The Importance of Posting Nutritional Values

I am sitting at my favorite coffee shop, Peet’s, sipping a cappuccino like I used to in the old country and eating a pastry. It’s my afternoon treat, has been for years. Only that back in Italy they’d think me weird for drinking cappuccino after lunch, without sugar, and in a 16 ounce cup. There are definitely lots of advantages to living in the United States. While I could always figure out the calorie content of my drink (which I shouldn’t drink, but sue me), things were dicey with the pastries. Continue reading

Recovery and Weight

Well, tomorrow my accident will be exactly a month old. To mark it, I’ve been following the snowboarders at the Olympics, and I’ve enjoyed both the competition and the attention it has gotten. Between Seth Wescott, Shaun White, and the marvelous Hannah Teter, there is a lot to watch and get excited about, and I hope the sport will benefit from this rush. That’s of course despite the fact I am grounded for the time being, at the very least until the end of the season. Continue reading

Why is Exercise So Important in Weight Management?

I was just talking with a friend of mine who is trying to lose weight and doesn’t have the time to work out. She has family, cleans up, feeds kids, drives them around, and has what we call a full-time career on top of that. Not an easy life. Of course, with all that stress and the temptation that comes with feeding teenagers and with power lunches, she is not losing an ounce. Continue reading

Snowboarding (II)

It seems just fair that after stopping this blog with a post on snowboarding, I’d start it again a year later with another one on the same topic. This time, though, the reason is less fortunate: I was snowboarding in gorgeous Breckenridge when a silly fall caused a shoulder separation. I’ve been not only kicked off the mountain for the rest of my time there, I haven’t been able to move much except to the grocery store to buy calorie bombs. Continue reading

Snowboarding

Those of you that know me even in passing have an acquaintance with my enthusiasm for snowboarding. I just can’t get enough of it, and I get as much of it as I can. This year, I went on a two week trip to Whistler, Canada. It’s close to Vancouver, has gorgeous scenery and two beautiful mountains just ready for the shredding fun. That’s how hip boarders refer to the activity of snowboarding: shredding. Continue reading

Recovering from Catastrophe

Ok, you’ve been good about your diet, have been following every step of the way, have seen your weight drop, have bought new clothes, and then – boom! – you’ve had a bad day. Suddenly, you find yourself eating 5000 calories, gorging on cookies and chips and chocolate and prime ribs. What do you do? First of all: breathe slowly. It’s not a tragedy. Even if on one day you bust your diet, you don’t have to fear the worst. Continue reading

Food and Mood

Most people change their eating habits based on the mood they are in. Many eat more when stressed, when they are bored, or when they have company. Some react the other way around, losing weight when stressing out or eating less when in a party. In general, feelings of euphoria make us less hungry, while less enthusiastic times see cravings and compulsive eating increase. You can see this play out in a great many different places. Continue reading

Protein Bars

Have you ever gone to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon? When the lines are long enough that you have no hope of getting out without having developed a serious craving by the time you get to see the candy bars? Let’s face it, it would be wonderful if we could always eat healthily. We should always have fresh, raw foods with us; foods rich in proteins, “good” carbohydrates, vitamins, and a good balance of minerals. Continue reading

Calorie Counting - the Retrospective

On New Year’s Eve 2007, the worst job of my life was over. I hadn’t been there long, but pretty much everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, except the stuff where my team and I had control. Still, the stress nearly killed me and the ten extra pounds I gained were nothing compared to the solace provided by a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie at the end of a long day. Continue reading

Low-Carb Diet

[Note: this is the first post in a new section, Diet & Health. As my pics prove, I used to be seriously overweight (108kg, about 240 lbs) and lost all the extra weight, replacing much of it with muscle. I felt I can add to the plethora of diet advice on the Internet, because I had to learn so much about weight management.] It’s time for New Year’s Resolutions, and this year I decided to try a low carb diet. Continue reading