less leslie

FLOTUS is on the cover of Newsweek talking about her childhood obesity campaign, with a special emphasis on home cooking. Here’s a sample of what she wrote: “Back when many of us were growing up, we led lives that kept most of us at a pretty healthy weight. We walked to school every day, ran…

Last night, my daughter came home with a bloody gash on her right eyelid, a deep scratch on the tip of her nose and big knot on her forehead. And she was smiling, because she could see the beginnings of a black eye. She’d never had a black eye before, and was quite excited. This…

Today, Kraft Kitchens emailed me some “fresh ideas for spring,” illustrated with a large photo of a Vanilla-Almond Fruit Tart. On top of the pie-sized tart was a pile of strawberries. Yuck. Can’t stand strawberries, but the tart part looked pretty darned good. So did the Coconut-Fudge Bars (dislike coconut, too). Every day, I can…

Now I know why there seem to be a lot of people enthusiastic about Zumba Fitness classes. It’s an hour’s worth of nonstop dancing. Me, I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath, towel off and take a swig of water. If the clock were working in the fitness room it’s…

The rash is back. I just don’t have the words to express my frustration. So, I won’t. It’s not a sweat rash, because that’s more like a heat rash. Upon extensive Google analysis, I found the answer: Cholinergic urticaria. Think “exercise hives.” It’s brought on by exercise and heat, and I only get a flare…

It’s been a tough couple of weeks, what with the rash and steroids and advice not to sweat, but despite it all I dropped another three pounds, bringing my total to 15 pounds for the six weeks. At least, that’s what my scale says. The scales at the gym and at my doctor’s office usually…

Mine is a long street with dozens of houses, but in the cul-de-sac where I live, I have at least two neighbors involved in MLM, get-thin-quick schemes. I was approached by each on two separate occasions. One was selling that Ardyss International “Body Magic” thing, a severely restrictive undergarment that claims to shrink you at…

Confession: I have not been to the gym since Friday. I know, I know. Please don’t yell at me; I have been so incredibly busy, every time I plan to go, I seem to run out of time. I have plenty of excuses, including too many responsibilities, not enough time. Today, though, everything is all…

I’m thinking about training for a marathon. Not a running one, though. A walking one. Is it still considered a marathon if you walk? Maybe not. A walkathon, then. Training for a walk. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? However, I’ve had shin splits. Very, very painful. Not wanting to experience that ever again. Training will strengthen…