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Say No To Lo [and No]

Say no to lo-fat and no-fat? Yes!

For years I have said that the low fat and no fat "alleged" foodstuffs [I have trouble calling it food] were at best no help and worse – bad for you.

My take is that the rate of obesity has kept pace with the number of low and no fat foods we have in the supermarket.

Why do I say the lo and no fats are bad?

We actually need fat in our diets – and removing it means we eat more of the lo/no stuff in an attempt to appease our bodies – which know they are lacking something.

But our ego says NO NO NO to all fat because the media has told us it is BAD BAD BAD – and so we ignore our body's message – that is it missing something it needs. 

Caveat – some lower fat foods are ok – but be sure it is food – not chemicalized "stuff."

We all need a mix of carbohydrates, fat and protein. There is never going to be one type of diet that fits all of us. We come from different types of ethnicity and we need to figure out what works best for us – not those other people.

But whatever it is you eat, it must contain all the food groups  . Many parents who themselves might be overweight [or afraid of being overweight] feed their children low fat and no fat foods.

Adults need fat in their diet and so do children. It's a human condition and not an adult v. child thing.   A growing body needs ALL components – fat, carbohydrates, protein – as well as fruits and veggies…

 Eat well – it helps you and your kids.

01/10/2012
Why Do You Want To Be Stress Free?
I'm sure we all have an answer – but in reality you should never want to be stress free. HUH?

Why?

Because you are human!

And because stress is good for you!

Stress is as natural a part of a human life as is breathing. Stress is most simply our body’s reaction to “something” in our environment that is making us a bit out of balance [or homeostasis.] Physically, and mentally, we want to be in balance and so we react to this balance shift. It is our mental and emotional reaction to this shifting that determines the type and level of stress.

Stress has negative, positive and neutral definitions:
- something that causes mental or emotional strain
- omething that we put extra emphasis or significance on
- the mechanical/physical definitions related to torque
Just being alive and interacting with our social and physical environment creates stress or “off balance-ness” and we can add more by how much we emphasize or give importance to what we are doing in those environments.

And physically – just standing, sitting and breathing create mechanical and/or physical stress.

We just aren’t used to thinking of the positive or mechanical sides of stress when we think STRESS! We think it’s like the image above!

Think for a moment that the positive and negative definitions can fit the exact same stressful situation. One can be very happy and enthusiastic about something with significance and yet be negatively stressed about it as well…think weddings or having a baby….

We are never stress-free. We are human. Our stress may be good or it may be bad – but it is here to stay in our lives.

So what do we do about our stress if it’s always here?

Learn about it and use it to our advantage!

P.S. 2 down on my ebook writing list is one on stress – stay tuned for it's publication

Comments Thoughts?
01/06/2012
Do You Make New Year Resolutions? Why I Don’t

Over the years I have learned how to deal with certain aspects of my own brain or mind.

It does not like words that sound like “commands” and resolutions seem to fit into that category.

Sentences that contain should, will, and ought fragments tend to create an opposite effect or they instill the idea that such fragments have already been taken care of.

It’s why to-do lists don’t work for my head – once I write down the list of what I am “supposed” to do – my mind treats the list as “things already accomplished.”

Worse is that the phenomenon is not one that happens 100% of the time – but it happens often enough that I’ve had to find ways to deal with my own type of brain. And I do that mostly by making lists of “suggestions.”

Instead of calling a list “to-do” I mentally call it something like “it would be great to get these things done this week, month or year.” On paper the list has no real title and on my computer the document is often called “ideas.”

Believe me – I have read and tried most gurus fail-safe ways to organize and plan – and they don’t work or they work for a bit and then stop working.

With 2 major degrees in hand I know I can actually accomplish scheduled things – so I have finally stopped reading and trying “how to get and stay organized” material and have adopted a more casual approach to my work life.

And I feel like I need to add a warning like they say on TV – “don’t try this at home.”

Maybe unless you too have tried all the other ways of working?

comments? thoughts? thank you

01/01/2012
Did You Really Want A White Christmas?

The idea of a white Christmas, one with snow on the ground, has become an annual wish for many.

One hears weather forecasters daily asking, “Will we have a white Christmas?” Adding “Stayed tuned for your forecast.” We have many children and adults wistfully looking out the windows to see if there is snow on the ground.

What we have is a national nostalgia for an event that comes from the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The song, from the early 1940’s, has become not a dreaming of – but a longing or wishing for.

We like the idea of a light snow on the trees and the ground, we love seeing pictures and cards of snow covered outdoor Christmas trees all decorated and glistening in the snow.

But a white December 25th largely depends on where you live and for many keeping it a dream is far better than it being an actuality.

In reality, a very white December 25th can mean feet of snow to shovel, no traveling, no shopping and no fun [at least for the adults.]

So be careful what you wish for – you might get these types:

One like the top photo [of my car] from a holiday season in Vermont where there was about 5 feet of snow between 12/24 and 1/1.

Or, as in this photo, one like we had in Portland Oregon a few years ago when many put celebrations on hold til early January as no own could drive, fly or buy.

12/26/2011
Taking a Walk Instead of a Drive

I often drive. I often walk too – but I tend to not walk along the paths I drive on – so it's kind of neat to see what I can see when I am on foot.

It's a whole new perspective.

It's a bit like being in the passenger seat and having a different visual experience – except that these were photos were taken from points where cars are not allowed – like a sidewalk or a park.

Paul Bunyon – up close

Paul Bunyon from across the street

Then through the park

Sometimes I let my camera run and grab video of the scenes from the train rides – but I have not edited those videos – that's a task for a rainy winter day.

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you…

10/15/2011
Listen to the birds!

Often I sit and listen to the sounds around me.

Sometimes it's an F-15 or 2, more often it's one of the many airplanes taking off from PDX, the traffic I hear from I-5 and Marine Drive, or the water critters and pets that live here.

None of this is bothersome to me as I love the sounds of cities.

But every once in a while it's just the birds in this tree. And for whatever reason, the other sounds are not in the background at all!

Listen to my birds with me in the video below.

Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

09/23/2011