#pilates No time to blog? I can build yo

#pilates No time to blog? I can build your site, write posts, & promote you!. Keep current clients happy – attract new ones http://ow.ly/pvLMm

How can you attract more viewers to your

How can you attract more viewers to your blog? Here are three easy tips you can use right now. http://ow.ly/pmq0j

Dear WordPress Followers

Thank you so much for following my blog.  It is moving to www.JoAnnMilPilates.com The site looks the same but there are some back end technical differences.

CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING VIA EMAIL
If you are following via WordPress, consider subscribing  via email on the blog site itself.  The subscribe link is on the right side of the page – you may need to scroll down a bit to see it.

Otherwise, I’m told RSS feeds will continue.  Those who have already subscribed via email should continue to get email alerts to new posts.

LOOKING FORWARD
In the days ahead I’ll be posting about

• bringing more peace and happiness into your life
• how to achieve greater health and fitness
• miracles of modern medicine
• joy and benefits of Pilates

I hope what I provide is useful and will help you enjoy life more.

Love,
JoAnn
follow me @JoAnnMilPilates

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ONLINE SOCIAL DIETING

We date online why not diet online?  More than one of my clients have credited various apps for helping them drop a few pounds, improve their food choices and get fitter faster.  And now Greatest Loser guru Jillian Michaels throws down another challenge by partnering with Dietbetter.

Dietbet is a four-week social dieting challenge. According to the company 96% percent of DietBetters lose weight, with an average of over six pounds in four weeks. You could drop those pounds and pick up some cash in the process.

Michaels’ DietBet starts on September 24 and runs through October 21.

HOW TO LOSE IT
The rules for The Jillian Michaels DietBet are simple. Players all bet $30 into the pot to begin. Everyone who loses four percent of their starting weight over the course of the four-week game splits the pot equally at the end. Dietbet is not winner-take-all; everyone who reaches the finish line is a winner and receives an equal share of the pot. To validate weight loss, players submit multiple photos of themselves on their scales to DietBet’s human referees.

Find DietBet on Facebook and Twitter. An iPhone mobile app is also available.

Good luck and let us know how you do!

Love,
JoAnn

CHOBANI YOGURT RECALL, NATIONWIDE

If you love Greek style yogurt chances are you’ve enjoyed Chobani.  According to the CEO, they’ve voluntarily recalled products due to a type of mold commonly found in yogurts that don’t have preservatives.

The problem affected about 5% of it’s product and is reported to be solved now.

AFFECTED PRODUCTS
If you purchased yogurt with the code 16-012, Best By: 9/11/2013 – 10/7/ 2013, toss it. To get replacements or refunds,  contact their Customer Loyalty Team at chobani.com/care  or call 877-847-6181 between the hours of 9am and 5pm EST.

Chobani 6 oz. cups – all flavors
Chobani 16 oz. tubs – all flavors
Chobani 32 oz. tubs – all flavors
Chobani 3.5 oz. cups – all flavors
Chobani Bite™ 3.5 oz. cups – all flavors
Chobani Flip™ 5.3 oz. containers – all flavors
Chobani Champions® cups 3.5 oz. – all flavors
Chobani Champions® tubes 2.25 oz., 8, 16 and 36 count – all flavors

FIZZY IS NOT FINE IN YOGURT
The mold caused the packaging to swell and some customers had said that it tasted fizzy or had an alcohol overtone.   The company started pulling the products from the self last week. The potentially affected products were distributed from their Twin Falls, Idaho facility.

In short, it’s best not to eat yogurt or any other product if the packaging is torn, punctured, or swelling. You just never know what contaminants natural or otherwise may lurk inside.

Love,
JoAnn

PUPPY LOVE

It’s the dog days of August so don’t forget to take good care of your beloved furry legged pal.  Keep plenty of fresh water around and take note of these recommendations from BluePearl Veterinary Partners:

• Avoid physical activity during the heat of the day; keep exercise to the cooler mornings and evenings.
• Spray your pet down with room temperature or cool water, but never ice water. Ice cold water causes a decrease in blood flow to the skin and heat can’t escape the body properly, which actually makes heat exhaustion symptoms worse.
• Make sure pets are kept inside of air-conditioned spaces to avoid excess exposure to heat.
• When walking or jogging with your pet, try to avoid asphalt as your pet’s paw pads can burn. Instead, stick to concrete, dirt or grass, as those surfaces are less hot.
• Never leave your pet in a car unattended, even with the air conditioning running. If the air conditioning fails, your pet could easily over-heat in as little as a few minutes.
• Don’t give sports drinks or electrolyte supplements to pets. Dogs cool off by panting and they do not sweat like people. Supplements like sports drinks can actually harm animals and make pets sick.

Most importantly, be familiar with your pet and know when they aren’t acting right. Lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and dark red gums are all signs of heat related distress. If your pet is panting uncontrollably or collapses, take the animal to your veterinarian or nearest emergency veterinary hospital immediately.

Love,
JoAnn

PICK A PEACH

It’s peach time in the Midwest!  Pluck them fresh off the trees, buy at your local farmers’ markets or in the grocery store.  Your freshest bet is to go local.  Michigan is known for its cherries, blueberries and apples but peaches were the first locally commercial crop.  Click here for a list of where you can find peaches fresh off the farm.

HOW TO SELECT THE BEST

1. Avoid rock hard peaches, they were picked too early and peaches don’t get sweeter in time
2. Look for smooth unwrinkled skin with no blemishes or brown spots
3. Leave at room temp for a couple of days to soften then store in fridge
4. Peaches will keep in fridge for 3-5 days 

WAYS TO ENJOY YOUR PEACHES
Can them, freeze them, grill them, eat them fresh.  Peaches are a good source of potassium, vitamins A & C, and only about 70 calories.  Here are eleven recipes from the New York Times, including one for that all-time favorite, peach cobbler.

Got a favorite peach recipe?  Share it here!

Love,
JoAnn

Growing Blog -thank you!

nearly 100 followers on my blog! Exciting to watch it grow and hope I continue to inspire and provide useful health/fitness/wellness info http://ow.ly/o5SEo

Savor summer in a glass with this refres

Savor summer in a glass with this refreshing #watermelon #lemonade recipe. http://tinyurl.com/kxn8ns2

FEAR AND KINDNESS

Last week, I came home from a lovely bike ride along Lake Michigan to find several news trucks lined up at the end of my block.  A woman had been grabbed and “assaulted” at 6 a.m. Tuesday August 8 on Howard, a very busy Rogers Park street which separates Evanston from Chicago.

My first reaction was to tell everyone in my neighborhood – knock on doors.  Instead, I told the woman walking down the street with her dog and posted the event as a HIGH ALERT on Facebook and Twitter.

FEAR AND ANGER
My emotions were mixed: fear and anger.  Fear that now I couldn’t leave my home to go dance tango because I’d have walk through a dark backyard from my garage. So there I sat frozen on the couch texting my boyfriend who’s out of town and encouraging me to stay home because they didn’t catch the perpetrator.  Just a few weeks ago in a nearby neighborhood, a man had broken into a woman’s home, midday and assaulted her. Not the same guy.

Yes I live in a big city.  But this is all very too close to home. I close and lock my windows at night, lock my screen doors during the day, despite the fact that I have a Great Dane mix. Woof.

I also thought about what I could do: organize a self-defense class, check in Alderman Silverstein and the Ward’s police to see what could/should we do? Might be a good time to try Krav Maga.

I feel anger because I am controlled by an unknown brute. I think about how women have to jump through hoops to stay safe. We have to consider where we walk down a street, how we dress, take precautions in hotels. Things men don’t have to give a second thought to let alone a first. I just want to go dance and socialize!

KINDNESS
Then I told a tango friend I was feeling spooked and didn’t want to go out. He offered to drive and I accepted his graciousness to shuttle me to the Milonga. I realized the best of human nature often arises during crisis big and small.  As an introverted and fiercely independent woman I want to fight it alone, rant at the injustice. And I do. Speaking up and altering neighbors is the right thing to do.

But I also discovered that the right thing for me to do is soften and allow the genuine kindnesses offered to me to dissolve the fear.

I opted out of Krav Maga for now and instead went to a meditation about becoming a Buddhist Warrior.  An amazing meditation by Heartwood Center’s President Nancy Floy.  A place of peace, a meditation in gently setting personal boundaries led by a woman with power, vulnerability and wisdom.

Love,
JoAnn