Healthy Living: Weight Loss and Memory Improvement

photo by emdot

Recently a friend shared with me a new weight loss program he was on; but what fascinated me the most, was the core concept of variation and keeping the mind guessing were the same concepts I had heard applied to the prevention of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. Below are the details and more ideas on keeping your body and mind healthy.

The Wende Diet:
A variation on the Weight Watchers diet created by a lady who did not lose any weight following the Weight Watchers program.

For each week have one day where you eat 10 points more, and one day where you eat 10 points less following the Weight Watchers diet point system. (The point system and other resources are listed at the end of this article.)

The concept is that by varying your calorie intake throughout the week you keep your body and mind guessing, without putting it into starvation mode, keeping your body and mind active and alert thereby keeping your body from plateauing, and helping it to find your body's natural ideal weight for you.

This same concept can be applied to exercise and driving patterns. By creating variation in your exercise routine, and the routes that you travel to get to your usual destinations you are keeping your mind stimulated. It presents new information and stimulus for your brain to process keeping your mind active and alert. Keeping your mind active and alert by doing and learning new things is a key prevention to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

I am a strong believer that if you want to stay young and healthy observe and follow the patterns of children:

• Use your Imagination
• Have Variety in your Friends and Activities
• Balance Work and Play
• Look at the World with Fresh Eyes
• See Life as a Great Adventure

Adding variety and creativity to all areas of your life will help you achieve a happy, healthy mind and body.

RELATED LINKS:
* Please note this blog in no way endorses Weight Watchers, but provides the following links as resources that may be of benefit to my readers. There are many weight reduction programs available, please choose the lifestyle pattern that is most beneficial for you. *

Peer Trainer Overview of the Weight Watcher program and offers a variety of helpful resources and information

Peer Trainer article excerpt:
How Many Weight Watchers Points Per Day Am I Alloted?

This is just a rough guide. You'll need to attend a meeting to find an accurate daily points target that meets your own needs and profile.
less than 150 pounds 18-23 daily points
150 to 174 pounds 20-25 daily points
175 to 199 pounds 22-27 daily points
200 to 224 pounds 24-29 daily points
225 to 249 pounds 26-31 daily points
250 to 274 pounds 28-33 daily points
275 to 299 pounds 29-34 daily points
300 to 324 pounds 30-35 daily points
325 to 349 pounds 31-36 daily points
more than 350 pounds 32-37 daily points

Weight Watchers Points Calculator
Weight Watchers Food Lists Food List with Weight Watchers points
Weight Watchers
FitDay Free Diet and Weight Loss Journal
Self Free Calculators and Programs for Good Health
Shape Free Fitness Tools and Programs for Good Health

Tips For A Better Life

photo by Hamed Saber

I was cleaning out my email - I think they multiply faster then bedroom dust bunnies! But I found this simple list of ways to improve your life and thought it was a great way to start 2009. Couldn't have said it much better myself. Not sure where it originated so my apologies for not acknowledging the author.

25 TIPS FOR A BETTER LIFE

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Love yourself.

Happy Holidays

Sorry to disappear for a month - I got very ill and now it's time to celebrate the holidays and rejuvenate myself. This blog will go on vacation until 2009.

Have a wonderful holiday season and may the spirit of Christmas bring you much joy and peace into your life.

God bless us everyone!!

Perfect Parenting

photo by jameschew

Families are an amazing array of personalities; every child you bring into your family adds another variation to the family dynamic creating a multitude of challenges and joys to your life. For better or worse some of your children may be just like you or your spouse, while others have personalities uniquely their own. Some are angels, some are little devils, and some you just can't figure out. Despite the many parenting books on the market every child's parenting needs may differ creating a unique set of obstacles for how to best parent your children. Just when you think you've mastered parenting, child #2 comes along with a whole new set of challenges for you to work through and all the things that seemed to work so beautifully with child #1 are a complete flop with child #2. Knowing how to best provide for your children can be an overwhelming task. Being a perfect parent may seem like an unachievable task, but I have found three basic parenting principles that will guarantee that your child develops into a healthy-functioning adult.

1. Demonstrate How to Have a Healthy Loving Relationship. Your child will learn more by what they see then what you tell them. How you interact with your spouse has the greatest influence on their future relationships. Children are blank canvases and their tiny souls soak up everything they see recording in their subconscious "this is what a relationship looks like" "this is how you treat a woman" "this is how you treat a man" "this is how you treat people who work for you" "this is how you treat store clerks" "this is how you treat children" and so on. Everything you do gets recorded as truth. Their life instruction book gets recorded based on their perceptions of what they see you doing and saying. If you want your children to have happy, healthy relationships than that is what you need to demonstrate to them by example.

2. Demonstrate How to Love and Self-Nurture Yourself. If they see you being kind to yourself, setting good boundaries, taking time out to nurture and care for your well-being they will imitate this pattern of behavior. Self-love builds good self-esteem and positive self-image. Children that love themselves make good choices for themselves. A child who loves themselves is less likely to give in to peer pressure, engage in high risk behaviors, or participate in any type of self-destructive or harmful activities or groups. Show them how to love themselves by how you love yourself.

3. Talk to Your Child About How They Feel About Themselves. This serves two purposes: one it tells your child that you care about them and two it gives you an opportunity to help your child identify and develop positive qualities and attributes. As a parent you can help your child see the wonderful things about them that they may not be able to see themselves. You can help to build your child's positive self-esteem through words and actions as you interact with your child. Knowing you care about them is one of the greatest boosts a child can have to their self-perception. Spending some time talking to your child helps you to identify if they are receiving your messages of love and approval or if you need to demonstrate it in some other way. Communicating with your child helps them build good communication skills, recognize that you love and care for them, and helps them build positive self-esteem and self-image.

Remember to Vote Tuesday November 4, 2008

photo by Randy Son of Robert

Our Founding Fathers fought hard for the rights and privileges we now enjoy. Honor this responsibility and privilege by casting your vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

photo by David Paul Ohmer

photo by reubeningber
photo by David Paul Ohmer

Regardless of your religious beliefs this is a moving reminder to vote
for the things that are important to you.

photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake

The Birthday - A Celebration or Devastation?

photo by Southernpixel

Today is my sister's birthday and she's not to happy about it. Like many women birthdays are seen as a dreaded reminder of aging. I'm getting soooooo old we whine in our 30s, 40s, and 50s. At what point did this glorious day become a gloomy suggestion that we have one foot in the grave?

At age 5 and 6 we jump for joy, "It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" and we let everyone know it is our special day. We thrill that we are now one year older than the last, more grown-up then we were last year. We smile and float like princess on parade. We glow brighter than the sun happy that today is our day and we cherish every moment of our special day.

Aging is all rather relative. You can be old at 20 and young at 80. It's how you care for your body and mind and how you perceive yourself that makes you old or young. Birthdays are just a chronological marker of your life's journey. It is a time to celebrate. Your life's journey has expanded by another year filled with experiences, opportunities, and moments of love, laughter, and happiness. You are a new person. Your birthday marks the beginning of a new year to fill with adventure, love, growth and opportunity. What do you want to do with this next year? How do you want to fill your time? What do you want to add to your life so that next year you can wake up saying "Hooray! Today is my birthday!"

Relationship Spice: Show Your Lady Some Love

photo by utpal

1. Show Affection Throughout the Day. Woman need to feel loved and appreciated throughout the day. They need their “love well” filled before they can turn it on in bed. Speak positive to your lady, give her compliments, express gratitude and appreciation, tell her how much she means to you and how much you love her. Show her you love her with hugs, kisses, and tender caresses. Stroke her hair, hold her hand, put your arms around her when you are talking with her; give her gentle touches that tell her how much you want to connect with her and be with her. Listen to her. Help her with her home and family. Let her know you care about her, need her, and love her. Demonstrate in word and action how much you love her.

2. Clean Her House. Most women view their home as an extension or reflection of themselves. So when you take care of her home you are taking care of her. After spending a full day with the kids or working at the office the last thing she wants to do is clean her house, and yet that is what a woman will do. Surprise her with a clean home, or place her in the tub for a few hours and get to work cleaning her house. You’ll be surprised at how delighted she will be, and you may even get some wonderful rewards in return.

3. Be a Handy Man or Hire One. This is an extension of “you take care of her home you take care of her”. Women are notorious for going to bed with a “to do” list running through their mind. Free up her “to do” list and you free her up to focus on you.

4. Listen. Women often need to talk out their feelings, stressors, thoughts, and concerns; this helps them to connect with other individuals. Unless she directly asks you to “fix” or resolve a problem or concern she typically is talking to free up her mind and get a sense of understanding or support from the listener. Withhold your male sense to “fix it” and just listen. If you’re not sure if she needs listening or fixing, ask her, “Do you need me to just listen, or are you asking me to help you solve a problem?” This is the best way to avoid conflict and miscommunication. Men typically don’t share just to be heard so this may feel awkward or uncomfortable for you. But as you practice it will become easier and your relationship will greatly improve.

5. Take Care of the Kids. Women love a man who will change dirty diapers, put kids to bed, clean them up and most importantly spend quality time playing and interacting with their children. Women have a natural sense of nurturing and responsibility towards their children so it makes them exceptionally happy to see the father of their children loving their children as much as they do.

6. Give Symbols of Your Love. Gifts, surprises, and special events are symbolic ways to express the depth of your love to your special lady. Flowers, jewelry, chocolates, and other small or large glam gifts are always fun to receive. So are shopping sprees, ballet tickets, fancy dinners, and romantic getaways. But gifts and gestures don’t have to be expensive, a picnic in the park or romantic bath for two is often more heartwarming than a new car, fur coat, or diamond necklace. It’s the thought and symbolism behind the gift or act that makes it wonderful. If the emotional part of your relationship is not nurtured then your gift of a new Mercedes may just be an empty reflection of the love that is missing. If you spend beyond your means your ladylove may feel angry at your irresponsibility and not receive the love gift as you intended. Remember that gifts and activities are symbols, a reflection of the love you share together, and quality time and attention are often the best gifts you can give to another person.