Monday, October 25, 2010

Words Of Wisdom: Keeping Balance

There are feelings, and then there are actions. 

Your feelings can affect your actions (you are sad, and you cry or seek out a friend), and your actions can affect your feelings (you go for a walk after dinner and you feel refreshed).   The cause and effect between the two can be be negative if we are not careful, for example you feel sad and eat a carton of ice cream, or you work late and feel guilty you missed time with the family, but the connection between the two remain.  They are not isolated islands.  Balance is sometimes lost when we let one of these things take too much control.

You might be letting your feelings have all the control if:
  • You are feeling overwhelmed and it's paralysing you or making you unproductive.
  • Your feelings are getting in the way of getting along or interacting effectively with people.
You may be letting your actions have all the control if:
  • You actively suppress thoughts or feelings telling yourself you can't think about that right now.
  • You are caught up in the race and justify, or try not to worry about who gets hurt in the process.

If you feel like your life is lacking balance or feels out of control, quickly consider which one those two scenarios applies to you.  Are you letting feelings have all the say?  Or are you letting actions push your feelings off to the side?  Take a second to decide which one applies to you and read the appropriate set of suggestions below:

If you are letting feelings have all the control:
Think of one time today when you can focus on taking action.  Yes, it can be something that takes 60 seconds or less!  It could be one small thing on your to do list you can get done, that phone call you've been putting off, or a walk you can take after dinner because you know it will make you feel good.  When you've done it, be aware of how you feel.  Congratulations!  You have let action influence your feelings, rather than being re-active and being a prisoner to your emotions.
If you are letting your actions have all the control: 
Think of one time today when you can allow your emotions have some input into the decision.  And yes, it can be something that takes 60 seconds or less.  Are you feeling bad about something that you can easily fix?  Is there someone you've been meaning to call and feel bad because you haven't?  Do you want to tear up that aggrivating email with the passive aggressive comments in it from your sibling?  Well, print it out and do it!  Don't suppress that feeling, let it have say in what you do next.  Your emotions can be useful and productive, and can help keep you focussed on what actually is important in your life, and keeps us human.  Ask yourself how you feel about something, and try acting on that.  Congratulations!  You are being authentic and true to yourself by letting your emotions have there say, or at least an outlet.

Having a Conflict or Experiencing a Challenge?

Ask yourself what's in control:  You're emotions or your actions.  If one has the predominant control, find a way for the other to play a part in what's happening.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Drinking More Water Easiest Way to Lose Weight

I know I don't drink enough water.  But after reading this article posted on a health blog (click here for full article) I just may put in the effort.  It just may be the world's easiest way to burn calories and lose a bit of weight!


Here's how it works:  You can lose weight because you will feel full, and actually eat less.  Your body will also burn extra calories warming up cold water to body temperature which can also result in weight loss. 

The Plan:
For the best results, drink 16 ounces of cold water before every meal.  That is about 2 cups.    Grab a measuring cup and drinking glass the next time you sit down to the dinner table to get an idea of just how much that is.   Measure it out once, and you will know for future reference just how much water we're talking about here.  Depending on the size of your glassware it may be 1 or 1 and 1/2 glasses.  Certainly managable.

Not convinced? 
Well, not getting enough water can actually cause weight gain. Apparently, our brains are not good at telling the difference between whether we are hungry or thirsty.  So drink some water and wait 10 minutes.   You may not even be hungry anymore!   Weightloss aside, staying hydrated is just plain important for allowing our bodies to function properly. 

So be sure to grab a tall one (water that is) before you sit down to the dinner table tonight.

Monday, October 18, 2010

How to Pick Out a Great Pumpkin

If you haven't picked out your Pumpkin for Hallowe'en yet, don't worry.  If you pick it out too soon, it could go rotten before Hallowe'en anyway!  That's what happened to me last year, and we ended up having to chuck them out into the green bin and buy some more.

When you do go to pick it out, keep this in mind if you want it to last for as long as possible:  Pick out a pumpkin that is dark orange instead of a lighter-coloured one.  A darker pumpkin means that it hasn't ripened yet, and will last a lot longer.  Pumpkins that are a lighter have already ripened and will likely begin to rot sooner.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Eat Roasted Walnuts to Lower Bad Cholesterol

Why should you eat roasted walnuts?  Here's the answer in a nutshell (LOL!):  It can lower your bad cholesterol (I guess there wasn't much suspense there given the blog post title, but whatev).

To gain the benefit, you need to eat at least an ounce of walnuts a day.   That amounts to about 14 halves or 1/4 cup.

Hoping for a little more excitement than eating a handful?  Keep a jar of roasted walnuts right on your counter and have them ready as one of your "add it to anything and look like a chef" ingredients.   Try these quick, easy, and painless suggestions:

Tomorrow's Breakfast: Add them to yogurt with berries to boot, or just sprinkle them on toast with cream cheese or just plain butter.  How delightful!

For Lunch this week:  Add finely chopped walnuts to your basic tuna salad sandwich.  For a fancy recipe, visit: http://www.realage.com/recipefinder/walnut-dill-tuna-salad-recipe-3625?click=recipe_sr&click=p5link2.  Of course, you could also sprinkle them on your salad.  Don't you look hip!

For a Healthy Side Dish: I've learned that if you have a fancy side dish, your whole meal looks like a work of art.  Use walnut oil instead of butter on your vegetables.  A simple substitution!  For those recipe followers:  http://www.realage.com/recipefinder/brussels-sprouts-walnut-lemon-vinaigrette-recipe-5662?click=recipe_sr&click=p5link1

For Dinner Tonight:  Process a cup of walnuts in your food processor and include them in the breading for your chicken, or if you are lazy, just chop them up and sprinkle them on top with a few other spices.  Amazingly delicious, and you'll look like you actually know what you are doing in the kitchen being quite the maverick for adding those oh-so-riskee walnuts:  http://www.realage.com/recipefinder/picnic-chicken-three-sauces?click=recipe_sr&click=p5link3

To find out more visit this article:  http://link.realage-mail.com/u.d?Y4Gq_sQ6zwyrFl82dO0bI=12701&s=19010103