From the Editor

Change Your Life

    I was a major cigarette smoker who gave up the habit when I turned 25.
    Back then, when I didn’t exercise and ate and drank whatever, I thought 30 was old, and vanity—specifically, a big fear of ugly pucker wrinkles around my mouth, jiggling chicken-wing triceps and a bulging pot belly—pushed me to reconsider my lifestyle.
    So I changed my life.
    I replaced the cigarettes with running shoes and walked a block and ran a block until I could run a mile. I started eating (relatively) right and found empowerment through setting and achieving goals like my first 5K, 10K and 15K. At 30, I ran my first marathon, and now I have seven marathons and too many half-marathons to count behind me.
    My story of reinvention reads much like that of freelance writer Sarah Lavender Smith, author of this month’s cover story, “The New You.” A beer-drinking, burrito-eating smoker in her 20s, she gave up her unhealthy ways to be a role model for her children and now not only runs but also wins Bay Area half-marathons, marathons and ultras.
    Smith’s article, an inspirational piece with practical information in the form of 25 tips for healthy living, is sure to get you off your duff. The protagonist of her tale of transformation is Trina Rockefeller, an Oakland mother of two who was overweight, run-down and worn out from constant multitasking. Rockefeller vowed to make major lifestyle changes, and with a few simple, sensible modifications to her regular routine, she’s now healthier, happier and more successful than ever at home and at work.
    Smith offers sage advice for healthy living: Pick a tip or two, gain confidence from the results and go from there.
    What made my metamorphosis from couch potato to weekend warrior possible is that I liked what I was doing. Now that I’ve been at it for a while, I’ve learned to switch up my routines to ward off boredom. The more passionate I am about an activity, the more I want to do it.
    That’s exactly what Wanda Hennig taps into in her article, “Stoked on Sweat,” which delves into the favored workout routines of 10 Oaklanders who happily recommend their versions of what keeps them fit and motivated. From lap swimming and yoga to the Daily Method and basketball, these fitness practices keep these folks feeling good. Hennig bets some of these options may be the perfect match for you.
    So embrace the New Year and the new you. Go ahead—reinvent yourself. I did.



           


Judith M. Gallman
judy@oaklandmagazine.com