I hate diets. After years of being a chronic dieter for various reasons, including professional physique competitions, I. Hate. Diets. I affectionately call the way I eat ‘Manage Your Mangia’. This is based on my upbringing in an Italian American family, where I like to believe mangia means eat and enjoy. What I eat in a day can vary, and I … Read More
A (raw) Truth About Shame and Authenticity
Warning: This post is raw, and it has taken courage for me to write. I have put off sharing it. As a high level fitness professional, and a woman in midlife. [that is statistically where society puts women in the 40-50+ age group] I have made it my passion to share my experience, and to be frank with my thoughts … Read More
Fabulous Fathers Day Salad
Beautiful Broccoli Salad Summer time fun often means bring a bowl of something to a back yard cookout. This is a hit with my guys so I felt obligated to share! It makes a great Fathers Day side dish to go with that steak or those slow cooked ribs. Broccoli salad topped with chilled shrimp. Broccoli Salad Veggies 1 1/2 pounds broccoli … Read More
5 Ways Women Self Sabotage
In my 20’s my Dad and fiancé were determined to teach my sister and I how to play golf. The guys would take us to a par 3 course weekly, to teach us how to play. I didn’t think it would take much effort to excel, because I was a confident and successful athlete in my youth. Golf was different. … Read More
Those Arms Though!
I have coached, trained and/or advised over 500 women about their fitness challenges. The questions women ask me have a common theme, and they are often about physique improvement. I have been sharing my answers to the most asked questions on my Instagram and Facebook page. Because so many people requested this information, and many busy women may have missed it … Read More
“A Jar of Hearts”
The original topic for today was about setting up a home gym, but I trashed it in favor of a juicy topic that surfaced at my in-person small group trainings this morning. Self Love. We freely shared our insecurities today. It became clear, that we are more alike than not, in our fears and anxieties. I quickly realized that this is not … Read More
Owning Imperfection
Recently I put on a workout outfit previously reserved for my formerly extreme lean body. This gym outfit was one of my favorites, yet I refused to wear it if I thought I wasn’t lean enough. I would pass it over and think I was not worthy of wearing it. I was saving it for when I thought I had ‘earned the … Read More
The Hobby that Taught me How to Stop Dieting
There was that time I took up a new hobby. We had recently moved back to our old hometown, after living away for 14 years. I though it would be a good idea to have an activity that I could do with girlfriends, (besides drinking coffee and supervising play dates) After some thought, I settled on Tennis. Tennis, I … Read More
A Mother’s Day Letter to My Younger Self
Dear Judy Some bad news, there is no school for motherhood. Some good news, you have built in mentors in your mother and mother-in-love (mother-in-law) Learn from these amazing women. They have been waiting years to help with this! Trust your own instincts. What other moms do with their kids is their business. You know your kids best. Embrace night-time … Read More
Why is Monday = confession day?
Have you ever noticed how Mondays are big confession days? “The conversations run something like this: “OMG!… I ate wayyyyyy too much this weekend! For the rest of this week I need to eat zero fat, dry salads and egg whites to repair the damage” Then Friday hits aaaannnnd the same weekend over indulgence happens again. It is not a … Read More