How to Use Portion Control

It's interesting how much people have put their hands into nature.  As I am on this journey of eating smaller portions and opting for healthier choices, I realized that there is so much "fake" stuff out there which we consume daily.

This morning I had a peach for breakfast.  It was plump, soft, and as expected the very first bite filled me with excruciatingly amazing flavor.  The juice flowed in and around my tastebuds like a Niagra Falls party right inside my mouth.  It was truly delicious.  My teeth chomped down on the meaty fruit until I had enough.  I almost finished the whole thing, but there came a point where the flavor lost its essence and I was satisfied.

This event made an impact on me.  I realized that foods that are natural, unaltered (other than pesticides:o) by humans were meant to serve us in taste and fill.  See, if I put a little sugar on top of that peach or maybe even som whipped cream, I would have probably been able to eat the whole thing and perhaps bite into another.  But, no, I was done.  There came a point where I just didn't want to keep bursting my mouth open with this flavor.

Think of any fruit, veggie, or other natural source of food.  Unaltered, you eat just enough to get your fill out of it.  That's the way we're supposed to eat.  We are hungry, we bite into delicious sustenance, and when we have had enough we stop.  But processing our foods with sugars, high fructose corn syrup, sodium, sauces and flavorings makes it hard for our taste buds to want to stop, even if our stomach is signaling we've had enough.

So I realize, that it really never is about dieting.  It's about choosing foods that are live, fresh, healthy, and just the way they are.  (Not that we could ever be perfect and not eat another piece of chocolate :o)  Becoming healthy really is about a lifestyle, not a fad.  Yum!

Wasting Time

You know how people say, "If it's a cliche' it's because it's a truth"?  Well, sometimes that makes sense, like:  'People don't plan to fail they just fail to plan'...true and it's definitely cliche'.  But how about this one:  Wasting Time...ugh.  I don't like that one, even if it may be true.

I was thinking about a time when I was in a store just browsing at the merchandise.  I really had no intention to buy anything so I was just roaming around from one aisle to the next.  I remember the sales lady coming up to me and I got all tense (the way we do when people charge at us trying to sell us something) and as she approached me in her sing song voice she offered the ever dreaded, "Can I help you find anything?"  To which I simply replied, "No thanks, I'm just wasting time."  Guess what she did when I said that?  Nothing.  She smiled, nodded and moved right along, as if she understood.

Is it really so acceptable for us in this society to feel like we should be able to simply WASTE time?  Now, I know that time in and of itself is a pretty vague concept, but really, waste??  Think of what you consider to be waste?  Garbage.  Refuse.  Scraps.  Leftovers nobody else wanted.  Do we really want to do that with our time?

Whether it's a cliche' or not, I'd rather invest my time.  Invest it in a way that each action from here on out will yield me awesome things in the future.  Maybe even spend time a couple of moments, spend it doing something that will build me a memory.  But please, pretty please with a cherry on top, no more WASTING!

Updates

How's summer treatin' ya?  I love hot days and I love everything about summer.  Here's what's going on:

~I'm down 4 lbs (YEAY!)

~I got my very first proof copy of my very first finished novel (Well, it'll never be finished for me:o)

~and I'm lovin' life.

Okay, so not too much, but why then do the days seem full to the brim?  Sometimes after a long day at the office the free time spaces you out, or maybe it's because life is so stinkin' awesome. 

Sorry for the sporadic posting this past week, I promise to mend my ways, I can't wait to hear read about your updates and what you're looking forward to this summer!

Are You Stuck?

For today's post I couldn't resist sharing this article written by Darren Hardy on Success Magazine's Blog.  Enjoy!

Are You Stuck?


By:  Darren Hardy, potential


I saw something absurd the other day. A highly engineered and specially designed high-performance race car stuck on a 35-mile-an-hour downtown street.

That is not what that car was made for. That is not what its creator (Enzo Ferrari) envisioned for it.



This 6-speed, F140 Aluminum V12, 4700cc engine with 660hp was built to go 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and race at 217 miles an hour (2010 specs). But here it is… stuck.



I see this absurdity every day.



But not only in the streets—in office cubicles, conference rooms, huddled behind computer screens, and dragging luggage through airports.



People who were specially engineered and designed with special talents, skills and abilities who are traveling down the wrong road, with their potential stuck in first gear; trapped and unable to race.



That is not what their creator had envisioned for them either.



Are you…



1. Stuck. Traveling down the wrong road? Are you in a job, company or business that has you boxed in on the slow lane? Is it keeping you from being able to get out of first gear and challenge your greater abilities?



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the road the car is on.



2. Traveling with Pintos? Are you going slow because you are keeping pace with ordinary cars, when you were designed for racing?



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the cars it travels with.



3. Are you even aware that you are a race car? You were specially engineered and designed for speed… to race. You were built for greatness. I’m not kidding. You are a miracle of machinery. Yes, you… the one reading this. It’s likely you have never even experienced half of what your top speed is.



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the one given the responsibility to drive it.



If you ever really gripped the wheel, braced your neck and punched the pedal with all your might… the awesomeness of your innate potential will shock and exhilarate you.



Punch it. NOW!



Who else do you know has greater innate potential than they might realize or be utilizing? Forward this post to them: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2010/07/are-you-stuck/



So, are you stuck? Are you on the wrong road, traveling with the wrong people, unaware of your true greatness? In the comments below share with everyone what you are going to do to “punch it” in your life, starting now.

Shed Those Pounds

Weight Watchers

LA Weightloss

Jenny Craig

NutriSystem

Slim4Life

Can you name another weight loss company?  In America alone the weight control industry reaches well over $30 billion per year!  That's a lot of moola spent on getting slim, or at least the thought of getting slim.  What do you hear about most of these programs, pills, and diets from users?  That they didn't work.

The reason they didn't work isn't because the programs are flawed.  Quite the contrary.  These programs usually encourage eating the right foods, in accurate proportions, and exercising.  So all the info and advice is right on the money.  So why then don't these results typically scream success for ever single participant?  Motivation, or lack thereof.

When you are ready to loose weight, really ready, you will.  There comes a point in life when you look at yourself, go 'ugh' and then are committed to that workout or the smaller portions.  About a year and a half ago I had that 'ugh' moment in my life and went from 161 lbs down to 137 lbs.  My initial goal was to go all the way down to 125 (the weight I had been most of my life until those few years).  

How did I loose 24 lbs?  I counted my calories and exercised at least 5 days per week.  Sure I used a tool that helped me along.  I highly recommend it, at CalorieCount.  It is a FREE (zero, zip, nada, zilch, NO CHARGE) online program where you enter your daily food intake and activity level.  You can even enter SLEEP ('cause you do burn them there calories while you snooze:o)!  Put in your current weight, your goal weight and goal date.  If it's unrealistic the program helps you define a more doable goal.  

Check it out and see for yourself.  But you have to be ready for it.  All the external stuff will do you a zip of good if you are not in a mental position to make a change.  Don't beat yourself up if you're not, just love yourself and grow mentally.  Become positive in your outlook and little by little as you gain the ability to see the good stuff in life, you'll have the ability to keep motivation for a long term goal. 

I'm in another 'ugh' moment after seeing my scale tip past the 145 mark.  The goal?  You got it...125lbs, the goal date?  October 3rd.  Check out the site and let me know if you are going for a goal or any tips you have in the healthiness/weightloss/exercise department.  This is gonna be a great ride!

I Want to Ride my Bicycle

You know that two wheeled device you probably have sitting in your garage that's stacked behind a bunch of boxes and other random things?  Yeah, yeah...that bike?  Well, I pulled mine out last week and totally emerged myself into riding it throughout the weekend.  Yesterday in the evening instead of desert I hopped on and went on a seven mile ride. Today I rode it to run errands.  I'm sweaty, hot, out of breath getting into shape, and loving it!

The last time I rode my bicycle frequently I was an early teenager.  I've dabbled with riding it here and there a time or two in those last 15 plus years but never again since my voracious riding days have I fully used the machine for what it is good for. 

When I decided to test the ol' bike out again, I was surprised at how much fun it is to go places around town while riding instead of driving a car.  There is so much you see that you don't notice when you're behind a steering wheel caged in a bubble with cold air blowing in your face.  Sure, I wouldn't turn away an invention that made me feel cool while sweating bullets, but there's nothing quite like being outdoors, breeze in your face and knowing your heart is thanking you.

My dogs usually are privileged to a 45-50 minute walk.  Now, they are lucky to RUN around 6 or 7 blocks as my warm-up.  They are way more tired and puckered out after the run than I would hope them to be after a leisurely stroll.  So there are many many benefits to my new found...err??? hobby?  or whatever you can call it.  Not to mention I've dropped two pounds just this weekend!  Woohoo!  Here's to our bikes!

People You Can Count On

How many friends would you say you have?  Now, be careful, I'm not talking about the amount of Facebook, Twitter or MySpace friends.  I'm not even talking about how many people you know or who you are related to.  I'm talking about real friends.  The people who actually give a damn about your well being?  If you were to ask me that same question, my answer would be a number that would fit in one hand.

Something I've come to realize over the last little while is that there are only a few people in your circle who are really there for you.  Whether you need help moving, have a flat tire, or need a place to stay, these are the select few who would be there for you for ALL of that and then some without you returning ANY KIND of favor at all.

Here's where the separation begins:  there are certainly plenty of people you know who would show up to a party you throw, there may even be many who would help you if you were in some kind of trouble or were facing a life changing problem.  But there are only a few, who would be there every step of the way.  These are the people who if you asked them, "Can you do me a favor?" would answer you by saying, "Sure what do you need?" instead of a naturally understandable, "Depends, what is it?"

These people are gems.  Treasure them.  Treat them as special as you know they would treat you.  All the rest of the people are great, too and of course should be treated well also, but make sure you know who that small circle is and be there for them without question...you never know when you'll need them in the same way.

The Places We'll Go & The Things We'll See

There was a game I remember from long ago when I was in middle school called, “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.” I think the point of it was to answer trivia questions about different parts of the world and by the clues find out where this character was stationed. The thought of that game brought some memories and desires right up to the surface for me.

Traveling is something I love to do. It’s not just about the destination. The entire process that starts with booking your flight, packing, the airport, the hotels, etc. is thrilling. How fun is it to escape and put yourself into a different portal for a bit just for the purpose of exploring? There is so much out there for me to see and I look forward to going many places.

Here are the places I have been:

In the USA (Not counting cities I’ve just driven through:o):

New Jersey

New York

Florida

Maryland

Washington D.C.

Pennsylvania

Massachusetts

Georgia

Utah

Colorado

Nevada

Arizona

California

Outside of the USA:

Slovakia

Czech Republic

Guatemala

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

Spain

Oh how teeny tiny that list seems to me, especially considering how vast this universe is! Here are some places I am eagerly awaiting to travel to:

In the USA:

All the rest of the states

Outside of the USA:

England

Egypt

Brazil

Portugal

Cambodia

Thailand

Fiji

Bermuda

Mexico

Holland

Italy

India (I especially want to go here)

And the list will go on and on…

There is still so much to see and do. Where have you been? Where would you like to go?

Kill Your Own Meat

I watched a snippet of a show yesterday where there are two men who are trying to survive in the wilderness.  All they have with them is a Swiss army knife and a couple of water bottles.  It was interesting for about ten minutes because as much as I like to play games and outdoor sports, I'm not too big a fan of getting dirt behind my fingernails.

The thing that caught my attention was watching how they caught an animal andone of the guys skinned it and took out all of its organs and then prepared it for roasting.  As he was doing that he mentioned that "a lot more people would become vegetarian if they had to kill and prepare their own meat."

That thought blew me away because it perfectly describes why I can't eat meat anymore.  There's probably a lot of you who wouldn't mind doing the dirty work to enjoy your meal, but I couldn't take a warm, soft, fuzzy animal and kill it after I looked it in the eye just so that I can eat it.  Not when I have other options. 

In college I majored in Recreation Management and as an internship we could choose between two overnight trips to go on.  One was a two day mini trip which would visit various recreation facilities and spend the night in a cabin.  The second was a week long trip which would camp out in the woods and learn survival techniques.  I chose the first shorter trip, not because of the aforementioned dirt under fingernails dilemma, but because during the week long trip one of the tasks was to capture, kill, and prepare a chicken.  I was sick to my stomach thinking about doing that and if it hadn't been for the availability of the first trip, I would have totally changed majors. 

Think about it. Could you really see yourself taking this:

-

Then doing this:

Then this:

Then taking these out:

In order to have this:

If you can, then more power to you.  I don't necessarily think it's right or wrong, I just think we're all different in that way.  Maybe there's something I can do that you could never do?  Like put mushrooms on my pizza?  (Okay, maybe everyone can do that because that is totally yummy!! :o)  Where do you stand?

New Word Day

Reading is awesome for so many different reasons.  One of my favorite reasons is that imagination grows and I get to spend some time in la la land.  It beats sitting in front of the tube for me.  However, reading is also great because your vocabulary expands.

Usually when I pick up a book and I come across a word I don't know my lazy self kicks in and just tries to make sense of the sentence after I see the whole thing.  A lot of times it ends up making sense.  Sometimes I scratch my head to figure it out and then just move on once I have a decent picture of the message.  But other times...I see that same word in a different book!  The twilight zone theme song then plays in my head and darn it...I actually go look that word up!

So my friends, let's learn this word together, shall we?

Aplomb

(Oh, I know some of you are smarty pants and probably laugh and point at me for how easy this silly two syllable word is to understand, but some of us are in need of constant edu-ma-cating:o)

The definition I retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/ is:

 a-plomb  [uh-plom, uh-pluhm]

–noun

1. imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.

2. the perpendicular, or vertical, position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin:

1820–30; < F à plomb according to the plummet, i.e., straight up and down, vertical position

—Synonyms

1. composure, equanimity, imperturbability.

—Antonyms

1. confusion, discomposure; doubt, uncertainty.

aplomb in a sentence:

His nonchalance and aplomb during hard times have always been his best character trait.

 

There you have it.  I dare you to use the new word today.  You can use it in conversation, on your social media page, or maybe even your blog!  Think you can pull it off?  I for one am full of aplomb in your excellent communication abilities!