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Take a bite out of your cravings
Boring diets can backfire by leaving you desperate and deprived
By Allison Van Dusen
Forbes
Updated: 7:05 a.m. ET July 20, 2007
If you've ever found yourself not just wanting but needing a gooey slice of pizza, you know what it's like to crave food. Understanding what's behind your cravings or how to stop yourself from repeatedly overdoing it, however, is a little more difficult.
"If you're able to manage a craving," says Roger A. Clemens, a spokesman for the Institute of Food Technologists who has 30 years of experience with food and public health, "you should win a Nobel Prize."
It's long been thought that cravings arise from a nutritional deficit. But people crave salty foods such as potato chips all the time, and few are salt-deficient. In fact, the National Institutes of Health estimates that Americans currently eat one and a half to two times the amount of sodium per day recommended by U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
So where else do cravings come from?
Researchers are still working on that answer, but it appears cravings may develop after we eat a combination of fats, carbohydrates, sugar, flavor and texture that's pleasurable. In a study in which participants were given chocolate and a capsule containing all of the ingredients of chocolate, only the chocolate satisfied people's cravings. It's natural to want to replicate that experience or high.
Along those lines, a 2004 brain-imaging study by the Philadelphia-based Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine showed that food cravings activated three regions of the brain: the hippocampus, insula and caudate, three areas also reported to be involved in drug cravings.
Marcia Pelchat, a food psychologist with Monell, says the mechanism behind a food craving likely evolved to make people take care of themselves and motivate them to get food. That might explain why people tend to crave high-calorie foods. They're trying to meet their bodies' needs, even though few people today are in need of so many calories.
Another popular theory is that cravings are hormonal. According to her research, Pelchat says nearly all college-aged women experience cravings, compared to about 70 percent of young men and women over 65, and 65 percent of men over 65. As they age, women also tend to crave fewer sweets, but research has not established that hormonal changes are the cause, Pelchat says.
Diet don'ts
If your cravings are out of control and you want to do something about them, think twice before taking action. Dieting, ironically, can make a food craving even worse. Pelchat's research has shown that going on a monotonous diet — think all-protein or all-juice — increases the likelihood of cravings.
Restricting yourself to certain kinds of foods, bland foods or even foods you don't like triggers the hedonic appetite, says Mary Boggiano, a psychologist and associate professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. As a result, the brain causes us to crave what we like, especially if, like most Americans, you are used to enjoying a variety of foods.
A history of dieting and a high stress level may make a person even more sensitive to a craving, causing them to overeat once they get a bite of what they've been longing for, Boggiano says. Ultimately, the key to successfully cutting back is to maintain variety.
"If you look at the most effective diets, they don't leave anything out," she says.
Turning the tables
Researchers are currently looking into whether it's possible for people to learn to crave foods they don't like, which could someday help junk-food lovers stomach healthy foods.
In the meantime, experts say there are a few methods for controlling cravings that are worth a try.
A Flinders University study, published in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Psychology: Applied showed that visual and olfactory distractions were more effective than auditory ones in reducing people's food cravings. In other words, rather than just trying not to think about ice cream, try actively thinking of, watching or smelling something else.
Other tricks include keeping what you crave off the counter or completely out of the house. You may still think of the food, but you won't come across it accidentally in the pantry, and it'll be harder to access it. Likewise, if you know driving past the doughnut shop on the way to work will set you off, change your route. If you're always binging in front of the refrigerator, try eating somewhere else in the house or consider a redesign.
"Minimizing your food cues by maybe redecorating the kitchen or moving the fridge are not totally crazy ideas," Pelchat says.
If nothing seems to work, you might as well indulge — a little.
"I have the best piece of chocolate I can get at the end of a meal," says Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional science at Penn State and author of "The Volumetrics Eating Plan." "It signals to me that I've finished eating. Some days I have more than one piece, but generally that's it. I end up eating less and I feel satisfied."
© 2007 Forbes.com
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19735937/
Great butt exercises
Philip Goglia
Your question:
What are some great, easy exercises to firm my rear end?
The expert answers:
Your rear end, also known as the "glutes," is composed primarily of your gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus muscles. These muscles contract inward toward the center of your body, or in other words, contract toward and expand away from each other. The best glute exercises mimic these exact muscular movements.
The easiest and most basic exercise involves no equipment -- just you and the floor:
Lie face down on the floor. Use a yoga or exercise mat if you like for comfort. Place your arms out in front of you, palms down, arms straight, hands about eight inches apart from one another. Your legs will remain straight, knees touching and ankles touching through the entire movement.
Once in this position, slowly contract (squeeze) your glutes (butt cheeks) together. Squeeze and hold for a count of three and then release for a count of two Perform these glute contraction and expansion exercises for 15 repetitions (considered one set) for a total of three to five sets for best results.
Another great glute exercise is called "step-ups." Simply place your foot (right or left) solidly on the first step of a flight of stairs and perform a step-up motion, with the other leg lifting your knee to waist height; return that foot to the floor, never touching the first stair with that foot while the exercise is performed.
Perform 15 step-ups for each leg (switch legs after 15 repetitions). A set of stepups is then considered 30 total repetitions, 15 for each leg.
As your muscular endurance improves, you can increase repetitions per leg and increase height and length of range of motion as you move to the next stair. This exercise also can be timed, 15 to 30 seconds per leg or more, depending on your fitness level.
Perform three to five sets of this exercise for best results.
If you have a access to gym equipment, some of the best glute exercises are weighted or body-weight-only walking lunges, lying leg curls, seated leg curls and duck stance squats weighted, with or without a machine or with body weight only.
If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of a particular exercise, exercise machine or the range of motion or postural position of an exercise, always seek out the advice of a certified personal trainer. 
Mississippi Mud Pie
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup lite whipped topping, divided
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup milk
1/3 cup reduced calorie margarine
1/2 cup light cream cheese
1 small box sugar-free chocolate pudding mix*
* Can substitute any flavor
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour and margarine. Spread evenly over bottom of 9-inch pie pan. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden.
Combine 2 tablespoons whipped topping, cream cheese and sugar. Stir until smooth and spread over top of pie crust.
In another bowl, whisk together the pudding mix, milk and 1/2 cup water until smooth. Spoon on top of cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill several hours.
Serves: 8 - 3 WW points per serving
Success is...achieved and maintained by those
who try - and keep trying. W. Clement Stone This article may not specifically pertain to weight loss & health issues, but the things we do to sabotage ourselves in business are the same roadblocks that can keep us from being fully successful in other endeavors too. Besides, this is funny. READ ON!!
Are you your own worst enemy?
7 mental roadblocks that undermine your success
By Gil Schwartz
Mens Health
Updated: 8:52 a.m. ET Aug 31, 2007
You know the guy. He could be right down the hall. Or looking back at YOU in the mirror. He's got the talent, the looks, the hair — but he's not going anywhere. He seems to streak past others and then, wham! Suddenly he's flat on his back watching all the tortoises cross the finish line ahead of him.
No, he's not stupid. Nor is he incompetent, foolish, weak on strategy, or lamer than your average dude. He's suffering from a malady that afflicts just about all of us at one point or another: He's tripping over himself. He's throwing up obstacles where none previously existed. He is, in short, his own worst enemy.
I'm going to tell you about seven bombs you can blow yourself up with. There are more. But I like lucky seven, because if you pay attention, you may be fortunate enough not to stab yourself in the eyes. So pay attention!
Procrastination
Don't get me wrong: I'm a master procrastinator myself. But you need to be smart and tightly wrapped to make it a way of life.
Begin by ascertaining exactly what "the last minute" is for a given project. The night before it's due is not the last minute for a 40-page speech to investors, or a strategic-planning document that's going to be presented to the board of directors. The last minute, in those cases, is a month prior to the night before. A big project will generate many tasks that can, of course, be done the night before, but there are even more that can't. Learn to identify each type.
The great procrastinators indulge in a pre-crastinatory phase that involves the full range of thumb-twiddling, foot-tapping, and snoozing while they decide when to put the pedal to the metal. They then enjoy the procrastinatory activity, which often includes late-stage work on other projects. In this way, they are mixing procrastination with multitasking. Very 21st century.
They treat themselves, after the successful event, to a period of post-crastination, in which they ponder how to put off things more effectively in the future.
But for most employees, procrastination is dynamite. Don't fool around with it until you've attained a certain level of proficiency.
Loose fact-itis
This syndrome involves cooking up a "fact" to bolster one's position during an important meeting — a "fact" that can easily be disproved by saner and more mature minds, leaving the individual who generated it up the creek without a BlackBerry.
Once, I was sitting in a meeting with about 10 other guys, and the boss asks, "What are we going to say to security analysts about our plange rate?" I'm making up the issue here, since there is no such thing as a plange rate, but you get the idea.
So anyhow, Leonard, who is in charge of planges for our company, says something like, "We have the biggest plange rate in the world!" And the chairman says, "Can I use that stat?" and Leonard says, "Yes, well ..." and begins poring over a spreadsheet — after which he admits that we had the biggest plange rate in the world for about 5 minutes last February. A bad moment for Leonard. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.
Hardness of listening
You have to be a really big wheel to enjoy a total lack of obligation to pay attention to other people. Many work decades to earn that right.
I knew this guy in strategic planning, Huff. He had just come from another company. About a week after he arrived, he was included in a meeting about where the corporation was headed. When it was his turn, he spoke for 20 minutes. "Blah blah blah," he said, as the chairman grew visibly restive. Finally, he was done. Then he lolled in his chair, thumbed his BlackBerry, pondered the view out the window, poured coffee from the sideboard, and gave other signs of terminal not-listening.
Everybody hated him so much afterward that he was never invited to a meaningless meeting again. A lot of planes have gone down because the pilot was hewing precisely to the wrong flight plan. Listen. Take it in. There's actually information out there that you're going to need.
Under-truthfulness
I'm not talking about lying, but the far more common mistake of being afraid to tell the boss stuff he doesn't want to hear.
Berkowitz, our former head of sales, would be called upon to give a status report at the senior staff meeting every Thursday. The problem was that he was afraid to say what was really going on. He put a nice shine on things. Later, the head of finance would paint a much more realistic picture. After a while, when they reached Berkowitz, the chairman would say, "Okay, now let's get a bunch of lies from sales." It wasn't long before Berkowitz took a package.
Over-truthfulness
I'm not saying that Berkowitz should have said, "We're having the worst quarter in our history, and nothing can pull us out." That's just stupid and crude. Better would have been something like, "We have an issue on the upside that we think we can work on with some success in the coming weeks." See? The message is conveyed without embarrassing anybody.
Senior executives deserve the truth, except when it would do neither them nor the business much good, in which case kindness is better. But truth is like chocolate: A little is a pleasure; too much can be lethal. The smart and non-self-destructive player will make the boss aware of the general outlines of the snake pit but not inundate him with enough rancid slime to wash him over the edge.
Rampant distemper
My first boss was a woman who was fine before lunch but really crabby afterward. Betty would go into a meeting with the very powerful dudes and sit there with a grumpy expression on her face. Everybody in the room, including the chairman, was afraid of her. When she spoke, they would defer to her, because her ideas were very good and very strongly presented.
It wasn't the quality of her work that eventually got her canned. It was the fact that she was what we may define, technically, as a Big Bummer. It was impossible to have a free-flowing discussion around her because she would bite your nuts off.
I'm sure you have a lot to be angry about. But if you radiate bad vibes, those who wear the stripes are going to feel them and pinpoint the source. That's not smart. Lighten up. Or at least be strategic and keep your karmic bleakness to yourself.
Bad credit/blame management
This is a tough one. A lot of people trip over this issue. Naturally, you want credit for the good things you do. This means working in such a way that (a) you are recognized as the author of the good thing in question, and (b) others are happy to give you the credit. Satisfying both criteria is not always easy. And you never want to be seen as a man who hogs other people's credit. As a rule of thumb, attempt to receive no more than 70 percent of the credit that's due you. Give away the rest.
Then there's the issue of blame. Real players never dodge it when it belongs to them. There's nothing a senior guy hates more than a craven, cowardly weasel who tries to lay blame on other people.
How you manage credit and blame is directly influenced by your relationship with your senior officer. If he wants the credit, give it to him. That's what you're there for. And if he's trying to escape blame, take it. The guy who decides your upcoming raise is the only one who needs to be satisfied in either regard.
Of course, if a peer tries to suck off your credit for something, cut off his legs. We're talking strategic management of this issue, not surrender.
One of the things that gives me most peace is have a clean, simple home. When I wake up in the morning and walk out into a living room that has been decluttered, that has a minimalist look, and there isn’t junk lying around, there is a calm and joy that enters my heart.
When, on the other hand, I walk out into a living room cluttered with toys and books and extra things all over the place, it is chaos and my mind is frenetic.
I’ve been a simplifier and a declutterer for years now (probably 8-9 years) and I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but I’ve found that you have to keep coming back to revisit your clutter every once in awhile.
Here are my top decluttering tips:
- Do it in small chunks. Set aside just 15 minutes to declutter just one shelf, and when that shelf or that 15 minutes is up, celebrate your victory. Then tackle another shelf for 15 minutes the next day. Conquering an entire closet or room can be overwhelming, and you might put it off forever. If that’s the case, just do it in baby steps.
- Set aside a couple hours to do it. This may seem contradictory to the above tip … and it is. It’s simply a different strategy, and I say do whatever works for you. Sometimes, for me, it’s good to set aside part of a morning, or an entire Saturday morning, to declutter a closet or room. I do it all at once, and when I’m done, it feels awesome.
- Take everything out of a shelf or drawer at once. Whichever of the two above strategies you choose, you should focus on one drawer or shelf at a time, and empty it completely. Then clean that shelf or drawer. Then, take the pile and sort it (see next tip), and put back just what you want to keep. Then tackle the next shelf or drawer.
- Sort through your pile, one item at a time, and make quick decisions. Have a trash bag and a give-away box handy. When you pull everything out of a shelf or drawer, sort through the pile one at a time. Pick up an item, and make a decision: trash, give away, or keep. Don’t put it back in the pile. Do this with the entire pile, and soon, you’ll be done. If you keep sorting through the pile, and re-sorting, it’ll take forever. Put back only what you want to keep, and arrange it nicely.
- Be merciless. You may be a pack rat, but the truth is, you won’t ever use most of the junk you’ve accumulated. If you haven’t used it in the last year, get rid of it. It’s as simple as that. If you’ve only used it once or twice in the last year, but know you won’t use it in the next year, get rid of it. Toss it if it’s unsalvageable, and give it away if someone else might be able to use it.
- Papers? Be merciless, unless it’s important. Magazines, catalogues, junk mail, bills more than a year old, notes to yourself, notes from others, old work stuff … toss it! The only exception is with tax-related stuff, which should be kept for seven years, and other important documents like warranties, birth and death and marriage certificates, insurance, wills, and other important documents like that. But you’ll know those when you see ‘em. Otherwise, toss!!!!
- If you are on the fence with a lot of things, create a “maybe” box. If you can’t bear to toss something because you might need it later, put it in the box, then close the box, label it, and put it in storage (garage, attic, closet), out of sight. Most likely, you’ll never open that box again. If that’s the case, pull it out after six months or a year, and toss it or give it away.
- Create a system to stop clutter from accumulating. There’s a reason you have tall stacks of papers all over the place, and big piles of toys and books and clothes. It’s because you don’t have a regular system to keep things in their place, and get rid of stuff you don’t need. This is a topic for another day, but it’s something to think about as you declutter. You’ll never get to perfect, but if you think more intelligently about how your house got cluttered, perhaps you can find ways to stop it from happening again.
- Celebrate when you’re done! This is actually a general rule in life: always celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Even if you just decluttered one drawer, that’s great. Treat yourself to something delicious. Open that drawer (or closet, or whatever), and admire its simplicity. Breathe deeply and know that you have done a good thing. Bask in your peacefulness.
Harden your core: Try Pilates
Men and women of all ages and fitness levels can benefit from Pilates, a low-impact, complete body workout that combines stretching and strengthening.
The concept: Strengthen your deep abdominal muscles with controlled, precise motions of the arms and legs to help create a powerful "core" that supports the rest of your body.
Strengthening the core muscles is essential to the success of treatment for most orthopedic conditions, including neck and back pain, stress incontinence and postpartum recovery. "Patients suffering from other conditions, such as fibromyalgia and osteoporosis, can benefit greatly from gentle Pilates exercises," says Marie Theodhosi, a certified Pilates instructor and physical therapist with St. Joseph Hospital Physical Therapy Department in Nashua, New Hampshire.
The best part is that you don't have to be an exercise expert to start. "Anyone from beginner to elite athlete can benefit from Pilates core stabilization techniques," says Theodhosi.
And while Pilates is gentle and for all fitness levels, she adds, "it is important to take Pilates from a qualified instructor who can teach you the correct techniques and progress you safely." Weight Watchers Blueberry Dump Cake recipe - 7 points
Weight Watchers Blueberry Dump Cake recipe
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pineapples, crushed
2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1/2-1 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup butter
1 package yellow lemon cake mix
Preparation
1. Pour pineapple and berries into 13x9-inch pan.
2. "Dump" cake mix (sprinkle) over berries and pineapple. Melt stick of butter.
3. Pour over cake mix.
4. Sprinkle nuts over the top.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 50 minutes, depending on oven, until bubbly.
WW POINTS per serving: 7
Nutritional information per serving: 311 calories, 16g fat, 1.7g fiber
You started off with a bang! The pounds seemed to be falling off of their own weight. Each week the scale gave more good news as you made your way towards your goal. You could feel the word "success" written right on your forehead for all to see. You told yourself, "This weight loss stuff is easy!"
Then all at once your scale turns on you. Your weight does not change for a whole week. Then it's two weeks. The scale may even show a pound gain when you expected to see a loss. Disappointment stabs you in the heart, and fear of failure grips your throat. You haven't changed anything. You haven't done anything wrong. Why are you being punished this way?
When your body does not do what you expect, it may not be your body's fault. Perhaps it is not receiving the proper inputs. If you eat too many calories, or use up too few calories, your body will store the excess calories for later use. Where does it store those extra calories? In fat tissue.
It is critical that you know how much to eat, or else how can you plan your menus correctly? How do you know what is the right number of calories to consume? Coming up with a rough estimate is easy. If you are over 40, just multiply your weight in pounds by the number 10. This gives you a ballpark figure to work with. Not everyone is going to be right on that number. Some people have a faster metabolism, and will require more calories, to maintain their current weight. Some have a slower metabolism, and may require less. Someone who is running 5 miles a day may require 20 times his weight in calories to maintain where he is. (For those who are following Weight Watchers, they are given a range of point values that they should eat within to maintain their weight.)
Note: It is always best to work with your doctor in determining a correct nutritional choice when you are contemplating a major decrease in caloric intake.
Now you have a rough estimate on how many calories or points you should be eating, how do you fine tune it to find the exact value? If you have been eating a certain number of calories a day, and you have not changed your workout habits, and your weight has hit a plateau, your calories coming in, are probably too high. Or you could look at it that your calories going out are too low, meaning that your exercise regime is too light. Either way, your body feels that your calories in and your calories out are about balanced.
Let's take a moment and play with the numbers. Say you are 200 pounds today, and you are eating 1900 calories a day. Taking your current weight and multiplying by 10 you get 2000 calories. That means, if your metabolism is about average, that you are eating 100 calories a day less than you require to maintain your weight at 200 pounds. How fast will you lose a pound? A pound of fat holds 3500 calories. That means it will take 35 days at this rate to drop one pound. For a whole month it will look like you are sitting on a plateau. You will actually still be losing weight but very slowly.
Through the years I have watched Dotti struggle with her weight. She has gone through diets where her weight would start to fall and then she would hit a plateau. After a time, her weight began to fall again. Next thing you know another plateau would come along. Finally, she would hit a stubborn plateau and it would be too much for her. She would stagnate, and finally just give up. Her weight would climb back up to where it was originally and even beyond. Later on she would try it again, with no better results.
On other attempts she would hit the exercise really hard for a while. She used the New Jane Fonda Workout 4 or 5 times a week and her weight would come down. In 1986, when we were in Virginia Beach, she made it all the way down to 150 pounds doing that workout, but for one reason or another the process fizzled out, and back up went the weight. Up and down, hitting plateaus, and ultimately falling into failure was the standard routine. This happened over and over again. It was heartbreaking to watch. Nothing seemed to help permanently.
Later, when we lived in Massachusetts, Dotti started Weight Watchers and she dropped about 50 pounds, but then she ran into a plateau, and never went any farther down. She kept going to meetings but she just stopped losing weight. In fact her weight started going back up. There is nothing so frustrating in the world than to be completely dissatisfied with the way you look, trying as hard as you know how to lose weight, but it just won't go down. The scale stays the same or even goes up. You look up at the ceiling and say, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"
Remember, you didn't do anything to deserve this! But when you have conquered the mountain, you will deserve every bit of praise you receive for having overcome the challenge that was handed to you. When you were born, you did not know how to talk but you learned. You did not know how to walk. You learned. Now you are learning how to be thin, and it will be something that is going to go with you all the rest of your lighter and happier life! How can I be so sure? I watched it happen with Dotti. Dotti was a complete failure in her weight. She was miserable and unhappy with her weight. She hated to have her picture taken and nothing could put her into tears quicker than someone commenting on her weight. She struggled and failed, over and over. I am telling you that if Dotti could come through all of that, and then reach up and grasp the gold ring of successful weight loss and weight maintenance, you can too. Even if it seems unbelievable right now, just push the "I Believe Button" for now and get on with your new found success.
One thing that amazes people who look at Dotti's weight loss chart is that there are no plateaus on it. Hmmm. That seems strange. Every time she had attempted to lose weight in the past, those plateaus were there. As her weight was dropping this time, she and I commented several times on the "fact" that a plateau was just around the corner. But it never materialized. Why was that? What was different this time? She had exercised before, and she had even done Weight Watchers before. What happened differently this time?
Looking back over the events that led to Dotti's success, this time the changes in diet were ingrained deeply into her habits. She just ate differently than she ever did before. She removed "red light" foods from the house. She always counted everything religiously. She mastered the points system, and when I tested her, she could tell me the point value of almost any food item I held up for her inspection. She ordered everything "on the side" when we went to restaurants. (E.g. she never got a salad with the salad dressing already on it. The dressing came in a little cup on the side and she would dip her fork tongs into it and then would take some salad on the fork. When she was finished with the salad, nearly all of the dressing was still in the cup.) She only used a small portion of anything high in calories. She started leaving food on her plate when she finished eating. At home she set up plastic baggies with 1 or 2 point snacks that she could grab at any time if she needed something to eat. She was never caught flatfooted, where she was dying for something to eat, with no good options for something safe to grab. There were no holes in her eating plan. Everything that went into her mouth was in the program and within her points. She had an ice cream cone if she wanted it, but she then cut out other things to keep the points in line. If she blew it one day, she made up for it the next few days. While some days were blown, there were no weeks where her overall points were outside of her target range.
Being fully organized and in control of what she ate gave Dotti an edge that she had never had before. She had journaled before, but somehow things sneaked by the inventory. Somehow she ate things that were not properly counted. Your mind will deceive you and play you dirty if you let it. Everything counts! Everything has an impact on your scale. On any given day, you may fail, but do not ever cheat. By that I mean you may have days where you eat over your points limit, but never ever fool yourself about it. If you ate 30 points, don't write down 29. Always be honest with yourself, and that means making sure you know what you are doing. Ignorance is no excuse with the traffic cop who pulls you over, and it is no excuse when you climb on the scale. What you eat, will surely tell its tale, but the only way you are in control of the results, is if you know what that tale is beforehand. Closing your eyes, or rationalization will only kill your weight loss success. Yes, that one bite may be very important. Count it.
Here is another "secret" which worked for Dotti: she chose to eat in the range of points assigned for her goal weight, not for her current weight. Her reasoning for this was: She was going to have to eat in that range of points for the rest of her life to maintain her desired weight, and so it would be good to get used to it as soon as possible. Also, her body would grow accustomed to a regular intake of calories, and that process would let her body know that it should set up for the proper weight for that number of calories. She started eating in that range in January 1998 and has been eating there ever since. It was like a quarterback throwing a pass to a fast receiver by sending the ball out to where that receiver would be when the ball arrived, rather than where he is right now. Dotti just "led" her body into the proper weight range.
Is this the right choice for everyone? I am not a doctor and so I cannot answer that question. See what your doctor says, it may be right for you, or it may not. All I can say for sure is that it worked very well for Dotti.
Author's Note (October 2006):
Since writing this article in 2001, I have received some negative comments from this point, and I would like to point out that Dotti ate 25 points per day throughout her weight loss in 1998, and while that was within the point range for her goal weight, it was ONLY ONE POINT below the lower limit of her assigned point range. It WAS NOT a case of eating far less than she would have been eating if she ate in her assigned range. During my own weight loss journey, I focused upon eating within my target range every day, and that worked well for me. Today, I would recommend eating in your range, and not being in a hurry. Patience is perhaps the greatest virtue in the matter of weight loss.
Another thing that was different for Dotti this time around was that she got up at 4:30 in the morning 3 times a week religiously and went to the gym. On some weeks she even went 4 times. At the gym she did an exceptionally vigorous workout. It was a full hour of heavy aerobic exercise, on the cross-trainer and the treadmill. She worked her way up to the most strenuous settings on whichever machine she was on and then went at it hard for the full hour. I was usually just getting up when she returned home, and I always noted that she was soaked in sweat, her cheeks were flushed, and she was invigorated for the entire day.
As time went by, I was amazed to see that I had my old Dotti back from our younger days. She was no longer lethargic, and sleeping her free time away. She had a spring in her step, and she was filled with energy. She literally acted and felt years younger. And there were no plateaus. We both were amazed!
Of course no one should jump into a vigorous exercise program without first getting the okay from his doctor. When you are very overweight, your heart is already working very hard, and it is dangerous to push it. If you have been very sedentary, your heart, lungs, circulatory system, as well as your muscles are not ready for maximum overdrive. They must be brought up to it slowly. There may even be a latent problem that is hidden because you have not been pushing your heart very much. However, it may just jump up and bite you, if you start exercising too much at first. So, get a check up and a doctor's okay, and then start out slowly. It did not happen overnight that you got out of shape, there is no reason to rush getting into shape. Your whole life is stretching out before you. Take it easy and remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Being fast may not win the race. What matters is crossing the finish line!
No two people are exactly alike. Also, as Dotti showed in her weight loss attempts, even the same person may have a completely different journey at different times. There is a concept in electronics called resonance. It is what allows a radio to select one single radio station out of the myriad of frequencies hitting it at the same time. Resonance is the quality a particular type of circuit has where one single frequency and only that one frequency will set it ringing. It will respond correctly only to that one frequency. You can see the same type of thing where a singer can shatter a crystal glass by hitting a particular note. That note is at the resonant frequency of the glass and the entire glass will vibrate especially strong for that one note. Each person has a resonance. Each person is unique and he must find his own combination of eating, exercise, motivation, and lifestyle where resonance is achieved: where the special event of being thin, healthy and happy is produced. Dotti's "resonant frequency" may not be yours. That is just fine. In order to find your own frequency, you must experiment and try things.
If you hit a plateau, then it is clear that you have something that is slightly out of resonance. Your body thinks that you are right where you should be as far as weight is concerned. It has balanced the calories in and out, and is happy. Naturally you do not share your body's contentment. In fact, you are frustrated and angry. You wanted to lose another pound.
Now, it may be that you just lost 4 or 5 pounds last week and this week you expected to do the same. That is not a plateau. If you come in at the same weight as last week, after you just had a large loss, it is nothing but a correction. It is not possible to safely lose 4 or 5 pounds every week, and you should not even want to do that. Health is so precious, you do not want to throw it away by unsafe weight loss. Anytime you have an abnormally large weight loss one week, it is normal to have a smaller one the week after. Your body is adjusting itself. It is trying to reach a stable situation. Perhaps last week you dropped a large amount of water weight, only to have it creep back this week. Again, that is not a problem and should be ignored.
If on the other hand you have been struggling for weeks without any loss at all, you are definitely on a plateau. It is hard to remember that the reason you are at a plateau is because you are doing something right. Remember where you were before you started your journey? Perhaps you weighed 20 pounds more than today. Maybe it was 50 or more pounds ago that you started out. Today you are feeling down because you did not lose, but before anything else, take a moment and think back to where you started out. What would you have given then to be where you are now? Thank yourself for all of the effort you have already put in to get to this plateau. Pat yourself on the back. You deserve it.
Once you have things in perspective, then it is time to reevaluate your situation. Your basic equation is balanced today. Your calories in and your calories out are equal. Your body says that your current weight is the correct weight for your current lifestyle as it exists today.
You may be saying at this time, "I am not eating more than my program allows!" While you honestly feel that is the case, it still may not be true. Let us look at the possibilities:
*** You may be eating more than you realize. Perhaps there is something that you are regularly eating that is not being properly counted. Are you sampling from the stove as you cook? Maybe that restaurant you visited has used a high calorie ingredient that you missed, or that serving size you assumed was 1 serving is actually 1.5 or 2 servings. Dotti recently went through just such a situation with cotton candy. The bag said it had a certain number of ounces in it but when Dotti actually weighed it, there were 3 times as many ounces as the bag claimed! Something like that in your diet will cripple your weight loss attempts.
NOTE: Keep in mind that it does not take much of an error in your counting to produce unhappy results. If you eat 100 calories a day more than you need, which are provided by something as small as 10 potato chips, you will gain 10 pounds over a year's time. That is why accuracy in measuring is so critical.
A solution to this is: do not estimate, but measure. If there is any estimating going on, estimate high, not low. When on a plateau, focus very closely on measuring exactly what you are eating.
*** Your metabolism may be slow. You just may need less calories to run your machinery than most other people do. That is why Weight Watchers gives you a range of values for the amount you can eat. Some people need to be on the low end of that range. If that is you, and you are eating on the high end, or maybe even the middle of the range, you will not lose weight. You might even gain weight!
The solution for this problem is to do some testing. Try dropping the maximum amount that you are eating per day by a point (50 calories) or so. Try it for a week. If that doesn't help, take it down another notch. Keep doing that until your weight starts to drop, or you hit the bottom of your eating range. Since one of the benefits you are trying to receive by losing weight is to increase your health, it would be very unwise to drop your calories too low. If you reach the bottom of your range, and still are not losing weight, go see your doctor and see if he can suggest a correct calorie level that you should be eating at. For most people, if they are correctly counting their points or calories, they will not be able to eat at the bottom of their range and still hold on to their current weight. Most folks will see the scale start to drop well before they run into the bottom of their range.
Another fix for this problem is to increase the amount of exercise that you do. If you are walking one mile a day in 20 or 25 minutes, see if you can increase your pace slightly and add some additional distance. Work your way up to 2 miles or even 3. A good goal for most people is a good one hour workout, at least 3 times a week. Again, always clear any exercise program with your doctor first.
And keep in mind that even if you were not focused on weight loss, a certain amount of exercise is necessary for good health. A 20 minute walk in the cool of the evening can add years to your life.
The human body is a complex machine. It struggles to maintain equilibrium. It seems to want to avoid change. A plateau is nothing but a stable point and that seems like a good thing to your body. To let it know that the plateau is not going to be your final stopping point, you must send it a message. That means you must either send it less calories to work with, or make it work harder and burn up the calories it has. If you do that, it will have to listen.
The one thing that will never work, is giving up. No one ever reached their goal by quitting. It is a cliché but it is true. Nothing destroys success like discouragement. It pushes people onto the slippery slope of sadness, self-pity, frustration, fear of failure, desperation and finally surrender to what is perceived as unavoidable failure. Giving up leads to putting back on all the weight that was lost, plus a few more, or maybe many more, pounds. When you feel yourself approaching that slide, it is time then and there to tell your inner voice, "Don't even think of going there!" You have a much better solution than that nasty, unhappy slide into failure. You CAN choose success.
At times like these a great skill to develop is to be able to take a step back from the emotions. Think about how it is in a crisis. Say, a large fire in the building you are in. Who do you want fighting the fire? Someone who is running around with their hands in the air yelling, "We are all doomed!" Or would you rather have someone with a cool head who is logically thinking about the options and taking positive steps? It is the very same thing with a weight loss plateau, or any other crisis in your life. If you keep a cool head, think logically about it, and take positive steps to solve the problem, you will succeed. If you give up, you fail. It is all up to you.
A plateau looks like it is formidable. It looks like it is bigger and tougher than you are. But it is not. It is bound, hand and foot by the laws of physics. If you do not give that plateau enough calories to sustain itself, it will collapse!
Doesn't that make you feel stronger? You hold the life of that plateau completely in your own hands. You just have to think of it logically. Test and observe. Take calories away, and add exercise until the aggravating plateau is gone and you are back moving along nicely on your path to the top of the mountain, whistling a merry tune. Can you sip your way to skinny?
Chugging water is healthy for your cells, but your thighs are another issue
By Barbara Rolls, Ph.D.
Updated: 7:43 a.m. ET Aug 24, 2007
Drinking water benefits every cell in your body. It hydrates your skin and helps keep you alert. But can it help you to lose weight?
Women's magazines and diet gurus have long promised that if you gulp a lot of water, you'll feel full and eat less, and the pounds will melt away.
If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, that's one of the biggest diet myths out there.
In my lab at Penn State, we have found in four separate studies that drinking up to 16 ounces of water either before or during a meal did not impact food intake. The water empties too quickly from the stomach to have a significant effect on hunger.
There's also the misconception that water is an appetite suppressant. What really happens is people sometimes think they're hungry when they're actually thirsty. We get thirsty because the level of salt in our blood becomes high or because our blood volume decreases. We get hungry because we need nutrients. In reality, the body reacts to the sensations differently, but because hunger and thirst often occur around the same time — at meal times — it is possible for people to confuse them. As a result, people will snack when a few sips of water is all they need. But the water isn't staving off hunger pangs, it's quenching your thirst.
Eat your water
If you really want to lose weight with water, eat it! Foods such as fruits, vegetables and soups are mostly water. When you eat a meal with a high water content — stews, casseroles and pasta with vegetables, for example — the water adds weight and volume to the meal, but no calories. You feel like you're eating more, but you're getting fewer calories overall.
In a Penn State study, women who ate a chicken-rice casserole cooked with additional water ate about 100 fewer calories than when they were given the same casserole with no additional water cooked in, or the casserole plus a 10-ounce glass of water.
Even if drinking water won't make you skinny, you need adequate amounts of it to be healthy. It's recommended that women drink about 9 cups of fluids a day, including water and other beverages, 13 cups for men. But you need to be careful about your beverage choices. An estimated one-fifth of the daily calories consumed by Americans over the age of 2 come from beverages. Several studies point to calories from beverages as one of the causes of the nation's rising obesity and weight problems.
Water is certainly better than chugging high-calorie beverages such as soda or juices. Because sugar can affect the way the body absorbs fluid, sweetened beverages may not satisfy your thirst when consumed with a meal, so you may end up drinking even more of them, which adds to your overall calorie intake.
If plain water just doesn't do it for you, try these low-cal substitutes:
Iced tea. Skip the canned stuff, which is loaded with sugar and calories. Make your own with two tea bags and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar (60 calories).
Unsweetened herbal tea has zero calories.
Fruit juice spritzers. Add seltzer to orange juice, grapefruit juice or other juices. A cup of seltzer and a 1/2 cup of orange juice is only 60 calories.
Go for the hot stuff. Hot tea with lemon, low-fat hot chocolate sweetened with a sugar substitute, hot lemonade or other hot beverages can be sipped slowly, providing a long-lasting sensory experience.
Research shows that people who drink noncaloric beverages tend to have healthier eating habits overall and lower weight. So if you stick to water, then you'll satisfy your thirst without adding extra calories. Switching to water from sugary sodas or juice can help dieters lose additional pounds — but be sure to continue to watch what you eat.
If you strongly believe that drinking helps you control eating, it may just work for you. Our minds have a powerful influence on our eating behavior. Drinking a glass or two of water before dinner won't do you any harm, just don't expect it to melt away the extra pounds.
Barbara Rolls is the author of “The Volumetrics Eating Plan,” which offers tips on how to eat more fruits and veggies and lower the calorie density of recipes.
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20285540/
Every Thursday is Happiness Day on Zen Habits.
To be happy, it is important that we become happy with who we are — accept ourselves, recognize our good traits, accept our flaws, and come to see those flaws as actually good and unique parts of us.
But if you’re like me, there’s always something we want to change — and in keeping with the philosophy of this site, for me that’s changing my daily habits to help me reach my goals. The problem is, many people just don’t believe they are the type of person who can achieve that goal — they have a negative self-image, and that negativity will stop them from success every time. Positive thinking is the key to any kind of achievement.
So today’s quick happiness tip is simple: think about the goal you want to achieve, imagine the kind of person who has already achieved that goal or created that habit, and pretend you are that person.
Let’s take a quick example: If I want to start running, to make running a daily habit, I think about runners I know or have read about. I read about their habits, their lifestyle, and imagine what it’s like to be them. Then, I pretend I’m a runner myself. I think about what it’s like to be a runner, how a runner would act, how a runner thinks and feels, what a runner’s habits are.
I take the identity of a runner, and make it my own. Soon, I believe I’m a runner. And here’s the magic: it becomes true! Just by pretending it, and assuming that identity, I become a runner. I think and act like one. And if I’m a runner, what do I do every day? I run.
This magical trick can work for any goal, and for any person. Imagine that you are that person, and you will be.
Martial arts good alternative to gym for boosting fitness in middle age
Martial arts are excellent for boosting all round fitness in middle age, and could provide an alternative to the gym, say researchers in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The authors base their findings on a small study assessing the physical fitness of nine practitioners of soo bahk do, a Korean martial art similar to karate, and nine largely sedentary people. The martial arts practitioners had practiced soo bahk do for one hour at a time at least twice a week for three years.
All the participants were aged between 40 and 60, with an average age of 46. They were assessed for levels of body fat, balance flexibility, muscle and grip strength, endurance and aerobic capacity.
The assessment revealed significant differences between the two groups on all the indicators measured except grip strength, which was more or less the same. The sedentary group had 12 percent more body fat than the martial arts group and could not notch up even half the number of sit-ups and press-ups performed by the martial arts group in one minute. The average time for holding balance among the sedentary group was 26 seconds compared with almost 62 seconds for the martial arts group. The difference in flexibility between the two groups amounted to 114 percent.
Regular exercise has long been known to delay or prevent the dwindling of physical strength. flexibility and susceptibility to fractures/falls associated with aging, as well as warding off serious disease such as heart disease and diabetes.
The researchers say that martial arts are particularly good as they burn up a lot of calories, while at the same time improving all round fitness as a "complete form of exercise."
Serve these on crackers as an appetizer, or as a side dish, or put them on bread to make a sandwich.
Weight Watchers Marinated Peppers recipe
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
6 bell peppers (green and red)
4-5
garlic cloves (or more)
olive oil (enough to coat generously)
salt and pepper
Preparation
1. Roast the bell peppers until mostly black. Then set aside in a covered bowl to cool.
2. Once cooled, peel the skin off and discard along with core and seeds. Then cut into desired sized pieces (like 1" strips).
3. Mince the garlic (use fresh garlic).
4. Combine the cut peppers and the garlic with enough olive oil to coat generously.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
WW POINTS per serving: 0
Weight Watchers Pizza Margherita recipe - 5 points
A reader (Krystie) requested a good home made pizza recipe that can be eaten without guilt (and without going over the allowed WW daily points), so here is a very light traditional Italian pizza: Pizza Margherita. It is one of the most simplest (both in preparation and ingredients) types of pizza, and it's also healthy. Try it, and see how truly delicious pizza can be when made at home, fresh! Weight Watchers Pizza Margherita recipeMakes 16 slices (2 pizzas) IngredientsPizza Dough1 1/2 cups water, at 110 degrees 3/4 tablespoon fast rising yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 4 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons olive oil Pizza Sauce1 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup tomato paste 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon oregano 3/4 tablespoon dried basil 1 teaspoon sugar Finish4 ounces bocconcini, cubed ( fresh mozzarella ) 1 cup fresh basil, torn 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese 4 tablespoons olive oil fresh ground black pepper Preparation1. Pizza Dough: Add yeast and sugar to water, whisk and set aside until foamy. 2. Add yeast mixture and oil to flour; mix and turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead 5 minutes (10 minutes if under stress or worried). 3. Place in oiled bowl, loosely covered with plastic wrap or clean towel; allow to rise in warm place until doubled in size, 45-60 minutes. 4. Divide dough in half and roll out two 12"-15" pizza crusts. 5. Pizza Sauce: Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse 10 times. 6. Finish: Spread 1/2 cup Pizza Sauce on each pizza (reserve the remaining sauce for another use); scatter each with half the cubed boconcini, basil and grated mozzarella; drizzle with half the olive oil and add pepper. 7. Bake topped pizza at 500° for 10-12 minutes. WW POINTS per slice: 5
Orville & Willpower - The "Right Brothers"
by Al Coon
Joe E. Brown once said that he wanted to lose some weight, and so he gave up heavy eating and heavy drinking, and he found at the end of two weeks he had lost 14 days.
That is the way it goes with many weight loss attempts. Weight is lost, and then it is gained back. That means that the only thing really lost is time.
What I really would like to talk about today is “will power.” Have you ever used the phrase, “I just don’t have enough willpower?” Certainly you have heard others use the phrase. The saddest thing about that phrase is that it is completely untrue, and still people believe it. You have willpower, plenty of if. How many times have you gone to work, faced a boss or coworker that was obnoxious, stupid, and rude and not punched him the nose, or even acted in an uncivilized manner? How many times have you been cutoff on the freeway by some unthinking moron, and not slammed your car into his, as he was begging you to do? How about the last time that clerk at the counter made some rude comment to you, and you did not reach over the counter and rosy up her cheeks for her as she so richly deserved? How did you remain civilized in the face of uncivilized behavior? You used your will power! And it took more will power to control your actions in those circumstances than the vast majority of a weight loss journey will take. Does that sound crazy? Let me explain.
Think of willpower as jet fuel. Jet fuel supplies the power for flying aircraft all around the world. No one would suggest that jet fuel is an ineffective source of power for air travel. However, if you try to use it directly, you will fail to achieve safe air travel. If you take the amount of jet fuel, necessary to fly from here to a destination 1,000 miles from here, and you put it into a large tank, crawl up on top of the tank, and then light a match…. BOOM! You just blew yourself up. It was not because you did not have enough power in your tank, but it was because you used it incorrectly, that you failed.
Using jet fuel correctly takes sophisticated tools. The fuel is used in a jet engine that efficiently converts the fuel into a force, called thrust, that will push an object forward in space. By itself, a jet engine will not be much more effective than the tank of fuel and the match were, but it is one of the mutually dependant tools required for air travel. Next you must have wings. Wings are designed in such a way that when air passes over them, the air traveling over the top of the wing must travel a longer distance than that traveling under the wing. That means, on each square inch of surface area, there will be a smaller number of air molecules on the top of the wing, than there are on its bottom. Since air pressure, for any given temperature, is a function of the number of molecules present, air pressure under the wing will be greater than the pressure on the top of the wing. Viola! The air pressure pushes the wing upwards. You have “lift.” The faster the wing moves through air, the more the pressure difference is increased, and the more lift that is created. The engine creates the motion, and now the wing uses that motion to create lift to pull you up into the sky.
There are many other tools used to make an airplane a useful traveling machine. Flaps increase lift for takeoffs and landings. There are controls for turning and increasing and decreasing elevation in the tail. And most important of all, is the knowledge applied by the pilot. Bring all of these things together, and you have a working aircraft.
Wilbur and Orville Wright, spent years of effort, and their hard earned money in developing a flying machine that could not only provide lift, but could provide “controlled flight.” They could steer and maneuver their aircraft, which no one had ever done before. Orville nearly broke his back at Kitty Hawk, but in the end they succeeded!
You too can succeed. You already have a supply of the fuel you need: your personal stash of willpower. It may not seem all that large a supply, considering what you have to do, but it will be more than enough! Just like with the jet fuel, what makes it powerful enough is your ability to channel that power into the sophisticated tools that make success possible. If you try to lose weight just using willpower, it is like striking a match on top of a tank of fuel. But if you use the tools to make it work, you will fly to your destination without a hitch.
Some of the tools I am referring to are: journaling; organizing and planning; measuring; counting religiously; assertive behavior; and stress relief techniques.
Journaling – the act of writing down everything that you eat. It is a tool that allows you to be able to ascertain precisely what you have eaten each day. It will help you know when you have eaten your point limit, and how well you have been doing at staying OP. Of course it only works if you write everything down you eat, and write it down correctly. If you write 2 points, when you actually ate 4, it will look really good in your journal, but the scale will tell you that you were inaccurate in your scribely duties. If used correctly, this tool can help make your journey a directed, and controlled experience.
Organization and Planning – When your food choices are made in advance, the very best choices can be selected and the foods can then be purchased and available when needed. Dotti, went through our cupboards and labeled the cans with point values. She bagged up snacks in plastic bags and labeled them as 1 or 2 point snacks. She always had her snacks ready when she was in the car, or on a trip. She kept her water bottle with her always. She was ready with something, that had been planned to at least some degree, to counter any situation. As the old adage goes, “When you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail.” Dotti has that saying on her refrigerator, and it is a true axiom of life for her.
Measuring – How many points are in those potatoes on your plate? Even if you know the point value for potatoes, it will not be much help unless you know the amount of potatoes on your plate. You can guess of course, but until you gather in a great deal of experience, you will usually guess wrong, and probably will guess low. The scale of course will tell you later on that you blew it, but that is not the way you want to find things out. It is better to avoid an accident, than to try and repair its damage later. It is far better to know before you eat it, how many points are in something, rather than letting your body tell you later at the scale. By using a measuring cup, you will know, without any doubt, how much food you are eating. It makes your choices become black and white. You know you are OP or not OP. No question.
Counting Religiously – Every bite counts. Every nibble. Each and every point. Compared with our life before, it was like living in a fairy tale watching Dotti, when she was losing her weight. If a store was offering a free sample, in the form of a small portion of something tasty, Dotti would count it, even if she only had a single bite. Nothing was free, except foods that were declared free by the program. No sneaks, no cheats. Just counting, that only would error in the favor of too high a count, and never too low a count. When she wrote down her count for the day, she knew that the point count she had written down was at least as high as the point count of what she actually had eaten for the day.
Assertive Behavior – The act of letting others know what your feelings are is called assertive behavior. It is something that too many of us do not learn to do. We discredit our feelings and wants, in order to give others what they want instead. A certain amount of that is wonderful. We all respect people who are giving by nature. Dotti is someone like that. She gives a great deal of her time, and extends a tremendous amount of her emotional energy and inner self to others in an effort to make them happy. But at the same time, she has learned that putting forward her wants and expectations is a necessary part of healthy living. In fact she is a tiger in situations where she needs to be. If a store treats her unfairly, she does not meekly take it. She will have the manager of the store standing in front her, and getting his ear bent, if necessary to set things right. By letting others know what you want, and expect, you allow them the opportunity to respect and fulfill those expectations. If you quietly say nothing, the other party may not even dream of what it is that you want. Only by expressing your expectations can you hope to routinely have them fulfilled. Assertive behavior allows you to avoid a great deal of frustration, that could easily lead to overeating.
Stress Relief Techniques – Stress is at the root of many addictive behaviors. Assertively expressing your concerns and exceptions will actually lower your stress level. Even if your expectations are not met, you will at least know that the other party is aware of them. That makes you feel more in control, and gives you a higher standing in your own eyes. Other things you can do is to exercise when you feel that knot in your stomach, telling you that stress is setting in. Purchase a book on stress relief or attend a stress seminar. Master muscle relaxation and deep breathing techniques to lower your stress level during high stress events. You will be amazed at the magical way that stress will disappear when you do this.
Let’s say that you have a fight with your spouse, you have some issues at work, or a high stress event is coming up soon. How do you handle it? The old way was SYE: So You Eat. Your spouse made you angry, SYE. Your boss was a jerk, SYE. You got a call from a collection agency, SYE. You have to appear in front of a large group of hostile stock holders at a meeting, SYE. What is the new way? What is the way that will allow you to use your supply of willpower fuel to take to the sky, instead of being blown into pieces?
You and your spouse have a fight. What do you do?
The first thing is to seek out a solution to the problem, rather than fixing blame as to who started the argument, or who did what, that caused the spat. If you join together to find a solution together, you have defused the stress, and have joined hands as friends in the process. No matter how big the problem is, with you both working together to face it, it builds a feeling of comradeire and joy that eating could never match.
Next, make sure that you have assertively stated your feelings and wants. This is someone who cares about you and if he recognizes what your real feelings are, he will probably be anxious to try and validate them. This is a time for softly spoken, and calmly presented information. It is not a time for sarcasm or anger.
Thirdly, listen to your spouse’s feelings and wants. Make sure you understand what he says, and not what you think he says. After he is done, ask questions if you have any doubt.
There was a technique that I once learned in a seminar, where they used what was called a “talking stick.” It does not have to be a stick. Any object will do, that is small enough, and light enough to be passed back and forth and held indefinitely without strain. To see who goes first, you can flip a coin, or just be noble and let the other one speak first. (Remember that he who speaks last, often has an advantage in debates, and so you can be unselfish, and selfish at the same time. Serendipity.) The only one who can speak is the one who is holding the object. The other one must sit quietly while the speaker has his say. Once he is talked out, the object is handed to the other party and the roles are reversed. This process goes on, back and forth, until the topic has been exhausted. You may ask, “What’s the point? Conversations go back and forth all the time anyway.” The answer to that is that using the technique correctly, you cannot interrupt your spouse with anger. Your spouse cannot interrupt you with anger. Instead you are forced to express your ideas clearly without comment from the other party. You must take the time to listen. It drains much of the emotion out of the process. During the seminar, I watched debates on the most volatile subjects possible, by those of opposing opinions, discussed calmly and logically. I would not have thought it possible until I saw it in action.
Lastly, remember to deal with the stress directly. SYE is not an option. Instead, do some deep breathing and muscle relaxation. Make sure you are getting plenty of sleep. Minimize the use of caffeine.
What if your boss is being a jerk or unfair?
1. Be assertive and express your concerns. Your boss may just be ignorant. (Sometimes you wonder if that isn’t a part of the job description.) He may not know that what he is doing is bugging you. He may even think that it is just fine with you, or even that you like it just the way it is. That is when it is time to be assertive. Let him know that he is upsetting you and why. It will be a golden opportunity for him to correct his behavior.
Note: Assertive does NOT mean aggressive! Aggressive behavior is attacking, and personal. It brings up defensive posturing in the object of your aggression. He will not listen, and will be highly motivated to avoid changing his behavior to suit you, if he views your comments as aggressive.
Aggressive: (Yelling across a roomful of coworkers) Are you too stupid to realize that I taught you how to fill out that form, and you are telling me how to do it? Give me a break!
Assertive: (Calmly and in private) I wanted to let you know that I find it demeaning to have you pretend to teach me things that you know I already know. I am sure you did not mean any harm, but it does hurt my feelings, and I would very much like you to stop doing that.
The first will anger your boss, and if he does change the unhappy behavior, you can be sure something else, and probably worse, (perhaps your termination as an employee) will be coming down the road soon.
The second, places the responsibility squarely upon the boss to change his ways, without challenging his authority or dignity. He is placed in the position of both being educated about a flaw in his behavior, and an open door through which to walk, leading to both correcting the flaw, and retaining his dignity.
2. Look for a new job – Sometimes the devil you know is worse than the one you don’t know. Finding a new job is not the end of the world, and many times your situation can be improved if you are in an unhappy environment.
3. Deal with stress directly – SYE is not a solution. As before, take care of stress itself, rather than searching for a destructive “solution” to the problem.
What if you have a high stress event coming up?
1. Identify what contributions you will be expected to make to the event.
2. Make a list of everything that you need to do, to accomplish all that you will be contributing to the event.
3. Work aggressively through the list and complete every item on it.
4. Put the project to bed. You have completed all that you can do, and it is time to focus on something else, that is less stressful. Additionally, it is important to remember that there is a double blessing in completing such a task. First you no longer are carrying the stress of having something undone hanging over your head, and secondly, you feel good about accomplishing something important.
Remember, you are the pilot! You are the one who will master the tools in order to use your jet fuel to power your successful journey. You will be the one who will journal, organize, measure, count and control stress. You will channel the fuel of willpower into the tools. You will then avoid using willpower to explode into failure, and instead use it to power your success!
The weight loss journey is not a cold or a germ to “get over.” Those who “go on a diet” must believe in the myth that you “get over” an eating problem. Why else would anyone try the crazy diets that are out there? At the very heart of all diets, is the idea, “If only I can get my weight down, I can go back to living my same life, only as a skinny person.” No thought is given to the fact that whatever you do to get your weight down, is exactly what you must do to keep it down. It is a fool’s errand to eat in any fashion that you cannot be happy with for the rest of your life, in order to lose weight. As soon as you stop a diet, you will gain the weight back. Period.
In this vein, I recall once when I went to an AA meeting. My father had a drinking problem, and he died in 1973 in an alcohol related incident. His drinking impacted my life in many ways, and I often wondered, how such a wonderful, caring and intelligent man could do that to his family? As part of my research into that question, I attended the before mentioned meeting. I heard many stories while I was there. Some of those people had stared hell itself in the eyes before they bottomed out and got onto the road to being sober. But what I remember most from that meeting was, before it officially began, some of the “regulars” were discussing someone who had not made it to that meeting, or a couple of meetings before. And one of the guys said, “Maybe he got well.” All of the regulars laughed. However, it was not a laugh filled with amusement. Those eyes were deadly serious. They knew: you don’t get well. You get in control, or you lose.
Dotti, still attends her meetings every week, just like she did when she was losing her weight. She focuses on keeping her tools in top shape, by working on her web page, researching and answering questions from email and the message board, and by continuing to work the program. She is not now, nor will she ever be, finished. However,…
You are in control, as long as you continue to maintain your tools, and you continue to focus your willpower into those tools. You monitor your position and make sure that you are on course. You get the help and support you need from friends, meetings, and of course, Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone.
Also, there is such a thing as an autopilot! It is called “habit.“ Over months of doing the right thing, you find that you no longer have to use as much of your willpower as you used to, to stay on program. Without thinking you order food that is within your point allowance. Without thinking you grab your water. In fact, you feel very strange if you do anything that is outside of what is now “normal” for you. It is normal to eat right. It is abnormal to eat outside of your point range. With minimal effort you find your airplane is nearly flying itself on autopilot because you have created the right habits to keep the plane on course.
As time goes by, you will be using your will power to fly an ever improving craft. Your skills will continue to get better as you work them. You find in the end that you have plenty of fuel, if you remain alert. You will never again say, “I don’t have enough willpower.”
This article is based on a talk I gave at the First Annual Dotti's Weightloss Zone Conference - Please check out the 1st Annual Conference Pictures at: Conference Pictures & Happenings
More crunchy, less chewy?
Those with flabby tummies have probably heard lots of tips about the perfect sit-up. A Medical College of Georgia study has determined that no sit-up is perfect for everyone but there are lots of techniques to meet individual fitness goals.
"Exercise should be tailored to the individual," said Dr. Raymond Chong, an MCG assistant professor of physical therapy. An individualized approach is particularly important when developing an exercise program for someone with an injury or medical condition, as physical therapists routinely do, he noted.
Increasingly sophisticated tools are available to determine the effectiveness of exercises, and how appropriate they are for the individuals using them. Dr. Chong and four of his students used those tools this summer to study sit-ups from the inside out.
The group tested 15 healthy young adults performing six types of sit-ups: partial sit-ups (also called crunches, lifting the shoulders about six inches from a supine position) on the floor; full sit-ups (rising to a full lateral position) with knees bent at a 90-degree angle on the floor; crunches using an exercise ball with no assistance; full sit-ups using an exercise ball with no assistance; crunches using a ball held steady by an assistant; and full sit-ups using a ball held steady by an assistant.
In all positions, the study participants' arms were folded across their chest and their feet were stabilized. The exercise ball, a current trend in fitness, was soft, pliable and 70 centimeters in diameter. A metronome maintained a constant beat so that each sit-up was consistently timed.
The study participants did each type of sit-up eight times, with sensors attached that detected the electrical signals of each muscle contraction. The signals were fed into a computer so that the exact muscle activation of each sit-up could be measured and recorded.
The results surprised the researchers. For instance, they had theorized that considerable exertion would be needed to steady the ball with no assistance while doing sit-ups. But they found that the ball actually relieved effort. "When you apply pressure against the floor, there is a ground reaction equal to the force that was applied," Dr. Chong said. "But the ball absorbs the pressure. We didn't predict the mechanical aid the ball would provide."
They also found that full sit-ups are more strenuous than crunches.
"Crunches require less effort and less strain on the hip and lower back," Dr. Chong said. Also, interestingly, crunches are harder on the neck. "When the body is vertical (as during a full sit-up), the neck gets a break."
The most strenuous sit-up is a full sit-up from the floor, he said, noting its activation of muscles in the abdomen, back, shoulders, hips and legs. The second-most strenuous is a full sit-up using the ball unassisted. Least strenuous are crunches on the floor, followed in order by crunches using a ball with an assistant, crunches using a ball without an assistant and full sit-ups using a ball with an assistant.
"I was quite amazed at the research results," said senior physical therapy student Laurie Adkins, who participated in the research. "It's nice to find out that different types of abdominal exercises target different muscles."
Likewise, "I was very surprised with the results," said Kimberly Steele, also a student participant in the research. "I've been an aerobics instructor for seven years and a personal trainer for three. I typically save the last 10 minutes of a class for abdominal work." Now that she knows floor crunches are the least strenuous form of sit-up, she plans to modify her classes
This is exactly the kind of result Dr. Chong tries to inspire in his students. "As science progresses, exercises can be better tailored and more effective," he said. "I challenge my students to give me the rationale and explain the science behind it. I stress to them, 'Show me what you're doing is working.'"
He also emphasizes that more isn't necessarily better. For instance, a sedentary person beginning an exercise program should probably opt for crunches rather than full sit-ups, since they are less strenuous and less stressful on the hips and lower back. Those with neck pain should avoid crunches.
"The only bad exercise," Dr. Chong said, "is one that's unsafe." Hey everyone. I've missed ya. Sorry for the lull between entries. I managed the 3+ weeks I was away.. but come home and life's busy, hectic pace kept me from making entries daily.
But, I am back. For however long....?
Take 5 years off your face
Dermatologists share secrets for fighting dullness, lines and dark spots
By Lisa Cohen
Self
Updated: 2:29 p.m. ET Aug 5, 2007
It’s been said that you can get a glimpse of your future face by taking a look at your mother. But today, an array of anti-aging options proves that the adage is no longer true — or at least that it doesn’t have to be. Cutting-edge skin care and dermatologist-office procedures are allowing us to anti-age on a daily basis, granting tighter, more even-toned skin not only weeks from now, but decades down the road.
Once the only way to turn back the clock, surgical procedures are decreasing, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Los Alamitos, California, notes. And nonsurgical alternatives are up. (Use of Botox has increased 283 percent since 2002, with docs now doling out 3.8 million injections a year.) That’s no surprise, given the upside: less pain, recovery time and cost, plus noticeable results. Beyond professional treatments, over-the-counter options get more sophisticated by the season.
SELF talked to experts and scoured the skin-care industry to bring you the best at-home options and their counterparts in the doc’s office. Pinpoint your issue, choose the right solution, and get ready for decades more of gorgeous skin.
Complexion complaint: Dull skin, rough texture
Fix it in your M.D.'s office. A high-grade glycolic peel is “a very safe and effective treatment for achieving a smooth texture,” says Kenneth Beer, M.D., author of Palm Beach Perfect Skin (MDPublish.com). The painted-on acid dissolves the buildup of complexion-dulling skin cells, revealing a radiant glow. The highest strength — about 60 percent — causes redness and peeling for a week; half the strength, however, can get the job done in roughly four treatments with minimal irritation. Expect to pay around $150 per treatment.
Fix it in your bathroom. Acid-based at-home peels can be irritating and complicated with their multiple steps. The kinder, one-step option: resurfacing serums made with dead-skin dissolvers such as glucosamine (a sugar) and arginine (derived from brown rice). They’re meant to be used every day, perking up skin in a month or so. Apply at night after cleansing, before moisturizing. And skip scrubs to avoid skin sensitivity.
Complexion complaint: Lines and wrinkles
Fix them in your M.D.'s office. When it comes to minimizing the look of creases, injectable skin smoothers are the most effective solutions. Botox is best for ironing out fine lines between your brows; the muscle-relaxing formula even prevents new lines from forming, Dr. Beer says. A filler such as Juvéderm can instantly plump deeper wrinkles (the folds around your mouth, say); it resupplies skin with hyaluronic acid (your natural supply diminishes with age), which keeps collagen and elastin supple. Want to take the plunge? Get used to having a needle in your face every four to six months and paying $300 to $800 a pop.
Fix them in your bathroom. Topical peptides may help smooth out fine lines by sending a signal to the nerves to slow down muscle movement. Instead of creams, choose new, more potent serums that form an invisible covering on skin, maximizing absorption. (You’ll see patch in the name, such as YSL’s, at left.) For deeper furrows, choose a cream made with hyaluronic acid (look for sodium hyaluronate or hyaluronate spheres, used in products by Olay and L’Oréal, at left). It penetrates the skin and draws moisture into the upper layers to temporarily fill wrinkles, Dr. Beer says. Use either product on freshly cleansed skin so nothing blocks absorption.
Complexion complaint: Freckles and age spots
Fix them in your M.D.'s office. Brown spots result from overactive pigment cells damaged by UV rays. Traditionally, retinoids (which speed up cell turnover and even out skin) or hydroquinone (a skin lightener) were prescribed as faders. But docs now suggest prescription retinoid and hydroquinone for faster, more dramatic effects. There are drawbacks, though: “Both cause serious dryness for the first month, plus sun sensitivity,” Dr. Beer says. Wear a hat.
Fix them in your bathroom. Free radicals attack healthy pigment cells, resulting in dark patches. Green tea has been praised as one of the most powerful antioxidants, neutralizing the offenders and preventing their aging effects. But other more potent, next-generation antioxidants may help reverse spots the way Rx treatments do, with less irritation. Getting the most attention: CoffeeBerry, a fruit that absorbs about 50 percent more free radicals than green tea. “It has the ability to repair similar to a retinoid,” says David McDaniel, assistant professor of clinical dermatology and plastic surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Virginia Beach, who conducted trials on the ingredient. Others that are proving powerful: blue ginger and bearberry. Apply twice daily; top with sunscreen in the morning to seal in the ingredients and prevent the sun from reversing your efforts.
Copyright © 2007 CondéNet. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20092944/
Entry for Friday, August 17th
Condition distorts self-image, destroys lives
Sufferers of body dysmorphic disorder aren’t vain, they’re stuck on ‘defects’
By Diane Mapes
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 8:26 a.m. ET Aug 7, 2007
For KD, the mirror is a trap that lures her in at least 30 times a day.
Her co-workers, assuming she’s conceited, tease her about how she checks her reflection every few minutes (“You’re fine, you look beautiful!” they tell her, laughing), but their assumptions couldn’t be farther from the truth.
KD suffers from body dysmorphic disorder (or BDD) and rather than basking in her beauty, she’s fixating on her “defects” all day, every day. Embarrassed about her obsession, she asked that her last name not be published.
“The feelings have been there as long as I can remember,” says the 27-year-old insurance agent from Niagara Falls, N.Y. “It started with my legs, then moved to my breasts, then it was like I became obsessed with everything.”
“Body dysmorphic disorder is easily confused with vanity,” says Dr. Katharine A. Phillips, director of The Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Body Image Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., and author of “The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” “But these are not normal appearance concerns. It’s not simply a bad hair day. People with BDD suffer tremendously and their lives can be very impaired.”
Fortunately, people suffering from BDD are getting more and more help these days, thanks to Phillips and a handful of researchers determined to crack the baffling BDD code.
A disturbing ripple effect
According to Phillips, people who suffer from BDD often feel that their appearance — or some aspect of it, such as their skin or stomach or nose — is “ugly” or “horrible,” or even “monstrous.” They’ll obsess about perceived flaws for an average of three to eight hours a day, compulsively checking their reflection in the mirror and/or comparing their appearance with others’. They’ll avoid social interactions, experience relationship problems, undergo needless cosmetic surgeries and sometimes have trouble working, attending school or even leaving their homes.
Studies indicate BDD strikes approximately 1 percent to 2 percent of the general population (the numbers are higher in people suffering from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or anorexia nervosa), which adds up to an estimated 2 million to 5 million people in the U.S. alone.
But Phillips says the numbers may actually be higher. “We do need bigger and better studies because BDD often goes unrecognized and undiagnosed,” she says. “It tends to be a very secret disorder.”
It’s also a disorder with a disturbing ripple effect. Many people with BDD become depressed, anxious and even suicidal.
In a four-year study published in the July 2006 American Journal of Psychiatry, Phillips found that out of 185 individuals with BDD, 36 percent (on average, per year) experienced suicidal thoughts that were a direct result of their disorder, and 2.6 percent actually attempted suicide each year.
A seductive option
Cosmetic surgery is another route those with BDD will often take.
“I saw a patient a year ago — a beautiful young girl of 20 — and she was completely debilitated by the belief that her head was too small,” says Phillips. “She was going up and down the East Coast trying to find a surgeon who would make her head bigger. Another man had had five to six surgeries on his nose, trying to get it to look ‘right.’ But no matter what the surgeon did, the man thought it looked horrible.”
Phillips says that in the majority of cases, cosmetic surgery has no impact whatsoever on how patients feel about their appearance, and oftentimes, they’ll come away feeling worse.
Yet for many, like KD, surgery remains a seductive option.
“I’ve gone to five or six consultations,” she says. “And as soon as I can afford it, I’ll get plastic surgery. I know they say that you’ll just find another body part to obsess over, but it’s still my dream.”
A December 2006 study in the journal Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery found that 7 percent to 15 percent of patients presenting for cosmetic treatments may suffer from BDD. But Phillips says the disorder is not a direct result of our society’s current fascination with youth and beauty, or shows like “Extreme Makeover” — the disorder has been documented in literature for more than a century and it’s found around the world.
“We need a lot more research before we really know what causes BDD,” says Phillips. “It’s likely in part a biologically based brain disorder, and there may even be a perceptual abnormality, some kind of fundamental visual processing problem. The focus in our society on achieving perfection in our appearance may also play a role, but we can’t say that BDD is caused simply by the media’s obsession with beauty or by inheriting a certain gene.”
‘Life-saving’ help
And along with sorting out its causes, both doctors and patients are trying to find ways to successfully treat the disorder.
Toby, a Washington, D.C., native who’s had BDD since middle school, says he didn’t realize it wasn’t normal to obsess for hours each day about his “skinny, ugly and weak” appearance until he read about BDD online.
“I’ve always been very ashamed not only about the way I looked, but I was also ashamed of being ashamed,” says the 24-year-old marketing project manager, who asked that his last name not be used. “Going to see a doctor was a very big step.”
It was also an extremely beneficial one. After two years on the antidepressant Wellbutrin, Toby says he’s noticed a difference.
“Before taking medication, I would become overwhelmed with feelings of self-consciousness. At one point, I even had to put a bedsheet over my bedroom mirror. Now, the issues are much smaller. I still look at myself with an overcritical eye, but it doesn’t overwhelm me the way it did before.”
Other patients have found what Phillips terms “life-saving” help by taking selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and/or undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. And new studies hope to pinpoint even more effective treatments.
Understanding the ‘BDD brain’
In one, Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine, is trying to determine whether people’s distorted body images are linked to abnormalities in brain structure and activity. By using PET scans, MRIs and neuropsychological testing, he’s researching how the “BDD brain” functions both before and after treatment with Effexor, an SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) used for depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and BDD.
“We’re testing to see how well this medication works and to see what changes occur in the brain when people do get better in order to pin down what brain systems and brain circuits appear to be actively mediating improvement in BDD,” he says. “If we can understand the physiology and brain pathology of BDD, we can move toward better treatment.”
Other researchers are probing how the BDD brain processes visual information by using functional MRIs.
“People with BDD seem to have a perceptual disturbance. They see things other people don’t see — their nose is crooked or they have blemishes or big pockmarks on their skin,” says Dr. Jamie Feusner, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and psychiatric research consultant for the Los Angeles Body Dysmorphic Disorder Clinic. “With our study, we’re hoping to see if there’s a basis for this perceptual disturbance in the way that their brains are processing visual information.”
Although Feusner says it’s far too early to tell, he hopes his research will guide the development of treatments for BDD that will eventually help modulate and retrain the brain perceptually.
In other words, help those suffering from BDD escape the mirror’s distorted trap and see their true reflection at long last.
Diane Mapes is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "How to Date in a Post-Dating World."
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20113116/
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Entry for Thursday, August 16th
Finding Inner Peace In An Uncertain Life
by Robin L. Silverman |
In 1997, a disastrous flood swept through our region and changed our lives forever. As we sought to rebuild our homes, restart our businesses and reestablish our schools and houses of worship, there was only one thing we knew: We couldn't count on anything. The river's moods remained uncertain. The Army Corps of Engineers couldn't decide where to build a permanent dike. The city wasn't sure whose damaged property would be bought out. Friends and family were trying to figure out whether they wanted to go or stay. It was a situation similar to when you receive a devastating diagnosis or your spouse walks out on you—your knees buckle, your heart skips too many beats, and your brain goes numb.
That's when I went looking for what would create an unshakable core of inner peace. When all bets were off, I wanted one sure thing that would guarantee a happy ending to a crazy nightmare. I wanted it for myself, but just as much, I wanted it for all the people I knew who had struggled with life's curveballs. I could live without my house, my job or running water for a while. But without peace, life would feel more threatening than thrilling; more empty than full.
I started to find peace in the hundreds of emails, phone calls and faxes that were coming in from good people everywhere who wanted to help. It was in the essence of their stories and messages. Although few had ever survived a flood, all had experienced "natural disasters" of one kind or another. I cried as I read stories of absolute, complete surrender and roared with tales of the impossible made real. They talked of seeing the beauty in others, taking a first step towards something that would be fun or reinventing a new role for themselves. I posted the essence of these stories on my computer, and in time, I could see that we all have ten gifts.
Everyone has the Ten Gifts
The gifts are natural wonders common to every man, woman and child on this planet. They can be used to help us escape trouble or create amazing new opportunities. Regardless of why we use our gifts, what we get is what we need when the past is gone and the future is unclear: Inner peace. Working with this peace, things have turned out better for me and others than any of thought possible. Those who have ignored them have, more often than not, gotten stuck in a quicksand of frustration, disappointment and bitterness.
The Ten Gifts have familiar names, although the definitions are new. The first two help us shake off our fear of punishment or rejection, so we can move forward. The first is Faith, which no longer means, "Be patient." Using the gift of Faith offers an immediate payback, as it asks the question: "What problem or opportunity can I surrender to God?" The gift of Love follows, now much larger than a simple rush of feeling for another. It asks, "What beauty do I see in this person before me?" During the flood, tens of thousands of people either lived with or were fed or helped by total strangers. Without the gift of Love, there would have been unrelenting distrust. With it, there was not a single story of harm.
As the first two gifts help remove barriers of tension and reluctance, the next two put us back in touch with the desires of our hearts and souls, the places where our creator resides within us. The gift of Dreams is unique to human beings, as we are the only species on the planet capable of imagining something better for ourselves. It asks the question, "What would make me happy now?" The answer is assisted by the next gift, Courage, which is no longer bravery or risk, but rather, something that is much, much more challenging for most of us. It asks, "What would be fun to try to make my dream come true?"
Peace is made real by Unity and Joy
The next two gifts align us with the best in the people around us, and help us feel peaceful as we work and cooperate with others to create visions that are far greater than anything we can do alone. The gift of Unity is no longer consensus, but the answer to the question, "Who can help me?" It is followed by the gift of Joy, which is not the happiness that life brings to you, but an unbridled enthusiasm for life that is expressed by and through you. Joy asks the question, "How can I share whatever happiness I have?"
Trust and Character are the next two gifts. As we grow more comfortable with our Source and the world around us, these gifts make us peaceful with ourselves. Trust is knowing and responding to the still, small voice within each of us. It is acknowledging the inner radar that tells us that whatever we are thinking, saying or doing is either building or destroying our peace. It asks the question, "When do I feel good?" Our bodies become our barometer, and we can tell by our aches, pains, twinges of regret or tears of joy whether we are on or off track. Trust is a necessary adjunct to the gift of Character, which asks, "What new role do I want to play on life's stage?" As we reinvent ourselves day after day, Character allows us to become the best we can be.
Peace is kept by Thanks and Intention
The final two gifts fulfill the promise that we are never alone in this wonderful universe, and that ultimately, all is well. The gift of Thanks empowers us to be of value and service to others. It asks the question, "Who or what can I bless with my gifts?" The gift of Intention keeps us safe, no matter what. Even if appearances remain uncertain, it allows us to align our souls with a higher power and be ourselves, regardless of conditions around us. It asks the questions: "What now? What next?"
As the holiday season dawns, I use my ten gifts to experience life no longer as a seeker, but as a finder of peace. It is everywhere: in me, in you and in everyone and everything else. There is nowhere that peace is not, if we choose to acknowledge it. It's in the surrender caused by the storm that closes roads and forces everyone to stay home for a day. It's in blessing the work and errands that are ours to do. It's alive in loving tears of reunion and released when we have the courage to lay aside our work and pause long enough to share laughter with friends. Peace is in the music of kindness and the lighting of candles. It's a shared table, an open door, a willing heart.
In my religious tradition, we have a holiday called Hanukkah, a word which means "dedication." If we dedicate ourselves to peace, if we are willing to have it and use it and enjoy it, we will be gifted in ways few of us have ever imagined. I wish you peace, not only in the coming weeks, but for the rest of your life. For when you have peace and live it, life will never again threaten who you are or what you have. Of that, I am certain. Entry for Wednesday, August 15th
Fitness that's fun: The hula hoop revival
What we need is a type of exercise that seems like anything but. Something fun. Something like... hula hooping.
Yes -- seriously. Chances are, you had a hula hoop as a child, and you spent hours swinging your hips to keep the circular hoop rotating your body. Guess what? Now you can reconnect with your inner child while you tighten and slim your body.
 What's all the hoopla?
"Hooping is becoming such a popular form of exercise because it includes multiple elements that contribute to creating a successful exercise habit: It's fun -- a total blast -- it's creative, never boring, never the same, and it provides both muscle toning and cardio," says Rayna McInturf, the founder and Vice President of Hoopnotica (www.hoopnotica.com).
It doesn't take a big commitment to start, either. You can begin by hooping for only ten minutes twice a day -- about as long as it takes to listen to three songs on the radio or your mp3 player -- and then build from there.
This ain't your mama's hula hoop
Now, for starters, you'll need a hoop. But don't run out to the toy store to pick out one of the plastic rings from your youth. Instead, to get the greatest health benefits, seek out a professional weighted hoop.
If you don't know where to begin your search, here are several online stores that can help:
The best part of going with pro equipment: It's easier to keep a weighted hoop from falling into the floor, because a hollow plastic hoop will likely begin spinning faster than you can rhythmically swing your hips.
Heavy hoop-de-doo
Eighteen years ago, Wendy Iverson, a former fitness instructor, decided to become a stay-at-home mom and picked up a hula hoop to get rid of the extra pregnancy weight.
She padded her hoop with telephone wire and insulation, and held it in place with duct tape. The bulge around her middle quickly evaporated, and she became what she calls "thinner than ever" from hooping. From that rudimentary model, she went on to develop her "Heavy Hoop" (www.heavyhoop.com).
Since Iverson had experience teaching aerobics, she quickly realized the potential of working with the big ring toy. "All of those exercises -- aerobic, yoga, pilates -- you can incorporate with the hoop," says Iverson. "The hoop works as a tool with every movement. It takes pilates to a whole new level. Some positions in pilates are very hard, and the hoop makes it easier."
While Iverson prefers to work with a 3 or 5 pound hoop, Christabel Zamor, founder of HoopGirl.com, says she enjoys working with a hoop that weighs less than two pounds, because it's easier to use for a sustained workout. (Get one great hula hooping move -- the booty bump -- from her here.)
Getting around to results
How long do you need to hoop before noticing a change in your body? "Results from any form of exercise vary depending upon the individual's fitness level, weight, age, diet, et cetera," says McInturf. "I can say that based on my experience teaching Hoopnotic Hoopdance, many people begin to see results in just a few weeks -- of course the results become more dramatic over time. People do often report 'feeling it' in their core the day after their very first time with the hoop."
To start, Iverson suggests two 10-minute sessions per day; however, Zamor advocates building a hoop routine starting with 30 minutes three times a week, pushing that to 40 minutes, and up until you can hoop for an hour at a time. As with any workout, something is better than nothing -- so figure out what works for you and still leaves the experience pleasurable.
Going full circle
The physical benefits of hooping are multifold. In addition to strengthening your abdominal muscles and lower back muscles, doing this kind of shimmy provides an intense cardiovascular workout while enhancing coordination -- all with little to no impact on your joints.
"There's no other ab exercise that takes you in a circular pattern. You're working everything in the core of your body," says Iverson. "You're moving those hips, controlling those abs to keep that hoop up, and the cardio benefits come in because your arms are up." Since you're not likely to keep your arms against your torso, "when you start moving those arms -- punching forward, swinging them -- then you're getting the double cardio benefit. Your heartrate skyrockets."
Bryn Starr Best, creator of www.hulahoopstar.com, says she has found that hula hooping is a great exercise for just about any age range, and she encourages sedentary middle-aged women and seniors to give it a try. "Even bending over and picking the hoop up when it falls can be good exercise, and they can get a good workout in ten minutes," says Best.
 A fitness revolution
More and more people are realizing that they need to get regular exercise to stay healthy -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- and hooping provides all of those benefits in one fun activity, says McInturf. "It's a multitasking activity, and in today's busy world, people are looking for ways to get the most out of every minute of their lives -- hooping allows people to accomplish multiple goals with just one activity."
But the benefits don't stop there. "The wonderful thing about hooping is that it can help you create a whole new lifestyle that revolves around happiness and health and well-being," says Zamor. "It's not like you are dreading going to the gym. You can create a time to meet a girlfriend in a park to hoop. It's easier to make time for hooping. It also makes you feel sassy and flirtatious and feminine, because movements are based around the pelvis and undulating."
And while hula hoops probably won't sell 100 million units in a year as they did back in 1959, this revival doesn't seem to be a fleeting fad, either. In addition to the many fitness hoop stores, there's even an online magazine, Hooping.org, dedicated to the sport.
"Hula hooping started bringing joyful release into my life," says Best. "It allows me to tap into being a child again. You start training your mind to enjoy that joyful time."
McInturf is similarly enthusiastic. "Get outside and hoop! Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine as you spin your way to a healthier, happier you."
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