Last week I spoke with a reporter for the Daily Beast about the growing popularity of gluten-free diets due to the number of celebrities who are booting gluten out of their lives. It seems like the whole world is now questioning whether following this diet is going to deflate their muffin tops and get their beach bodies back. Naturally, the quote that was pulled for the article had to do with me dropping 7 pounds when I gave up gluten which implied that following a gluten-free diet was a magic bullet to lose weight. But there were a few important details left out that had a lot to do with it.

Getting your readers over the threshold of your newsletter is incredibly valuable, so show your appreciation and don’t be afraid to dangle a great incentive in front of them to get them wanting more.

The dark side of fear…

The woman sat behind the wheel screaming at the man next to her.
“I don’t want to move,” she yelled. “Don’t you get it?”

He waited for the blow to dissipate.
“I don’t want to move either,” he said, finally. “We don’t have any choice.  They sold our building.  You know that.”

The Top 3 secrets to make shopping fun again! Shopping can provide you with the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. It’s thrilling when the clothes you try on look as good on your body as they did on the rack. It’s agony when nothing fits and you have to take that dreaded walk of shame – leaving the store empty-handed. For women over 40, the latter is too often the case. Malls are filled with stores targeting model-thin, younger women. No wonder shoppers over 40 can feel frustrated and left out.

by Amy Applebaum

Mind Your Thinking!

We all have a tendency to torture ourselves with negative, self-destructive thoughts from time to time. You know that familiar, nagging voice that says stuff like:

“I’m never going to have money.”

“I’m never going to be successful.”

“I’m a lousy communicator.”

“I’m not smart enough.”

Time and money:
Give yourself a week to do a task, it will take a week—but give yourself two days, and it will take two days.

This phenomenon is known as Parkinson’s Law, which states: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

The same is true of spending and money.

Sink or swim…it’s your choice. You might be surprised to hear this, but I thought about quitting. If I would have quit I wouldn’t have had to face the countless hours of sleepless nights, or awkward moments of rejection, or anxious feelings that come with change.

I should have quit. Then, I would never have had to stretch, push, and get uncomfortable, or show up to use my mind, creativity, or influence.

How to open up. Often women meet men to whom they are attracted, yet seem to “freeze” when the man shows he is interested.  It’s not that she doesn’t know how to flirt, she has done her “flirt” thing effectively, but when, in fact, Mr. Available moves forward and reciprocates, she feels awkward, uncomfortable and confused.

Weight loss motivation usually begins when you have become motivated to improve in other areas of your life. I’m not a psychologist, but I am a human. I know that when I am “messed up” in other areas of my life, it can sometimes be hard to exercise regularly and lose weight or maintain weight. It’s also easier to eat those fatty “comfort foods” that pack on the pounds quickly.

5 essential steps to a smokin’ interview.  Okay, so your pitch has been accepted and you are headed into a TV interview. What do you plan to do before you get there?

First, formal media training is something I firmly believe in.  No surprise there, I’m sure. Winging it could be business suicide. For the sake of our media day story, let’s assume you already have some basic training on camera.