Let’s navigate your water needs and other information together and filter out the junk that could be clogging your perception about proper hydration.
Water and weight loss
A recent study from Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, indicates drinking water associated with weight loss. Data from short-term experiments suggest that drinking water may promote weight loss by lowering total energy intake and/or altering metabolism. The long-term effects of drinking water on change in body weight and composition are unknown, however. (We’ll go out on a limb and say that it was helpful in keeping the weight off… at a minimum, drinking water consistently and in the proper amounts is healthy for you.) This study tested for associations between absolute and relative increases in drinking water and weight loss over 12 months. Absolute and relative increases in drinking water were associated with significant loss of body weight and fat over time. The results suggest that drinking water may promote weight loss in overweight dieting women. (We’re also going to go out on a limb and say men, you should be drinking plenty of water also…)
The following excerpted from Livestrong.com. Follow the link at the end of the blog post for the full text, “Facts on Water and Weight Loss.”
Minerals that are present in my tap water… aren't those good for me?
Ever noticed the buildup of minerals around your showerhead, sink drain, garden hose, etc.? Ever tried to scrub that off with only water and not by using vinegar, CLR, or some other caustic household cleaner? Ever use tap water in your iron while steaming / pressing your wrinkled clothing and then see small white "flecks" or "chunks" of mineral deposits that fall out during the process? Ever notice clogging in the jets that spray your windshield when you use tap water instead of special windshield washing fluid in your automobile?
This water corrodes and clogs various pipes, valves and filters. Conversely, your body includes a delicate series of pipes, valves and filters in the form of arteries / veins, heart and kidneys / liver. Though it may clean your shower head, you certainly can't down a shot of CLR every day to clean out your body's organs and pathways without great personal trauma or death. So then why subject your bodily systems to any more work than they already have to perform on a daily basis to properly filter an additional unusable substance being put into it?
Any energy expended to deal with eliminating a substance that the body can't use, takes valuable energy away from the most basic processes on which your body SHOULD be expending energy; such as, digestion, metabolism, immune system function, respiration, cardiovascular function, weight maintenance, fat loss, maintaining healthy balance of pH / good bacteria, and on and on.
“In order for a mineral to be of any use to the body it must be presented in a form in which it can be used. That form involves an association with an organic (carbon based) molecule. Carbon based molecules are to be found in living systems, and are not found in the ground which is where mineral water comes from,” writes Ron Kennedy, M.D. of Santa Rosa, CA on www.Medical-Library.net.
Thus, your minerals should be coming from your diet in the form they can best be assimilated and used by the body.
Dr. Kennedy continues, “Water from the ground comes with minerals, but these minerals are in salt form. When salt is presented to the body (with rare exceptions such as sodium chloride) it must be either stored or excreted. A good example is CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). Carbonate is not a sufficiently complex organic molecule and therefore cannot properly contribute its calcium to living systems. The calcium comes out instead in ionic form (with a positive charge) and precipitates by forming other salts. Common locations for precipitation of calcium are the lens of the eye (cataracts), the kidneys (kidney stones) and the walls of arteries (arteriosclerosis).
“CaCO3 comes from limestone and comprises the bulk of most calcium supplements, including that in ‘calcium enriched orange juice.’ If you want cataracts, kidney stones, and arteriosclerosis, be sure to eat and drink plenty of ‘calcium enriched’ foods.”
Can we at least count on spring water?!
Contaminated runoff, chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, dry cleaning chemicals, oil from automobiles, fuels of all sorts, fertilizers and weed killers, by-products from industrial production and manufacture, etc. etc. etc.
These are all things that seep into our soils every day. Spring water comes from aquifers that are the unfortunate recipients of this runoff. What process does the water pass through before being bottled? Is it the most basic of processes just to make the water "passable" by the Department of Agriculture? Or are heavy metals and other contaminants properly and completely removed?
Are there too many unanswered questions here? Do you want to subject yourself and your health to product uncertainty?
Spring water can also contain dissolved solids (Total Dissolved Solids or TDS, usually measured in parts per million or PPM), as discussed in the previous question and answer, which can lead to the same health issues.
Chlorine and Fluoride: Don't we need those in our water?
Chlorine is used to bring water to your tap disease free. It was introduced to eliminate the spread of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and gastroenteritis, as well as many other waterborne diseases, which once killed tens of thousands of Americans.
New mothers are typically instructed (or should be) to ingest pure water for the safety of breast-feeding their child. Why should we not do this on a permanent basis for our OWN health, not to mention that of a newborn?
But with thousands upon thousands of websites, books, etc. that give explanation as to the dangers of drinking chlorinated water, it seems that we need to take a serious second look as to the safety of drinking or showering with chlorine in the amounts that we do.
Water arrives "safely" to us with chlorine. The onus is now upon us to take that final step for our health and well being to get the chlorine out before ingesting it.
Fluoride has been added to our water to fight tooth decay. Despite this benefit, it is a poison. Before being discovered as a decay-fighter, it was mainly used as a rat and insect poison.
On the side of your toothpaste box, it encourages you to call the local poison control center in case of ingesting more than is needed to brush one's teeth. And in an ironic twist, long-term fluoride use can stain and discolor teeth in a condition known as dental fluorosis.
There are many more drawbacks to fluoride usage, even in the "small" amount that is in our water supply. It seems that ingesting fluoridated water also requires a serious look into taking responsibility for our own pro-active dental health and leaving the fluoride for the rats and insects.
And the winner is…
Eight 8-ounce glasses of pure water each day. Start there. Make it a habit. If you can do more, then do so, especially if you’re in a dry climate, working hard or working out regularly.
Water helps in every bodily function and helps you get more energy out of the food you consume.
Drinking cold water causes your body to burn a few extra calories in heating that water up to normal body temperature and is also absorbed more quickly.
Drinking water is associated with weight loss in overweight dieting women independent of diet and activity.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18787524
Livestrong.com: Facts on Water and Weight Loss
http://www.livestrong.com/article/950-facts-water-weight-loss/
Distilled Water versus Mineral, Carbon Filtered, and Reverse Osmosis Water
http://www.medical-library.net/content/view/228/41/
The Fluoride Action Network
http://www.fluoridealert.org
Fluoride Dangers
http://fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/
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Have you ever made a decision based on emotion?
When you were hurt, angered, saddened, frustrated, embarrassed.
A decision needed be made, and you acted out of emotion rather than logic and good (common) sense.
Probably so.
I know I have.
In hindsight, it was virtually always the wrong decision.
In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and eternity. –Abraham Lincoln
Have you ever had to “eat crow” or “swallow your words,” as it were, based on something you’ve said when related to this emotion-based decision?
Probably so.
I know I have.
If you haven’t, then it quite possibly means you're not being intellectually honest right now or you were too proud to admit mistake and / or failure and you’re still clinging onto what felt right before but you know in your heart of hearts that it isn’t right now. Virtually every decision that I’ve made in that situation was bad, wrong or misguided in some way, and every time I didn’t admit my mistake, it sat in the pit of my stomach and festered.
It’s not easy to excommunicate yourself from the emotion of your circumstances, but it has to be done.
This is (probably) one of the primary reasons as to why financial advisor Dave Ramsey always advises those who have just lost a loved one to wait 6 months before making any sort of major decisions related to the financial impact of the death.
It’s difficult enough to make good financial decisions when everything is “normal” much less when your entire life has been put onto an emotional roller coaster for a while. Many are faced with having to deal with or reinvest large sums of money from life insurance or other sources and doing this while in mourning is seemingly an impossible task to do correctly. When possible, put it on ice, and then decide. If not possible and a decision has to be made right away, call someone close to you, a couple of trusted people perhaps that can be objective third parties, that can give honest and real input.
As for me and my recent trials, I recently hurt my calf muscle.
I strained it in my Monkey Butler improv comedy class of all places.
I’ve never been injured in this way before, so it was an entirely new experience for me.
Because I didn’t have any previous injuries with which to compare my current one, I didn’t know how bad it was, I just knew it was swollen and painful.
After one week of almost no improvement in the reduction of swelling and the lessening of pain when attempting to stretch my calf a bit, I started to get a bit panicky.
I have health insurance.
I have a disability policy that would kick in and pay my bills if something kept me from being able to work or, God forbid, pay my debts if I died.
But, it still started to affect my psyche.
Even at that, I don’t want any hand outs from the government.
I want to be dependent upon those around me who wish to help and I want those around me to be able to depend on me.
Once you remove the need for other individuals from the equation, you begin to miss out on why God designed us to REQUIRE each other (whether we realize it or not, and I’m here to help you realize it) to be able to make it through on a daily basis.
And no, I didn’t get any of my “stimulus” money that came back from George Dubya’s previous administration either.
You can keep it. I don’t want it.
Even though it was mine to begin with.
continued below in part 2 of 4
]]>Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln
So, health care.
Ted Kennedy staked all of his inherited “American Camelot” tents right on the firing line of public health care.
Why?
Because he had nothing ELSE on which to stake his tents.
The living in the shadow of two popular, populist and charismatic brothers, the death he caused of Mary Jo Kopechne, the failed presidential campaign, the ability to live off of his family name.
None of that would take him where he wanted to go, nay, where he felt he DESERVED to go.
And upon his death, we had to endure endless hours of newscasters in the Lamestream Media trying to recreate this so-called “amazing” life from nothing of substance.
Sure, nothing is accomplished without passion. Story of my life.
But becoming Socialized Health Care’s “Champion” is all he had to cling to when all else failed.
And as we can see by our citizenry’s most recent rejection of the socialization attempt of America, the tents that Ted Kennedy staked so passionately were indeed directly on top of a pit of quicksand.
He had to have something that he could use to replace the stigma of killing Mary Jo and to possibly rebuild his credibility in the public eye.
He had to have something that would replace the first top-of-mind term of “murder” with perhaps “health care” when you heard or were presented with his name.
And here’s the cold hard truth:
If YOU are able to keep more of what YOU EARN by trading the limited and precious hours in your life for a wage, whatever that wage may be, you can put more of what YOU EARN towards making your OWN decisions and purchases of health care and disability insurance. As opposed to waiting for and being dependent upon an organization that knows better how to produce waste and strip the value of a dollar quicker and more efficiently than any other entity on the planet: the Federal Government.
But Jeremy, don’t you want everyone to have health care?? Isn’t it their right as a human being?!
Then, I ask you this: what would you do if NO health care and NO government existed on which you could depend?
Even those that are at the lower income strata could purchase what they need if allowed to keep more of their own money and the price of practicing medicine would be kept down if trial lawyers didn’t affect it so greatly due to ridiculous malpractice and / or frivolous suits.
Even those who derive their income from nothing but welfare, panhandling, begging, churches / synagogues / mosques, other charitable organizations, those that basically have nothing are still able to be treated (as and where required by law) at virtually any Emergency Room. Because those that have nothing in America, STILL have more than the poorest in most other nations.
Yes, I get the fact that when money and profit is injected (pun intended) into health care it can lead to pushing pharmaceuticals on those that don’t really need it and it can take the focus off of helping people get better and leaving them in the vicious cycle of never getting well and constantly paying for some sort of health treatment.
But even then, it’s not all about pharmaceuticals. New technologies are derived that aid in the treatment of diseases and such, hospitals have to cover their losses when treating those who have no insurance and pharmaceutical companies have to reinvest profits into researching new treatments and cures.
Let’s not even open the can of worms about how most health care in America treats the symptom and not the root cause of the problem. That’s another blog post entirely.
But a pox on pharmaceuticals when they PUSH and market drugs directly to the masses to get into their heads thus making them think that they NEED and have to ask their doctor for a pill versus letting the doctor prescribe it only if necessary.
There’s the rub when attempting to separate greed from profit.
We can only hope that these companies will keep ethical individuals in charge.
continued below in part 3 of 4
]]>“It is better only sometimes to be right than at all times wrong” –Abraham Lincoln
Let’s leave the emotionality of health care for a bit.
There’s a realistic and logical counter to any issue’s emotional side.
What are other issues are constantly under assault by those trying to usurp our rights?
Job Creation.
THE EMOTION: Government help us! People need to work! People need to provide for themselves and their families! We need you to pass a jobs bill to create more jobs for those that are out of work!
THE REALITY, LOGIC AND TRUTH: If government would get out of the way, reduce taxes and allow US to use our talents and god-given abilities, we could thrive and create our OWN jobs without waiting on an ineffective government bill or program to take effect. Bill Clinton took all the credit for the prosperity of the 90’s, but anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that investing takes years to pay off. In fact, it was the tax cuts of the 80’s that set our populace up for the prosperity that was to follow even 6-8 short years later. You want to create jobs? Get out of our way.
Gun Ownership.
THE EMOTION: If guns are used by criminals to kill someone, then no one should be allowed to own a gun.
THE REALITY, LOGIC AND TRUTH: Even if guns didn’t exist, people would still murder with bows and arrows, knives, clubs, rope, or whatever they could get their hands on. They did it before guns, and they would do it after guns were eradicated. People who don’t abide by laws certainly aren’t going to give a damn if the gun they own is now banned, they will still use it to exercise power and control over others. Yes, a world with no guns and wars would be great, yet this completely unrealistic, immature and juvenile view of the world in which we live is held by those that want to ban guns.
Global Warming.
“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” –Abraham Lincoln
THE EMOTION: We’re going to burn up in a firey ball of hell! The sea levels will rise and our glaciers will melt and we have no faith in anything other than ourselves so it stands to reason that we will freak out and try to subjugate everyone else to our emotional terror!
THE REALITY, LOGIC AND TRUTH: The speeches were lies. The reports were fabricated. The emails were hidden. The speeches, the movies, the everything was conceived and perpetrated to obfuscate the truth. You good and honest hard-working people knew this, you just didn’t know when, where and how you could put your finger on it. And Al Gore stands (or perhaps stood is more accurate now that the lies have been made evident?) to reap a billion dollars from his green crusade. Follow the money. Something stinks. And when something stinks it’s rotten and dying. All the emotion in the world can’t revive the dead. The truth will set us free.
What emotional issue is next?
continued below in part 4 of 4
]]>"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." -Abraham Lincoln
Each time you give up a bit more of your rights to make your own decisions, whether you realize it or not, you are handicapping yourself to the limitations of the one to which you willingly give up these rights.
In terms of giving up your right to be the captain of your own ship to the Federal Government, well, suffice it to say that the Government will never be able to see as clearly, step as confidently or soar as highly as you will when taking action on your own behalf.
And as much as politicians (of BOTH parties) attempt to wrest control away from the People and impose their asinine, inane, defeating, burdening, taxing limitations on the back of hard-working individuals, this will ultimately never succeed given the very DNA of this country.
It’s YOUR responsibility to find out what your talents and skills are and I WELCOME you, no, I BEG you to succeed based on those as it will inspire ME further.
"If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance." -Abraham Lincoln
And I owe you the same.
You moved somewhere or took a step somehow in pursuing your dream.
No one supports you more than I.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln
But you’ve hit a snag or 10. Life keeps throwing you curveballs. You decide to put an end to the barely scraping by wage that you’re making for some big(ger?) bucks. Soon, you’re working 80 hours a week selling real estate, stressed out, out of shape, hating every day that you wake up, 5 years have passed and whoosh. There you go, rushing right past your dream as you take the Metro home again at 11 that night only to get up at 5 again the next morning to do it all over again. And don’t even mention weekends. What you wouldn’t GIVE for a weekend, even one day in your weekend to have it all to yourself.
It’s time to get a reality check and get off of the merry-go-round of death.
I would rather work 3 part-time jobs and barely be getting by and drop dead doing what I love rather than trade my control over my life and time to anyone again.
Because even if I flat-out drop dead, I won’t know it but I will have been an inspiration to others to live more freely and pursue their passions.
I’ve been there and done 80 hours a week. Never again.
Everything that I’ve done hasn’t worked out for a reason.
It all hasn’t worked out purposefully so that something else WILL work out.
So that I won’t get 30 years down the line and say “What if…?”
I’ll be able to say “I did.”
And when what I’m pursuing finally begins to pay off (literally in terms of income and figuratively in terms of personal satisfaction with my progress and success) THEN I’ll be ready to make some better money.
There is no feeling as good as being able to find out what you’re made for and why you’re here and then stepping forward confidently in that.
"Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built." -Abraham Lincoln
Competition, in any arena or profession, is a good thing.
The Government’s constant barrage and assault on the wealthiest and most successful of our population is a travesty and a sin.
Republicans and Democrats who have spent this country into oblivion and lied through their teeth every step of the way should be thrown out on their asses and stripped of all retirement and pensions for which the TAXPAYERS are paying.
There used to be something known as honor. It has all but been lost to the sands of time in Washington D.C. People used to do their time in serving their country and THEN go back to their careers back home, not make politics their career. Because when you make politics your career, then you will do anything and everything to keep your “job” – including selling your soul to the devil (or lobbyists as the case may be).
“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” –Abraham Lincoln
The progressive tax is there to bring those who have succeeded down to everyone else’s level.
Even those who are homeless and struggling would have no one to look up to.
They would have no one to look up to except for, what would be the Government’s ideal scenario, the Government. And try this on for size, the Government doesn’t produce a single thing to add to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Someone who is not succeeding looking toward another entity that is not succeeding? Where do you think that will take you?
If you are really ready to give it a go, then know this: you will fail.
At least once.
And then you will use your OWN intuitions and strengths to evaluate what didn’t work, what did work and what you can do better next time.
And you will be stronger for it.
"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln
When your right to fail is taken away, your right to be stronger is taken away.
When muscles are exercised to FAILure, the fibers are broken down and when rebuilt by the amazing human body, they are, get this, STRONGER.
Imagine that.
So it goes with your own life and efforts.
Freedom is your birthright.
Don’t trade your birthright for a bowl of porridge.
Or welfare.
Or a stimulus check.
Or free health care.
“I am a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down...” –Abraham Lincoln
Have a strong day.
Bravo out.
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We support you Jamie Oliver. Do your best. It will not be easy.
Ryan Seacrest Productions introduces you to Huntington, West Virginia, a city where nearly half of the adults are considered obese. We enlisted the help of world-renowned chef Jamie Oliver to revolutionize the way people eat in "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," premiering March 26th on ABC.
Follow Jamie on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/jamie_oliver
Follow Ryan on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/ryanseacrest
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Get off the couch and join us at the largest health and fitness consumer show on the West Coast.
The Fitness Expo returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center
January 23-24, 2010
SHOW HOURS
Saturday 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Sunday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Have a strong weekend.
Bravo out.
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America, it's time to cut the bullshit.
You are not owed health care by the government.
You are not owed health care by your employer.
You are not owed health care by ANYONE other than yourself.
Gasp. What could this mean?
It means that it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to take care of you.
If you are not eating as best you can and exercising as best you can to give your body the best that it needs to survive and repair itself, then you can blame no one.
And you can even only blame your genetics to a certain extent.
I've read of overweight children who were ADOPTED by overweight parents - no genetic connection. Maybe the child was predisposed to overweight genetics? Just as likely, the child was imitating what his parents exemplified and didn't have a chance at wellness from the word "GO."
From The International Fitness Professionals Association's (IFPA) "The Book on Personal Training":
"It is projected that 70% of the American population will be obese by 2010 and 50% of all school aged children obese by 2012.
Adult obesity alone portends horrific consequences, but childhood obesity is far worse.
Adult obesity leads to Metabolic Syndrome that is the cause of over 60 different diseases, disabilities and dysfunctions that lead to personal devastation and early death.
Children's obesity leads to all of the above, but because the obesity occurs in a child whose physiological systems have not fully matured, childhood obesity will result in children who will NEVER achieve their GENETIC POTENTIAL - NOT MENTALLY, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, ARTISTICALLY, SPIRITUALLY and certainly not FINANCIALLY!!!"
America, this is a travesty.
America, this is right around the corner.
America, THIS IS NEXT YEAR.
Going to another cancer / multiple sclerosis / alzheimers / march of dimes / whatever fundraiser walk is not going to do an ounce of good in terms of getting to the root cause of the problem for EVERY disease, ailment, sickness, and sufferation that exists until YOU start at the BEGINNING and give your body the proper nutrients (macro and micro) that it needs not only to exist but to repair itself. And THEN, once everything is in line and all deficiencies are met you are free to truly diagnose and achieve victory over and healing from your ailments.
Do you know someone diagnosed with colon cancer? Did he eat horribly for his entire life, consuming mostly junk and processed foods, never ingesting any fiber (not to mention consuming those de-acidifying / detoxifying fruits and vegetables) that would have cleaned out his system so that polyps wouldn't develop and fester thus becoming cancerous?
Do you know someone with Type II diabetes? Did he eat horribly for his entire life, never exercising, constantly eating processed / refined sugars so that his body's insulin cannot now moderate it's blood sugar levels and thus he has to check his blood sugar levels manually now 6 times a day?
Do you know someone who cannot lose weight even while doing all of the proper things? Controlling portions, calories, exercising, eating healthy natural foods? Has she gotten stress out of her life thus getting her cortisol levels in check so that she CAN lose weight properly? Is her thyroid completely blown out due to horrible nutrition / hormonal imbalances thus leaving her body unable to regulate basic body management / weight management functions?
Who all do you know that wears their health problems as a badge of honor? That the first thing they mention when you see them is all of the health problems that they have?
I daresay that this is an escape hatch that saves them the pain of never achieving their dreams. That this is a way to point to everything beset them and give an easy out from accountability to themselves and their calling.
"This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. -George Bernard Shaw
It's time to realize that everything you do will affect everything you will become - or won't ever become - as the case may be.
How many "health care providers" have you seen that DON'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES? And you expect THEM to be an example of what YOU'RE supposed to do in and with your OWN life? How many in health care are overweight? Smokers? etc.?
Oh, well see, they're going to where the money is so they can survive and support their families. And the money is there because YOU aren't taking responsibility and you're ending up in their care. And so the vicious cycle continues.
Who do you know that suffers from lower back pain?
Imagine the following (or don't as it's probably pretty close to what you already see or experience on a day to day basis)...
We lay flat each night while sleeping. We sit while we eat breakfast. We sit in a vehicle on the way to work. We sit all day while at work. We sit in a vehicle on the way home. We sit and eat dinner. We sit and watch television until we head to bed. And then we lay flat each night while sleeping. We sit while we eat break.... and repeat the cycle over and over and over and over again ad nauseam and WONDER WHY WE'RE SPENDING THE BILLIONS THAT WE SPEND on chiropractors, lower back decompression treatment, pain killers, back surgeries, and much more.
Functional fitness is not a suggestion it's a REQUIREMENT for all-around wellness. You don't need to be a body builder. You need to find a fitness pro that knows functional fitness - exercises that you can use to strengthen your body for your real-world, every-day needs. If your core is strong, so will your back / lower back be.
Several years ago in a local north Florida rag known as the "Tallahassee Democrat," right around the time of prescription drug legislation / pricing reform / etc. an article sprang forth about a local couple that was spending $1,200+ per month on prescription drugs.
My god.
I don't look at them without compassion, I look at them and ask WHY THE HELL were they so taken in by the establishment that can always promise everything to get your money and your addiction to the drug BUT CAN NEVER HEAL YOU?!
I look at them and wonder why people are shy about spending money on personal training. EVEN IF THEY SPENT HALF OF WHAT THEY WERE SPENDING ON FITNESS AND NUTRITION RATHER THAN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS THEY WOULD BE BETTER OFF BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.
Friends, you don't have to get hooked up with some jackass muscle-head trainer that is coursing with steroids and growth hormone. The vast majority of fitness professionals are not this way. The vast majority are down to earth and PASSIONATE about helping you become who you are destined to be and they exercise that passion by building into your life. Your holistic wellness (heart, soul, mind and strength) are at the very epicenter of who you are and how you will find and fulfill your destiny and you do have a destiny - whether you like it or not.
If you spend $100 or $200 on some fitness instruction, is that NOT better than the previous scenario? Is it NOT an investment in yourself to save money in the long run? But most of us don't think in the long run.
So where does this insurance-political-legislative-health-care charlie foxtrot leave us?
It leaves us with spiraling and out-of-control health care costs that are fed and continually raised by government AND insurance not being able to keep up with the rapidly declining overall health of our population.
I tell you now, it IS a house of cards that WILL collapse.
It doesn't matter how many senators and representatives attach themselves to a reform bill just to save face and save their jobs. All of that WILL come crumbling down.
Ever heard of someone being charged $14 for an aspirin? We ALREADY have a situation where our private hospitals spread the cost of treatment across the base of patients being treated, and it STILL isn't completely working but they do have to survive and keep the doors open right?
It's still better than the alternative of having the value of a dollar absolutely destroyed by filtering it through a wasteful government organization and ending up with what on the other side? Another fine example such as public / government housing perhaps?
And because I take care of myself and DON'T need health care other than major catastrophic care in case of emergency, I will now potentially be criminalized if I don't carry health care to offset the cost of all of those that don't give a damn about taking care of themselves.
If we REALLY wanted to reduce the inflated cost of health care we would begin taking care of ourselves better to reduce the quantity and severity of our ailments thus freeing up and leaving the health care system not for hypochondriacs who go to the doctor every time they get a zit and for all of those with self-inflicted health problems, but for those who REALLY need our compassion and our care to help them holistically overcome the sickness and ailment.
People, you are making your bed.
And you will lie in it.
It's just too bad that it will be stainless-steel and on wheels - surrounded by, doctors and nurses, heart monitors, glucose drips, perhaps even other patients in your room when the powers that be realize that they cannot afford for every individual in the health care system that is coming to have his or her own room.
Don't give up your life to those that cannot even manage their own.
Have a strong day.
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In this cold and flu season, you will serve yourself well to stock your medicine cabinet with Airborne and Zicam. I take them IMMEDIATELY once I feel even the remotest scratchy throat or sign of sickness. For me, either they both work to "86" my sickness altogether before it even begins or they severly shorten and lessen the impact of sickness. It has been part of my routine for years now. Just go back and ask any employer how many times I have called in sick and they can confirm for you that it is zero. My last position was full-time travel with little or no back-up. There was no time for sickness.
I take Zicam as recommended on the package.
I take the Airborne with half of the recommended water and the other half with organic orange juice for an extra boost of Vitamin C in the process.
This team of homeopathic remedies is protecting YOU from A(irborne) to Z(icam).
Have a strong day.
Bravo out.
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I'm not sure I can say it any better than she has in her letter (email) below.
And I'm not sure that I can say it to WOMEN better than a WOMAN as evidenced below.
The neverending myths and misconceptions from women are "I don't want to weigh more" (even though weighing "more" after losing body fat and adding muscle is better than weighing the same or less and still carrying too much body fat) and "I don't want to get muscles like a man" as an illogical response to using free-weights of at least a moderate weight to then add muscle that will sculpt and tone and burn calories even while not active and increase the attractiveness-factor.
IT'S NOT THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE, IT'S THE COMPOSITION OF THE BODY.
Listen to Chelsea:
Your Name: Chelsea
Subject: Strong is beautiful!
Message: I was browsing "weightlifting" on cafepress.com when I came across "haveastrongday.com". I was so inspired and encouraged by your words and your thoughts.
I am a twenty-year old female. I did a lot of moving while growing up and at the end of my freshman year of high school was introduced to the gym scene. I had never played/grown up around sports, and the most activity I got was walking. My aunt took me to the gym two times with her, and introduced me to weightlifting (machines). I went to the gym every day from that day on for 300 days straight.
As a beginner, progress happened quickly and kept me motivated. Five and a half years later, I have become absolutely enveloped in building, sculpting, toning and taking care of my body. I grew up with a beautiful older sister with an incredible body (that's never been worked for, just natural), who never had a problem with guys. I am bigger boned and built nothing like my sister, or my thin brother. I struggled internally with self-image and finding beauty in myself.
I found my niche, my home, and my comfort at the gym. No matter what gym it was, I felt so powerful and beautiful. A few years ago I achieved a lot, and was able to bench press 105% of my body weight. My first day of college freshman year I was in that gym the day it opened. No intimidation, no questions. It's just where I belong.
I took up teaching aerobics for three semesters while at college, and found that quite fulfilling, too.
Since then, I have gone through a lot of life changes (relationships, family, education).
With my love of the gym and my body has come a complete attitude makeover, as I live my life by two things:
1) Each day is a chance to start over
2) Strong is beautiful!
I ran across your site and have just been absolutely inspired knowing that somebody out there shares my PASSION! I also am a huge fan of Thoreau/Emerson/Transcendentalism and had to smile when I saw a quote in one of your posts.
Just wanted to let you know that I am across the country in PA but you inspire me and keep me strong. I know there are people out there that understand my "obsession" and my power of positive thinking.
Keep it going. Stay strong!
Chelsea
Thank you Chelsea for following, contributing and being a great example.
Others are watching you and they WILL be impacted by your commitment even if not right away. Sooner or later they will. They won't have a choice otherwise. Just simply doing what you say you will do sets you apart from 90% of the people out there who don't follow through.
We will keep it going.
And we will stay strong.
That's it for now.
Carpe diem.
Have a strong day.
Bravo out.
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