SKINNY AND BEAUTIFUL ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS

"Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic." -Rosalind Russell

Bulletin:  A person can be beautiful (handsome) and NOT be thin and thin is not necessarily beautiful. This is not a "Big Is Beautiful" endorsement because that isn't true either.  I am the first to declare that there is far too much extra poundage walking around.   Fat, in and of itself is not attractive. I'd love it if nobody had an extra pound, but beauty is much more complicated that weight or age or even genetics.

1. Beauty really is in the eye on the beholder, not because they are biased but because one who truly loves you sees you more like God does.  It's not that the beholder can't see our blemishes but that the beauty is so much grander and more obvious.  That is why some people become more attractive to us the more we know them.

2.  Cover girl, model beauty with all the make up and beautiful clothes is forgettable because it isn't real.  Manufactured beauty all begins to look the same and it doesn't feel approachable.  At the gym, and especially in my fitness classes, I watch people with all kinds of different bodies and they are in their workout clothes and sweating but they are beautiful and sexy (except the men prefer handsome and sexy).  The human body is always beautiful but there is something exceptional about these people.

3. Confidence, kindness, integrity, happiness  and a love of God and man simply creates an attractive aura.  This kind of a person is always trying to be the best they can be.  They take care of their body, improve their minds, make time for the spiritual and serve others.

4.  Now a note to men.  You already know that the woman you love is gorgeous but did you know you have the power to make her even more beautiful.  We are what we believe ourselves to be and you have the power to make her believe she is beautiful by the things you say and the way you treat her. We can do the same for the men.

"Each of us is what we believe of ourselves." -Anton Chekov

Filling the Void

"Every human being is the author of his own health or disease." -Buddha

I loathe diets and programs.  These books and programs have messed with a lot of minds and bodies so I never recommend or written one but a good friend and client of mine gave me some advice.  He said that when people are changing their eating habits they need a plan.  What to put in the empty tummy and on the shopping list, and they need it in writing.  I see his point.  So here are a few simple rules for getting back to eating like nature intended. 

Rule #1   Eat. We are designed to eat.  If someone is trying to gain weight or lose it the solution is the same: Eat and eat often.  Eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours.  Always.

Rule #2  Eat real food.  A carrot, an apple, a chicken breast and almonds are all real food.  You know where it came from and there are no ingredients you can't pronounce, but do you know how a PowerBar is made?  You know butter comes from cream that comes from a cow but how do they make I Can't Believe It's Not Butter?  No one knows!  Can you pronounce all the ingredients in that meal replacement shake?  If it sounds like a chemical maybe you shouldn't eat it!  Scientists keep coming up with replacements for real food but coming up short.  They just can't compete with nature.
Rule #3  Eat protein, carbs and fat at each of your six meals.  I like Bill Phillips guide:  The protein should be the size of your palm and the carb the size of your fist.  Isn't that simple?  Now you can throw that food scale and calorie guide away.

Rule #4  Eat food as whole as possible.  Eat the skin of the apple, eat your grains whole, don't throw away the yolk of your egg and skip refined grains.

Rule #5  Get rid of added sugar. Sugar is a chemical and responsible for nearly all the extra pounds walking around America.  Artificial sweeteners are not good either.  Obviously if something is artificial it isn't real food, and I promise you it will not aid in weight loss.

Rule #6  Plan ahead.  If you don't plan those meals in advance you will be reaching for the junk that is so ubiquitous in our society.

There you go.  Six easy rules.  Easy to remember and you didn't have to buy a book or some pseudo food product.  Now go out there and live a healthy life.