The institution with which I am affiliated just sent me a Pebble® with which to track my daily steps, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Attached unobtrusively to an elastic band or strap, it ventures forth with me every day as I plot my path, set my course, walk my steps and take my hike.

Now I happen to be the sort of person, with clothing for every sort of weather, who is not usually bothered much by rain or snow or heat or cold. In fact, I especially love to walk in the falling snow. In the summer I sometimes walk at sunrise or late in the evening to avoid the heat of the day. There’s also an elliptical in the basement just in case it’s absolutely pouring, but to me there’s no substitute for fresh air. So my Pebble® and I are planning to get out pretty much every day no matter what. Continue reading →

Have you ever had to work with someone whose actions caused you to hear your mom’s voice inside your head saying things like “everyone gets a turn,” or even “let’s be nice”? When my friend, Dee, heard her kids complain repeatedly about the particularly frustrating behavior of certain adults in their lives, she used to tell her kids to think of them as “negative role models.” She said that just as it’s important to have good examples of how you would like to behave, it’s also valuable to have examples of how you would NOT like to behave. Continue reading →

Many years ago my husband and I, in different fields, nevertheless found ourselves at the same conference in San Francisco. Afterward, we rented a car and took a lazy drive up the coast. The Pacific backdrop was beyond spectacular; we had never seen anything like it. From time to time we drove past small herds of contented, unimpressed cattle resting on bright green grassy knolls. “Lucky cows,” muttered my husband. Continue reading →

Here’s my elevator speech about nutrition, what I choose to say to the patient with just 10 seconds for some advice. “Can you fit it into 10 seconds, doc?” You bet! “Eat more fruits and vegetables.”

Marion Nestle says it like this: 1) Aspire to variety (the more colors the better), 2) avoid partaking heavily of any single food category (notably meat, dairy, sugar and white flour), and 3) moderate your portions. That works.

Continue reading →