A couple of days ago I expressed surprise that only 60% of women polled put ice cream on their brownie. However, it's true that if you are going to have a brownie, and you're trying to lose weight (as opposed to maintaining weight) - you should not add that extra icecream.
A few years ago, I worked as an editor on a book that a researcher had done about food studies among college students. A majority of students actually believed thtat if they had salad with their hamburger or other meal...the salad had no calories.
They believed that if they had ice cream, the hot fudge and nuts they put on it added no extra calories.
And in all cases, it seemed, these people believed that if they ate something "healthy" along with the hamburger, pizza or what have you, the entire meal had less calories than if they'd just eaten the hamburger or pizza alone.
In truth, of course, the opposite is true. Every single piece of food you eat has some calories, and there is no food that is a "fat burner", burning it off quicker than would be the case if you didn't eat that particualar food (along with everything else you ate that day).
Moderating your portions means just that. If you're going to eat peanut butter cookies for dessert, for example, dont' add chocolate chips to them and expect to only consume peanut-butter cookie calories. You've got to add in those chocolate chip calories as well.
When you're maintaining your weight, that's fine - when you're trying to lose weight - don't do it!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
How to Defeat Cravings
If you've ever gone to a Mexican restaurant, you know that the first thing you receive is a big basket of tortilla chips and a bowl or two of salsa.
If you dont' touch the tortilla chips, you can sit there quite easily as you wait for your meal. But if you eat just one, you are lost, and chances are you - and your companions - will munch on those chips until they are all gone or until your food arrives.
Why?
Well, your body craves salt. It needs it, and it craves it. And once you introduce salt into your system, it wants more. That's why, when it comes to potato chips, no one can eat "just one."
How to combat this? Well, first thing to do is not to have any potato chips at all. A better way, if you like potato chips and don't want to give them up, is to restrict yourself to just one small bowl.
How can you do this?
After you've eaten your allotted amount of chips, rinse out your mouth completely to remove the taste of salt and chips. Eat a peiece of bread - with nothing on it - to cleanse your palate totally.
This can also work for chocolate or other sweet or salty snacks. Have your alloted amount, a reasonable portion, and then just get the taste out of your mouth totally. It's easier to resist any cravings after that.
If you dont' touch the tortilla chips, you can sit there quite easily as you wait for your meal. But if you eat just one, you are lost, and chances are you - and your companions - will munch on those chips until they are all gone or until your food arrives.
Why?
Well, your body craves salt. It needs it, and it craves it. And once you introduce salt into your system, it wants more. That's why, when it comes to potato chips, no one can eat "just one."
How to combat this? Well, first thing to do is not to have any potato chips at all. A better way, if you like potato chips and don't want to give them up, is to restrict yourself to just one small bowl.
How can you do this?
After you've eaten your allotted amount of chips, rinse out your mouth completely to remove the taste of salt and chips. Eat a peiece of bread - with nothing on it - to cleanse your palate totally.
This can also work for chocolate or other sweet or salty snacks. Have your alloted amount, a reasonable portion, and then just get the taste out of your mouth totally. It's easier to resist any cravings after that.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Am I Out of Touch With the Women of the World?
I took an online survey last night. After the survey was over, I was asked a poll question. The closest I got to the actual answers of other pollsters, the more chances I'd receive to win a prize.
The question was, what percentage of women put vanilla ice cream over their chocolate brownie?
I chose 87%, confidently. I mean, come on! A hot, moist brownie, fresh out of the oven, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream over it? Paradise.
The actual answer was 60%.
It makes me sad. (That's a Monty Python/Holy Grail reference.)
The question was, what percentage of women put vanilla ice cream over their chocolate brownie?
I chose 87%, confidently. I mean, come on! A hot, moist brownie, fresh out of the oven, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream over it? Paradise.
The actual answer was 60%.
It makes me sad. (That's a Monty Python/Holy Grail reference.)
The Way of the Solitary Cyclist, #3
You may not be able to control the situation, but you can always control your reaction.
Austin McGinigle
Austin McGinigle
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Way of the Solitary Cyclist #2
Another piece of advice that emphasizes how important your time is:
"Look to this day
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day."
Sanskrit Proverb
"Look to this day
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day."
Sanskrit Proverb
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Voice But Not the Face
This post isn't really concerned with weight loss, but with my pet peeve of how women's looks are always being criticized - regardless of what they really look like.
I'm sure you're all familiar with the story of Susan Boyle, the rather frumpy looking middle aged woman who went onto Britain's Got Talent and was looked at with disdain by the three judges because of her appearance (as well as her outspoken manner.) Then, she started singing, and golly gee whiz it turned out she had an absolutely beautiful voice. Cue shocked and impressed looks from the three judges.
Now she's had a couple of CDs released...and instead of looking frumpy, she looks like a packaged product - coiffed hair, makeup, seems to have lost a few pounds. I bet she used to get up in the morning, brush her hair, have breakfast, and spend the day enjoying herself. Now she probably gets up early, and spends an hour putting on makeup - for god forbid she ever appear in public again without looking glamourous...
There's another story...probably one of many...
Every few weeks, a digital radio station called BBC 7 plays a mystery radio serial featuring detective story writer/private detective Paul Temple and his wife Steve. They are a suave, wealthy, handsome couple - at least Paul Temple is, his wife Steve (a nickname, she used to be a journalist who wrote under a male psueodym) is tall, beautiful, and of course slender. She also has a voice that people who hear fall in lo)ve with (By that I mean the audience who listens to her.)
These radio serials were made between 1950 to 1965, when radio drama in England was in full bloom. And when most people act in front of the radio, publicity folk will take photos of them to share in the various magazines of the day, to satisfy the public's thirst to know what their favorite radio actors and actresses look like.
But you will search in vain for any photo of Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury (the actors who play Paul and Steve Temple) standing together, acting in a Temple mystery.
Why? Well because Marjorie Westbury was short - only 4 ft 10, dumpy, and with a plain face.
The shortness probably didn't matter...but to be dumpy and plain! No way would a man like Paul Temple get married to such a woman, regardless of how beautiful her voice was (let alone her personality and sense of humor).
Susan Boyle proved that a frumpy woman could have a great voice - and it's that great voice that has earned her more money than she ever dreamed of, not to mention the respect that she never had before.
But one wonders. There are millions of women who have plain faces, but don't have great voices. Do they deserve disdain? Or should they be gotten to know (okay, that's atrocious grammar, but it's late at night, I'm tired, and I'm not going to fix it!) to see if their personality is a lovable one.
That's always the joke in sitcoms, when a woman tries to set up her plain friend with a man - he always wants to know if she's pretty and is not interested in her if all she's got is a great personality - regardless of what he looks like.
(Kids learn this at an early age, too, thanks to mass media. Remember the movie Ice Age, with the very plain but apparently lovable sloth named Sid. He is looking for a female sloth. He scorns a female sloth who is portrayed as ugly (despite the fact that he is in her same league, looks-wise) but goes after one who is beautiful. Thankfully, however, he doesn't get her! (Although that might be lost on the little kiddies. Or it might not. The beautiful sloth leads him on, because he's going to be the sacrifice to a fire god. Otherwise, she'd pay no attention to him at all.)
Well, enough of this rant.
I'm sure you're all familiar with the story of Susan Boyle, the rather frumpy looking middle aged woman who went onto Britain's Got Talent and was looked at with disdain by the three judges because of her appearance (as well as her outspoken manner.) Then, she started singing, and golly gee whiz it turned out she had an absolutely beautiful voice. Cue shocked and impressed looks from the three judges.
Now she's had a couple of CDs released...and instead of looking frumpy, she looks like a packaged product - coiffed hair, makeup, seems to have lost a few pounds. I bet she used to get up in the morning, brush her hair, have breakfast, and spend the day enjoying herself. Now she probably gets up early, and spends an hour putting on makeup - for god forbid she ever appear in public again without looking glamourous...
There's another story...probably one of many...
Every few weeks, a digital radio station called BBC 7 plays a mystery radio serial featuring detective story writer/private detective Paul Temple and his wife Steve. They are a suave, wealthy, handsome couple - at least Paul Temple is, his wife Steve (a nickname, she used to be a journalist who wrote under a male psueodym) is tall, beautiful, and of course slender. She also has a voice that people who hear fall in lo)ve with (By that I mean the audience who listens to her.)
These radio serials were made between 1950 to 1965, when radio drama in England was in full bloom. And when most people act in front of the radio, publicity folk will take photos of them to share in the various magazines of the day, to satisfy the public's thirst to know what their favorite radio actors and actresses look like.
But you will search in vain for any photo of Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury (the actors who play Paul and Steve Temple) standing together, acting in a Temple mystery.
Why? Well because Marjorie Westbury was short - only 4 ft 10, dumpy, and with a plain face.
The shortness probably didn't matter...but to be dumpy and plain! No way would a man like Paul Temple get married to such a woman, regardless of how beautiful her voice was (let alone her personality and sense of humor).
Susan Boyle proved that a frumpy woman could have a great voice - and it's that great voice that has earned her more money than she ever dreamed of, not to mention the respect that she never had before.
But one wonders. There are millions of women who have plain faces, but don't have great voices. Do they deserve disdain? Or should they be gotten to know (okay, that's atrocious grammar, but it's late at night, I'm tired, and I'm not going to fix it!) to see if their personality is a lovable one.
That's always the joke in sitcoms, when a woman tries to set up her plain friend with a man - he always wants to know if she's pretty and is not interested in her if all she's got is a great personality - regardless of what he looks like.
(Kids learn this at an early age, too, thanks to mass media. Remember the movie Ice Age, with the very plain but apparently lovable sloth named Sid. He is looking for a female sloth. He scorns a female sloth who is portrayed as ugly (despite the fact that he is in her same league, looks-wise) but goes after one who is beautiful. Thankfully, however, he doesn't get her! (Although that might be lost on the little kiddies. Or it might not. The beautiful sloth leads him on, because he's going to be the sacrifice to a fire god. Otherwise, she'd pay no attention to him at all.)
Well, enough of this rant.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Another diet destined for failure
Read this on "Shine" today - Shine is a woman's website that deals with gossip, and of course fashion and beauty...not to mention astrology.
It's the Dukan Diet and its totally ridiculous.
Like other diets that also always fail, it tells you what you can and can't eat. Bush-wah!
Let me just point out that the diet business in the US - and indeed probably around the world is big business. Companies are making fortunes, first by convincing women that they have imperfections that must be covered up (imperfect faces must be covered with makekup, imperfect weight must be lost...and if you go anorexic, well, that's just too bad.)
What's needed is a common sense approach to healthy living - which will put these diet businesses out of business and, believe it or not, will result in a more healthy America.
Anyway, here's the link and the diet. I don't advise anyone to try it. If you've been following my common sense plan of portion control and daily exercise for over 5 weeks, you know it works. You don't need to deprive yourself of the things you love (assuming you're healthy - obviously there are some diseases where you can't eat the things you love, i.e. diabetes) in order to lose weight and maintain weight.
You just need common sense.
France’s Dukan diet linked to Middleton family
It's the Dukan Diet and its totally ridiculous.
Like other diets that also always fail, it tells you what you can and can't eat. Bush-wah!
Let me just point out that the diet business in the US - and indeed probably around the world is big business. Companies are making fortunes, first by convincing women that they have imperfections that must be covered up (imperfect faces must be covered with makekup, imperfect weight must be lost...and if you go anorexic, well, that's just too bad.)
What's needed is a common sense approach to healthy living - which will put these diet businesses out of business and, believe it or not, will result in a more healthy America.
Anyway, here's the link and the diet. I don't advise anyone to try it. If you've been following my common sense plan of portion control and daily exercise for over 5 weeks, you know it works. You don't need to deprive yourself of the things you love (assuming you're healthy - obviously there are some diseases where you can't eat the things you love, i.e. diabetes) in order to lose weight and maintain weight.
You just need common sense.
France’s Dukan diet linked to Middleton family
First there was Atkins, then came South Beach, and now there's the Dukan Diet. Dr. Pierre Dukan, dubbed the Dr. Atkins of France, is responsible for Europe’s most popular diet book and the latest carnivorous weight-loss plan. In April, the book will be released in the U.S. and it's already cooking up controversy.
The book outlines a protein-rich, low-fat approach to weight loss. According to The New York Times, there are four phases of the Dukan diet: the first involves a strict menu of non-fatty protein (skinless turkey, chicken breast, low-fat beef, or fish), plus 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran daily and loads of water. In phase two, dieters are introduced to veggies. Phase three, they’re allowed two slices of bread, a serving of cheese and fruit and two servings of carbs a day, with a wine-and-dessert allowance two days a week. In the final phase of the diet, “Dukamaniacs” (as they're dubbed) can eat anything they want, provided they return to phase one’s protein, oat bran, and water regimen one day per week.
Monday, March 21, 2011
What To Do When You Just Can't Lose That Last 5 Pounds
This seems to be a common refrain among dieters... they've lost all the weight they want to lose, except for "that last five pounds" and although they've kept to their diet and their exercise plan, if any, that last five pounds just won't come off.
Well, they've hit a plateau. That happens.
The thing to do is stop obsessing about that last 5 pounds. If you weighed 200 pounds and your goal was to get down to 130, what does it matter if you're "stuck" on 135? You've still lost 65 pounds which is a major accomplishment.
And the hardest task is still ahead - KEEPING THAT WEIGHT OFF.
The sad truth is that most people who lose pounds like this, anywhere from 10 to 100 to even 200... regain all that weight within 5 years.
Why? Well, because sooner or later, they go off their "healthy eating and living" kick and return to what they used to do, which is exercise but not eat.
This is especially dangerous in the first year after a successful diet, because hte body wants to return to its original weight - that 200 pounds. If you start eating more calories than you burn, your body will delightfully seize on those extra calories in order to make fat, which it will store away in preparation for another attempt to deprive it of food for months at a time!
(Yes, I'm anthropomorphizing the body's functions, but trust me, it's true.)
Therefore, whether you're despairing of losing that last five pounds, or whether you have lost those last 5 pounds, now is not the time to celebrate.
Now you must be more careful than ever. Don't let the emotional reaction of having achieved your goal throw you off track. It's like a stretched rubber band, your nerves and your willpower have been stretched and stretched while you've been working toward this goal of losing weight, and once you achieve that goal, you want to throw your cap in the air. The rubber band snaps, and you go out of control,and all of a sudden you start eating and you can't stop it.
Better than to not celebrate at all.
Celebrating comes after you've lost the weight and kept it off for a year.
And again, with my program, this should not be a hardship, because you are not denying yourself the things you love, you are just eating them in smaller portions. It's a lot easier on your willpower to eat smaller portions, than to give something up entirely.
Continuing with the "last 5 pounds" theme.... after you've spent a year at your new weight, eating to maintain that weight, then cut back a bit to see if you can lose that final 5 pounds. After a year your body should be used to its new weight, and ready for another bout to lose some more weight - but only five or ten pounds at the most.
Gradual weight loss is the key to successful weight maintenance.
Well, they've hit a plateau. That happens.
The thing to do is stop obsessing about that last 5 pounds. If you weighed 200 pounds and your goal was to get down to 130, what does it matter if you're "stuck" on 135? You've still lost 65 pounds which is a major accomplishment.
And the hardest task is still ahead - KEEPING THAT WEIGHT OFF.
The sad truth is that most people who lose pounds like this, anywhere from 10 to 100 to even 200... regain all that weight within 5 years.
Why? Well, because sooner or later, they go off their "healthy eating and living" kick and return to what they used to do, which is exercise but not eat.
This is especially dangerous in the first year after a successful diet, because hte body wants to return to its original weight - that 200 pounds. If you start eating more calories than you burn, your body will delightfully seize on those extra calories in order to make fat, which it will store away in preparation for another attempt to deprive it of food for months at a time!
(Yes, I'm anthropomorphizing the body's functions, but trust me, it's true.)
Therefore, whether you're despairing of losing that last five pounds, or whether you have lost those last 5 pounds, now is not the time to celebrate.
Now you must be more careful than ever. Don't let the emotional reaction of having achieved your goal throw you off track. It's like a stretched rubber band, your nerves and your willpower have been stretched and stretched while you've been working toward this goal of losing weight, and once you achieve that goal, you want to throw your cap in the air. The rubber band snaps, and you go out of control,and all of a sudden you start eating and you can't stop it.
Better than to not celebrate at all.
Celebrating comes after you've lost the weight and kept it off for a year.
And again, with my program, this should not be a hardship, because you are not denying yourself the things you love, you are just eating them in smaller portions. It's a lot easier on your willpower to eat smaller portions, than to give something up entirely.
Continuing with the "last 5 pounds" theme.... after you've spent a year at your new weight, eating to maintain that weight, then cut back a bit to see if you can lose that final 5 pounds. After a year your body should be used to its new weight, and ready for another bout to lose some more weight - but only five or ten pounds at the most.
Gradual weight loss is the key to successful weight maintenance.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Way of the Solitary Cyclist #1
I'm a fan of author Terry Pratchett, in particular a book called Thief of Time in which a History Monk named Lu-Tse helps to save the world. (The Disc World, that is.) He is always quoting from the Way of Mrs. Cosmopolite, a hard-working char woman with rooms to let, and who says things like, "Eat it all up, it will make your hair curly." "There's lots of things going on we don't know about," and "I haven't got all day." Okay - it's funnier if you read them in context!
Anyway, new feature for the weekends, I'll provide a piece of advice or inspiring quote. You should all purchase a little pocket notebook (those cool magnetic ones you can get as you check out of Barnes & Noble would work...) and write these down, so that you can refer to them in times of stress.
Okay - I'm only slightly joking.
But these are words of wisdom.
"Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly, yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains except kill it."
Eric Fromm
Practical application: Instead of wasting time playing a hand-held computer game while you're on the bus or on a long drive somewhere, try reading a book, or even doing some kind of puzzle - word finds, crosswords, etc., to keep your mind active.
And apropos the title of this Way:
Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.Paul Tillich
Everyone needs time to themselves. Me-time. No matter how big your family - reserve time for yourself.
Anyway, new feature for the weekends, I'll provide a piece of advice or inspiring quote. You should all purchase a little pocket notebook (those cool magnetic ones you can get as you check out of Barnes & Noble would work...) and write these down, so that you can refer to them in times of stress.
Okay - I'm only slightly joking.
But these are words of wisdom.
"Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly, yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains except kill it."
Eric Fromm
Practical application: Instead of wasting time playing a hand-held computer game while you're on the bus or on a long drive somewhere, try reading a book, or even doing some kind of puzzle - word finds, crosswords, etc., to keep your mind active.
And apropos the title of this Way:
Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.Paul Tillich
Everyone needs time to themselves. Me-time. No matter how big your family - reserve time for yourself.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wanna dance?
An extra post before the weekend...
I've just returned home from seeing Bowfire - a group of Canadian musicians who play electronic violins (and guitar and bass and cello), along with a pianist and a drummer.
They had 3 female violinists, who were also tap dancers and line dancers. And they tap danced while they played their violins, and as far as I could tell, never missed a note!
Many women weigh just the right amount, but have "thunder thighs" which they despair of getting rid of. I find that mountain biking takes care of it on my end, but it you want to develop energy and exultation of creating something - music with your feet, why not check around in your area and see if there are tap dancing lessons, or line dancing lessons, anything to get you moving to the beat and giving those ol' legs a workout!
I've just returned home from seeing Bowfire - a group of Canadian musicians who play electronic violins (and guitar and bass and cello), along with a pianist and a drummer.
They had 3 female violinists, who were also tap dancers and line dancers. And they tap danced while they played their violins, and as far as I could tell, never missed a note!
Many women weigh just the right amount, but have "thunder thighs" which they despair of getting rid of. I find that mountain biking takes care of it on my end, but it you want to develop energy and exultation of creating something - music with your feet, why not check around in your area and see if there are tap dancing lessons, or line dancing lessons, anything to get you moving to the beat and giving those ol' legs a workout!
There is no Groundhog Day
I'm going to be recommending a Time Management book in this post. I believe that being able to manage one's time better will enable many people to lose weight, and once off, maintain that weight, and I'll explain why in a second.
One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. Well, Murray isn't one of the actors I particularly care for, but he did a good job in this movie, and it's actually the premise that I like. Well...envy.
A weatherman - Bill Murray - goes to to the little town of Puxatawny in order to do a show on the groundhog and his shadow. He is a complete and utter jerk and can't get to first base with the news producer - Andie MacDowell. (Rita). They stay the night, he does his show, but there's a snowstorm and he and his newscrew are stuck in the town for another night.
It's never explained what triggers it, but the next day, when he wakes up, it's the previous day, Groundhog Day, again. He retraces his steps and the same actions happen. This happens for several days, so much so that in despair he commits suicide, only to wake up the next morning, still alive.
Then he gets an epiphany, and starts learning everything. He learns how to play the piano. He starts reading literature. And so on and so on. And eventually he becomes an expert in all these things, but does not age a single day.
Finally, a changed person, he and Rita go out on a date, she sleeps with him out of genuine caring and feeling, as does he, and the next day, it is the next day.
I've always longed to be in a sort of Groundhog Day style loop, because there are a lot of things I'd like to do - that I'd wished I'd learned as a kid,but didn't - playing a musical instrument, speaking several languages, learning the classics of literature.
Now, as an adult, age 50, I'm making time to do these things...but at this age time is my enemy, not my friend... And how I regret the time I wasted as a teenager and young adult - spending 6 hours a day playing video games (this was back in the day when you had to go to an actual arcade to play, and spend quarters, too!) [Yes, age 50 I'm a successful businesswoman - with many accompishments, but I can see how much more I would have accomplished if I'd used my teenage years more wisely...how I regret it...and regret that teenagers today [read nephews] simply do not want to learn from other people's mistakes, oh no, they know best...so they continue the cycle of learning (hopefully) from their own mistakes, which is so unnecessary.)
And it's why I despair when I look at kids today - case in point my nephew - who spend all their time playing video games, slouched in the entertainment room of their house, playing video games on their computers, and taking their PS2s to restaurants when the family goes out to eat, so instead of engaging in conversation or at least take an intelligent interest in what's going on around them, or at least of their parents, they instead have their head bowed playing their game, taking time out only to eat.
So, back to the point of this post. There is no Groundhog Day. There are only the unforgiving minutes. As each one passes, it will never return again. Time is so precious that every second of it must be spent well. Sure, take an hour to relax and play a computer game [believe it or not I play Newopets!) to relax your mind, but don't spend six hours doing it! [If I may preach a bit, don't do mind-altering drugs, or drink to excess, either, even if its just your weekend ritual. That's vital time you're losing, time you won't be able to remember - and when you get old you'll wish you could look back on that time and remember a nice book read, a movie seen, a person talked to intelligently, instead of the blackness of some kind of drug-induced haze.)
Anyway, back to time management!
Time management in general is a good idea. If you get things done efficiently - whether as a homemaker, a career woman, or a homemaker and a careerwoman, that will leave you more time to do the things of leisure.
How can it help certain people lose weight? Well, a lot of people who are under stress eat too much at one time, and don't take time to exercise. By managing time effectively, they lessen some of that stress (and there's nothing like a walk or a bikeride to help relieve stress). What causes stress? Many causes, of course, but one is having too much to do, and too little time to do it in. And sometimes that is caused by carelessness with time - procrasting too long, keeping messy records so that you can't find anything, necessitating you having to take time out of your day to look for things you need, ya da ya da.
A lot of overweight people eat too much because they are bored - they have no structure in their lives, nothing to do. Okay, that's not really a part of time management, but a question of taking the initiative to join some clubs and start looking for interests to fill your day...
But, you get the gist of what I'm saying.
So, here's one book I suggest - although, really, any book on time management will do.
Time Tactics of Very Successful People, by Eugene Griessman
Description
Table of Contents
1. Get a handle on your time
-the myth of "free" time
-Give yourself a raise
-Bill yourself - a tactic professionals use to become more efficient
2. Get organized
-set your priorities
-Write down your goals
-Apply the 80/20 rule
-Create a to-do list that works, and work your list
3. Increase your efficiency
-Neatness is more than a neurotic compulsion
-Make your workplace work
-Learn to rely on checklists
-Take a checkride - see you as others see you.
-Become a speed learner
4. Shortcuts
-Readiing shortcuts
-Speed reading
[okay, these two pieces of advice are bad, in my opinion. Reading is something to be enjoyed and savored!]
Underline and highlight
Writing shortcuts
Use the piggyback principle
5. Find Hidden Time
-make the most of downtime and in-between time
-make a game out of saving time
-use your commute time -or eliminate the commute
-create chunks of time
-be a contrarian
-the five o'clock club
-use the power of leverage, learn to think lazy
6. Learn to Focus
-don't scatter your force
-learn to listen
-Spend more time in the now
-Tap into the power of the "flow state"
-passion and obsession
7. Pace yourself
-Create routines - discover your work rhythms
-Adapt to the rhythms around you
-master your moods
-give yourself a break
-know how long you can wait to do it
-beware of Parkinson's law
-learn how to shift into the surge mode
8. Avoid procrastination
-do it now
-finish it now
-make the unpleasant phone call first: the Jackie Ward rule
-exceptions to the Jackie Ward rule
-eliminate overdrafts
9. Avoid Time-Wasting Activities
-if it's not worth doing, be sure not to do it
-don't quit too soon
-know when to cut your losses
-know when to leave well enough alone
-become decisive
-don't finish every book you start
-Don't be penny-wise and hours-foolish
-the use and abuse of meetings: to meet or not to meet
-develop survival skills if you're absent minded
10. Don't Let Others WAste Your Time
-learn to recognize and avoid time thieves
-don't adopt other people's monkeys
-just say no
--make yourself scarce
-expand your time-cue vocabulary
-the high cost of a free meal
-think like a politician
11. Enlist Others to Save Your Time
-become a squeaky wheel
-to save time, smile
-learn to tip effectively, the Gerardo Principle
-master the art of interrupting
-enlist the aid of coaches
-associate with time-conscious people and companies
-learn to delegate
-hire the best
-master the art of conflict management
12. Invest Time to Save Time
-Sharpen the axe
-become an expert
-one extra hour a day can work magic
-get it right
-write it down
-learn the rules of the game
-don't wait untiil it breaks to fix it
-don't think it has to be broken to improve it
13. Plan Ahead
-think through, then follow through
-anticipate trouble
-build in redundancy
-prepare a script
14. Use Technology that Works
-phone tactics that save time
-make the most of voicemail
-when possible, automate
-the time saving uses of computer technology
-become an effective dictator
15. Balancing work, family, and social life
-if I'm so efficient, why am I miserable
-make an appointment with yourself
-take care of your body
-do add-ons
-learn to let other people help you
-take a sabbatical
-taker the road less traveled
-cut yourself some slack
-blur the boundaries
-play solitaire
-enlist in peacetime patriotism
-find something you love and do it
-time tactics vs time strategies
One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. Well, Murray isn't one of the actors I particularly care for, but he did a good job in this movie, and it's actually the premise that I like. Well...envy.
A weatherman - Bill Murray - goes to to the little town of Puxatawny in order to do a show on the groundhog and his shadow. He is a complete and utter jerk and can't get to first base with the news producer - Andie MacDowell. (Rita). They stay the night, he does his show, but there's a snowstorm and he and his newscrew are stuck in the town for another night.
It's never explained what triggers it, but the next day, when he wakes up, it's the previous day, Groundhog Day, again. He retraces his steps and the same actions happen. This happens for several days, so much so that in despair he commits suicide, only to wake up the next morning, still alive.
Then he gets an epiphany, and starts learning everything. He learns how to play the piano. He starts reading literature. And so on and so on. And eventually he becomes an expert in all these things, but does not age a single day.
Finally, a changed person, he and Rita go out on a date, she sleeps with him out of genuine caring and feeling, as does he, and the next day, it is the next day.
I've always longed to be in a sort of Groundhog Day style loop, because there are a lot of things I'd like to do - that I'd wished I'd learned as a kid,but didn't - playing a musical instrument, speaking several languages, learning the classics of literature.
Now, as an adult, age 50, I'm making time to do these things...but at this age time is my enemy, not my friend... And how I regret the time I wasted as a teenager and young adult - spending 6 hours a day playing video games (this was back in the day when you had to go to an actual arcade to play, and spend quarters, too!) [Yes, age 50 I'm a successful businesswoman - with many accompishments, but I can see how much more I would have accomplished if I'd used my teenage years more wisely...how I regret it...and regret that teenagers today [read nephews] simply do not want to learn from other people's mistakes, oh no, they know best...so they continue the cycle of learning (hopefully) from their own mistakes, which is so unnecessary.)
And it's why I despair when I look at kids today - case in point my nephew - who spend all their time playing video games, slouched in the entertainment room of their house, playing video games on their computers, and taking their PS2s to restaurants when the family goes out to eat, so instead of engaging in conversation or at least take an intelligent interest in what's going on around them, or at least of their parents, they instead have their head bowed playing their game, taking time out only to eat.
So, back to the point of this post. There is no Groundhog Day. There are only the unforgiving minutes. As each one passes, it will never return again. Time is so precious that every second of it must be spent well. Sure, take an hour to relax and play a computer game [believe it or not I play Newopets!) to relax your mind, but don't spend six hours doing it! [If I may preach a bit, don't do mind-altering drugs, or drink to excess, either, even if its just your weekend ritual. That's vital time you're losing, time you won't be able to remember - and when you get old you'll wish you could look back on that time and remember a nice book read, a movie seen, a person talked to intelligently, instead of the blackness of some kind of drug-induced haze.)
Anyway, back to time management!
Time management in general is a good idea. If you get things done efficiently - whether as a homemaker, a career woman, or a homemaker and a careerwoman, that will leave you more time to do the things of leisure.
How can it help certain people lose weight? Well, a lot of people who are under stress eat too much at one time, and don't take time to exercise. By managing time effectively, they lessen some of that stress (and there's nothing like a walk or a bikeride to help relieve stress). What causes stress? Many causes, of course, but one is having too much to do, and too little time to do it in. And sometimes that is caused by carelessness with time - procrasting too long, keeping messy records so that you can't find anything, necessitating you having to take time out of your day to look for things you need, ya da ya da.
A lot of overweight people eat too much because they are bored - they have no structure in their lives, nothing to do. Okay, that's not really a part of time management, but a question of taking the initiative to join some clubs and start looking for interests to fill your day...
But, you get the gist of what I'm saying.
So, here's one book I suggest - although, really, any book on time management will do.
Time Tactics of Very Successful People, by Eugene Griessman
Description
A new approach to time management focusing on how highly successful people get their work done without sacrificing the life they live.
This entertaining volume has what no other time management book has: insights on how to manage time from high achievers such as Malcolm Forbes, Jr., Ted Turner, Sandra Day, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, and Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus. Dr. B. Eugene Griessman has interviewed hundreds of contemporary peak performers (and researched dozens of historical high achievers) to unearth the secrets of their success. He presents their time management tactics in short "Bites" designed to inspire today's time-starved readerwhether they're over worked managers, working moms, entrepreneurs on the go, or even newly unemployed people who must suddenly learn to structure their own time
Table of Contents
1. Get a handle on your time
-the myth of "free" time
-Give yourself a raise
-Bill yourself - a tactic professionals use to become more efficient
2. Get organized
-set your priorities
-Write down your goals
-Apply the 80/20 rule
-Create a to-do list that works, and work your list
3. Increase your efficiency
-Neatness is more than a neurotic compulsion
-Make your workplace work
-Learn to rely on checklists
-Take a checkride - see you as others see you.
-Become a speed learner
4. Shortcuts
-Readiing shortcuts
-Speed reading
[okay, these two pieces of advice are bad, in my opinion. Reading is something to be enjoyed and savored!]
Underline and highlight
Writing shortcuts
Use the piggyback principle
5. Find Hidden Time
-make the most of downtime and in-between time
-make a game out of saving time
-use your commute time -or eliminate the commute
-create chunks of time
-be a contrarian
-the five o'clock club
-use the power of leverage, learn to think lazy
6. Learn to Focus
-don't scatter your force
-learn to listen
-Spend more time in the now
-Tap into the power of the "flow state"
-passion and obsession
7. Pace yourself
-Create routines - discover your work rhythms
-Adapt to the rhythms around you
-master your moods
-give yourself a break
-know how long you can wait to do it
-beware of Parkinson's law
-learn how to shift into the surge mode
8. Avoid procrastination
-do it now
-finish it now
-make the unpleasant phone call first: the Jackie Ward rule
-exceptions to the Jackie Ward rule
-eliminate overdrafts
9. Avoid Time-Wasting Activities
-if it's not worth doing, be sure not to do it
-don't quit too soon
-know when to cut your losses
-know when to leave well enough alone
-become decisive
-don't finish every book you start
-Don't be penny-wise and hours-foolish
-the use and abuse of meetings: to meet or not to meet
-develop survival skills if you're absent minded
10. Don't Let Others WAste Your Time
-learn to recognize and avoid time thieves
-don't adopt other people's monkeys
-just say no
--make yourself scarce
-expand your time-cue vocabulary
-the high cost of a free meal
-think like a politician
11. Enlist Others to Save Your Time
-become a squeaky wheel
-to save time, smile
-learn to tip effectively, the Gerardo Principle
-master the art of interrupting
-enlist the aid of coaches
-associate with time-conscious people and companies
-learn to delegate
-hire the best
-master the art of conflict management
12. Invest Time to Save Time
-Sharpen the axe
-become an expert
-one extra hour a day can work magic
-get it right
-write it down
-learn the rules of the game
-don't wait untiil it breaks to fix it
-don't think it has to be broken to improve it
13. Plan Ahead
-think through, then follow through
-anticipate trouble
-build in redundancy
-prepare a script
14. Use Technology that Works
-phone tactics that save time
-make the most of voicemail
-when possible, automate
-the time saving uses of computer technology
-become an effective dictator
15. Balancing work, family, and social life
-if I'm so efficient, why am I miserable
-make an appointment with yourself
-take care of your body
-do add-ons
-learn to let other people help you
-take a sabbatical
-taker the road less traveled
-cut yourself some slack
-blur the boundaries
-play solitaire
-enlist in peacetime patriotism
-find something you love and do it
-time tactics vs time strategies
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Don't Count calories - Use Portion Control!
I've just read an article, which I share below, on the popularity of "calorie counter websites."
If there's one thing that would drive me to distraction is having to lay out all the food I want to eat, then going to some calorie counter website to input all the info, then having the site come back and tell me how many calories I'm consuming.
That is a chore and takes all the fun out of eating. More than that, it's evil. Why in the world must people obsess over whether or not they dare eat a 10-calorie pickle...or is that pat of butter the exact right size to be only 50 calories, or should I shave off a milimeter here or there, just to make sure.
Ridiculous!
I cannot emphasize enough, there is no need to count calories (or carbs, or fat). At least, not to the detail a lot of people do, judging by the popularity of these calorie counting websites.
Lets say you go into a Macdonalds. They've got their calorie information loaded on a placard on the wall. I think a Big Mac has 1,000 calories. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, don't have a Big Mac, have a couple of hamburgers. (Better still, a chicken sandwich.) Or, if you love Big Macs, eat half of it for lunch, and half of it for dinner with an accompanying salad and a cookie for dessert!
Our society seems to have reached the point where someone who is only 20 pounds overweight is considered dangerously overweight and a selfish glutton to boot. (Unless, of course, they are men, where a little paunch is a style statement these days - witness all the young golfers who have them. But as for women - no. You must be no more than an ounce or so overweight! Otherwise you're obese, hane no willpower, and deserve to have no friends!
...
Sorry for the rant...but this kind of thing infuriates me, the more so because I know I reach a small audience - my clients and the 500 or so subscribers to this blog. How many girls, age 6, have already been presented with the calorie counter url by their mothers and been told to make sure that they don't eat too much, in case they get fat. Then no one will like them...
And a few years later they are anorexic and their moms don't have to worry about them counting calories, because they either don't eat, or eat and then vomit everything up again.
This article is from the Wall. Street. Journal.
Calorie Trackers: When a Kati Roll Is Like a Burrito
Eating healthy can often feel like a chore. Many diet and nutrition experts say one of the best ways to improve your daily diet is to keep tabs on food intake. Online calorie trackers can simplify the job with point-and-click-options.
Calorie-counting websites have long been common, but in recent years the sites have ramped up their food databases and added better tools to make it less tedious to monitor what you eat. In addition to calories, some websites let individuals know what's on their plates in terms of cholesterol, carbs and other nutrients.
While companies are careful not to promote scientifically unproven information, the trackers' nutrition and exercise data is mostly reliable for the average user, says Joanne Kouba, a registered dietitian and assistant professor who teaches at Loyola University's dietetics education program in Chicago. "What you're getting from any of these is a guesstimation," Ms. Kouba says, but adds that steady use can yield more accurate results.
"These programs could be very helpful for a lot of people," says Marjorie Nolan, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman. "But they are only as good as the information that they are inputting."
Personal Information
We tested four sites by going online and logging our daily food intake for a week. (Most sites offer some mobile versions.) To get started, we answered questions about our height, weight, daily activity level and how many pounds we wanted to shed. We asked Ms. Kouba to look over the information we got from the sites to see if it was on track with dietitians' advice.
Overall, we found the sites' data useful and a nice wake-up call for the poor nutritional quality of some of our meals. We were surprised our fat consumption was 50% of our daily intake on several days. The sites also pointed out the differences in what we consumed on the weekends compared to the rest of the week.
The sites have features beyond calorie-counting for those who want to spend more than a few minutes a day tracking their every move: from water intake to calculating the calories burned on sexual activity. Justin Yandell, founder of MyFoodDiary.com, says after weeks of use, many people become interested in knowing metrics far beyond their caloric intake. "People who never cared about fiber suddenly feel that they are not getting enough," says Mr. Yandell.
It was difficult to gauge serving size especially when we were eating at home or at restaurants that weren't required to post calories. Based on seeing our weekly menu and the calorie totals, Ms. Kouba says MyFoodDiary.com and MyNetDiary.com were the most precise, but adds that accuracy varies by an individual's food choices. CalorieKing.com was our favorite site for browsing additional info about healthy eating. The more we used the sites the easier it became to log food intake because all have the capability to store frequently consumed meals.
When it came to calorie counting, the sites listed similar numbers for popular supermarket and restaurant brands and all showed calories, fat, carbs, protein, fiber as well as sugars and cholesterol.
A Slice of Bread
Serving sizes, however, varied among the sites. One site would list the actual size of a slice of bread in ounces, while another would list it as just one serving of carbs. Calorie listings for generic food or items added by site contributors also varied. On a sample day, which included fresh vegetable juice, restaurant tacos and a supermarket granola bar, the sites' calorie totals came within 311 calories of each other. Where they differed most was in providing nutrition information beyond brand names and the ease in inputting meals.
At CalorieKing.com, which has an easy-to-use food and exercise diary, we searched for each item and then dragged it to our calendar in the site. Most of our items popped up right away but we spent more time than expected entering the ingredients of a sandwich. (The site does allow user to save items in favorites for future reference.) Unusual menu items like a kati roll from an Indian restaurant had to be logged to what we figured was its nearest equivalent on the site: a burrito. Chief Executive Keith McGuinness says users are encouraged to substitute similar foods if an item isn't in the database and they don't know the calorie count themselves.
We could set targets for calories, fat and cholesterol levels. While the site didn't show vitamin intake, we could see a weekly average of minerals consumed. After a week, we discovered we consumed 1,328 calories a day with 35% of our daily diet in fat, which the sites point out is above the 20% to 30% range recommended for our body. (The sites recommended an average of 1,200 calories for weight loss.) One surprise: A Thai curry lunch we thought was fairly healthy clocked in at over 1,000 calories.
At MyFoodDiary.com, a search bar let us add each item, but we had to click on an item to see the nutrition label, which then gave us the calorie information. (At the other sites, calorie counts appeared after we selected the items.) The database was thorough but we found it time-consuming to sort through pages of similar results to log a piece of French bread. The daily reports, showing totals of vitamins, fats and other metrics, were useful and easier to understand than other sites' reports. Pointers noting our healthy and unhealthy eating habits, such as a high sodium intake, and how many calories we could consume to lose weight motivated us to keep logging. The reports color-coded meals' data to show how healthy (or unhealthy) they were.
Fast to Use
MyNetDiary.com was the quickest to use because it guesses what users are searching for as they start to type. Many of the specific foods we ate (like Japanese Kani salad) were listed thanks to 300,000 contributions from the site's community. Most of the food on our daily log was from contributors. (The other sites let users contribute as well.) We especially liked that our food diary could track things like caffeine and folate. Charts tracking eating patterns were sometimes difficult to understand and didn't have enough detailed information.
The free MyFitnessPal.com site had a good food database (including hard-to-find grilled eggplant) and the fewest bells and whistles, which made the food diary simple to understand. Daily food intake was clearly conveyed in charts but long-term nutrition reports couldn't track multiple nutrients at the same time. Co-founder Mike Lee says they are working to improve this feature. A daily metric pointed out how much weight we would lose or gain if we consumed that same amount of calories for five weeks, which kept us motivated to eat healthy. Ms. Kouba pointed out on some days MyFitnessPal may have overestimated calorie totals.
If there's one thing that would drive me to distraction is having to lay out all the food I want to eat, then going to some calorie counter website to input all the info, then having the site come back and tell me how many calories I'm consuming.
That is a chore and takes all the fun out of eating. More than that, it's evil. Why in the world must people obsess over whether or not they dare eat a 10-calorie pickle...or is that pat of butter the exact right size to be only 50 calories, or should I shave off a milimeter here or there, just to make sure.
Ridiculous!
I cannot emphasize enough, there is no need to count calories (or carbs, or fat). At least, not to the detail a lot of people do, judging by the popularity of these calorie counting websites.
Lets say you go into a Macdonalds. They've got their calorie information loaded on a placard on the wall. I think a Big Mac has 1,000 calories. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, don't have a Big Mac, have a couple of hamburgers. (Better still, a chicken sandwich.) Or, if you love Big Macs, eat half of it for lunch, and half of it for dinner with an accompanying salad and a cookie for dessert!
Our society seems to have reached the point where someone who is only 20 pounds overweight is considered dangerously overweight and a selfish glutton to boot. (Unless, of course, they are men, where a little paunch is a style statement these days - witness all the young golfers who have them. But as for women - no. You must be no more than an ounce or so overweight! Otherwise you're obese, hane no willpower, and deserve to have no friends!
...
Sorry for the rant...but this kind of thing infuriates me, the more so because I know I reach a small audience - my clients and the 500 or so subscribers to this blog. How many girls, age 6, have already been presented with the calorie counter url by their mothers and been told to make sure that they don't eat too much, in case they get fat. Then no one will like them...
And a few years later they are anorexic and their moms don't have to worry about them counting calories, because they either don't eat, or eat and then vomit everything up again.
This article is from the Wall. Street. Journal.
Calorie Trackers: When a Kati Roll Is Like a Burrito
Eating healthy can often feel like a chore. Many diet and nutrition experts say one of the best ways to improve your daily diet is to keep tabs on food intake. Online calorie trackers can simplify the job with point-and-click-options.
Calorie-counting websites have long been common, but in recent years the sites have ramped up their food databases and added better tools to make it less tedious to monitor what you eat. In addition to calories, some websites let individuals know what's on their plates in terms of cholesterol, carbs and other nutrients.
While companies are careful not to promote scientifically unproven information, the trackers' nutrition and exercise data is mostly reliable for the average user, says Joanne Kouba, a registered dietitian and assistant professor who teaches at Loyola University's dietetics education program in Chicago. "What you're getting from any of these is a guesstimation," Ms. Kouba says, but adds that steady use can yield more accurate results.
"These programs could be very helpful for a lot of people," says Marjorie Nolan, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman. "But they are only as good as the information that they are inputting."
Personal Information
We tested four sites by going online and logging our daily food intake for a week. (Most sites offer some mobile versions.) To get started, we answered questions about our height, weight, daily activity level and how many pounds we wanted to shed. We asked Ms. Kouba to look over the information we got from the sites to see if it was on track with dietitians' advice.
Overall, we found the sites' data useful and a nice wake-up call for the poor nutritional quality of some of our meals. We were surprised our fat consumption was 50% of our daily intake on several days. The sites also pointed out the differences in what we consumed on the weekends compared to the rest of the week.
The sites have features beyond calorie-counting for those who want to spend more than a few minutes a day tracking their every move: from water intake to calculating the calories burned on sexual activity. Justin Yandell, founder of MyFoodDiary.com, says after weeks of use, many people become interested in knowing metrics far beyond their caloric intake. "People who never cared about fiber suddenly feel that they are not getting enough," says Mr. Yandell.
It was difficult to gauge serving size especially when we were eating at home or at restaurants that weren't required to post calories. Based on seeing our weekly menu and the calorie totals, Ms. Kouba says MyFoodDiary.com and MyNetDiary.com were the most precise, but adds that accuracy varies by an individual's food choices. CalorieKing.com was our favorite site for browsing additional info about healthy eating. The more we used the sites the easier it became to log food intake because all have the capability to store frequently consumed meals.
When it came to calorie counting, the sites listed similar numbers for popular supermarket and restaurant brands and all showed calories, fat, carbs, protein, fiber as well as sugars and cholesterol.
A Slice of Bread
Serving sizes, however, varied among the sites. One site would list the actual size of a slice of bread in ounces, while another would list it as just one serving of carbs. Calorie listings for generic food or items added by site contributors also varied. On a sample day, which included fresh vegetable juice, restaurant tacos and a supermarket granola bar, the sites' calorie totals came within 311 calories of each other. Where they differed most was in providing nutrition information beyond brand names and the ease in inputting meals.
At CalorieKing.com, which has an easy-to-use food and exercise diary, we searched for each item and then dragged it to our calendar in the site. Most of our items popped up right away but we spent more time than expected entering the ingredients of a sandwich. (The site does allow user to save items in favorites for future reference.) Unusual menu items like a kati roll from an Indian restaurant had to be logged to what we figured was its nearest equivalent on the site: a burrito. Chief Executive Keith McGuinness says users are encouraged to substitute similar foods if an item isn't in the database and they don't know the calorie count themselves.
We could set targets for calories, fat and cholesterol levels. While the site didn't show vitamin intake, we could see a weekly average of minerals consumed. After a week, we discovered we consumed 1,328 calories a day with 35% of our daily diet in fat, which the sites point out is above the 20% to 30% range recommended for our body. (The sites recommended an average of 1,200 calories for weight loss.) One surprise: A Thai curry lunch we thought was fairly healthy clocked in at over 1,000 calories.
At MyFoodDiary.com, a search bar let us add each item, but we had to click on an item to see the nutrition label, which then gave us the calorie information. (At the other sites, calorie counts appeared after we selected the items.) The database was thorough but we found it time-consuming to sort through pages of similar results to log a piece of French bread. The daily reports, showing totals of vitamins, fats and other metrics, were useful and easier to understand than other sites' reports. Pointers noting our healthy and unhealthy eating habits, such as a high sodium intake, and how many calories we could consume to lose weight motivated us to keep logging. The reports color-coded meals' data to show how healthy (or unhealthy) they were.
Fast to Use
MyNetDiary.com was the quickest to use because it guesses what users are searching for as they start to type. Many of the specific foods we ate (like Japanese Kani salad) were listed thanks to 300,000 contributions from the site's community. Most of the food on our daily log was from contributors. (The other sites let users contribute as well.) We especially liked that our food diary could track things like caffeine and folate. Charts tracking eating patterns were sometimes difficult to understand and didn't have enough detailed information.
The free MyFitnessPal.com site had a good food database (including hard-to-find grilled eggplant) and the fewest bells and whistles, which made the food diary simple to understand. Daily food intake was clearly conveyed in charts but long-term nutrition reports couldn't track multiple nutrients at the same time. Co-founder Mike Lee says they are working to improve this feature. A daily metric pointed out how much weight we would lose or gain if we consumed that same amount of calories for five weeks, which kept us motivated to eat healthy. Ms. Kouba pointed out on some days MyFitnessPal may have overestimated calorie totals.
When Things Go Wrong
Sort of a long story, but I do have a weight loss point which I'll get to at the end!
I've had my current car for a year now, he's my friend, my trusted companion. (Yes, my cars are males, and I give them names. His name is Barlow.) I've never had a problem with him before - it's a 98 Toyota Camry but in excellent condition, with a 4-year old batter (as I recently learned.)
My house has a drive around drive-way - flat at the top where you park it, but with a slight incline as you drive down about 20 feet or so to where the road is. For various reasons I'd had the car parked nose down on that incline for a few hours - something I've never done before.
So I went out to start the car, and the engine made the noise it normally makes before it starts, but then it dies. That had never happened before - even a couple of months ago when the temp was 10 degrees it started right up without hesitation.
It was also 40 degrees outside, so my problem wasn't a cold engine. I thought, well, I must have taken my foot off the gas too soon. So I started her up again, meantime letting the car roll down the incline. It still wouldn't start.
So I applied the brakes, and I had no brakes. No power = no brakes, in a car with power steering and power brakes (not to mention power windows) if you have no power you're SOL.
So I jammed down as hard as I could on the brakes, and it came to a stop, though I'm not sure if it came to a halt because I was on level ground or because the brakes work - albeit verrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly - when there's no power.
I checked my lights - they weren't on, and it didn't look like a car door had been left open, but in any event, I figured it was the battery so I called a friend of mine to come give me a jump. He came and hooked up the jumper cables, then being a man he figured it had better be he who tried to start my car. So he gets in and starts the engine, and it doesn't catch, and he says, "It doesn't sound like the battery."
"What is it?" I ask, and he says he doesn't know, but it doesn't sound like the battery. But he gives it another minute (he's got his car engine running)(then tries it again and it starts right up. He says, "maybe it was because you had the nose pointing down on an incline, although I don't see how that can be it. But it wasn't the battery.)
So I continue driving on my errand, but now I am really nervous. The more so because I'd never realized before that if the power of your car goes out, you have no brakes. (I'd known you'd be unable to roll down your windows, but I didn't realize brakes - your lifeline - would also go out or be rendered only 10% effective.)
The fact that I didn't - and don't - know exactly what's wrong has me nervous. I always drive defensively anyway, but I was constantly looking around, thinking of permutations. "If my car dies here...I'll steer in that direction. If my car dies here...is that car behind me going to run into me? Damn tailgater."
My trust in poor Barlow has been destroyed. I feel...betrayed. It's one thing if he'd had a 20 year old battery that I'd neglected, or if I'd neglected his oil and transmission fluid, etc. But to take such good care of him as I do, and for the battery or something to let me down like that...
It's going to take a while before I trust him again.
You will ask....why don't I take him to a service station to be thoroughly checked over? Well, there my distrust of service stations come in to play. I know nothing abut cars except the bare minimum, anything they tell me I have to believe. And on at least two occasions I brought Barlow in for a "check up" and was told, "oh, we have to fix this, this and this." The first time it happened, I was fine with it. But the second time it happened, only two months after the first time (the first time was a checkup to get a new license plate - in Virginia they test out your car and you can't get new license plates unless it passes this test) and at the same service station, where I'd simply taken it for an oil change and they told me I had this major problem - I was a bit curious as to why they hadn't found it two months ago when they'd done the license-plate check, since in those two months I'd barely driven it over a hundred miles.
Bottom line, I don't trust the service stations, and I hate to pay an exorbitant sum for them to look at Barlow and tell me there's nothing wrong with him.
It was just the battery on start up, after all. And since it's spring moving in to summer, if the battery does die when I'm parked somewhere and I have to call someone to come get me, it won't be a hardship. (I don't really think Barlow will die while I'm driving him - that was just my nervousness today. But it's far more likely that if anything does happen, it will be that I won't be able to start the car again.)
Okay, now we get to the point of this post.
A lot of people don't go to doctors when they think they may have a problem. For some its because they can't afford it, but for most it's because they don't trust doctors. How many times have people gone in for an operation on one thing, only to find that a doctor has removed a different organ entirely, or left a sponge or something in that causes damage, or that the patient has an adverse reaction to anasthesia or something and dies!
Nevertheless, despite your distrust of doctors, you must go to them when circumstances demand it.
My car can't tell me what's wrong - he has no voice. I can assume that it was just some fluke of the battery, but I don't really know and my car can't tell me.
With people, it's different, especially if you've been keeping a journal for any length of time in which you record your emotions and feelings before and aftr eating and exercising, and so on. You have documented proof that you can bring to your doctor to show that things have changed and that something is wrong, and they'll have a lot of info to go on to help their diagnosis, more so than if you just go in and try to rely on your memory to tell your doctor your symptoms.
I've got over my initial nervousness about the car - I'm 100% sure that if poor Barlow does let me down again, it will be when I'm parked in a parking lot somewhere nad I won't be able to get him started again. If the car had died while I'd actually been driving - well then believe me I'd take him into a service station immediately and have him checked out, trust or not! You can't drive a car that has a tendency to die in the middle of the road!
With the human body, it's different. You might have a sudden ache and pain that you don't think is anything, maybe you "tweaked" a muscle. So you don't go to a doctor for several weeks. But since it never gets better, well, you simply must go! And hopefully in the interim while you've been waiting to feel better, you've been tracking down everything about this "tweak" - just in case it isn't a tweak, so that you have knowledge of what's going on in your body.
I end these types of posts as I always have, with my story about my mother. 20 years ago, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. She was given pills, and she took one or two before she decided that she didn't like how they made her feel. Rather than going back to the doctor to explain her probelm and asking if she'd get used to them or if she should have a different type of medication, she just stopped taking her pills.
Her body was ravaged by high blood pressure for 20 years. The "silent killer." As you might expect, a few years ago she had congestive heart failure. That lasted untreated longer than it should have done, because my mom is terrified of doctors too. The water that her heart could no longer expel normally was actually coming out of her skin (in various eruptions, not all over) because it couldn't get out any other way. But it was only when she just didn't have the energy to get out of bed that she asked my dad to make her some coffee. (They had separate bedrooms) that my dad decided something was terribly wrong and called an ambulance. She was in the hospital for 4 days as they pumped out all the extra water and got her on some medication, and now she has to take 10 pills a day instead of just one!
Your body and your health are your own responsibility. Read up on health and diseases and so on - there are plenty of layperson's texts out there that are easily understandable.
Knowledge is power - and you must know yourself - both your mental processes and your physical processes - to maintain your physical and mental health.
I've had my current car for a year now, he's my friend, my trusted companion. (Yes, my cars are males, and I give them names. His name is Barlow.) I've never had a problem with him before - it's a 98 Toyota Camry but in excellent condition, with a 4-year old batter (as I recently learned.)
My house has a drive around drive-way - flat at the top where you park it, but with a slight incline as you drive down about 20 feet or so to where the road is. For various reasons I'd had the car parked nose down on that incline for a few hours - something I've never done before.
So I went out to start the car, and the engine made the noise it normally makes before it starts, but then it dies. That had never happened before - even a couple of months ago when the temp was 10 degrees it started right up without hesitation.
It was also 40 degrees outside, so my problem wasn't a cold engine. I thought, well, I must have taken my foot off the gas too soon. So I started her up again, meantime letting the car roll down the incline. It still wouldn't start.
So I applied the brakes, and I had no brakes. No power = no brakes, in a car with power steering and power brakes (not to mention power windows) if you have no power you're SOL.
So I jammed down as hard as I could on the brakes, and it came to a stop, though I'm not sure if it came to a halt because I was on level ground or because the brakes work - albeit verrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly - when there's no power.
I checked my lights - they weren't on, and it didn't look like a car door had been left open, but in any event, I figured it was the battery so I called a friend of mine to come give me a jump. He came and hooked up the jumper cables, then being a man he figured it had better be he who tried to start my car. So he gets in and starts the engine, and it doesn't catch, and he says, "It doesn't sound like the battery."
"What is it?" I ask, and he says he doesn't know, but it doesn't sound like the battery. But he gives it another minute (he's got his car engine running)(then tries it again and it starts right up. He says, "maybe it was because you had the nose pointing down on an incline, although I don't see how that can be it. But it wasn't the battery.)
So I continue driving on my errand, but now I am really nervous. The more so because I'd never realized before that if the power of your car goes out, you have no brakes. (I'd known you'd be unable to roll down your windows, but I didn't realize brakes - your lifeline - would also go out or be rendered only 10% effective.)
The fact that I didn't - and don't - know exactly what's wrong has me nervous. I always drive defensively anyway, but I was constantly looking around, thinking of permutations. "If my car dies here...I'll steer in that direction. If my car dies here...is that car behind me going to run into me? Damn tailgater."
My trust in poor Barlow has been destroyed. I feel...betrayed. It's one thing if he'd had a 20 year old battery that I'd neglected, or if I'd neglected his oil and transmission fluid, etc. But to take such good care of him as I do, and for the battery or something to let me down like that...
It's going to take a while before I trust him again.
You will ask....why don't I take him to a service station to be thoroughly checked over? Well, there my distrust of service stations come in to play. I know nothing abut cars except the bare minimum, anything they tell me I have to believe. And on at least two occasions I brought Barlow in for a "check up" and was told, "oh, we have to fix this, this and this." The first time it happened, I was fine with it. But the second time it happened, only two months after the first time (the first time was a checkup to get a new license plate - in Virginia they test out your car and you can't get new license plates unless it passes this test) and at the same service station, where I'd simply taken it for an oil change and they told me I had this major problem - I was a bit curious as to why they hadn't found it two months ago when they'd done the license-plate check, since in those two months I'd barely driven it over a hundred miles.
Bottom line, I don't trust the service stations, and I hate to pay an exorbitant sum for them to look at Barlow and tell me there's nothing wrong with him.
It was just the battery on start up, after all. And since it's spring moving in to summer, if the battery does die when I'm parked somewhere and I have to call someone to come get me, it won't be a hardship. (I don't really think Barlow will die while I'm driving him - that was just my nervousness today. But it's far more likely that if anything does happen, it will be that I won't be able to start the car again.)
Okay, now we get to the point of this post.
A lot of people don't go to doctors when they think they may have a problem. For some its because they can't afford it, but for most it's because they don't trust doctors. How many times have people gone in for an operation on one thing, only to find that a doctor has removed a different organ entirely, or left a sponge or something in that causes damage, or that the patient has an adverse reaction to anasthesia or something and dies!
Nevertheless, despite your distrust of doctors, you must go to them when circumstances demand it.
My car can't tell me what's wrong - he has no voice. I can assume that it was just some fluke of the battery, but I don't really know and my car can't tell me.
With people, it's different, especially if you've been keeping a journal for any length of time in which you record your emotions and feelings before and aftr eating and exercising, and so on. You have documented proof that you can bring to your doctor to show that things have changed and that something is wrong, and they'll have a lot of info to go on to help their diagnosis, more so than if you just go in and try to rely on your memory to tell your doctor your symptoms.
I've got over my initial nervousness about the car - I'm 100% sure that if poor Barlow does let me down again, it will be when I'm parked in a parking lot somewhere nad I won't be able to get him started again. If the car had died while I'd actually been driving - well then believe me I'd take him into a service station immediately and have him checked out, trust or not! You can't drive a car that has a tendency to die in the middle of the road!
With the human body, it's different. You might have a sudden ache and pain that you don't think is anything, maybe you "tweaked" a muscle. So you don't go to a doctor for several weeks. But since it never gets better, well, you simply must go! And hopefully in the interim while you've been waiting to feel better, you've been tracking down everything about this "tweak" - just in case it isn't a tweak, so that you have knowledge of what's going on in your body.
I end these types of posts as I always have, with my story about my mother. 20 years ago, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. She was given pills, and she took one or two before she decided that she didn't like how they made her feel. Rather than going back to the doctor to explain her probelm and asking if she'd get used to them or if she should have a different type of medication, she just stopped taking her pills.
Her body was ravaged by high blood pressure for 20 years. The "silent killer." As you might expect, a few years ago she had congestive heart failure. That lasted untreated longer than it should have done, because my mom is terrified of doctors too. The water that her heart could no longer expel normally was actually coming out of her skin (in various eruptions, not all over) because it couldn't get out any other way. But it was only when she just didn't have the energy to get out of bed that she asked my dad to make her some coffee. (They had separate bedrooms) that my dad decided something was terribly wrong and called an ambulance. She was in the hospital for 4 days as they pumped out all the extra water and got her on some medication, and now she has to take 10 pills a day instead of just one!
Your body and your health are your own responsibility. Read up on health and diseases and so on - there are plenty of layperson's texts out there that are easily understandable.
Knowledge is power - and you must know yourself - both your mental processes and your physical processes - to maintain your physical and mental health.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Food Is Your Friend
Too many people - in particular women - think that food is their enemy. Well, it's not, it's your food.
People who have good diets are healthier physiclaly and mentally.
People who skimp on their food and starve themselves to maintain an artifically thin appearance damage their health - and usually aren't very happy people, as they're too stressed about wondering if they've gained a couple of ounces.
As I always tell my clients, this is the fault of the media - advertisements on buses, in magazines, in malls, as well as on TV, not to mention the way women are portrayed in TV shows and movies - all of them drumming it in to women - and men - that women are no more than eye candy and that they must be skinny.
(It's an interesting contrast to watch British TV and American TV - not the period dramas but modern shows. The women in British TV look like real people - they live in apartments that they can afford, instead of apartments that are incredibly luxurious, and women on British TV wear little makup. Case in point, the Prime Suspect mystery series starring Helen Mirren. Contrast her appearance to that of Calleigh in CSI: Miami - Mirren's character looks much more realistic.)
Having a healthy attitude about food and weight is more than half the battle in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Indeed, I'd say it's probably 90% of the process. As long as you know - and believe deep down - that gaining an extra pound one day is not the end of the world, and something that must be starved away the very next day - the happier and healthier you will be. (Lose that pound over the course of two weeks. ; ) )
And, again, remember that since you're going to be doing some body sculpting, you may gain weight before you lose it, because muscle weighs more than fat. But muscle also looks better than fat, so don't be afraid of those muscles! You're not going to bulk up to look like a female Arnold Schwarzennegger unless you weight train 3 hours a day and consume a lot of muscle-building supplements - and that's not what you want. Normal weight training and a sensible eating plan will enable you to get that sculpted look.
And since muscles also burn calories faster than fat, you'll be able to add a portion or two to your meals without harm. You can't gorge, of course, but a small portion of this or that - no problem.
People who have good diets are healthier physiclaly and mentally.
People who skimp on their food and starve themselves to maintain an artifically thin appearance damage their health - and usually aren't very happy people, as they're too stressed about wondering if they've gained a couple of ounces.
As I always tell my clients, this is the fault of the media - advertisements on buses, in magazines, in malls, as well as on TV, not to mention the way women are portrayed in TV shows and movies - all of them drumming it in to women - and men - that women are no more than eye candy and that they must be skinny.
(It's an interesting contrast to watch British TV and American TV - not the period dramas but modern shows. The women in British TV look like real people - they live in apartments that they can afford, instead of apartments that are incredibly luxurious, and women on British TV wear little makup. Case in point, the Prime Suspect mystery series starring Helen Mirren. Contrast her appearance to that of Calleigh in CSI: Miami - Mirren's character looks much more realistic.)
Having a healthy attitude about food and weight is more than half the battle in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Indeed, I'd say it's probably 90% of the process. As long as you know - and believe deep down - that gaining an extra pound one day is not the end of the world, and something that must be starved away the very next day - the happier and healthier you will be. (Lose that pound over the course of two weeks. ; ) )
And, again, remember that since you're going to be doing some body sculpting, you may gain weight before you lose it, because muscle weighs more than fat. But muscle also looks better than fat, so don't be afraid of those muscles! You're not going to bulk up to look like a female Arnold Schwarzennegger unless you weight train 3 hours a day and consume a lot of muscle-building supplements - and that's not what you want. Normal weight training and a sensible eating plan will enable you to get that sculpted look.
And since muscles also burn calories faster than fat, you'll be able to add a portion or two to your meals without harm. You can't gorge, of course, but a small portion of this or that - no problem.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Weight Training Exercises
Still using the resource Champions Body For Life, below is a list of exercises for each part of your body - which you can do with dummbells and leg weights if that's all you have, but which will work best with a barbell and a leg-exercise extension on your weight bench.
The last few times I've told you about weight training, I've described the exercises and how you should perform them. I'm not going to do that here.
Go to your local library and check out a book on weight training, or buy one from your local book store. There's a difference between body building and body sculpting - you dont' wan tto be taking any supplements to build extra muscle, or cause your metabolism to go faster - artificial ways to heighten your metabolism are not good for your heart.
But the best way to learn how to do weight training exercises is to have someone knowledgeable show you in person. Lacking that, you need a book that explains all the moves, and to which you can refer when you're first starting out. (And of course there are several websits that have videos on how to do the various exercises.)
You do not need to do every exercise listed below, especially if you're just starting out. Use one exercise for your chest, one for your shoulders, one for your belly, one for your thighs, one for your calves...you do not want to over train.
If your workout starts to get boring, that's when to substitute one exercise for another, to add variety.
Upper Body - Chest (Women should do these exercises to prevent breast sag in old age, if for no other reason!)
1. Dumbbell bench press
2. Incline dumbbell bench press
3. Dumbbel Flyes (very good, exxercises muscles not generally used)
4. Barbell bench presses
5. Seated dumbbell presses
6. Standin barbell presses
Shoulders
1. Dumbbell side raises
2. Bent-over dumbbell raises
Back
1. One arm dumbbell rows
2. Dumbbell bench pullovers
3. Incline dumbbell bench rows
4. Bent over dumbbell rows
Triceps (Keeps your under arms nice and firm and prevents widows jiggle)
1. Standing dumbbell extensions
2. Bench dips
3. Lting Dumbbell Extensions
4. Dumbbell kickbacks
Biceps (for that nice, muscular curbe)
1. Incline dumbbell curls
2. Seated dumbbell curls
3. Standing barbell curls
4. Hammer curls
Lower Body - Quadriceps (those muscles in the front part of your thigh)
1. Dumbbell squats
2. Barbell squats
3. Dumbbell Sumo squats
4. Step-ups
Hamstrings - the muscles on the underside of your thigh - gets rid of "thunder thighs")
1. Dumbbell lunges
2. Straight leg deadlifts
3. Leg extensions
4. Leg curls (also god for calves)
Calves
1. Seated calf raises
2. Standing dumbbell calf raises
3. One leg calf raises
Abominables (well, abdominals, if you want to get technical)
1. Crunches (a modified form of situp, easier on your back)
2. Twist crunches
3. Bent knee leg raises
The last few times I've told you about weight training, I've described the exercises and how you should perform them. I'm not going to do that here.
Go to your local library and check out a book on weight training, or buy one from your local book store. There's a difference between body building and body sculpting - you dont' wan tto be taking any supplements to build extra muscle, or cause your metabolism to go faster - artificial ways to heighten your metabolism are not good for your heart.
But the best way to learn how to do weight training exercises is to have someone knowledgeable show you in person. Lacking that, you need a book that explains all the moves, and to which you can refer when you're first starting out. (And of course there are several websits that have videos on how to do the various exercises.)
You do not need to do every exercise listed below, especially if you're just starting out. Use one exercise for your chest, one for your shoulders, one for your belly, one for your thighs, one for your calves...you do not want to over train.
If your workout starts to get boring, that's when to substitute one exercise for another, to add variety.
Upper Body - Chest (Women should do these exercises to prevent breast sag in old age, if for no other reason!)
1. Dumbbell bench press
2. Incline dumbbell bench press
3. Dumbbel Flyes (very good, exxercises muscles not generally used)
4. Barbell bench presses
5. Seated dumbbell presses
6. Standin barbell presses
Shoulders
1. Dumbbell side raises
2. Bent-over dumbbell raises
Back
1. One arm dumbbell rows
2. Dumbbell bench pullovers
3. Incline dumbbell bench rows
4. Bent over dumbbell rows
Triceps (Keeps your under arms nice and firm and prevents widows jiggle)
1. Standing dumbbell extensions
2. Bench dips
3. Lting Dumbbell Extensions
4. Dumbbell kickbacks
Biceps (for that nice, muscular curbe)
1. Incline dumbbell curls
2. Seated dumbbell curls
3. Standing barbell curls
4. Hammer curls
Lower Body - Quadriceps (those muscles in the front part of your thigh)
1. Dumbbell squats
2. Barbell squats
3. Dumbbell Sumo squats
4. Step-ups
Hamstrings - the muscles on the underside of your thigh - gets rid of "thunder thighs")
1. Dumbbell lunges
2. Straight leg deadlifts
3. Leg extensions
4. Leg curls (also god for calves)
Calves
1. Seated calf raises
2. Standing dumbbell calf raises
3. One leg calf raises
Abominables (well, abdominals, if you want to get technical)
1. Crunches (a modified form of situp, easier on your back)
2. Twist crunches
3. Bent knee leg raises
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Champions Body for LIfe, by Art Carey
The weight loss program I share with my clients, and have shared on this blog, is one in which you lose weight very gradually. This makes it easier for your body to get used to your new weight - when you achieve it - and it makes it easier for you to maintain that weight.
But if you don't want the easy approach, if you want an approach that is going to give you a hard body in just 12 weeks (3 months), give the regimen outlined in this book a try. (I use it for the weight training exercises in the rear of the book, meself, and that's the main reason why I'm posting info about it here.)
And remember that as with any program, once you have achieved your target weight, you can't - BAM - immediately go back to the way you used to eat before. You must wean yourself off it gradually, again to give your body time to adjust to the new you, otherwise it's going to strive to regain all the weight it didn't want to lose in the first place!
Champions Body for Life: 12 weeks to mental and physical strength, by Art Carey. Collins, 2008.
If you like to have role models on which to base your activities, I think you'll find Champions Body for Life: 12 weeks to mental and physical strength, by Art Carey of interest.
On the flyleafs of the book are photos of the people in "before" and "after" poses. And those are quite inspirational. (Although you can tell that one key to lose weight is to get a nice tan!)
Anyway, this book provides you with a 12 week program to lose weight and sculpt your body. (The first two thirds of the book are inspirational stories, the last third provides photos of weight training exercises)
Here's the Table of Contents
intro. Crossing the Abyss - the decisive moment
1. 1. The story of body-for-life
2. Starting the body-for-life challenge
3. Think like a champion
4. Planning your challenge
5. The 46 minute or less weight training solution
6. Week 6, you're halfway there
7. The 20-minute Aerobic solution
8. Eat like a champion (remember, the food advice they give here is for body sculpting, not losing weight per se, so they ban food except on one day, that as far as I'm concerned you can eat, in moderation, any day. Make up your own mind.) (On the other hand, with their diet plan you can eat every 3 hours! Bye bye hunger pains!)
9. The Champions Supplemt Solution (Body for Life is sponsored by a supplement company called Myoplex - but supplements are only needed for those trying to body-build, not body sculpt!)
10. A week i the Body for Life Challenge
11. Owning Yor Transformation
12. Week 12 - It's Personal
Day 85 - the New You
Body for Life Tools (recipes)
Body for Life Community
But if you don't want the easy approach, if you want an approach that is going to give you a hard body in just 12 weeks (3 months), give the regimen outlined in this book a try. (I use it for the weight training exercises in the rear of the book, meself, and that's the main reason why I'm posting info about it here.)
And remember that as with any program, once you have achieved your target weight, you can't - BAM - immediately go back to the way you used to eat before. You must wean yourself off it gradually, again to give your body time to adjust to the new you, otherwise it's going to strive to regain all the weight it didn't want to lose in the first place!
Champions Body for Life: 12 weeks to mental and physical strength, by Art Carey. Collins, 2008.
If you like to have role models on which to base your activities, I think you'll find Champions Body for Life: 12 weeks to mental and physical strength, by Art Carey of interest.
On the flyleafs of the book are photos of the people in "before" and "after" poses. And those are quite inspirational. (Although you can tell that one key to lose weight is to get a nice tan!)
Anyway, this book provides you with a 12 week program to lose weight and sculpt your body. (The first two thirds of the book are inspirational stories, the last third provides photos of weight training exercises)
Here's the Table of Contents
intro. Crossing the Abyss - the decisive moment
1. 1. The story of body-for-life
2. Starting the body-for-life challenge
3. Think like a champion
4. Planning your challenge
5. The 46 minute or less weight training solution
6. Week 6, you're halfway there
7. The 20-minute Aerobic solution
8. Eat like a champion (remember, the food advice they give here is for body sculpting, not losing weight per se, so they ban food except on one day, that as far as I'm concerned you can eat, in moderation, any day. Make up your own mind.) (On the other hand, with their diet plan you can eat every 3 hours! Bye bye hunger pains!)
9. The Champions Supplemt Solution (Body for Life is sponsored by a supplement company called Myoplex - but supplements are only needed for those trying to body-build, not body sculpt!)
10. A week i the Body for Life Challenge
11. Owning Yor Transformation
12. Week 12 - It's Personal
Day 85 - the New You
Body for Life Tools (recipes)
Body for Life Community
If You're Gonna Wear the Style...
I just got back from the store. As I was wandering around, I saw two women in their 20s (I think) walking ahead of me. Each one seemed to be about 20 pounds overweight. No problem there - to be 20 pounds overweight is to be a helluva lot healthier than being 20 pounds underweight.
But they had each stuffed themselves into those low-top, skinny jeans, such that their 20 pounds of overweight puffed over the tops of their jeans like a muffin top (hence that name for this phenomena) and was really unattractive.
Had they been wearing reasonably sized jeans, their extra weight would not have been noticeable at all, probably. But because they were wearing the day's fashion - those low-top jeans to show off the belly button (not an item I've ever found sexy, by the way) they probably looked heavier than they were. And although they were wearing shirts tucked into their jeans so we didn't have to see their bellybuttons, they were the "fitted" shirts that only served to accentuate the muffin top.
So I wondered about them for the rest of the day. (Not that they were the only "muffin tops" I've ever seen - it's so prevalent that a term has been invented to cover them). Were these two girls so comfortable in their own skins that they didn't mind walking around like muffin tops? Or did they honestly think they actually looked good because they were wearing the latest fashions?
I've often wondered that, when I see people walking around in clothing so unsuitable or foolish looking, from the teenage boys walking around with one hand clutching the tops of their jeans so their pants don't fall off, to girls wearing low top jeans to show off their belly buttons in a fashion designed for a flat belly...only they don't have a flat belly. Far from it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every woman must weight exactly the right amount so that she can stuff herself into low top jeans and follow the current fashion.
I'm saying that fashions for the last several decades have been geared solely toward the slender - even skeletal - woman, and they just don't look good on those who have healthy curves.
Instead of trying to wear skinny fashions when you aren't skinny, wear decent fitting clothes that make you look good no matter how much you weigh!
And don't try to starve yourself down to a skeletal size so that you can fit into those unrealistic fashion designs.
There's no reason for full-figured women to be ashamed of their curves or not desire to flaunt them (if you're the flaunting kind!) - just wear the clothing that accentuates those curves, doesnt' bunch them up artificially (as in what happens when someone tries to squeeze into pants too tight for them).
But they had each stuffed themselves into those low-top, skinny jeans, such that their 20 pounds of overweight puffed over the tops of their jeans like a muffin top (hence that name for this phenomena) and was really unattractive.
Had they been wearing reasonably sized jeans, their extra weight would not have been noticeable at all, probably. But because they were wearing the day's fashion - those low-top jeans to show off the belly button (not an item I've ever found sexy, by the way) they probably looked heavier than they were. And although they were wearing shirts tucked into their jeans so we didn't have to see their bellybuttons, they were the "fitted" shirts that only served to accentuate the muffin top.
So I wondered about them for the rest of the day. (Not that they were the only "muffin tops" I've ever seen - it's so prevalent that a term has been invented to cover them). Were these two girls so comfortable in their own skins that they didn't mind walking around like muffin tops? Or did they honestly think they actually looked good because they were wearing the latest fashions?
I've often wondered that, when I see people walking around in clothing so unsuitable or foolish looking, from the teenage boys walking around with one hand clutching the tops of their jeans so their pants don't fall off, to girls wearing low top jeans to show off their belly buttons in a fashion designed for a flat belly...only they don't have a flat belly. Far from it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every woman must weight exactly the right amount so that she can stuff herself into low top jeans and follow the current fashion.
I'm saying that fashions for the last several decades have been geared solely toward the slender - even skeletal - woman, and they just don't look good on those who have healthy curves.
Instead of trying to wear skinny fashions when you aren't skinny, wear decent fitting clothes that make you look good no matter how much you weigh!
And don't try to starve yourself down to a skeletal size so that you can fit into those unrealistic fashion designs.
There's no reason for full-figured women to be ashamed of their curves or not desire to flaunt them (if you're the flaunting kind!) - just wear the clothing that accentuates those curves, doesnt' bunch them up artificially (as in what happens when someone tries to squeeze into pants too tight for them).
Friday, March 11, 2011
A Bit OT: T.C.U. Sharpshooters, All Women, Try to Keep Title
T.C.U. Sharpshooters, All Women, Try to Keep Title
I thought about the team being restricted to women because of Title IX was pretty interesting, because that doesn't seem fair. Women should have an equal opportunity for sports, not a better opportunity than guys.
In the same way I'm conflicted about girls on "boys" teams - for example there was a case a few weeks ago of a boy who defaulted rather than face a girl wrestler.
What happens if a boy wants to get on the girl's basketball team? Will he be allowed?
There are sports - such as equestrian, shooting, archery, etc., where, with strength and speed taken out of the equation, and only skill needed, women can and should compete on an equal footing with men (which is why it annoys me that the Olympic shooting competitions are segregated. But in the Olympics, Muslims take part, and Allah forbid that they should be beaten by women!)
But sports which require brute strength and speed, such as football, there's got to be a certain point where women simply can't compete, because an average sized guy could mash her into a pulp without even trying, and if you watch guys on the football field, they try to mash each other to a pulp, and won't take it easy on a girl. Nor should they - on the football field.
Ah, well, philosophical conundrums aside, I thought it was an interesting article to share.
FORT WORTH — Last year, Texas Christian became the first all-women’s rifle team to win the N.C.A.A. championship, defeating seven other teams that were either coed or all men. Among their opponents were teams from Army and Navy, whose best shooters were excellent, but not as good as T.C.U’s.
The T.C.U. rifle coach Karen Monez will send out three members of last year’s N.C.A.A. championship team when the Horned Frogs defend their title.
The Horned Frogs will attempt to defend their title when the 2011 championships are held Friday and Saturday at Columbus State in Georgia. T.C.U. is led by three returning members of the championship team, the sophomores Sarah Scherer, Sarah Beard and Caitlin Morrissey. Each of them has made an all-American team in either the small-bore or air-rifle event.
It seems fitting that their coach, Karen Monez, has a framed photograph in her office of Annie Oakley, the legendary Old West sharpshooter who was the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the late 19th century. Its caption reads, “Any woman who does not thoroughly enjoy tramping across the country on a clear frosty morning with a good gun and a pair of dogs does not know how to enjoy life.”
In N.C.A.A. competition, each contestant gets 60 shots. In small bore (.22 caliber), shooting is done from three positions — prone, kneeling and standing. The air rifle (.177 caliber) is all standing.
The shooting is not rapid fire. Shooters have up to two hours to complete their shots. It is a slow, methodical, intense sport.
“When you’re standing there, it looks like you’re not doing much,” Beard said. “But when we come off the line, we’re starving because it’s so much mental work.”
T.C.U. is an all-women’s team by design. It’s not that Monez has anything against having men on the team, but T.C.U. restricts it to women as part of complying with Title IX requirements. There are 26 Division I rifle teams.
Monez said there is no additional joy in women beating men.
“Not really, because all the shooters at this level came up through the junior ranks,” she said. “They’ve been shooting against the guys their whole shooting career. We’re just an equal sport. But it was great as the first all-female team to accomplish that. That was outstanding.”
The T.C.U. team members come from five states — Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Rhode Island. Last year, the team included Simone Riford, who went to the same Hawaiian high school as President Obama. When the Horned Frogs were honored for their championship with a visit to the White House, Riford showed the president her class ring.
Monez, who is in her seventh season as T.C.U.’s coach, said recruiting is done at junior events and the shooting community is such a small one that all competing colleges have access to the best shooters for several years before they reach college age.
With only 3.6 scholarships for the 10-woman team, Monez has a challenge dividing the money, but most of the shooters also qualify for academic scholarships.
This year’s team includes the junior Mattie Brogdon, who did not qualify for the N.C.A.A. tournament as a sophomore, but was part of the 2009 team that finished fifth. The other team member is the freshman Catherine Green.
Monez has spent more than 35 years in competitive shooting — including three years with the Army marksmanship unit and 22 more as a member of the Army reserve — and she has had a distinguished career. She won 55 individual titles and performed at such a high level that Shooting Sports Magazine named her one of the 50 greatest shooters of the 20th century.
T.C.U. has 23 consecutive victories and its obvious goal is to add another victory and another title. But the athletes say they are philosophical about their chances.
“I kind of have the attitude that we’re going to go out there and shoot our match,” Morrissey said. “If that happens to put us on top, that’s fantastic. Of course we’ll walk around and say we’re double champions.
“But if someone has a better day than us, we can’t control that. I’m still going to be proud that I am on a team, and we can walk about and say we won a national championship. That’s something a lot of people don’t get to do.”
I thought about the team being restricted to women because of Title IX was pretty interesting, because that doesn't seem fair. Women should have an equal opportunity for sports, not a better opportunity than guys.
In the same way I'm conflicted about girls on "boys" teams - for example there was a case a few weeks ago of a boy who defaulted rather than face a girl wrestler.
What happens if a boy wants to get on the girl's basketball team? Will he be allowed?
There are sports - such as equestrian, shooting, archery, etc., where, with strength and speed taken out of the equation, and only skill needed, women can and should compete on an equal footing with men (which is why it annoys me that the Olympic shooting competitions are segregated. But in the Olympics, Muslims take part, and Allah forbid that they should be beaten by women!)
But sports which require brute strength and speed, such as football, there's got to be a certain point where women simply can't compete, because an average sized guy could mash her into a pulp without even trying, and if you watch guys on the football field, they try to mash each other to a pulp, and won't take it easy on a girl. Nor should they - on the football field.
Ah, well, philosophical conundrums aside, I thought it was an interesting article to share.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Dedication
Yesterday I found my VHS tape of Mrs 'Arris Goes to Paris, filmed in 1992, starring Angela Lansbury, Diana Rigg and Omar Sharif.
Although it's been a while since I've seen it (and I'm on my second viewing in two days now, it's making me feel very nostalgic), I had never forgotten the opening ten minutes of it, and it has been an inspiration to me ever since I saw it.
In the 1950s, Mrs. 'Arris, a middle-aged widow and charwomn, played by Angela Lansbury, sees a Dior dress at the home of her employer, and conceives the ambition that she wants a dress just like it. (Despite the fact that there is no where, in her social circle, that she'd ever have cause to wear the dress.)
At first it's just a yearning. Dior dresses cost 450 pounds (about $900 in 1950s dollars, I think) and there's no way she could afford it - it would take her 20 years of work to earn that much money.
But she's a player of the "pools" - some kind of lottery - and she wins 170 pounds. With that much money in her hand, the unnatainable becomes attainable. She figures out that if she works hard for three years - giving up the movies, riding the bus to work, and the occasional drop of beer (not to mention gin), and taking a second, night job, she will be able to save enough money to nip over to Paris for the day and buy a Dior dress.
And she does. The three years goes fast on screen, of course, we just get a lot of shots of her walking over a bridge in all weathers while a bright red doubledecker bus zooms past her, constant sewing and washing for what is evidently her second job, and constant counting of the money she's earned, which are all going to go to buy her a Dior dress.
Substitute "Losing weight" for a Dior dress, or indeed, substutitute any other ambition for that Dior dress, and you can see how much hard work is necessary to achieve any goal- but it is possible if you do put in that hard work!
A lot of advertising you see says, "Lose weight without any effort" "Easy weight loss". "Never feel hungry."
Those are all bogus claims. If you want to lose weight, you must make the effort. You will feel hungry at times - although of course there is no reason at all to starve yourself...just be aware that if you feel hungry - you're losing weight! While you're in your weight loss mode, it's a good thing!
ANd what's so bad about feeling hungry, anyway? Again - you don't want to not eat until you feel like you're starving - then when you do start to eat you'll stuff yourself. But don't be afraid to go to bed with a couple of hunger pains - in the mornng they'll be gone, or if not gone, you can assuage them with breakfast.
"It's a great life as long as you don't weaken."
(Oh, and just in case you're interested, here's the rest of the plot!
Mrs "Arris gets to Paris and goes to the House of Dior, where she, a mere charwoman, is looked askance upon by all the high class, hoity toity women in the audience. However, the 2nd in command of the House of Dior (Diana Rigg) dislikes the first in command intensely, and when he tells her to throw Mrs 'Arris out, she instead seats her in the first row of the viewing audience, next to Omar Sharif's character. He is a wealthy aristocrat, but is not snobbish with it, and enjoys her innocent enjoyment of the beautiful dresses on display - all the other women being so blase about it.)
After the showing she tries to buy the dress, and is dismayed to discover that the dresses are not "off the rack" - they must be made and this takes 3 weeks worth of fittings to accomplish.
However, Mrs 'Arris has charmed the two worker bees, because when the model came in to the work room to show off the dress she shows how appreciative of it she is, and they promise they'll work night and day to finish the dress in one week. But Mrs. 'Arris has nowhere to stay - she can't afford a hotel room.
Fortunately, at this point the accountant comes in (who is secretly in love with the model) and he is prevailed upon to let Mrs 'Arris stay with him.
As the days pass, Mrs. 'Arris continues to meet Omar Sharif's character. He is estranged from his daughter and granddaughter, so Mrs. 'Arris takes it upon herself to talk to the daughter and persuade her to make the first move - which she does.
In the salon, she comes across Diana Rigg's character crying, shows genuine concern, and learns that Rigg's husband, who was killed in the war, had been executed as a traitor when in actual fact he'd only been pretending to collaborate with the Germans, he was actually a member of the Resistance. Mrs. 'Arris talks to Sharif's character, who talks to the governmetn and gets Rigg's husband's condemnation lifted.
At the same time, the mean ol' Director of the house of Dior doesn't want Mrs 'Arris, a commoner, to have her dress, so the others combine to sneak around behind his back so she can get it. But at the final fittting, he bursts in, orders Rigg give Mrs 'Arris back her money, and tells Mrs 'Arris to get out.
So Mrs. 'Arris is heartbroken and goes into a park to have a good cry. Meanwhile, Rigg's character calls Sharif's character and tells him what happened. Sharif's character happens to be a friend of Christian Dior, le patron, and goes and has a little chat with him.
The upshot is, the Director is fired and Diana Rigg put in his place. And Mrs 'Ariss gets her dress.
Then there's a dream sequence - or is it? - where Mrs. 'Arris is dancing with Omar Sharif at a party he's giving her.
Then she returns to her small flat in London, and she has these happy memories to sustain her for the rest of her life.
Although it's been a while since I've seen it (and I'm on my second viewing in two days now, it's making me feel very nostalgic), I had never forgotten the opening ten minutes of it, and it has been an inspiration to me ever since I saw it.
In the 1950s, Mrs. 'Arris, a middle-aged widow and charwomn, played by Angela Lansbury, sees a Dior dress at the home of her employer, and conceives the ambition that she wants a dress just like it. (Despite the fact that there is no where, in her social circle, that she'd ever have cause to wear the dress.)
At first it's just a yearning. Dior dresses cost 450 pounds (about $900 in 1950s dollars, I think) and there's no way she could afford it - it would take her 20 years of work to earn that much money.
But she's a player of the "pools" - some kind of lottery - and she wins 170 pounds. With that much money in her hand, the unnatainable becomes attainable. She figures out that if she works hard for three years - giving up the movies, riding the bus to work, and the occasional drop of beer (not to mention gin), and taking a second, night job, she will be able to save enough money to nip over to Paris for the day and buy a Dior dress.
And she does. The three years goes fast on screen, of course, we just get a lot of shots of her walking over a bridge in all weathers while a bright red doubledecker bus zooms past her, constant sewing and washing for what is evidently her second job, and constant counting of the money she's earned, which are all going to go to buy her a Dior dress.
Substitute "Losing weight" for a Dior dress, or indeed, substutitute any other ambition for that Dior dress, and you can see how much hard work is necessary to achieve any goal- but it is possible if you do put in that hard work!
A lot of advertising you see says, "Lose weight without any effort" "Easy weight loss". "Never feel hungry."
Those are all bogus claims. If you want to lose weight, you must make the effort. You will feel hungry at times - although of course there is no reason at all to starve yourself...just be aware that if you feel hungry - you're losing weight! While you're in your weight loss mode, it's a good thing!
ANd what's so bad about feeling hungry, anyway? Again - you don't want to not eat until you feel like you're starving - then when you do start to eat you'll stuff yourself. But don't be afraid to go to bed with a couple of hunger pains - in the mornng they'll be gone, or if not gone, you can assuage them with breakfast.
"It's a great life as long as you don't weaken."
(Oh, and just in case you're interested, here's the rest of the plot!
Mrs "Arris gets to Paris and goes to the House of Dior, where she, a mere charwoman, is looked askance upon by all the high class, hoity toity women in the audience. However, the 2nd in command of the House of Dior (Diana Rigg) dislikes the first in command intensely, and when he tells her to throw Mrs 'Arris out, she instead seats her in the first row of the viewing audience, next to Omar Sharif's character. He is a wealthy aristocrat, but is not snobbish with it, and enjoys her innocent enjoyment of the beautiful dresses on display - all the other women being so blase about it.)
After the showing she tries to buy the dress, and is dismayed to discover that the dresses are not "off the rack" - they must be made and this takes 3 weeks worth of fittings to accomplish.
However, Mrs 'Arris has charmed the two worker bees, because when the model came in to the work room to show off the dress she shows how appreciative of it she is, and they promise they'll work night and day to finish the dress in one week. But Mrs. 'Arris has nowhere to stay - she can't afford a hotel room.
Fortunately, at this point the accountant comes in (who is secretly in love with the model) and he is prevailed upon to let Mrs 'Arris stay with him.
As the days pass, Mrs. 'Arris continues to meet Omar Sharif's character. He is estranged from his daughter and granddaughter, so Mrs. 'Arris takes it upon herself to talk to the daughter and persuade her to make the first move - which she does.
In the salon, she comes across Diana Rigg's character crying, shows genuine concern, and learns that Rigg's husband, who was killed in the war, had been executed as a traitor when in actual fact he'd only been pretending to collaborate with the Germans, he was actually a member of the Resistance. Mrs. 'Arris talks to Sharif's character, who talks to the governmetn and gets Rigg's husband's condemnation lifted.
At the same time, the mean ol' Director of the house of Dior doesn't want Mrs 'Arris, a commoner, to have her dress, so the others combine to sneak around behind his back so she can get it. But at the final fittting, he bursts in, orders Rigg give Mrs 'Arris back her money, and tells Mrs 'Arris to get out.
So Mrs. 'Arris is heartbroken and goes into a park to have a good cry. Meanwhile, Rigg's character calls Sharif's character and tells him what happened. Sharif's character happens to be a friend of Christian Dior, le patron, and goes and has a little chat with him.
The upshot is, the Director is fired and Diana Rigg put in his place. And Mrs 'Ariss gets her dress.
Then there's a dream sequence - or is it? - where Mrs. 'Arris is dancing with Omar Sharif at a party he's giving her.
Then she returns to her small flat in London, and she has these happy memories to sustain her for the rest of her life.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Read Study Headlines With a Healthy Skepticism
I listen to the Rush Limbaugh show. Yes, he's a male chauvanist and some times he's mastodonically wrong on the things he talks about - but sometimes he isn't.
When it comes to weight loss, he's mastodonically wrong.
Limbaugh, who is at least 100 pounds overweight if not more, refuses to exercise for the sake of exercising. He believes, apparently, that it's possible to lose weight by dieting alone. (And indeed, it is, but it's not as enjoyable.) But more than that, he scoffs at people who exercise.
So today, he read a selected portion of an article that was reporting on a study conducted in Australia.
Here's the title of the article - note how categorical it is, how it makes a statement of fact:
Exercise ups sweet cravings
Ooooh...doesn't that just make you think?
Well...no. Because I skipped to the end.
The study consisted of 34 people. 34. Of whom a little less than half found that after they exercised, they had a craving for sweets like chocolate and donuts.
Well, big whoop.
34 people.
It's a brief article, and it doesn't explain all the other factors that go into this.
I don't know if any of you, my readers, have ever participated in a study, but a study is run on as "efficient" a basis as possible. The people running the study ask "yes" or "no" questions, or "answer a question from 1 to 5".
If those questions aren't phrased properly, the information received is flawed. If there are a variety of factors involved, which the respondant has no way of communicating to the people conducting the study, the information received is flawed. And more to the point, if you're working with a grand total of 34 people, the information is useless.
Unless those 34 people are one whole group, who live on an island, and represent only themselves, or perhaps a total of 100 people, then maybe the info is of some value.
But 34 people out of 34 million?
Here's what might have happened. People who exercise burn off calories, and then think that because they've burned off calories, they can eat a candy-bar and the exercise will set off the calories consumed. Which is true, by the way. If you exercise for 4 hours and burn 300 calories, and then eat a 300 calorie candy bar, you will neither gain nor lose weight.
But that doesn't mean the exercise caused a craving for chocolate, merely that the exercisee believed that after exercising, it was okay to reward himself, or herself, with chocolate. Not quite the same thing.
Whenever you read the results of a study reported in the newspaper, in which a headline categorically states something to be true - remember that that headline was probably written by a reporter, not the people conducting the study.
But more than that, take a look at how many people participated in the study. [MOre often than not, a study will rarely have more than 1,000 people involved, and usually, far less than that.)
And, if they share it, just what kind of study it was (did the study participants telephone in responses. Did they meet with the person holding the study every day? Did they answer multiple choice questions or essay questions?)
What's the gist of this post, then. Simple - it all comes down to common sense.
It's only common sense that regular exercise will help you lose weight, and maintain your new weight, far better than just diet alone.
Indeed, exercise can help curb your appetite. As long as you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, those in-between cravings can be dealt with by going out for a bike ride or a brisk walk.
When it comes to weight loss, he's mastodonically wrong.
Limbaugh, who is at least 100 pounds overweight if not more, refuses to exercise for the sake of exercising. He believes, apparently, that it's possible to lose weight by dieting alone. (And indeed, it is, but it's not as enjoyable.) But more than that, he scoffs at people who exercise.
So today, he read a selected portion of an article that was reporting on a study conducted in Australia.
Here's the title of the article - note how categorical it is, how it makes a statement of fact:
Exercise ups sweet cravings
Exercise can increase some people's desire to eat high-fat, sugary foods such as doughnuts and prevent them from achieving weight loss goals, a new study shows.
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Associate Professor Neil King, from the Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), said exercise caused an increased wanting for fatty, sweet foods in some overweight and obese people.
Professor King, a behavioural scientist, said his previous research, published in 2008, had shown the ability of overweight people to shed kilos through exercise varied considerably.
Ooooh...doesn't that just make you think?
Well...no. Because I skipped to the end.
The study consisted of 34 people. 34. Of whom a little less than half found that after they exercised, they had a craving for sweets like chocolate and donuts.
Well, big whoop.
34 people.
It's a brief article, and it doesn't explain all the other factors that go into this.
I don't know if any of you, my readers, have ever participated in a study, but a study is run on as "efficient" a basis as possible. The people running the study ask "yes" or "no" questions, or "answer a question from 1 to 5".
If those questions aren't phrased properly, the information received is flawed. If there are a variety of factors involved, which the respondant has no way of communicating to the people conducting the study, the information received is flawed. And more to the point, if you're working with a grand total of 34 people, the information is useless.
Unless those 34 people are one whole group, who live on an island, and represent only themselves, or perhaps a total of 100 people, then maybe the info is of some value.
But 34 people out of 34 million?
Here's what might have happened. People who exercise burn off calories, and then think that because they've burned off calories, they can eat a candy-bar and the exercise will set off the calories consumed. Which is true, by the way. If you exercise for 4 hours and burn 300 calories, and then eat a 300 calorie candy bar, you will neither gain nor lose weight.
But that doesn't mean the exercise caused a craving for chocolate, merely that the exercisee believed that after exercising, it was okay to reward himself, or herself, with chocolate. Not quite the same thing.
Whenever you read the results of a study reported in the newspaper, in which a headline categorically states something to be true - remember that that headline was probably written by a reporter, not the people conducting the study.
But more than that, take a look at how many people participated in the study. [MOre often than not, a study will rarely have more than 1,000 people involved, and usually, far less than that.)
And, if they share it, just what kind of study it was (did the study participants telephone in responses. Did they meet with the person holding the study every day? Did they answer multiple choice questions or essay questions?)
What's the gist of this post, then. Simple - it all comes down to common sense.
It's only common sense that regular exercise will help you lose weight, and maintain your new weight, far better than just diet alone.
Indeed, exercise can help curb your appetite. As long as you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, those in-between cravings can be dealt with by going out for a bike ride or a brisk walk.
Do You Eat Because You're Hungry...or Bored?
I've brought this subject up a few times in the past - in particular when I encourage you to keep a detailed, day to day journal in which you record what you eat, when and why.
A lot of people eat too much not because they are hungry, but because they are bored or because it's become a habit.
That was my own problem a few years ago, when I found it necessary to cut down on my Pepsi consumption. After over 30 years of drinking a lot of Pepsi, I had developed certain habits. Just as most people drink coffee to wake up in the morning, I had a Pepsi. After I went out for a bike ride, I'd sit down at my computer with a Pepsi. Whenver a favotite TV show of mine was scheduled to air, I'd sit down with a Pepsi, and a snack, to watch it. It was just tradition...and habit.
I had to break all of these when it became necessary for me to stop drinking over 800 calories a day. (Like I said, I drank a lot of Pepsi.)
It was difficult, I dont' deny it, the more so because I resented having to do it. But there's nothing you can do about it...as you age your metabolism starts to slow down, especially after you hit the age of 40. There's a lot of things willpower can do for you...but reying to will your metabolism to stay fast doesn't work!
So the next time you get a snack between meals, or have a snack after 8 or 9 o'clock at night, try to analyze why you're doing it. Are you really hungry, or are you just bored and trying to find something to do to fill up ten to thirty minutes of your time?
I'm a reader, and I confess I don't understand people who don't read. What do they do with their time? Of course, young kids play videogames. Lots of adults do too, of course. Other folk watch TV. But other than that, what do you do to fill an evening? Sew, knit? Actually...sewing and knitting might be good hobbies...if you've got your hands full with knitting needles or fabric in one hand and needle in another...you can't be snacking at the same time.
But remember...if you do feel like snacking, try a banana.
A lot of people eat too much not because they are hungry, but because they are bored or because it's become a habit.
That was my own problem a few years ago, when I found it necessary to cut down on my Pepsi consumption. After over 30 years of drinking a lot of Pepsi, I had developed certain habits. Just as most people drink coffee to wake up in the morning, I had a Pepsi. After I went out for a bike ride, I'd sit down at my computer with a Pepsi. Whenver a favotite TV show of mine was scheduled to air, I'd sit down with a Pepsi, and a snack, to watch it. It was just tradition...and habit.
I had to break all of these when it became necessary for me to stop drinking over 800 calories a day. (Like I said, I drank a lot of Pepsi.)
It was difficult, I dont' deny it, the more so because I resented having to do it. But there's nothing you can do about it...as you age your metabolism starts to slow down, especially after you hit the age of 40. There's a lot of things willpower can do for you...but reying to will your metabolism to stay fast doesn't work!
So the next time you get a snack between meals, or have a snack after 8 or 9 o'clock at night, try to analyze why you're doing it. Are you really hungry, or are you just bored and trying to find something to do to fill up ten to thirty minutes of your time?
I'm a reader, and I confess I don't understand people who don't read. What do they do with their time? Of course, young kids play videogames. Lots of adults do too, of course. Other folk watch TV. But other than that, what do you do to fill an evening? Sew, knit? Actually...sewing and knitting might be good hobbies...if you've got your hands full with knitting needles or fabric in one hand and needle in another...you can't be snacking at the same time.
But remember...if you do feel like snacking, try a banana.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Women's Basketball Tourney
I'm watching the Tennessee Lady Vols play the Kentucky Wildcats, and not enjoying it very much. Both teams play a stationary offense, everyone just stands around and stands around until time begins to run out, then they frantically try to get a score.
Many years ago, I think Duke ran a motion offense, and my goodness they were pretty to watch. Everyone moved all the time, running screens, running in circles, and the passes were pretty. I don't think anyone plays like that anymore.
As I think I have blogged before, I've only recently relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming, the city of never-ending wind, and I'm not too sure if I'm going to be doing much biking in the summer - my favorite pastime.
But I must have some kind of physical activity, or sport, to play, to get my exercise. I'm busy working on my golfing skills, but I think I'm also going to invest in a stand up basketball hoop - something I've always wanted but never gotten around to getting before.
That's going to be fun. I don't expect to play other peoople, but I can play HORSE by myself, and running down the basketball will keep my legs moving.
I'm hoping that the wind will not be too bad once this winter is over - I've been promised it wont be... we'll see!
But the lesson is - there is some activity that you can find to do, no matter how inclement the weather, or how disagreeable your neighborhood might be. (And hopefully you're neighborhood is not too disagreeable.)
And exercise makes the process of losing - and maintaining - weight, just that more enjoyable.
Many years ago, I think Duke ran a motion offense, and my goodness they were pretty to watch. Everyone moved all the time, running screens, running in circles, and the passes were pretty. I don't think anyone plays like that anymore.
As I think I have blogged before, I've only recently relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming, the city of never-ending wind, and I'm not too sure if I'm going to be doing much biking in the summer - my favorite pastime.
But I must have some kind of physical activity, or sport, to play, to get my exercise. I'm busy working on my golfing skills, but I think I'm also going to invest in a stand up basketball hoop - something I've always wanted but never gotten around to getting before.
That's going to be fun. I don't expect to play other peoople, but I can play HORSE by myself, and running down the basketball will keep my legs moving.
I'm hoping that the wind will not be too bad once this winter is over - I've been promised it wont be... we'll see!
But the lesson is - there is some activity that you can find to do, no matter how inclement the weather, or how disagreeable your neighborhood might be. (And hopefully you're neighborhood is not too disagreeable.)
And exercise makes the process of losing - and maintaining - weight, just that more enjoyable.
Friday, March 4, 2011
General vs Sport-specific fitness
A couple of days ago I'd blogged about my first essay into the world of golf - I went out and hit 30 balls, and announced that the next day, I'd hit 60.
I overestimated it - today (I missed yesterday for various reasons) I decided to hit only 30 balls again.
Although I keep fit over the winter by jogging up and walking down my stairs a few times each day, and performing dummbell curls and lat side raises, that's good for walking and biking...but not so good for golf, I've discovered. (Though I should have known it.)
In "teeing off" which I was doing, you swing your arms back, forward, and up, which also twists your torso in an unnatural movement.
After 30 swings, I wasn't feeling any twinges in any of my muscles, but I could feel the beginning of the beginning of twinges, in particular in my sides. So I decided it would be more sensible to build up my golfing muscles gradually.So my plan it to hit 30 ball each day over the course of the next seven days, then progress to 40 balls a day, then 50, then 60.
The same principle holds true in weight training. "No pain, no gain" is a philosophy for muscle builders, not muscle sculptors. And we want to be muscle sculptors.
I overestimated it - today (I missed yesterday for various reasons) I decided to hit only 30 balls again.
Although I keep fit over the winter by jogging up and walking down my stairs a few times each day, and performing dummbell curls and lat side raises, that's good for walking and biking...but not so good for golf, I've discovered. (Though I should have known it.)
In "teeing off" which I was doing, you swing your arms back, forward, and up, which also twists your torso in an unnatural movement.
After 30 swings, I wasn't feeling any twinges in any of my muscles, but I could feel the beginning of the beginning of twinges, in particular in my sides. So I decided it would be more sensible to build up my golfing muscles gradually.So my plan it to hit 30 ball each day over the course of the next seven days, then progress to 40 balls a day, then 50, then 60.
The same principle holds true in weight training. "No pain, no gain" is a philosophy for muscle builders, not muscle sculptors. And we want to be muscle sculptors.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Hungry? Eat a Banana
I saw this on Yahoo yesterday, and it's quite true, so I thought I'd share it.
I thought it was interesting that they advocate drinking rum - even a teaspoonful! - but....
The general advice is sound. A Banana is good and good for you.
: The ultimate hunger buster partner
by Health.com, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:36am PST 577 Comments Post a Comment Read More from This Author » Report Abuse ShareretweetEmailPrintBy Shaun Chavis
Ever grab a snack but then feel hungry again 20 minutes later? Next time, reach for a banana. It’s loaded with Resistant Starch (RS), a healthy carb that fills you up and helps to boost your metabolism. Slightly underripe medium-sized bananas have 12.5 grams of RS—more than most other foods. Ripe bananas give you 4.7 grams of RS, still enough to keep hunger pangs away. Check out these tasty ways to work in this wonder food.
Health.com: 8 reasons carbs help you lose weight
Banana "Ice Cream"
Peel, slice, and freeze 1 small banana. Place frozen banana pieces in a blender with 3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk; blend until thick. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts.
Banana Salsa
Make a quick salsa with 2 diced peeled bananas, 2 tablespoons minced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro, 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalepeno pepper, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar and salt to taste. Use it to top fish or pork tacos, jerk chicken, or jerk pork.
Health.com: 8 tasty taco recipes
Broiled Bananas
Slice 1 peeled banana in half lengthwise. Put banana pieces, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the banana pieces with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and broil on high until the sugar bubbles and the bananas brown (about 2–3 minutes). After broiling, sprinkle with cinnamon—or drizzle with 1 teaspoon rum for an extra-special treat.
Health.com: Surprising health benefits of cinnamon
Coffee and Banana Smoothie
Place 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, 1/2 cup cold black coffee, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/2 cup ice in a blender. Blend until smooth—and enjoy.
Health.com: 11 healthy milk shakes and smoothies
Tropical Fruit Salad
Make a fruit salad with 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 sliced peeled kiwi, and 1/2 diced peeled ripe mango. Squirt juice of 1/4 lime over the salad, and serve.
I thought it was interesting that they advocate drinking rum - even a teaspoonful! - but....
The general advice is sound. A Banana is good and good for you.
: The ultimate hunger buster partner
by Health.com, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:36am PST 577 Comments Post a Comment Read More from This Author » Report Abuse ShareretweetEmailPrintBy Shaun Chavis
Ever grab a snack but then feel hungry again 20 minutes later? Next time, reach for a banana. It’s loaded with Resistant Starch (RS), a healthy carb that fills you up and helps to boost your metabolism. Slightly underripe medium-sized bananas have 12.5 grams of RS—more than most other foods. Ripe bananas give you 4.7 grams of RS, still enough to keep hunger pangs away. Check out these tasty ways to work in this wonder food.
Health.com: 8 reasons carbs help you lose weight
Banana "Ice Cream"
Peel, slice, and freeze 1 small banana. Place frozen banana pieces in a blender with 3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk; blend until thick. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts.
Banana Salsa
Make a quick salsa with 2 diced peeled bananas, 2 tablespoons minced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro, 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalepeno pepper, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar and salt to taste. Use it to top fish or pork tacos, jerk chicken, or jerk pork.
Health.com: 8 tasty taco recipes
Broiled Bananas
Slice 1 peeled banana in half lengthwise. Put banana pieces, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the banana pieces with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and broil on high until the sugar bubbles and the bananas brown (about 2–3 minutes). After broiling, sprinkle with cinnamon—or drizzle with 1 teaspoon rum for an extra-special treat.
Health.com: Surprising health benefits of cinnamon
Coffee and Banana Smoothie
Place 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, 1/2 cup cold black coffee, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/2 cup ice in a blender. Blend until smooth—and enjoy.
Health.com: 11 healthy milk shakes and smoothies
Tropical Fruit Salad
Make a fruit salad with 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 sliced peeled kiwi, and 1/2 diced peeled ripe mango. Squirt juice of 1/4 lime over the salad, and serve.
Golf results, Day 1: Humbled!
Well, gosh, golf is harder than it looks!
I only spent half an hour or so out there...I need to build a wooden plank or something in which to set my golf tees because the sandy ground around here isn't too good...
I hit only 30 balls, that's enough for my first day. Two of 'em actually rose in the air and went maybe 20-30 yards or so. Most of them stayed on the ground, five of em stopped after about 20 feet! and of course a couple of times I completely whiffed. Whiffed!
Then came the tracking down of the balls - that's where you'll get most of your exercise. You can buy a golf retriever - a long handled instrument that you can use to grip the ball without having to bend down and pick it up. But it's that bending down that's beneficial - exercise-wise, so forget about the golf retriever.
Tomorrow I'll aim for 60 balls.
I only spent half an hour or so out there...I need to build a wooden plank or something in which to set my golf tees because the sandy ground around here isn't too good...
I hit only 30 balls, that's enough for my first day. Two of 'em actually rose in the air and went maybe 20-30 yards or so. Most of them stayed on the ground, five of em stopped after about 20 feet! and of course a couple of times I completely whiffed. Whiffed!
Then came the tracking down of the balls - that's where you'll get most of your exercise. You can buy a golf retriever - a long handled instrument that you can use to grip the ball without having to bend down and pick it up. But it's that bending down that's beneficial - exercise-wise, so forget about the golf retriever.
Tomorrow I'll aim for 60 balls.
I Embark on My Golf Career
I went to my local Sport Authority today, and bought a driver for $20.00, 30 recycled tennis balls for $15, and 75 tees for $6.
They had other drivers there for over $100, but all I want is some kind of a piece of equipment to practice my golf shot, and a $20 driver is just fine.
I live on an acre-plot of ground out in the country, about 10 miles away from Cheyenne, WY, so I expect to be able to hit the ball with impunity.
I've given up watching golf..Phil Mickelson has been a constant disappointment to me, and the prospect of watching golfers, 90% of them who have at least a little paunch, with probably at least 30% of them with great big paunches, just annoys me...cuz you know if a professional woman golfer appeared on the circuit like that, she'd never hear the end of it.
For those of my readers who live on such vast plots of land, why not take up golf? Not necessarily the whole game, but get a driver and some balls and practice hitting them, then do the walking necessary to pick them all up, and hit them again.
We live in such a stressful world...and there's no denying that using your whole body, culminating with a smack at the end, certainly feels good. Don't hit people, hit a golf ball.
For those who live in urban areas, check out your local parks and see if you can't practice hitting golf shots there. You can go to driving ranges - but there of course you have to pay for a bucket of balls, and all you'll be able to do is hit them - someone else in a cart goes along and collects up all the balls.
So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside now with my new driver and my new golf balls and a couple of my new tees, and see just how far I can hit 'em!
They had other drivers there for over $100, but all I want is some kind of a piece of equipment to practice my golf shot, and a $20 driver is just fine.
I live on an acre-plot of ground out in the country, about 10 miles away from Cheyenne, WY, so I expect to be able to hit the ball with impunity.
I've given up watching golf..Phil Mickelson has been a constant disappointment to me, and the prospect of watching golfers, 90% of them who have at least a little paunch, with probably at least 30% of them with great big paunches, just annoys me...cuz you know if a professional woman golfer appeared on the circuit like that, she'd never hear the end of it.
For those of my readers who live on such vast plots of land, why not take up golf? Not necessarily the whole game, but get a driver and some balls and practice hitting them, then do the walking necessary to pick them all up, and hit them again.
We live in such a stressful world...and there's no denying that using your whole body, culminating with a smack at the end, certainly feels good. Don't hit people, hit a golf ball.
For those who live in urban areas, check out your local parks and see if you can't practice hitting golf shots there. You can go to driving ranges - but there of course you have to pay for a bucket of balls, and all you'll be able to do is hit them - someone else in a cart goes along and collects up all the balls.
So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside now with my new driver and my new golf balls and a couple of my new tees, and see just how far I can hit 'em!
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