In the summer, we get outside and actually do things, like biking, walking, or even playing a light-hearted game of frisbee with Rover. It all contributes to our overall wellbeing, and more specifically, to our happiness and health.

It’s easy to see your tanned, smiley little face in the mirror and say, “This feels great! I’m really going to keep this up throughout the winter.” But the truth is that even the slightest breeze can change your habits and have you reaching for things like coffee, dense carbohydrates, and fats. It can also keep you locked in your apartment, too afraid to venture into that cold and bleak outside world. Keep a few things in mind as you transition from hot to cold this year:

1. Remember this feeling! Getting outside and expending your energy feels good and you know this. Invest in a gym membership, commit to some classes at your local YMCA, or just layer up and get out there for a nice long walk – if it’s extra cold, pack a yummy mug of tea for the stroll.
2. Make a routine! Getting a routine going in September is a good way to keep active into the fall and winter months.
3. Let yourself eat that cupcake! Being miserable and denying yourself the simple pleasures in life will make the winter journey so much longer. Just keep moderation in mind, and be sure that you’re exercising to keep away the over-eating, food-coma-esque winter blues.

Make your wellness a top priority and you will establish a routine that keeps you healthy for years to come. Commitment and a little help from your inner-summer-you is all it takes.

After struggling for an embarrassingly long time with a friend to get my Wii board synced to the system, she and I did the mandatory test before entering Wii world. While it incorporated some balance tests, the introduction gave mostly weight-based information and then slammed us with our “real ages”; as fairly active people, both between 21-25, we were each given the age of 38! We agreed that this thing was established to make people feel bad about themselves to keep them playing it, but moved forward with the prospect of showing this thing that we were not slobs. Do not take the Wii age to heart.

We started with yoga, and upon seeing that it was sectioned into individual poses, were not pleased. You can build your own routine, but we couldn’t find a pre-made routine, which is a pretty essential learning tool for any yoga beginning. I began with the tree pose, a very basic yoga position, and found that the game was very good with measuring my balance, but the step-board’s elevation threw me off. After trying more difficult poses, we concurred that the system felt as though it was forcing us unnaturally into the “technically” perfect and linear poses displayed on the screen. As a certified yoga instructor, my friend suggested we just do what feels right, despite our scores, but that Wii yoga failed. Strength training was relatively effective in the leg strengthening section, but was similarly questionable. For the most part, these are exercises that should be over-seen and with which you should feel comfortable, before attempting alone.

After disappointment in the first two sections, we moved on to Aerobics with motivating results. These games are fun! We started out with Hula Hoop, which if taken as far as we took it, can leave you gasping for air, no matter if you’re playing or watching. It definitely loosens up your hips in the end, and is strenuous and hilarious if done correctly. Basic Run can be good, too, after you get used to the “running” movement, and is a lot easier on your knees!  While Basic step was pretty entertaining and sometimes (again, embarrassingly) challenging, it’s not very strenuous or close to what an actual step class will make you feel.

We closed off our research with Training Plus, which boasted only one physical and entertainment delight: Island Cycling! We chose the longer version where the cyclist collects twenty flags and were surprised by the strain you feel at the end of it. After a half hour or so, we were beginning to sweat and were still entertained by the landscapes and the fact that my miniature schnauzer’s Mii was running alongside my bike.

In terms of exercise value, the Wii Fit Plus system does offer some options for a healthy alternative to going to a gym. However, these should be used with caution and only when the gamer feels comfortable with that the system is asking you to do. It is a good way to introduce people to new activities and motivate them toward playing these activities in a real-life setting. Overall, the entertainment value is what will keep me coming back to this game. There are some awesome games that go unmentioned above because they lack exercise value, but Rhythm Kung Fu, Skateboarding, Ski Jumping, and a few others really kept my interest. These games are fun and energetic, just don’t overdo it or expect results without the sweat.

When I started my search for the perfect bicycle a few years back, I honestly didn’t give a moment’s thought to the exercise I’d be getting with this form of transportation. Initially, I thought that it was a cheap, fun, environmentally friendly, accessible, but not a blatantly healthy option. Little did I know that my quads would be thanking me for years to come, and that my physical endurance would reach heights last seen in grade school. Yes, I was out of shape, but isn’t everyone a little doughy at winter’s end?

Because it gives a boost to my health status, gets me around the city in a less conventional way, helps cut down on my carbon footprint, and is very simply the cheapest transportation, cycling is the only option for my summer excursions. Make health a priority for your summer fun and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to transition into a cyclist! Begin the search on craigslist if you are looking for a cheap but functional option; I found dozens of suitable candidates under $100. You can also check out local shops in Toronto, like Set Me Free, Bikes on Wheels, or any of the top picks at blogto.com.

Once you have the right bike for you, riding it should be a pleasure, not a chore. You will find that grabbing your bike from the storage room or street lock is easier and more satisfying than the TTC option, and you can get yourself a few notches healthier in the meantime. I started out taking my bike around my own neighborhood to get a feel for its ride, and even as a non-rider since the age of 11, I was quickly able to tackle even the busiest Toronto streets. It’s important, though, when city cycling to remember that safety is key, and without heeding to safety, motorists and pedestrians alike really really hate cyclists.  Bone up on your cycling road rules, equip your bike with a bell and light, and get yourself a helmet. In total, this can be under the cost of a monthly TTC pass if that’s what you’re looking for, and it’s an investment in both your health and your monthly transportation costs.

Maybe you aren’t hungry and, yes, I understand just how hectic the morning can be. But please put something in your body or you will face the side effects associated with skipping THE DAY’S MOST IMPORANT MEAL! Your brain will not work at full capacity, your stomach will become an empty, acidic, cesspool, and you will not be a pleasant person to work with. I’m here to solve this problem for you (You’re welcome) because everyone has time for this breakfast injection and no one should go hungry all morning.

BLUEBERRY BANANA BANANZA

½ cup frozen blueberries (if you use fresh blueberries, add ½ cup ice)

1 whole banana

1 giant dollop of yogurt (plain is best, but if you don’t like the bitter taste, use your favorite flavor)

1 scoop of soy or other protein powder

1 tsp. hemp seed oil (adds a deliciously nutty flavor and is great for skin and hair)

1 cup pineapple juice

-          Blend all ingredients together until deliciously smooth, and enjoy!

It’s so easy, quick, and delicious. After a few mornings, you won’t want to skip breakfast, and you’ll find yourself more energetic and happy right up until lunch-time.

Do you feel that little extra pull each time you lift yourself off the couch? It’s actually the couch. You’ve been there so long that he’s grown emotionally attached and you are not just about walk away. There is a way to fight back but it requires some skills that you may have left behind in your cowboy or princess-themed bedroom.  Energy cannot create itself and, believe it or not, when you cease to use your energy toward, well, energetic feats, your body gets horrifyingly used to it. That is the weight that you feel – the weight of a repetitive cycle that has now forced you to remain in the bulldog-esque lifestyle that you’ve created.

I promise you, though, that it just takes a minute or two; a day turns to a week; before you know it, you’ll be back into a routine where you don’t want to just sink into that heavy, stressed out, unmotivated blob of existence that used to totally own you. I’m not suggesting that we all get up off of that thing to run a 10K, just that a stretch, some fresh air, and a little sweat can go so much further than you’d think. Exercising creates good internal vibrations and clears the mind; when you’re sweating buckets it’s really hard to acknowledge the anxiety that felt as if someone were cramming your muscles into a mason jar.

So maybe it’s elementary and you know, you know. Knowing something does not make you do it, and feeling that weight of stubborn inactiveness can make going for that brisk walk, that yoga session, or that cycling class a whole heap harder. Just take a deep breath and say to yourself, “This will do me more wonder than a box of Wonderbars.” Try to find a motivating activity that you can build into your routine, because the feeling of staleness can permeate even most active person from time to time and quite frankly, you deserve better.

A new roommate of mine – who happens to be a health-freak – told me she had to go off gluten again; that she’d been getting “the gluten baby”.  I figured it was something she was doing in an organic vegetarian sense, but she told me that a lot of people have a slight intolerance to gluten and that it just helps to relax her stomach.  Interested, I asked my Doctor at the next visit if it could be causing my stomach aches after eating sometimes.  She confirmed my roommate’s horrible warning: gluten might not be your best friend anymore.  She told me that she didn’t think it was serious, but sent me for Celiac testing anyway.

Heartbroken that this might be the end, I decided to test my will-power and go off gluten for a bit.  By the way, a lot of things are made with gluten: an unbearable number of things.  Wheat products all contain gluten, so the obvious such as bread, pasta, cereal, cakes, and the like are immediately out of the picture in the regular genre.  You can venture into gluten-free alternatives with moderate success, but expect to find a lot of crap in that barnyard.  Soy sauce, liquorice and instant coffee are just a few things that contain hidden gluten – wheat derivatives are added as a base to their recipes.

I did pretty well, though, shopping to avoid gluten: buying rice noodles, gluten-free bread and choosing snacks like nuts and fruit instead of my precious glutenized friends of yesterday. At first I was sceptical, but within a week I felt more energetic and less weighed down.  I thought that my doctor was wrong, and that this drastic turn-around had to be the result of an allergy.

When I returned to the doctor to discuss the test she told me that I was not allergic to gluten, and that I could start eating it again. I described my experience and she explained that a lot of women over-eat carbohydrates sometimes, and that your body can build up against it as if to say, “Enough”. She told me that I provoked a sensitivity and that if I begin to feel overwhelmed by the expansive stomach again, to limit my gluten for short periods.  Limiting it overall, she added, would obviously prevent the discomfort I had created in my indulgence. I couldn’t have been happier! I could return to bread and espresso brownies, and I found some pretty tasty alternatives for when it feels as though I’m pregnant with a gluten baby. 

I’m back to eating gluten now, and can happily say that I ate oatmeal cookies today. I wouldn’t have been able to, though, without the relief I experienced by going gluten-free.  I didn’t even dread my time eating alternative snacks; it was something new and the results were more than worth it. Maybe if you’ve been getting friendly with gluten lately, take a brave step back and try this for a week – as a hardened lover of carbohydrates, I did it successfully and I felt cleansed and balanced afterward.

Of course, there’s another issue that arises from a generation with too many options: the average person is no longer comfortable in social situations that years ago would have been common place.  That guy who’s picking you up at 8 probably spends more time reading what people are saying and playing video games than actually sitting and listening to a real person speak real words.  This makes for an all-too-common awkwardness when trying to get to know someone.  We have been conditioned to make our moves behind the protective guise of a mini-blurb, making it much more difficult for us to interact face-to-face with a date.

Modern technology can trick a woman.  All too often, guys who seem charming and cute when they chew on that message for a minute or two turn out to be awkward nightmares in person. There are a few warning signs to look for to determine if your date is technologically savvy or humanistically challenged. There is such a thing as being too obsessed with technology, and no one wants to spend their date coaching the other person to come out of their technological bubble to join you in the real world. A perfect example comes to mind:

“I met this guy named Philbert on the streetcar.” – Yes, his name is actually Philbert and he does not go by Phil – one of the first deterring factors that my roommate mentioned upon her arrival home. “So we talked a bit,” out of polite obligation, “and he asked me out on a date.” I instantly knew that she said yes, and gave her warning. The next day she received a few texts from Philbert – all well written and relatively charming. Maybe we were wrong about Philbert after all.  Then, she received a Facebook invitation from Philbert that seemed normal at first – as they all do – until we saw that there were “rules” for his party; “please do not bring people that I cannot readily greet at my party. I want to know them before hand.” It seemed a pretty clear sign that Philbert was not used to playing with others but she reluctantly followed through with her promise to go on the date, and Philbert drank nine glasses of wine while she sipped a single glass on water. 

Pick up on that real-life interaction and follow your instincts, because Philbert could be running into you on the streetcar next. It’s so hard to tell if we’re overreacting about someone’s “awkward” behaviour online, and we’re less likely to pick up on those obvious real-time cues because of how quickly we’re used to skimming a message, then spending five minutes to deliberate a response. Often, we can’t see that the stallion behind the screen is a mule with a thesaurus until they’re wasting three hours of our time on a Friday.

Philbert, would you be comfortable calling every person on this invite list and mentioning your party requirements? Probably not, and it’s something you should think about before you send something off that you wouldn’t be comfortable saying out loud.  I know that the idea of sending the facebook message as a courting gesture comforts many of my friends, but there is something to be said about the effect this has on your face-to-face relations with a person of interest.  The suave message that you fired off, hidden behind your laptop, is very likely not the person that you are in non-virtual life.  Beyond the fact that it creates a misleading façade, it will only make things harder when you try to communicate in real life with someone. If the guy that you’re interested in will send you three texts and a facebook message a day but still hasn’t called or actually asked you out, the chances are that you’re dealing with a pseudo-date: someone who is audacious when they don’t have to look you in the eye, and who will probably never work up the courage to ask you out because he is very, very socially awkward.

It’s a good idea to flex the social skills you learned in kindergarten with the opposite sex, even though it may be hard to come out of your shell at first. But, you’ll be less likely to end up on a date with someone you can’t stand, and you might end up developing some confidence that was lacking before. It’s unfortunate that social blunders are so commonplace in our generation, especially since we may be the last kids who actually had a few years to go outside and play with our friends before everyone had a computer in their house.  However, the last few years of constant technological evolution have failed us in our social skills and, evidently, in our party-planning etiquette.  I too am much more comfortable sending a text message to an acquaintance than picking up the phone, something that seems obvious to the youth of today but that generally hinders our ability to take social risks.