Decide. Act. Outlook change. Fit Life
Wow, what an incredibly challenging couple of years we have all had! We all deserve to have an honorary star and pat on the back for our collective resilience, strength, and endurance. Maybe it is the eternal optimist in me, but I really do feel that things are going to get better for us all and that we should all strive to continue to lead sustainable, healthy, and happy lives.
If you are new to DAOFitLife, the weekly hot list is a collection of hot finds in all things fitness – from food to fashion to wellness. Here’s what is hot in 2022: Sleep to shine- More and more experts agree that good quality sleep is the key to protecting the immune system and weight maintenanc.e One of the best discoveries I have made for a good night’s sleep is a weighted blanket. You can buy one at Bed Bath and Beyond, but I have seen these at Costco as well. Weighted blankets have been shown to calm the nervous…
By Neda Khalili (Certified NASM Trainer) and Lili Kazemi When will this all end? How will we ever get back to normal…. What is normal?! I definitely do not have the answers to these questions, however, I do know that taking charge of our health is the one thing we DO have control over. Whether it was out of a motivation for wellness, or even pure boredom, the pandemic gave people the chance to move their bodies in a way that felt right for them and felt that they needed to move to feel less like they were trapped in…
Here are the hot links of the week! Nutrition Are you on the go in the morning, but not that hungry? A lot of people don’t have early morning appetities, but need some kind of nutrition to get through to lunch. Most of us opt for a cup or two of coffee, but did you KNOW that you can actually get coffee infused with protein? Try these protein coffee shakes from CHIKE (it even comes with a blender bottle) and it has almost no sugar! I am stoked to try the mocha flavor but if you cannot decide, you can…
You know you will be shopping this weekend! Scrolling through Amazon while the game is on, or during that car or train ride. Well you are in luck. It is the PERFECT time to stock up on fitness gear! Check out this Self article for the top buys. Not to mention, athleisure sales are on FIRE. Koral, and Alo yoga are having crazy amazing deals. Plus if you sign onto newsletters for the first time you get extra discounts, and a lot of the sellers are having clearance sales as well. Not to menton with Alo, you get a free tote…
And “tech neck” is the new pandemic. Posture affects everything and goes so much by the wayside; especially when we have all of these different forms of fitness and we just ‘do’ the work when potentially there could be an injury in the making…in tandem with our tech neck workdays….eek! Yet I can find so little actually dealing with this issue with the attention it deserves. So I called upon my editor and posture expert, Neda Khalili, to guest blog this post. Moreso I asked her to explain how to maintain good posture not just in sitting, but when we…
New workout discoveries I just fell in love again. Last week Ballet by Equinox launched in DC, one of only three cities (including NYC and LA around the country). These two articles do a great job of breaking down what to expect. I am not a dancer but sure feel like I could fake it until I make it after that class. Having some barre background helps, but this experience is definitely different in a good way! Equinox Ballet Class (Popsugar)Workout Like a Professional Ballerina (Yahoo!News) I love getting inspired to move a little different from throwbacks and I love…
This is a follow up post from the last issue’s post on cool weather workouts. Cold weather running is its own art form, and this post explains everything you need to know about timing, gear, injury prevention and recovery. This post is guest authored by a real life devoted runner and former track and field star, my friend and longtime trainer, Neda Khalili.
It’s not unusual to start feeling a little stressed, sluggish, or just generally down at this time of year. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s believed to be caused by the changing seasons. Typically, symptoms begin to worsen around fall and peak during the winter months. This is a time when people are especially prone to isolating, given that it becomes so cold outside. Besides therapy that can help you work through the feelings, other external factors that you can control can help, like your diet. Talk to your physician as well if you feel that…
Whether you still want to avoid gyms during the pandemic or are just sick of working out at home, working out outside has a lot of benefits. It’s a natural antidepressant. Outdoor exercise can help ward off seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which we talked about in my other post this week. Even just being outside for any reason,, whether it be walking the dog or raking the leaves can alleviate depression and anxiety because the Vitamin D in the sunshine naturally increases serotonin, a hormone that affects your mood. Working out outside also keeping your muscles guessing about the varying…
Every week we give you a roundup of some of the coolest nutrition and workout trends. Even though summer is over, I am all about this Halloumi life! Halloumi is nice and meaty without the meat and just thing the thing to get creative with and also still give that satisfying “mmmph!” This salad sounds right up my alley right up my alley with the mix of spices, chickpeas, eggplants, and DATES! If you are non-dairy or vegan, do not have FOMO. You can easily replicate Halloumi cheese with tofu – they have similar textures. Here is a recipe that…
If you don’t have a solid hold on how to navigate the confusing world of international travel after COVID, buckle-up. Reading this article will prevent confused frustration and screaming matches like this: And the frustrating thing is, all the information is out there, but it’s buried in a bunch of different places. I resolved to gather every action, resource, tip and trap into ONE single place, for you my fellow fitprofessionals. Travel was a huge part of our careers and lives, and we will be going places soon again (and working out in them). So here you hvae it –…
“Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities – always see them, they are always there.” — Norman Vincent Peale When I was about 6 or 7 years old, my dad asked me to make a choice. Are you a pessimist or an optimist? It seemed easy enough at the time, once I learned the basic definition of those words. But throughout life, everything became less binary and focused on the “facts.” The last year brought back this memory and this question again. I’ve been doing some reading…
What’s hot this week? By Neda Khalili, NASM certified trainer. Depression in the Winter comes in Surprising Variations: As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, many suffer from the seasonal effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as SAD . Some may think that it just some blues because of less sun…. Well, not so, it can come in many forms and fashions. This link does a great job in unpacking how SAD has been both defined too broadly and too narrowly. Lights can help ahead! Ask A Boss: My Co-Worker Complains All Day. What a pertinent…
Many professionals are under the misimpression that the fact that they may not have time to work out an hour a day means that their fitness prospects are doomed. FALSE. On the flip side, the part of the population that leads the Peleton board every day may believe that this is all they need to do to get shredded. FALSE.
There are two main obstacles that trip up meal planning for busy professionals: 1) Time; 2) Decision fatigue. I have a solution for both in this article. If you need a guide to planning meals that won’t be a second full-time job, you are in the right place. This is the DAO Little Black Dress Method for Meal Planning. ™
Here is my regular roundup of interesting articles, workouts and recipes.
Why is the morning so critical? First, it’s a key window of time for uninterrupted proactivity. We all have 24 hours a day. Beyonce has the same 24 hours, so does Jay-Z, so does Tim Cook, so does the President of the United States. We don’t get any more time than that. And making time only for the routine of the day will leave only room for just that. There’s no room for Greatness.
I have seen a lot of my colleagues who travel frequently marvel at how the period we have been working from home has produced effortless weight loss. Well, not really. One big factor at play is that we have been taken out of the traveling and associated wining and dining. Restaurant meals are a trap for the unwary, because they are under pressure to make food taste amazing to justify paying twice the amount you need for groceries for a single week at a meal. Unfortunately, that means adding sugar, salt, oil, butter and heavy cream to – everything. And…
