After having blond hair all summer (and hair above my shoulders for nearly 3 years), I’m ready for a change. My hair is naturally wavy, so I want to let it grow long and just curl a little bit. It’s all part of my new hippie aesthetic. As for color, I want something pretty low maintenance, so I’m thinking a nice, rich brown. Kate Beckinsale and Rachel Bilson both have shiny brown locks with a little bit of wave, so this is what I’m aiming for.

I really want to try a new fat-melting procedure called Velashape. Designed to help combat cellulite on the tummy, butt, thighs, and hips, it’s non-invasive and FDA-approved. I’d like to do it ASAP, but it works best on people who are within 10 pounds of their goal weight. Since I’d like to drop more than that, I might hold off for awhile and see how it goes. If you live in the Atlanta area, you can have it done at Trinity Massage and Aesthetics. If anyone has tried it, please let me know what you thought. In the meantime, check this out:

Now that the 4th of July has passed, it feels like summer is really in effect. It hits in the upper 80s every day, stays light until 9:00, and every public building is freezing because the air conditioners are all on full blast. It’s the best time of year to focus on your health, too: the weather in conducive to swimming and outdoor workouts, and the grocery stores are bursting with yummy fresh produce. I’ve been working out with a trainer once a week, and I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few workouts on my own between sessions, so I thought I’d share my 2008 summer exercise playlist.

This week I’ve been reading The South Beach Diet Supercharged, by Dr. Arthur Agatston. The follow up to 2003’s The South Beach Diet, Supercharged reintroduces Agatston’s eating recommendations, and also includes exercise suggestions and tips that make it a lifestyle plan instead of a diet.

When I picked it up, I was expecting it to be an Atkins-style low carb diet, but it’s more than that. It focuses on eating healthy, whole foods, and eliminating sugary, processed ones. The plan is divided into 3 phases. The first, which lasts two weeks, is designed to quickly shed weight and reduce cravings, so it is very restricted. There are no fruits or whole grains in this phase; you are pretty much limited to most vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy and beans. Phase 2 gradually reintroduces some fruits and whole grains, and Phase 3 is the maintenance phase once you’ve met your goals.

I really like the emphasis on eating healthfully, but I’m not sure that I’m willing to give up fruits or whole grains, even for two weeks. Also, the book claims that this plan is easy for vegetarians to adapt, but there are very few vegetarian suggestions. Almost all the recipes include meat, and virtually every breakfast in Phase 1 is egg-based. Apparently, if you subscribe to the website, there is an entire section on vegetarian meals, but this comes at an additional cost. I wish more of these recipes had been included in the book, since I’ve already paid for that.

Another issue: Agatston is very focused on eliminating sugar and sugar cravings, so he does recommend sugar substitutes and diet sodas as part of the plan. In my opinion, these are not healthy choices.

I do like his emphasis on working out smart; his suggestion of doing walking intervals is practical and available to anyone on the plan, regardless of fitness level or gym membership.

So I think this is an interesting, worthwhile read, but if I decide to try the plan, I’ll probably modify it a bit to suit my needs.

So, I was back in Pensacola for a few days this week, just hanging out with my family. I didn’t really make any plans for the trip, save for one: I wanted to go to yoga class. My yoga teacher, Nancy LaNasa, opened the Abhaya Yoga Center there a while ago and this was my first opportunity to check it out. So cool!! While Nancy herself wasn’t there (boo) I did get to take two classes with Stacey Vann, one of the other instructors, and co-founder of Universal Spirit Yoga. Stacey is great. Her classes are totally laid back and fun, and she even let me attend (with my mom) a class for students over age 50! I had such a great time, and I hate that I can’t go to regular classes there.

Also, I’m not the only one who loves it. This year is the second in a row that the center has won best yoga in the Pensacola Independent News Best of the Coast Competition. Nice! Anyway, if you live in the Pensacola area, please check out Abhaya. It can change your life…in fact, I’m hoping to one day get my own teaching certification, to use in conjunction with my Health Counselor certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.