All posts by Hilary Achauer

How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label—and Make Better Food Choices

How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label—and Make Better Food Choices

By

A few years ago, I picked up my favorite energy bar and looked at the nutrition facts label.

I had a suspicion about these bars. They advertise simple, natural ingredients, and they are delicious and sweet—a little too sweet. I selected my favorite flavor and looked at the sugar content: eighteen grams.

I find “grams” hard to visualize and without a lot of meaning, so to give myself some context I divided eighteen by four—this is how you convert grams to teaspoons, which is a measurement I can get my head around.…

Read More
The Purpose of the Phase 3 Assessments: Blood Lipids and Blood Glucose

The Purpose of the Phase 3 Assessments: Blood Lipids and Blood Glucose

By

Want to know how far you’ve come? You need to know where you started.

Self-assessments are an important part of the Whole Life Challenge. Measurements at the beginning let you know what kind of progress you’ve made, and provide an objective picture of your health.

The Whole Life Challenge includes three assessment phases.

  • Phases 1 and 2 include baseline measurements: weight, waist and hip size, and fitness tests.
    • …
    Read More
    How to Break a Bad Habit

    How to Break a Bad Habit

    By

    It all started with dark chocolate.

    I’d read about how dark chocolate can reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and raise HDL, or “good” cholesterol, so I began ending the night with a few squares of 85% cacao dark chocolate.

    It was good, but not very sweet, so I usually stopped after a few squares. It’s easy to avoid overdoing chocolate with so little sugar.…

    Read More
    Why You Need to Put Yourself First and How to Do It

    Why You Need to Put Yourself First and How to Do It

    By

    Before I had my daughter in 2005, at age 32, I spent my time boxing, surfing, traveling the world as part of my job with a tour operator, and fixing up a dilapidated beach house with my husband. I had lots of fun, but spent very little time doing things for other people.

    I made time for my husband, my family, and my friends, but I was mostly able to do what I wanted, when I wanted.…

    Read More
    Nobody Wants to Hear About Your Lunch: How to Talk About the Whole Life Challenge

    Nobody Wants to Hear About Your Lunch: How to Talk About the Whole Life Challenge

    By

    I looked at the food truck menu, trying to find something to order. I had just started the Whole Life Challenge and was attending an event at my kids’ elementary school. Hamburger, no. Tacos, no. Ahi poke salad — that could work.

    I approached the window.

    “I’d like an ahi poke salad, no wonton chips please. Also, can you tell me what’s in the dressing?”

    The woman looked up from her notepad and fixed me with a glare.…

    Read More
    How to Play the Whole Life Challenge When You're Sick

    How to Play the Whole Life Challenge When You’re Sick

    By

    It’s easy to stay on track when things are going well. When life is predictable, there’s time to plan meals, exercise, meditate, and get enough sleep.

    Unfortunately, life is rarely predictable. Even if your sleep, nutrition, and exercise are on point, you might get sick at some point during the eight-week Whole Life Challenge.

    This doesn’t mean you have to give up!…

    Read More
    The Importance of "Whole" in Your Whole Life (Challenge)

    The Importance of “Whole” in Your Whole Life (Challenge)

    By

    In the early 2000s, the pomegranate was the new super food. This antioxidant-rich miracle fruit was said to improve cardiovascular health, fight prostate cancer, and prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Soon, the refrigerators of most health-conscious people contained POM Wonderful pomegranate juice in those funny, double-bulb shaped bottle.

    The Super Food That Wasn’t

    POM Wonderful, the company, was founded in 2002 by the billionaire couple Stewart and Linda Rae Resnick.…

    Read More
    Better Than Fun: Why You Should Always Do the "Hard" Things

    Better Than Fun: Why You Should Always Do the “Hard” Things

    By

    Adam Carolla, Loveline host turned podcaster, said something years ago that stuck with me.

    He was talking about having kids. Someone asked him if it was fun having kids. He paused, thought for a minute and then said, “No, it’s not fun. It’s better than fun.”

    Fun describes things like watching a movie, going to dinner with friends, or jumping on a trampoline.…

    Read More
    Too Busy for Healthy Habits? Here Are 4 Easy and Fun Solutions

    Too Busy for Healthy Habits? Here Are 4 Easy and Fun Solutions

    By

    I have a little trick I use when facing a task I dread.

    If I can’t bear the thought of making yet another salad, or I really, really don’t want to clean the guinea pig’s cage, I set a stopwatch and time how long it actually takes me to complete the task I’ve been avoiding for an hour.

    In the case of making a salad, the answer is less than five minutes

    “Well, that wasn’t so bad,” I think when I’m done.…

    Read More
    Your Body Is Not Your Masterpiece — Your Health Is

    Your Body Is Not Your Masterpiece — Your Health Is

    By

    Recently, I came across this short article, Your Body Is Not Your Masterpiece.

    “Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it’s all you’ve got to offer the world,” Glennon Doyle Melton wrote in the piece. “Your body is not your offering. It’s just a really amazing instrument, which you can use to create your offering each day.…

    Read More
    Home Fermentation

    A Beginner’s Guide to Home Fermentation: Sauerkraut

    By

    If you’ve paid attention to health news in the last few years, you’re aware of the importance of probiotics, or live bacteria and yeast beneficial to your health. A healthy, thriving digestive system is full of this good bacteria, which influences everything from our immune system to our mental health, and of course our digestion.

    Many factors can upset the ideal balance of good gut bacteria.…

    Read More
    The benefits of helping others

    The Surprising Ways Helping Others Can Improve Your Health

    By

    The line is long, and for an hour I don’t stop moving. First a spoonful of beans on the plate, then a squirt of ketchup and mustard on each hamburger. Everyone is patient and polite. Some look me in the eye, and smile, or make a quick joke. Some look at the floor and seem to have trouble forming words. One man in a polo shirt asks my name, tells me his, and when he returns for seconds he says, “Thank you, Hilary.”

    I look down the line to my right, and see my ten-year-old daughter handing out cookies.…

    Read More

    Pin It on Pinterest