We are running on fumes, many of us. We work, we nurture, we tend, we manage, we attend to, we contribute, we perform, we do. We do all the things. And then we get up the next morning and we do it again. It’s no surprise we long for vacations and we crave some pampering. […]
Mar 4 2016
I recently had the chance to chat with 425 Magazine (a local Seattle-area publication) about my journey from fat to fit after decades of obesity. Here’s the link and the interview. By Joanna Kresge | March 4, 2016 She had gone from a fat kid, to an overweight young mom, to a morbidly obsese adult until 2007, […]
The correct answer is … whichever one you need to lose. No seriously, it’s true. They’re both challenging, but for very different reasons. And wherever you find yourself on the spectrum, that’s the one that’s the most difficult. Here’s what I mean… Let’s say you are in your mid-40s and find yourself 50+ pounds overweight. […]
A decade or so before I finally lost weight, in the midst of one of my more earnest attempts at dieting, I enlisted the help of a nutritional counselor. She was a sort of hybrid nutritionist and behavioral coach who had me record what I ate for the week and then take it to her […]
When I’m approached by someone to review my book, Eat Like It Matters: How I Lost 120 Pounds and Found My Inner Badass (And How You Can Too!), I am always flattered. When Megan Tenney of ShapingUpToBeAMom.com reached out asking if she could review the book, I was thrilled! Megan’s dynamic, playful and informative blog focuses […]
Dec 11 2015
My elves have been busy rounding up lots of great holiday gift ideas for all the special people on your list! Listen in to find out what I’ll be giving and a few things that I hope I’ll find in my own stocking.
When Cassandra Burke (aka “poweredbyBLING”) contacted me asking if she could review my book Eat Like It Matters: How I Lost 120 Pounds and Found My Inner Badass (And How You Can Too!) I was only too happy to ship off a copy to her. Even so, there’s always a moment of fear when an […]
Nov 27 2015
Ready to start your holiday shopping? Me too! At the moment I feel pretty calm, but in a couple of weeks I know that I’ll start to panic, wondering whether I’m actually gonna be able to pull this off once again. So many special people to buy for! If that’s what you’re thinking, I’ve gotcha […]
Nov 19 2015
From pages 194 – 195 of Eat Like It Matters: When people ask me why I decided to write about my struggle with my weight, I tell them that sometimes I secretly wish I could just sit down and shut up about it. Truly, I find it embarrassing to talk about my food demons, my unhappiness in […]
From pages 180 – 181 of Eat Like It Matters: Raise your hand if you have an uncomplicated relationship with your mother. So nobody, right? Yeah, me either. This is one of the most complex human relationships there is. For those of us who are lucky enough to have our mothers in our lives, we may still […]
From pages 166– 168 of Eat Like It Matters: This may sound harsh. Certainly it’s a big ol’ serving of tough love with no holds barred. And the last thing I’m gonna say before I launch into it is that I made every one of these mistakes, to the nth degree, for decades. So the tough love […]
From pages 151 – 153 of Eat Like It Matters: Does everybody have an inner athlete? I dunno. I do know that 120 pounds ago I would’ve told you that I didn’t have one. Turns out, I was wrong. I do have an inner athlete, and I have harnessed her strength and drive to finally put to rest […]
From pages 128 – 130 of Eat Like It Matters: Stilettos are sexy. Fast cars are sexy. Some say facial hair is sexy (though generally only on men). But let’s be honest, schedules aren’t sexy. Still, sticking to a schedule when it comes to your eating and exercise habits can make all the difference when it comes to […]
Oct 17 2015
October’s a HUGE birthday month in the McKenna household. Of the six of us, three of us have birthdays in October. Rob’s is the 1st, mine’s at the end of the month (Ask me how many Halloween-themed birthday parties I had as a kid. Yeah, a lot.) and Connor’s is this coming week. And this […]
What a kick to hang out with renowned Seattle chefs Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau on their weekly broadcast “Seattle Kitchen.” Listen in as we talk about everything from the role of exercise in healthy living to ordering “off menu” to keep your restaurant meals as healthy as possible. What fun!
From pages 119 – 122 of Eat Like It Matters: If dieting left me feeling like I was holding my breath underwater, it’s no wonder that I found it impossible to do it for very long. But this is what relying on willpower has always felt like to me: it takes so much mental energy […]
Sep 29 2015
From pages 105 – 107 of Eat Like It Matters: Finally!” the readers exclaim in unison. “She’s gonna get to the point about what to eat, how to eat, and how to actually lose weight!” Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Of course I was gonna get to it, but you can’t just […]
Sep 28 2015
Recorded September 28, 2015
by MEGAN CAMPBELL, The Eastside Scene Reporter Sep 29, 2015 at 4:12PM About 10 years ago, Marilyn McKenna was the largest woman in the room — and she felt invisible. The wife of former Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna often found herself at her husband’s side in social circles. “I was there to be […]
On September 12, 2015 I had the pleasure of talking with radio personality and truth seeker, Barb Adams. Listen in as Barb and I discuss how healthy living is about so much more than following the right “diet.”
From pages 48 – 49 … While I disengaged from my physical body and pretended not to notice the damage I did to myself over and over again with food, the most destructive manifestation of my denial was the detachment I felt from my conflicted misery in my role as wife and mom. It’s extremely […]
If there is one thing I’ve learned during my weight-loss journey it’s that I’m not terribly exceptional. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The fact that I lost over one hundred pounds and have kept it off for more than eight years is remarkable. And I’m not claiming modesty here. I work very hard, and every […]
Aug 11 2015
Chapter One MAYBE YOU CAN’T BREAK THROUGH UNTIL YOU ADMIT YOU’RE BROKEN I once weighed 265 pounds and had a body mass index of 43. To clarify, the National Institutes of Health labels as “overweight” those people with a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 29.9. Those who have a BMI of between […]
Aug 8 2015
When you hear “let’s get it on!” (if you’re of a certain age, anyway) you probably hear the sultry Marvin Gaye song playing in your head. Apparently I’m of a certain age, because that’s exactly what I hear. As I sit at my desk, stewing in my uncertainty, it takes on a different meaning. The […]
Mar 5 2015
The third of the three phases of the Eat Like It Matters Program is the Lean Phase. When you’re within ten pounds of your ideal body weight, the details of diet and exercise become critical. The truth is, there’s very little wiggle room when you’re so close to your goal weight. Really, everything matters if […]
Feb 3 2015
The Gear Up Phase of the Eat Like It Matters Program is for those who would like to lose 10 – 30 pounds. This is the sexiest of the three phases of weight loss, as far as I’m concerned. It’s certainly the one that gets the most attention (shows like “The Biggest Loser” emphasize the […]
You may have heard my podcast recently in which I told the story about being on the treadmill – where much good thinking happens – when I realized that my own weight loss journey evolved through three distinct phases. I’m not sure why it never occurred to me before that my own patterns, behaviors and habits changed […]
A 20-something friend asked me the other day, “My social life pretty much revolves around going out for drinks with friends, watching football together and going out for brunch. All of our activities involve eating and drinking. How am I supposed to lose weight without giving up my normal hangouts? I’ve tried it before and […]