THE POWER WITHIN
July 27, 2008
I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Rosemary Altea. She is a spiritual medium, healer and an author of many books. The “EAGLE AND THE ROSE”, was the first book of hers I read. Rosemary, from the time she was very little thought she was crazy and her mother told her continually that if she didn’t stop talking about what she was seeing they would have her committed. Thank goodness for us she finally figured out that she wasn’t crazy and God had given her a great gift to share with the world.
I am now re-reading another of her books “YOU OWN THE POWER!” As I sat reading this book I realized that I had to write a post about this because it contains a very important message that I think everyone should know.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Now having said that I’m sure there are some who say “bah”. That’s fine, what kind of a world would it be if we all believed in the same thing, perhaps a better one, but I’ll leave that thought for another day.
Rosemary is a teacher of healing. The book, takes the reader on a journey to discover who you are spiritually, in other words she teaches how to find out who we truly are and why we are here. As I said, we are spiritual and are part of a higher power, be it God, Source energy, whatever you prefer to call it, and we have within each of us an awesome POWER!
To find this power we need to discover who we are. This power will assist us in achieving remarkable things in our life, and help heal us as well. I wrote a previous post about discovering who you are and your attitude toward yourself. I know many people, women in particular, are extremely hard on themselves, and we as women are constantly striving to achieve what we preceive as the beautiful woman. The media has done a fine job on brainwashing us into thinking what beautiful should look like and we hastily beat a path to the local drugstore to get the latest and best wrinkle reducer, lotions.potions etc., because we want to achieve that beautiful look.
As spiritual beings we are all beautiful from top to bottom. Our true essence and beauty lies within us, and to achieve the exterior image we first need to accept the fact that We are beautiful just the way we are! We as women must learn to love ourselves in all our shapes and forms before we can ever hope to achieve our desired goal. We must look ourselves in the eye and love every aspect of what we see. Then and only then can we hope to achieve that which we desire.
Love yourself for who, what, why, where and how you are. Learn to bestow on yourself what you so freely give to others, unconditional love for who they are and what you see inside them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When you can love yourself unconditionally, which is the toughest to do, the rest is easy.
Problem Inner Thigh!
July 24, 2008
When I was experiencing my weight loss one area that I had a real problem with was my inner thighs. I hate doing those nasty on the floor exercises for this area and I had the tendency to just not do them. I have since discovered a new method which works if you do it consistently.
It’s really quite simple. If you have a set of stairs in you house this is what you do.
Stand on the landing of the stairs so that your right side is parallel to the stair.
Step down on the first stair with your right foot, squeeze those muscles and return to the landing.
Do 20 of these on the right side and then switch to the left side.
Do these each day increasing the rep’s by 5 each day.
I did this consistently, and still do them and I was really amazed at how quickly the inner thigh starts to look less “flabby” and firmer.
If you want you can hang on the banister for support until you get used to doing these, because it is more effective if you don’t hang on.
If you try it let me know how it is working for you!
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT “FAST”
July 24, 2008
How to lose weight fast? That question always makes me laugh. Why would anyone want to lose weight fast. Let’s face it, you didn’t add those pounds in a week so why would you think for one single minute you can take it off in a week?
It’s time to access the reason for you being overweight in the first place. What are your eating habits? When do you eat and why? Do you eat more calories then you can possibly burn in any given day? Are you an emotional eater, do you eat when you are upset? Do you binge one day and starve yourself the next? Do you pop from diet to diet without giving one at least 90 days to work? These are just a few questions you should be asking yourself before starting on any diet program.
The simplest and quickest way I know to lose weight fast is to just stop eating period and that is just stupid. Think of your body as your engine. Now to take a trip to anywhere in a vehicle you must add fuel. You fill the tank and drive to and from your destination on that tank of gas. Your body works in much the same way. You eat so that you have the energy (calories) to go about your daily routines, it’s just some of us overfill our tanks. In other words we take in to many calories for the amount of energy we expend. The unused calories are then stored as fat on our bodies.
You should only eat enough calories during the day that you know you require to do the things you want to do. If you sit at a desk all day you are going to need less calories then the construction worker. Really it’s just common sense.
Embarking on a fad diet of bread and water, water only for 3 days, only grapefruit, only cabbage soup just to name a few is in my humble opinion just plain unhealthy. Sure you’ll take off the weight but the minute you start eating regular food again your body is going to store it up as fat because the body doesn’t want to be starved and with these fad diets that’s exactly what you are doing.
There are many great diet programs out there and by investigating them and finding the right one for you is the healthy way to go. Be patient with the diet and yourself it takes time, but you will reap the rewards of being not only slimmer but you’ll be healthier and have more energy.
YOU ARE NOT THE PACKAGE BUT THE CONTENTS!
July 19, 2008
I am fortunate to live near a lake and every day I usually take a walk along the beach(a very rocky one) just to get in touch with my thoughts, and search for beach glass, one of my hobbies. Yesterday, being a particularly hot and humid day the beach was a little crowded with people seeking some respite from the weather. One individual who caught my attention was a mother and her three siblings. The children were happily playing in the water, splashing and throwing water at each other from small plastic buckets while mom watched. She never once removed her eyes from the children and smiled as they played without a care in the world. I watched her and as though she knew I was there she turned her head and looked at me, smiled and returned her gaze to the children.
My first impression of this lady was of a good mom, taking care of the needs of her children, but when her eyes met mine there was another side I saw. This mother of three had beautiful long blond hair , gorgeous blue eyes, a lovely smile and she was very overweight. The day as I said was very warm and she had decided to wear a long cotton dress, sandals and a sun hat to the beach probably because she did not feel comfortable in shorts and top. Seeing this brought back memories of when I was overweight and how I wouldn’t be caught dead in a bathing suit or shorts unless I was hiding on my balcony.
I could instantly relate to the long dress knowing full well it was the means of hiding from public scrutiny. If you have never been overweight then it is difficult for you to understand what goes through the minds of overweight individuals. Today, more than ever, society places an emphasis on thin, trim and slim, so as an overweight person you are ridiculed. People tend to avoid eye contact with you and often make fun of you as you pass. Fat jokes have taken over from ethnic jokes. Just enter “fat jokes” in any search engine and see how much information is returned.
Overweight women have a tougher time then men and are often times accused of being “bitches” and “pushy”. I know first hand what most men think of overweight women, having heard the unflattering comments as I passed by. How can we change this? Well it certainly isn’t going to happen overnight, however we could start by accepting ourselves just as we are.
I’m sure there are very few women who don’t love to wear nice things and look attractive, however when you are overweight it becomes very difficult to pull off. Instead of being down on ourselves for the way we are, we should be grateful. We could all learn a lot by listening to Oprah about her problem with weight, how she battles it & by paying attention to what she wears. Jamie Lee Curtis is also an extraordinary woman who believes in the natural approach to everything. These two ladies, and there a many more, are advocates for accepting yourself for who you are.
You are not your weight, color of skin, religion or political view point. You are the mother of invention, nurturer, lover, nurse, teacher ,laundress, cook, housekeeper, and most of all powerful. Remember, the outside of the box is just the window dressing, who you really are and what you are all about is on the inside. Let the inside out and show the world that you’re outside packaging has little to do with the real you. Rejoice and be grateful in being you for “YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND!”
Great Salad Dressing
July 10, 2008
Here is a great idea for a low fat salad dressing. The other day when I was at the laundromat washing my duvet in one of those bug machines for comforters and sleeping bags I picked up a magazine and started browsing through it.
Now when I was dieting and attmepting to lose my weight I ate a lot of salads, but the one thing I hated most of all was squeezing lemon on it. I can’t stand the taste of lemons and that low fat dressing I find disgusting.
Here is a little receipe for salad dressing that I have tried and it tastes great.
Use canned or in the box low sodium chicken broth. Heat in a saucepan and when it is about to boil add some cornstarch to thicken. Add enough to make it the consistency of olive oil. Let it cool and then keep in an old salad dressing bottle, add you own herbs and spices salt and pepper to taste and voila your own homemade dressing that tastes good.
Enjoy.
“MEN” A DIFFERENT KIND OF BREED
July 10, 2008
I have been away for a while and haven’t posted to the blog in a while. Now I’m back and rearing to get back at it.
My husband and I make it a practice to go out for a good dinner and conversation at least once a week. We have great conversations about all kinds of things ranging from our kids, our dogs, grandkids, cars, gardening and the list goes on.
Last week on our night out I asked him a question that had been nagging at me for a while and I was very curious just what his response would be.
Here’s the question: ” Why is it that men ( certainly not all men, but a good majority of them), are quite happy with themselves as they get older? You don’t seem to mind that your hair is getting grey, or that your losing it, that you have wrinkles, and those once big biceps are now just extra flesh. You can strut your stuff down the beach wearing just a bathing suit proudly displaying your “”Molsen Muscle” as you affectionately like to call it, without a care in the world, quite happy being you.”
This is his response:
“I am 61 years old and I have earned every gray hair, balding spot and flabby muscle. My stomach I earned through years of my own abuse and enjoyed every minute of it. Sure I’m overweight and could afford to lose a few pounds( that’s putting it mildly) but I’m happy just being me. You women put way to much pressure on yourselves, why can’t you just be happy in the knowledge that you’ve made it this far in life, have 2 great children, 2 great grandkids, nice home and me.”
I found this quite amusing to stay the least. I proceeded to tell him that yes we do put a lot of pressure on ourselves and try to stay slim and healthy, however we are the sex that gets the most attention. Every where a woman turns today there is a beautiful slim woman looking back at her. The magazines, television, movies and even roadside billboards are staring at us every where we go, and who puts the most pressure on us other than the media………..MEN!
Men of all ages enjoy looking at lovely, young , slim attractive women, that’s their nature. Seldom do you ever see a man turn and look at an overweight woman, and if he does it’s just to make a wise crack, and we women see you do this. We know that this is normal however, if we are overweight and unattractive it doesn’t do much for our self esteem and only adds to the pressure to lose that weight and try too turn back the clock. Let’s face it ladies, we are a huge business. Companies all over the world are cashing in on us no matter our age. Products from make-up, meal plans, supplements, hair color and vitamins, all to make us look great.
Hey, I’ll be the first one to tell you that being overweight isn’t great and it can be downright depressing, but add the media and men into the mix and it becomes OUR pressure cooker. We as women enjoy looking our best, love to look attractive not just to the opposite sex but to other women. There isn’t a better feeling in the world than to have one of your female friends comment on how great you look, it does your soul good.
So here are my thoughts on all this. If you are overweight, diet but do it the healthy way. Avoid those FAD diets, they are just plain unhealthy, and if you lose that weight quickly you’ll most likely gain it all back and more besides. Find the diet that is right for you and if you need some help find the product that will work for you. Remember to exercise on a weekly basis even if it’s a 2 mile walk three times a week, your using energy and burning calories. Get lot’s of sleep, to help maintain your energy level. Stay hydrated but remember you are not a camel so don’t drink gallons of water a day, that’s not healthy either and could upset your electrolytes. LAUGH! You’d be amazed at how many calories a good belly laugh can burn, and it makes you feel better. Most of all be happy with yourself no matter where you are in life and be thankful for the wonderful things you have in your life right now.
As for the men in our lives, well ladies I guess if you are blessed with the same type of man I am then I guess we will just have to live with the fact that they are happy the way they are and continue to love them. I sometimes feel a little envious of my husbands approach to aging, but then I picture him on the beach in just his bathing suit and that feeling soon disappears.
MEN…..they are definitely a breed unto themselves and I for one love them for it.
