Check out the chapter called “Daddy’s Girls,” named after a sitcom idea that Kathie Lee had. There’s a nice picture of Marilu with Kathie Lee and Dolly Parton.

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Words of wisdom from a friend…

If I wouldn’t put the crappiest gasoline and oil into my car, because I want it to last and perform and purr like a kitty, then why, oh why, do I put untold quantities and varieties of crap into my body, expecting a good result?

If I take my car for routine maintenance, before it has a chance to knock and ping, then why won’t I extend the same courtesy to myself?

Aren’t I more valuable and irreplaceable than an automobile?

~ Chris

Think about it as you make choices today.

People who get five or fewer hours of sleep a night are 55% more likely to be obese than those who sleep 8 hours straight.*

Sleep deprivation may increase your output of hunger hormones, turn off your fullness hormones, and bring on cravings for simple carbs (sweet and sugary foods), which perk you up. Sleep gives your body a chance to rebuild and repair itself.

Not sleeping for at least 7 hours each night? Start improving now, by getting to bed 15 minutes earlier tonight. (That might mean starting to get ready for bed a lot earlier!) Then every few nights, go to bed another 15 minutes earlier, until you’re at a minimum of 7 hours each night.

*According to a review of 45 studies published in the journal Sleep.

Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

~ A. E. Housman

Photo by Walter Groesel

Plastics are given a number from 1-7 in that recycling triangle on the bottom of the container.

If possible, stick to #1 and #2 plastics, which are the least toxic and the most widely recycled.

Avoid plastic #3, which contains PVCs (polyvinyl chloride). PVC is made from the carcinogen vinyl chloride, and releases an even more powerful carcinogen, dioxin, during the manufacturing process. Very few recycling centers accept #3 plastics, and so they pile up in landfills, leaching their poisonous gases into the environment.

Plastics #4 through #6 are soft plastics and can degrade into your food and enter your body. Try to avoid those as well.

Adapted from Green This! by Deidre Imus

Every relationship needs attention. Spend a little time with your sweetie and a little effort on your relationship today. Here are some ideas to try.

1. Start each day with a kiss
2. If you’re married, wear your wedding ring at all times
3. Date once a week
4. Accept differences
5. Be polite
6. Be gentle
7. Give gifts
8. Kiss often
9. Touch a lot
10. Talk about dreams

Photo by Emitea

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You may have noticed that Total Health Makeover® recipes include a color code under the title. These color codes are part of Marilu’s Rainbow Theory.

I realized that there had to be a way to describe the cycle I was continually finding myself going through in my quest to lose weight and get fit prior to adapting my current way of life. One day, I linked into this idea that all of the colors in a rainbow correlated perfectly to that vicious cycle.

Picture a rainbow in your mind. In my theory, each of the colors represents a different period and behavioral pattern in your life. You wake up one morning and you say to yourself, “That’s it! Today I am starting my new diet and fitness program and this time nothing can stop me!” You are in the Purple phase. When you’re in Purple, your attitude is come hell or high water, you’re going to stick to a program with pure perfection.

And then one day, you realize you’re starting to feel really good about your progress, and it might be okay to get out there again. You’re moving into the Blue phase. You’re feeling so good about your success in Purple, you want to show off a little bit in Blue.

A little later you find that everything in your life is in place. You’re feeling perfectly balanced, and you have reached the Green phase. You exercise regularly and can socialize without slipping up too much, and you feel really good about yourself. It’s hard to stay in the Green phase because it’s very hard to exist in the center.

Then you wake up one day and notice that you’re in the Yellow phase – you’ve integrated the program into your everyday life, but you don’t follow it 100% of the time. You’re bending the rules, without having to pay a huge price.

Beyond Yellow are two colors that are not part of THM® – Orange and Red are too far from where you should be aiming. The Orange phase is when your social life has started to consume any and all focus you once had on your physical well-being. You haven’t been to the gym in weeks, and you’re so bloated from eating and drinking that even your black jeans make you look fat! And Red! Well, in Red, you’re either lying on the floor with drool coming out of your mouth, or … you’re in Italy.

That’s when you wake up and realize you’re in the Purple phase again – ready to change.

Ideally, you will fluctuate between Green and Yellow all of the time. Purple and Blue get you back on track, and help you reclaim some order. When you get to Orange and Red, the remedy is in Purple and Blue.

Adapted from The 30-Day Total Health Makeover, by Marilu Henner

Become a member and take the 30-day class to find your Green-Yellow balance. Class starts every Monday, with personal coaching, recipes and menus, and motivational tips. Sign up now and start your own total health makeover!

Photo by Tom Lop

Oops – this isn’t about fashion. This is about dancing! Or bopping! Or just revving up your body with some movement.

Get up. MOVE. Enjoy.

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You’ll see mainly brown rice in the menus and recipes of the Total Health Makeover®, but you see all sorts of varieties in the store – let’s take a look at the differences in rice:

Long Grain Brown Rice
Golden, whole, unpolished grain with bran intact. Chewy, with a firm texture and nutty flavor.

Excellent source of magnesium, and a good source of copper, fiber, iron, niacin, phosphorus, thiamin and vitamin B6.

Bring 1 part rice and 2-1/2 parts salted liquid to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Soaking the rice overnight cuts the cooking time in half.

Delicious with curried vegetables. Makes an excellent pilaf, side dish, or salad.

Short Grain Brown Rice
Sticky when cooked.

Bring 1 part rice and 2 parts salted liquid to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Soaking the rice overnight cuts the cooking time in half.

The stickiness of the grains of this rice make it perfect for use in rice puddings, molded rice rings, and sushi. The stickiness also makes chopstick use very easy.

Basmati Rice
This aromatic long grain rice from India and Pakistan has slender, fragrant grains and a nutty flavor. Available in white or brown; brown basmati has more fiber, a stronger flavor, and takes twice as long to cook as white. Dehra Dun is considered the best basmati, because of where it’s grown in Southeast Asia.

Excellent source of folate, and a good source of iron, niacin and thiamin.

Wash the rice in cold water to remove dirt and prevent stickiness. Simmer 1 part rice in 1-1/2 parts salted water for 15 to 20 minutes.

Delicious as a side dish, especially with Indian and Middle Eastern meals, because the grains remain tender, separate and firm even when cooked through.

Many, many more descriptions – and TWO recipes! – are posted on the continuing page.
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Hey, the weather’s nice (mostly). So park that car – in your garage, driveway, parking ramp – and get out and walk.

Walk to the post office. Walk to the library. Walk the kids to school. Walk to the park. Walk to the farmer’s market. Walk to the dry cleaners.

If you live in the land of urban sprawl, think about your errands, and try to combine several destinations with one parking place. Every little bit helps … you!