This story category covers active sports and fitness activities, nutrition, diet, supplements, sports clothing and gear, wellness pursuits, meds, massage and physio.
MONEY WELL SPENT | You could give your sweet mama any number of indulgences for Mother’s Day (It’s May 13 in case you need a reminder), a box of heavenly macaroons, for example, or her favourite expensive perfume, but these sorts of gifts are ephemeral. If you really want to go all out for the woman who grew you up, give her a gift that will do right by her beautiful mind. Read more
CULT PRODUCT ALERT | Kombucha is a centuries-old fermented-tea beverage consumed for its presumed health benefits. While there’s no hard scientific evidence that kombucha stimulates the immune system, improves digestion and liver function or boosts physical and mental energy in humans, growing legions of kombucha devotees will tell you otherwise, including such celebrities as Gwyneth Paltrow, who pitches GT’s Raw Organic Kombucha as part of her dietary regimen. Read more
OUTLETS WE LOVE | Generally I put little stock in outlet merchandise, imagining most of it to be cheaply made items by high-end labels looking to cash in on the wannabe crowd, but recently I found myself in the enviable position of cruising through two Lululemon Athletica Outlet stores (one off Interstate 5 in Burlington, Washington, and the other in Burnaby) and I have to say that I was dead wrong about outlet shopping where Lululemon is concerned. Read more
MONEY WELL SPENT | Is Canada a nation of flosser wannabes? You would think so if you glanced at the December 31 Huffington Post “picture gallery” piece that ran under the bold headline “New Year’s Resolutions 2012: The Top Resolutions For Canadians.” Read more
FREE & FABULOUS | I’ve been trying on a quasi-casual level to lose “those last five pounds” for the last five years, but haven’t been able to. Now I know why and what to do about it, thanks to Fitday.com. Fitday, for the uninitiated—and there are still one or two of us out there—is a free, superbly organized weight loss website that allows its five million members to easily set a weight loss goal that will trigger an action plan that includes daily food consumption and physical activity requirements.
All of this is great, of course, but the best thing about Fitday in my view, and in the view of Innovative Fitness trainer Josh Allen who introduced me to the program, is the way it tracks the nutrient values in the foods you consume—and nutrient values, as I’m coming to learn, are at the root of my problem.
TAKE FIVE | Have you ever thought you might lower your stress levels with yoga, then watched them soar into the red zone as you battled your way through traffic to class? Or noticed that the unlimited monthly pass at your local mega studio isn’t such a great deal if you only manage to use it twice?
What if you could work yoga into your day in small bites—five and 10 minutes at a time—with detailed instructions that take you deep into the pose?
And how about paying less than you would for a cup of coffee? Read more
CREATIVE SOLUTION | The trouble with gloves is that they get lost, loaned, separated from their mates, mangled by pets—or can’t be found where you put them last. Read more
FITTER BY THE MINUTE | Anyone who checks this website routinely knows I’m obsessed with the fact I sit too much. I HATE sitting in front of a computer for hours at a stretch but that is what I do for a living. Sure I can use a sit/stand desk like the ones we reported on HERE last week. And yes I can—and do—exercise outside normal work hours, but I know from reading the research these practices alone will not keep the Grim Reaper from calling early, most likely unannounced. Read more
LOSING IT | Losing weight wasn’t at the top of my To Do list. It hovered somewhere between sorting out the basement and organizing the family photos, promising to be just as much of a chore. Then recently, I looking around on Abebooks.com and I noticed that they are practically giving away copies of the The Dukan Diet. Read more
BACK TO BASICS | Say goodbye to spa therapies that only go skin deep. Thermo- therapy and hydrotherapy, practised throughout Europe, are showing up across the country. These therapies use extreme heat and profuse sweating to flush out deeply lodged toxins, relax muscles and improve heart health. Read more