Refreshingly sensible advice from LA Times Mag . . .

Pausing during an Urban Hike to capture a shot of my calves . . .

In a world full of diet and exercise fads, and a media that continually propagates them with ad-libby headlines "shed (number) of pounds/inches from (problem area) in (unrealistically low number) days," I was surprised to see that this month's LA Times Magazine had a really well-written article on personal trainer Tracy Anderson and her balanced approach to eating and exercising healthfully.

Her dozen or so tips include the obvious "don't [crash/fad] diet" & "trust your body to take out the trash" (i.e. no need to detox!) but also a good dose of self- and reality-acceptance advice, like giving yourself the OK to gain the few pounds of "boyfriend/girlfriend" fat when falling in love (due to eating out more frequently than usual,) or maintaining your discretion [and modesty] (which is what I did when I was actively aiming to lose weight, long before I started this blog, I didn't feel the compulsion to broadcast my plans to revamp my habits and have countless eyes watching me onwards -- I just did it solo, and made me my biggest cheereleader & competitor over the last 35-40 pounds.)

Anyhow, check out the article here and love to hear what you think of her advice.