Fitness & Health

I didn’t see it coming, nor did I want to see it, but my niece did, and she was grossed out by a woman parading around the locker room in her birthday suit. Of course, you can’t wear a towel when you’re dressing and undressing, but the rest of the time (doing your makeup and hair, walking to and from the restroom, shower, and sauna), remember: locker room towels are there for a reason, so use them.

Which leads us to our first secret of locker-room etiquette:

· Cover up. I’m thrilled that your body is fit as a fiddle, but not everyone wants to see it. Show off by the pool in your bathing suit.

· Avoid the locker room stare. If you wear a towel at the appropriate times, you won’t have to worry about drawing looks. But if others are into self-display, just ignore them—it’s uncool to stare.

  Hanky panky nothing. If I talk to one more person with a cold and cough, I may start giving out cough drops as hostess gifts. It’s this time of year that I become a germaphobe. Any way you slice it, sneezing in public is messy and noisy, yet it cannot be helped. In fact,…

  We all know that doctors are often unable to meet their appointment times. The waiting room is called that for a reason. But you can make the wait more pleasant for yourself and others by following a few guidelines. • Don’t sprawl out on the furniture as if you’re in your own living room….

  For a forty-something female (ok, I turned 50 this week), I would bet that I’ve had more nonelective surgeries than most people my age. It’s funny, though—surgery does not scare me. It never has. I have always loved my doctors, and I regard general anesthesia as a chance for the kind of deep sleep…

  Pregnant women are beautiful, but pregnancy is also very personal. No one can help but be amazed by the miracle of a pregnant woman’s body, and in our society today, women often seem to want to show off am expanding belly (a far cry from the old days, when women tried to hide the…

  The much-anticipated U.S. Open comes to San Francisco June 11-17. As a non-golfer who grew with a golfing father and now husband, I have learned some of the rules of the game over the years. Words like fore and green were common around our house. A reminder of the rules never hurts, and as…

  Are you worried about being “politically correct” when talking to someone with a disability? Are you afraid you might inadvertently offend a disabled person? If so, you are not alone. Disability is a broad term. It can mean a physical condition, a mental condition or a learning disability such as dyslexia (which is my…

  Don’t Weight! The New Year is well on its way to springtime. If you haven’t bought into the infomercials about dropping two sizes in a week or taking diet pills, try the old-fashioned way: exercise. Here are some tips for exercising outdoors and in the gym: Outdoors • Do check the weather before leaving…