Feel good, French style

(From left to right) Tanya, Katie, Stacey, Soul Cycle owner Elizabeth Cutler, Keri, moderator Ingrid Skjong and Elisa share their tips at Soul Cycle's Wellness & Nutrition event.

We couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day in Bridgehampton when we gathered a few days ago for Soul Cycle’s first Wellness & Nutrition event.

Manhattan’s top wellness and lifestyle experts shared their advice, including yours truly.

Here is each panelist’s favorite healthy tip.

Keri Glassman, Nutritionist and Author of The O₂ Diet

“Feel empowered putting good food in your body. It’s not about what you can’t have, it’s about what you can have.”

Katie Lee, culinary maven and Author of The Comfort Table and The Comfort Table: Everyday Occasions

“Visit your farm stand or local farmers’ market and load up on all the fresh fruits and veggies that appeal to you…and try something new.”

Stacey Griffith, Soul Cycle Senior Master

“No soda! That includes diet soda. It has too much sugar and too many chemicals and does not improve athletic performance.”

Tanya Zuckerbrot, Nutritionist, Author of The F-Factor Diet, and founder of SkinnyintheCity.com

“Get at least 35 grams of fiber a day. Fiber keeps you feeling full for a long period of time, which means you are less likely to need to snack or overeat at the next meal. You can find fiber naturally occurring in high fiber cereals, whole grains, or berries.”

And my favorite healthy tip:

You don’t have to give up carbs to stay thin. Just switch out the refined varieties for foods such as sprouted grain bread and true whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa.

At the end of the event, I stopped by Candy Kitchen for a cool, creamy scoop of vanilla chocolate chip ice cream, a last perfect lick of Summer before the start of Fall.  Because you can read all the diet books in the world, but if you don’t know when to enjoy yourself, what’s the point?

Live épanoui*

Elisa

* in full bloom

“It” girls are passé, welcome to the reign of a new breed of woman, the “Oppos-It” Girl. I came across this inspirational analysis in the August issue of French magazine L’Officiel.

Contrary to her more superficial counterparts, the Opposite Girl is a woman of substance who’s here to stay.

As journalist Constance Chaillet explains, an Opposite Girl:

- embraces multiple lives, investing herself in the professional and personal projects that correspond to her passions and talents. She’s often also a mom, which doesn’t preclude her from having a love life, or a social life.

- wields influence. These 30 and 40-somethings are forces to be reckoned with, grounded in a serene sense of self-possession.

Oppos-It girl Victoire de Taillac

Oppos-It girl Victoire de Taillac, for example, simultaneously runs a restaurant in Tangiers, Morocco, does PR for a few brands, and writes the fabulous blog The French Beauty Club. She’s also mom to three children and Just Married.

I love the Oppos-It Girl because:

- She has a stomach, a brain and a sex and she’s not afraid to use them.

- She lives épanoui (in full bloom), arranging her life in the ways that suit her. She feels beautiful in her skin (whether or not she also happens to be a model, like Oppos-It Girl and Chanel model Caroline de Maigret, 35)

Oppos-It girl Caroline de Maigret walking the Chanel Resort show last May in St. Tropez.

- She’s got her priorities right. She’s her own woman first, which gives her the wherewithal to play multiple roles.

Opposite Girls Good Advice:

We all have the spirit of Oppos-It Girls these days, juggling the demands of jobs, activities, social lives and children while trying to stay true to our hearts.

Magazines may make it all look easy, but playing modern day superwoman can sometimes be too much. When that happens, here are two gentle reminders to bring you back to life:

- Let it slide. With so many things going on, you can’t run everything with the efficiency of a Fortune 500 CEO. Focus on the essentials and explore the beauty of imperfection.

- Nurture your support system. An Opposite Girl is only as good as her team. Don’t be afraid to delegate, to ask for help, and to share the joys and grievances of everyday life with your family and friends.

Being a contrarian never felt this good. Vive les Oppos-It girls!

Live épanoui*

Elisa

* in full bloom

Espresso and mini-desserts at Fuxia, Paris

A moment on the lips is of little consequence for the hips. I put a new twist on the old saying while enjoying the fresh Italian bites at Fuxia, a terrace on the Marché St. Honoré, a stone’s throw from Colette in Paris.

The Marché St. Honoré is a calm, adorable square off of the Rue St. Honoré’s boutiques, making it a perfect pit-stop for lunch and seeing what’s new at rock chic boutique The Kooples.

But back to the table. We ended our meal at Fuxia with the increasingly popular French offering of the café dégustation or café gourmand. Like macarons and mini-cupcakes, the French have come up with the perfect solution to avoid calorie over-load without giving up on dessert. They accompany espresso with a couple of mini-desserts, to sample and share. At Fuxia, this came as a small verrine of tiramusu and another of panna cotta.

Enjoying a few spoonfuls of dessert reminds us that good things tend to come in small packages. The first few bites of any dish tend to be the ones you appreciate the most.

This light and light-hearted approach to maintaining your figure is a good remedy to the draconian regimens we’re often prescribed. In the last issue of Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, nutritionist Oz Garcia advises “Staying slim and fit is always a challenge but maintaining your girly figure after age forty can be an all out battle. Even maintaining an exact diet and fitness regimen will not beat the penalty of aging.”  Garcia reminds us with the good humor of an army general (sic) that we must work-out, every single day, lest wrinkles and sagging muscles overtake us.

Shoot me now! Since when was feeling good in your body a matter of waging war? Rather, embrace mini-desserts, listen to your body, and engage in the daily activities you enjoy. You don’t need to restrict in order to take care of yourself. I’m savoring life’s delights with each little bite.

Live épanoui*

Elisa

* in full bloom

I’ve been busy experimenting with the three R’s, on vacation in the South of France.

Master the intricacies of R&R, St. Tropez-style below.

Step 1:  Rest

Resting in the shade at Nikki Beach

Step 2:  Reconnect

Morning coffee at SENEQUIER

Step 3: Relax

Playing boules in the Place des Lices

Step 4: I almost forgot the last R – Rose!

Lunchtime at Club 55

Meanwhile, I’ve arrived to the Basque country, home of surf boys and beach-side tapas fired up with piment d’Espelette (chili pepper). The Atlantic Coast has never been this hot!

Live épanoui*

Elisa

* in full bloom