Amanda Shaffer

2008 is already almost three weeks old, and the holiday season is fading fast into our collective memories. As the ordinary day-to-day routine reclaims our lives after weeks of traveling, shopping, and eating, sticking to those fitness resolutions that you made a little over two weeks ago might be getting a little bit tougher. As the novelty of new work outs and diets begin to wane, I surfed some fitness-centric blogs written by women who are not only successfully sticking to their plans, but were also gracious enough to share tips with the rest of us slackers:  Read more >

Breast cancer, one of the most common cancers among women, also has the distinctive honor of having its own heavily-advertised awareness campaign. While the pros and cons of the Pink for October awareness campaign have been debated for some time (check out these BlogHer articles from October 2007), one of the key issues with the breast cancer movement is the sheer magnitude of it. While there are countless agencies researching breast cancer causes, cures and treatments (whom are funded by even more philanthropic and corporate entities), there has never been an attempt to organize the fight against the disease. As a result, the research is fractioned, sometimes disorganized, and even duplicated at times. (Think Before You Pink produced an excellent PSA on this very topic that may be viewed here.)  Read more >

With the holiday season in full swing, people are challenged with extra calories and temptation at every turn. Health and wellness bloghers have a myriad of tips for keeping ahead of the holiday pounds: RN Laurie White offers ways to curb the average seven-pound weight gain:  Read more >

A shopping center. On a bench I sit in silence A dark smudge on an otherwise brightly colored canvas. Families bustle by, Loudly arguing: Stress over locating the “perfect” gift. But little do they know That perfection Is the time spent with their loved ones. My perfect gift is non-existent: There is nothing That I want more than to have my partner back.  Read more >

As October draws to a close and the pink ribbons are packed away until next year, it's time to draw attention to the most lethal cancer in America for both men and women. The disease which holds this dubious honor is lung cancer, and November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Melissa Marr of The Healing Project offers these harrowing statistics on lung cancer: Approximately 50% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked or are former smokers.  Read more >