The DAO “PFC” approach to food
In the DAO, the action follows from the Decision. The decision is not to "diet." The decision is to embrace a principled, sustainable approach to food.
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Your A-Z Guide to Popular Diets
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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How to cut sugar without going crazy
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 unspoken rules of the gym: your complete guide
So you want to go to the gym again – seriously. But it can be awkward if you don’t know the rules of this “civil society,” as Aristotle coined it. Maybe Aristotle wasn’t curling 20s, but he had a point. Part of the awkwardness people feel about going to the gym is not understanding all the social norms. Especially the unwritten ones. So here is your complete guide to feeling like a boss at the gym.
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Are you still deciding whether to join a gym? Pros and Cons of Home v. Gym workouts
There has been a double-digit increase in the number of gym membership sign-ups in January versus the same period in pre-Covid times, said gym owners.
If you are thinking about joining a gym, or on the fence, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
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Your Sweaty, Handcuffed Wrist Demands You Read This
I have not worn a wearable fitness device in years. I have no idea exactly how many hours I have slept, what my resting heart rate is, how many calories I burned at SoulCycle, or how many steps I made each day. In this case, ignorance is truly bliss. And more evidence is starting to show that it is worth considering whether these devices actually are really improving our overall health – including mental health.
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How to capture your life stories beyond your life
There was a Wall Street Journal article published just before the end of 2022 that caught my eye, titled: The Way You Tell Your Life Story Matters, Start Now. The opening paragraph had a quote: Death steals everything except our stories, by the poet Jim Harrison. But the article cautions if we are not careful, death can steal those, too.
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Live well in 2023: The DAOFitLife Glow Up Guide
It’s a new year and a new start, which means it’s the perfect time to focus on yourself and make some positive changes. One way to do this is to “glow up,” or make improvements to your physical and mental well-being. You can “glow up” in many ways, and a lot of it is bigger than what you see on the outside. A true “glow up” is an inside AND outside job.
Here are some tips on how to glow up this January.
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Exactly how to do stealth workouts in the middle of the day
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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Sometimes distorted self-image can be a huge asset. Photo by banusevim @ Adobe Stock
Why Being a Narcissist is Actually a Good Goal for 2023
At the end of 2022, the Internet almost broke in a maelstrom of heated debate about narcissm. In case you were busy Christmas shopping and missed it, an article in Politico Politico profiled the year of 2022 for “narcissists” including Meghan Markle and some other famous and infamous personalities. Markle’s inclusion in the piece, titled “The Year We All Finally Got Tired of the Narcissists,” was met with pushback on social media which necessarily was based on the underlying assumption that being a narcissism is a bad thing not to be associated with. But did you know, according to psychologists that some types of narcissism are good, even aspirational?
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My “Opposite” New Year’s Exercise Resoluton
Many New Year’s resolutions involve quitting. Quitting drinking, quitting smoking, quitting sugar, Or starting some big challenge – mainly involving working out. We see the gyms and workout studios fill up with determined people who may have been in a holiday cookie blur but could be mistaken for ironman training competitors. So hardcore and leaving no space on cardio machines, workout classes and you can forget the bench press. You may go to a yoga class and experience namaste or a foot in your face.
The hard and simple truth: You can’t outrun, outdance, outkickbox, or outnamaste a bad diet. And I am looking to partially prove that and some other things by my 2023 New Year’s Resolution.
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Welcome merry Christmas and happy new year in 2023,Silhouette Man jumping from 2022 cliff to 2023 cliff with cloud sky and sunlight.
DAOFitLife 2022: A Year in Review
A collection of the top 5 articles and videos from this year. will inspire you and give you some ideas for workouts to start the New Year. Enjoy the holidays and Happy 2023!
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Rule # 1: Do Not Punish Yourself with a Workout! Blackday @ Adobe Stock
The 5 Best All-time Hangover Cures
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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Whatever you write down will fade by February. So do something different, now. Photo by Tim Mossholder
New Year’s Resolutions for People With Real Jobs
– 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…
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How to lose the last (or next) 10 pounds like a boss
As the New Year approaches, many of us are focusing on getting back into shape. With so many diet plans out there, it can be tough to find one that is right for you. Below are some helpful tips on how to lose weight and keep it off, catalogued with some of my best weight loss posts.
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Guilt-Free Winter Comfort Foods
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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Level up your workout game
It is time to level up your workout game. But you have to start somewhere. And that’s what you will learn here whether you are at ground zero or reaching for that next rung of the ladder.
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Cardio v. Weights Decision Tree
It is the debate that has rocked the fitness world. When you want to level up, combining cardio and weights is ideal. But when you do go for that combo, what do you do first? The answer can make a difference in how quickly you level up your fitness game.
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Literally, the room is this color. At the Washington DC Dupont Circle Barrys.
The Hardest Workout in the World: A Guide to Barry’s Bootcamp
It’s a workout that has attracted the biggest celebrities and gained a reputation as THE place to be if you want to push yourself to the limits. As most global brands do, it started with a crazy dream. Barry Jay founded this fitness craze together with his partners in West Hollywood in 1998 and has since opened dozens of studios in 15 states and 15 countries (including Norway, the UAE and Qatar). It has attracted celebrities like Jessica Alba and Jake Gyllenhaal, David Beckham, Adriana Lima, and Harry Styles (who was rumored to have been recently in the DC Studio – unconfirmed)
Barry’s can be summed up as this: a red room, blasting music, a motivating instructor, and everyone going so hard you would think it’s the Hunger Games.
The DAOFitLIfe Guide to Barry’s follows (note: all views are my own opinion and not supported by any outside organization).
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Do you have to choose between being sad or skinny? Read on to find out what your options are. terovesalainen @ Adobe Stock
Do you want to be sad, or skinny?
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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The DAOFitLife Hotlist: The 5 Don’ts of Drinking Water
Drink more water! That’s what we are told for maximum health and hydration but it turns out we may be drinking water the wrong way. Here’s 5 reasons we are drinking water the wrong way and how to fix it.
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