In this interview, I share the answer to the question I am most often asked: What is a Happy Calorie?

Coke is in a bit of hot water these days. Their “Be OK” ad illustrating how a can of Coke – equaling 140 “Happy Calories” – can be used to “spend on extra Happy Activities” was just banned in the UK. And as the original “Happy Calories, Happy Exercise Girl,” I have to agree – that ad should be pulled …

So…what do you do? It seems like an innocent question, a type of common everyday small talk. And what I find interesting is that my conversations are nearly always the same. So…what do you do? I’m an author, speaker and wellness consultant. Oh, what’s your book? Happy Calories Don’t Count (neither does unhappy exercise) What’s a happy calorie? I find …

Winter weather seems to drag on into spring in Seattle. So when the sun finally came out, my husband and I jumped at the chance to take a walk at a nearby park. There are old railroad tracks that border the park. And with the giddiness of children, we decided to try walking on the rails. At first, I walked …

In our efforts to achieve and maintain an “ideal” body weight (however that’s defined), an issue that frequently surfaces is “emotional” eating. And quite frankly, I believe it’s a lot of hogwash. That’s not to say that the pain we suffer as a result of our dysfunctional relationships with food is not real. That pain is very, very real. However, …

I have a friend who is having a rough time. She is dealing with divorce and her husband is using her children in a manipulative power play. I have another friend who is having a rough time. She is dealing with an unexpected financial obligation. Her savings have been wiped out, and she’s feeling like she will always be living …

Being a specialist in body image, self-esteem and weight-loss, an issue that I frequently address is the media’s impact on our perceptions of self-worth. There seems to be a great deal of concern about how “they” promote unrealistic standards of beauty to make us feel bad about ourselves. And, that may very well be true. But if it is true, …

Do you love me? Whenever someone asks me to share my thoughts on self-acceptance, body-acceptance or self-esteem, a song from Fiddler on the Roof pops into my head. Do you love me? Fiddler on the Roof is a musical set in 1905 Tsarist Russia. The family patriarch, Tevye, works to balance his family’s Jewish traditions with outside influences – especially where his daughters are …

The New Year is often a time of reflection, evaluation and setting intentions. And while these are worthwhile endeavors, they can be achieved in any moment of any day. To put all this “weight” (pun intended) around New Year’s – which is really just an arbitrary moment in time – oftentimes only compounds the pain for those struggling with weight …

Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? If you were a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons in the seventies and eighties (and apparently also from 1993 – 1999), you would know: 1) the melody of this song and 2) that the phrase to sing back is, “hooking up words and phrases and clauses.” Schoolhouse Rock taught us all about adverbs (Lolly, anyone?), …