Activities:
I exercise regularly so that I am fit enough to do the sports activities that I love. I have always been into sports. As a child I was an avid horseback rider and skier. After I completed high school and started college, the horses became too difficult to maintain, so I shifted most of my efforts to hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. In graduate school, I focused much of my sports activities around competitive long-distance running and cross-country skiing.

Now that I have children and am very busy, my bread-and-butter sports activity is running several times per week. I also try my best to get to the rock gym at least once a week with my husband. I bike quite a bit in the summertime, too. When I am on vacation with my family, we spend a lot of time ski touring (also called Randonee), mountaineering, and rock climbing. My husband and kids also love these activities. They, of course, are better than I am, but we all have fun together.

When I am not being physically active, I love spending time with my family and close friends. We have a pool, and in the summertime all of our neighbors and our kids’ friends come over almost every evening to swim and socialize. I love it. I also love sharing a fine meal with my family and friends!

Finally, I love to travel, especially with family or a close friend.

Favorite books:
I just finished the The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. You would think that I get enough information on nutrition at work, but I really got into this book. We have a similar philosophy about nutrition. I do believe that we have reduced nutrition to single elements and have lost track of the goodness of real food.

Another book that I recently read was Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. Climbing books are my favorite genre, but this book is different as it chronicles Mortenson’s herculean efforts to build schools in northern Pakistan. He is a climber and while attempting to climb K2 in Pakistan, he saw how dire the area was for education, especially for girls. Essentially, it is a book about social change. I love it. Incidentally, I was ice climbing with an amazing climber this winter who does a lot of high altitude mountaineering in Pakistan, and I asked him how safe he felt climbing in that that area of the world. He said that it was very safe because of Mortenson’s work!

Favorite TV shows & movies:
I don’t watch much TV, except for Red Sox baseball. Living in Boston and being a sports fan is really good right now! During the baseball season, I usually try to watch an inning or so on the nights when the Red Soxs are playing. I watch the Patriots too when they are winning, which is most of the time!

I got hooked on Grey’s Anatomy with my two girls a couple of years ago, but realized after watching one season that it was just a soap opera and I just couldn’t watch it any more.

My favorite recent movie is Juno. I thought it was brilliant.

professional background
Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., helps people learn how to stay younger, healthier, and stronger; and her research has revolutionized how people understand nutrition, strength training, aging, and health. A fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Dr. Nelson demonstrates superior leadership and research in the field of exercise. She is the founder of the Strong Women movement and a motivational speaker who lectures on women's health around the world.

Dr. Nelson has appeared in her own PBS special entitled "Strong Women Live Well." She has also been featured on other television and radio shows, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, Good Morning America, the Discovery Channel, and others.

Degrees:
Ph.D., Tufts University

Associations:

• Founder, Strongwomen.com
• Principal Investigator, numerous research studies on nutrition, exercise, and women's health

Awards:

• Alumni Achievement Award, University of Vermont
• Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine
• Bunting Fellowship, Radcliffe College
• Lifetime Achievement, Massachusetts Governor Committee on Physical Fitness
• Named 2005 Woman of Valor by the American Diabetes Association
• Named One of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women's eNews

Publications:

• Instructional DVD's, Weight Loss and Preventing Osteoporosis
• Author, Strong Women Strong Backs
• Author, Strong Women Strong Hearts
• Author, Strong Women Strong Bones
• Author, The Strong Women's Journal
• Author, Strong Women Stay Young
• Author, Strong Women Stay Slim
• Author, Strong Women Eat Well
• Author, Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis
• Editorial Advisory Board, Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter