One of my readers asked if I would shed some additional light on the social dynamic described in my article, Sticks and Stones. The point of that particular article was to illustrate how seemingly innocent “small talk” conversations contribute to and perpetuate the deep seated cultural mindset that we “earn” our food through exercise – or else suffer the negative consequence …

I always know when my husband has driven my car. Yes, I need to readjust the seat. But oftentimes I don’t even notice that. The telltale sign is the radio. It’s always on. Yesterday, as I started the car, some radio program played a clip of some person stating that they would never listen to anyone who wasn’t rich. The …

One of my friends recently “tagged” me in a Facebook post – “I know you’ll LOVE this one,” she wrote. It was a picture of something that looked like a store window display – a pile of women’s magazines (and a few men’s) in front of bright pink backdrop with the phrase “Shed Your Weight Problem Here.” She’s right, of course. I …

“Yeah, it was pretty good. But did you see her butt? My God, it’s huge!” This is the conversation I overheard leaving the theater after The Avengers. And what I find interesting is that this conversation referring to Scarlett Johansson’s bum wasn’t between two teenage girls – it was among several thirty or forty-something women! First of all, Scarlett Johansson looked nothing less that …

I have a confession to make. I don’t walk around in my day-to-day life “camera ready.” I only dress up for you. If I’m meeting with a client in person, going to an event, or shooting a video, sure – I’ll curl my hair and put on some makeup. Otherwise, I knock around in my comfy Pilates clothes with my …

If you’re blind to a problem, does the problem still exist? Unlike the tree falling in the forest without anyone to hear it, I don’t remember debating this particular issue in Philosophy 101. But this is a key question to consider if you’ve got drama with your weight. From a “diet and exercise” perspective, you’ve got to take a cold …

I recently received an e-mail from someone saying that she was eager about my program but doubted the results. She thought that it would be nice if I had physical pictures of those who have done my program and that she hopes I prove her wrong in her skepticism. I found these comments fascinating – especially the one about the …

Someone recently posted the following comments on a video in my Critical Key to Sustainable Weight-Loss training series. “Interesting ideas, I have to be truthful here I am a tad leery since I have tried so many costly things to lose weight and the proof was not in the pudding. I am tired of trying and I believe I am …

Ah Dr. Vander Beek. If it were not for him, Happy Calories Don’t Count likely would never have existed. No, he’s not a medical doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist – he was my college calculus professor. And one fine day he said something that forever changed the course of my life. I began my freshman year on the computer science/engineering track. …

When Happy Calories Don’t Count (neither does unhappy exercise) was published, my biggest fear was that I’d have to go head to head with the diet and exercise industry. Diet and exercise are “science,” right? All I had to go on was personal experience. I thought at best, I’d be written off as uneducated. At worst, I’d be debating Dr. Oz, Dr. …