Maggie Downie, Author at Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

About Maggie Downie

Thank you for giving your time to stop and read my blog. I hope it encourages you to keep moving. Move and the body will be happier. And when you're moving you can hike, run, swim in Jell-O, race over non-Newtonian fluids, travel the world or build igloos--if that's your thing. If not, you can watch me do it. This is just a spot to try and feel good about life.

Dunkin Donuts

I am not anti Dunkin Donuts. I like them and I go there—usually for donuts, muffins, coffee rolls, or egg sandwiches. As long as it’s not coffee I’m usually good. But there are things that really bug me about Dunkin Donuts (if you will listen to my rant for a moment).

I don’t like their ad slogan: America Runs on Dunkin. It bothers me the way commercials that try to make women think they need longer lashes; perfectly slender, hairless legs; flawless skin; and perky breasts to be valuable and beautiful bother me.

They aren’t wrong. We eat and drink a lot of Dunkin Donuts, but we probably shouldn’t. Not only is the food unhealthy, but the caffeine we need to get through our insanely busy days seems a little excessive. I think we all need to calm down a little, myself included.

And, I’ve noticed that when I walk out of DD some stores now have a sign that says, “See you soon.” They are right, but it drives me bonkers. It’s like they know their greasy, […]

Dunkin DonutsMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00

Small Changes Make BIG Difference

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about the importance of small changes and then this week I saw an article about small changes being vital. The article said there really isn’t much research on small changes and the difference they make, but that we know many people try to lose weight by making big changes they don’t stick to, inevitably winding up back where they started, only more discouraged each time.

The current guidelines for maintain a healthy weight suggest the following moderate-intensity physical activity:

30-Minutes: To Maintain Weight
60-Minutes: To Lose Weight
90-Minutes: To Keep Weight Off After Initial Loss

Only 26% of the population does the 30-minutes of exercise recommended to maintain weight.

A 17-member task force was put together to figure out if small changes could make a difference. They concluded:

1) Small changes are more realistic and therefore easier to maintain
2) Small changes can make a big difference. (Since most people gain weight over a long period of time and the weight creeps up slowly, it’s safe to assume that small changes will make a big difference, it just might take a while.)
3) Small changes increase an […]

Small Changes Make BIG DifferenceMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00

TV Bad Influence

Research has shown that people who lose weight and keep it off have fewer TV’s in the home. The connection seems to be about making changes in the home. The fewer TV’s the less likely you are to sit down and watch it.

I’ve gone without TV for long periods of time, but I think when I wanted to relax I still sat down and read a book or watched a movie. And even though we only have one TV in the house, we have three or four computers and we can watch TV on all of them if we want to. I wonder if all the advertisements on TV for food gets people off track. I wonder if the real question isn’t how many TV’s you have, but how often you have them on, even if it’s just on in the background.

So how many TV’s do you have? How often do you watch TV? Would you be willing to challenge yourself to go one day, or one week, or one month without TV and see if it […]

TV Bad InfluenceMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00

10-Year Anniversary

Matt and I have been together for ten years today. And I think we are both pretty lucky to have found each other. We are a good match, and I’m happy to have him by my side in life. He is a good person to have next to you when times are good and when times get tough. He’s also a good inspiration for me.

It was Matt who helped coax me to start my own company. I was very nervous to leave my job and take the leap to being self-employed. Matt kept suggesting it was the right decision and that once I made the decision I would feel good about it. He was right. I love what I’m doing and I haven’t regretted the decision yet.

He may not do pilates himself, but he is a good advocate for pilates. And if you take one of our classes and love it, you have Matt to thank, at least in part. Not only did he help give me the nudge I needed to start the company, but in […]

10-Year AnniversaryMaggie Downie2017-10-25T14:30:14-04:00

The Psoas

There are so many people who have written about this muscle better than I can, so think of this post as trying to entice you to read more…

The “p” is silent and you pronounce this very fascinating muscle so-as. So, as in, so what? Well here is what makes the psoas so interesting and why you should know about it.

A few months ago I went to a workshop lead by Liz Koch who has devoted her life to the psoas muscle. One of her most interesting descriptions of the psoas was that it is the filet mignon muscle. She said that chefs will tell you it looks and tastes different and that is has a different color than any other muscle in the body. She claims that in most people’s body, the psoas looks less like filet mignon and more like beef jerky.

I don’t know whether or not that is true, but the visual is pretty poignant. If you went to a nice restaurant and ordered filet mignon and got beef jerky, you’d be […]

The PsoasMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:55-04:00

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