The receptionist at the doctor’s office instructed me to arrive 15 minutes early so that I could fill in the new patient paperwork. After filling out my contact and insurance information, I came to the medical history section. The very first question on this medical questionnaire: Have you had any unplanned changes in your weight? The first question wasn’t about …

Rarely do I get so riled up by something that I am compelled to write a letter to a company. But when this does happen, at least I have the wherewithal to take a few deep breaths and write several drafts before I send it. I want to make sure that my points are clear, well articulated, and build a …

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook the other day. “What I learned from my mom today: ‘When I feel myself falling, I just let go and let it happen. I don’t fight it.’ This may be why after falling quite a few times in the past year she hasn’t broken any bones.” How often do we fight the …

Have you ever seen the first few episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? I recently saw an interview with Will Smith, and he shared how the show’s creators had developed this television series around him because he was a popular young rap artist, but no one had bothered to ask him if he could act. He described how he was …

Last night my friend’s car was broken into. The thieves broke her passenger side window and stole her gym bag. Luckily, they were in too much of a hurry to notice her laptop behind the back seat. A police officer arrived to inspect the damage and advise her of her options. At first he was concerned that her gym bag …

News Flash: the digital “retouching” of images is now the “industry standard” for media publishing. But never fear! This policy does meet with the occasional backlash. Critics say that the digital retouching of images creates an unrealistic standard of beauty and therefore, contributes to body image issues and an increased risk of eating disorders. Much of what those who deal …

I was standing in the grocery store checkout line when my eyes wandered to those dreaded magazines. You know, the ones that claim to reveal the latest celebrity secret for looking good. My eyes finally landed on a stunning picture of Gwyneth Paltrow wearing a bikini top and short shorts with the caption reading “Gwyneth Paltrow’s Healthy Eating Secrets – …

When people learn that I’ve written a book called Happy Calories Don’t Count (neither does unhappy exercise), the first thing I get asked is “What’s a Happy Calorie?” I generally answer this with another question, “what’s an unhappy calorie?” Interestingly, when I pose this question most people seem to “get it.” And then I bring their attention to the subtitle of the book …

I’ve found myself contemplating this passage lately. I’m not sure why. But it seems an appropriate May Day gift to share. This comes from The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallwey.  Enjoy! When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it …

I often say that teaching Happy Calories Don’t Count is like pulling you out of the Matrix. Only unlike the movie, the Matrix we’re dealing with can pull you right back in – and often does!! One of the basic tenants of learning theory is to teach by building on frameworks and concepts that people already know. And it is …