1. A look at why so many people have an unhealthy relationship with the scale, and perhaps why we shouldn’t have any relationship with it at all. —The New York Times
2. Researchers say that our noses can detect which foods are fattiest. No word on whether or not we’ll use these superpowers for good or evil. —NPR
3. Confessions of a part-time vegan: why plant-based eating doesn’t need to be a full-time gig. —Salon
4. How old is your body? New research suggests that each body part ages at a different rate. And the fountain of youth for all of them? Exercise. —Q by Equinox
5. Being an obese five year old is more dangerous than being an obese six year old; research shows that the earlier kids gain weight, the less likely they are to lose it. —Time

For the first 21 days of 2014, Triber Tess took on Healthy Bitch Daily’s Get Healthy Challenge. Her challenge was twofold: (1) go vegan for 21 days and (2) attend at least 4 Bari classes per week. The results? In three weeks, she took 15 Bari classes, lost five pounds and toned up all over. Better yet, she inspired us by showing up ready to work every day (through two polar vortexes!) and laid the foundation for a health-driven, sweat-drenched 2014. We’re proud to have you as part of our Tribe, Tess!

Read Tess’ challenge recap, and vote for her!

For the first 21 days of 2014, Triber Tess took on Healthy Bitch Daily’s Get Healthy Challenge. Her challenge was twofold: (1) go vegan for 21 days and (2) attend at least 4 Bari classes per week. The results? In three weeks, she took 15 Bari classes, lost five pounds and toned up all over. Better yet, she inspired us by showing up ready to work every day (through two polar vortexes!) and laid the foundation for a health-driven, sweat-drenched 2014. We’re proud to have you as part of our Tribe, Tess!

Read Tess’ challenge recap, and vote for her!

Our friends at Vogue know how to Bounce in style!

Our friends at Vogue know how to Bounce in style!

In the spirit of clean slates, blank canvases and turning over new leaves, we’ve enlisted some expert advice to get you — and your hopes and desires for 2014 — off to a strong start. We know you’ve written your resolutions down, but it’s time to put them into action. Today, we’re turning the Tribe mic over to Gabe Nies. By trade, Gabe is a professional strategy coach (and an excellent one at that); on the side, he’s a results-driven, goal-slaying Bari Triber (seriously, read his amazing Triber Tale here). This is all to say that he’s well equipped to help you set and achieve your goals — whatever they may be. Let’s get started!

Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

Our habits influence our thoughts and actions more than anything else. Some habits help your productivity while others lead to self-sabotage. A productive habit could be a morning ritual of gratitude journaling, or even just drinking a glass of water when you get out of bed. A self-sabotaging habit could be procrastinating tasks that could be easily completed on the spot, or mindlessly eating bread when you sit down for dinner.

Most of our thoughts and actions are on autopilot.
This would be a great thing if habits were subconsciously designed proactively, but since they’re not, “autopilot habits” can harm us and stand in the way of our goals and desires.

We tend to think and act based on what automatically serves our most immediate needs and what we are familiar with. This often works against us in the long run because we get used to making unconscious (unaware) decisions.

Solution: Bring awareness to your recurring thoughts and actions.
Each time you think or act, you enforce that thought or behavior. If it was paired with something that brings you pleasure (or even pain), you give it that much more power. Before you know it, it becomes automatic. This works with “good” and “bad” habits.

The very first step to changing and building new habits is bringing awareness to those thoughts and actions that are repetitive because they are in the process of gaining power.

Start by simply paying attention to your thoughts and behaviors one by one without trying to change them. Just become more aware. This will train your brain to recognize them and start to shift the power back to you.

Breaking and designing new habits is a result of awareness, which leads to conscious repetition, which leads to habit, which leads to hypnotic rhythm.

The Law of Hypnotic Rhythm is when a thought or physical movement repeats itself over and over through habit to the point where it reaches permanency.

Once something is locked in motion, it is incredibly difficult to change. Do you have someone in your life that is set in their ways? If so, I don’t need to tell you how challenging it is to introduce new routines to them.

The longer habits are in motion, the more power they have over you. Awareness first, then break the rhythm, then design the new habit.

Consciously design habits that benefit you.

It’s better to add a new positive habit before trying to destroy a negative one. Start with something small and repeat it on a regular basis. Use your an app on your phone or an alarm at the same time of the day as a reminder.

The things that have become automatic were once focused (i.e. walking, talking, driving etc.) You want to get to the point of mastery of a particular thought or action, but first you must spend a good chunk of time on awareness and focusing.

For example, I wanted to stop checking email first thing in the morning because I found that it led me to feeling overwhelmed. Instead, I chose to start my day with gratitude to get my mind clear and start in a place of power. So, I set my alarm clock on my iPhone to read “Gratitude.” I immediately started thinking of all that I was grateful for right when I woke up. I did this first for about a month or so. This made me feel good, and I got hooked on feeling good right when I woke up. I noticed I felt way more control. This habit is now locked in and I no longer feel that feeling of overwhelm in the morning.

Follow these steps to gain control over your habits.

1. Bring awareness to any negative habits you currently hold (actions and thoughts). You want to slow down that automatic rhythm.
2. Pick something small and manageable to add to your routine that will make you feel good before trying to destroy a negative habit.
3. Incorporate the new positive habit to take place of the habit you want to destroy.

If you need clarity on any of these strategies or want to learn more, just shoot me a quick e-mail at gabe@gabenies.com.

In the spirit of clean slates, blank canvases and turning over new leaves, we’ve enlisted some expert advice to get you — and your hopes and desires for 2014 — off to a strong start. We know you’ve written your resolutions down, but it’s time to put them into action. Today, we’re turning the Tribe mic over to Gabe Nies. By trade, Gabe is a professional strategy coach (and an excellent one at that); on the side, he’s a results-driven, goal-slaying Bari Triber (seriously, read his amazing Triber Tale here). This is all to say that he’s well equipped to help you set and achieve your goals — whatever they may be. Let’s get started!

Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

Our habits influence our thoughts and actions more than anything else. Some habits help your productivity while others lead to self-sabotage. A productive habit could be a morning ritual of gratitude journaling, or even just drinking a glass of water when you get out of bed. A self-sabotaging habit could be procrastinating tasks that could be easily completed on the spot, or mindlessly eating bread when you sit down for dinner.

Most of our thoughts and actions are on autopilot.
This would be a great thing if habits were subconsciously designed proactively, but since they’re not, “autopilot habits” can harm us and stand in the way of our goals and desires.

We tend to think and act based on what automatically serves our most immediate needs and what we are familiar with. This often works against us in the long run because we get used to making unconscious (unaware) decisions.

Solution: Bring awareness to your recurring thoughts and actions.
Each time you think or act, you enforce that thought or behavior. If it was paired with something that brings you pleasure (or even pain), you give it that much more power. Before you know it, it becomes automatic. This works with “good” and “bad” habits.

The very first step to changing and building new habits is bringing awareness to those thoughts and actions that are repetitive because they are in the process of gaining power.

Start by simply paying attention to your thoughts and behaviors one by one without trying to change them. Just become more aware. This will train your brain to recognize them and start to shift the power back to you.

Breaking and designing new habits is a result of awareness, which leads to conscious repetition, which leads to habit, which leads to hypnotic rhythm.

The Law of Hypnotic Rhythm is when a thought or physical movement repeats itself over and over through habit to the point where it reaches permanency.

Once something is locked in motion, it is incredibly difficult to change. Do you have someone in your life that is set in their ways? If so, I don’t need to tell you how challenging it is to introduce new routines to them.

The longer habits are in motion, the more power they have over you. Awareness first, then break the rhythm, then design the new habit.

Consciously design habits that benefit you.

It’s better to add a new positive habit before trying to destroy a negative one. Start with something small and repeat it on a regular basis. Use your an app on your phone or an alarm at the same time of the day as a reminder.

The things that have become automatic were once focused (i.e. walking, talking, driving etc.) You want to get to the point of mastery of a particular thought or action, but first you must spend a good chunk of time on awareness and focusing.

For example, I wanted to stop checking email first thing in the morning because I found that it led me to feeling overwhelmed. Instead, I chose to start my day with gratitude to get my mind clear and start in a place of power. So, I set my alarm clock on my iPhone to read “Gratitude.” I immediately started thinking of all that I was grateful for right when I woke up. I did this first for about a month or so. This made me feel good, and I got hooked on feeling good right when I woke up. I noticed I felt way more control. This habit is now locked in and I no longer feel that feeling of overwhelm in the morning.

Follow these steps to gain control over your habits.

1. Bring awareness to any negative habits you currently hold (actions and thoughts). You want to slow down that automatic rhythm.
2. Pick something small and manageable to add to your routine that will make you feel good before trying to destroy a negative habit.
3. Incorporate the new positive habit to take place of the habit you want to destroy.

If you need clarity on any of these strategies or want to learn more, just shoot me a quick e-mail at gabe@gabenies.com.

Happy Monday, Tribe!! See you in class.

Happy Monday, Tribe!! See you in class.

1. Why abundance doesn’t equate to health — Mark Bittman weighs in on how the U.S. can rank first in food affordability and nearly last in healthy eating. —The New York Times
2. Good news, NYC. There’s a silver lining behind part two of this polar vortex: Scientists suggest that exposure to cold conditions (i.e. making your way around the city this week) may help weight loss by way of increased energy expenditure. —Los Angeles Times
3. The new way to love food? Only loving it every other day: an in-depth look into intermittent fasting. —The Atlantic
4. We know that sitting too much doesn’t do anything good for our bodies — but what’s the actual harm? This incredibly detailed infograph lays out the health hazards of sitting. —Washington Post
5. Do children know best when it comes to serving themselves? The USDA, alongside nutrition experts, recommends that parents let children as young as two serves themselves at meals to foster good eating habits and discourage overeating. —NPR’s The Salt