Gimme A Break

Nah, dieting can’t be fun. Not that I’ve ever dieted. But I think it’s a necessary evil if you really want to lose some weight.

Dieting won’t work on its own. For maximum effect, you should buddy it up with exercise. And I think if you really want it to work, you shouldn’t think of a diet as a diet.

Rather think of it as eating smaller, healthier portions. Here’s how:

Have Fun with Dieting – Enjoy Your Weight Loss Plan with a Discipline

by Ruth Miller

We know that it’s really hard to stick to those starving diets when it comes to weight loss and it is more disheartening when over time we fail to lose any significant amount of weight.

We run after every possible new dieting idea which comes in the limelight, hoping that this one is going to work finally.

Sigh*** no miracle yet! Actually we often ignore certain things and blame diets for not preventing us from losing weight. People often ignore the eatables they eat but fail to record.

Well, no need to worry if you are one of the dieters who are choosy. Just take care of certain important things.

Know what you are eating and keep a record of that. Make your eating a conscious act. It will keep a check on all temptations.

At the end of the day, check it out what you have consumed in the whole day. You will be wondered to see whether you are actually dieting. Make a plan for the next day and try to avoid things that are out of your diet plan. But yes, don’t forget to note down what you eat. You will improve every day.

Think not once but twice before eating or drinking anything. Eat only when you are hungry not when you are feeling like especially when you get a sight of the eatable.

Don’t go for snacking or having a soft drink when you don’t have anything else to do. Read a book or go for a walk or listen to some good music to pass your time, you can even go for a walk with your walkman. This will help you stay away from those tempting time pass.

Well, it’s good that you stay on your dieting plan strictly but don’t ever starve yourself. It will end up hurting your body. And finally you will be forced to go for a binge eating or things that carry high fats.

Consume at least three meals a day and one or two light snacking. It will help your body remain away from hunger.

Its fine you are a very good dieter but you need not say just good bye to all your favorite food stuffs. You can treat yourself with moderate snacking after achieving a pre-set goal. Remember, you are not cheating your diet but rewarding yourself for remaining on diet. It definitely keeps your motivation high.

So, don’t get scared by tough dieting and take it in an easy way. It’s all in your hand to enjoy your weight loss program, make it fun with healthy food.

About the author:
The author addresses issues relating to weight loss, obesity and the anti-obesity pill Adipex. For more information and advice in these matters, visit the website http://www.adipexpower.com
 

• The Common Sense Diet
• my two cents on weight loss
• the secrets to slimming down
• how to save time and gasoline
• ya win some, ya lose some

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Would you believe it, we finally got some rain! What’s up with the weather these days? I’m trying not to blame it on global warming except it is REALLY warm, hot in fact so.

When I step out the door, I feel like a celebrity in disguise. Shoo, papparazzi, be gone! Yep, I’m all decked out in…

… sunglasses, a straw golf hat and gloves all the way up to my upper arm, sometimes topped off with a huge golf umbrella. Yeah, some fashion statement, huh?

I’m sure I can throw the papparazzi any time *hehe* but it’s not them I’m trying to hide from, it’s the sun! Here in Asia, the sun is not a hot commodity. Well, it’s hot physically but it’s not sought after.

The sun is out in full force every single day of the year, rain or shine (oops! yep sometimes it rains even when the sun is out!). Stay in the sun for one minute and your skin starts to sizzle (like steak LOL).

I think you get the idea, so here’s 4 more ways to stay out of the sun:

2. Make a mad dash for any spot of shade you see.

3. Never accept invitations to outdoor events like picnics, visits to the zoo, etc.

4. If you’re exercising outdoors, pick the early morning or late afternoon.

5. Your umbrella – don’t leave home without it!

• freaky storms
• golfing in the rain
• the sun kills the fun
• modem unplugged
• meet mr golf

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Ooh, line dancing was a blast today. I think I might just have finally linked my two left feet to my brain and hardwired them so they don’t move in opposite directions.

Man, I love doing the fast dances. La Camisa. Keep On Dancing. La Cumbria. Ooh, they really keep you on your toes and what a great workout, man oh man.

Fast dances are even better done back to back. Except that the instructor usually tries to alternate them with the slower dances so those who can’t keep up can have a break.

Today was a rare treat of like 3 fast ones back to back. Beautiful. That workout plus the ridiculously high humidity we’re having these days, I think I must’ve lost like eight glasses today and had to drink 16 glasses of water to replace.

• eight glasses a day
• fast dances
• tlc for his glasses
• water on the go
• morning rain

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With my busy schedule, I hardly find the time to read and yet I know I have to, if nothing else, to be a role model to my kids.

Yep, kids these days can hardly be called bookworms any more. Their obvious choice of the PC over books is not only bad for the eyes, there’s no way a PC screen can ever feel like a book, you know what I mean?

So where do I find the time and place to read?

In traffic jams. When you live in the city, you come to accept traffic jams as part of your daily routine. In fact, our national excuse for being late to any event is “I was caught in a jam”.

So what do you do when you’re a sitting duck? I’ve built a library in the front passenger seat of my minivan and that’s where I do what I call “my snatches of reading”.

In the gym. I get in, hop on the bike with a book and I’m off !!

In fact, you can catch up on your reading just about anywhere. Just throw a book in your bag and you can start reading while waiting for your turn at the bank, post office, beauty salon, on the train (if you don’t get motion sickness first LOL)…

So there…

• unsweet jam memories
• the bathroom question
• re-reading old books
• the stress of driving
• reading the news

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I think I’m getting into this rut where I just seem to be running around blindly following that same old schedule, same old pattern every day.

I don’t know if it’s complacency or just the fear of disturbing the smooth flow of things. I’m thinking sometimes all we need is maybe just a little upset to make our own lives a little easier and less stressed.

Like saying no, for instance. It’s a problem I have and the result is that I stress myself out too much over this inability to turn down someone’s request even if I don’t really have the time for it.

Maybe it’s time for a little change, eh? 

What Not To Do Every Day

by Kathy Gates, Professional Life Coach

With time flying by faster and faster every day, you already know it’s important to decide what you’re going to do each day. However, it’s equally important to know what not to do. Add some Don’ts to your day, and see how it helps with all those Do’s.

Don’t over schedule your day.
It seems like scheduling every minute would be the logical way to get everything done, but it actually tends to work against you. Some things will take longer than you expected, some things will interfere that you can’t predict. If you’re scheduled to the max, you’ll have no room to absorb them. Aim for about 75% scheduled, 25% free, to give you flexibility with structure.

Don’t say Yes to everything.
Saying Yes to everything is like cholesterol – it clogs your day with stuff you don’t want there. Doing other people’s work, answering annoying phone calls, deleting junk emails. If you want to read a book, say No to TV and the internet. If you want to start a home business, say No to things that waste your time. If you want to lose weight say No to Frito-Lay and Sara Lee. Simple as that (I didn’t say easy, I said simple.)

Don’t trade what you want at the moment over what you want most.
That extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning might seem like the best thing since sliced peanut butter, but you know it will only make you late, and then playing catch up the rest of the day. That new pair of shoes may seem like the last pair you’ll ever need, but if it makes the rent money tight, it’s not worth it. Think about the long term effects of your actions today.

Don’t get duped with “I can have it all” ideas.
Having it all is certainly possible, either by having it at different times in your life, or by having a whole lot of help (think Kelly Ripa or Katie Couric). Their few spare minutes are certainly not spent grocery shopping or doing laundry. So please, lose the Super-Woman idea attached to it.

Don’t get trapped in microwave mentality.
Things take time. Appreciate the various stages of projects and goals as well as the outcome. Ever notice a rose in bud form? Its beauty is special – no need to wait until the rose is opened to enjoy it. A relationship can change, being just as beautiful and enjoyable at one stage as another. So it should also be with your goals, whether long-term or short. Learn from the mistakes, learn to enjoy the lessons, and make each day as special as the end result.

Don’t give up.
Never give up. When you mess up, or when the wind of life comes barreling in unannounced – and it will – being prepared as best you can will give you the strength to be able to move on. If you lose your job suddenly, having a reserve of money will ease the transition into a new job and give you the power to wait to find the right one. When it seems like there’s no answer, push on. The answer may be just around the next corner. Don’t let fear, or anger, or frustration, or your money, or your in-laws, stop you from living your life. Keep going. It’s your turn next.

Simplify your life with a few more Don’ts in your day. If you listen to your heart, it will readily and easily help you make up your own list of don’ts. Set your intention on filtering things out that don’t belong in your life. And then the Do’s will come much easier.

About the author:
Kathy Gates is a Certified Emotional Intelligence Life Coach and Freelance Writer living in Scottsdale AZ. She has published articles all over the world and is currently part of a new book, “101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life”. You can learn more at her website, http://www.reallifecoach.com.

• Forget New Years Resolutions. Play Games Instead.
• daring to dream on
• all the time in the world to smell the roses
• stress relief in minutes
• what do these words have in common?

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Not a day of Mom’s taxi goes by without these alarms sounding off every half hour or so. I’ve got alarms set up for everything. They keep me on my toes and on time.

When I’m at my PC, my Outlook alarms will go off. When I’m out and about, my PDA phone alarms will go off.

Sometimes it just drives me nuts but without them, I’d never be anywhere on time. Yeah, that’s how bad it can get with a schedule like mine.

• more activities = more alarms
• an alarm clock with a personality
• tgif
• gotta have those camo cargo shorts
• driving us nuts

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Someone at my line dancing class suggested that I join the senior class! Woo-hoo! I never thought I’d hear this but it sure made my day .

For the longest time, my two left feet had been the cause of much embarrassment. I’ve even had a couple of people come right out in the past and tell me to my face what they thought of my dancing.

I love dancing but I couldn’t dance for peanuts. It looked easy enough. But when I really got down to it, I found I had two left feet that didn’t seem linked to my brain at all.

I began to loathe dancing. It seemed more like a chore. I wasn’t having any fun. But today, I’m happy. I guess I have come a long way and people are starting to notice the improvement I’ve made.

Never mind that I’ll never make pro. All I care about is that I’m having the time of my life .

• keep right on dancing
• what do octopuses and toy soldiers have in common?
• the newcomer
• fast dances
• do we have apes in the house?

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Figure it’s about time you won yourself a fabulous prize easy? Frankly who has the time for fun and games these days with school being in full swing and 1001 other things in the air!

But this is a fun game of reverse auction which means the lowest (not the highest) unique bid wins. What can you win?

Oh nothing much. Just a spanking new 2007 Scion. Or maybe a Plasma TV. Or an Apple iPhone. You kidding me?

And all I have to do is put in the lowest bid and win these huge prizes every day? Yep, the game is very user-friendly, nothing to it and there are these cool prizes to be won every day.

• you can bid 4 prizes
• Mac in the house
• add another white elephant to the heap
• how did your child get his/her name?
• Forget New Years Resolutions. Play Games Instead.

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I wish I were redecorating. I love mixing and matching colors though I don’t always get them right (or so the experts tell me in magazines).

So I console myself by saying it’s a matter of individual taste. Which is true in a way but there are still certain no-no’s to be wary of if you don’t want your newly-redecor’d area to end up looking like a disaster zone. So here’s a primer on choice of colors.

Choosing Your Colours for Interior Decorating

by Tim Shillington

Interior designers and home decorators are becoming increasingly popular with home homeowners. Record house prices makes it easier to justify paying an interior consultant when they will potentially increase the sale price of your home.

If, on the other hand, you are keen to have a go yourself and save on interior designer fees then there are a few things to remember before you start.

There are four main colour schemes when it comes to decorating.

1. Monochromatic – You have one main colour but vary the tone and intensity of that colour in different parts of the room. Works well in small rooms so it doesn’t break up the space.

2. Harmonious – The use of multiple but similar colours. Easy scheme to follow for beginner decorators.

3. Primary – Only primary colours are used. Great for impact and works well for children’s rooms.

4. Complementary – Based on the colour wheel where pairs of colours are chosen which are found opposite each other on the colour wheel. More unusual and one main colour is chosen and splashes of the second colour is used in small details.

It’s important to decide on what type of feel you would like for each room. If you have a reading room where you go to relax and unwind then it’s important to decorate with colours that are in harmony with each other. Primary colours on the other hand will energise a room so that would be appropriate in a games room or a child’s room.

Colours are also said to have a psychological effect on their inhabitants. You may recognise some of these feelings you may get from some colours:

Yellow – cheerful, supports intellect, optimistic
Blue – serene, nurturing, rejuvenating, peaceful
Red – passionate, enhances appetite, energetic, powerful
Green – relates to renewal and rebirth, cooling, calming
Purple – a spiritual colour, ethereal, fantasy
White – purity, cleanliness, romantic

It’s important you keep some of these ideas in mind when deciding on colours simply because redecorating is time consuming and relatively expensive.

Think about what the room is used for and by whom, check out home magazines and paint brochures, grab plenty of sample strips and finally tests your colours in the room. You can buy sample pots for $5-10 each and important to see if they work first before you do the whole room.

Remember that most of the work is in the preparation. If you rush this phase of the job you may be very disappointed with the results.

Fill any cracks and blemishes, sand any timber that has been painted previously, remove any flaking paint and clean the walls well with a sugar soap before you commence.

Finally, learn how to paint. It’s not as easy as it sounds! Painters or your local hardware/paint shop can help you here.

There are plenty of good interior decorators in most parts of Australia. They can great for helping you if colour selection is not your strong point.

About the author:
(Copyright 2007) By Tim Shillington
Tim holds qualifications in education, science and outdoor education. He has been an educator for the past sixteen years prior to taking on his position of Business Development at Home Buddies in 2006. Find more articles at Home Buddies.

• traffic stopper!
• an eye for the unusual
• layer of smog
• a home lived in
• walking into over-indulgence

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I have a mosquito flying around in my car with me today. Yes, it can get lonely driving all by myself, I know. That’s why I left my car door open to invite a couple of my buddies to come along for the ride!

Not!

I know it’s not such a big deal that I have to blog about it. But actually I do. Because it irritates me to h..heck!

You see, in this hot year-round climate that we have here, we’re at the mercy of mosquitoes. In fact, they’ve got us living in human zoos. I live in a house that is entirely mosquito-netted (if you can’t find this word in the dictionary, it’s probably ‘cos I coined it ).

Every day, whole families of mosquitoes swarm our human zoo just to peek at us through the netting. Sometimes me and the kids put up a song and dance for them. The baby mosquitoes, they really love our act.

Guess they got lucky today too. I was out there at feeding time and our friendly zoo visitors, they had a feast!!

• mosquito food
• of rain and insects
• me and the mosquito
• all things tech plus tronics
• frenzy weekend ahead

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