Call Today! 860-748-7574|maggie@personaleuphoria.com
FacebookXInstagramYouTube

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.
FacebookX

Thanksgiving Goes Gluten Free

This year after a small debate I stayed G-Free for Thanksgiving.  I thought I would hate it and while I’ll admit I took an long sniff of the stuffing (my favorite part of a Turkey Day feast) as I passed it to my Grandma, it really wasn’t that hard.

I could eat everything except stuffing, gravy, pie and cornbread.    That might seem like a lot, but what it means is that I got turkey, turnips, carrots, peas, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.  It was a delicious meal.  And here is the best thing about being G-Free on Thanksgiving: I was never stuffed.  Normally at the end of Thanksgiving I’m so full I feel sick.  This year I didn’t stuff myself with three pieces of pie and extra stuffing so I never felt that full.

That really made it worth it.  At the end of Thanksgiving I always regret how much I’ve eaten.  It was really nice not to this year.  I wish I could just have […]
Thanksgiving Goes Gluten Free2017-09-12T19:34:30-04:00

Gluten Free Not Getting Easier

We celebrated birthdays at my Grandma’s house the other day.  Celebrations always seem to involve food.  Dinner is fairly easy to make gluten free.  Provide a meat, veggie, and potato and you’re all set.  Dessert is a whole other story.  I felt a little sad when my mom’s favorite carrot cake came out and I knew I couldn’t have any.  My grandma had gone to the trouble to make me a gluten-free cherry cobbler.  It was nice to have something for dessert, but I find that gluten-free desserts tend to lodge in your stomach like a lead brick where they linger for hours.

Some days it’s hard to know that there are things you just can’t eat.  Occasionally I drive by Dunkin Donuts and I just want to grab something quick.  It feels like the rest of the world (or at least the rest of New England) can do it.  I tell myself that it’s probably better this way.  There is not benefit or reason for me […]
Gluten Free Not Getting Easier2014-08-04T18:02:19-04:00

Smoothie Challenge: Do It With Friends

Though I didn’t set myself a deadline, I’m falling behind on my smoothie challenge.  I set a goal of making all 30 smoothies from a new cookbook I got.  Right now I doubt I’ll have tried 30 by the end of the year, which was definitely my intent at the beginning.  I’m only on number five.  I thought I’d try three a week.  I’m lucky when I make two.

I’ve started recruiting my friends to make it more fun.  This week I made one for me and Matt’s sister and then I made a group of friends try one on our regular Survivor night get together.

The one I had with Cindy was my favorite so far.  Survivor night’s was bland, but refreshing.  It takes a real trooper to try the smoothies.  I like to play a game where you guess what’s in it, so there is a bit of trust […]
Smoothie Challenge: Do It With Friends2017-09-12T19:34:31-04:00

No More Sexy Hip Sway When Walking!!!

Plank in Bryce Canyon. Plank is one way to strengthen your glute medius and prevent a sexy hip sway!

I just read an article online that was coaching women on the proper way to sway our hips to appeal to men when walking.  Apparently, you can’t over-do the sway too much or it will look like you’re trying too hard; it’s got to be subtle and look natural.  The writer suggested throwing on a pair of high heels and just letting the sway come naturally.  Then they posted a video of two women walking in heels, hips swaying and described it as the “RIGHT way to walk.”  The Pilates instructor wanted to cry a little.

I get it.  We want to be sexy.  And maybe no one cares about proper walking mechanics and why women shouldn’t try to sway their hips.  But just in case, here is why you should care.  Walking properly, with a neutral pelvis, can help keep your joints safer […]
No More Sexy Hip Sway When Walking!!!2018-04-06T08:47:13-04:00

Do You Need A Coma To Inspire You?

When I ran the Surftown Half Marathon in September I ran about a mile with a guy I’d never met.  We struck up a conversation because he was thinking of doing a RagnarRelay and I was wearing a Ragnar Relay t-shirt.  I’ve decided an amusing shirt is a good tool on a long run.  It becomes a conversation piece.  Next time I’m going to try to come up with something even better than an old Ragnar shirt.

As we chatted he told me that he had a snowboarding injury that left him in a coma.  The doctors gave him a list of activities he’d never be able to do again.  So he decided to prove them wrong.  This year he was running a half marathon and training for a triathlon to prove he could run, swim and bike.  He’d never done any of these activities prior.

After a mile, I slowed down and we parted ways, but in a brief time a man I didn’t […]
Do You Need A Coma To Inspire You?2014-08-04T18:02:20-04:00
Go to Top