Mireille Guiliano2013-05-21T08:35:03-04:00Mireille Guilianohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mireille-guilianoCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Mireille GuilianoGood old fashioned elbow grease.Aging With Attitude: 9 Ways To Boost Energy, Improve Health and Look Goodtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.8703652011-06-03T08:28:05-04:002011-08-03T05:12:01-04:00Mireille Guilianohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mireille-guiliano/
Forty may be the new 30 in some people's minds and 59 the new 50 -- or in nip-and-tuck Hollywood, they imagine it to be 40. Your body, though, sometimes tells you that the new 59 is 60. A reality is that every day more than 7,000 Americans turn 65. By 2030, 18 percent of Americans will be senior citizens, up from 12 percent today. That trend is true for the majority of nations.
I am often asked to share my tips on "aging gracefully," an expression I don't like. "Aging with attitude" is what I believe in. "Dying gracefully" is a different and perhaps apt phrase, though only if it is "noble and brave" in Hemingway's words. But who wants to talk about dying? Approaching the inevitable is as much a mental exercise as a physical reality, and I want to talk about living with style, perhaps some elegance and certainly with pleasure.
So, it's good to have a plan -- a strategy based on "knowing thyself," common sense and a zest for life. For me, it is about being bien dans sa peau through all episodes and stages in life. You and I don't have the same genetics, we don't live in the same places, we don't have the same resources, but we can have the same basic attitude: being comfortable in our skin. Your own skin. We are all unique, so no plan fits all sizes. Creating your own plan is vital, so you'll have to do some homework that nobody else can do for you. And having a plan is a mental approach to aging; it's an attitude.
The images and plans touted in today's media (often by celebrities) and then globalized, have made things worse. Yes, we live longer, but the cult of youth has made women more and more self-conscious and obsessed with looking younger than they actually are. Too often giving up seems like the easy way out. Too many women 40 and up se laissent aller, let themselves go. Look around: fat is becoming scarily acceptable and so is dressing down, poorly and distastefully. Then there are the quick fixes promoted on talk shows, in women's magazines and blogs, and with celebrities' recipes, tricks and tips, invented by all sorts of "experts."
Every week a new recipe, diet or product is born to keep you young, skinny or beautiful. Believable? For the most part, no. Develop a system with some healthy rituals, some fun and spontaneity, some fine tuning and reinvention as years go by -- nothing drastic or painful. The earlier you start the better, but let age 40 be your latest start date. It's nature's start signal, for sure.
Here are a few tips to get you cogitating and (hopefully) taking action:
Mireille Guiliano is the best-selling author of French Women Don't Get Fat and three other books. For more than 20 years, she was the spokesperson for Champagne Veuve Clicquot and a senior executive at LVMH. Guiliano was also CEO of Clicquot, Inc., the U.S. firm she helped found in 1984. Read her blog on Red Room.]]>Hate the Gym? How Very Frenchtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.3031792009-09-30T15:01:36-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Mireille Guilianohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mireille-guiliano/
It is a sign of the times -- but also our American culture -- that many women seem to have only two modes: sitting or spinning. They're either avoiding even the slightest heart rate increase (like those women in my apartment building who take the elevator to the second floor) or they're sentencing themselves to hours at the gym as punishment for their indulgences throughout the day. So often I see the begrudging look on women's faces and hear the phrase, "I don't want to go to the gym, but I have to." Pourquoi? If you are eating mindfully, and eating the correct portion sizes, you don't have to torture yourself on those metal contraptions or run a marathon to stay trim. French women reject the notion of "no pain, no gain," opting for a more pleasurable notion of mild, sustained exertion. We prefer all-day movement, what I like to call "the slow burn," and we practice it as second nature instead of attacking it like boot camp.
Exercise requires the same sense of balance we require in other aspects of our life. We know by now that most dieting has a yo-yo effect and fails; we must recognize that too little and too much exercise meet the same fate. Overexertion at the gym may actually sabotage your weight loss goals. Too many women I know go overboard on the treadmill, and then eat more as either mental or hunger compensation. Eating a protein bar loaded with chemicals and calories just to burn them off seems silly. Or is it just to moi? The overheated workout also often leads to defeatism (I give up!). My window survey confirms those overcrowded gyms in January are half as crowded in February and March. Those New Year's resolutions may provide us with the motivation, but after a few weeks of killing ourselves on the elliptical, we burn out.
French women see exertion as an integral part of the day. I encourage you to look at everyday movement (what you do in street clothes, not spandex) as essential to your overall wellness, and not to see exertion as something assigned to the gym. Here are a few French tips on how to stay fit without ever setting foot in la gym.
1.) Don't save your steps, multiply them! Instead of driving your car around in circles to find a close spot, purposefully park far away and walk the couple extra feet. Do you know burning a mere 50 extra calories a day equates to five pounds a year?! Burn those calories creatively; think thrice about using interoffice mail, walk that memo to your coworker's office. Take an extra few laps around the block at lunchtime, take the long way home when walking your dog at night. The principle is to squeeze as much physical exertion as possible during a few intervals a day into what were once routine tasks tied to avoiding any physical efforts.
2.) Incorporate simple resistance movements into your daily routine. Use your own body weight as resistance wherever possible. Isometric exercises, discreet but effective, are very French. This can be done before you even leave the house in the morning. For example, while waiting in traffic or on the subway, contract your abs for 12 seconds with your back pressed against the seat (it's better for you than road rage). When reading a magazine at home, try sitting on the floor with your legs stretched and apart in a V and your hands on each side; this is a great stretch for your inner thigh muscles.
3.) Take care of your core. I'm a firm believer that we need to attend to our abdominals as we age. These are the muscles that hold all our vital organs in place; they support good posture and a healthy spine, something we must take care of as we get older. Do a few sit-ups as part of a little stretch/exercise/yoga routine in the morning -- it's never too early or too late to start this ritual.
4.) Acquaint yourself with small to moderate free weights (3-5 lbs.), especially if you're over 40. A bit of extremely simple resistance training is an antidote to hours spent on gym machines. Short but focused movement with small weights is a good way to preserve upper body tone and bone density and supplement the cardiovascular benefits of an active lifestyle. A little goes a long way, and that only increases the older you get, so don't let extremism overtake you.
5.) Get en vélo. Americans tend to see bicycling as recreation, and often either as a child's pastime or a hobby for only the most serious triathletes. But French and European women see cycling as a mode of transportation. I encourage those who can bike to work or shopping to do so. One of my pleasures in Provence is taking my bike to run errands. Riding my bike is one of my favorite warm weather routines and is, of course, environmentally clean and efficient, so I am happy to see bikes and bike lanes increasing in New York and other cities. Cycling has well-known health benefits: it's a low-impact, mild aerobic exercise that strengthens your heart and lungs; tones the large (read: fat-burning) muscle groups; keeps joints, tendons and ligaments flexible; builds stamina; and is generally fun, reducing stress and boosting your mood. And the view from a real bicycle ride beats the view from a stationary bike in a white-walled gym any day of the week.
6.) Yoga. If there was ever a fountain of youth, it might be the practice of yoga. Not only does it reduce stress, improve your posture and help to develop longer, leaner limbs, it also speeds up your metabolism, works nearly every muscle group and promotes an overall bodily wellness that no other sport or class can compete with. I practice yoga religiously, usually in the comfort of my own home. I am no yogi; I do not spend hours upon end on my head -- I simply have a handful of mastered poses and movements that make me feel good and keep me limber and trim. Most women can find 20-30 minutes a day to practice if they make it a priority. No equipment necessary.
7.) Vive l'escalier! Taking the stairs whenever possible is one of the main tenets of my philosophy. It always astounds me to see people who live no higher than the fourth floor and with nothing more to carry than themselves taking the elevator. In France, walking up and down stairs is a perfunctory part of our day. We rarely spend an hour stair climbing, but you should know that climbing stairs burns a stunning 1100 calories per hour. Climbing a couple flights a day will surely go a long way. A few times a week I choose to walk up the 15 flights of stairs to my apartment for some healthy fun -- and yes, I do enjoy it.
In the end, remember that those who overexert themselves inevitably burn out, but those who know how to stay fit while enjoying life come out ahead, mentally and physically.
]]>10 Ways to Sleep Like a French Womantag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.2591572009-08-13T18:17:33-04:002011-11-17T09:02:45-05:00Mireille Guilianohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mireille-guiliano/
In all of my writing -- both in my books and on my Website -- I urge women to 1) take time to eat (no less than 20 minutes per meal) and 2) sleep well. Sleep, I believe, is the most neglected state of being in American life.
When in Paris, my American husband always notices the pitch-dark apartment buildings we pass while walking home late at night from a meal at a friend's house or the theater. It's barely 11 o'clock p.m., yet most of the lights are off. For one thing, the French don't watch much television (no staying up for Conan O'Brien or Dave Letterman's monologue). They come home from work, prepare dinner, sit down to eat (that's entertainment!) and relax. Some may prolong the evening reading or listening to music for half an hour, but by ten or 11 o'clock most of them are au dodo. No late-night e-mailing or typing away at the computer. How different that is from New York, the city that never sleeps. From our Manhattan windows we see plenty of lights and people in buildings all around us until the wee hours. That the French spend more than two hours each day eating is another contrast with America. Eating is one of the great pleasures in life, after all. Kitchen or bedroom? For the French it's a toss-up, according to the latest survey.
How's your sleep? We could (and should) all improve our sleep patterns in these stressful times -- and when aren't times at least somewhat stressful?
So, here are ten easy tips you may consider so you, too, can enjoy the benefits of a good night's sleep.
1. Move, move, move during the day! Studies have proven that exercise, in addition to burning calories, makes it easier to fall and stay asleep. No need to run a marathon or spend hours sweating; a 20- to 30-minute brisk walk or yoga will do the trick. (Just be careful not to do it too close to bedtime -- this will actually have the opposite effect!)
2. Stay away from stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine and alcohol. All three substances make us jittery, interrupt our quality of sleep and our ability to fall asleep. Many people who rely on caffeine to get them through the day are shocked to learn that it can have a stimulating effect for up to 12 hours after they've imbibed.
3. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Our bodies crave balance and if we train our body to fall asleep at a certain time and wake up at a certain time (even if we're still sleepy), it will eventually listen to our requests.
4. Reserve the bedroom for sleeping only. This may seem silly, but watching TV, balancing a checkbook, doing paperwork or simply lounging in bed can cause problems when it's time to actually fall asleep.
5. Herbal teas work magic. Chamomile, anise, valerian and fennel-blend teas are known to help relax and make sleep come easier. Most health -food stores have their own specialty blends as well.
6. Turn off the lights earlier. Lights signal to our brain that it's daytime and can interfere with our bodies' ability to wind down for sleep.
7. Turn off the computer and TV at least a half hour, but preferably an hour, before bedtime. Both tend to keep our mind active, the last thing we want before bedtime.
8. If you can't sleep for a full half hour, get up and read a book or listen to soothing music for a little while. Staying in bed will only make you more restless.
9. Avoid having a very large meal before bedtime. Have your dinner at least two to three hours before you plan on going to sleep.
10. Create an environment that is conducive to sleep with a bedroom that's totally dark, well ventilated and cool. If you don't have curtains that shade the light, try a sleeping mask. If you live on a busy street, try a fan or a "white noise" machine.
And remember: a bad night's rest means a short temper, short attention span, more stress and, for women especially, a greater risk of heart disease.
will be published in October. ]]>