi, and Sufism.
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Pumpkin Spice is EVERYWHERE – the good, the bad, and the just plain weird (uh, pumpkin pizza anyone?)
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