Year: 2013

Tara Stiles gives me something to do

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One of my favourite things to do when travelling is try out yoga classes. Especially in big cities. And especially when I’m frazzled. And one of my favourite I’ve tried is yoga teacher to the stars Tara Stiles’ vinyasa class at her Soho studio Strala. I was there last Wednesday.

Yoga at Tara's studio.
Yoga at Tara’s studio. In my green shorts.

Tara’s class is a dance. And a wholly impressive exercise in gentleness.

There I was in crow pose to the strains of Red Hot Chilli Pepper. There I was holding Warrior #2 for five minutes to Run DMC. And there was Tara purring her encouragement in her mesmerising lilt, skipping around the class to adjust and touch us on the ankles, chuckling like a little girl. She chuckles the whole time.

But this is what is truly lovely. Throughout the class, when inviting us to take a pose further, she repeats this:

“It’s just something to do”

You know, no other purpose. No big aim. No mandate. Just to try it.

She follows with something a few of my yoga and meditation teachers have shared over the years:

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The Twitter guide to (Paleo) New York

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So many of you have been asking me for a rundown of How to Eat Well in New York. I’ve just been there for two weeks and I ate health-fully every meal. It’s supremely easy to do so in a big city – there’s so much choice. Actually, too much. A few pointers from me, and then a rundown of places drawn from advice pinged my way on Twitter, Instagram and on this blog. Plus my own finds. Feel free to cut ‘n’ keep.

First meal in New York last week: a green "stalks" juice.
First meal in New York last week: a green “stalks” juice.

FYI: I mostly eat Paleo when I travel. By avoiding all grains, I avoid sugar and it steers me to denser nutrients. Also, the Paleo community are great sharers of information.

How to eat well in New York:

* Eat at “classic” breakfast joints. They do good portions of eggs. But just avoid the grits and hashes and toasts. And add kale.

* Add kale. Did I mention add kale. Every menu seems to have it as a side. Just order it wherever you go, for added fibre and nutrients. Failing that, Brussels sprouts. They’re the cruciferous rage here right now.

* Avoid vegan and raw joints for breakfast. I know, I know…it sounds healthy. And at dinner time these places can be great for a mindful vegetable fix. But the sugar content in most of the breakfasts is out of control. Even if it’s re-labelled coconut sugar or maple syrup or…agave!

* New York is obsessed with paddock/farm-to-table/plate. There are countless places doing this style of eating. And if they do, you can mostly count on it being clean and green and good.

* Salad bars: they’re pretty good these days and there are so many pertaining to be “natural”…even if they’re not

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the best tweak I’ve made to my exercise routine

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Yesterday I ranted about biking around New York. Today I share my #1 trick for staying fit at home and when travelling. I walk. And I walk. And I walk.

Photo by Eugene Tan, Aquabumps
Photo by Eugene Tan, Aquabumps

I used to be a runner. I’d run ten kilometres to and from work each day. I’d run on the beach, and in the bush. I’d compete in soft sand races and go for 3-hour bush runs on weekends. But it all began to take its toll. I got injuries, hip complaints and, in general, the rushed, harried nature of running felt wrong. We’re not meant to push ourselves. We are meant to move, and be energised, yes. But, like New York Times writer Gretchen Reynolds says,

Humans are born to stroll.

I’ve since tweaked my exercise routine. I’m softer and gentler on myself these days. I still exercise daily, and I’ve shared how I exercise recently.
But to walking: It does all the stuff running does – strengthens the heart and lungs, increasing overall fitness, help with weight loss and tone up muscles (people who live in walkable neighbourhoods are 2.7-4.5kg lighter), is great for your bones and, done the right way, it burns as many calories as running without the high impact injuries. It is also the best cure for anyone (me!) who gets inflammation and water build up – it helps to drain the lower legs of excess fluid, and helps prevent varicose veins by the pumping action of the calf muscles.

And because you end up walking at a more consistent speed than running, it’s a more beneficial form of tissue-cleansing:

Walking pumps out toxins.

And the benefits go on.

But, says the science and my own experience, the trick is…do it every day. Every day. Several times a day.

And here’s how to get more walking into your day.

1. Walk to work. And parties. Don’t use excuses. Everyone can walk at least part of the way – park 20 minutes from

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How I travel: New York on a bike

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I don’t like flying. Or driving. I’ve always ridden. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve owned a car for seven years  of my life only. The rest of my adult life, I’ve ridden a bike to get around. Indeed, just three weeks ago I became car-less again. I really do prefer it. My tendency to attract parking tickets means it’s a particularly expensive habit. In fact, cars have always felt like way tooooo much collateral.

Screen Shot 2013-08-05 at 2.08.21 PM
Hot New York chic on bike. LOVE the saddlebag. Which sounds weird, I know.

I landed here in New York a week ago (boy, it feels longer!), jetlagged to …Frankston (or some other end-of-the-line zone), and a waitress with leg tattoos said to me,

“We are not meant to travel faster than horseback.” 

Or pushbike. The Ayurvedic tradition teaches this. Our cells are meant to move at a gentlemanly pace. At a pace that our breath can keep up with, I think.

My first day here I signed up for the Citibike scheme. I did the same in Paris last year. And Copenhagen. Do you know how it works? You insert your card. It costs $25 for a week for unlimited peddlies. You can pick up a bike pretty much every second block. You dart from spot to spot. It’s all above ground with fresh air in your hair. I don’t have wifi here (the dumb expense! the dumb expense!). So I look up my destinations for the day on Google Maps using the hotel wifi (or Starbucks’). Using the “bike” icon I get an exact map of where to go, timed to the minute, and download it on my phone. And on I ride, door to door.

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Congratulations Caroline, you’ve won a place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program

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Last week on my site, I Quit Sugar gave away one place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starting August 26. My site and the I Quit Sugar Facebook page were flooded with entries, and the IQS team and I have been really touched by everyone’s stories. Thank you to all of you who shared. … Read more

Gary Taubes: We can win the sugar fight

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A little update from my Adventures in New York…

Photo via The Atlantic
Photo via The Atlantic

Today (it’s Thursday evening here) New York Times science writer (the guy who wrote “Is Sugar Toxic”) and author of Why We Get Fat Gary Taubes and I met for a drink. We wanted tequila. The bar only served wine. I had Cote du Rhone.

We met to chat about his Nutrition Science Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation to “fund and facilitate rigorously well controlled experimental trials, carried out by independent, sceptical researchers”. I wanted to share with him about the University of Sydney study I Quit Sugar is doing whereby members taking part in the online course can have their health monitored to see if quitting sugar has changed their status. It’s a big study that can provide you – personally – with a very good picture of what’s going on nutritionally for you. And if you live in Sydney and you’re cool to join The Program, you are encouraged to take part….find out more here.

(Oh, and we also discussed the Australian dieticians from University of Sydney – a different crew to the one teaming up with I Quit Sugar – who continue to claim that Australia is eating less sugar than ever before. But we’ll get to that in two paragraphs.)

Then we powered twenty blocks up Avenue of the Americas together to see if I could be snuck into the Harvard Club (where he was due to dine with a colleague) in shorts and running shoes. Alas, to no avail. But we managed to talk some more and

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Friday giveaway: one place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program!

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It’s a month away. To the day. The first I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starts August 26, and the team are all madly getting ready to host you all. Seeing as it’s Friday, and I like to give things away on this site on Fridays, I’m thrilled to announce that today I Quit Sugar is giving away

one place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starting Aug 26, valued at $150!

Image via Favim.com
Image via Favim.com

I’ve shared a sneak peek at the meal plans recently, and given you one of the recipes. But today I’m going to share a little more about how the program works, what you’ll be getting each week, and answering a few of the common questions that crop up. And further on, The Giveaway!

If you’ve been deliberating and you’re keen to just jump in, you can click on the button below.

sign-up-ready1

Here’s how it works:

You’re considering quitting sugar, but maybe a little nervous to try on your own? Well, the 8-Week Program will help you through, holding your hand every step of the way. Each step is outlined, every meal is laid out for you, with full shopping lists, and substitution suggestions.

And we’ll be quitting as a community, so you’ll have plenty of insta-friends to help you along the way.

Here’s what you’ll receive every week:

  • A dietician-approved eating plan designed for busy people: clever bulk cooking ideas, fun take-to-work/school lunches, recipes that use economical ingredients and are easy to buy.
  • A shopping list that is geared to minimise waste and save you money.

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new york bound and travel melancholia

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There’s an empty, weightless feeling to travelling. It’s a certain kind of melancholia that kicks in when you walk onto a plane. Is it the lack of certainty? The fear of insignificance? (Here you are, about to enter the conceptual vacum that is international time zones where you have no anchor, no grounding.)

Image by Ben Frost
Image by Ben Frost

Why do we do it? Why do I do it? Travel triggers all my Stuff. My anxiety around smells and sounds and the general too-closeness of humanity. It leaves me feeling lonely and anxious that I don’t have close loved ones (husband, kids) who know where I am, who look up at the sky when planes fly over and think about where in the world I might be. Who bear witness to my existence by proxy.

But I travel, I think, precisely to plunge into this particular kind of melancholy. These kind of experiences are rare ones, where we are drawn way, way, way back from our Usual Life and we have to gaze onto it and question it.

I’m in the lounge at LA airport, en route to New York. I’m heading to New York for two reasons:

1. I have an agent convinced she can sell I Quit Sugar to the Americans. I’m meeting with publishers across Manhattan and doing some press interviews.

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how to carry your breakfast and lunch to work

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With each passing day, my lunch arrangements get more and more ridiculous. Actually, I don’t think they’re ridiculous. They’re very practical and economical and smart. If you ask me. And, if I can be boastful, they’ve inspired others to get ridiculous too. Check out the I Quit Sugar team’s efforts from the blog the other day.

Here's how I bring in my lunch
Here’s how I bring in my meals. Zip lock bags and containers a’plenty.

My eating technique is this:

I make my own breakfast and lunch each day. I never buy takeaway – ever – and don’t eat out for breakfast very often (only under sufferance; I struggle to pay $17 for eggs).

As I don’t eat breakfast until about 10am most days, breakfast is eaten in the office or on planes. En route, as a rule. Lunch, I’m often in meetings, on shoots or interstate. And so I tote.

I eat dinner out a few times a week or at friend’s houses where I don’t necessarily eat what I’d normally like to eat. So breakfast and lunch is my own. And so I tote.

These are some of the things I do to tote:

1. I make my green smoothie which I carry in jars and drink bottles. I don’t go anywhere without one. It’s the easiest thing to take on a plane, or into a meeting. I use a really good metal Zip water bottle I got given at the Sydney

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here’s how to boost your immunity this winter

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It’s been a cold few weeks. Our friends over in Tassie had their coldest day on record at minus 12, and I’ve been shivering in my ugg boots at home. It’s around about now, each year, that that I head overseas. Bound for warmer climes. Stay tuned on this front…

Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest

I struggle in the winter. I have to work hard to keep my immunity up because of my autoimmune disease. You can catch up on that here. And I write regularly about how I try to keep things on track. Not by pushing too hard, but by experimenting and working at daily habits to build real wellness. And I’m constantly on the lookout for little things that keep me keeping on…

So here’s one that’s come across my radar a few times now – olive leaf extract, a natural product that can be taken all year round (but particularly in winter) to boost your immunity and manage viral infections, especially when fever is present. In Australia, Olive Leaf Australia is widely available in leading health food stores, or online.

And just so you know, this is a sponsored post, but opinions are all my own and I researched the topic and came to these conclusions myself. You’ll find my position on sponsored posts and advertising here.

I asked Jo to look into this one a little more. This is what she came back with…

1. The Mediterranean diet factor:

If you’re a regular follower of this blog, you’ll know Sarah’s done lots of work looking into this diet, in particular, spending six weeks with National Geographic’s Blue Zone team in Ikaria last year investigating it in detail. You’ll be

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