Melissa's Blog

Summer is finally in full swing and along with it comes endless summer festivals.  We dream of summer activities all winter:  music fests, rib fests, beer fests, and many many more.  What we don’t dream about is packing on the extra empty calories that linger inside the food and beer tents.  But guess what??  You can still have a great festival season while using moderation and healthy strategies!  Here are some tips to help you practice mindful eating this summer: If possible, walk or bike to the event.  If you can’t walk all the way, park farther away to get...

Last year after hearing how amazing the full Ironman was, I decided that this would be a perfect way to kick off my 2013 race season, so I signed up for the half.  Arriving in Mont Tremblant was easier than I thought - a very quick flight into Montreal from Chicago and then a 90-minute drive into Tremblant.  The drive was beautiful, which made the time fly by.  The city of Tremblant is really cute, a little ski resort with shops and gondolas.  For this trip, I decided to go alone, but did know two other people that would be...

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger...only if you recover properly! Have you ever had a really satisfying, intense workout or training session that you couldn’t help but feel awesome about?  But then the next day, when your confidence and motivation are high, you just can’t seem to replicate that same awesome workout you had the day before??  What went wrong?  While there are a number of things that could have gone wrong, the most probable reason that immediately pops into mind is poor post-workout recovery.  If your body is unable to repair itself before your next workout, you will...

As I sit here thinking about how to start my race report, I started to ask myself, did I set out to do what I wanted to do in Racine?  Well, I guess that depends… Back up to February, after experiencing hip pain since December, I finally went and got an MRI to confirm what I already suspected, a tear in my labrum.  It is a “minor” tear according to Dr. Nho, who doesn’t recommend surgery at this time.  His recommendations, strengthen the muscles around the area – mainly my glutes and core muscles that were weakened from childbirth and...

Tis the season to be thinking about detoxing and cleansing. With my clients, the start of the holiday season is a very popular time to embark on a detox and cleansing program. With all of the claims about detoxing, many people calling it dangerous, unsafe and extreme, some programs can be very healthy and safe. The key is to look for a program that works for you, which should have safe recommendations and supplements that are third party, certified for quality. So, who should detox?   If you’re unhappy with your weight, frustrated by how tired or irritable you feel,...