In January 2018 I got to that “enough is enough” point with my weight. I had yo-yo’d around for a few years, losing 10 pounds, gaining it back, losing 15, gaining 20. Then suddenly, nothing worked anymore. Not Atkins, not paleo, not whole 30, not the various cleanses, protein powders and supplements I tried. My sister had introduced me to Metabolic …
This Fourth of July marks the anniversary of my very first race, a 5K in my hometown of San Ramon. Prior to hitting the pavement for this race, I was a treadmill-only runner who kowtowed under pressure to the gal doing my hair who had recently taken up running. “We’ll do it together,” she said. “It will be fun,” she …
After struggling with work-life-training balance, some niggling health issues and a one-year-old overly energetic Border Collie, I declared 2018 to be the Year of the 5K. I assumed that rather than meet up with running friends who had made the exodus out of the San Francisco Bay Area to cities less congested for a destination half marathon as I had done …
All you have to do is walk through the doors of Livermore’s Range Life to know that Bill and Sarah Niles are no strangers to the restaurant business. Before joining forces with Brooklyn mixologist Waine Longwell, Bill was the co-chef at Tartine and Sarah the sommelier at Outerlands. Together the friends have transformed the former Charlotte’s Web location into the …
After two years of struggling to lose a single pound, on the suggestion of my sister, in January I decided to give the Metabolic Balance diet a go. More lifestyle change than a diet, Metabolic Balance is broken up into four phases. Phase one lasts two days and is designed to relax your metabolism. Phase two starts with a strict …
Focaccia was an absolute favorite of mine growing up. My grandmother used to serve at holidays and special events and on occasion, my father would bring it home from a local Italian deli for Saturday lunch. I loved the thick bread covered in my favorite pizza toppings. Fast forward 15 years or so and it seemed like focaccia bread was on every …
How do you train for running four heats of a 5K in one day? Some will treat it as half marathon training (quick math: 4 x 5K = 12.4 miles; half marathon=13.1 miles), which seems reasonable. Me? After trying to break 2 hours unsuccessfully for WAY too many years, I’m burned out on half marathon training. Instead, I trained for …
June of 2015 I returned from a vacation in Italy, proud that I had only gained 2 pounds while away. Then an odd thing happened. About 10 days later, I gained 5 pounds – virtually overnight. A couple of months later, another 5 pounds joined the first set. I’m kind of OCD about weighing myself, so I know these pounds …
This Year, I Resolve To… By now you have probably made at least a mental list of areas you would like to improve upon, even if you haven’t officially declared them to be “New Year’s Resolutions.” Perhaps you want to shake up your exercise routine, drop a few pounds, adopt a healthier diet, get a higher paying job or take …
Living in the Bay Area has its perks, including day trips to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. In the past, trips to wine country have involved tasting way too many wines at as many wineries as possible. The result? Buying wines I didn’t really love, which I blame on a variation on the law of diminishing returns (the more you …