San Francisco Womens Journal » Grace of Girlfriends

Keep Your Diet and Exercise on Track!

SFWJ — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:25:29 +0000

In this edition of the Grace of Girlfriends, we asked three Bay Area Women to share their favorite tips to help us keep New Years Resolutions on track when it comes to diet and exercise. Here’s what they had to say!

Diet and Healthy Eating

Darya Pino is a UCSF scientist, San Francisco foodie and advocate of local, seasonal foods. Here are her favorite ways to eat healthy and manage your diet!

Darya Pino

1. Keep a healthy snack like almonds or trail mix in your purse or car. It’s easy to justify eating unhealthy food when you don’t have any other options. Avoid these situations by always having a small stash of nuts or other non-perishable snack to tide you over until you can find real food. The best snacks contain protein and fat, but no added sugars.

2. Eat slowly and mindfully. No matter how little time you have, sitting down and being fully present when you eat is worth the investment. Mindful eating helps you better appreciate and feel more satisfied with your food. As a result you will eat less and feel better!

3. Grab quick meals at health food and grocery stores rather than the drive thru. If you’re in a bind and need a quick meal, look for alternatives to the drive-thru. Health food and grocery stores like Whole Foods have wonderful prepared food sections where you can find fresh and healthy meals to go.

4. Avoid “low fat” foods. Old habits die hard, and low fat is one of the hardest to kill. Foods advertised as low fat are usually the least healthy choice, since the fat is often replaced with extra salt and sugar. Enjoy the fat and choose smaller portions instead, you will actually feel more satisfied.

For more of Darya’s healthy eating tips visit her blog Summer Tomato or see her work at The Huffington Post. You can also connect with Darya on Twitter @summertomato and Facebook.

Making Fitness Fit

Jennifer Ruiz M.S. and Jaclyn Ruiz are sisters and the Co-founders of BeFitnPretty.com. They share their favorite ways to make fitness fit into your day!

Jaclyn and Jen Ruiz

Park and Walk: One super simple way to fit exercise into your everyday life is to park your car in the spot furthest from the entrance the mall/grocery store/your office. Those extra steps can really add up over the course of a week, month and year. Plus, you will avoid all of the stress that comes from trying to find a parking spot close to the door.

Stairs for Your Stems: Stair climbing is a fantastic way to tone up your legs and backside, so shun elevators and escalators and instead vow to take the stairs whenever possible. You will be shocked at how many opportunities you have to fit in a quick stair workout and your legs and behind will have never looked better!

Dress for Success: If you know you want to hit the gym or go on a run the next morning, pack up your gym bag or lay your clothes out the night before. You are less likely to skip a your workout if you see your lonely clothes sitting there and staring at you from across the room.

Rock Out while You Workout: Good music can be just the thing you need to get yourself off the couch and out the door. Pack your mp3 player with upbeat tunes that you know will get you moving. And if you are feeling particularly unmotivated, crank up the music in your house and dance around for a while, it’s an instant dance workout!

BeFitNPretty is a website dedicated to helping busy girls everywhere take the “die” out of their diet, by sharing the prettiest and most sane ways to stay fit and healthy. Jennifer and Jaclyn are both Bay Area natives. On the weekends they can be found running in Golden Gate Park or visiting one of the many amazing farmers markets the area has to offer. You can also connect with them on Twitter @BeFitNPretty.

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How to Make the Holidays Stress Free!

SFWJ — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:58:39 +0000

In this edition of The Grace of Girlfriends, we asked three San Francisco Bay Area women the following question:

What are your favorite ways to make the holidays memorable and stress free?

Carolyn Kellams

The holidays are a magical time! I decorate, entertain, go to parties, and have a merry season. Years ago I stopped buying presents for adults (but still give gifts to children). When I told my friends I was not exchanging presents, I encouraged us to develop traditions where we DID something fun together.

To be honest, I don’t want to receive a gift I don’t want, nor give one to someone who has everything. Not buying gifts is a huge relief. And, having holiday adventures is fun! I’m a single person.

Five years ago, after continuous social events and weight gain beginning at Thanksgiving, I decided to stay home on Christmas day. At first, friends didn’t understand my new tradition. Christmas is my day.

I have a roaring fire, my cat Mango and I are curled up on the sofa and I watch movies. Dinner is fresh crab, sourdough bread, a delicious salad, chocolate dessert and Champaign. It’s my Merry Christmas!

Carolyn Kellams is a Life Coach and teaches Stress and Time Management workshops. She also tries to practice what she preaches!

Lorena Bathey

Holidays can be filled with immense emotion and frustration. At this time of year your shortcomings can be amplified. Not in a relationship? What’s wrong with you? Don’t have enough money for gifts? Why don’t you have a better job?

I challenge you to look at this holiday season as a time to gift yourself.

Buy a tree that YOU like and put your favorite ornaments on it. Create a dinner party to celebrate with your favorite dishes and people. Or celebrate your holidays lying on a beach because you have always wanted to.

This year do NOT make resolutions, instead make gifts to yourself to do the things that you have put off. Stress comes when you try to live your life in ways you do not feel comfortable doing.

So put a bow on YOUR life and determine what YOU want for your holiday…..then live that all year long.

Lorena Bathey is an author, speaker, and motivator for Fairy Godmothers everywhere. Her book, Happy Beginnings: How I Became My Own Fairy Godmother was her catalyst to teaching women how to create their own real life fairy tales.

Ann Gilbert

Each year, we add an ornament for our tree. This year the kids will pick their own. Remembering the past years selection is a fun tradition.

I love giving holiday gifts. I ask myself, what do I love about this person? What do they talk about? What preoccupies them? I want to give a gift that says, “I really know you.”

We often travel to my mother-in-laws for the holidays. Last year, after complaining to a friend, I made a list of the things I would do better. Here is what I wrote;

- Call my mom/sisters more while away.

- Stay hydrated. (Drink the good wine the week before!)

- Bring a good book and my music for my personal cheer.

- Schedule a massage. (flight with kids; brutal)

At holiday parties my favorite question is, “Now that the year is ending, what did you do or learn this year?”

Ann Gilbert, a Personal and Business Coach, helps people relate with each other and themselves through effective personal strategies. Ann is also the Mom of twin sons.

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Making Time to Take Care of YOU!

SFWJ — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:30:18 +0000

As women we love to talk and share ideas with one another, especially our girlfriends. Ask any woman and she will tell you there’s something special about her friendships with other women.

Girlfriends are there to listen, to console and to encourage. They inspire us to keep on keeping on or help us to look at things in a new way.

In this edition of

The Grace of Girlfriends, we asked three Bay Area women the following question:

“How do you make time for self-nurturing and what are your favorite ways to take care of yourself?”

Here’s what they had to say:

Jodi Perelman

One of the ways I take care of myself is to surround myself with people who also believe in the power of self-nurturing and self-care. These friends support me in making good choices and look out for me when I overextend myself.

Another good way is to set aside time for nurturing activities (or non-activities!). It’s really helpful to make an appointment with myself for things like rest, making art, meditation, yoga, seeing good friends, connecting with my partner and doing absolutely nothing.

It can be hard to slow down in the midst of so much busyness, and sometimes I feel a lot of resistance to it. But when I actively make self-care and self-nurturing my priority, I feel good inside and am more effective in my other activities.

Jodi Perelman, M.A., is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco. She welcomes women who wish to work on relationship issues and build on their innate capacity for health and healing. She also works with couples and families.

Erica Nelson

Nurturing yourself is a mindset, a way of being that honors you. So often we slip into the role of leaving our own list of nurturing activities to last place.

The funny thing is that while I personally know nurturing oneself is wildly important (and I even wrote a book about getting into a positive mindset and how this will help you get stronger results), in my life, taking time for Erica is a challenge. The three kids are perpetually mommy-hungry, my future books want my energy, housework stretches on endlessly, and my husband would like more time.

To take care of my spirit, I meditate and listen to guided meditations. I love riding my horse. I curl up with a book in front of the fireplace. In the wild landscape of my life, if I cannot spend the time for a nice pedicure, I stop and look outside and consider the beauty in the sky.

To the degree I take that time for me, my life runs smoothly and with more joy.

Erica M Nelson, author of “Prospect When You Are Happy: Move the Law of Attraction into Action” is a success coach.

Nikki Anderson

I make time for self-nurturing by choosing me over other things I could be doing. I have realized over the years that if I don’t put myself as a priority then ultimately not only do I suffer but so does everything else in my life.

My favorite ways to take care of myself each day are taking quiet time in the mornings, sitting down for three balanced meals every day, and taking as many naps as I can squeeze in on a given week.

Nikki Anderson is a lifestyle strategist and business coach. She works with individuals, teams and business partners, helping them to create successful work/life balance strategies.

Now it’s your turn! How do you find time for yourself and what are some of your favorite ways to nurture yourself?

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