resolutions, diets and stupid

New year resolutions

Since most new year resolutions are abandoned after about a week; I feel hesitant whether to make one or not. Resolutions give us a moment of hope as the new year begins, so that may have some value. 

It seems the number one resolution for most people is to lose weight. By now losing weight we may not feel very confident. As the years move along our weight tends to increase. The fitness industry and health industry both booming don't seem able to help. So what do we do? We turn to the craziness ideas where we might lose a few pounds but in time we only put the weight back on again. bugger!

If you don't mind here are a few suggestions or guidelines:

1. if it seems to be to good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
2. If a celebrity endorses it, avoid it like you would've avoided Ebola. If a celebrity endorses it, look for the snake oil. It may help you lose weight but you can guarantee it won't help your health.
3. If it cost you money to find out the secrets, a red flag should go up that this is a scam.

I hope to encourage you with the little bit of skepticism when it comes to diet and claims. My personal physician tells me that losing weight is going to take about 80% of work in diet. Whatever it takes we have to work at it and it will become part of our lifestyle.

Let's take a look at the crazy world of diets.

The McDonald's diet. No matter the clever ads, jingles, beautiful people eating a burger, like cigarettes we know this is a bad road. Here I refer to fast food in general.

Listen to the doctors. Many doctors come up with plans about diets. If their plans come up with a price tag, think twice. Hippocrates, us the father of medicine gave this advice to lose weight. Eight once a day, take no baths, sleep on a hard surface, eat more meat and protein; and my favorite, walk around naked as much as possible especially in winter. Now I think you would lose weight but then you might get pneumonia.

HCG diet & celebs. Recently I came across a brief reference to Kim Cardassian planning to eat the placenta when her baby was born. I readily admit to you I really don't know where these crazy ideas come from but in researching crazy diets I came across the HCG diet. People who practices this diet eat 500 cal a day and inject themselves with a hormone produced by the placenta of a pregnant woman. Nothing sounds right about this. 

Loopy idealists diets, The Freegan Diet. They combine a vegan diet of discarded food and food they can find for free. Basically eat what people throw away and forage in nature. So head to the dumpster and hope the food is fresh.

The models and writers diet. Lord Byron and Heidi Klum have a diet with a different twist. Drink vinegar or soak your food with it so that you lose your appetite. Lord Byron went from 194 lbs to 126 lbs. He got the look that he wanted in being pale and thin, he also died at 36 with many health problems. Heidi’s diet may not be as extreme could erode her stomach and esophagus.

Enlist help of a tapeworm. Tapeworms can grow 30 feet and they are capable of reproducing inside our bodies. People tried to this in the early 1900s and In 1950s. So we are about ready for another round of somebody trying this. When you lose the weight you want you can go through the treatment of destroying the tapeworms in your body. Just be aware of they do come out of your body one way or another. There is a long list I'm dangerous side effects including meningitis, epilepsy, and dementia. Plus a 30 foot pet.

Yes cigarettes can help you lose weight. That was the plan back in 1925 with Lucky Strikes. The ads included a beautiful thin girl smoking a cigarette and a fat girl eating. Cigarettes in the movies were a powerful advertisement. I believe people can still be duped with this stupidity.

Let's go to a Fletcher's party. In 1903 Horace Fletcher introduced a diet which help him lose 40 pounds. You chew your food hundred times a minute and what is left you spit out. Wouldn't that make a great dinner party. Writers Henry James, in Franz Kafka, and millionaire John D Rockefeller followed this diet. Besides gross it leads to constipation.

I think you get the idea, weird ideas may work; but they often cause us serious health problems. Just because a doctor, a celebrity, or new product comes along think about my guidelines and can I had another one:

(4) if it's stupid, it is

Keep walking

A joyful heart is good medicine, Happy thangkiving

He did this stunt himself with a prosthetic
hand.  Check out a video clip and see if
you can figure  out which is his prosthesis.

“A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

I read an article in Wall Street Journal that pointed out as a person declines with Alzheimer's they lose the ability first to laugh at satirical and absurd humor. The article cited Monty Pythons humor as an example. Slapstick it seems is the last humor to be lost. The Three Stooges is a big hit with 10-year-olds and apparently declining mental states in seniors. The research backing the article pointed out there may be cultural differences as to humor appreciation. 

I am always thought Harold Lloyd and Laura & Hardy were a whole lot funnier than Charlie Chaplin. Some of the things Chaplin did were funny, but it seemed to me he was more interested in the other themes then comedy. Artsy people will continue to rave about Chaplin, but the other comedians will make you laugh. 

In Proverbs 14:13 even in laughter start may sorrow… we tend to see humor in some of our darker experiences. Comedians are often lead complicated and sad lives. I read an article recently we're in Norman Rockwell went to therapy with the fame therapist Erickson to deal with the pain in his private life. Maybe it was a pain in his life that helped him to focus on the beautiful in living in his art.

There is another side to humor that I think is good for us. In Proverbs 17:22, New Living Bible paraphrases “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.”

Laughing, reframing life's experience in a positive way has been shown to be good for our immune system and overall health. This is not being a buffoon but it is a mental strength that is more resilient then seeing life of gloom and despair. If we laugh often it may even affect our longevity. One thing that will do is give us a better day. Keep walking. Happy thanksgiving.

Articles on Alzheimer's progression and humor

http://content.iospress.com/download/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad150413?id=journal-of-alzheimers-disease%2Fjad150413

http://www.wsj.com/articles/changes-in-sense-of-humor-may-presage-dementia-1447865310

Battle of the sexes - wouldn't have it any other way

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn cross wits in
Woman of the Year

The battle of the sexes seems to me to be in focus right now for the midterm elections. While the politicians will manipulate the picture, I have always looked at the battle of the sexes as kind of fun. As a teenager I became a big fan of Katherine Hepburn. In watching her films she matches wits with their male counterparts about as good as anybody. Many of her comedies had that theme and sexual tension which was a lot of fun. In real life and in the movies, Spencer Tracy became her partner and they battled wits from the get-go. For us it transformed into movie  magic.

And girls being girls in guys being guys still is amazing even today. I am nowhere near to understanding the female gender then I was 40 years ago. I still get surprised about everyday and I'm okay with it. There is so many strengths for us being who we are. We can bring our differences to a job, a family, or a relationship. Most of my life I worked for females and appreciate their strengths. 

In health guys and girls are different. In fitness they trained differently and would do well to learn from one another. Men for example could learn to be more flexible and become better walkers and train their lower bodies. Women could have more resistance and work out their upper body with the same intensity they do their lower body. Both men and women can benefit from lean muscle in aerobic fitness. Increase flexibility becomes more important as we get older.

Probably in both men and women they will exercise according to their own perspective and needs. It is who we are. As long as we are moving I'm good. Tip of the day, enjoy the humor of being different and above all, be kind. Keep walking

Pessimism may be good for you

Every once in while I come across an article in which it really intrigues me. Such was an article that I found in Wall Street Journal today, A Perfect dose of Pessimism; A negative outlook at times can help you managing anxiety and stay healthy. http://online.wsj.com/articles/a-perfect-dose-of-pessimism-1407196064?mg=id-wsj

Working in education most of my life I don't think I was ever encouraged to be pessimistic. Usually presenters share very optimistic plan that will solve all evils. You put the plan in action and in five years later the problems still exist. Most people were encouraged to smile, to be positive and that's not really wrong. I think we worked better if we're a little more optimistic about things. Saying all this I know for sure that there were people that I worked with were very pessimistic and negative. If you listen to the scuttlebutt at work you didn't want to be around these people. 

But being 25% or 30% pessimistic can be very good for you. Again back to work, it may lead to good questions and concerns. After working through about six 5 year plans and changes that eliminate problems or are usually reword them or recategorized. When you look at it the problem is still there. The problem it self is the reason for teaching to begin with. It's why we have a job. Working to get better though is a good idea. 

Optimistic people tend to take chances and being risk-takers can be hazardous to your health. If you're too Pollyanna or positive you may not look at things when they go wrong. Pessimistic people tend to be people check things out and by doing so that keeps them alive. So the researchers of the article suggests a 70 optimistic-30 pessimistic% ratio. If you have this balance going on you will actually live longer. So let me read you the first to say to you today it's okay to be a little pessimistic. 

Have you ever felt like you were somewhere where you were always supposed to smile? I like to think of it as slaphappy. It is totally unrealistic with our human emotions being what they are for own survival. 

People often think this way when I think of God being love, but that it's not giving God any credit for not disapproving all the idiot things we do. I'm big fan of grace, acceptance, and love; but I'm also very thankful that God is there to point out things I need to change or may even be unacceptable. 

One thing about social media there is a lot of crazy stuff posted. I seen a picture of a mother point a gun at her infant, probably thinking it's funny. For me I wish I never saw the picture. I could live my whole life without seeing it with no regrets. I am glad with my response for every bit of my pessimism about that craziness. 

Leaving the insane, when it comes to work, health, being 30% pessimistic can be a good thing. Keep walking

Just funny

This was in today's comics. Reminds me of the old Rock and Roll Song, "Breaking up is hard to do". Poor fella doesn't even see it coming...
Keep walking