Recently I got hooked by a Netflix documentary called Tour de France: Unchained. It struck me as I watched it that the Tour de France is a great analogy for habit change. Analogies resonate with people. That’s why I used the analogy of climbing Everest in my post Sliding Down a Sugary, Slippery Slope.
The only thing I knew about the Tour de France beforehand was that the winner got to wear the famous yellow jersey. What I didn’t know was that different cyclists don the yellow jersey after each of the 21 stages in the Tour. The winner of the first stage dons the yellow jersey to wear in the next day’s stage. At the end of the second stage, the yellow jersey goes to the cyclist with the fastest time over the two stages. And then over three stages and so on, until, at the end of the 21st stage, it goes to the overall winner, the rider with the fastest cumulative time over all 21 stages. You might say they use a combination of strategy, strength and steely resolve to develop a yellow jersey-wearing habit.
So I thought it would be fun to apply some of the learnings from the Tour de France to habit change. Then why not think of something you want to change in your life and make it into your own 21-day personal Tour de France to win?
My mom always warned me never to plant mint directly in my garden or it would take over. She was a fantastic gardener so I listened to her sage advice about mint and dutifully planted it in pots. However, over time (and admittedly due to some neglect this summer), my mint has jumped the pot and run rampant. And so my small garden is now in a state best described as mondo mint. I could invite every neighbour on my street for mojitos and I would still have great bunches of mint left over.
Summer sure seemed to zoom by pretty quickly, didn’t it? Though it was marvellous to have such summery weather right through September 7 this year. As I write this, however, the mercury has decidedly dipped and the trees are showing hints of autumn colour. Yes, autumn is imminent with the 
Given the scorching temperatures, I thought it would be a good time to revisit Tips for a Hot Bod, originally posted on July 16, 2022. I hope you find these tips for healthy hydration and cooling off a hot bod helpful. And enjoy the trio of tasty no-cook recipes at the end…
Since time immemorial, volumes have been written about how long to sleep and what to eat and how much exercise to get and so on. But it’s been only relatively recently that the focus has turned to when to do these things. The goal is to ascertain whether the timing of these activities makes a difference to our health. And, if so, to determine what timing is more (or less) auspicious when it comes to going to bed, waking up, eating our meals and exercising. In this month’s Dishing It Up – Timing is Everything, we’ll look at some recent articles on this timely topic. When it comes to optimal health, is timing everything or just one piece of the puzzle?
In my former career, I worked in companies that managed investments for institutional pension funds. So I’m well aware of the importance of investing for retirement. It’s something I’m sure we all agree on. The idea is to save money (making wise investments to grow that money) so, when the time comes to retire, you have enough invested that you can live the way you want. Save money now so you have the money you want in retirement. Simple. Well, the same is true for your health. Invest in your health now, so you have the health you want in retirement.