Archive for February, 2008

3 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Community

February 03rd, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized

Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.  – John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

1.)       Train for a Cause

2.)       Volunteer work

3.)       Donate $

  • Donate to organizations that will not sell your name to other organizations (One such organization I donate to is  A Single Light, which is currently forming a Cancer Resource Database: http://www.asinglelight.org/donation_buttons/mothlydonation.htm 
  • Donation cans (at your local convenience & grocery stores)
  •  Care package donations (at check-out stands in local Whole Foods stores)
  • Tip: donations to large organizations like The AIDS Foundation, etc. are more likely sell your information to make up for marketing costs. Research these organizations ahead of time at:  http://www.charitynavigator.org 

    You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.   – Winston Churchill

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Book Review: Deborah Low’s The Quest for Peace, Love and the 24” Waist

February 03rd, 2008 | Category: Book Reviews

Low Book cover

Another diet book? Not quite. This enlightening book is about making peace with your body, and dealing with weight issues from the inside out.  In this book, the author, Deborah Low, discusses the importance of working on your mental game, rather than prescribing some fad diet.

In fact, the first several chapters of this book present questions that are geared towards making the reader assess his/her beliefs about dieting/maintaining a healthy lifestyle (and those issues that prevent most people from staying on a diet).

As a personal trainer that previously suffered from an eating disorder, Low is able to connect with anyone that has started a new diet to only “fall of the wagon” and return to bad eating habits.  Low even states in her book for every new client, she initially assesses their diet hang-ups preventing them from losing excess pounds prior to prescribing a fitness program.

Improving your mental game as part of adopting a healthy lifestyle makes sense; however, how many of us start a diet by giving up our favorite foods cold turkey? The problem is once we start losing the weight, we might “reward” ourselves by eating those favorite foods we gave up. Low’s approach is to ask several questions that help guide the reader through body image, food, and emotional issues (related to dieting/maintaining a healthy lifestyle).  The end result (hopefully) is to make the rewards of healthier lifestyle outweigh the temporary satisfaction of calorie-rich unhealthy foods.

The first exercise Low asks the reader to do is describe his/her life story in regards to food issues, diets, etc. This exercise is then followed by several questions including:

·         Why do you want to lose weight?

·         Are you willing to challenge yourself and work at your goal? (i.e., do you really want to change?)

·         Are you willing to accept, love, and nurture you whole self – independent of weight loss?

·         What does being fit and healthy feel like to you?

·         What experiences or feelings emerge when you fail to take care of your health?

·         Do you want to feel freedom? (what obstacles/challenges prevent you from a healthy lifestyle?) 

These questions are followed by ways to integrate your answers into a healthy lifestyle, and give you tools in which to rely on when struggling with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the questions above, Low also walks the reader through some exercises that help you identify the things that add joy and passion to your life; as well as helping to establish lifestyle goals. 

Overall, I think this is a fantastic book, as it provides the reader a tool set to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.  

If you are interested in purchasing this book, click on the following link for one of the most affordable deals online:

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