less leslie

“Are you still being a vegetarian?” That was my daughter’s question, and my husband was wondering the same thing. Given my track record with fad diets, can’t say I blame them. But yes, I’m still doing the vegetarian thing. This is Week 5, and I’ve only had one slipup: Saturday night, when the hubby was…

I hurt. Went to the 6 a.m. “teaser” boot camp session this morning, which was supposed to be a 30-minute taste of what the hour-long class would be like, but noooo. Only one other person showed up – and she’d completed the spring boot camp – so we worked out for about 50 minutes. That’s…

I’ve just discovered a serious and potentially life-threatening downside to the endorphin rush – that “natural high” or “runner’s high” one gets after exercise: It can make you do things you wouldn’t otherwise do. Like sign up for a six-week “boot camp” at the gym. Yet there I was, towel around my neck to catch…

Normally, I’d be halfway through a pint of Chunky Monkey right now. First disappointment: My daughter and I were at the grand opening of Nordstrom Rack in Durham this a.m., as planned. Didn’t win the $2,000 shopping spree, but as I quickly discovered, it wouldn’t have done me much good: The store doesn’t carry plus…

I am so excited. It’s September, finally, and despite temps (again) in the mid-90s, I’ve already changed my screensaver to a fall scene, and am going to treat myself to a manicure and luscious, deep red nail polish. I even created a nickname for this, my most favorite time of year: “The ’Bers” – as…

I am hot, sweaty and pretty happy. The first two because I just returned from walking and jogging a couple of miles, the last one due to the endorphins triggered by the first two. It’s just after 1 p.m., and the temp is somewhere north of 95 degrees. I don’t like exercising in the afternoons…

In other words, I gained, then lost, then gained the same pounds over and over again this month. Right now, I’m at 258 and holding – down the same 37 pounds I started the month with. However, I had lost an additional three pounds the first week, but managed to pack on six over a…

Not sure if that’s phrased correctly. Maybe it’s “turning” or “becoming” vegetarian, but that’s not accurate, either, because it sounds like I’m readying myself for initiation to some secret society. Fact is, I’ve been living the vegetarian lifestyle for two weeks now, and it seems to suit me. Yesterday, though, I had a serious craving…

I’ve really slacked off on exercising this month, something I truly hate to admit. I’m very good at convincing myself I’m too busy or too sleepy to get to the gym, which is mostly true, but not a valid excuse. Like a lot of folks working hard to get the pounds off, I get incredibly…

Surely you’ve noticed, especially in the last few weeks, when the national obsession encompassed all things back-to-school. If you’ve passed a school bus stop, attended an open house or helped a loved one unpack at college, there’s no way you missed the disproportionate amount of overweight and obese African-American children, teens and young adults. Our…