Live The Life You Love Event: Part Two

Last week, SingleEdition.com and Spark Networks’ “Live The Life You Love” event featured a fabulous panel of women’s lifestyle experts.

The crowd at Saks Fifth Avenue’s café, where the event was held

Nutrition counselor Susan Weiss Berry, founder of Evolved Eating, talked about the importance of moderation and not feeling guilty about what you eat.

“Starving doesn’t give you a good life and neither does eating emotionally,” she told the crowd. “When we use our bodies as self-improvement projects, we miss out.”

That’s why Berry is a proponent of mindful eating -- being present so that you enjoy the calories you’re taking in and have more clarity about when you’re satisfied. She also advises eating (slowly) because your stomach is hungry.

My favorite tip? Taking a culinary adventure once a week (with notebook in hand), so that your critical eye is turned toward the restaurant, not yourself.

“As a gift to your single self, pretend you’re a visitor to New York. Pick a new neighborhood or even simply a new street you’ve never been to.”

Fitness expert Amie Hoff

When it comes to staying in shape, fitness consultant and personal trainer Amie Hoff said finding the motivation tends to be harder for singles.

“Working out with a partner is more beneficial because it makes you accountable and keeps you more challenged.”

Hoff recommends scheduling workouts like you would any other appointment and setting goals.

The evening’s final speaker, sexpert and psychoanalyst Cathy Beaton, talked about the three P’s -- permission, practice and pleasure.

“Loving your sexual self impacts your overall sense of wellbeing," she said. "Take responsibility for your sexual pleasure…and let go of the good girl guilt.”

To that end, the event’s gift bag included a portable vibrator from sex toy store Babeland, along with goodies from The Vitamin Shoppe and Clarin’s. From start to finish, SingleEdition.com and Spark Networks truly covered all bases.

The next “Live The Life You Love” event, set for November 3rd, will cover cooking, career, love and entertaining. Click here for more info.

Live The Life You Love Panel: Part One

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending SingleEdition.com and Spark Network’s “Live The Life You Love.”

Held at Saks Fifth Avenue’s swanky café, the event -- part of a three-night series -- offered expert advice themed around health, mind and body.

SingleEdition.com founder Sherri Langburt and me

After a delightful cocktail hour featuring cold hors d’oevures and pink champagne, SingleEdition.com founder Sherri Langburt took to the podium. A Jdate.com success story, she shared what inspired her to create SingleEdition.com, which celebrates single life and encourages singles to do the same.

“Lots of singles put their life on hold -- until they lose weight or find the perfect boyfriend,” the now-married Langburt said. “Bodies and boyfriends have become roadblocks to pursuing dreams.”

Langburt introduced the evening’s four panelists -- fitness consultant Amie Hoff, nutrition counselor Susan Weiss Berry, physician Dr. Jennifer Wider, and sex therapist/psychoanalyst Cathy Beaton.

Dr. Jennifer Wider shared some key health advice

Wider mentioned the impact of what women see in magazines.

“Singles feel great pressure to look a certain way and that is because we’re being assaulted in the media,” she said.

“We need to love our bodies no matter what size we are,” she added, noting that the average woman’s size is 14.

Wider also spoke about the importance of being an advocate for your own health. The top 5 lifesaving tests, she says, that every woman should have on her radar -- blood pressure and cholesterol, pap smear/pelvic exam, mammogram, colonoscopy and skin cancer.

Up next...tips from SingleEdition's experts about sex and staying in shape.