Healthy Life

Saturday, October 17, 2009

To Lose Weight, Feed Your Brains

As you may know, as soon as you put yourself on a diet, you only have one thought left: to eat. Sooner or later, it will overcome you...except if you hit first.

When was the last time you focused so much on a task that you forgot to eat? You did not really forget, but you were too much interested in what you were working on to stop doing it and go to the fridge. Years ago, when your body was slim and your head swollen with projects, did you ever think that to be a grown up would not mean to be responsible and free?

Stop looking for somebody to sue: nobody shovelled food in your mouth. Stop whining about commercials that influence you: nobody tied you up in front of the telly. Stop opening your mouth and closing your mind.

You know, everybody know, that the higher the education, the lower the weight. If you point at a person you know who has a PhD and 30 extra pounds, you act exactly as those people who say that there is no correlation between smoking and lung cancer since their grand father died of old age after having smoked thousands of cigarettes. I don't write for you. Bye bye!

Now that we are between us, let's move on to the main point. How much does this portrait look like you:
- You often feel incredibly bored,
- You think that you are more worth than what you show,
- If you were given a new start, you would lead your life differently,
- You cannot help wishing something else than getting up to go to work each morning,
- In fact, it looks sometimes so vain that you'd rather stay in bed.

Do you recognize yourself? If yes, the choice is limited: either you fall in a depression, or you feed your brains. Since in order to get out of a depression, you would have to feed your brains, jump directly to the second solution!

First, recognize your qualities and make them shine in others' eyes. Modesty? You are not asked to show haughtiness but to get a sense of pride from your abilities. Would the world be better if Mozart's father had shyly hidden his son's gift? Don't let anyone mislead you: those who advocate modesty have nothing to show. Most time, they do not want you to succeed because it would be the evidence of their own failure. They brandish their righteousness against you because it is, by far, easier to damage your chances than to improve themselves. So, be honest and recognize your qualities.

Some people might advise you to devote your life to a charity cause. It is another way to prevent you from going ahead of them. Do you think that it would have been a great idea if Pasteur had chosen, out of charity, to visit the poor instead of inventing "pasteurization"?

Then, choose the domain in which you will be able to scintillate. Again, do not be humble. The satisfaction of reaching a goal is proportional to the difficulty you encounter to reach it. If you aim to learn arranging flowers, sure, you will succeed, but you will feel as bored as today and your thirst for something to fulfill your life will remain as burning as it is right now. You need to be confronted with a task exciting enough to prevent you from dropping it to go out to eat, or to take time to order a pizza. If the excitement is not rewarding enough, you are going to turn towards "the fridge consolation".

Your goal must also be rather difficult because you are going to need time to change your way of life; so, decide to master the violin, to write an anthology about Roman Poetry, to learn a foreign language or to obtain a degree in chemistry; anything requiring your intellectual faculties to fully work and that you will not be able to complete in a couple of weeks is an activity that deserves to be chosen. Of course, the better you like your goal, the greater your chance to reach it, but do not worry: usually, we are attracted by what we guess we are good at.

Not only "decide" to change, make your decision official: proudness will help you to go on the day you are tired or disheartened.

Multiply your chances to succeed by eliminating the childish desire for "telling them". If you suffer from not being estimated at your true value, make yourself known to your own eyes. The rest will come. Within three years you are going to gain higher education that will lead you to higher income while losing extra weight.

Sure, people will notice.

By: Gabrielle Guichard

About the author:
Gabrielle Guichard, a French teacher who can be reached on http://GabrielleGuichard.comand listened to on http://FrenchPodcasting.com

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

A healthy sex life: 10 reasons to make love

Evidence points to the many health benefits of an active sex life. Sex Made Easy, an article published in Men's Health Magazine, gives 10 healthy reasons to hop into bed -- a reminder that making love is good for both body and soul.

1.Exercise. "Sexual activity is a form of physical exercise," according to Dr. Michael Cirigliano of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Making love three times a week burns around 7,500 calories in a year -- the equivalent of jogging 75 miles.

2.Heavy Breathing. A night of love can raise the amount of oxygen in cells, helping to keep organs and tissues functioning at their peak.

3. Strong Bones and Muscles. "Any kind of physical exercise is going to increase testosterone," states Dr. Karen Donahey, director of the Sex and Marital Therapy Program at Chicago's Northwestern University Medical Center. Testosterone is believed to help keep men's bones and muscles strong.

4. Lowered Cholesterol. Making love regularly can lower levels of the body's total cholesterol slightly, while positively changing the ratio of good-to-bad cholesterol.

5. Pain Relief. Sex can lower levels of "arthritic pain, whiplash pain and headache pain," according to Dr. Beverly Whipple, president-elect of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Hormones that are released during sexual excitement and orgasm can elevate pain thresholds.

6. DHEA -- Without Supplements. DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a popular supplemental hormone, is released naturally during lovemaking. "Just before orgasm and ejaculation," Crenshaw says, "DHEA spikes to levels three to five times higher than usual."

7. Prostate Protection. Researchers say prostate trouble may arise or be worsened by fluid buildup within the gland. Regular ejaculation will help wash out those fluids. Be cautious when suddenly changing frequency -- sudden changes may also trigger prostate problems.

8. Stress Relief. "Sex can be a very effective way of reducing stress levels," Donahey told Men's Health.

9. Love Will Keep Us Together. Crenshaw says affectionate touch will increase levels of oxytocin -- the "bonding hormone." Oxytocin is a desire-enhancing chemical secreted by the pituitary. Regular oxytocin release may help encourage frequent lovemaking.

10. Hormones -- Naturally. "Regular lovemaking can increase a woman's estrogen level, protect her heart and keep her vaginal tissues more supple," states Donahey.

by Deb Donovan

SOURCE: Men's Health (November 1997, p. 104-108)

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What Is Alcoholism?

By Robert Vaux
eHow Contributing Writer

Many people think of alcoholism as drinking to excess. In truth, it differs significantly. Drinking to excess constitutes alcohol abuse. Alcoholism, on the other hand, is a chronic disease constituting a physical and psychological compulsion to drink. Alcoholics have no control over their drinking, and quitting becomes more than a matter of simple willpower. The good news is that patients can recover from alcoholism, provided they understand its effects on their lives and resolve to confront it directly.

Symptoms

1. The pattern of drinking can help define an alcoholic. Many drink alone or in secret, hiding evidence of their drinking or making up lies to disguise it. Once they start drinking, they cannot stop and they often drink to excess just to feel "normal." They often expect drinks at set points in the day and become irritable when they can't get one. Many of them experience blackouts and have no memory of things they've done and said. All of this has a devastating impact on their personal and professional lives, which, ironically, may cause them to turn to alcohol even more readily.

Addiction
2. An addiction to alcohol doesn't come overnight. The patient's body gradually builds up a tolerance as more and more is imbibed, requiring greater amounts in order to feel intoxicated. At the same time, alcohol creates physiological changes in the brain: raising levels of dopamine and similar biochemicals. Over time, that essentially addicts the body to the alcohol, causing the patient to drink more and more to avoid feeling awful.

Causes
3. Causes of alcoholism vary by individual, but are generally broken down into three or four basic categories. The Mayo Clinc and other reputable organizations believe that biological factors make some people more vulnerable to alcoholism. Other people turn to alcohol because of prolonged stress, through psychological factors relating to childhood traumas and the like, or through cultural factors such as collegiate atmospheres that are tolerant of excessive drinking. In many cases, a combination of these factors will be present in a single individual.

Treatment
4. The treatment of alcoholism can begin only when the patient admits the extent of the problem and resolves to get help. Treatment options vary, but generally begin with getting the alcohol out of the patient's system and mitigating the withdrawal symptoms safely. The patient can then be medically assessed and a treatment program can begin to break the cravings which may cause the patient to relapse. This can involve a stay in a rehab center, sessions with a therapist, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and even the use of medical deterrents such as Antabuse.

A Process
5. Alcoholism remains with the patient in some form or another for the rest of his life. Most recovering alcoholics stress that it is an ongoing process--taken one day at a time--and that the urge to relapse is always present. But the more one builds upon the little steps, the easier it becomes and the stronger the patient feels as a result.