CROSSROADS: SUCCESSFULLY CHOOSING THE WAY WE MAKE DECISIONS (ISSUE 58)

By Diane Gold

Congratulations. The crossroads ahead is a grand opportunity.

The definition for crossroads is intersection, focal point, turning point. This means a crossroads is a time in life that is perpendicular to, yet entwined with, whatever is happening in life. It also means we are giving razor sharp attention to an issue. And, finally, it means we are going to evaluate the best direction we can take to efficiently support the most positive development of our lives.

When we decide we are going to change our weight to help ourselves, we are at a crossroads. This also holds true when we take time to decide to buy solar cars, LED lights, compost our food waste, forgive someone, go back to school, have a baby, or join a peace process. We will furnish this article with weight loss in mind, although our world, our humanity, currently, is at a major crossroads of what makes sense to sustain the human race well.

The weight loss goal is huge because it relates to almost every aspect of our everyday lives. Often times, we have to change many behaviors of our eating process in order to change 1: the way we move, the way we rest and the restaurant or food preparation routines we have grown to love.

Fortunately and happily for us, we get to develop new and wonderful ways of acting in all these areas. Imagine finding the most delectable food at our new favorite restaurant or cooking healthier, lighter, more satisfying foods for ourselves and any others who are in our lives. And what about the prospect of developing new friends who also eat well and care for their bodies. This is a real treat.

Remember the story about the man in the flood who didn’t take a ride in his neighbor’s car because he said he was waiting for god to save him? And when the water rose and he fled to his second floor, he still wouldn’t take an escape ride from a fire truck because god was going to save him? And after the water rose and he fled to his roof, he still wouldn’t take a ride when a helicopter threw down a ladder because he was waiting for god to save him? And, when he reached heaven and asked god why he hadn’t saved him, and god said,

“I sent you a car, a fire truck and a helicopter; and wasn’t that enough?”

It’s a story about crossroads and opportunity. We have many throughout our time. Whether we see the right cues determines our outcome. Some people go with the flow automatically. Others fight the inevitable or refuse to be flexible.

I know it always takes me a few minutes to process the possibility of change, a few minutes to get used to the idea and another several minutes to accept the change. This usually takes a good 30 minutes. It’s very comforting to watch myself through this process. I usually laugh at myself during it, as I am so predictable to myself. Luckily for me, because of my mother’s bright attitude and the practicality for which my martial arts work has prepared me, I always, and I mean always, end up looking for the good in the crossroads.

Certainly, it’s not always fun to shake ourselves up and make life changing decisions that will take us down new paths and throw us into a new direction that we might not have orchestrated entirely or at all. But, to see it as an opportunity, opens up great promise.

THE CHOICES

So what are the choices we have before us?

1) We can rebel and stomp our feet at our new situation. If we turn music on and stomp to it, we can turn our reaction into a totally therapeutic action. Verbalizing to the music helps us to accept the change, too, as is done in improv or rap.

2) We can resent our situation and turn our grudge inward. Obviously, this weighs us down and needs a replacement strategy.

3) We can remain calm, ask for help if we need it and look at the pros of our new situation. Of course, it’s always good to be balanced and positive. Not always easy and not always sensible. It always pays to stay aware and focused.
___

Whichever direction we choose at our crossroads; the happier, healthier, more fulfilled we become, the better life we are creating for ourselves. So, we can agree that to give ourselves extra weight of any kind changes balance, confidence and peace of mind. That’s why no matter which crossroads are in front of us, the same action process applies.

ACTION STEPS

Pick 1)(a) or 1)(b) to start.

1)(a) Pick a crossroads in front of you that has to do with replacing bad fat 1 time a week with good fat 1 time a week OR

1)(b) Pick a crossroads in front of you that has to do with moving to a town where you have to change schools or jobs and don’t know anyone.

2) Prepare to make a list of the pros and cons that come along with 1 of these crossroads. They will both affect the appetite. Also, feel free to substitute the crossroads.

3) Write 5 pros and 5 cons for the scenario you choose. Here’s an example of 1)(a), such as

PRO: “I want to lose weight and changing bad fat to good fat 1 time a week will start to cleanse my body.”

CON: “I won’t be able to use my beloved fat to calm down on the day I don’t use the bad fat. Can I handle it? Yes.”

4) Prioritize the pros and cons, eliminating the bottom 2.

5) Finally, pick the biggest pro and the biggest con and proceed in a way that will improve you.

6) To top it off, write a few sentences on how you will maximize the pro, including 3 action steps you would like to make happen. Send it to us, either just to declare it or if you would like to share it. If you are stuck at any point, let us know so we can help you.

CONCLUSION

Life is full of crossroads. They always show up, in our personal lives and in our lives as global citizens. Every time we make a life decision, we are at a crossroads. Every time we vote, we are at a crossroads. We can look at our choices as necessary steps leading us forward. We can also savor the opportunities they bring and use the pro and con method to ensure that we come to the most efficient understanding of our crossroads as they arrive.

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She likes to feel strong and very much enjoys using many body parts at the same time. She says,

“When we engage in an exercise that seems to use 1 part of the body alone, we are really accessing so many other body parts and body systems that we have an opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves each time. When we do 1 simple exercise correctly, it starts a chain reaction that manifests in other parts of our mind and body than the 1 whose name is in the title slot. It’s good to focus the attention on 1 body part with the understanding that each exercise affects many.”

APPETITE CONTROL: HOW SAVING SOMEONE OTHER THAN OURSELVES CAN BALANCE OUR APPETITE (ISSUE 57)

By Diane Gold

Appetite is a tricky thing. It depends upon the interplay of hormones, insulin, activity, fatigue and our personal control.

Leptin suppresses appetite. Lack of it causes us to crave food.

Ghrelin increases appetite. A lot of it signals the brain that we are hungry.

Adiponectin signals fat-burning. If we don’t have enough, our body won’t burn fat.

If we eat too many sweets, there’s too much sugar in our blood stream which can disrupt insulin production which leads to the body’s storing fat.

There is a lot of juicy research on all this stuff, but, for now, let’s state that these hormones are very complicated. There are some side effects from using leptin and ghrelin as medicine, so far, we can’t use those whenever we have the wrong urge.

Adiponectin, aside from weakening bone cells in older people, has positive research behind it as an aid for big overweight issues.

Researchers are currently working on developing the perfect relief from gaining weight.

Here’s where saving the planet comes in.

When we get involved in a cause, a project, a special job; we find spiritual nourishment. It is like food for the body as it is food for the mind. We may get obsessed. Certainly, our minds become busy with the project, so much so that we may forget our food urges.

When we are making a difference, be it helping impoverished communities to get drinking water or helping the homeless woman who sits on the bench; we like how we feel when we give of ourselves. We like it more than our favorite snack. It is a warm, internal satisfaction that increases our productivity (and our metabolism) which reduces our craving for food.

How often have we lost weight when we fell in love, had to care for our friend’s health condition, became mothers, did fundraising for orphans? These activities required selfless action on our part, and we do it wholeheartedly without taking time out to overeat.

I’ve seen people working on behalf of others where their work has taken away the urge to overeat, the urge to smoke, the urge to drug (although there are physical side effects when we change some habits). Saving Others And Our Planet is phenomenal.

If I were building housing for abandoned cats, I would be nourishing myself through helping cats.  I can remember 1 day when one of our cats had kittens. My children and I spent every free moment tending to the kitties (mostly looking for them) as soon as Momma Cat would let us near them. We were consumed.

Then there was teaching music. I spent lots of my free time working with these emotionally and developmentally challenged kids. And through my wonderful principal’s approval, I was able to buy turntables and teach them mixing. Increasing their self-esteem made me full (which I discuss below).

I always ended up getting spiritual nourishment from their success. What an opportunity working with kids whose parents either left them or abused them. And I was involved in their strengthening themselves through mixing records and words.

Before we look at the ways to get involved, let’s look at the 3 things that change us and, ultimately, change our relationship with our appetite.

1)
FULLNESS FROM GETTING INVOLVED
It’s that feeling of joy, confidence, belonging, importance that goes along with the giving. This feeling, itself, can melt away our cravings. When we feel satisfied, whether it be from physical or mental pleasure; we feel balanced and full. It’s this fullness that we are looking for.

There is a similar but different feeling. It is a separate satisfaction that comes from stepping outside of our own world and getting involved in someone else’s. It happens when we successfully teach anything.

2)
INCREASE IN METABOLISM
When we do physical work, we fire up our metabolism. This reduces our appetite.

3)
THE SECRET: SELF-ESTEEM
There is a feeling that occurs after the fullness of joy and metabolic change. It is subtle but has everything to do with changing the habit of eating too much that is dissuaded by reduction in appetite. It is the tipping point.

The secret is that our self-esteem increases as we feel all the fullness and the good feeling from reduced appetite. We are happy to make more of an effort to succeed at our food plan when we look better in our eyes, we feel better from eating less because of the spiritual/emotional fullness and the metabolic boost and we actually are better because of the healthier way we have been living.

Self-esteem created by the first 2 factors permeates one’s essence and is the driving force in changing a habit. We want to savor this feeling when it arrives.

LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT: WE PICK THE ACTION STEP RIGHT FOR EACH OF US

Typically there are 7 ways in which to become involved in something other than ourselves. These examples are examples and represent the depth with which we are willing to go to contribute of ourselves.

We welcome all examples in the comment section.

1) MOBILE PHONE DONATION

We can donate $10 to a charity by mobile phone should we use a major carrier. I learned today that we can even pick a specific micro-loan project and donate once.
This type of involvement doesn’t burn many calories. It does feed us spiritually, knowing we have helped. Not everyone has a spare $10. Almost everyone in the US has $1.

2) AUTOMATICALLY DONATING MONEY MONTHLY

Donating money is fantastic. It allows us to become bigger than ourselves. The fact that we are doing it regularly connects us to the cause itself.

Again, not many calories are burned, nor is there the physical workout that increases metabolism. Plus, giving money may not be an option.

3) REPAIRING 1 HOUSE AFTER A NATURAL DISASTER

Donating our time is huge. When we decide to give our precious time to others, we are giving up something big.

Fortunately, house repair requires physical work. Therefore, we will expend calories, learn something about construction and increase metabolism. This is 1 circumstance in which saving outside ourselves saves us as well.

4) REGULARLY VOLUNTEERING AT THE LITERACY PROGRAM

Giving of expertise is a wonderful thing. We pass on what we know.
The time it takes to be with someone is time away from eating. Helping someone’s lot in life feels good. However, we don’t expend many calories while we are reading, if it’s at the local library and we drive to the library. We could always opt to walk or bicycle to the library to do the volunteering. Or we could teach the lesson at the beach or on a mountain, both of which we could walk to in order to get there. Giving the skill of reading will change someone’s life forever. Walking to do it regulates our weight.

5) VOLUNTEERING FOR A WEEK TO HELP KIDS LEARN FARMING, FOOD GATHERING, BRIDGE BUILDING

1 week’s program can get us really motivated to take an active role in the particular project. 1 week might turn into 2 weeks.

6)  VOLUNTEERING FOR A MONTH TO HELP KIDS LEARN FARMING, FOOD GATHERING, OR SOME TYPE OF CONSTRUCTING STRUCTURES

A month of involvement can turn into deeper involvement. This method of caring for others takes our time, consumes our free time and helps those who are less fortunate than we.
Should we be involved to this point, our self-esteem will be full on, and our habit of overeating will be replaced by our habit of our volunteering work.

7) MAKING YEAR-ROUND PROJECT WORK A PERMANENT PART OF OUR LIVES

This type of involvement would fortify us on a permanent basis. We could even opt to work with kids who were struggling with weight as long as we could keep the snacks to veggies.

CONCLUSION

It is quite accurate that our hormones regulate our appetite, that we are born predisposed to a certain way. What is also true is that we have the ability to take action, no matter what our hormones are doing. What can happen in that case is that our own efforts can supersede and change our biology. It happens all the time. This is the process of making a change through saving someone other than ourselves.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She is motivated by motivation. She says,

“We are small beings, but we have huge power, even the power to change our own biology. If we reach out and become absorbed in creativity, productivity, love of another; we change our hormones as well as our lives and the lives of others.”

THE PEACE PROCESS: PHASE 2 (ISSUE 56)

By Diane Gold

In December 3rd’s article, The Peace Process: A Step-By-Step Formula, we talked about being able to understand conflicting views and really listening to the answers. Action steps were offered which included speaking with the 2 members of opposing geo-politico-religious sides and, by doing so, earning the trust of each.

If you haven’t seen it, go here.

OVERVIEW OF PHASE 2

After conversing with both participants on opposite sides of a brutally large conflict (PHASE 1); we, at least, have a better understanding of the passions and the tensions that run so very deep, including the history that has transpired, the way each side was brought up to think about the other, the atrocities incurred from the eyes of either side.

We may even think, as I originally did before I started having these discussions, the process might be simple, if only we would begin.  Very difficult if each sees the actions of the other as breaking the covenants of the rules of leading a reverent and noble life.

So Phase 2 has to be about creating a discussion between a neutral person and 2 participants on the same side, with 1 of those agreeing to role play a member of the opposite side: Phase 2 of the Peace Process Formula.

There’s no rush to get to this phase, and the initial discussion must take as long as it takes for trust to develop between the original participant and the neutral party. And, then again, the trust may not be 100% because we, the neutral parties, are outsiders in the eyes of the participants whose lives have been engulfed in the conflict. And it is common to hear,

“You cannot understand. You are not from there.”

Thomas L.  Friedman, former Jerusalem Bureau Chief of The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner, puts it this way in his Op-Ed column on December 8,

“…there is an unspoken question in the mind of virtually every [person who lives in a conflicted country] that you need to answer correctly: ‘Do you understand what neighborhood I’m living in?’ If [these country women and men] smell that you don’t, their ears will close to you.”

THE PEACE PROCESS FORMULA builds trust in the participants and the process.
I believe it is possible to help people achieve their goal of a peaceful community – even if we, the helpers, have limited knowledge of the others’ neighborhood or situation. This fact doesn’t dismiss how important the others’ situation is. It just bases its method upon our common human nature and not on our common neighborhood.

The Peace Process Formula goes for any goal. There is only 1 requirement: believe in people who honor unique situations with complicated agendas, but who believe we are similar to a precision with simple needs. It is this sameness of our humanity that allows us to supersede the objections that “we cannot be helped by strangers who do not know the neighborhood” so that this process can, inevitably, resolve conflict.  Trust and sincerity are the keys.

MOVING TOWARD OUR OBJECTIVE

If a method, program or an infrastructure is created for people to progress forward in their lives; anyone can use it with the same success.

It is not necessary for the moderator (the neutral person in this process) to have been in the struggle personally.

It is necessary for each side of a conflict to trust the moderator, mediator, arbitrator, counselor.
Often times, because the participant sees the neutral 3rd party, the moderator as “not being 1 of us,” trust is not established and the patience required to work the process is not cultivated.
For conflict resolution to occur, the Peace Process Formula must not be rushed. And each step must be followed sequentially.

PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE

Tensions that make geo-politico-religious conflict have taken years to develop.
These conflicts require delicate work since everyone on both sides has been offended many times.

In order to achieve peace, judgment on the part of the moderator is not part of the process. Listening and resolving are.

Trust must be acquired between the moderator and each person in the process.

PHASE 2 ROLE PLAY – THE RULES

1) 2 participants who take the same side who are willing to answer questions about the conflict in their country must be found. They should both be on the same side of a geo-politico-religious conflict.

2) 1 of the participants must be willing to play the role of the opposing view for this phase of the process.

3) Since the process will be extremely difficult, it must be established that there will be no voice raising and no disrespectful language and that a break from the discussion can be requested by asking the moderator if s/he can disengage the discussion.

4) Next, congratulate your participants for coming to the table in the first place.

ACTION STEPS

1) Participants will be asked to pretend to be a Leader for World Peace and peace for her (his) respective geographic area. This means each participant must consider the lives of everyone involved. 1 participant will be the leader for her (his) usual side. 1 participant will be a leader for her (his) usually opposing side.

2) With peace in mind, participants shall be asked to make a list of 10 changes they would like to occur to achieve that.

3) Participants shall be asked to prioritize the 10 changes.

4) Participants shall be asked to eliminate the least important 5 changes.

5) Participants will be asked to alter each change and break it down to a smaller version of itself. Make sure to do this for all 5 changes.

Here are examples:

If the 5th change on the list were to raise the community flag in a particular location every day, you might be able to change that to raising the flag 1 day a week instead to begin.

If the 5th change on the list were to acquire 5 miles of land, you might be able to change this to 1 mile of land instead.

6) The moderator will have each participant read from the top of the list: first 1 person reads change 1. Then the other person reads her (his) change 1.

7) This continues, alternating, 1, then the other, until the entire list is read.

8)  A copy of each list will be given to each participant.

9) Each participant will be given no more than 15 minutes to comment next to each item. Of course, extra time (up to 30 minutes) can be given.

10) After each participant is finished, the moderator shall collect the lists.

11) The moderator will go over rule number 3 to temper speech and words.

12) The moderator will read the responses to the items on the list out loud and ask for 5 minutes of comment on each. The replies will be timed.

13) The moderator will thank both participants and ask if they would be willing to come back again after giving the ideas some thought or some research.

CONCLUSION

The Peace Process Formula has been developed to make small changes in a safe environment. It is easy to blow up and stop the process, as world peace issues show us every day. This method has been devised, in part, to create understanding of issues of conflict for outsiders, but mostly, to start to grow roots of peace that can lead to lasting peace.

Phase 3 of the Formula will be published soon. It is powerful and hopeful and on time.
If you would like to become involved in this process, as a participant or as a moderator, please let us know or leave a comment below. Becoming involved in this process can replace many less meaningful activities, including making poor food choices. It can also build the pride and joy that comes along with being involved in something bigger than ourselves.

FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She is thrilled with The Peace Process Formula. She says,

“Small changes on a regular basis add up to medium changes and then large changes. Those of us whose duty it is to help, let’s do this. Those of us who would like to observe, we welcome it.

“Did you ever notice how there have been times when we are not correct about an outcome. It is my hope that the adversaries and the friends who use this process will grow from it, and, if so, grow the method of the process of peace that can contribute greatly to all our lives.”

[media link=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVnX7zx5tI”]

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THE PEACE PROCESS: A STEP-BY-STEP FORMULA TO ACHIEVE PEACE (ISSUE 55)

By Diane Gold

The peace process is a methodical, step-by-step method that needs simple, focused attention and caring patience. Since we humans can truly focus in on only 1 activity at a time (even though we are a society of multitaskers), when it comes right down to it, when we target our attention in 1 place, it cannot be in another place at that very moment.

This means if we are working actively on the peace process, we have the chance not to be concerned with our food, our overeating, overindulgence, overzealousness, anger, jealously, greed, our finances or any of the other negative things that may reduce our greatness.

In the article, Peace And Prejudice, from June 4 of this year, we talk about how looking at the sameness in human beings can lead us to harmony and tolerance. I have said many times as has Charles Duhigg in his book, The Power Of Habit, that, in order to stop manifesting an old behavior, we have to learn and act out a new one.

Think of the video store clerk of 20 years wearing jeans to work every day who gets a job in an uptown law firm where suits are required. By wearing a suit, she feels different, looks different, acts different, is a little different. After months of suit-wearing and interacting with other suits in her law firm position; the suit truly becomes her and it is difficult to remember going to work in jeans (even if that attire might be preferable).

Another example, that I do not know firsthand, is how quickly we transform from civilian to soldier. One minute, we have a no combat life. The next, we are in a war.

The dynamics of changing the way we act holds true for eating and acquiring an overweight status; being a good example as a mother as well as acting in a harmonic way in the realm of the peace process. When we focus our attention on studying, our attention is not on food. When we are listening, we are not talking.

When we take a shower, we are not playing tennis. When we are determined to create harmony instead of promote prejudice, we are busy being mindful of the work through which harmony may be achieved. We are doing important work and are more willing to substitute the gratitude and joy that come with peace work for satisfying a food craving. And, focused work equals fewer cravings.

This leads us to the step-by-step Peace Process, which is more of a listening process and not a speaking process. The idea here is to get to know the person who has been in this situation, if you have not. If you, yourself, have been in this situation as you grew up, eliminate step 1) and please ask these questions of yourself instead.

ACTION STEPS ARE THE PEACE PROCESS

1)
Say “YES” to being willing to be a moderator for this process.
There is no time commitment. This step just affirms that you are going to work this formula once with 1 person. We always change our minds as to what actions support the way we want to live. We are free to do so here as we see fit. This 1 “YES’ gets the process started.

2)
Find 1 person who has lived under in a location where there is or has been political or religious terrorism. This can be done face-to-face through someone we know or someone who is a click away in our social media list.

3)
Ask this individual to sit and talk by an invitation to have tea. If this is an online meeting, consider it is tea time and actually pour a cup of tea. This grounds the conversation.

4)
Remember that you want to listen and not speak, for the most part. Tell the individual you want to learn and that this is about your understanding.

5)
Ask the following 7 questions.

a.     Is it OK to ask you a little about your experience so that I can understand a little bit?

b.    How old were you when you had your first encounter with terrorism in your location?

c.    How often did you have terrorism in your location?

d.    What precautions did you have to take?

e.    How did this form you as a person?

f.    Why did you think these people wanted to hurt you?

g.     If you were given the chance to talk to someone taught to attack you, would you allow her 1 minute to speak about what she was taught?

h.     Say thank you for being allowed to learn. Realize that you are honored to receive the information.

6)
Ponder what you have heard, and give yourself time to understand it. If we rush in without consideration for those who have lived for years in strife, we ignore what is absolutely necessary to make the peace process work: other people’s realities.

I want to refer to and salute a close friend of mine who was raised around air raids and bombings. When she said I, an American civilian, couldn’t possibly understand what it was like since I hadn’t experienced it – and we love and respect each other as sisters – I realized it was my duty to learn more about her experiences and the passionate feelings that go along with someone’s having lived in harm’s way as a child and a teen where the only “I Declare War” I knew was a game we played using a pink rubber ball on a safe suburban street.

I believe that the learning process ahead of you and me is making the peace process a reality.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion here is the peace process itself, not talking about it but getting going on making it happen. Follow the simple method above and, please, pass it on.

In order for us to have peace, we must be aware of how each side in conflict feels. We can learn this information and build trust at the same time through sincerely employing the action steps above. Once each of us starts the process and sees the value of passing it on, there will be firmer ground from which we can be the bridge makers of peace. We must be consistent, understanding and kind.

                                                  LET US START NOW.

                                                  WE CAN DO THIS!

*This issue is dedicated to my father who passed 49 years ago yesterday at age 49. To Harry!*

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She is concerned with tolerance and peace. She says,

“Each of us is responsible for the world’s peace. Each time we act with intolerance, we lose an opportunity to lead. Each time we take the time to understand an adversary or someone who is causing adversarial feelings or action, we lead by example. If each of us curbed an intolerance one time a day, we could develop the patience we want to teach our children and our enemies.”

DANCING FOR WEIGHT LOSS: A FUN WAY TO FIRM IT, MOVE IT, REMOVE IT (ISSUE 54)

By Diane Gold

Dancing, by its very nature, can get us moving. As a musician and tribal music lover, I know how it feels to be consumed by the music. It can easily get us in a state of heightened energy. It has to be just right, though.

How many times have you listened to a song that gets you moving and foot tappingly grooving only to share it with a friend who is falling asleep to the very same song.

All we have to do is look at drivers in cars who are happily singing to music or runners and walkers with music players happily gyrating to their workout. When we survey what they are listening to, all the music is diverse. Some of us like any kind of music. Others of us are pretty picky. We have to listen to specific music at a specific time or enjoy our silence. I am in this last category. My strong attitude about what I listen to may come from having studied all genres of music to get my music education degree. Or I like what I like when I like it.

The music we listen to has to feel right at the time. Otherwise, as my music therapy training tells me, the music can be counterproductive. So, let me start off by saying

MAKE SURE YOU LIKE THE MUSIC!

It will affect you on many levels. When I listen to tribal dance music, I get calm and inspired. It’s the only music I can listen to when I need to concentrate. Many people I know would never listen to it. Different strokes for different folks.

So, how can we embrace dance in our weight loss regime? Happily, dancing is free. It is there for us just for the doing. It lives in our bodies.

EXCUSES

Here are the excuses we might use for not dancing.
1) Many of us are shy. We don’t even want to see ourselves.

2) We would never dance in public.

3) We don’t know what to listen to.

4) We have no time. See action step 1 below.

5) We don’t feel comfy in our bodies, so we don’t like to dance.

REPLIES TO EXCUSES

1) Combatting shyness: We can dance in the dark where no one can see us and we can’t even see ourselves. It’s very freeing.

2) Combatting being in public and dancing: Well, here’s the big news. We don’t have to leave our houses to dance. And we might want to dance outside the home after a while.

3) What to listen to: Pick something. The joy is the next day, we can make a new selection.

Most of us have access to a TV, interconnected phone or computer. Music is just a click away. We can flip a channel or go to www.live365.com and choose the genre of our choice. We can also go to www.pandora.com and make our own listening station based on 1 song or artist that we like. The free Pandora software will find other songs like our 1st song. Both Live365 and Pandora are free. Or you can pay a little and get rid of ads. Ask me for help if you don’t know what to do with them.

4) Making time: It’s important to make time for moving the body by dancing, especially if we are working on weight loss. Once we start with Action Step 1, it will be easier to become consistent.

5) Combatting not liking to move: With dancing, we are moving the body. This means burning calories, firming the body and building strength and energy. These are all good reasons to make a go of dancing.

ACTION STEPS

So here are the action steps for this week.

Hopefully, 1 of them will appeal to you.

All you need is 1.

1)
MUSIC PLAYER IN THE BATHROOM

Decide you will take some type of music player into the bathroom first thing in the morning. Just to get the day started off right.

It’s a great time to dance. It will immediately take a little of your hunger away, and it will make the body feel great. It will be your kind of music, so you will like it and respond to it. As I see it, anything is danceable, from Bach to Bartok to Country to Tribal. But starting is the big thing. The next big thing is continuing. Those are the biggies with everything. Begin and continue!

Because you are beautiful, fantastic, worth it and in need of shaking yourself out. Making this dancing on a daily basis will take 3 minutes or less.

1 minute is enough if that’s all you have the time for.  And listening to music close up, that is, in headphones, makes you feel as if you are in a music world of your own. And, guess what? You are. The trick is to make it consistent.

2)
TELE-DANCING

Tele-dancing is just what it sounds like: going to the phone and getting on a conference line and dancing. Beginning on Thursday, December 6, 2012 and Tuesday, December 11, 2012; tele-dancing begins at 7:00 pm Eastern time, Thursdays and 6:00 pm Eastern time on Tuesdays.

It’s a 5-minute program that will get you moving to the music and taking the opportunity to free yourself through dance. 5 minutes. You owe it to yourself. No one will be watching. No one will be judging your moves. This is for you. Try it, you’ll like it. Think about how exercise will decrease your ghrelin hormone to lower your food cravings.

Call-In Details: HERE.

3)
TRANCE TAI CHI

Trance Tai Chi is a method of moving the body to a progression of relaxed music>mellow music>excited tribal dance music>then mellow music again>then ending with relaxed music. It includes short instructions where we suggest tai chi-like movements. The instruction allows people to have a basis from which to move and leads up to free form dancing. The purpose is personal freedom.

I do sessions by appointment through trancetaichi.com. But you can find dance similar to this at yoga schools across the United States. They call it trance dance, ecstatic dance and breath dance.

4)
5RHYTHMS

5Rhythms is a dance method where there is specialized instruction to notice your body parts. No actual specific way of moving is recommended. The instruction suggests ways of becoming aware of the body. After an awareness warm-up, the facilitator coaches the group into a series of rhythms which the founder delineates through which meditation can be achieved. It’s very free form dance with a direction: yours.

Look up a 5Rhythms teacher in your area. We don’t have one in South Florida, except occasionally when a super-charged session occurs. Amazing stuff.

CONCLUSION

I remember lunch time when I was in 5th and 6th grades in New York. We had a record player outside in the school yard. Every day, I would bring my 45 RPM records to class so that we could dance. True, there were so many people singing rhythm and blues and rock and roll, so it was much easier to keep track of the latest and greatest records, as opposed to present day when there are hundreds of new artists coming out every minute because of the ease of technology. It’s great to have such technological access!

Dancing is great. It can jump start the day or be a superb ending to it. Incorporate it into the day to feel free, and to reduce extra weight.

5)

ACTION STEP 5

If you have a particular type of dance that you like and you want to go out of your house to do it, check out www.meetup.com for a local group. Type the kind of dancing you are curious about, and see how close one is.
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Dancing for weight loss is not a novel idea. It remains a good one, though. 1 minute a day makes a difference. It will start you in a direction of being consistent and caring for self. Enjoy the experience, whichever one you pick.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She creates simple strategies that cost little time and little money that lead to a personal shift that secures an objective. She says,

“Moving the body is a metamorphosis. When we dance, we can easily shake out stress at the same time as we are speeding our metabolism and making ourselves healthy. There are many ways to dance, in public or private.

1 minute’s worth will do the trick, every day. And the best time to start is now.”

DECLARATION OF TOLERANCE FOR SCHOOL AGERS: KINDNESS IS COOL (ISSUE 53)

By Diane Gold

No curriculum in tolerance exists in regular public schools.

“Why not?” we might ask.

It would prepare us for living in our world and creating harmony along the way.

If, as kids, we had tolerance class to learn such a set of rules along with math and language skills,

OH, THE DIFFERENCES WE WILL SEE!

It’s common knowledge that kids are cruel, pull the cat’s tail, become insensitive when their friends make social blunders and gang up on kids because they possess physical and mental attributes that would not qualify them for a typical beauty or intelligence contest.

Yes, they’re young. Yes, their freedom to express naturally is important and the line between mocking and self-expression is subjective. And, yes, children need to build up strength should intolerance be directed at them.

Also true is that children are impressionable. They are impressed (a mental embossing occurs) by popularity and strive for it. I heard a TV teen say that the purpose of high school was to become popular.

Wouldn’t it be fair to say that we all crave popularity of some type, whether it’s to be thought of as the most just, the most intelligent, the most creative, the most macho, the most humble?

 We follow others, as kids and adults. We call this social proof. If no one goes to help the person who fell down and everyone walks by with no regard; we are less likely to rush to help the afflicted person.

If 3 people are already helping, we are more likely to offer a hand.

Not that we are all sheep, but, without specific intervention training, most people do not take the initiative to run to get involved in serving another if no one else does.

TOLERANCE IN SCHOOL

So what does this have to do with tolerance?

Kids form belief systems and opinions at home, in school and with peer groups. It is a given that we are influenced on a grand scale by our parents, our caretakers. Prejudice in the home rubs off. But many kids have their first encounter with intolerance, either as target or aggressor, in school.

If Jayne makes fun of Julie at school and school mates follow this behavior, this intolerance festers and grows. Its presence caters to fortify the belief that it is good. How cool it is to be part of the group. It’s a good feeling. But, aren’t their lines, even for kids? We don’t have court in school, but we are responsible for teaching what’s right.

Everyone has to deal with being the target of someone. And, yes, as mentioned, we must develop personal self-esteem to balance out external negativity. But, school is a place of learning. And the job of each teacher – and that truly means any adult – is to instill good values, individually and as a community of teachers.

For this reason, I created a simple document to which all school-age children should be exposed and on which all school-age children should have training. If we don’t address tolerance at an early age, role play about it and make it a life-long study even if we discuss it once a week for 15 minutes, we are leaving out a core value that needs attention.

Imagine if we had the tolerance in childhood we would want others to have. And we lived this for our entire childhood.

OH, THE DIFFERENT WAYS WE’LL ACT!

ACTION STEP

Employ the kids declaration of tolerance at your earliest convenience. No, wait. Do it now, without waiting.  Bring it to your school. Share it through your social networks. Bring it with you to the parent-teacher meetings. Go over it at home at every opportunity. Role play it. Learn it. Be it. Write another declaration to add below.

Here it is:

1)
I will imagine I am in a wheel chair. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

This means I will not abandon a person because of this situation; I will not single out the other person and laugh at someone else’s tragedy; I will show respect for the other person. I will be a compassion leader.

2)
I will imagine I am 2X as big as I am now in body weight without getting taller, and I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

3)
I will imagine that my hair has fallen out, and I feel sad. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

4)
I will imagine I just tripped on my shoe lace and scraped my knee and my elbow. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

5)
I will imagine I have lost my pet and I am crying at school. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation, When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

6)
I will imagine I have a mark on my face that makes me look different from others. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

7)
I will imagine I don’t remember any of the lessons the other students remember at school. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

8)
I will imagine my family makes me dress different from everyone else. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

9)
I will imagine someone has just teased me, and my feelings are hurt. I will think about how that feels. I will treat others the way I would want them to treat me in that situation. When others laugh at someone else in this situation, I will recognize this as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool.

10)
I will imagine someone has just teased my friend. I will think about how my friend feels. I will treat my friend the way I would want her to treat me in that situation. I will recognize the teasing as bad behavior and not follow it. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and teach that kindness is cool. I will support my friend with kindness, not aggression toward others.

11)
I will imagine that my community has been fighting with another community for a long time. I will think about how many bad feelings there are because of the old fight. I will treat the outside community the way I would want it to treat my community: with respect, with harmony and with tolerance. I will recognize that, as a young person, I can stop the fight. I will not follow my community history in fighting. I will lend a helping hand, show an understanding heart and help educate both communities. I will support my community with kindness and make friends with the other community.

CONCLUSION

The longer we study a subject, the more proficient we get at it. If we study tolerance from an early time, we will become familiar with how it goes. We will learn about being kind, being fair, being able to pass on these concepts.

Implement the Declaration Of Tolerance For School Agers, and be instrumental in taking a step toward the reality of creating world harmony.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.
She passes on ways to create human harmony, which may not be coincidentally related to her love of music. She says,

“The best time to talk about peace and tolerance is when we are young. That’s why it’s so important to include a human relations curriculum (also called a peaceful solutions program) that extends past the study of our ancestors and their geographic regions. True, it’s nice to know how we got here, but it’s just as important to build tolerance and conflict resolution skills in the present. This will maximize the positive effect on global harmony.”

There are so many ways to enjoy mushrooms. I am always looking for the simplest, 1-step methods of eating healthily and happily. For me, happy = very basic.

Get my vegan, no added fat, no added salt, no added sugar, easy peasy mushroom recipe by clicking the yellow box below.

MUSHROOMS FOR WEIGHT LOSS: NATURE’S SECRET STRATEGY IN A SMALL PACKAGE (ISSUE 52)

By Diane Gold

What has lots of nutrition, including protein, can be used in facials, brewed as tea, strewn on pasta, blended into smoothies, eaten alone, and used as medicine? You guessed it: MUSHROOMS. Yes, these versatile, wonderful living things that they are!

It is almost incredible to think that mushrooms, members of the Kingdom Fungi, can be so tasty, interesting looking, distinctive in smell, have 14 thousand species with several thousand edible, be so diversely nutritious and have considerable medicinal properties.

RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCES (RDAs)

The Institute of Medicine (IoM) is part of the National Academy of Sciences, which is non-governmental, commissioned with setting the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) that we all use as some measure of correctness, for nutritional values, even though we rarely question what criteria is tested and by whom. According to one of the editors of these measurements, Professor Robert Reynolds, from University of Chicago, the system has many flaws because a small amount of money is allotted to studying this information. He says that only half of us fall into the “average” category and we have to eliminate the top 3% healthiest people to boot. The measure does not apply if we are sick, if we are overweight, if we are over 60, if we are stressed, if we take medication, if we smoke, if we eat refined and processed, unhealthy food that does not consist of 2,000 calories a day.

Makes me wonder how much to coordinate a redo of the RDA program using already existing research data with values for all the people the current system leaves out. Studies are massively expensive when done from scratch, so using secondary data would cut the costs.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

The following nutrients make white mushrooms quite valuable and unique. The numbers in parentheses represent percentage of daily needs in an average person.

B Vitamins, aside from all their other benefits, are being looked at to reduce ADHD and slow Alzheimer’s.

Thiamin(e), B1, helps metabolize sugars and amino acids. (4%)
Riboflavin, B2 metabolizes carbs into energy. (17%)

Niacin, B3, increases the level of high density lipids (HDL), the good cholesterol, in the blood. (13%)

Pantothenic Acid, B5, turns carbs and fats into usable energy and assures healthy fats in cells. (10%)

Pyridoxine, B6, balances sodium (Na) and potassium (K). (4%)

Folic Acid, B9, is needed for DNA synthesis and repair and for cell growth. (3%)
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Choline helps in cell membrane synthesis.

Betaine regulates fluid movement across cell membranes (osmosis), assists in membrane work and neurotransmission of acetylcholine.

Omega-6 Fatty Acid is one of the 2 essential fatty acids required for cellular processes and must be in balance with Omega-3 Fatty Acids to keep inflammation down and cell function up. Both are essential and must be consumed. Therefore, get those walnuts and flax seeds to balance with Omega-3s.

Copper assists with iron uptake and cell metabolism. It also protects our cardiovascular system. (11%)

Phosphorus forms part of the structure of living molecules (DNA,RNA).  (6%)

Potassium helps the body process sodium. It is also important in preventing muscles from contracting. You’ve heard someone recommend that you go eat some dried apricots or a fig if you have leg cramps, right? They’re high in potassium. (6%)

Selenium helps with cell function.

Vitamin D, which is produced by changing a sterol, ergosterol, into Vitamin D2, with ultraviolets present in the sun. (This is similar to the way we get vitamin D from the sun, except that we use 7-hydrocholesterol and synthesize Vitamin D3. (3%, which may be higher if the mushrooms were exposed to ultraviolet light)

Mushrooms also contain 2% of the RDA for Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc.

Mushrooms are about 15 calories for a cup, with 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of carbs, with only 1 counting since 1 of those grams is total indigestible fiber that helps with digestion and does not turn to glucose before it gets to the colon.

HEALTH BENEFITS

1) Research from Beckman Research Institute, Duarte, California, found that white mushrooms contain conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which reduces high estrogen level risks like breast cancer. Other studies at the same institution showed that white mushrooms have a similarly beneficial effect on prostate cancer.

2) Eating white mushrooms seems to block production of inflammatory molecules, good for reducing many types of inflammation which is basically any type of immune compromise or sickness.

3) Mushrooms, in general, are known for their anti-oxidant properties. L-ergothioneine, one of the anti-oxidants that is found in white mushrooms can be found in shiitake mushrooms with 5 X as much. So, different species are known to have different health accolades.

4) Mushrooms have a low glycemic load (2), which means that they don’t cause sugar levels to change rapidly. Their fibrous material is, in part, responsible for this.

5) Inflammation Factor is low (-4) which suggests that they will not contribute to inflaming the body. Mushrooms are also known for reducing it.

6) Mushrooms are known to improve the immune system and cognitive function.

7) The last and most important benefit for the WarriorsOfWeight.com Community is that THEY MAKE US FEEL FULL AND SATISFIED while we ingest very few calories and much nutritional value.

COOKED VS. RAW

Many of us profess that raw foods have to have higher nutrients when raw. With mushrooms, according to research cited in Scientific American by Sushma Subramanian, some veggies, including mushrooms, when boiled or cooked for a short time, increase antioxidants and other properties as the cell membranes break down and release the nutrients. Check out the recipe below, the way I’ve been eating mushrooms for years. And work the stems in somehow, even if they don’t taste quite as creamy. Full of nutrition.

TOXICITY CAUTION: MUST READ

Mushrooms from the Agaricus Bisporus species, which is the species to which white mushrooms and many others we eat belong, reveal the presence of small amounts of hydrazine compound derivatives, agaratine and gyromitrin. These substances are known carcinogens when delivered to mice in extremely high doses in short time periods. There has never been a proven case that cancer has been caused by eating mushrooms.

Most researchers recommend that consideration be given to this fact and point out that cooking the mushrooms reduces the contents of the toxins.

Confirm that you do not feel allergic or headache-y from eating a small amount of mushrooms before you eat a larger portion. Sometimes, people can have adverse reactions to eating them. I had a small headache from adding a mushroom supplement once. It was mild but lasted several days.

It should also be noted that, according to Joshua Rosenthal’s Integrative Nutrition, mushrooms are in the top 15 foods with least residue from pesticides, although I have no knowledge of how he got this number. It’s always better to eat organic food which means it was not sprayed.

ACTION STEPS

1) Take a little time to read more on mushrooms. They are fascinating.

2) Add a recipe of a small serving of mushrooms to your daily food several times this week, using caution as advised. Notice how the mushrooms fill you up. Or just eat one mushroom a day.

3) Make my special mushroom recipe, available right here.  See if it suits you.

CONCLUSION

There are so many benefits to mushrooms. They can be used in so many ways: as antioxidants, antivirals, an anti-migraine remedy, for anti-cancer treatment, as anti-psychotics, for daily nutrition, improved memory and beauty care.
The wealth of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and overall healthy properties make it a super food. After seeing all of what it does, consider telling everyone you’re adding it to your day.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE. If you would like to see more articles like this, please let us know.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Moms For Healthy Daughters, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert and a dedicated mom.

She wants to learn more about the nutrition in food. But, sadly, one of the things she learned was that the Recommended Daily Allowances, more than using old information, have been using very sparse information. But it is still useful. She says,

“The nutritional information that we see on packaging in the United States is accurate for healthy people who eat right, don’t smoke, don’t weigh too much and don’t get stressed out. And these values, themselves are increased by about 25% as a buffer for the nutrition lost in cooking.

“Use  the numbers with this in mind, and the values become useful. The nutrition field is booming and changing. There’s a great opportunity for a career or a career change. Especially for anyone who wants to do research to make our nutritional information up to date. It’s a big job, just waiting to be done.”

Don’t forget to check out the mushroom recipe.