You and your sensual well-being

When you mention the word erotic, the first thing that spring to mind is that it is something to do with sex. So, it certainly does have a great deal to do with it, but there are many other aspects of sensuality that do not require a sexual experience.

To understand your own sensual nature can be of use not just for your sexual experiences, but also in understanding yourself as a human being.

 It is important to remember that making discoveries about your sensual and erotic feelings are for your benefit and while these discoveries may serve you well in situations involving love your focus should not be on another person when still trying to get to know yourself.

Try to keep an open mind and do not shy away from your inner most thoughts and feelings; remember that you are not trying to impress anyone, just figure out a little more about who you are.

 Once you feel relaxed and ready to devote some time to self-exploration it is time to find out what you feel about sensuality from a mental perspective.

 After taking the time to think over what this idea means to you currently you may find out a great deal more than you expected to. While a feeling of sensuality often has a lot to do with touch and the physical it often begins first in the mind. Sights, sounds and smells all play an enormous part in how you feel. The wrong surrounding can destroy this mood regardless of how interested you in a partner, or simply having fun.

Allow your body to relax and simply free float through ideas that come to you when focusing on sensuality. Practice this until you find certain ideas, images, situation, or fantasies, which allow you to openly feel sensual and maintain that feeling.

By making use of your freely sensual mind you can improve your skills at flirting and have an excellent time building toward the physical as you go.

Each individual will find many different forms of touch that may have previously gone unnoticed and have now been transformed into spots that could easily create an erotic feeling over the entire body. Knowing where and how you like to be touched is an essential for the health of your physical happiness.

Practicing this transformation and understanding how to summon this feeling will can help to improve your life in many ways. Because sensuality touches so many different areas of life, the lack of understanding or fear of such a feeling can cause great unhappiness and insecurity.

Allow yourself the freedom of being open to such feelings and find the strength to unite the mind, body, and perhaps even soul in your sensual well-being.

How to avoid sexual harassment

Another perspective on beauty

What one person considers to be beautiful may be vastly different from what another person may see as beautiful. It all depends on how we, as human beings, look at one another. If we look only with our eyes, beauty is much more elusive than if we can also examine it with our hearts and our souls.

There was a time when the curves of a woman were highly sought after, the emphasis has shifted in modern times – people tried to break  beauty down into a combination of specific physical attributes. These may include a symmetrical body, a good complexion, youthfulness, health, and vitality. Unfortunately, it has been proven that physical beauty does not ensure a beautiful spirit, and this lack can ultimately spoil the overall package.

It is true; beauty should be looked at as a combination of physical attributes, inner spirit, personality, intelligence, and heart. Such a definition would greatly expand how we view the concept of true beauty.

Unfortunately, men and women often tend to look at beauty from opposite points of view. While many might think that men would be far more critical than their female counterparts, the opposite is actually true. Women are much harsher critics when it comes to analysing their peers.

But, why is so much importance placed on physical beauty? Attractive employees often receive more promotions and raises than their less attractive counterparts; good-looking students do better in school because they can manipulate their lecturers; beautiful women entice men to do their bidding; good looking men inspire women to pick up the tab. Shameful as it may seem, physical beauty plays an important part in our everyday lives.

Beauty has become an obsession among those who do not believe that grace, charm, or personality is enough to get them the things they want out of life. Many individuals who cannot achieve the perfect look resort to other factors to sway people in their favour; they use money, power, or sexuality as a secret weapon to garner whatever they want from others. What they do not understand is that such actions actually detract from their overall physical beauty.

Beauty lies in what we can learn from one another. In that respect, everyone is beautiful.

How to deal with stress

Defining beauty

It is difficult to define beauty . . .

When a person declares what is beautiful for him or her, they reveal whom they love and how they love, and what they love to do.

Beauty reveals itself over time in relationship. The people you love are beautiful to you. Their beauty comes from their liveliness and authentic sweetness, their intention to live lives that make some sense the spirited coherence of being who they are.

When we are most alive, we are beautiful. When we are in love, we are reminded that we are beautiful. In addition, sometimes when we know we are beautiful, we find ourselves in love. "In love" usually means the romantic sense of being with one other person who in that moment we feel reflects us perfectly. In love, living in the field of love.

"Love is blind," we say, but perhaps it is more accurate to say love sees with different eyes. Love sees beyond the surface. Love opens the door for beauty. When we see with the eye, we develop the ability to refine, to judge, to discriminate. When we see with the heart, we expand the view of what it is to be human, see the common dream, see the wisdom of friends and neighbours, and see there is no separation between that which is most beautiful and the everyday world. The eye of the heart sees with a wholeness that allows imperfections and idiosyncrasies to coexist with beauty. The eye of the heart knows surface and depth are not opposites.

Beauty is a process, a revelation, not a finished state.

The bond between humans and their pets

Take control of your own romantic needs

One way to get your man in your life to take notice of the romantic you is to romance yourself. You deserve it and if he is not going to do it for you, you can do it for yourself. Start out by getting yourself into shape both physically and mentally, change what you can and want to change and learn to accept the things that cannot be changed.

Get comfortable with your naked body and decide that you want to have a great sex life. Get a makeover; change your hairstyle and even your hair colour. Go for a day at the spa. Pamper yourself.

Get moving, exercise for a strong healthy and sexy body. Take dance classes that really get you moving like a Latin or salsa class or a belly dancing class, something with moves you can use in the bedroom. Then go shopping and buy some new stylish and sexy clothing, especially sexy underwear and lingerie.

You should be becoming more confident and feeling sexy. He should start to notice the changes in you too. Maybe he will wonder what is going on. Buy yourself flowers and send yourself gifts. I hope that by now he is taking the hint and sending some of his own style of romance your way.

Never give up, make the first move with him. Most men love nothing more than having their woman desire them and come after them. Sometimes the hunter really enjoys becoming the hunted. This will surely make him take notice. Be a little aggressive with him. Take charge. He will be surprized at the new you and you’ll have him eating out of your hand.

Sometimes it is not even the man that needs prompting with the romance, it is us. We get bogged down with the kids, home, and work and forget that we are sexual creatures with needs. Our sexuality gets placed on the backburner after everything else that needs to be taken care of. By learning to romance yourself and put your needs and desires at the top of the list, romance and passion from your partner are sure to follow.

Improve your brain power

Have a workout at work

You spend one-third of your day at work, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend that time without exercise. Knowing a few simple tips will help you fill your days with efficient exercise breaks that not only keep you fit but relieve stress, too.

Anyone who has tried to start a new exercise routine knows that half the battle is just getting you to stick with it.Try these suggestions to keep yourself on track:

- Let your first step be two minutes of walking. Get off the bus one stop earlier.

- Use small holes in your schedule- between meetings or appointments, for example – to stretch your limbs or do simple exercises.

- Join a gym. Working out after work gives you an excuse to leave the office at a reasonable hour.

- When traveling on business, consider staying in hotels that have gyms.

People exercise regularly when reminded to do so. Maybe you need to find the right reminder:

§  Wear a watch with beeper.

§  Write a reminder on your desk calendar.

§  Put a note to yourself in your in-basket.

§  Ask a co-worker to remind you at a certain time.

Think of your exercise time as a break from your workday, not as a chore. The following 5 exercises outline a simple routine that you can do at your desk to stretch out those stiff muscles:

ü  Clock Stretch: This neck stretch is excellent for relieving the day’s tensions. Imagine you are facing the hands of a huge clock. Turn your head to the left to look at nine o’ clock then look to the right, to three o’clock. Look up to 12 o ‘clock and then down to six o’clock. Do the movements slowly, feeling the stretch in your neck muscles.

ü  Shoulder Shrugs: Hunch your shoulders, moving them upwards. Then rotate them forwards, down, back, and up to your ears three times.

ü  Apple Picker:  Stretch your arms as though you were picking apples from a tree. Stand or remain seated as you reach up with your left arm, then, with your right, stretching as far as you comfortably can.

ü  Shoulder Stretch:   While standing, reach behind you, grasping your hands behind your back. With your hands joined, lift them up as far as they will comfortably go. You should feel a stretch in the front of the shoulders.

ü  Simple massage: With your fingertips, massage the muscles between your shoulder blade and spine. Use firm, circular movements, paying attention to any tenderness or knots you might, feel.

When doing any of these exercises, move only as far is comfortable for you. Stop if you feel pin of great discomfort.

Any exercise counts. The benefits of simple routines, such as stretching or taking short walks, will add up when they are done often throughout the day.

How to enrich your marriage

A strong marriage will provide a refuge from the stresses of daily life. Here is some good tips to enrich your marriage:

      Do not keep your feelings to yourself. Say ‘I love you’, to your partner often.

      Make physical gestures part of your relationship. When you sit on the couch, for example, exchange hugs, hold hands and enjoy the closeness.

      Surprize your partner with little gifts that will convey the message ‘I was thinking of you today’.

      Regularly compliment your partner’s looks. Every woman wants to hear the magic words ‘you look beautiful’.

      Make your partner feel appreciated. Say ‘thank you’ for the little things he or she does for you.

      Carry a photograph of your partner in your wallet or purse. It will help you feel connected when you are apart.

Enjoy each other – marriage is a life-long journey!

Tips to deal with stress

Have a healthier sex life

The best relationships take time, patience, and commitment. This includes your sex life with your partner.

Here are some valuable thoughts on sex:

Always make some time for intimacy. Teach your children to respect your time alone when you are in your bedroom. Install a lock on the door if needed. Frequent sex may not be absolutely essential for a healthy marriage, but emotional intimacy is.

Be realistic. Too often people think that in a good relationship sexual desire should be as strong after several years as it was at the beginning. Even among happily married couples, desire will wane occasionally. However, this need not be a problem. In fact, many happily married couples find greater emotional depth and satisfaction in sex as time goes on.

Both partners should be equal active in initiating sex.

Remember; keep all your battles out of the bedroom.

Food for thought

Happiness can be thought, sought or caught, but never bought: the best way to keep happiness is to share it.

How to prevent motion sickness

The power of a positive body and mind

Perfect health depends upon a balance of the trinity ruling a body - physical, mental, emotional. You cannot run a healthy mind when you have a physical deficit. The mind governs, but the condition of the body also affects the mind.

You must recognize that harmful thought patterns – fear, hatred, anxiety, over sensitivity - originate in brain-cell starvation and bodily fatigue. Positive thinking is utterly impossible in a mind physically under par to a serious extent. If you think that food does not influence your husband’s frame of mind, try showing him that new dress before dinner! Now that you have learned your bitter lesson about food and disposition, you had better show him those new shoes after dinner!

Alternatively, take the husband, whom the doctor has put on a reducing diet. Feed him a low-calorie salad-and-fruit dinner, and a few hours later he will throw caution to the wind in favour of a Dagwood sandwich dripping with calories. A clean steak, liver, or lamb chop or other protein foods will keep your dieting husband from raiding the icebox much more than any nagging on your part.

By making certain that you eat a diet to maintain the proper chemical balance in your body, you restore your functional balance and check the effects of stress upon your system. Often, by relieving some of the physical tensions caused by hidden hunger, you can soften the inner climate in which you must do your thinking. It is much easier to enlist your conscious if it is not preoccupied with being hungry.

Stomachs constantly harassed with inferior, inadequate, and indigestible meals become touchy. So does a brain that is constantly undernourished. The brain in a tired, undernourished, and ill-cared-for body is most assuredly going to be the brain with the greatest amount of irritability.

An abused, undernourished, harassed body generally houses a mind incapable of optimum thinking and reasoning power. As the central power station of the body, the brain must be kept in top physical condition through natural means so its mental activities can be controlled. Unhealthy thought habits have a pretty hard time dwelling in a contented body.

One of the reasons that humans have advanced so much further than animals is that there is very little thinking brain in animals. The basis for their nervous control is undoubtedly autonomic or automatic. Animals breathe, digest food, perform muscular movements without thinking, and show basic emotional responses - including rage. Like humans, the animal wants to destroy anything threatening his security. The thinking portion of your brain is your cerebrum. As in animals, the basic human emotion is fear. However, pragmatic humans learn to overcome this with correct diet and positive thinking.

Hate, anxiety, and guilt are the emotions causing physical illness if the thinking brain is not allowed to keep the house in order. Positive thinking restores the criteria of normalcy out of neurotic tendencies-freeing you of physical symptoms, letting you progress unhampered by mental conflict, and giving you a satisfactory working capacity .

The positive thinker is able to love someone besides himself.  Do not confuse love with sex. Sex is love which loves to be loved, and is a subject which desires to possess the from anything which would hurt itself. It becomes incapable of understanding sacrifice. Pride and sex are psychologically inseparable.

Love can be shown in all relationships - man and wife, father and daughter, mother and son. It is self-surrender because of the nobility of the person loved. Love and humility are inseparable.

The most important factor in your personal health, happiness, and effectiveness depends on whether you can love and are loved more than you hate. When you love, you give. But when you hate, you can only deprive someone of happiness. In addition, happiness is the only thing you can give without having.

We must learn to love. We must learn it repeatedly and over again each day. In addition, we must teach it every day- in everything we do, in every contact with our fellow humans .The destroying power of hate, which no one meant to teach us, comes of itself. It is true that if we say, “I love you,” It may be received with doubt, for there are times when it is hard to believe.

However, say “I hate you,” and the one spoken to believes it instantly finally. A thousand times afterward you can say ”I love you” to that person – and mean it every time- but it still does not change the fact that once you said ”I hate you, ”and meant that, too. Hate can leave a mark on the surface that love had worn so smooth with its eternal caresses. Love must be learned, and learned repeatedly; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction but waits only to be provoked - and, when it is provoked, rips you apart. Do you want that? Is hating worth the price you must pay?

NO! Hatred expressed hurts those about you; hatred repressed creates nervousness and symptoms that can simulate almost any physical disease.

Be positive!

Danie De Villiers

Let us talk about happiness and love

Sometimes you wonder what it is that makes you feel so good. Believe it or not but one of the things that makes a person feeling good, is making someone else happy – doing something that brings a smile or a shout of pleasure to someone else’s lips.

There was the little girl who had been sitting listening to the conversations of the mother’s bridge club and after they were gone, said to her mother, “Mother let us now talk happy”!

Did you ever realize how much of your conversation – and your thinking – is taken up with harrowing tales about your annoyances, your relatives’ annoyances and tragedies, and all the annoyances that go with living with an average husband or wife, or having in a  cleaning woman, or going to work, or doing your shopping, or what not?

Many persons get themselves more and more neurotic by constantly indulging in what is often called “post –mortems”; long detailed descriptions, many times retold, of unpleasantness,  family rows, and sorrows. How much better it would be for all of us if we would always “talk happy,” and so far as possible avoid unpleasant topics. What good does it do to keep constantly going back over the stories of unhappiness?

Drain your mind of the worries, the resentments, irritations, guilt reactions, and annoyances that have collected during the day just as thoroughly as you pull the stopper in the sink.

Then you can refill it with refreshing thoughts of emotional maturity such as these:

- You are going to free yourself from fears, anxieties, and tensions.

- You find greater satisfaction in giving than in receiving.

- You will contribute to the improvement of your home, your community, your nation, and your world.

- You seek give-and-take relationships to form. You profit from your mistakes and successes.

- You use your leisure time creatively.

Recognize hate for the destructive emotional force that it is. Love is the constructive psychological force of a positive mind. Love resurrects people who have lost life while they live. It is the force that gives new hope, joy, vitality, and invincibility. Those of you who truly want a powerful new lease on life will find it possible through love and a positive mind.

Tips on how to deal with stress

The pleasures of a bath

A warm bath is a daily oasis for many people. Relaxing in a hot bath will ease the effects of tension and put you in a better state of mind to deal with your troubles.

Remember, the bath should be warm, not hot.

Some well-chosen herbs in your bathwater could make you soak even more effective. Different herbs provide subtly distinct sensations when added to bathwater. Place one type of herb or a mixture in a cloth or net bag, and then toss the bag into the bath or hang it on the tap as the bath fills. Use the guide below to help you choose:

·         Stimulating, for a refreshing early-morning bath:lovage, mint, rosemary, sage, orange, pine, thyme

·         Tranquillizing, for an end-of-the-day bath: camomile, sandalwood, lavender, marjoram, marigold, mint

·         Relief for sore muscles or joints: arnica, wintergreen, lavender

·         Relief for itchy skin: parsley, sage, rosemary, basil

·         Antidote to fatigue or stress: pine, sage, fir (plus a cup of cider vinegar)

Every few days, stay in the bath long enough to soften skin on your feet, elbows and elsewhere. Then rub those areas with a wet pumice stone or abrasive puff. After removing rough skin, rinse off and apply body lotion.

How to alleviate joint pains

Self-confidence and a Good Body Posture

A woman’s self-confidence is evident by her posture. Your posture means the way you carry yourself. Your posture is also one of the main factors which contributes to the first impression another person may form of you. Making good first impressions can be very beneficial e.g. job interviews.

When you stand tall and proud, you portray an image of self-confidence. Your posture is the way you keep body aligned with its centre of gravity. A good posture is when you have control of your body’s alignment in relation to the centre of gravity. A person with poor posture can easily be spotted; they tend to slouch with drooping shoulders and head bowed.

It is easy to improve your posture. The important thing is to remember that having correct posture requires a conscious effort and dedication. 

Here are some tips on how to acquire and maintain correct posture:

Whilst at work

• Use an ergonomic chair that fits and support your back.

• Always sit with your back against the seat,  your knees at your hip level and  your shoulders should be parallel to your hips.

• Regularly, stand up and stretch or just walk briskly down the passage and back.

Whilst carrying a bag

• Do not overload your bag and regular clean it up of unnecessary items.

• If you are using a backpack, make sure that you put the heavier items close to your back, thus providing support for your back.

• The handles and straps of your bags and backpacks should be padded and wide. In addition, backpacks should have hip straps.

Everyday Living

• As far as possible, try to avoid shoes with high heels, as high heels can alter your centre of gravity, which could result in poor posture.

• Exercise regularly, which will help the body become stronger and develop much needed support for your back.

Whilst sleeping

• As far as possible, sleep on your back or on your side.

• If you prefer sleeping on your side, place a pillow between your legs.

• Avoid any over-sized pillows, as they can result in neck injury problems or pain.

To have a good posture requires daily effort and practise. However hard it may seem, it is worth it in the long term.

Exercise your eyes!

You are Beautiful!

We all want to be beautiful. That is human nature. We constantly deal with beauty issues like what is best for our skin and what makeup is best.

However, look at yourself in the mirror and see how pretty you are, even without all the makeup, because true beauty comes from within us.

There are days where you may think that you're not very pretty because of not having a good hair day or having bags under your eyes due to lack of sufficient sleep. Sometimes those things are true, but really, no one cares if you put tons of makeup on just to cover up physical flaws because inside we are all pretty in our special way.

Always be who you are, because we all carry a unique quality and style that lies inside each of us and that is your true beauty.

Food for thought

Friendship

Friendship is a wealth, so, it should be utilized properly. It needs a commitment. To keep it fresh and sustainable we have to take some responsibilities. If anybody considers friendship as an opportunity, it will die within a short time.

Our best friend?

Women and a Balanced Diet

So what is this balanced diet? It is taking food from as many different sources as possible and eating food in its natural state - that is fresh, unprocessed and , where possible, raw. The problem is that our diets normally centre on our concentration on foods, which narrow down the spectrum of our diet and contain many foods that are unhealthy. Too many processed foods, preplaced, precooked, junk food, fast food –whatever they are, they contain too much animal fat, salt, additives and too little fibre. The food companies are now coming under pressure to reduce to salt sugar and additives in their products. This is easier to monitor with improvements in labeling.

Our methods of cooking are also hazardous to health. Frying is a common method of preparing food, adding butter to vegetables is almost a ritual, sauces are progressively richer, and creamier. So, changing to grilling food instead of frying, limiting butter on vegetables and reducing sauces instead of thickening them with butter, cream of flour would lead immediately to healthier eating. If you feel that you need the discipline of a diet programme, look at it carefully: is it too expensive? Will it fit in with your family catering? There is no point in preparing two meals and watching the others eat your favourite foods. Is the diet balanced nutritionally? Stay clear of diets that confine you to one or two foods. Nobody is meant to survive on a limited number of foodstuffs and it could throw your metabolism awry. Do you like the foods that are permitted in the diet? Are there any indulgences? You know yourself. Do you want to stretch indulgences? You know yourself. Do you want to stretch your willpower to the limit of adopt a more flexible attitude?  Your responses to these questions should help you organize a plan for reducing weight by yourself.

The Importance of Protein for the Body

Women and their eating habits

There are times in a woman’s life when she needs to take care of her diet. During adolescence, the rate of growth in a girl is second only to that infancy. Her growth spurt usually begins and ends earlier than in boys, but it is not possible to predict when it will happen.

The greatest influence on a teenager’s diet is her peer group. It is more difficult to have control over an adolescent’s choice of foods the way parents can when children are younger. Eating also becomes part of a social activity and family meals assume less importance. Most teenage girls are very concerned about their shape and weight and as many as one girl in ten may try to control her weight by some means. This usually involves excluding nutritious foods such as bread, cereal and protein and filling up on empty calories – junk food in the form of snacks and soft drinks.

In pregnancy, your body is providing nutrition for both you and your baby. There are foodstuffs that you may not be able to tolerate, particularly during the first four months. This is an important time for the baby and you need to eat well when you feel like it. The best idea is to snack often with healthy foods. That way you will not feel uncomfortable and you’ll be well fed. Your medical advisers will suggest supplements with folic acid, iron, and calcium if this is necessary. Do not take supplements unless your doctor advises.

One of the major problems for post-menopausal women is osteoporosis, which is the loss of protein from bones. Research has shown that osteoporosis can be halted (not cured) by having hormone therapy. This does not mean that every woman needs hormone therapy, but if you get aches and pains in your bones and muscles, backache and pins and needles in your hands and feet, go to your doctor to ask for a diagnosis. If your bones are beginning to look thin on X-ray, your doctor should consider hormone therapy. 

How to reduce cholesterol

Women and Vegetarianism

Many women are turning to vegetarian diets; some exclude all animal products, even dairy products, and eggs. A vegetarian diet of any kind is a healthy option but requires eating a wide variety of foods. The vital factor is to combine the vegetables with grains so that the complete protein is made up. (Animal protein contains the correct number of essential amino acids to make a complete protein; vegetable protein does not.)

Milk is a major source of vitamins and minerals so everyone on a vegetarian diet should include skimmed milk (all the goodness with none of the fat) and a great variety of plant foods - nuts, lentils, pulses, and grains. If you are a vegan and therefore taking in no animal products at all, you should supplement your diet with Vitamin B 12, which is not found in great quantity in vegetable products. In addition, calcium, iron, and Vitamin C might be in short supply. One good sensible rule is that there is no such thing as an essential food- there is always an alternative.

Delicious Egg Recipes

Be Good to Yourself

Learn to be good to yourself, develop self-acceptance, self-trust, self-respect, and self-love.

Make a list of all your achievements and successes so far in your life, believe in yourself, and know that you deserve the best. Go for every opportunity, take risks, have powerful self-belief. Reward yourself frequently and congratulate every achievement, no matter how big or small.

Be positive at all times and stay away from negative people. Negative people dilute your dreams and their negativity will rub off on you.

Recognise and respect your feelings and listen to your body and mind. Pay attention to your dreams – they are your subconscious messages. Trust your gut instincts.

Learn to say no and teach other people how to treat you. If you let others treat you badly, they will carry on. Set boundaries, be assertive, and calm. Explain to people the behaviours and languages they use are no longer acceptable.

Relax and enjoy yourself and allow good things to enter your life. Be open to new ideas. Learn from every situation.

Be happy that you are doing your best. That is all you can ever do. Do not set impossible standards. Ask for help or support if you need it.

Get rid of anything you have not worn, looked at or used in the last 12 months.

Make time to switch off. Stop thinking about work when you are at home or home when you are at work. Focus on one task at time.

Take time to sit down and eat breakfast. Write a 'to do' list for that day. Do not worry. Worrying is wasted energy.

Have a warm bath with scented oils, candles, and soft music. Nourish your mind and body.

Get enough sleep and rest. Eat well and you will be more active, feel and look much better.

Every aspect of your life will become more manageable, happier and more fulfilled.

Tips to alleviate joint pain

Women and weight loss

Permanent weight loss for most women is a slow and steady process. Give yourself a year or more to adopt new eating habits. Meanwhile, you may lower your risk of such disorders as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers.

Promise yourself that this diet will be your last. Repeated losses and gains rob your body of muscle tissue, increase your risk of disease, and contribute to the tendency to regain fat.

Evaluate whether or not you really need to lose weight. If an extra two kilograms isn’t causing or aggravating a medical condition, it may be healthier to accept yourself as you are.

Forget ideal-weight charts. Think of a weight you were able to maintain comfortably for longer than six months, and aim for that goal.

Accept the reality that body shape and size are largely determined by genetics. Try to reach the weight that’s right for you- not an idealized image - and stay there.

If you are obese, discuss a weight-loss plan with your doctor or dietician. Obesity is commonly defined as weighing more than 20 present the desired weight for someone of your height and body type. Risks include high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and other illnesses.

If you have a health problem that is caused or exacerbated by your weight, such as elevated blood cholesterol or diabetes, losing kilograms can bring significant improvements - even if you still weigh well above what is considered ideal.

Assess your potential for success in dieting. Do you recognize the need for a nutritional overhaul - not just a diet that you will abandon as soon as you’ve achieved your weight-loss goals? Can you handle the stresses at home and on the job pretty well? If you answer no to either question, consider postponing your diet.

Analyse your own needs. If you lack motivation, you may do best by joining a program that offers peer group support.

Choose a reducing programme that encourages a slow, steady loss (about half a kilogram or less a week for women, one kilogram or less weekly for men) and focuses on changing habits.

Avoid diets based on one food or food group. Be wary of any eating plan that veers to far from the food pyramid.

Recognize the signs of eating disorders. The most common are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexics starve themselves; Bulimics alternate between binge-eating and purging. The disorders often cause serious health problems, so consult a doctor if you have developed either disorder ; or both of them.

Six simple steps to better health

Motivational tips for losing weight for women

In recent years the psychological approach called behaviour modification has proved highly successful in treating eating disorders from the mild to the very serious. Because many experts believe that external stimuli, or cues in the environment trigger eating, they have focused on altering habits that are, in fact conditioned responses to false stimuli. What many people read as signals to eat are in fact symptoms - or sensations - of fatigue, depression, anxiety, boredom or tension.

The aim of behaviour modification is to teach you to recognise when you are most vulnerable to false stimuli and how to change your behaviour to thwart inappropriate responses. By attending to your patterns, your habits and your responses, you can avoid the feeling of helplessness that overtakes troubled eaters.

 The following tips should help to get you started:

- The first step is to decide you really do want to change. List the benefits you believe will result if you succeed in gaining control of your eating.

- Set realistic goals. Weight gained over 10 years cannot be lost in a week or two.

- Focus on patterns, not kilograms. You are teaching yourself new responses, not counting every bite.

- Do not collapse in guilt if you breakdown and have a chocolate biscuit. Just put away the rest.

- Keep a food diary. Be honest and precise.

- When you’ve become aware of your personal danger zones, take action to avoid them: plan ahead; change your routine; avoid temptation.

- Eat three meals a day. Do not skip. Have a good breakfast and make every meal an occasion. If you must snack, make it low-kilo-joule.

- Eat only sitting down and, when at home, in a place designated specially for eating.

- Present food attractively. Divide your meals into two or more courses, even if the second course is only coffee or tea with biscuits.

- Eat slowly. Taste your food. Put down your knife and fork after every two or three bites. Make each meal last 20 to 30 minutes.

- Never shop when you are hungry. Make a list and stick to it. Buy only what you need right now. Buy small packages, even if they are not the best bargain. Buy foods that require preparation-and enough time to think about whether you really need to eat.

- Build support for success. Educate those close to you to reinforce your efforts. But weight control and eating habits are your responsibility. Do not ask someone else to control your actions.

- Act thin. Stand erect. Walk confidently at any weight and you will look better, feel better.

- Look at yourself in the mirror once a day, but weigh yourself only every week or two. Weight fluctuates from day to day, and you could unfairly become discouraged by failure to lose or by suddenly gaining a kilogram or two.

Once you reach your desired weight or state of health, don’t revert to old habits. Remind yourself that you have accomplished something terrific. And, if you do find your weight creeping back up, start a dairy again to find out where you are having trouble.

You will have had a lot of practice running your own life by then. It should not take you long to get yourself back on the right track.

The Importance of Protein for the Body

Women and Nutrition

There is no question that we are what we eat. Good nutrition is the key to general fitness and health. Two recent surveys in Britain and Europe have agreed on what constitutes a healthy and protective diet. Primarily they suggest cutting down on fat. Fat gives us concentrated energy and any we do not use gets stored in our bodies, making us overweight. Fat is linked to heart disease because it raises levels of cholesterol in the blood, clogging the arteries, leading to heart attracts.

Sugar and salt are the other two problems. Sugar provides only empty calories, which give energy but nothing else. It also promotes tooth decay. As sugar provides no nutrients, it should be easy to cut it out, but many of us are hooked on the stuff because we have developed a sweet tooth, either in childhood or from eating commercial savoury foods, which have sugar in them to make them more appealing. Fructose, glucose, and dextrose are all forms of sugar and are not necessary to our diets.

Salt is added to most commercial foods and most cooks add it in varying amounts when cooking. We do need salt to help maintain fluid levels in our bodies but nothing like the amount we consume. Some people will suffer high blood pressure because they eat too much salt but there is no way of knowing which people, so it’s best to be spare with salt when cooking, and to avoid putting mountains of it on  the side of your plate while eating. Sea salt crystals have some minerals which iodized salt does not have, but it is still salt.

Even armed with basic information, many women find it difficult to change their eating habits, because it means a change of lifestyle. However, poor diet affects women more than men because of changes in hormone levels throughout life. For example, extra calcium is needed post-menopause since the reduction of oestrogen weakens bones.

Nutrition plan

The way to start is to familiarize yourself with the right foods and choose a programme you can cope with. Like dieting, if the plan is unrealistic from the start, willpower may not be enough. Accept your personality; some people love food and eating, others cannot be bothered, but they are expected to prepare food daily and enjoy the acclamation when family of friends comment on it. You do not have to do everything at once: choose one or two points and start with them so that you ease yourself into the new programme.

Do not:

·         Eat lots of meat

·         Use salty commercially prepared food

·         Add salt when you’re cooking

·         Buy sugar and sugar-laden foods

·         Fry your food

·         Use cream except for treats

Do: 

·         Start to read the labels on prepared foods

·         Look out for additives such as salt, sugar etc.

·         Choose and prepare whole-wheat products - bread, pasta, cakes

·         Eat potatoes in their skins

·         Cook with brown rice

·         Learn to cook with pulses and whole grains

·         Make sure  your diet contains a lot of fresh food that requires no cooking or preparation

Snacks

Many of us do not eat the three square meals a day any longer and snack instead. Look at your snacks, are they biscuits, and prepared food? If they are, substitute with fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fruit, grilled food, salads, low fat cheese, yoghurt, and wholemeal bread without lashings of butter. 

Additives

These are put into food to increase its attractiveness, taste, and shelf life. Do not get obsessive about additives; there is no evidence to suggest that you should eat none at all. Avoid products where excessive additives are used only to enhance low standard raw materials. Nutrients may be added to food. For example, margarine has added Vitamin A and D. This is good news since Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium. Added calcium to milk and the availability of milk with lower fat content means that there is now no reason for calcium deficiency.

Main constituents of our diet

Proteins are the structural material of our bodies. We need protein throughout our lives; children need protein for growth and adults need it for repair and replacement. Few people in the western world eat too little protein, and as any excess is used as energy or converted into fat, this can lead to an increase in weight.

Carbohydrates are divided into two groups: the sugars and the starches. Foods containing unrefined carbohydrate, such as potatoes and whole-wheat products, are rich in essential nutrients, including fibre, and give us energy at the same time. Sugars and refined carbohydrate, such as cream cakes, give us only energy, so overeating these and a sedentary lifestyle will cause obesity.

Fats are essential to a healthy body as fuel but again we eat too much. They are divided into two groups. Saturated fats are the ones we need to cut down on. These are contained in animal fat - meat, cream, butter and cheese - and in some vegetable products such as coconut oil and, of course, any dishes made with these ingredients. Saturated fats tend to increase the level of cholesterol in our blood and this is a factor in heart disease. The other group is the polyunsaturated fats, which are necessary for the repair of body cells. This group reduces cholesterol levels slightly. These are contained in vegetable oils, nuts, and oily fish. A good way of differentiating is to avoid those fats that turn solid when cold.

Vitamins are chemicals that help to regulate our body’s internal chemical system. Most of us obtain sufficient amounts in our daily diet. Deficiencies tend to occur only during times of ill health or changes in our metabolism, such as during pregnancy. Claims are made about using vitamins for treatment, such as reducing the severity of the symptoms of premenstrual tension syndrome and the common cold. Although none of these has received wholehearted backing from the medical profession, folic acid, one of the complex B vitamins, is given in higher doses to women who have previously had a baby with brain or neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

Minerals are essential to our metabolism in quite small amounts. Most of us get quite enough from a balanced diet. Any deficiencies are usually only a problem if, because of some intestinal disorder, we fail to absorb the mineral properly.

Many women are unaware of the basics of good nutrition, or they may follow the correct road with their children, but ignore guidelines themselves, making them vulnerable to illnesses such as diverticular disease (caused by lack of fibre), and anaemia (caused by lack of iron).

Woman to woman

Women are Wise and Wonderful Creatures!

Lord Byron, the famous poet said: “The great thing is to feel we exist, even though in pain.” Very true and applicable words!

Women have the ability to be drawn to those who are not afraid to let themselves feel, because they are swept along by the tide of enthusiasm, the zest for life, the vibrancy, and the joy. No wonder that other women will want to join you, to participate in the funny, crazy, sad and beautiful experiences of life.

Unfortunately, we can quickly get into the habit of trying to restrain our true feelings and the sad result is that we can lose touch with our own reality – we constantly try to project a ‘safe’ image – neatly packaged, antiseptic, cool, and collected.

Go and look at children – they are so beautiful because they are so alive, free spirited – they have not yet been conditioned in those often crippling adult restraints. These restraints, if exercised to the extreme, can actually close us off from life.

We as women will forever be happier with ourselves to release the abundant life within us; and we will certainly be more attractive, beautiful, and interesting to our friends, loved ones, and partners!

www.dan-the-bookkeeper.co.za

What women should know about essential oils

Essential oils can be defined in two ways: their scientific explanation is that many plants contain high concentrations of volatile oils, which give plants their distinctive flavour and aromas. These aromatic essential of volatile oils are made up from a wide variety of different chemical constituents. A single essential oil may contain as many as fifty individual ingredients, including substances such as phenol, carvacrol, linalol, and geraniol. Aroma therapists, who use essential oils for therapeutic massage, are more likely to adopt a less clinical approach when it comes to defining essential oils. They often describe them as the ‘life force’ or ‘soul’ of the plant and believe that each essential oil has different characteristics and uses. Whether you take the more pragmatic and analytical approach, or prefer to follow the folklore, there is no doubt that essential oils can be extremely useful in caring for the body and encouraging well-being.

Essential oils can be extracted from plants in two main ways - by using either steam or solvent distillation. Steam distillation involves placing the plant material in a flask, heating to a high temperature and collecting the steam. As the steam cools and turns back into water, the essential oil from the plant floats to the surface where it can be collected. Steam distillation is the best method for extracting pure essential oils and most of the expensive varieties are extracted this way. The other method of solvent extraction is faster and involves placing the plant material in a flask and mixing with a chemical solvent such as hexane. The mixture is stirred and heated to release the essential oils from the plant before the solvent is evaporated away. Solvent extraction is common in the perfume industry where natural footwear fragrances are still used by some of the more expensive scents. However, it is not the best method for producing essential oils for skincare as traces of the solvent are invariably left behind in the oil.

Technically, anything that has been produced by solvent extraction should be called ‘absolute’ and not ‘essential’ oil. Common examples of these include rose absolute of jasmine absolute, which are extremely rare to find as essential oils made by steam distillation. The main problem when buying essential oils is knowing exacyly what is inside the bottle. Always look for the words ‘pure essential oil’, on the label, which mean that the oil has not been diluted with a cheaper vegetable oil before bottling. Some oils are sold as ‘aromatherapy oils’ or ‘fragrance oils’ and should not be confused with genuine, highly concentrated essential oils. A good – quality essential oil will last long time if kept cool and dark, and most oils have many health and beauty uses. All essential oils are naturally antiseptic and many are naturally antibiotic. Some even help to boost the immune system and fight off bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.

Aromatherapy and essential oils

Aromatherapy is the art of using these essential oils mixed in a base or ‘carrier’ oil, such as almond or grape seed oil, combined with massage. Aromatherapy works by releasing the aroma of these oils into the atmosphere where they are taken up by the nerve endings in the nose and relayed to the brain. Here they can have a powerful effect on mood, emotions, and mental state. Essential or volatile oils also have a very small molecular structure enabling them to slip through the surface of the skin and end up in the blood stream. This is why the oils used on the skin in massage can be so effective in treating not oily skin complaints but also disorders as diverse as hormonal problems and cellulite. Because essential oils end up circulating in the bloodstream it is wise to use caution if using them during pregnancy. Stimulating herb and spice oils should be avoided and replaced with gentler oils such as chamomile, sandalwood, geranium, and lemon. While small amounts of any oil are quite safe, for regular use it is best to consult a professional aroma therapist for personal advice during pregnancy.

Pregnant or not, all essential oils are highly concentrated an should only ever be used in small quantities and always diluted either in a carrier oil or cream, or diffused in a warm bath. The only exceptions to this rule are when using lavender oil neat on burns, or dabbing small amounts of tea tree oil on the spots and pimples.

Essential oils to avoid during pregnancy

Aniseed, bay, basil, cassia, clary sage, cedar wood, clove, coriander, cinnamon, cypress, eucalyptus, hyssop, juniper, lemongrass, nutmeg, sage, savoury, thyme, marjoram (including sweet marjoram), myrrh, pennyroyal, pine, rosemary, sage, tansy, tea tree, wintergreen and wormwood.

Essential oils are recommended by many aroma therapists during pregnancy.

Citrus oils (e.g. mandarin, tangerine, bergamot and lemon), sandalwood, neroli, jasmine, geranium and chamomile. After the first three months, lavender rose and Melissa may also be used in moderation.

Woman to Woman

www.dan-the-bookkeeper.co.za

Shape your Body with Callisthenic Exercises

Calisthenic exercises do as much for your figure as aerobic dancing – without the risk of injuries.

Calisthenics include both isometric and isotopic exercises: In the first, you flex various sets of body muscles without contracting or relaxing them; in the second, it is the pull-up, push-up and –out contraction of various muscle sets that produce the training effects. The biggest benefit of doing your daily callisthenic dozen or half-dozen is the increase in body strength rather than improvement of cardiovascular of respiratory stamina – something running, cycling and swimming are best for.

These three sports give you twice the aerobic workout, but they neglect certain muscle groups, especially in your upper body.

An hour of calisthenics does as much to shape your figure as aerobic dancing.

The following calisthenics routine provides both isotonic and isometric fitness. Do it for 30 minutes three times a week and you will be fit for life.

All you need is a thick rug, a towel and a pair of athletic shoes. For maximum benefit, do two sets of the exercises explained below:

1. Warm-up:  Jog in place. To reap heart/lung building and calorie-burning benefits, keep it up for 12 minutes. Use music to keep going or go outside and jog a few blocks, walk a few, jog a few, walk a few. Cool down with 5 minutes of walking.

2. Firm-up: Stand about 75 cm from a sturdy table (bookcase or counter). Keep your back straight, lean forward and grasp the table top. Bend left leg at the knee and raise foot behind you. Without twisting back, lift bent left leg to side, and then slowly straighten leg. Hold for a count of two, bend knee and lower. Build up to 20. Reverse legs and repeat exercise.

3. Leg –Shaper: Lie on left side, resting on left elbow. Place right foot in front of left knee. Lift left leg 

as high possible, then lower without allowing leg to touch the ground. Build-up 20, holding the last “lift” for 10 seconds. Repeat on right side.

4. Abdomen Strengthener:  Lie on back, fingers laced behind neck, elbows out. Lift left leg straight up and raise fight leg 10 to 12 inches. Then do the ‘scissors’- alternatively raising legs, dropping  lower leg only to point that back is still flat to floor. Build up to 20 with each leg, holding the last lift 10 seconds for each leg.

5. Waist Trimmer: Lie on back with knees bent, legs slightly apart, arms at sides. Contract stomach and curl up halfway reaching to left of knees. Repeat twice. Repeat to right side. Then reach to centre for 10 seconds. Add a second set when you master this.

6. Hamstring and Across-the Chest- Stretch. Stand with feet a shoulder’s width apart, arms out to the sides. Reach right hand down and across body to outside of left calf, twisting torso and bending left knee slightly. Point left arm to ceiling.

You should feel the stretch in your straight leg and across your back. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat with the other leg. Then stand with feet slightly apart, arms at sides. Hold one end of a bath towel in each hand. Raise straight arms up, over, and behind you and hold for 30 seconds. 

Woman to Woman