Don't quit!
When you don't feel motivated, and nothing--no affirmations, no visualizations, nothing--can get you exercising, that's when you need to close your eyes and just do it anyway. Don't think about how hard it is to take that extra mile. Just do it. Think instead of the new wardrobe you're going to buy once you've met your goals. Think of sex, anything to get you through. The hardest times, if you master them, can push you to higher levels of health and fitness. So now is not the time to stop. Do something different. Sing while you work out. Change your walking route. Buy pretty new sweats.
I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep on keeping on. I can do this.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Day 45
Don't forget the ivories.
Unless the dentist is cute and single, probably our least favorite activity in the world is having our teeth examined. Something about the drilling so close to our brains. As women, however, we can't afford to be lax about the ivories that CHEW OUR FOOD! Our teeth are particularly sensitive to all the hormonal changes we experience during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause; and because Western doctors tend to treat pieces of us rather than all of us, we forget that all of our cells, organs, and systems are interconnected and interdependent. Teeth feel a bit shaky? To make sure nothing's wrong, by all means have your teeth checked. Get annual cleanings (or more frequently if your dentist says so). Go easy on sugar-loaded foods. Some of the latest research says that a stick of sugarless gum a day will keep the dentist away. Or try massaging your teeth and gums with a wooden licorice stick (you can buy these at most health food stores). Our African ancestors swore by them.
I don't want raggedy teeth. I'm calling my dentist today.
Unless the dentist is cute and single, probably our least favorite activity in the world is having our teeth examined. Something about the drilling so close to our brains. As women, however, we can't afford to be lax about the ivories that CHEW OUR FOOD! Our teeth are particularly sensitive to all the hormonal changes we experience during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause; and because Western doctors tend to treat pieces of us rather than all of us, we forget that all of our cells, organs, and systems are interconnected and interdependent. Teeth feel a bit shaky? To make sure nothing's wrong, by all means have your teeth checked. Get annual cleanings (or more frequently if your dentist says so). Go easy on sugar-loaded foods. Some of the latest research says that a stick of sugarless gum a day will keep the dentist away. Or try massaging your teeth and gums with a wooden licorice stick (you can buy these at most health food stores). Our African ancestors swore by them.
I don't want raggedy teeth. I'm calling my dentist today.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Day 44
What do you and body builders have in common?
Carbohydrate-rich foods! If you love potatoes, sweets, spaghetti, rice, and bread, then you share a dependence on a common food type. While body builders scientifically load up on certain carbs for energy and to deliberately gain weight, we tend to use foods like pasta, rice, and potatoes (loaded with fat) to help us stretch meals and to leave us feeling full. Current diet industry wisdom places the blame for heaviness squarely on fats, but for many of us, the problem may be caused by a biochemical disorder called "carbohydrate addiction," according to Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller of the Mount Sinai School f Medicine in New York.
The basis for the addiction is a chemical ménage a trois gone bad among carbohydrates, insulin, and serotonin. Not every overweight person is addicted, nor is every addicted person overweight. However, this disorder may prove an important clue in the journey to health and fitness for many Black women. The Hellers cite years of research, interesting case studies, and a self-test in their best-selling book, The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet. Your homework assignment: study your body and read the book.
My body is the laboratory, and my will and intelligence are the keys to unlocking the mysteries of health for my body.
Carbohydrate-rich foods! If you love potatoes, sweets, spaghetti, rice, and bread, then you share a dependence on a common food type. While body builders scientifically load up on certain carbs for energy and to deliberately gain weight, we tend to use foods like pasta, rice, and potatoes (loaded with fat) to help us stretch meals and to leave us feeling full. Current diet industry wisdom places the blame for heaviness squarely on fats, but for many of us, the problem may be caused by a biochemical disorder called "carbohydrate addiction," according to Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller of the Mount Sinai School f Medicine in New York.
The basis for the addiction is a chemical ménage a trois gone bad among carbohydrates, insulin, and serotonin. Not every overweight person is addicted, nor is every addicted person overweight. However, this disorder may prove an important clue in the journey to health and fitness for many Black women. The Hellers cite years of research, interesting case studies, and a self-test in their best-selling book, The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet. Your homework assignment: study your body and read the book.
My body is the laboratory, and my will and intelligence are the keys to unlocking the mysteries of health for my body.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Day 43
Pay attention to what your body is saying. Don't ignore persistent aches and pains.
Believe it or not, our bodies talk to us constantly. Every growl, ache, and sneeze has meaning. It's unfortunate that we don't understand the language of our bodies. So when we have an ache, we run to the medicine cabinet. Even Western science is now beginning to admit that most of our diseases and ailments are rooted in poor nutrition and our maladjusted ways of coping with stress. Although doctors have their place--and you should always check with one if something is wrong--try to listen to what the ailment is trying to tell you. It might feel strange, but ask the ailing body part what lesson it has to share with you. Then, and this is important, trust what you hear. If a persistent cough is trying to tell you that you need to stop eating mucous-forming dairy foods, then try fasting on dairy. If chronic knee pains are begging you to lose weight, heed the warning. If high blood pressure is telling you to let go of your anger, then, honey, let it go.
I will pay close attention to what my body's trying to tell me.
Believe it or not, our bodies talk to us constantly. Every growl, ache, and sneeze has meaning. It's unfortunate that we don't understand the language of our bodies. So when we have an ache, we run to the medicine cabinet. Even Western science is now beginning to admit that most of our diseases and ailments are rooted in poor nutrition and our maladjusted ways of coping with stress. Although doctors have their place--and you should always check with one if something is wrong--try to listen to what the ailment is trying to tell you. It might feel strange, but ask the ailing body part what lesson it has to share with you. Then, and this is important, trust what you hear. If a persistent cough is trying to tell you that you need to stop eating mucous-forming dairy foods, then try fasting on dairy. If chronic knee pains are begging you to lose weight, heed the warning. If high blood pressure is telling you to let go of your anger, then, honey, let it go.
I will pay close attention to what my body's trying to tell me.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Day 42
CP Time = Procrastination
CP time, or "colored people's time," is Black folk slang for tardiness. We all know people who just have to be late. Our weddings and our funerals, our parties and our beauty shop appointments all start just a beat behind the clock. Of course, people on CP time come up with all kinds of excuses to be tardy, including, "My rhythms just ain't like the white man." Please. Folks who insist on arriving late to meetings have no consideration for other people's schedules, plain and simple. Now, believe it or not, CP time has a correlation to health and fitness. Are you on CP time when it comes to putting off that eating program or that exercise routine? Good news, however. There is a cure. Put this reminder all over your house: I WILL DO IT TODAY! "It" being your healthy eating program or your exercise routine. Put reminders on your refrigerator, doors, kitchen cabinets, toilets, and bedside table. Tape it to your wallet. No more CP time for progressive Black women!
I'll just do it today!
CP time, or "colored people's time," is Black folk slang for tardiness. We all know people who just have to be late. Our weddings and our funerals, our parties and our beauty shop appointments all start just a beat behind the clock. Of course, people on CP time come up with all kinds of excuses to be tardy, including, "My rhythms just ain't like the white man." Please. Folks who insist on arriving late to meetings have no consideration for other people's schedules, plain and simple. Now, believe it or not, CP time has a correlation to health and fitness. Are you on CP time when it comes to putting off that eating program or that exercise routine? Good news, however. There is a cure. Put this reminder all over your house: I WILL DO IT TODAY! "It" being your healthy eating program or your exercise routine. Put reminders on your refrigerator, doors, kitchen cabinets, toilets, and bedside table. Tape it to your wallet. No more CP time for progressive Black women!
I'll just do it today!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Day 41
We must heal our watermelon shame.
Back in the days when it was okay to make blatant, cruel fun of Black folks, we used to see images of ourselves grinning from ear to ear, eating fat, juicy slices of watermelon. This image was so cruelly used that today, when many of us see a watermelon, we go running in the opposite direction. Especially those among us who have achieved a level of economic status: "Watermelon? I eat kiwi and cantaloupe." How many of us have choked on watermelon? There's some deep collective pain there. This fruit is a symbol of this country's disrespect and mistreatment of us. It's too bad that the image-makers didn't pair us up with greasy fried chicken or coffee cake. Now that would have been a real public service. Those foods have done real damage to our hearts and thighs. And we would have been left in peace to eat our vitamin C-packed, nonfat, colon-cleansing watermelons.
I don't give a damn, I'll make my own rules!
Back in the days when it was okay to make blatant, cruel fun of Black folks, we used to see images of ourselves grinning from ear to ear, eating fat, juicy slices of watermelon. This image was so cruelly used that today, when many of us see a watermelon, we go running in the opposite direction. Especially those among us who have achieved a level of economic status: "Watermelon? I eat kiwi and cantaloupe." How many of us have choked on watermelon? There's some deep collective pain there. This fruit is a symbol of this country's disrespect and mistreatment of us. It's too bad that the image-makers didn't pair us up with greasy fried chicken or coffee cake. Now that would have been a real public service. Those foods have done real damage to our hearts and thighs. And we would have been left in peace to eat our vitamin C-packed, nonfat, colon-cleansing watermelons.
I don't give a damn, I'll make my own rules!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Day 40
We be cool.--Gwendolyn Brooks
Black folks created "cool." Cool is so cool they named a cigarette after it. Black men's cool stares at you from icy, unblinking eyes that say, "I don't care." A Black woman's cool is simmering, with a hotbed of anger lurking just beneath. Her name is Sapphire. This Black woman wears a suit of armor that no one can penetrate. She goes off on folks like a firecracker and brags about it afterward. Truth is, Sapphire's shield is up because she is scared stiff of being hurt. She won't let anyone get close to her. Some of the toughest Sapphires around are overweight, using their weight as a shield. Like the Black man's machismo, Sapphire is a front for insecurity. At some point she must relinquish her simmering cool for real feelings.
Self-love cancels out all fear. Today I will allow my natural, smiling woman to shine through.
Black folks created "cool." Cool is so cool they named a cigarette after it. Black men's cool stares at you from icy, unblinking eyes that say, "I don't care." A Black woman's cool is simmering, with a hotbed of anger lurking just beneath. Her name is Sapphire. This Black woman wears a suit of armor that no one can penetrate. She goes off on folks like a firecracker and brags about it afterward. Truth is, Sapphire's shield is up because she is scared stiff of being hurt. She won't let anyone get close to her. Some of the toughest Sapphires around are overweight, using their weight as a shield. Like the Black man's machismo, Sapphire is a front for insecurity. At some point she must relinquish her simmering cool for real feelings.
Self-love cancels out all fear. Today I will allow my natural, smiling woman to shine through.
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