Health & Balance

The WebMD Healthy You Challenge: Two Mom Makeovers

Help! I'm Starving for Me-Time continued...

The life coach's advice 

Polly, you need to get back to happy.  We get a false concept of what that is when we read women's magazines, which often make us think that there's a perfect life out there and if only we were smart enough and had our act together enough we'd be there. So I'm putting you on a "happiness diet." 

Write a list of all the things that you haven't been doing that you know make you feel good. Then, you have to make a commitment to yourself to create time for those things for the sole purpose of making yourself feel good. Don't think of them as things you "should" do, but things you want to do. 

What are the things you can do to make yourself happy in five minutes? In half an hour? What takes a full hour? Schedule some of those things into your day, every single day. Plan them just like you plan your lessons at school. Maybe do the five-minute things during the week and the longer things on the weekend. Two weeks later, look back and see if you're feeling better -- what's worked for you and what hasn't? Then, can you up the ante? Can you take it to another level, by joining a book club or going to a lecture at the library? Look to do the kinds of things that will actually satisfy you deeply.

Healthy You Gift Ideas for Mother's Day

By Jennifer Dixon

Ready to start your own makeover? Where there's a will, there's a way. And a few cool gadgets and fitness accessories can add extra motivation to get off the couch and onto the treadmill, says Michael Lin, a certified personal trainer and co-owner of Verve Health & Fitness in Washington, D.C. Here are Lin's picks: 

Heading outdoors for your next workout? L.L. Bean's Fitness in a Bottle packs everything you need into a standard-size, BPA-free water bottle: sunscreen, lip balm, pedometer, first-aid kit, and a black drawstring sack in which to carry it all. $29.95

No pockets? No worries. ShoeWallet is just the thing to stash your keys, cash, and identification card during your workout. The Velcro-close wallet attaches through the shoelaces and features a reflective safety strip. $9.99

When you can't make it to the gym or just want to mix up your usual routine, reach for FitDeck Stretch. Each card in this 56-card set contains specific stretches, such as neck tilts, wrist extensions, and side bends, divided into upper-, middle-, and lower-body workouts. $14.95

Don't want to give up fashion for fitness? You don't have to. Banglz are stylish bracelets and ankle bands that double as weights. Sold in pairs, the half-pound wrist version helps tone muscles, burns calories, and relieves tension. $24.95