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TECH
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p. 52

The Hidden
Epidemic
Why Fatty Liver Disease
Is on the Rise — and What
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p. 64

16 Ways to
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Every Day p. 58
Fresh
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52 Tech Fix
There’s a reason your smartphone
sometimes seems to be running your life:
It’s designed to be addictive. Learn how to
regain control of your devices so they don’t
control you — and find a healthier balance
between digital connections and real life.
By Mo Perry
IN EVERY ISSUE
4 Experience Life Digital
7 Editor’s Note by Jamie Martin
9 Talk to Us
87 Perspective by Bahram Akradi
88 Meditation
12 Well Informed
Smart ways to save on organic food,
four simple herbs for gardening newbies,
the downside of Big Pharma’s direct-to-
consumer advertising, and more.
16 On the Cover
Creative Inspiration
Journalist, author, and podcast host
Manoush Zomorodi on why getting
comfortable with boredom is good for us.
By Heidi Wachter
2 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
58 16 Ways to Move More
The recommended amount of daily exercise
is 30 minutes, but hitting that goal still may
not protect you from the effects of a largely
sedentary lifestyle. For your long-term well-
being, experts advise finding more ways
to move every day. These simple, creative
suggestions can help you do just that.
By Andrew Heffernan, CSCS
16
64 The Hidden Liver Crisis
One in three Americans has nonalcoholic
fatty liver disease, though many of them
may not know it. Fortunately, positive
changes to nutrition and lifestyle — factors
that also contribute to the condition — can
significantly improve the health of the liver.
By Laine Bergeson, FMCHC
20 Learn This Skill
Make Your Own Spring-Cleaning Kit
Many common household cleaners contain
carcinogens and other toxins. Keep your
home clean — and your body healthy —
with these all-natural recipes.
By Kaelyn Riley
22 My Turnaround
The Bigger Picture
How one man’s love of photography and
the outdoors inspired a career change —
and helped him find a greater sense of
satisfaction and purpose.
By Scott Kranz
 Craving more healthy-living inspiration?
Sign up for Experience Life’s weekly and monthly
DEPARTMENTS newsletters at ELmag.com/newsletters.

72

32 42 74

REAL FITNESS REAL FOOD REAL LIFE

26 The Workouts 38 Nutrients 72 Balance
Mobility: Mobilize Your Hips Feed Your Flora Calendar Cleanup
Our hips often bear the brunt of our activity Discover the role of prebiotics in nourishing Sweep away nonessential obligations.
— or inactivity. Try these moves to ease the good bacteria that keep our guts healthy By Karen Olson
discomfort and improve range of motion. — and the best plant-based food sources of
By Kaelyn Riley these types of indigestible fiber. 74 Head Out
Cardio: Power Cycling Rachel Meltzer Warren, MS, RDN Purposeful Movement
A high-intensity interval routine designed to An athlete rediscovers neglected
build strength and burn fat. 42 Confident Cook ways to stay active.
By Nicole Radziszewski How to Cook Lentils By Kara Douglass Thom
With one simple preparation technique,
31 Break It Down these little legumes can take center stage in 78 Good to Know
The Pushup a variety of nutrient-packed recipes. Expert advice on using oregano oil,
Form and technique tips to help you master By Rebecca Katz, MS overcoming competitiveness, and more.
By Jon Spayde
this fundamental upper-body exercise.
By Maggie Fazeli Fard, RKC 48 Honestly, Dara
Easy Pickings 81 The Living Experiment
32 Up Your Game The case for keeping gardening simple by Enough
Game, Set, Match sticking with flavorful, fragrant herbs. An examination of scarcity and abundance.
By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl By Dallas Hartwig and Pilar Gerasimo
Improve your tennis skills with these
pro insights.
By Yael Grauer 51 Worthy Goods 82 Nourished Self
All in One On Hunger
35 Strong Body, Strong Mind Timeless, durable kitchen tools that make Roxane Gay’s insights on body image.
Just Right food prep and cooking more enjoyable. By Heidi Wachter
Taking it easy isn’t easy for our fitness
editor — but she’s finding a balance. 85 Worthy Goods
By Maggie Fazeli Fard, RKC
Go for Bamboo
Cool products made of this super-
renewable resource.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 3


WE LOVE
MEET: Alisa Vitti, functional
nutritionist, women’s hormone expert,
and author of WomanCode
ABOUT: After years of
struggling with weight,
cystic acne, and irregular
periods, Alisa Vitti was
diagnosed at age 20
with polycystic ovary
syndrome. She started
researching the condition and eventually
developed a protocol to balance her
hormones. “When I found the right
combination of medicinal foods to heal
hormonal imbalances, I saw tremendous
positive changes in my health,” says the
FLOLiving.com founder.
For an exclusive Q&A with Vitti,
visit ELmag.com/vitti.
4 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
12
Tips fora
If you detox too quickly — or without the right
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you’re trying to eliminate. These strategies can
help you detox safely: ELmag.com/safedetox.
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 Our Mission:
Empowering people to become their healthiest, happiest, most authentic selves,
and supporting their enjoyment of a balanced, sustainable, deeply satisfying way of life.
Our Mantra: Healthy. Happy. For Real.
Founding Editor: Pilar Gerasimo

EXPERIENCE LIFE MAGAZINE

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jamie Martin CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lydia Anderson
DEPUTY EDITORS Craig Cox, Michael Dregni PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Jane Meronuck
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6 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018


Timely
Reminders
Motivation to change things up
can come from places you least
expect when you need it most.
Your Thoughts?
Email us at experiencelife
@experiencelife.com.
Are you a pretty healthy
person?” asked a helpful nurse
on the other end of the telephone after
listening to the rundown of influenza-
like symptoms I’d been dealing with.
My response on that cold afternoon
a few months ago was an immediate
“Yes,” and she moved on.
I was feeling so miserable that I
didn’t dwell on that question in the
moment and went back to bed as
soon as I hung up the phone. But as I
recovered over the next several days, I
began thinking about it, and I realized
that being healthy is something I’d
once again started taking for granted.
I say “once again” because before
my nephew Bryce was diagnosed with
a rare genetic disorder in 2013 (you can
read more about that at ELmag.com/
aboutaboy), I had taken for granted how
lucky I was to be healthy and fit. I had
several family members and friends
who had been diagnosed with cancer
and other chronic conditions. Yet it
wasn’t until Bryce got sick that it hit
me how fleeting health can be. I wrote
about it in an Experience Life blog post
at that time:
If you’re like me, you probably go
about many of your days not giving
a second thought to how fortunate
you are to be able to breathe, move,
and just be without some physical
barrier or chronic illness standing
in the way; without thinking about
all the amazing things happening
within our bodies every second of
every day that allow us to keep on
keeping on; without remembering
that during those 40 weeks in
utero and those crucial first years
of development, millions of things
went right.
In the midst of a health crisis
facing someone very dear to me,
I’ve been reminded that health is
not a given. My nephew’s sudden
and as-of-yet undiagnosed illness
has been a wake-up call to be
grateful for my good health, and
that of my husband, children, and
the vast majority of the people I
know and love.
Editor’s Note
A health crisis puts a lot of things
into perspective, while at the same
time shifting everything in a pro-
found way. It’s a reminder that while
there are some situations out of my
or anyone’s control, there are things
we can do to keep ourselves and
those around us safe and healthy.
More than four years after learning
Bryce’s condition was terminal, I found
myself once again being complacent
about my health status. It’s amazing
how the passage of time can make you
forget — and how a simple question
can remind you that, to this point,
you’ve been very fortunate.
That conversation with
the nurse prompted me
to take a closer look at
my personal approach
to health.
That conversation with the nurse
prompted me to take a closer look at
my personal approach to health: how I
exercise and move my body, what I eat
to nourish myself, and whether I make
adequate time for self-care, relaxation,
sleep, and social connections. It made
me realize I was forcing some things
more than I was enjoying them (my
fitness routine, for instance), and it
made me take a closer look at how I
was spending my time.
It made me want to pursue the
things that truly feel good (e.g., yoga)
and help me stay healthy. So that’s
what I’m focused on these days.
Sometimes a reality check in the
form of a question is all it takes to open
us up to new ways of thinking. This
issue is full of them, including insights
on our addictive devices (page 52) and
ideas for moving more (page 58). My
hope is that just one of them will ofer
you a fresh perspective and inspire
you to take even a small step toward
greater health and well-being.
JAMIE MARTIN is Experience Life’s editor in
chief. Follow her on Instagram @jamiemartinel.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 7
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Talk to Us
HEALTHY
MOTIVATION
Experience Life magazine
has been an integral part of
our family’s healthy lifestyle
for over 15 years now. The
inspiring articles and thoughtful,
focused exercise suggestions
have helped me recover from
several injuries over the years
and instilled an appreciation
for healthy lifestyle choices in
both of my young daughters.
This photo of my youngest
daughter [above] was taken
at the summit of Mt. Bross, a
Colorado 14er that we climbed
last summer!
Les C.
The January/February
2018 issue really touched me,
especially the article about IBS
relief (“Gut Feelings”). I have
been suffering from all the
same symptoms for 10 years.
I have pain in my stomach all
the time, which I have learned
to live with since it is such a
big part of my life. I have tried
to get help, but nothing has
made a difference. Reading this
Experience Life magazine has been an integral part of our family’s healthy
lifestyle for over 15 years now.”
article made me feel as if you
were writing about me. It really
helped me learn a lot about the
steps I can take toward getting
better in the future. Thank you
for opening my eyes to new
ways I can get help!
Yulma S.
I loved reading “Expand
Your Circle” (January/February
2018). I think it takes courage
to put our fears aside and make
a move to connect with others.
Your article offered great ideas
on how to reach out of your
comfort zone to do this!
Amanda R.
DECEMBER
GRATITUDE
Claire Cameron’s story
(“Growing Pains,” December
2017) is so inspiring! I love
hearing about the powers of
holistic medicine. When healing
ourselves from the inside out,
the road to wellness is not easy
or fast. It can take years and
lots of patience! I am healing
myself as well through vitamins,
regular exercise, and a plant-
based diet.
L. C.
I am a 64-year-old woman
with a weak core, and “Balance
It Out” (December 2017) is just
what I need to help me build
more strength. Thank you for
providing a good option for
those of us who need to start
slow and easy. I look forward
to gaining strength and adding
more weight to my workouts!
Kathy K.
This was my first time see-
ing your magazine, and opening
it up to read the Editor’s Note
(“The Thought Counts,” Decem-
ber 2017) put the holidays in
perspective. It is always a busy,
joyful, and emotional time of the
year. It’s sometimes hard to put
a finger on why that is, but Jamie
Martin’s note really did it for me.
Thank you for sharing in such a
personal and effective way.
Georgia C.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 9
Want to see one of your own
healthy-living images featured
in Experience Life? Email
it to us at experiencelife@
experiencelife.com.
Experience Life welcomes your
comments and suggestions.
Please email experiencelife@
experiencelife.com, connect with
us on social media, or send to:
Letters to the Editor
Experience Life
2145 Ford Parkway, Suite 302
St. Paul, MN 55116
Please include your city and
state. We reserve the right to edit
letters for length and grammar,
and to publish at our discretion.
All submitted copy and materials
become the property of the
magazine. We do not return
or guarantee the publication
of unsolicited materials. For
reprint and publication requests,
please contact experiencelife@
experiencelife.com.
 16X GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONS

BOB & MIKE BRYAN

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE.

GRAND SLAM 114 U.S. OPEN WIMBLEDON OLYMPIC

16X CHAMPIONS TOUR TITLE WINS 5X CHAMPS 3X CHAMPIONS 2X MEDALISTS
 BOB BRYAN

MIKE BRYAN
Well Informed
8Ways to
Save
Money
on Organic
Groceries
rganic food often costs more
O than conventional fare, but
many cooks and wellness ex-
perts agree that they pay of
in flavor and nutrition, and in health
benefits — for you and the environ-
ment. These tips can help you save
money when you opt to go organic.
1. Prioritize produce. Selecting
organic is most important when
buying veggies and fruits, experts
advise, because it will reduce your
exposure to herbicide and pesticide
residue. Check out the Environmental
Working Group’s annual Dirty Dozen
and Clean Fifteen lists at www.ewg.org
for tips on what to pick — and what
to avoid. Opting for organic dairy and
meat is next in importance. Pass on
organic packaged foods, since they’re
expensive and highly processed.
2. Buy higher-quality meat — but
less of it. Organic, grassfed meat may
be near the top of your priority list, but
it will cost more. Consider quality over
quantity. Or look for less-expensive
12 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
cuts — roasts, shanks, ground meat,
eye-of-chuck steaks — that might need
to cook longer but often have more
flavor than prime cuts.
3. Buy seasonal. In-season produce
is the freshest, best-tasting choice, and
it will often save you money. Farmers’
markets and community-supported
agriculture programs (CSAs) are
great sources.
4. Go local. Produce from nearby
farms can ripen longer — and there-
fore taste better — because it doesn’t
need to be shipped far. Choosing local
also saves on transportation costs,
reduces the carbon footprint, and
supports regional farmers.
5. Cook from scratch. Rather than
buying costly premade organic meals,
save by purchasing the ingredients
and preparing them yourself. Plus, you
can make extra portions for lunches or
freeze them for another meal.
6. Buy in bulk. Score additional
savings by buying larger quantities
of organic produce that keeps longer,
such as onions, potatoes, and dried
foods. If you have the freezer space,
consider purchasing meat in bulk from
butchers, co-ops, or organic farms.
7. Plan meals and reduce waste.
The average household wastes up
to 40 percent of its food because of
poor planning and inadequate storage.
Build meal plans — and grocery lists
— around the food that’s already in
your fridge. Store older veggies in one
drawer and newer in a separate one,
and rotate them so you don’t lose sight
of what’s on hand.
8. Grow your own organics. Start
small with herbs, which can provide
big savings (see “An Herb Garden
for Beginners” on the opposite page).
Move up to easy-to-grow items like
lettuce and other greens, zucchini, and
cucumbers. Then try cultivating pep-
pers, tomatoes, and carrots. Next thing
you know, you’ll have a full, vibrant,
healthy garden — and a budget-
friendly supply of organic produce.
— MICHAEL DREGNI
Stick
With Your
Natural
Running
Stride
That’s the takeaway of a new study
by 2016 U.S. Olympian Jared Ward
and USA Track and Field consultant
Iain Hunter, PhD, professors at
Brigham Young University.
Ward and Hunter measured the
energy use of 19 experienced and 14
novice runners using five different
strides during a 20-minute run on
a treadmill with a computer-based
metronome. They found that all
the runners were the most energy-
efficient when they used their
natural, preferred stride.
“Runners appear to naturally
select a stride length that is optimal
for minimizing oxygen uptake,”
they noted in the study, published
in the International Journal of
Exercise Science.
The study and accompanying
press release offered some
additional insights:
• “Many people are advocating
for various ‘optimal’ running forms,”
says Ward, “but this study shows
even novice runners shouldn’t try
to run any different than their body
naturally does.”
• “Coaches and athletes often
try to manipulate running technique
to improve performance. Since
experienced runners self-regulate
stride length to optimize economy,
changing stride length will likely
result in a greater metabolic cost.”
• “When maximizing running
speed over short distances is the
main concern, runners may choose
to sacrifice some economy to
increase top speed.” — MD
Just let it happen;
it doesn’t need to be
coached. Your body
is your best coach for
stride length.”
— Iain Hunter, PhD
An Herb Garden
for Beginners
Growing an herb garden is an engaging, economical activity — and a great starting
place for new gardeners. Plus, it can boost your mood and your immune system in the
process. These four herbs are good beginner options.
Basil is a tender annual from the mint Chives are a low-maintenance perennial
family that likes full sun. It’s sensitive to related to leeks, onions, and garlic. They
the cold in early spring but does well on a need consistent watering and prefer full
sunny windowsill or in a container. Once sun, but they can grow anywhere: indoors
transferred into your garden, it will grow near a sunny window, in containers, or in
quickly and prolifically. Keep soil moist but your backyard. The flowers will scatter
not soggy — water about weekly. Clip regu- seeds; deadhead after they bloom so they
larly for a rounded plant, and harvest before don’t take over your garden. Their subtle,
it flowers (or pinch off the bud) for best summery flavor is a great addition to om-
flavor. Basil is ideal for homemade pesto, elets, potato dishes, and salad dressings.
caprese salads, and summer cocktails.
Parsley is a biennial that thrives in con- Thyme is a drought-tolerant evergreen
tainers outside or on a warm windowsill. perennial that needs full sun. It can
It prefers moist soil but can adapt to grow in outdoor containers or your
drier conditions. Harvest the outer stems garden — where its fragrance will attract
the first year and leave the inner stalks pollinators — or indoors near a sunny
to keep growing. The stems are more window. Thyme can be started from
flavorful than the leaves, so be sure to seeds, but is also easy to grow from
use them, too. Flat-leaf parsley is good for cuttings. It adds an earthy note to stews,
soups, pasta dishes, and grain salads. sauces, and roasted vegetables.
— KAELYN RILEY
HERBS IN AN EGGSHELL
Eggshells make good seed starters, and when transplanted into
soil, they break down naturally and nourish your herbs.
1. Slice off the top of eggshells with a sharp knife and pour the
yolks and whites out, saving them for another use.
2. Rinse eggshells thoroughly, then air-dry in the carton.
3. Use a needle to puncture a small drainage hole in the base of
each shell.
4. Mist the shells with water.
5. Scoop potting soil into shells with a small spoon.
6. Plant your seeds according to package instructions, and
then gently mist with water.
7. Place carton on a sunny windowsill, and water according to
package instructions while you wait for herbs to sprout.
8. Transplant them into a pot or your garden when your
seedlings develop leaves. Gently crush the shells in the soil
to speed the decomposition process. — KR
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 13
Well Informed
The Mental-Health
Benefits of Bird Watching
Living near a natural setting isn’t
just good for birds. Recent findings
from the University of Exeter,
the British Trust for Ornithology,
and the University of Queensland
indicate that people living in
neighborhoods where they can see
more trees, shrubs — and birds —
have improved mental health.
The results, published in the
journal BioScience, add to a
growing body of evidence sug-
gesting that natural environments
can boost immunity as well as
reduce levels of stress, depression,
and anxiety.
To determine which environ-
mental features are linked to
positive mental-health outcomes,
researchers explored the rela-
tionship between self-reported
assessments for depression, anxi-
ety, and stress and several metrics
of neighborhood green spaces,
including vegetation cover and the
abundance of birds.
Scientists asked more than
260 people of various ages,
incomes, and ethnicities — living
in connected neighborhoods
WHAT TO READ NOW
THE SIOUX CHEF’S INDIGENOUS KITCHEN
An Oglala Lakota, Sean Sherman (a.k.a. The Sioux
Chef) revitalizes native foods in the context of modern
cuisine via catering and his Tatanka Truck food truck in
Minneapolis–St. Paul. His first cookbook is stocked with
healthy recipes inspired by his heritage.
www.sioux-chef.com
14 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
featuring low- and high-density
housing — to complete a short
version of the Depression Anxiety
Stress Scales.
They also conducted extensive
surveys to estimate the number of
birds found in the neighborhoods.
After controlling for income, age,
sex, and other factors, researchers
found that respondents who could
see more birds from their windows
or gardens reported reduced levels
of depression, anxiety, and stress.
How big a dose of nature
is necessary to affect mental
health? The results suggest that if
everyone lived in neighborhoods
with more than 20 percent
vegetation coverage, the total
number of people reporting
symptoms of depression would
drop by up to 11 percent, while
cases of anxiety and stress would
decrease by up to 17 percent.
While the causes of stress,
depression, and anxiety are varied,
the findings suggest that even brief
interactions with nature might help
unruffle your feathers.
— HEIDI WACHTER
Drug
Advertising:
Pro or Con?
The United States and New Zealand are the
sole countries worldwide that allow direct-to-
consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising.
In 2015 the American Medical Association
(AMA) voted to recommend banning DTC
advertising, due to “concerns among physicians
about the negative impact of commercially
driven promotions,” said then-AMA board chair
Patrice Harris, MD, MA.
In addition, healthcare professionals worry
that marketing costs fuel escalating drug
prices: “Direct-to-consumer advertising also
inflates demand for new and more expensive
drugs, even when these drugs may not be
appropriate,” Harris explained.
Big Pharma, on the other end, asserts that
such ads provide valuable information to patients
about treatment options and has consistently
blocked all efforts to halt DTC advertising.
The following statistics offer some context
on this marketing approach.
1
Rank of drug ads among the
most prominent health
information Americans
receive, according to a 2011
paper published in the journal
Pharmacy and Therapeutics.
$6.4 billion
Amount healthcare and drug companies spent
in the United States on DTC advertising in 2016,
according to market-research firm Kantar
Media. hat’s a 62 percent increase since 2012
— at a time when ad spending overall is down
or flat. Most of the ads run during evening
news programs, soap operas, and sitcoms
aimed at the elderly.
2,058
Number of fine-print words describing side
effects accompanying a typical one-page drug
ad. For comparison, there are 1,337 words in
the Declaration of Independence. he FDA
mandates the warnings, but the agency has
relaxed the amount of information required
twice in the past 21 years. Ads now need to list
only “major risks.” — MD
 Switch to GEICO and save money for the things you love.
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On the Cover
Creative
Inspiration
Using personal stories, science, and practical exercises, journalist
Manoush Zomorodi shows how exchanging your smartphone for
moments of discomfort can boost creativity.
BY HEIDI WACHTER
PHOTOS BY KWAKU ALSTON
hat does it mean
to be human in the
digital age? That’s
the question Manoush
Zomorodi seeks to
answer in each episode of her award-
winning WNYC podcast, Note to Self.
Every week, the 44-year-old host
and managing editor encourages
listeners to ponder their relationship
to technology, ofering prompts such
as “Is it a good idea to post photos of
our kids online?” and “What are the
unseen tradeofs of online shopping?”
In 2014 the New Jersey native had
a revelation about her own use of
technology while searching for ideas
to kick her successful podcast up
a notch. Zomorodi turned to go-to
methods like brainstorming that had
served her well during a decades-long
journalism career. “But it felt like I
had sand in my brain,” she recalls.
“It wasn’t like waiting for something
to percolate. It felt like there was a
nothingness there.”
That led her to ponder when her
best ideas tended to show up. “It’s
16 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
going to sound kind of cliché, but I
realized it was moments like a long
car ride or — back before I had kids
and used to take long baths — when
I spent time doing less and feeling a
bit bored,” she explains. “I realized I
hadn’t been bored since I bought my
first iPhone in 2009.”
Curious about the role that bore-
dom plays in creativity and how tech-
nology might be afecting her brain,
she created a series of experiments to
try with listeners based on her own
struggles — including removing the
most-used app from your phone and
not taking a photo for a day.
Within 48 hours, 20,000 people
accepted the challenge, a response
that inspired Zomorodi to dig into the
fields of neuroscience and cognitive
psychology to explore the connection
between boredom and original
thinking. The findings, outlined in her
book, Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing
Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive
and Creative Self, just might inspire
you to put being bored at the top
of your to-do list.
 When we
understand how
technology has been
designed and how
the people making
it make money,
we can be more
purposeful about
how we engage it.”

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 17

On the Cover
Q&A
Experience Life | What did you learn
from the weeklong Bored and Brilliant
challenge and then from writing a
book about it?
MANOUSH ZOMORODI | So much
research has been done since 2015, and
I’ve found a new awareness about the
role that tech companies are playing
in our daily lives. People have begun
questioning how we make sure they’re
helping us and not simply using us to
reach their bottom lines.
I’ve also learned our relationship to
technology isn’t just about boredom. It’s
also about habits, neuroscience, and the
design of technology. All of these layered
together are creating profound shifts in
our communities, society, and ourselves,
and we’re all feeling it.
EL | Boredom is often seen as negative.
Why did you use that word?
MZ | I insisted on using the word
because it’s important to lean into the
idea that it’s uncomfortable for a lot of
people — particularly younger people.
They often tell me, “Well, the minute I
have an uncomfortable feeling, I look at
Instagram or watch a YouTube video.”
The point is that while being bored
doesn’t always feel good, it often leads to
good stuff — new ideas, new solutions.
But a lot of people aren’t getting to that
because it’s easier to distract themselves.
EL | Why do we need boredom?
MZ | In the form of rumination, boredom
can be unproductive. But it can also be a
gateway to positive mind-wandering. It’s
18 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
fascinating that when we get bored we
ignite this network in our brain called the
default mode, when our brains go into
constructive mind-wandering. It’s when
we solve the big problems and come up
with original ideas. It’s also when we do
something called “autobiographical plan-
ning,” which is when we look back at our
life, note highs and lows, build personal
narratives, and then look forward, set
goals, and determine the steps it will take
to reach those goals.
It’s incredibly important — especially
for young people — to develop a theory of
mind and self, to plan what to get out of a
life and not just to plan the next Facebook
post to maintain a personal brand.
EL | Smartphone usage is often talked
about in terms of addiction. Your
work is about exploring ways to
engage with technology positively.
What does that look like to you?
MZ | When we hear the word “addiction,”
it often brings to mind the idea that you
need to stop what you’re doing.
But I don’t look at technology use in a
good-and-bad binary — it’s a spectrum.
For me, it’s about figuring out how to
effectively use the tools that most of us
rely on in the day-to-day for work, staying
in touch with family, or even tracking
goals such as counting our steps.
I want to help people find that little
moment before you do something when
you ask, Is what I’m about to do helpful to
me? Do I feel good about it? If the answer
is yes, then by all means go for it. Do I
need to get on Google Docs right now to
work with my team? Yes, I do. Do I need
to check Instagram because I’m waiting in
line for coffee? No, I don’t necessarily.
Also, we don’t need to constantly
follow the directions that technology’s
been designed to give. When we
understand how technology has been
designed and how the people making it
make money, we can be more purposeful
about how we engage with it. We can
decide to use certain products because
we like the way they make us feel, and
not to use others because we don’t like
how they make us feel. We can use the
ones that help us be more productive and
delete the ones that don’t. (For more on
how our devices trap us, see “Tech Fix,”
page 52.)
So, I think developing a positive
relationship with technology is about
learning more self-regulation and
executive function. That means we build
skills and practices that enable us to
check in with ourselves physically and
mentally about how something helps or
hinders us. From there, we can choose a
purposeful way to use it.
EL | You challenged yourself along
with your listeners. Which exercise
was the hardest for you?
MZ | It was definitely deleting the most-
used app from my phone for a day. I’m
not going to lie, I still like playing the
game Two Dots!
Even though I wrote a book and host
a podcast about using technology wisely,
I still struggle like a lot of people do. Our
devices are very powerful tools, and life is
stressful right now.
I’d taken the game off my phone for
a while but put it back on ahead of a
long flight to Australia. Jane McGonigal,
the futurist and game designer whom I
interviewed for the book, eased my mind
when she explained that testing is being
done on the use of games in hospitals
for kids about to experience pain from
a surgery.
Sometimes there’s a purpose for
distraction. If you know you’re going to
get bored on a plane and your mind will
go to catastrophic places that aren’t
productive, then it’s OK to hack that by
using a game in a positive way.
But I’ve become more aware over
time that if I want to play the game, it
often means I’m tired. So I try to ask
myself if I’d be better served by taking a
long bath or by making a bowl of popcorn
and playing a board game with my kids.
HEIDI WACHTER is an Experience Life
staff writer.
Video Extra!
For more from Manoush Zomorodi,
watch our behind-the-scenes video
at ELmag.com/videos.
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a 15% discount of standard prices from LasikPlus, plus an additional 5% discount to patients who receive Custom or Wavelight® bladeless treatment with Premium LasikPlus® Advantage Plan. Most LasikPlus® Vision Centers are owned and medical and optometric services are provided by independent physicians; LCA-Vision, Inc. d/b/a LasikPlus®
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Learn his Skill

Make Your Own

Spring- BY KAELYN RILEY

he average household contains 62 toxic chemicals — and they

Cleaning Kit
These simple, low-cost recipes are
all you need to refresh your home.
T hide in unexpected places, including cleaning supplies. Though
it’s impossible to completely avoid toxins, you can significantly
reduce your exposure by replacing harsh cleaning products with
safer options. There are nontoxic brands available for purchase, but it’s
easy (and more afordable) to mix up your own.

Pine oil is a natural

germicide.
Vodka is
a natural
disinfectant.

Vinegar and tea-

tree oil are both
antifungal and
antimicrobial.

General All-Purpose Cleaner
Mix ½ cup distilled white vinegar, 3 cups distilled water, and ¼
teaspoon tea-tree essential oil in a spray bottle. Add 10 drops pine
essential oil; shake. Spray on any hard surface, and then wipe with
a cloth.*
Lavender oil is
antibacterial; eucalyptus is
an antiseptic.
Bathroom Mildew Remover
Combine 1 cup distilled water with 1 cup vodka in a spray bottle.
Add 10 drops each tea-tree, lavender, and eucalyptus essential
oils; shake. Spray on mildew. Wait 30 minutes or more to allow
the oils to break it down; then wipe clean with a cloth.

Lemon and wild- Black tea contains tannic acid, which breaks
orange oils effectively up dirt and grease.
dissolve grease.

Baking soda is
mildly abrasive,
making it ideal
for scrubbing
and scouring.
Surface Scrub Window Cleaner
Blend 1 cup baking soda and ¼ cup liquid Castile soap with 10 Boil 1½ cups of water; steep eight black-tea bags in the water
drops each lemon, lime, and wild-orange essential oils in a small and let it cool completely. Discard the tea bags and transfer the
bowl. Apply to stovetop or sink with a sponge, and then scrub and tea to a spray bottle. Spray on your windows and dry with a cloth
rinse clean. (crumpled newspaper also works well).

For more on what’s lurking in your commercial cleaning products, see ELmag.com/8hiddentoxins.
*Test all DIY products on a small, inconspicuous surface area to ensure desired results.

20 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 HELP SCHOOLS REMOVE
THE HARMFUL 7 .
SM

Replace them with whole, real foods. Because every child deserves a healthy meal.

L E A R N M O R E // L T F O U N D A T I O N . O R G

©2017 LIFE TIME, INC. All rights reserved. LFMG172703

My Turnaround

The
Bigger
Picture
Pursuing a newfound love of the
outdoors gave one attorney the
impetus to rethink his career
path and embark on a more
inspired life journey.

BY SCOTT KRANZ

or a long time, something

F was missing in my life that I

couldn’t quite put my finger
on. I had an enviable career
with a prominent law firm, a loving
wife, and a supportive network of
family and friends — but I felt unful-
filled. It wasn’t until I began pursuing
what truly inspired me that I realized
how a sense of purpose has the power
to transform your life.
A philosophy major in college, I
opted for law school because I was
unsure how to turn that scholarly
passion into a career. I hoped I might
fall in love with the law, or that my
calling would eventually reveal itself.
I landed a job as an associate
attorney at a Minneapolis firm. My
career took of, complete with a big
salary and luxurious perks. It likely
appeared that I was doing well, but as
time went on, I started to wonder if I
was on the wrong path.
At the oice, I recorded my time in
six-minute increments so I could bill
Scott felt dispassionate about his work as a trial
lawyer. Then a weekend hike in 2013 awakened
clients accurately. I frequently worked
long hours managing my caseload, and
when the days ended, I struggled to
leave my work behind. I was always in
my head and easily distracted — so I
often wasn’t fully present for my wife,
family, and friends.
In 2013 my wife, Jill, was ofered
a job in Seattle, and we decided to
start a new chapter. As I always
did with major decisions, I took the
idea to my dad — my life coach and
biggest cheerleader — and he was
fully supportive. But rather than
walking away from the law, I joined
a small firm there, thinking a new
environment might breathe new life
into my career.
his love for the outdoors and sparked a new
career as a freelance photographer. Pictured in
Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge in 2015.
Alive in the Wilderness
Soon after our move, Jill’s uncle invited
me to join him on a backcountry hike.
We drove east to the Alpine Lakes
Wilderness in the Central Cascade
Range and parked at the trailhead.
After a brief ascent, we reached a pair
of shimmering lakes surrounded by
towering mountains. I couldn’t believe
how refreshing it felt to spend time
moving my body outdoors. I felt more
clearheaded than I had in months.
I became a weekend warrior. When
those excursions weren’t enough, I
started fitting in hikes before and after
work, chasing the sunrise and sunset. I
was gripped with mountain fever. My
love for the outdoors was growing, and

22 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

I was feeling stronger and
fitter than ever.
I also began to explore
another fairly new passion:
photography. I’d been lucky
to travel quite a bit when
I was younger, and I’d
frequently taken photos on
those trips. But now, I found
myself studying the light
more seriously, searching for
the perfect landscape shot.
At work, I couldn’t
aford to waste even a
moment, but photography
was the opposite. Framing
a shot and waiting for the
right angle of light was
meditative, and sharing
my photos with others and
ofering them a moment of
beauty was invigorating.
After years of going
through the motions, I felt
more present in my own
life. I had finally found
something that energized
my mind, body, and spirit. It
was changing how I viewed
my place in the world. And
then, things took a sad turn.
A Different View
In 2014, the year I turned 30,
my father was diagnosed
with a recurrence of cancer
after being cancer-free
for 10 years. His doctors
attempted aggressive
surgery, but ultimately we
learned that the coming
Christmas would be his last.
The news sent me into a
tailspin. I couldn’t imagine
a world without my dad’s
Today, Scott is happier, healthier,
and more present in his daily life.
guidance; he’d counseled
me on every important
choice I’d ever made. He’d
been so happy when Jill
and I decided to move to
Washington, so enthusiastic
about us taking this step
together. I knew I was at a
turning point in my life, and
it was devastating to know
that Dad wouldn’t be there
to witness it.
My dad had left
me with his
greatest lesson:
Life is too short
to do anything
less than what
you love.
In his last months, I
cherished every moment
we spent together. I shared
more about my career strug-
gles, and he encouraged me
to follow my happiness, to
keep breathing in the natu-
ral beauty around me and
share it with others. “I live
through that,” he said.
In early 2015 my father
passed away. I tried to
resume my routine, but a
switch had been flipped
inside me. Losing my dad
made me stop and think
about what I wanted to do
with my life. I didn’t want to
give any more time to a day
job I didn’t truly love.
Risk and Reward
I’ve always been level-
headed and wasn’t one to
make rash decisions. Even
though I’d discovered a
passion for photography
and the outdoors, it wasn’t
until my father’s passing that
I started thinking I could
make a living by pursuing
it. My dad had left me with
his greatest lesson: Life is
too short to do anything less
than what you love. Scott’s
Still, I hesitated. Could
I make a career out of pho- Top 3
tography? I’d be sacrificing
a steady paycheck, health
Success
benefits, a secure future
— the list went on. But I
Strategies
couldn’t deny how revital-
ized I felt after an engulf-
ing climbing experience in
1
the mountains. Explore the unknown.
I met with local freelance “Take time to delve into
photographers, asking ques- unfamiliar places,” Scott
tions and trying to visualize advises. Mountains were
new to Scott, a Midwest-
myself in their place. They
showed me there could be erner, when he moved to
a life for someone on this
Seattle, but backcountry
path and ofered a realistic
adventures unlocked a
passion for the outdoors.
picture of what the road
could be like.
A few months later, after
many discussions with Jill,
I quit my job and embarked
2
on a new career in freelance Talk with others. To
photography. At first, as make his career shift,
I’d feared, my income was Scott found the support
sparse. But the timing was he needed through
fortuitous: We don’t have conversations with
his wife. “Putting your
children and Jill was doing
dreams into words is a
well in her own career. She
great way to commit to
completely supported my them,” he explains.
decision. She’d seen how my
mental health had improved
over the previous year, and
we agreed that even if I
tried and failed, the experi-
3
ence would be valuable. Make time for the
It took time, but piece by things that matter.
piece, my new career began Scott’s love for the out-
to take shape. Assignments doors grew because he
came my way. Lugging my made it a priority. Pressed
for time? “Let go of
camera gear up mountain
unimportant tasks, so you
slopes and down forest can pursue your fledgling
paths, I took photos for interests,” he advises.
travel bureaus, clothing
companies, and magazines.
My new career has led
me along rainy roads in
Yosemite, through slot
canyons in Utah, into
valleys in northern Italy,
Tell Us Your Story!
and along the ridge of Have a transformational
a volcano in Japan. It’s healthy-living tale of
your own? Share it with
hardly felt like work. us at experiencelife@
My happiness is the experiencelife.com.
best reward.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 23
 Real
Fitness
TENNIS, ANYONE?
Hitting the tennis court is a fun way to mix up your fitness routine while
also improving your speed, leg strength, and coordination. And those are
just a few of the health benefits:

A 150-pound person can burn more than

400 calories
in one hour of singles tennis.
A study published in
the British Journal
of Sports Medicine
found that

The tactical aspect of tennis may generate twice-

new neural pathways weekly
in the brain. tennis sessions were
associated with
Southern Connecticut State University improved
researchers found that tennis
players displayed higher levels of
overall
optimism and self-esteem bone health.
than other athletes and nonathletes.

Page
32
Two tennis pros offer engaging drills to help you improve your game.
Real Fitness
The Workouts • Mobility
Mobilize Your
HIPS
BY KAELYN RILEY
Y
ou’ve heard it before: All the
sitting we do is hurting our
bodies. When it comes to
mobility, our hips, especially,
are paying the price. Long periods of
sitting can tighten the hip flexors, cre-
ating weakness and instability in one of
the body’s key joints.
Though we tend to think of
strength and flexibility separately,
they actually work together to aid
your mobility. “If your hips feel
26 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Whether you spend your days doing heavy squats,
cycling long distances, or sitting at a desk, chances
are your hips could use some extra attention.
tight or stif, it’s quite possible that
they’re really just weak,” explains
Ryan Orrico, a Functional Range
Conditioning (FRC) instructor in
Los Angeles.
FRC is a combination of passive
stretching, high-tension contractions,
and circular rotations that work
together to boost your resilience and
flexibility. (For the specific details,
see “FRC Acronyms Explained,”
next page.) The protocol can
also help improve your overall
movement quality.
The following exercises will help
you gain better control over your
hips — which you rely on for walking,
cycling, squatting, crossing your legs,
and all sorts of other movements — and
expand your range of motion. Because
these moves are designed to improve
both strength and flexibility, they’ll
also help prevent injury while reducing
tightness and imbalances.
90/90 Internal Rotation Focus
• While seated on the floor, position your
legs in a pinwheel position: right leg in
front of you and left leg to the side. Aim to
keep both knees and ankles at 90 degrees.
Rotate your torso toward your left leg and
grab your ankle with your left hand.
• If you’re already very mobile, hold for
about 20 seconds. If you’re less mobile,
hold for up to two minutes. You may
not feel a deep stretch — just look for a
sensation.
• Take a breath and engage your core and
leg muscles, and then use the force from
your hips to push your left (rear) knee,
shin, and ankle into the ground. (This is a
PAILs contraction.) Hold the contraction
for about 15 seconds, and then relax.
• Reengage your core and leg muscles and
bend your torso a little farther toward your
left ankle while trying to pull your ankle
and shin off the floor. (This is a RAILs
contraction.) Hold for about 15 seconds,
then release.
• Repeat on the opposite side.
 90/90 External Rotation Focus
• Assume the same seated position as the
previous exercise. This time, however,
rotate your torso toward your right leg.
• Hold your trunk upright and find a subtle
stretch in the outside of your left hip. If
you’re already very mobile, start with a
20-second hold. If you’re less mobile,
hold for up to two minutes.
• Take a breath and engage your core and
leg muscles, leaning slightly forward.
Then use the force from your hips to
push your right (front) knee, shin, and
ankle toward the ground. Focus the push
through your ankle, which will generate
more rotational force in the hip. (This
1.
PHOTOS: CHAD HOLDER; STYLING: PAM BRAND; FITNESS MODEL: CARI PAHR
3.
Quadruped Hip CARs
• Assume a tabletop position with your
wrists directly below your shoulders and
your knees directly below your hips (1).
• Take a deep breath and pull your ribs
down and in to engage your core. Keep
your elbows locked and your glutes and
hamstrings engaged.
• Without losing core engagement, draw
your left knee as far as you can toward
is a PAILs contraction.) Hold for 15 seconds,
then relax.
• Reengage your core and leg muscles and pull
your ankle, shin, and knee off the ground. (This
is a RAILs contraction.) You won’t move much
(or at all), but contracting these muscles will
give you a deeper stretch. Hold for 15 seconds.
• Repeat two more times, holding a passive
stretch between rounds for 20 seconds to two
minutes, depending on whether you need to
expand range or just strengthen what you have.
• Repeat on the opposite side.
2.
4.
your chest (2). Then push your knee to the
side as far as you can (3).
• Internally rotate your hip so your heel
reaches toward the ceiling (4), before
drawing your knee back down toward your
chest. Take your time: The full rotation will
take about 20 seconds.
• Perform the same movement in reverse,
and then repeat on the opposite leg.
FRC ACRONYMS
EXPLAINED
CARs
Controlled articular rotations (CARs)
are high-tension circular movements
you can use as a warm-up, cool-
down, or daily standalone routine to
build and maintain mobility in all your
major joints.
PAILs
Progressive angular isometric loading
(PAIL) movements begin with a deep
passive stretch, then gradually contract
the extended muscle as hard as
possible in the stretch position.
RAILs
Regressive angular isometric loading
(RAIL) movements are similar to
PAILs, except you contract the muscle
opposite the one being stretched. PAILs
and RAILs are generally used together.
For more on FRC training, check out
ELmag.com/stretchstrong.
KAELYN RILEY is an Experience Life
associate editor.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 27
Real Fitness
The Workouts • Cardio

Power
CYCLING
Forget pedaling without a plan. This
strength-building, fat-burning workout
reimagines the indoor-cycling routine.

BY NICOLE RADZISZEWSKI

F
ew workouts are as versatile
and customizable as indoor
cycling. It’s great for cross-
training and fat-burning —
and “requires little coordination and
no special skills,” says Emily Booth,
EDG Cycle signature program lead for
Life Time. “You can get the benefits
of high-intensity training without a
negative impact on your joints.”
For the following high-intensity
interval training (HIIT) routine,
designed by Booth, use a group fitness
cycling bike with a resistance knob.
The more resistance, the harder
you have to push to move the
pedals. This enables you to simulate
conditions such as hills and design a
wide variety of cardio workouts.
This routine includes three sets
of intervals. With each set, the total
duration decreases — along with the
amount of recovery time.
To thrive (and not just survive),
pay close attention to your rate of
perceived exertion (RPE) and make
adjustments to stay on track with
the recommended RPE in each
interval set.
If you have a hard time recovering,
skip the third interval set until you
build your fitness level. In fairly short
order, through consistent and pain-
free efort, those cardio improvements
will come.

28 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 SELF-
CHECK
Use the following five-zone
RPE (rate of perceived
exertion) training system to
determine how hard you’re
working and whether you
need to adjust your effort.
Zone 1: Easy
Zone 2: Moderate
Zone 3: Hard
Zone 4: Very hard,
breathless effort
Zone 5: Extremely hard
OUT OF
THE SADDLE
A hallmark of indoor-cycling classes is the transition from seated (“in the saddle”) to
standing (“out of the saddle”) positions — a challenge to balance, stability, and coordination.
You never have to stand up if it’s uncomfortable, says workout designer Emily Booth. But if
you do want to try it, follow these tips:
• Be sure that you increase the resistance so you can shift your weight into your glutes
while staying engaged in the core. Without enough resistance, you lose the stability to sit
back, putting pressure on the knees, lower back, wrists, and elbows.
• Once standing, you may need to add even more resistance to keep intensity up.
• Maintain a slight bend in the knees with your hips positioned over the pedal cranks.
• Keep your hips stable and avoid putting your weight onto the handlebars; they are just
there for balance. The work is in your legs.

THE WORKOUT
Warm-Up: 8–10 minutes
Start with light to moderate resistance at a cadence of 80–100
revolutions per minute (RPM). Gradually add resistance every
two minutes until you reach the top of zone 2.
After the first three to four minutes, mix in some short
periods out of the saddle to elevate your heart rate and stretch
your legs — but only if you feel comfortable standing up.
In the last two to three minutes, perform two to four short
15- to 30-second speed bursts. Aim to reach 90–110 RPM, pushing
yourself into zone 3. Actively recover in zone 2 for one to two
minutes before beginning the main workout.

INTERVAL Speed Recover Repeat Recover

SET 1 Increase speed to 90–100
RPM or higher, and add
Recover for 90 seconds by
decreasing both speed and
Repeat the interval pattern
five times, 60 seconds on,
Recover two to three
minutes with easy pedaling
11 minutes
Five rounds of resistance to push hard in resistance. Aim to drop into 90 seconds off. and light resistance before
60 seconds’ or out of the saddle for 60 zone 1 or 2. moving on to the next set.
work and 90 seconds. Aim to reach zone
seconds’ rest 4 during this interval.

INTERVAL Speed Recover Repeat Recover

SET 2 Increase speed to 90–100
RPM or higher, and add
Recover for 60 seconds,
dropping into zone 2.
Repeat the interval pattern
five times, 60 seconds on,
Recover two to three
minutes.
9 minutes
Five rounds of resistance to push hard in 60 seconds off.
60 seconds’ or out of the saddle for 60
work and 60 seconds. Aim to reach zone
seconds’ rest 4 during this interval.

INTERVAL Speed Recover Repeat Recover

SET 3 Increase speed to 90–110
RPM or higher, and add
Recover for 30 seconds as
best you can into zone 2
Repeat the interval pattern
five times, 60 seconds on,
Finish the workout by
reducing your resistance
7 minutes
Five rounds of resistance to push hard in (you may not make it all the 30 seconds off. and continuing to pedal
60 seconds’ or out of the saddle for 60 way into zone 2 at this point until you reach zone 1.
work and 30 seconds. Aim to reach zone in the workout).
seconds’ rest 4 during this interval.

NICOLE RADZISZEWSKI is a writer and personal trainer in River Forest, Ill. She blogs at www.mamasgottamove.com.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 29

 RACE BECAUSE
YOU LOVE IT.
JOIN BECAUSE
YOU CARE.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Join now! SavetheChildren.org/TeamSave

Team Save the Children offers athletes of all abilities a chance to
join us in a race while raising much-needed funds to help children.
 Real Fitness
Break It Down

The
Pushup
Fine-tune your form to make
the most of this fundamental
upper-body move.
Stay neutral:
Don’t crane
BY MAGGIE
your neck up,
FAZELI FARD, RKC
drop your head
toward the floor,
Distribute weight evenly
or hunch your
across your entire hands;
shoulders toward
imagine there is a grape
your ears.
under each palm that you
don’t want to crush.

P
ushups are a fitness staple,
a part of most workout
programs, and a tried-and-true
test of upper-body strength
and endurance. They also have a
reputation as an especially punishing
movement that can cause wrist, elbow,
shoulder, and lower-back pain.
PHOTO: CHAD HOLDER; STYLING: PAM BRAND; FITNESS MODEL: MELISSA STORY
Learning proper form will help
prevent pain and injury, and mastering
a variety of variations can aid in
pregressing your move.
Doing a pushup requires as much
skill as strength. It’s a full-body
exercise that calls for core stability as
well as back, arm, and chest power.
Your form will enable you to move
painlessly through the full range
of motion.
And, thanks to a nearly endless
number of modifications to make
them easier and more comfort-
able, they’re also within reach for
most exercisers.

Keep your body in a straight line from

start to finish; engage your glutes
and core to avoid sagging.
Aim elbows out about

1. 2. 3.
45 degrees from your body,
as if you’re pointing them to
the back corners of the room.

Assume a high-plank Keeping your body Reverse the movement,

position, with hands
slightly wider than
shoulder width, arms
extended (but not
locked), and body
straight from heels to
the top of your head.
straight and your head
in a neutral position,
engage your core and
squeeze your glutes.
Bend your arms and
retract your shoulder
blades to lower yourself
until your arms form
90-degree angles.
pushing yourself back
to the starting position
without breaking the
straight line from head
to heels. Web Extra!
Learn four variations for
making the standard
MAGGIE FAZELI FARD, pushup easier and harder at
RKC, is an Experience ELmag.com/pushup.
Life senior editor.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 31

Real Fitness
Up Your Game
Game, Set,
Match Learn how to maximize your potential on
the tennis court with tips from two pros.
BY YAEL GRAUER
ennis may look straight-
T forward, but it’s a sport
that’s both physically
and mentally demand-
ing. Whether you’re running
across the court, twisting for
a swing, or extending on your
serve, you’re getting a full-
body workout.
“Most people start playing
tennis to get in shape,” says Ajay
Pant, Life Time’s national tennis
director. “But you actually have
to get in shape to play tennis.”
To improve your game, Pant
recommends supplementing
your tennis regimen with time
in the gym — but not for weight
loss or larger muscles. Instead,
focus on full-body gym work-
outs that build strength, explo-
siveness, flexibility, agility,
conditioning, and speed.
32 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
The multidimensional sport
requires your body to work in
sync so you transfer kinetic
energy from the ground up,
starting with the legs and moving
through the torso.
Justin Baker, a veteran tennis
coach at Life Time and former
U.S. Tennis Association com-
petitor, agrees that leg and core
strength — not arm strength —
are the engines of a tennis player.
In fact, many wrist, elbow, and
shoulder complaints can be
attributed to overly taxing the
arms by not properly using the
quads, glutes, and core.
Because tennis is aerobic and
anaerobic and involves quick
stop-and-go action, experts also
recommend speed drills. The
following exercises will help
keep you at the top of your game.
Tennis Training and Techniques
Drill 1: Back Squats Drill 2: Rotational Med-Ball Wall hrows TRAIN
“Tennis players have to work the main This move works on the rotational action
power groups of their lower body,” Baker and powerful leg-and-hip drive that
YOUR BRAIN
Tennis can be a
says, and back squats are a good way to mimic a ground stroke. “Building strength frustrating sport, but
do it. The move also places more load on throughout that twisting range of motion is Ajay Pant, Life Time’s
the glutes and hamstrings than other squat crucial,” says Baker. national tennis director,
variations. Working the posterior chain is • Stand with one side of your body recommends embracing
particularly helpful because tennis is such a facing a wall, about 5 feet away, holding a that challenge. Pay
front-loading sport. light medicine ball. Pivot on your feet to attention to mental blocks
• Place a bar in a squat rack at shoulder rotate away from the wall. or patterns that hinder
height. Facing the bar, take an overhand • Switch directions, driving through your performance. If you
grip slightly wider than shoulder width. your lower body and pivoting to throw the tend to get nervous and
double-fault, for example,
Duck under the bar so it rests across your ball against the wall. The throw should be
work on replicating those
shoulders, on your traps (the meaty part of dynamic, hips moving like a cracking whip. high-stress situations and
your upper back); keep your feet directly • Let the ball drop or catch it on the your reactions.
below the bar. Lift the bar and step back. bounce, then repeat for three sets of 10 reps This type of training
• With feet slightly wider than shoulder per side. doesn’t focus on your
width, bend your knees and hips and sit stroke or movement
back as low as you can, aiming to get your Drill 3: Interval Sprints mechanics. Rather, it
thighs parallel to the ground (but going Tennis involves directional changes and homes in on what’s
only as far as your range of motion allows); quick pivot action, so speed work will help going on in your head.
keep a slight arch in your lower back. your performance on the court. Imagining, replicating,
and reflecting on difficult
Slowly stand up, and repeat for three sets • If you’re on the court, practice
situations with a coach
of eight to 10 reps. running explosively in diferent directions
or a training partner
• Maintain an upright torso throughout (backward and forward, side to side). can be just as useful as
the movement and avoid falling forward by • Of the court, perform three to five working through flaws in
driving up from the bottom of the back squat. 25-second sprints followed by 20 seconds of your technique.
Avoid maxing out with heavy weights; recovery.
instead emphasize more reps with • If you don’t want to fuss with timing
YAEL GRAUER is a freelance
lower weights. (For more details on each set, sprint once for 20 seconds, noting
health writer and managing
proper squatting form — and additional your start and stop points. Then sprint editor of Performance
squat variations — visit ELmag.com/ forward and walk back to the start point, Menu: Journal of Health and
howtosquat.) repeating for three to five sets. Athletic Excellence.

Gear Essentials

ASICS COURT FF BABOLAT RACQUET BABOLAT BACKPACK THERA CANE MASSAGER

Lateral (side-to-side) stability
is what separates true tennis
shoes from cross-trainers and
running shoes. Pick up a pair of
these shoes to avoid rolling or
injuring your ankles — and get
them properly fitted. $170 at
www.asics.com.
Test-run prospective racquets
to ensure a firm grip (no
overlapping fingers) and weight
you can handle with ease. This
full-package option is great for
strikers looking to build power,
speed, and precision. $199–
$209 at www.babolat.us.
This purpose-designed back-
pack replaces a racquet bag.
It includes a spacious main
compartment for a racquet
and other gear, plus ventilated
pockets perfect for stashing
sneakers or sweaty clothing.
$75 at www.babolat.us.
Tennis can leave even the
fittest player feeling wrecked
from head to toe. The Thera
Cane can help you work out
the kinks in parts of your body
that foam rollers and lacrosse
balls can’t reach. $29–$40;
www.theracane.com

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 33


Just
Right
Our fitness editor struggles with
the age-old lesson that more —
even of a good thing — isn’t
always the answer.
BY MAGGIE FAZELI FARD, RKC
es! More, please. Thank you.
Y For years, these five
words were my mantra
and battle cry. Whatever
came my way, wonderful or terrible, I
made a concerted efort to welcome it
with open arms. With the best things,
I wanted more. And the worst . . . well,
challenges and hard times are opportu-
nities for growth, right? What doesn’t
kill me makes me stronger, yes? In that
case, more of the bad, too. Please, and
thank you.
Work, school, relationships, the gym
— in every arena, I pushed for more.
Every success was a sign that pushing
harder was the right tactic. Achieving a
300-pound deadlift: Huzzah! More, please!
Every setback was a growth oppor-
tunity. Throwing out my back while
getting out of the car less than a week
after said deadlift: Drats! But I’ll be fine!
More, please!
One area where I strove at all costs
was working out. Professionally, as the
fitness editor of Experience Life, I felt
it was important to grow as much as
possible — to keep learning and show-
ing up as my best, strongest, fittest self.
On a personal level, it meant so much
to have found fitness after decades of
being perceived, by myself and others,
as weak, clumsy, and unathletic.
But a year ago, my back — the very
same one that had begun complain-
ing so loudly nearly four years ear-
lier — started to speak up again. My
doctor’s orders were, quite simply, to
slow down. I could keep training but
at half speed, half strength. Whatever
I wanted to do, I’d have to do less of it,
at least for a little while.
Do the work, keep
it easy, don’t go the
extra mile — and in the
process, get stronger.
At first I floundered. That is, until a
writer I work with came to me with a
pitch: a workout program aptly called
Easy Strength. Cocreated by renowned
strength coach Dan John, it was
developed to test the minimum efec-
tive dose of resistance training to keep
building strength.
It was, by design, meant to be easy.
The program’s rules strictly forbade
doing more than prescribed. Do the
work, keep it easy, don’t go the extra
mile — and in the process, get stron-
ger. My inner judge rolled her eyes, but
I was intrigued. I tested the program,
as I do with all the workouts we print.
(For the full program, visit ELmag
.com/strengthmadeeasy.)
Real Fitness
Strong Body, Strong Mind
Easy, it turns out, is a struggle. I
absolutely detested how little I got
to do and how much I had to rest. I
felt restless. I regretted committing to
two months of this. But I stuck with it,
recalling John’s words: “You won’t get
pumped. You won’t get sweaty or sore.
What you do get, however, is strong.”
He was right.
Fairly quickly, what was already easy
became easier. I got stronger — and I
progressed to heavier “easy” weights. My
body reshaped itself, responding to the
work even though I felt like I was barely
doing anything. My back pain abated as
my doctor had assured me it would.
Mentally and emotionally, I relaxed
into the easiness. It became less of a
struggle to do less. I’d be lying if I said
it was a comfortable place to be. Easy
was harder some days than others.
But for once, I didn’t feel like I was
begging for more simply for the sake of
more. In fact, it felt like a Goldilocks-
inspired rebalancing of sorts: Whereas,
once upon a time, more had been fine
and dandy, in this moment, doing less
was good for me. It turns out that
meeting myself where I am, in a given
moment, can never be too much or too
little — it’s simply just right.
MAGGIE FAZELI FARD, RKC, pictured above,
is an Experience Life senior editor.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 35
OWN RACE DAY Your heart racing. The crowd cheering.

FOREVER.
The journey to the finish line with your
fellow athletes. The exhilaration of race
day may subside, but your glory and
race results live forever at Athlinks.

YOU EARNED IT.

OWN IT WITH ATHLINKS.
Real
Food

Page
42
Expand your culinary
repertoire with this
Indian dal, a simple and
flavorful one-pot stew.
It’s easy to prepare with
pantry staples, including
protein-rich red lentils,
which provide the perfect
vehicle for warming, anti-
inflammatory spices like
turmeric and ginger.

Find this recipe

and others at
ELmag.com/cooklentils.
Real Food
Nutrients

f you’ve been spooning down

Feed I yogurt and embracing the tang

of kombucha in the name of
digestive well-being, you’re
probably familiar with probiotics. The

Your health-supporting powers of these live,

active cultures found in fermented
foods have been widely touted over
the last few years. What you may not

Flora
Good gut health requires
more than consuming realize is that, like all living organisms,
enough probiotics. Learn these healthy bacteria that populate
why prebiotics are just your gut need to be nourished — and
as important. that their superfood is prebiotics.
“Think of prebiotics as the fertilizer
BY RACHEL MELTZER WARREN, MS, RDN that enables your gut garden to thrive,”
says New York City–based integrative
physician Frank Lipman, MD.
Prebiotics are types of indigestible
fiber that are as critical to the health
of your microbiome, and therefore the
health of your body, as the microbes
they feed. So, when tending to your
gut, it’s important to give the beneficial
bacteria residing there the prebiotics
they need to flourish.

he Pros of Prebiotics
All prebiotics are fiber, but not all
fiber is prebiotic. Prebiotic fiber resists
digestion in the upper gastrointestinal
tract, ferments in the colon (a.k.a. large
intestine), and fuels the growth of
probiotic microorganisms that are linked
with optimal well-being. (For more on
probiotics, see ELmag.com/probiotics.)
Researchers are still working to
identify the ways prebiotic fibers
support human health. Many of the
benefits attributed to a well-balanced
microbiome are due to byproducts
of fiber fermentation called short-
chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, explains
Jane Muir, PhD, head of translational
nutritional science in the Department
of Gastroenterology at Monash
University in Melbourne, Australia.
As bacteria in the colon gobble
Probiotics are living up prebiotic fiber, they produce
Prebiotics are types SCFAs, which, in turn, do many
microorganisms of indigestible, beneficial things:
that contribute fermentable fiber that • Balance gut pH. SCFAs reduce the
to a healthy encourage the growth pH of the intestinal lining, which makes
digestive tract. of beneficial bacteria. the gut more acidic and less hospitable to
pathogenic microorganisms.

38 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 • Boost nutrient absorption.
This resulting change in pH may
also increase the absorption of
some nutrients. In one study of 100
adolescents, participants who took a
daily prebiotic supplement absorbed 8.5
percent more calcium within eight weeks
than those taking a placebo. Within a
year, they had built more bone mass.
• Prevent leaky gut. SCFAs help
strengthen the integrity of the intestinal
wall, playing a key role in preventing
leaky gut — a condition in which toxins
penetrate the thin intestinal lining and
cause a range of health problems, includ-
ing allergies and autoimmune diseases.
• Curb cancer cells. One SCFA called
butyrate has been found to quell the
growth of colon-cancer cells; it also
decreases inflammation in the gut.
Another SCFA called acetate helps inhibit
pathogenic organisms.
• Support satiety. Increased SCFAs in
the gut contribute to better satiety and
weight loss, as well as improved lipid and
glucose metabolism.
• Reduce inflammation. SCFA pro-
duction is also associated with decreased
inflammation throughout the body —
which improves cardiovascular and
metabolic health, among other benefits.
While scientists do not completely
understand all the mechanisms by
which prebiotics work, research
continues to link their consumption to
a range of health improvements. Find-
ings about the brain–gut connection, for
instance, indicate that prebiotics may
play a role in our emotional well-being.
When 45 healthy adults took a
galactooligosaccharide prebiotic
supplement every day for three
weeks, their bodies produced lower
levels of the stress hormone cortisol
upon waking, according to an Oxford
University study. And in an exercise
within that study evaluating emotional
response, those participants paid more
attention to positive information than
negative — a result similar to that
found with certain antidepression
medications. (For more on the mental-
health benefits of prebiotics, see
ELmag.com/psychobiotics.)
Think of prebiotics
as the fertilizer that
enables your gut
garden to thrive.”
Eat Your Prebiotics
Though you can buy supplements in
the form of powders and capsules,
experts say whole foods are the best
(and arguably most enjoyable) way to
get your prebiotics.
Plant-based foods that contain
prebiotic fibers, including asparagus,
cabbage, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes,
and onions, are tops. (See “What’s
in a Name?” on page 40 to learn
more about specific fibers.) Under-
ripe bananas, as well as cashews,
pistachios, lentils, and chickpeas, are
great sources, too.
Unfortunately, many of us don’t eat
enough of the foods that adequately
nourish the health-promoting microbes
in our guts.
“Our Western diet — which is
lacking in vegetables, fruit, and
fiber — is responsible for a decline
in prebiotic intake,” says Natasha
Haskey, MS, RD, who researches the
gut microbiome at the University of
British Columbia. (For even more
reasons to eat your veggies, go to
ELmag.com/eatveggies.)
The good news is that a little
prebiotic food usually goes a long
way, says Muir. “The amounts of
prebiotics we need to have an impact
on the gut microbiota are
not high.”
Indeed, once you know
what you’re looking for, it’s easy
to include prebiotic-rich foods in
your diet. Eat a handful of pistachios;
add cooked or canned lentils to a
soup (see page 42 to learn about
cooking lentils); or snack on a slice
of watermelon.
Diversity Matters
Prebiotics clearly play a crucial role
in gut health, but focusing on them
in isolation misses the point: The gut
microbiome is an ecosystem — and a
healthy ecosystem is a diverse one.
Indeed, a diet rich in prebiotic
fiber and probiotic foods helps
support the production of health-
promoting SCFAs.
You can even get your prebiotics
and probiotics at the same time if you
eat a fermented prebiotic-rich food
— think pickled onions or pickled
asparagus. Or you can combine a
prebiotic-rich food with a probiotic-
rich food: chickpeas with a dollop of
yogurt, for instance, or raw onions
sprinkled into miso soup. (For more
serving ideas, see “Your Prebiotic
Plate,” page 40.)
But don’t worry too much about
whether a given meal meets both
criteria. Instead, follow experts’
recommendation to eat both probiotic-
and prebiotic-rich foods over the
course of the day. And, because
cooking can afect the prebiotic
content of certain foods, it’s best
to consume both raw and prepared
veggies regularly.
“When it comes to the gut flora,
diversity is the key to wellness
for the entire body,” says Vincent
Pedre, MD, FCMP, author of Happy
Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help
You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and
Eliminate Pain.
So go for lots of variety with a
plant-heavy diet that includes plenty
of pre- and probiotic foods. Your
microbiome will thank you.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 39
Real Food
Nutrients
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Eating more whole, plant-based
foods is the healthiest way to
get prebiotics into your diet. The
following are some of the key
prebiotic fibers found in food.
• Fructans are chains of sugar
molecules, found in a variety of
vegetables and fruits, that store
carbohydrates. Two types of
prebiotic fructans are inulin and
fructooligosaccharides (FOS).
• Galactooligosaccharides
(GOS) are chains of galactose sugars
joined together with glucose at the
ends. These occur naturally and are
often also added to packaged foods.
• Resistant starch refers to any
dietary starch that is not digested
in the small intestine but passes
through to the colon, where it is
fermented. (For more on this, see
ELmag.com/resistantstarch.)
40 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Your
Prebiotic
Plate
Try to eat more of these prebiotic-rich
foods — and for extra credit, pair them
with the suggested probiotics. Note that,
generally, the less foods are cooked, the
greater the prebiotic content.
Asparagus
Prebiotic fiber: Inulin and FOS.
Enjoy it: Raw or lightly steamed for the
most prebiotics.
Probiotic pairing: Dip spears in a sauce
made of plain kefir blended with a drizzle
of olive oil, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
Unripe bananas
Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch.
Enjoy it: Buy green and eat before fully
ripened. Try sliced, mashed, or frozen and
blended into “nice cream.”
Probiotic pairing: Whirl a frozen banana in a
blender with plain, full-fat yogurt, a handful
of greens, and a tablespoon of nut butter for Chickpeas
a smoothie. Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch.
Enjoy it: Soak and cook dried chickpeas to
Buckwheat groats make hummus. (Canned chickpeas have
Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch. lower levels of prebiotic fiber than dried.)
Enjoy it: Allow cooked buckwheat to cool Probiotic pairing: Top hummus with natu-
for the most prebiotics, then top a green rally fermented pickles or other veggies.
salad with a scoop of these gluten-free
pseudo-grains. Dandelion greens
Probiotic pairing: Make buckwheat Prebiotic fiber: Inulin.
pancakes and serve alongside grilled
Enjoy it: For the most prebiotics, eat these
tempeh “bacon” strips.
bitter greens raw; mix with milder salad
greens like romaine and baby spinach.
Cabbage Probiotic pairing: Top with goat cheese or a
Prebiotic fiber: FOS. yogurt-based dressing.
Enjoy it: Toss raw cabbage with rice-wine
vinegar and sesame oil for an Asian- Fennel
inspired salad.
Prebiotic fiber: FOS and GOS.
Probiotic pairing: Make your own
Enjoy it: Slice the bulb, which has more
sauerkraut for a pre- and probiotic treat.
prebiotics than the fronds, and eat raw.
Probiotic pairing: Toss with plain yogurt
and top with zaatar, a Middle Eastern
spice mixture.
Garlic
Prebiotic fiber: Inulin, GOS, and FOS.
Enjoy it: Eat raw for the most prebiotic
power. Try sprinkling minced raw garlic into
a warm soup as a spicy garnish.
Probiotic pairing: Chop crushed garlic and
blend with plain yogurt, grated and drained
cucumber, chopped dill, and lemon juice for
an easy Greek tzatziki sauce.
Jerusalem artichokes
Prebiotic fiber: Inulin and FOS.
Enjoy it: Peel and slice thinly using a
mandoline. Add raw to a salad, or toss with
olive oil and roast at 400 degrees F until
lightly browned.
Probiotic pairing: Try it with a kefir
dressing: Blend plain kefir with olive oil,
lemon zest, and salt.
Lentils
Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch.
Enjoy it: Add a scoop of cooked lentils to
any salad for a prebiotic protein boost.
Probiotic pairing: In addition to lentils,
top your salad with sauerkraut or other
pickled vegetables.
Oats (rolled and steel-cut)
Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch.
Enjoy it: Top cooked oats with a handful of
wilted baby spinach, a sunny-side-up egg,
and freshly ground pepper.
Probiotic pairing: Mix 1/3 cup each
uncooked steel-cut oats, plain full-
fat yogurt, and milk of choice in a
Mason jar, along with 1 tablespoon
chia seeds. Refrigerate overnight and
serve in the morning with your favorite
oatmeal toppings.
Onion
Prebiotic fiber: Inulin and FOS.
Enjoy it: Eat raw or lightly cooked for the
greatest prebiotic effect. Try sprinkling raw
into your favorite soup.
Probiotic pairing: Whisk miso paste with
water and bring to a simmer for aromatic
miso broth. Add onions and cook until
just softened.
Pistachios
Prebiotic fiber: FOS and GOS.
Enjoy it: Eat a handful or sprinkle onto a
salad for added crunch.
Probiotic pairing: Toss into a blender
along with plain kefir, a handful of spinach,
and a frozen banana for a prebiotic
green smoothie.
Potatoes
Prebiotic fiber: Resistant starch.
Enjoy it: Boil and allow to cool. Toss with oil
and vinegar and finely chopped veggies for
a prebiotic side salad.
Probiotic pairing: Serve with sauerkraut.
Radicchio
Prebiotic fiber: FOS and inulin.
Enjoy it: Eat raw in a salad, or toss with
olive oil and roast, then drizzle with
balsamic vinegar.
Probiotic pairing: Mix raw, shredded
radicchio with plain yogurt, lemon juice, and
lemon zest for a side salad.
Watermelon
Prebiotic fiber: FOS.
Enjoy it: Cube and sprinkle with coarse sea
salt for a simple snack.
Probiotic pairing: Top sliced watermelon
with sprinkles of feta cheese, and drizzle
with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
RACHEL MELTZER WARREN, MS, RDN,
is a New York City–based nutrition writer,
educator, and counselor.
SMART
SUPPLEMENTATION
For those who don’t eat prebiotic-rich
foods on a daily basis, a supplement
is a good alternative, says integrative
physician Frank Lipman, MD.
Pills and powders made with
fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and
inulin can help, though determining
the appropriate dose can be
challenging. “The right amount for
each individual is different, because
each of us has a slightly different
makeup of gut bacteria creating
the sum of our microbiome,” says
Vincent Pedre, MD, FMCP.
Start with ¼ teaspoon of a pow-
dered supplement, gradually working
your way up to 1 teaspoon, and even-
tually to 1 tablespoon. “The key is to
start low and go slow,” he says.
“Increasing prebiotics can cause
some gas and bloating at first as your
gut flora is changing and adapting,”
says Lipman. This is particularly true
when increasing prebiotics through
supplements, which provide higher
doses than you’ll find in whole foods.
Jo Ann Hattner, MPH, RDN, author
of Gut Insight, suggests consuming
smaller amounts of prebiotic fiber
more regularly. “Your tolerance to
these fibers may be improved if taken
throughout the day,” she says.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 41
Real Food
Confident Cook

How to
Cook
Lentils
The right technique and a few flavor-boosting
ingredients are all this pantry staple needs to shine.

BY REBECCA KATZ, MS

entils are little gems. Yet despite these nutritional boons, profile of whatever they’re cooked

L Versatile and economical,

these tiny pulses — a term
that refers to the edible seed
of a plant in the legume family — are
excellent sources of dietary protein.
They’re also high in vitamin B and
many trace minerals, including iron
and zinc, making them powerful
brain food.
lentils are often overlooked and under-
rated. It’s true that they can be mushy,
mealy, or bland when cooked incor-
rectly, but it’s easy to get them right.
Once you have this basic technique
down, you’ll find that lentils comple-
ment many meals and hold their own
as a key element in salads and soups.
And because they take on the flavor
with, they play well with a range
of cuisines.
Cooked lentils will keep in the
refrigerator for up to a week, so make a
batch ahead of time and enjoy them in a
variety of dishes. Most types will work
in the following recipes, though the red
lentils — which break down quickly —
are best used for hummus and dal.

42 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 Basic Lentils
Makes: 2 to 2½ cups
cooked lentils, or about
eight servings
Prep time: five minutes
Cook time: 10 to 20
minutes, depending
on variety

• 1 cup lentils
of your choice,
rinsed well, and
soaked if desired
Tip: Presoaking dried lentils makes them easier to • 1 clove garlic
digest and increases nutrient availability. Rinse, then • 1 bay leaf
soak in 4 cups of hot water plus 1 teaspoon of salt for 30 • ¼ tsp. sea salt
to 60 minutes; rinse again before cooking. • Water
PHOTOS: ANDREA D’AGOSTO; PROP STYLING: ALICIA BUSZCZAK; FOOD STYLIST: PAUL JACKMAN

• Lemon juice

Put the lentils, garlic,

KNOW YOUR LENTILS bay leaf, and salt in a
saucepan, and add water
Type Why they’re great Cooking time to cover by 2 inches.
Bring to a boil over high
Brown These common lentils have a mild, earthy 15–20 minutes
heat, and then decrease
flavor and are often used in traditional
the heat to low. Cover
lentil soups.
and simmer until the
Puy (or French green) Sturdier than the brown variety, puy lentils 10–15 minutes lentils are tender (see
have a slightly peppery taste. Their firm texture table at left for specific
makes them ideal for side dishes. cooking times). Remove
Red Delicate and light, red lentils break down when 10–15 minutes from the heat, drain
cooked; use in soups and stews, as well as dips completely, and discard
and dals. the garlic and bay leaf.
Spritz with a bit of lemon
Beluga Beluga lentils appear glossy once cooked 10 minutes juice and let cool to
(or caviar) and have a rich flavor; toss onto salads or room temperature.
into pilafs.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 43

Real Food
Confident Cook

Lemony Lentil
Quinoa Salad
Makes: six servings
Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes,
plus two hours to chill

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup freshly squeezed
lemon juice, plus more
to taste
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• ¼ tsp. sea salt, plus more
to taste
• 1 cup cooked white
quinoa, cooled*
• 1 cup cooked lentils, cooled
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh
flat-leaf parsley
• ½ cup finely chopped
fresh mint
• 2 small English cucumbers,
peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 2 tbs. crumbled organic
goat’s or sheep’s milk feta
cheese (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together

the olive oil, lemon juice and
zest, and salt. Pour over the
cooked quinoa, then add the
cooked lentils, parsley, and
mint. Toss with a fork until all
ingredients are well combined.
Chill for at least two hours.
Add the cucumbers and
tomatoes and use a fork to
gently combine. Add another For a nutritional boost,
squeeze of lemon juice or a add 1 cup of arugula —
pinch of salt to taste. Sprinkle rich with vitamins A
with feta before serving.
and K — when you add
the cucumbers.
* Lentils and quinoa can be
prepared up to a week ahead.
Find a basic quinoa recipe at
ELmag.com/quinoa.

44 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 his salad can also be warmed and
served over arugula or spinach. he
heat will gently wilt the greens.

Lentils With Roasted Beets

Makes: four to six servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes to one hour, plus time for beets to cool

• 2 medium beets, washed Preheat the oven to Toss the cooked lentils with
• 2 cups cooked lentils, cooled 425 degrees F. Wrap ½ tablespoon lemon juice, 1
• 1½ tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided, the beets in parchment tablespoon extra-virgin olive
plus more to taste paper, then in foil, and oil, and ¼ teaspoon sea salt;
• 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided roast for 30 minutes to let rest a few minutes. Add
• ½ tsp. sea salt, divided, plus more to taste 1 hour (depending on the beets and the remaining
• 3 tbs. chopped fresh mint size), until fork tender 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1
• 3 tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley and fragrant. Remove tablespoon olive oil, and ¼
• ¼ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped from the oven; when teaspoon sea salt. Stir in the
• Black pepper to taste cool, peel and cut into mint, parsley, and walnuts. Add
small cubes. one more pinch of salt, a few
grinds of black pepper, or a bit
more lemon juice to taste.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 45

Real Food
Confident Cook

Lentil Hummus
Makes: six servings
Prep time: 10 minutes

• 1 cup cooked lentils

• ¼ cup freshly squeezed Meyer
lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus
more for garnish
• ¼ cup tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbs. water
• ½ tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tbs. chopped parsley

Combine all ingredients except the

parsley in the bowl of a food processor
and process until smooth, about a
minute. Add a pinch more salt or spritz
of lemon to taste. Transfer to a small
bowl and garnish with the parsley
and a drizzle of olive oil. (Note: Using
red lentils will result in a pale-colored
hummus, as shown.)

Why No Numbers?
Readers sometimes ask us why we
don’t publish nutrition information with
our recipes. We believe that (barring
specific medical advice to the contrary)
if you’re eating primarily whole, healthy
foods — an array of sustainably raised
Tip: If you can’t vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes,
find a Meyer meats, fish, eggs, whole-kernel grains,
lemon, juice and healthy fats and oils — you
from regular probably don’t need to stress about the
lemons will numbers. We prefer to focus on food
do. Or mix 2 quality and trust our bodies to tell us
tablespoons what we need. — The Editors
each lemon and
orange juice.

Rebecca Katz, MS, director of

the Healing Kitchens Institute at
Commonweal, is the author of several
cookbooks, including The Longevity
Kitchen, published by Ten Speed
Press, Penguin Random House LLC,
where some of these recipes originally
appeared. She lives in San Rafael, Calif.
Web Extra!
With lots of aromatic spices, this
Red-Lentil Dal will delight your
palate. Find the recipe at
ELmag.com/cooklentils.

46 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

Real Food
Honestly, Dara
Easy
Pickings
Gardening is simple —
if you grow only herbs.
BY DARA MOSKOWITZ GRUMDAHL
acquired a cucumber vine last
I spring at a fundraiser for my
kids’ school. This little plant was
bundled with other vegetation
I did not need, including a tiny
watermelon vine.
My kids christened the watermelon
vine Wilhelmina and petted and
carried her around, until one day I
found her with her stem broken and
buried her before anyone noticed. I
tucked the cucumber vine into a cute
trellis purchased at a diferent school
fundraiser and turned my attention to
the only things in that bundle of plants
that I really care about: the herbs.
How I love herbs! Thick woody
shrubs of rosemary, standing as
fragrant sentinels near my cherry
tree. Tall plumes of leathery lavender,
speckled with tiny purple blossoms.
Black clumps of ruffled basil, not
nearly as potent as ordinary basil
but beautiful in salads and so pretty
along the walkway. Then there’s the
ordinary basil, wide leaved and pliant,
shimmering with the promised pesto
flavors of summer.
I also adore parsley — frilly
and leprechaun green, stretching
for the sun. I treasure my delicate
48 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
tendrils of thyme, weaving in and
upon themselves like a low-pluming
fountain. I keep three varieties of sage
clustered together in a little alley —
the purple, the speckled white, and the
gray-green.
Sometimes I grab a leaf of sage
on my way to work in the morning,
chewing it like a Thanksgiving-
flavored breath mint, and I’m happy.
Sometimes I crush a sprig of rosemary
into my pocket when I’m leaving for a
fancy event, and when I catch a whif
of it later, I think, Life is varied and full.
And the chives! I have so many of
them that I divide them every spring
and drop them on neighbors’ back
steps under cover of darkness, like a
reverse cat burglar. These tenacious
beauties bring me utter delight in
those first brown weeks of early spring
when winter is gasping its last breath.
The little green shoots shove their
heads out of the newly defrosted earth
as if to say in spicy triumph, “Who’s
first? Chives! Chives win again!”
Finally, I will always have a
soft spot in my heart for mint, that
indestructible weed associated with a
seriously creepy Greek myth, which
goes something like this:
If your life won’t
accommodate tending
to heirloom tomato
plants, grow herbs.
You’ll still be connected
to the earth, the
seasons, and your food.
There once was a beautiful river
nymph named Minthe, the daughter of
a river god. One day she was relaxing
by the flowing waters, when Hades,
king of the underworld, discovered
her, and things between them got a bit
fresh. Then Hades’s wife, Persephone,
turned up, and she was not happy. She
kicked Minthe to bits and turned her
into a plant! The sort-of-chivalrous
Hades intervened and ensured that
Minthe was at least the kind of
plant that smells good when it gets
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL HOSTETLER
stepped on.
he Keeping-It-Real Garden
Aromatics and mythology aside, the
real reason I love my herb garden is
because I’m busy.
 There was a time when I raised
tomatoes — beautiful heirloom
varieties — and all my energy was
spent waging war with squirrels.
Think squirrels are cute? You’ve
obviously never tried to grow
tomatoes. These invasive rodents take
one bite and leave the savaged fruit
to rot. “Haha!” they seem to chatter
when chased from the garden. “I’m
a squirrel, and puncturing tomatoes
is hilarious.”
While growing herbs, you may have
to fend of the occasional bunny, but
you never have to worry about your
crop overripening. Lose track of your
zucchini and you end up harvesting a
canoe. Have a busy weekend and your
strawberries wilt and wither.
Neglect your herbs for a while? No
problem. They’ll just hang out, because
they’re mellow (assuming they’re not
seducing gods of the underworld while
your back is turned).
And if they flower? Not to worry.
When your chives bolt — and they
will, beautifully — pull the little
blossoms apart and scatter them over
a watermelon salad with red onion and
salt. If the basil starts to flower, pinch
of the blooms and bury them with the
ghost of Wilhelmina. If your lavender
flowers, life is as it should be and you
can just enjoy another perfect day.
Raising herbs is a relaxing venture.
Even reluctant gardeners can
handle herbs. My colleague Stacy, who
had never gardened, finally took my
herb evangelizing to heart and planted
basil last year.
“It was so easy!” she gushed. She
told me of the caprese salads she’d
been making, layering homegrown
basil leaves with mozzarella and
tomato. She prepared her own pesto,
whirring up fresh basil with garlic,
olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan.
Stacy was so pleased with her
garden-to-table success that she’s
going to plant mint this year. (I didn’t
tell her about Minthe and Persephone.)
I am now sharing with her the
many virtues of rosemary: You can
throw whole stalks onto the coals of
your grill, like they do in Tuscany, and
infuse your grillables with their aroma!
You can hang bundles in your kitchen
to make your life smell like heaven.
If there’s one thing I want Stacy and
any other would-be gardener to know,
it’s that herb gardens meet you where
you are.
If your life won’t accommodate
tending to heirloom tomato plants —
the staking, the watering, the weeding,
the defending against squirrel inva-
sions — grow herbs. You’ll still be
connected to the earth, the seasons,
and your food. Then you can visit your
local farmers’ market fully appreciat-
ing all the efort these fine people
exert to provide the delicious food you
aren’t able to grow at home.
And if you get roped into buying
veggie plants at a fundraiser, you
may as well give those cucumber and
watermelon vines a try. What’s the
worst that can happen?
In August I found my own lowly
cucumber plant again, still inside its
trellis. It had borne one small fruit the
size of a lime, with a rotten dent the
size of a penny near its head.
So, there it is. I can’t grow
cucumbers. But I can grow sage and
rosemary and basil, which makes me
happy. And I can share my enthusiasm
— not to mention extra chives — with
friends and neighbors, which I hope
makes them happy, too.
DARA MOSKOWITZ GRUMDAHL is a James
Beard Award–winning food and wine writer.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 49
 Real Food
Worthy Goods

All in
One Sturdy kitchen
tools that take care
of business. 1.

1.
Instant Love
The Instant Pot Duo Plus multicooker
nearly writes its own online dating profile: Wi
It can make rice, sauté vegetables, slow- hisn
cook stew, sterilize bottles, and bake a p !
.4
cake. $120. www.instantpot.com

2.
Zero Strain
The LiveFresh heavy-duty strainer
comes with a lifetime guarantee:
no buckling, no rips, no
nonsense. The rubber
handle makes for an easy
grip. About $15. www
.livefreshkitchen.com

3. 2. 3.
Timeless Tool
For centuries, people
have used mortars
and pestles to crush
and grind spices, herbs,
and nuts. This unpolished
granite set from ChefSofi 5.
may last that long, too. $48.
www.sofigoods.com

4.
Shear Pleasure
These premium
kitchen shears from 4.
Shun are equipped for a range of
tasks, from snipping herbs to cutting chicken
bones. $100. shun.kaiusaltd.com

5. 6.
Clean Cut Power Stack
This professional-grade, Great for mixing — as well
PHOTOS: JOHN MOWERS

lightweight chef’s knife as tossing salads, beating

from Mac has a surface
that’s designed to speed
chopping by reducing
friction. $175. www
.macknife.com
eggs, and storing leftovers —
these tidy stacking bowls
from X-Chef come with a
set of well-fitted lids. $57. 6.
www.ixchef.com

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 51

 BY MO PERRY

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS: JOHN KUCZALA

52 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

In the 1950s and ’60s, smoking was ubiquitous in American
culture — cigarettes in offices, cigarettes in restaurants, cigarettes on airplanes, and even
in hospitals. Yet when we look back at images from that era, we’re shocked that something
so obviously toxic was not just widely accepted but actively promoted as the pinnacle of
sophistication, not to mention a handy tool for weight management. What were we thinking?

Now take a look around. Where is
your smartphone? If you’re a typical
American, it’s within 5 feet of you,
regardless of the time of day. It may
be in your hand while you read these
words on its bright face.
Seventy-seven percent of Ameri-
cans now own a smartphone. (Ninety-
five percent own a cell phone of some
kind.) The same people who eschew
cigarettes because of their health risks
might not think twice about driving
down a highway at 60 miles per hour
with their eyes locked on a tiny screen.
We sleep with our phones beside us.
They’re often the last thing we see
before closing our eyes and the first
thing we reach for in the morning.
The average American adult spends
more than three hours engaging with
his or her smartphone every day.
“The iPhone is only 10 years
old,” says Larry Rosen, PhD, author
of iDisorder and coauthor of The
Distracted Mind. “In that time, we’ve
gone from excitement to obsession.”
This obsession comes with signifi-
cant costs to our health, relationships,
cognition, and mood — and at the ex-
pense of fully experiencing our lives.
Will we look back someday at
our screen infatuation with disbelief,
as we do now with smoking, and
shake our heads at historical images
of restaurant tables full of people
staring at the devices in their hands?
Or will our captivation with ever-
more sophisticated devices continue
to blind us to the fact that they aren’t
really connecting us to anything but
the screens themselves?
Even though our phones are
cleverly designed to capture our
attention, we can choose how much of
our time we give them.
Addictive by Design
Most of us have unthinkingly reached
for the phone at a stoplight, or found
our thumbs, seemingly of their own
will, refreshing email or scrolling
through a social-media feed. We’ve
peeked at text messages while
someone was speaking to us, or felt
antsy in a work meeting that kept us
from checking email.
Almost anyone with a smartphone
sufers from some degree of
technology addiction. As with
cigarettes, this is by design. It’s not
that we simply lack self-control; our
devices, gadgets, apps, and games are
made to be addictive.
Addiction is tied to the release
of dopamine in the brain, explains
Nicholas Kardaras, PhD, author of
Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is
Hijacking Our Kids — and How to
Break the Trance. The more dopamine
an activity or substance triggers, the
more addictive it is.
“Our devices are designed to
be dopaminergic,” says Kardaras,
citing a study showing that old-
school, nonimmersive video games
raise dopamine levels as high as sex
does. “We’re exposing people to the
intensity of what’s basically a digital
orgasm. But unlike orgasms from sex,
digital orgasms happen continually.”
We’re also wired to seek novelty,
and the Internet ofers an infinite
supply. Peter Whybrow, MD,
director of the Semel Institute for
Neuroscience and Human Behavior
at the University of California, Los
Angeles, describes computers as
“electronic cocaine.” When seemingly
everything is always available online,
natural obstacles (such as darkness
and distance) that once interrupted
reward-seeking behaviors no longer
apply, he notes.
Even Tony Fadell, who helped
develop the iPhone, believes we need
to address our tech addiction. “Would
you give your kid cigarettes?” he asked
the audience at last fall’s Mindfulness
in America conference. “Would you

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 53

keep a bottle of alcohol next to your
bed?” Likewise, he suggested, we need
to treat our phones as if they were one
of these substances.
These are four things tech exploits
to play to our addictive tendencies:
1. Randomized Rewards
Our apps and devices operate on
the same principle as slot machines,
delivering rewards on a random
schedule. They keep us hoping, for
instance, that the next scan of the
email inbox or Facebook feed could
reveal an interesting message or
headline — a digital jackpot. It rarely
occurs, but we’re hooked, mollified by
smaller rewards: a validating tweet or
a Facebook like.
2. Endless Sources of Information
A recent study found that people who
ate soup from self-filling, “bottomless”
bowls consumed 73 percent more
than those eating from normal-
size containers. They didn’t report
greater satisfaction, however, and
they substantially underestimated
how much they’d eaten. It’s the
picture of mindless consumption —
eating because the food is there, not
because it fulfills a need or delivers
any pleasure.
Most of us require some kind of cue
to stop consuming, but our devices
provide no such thing. Scrolling
has no breaks. Instagram and other
apps might show only one like at a
time, which keeps us checking back.
Snapchat capitalizes on users’ loyalty
to their friends by turning their
conversations into streaks they don’t
want to break, guaranteeing traic.
Facebook uses an ever-evolving
algorithm that tracks every like,
comment, and click so it can predict
what kinds of posts are most likely
to keep users reading and feeds them
accordingly. (Even some former
Facebook employees who helped
develop the like button acknowledge
its power to override self-control, and
they’ve begun to impose limits on their
own engagement with it.)
54 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
3. Validation and Approval “What we need to create well-being
A 2014 New York Times story reported and a life well lived cannot be satisfied
that Facebook users were spending through technology,” she explains.
39,757 collective years on the platform “We’re feeding our inner reptile. The
each day. When we’re there, we spend part of us that loves to anesthetize
a lot of time liking things: photos, — that’s what technology feeds so
articles, status updates, recipes, well. Not the more evolved parts
videos, brands. of ourselves.”
But we don’t seem to actually like
spending our time this way. 4. A Sense of Connection
Addiction research reveals We all want to belong somewhere,
that wanting something does not to find community, to share and
necessarily mean enjoying it. In his connect. This connection is what
book Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive technology promises.
Technology and the Business of Keeping “As human beings, we have this
Us Hooked, New York University primal fear of isolation and not
marketing professor Adam Alter, PhD, being part of the group, which is
describes a study of drug addiction, tantamount to extinction,” says Colier.
performed by
neuroscientist Kent
Berridge, PhD:
“Addicts The average American adult spends
weren’t people who
happened to like
more than three hours engaging with his
the drugs they were or her phone every day — a number that
taking,” writes Alter. has steadily increased every year since
“They were people
who wanted those
[OLÄYZ[P7OVUL^HZYLSLHZLK
drugs very badly
even as they grew to
dislike them. . . . What makes addiction “Technology is craftily being marketed
so diicult to treat is that wanting is to elicit this fear of Oh my god, if I don’t
much harder to defeat than liking.” have this app or device, I won’t be part
Studies have found that Facebook, of the group.”
Instagram, and Snapchat rank high With most addictions, compulsive
among apps that leave people feeling use has steep consequences: You may
unhappy after use. And it seems the lose your job, your relationships, and
longer we engage with these apps, your place in your community. But
the worse we feel. This can be a when tech is the drug, the opposite is
diicult concept to grasp. How can true. Compulsive use can make you feel
we continue to want something we like an insider, and you may fear that
don’t like and continue to engage your status, relationships, and career
in destructive behavior that’s not will sufer if you moderate your social-
even pleasurable? media presence or delay your response
Psychotherapist Nancy Colier, to every text, message, and email.
LCSW, author of The Power of Off: “Many of us have grown afraid
The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a that if we don’t continually tell the
Virtual World, maintains that we keep world who we are, as everyone else is
hoping the next pull of the lever will doing, we will become invisible and
hit the jackpot, yet it’s unlikely we’ll irrelevant,” says Colier.
find that satisfaction we’re seeking “If this happens, our very sense of
online. “Looking for happiness on our self is called into question. Our life has
devices,” she says, “is like trying to become something we use to advertise
open a lock with a banana.” our identity.”
THE HEALTH RISKS OF TECH ADDICTION
Our smartphone obsession may seem to be relatively benign, especially
when compared with habits such as smoking. But its effect on our well-
being is not insignificant.
Nervous Systems on Overdrive
“We all look like we have obsessive-
compulsive disorder,” says Larry Rosen,
PhD, author of The Distracted Mind.
“The average person checks his or her
phone every 15 minutes or less, even with
no notification.”
This affects our health. “When we’re
in this constant state of anxiety, our
systems are flooded with fight-or-flight
chemicals,” explains psychotherapist
Nancy Colier, LCSW. This ceaseless
cycle of cortisol and dopamine can
make us “twired” — simultaneously
hyperstimulated and exhausted.
Disrupted Sleep
Hyperstimulation is just one effect
of smartphones that harms our sleep
quality. Many of us go to bed with our
phones beside us, making it easy to
succumb to the blue glow of the screen
until we close our eyes. This blue light
disrupts our circadian rhythms, tricking
our bodies into thinking it’s daytime,
which leads to sleep disturbances. Add
the temptation to check your phone
during the night and you have the
ingredients for a poor night’s rest.
As Colier points out, “we power down
our devices so they can reboot, but we
need to do the same for ourselves.” (For
more on circadian health, go to ELmag
.com/circadianhealth.)
Scattered Attention
In 2000 the average person’s attention
span was 12 seconds. By 2015 it had
dropped to eight seconds. (A goldfish
has an attention span of nine seconds.)
As we continue to distract ourselves in
the quest for novelty and stimulation, we
may be hindering the next generation’s
cognitive abilities as well. One recent
study found infants’ attention spans
suffer when their caregivers’ eyes wander
to smartphones and other technological
distractions during playtime, which
may impair their capacity for language
acquisition and problem-solving.
Faulty Connections With Others
An ad for the latest version of the Apple
Watch proudly declares that you can
now “stay connected, even when you’re
away from your phone.” Even our mobile
phones are no longer mobile enough.
We fear being disconnected, even for
a moment. But the very benefit this
technology promises — connection —
suffers most from our addiction.
One famous study showed that the
mere presence of a cell phone diminished
the quality of conversation and subjective
experience of trust, empathy, and
closeness between two people discussing
a meaningful topic.
“We’re social animals,” says Nicholas
Kardaras, PhD, “and we think technology
is a panacea that’s going to keep us
connected, but depression rates are
skyrocketing. We’ve been sold this false
narrative that it’s connecting us. We’ve
been lulled by how amazing these devices
are, but we didn’t fully vet the dark side.”
In 2014, the New York Times calculated
that Facebook users were spending
39,757 collective years
VU[OLWSH[MVYTLHJOKH`
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 55
56 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Control Your Tech
(So It Doesn’t Control You)
Technology addiction presents a
unique challenge, because abstinence
isn’t really an option for most of us.
“From a treatment perspective, we
approach technology addiction like
an eating disorder,” says Kardaras.
“You can live a happy life abstinent
from drugs and alcohol, but you can’t
do that with food, and it’s probably
unrealistic to think that we can be
abstinent from technology.”
The key, he says, is to develop a
healthy self-concept and a healthier,
more balanced, conscious relationship
with your devices. This means setting
consistent boundaries and sticking
with them.
For his intensely tech-addicted
teenage clients, Kardaras recommends
regular sessions in a sensory depri-
vation tank and extended periods in
nature without access to screens; these
help counteract the teens’ state of
hyperactivation and reset an over-
stimulated adrenal system. For the
rest of us, a range of techniques (both
technological and analog) can help us
regain a sense of control over our tech
use. Start with these:
Do an appraisal. Fight fire with fire by
downloading an app, such as Moment,
that measures your tech use. It tracks
how much time you spend looking at
your screen and which apps you use
most. Once you’ve acknowledged the
reality of your current use (always
the first step), you can set a goal for
cutting back. The app can help with
that as well.
Institute tech breaks. Rosen suggests
deliberately scheduling time for
tech use. “Imagine you’re a student
studying,” he says, and try this:
• Allow yourself one minute to
look at anything on your phone
or computer. Then close (not just
minimize) any programs or apps not
required for your primary task. Silence
your phone and set an alarm for
15 minutes.
• When the alarm goes of, look at
anything you want for one minute,
then repeat the cycle.
• As you become more focused,
increase the tech-free time to 20 or 30
minutes, or longer. (SelfControl and
other apps that allow you to block
tempting websites for a predetermined
length of time can add an extra layer
of defense.)
Mindful screen usage is when you’re
UV[Q\Z[YLÅL_P]LS`YLHJOPUNMVY`V\Y
WOVUL@V\JHULUJV\YHNL[OH[I`
JYLH[PUNZJYLLUMYLL[PTLPU`V\YKH`¹
Establish tech-free zones and times.
“Mindful screen usage is when you’re
not just reflexively reaching for your
phone,” says Kardaras. “You can
encourage that by creating screen-free
time in your day.”
Consider these strategies:
• Institute a no-tech policy during
meal times.
• Set aside blocks of time when you
don’t use technology, such as the two
hours before bed.
• Designate specific areas, such as
the kitchen table and the couch where
you wind down with your spouse in
the evening, as device-free zones.
• Practice a “tech Sabbath” — a day
without devices — once a week.
Take a broader view. When you
understand how your brain works, you
become more aware of your impulses
and more able to consciously control
your behavior. This kind of self-
awareness is key to kicking addictions.
So the next time you reach for your
phone to record a concert or snap a
pic of your lunch, see if you can step
back. Ask yourself if having that photo
or video will really be valuable to you
later. Observe whether it’s detracting
from your ability to be present and to
fully savor your life as it’s happening.
“You see movement and your brain
says, ‘Record it!’” explains Rosen. “You
think you’ll have it for posterity. But
you’re not experiencing your life when
you’re experiencing it through a lens.”
“Awareness is our refuge,” adds
Colier. “Rather than immediately
indulging, we can pause and say, ‘What
would I have to feel right now if I
didn’t use my phone?’”
She urges her clients struggling
with an unhealthy relationship with
their devices to contemplate larger
questions, like What do I really want
in my life? If human interactions are
important to me, I can make choices
that reflect and support that, such as
keeping my phone out of sight when
I’m with people I care about.
“A lot of it comes back to very small
habits,” Colier says. “Where am I put-
ting my attention and energy? Those
are the building blocks of our lives.”
MO PERRY is a freelance writer and actor
based in Minneapolis. She is actively
recalibrating her relationship with her iPhone.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 57
16Move
More
BY ANDREW HEFFERNAN, CSCS
We’re a nation of sitters. Thanks to
TV binge watching, desk jobs, and the
ever-present allure of the Internet,
the simple art of moving — at work
and at home, indoors and out —
is disappearing.
A 2011 study found that Americans
spend more than half their waking
hours sitting down — and at a
considerable cost to our health. The
more we sit, researchers discovered,
the higher our risk of first-world
illnesses of affluence: diabetes, obesity,
cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
“Our physicality is like an endan-
gered species, and that’s potentially
catastrophic,” says Frank Forencich,
founder of Exuberant Animal, a health-
leadership organization that advocates
for our connection with nature, our
58 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Ways to
Resist the call of the couch!
For our basic well-being,
we need to get moving.
bodies, and our communities. “Losing
physicality would be like losing all the
artwork from all the great museums of
the world.”
The disheartening kicker is that
formal exercise — walking, cycling, or
hitting the gym for the recommended
half-hour or so every day — does little
to protect us from these health risks. A
study in The Lancet warned that only
the most dedicated exercisers (those
who exercised 60 to 75 minutes daily)
could efectively undo the damaging
efects of a sedentary lifestyle.
“We live in an alien environment,”
similar to animals in captivity, says
Forencich. Cars, easy chairs, couches,
smooth walking surfaces, refrigerators,
climate control, and, of course,
computers all conspire to keep us
comfortable and sedentary.
So it may be time for a shift in
how we think about physical activity.
For our long-term health and well-
being, we need to recognize that
it’s as important to decrease overall
sedentary time as it is to maintain
a regular practice of intense,
formal exercise.
Without turning back the clock,
quitting our 9-to-5 jobs, or forgoing
modern conveniences, we need to
figure out ways to resist the siren call
of the sofa and work more movement
into our daily lives.
To help you do that, we hit up
some of the world’s foremost experts
in movement, fitness, and lifestyle for
strategies on staying in motion in a
sedentary world.
 2. HIT THE DECK
Sitting, lying, kneeling, or
squatting on or as close to the floor as

1
much as possible can pay big dividends in
hip mobility, spine health, and kinesthetic
awareness, while simultaneously encour-
aging more movement.
“Reclaim the ground as much as
possible,” says MovNat founder Erwan Le
Corre, author of The Practice of Natural

3.
Movement. Even while working on your

.
laptop, playing with your children, or
brushing your teeth, “you can extend your
legs forward, bring them to the side, sit
on your heels, squat.”
STEAL STEPS
LEND A HAND In 2017 researchers examined the
Most of us go out of our way to avoid walking habits of people from 46
chores. We let dirty dishes pile up, countries and found that, on average,
hope someone else changes the water Americans take fewer than 4,800
jug at work, and pay the neighbor’s steps per day — below the worldwide
kid to shovel the walk. But performing average and less than half the 10,000
these brief physical tasks has benefits steps (roughly five miles) many health
beyond breaking up sitting time. A experts recommend.
2015 study published in the journal So whenever and wherever you
Mindfulness showed that paying can, steal a few hundred steps. Park
attention to subtle sensations — farther away from the door at the
say, texture and temperature while mall; take the stairs, not the elevator;
washing dishes — could reduce get off the bus a stop or two early.
nervousness and increase inspiration Small changes can net you several
to be more active. thousand extra steps a day.

4. PLAY IN YOUR
ENVIRONMENT
Your surroundings dictate your movements, says
Le Corre. If you have the luxury to make a change,
choose where you live with movement in mind. Do you have
access to open space, woods, mountains, water? If you live
in a city, is there a park near home, work, or both? Are nearby
streets safe and clean for a bit of urban exploring? Can you
5. ENLIST CANINE
SUPPORT
Dogs may be the ultimate workout
partners; they’re always up for fun and
play. That combination makes
them good motivators: A 2017
study published in BMC Public
Health found that dog owners
access green spaces given the other demands in your life? exercised 22 more minutes
Just venturing outdoors means you’re more likely to be per day (usually in the form of
in motion. It also lifts your mood: A 2015 study found that a moderate-intensity walking) than
90-minute walk in nature reduced activity in an area of the people without dogs.
brain associated with depression. People who took their walks No pups in the family? Don’t
in a high-traffic urban setting showed no such reduction. worry. Consider offering to walk
“Ultimately, where you live is the No. 1 consideration for neighbors’ or friends’ dogs, or
healthy, frequent movement,” Le Corre says. begin volunteering at a shelter
near your home. (For an
inspiring story about the health
rewards of dog ownership,
visit ELmag.com/ericogrey.)

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 59


8.
GEAR UP
When you dress inappropriately for the
season, you create a built-in excuse for
staying indoors and for moving less.
Conversely, says Forencich, “when you
have the right gear, you’ll get outside
more often.”
Essentials include cool, nonrestric-
tive summer clothes, such as a bathing
suit; shoes you can comfortably walk in,
regardless of weather or terrain; warm
gloves and a hat for the cold; and a
high-quality winter coat that’s made for
movement, not just for warmth.
60 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
6. WALK
AND TALK
Conversation is an important
part of life, but only conven-
tion says you need to do it
sitting down. In fact, conver-
sation may be more gratifying
and productive in combination
with movement: A 2014 study
found that walking boosts
creativity and increases the
free flow of ideas.
So, go ahead and grab that
coffee with your friend —
but instead of taking a seat,
walk while you talk. Ditto for
phone conversations, which
you can conduct on your cell
phone using headphones
virtually anywhere. You’ll
squeeze additional movement
in — up to several hours a
week — and may enjoy livelier
conversations, too.
9.
RECONSIDER YOUR SPACE
The configuration of your
home is also a key factor
in how you move, whether
you live in a house or an
apartment. Do you have
open space in your home to crawl,
stretch, and jump? Are there stairs to
climb? Is there a backyard to explore?
If your home is brimming with plush,
tempting spots to sit, chances are you’ll
wind up in them more often than you
intend, says Forencich. “Rethink your
furniture and get rid of unnecessary
temptations to sit down.”
It’s possible to take this to the
extreme. Katy Bowman, author of
7.REFRAME
YOUR
MINDSET
When Harvard
psychologist
Ellen Langer,
PhD, told a
group of hotel
maids that their daily
tasks counted as exercise, it led
to measurable improvements in
their blood pressure, body fat, and
waist-to-hip ratio after one month,
compared with the control group.
The takeaway from this 2007
research? How you feel about
movement — whether or not it
counts as exercise — makes a
difference in how it affects you.
Reframe physical tasks like
making beds, cooking, and sweeping
as mini-investments in your health to
reap greater benefits.
Movement Matters and Move Your
DNA, did away with her couch and
dining-room chairs and installed
monkey bars in her home. Still, even
small changes to the environment can
make a difference. Consider leaving
hand weights or a yoga mat in the
living room, or installing a pull-up bar in
a frequently used doorway.
Or simply try different ways to sit
without pulling up a chair. See if you
can squat, kneel, stand, and lean with
legs in different configurations. (Learn
more about Bowman’s strategies for
more everyday movement on page 74.)

11.
EMPOWER
YOURSELF
Fitness products and programs can
make us feel less empowered to be
physical on our own.
Don’t let that happen to you!
Remember, the point of formal
training is to make movement
more accessible and joyful in your
life outside the gym. So, if you’re a
regular exerciser, start putting your
fitness into play everywhere else: Join
teams, run 5Ks, take hikes.
“People do lunges and twists as
part of a functional routine,” says
Le Corre. “But they’re afraid to play
soccer or Frisbee — which use
exactly the same movements. It
doesn’t have to be complicated.”
10.
GET
GRACEFUL
How you move, it
turns out, is just as
important as the
movement itself.
“Most people think primarily about
the quantity of movement they’re
getting: how many miles they ran,
or steps they took, or reps they did,”
says Le Corre. But the quality of your
13.
movement is equally, if not more,
valuable to your health.
Ask yourself: “How am I sitting?
How am I getting off the floor?” Check
in with your body, energy, and mood.
By paying more attention to MASTER MINI-
your alignment, breath, and ease
of movement, even in simple
WORKOUTS
Many people assume that
tasks like driving, standing in
healthy movement must take
line, and checking your phone,
place at a certain time, at a
you increase awareness and
certain place, in certain clothes:
enjoyment in movement.
the 6 a.m. yoga class in your
flowy pants or the 7 a.m. boot
camp in your camo headband.
But you can move virtually
anywhere, anytime — for as
long as you wish, wearing
anything you like.
“Get up and walk for a
12.
few minutes every 20 to 30
FLY FIT minutes you’re sitting down,”
Air travel is usually cited
says Lynn Shuck, a Minnesota-
for its pitfalls: chiefly, long
based yoga instructor who
hours in a confined seated
teaches Eischens, an alignment-
position. But it also offers some overlooked
based style that uses weight
opportunities for movement.
resistance to activate under-
“On the plane, stretch to reach
used muscles.
overhead whenever you think of it,” says
Her advice to move when
Jolie Kobrinsky, a trainer and functional-
and where you can applies
fitness expert whose mission includes
whether you’re at work, at
helping people “unstick” themselves from
home, or waiting at the airport.
patterns of inactivity.
When you get up to use the bathroom,
Every time you pass through
a doorway, stretch your arms
circle your arms and roll your shoulders,
overhead on the door frame,
she suggests. At the gate, walk around
she suggests. Stretch your
and stretch rather than planting yourself
calves; get into a half-kneeling
in a chair. You’re not only moving, but
pose and stretch your hips for a
you’ll also arrive at your destination
30- to 60-second hold.
feeling fresher.
If you’re up for something
more vigorous, try two rounds
of 30-second sets of body-
weight squats, hands-elevated
pushups, reverse lunges, and
jumping jacks to get your heart
seriously pounding. It will take
less than five minutes.
(For more quick-hit workout
ideas, check out ELmag.com/
takefive.)
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 61
14. TAKE A
STAND
The jury is still out on whether stand-up
or walking desks directly affect health
and productivity. Some studies have
shown modest improvements in work-
place performance, mood, and back pain;
other research suggests they’re unlikely
to facilitate weight loss — or even signifi-
cantly decrease sitting time.
Still, a stand-up option at your desk
undoubtedly increases your options for
healthy movement throughout your
workday: You can place a book under the
balls of your feet and stretch your calves,
or put your knee on your desk in a half-
pigeon pose and stretch your hips. You’re
also more inclined to shift positions, to
walk down the hall to talk to a colleague,
or to visit the water cooler for some
hydration at a moment’s notice.
Advising people to just stand up isn’t
a cure-all, says Kobrinsky. “But standing
more can definitely be part of a healthier,
more movement-rich lifestyle.”

15. GO
SMALL
Most people
think big movement patterns —
squatting, running, jumping —
form the crux of physical
fitness, but your smallest body
parts can dramatically affect
how you feel and move.
16. PAY IT FORWARD
“Physicality is not just about our personal health. It’s a
gift we pass on to future generations,” says Forencich. So,
whether or not you’re raising children of your own, embrace
opportunities to enable and encourage young people to move
— vigorously, joyously, frequently. Run around with your kids, nieces, and nephews
at the park instead of sitting on the sidelines. Coach a team or help teach a sports or
exercise-based class. And model a movement-rich lifestyle for everyone around you.
“The most potent influence on kids is adults’ behavior — not what they say, but
Specifically, experts suggest what they do,” Forencich says.
homing in on the feet to
get a big bang for your
fitness buck. ANDREW HEFFERNAN, CSCS, is an Experience Life contributing editor.
“There are 33 joints in the feet,” says
Shuck. “We use about three of them.”
Our feet are designed for varied
terrain, she says, but hard-soled shoes
and unvaryingly flat walking surfaces
offer them little stimulation. Solve that by
going barefoot whenever convenient and
massaging the soles of your feet by rolling
them over a small ball when you can.
Opening up the fascia and
musculature that run between and
around your foot joints not only feels
good on the spot at that moment;
this small action can also release the
hamstrings, hips, and lower back —
setting you up for even more good-
feeling movement later.
62 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Rest Better
Movement is wonderful, but sometimes it simply isn’t an option. We have to sit in
meetings and in the car; when we’re feeling under the weather, we lie down. Addi-
tionally, it’s critical to give your body and mind downtime from the hustle of doing
things, including the most beneficial movement. These tips can help you make the
most of the restful periods so you can move better when you’re up and about again.

Tune in to your alignment. Originally,
“yoga was developed so practitioners could
sit meditating for long periods,” says yoga
teacher Lynn Shuck. Proper sitting was
recognized as a skill requiring practice — not
simply a collapse into the nearest seat.
On those occasions when you must be
in one position for a long period, take a cue
from the yogis and bring some awareness
into the picture: “Sit on the edge of your
chair. You’ll use a bit of effort to sit tall, and
you may find you aren’t sitting tall all the
time. Just don’t lean back on the backrest.”
When standing, keep your hips under-
neath you and your weight on your heels.
(Hint: If you need to brace your hips on the
counter to chop vegetables, your hips are
too far forward.)
These alignment tips allow your bones —
rather than your muscles — to hold you up,
making both sitting and standing for long peri-
ods easier and more comfortable, and sparing
your joints unnecessary wear and tear.
Don’t sleep so tight. Do you wake up feeling
stiff? Can you sleep in only one position, on
one side of one mattress — and only then with
a fortress of pillows supporting every limb?
“Time to mobilize,” says biomechanist
Katy Bowman. First step: Switch sides of the
bed. Then, she says, “If you have a guest bed,
switch to that some nights to let your body
adapt to a different pressure.”
Too much change? Roll out stiff muscles
with mobility balls or a foam roller before
bed, then try mobilizing again. If you’re up
for it, she says, sleep on a pad on the floor.
Find stillness. Paradoxically, says Exuberant
Animal founder Frank Forencich, another
essential key to moving more is to find time
to move less — way less. The Internet, he
argues, drives people into a near-constant
state of hyperalertness. “One of our biggest
problems is that we’ve developed a kind
of partial continuous engagement with the
world,” he explains.
The solution? Deep downtime.
“Insist on periods when you stop doing,”
says Forencich, whether it’s after 6 p.m. on
weeknights, all day Sunday, or for 10-minute
stretches at work.
Do what you need to find quietude for
yourself. That might mean meditating in
an empty conference room or sitting in the
sunshine at a nearby park or in your backyard.
There is no “Do this” set of instructions,
because the goal is to not do much of
anything and find peace in that not doing.
Don’t feel guilty about vegging out. It’s
essential recharge time that pays long-term
dividends to your health and productivity.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 63

64 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
 THE HIDDEN
LIVER CRISIS
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease affects up to a third
of Americans, taking a toll on our collective health.
Nutrition and lifestyle changes can turn it around.

BY LAINE BERGESON, FMCHC

Our livers are in trouble. Up to one MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at

in three American adults and one
in 10 American children have fatty
liver disease, a condition in which
fat accumulates in the liver and
compromises its function. Yet, despite
many doctors calling this a pandemic,
it’s making few headlines.
These facts may come as a
surprise, but the liver is a stealth
organ. Essential to health, it performs
some 500 bodily processes, playing
a crucial role in detoxification,
digestion, hormone balance, blood-
sugar regulation, and immune-system
ILLUSTRATIONS: EVA VAZQUEZ
the University of California, San
Francisco. “People walk around
not knowing they have a problem
until it’s too late. They used to call
hypertension the ‘silent killer.’ Now
it’s fatty liver disease.”
Fatty liver afects 70 percent of
diabetic adults and up to 45 percent of
obese children in Western societies.
Though the disorder is commonly
associated with a high body-mass
index, it is not exclusively tied to that
metric: Lean people can have fatty
livers, too, says Robert Rountree, MD,

function — mostly without ever calling a Boulder, Colo.–based integrative

attention to itself. Liver problems
often remain hidden until they cause
other serious health issues.
“Fatty liver disease is like
hypertension,” says Robert Lustig,
practitioner who has diagnosed the
condition in patients of all sizes.
Fatty liver is traditionally
connected with alcohol abuse, but
today nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 65

(NAFLD) is the most common form
of chronic liver ailment in developed
nations, and suferers may never even
imbibe, or they do so only moderately.
Adding to the sense of alarm,
NAFLD is typically asymptomatic
until it has advanced to more serious
liver conditions, explains Lustig.
Most cases are diagnosed only after
running routine blood work for other
health complaints.
NAFLD is dangerous because
the triglyceride fats a damaged liver
releases into the bloodstream are “a
better predictor of heart disease than
LDL cholesterol ever was,” says Lustig.
NAFLD is also closely associated with
metabolic syndrome, which involves
high blood pressure, high blood sugar,
and weight gain; it’s a precursor to
diabetes, stroke, and cognitive decline.
Left untreated, NAFLD may pro-
gress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
(NASH), an inflammatory condition of
the liver. The damage from NASH can
cause fibrosis in the liver, which may
then lead to cirrhosis and, ultimately,
liver failure.
“By 2020, NAFLD will be the No. 1
reason we’re doing liver transplants,”
says Dina Halegoua-DeMarzio, MD,
a gastroenterologist who specializes
in liver disease at Thomas Jeferson
University Hospitals in Philadelphia.
The situation is serious, but there
is a bright spot: Almost all the factors
that contribute to NAFLD are related
to lifestyle. Changing what you eat,
exercising more, and reducing toxins
in your environment can significantly
improve your liver’s health. With
these interventions, NAFLD is largely
preventable and, until its latest
stages, reversible.
he Other Drinking Problem
How has a disease once associated
primarily with alcoholics ensnared
a third of Americans in just a few
short decades?
The answer may lie, at least in
part, in a beverage that’s legal at any
age: soda.
According to many healthcare
experts, the steep rise in NAFLD
cases is likely connected to the two-
to three-fold increase in the number
of overweight and obese children in
66 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
WHY YOUR
LIVER MATTERS
The liver does so much more
than just process alcohol. Here
are some of its key functions:
• Producing bile, which is
essential for digesting fats.
• Removing toxins from the
bloodstream and breaking
them down so they can
be eliminated.
• Supporting energy
regulation by converting
glucose into glycogen (the
body’s preferred fuel),
storing that glycogen, and
releasing it to cells when
needed.
• Storing vitamins and
minerals.
• Breaking down old and
damaged blood cells to be
eliminated.
• Facilitating blood clotting.
• Stabilizing blood sugar.
the United States in the last 20 years.
These conditions tax the liver early
in life and set the stage for a host of
health problems down the road.
NAFLD itself appears to be fueled
by a combination of factors, including
the consumption of high-fructose
corn syrup (HFCS) in soda and other
processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle,
and exposure to environmental toxins.
Of the three, HFCS may make the
biggest impact. Many liver experts
connect the preponderance of HFCS
in the Western diet to the rise in fatty
liver: Current estimates show the
average American consumes 41 pounds
of HFCS per year. (Remarkably, this
is a decrease from an annual per
capita consumption of 62 pounds in
2000, possibly thanks to public-health
campaigns to reduce sugar and soda
consumption.) Still, Rountree calls
HFCS “the new tobacco.”
Unlike the fructose in fruit, honey,
and cane sugar, the fructose in HFCS
comes in an unbound form, thanks to
the industrial process used to create
it. This makes HFCS sweeter, cheaper
(because it’s more concentrated than
sugar), and easier to overconsume
than other sources of fructose. It also
damages liver and gut health.
Still, on the surface this sounds
all wrong: If something we consume
triggers fatty liver, wouldn’t it be
dietary fat? Oddly, no. Instead,
multiple studies suggest it is not
dietary fat but overall caloric intake
that provokes the accumulation of fat
in the liver.
Rountree explains that excess
fat in the liver either comes from
surrounding adipose tissue (in a
process sparked by elevated insulin,
which triggers fat storage) or is
created in the liver when we eat
high concentrations of fructose.
This second process is known as
de novo lipogenesis, which translates
as “making new fat.”
When we eat or drink something
with fructose, the liver must process
it. The body’s preferred fuel-storage
molecule is glycogen, but the liver
can’t turn fructose into glycogen
eiciently. Because the fructose
must be stored somewhere, the liver
converts it into fat, the body’s other
energy-storage molecule. “Your liver
has no choice,” explains Lustig.
The body processes alcohol in a
similar way. “Fructose is metabolized
virtually identically to how alcohol
is metabolized,” says Lustig. “That’s
why sugar is considered the alcohol
of a child.”
Once fat has begun to accumulate
in the liver, one of two things happens:
The fat can return to the circulatory
system as triglycerides, which stick to
arterial walls and contribute to athero-
sclerosis, or it can stay in the liver and
wreak havoc on liver function.
“The presence of fat in the
liver causes stress to the liver
cells surrounded by the fat,” says
Halegoua-DeMarzio. The new fat
cells move in next to healthy liver
cells, irritating and inflaming them.
“Then those irritated liver cells lay
down scar tissue, and that decreases
liver function.” This is how NAFLD
progresses to NASH.
Yet even before steatosis sets
THE QUIET PANDEMIC
About one-third of American
adults have nonalcoholic fatty liver
disease (NAFLD), along with one in
10 American children.

NAFLD has several triggers, including the consumption of

high-fructose corn syrup found in multiple processed foods, a
sedentary lifestyle, and exposure to environmental toxins.

By 2020, NAFLD
will be the No. 1
reason we’re doing
liver transplants.” Healthy Fatty
— Dina Halegoua-DeMarzio, MD
Liver Liver

NAFLD affects 70 percent of diabetic

adults and up to 45 percent of obese
children in Western societies. Pancreas When the liver This means fatty liver
is clogged with disease is both a cause
fat, the pan- and a result of metabolic
NAFLD begins when excess sugar triggers fat creas attempts to dysfunction: Fat-burning
production in the liver. The new fat cells inflame compensate for slows and insulin is
the healthy tissue, causing the irritated liver cells it by kicking out dysregulated. Multiple
to produce scar tissue; this slows liver function. more insulin. health issues can result.

in, liver function erodes, causing
problems throughout the body. A
compromised liver reduces the body’s
capacity to eliminate toxins and
hormone byproducts and weakens the
immune system.
It also inhibits blood-sugar
regulation. Once the liver gets fatty
from too much fructose, the pancreas
starts to overcompensate for its
sluggish teammate. It kicks out more
insulin to aid the liver, which backfires
by catalyzing new fat. This makes fatty
liver disease both a trigger and a result
of metabolic dysfunction, in which
fat-burning slows and insulin becomes
dysregulated, leading to a host of other
health issues.
“I never think of fatty liver
as separate from metabolic
dysfunction,” says functional-
medicine physician Frank Lipman,
MD, coauthor of The New Health
Rules: Simple Changes to Achieve
Whole-Body Wellness. Likewise,
metabolic dysfunction can’t be
separated from the conditions
that result from it: type 2 diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
Beyond Soda
The nutritional triggers for the
NAFLD pandemic aren’t limited to
the damaging efects of the standard
American diet. Choline deficiency is
another key factor.
Choline is a vitamin-like essential
nutrient that helps transport fat inside
the body. The best dietary sources are
whole eggs and liver; supplements are
also useful. When a person is deficient
in choline, fat gets into the liver but
can’t get out.
“Without enough choline,
we’re overproducing fat and under-
eliminating it,” says Rountree. “The
drain is clogged.”
Sedentary lifestyles are another
factor in NAFLD. Exercise has myriad
health benefits, and it protects the liver
in a straightforward manner: Exercise
burns more fat than sitting does.
Finally, the liver is the body’s
main detoxification organ, and today
we’re exposed to an unprecedented
volume of toxins. “Humans have
become rent-free storage systems
for synthetic chemicals,” Rountree
says, noting that some 2,000 new
chemicals are registered for use in
the United States each year. This
burgeoning toxic load can overwhelm
our already-taxed livers.
Environmental toxins are nothing
new. Lead poisoning is believed to
have helped bring down the Roman
Empire. But today we wrestle with
more chemicals as well as the interac-
tion of those chemicals, the efects
of which experts are still struggling
to understand.
Meanwhile, the accumulation of
multiple toxins is an exponential
challenge to the liver. The toxins in
plastics can disrupt our endocrine
systems. Lead is a neurotoxin. If
the body must tackle both at once,
it must work that much harder to
process them.
Yet we don’t have to escape
toxins completely to be healthy.
The liver is designed to help us
clear them before they do damage.
By limiting our exposure — as well
as improving our nutrition and
reducing our intake of fructose-laden
food and drinks — we can make its
job substantially easier.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 67

LIVER RX
A healthy liver means a healthy metabolism, a healthy cardiovascular system, and a healthy body
overall. So it’s worth taking a few measures to optimize this organ’s function. Experts recommend
these steps to prevent and reverse NAFLD, and to maintain a healthy liver.
Ditch high-fructose
corn syrup.
Processed foods and soda are the
top sources of HFCS in the diet, says
Halegoua-DeMarzio, and she views it
as a primary cause of NAFLD. Making
whole foods — especially vegetables,
pastured-animal proteins, nuts and
seeds, and some low-glycemic fruits
(think cherries, blueberries, and
grapefruit) — the mainstays of your
nutrition plan is a boon to liver health.
Be mindful with fruit.
Fruits contain fructose in varying
amounts; they also contain fiber,
pectin, and often an enormous
number of phytonutrients. When
fructose is part of this matrix
of healthy plant compounds, its
impact on the liver is less severe,
says Rountree. Consuming fructose
as an isolated chemical is when it
starts causing health problems.
At the same time, fruit afects
everyone diferently.
“Theoretically, we should all
be able to eat fruit, and the fiber
should slow digestion,” says
Lipman. “But a lot of people — I’m
one of them — have problems
when they eat a lot of fruit. People
have diferent tolerances.”
68 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
If eating a certain fruit puts you
on the blood-sugar roller coaster,
eat it only in moderation. Stick with
fruits or other foods that don’t leave
you “hangry.”
Get your daily fiber.
“Fiber prevents the intestines from
absorbing fructose too soon, so you
don’t get that tsunami on the liver,”
says Lustig. When you eat fruit, pair it
with foods that are high in fiber so the
liver isn’t flooded with fructose. Ideal
pairings include chia- and flaxseeds,
nuts and nut butters, avocados, and
leafy greens.
Embrace healthy fats.
Experts generally agree that healthy
fats don’t contribute to NAFLD (trans
fats, on the other hand, are a problem).
To support good metabolism and
cognitive function, turn to the healing
fats found in small, oily fish; olives and
olive oil; avocados; nuts and seeds;
grassfed-animal protein; and coconut
oil and ghee.
Still, clinicians who treat people
with metabolic syndrome and NAFLD
say a small percentage of patients
who reduce sugar don’t see suicient
improvements in their liver enzyme
and triglyceride counts, likely due to
genetic diferences that afect how
well someone metabolizes fat. These
people might benefit from limiting the
amount of saturated fat in their diet.
Skip fast food.
The trans fats and HFCS found in
processed fast food damage the liver.
Just drive by the drive-through.
Increase choline.
It’s estimated that only 10 percent
of Americans meet or exceed their
recommended daily choline intake.
Eating choline-rich foods, including
eggs and liver, boosts its stores in the
body. Supplemental choline (often in
the form of phosphatidylcholine) can
be helpful if your levels remain low
due to genetic variations or an over-
population of bad gut microbes.
Ease up on medications
where possible.
Frequent use of over-the-counter medi-
cations can harm the liver. Nutritionist
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, cites
a study of 300 patients by the Univer-
sity of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center that found that 38 percent of
liver-failure cases and 37 percent of
severe liver disease were associated
with excessive use of acetaminophen,
the active ingredient in Tylenol.
Before any medication can be
efective, it must be processed by the
body, and this job falls largely to the
liver, explains Gittleman. The more
pharmaceuticals we ingest — through
prescription drugs or over-the-counter
remedies — the harder the liver must
work. So take prescribed medications
only as recommended, and consult
with your healthcare provider to make
sure they’re necessary.
Meanwhile, Rountree says, no
pharmaceuticals have been approved
by the FDA for treating NAFLD.
The blood-sugar-lowering drug
Metformin can help stabilize type 2
diabetes but has a minimal efect on fat
accumulation in the liver.
Minimize toxic
exposure.
The list of toxins that exact a toll on
the liver is long, but take special care
to avoid the following: persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), which
include insecticides such as DDT
and chemicals used in large-scale
industrial and agricultural operations;
common herbicides such as atrazine
and glyphosate; and heavy metals like
lead, mercury, and arsenic.
This is easier than it sounds.
Eating organic foods, avoiding lawn
chemicals, and using a high-quality
water filter for your shower and
drinking water can all significantly
reduce exposure to these compounds.
Supplement wisely.
Guar gum is a powerful soluble-fiber
supplement that has been shown in
animal studies to reduce fat accumula-
tion and inflammation in the liver. In
supplement form, it’s partially hydro-
lyzed, so its otherwise-unpleasant taste
disappears. (It also doesn’t cause gas
and bloating the way it can when com-
bined with some foods.)
Another helpful supplement is
nicotinamide riboside, a precursor to
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
(NAD). A coenzyme found in all living
cells, NAD plays an important role
in extracting energy from food and
repairing DNA damage. Our bodies’
NAD level decreases as we age, says
Rountree, and “when NAD gets low,
you don’t burn fat as eiciently, so
fat accumulates.”
All this is good news. It means that even if we find out we’re further down the
road to fatty liver than we suspected, we can always turn back.
TESTING FOR FATTY LIVER DISEASE
One of the more frightening aspects
of fatty liver disease is that it’s
largely asymptomatic. Some people
with NAFLD feel some pain in the
upper right abdomen; others feel
nothing at all. This means it can
remain undetected until it has
advanced to the cirrhotic stage,
which is much tougher to treat.
If you’re concerned you might
be at risk, ask your healthcare
practitioner to run a liver-enzyme
panel on a blood test. Elevated
enzymes can be a sign of liver
inflammation and damaged liver
cells. In some cases, physicians
LAINE BERGESON, FMCHC, is a health journalist and functional-medicine-certified health
coach based in Minneapolis.
Exercise.
Studies show that losing just 3 to
5 percent of total body weight can
significantly improve fatty liver.
Consider high-intensity interval
training for the most substantial fat-
burning benefits. (For more on interval
training, see ELmag.com/HIIT.)
will use an ultrasound to confirm
the diagnosis.
Additional tests can corrobo-
rate the presence of metabolic
dysfunction, which goes hand
in hand with NAFLD. These
tests include hemoglobin A1c,
a measure of blood sugar over
a three-month period; fasting
glucose, which assesses blood
sugar after a fasting period of at
least eight hours; a lipid profile,
which screens for abnormalities in
triglyceride and cholesterol levels;
and C-reactive protein, which tracks
tissue inflammation.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 69
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 Real
Life

Connecting movement to a purpose beyond

exercise affects your health and the world around you.
— Kara Douglass Thom

Page
74
Learn how a fitness
retreat inspired one
writer to explore new
ways to move.
Real Life
Balance
Calendar
Cleanup
BY KAREN OLSON
W
hen Ellany Lea was a
teenager, her calendar
was jam-packed. Most
of her schedule was
devoted to charity work, helping at
home, leading school clubs, and getting
straight As. She didn’t have free time.
“I had no way to discern what was a
priority,” says Lea. “Everything that
everybody else wanted and expected
of me was a priority.”
Her solution? “I became hyper-
eicient at fitting everything in.”
Overwhelmed and exhausted at
18, Lea awoke one morning feverish
and unable to bend or lift her arms.
She was hospitalized for four days,
and though doctors couldn’t come up
with a diagnosis, she’s certain she was
sufering symptoms of burnout.
Lea’s case is extreme, but many
of us can relate to her stressful,
overscheduled days. Even worse
than our crammed calendars is the
realization that we’re committing our
time to activities that may be out of
72 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
If your busy schedule is making you crazy,
it may be time to reevaluate your priorities.
step with how we really want to spend
our time and be in our lives.
The cost of our overstufed sched-
ules and half-hearted commitments is
borne by our health, relationships, and
peace of mind. Nonetheless, many of
us try to solve the problem — as Lea
once did — by becoming even more
eicient and productive, rather than by
cutting back and creating space.
Perhaps we do this because many
people see busyness as a badge of
honor and symbol of success in
our current culture. Recent studies
published in the Harvard Business
Review found that busy people are
perceived as having a higher social
status than their less frazzled peers.
Or, as “life hacker” and professional
organizer Andrew Mellen suggests,
maybe our cluttered calendars
help us avoid things we don’t
want to face: “namely conflict,
intimacy, money, mortality, and
being uncomfortable.”
Some people feel so uneasy when
idle that, according to several studies,
they would rather give themselves
electric shocks than spend six to 15
minutes alone with their thoughts.
Neuroscientists aren’t surprised:
Every time we engage in activities that
our brains perceive as productive —
checking our phone or email, or even
actively worrying — we’re flooded
with pleasure-producing dopamine.
For Mellen, author of Unstuff Your
Life!, learning to free up a cluttered
schedule is a matter of importance
and urgency. “You’re going to get to
the end of your life, and you’re either
going to be satisfied or dissatisfied,”
he cautions. “What diference do
you want to make? What impact do
you want to have? What choices do
you need to make to live a life of
meaning and significance instead of
sleepwalking through it?”
The following strategies can get
you started on clearing your calendar
so you have more time for what
matters to you.
 1.
Identify your core values.
2.
Take inventory of your schedule.
Before you can decide what should To get a better handle on your time,
stay on your schedule and what should you also need to know how you
go, you must identify what’s important actually spend it. “Track everything
to you. “If your values aren’t crystal you’re spending your time on for
clear,” says Mellen, “you’re likely a week,” says Mellen. “Record
making decisions counter to them in everything you do, including eating,
the big picture, because you’re instead biobreaks, commuting — all of it.”
focused on short-term comfort.” You can use a stopwatch to clock
Recalling moments in your life that each activity and jot down the time
were particularly sweet — instances you spend on a tracking sheet. Or
when you felt most alive — can help you could chronicle your days in a
you identify your core values. Create personalized journaling system like
a short list of the beliefs those events a Bullet Journal, which is designed to
illuminated or honored and use it to help you record things you consider
assess whether the activities on your important. (For guidance on getting
current calendar, and opportunities started with this journaling method,
that may arise in the future, are well go to ELmag.com/bulletjournal.) You
aligned. (Mellen ofers free core- could also color-code activities on a
values exercises online at www digital calendar or use a time-tracking
.andrewmellen.com.) tool such as Toggl.
Cancel everything in your
calendar for just one week.Tell
people you can’t make it, with no
justifications and no excuses.”
Then, when you set your sights “The process will open your eyes,”
on specific life goals, such as travel Mellen says. The numbers often reveal
or volunteering, try to clear your a story about your time use that’s
schedule of activities that are of completely diferent from what you
“no value or consequence to you,” imagined. This is especially true of
he says. This will open up time to those who linger online, he notes.
dream, prepare, and pursue the items “People think they are ninjas with
on your own bucket list. their Internet skills. They think they’re
Identifying core values can slicing in and out. In fact, they go link
be especially helpful for creating to link, wandering around aimlessly
cohesive work teams and families, in the world’s biggest shopping mall
Mellen adds. When everyone for hours.”
ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN O’NEILL
3.
Create more open space.
Several years ago, to overcome the
need to always be busy, Lea — now 36
and a success coach — started dedicat-
ing a full week each month to “sched-
uled spontaneity.”
Her first experience was an
epiphany. “I had a two-hour lunch
with a friend rather than eating at my
computer and found freedom. I went
for half-day leisurely strolls along the
seawall and found peace. I went out
on a date to watch the sunset from a
boat and found radiance,” she says. “I
had no idea that time was meant to be
enjoyed — and that I was allowed to
enjoy it.”
That revelation inspired Lea to start
blocking time on her work schedule to
focus on single tasks without inter-
ruption. In her personal life, she began
making choices based on her identified
values of freedom, peace, and joy.
When her clients report out-
of-alignment schedules, Lea often
recommends a “freedom week” to
reset their relationship with time.
“Cancel everything in your calendar
for just one week,” she advises. “Tell
people you can’t make it, with no
justifications and no excuses.”
For some, this is a great way to learn
to reclaim their time and transform
how they schedule it in the future.
Even if taking a whole week of
isn’t possible, small changes can be
just as powerful, Lea maintains. For
example, schedule regular chunks
of Web-free time and restrict social-
media visits to brief periods each day.
You may find these little windows
open opportunities to relax, see a
problem in a new way, or redirect

participates in the process of
recognizing what’s important to
the group, each person becomes
more committed to those values.
That group alignment simplifies
scheduling decisions.
At the end of each day, reflect
upon your activity and consider
what’s working and what’s not. If you
determine you’re not spending your
time in satisfying ways, you can more
easily choose to do things diferently.
your energy toward the things in life
you cherish most.
KAREN OLSON is a Minneapolis-based
writer and leadership coach for mission-
driven women.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 73

Real Life
Head Out

Purposeful
Movement BY KARA DOUGLASS THOM

he message of the current “movement”

T
A veteran
athlete learns movement is crystal clear: Move more.
the value of But that’s not enough, says biomechanist
reintegrating and author Katy Bowman, MS. She
nonexercise also wants you to move more of you. “No matter
movement into how many exercises you stuf into an hour or
her life — and two,” she explains, “much of your body is still
how doing so sedentary most of the time.”
yields surprising I figured my years of endurance training had
benefits. earned me a lifetime permit to grab the closest
parking space, but I attended Bowman’s first
Movement Matters retreat in Chimacum, Wash.,
with an eye to broadening my nonexercise
movement. I came to understand that all exercise
is movement, but not all movement is exercise.
Exercise is like a small planet in the movement
universe. I like visiting Planet Exercise, but
I was ready to explore new and neglected
movement terrain.

Get Schooled
The two-day retreat started with a stint working
at Finnriver Farm and Cidery, interspersed
with movement classes to prep attendees for
the next day’s adventure: a 20-mile hike along
the Olympic Discovery Trail on Washington’s
Olympic Peninsula. Bowman describes the
program as a tool to help participants “weave

74 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018

 Participants, including author Kara Douglass Thom (in the white hat), at Katy Bowman’s Movement Matters retreat explore ways to
merge movement with purpose by harvesting apples and picking dried flower bulbs at Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Chimacum, Wash.
their fitness or athletic feats back into
their community and other parts of
their lives, like food and activism.”
Not so long ago, moving to find
food ensured our existence. This
connected food and movement in
ways that didn’t involve counting
calories or tracking steps — the
opposite of exercising to justify eating
dessert. Bowman points out that
our bodies still have that biological
imperative to move, even though food
is now readily available.
Moving more of you starts with
recognizing sedentary patterns. “You
were born into a sedentary culture,
so 99.9 percent of your sedentary
behaviors are flying under the radar,”
Bowman writes in her book, Movement
Matters. “Start paying attention.”
Thinking further about nonexercise
movement, she challenges readers
to consider how they outsource
movement. Your key fob eliminates
the need to turn your wrist to unlock
your car, for example, and using a leaf
blower takes far less efort than raking.
Those sedentary behaviors are bad
for your health, but that’s not where the
story ends. Outsourcing movement can
damage other people, your community,
even the environment — noise
pollution from gas-powered yard work,
single-cup cofee pods that end up in
landfills, car exhaust emitted during
an errand that was within walking
distance. That’s when I realized that
how I move matters beyond benefits to
my own health.
Recruit the Whole Body
We met on day one inside the open-air
Cider Garden Pavilion at Finnriver,
flanked by organic flower gardens
and an apple orchard. A flock of
geese wandered outside; they weed
around the trees when a group of 30
movement students isn’t there to help.
The Chimacum Creek, a restored
salmon stream, flowed nearby.
Bowman led us through a series
of corrective exercises to wake up
muscles that often lie dormant in our
Not so long ago,
moving to find food
ensured our existence.
This connected food
and movement in ways
that didn’t involve
counting calories or
tracking steps.”
daily movement, especially while
walking — a movement as automatic
as breathing. Many people overuse
their knees and underuse their hips,
she explained, or they outsource some
of the more refined hip and thigh work
to their arms and shoulders. As we
practiced balancing on one leg, she
noted how we used our arms to stay
upright. The upper body was taking
over for the leg muscles that now
didn’t have to show up to help.
We kept our arms out of it and
practiced recruiting only the outer hip
and thigh (to carry our weight while
lifting one side of the pelvis to let the
swing leg through) and the glutes (to
push of the ground). We learned to
keep a straight leg, so our push-of
resembled an oar in the water. Pushing
back with a bent knee, like a bent oar,
is not as eicient.
These exercises — and practicing
this leg movement — are not to be
rushed. Slower-paced movement is
necessary, Bowman said, because you
can have “parent-child” relationships
in your muscles. Parents can take over
certain tasks for children, because it’s
easier or faster, but in the long term,
slowing down to let children figure
it out is what allows them to become
more capable.
“We don’t value slow,” Bowman
noted. “We value short and fast.”
Our gym mentality has conditioned
us to get in and get out as eiciently
and efectively as possible, because
we have things to do. But what
if we looked at that to-do list for
opportunities to not only move but to
move more of us?
Fieldwork
Our crew, eager to get out of the
classroom and into the lab, made quick
work of weeding and harvesting in
two rows of dwarf apple trees. We
squatted, hinged, reached, carried
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 75
Real Life
Head Out
bags of apples around our shoulders,
loaded apples into buckets, and
pushed wheelbarrows.
After lunch, we met for more
corrective exercises before heading
into the flower gardens. Still lush and
colorful at the end of summer, these
flowers are not grown to be cut and
sold, but to die on the stem so their
seeds can be harvested for the Organic
Seed Alliance.
We bellied up to high tables strewn
with dried flower blossoms — zinnias,
marigolds, and sunflowers — and
learned how to locate and extricate the
seeds. I’ve grown these flowers in my
own garden, and it pained me to think
I’ve never saved any seeds, so I made
plans to take this knowledge — and
movement — back home with me.
Seed saving was simple and satisfy-
ing, but the movement was more chal-
lenging than expected, especially for
my thumbs, which get a fair amount of
use texting throughout the day. Turns
out, shucking sunflower seeds from
giant blossoms is a great way to vary
movement in your hands and fingers.
We ended the day with a stretching
session and a walking tour of the farm,
which included tasting the cidery’s
current oferings.
Go the Distance
At sunrise the next morning, our
group gathered at Sequim Bay State
Park. The name of the trail itself — the
Discovery Trail — seemed prophetic,
once Bowman explained, “Twenty
miles is a great revealer.”
I approached this as merely a series
of four five-mile walks, a distance
I covered regularly. But Bowman
explained otherwise: “Twenty miles is
not four five-mile walks.” Uh-oh.
She explained that a long-distance
walk requires the body to switch
between gait patterns as muscles
fatigue. Those “parent” muscles
will eventually poop out and let the
“children” muscles take on more work.
As we grew fatigued, she suggested
going of-trail. “Motion on a diferent
terrain is a type of recovery,” she
76 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
Extracting seeds from dried flower blossoms is
a great way to exercise your fingers.
explained. “Stopping might not be the
answer. Moving diferently can be.”
Walking at diferent paces is also
important for going the distance.
On this hike, we couldn’t help but
slow down to forage mouthfuls of
blackberries from the bushes that lined
the trail. We also strolled through
lavender fields at the midway point
when we stopped for lunch at the
Martha Lane Lavender farm.
By mile 20, I was walking
diferently, and parts of my body that
are usually silent were speaking up.
But they weren’t the usual aches and
pains I worried would become worse
on a long walk. The usual suspects
were nowhere to be felt.
Living this movement-rich
lifestyle for two days created a
new appreciation for slower ways
to move (like walking 20 miles) as
well as smaller ways (like pulling a
seed from a flower blossom). I once
considered those types of movements
insignificant, but I now see how they
contribute to moving more of me —
and how my own health and the world
around me benefit from connecting
those movements to a purpose beyond
exercise — perhaps in slow and small
ways as well.
KARA DOUGLASS THOM is the author of
multiple fitness-inspired books, including the
Go! Go! Sports Girls children’s book series and
Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as
a Fit Mom.
BUILD A MOVEMENT-
RICH LIFESTYLE
Merge fitness with purpose by
reimagining tasks on your to-do list
as opportunities for more movement
throughout the day.
Tina Norris, 49, who traveled
to the Movement Matters retreat
from Chicago, wanted to practice
in person what she’s learned from
Bowman online. She began to look
for excuses to move at home. “With
three dogs, I used to wait to get the
vacuum before picking up dog hair,”
Norris says. “Now I squat throughout
the day to pick it up.”
Taking the laundry downstairs
is a chance to move while carrying
a load, and she’s using a rotary
whisk and hand coffee grinder to
move more of her. “Chores feel less
burdensome,” she says, “and I don’t
always have to get out a machine
that does it for me.”
Norris, who works in real
estate, doesn’t want to lose the
momentum. “If I can walk 20 miles
there, I can do five anywhere,” she
says. She now wears shoes that
make walking throughout her day
more comfortable and stashes her
business shoes in a bag to slip on
before meetings.
She and her husband are also
more likely to walk to neighborhood
destinations, Norris reports. “I’ve
stopped thinking about errands as
something you do in the car.” (For
additional ways to move more, see
page 58.)
Real Life
Good to Know
Our experts explain safe ways to use oregano oil, how to send Facebook
invites to non-Facebook-using friends, and ways to temper competitiveness at the gym.
BY JON SPAYDE
“Is oregano oil
really helpful for
fighting colds? And
is it possible to take
too much?”
A Oregano oil is a
potent essential
oil that contains
an antibacterial
compound called carvacrol,
which some studies have
shown to be as efective
78 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
as standard antibiotics in
fighting certain kinds of
infections — including those
caused by drug-resistant
bacteria. A 2014 study,
published in the Journal of
Applied Microbiology, found
medicinal-grade oregano oil
efectively fends of murine
norovirus in humans. (Some
poultry farmers have even
begun using oregano oil in
place of standard antibiotics
to reduce antibiotic
resistance in poultry.)
Yet just because oregano
oil is a plant compound
doesn’t mean you can take
it casually. Its potency is
a good reason to use it —
but cautiously, says Mindy
Green, RA, RH, an essential-
oils expert in Boulder, Colo.
Extended or high-dose
use can stress the liver,
which metabolizes essential-
oil constituents, including
carvacrol. And some health-
care providers warn that
oregano oil could reduce mi-
crobial diversity in the gut.
Green recommends taking
the oil in capsules because
of its strong flavor, but you
can also take the oil directly
by mixing two drops in a
teaspoon of carrier oil, such
as olive oil. Oregano oil can
irritate mucous membranes
of the throat, esophagus, and
stomach, so it should never be
taken with just water; a car-
rier oil helps mitigate these
efects. She suggests just 50 to
80 milligrams (two or three
drops) per dose. Stick to for-
mulas with at least 80 percent
carvacrol, and take only those
that are clearly labeled for
medicinal use.
Green also cautions
against using oregano oil
for longer than one week.
Take one dose three times
a day for the first two days,
she suggests. Then use
one capsule twice a day. If
you get no relief from your
symptoms after seven days,
discontinue its use and find
another remedy.
“Some people take
oregano oil daily for preven-
tion, but I would never rec-
ommend that,” says Green.
Instead, she suggests relying
on immune-building herbal
teas, such as echinacea and
thyme, daily throughout the
cold and flu season.
 “I want to invite my
friends who aren’t
on Facebook to
events I post there.
How can I do it?”

A
It’s possible to invite peo-
ple who are committed
to staying of Facebook
to your events thanks to
a process that’s built into the social-
media platform. Here’s how it works:
1. Once you’ve set up an event,
you’ll see a button with an envelope
icon marked “Invite.”
2. Click on this, and you’ll see a
drop-down menu ofering the option to
“Choose Friends” (for other Facebook
users) and another, very helpful one,
marked “Invite by Text or Email.”
3. Choose the latter item and you’ll
have the option to search for people
on Facebook by name, email address,
or phone number. For those not on the
platform, type in their email addresses;
you can also choose to import con-
tacts from your
email accounts.
4. Once
you’ve added
all your
guests, click
“Send Invites”
to notify all
your friends about
the event.
Got Questions?
If you have inquiries for our experts,
email us at AskEL@experiencelife.com.
“I was a star
athlete in high
school, and I’m still
hypercompetitive.
How do I ease up?”
A Athletic competitiveness
is great — to a point,
says Bhrett McCabe,
PhD, a clinical and sports
psychologist in Birmingham, Ala.
When we’re striving toward
a goal, he says, we compare
ourselves with others, “and we tend
to compare our weaknesses to what
we see as their strengths. Humans
always want to be better.”
This isn’t necessarily bad,
because it motivates us to push
beyond our comfort zone. When
comparison and competition stay
open-ended, however, things
can get ugly — especially for the
chronic competitor. “We chase
someone else’s achievement, then
meet it; then we spot someone else
who’s better at that, and we go after
that,” notes McCabe.
When we’re behaving as if
nothing we do will ever be good
enough, we deny ourselves any
sense of satisfaction. This can leave
JON SPAYDE is an Experience Life contributing editor.
us feeling stressed and resentful.
“We can totally lose perspective
on how we’re doing and how much
progress we’re actually making
toward our goals,” he says.
Comparison can backfire in
other ways. “If you have knee
pain, and you just push through
it because you’re caught up in
competition, that’s a problem,” he
explains. “The competitive urge
can keep you from listening to
your body.”
So how can you benefit from
your athletic passion? “You have to
determine what you truly want out
of your workout,” he says. “You’ve
got to define what that is, not let
somebody else’s performance
define it for you.”
McCabe recommends writing
down goals before going to the gym,
and then tracking precise data in a
fitness journal. This will keep you
focused on your progress, not how
it compares with someone else’s.

ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 79


Enough
The art of feeling satisfied with ourselves
and our lives in a world that consistently
asks us to do, be, and have more.
BY DALLAS HARTWIG AND PILAR GERASIMO
D
o you ever worry
about not having
enough — money,
time, energy, love?
Do you trust that you will
have enough in the future?
Perhaps more important, do
you believe you are enough,
right now, just as you are?
Your answers to those
questions can have a pro-
found influence on your
health and happiness. Why?
Because patterned thoughts
about scarcity drive stress,
and stress gives rise to in-
flammation, reactivity, cogni-
tive limitations, and more.
In other words, as Pilar
says, “scarcity mentality
tends to produce scarcity re-
sults.” So, in this installment
of The Living Experiment,
we examine the opposing
mentalities of scarcity and
abundance. We explore how
they afect our experiences
of the moment, and how
they can impact our future.
Finally, we encourage you
to begin experimenting with
creating greater potential for
plenty in your own life.
Listen and Learn
Check out this and
other episodes of he
Living Experiment at
LivingExperiment.com.
Subscribe to the podcast
via Apple Podcasts,
SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
he Cost of Constraint
• Research by Harvard
behavioral economist Sendhil
Mullainathan suggests that
worrying about “not enough”
— or even just imagining
hypothetical “not enough”
scenarios — can reduce
both our available IQ and our
ability to respond to real-
life challenges.
• The negative cognitive ef-
fects of most scarcity-
oriented experiences are re-
markably similar, regardless of
the nature of the “not enough”
in question. According to
related research referenced
in Harvard Magazine, ”scar-
city steals mental capacity
wherever it occurs — from the
hungry, to the lonely, to the
time-strapped, to the poor.”
• While dealing with a “right
now” scarcity experience (e.g.,
being painfully hungry or cold,
or not having the bus fare you
need to get home) is stressful
in its own right, most of our
thoughts about scarcity are
associated with our fears of it
— the story we tell ourselves
about what might happen
sometime in the future.
• Research suggests that
early-childhood experiences
and traumatic events related
to scarcity-based suffering
(such as poverty, hunger, and
loneliness) can lay down neu-
rological circuits that predis-
pose us to thinking and acting
in scarcity-oriented ways over
the course of our lifetime.
The Living Experiment
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• The fear of “not enough” can
lead us to create the conditions
of scarcity — never serving
quite enough food for the table,
for instance, or not eating
enough to feel satisfied. That
can set us up for having a con-
tinuous, confirming experience
of deprivation. Conversely, it
can incline us toward excess.
• A similar dynamic occurs
with our fears about not having
enough love or enough time:
Oozing neediness or jealousy
is more likely to alienate others
than to attract them. Habitu-
ally rushing to “save time” only
confirms and entrenches our
time-poverty experience as a
default state.
• A scarcity mindset also drives
the release of stress hormones,
further compounding our per-
ceptions of being perpetually
endangered and on edge.
he Potential of Plenty
• One good way to move
beyond scarcity-based pro-
gramming is to give yourself
permission to more regularly
notice and create the condi-
tions of plenty — or in Brené
Brown’s terminology, suf-
ficiency. Practice expanding
your tolerance for abundance-
oriented experiences.
• Notice how often your self-
talk is dominated by anxiety-
provoking “not enough” themes
and begin translating those
statements into more optimis-
tic, plentiful perceptions.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 81
Real Life
EXPERIMENTS
Dallas suggests:
Ask yourself whether a
current worry is rooted in
some projection of future
scarcity. If the answer is
yes (and it almost always
is), challenge that belief by
saying, out loud or to yourself,
“Right here, right now, it’s
enough. Right here, right now,
I’m enough for me.” Try that
reality on, and see how it feels.
Pilar suggests:
Note that worrying about “not
enough” causes you to physi-
cally and mentally contract.
Adopt a “posture of plenty”
instead: Uncross your arms
and legs, lean forward, allow
your face and neck to relax,
and breathe deeply — as though
you have plenty of everything,
and nothing to fear. Notice the
difference that makes.
This column is based on The
Living Experiment, the top-rated
podcast by DALLAS HARTWIG
and PILAR GERASIMO. Dallas is
the New York Times best-selling
coauthor of The Whole30 and
It Starts With Food. Pilar is an
award-winning journalist, healthy-
living advocate, and Experience
Life’s founding editor.
Real Life
Nourished Self
On Roxane Gay’s bold account of her weight
issues offers insight into the connections
between trauma, shame, and body image.
Hunger
It is a powerful lie to equate
thinness with self-worth,”
writes best-selling author
Roxane Gay in her latest book, Hunger:
A Memoir of (My) Body.
Gay is renowned for exploring the
intersections between race, gender,
and popular culture in her writing. In
this brave confessional, she ofers a
searing critique of the media and the
weight-loss industry, both of which are
programmed to convince women to
shape themselves into an idealized im-
age. “Women continue to try to bend
themselves to societal will,” she notes.
“Women continue to hunger. And so
do I.”
The story of Gay’s hunger and
unruly body begins when she was
12 years old and raped by a group of
boys. No longer feeling safe and not
knowing how to talk to her family
82 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018
about what happened, she turned to
food. “I ate because I understood that
I could take up more space. I could
become more solid, stronger, safer.”
Over the years, Gay lost and gained
weight. She used food to find “ways to
Women
continue to hunger.
And so do I.”
hide in plain sight, to keep feeding a
hunger that could never be satisfied —
the hunger to stop hurting.”
Yet her method of survival also
filled her life with myriad challenges:
keeping up with friends, finding cloth-
ing options, and dealing with anxiety
about airplane and restaurant seating.
The memoir is deeply personal but
highlights a universal paradox — how
to accept who we are now while also
embracing a desire to change.
“I have tried to make peace with this
body,” she writes. “I also want to lose
weight. I know I am not healthy at this
size (not because I am fat but because I
have, for example, high blood pres-
sure). More important, I am not happy
at this size, though I am not sufering
from the illusion that were I to wake up
thin tomorrow, I would be happy and
all my problems would be solved.”
Gay masterfully shines light on
the struggle to love yourself in a world
that leads many to believe they’re not
enough. Here are a few of the powerful
insights she shares in Hunger.
— HEIDI WACHTER
On writing about her body:
“I hesitate to write about fat bodies
and my fat body especially. I know
that to be frank about my body makes
some people uncomfortable. It makes
me uncomfortable, too. I have been
accused of being full of self-loathing
and of being fat-phobic. There is
truth to the former accusation and I
reject the latter. I do, however, live
in a world where the open hatred
of fat people is vigorously tolerated
and encouraged. I am a product of
my environment.”
On having other people comment
on your body:
“When you’re overweight, your body
becomes a matter of public record
in many respects. Your body is
constantly and prominently on display.
People project assumed narratives
onto your body and are not at all
interested in the truth of your body,
whatever that truth might be.
“Fat, much like skin color, is
something you cannot hide, no matter
how dark the clothing you wear, or
how diligently you avoid horizontal
stripes. You may become very adept
at playing the role of wallflower.
You may learn how to be the life of
the party so that people are too busy
I am not the
same scared girl
that I was. I have let
the right ones in.
I have found
my voice.”
laughing at or with you to focus on
the elephant in the room. You may do
whatever you have to do to survive
a world that has little patience or
compassion for a body like yours.”
On denial as a weight-loss strategy:
“Part of disciplining the body is denial.
We want, but we dare not have. We
deny ourselves certain foods. We deny
ourselves rest by working out. We
deny ourselves peace of mind by re-
maining ever vigilant over our bodies.
We withhold from ourselves until we
achieve a goal, and then we withhold
from ourselves to maintain the goal.”
On weight-loss reality TV shows:
“Few areas of popular culture focus on
obesity more than reality television,
and that focus is glaring, harsh, and
often cruel.
“I hate these shows, but clearly
I watch them. I watch them even
though sometimes they enrage me and
sometimes they break my heart, and all
too often they reveal painfully familiar
experiences of loneliness, depression,
and genuine sufering born of living
in a world that cannot accommodate
overweight bodies. I watch these
shows because even though I know
how damaging and unrealistic they
are, some part of me still yearns for
the salvation they promise.”
On healing and forgiveness:
“I am as healed as I am ever going to
be. I have accepted that I will never be
the girl I could have been if, if, if. I am
still haunted.
“I will never forgive the boys who
raped me and I am a thousand percent
comfortable with that because forgiving
them will not free me from anything.
“I am not the same scared girl that I
was. I have let the right ones in. I have
found my voice.
“I am learning to care less what
other people think. I am learning that
the measure of my happiness is not
weight loss but, rather, feeling more
comfortable in my body.
“I appreciate that at least some of who
I am rises out of the worst day of my life
and I don’t want to change who I am.”
I am learning that
the measure of my
happiness is not
weight loss but, rather,
feeling more comfortable
in my body.”
On being vulnerable:
“To lay myself so vulnerable has not
been an easy thing. To face myself and
what living in my body has been like
has not been an easy thing, but I wrote
this book because it felt necessary.
In writing this memoir of my body,
in telling you these truths about my
body, I am sharing my truth and mine
alone. I understand if that truth is
not something you want to hear. The
truth makes me uncomfortable too.
But I am also saying, here is my heart,
what’s left of it. Here I am showing
you the ferocity of my hunger. Here
I am, finally freeing myself to be
vulnerable and terribly human. Here I
am, reveling in that freedom. Here. See
what I hunger for and what my truth
has allowed me to create.”
HEIDI WACHTER is an ELstaff writer.
Adapted from Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
by Roxane Gay. Copyright © 2017 by Roxane
Gay. Published on June 13, 2017, by Harper, an
imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted
by permission.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 83
 Real Life
Worthy Goods

Go for
Bamboo Products that make the most of this
vastly renewable resource.

1.
Pass on Plastic
Stash this lightweight
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Nice for picnics and parties,
too. $4 per set. www
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2.
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SoulFino’s thick, heavy-duty
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next best thing to a butcher
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also makes an ideal serving
tray. $75. www.soulfino.com

3.
Brush Up
These soft BamBoo Roots
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also made and packaged
completely without plastic.
About $14 for four. www
.bamboorootseco.com

4. 2.
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Live Long
The sturdy, all-bamboo
rayon paper towels from
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How’s that for sustainably
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5.
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This bamboo-handled scrub
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the bits out of the bottom

of your smoothie bottle
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ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 85

 MAKE FRIENDS. FIND ADVENTURES.

S.T.E.A.M. • Weekly Field Trips • Warrior Challenges • Swimming and more

Learn more at www.lifetime.life/summercamp

TO DAY
G I S T ER
RE
©2018 LIFE TIME, INC. All rights reserved. KIMG173143

A Daily Habit
Taking some time every day to reflect on how things are going can
help you move in a more meaningful direction.
BY BAHRAM AKRADI
n business, evaluating objectives
I and outcomes on a daily basis is
one of the keys to understanding
what’s working and what’s not,
and to being successful. Whether it’s
a multimillion-dollar organization or
a small mom-and-pop shop, reviewing
how things are going and being clear
about where things stand is essential
in deciding what to do tomorrow, next
week, or next year.
At Life Time, for instance, we count
our memberships in every location,
every hour of every day. We know
how many people have joined and
how many have let their accounts
lapse. We know which clubs have had
an increase in traic and which ones
have seen a drop. We know which
programs and services resonate with
our members, and the promotions and
content that they’re most interested in.
In successful businesses around the
world, leaders are constantly checking
in with themselves and their teams:
How are they doing? What’s working
and how do they do more of that? What’s
not working and what are they doing to
fix it? How can they do things better?
They do this because they
understand that daily evaluation is
the best way to make the corrections
necessary to avoid mistakes that can
take them of course and away from
their goals.
As individuals, we could learn a few
things from these business practices.
Too often we let days and months
slip by without stopping to examine
how things are really going in our lives.
We get so caught up in our to-dos and
jam-packed schedules that we don’t
see the efects of our actions — on
Printed on 100% recycled paper.
Please recycle this magazine.
ourselves or those around us. Then,
when another New Year rolls around,
we set extravagant resolutions that
aren’t realistic based on our current
circumstances and behaviors. For me,
it’s hard to imagine a less efective way
of trying to foster change in our lives.
Too often we let days
and months slip by
without stopping to
examine how things
are really going in
our lives.
I believe daily self-reflection is
one of the most important habits
anyone can build: It helps us see why
we do the things we do and explore
alternative options. It allows us to
become more self-aware, to change
course, to make amends, and to grow in
a healthier, more rewarding direction.
Developing a daily practice doesn’t
have to take a lot of time. Begin by
devoting just five minutes at the end of
each day to thinking about where you
are, where you’re going, and what kind
of impact you’re having on the world
around you. Turn of your devices,
find a quiet space, and ask yourself:
• What didn’t go well today, and why
did that happen?
• What did go well and how can I
make it happen again?
Once you identify specific
moments, delve a little deeper:
Perspective
• What was my intention? Did I
communicate it well?
• What efects did my actions or
words have on the people around me?
• What do I think the people around
me thought or felt?
• What would I do diferently if
I could do it over? What can I do
tomorrow to fix a problem?
Often with just a little mental
efort, you can spot patterns —
both good and bad. You might
discover you have tendencies to
self-sabotage or interact with people
counterproductively. You might find
that there’s one particular time of day
you always feel your best or get more
done. You might realize that there
are opportunities for “do-overs” —
chances to revisit whatever didn’t go
quite as planned.
This way of reflecting may not
come naturally at first. In fact, it
may be uncomfortable to remember
diicult situations or to acknowledge
the mistakes you made. But remember:
Everyone makes mistakes and
everyone faces diiculties.
The intent is to help you learn from
the things you did today so you can
do better tomorrow, just as businesses
make small adjustments that move
them toward their goals.
Over time, this conscious efort can
help you grow into the person you
want to be and lead the meaningful life
you want to live. It starts by taking it
one day at a time.
BAHRAM AKRADI is the founder, chairman,
and CEO of Life Time — Healthy Way of Life.
ExperienceLife.com / EXPERIENCE LIFE / 87
Meditation

Life likes to be taken

by the lapel and told:
“I’m with you, kid. Let’s go!”
— MAYA ANGELOU

88 / EXPERIENCE LIFE / April 2018 ExperienceLife.com

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