Reinvention comes naturally to Catherine De Orio. As a young lawyer whose renowned party planning caught Oprah’s attention, she enrolled in night culinary classes at Kendall College, then hopscotched into a foodie career, including a five-year stint as host of WTTW’s Check, Please! Now executive director of the Foundation for Culinary Arts, which helps aspiring teen chefs, she’s also on the verge of launching Casa De Orio, a website devoted to food and design. While still passionate about fitness — she runs on the lakefront and tones up with the Tracy Anderson Method — the 48-year-old West Loop resident leans into doing less: “Ten years ago, I thought I could do everything. Now I’m a big proponent of slowing down and enjoying life.”

It’s in the hips

“I got into Latin dance aerobics during COVID. I found an instructor online named Lonnie, and his routines are so joyful. One day, I came home to find my husband doing the class. He said, ‘Well, I had to see who you’re spending all this time with. Now I get it!’ You can’t stay in a bad mood if you’re dancing to salsa music.”

Postmeal promenade

“My husband and I do what in Italy they call a passeggiata, where you take a stroll after dinner. It’s great for us, both mentally and physically. We download about our days, it’s time when we’re not in front of our screens, and, of course, it helps you digest your food.”

Learning to let go

“The balance between work and leisure is so important. In America, we’re shamed for wanting to rest. In my 30s and most of my 40s, if I wasn’t at the restaurant eating for my job, I spent hours trying to work it off. I went to the gym at 5 a.m., I ran seven miles a day. Externally, I was in shape, but I burned myself out. Once I started creating very firm boundaries and got my head right with stress management, things turned around. Did I gain a few pounds? Yeah. But what I gained in overall well-being is well worth the tradeoff.”