In case you haven’t heard, Flywheel is now open in Buckhead and it…is…awesome. I went few weeks ago and can’t WAIT to go back.

Here’s the Q+DD on Flywheel: Crafted by Ruth Zukerman, legendary fitness instructor, Flywheel is a spinning “experience” that cultivated a cult following in NYC and is now out to claim the nation!

Each choreographed spin routine is 45 or 60 minutes long and includes arm work with weighted bars. Awesome news: the studio is set up with stadium seating, so no matter where you are, you’ve got the best seat in the house.

Big time bonus: One of Atlanta’s BEST spin instructors (and all around cool guy), Jeremy Levison is now teaching there (although I hear ALL the instructors are amazing.)  

If you’re asking yourself what’s different about this class than a typical run of the mill spin class, here are a few other things you should know:

1. You reserve your bike ahead of time like a seat on an airplane. This is HUGE for chronically tardy front row geeks like myself.

2. They rent you special spin shoes with clips

2b. If you are too blonde to get out of said clipped in shoes after class, some kind Flywheel employee will help you.

Don't worry, I'm not still here!

3. The tailor-made bikes are completely customizable to your preferences and have a “tech-pack” which shows your resistance (“torque”), your speed (RPMs) and your “power output” (current and cumulative for the class)

4. For the overly competitive, you can opt in to participate in the in-studio “Torqueboard” – a leaderboard that show’s how participants in the class are doing. BONUS: your stats for every ride will be recoded and made available in your private account on the website!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.

Also open: FLYBARRE

Billed as the perfect compliment to your Flywheel cardio, Flybarre combines yoga, dance, circuit training, pilates, and strength building and I am here to tell you that I was lucky enough to be invited to a class by my girls Hess and Kate and I think I speak for the group when I say: “Seriously, OUCH…but when can I go back?”

The studio is small-ish. Witness:

But no fear of running out of space - you reserve these mats airplane-style too and trust me, you are feeling WAY too much in your muscles to feel any claustrophobia whatsoever. Fact.

It was fast paced and fun and they do this super cool “dynamic arms” routine that changes monthly with the idea that you’ll come back enough times during the month to learn the routine and look like a cheerleading squad.  I like.

Confession: You do a full-on lights-off stretch twice in the class and I was a little heartbroken when I found out the first stretch wasn’t the end… but very proud of myself at the legit end.

They’re both incredible workouts and I’m SUPER excited to have our very own Flywheel here in the ATL!

Welcome, welcome, Flywheel!

xx, L

Flywheel Sports Atlanta
102 W Paces Ferry Road NW
Suite A
Atlanta, GA 30305

P.S. EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to Flywheel for donating a Spin Party for the silent auction I’m working on for The Tasting next Tuesday!  Please come to the event and bid on it… I will try not to elbow you out of the way or give you the side-eye if you outbid me.  

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Just when I thought I couldn’t love Lululemon any more than I already do…I waltzed in last week, fell in love, waited the 7 excruciating days for alterations and today picked up my new…

Tadasana Yoga Pants.

 They’re a little slimmer and a little more flattering than my beloved Groove Pants and a little higher waisted, too, so they’re perhaps even MORE practical for all kinds of exercise…and they’ll look just a teeny bit cuter when I just put on workout clothes and traipse around town pretending I worked out!

I love you, lulu.

Namaste and all that!

xx, L

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Yesterday did not start off great. 

You see, I walked out to my parking garage to find my back left tire…

Flatter than a pancake.

I managed to get to the Costco in my neighborhood at Town Brookhaven, and after waiting for an hour and a half for Costco Tire Center to open, I was informed that though the puncture from the NAIL I drove over could be repaired, my tire was essentially mulch on the inside and would have to be replaced.  HOWEVER – they didn’t have the tire I needed in stock at that location so they fitted my car with a lovely donut and instructed me to high tail it to the Perimeter Costco to get this blessed tire. 

In the 5.6 miles between the two Costcos…apparently I rolled through a stop sign and was promptly pulled over by a motorcycle cop. 

Yep.  

However, alls well that ends well because it just so happens that my evening was so spectacular that it quite literally saved the day. 

Check out my two-step remedy:

Step 1.  Core Fusion® Cardio at Exhale Mind Body Spa in Midtown. 

I decided I had mooched off Lindsay’s Exhale membership for long enough so I called up our buddy Anne Marie to get myself my very own membership!  Yay!

Linds has been preachin’ the gospel about Exhale for a while, but as a reminder, the Q+DD on Core Fusion® Cardio is this: It’s a “calorie burning, sweat inducing, body sculpting, power-packed fitness experience, masterminded by the co-creators of Core Fusion®, Elisabeth Halfpapp and Fred DeVito. Merging cardio with intense strength and flexibility moves, this 60-minute class generates maximum calorie burn, resulting in defined abs, sculpted legs, and high, rounded glutes.”

I am here to tell you it was ridiculously tough and I felt like a bazillion bucks when I finished. 

After our class, Linds, our girlfriend Stef, and I met a handful of our fabulous friends for the BEST thing that ever happened to Wednesdays (and also step 2 in my remedy.)

Step 2.  LADIES NIGHT at Piola!

 Reminder: if you are a lady, EVERY Wednesday, you can enjoy BOTTOMLESS wine or sangria with the purchase of an entrée or a pizza.  I suggest both. 

I’d also suggest ordering absolutely ANYTHING with the Catupiry cheese.  ET turned me on to this amazing soft cheese from Brazil and it pretty much just makes everything better. 

There you have it, ladies.  Straight from LK.  There is nothing a little detox/retox and a GNO* can’t fix.

Happy Thursday, friends.  It’s ALMOST the weekend.

xx, L

*Girls’ Night Out.  Duh.

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Ashley Hesseltine has changed my life. 

Again. 

If you aren’t reading Hesseltime you should start… immediately.  It’s basically a wealth of information.  For example, you can learn all about the menagerie of towel animals available on a cruise ship, how to properly interview a celebrity, or how to get over being dumped – plus hear all about the latest and greatest going on in the life of Hess.

Aaaannyway… I saw Miss Hess recently and I have to tell you – homegirl is looking GOOD and she’s crediting a single substance to a chunk of this hotness:

Chuice. 

Ok here’s the Q+DD on Chuice:  It’s a juice that you chew.  (Hence the name) and since it’s raw food, it can be used both to cleanse and as a meal replacement.  Made fresh daily by a company called Taste of Earth right here in Atlanta, Chuice is a blend of more than 45 fruits, veggies, herbs, nuts and seeds.  Apparently it has a lot of protelytic and fibrinolytic enzymes which aid both the digestive and immune system and 11g of fiber in each serving which is HUGE for pulling waste and toxins out of your body.  They also say the high enzyme content will actually slow the aging process!   Sign me up. 

Obviously I jumped right on this bandwagon and I am a BELIEVER.  Here’s what you need to know: it is delicious…it is filling…it makes me feel GREAT… but it does NOT look very appetizing. 

Sorry I ripped off your photo, Hess.

Greg won’t even try it.  (When we went to Highland Bakery to pick up my supply yesterday, he remarked that he feels like it’s not juice you chew, its soup you drink.  Fair.  But I just don’t think “Droup” sounds any more appealing.)

BUT: as I mentioned, I am definitely seeing results.  I think it brightens my complexion, it keeps me VERY satisfied (and it’s mildly sweet, so it curbs my sweet tooth too!) and at 7 WW points/16 oz, it’s definitely helped me take off some lbs.  I get the green kind (a.k.a. “The Forest”) but it also comes in red too – which is heavier on the beet content and very good for your blood and circulation.  For starters, the recommendation is to drink 20oz during the first half of your day, and then eat regularly (but ideally healthfully) in the evening.

I usually have about 6-8oz in the morning and depending on my day, I try to replace 1 meal with 16oz of Chuice.  I try to have a bottle in my work fridge for those days when you can’t leave your desk, it’s incredibly convenient.  Here’s the deal, though: each half gallon ($25) is only good for 3 days, so you need to make sure you consume it and replenish with fresh Chuice.  (This has NOT been a problem for me.  I drain every last drop)

You can get Chuice at any Highland Bakery location or from Taste of Earth directly.  They also ship!  Email ladell@tasteofearth.net or visit them online at www.tasteofearth.net.  Be sure to mention that your sales rep was Ashley Hesseltine! 

I think I’m looking younger already…

xx, L

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Here’s a bulletin from the Department of the Obvious: A great way to limit your calorie intake is to limit your alcohol intake.

Here’s a follow-up bulletin from the same department: That is a huge bummer. 

Particularly around the holiday season.

Can I get an AMEN?  

Never fear, my friends.  Check out what’s made it’s way onto my bar, into my freezer, and into my life:

Here’s the Q+DD: Voli light vodkas are, on average, between 25% and 40% lower in calories than the leading brands and come in all kinds of delish flavors (in addition to regular “lyte”).  Yep – lemon, raspberry cocoa, espresso vanilla and, my personal favorite, orange vanilla.

Now, I’m not one for flavored vodkas usually BUT- the Orange Vanilla mixed with diet ginger ale tastes just like a delicious creamsicle cocktail.   It’s like a dessert in a glass, and with fewer calories!

As Voli points out, “In a world where things add up, it’s nice to start subtracting.”

Everything in moderation!  (Even moderation?)

xx, L

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