In today’s New York Times’ Health section it reads:
“Nearly two-thirds of the United States population is overweight. There are many ways to determine if a person is overweight, but experts believe that a person's body mass index (BMI) is the best way to assess an adult's weight in relation to their height.
A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal.
Adults with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight. There are exceptions. For example, an athlete may have a higher BMI but not be overweight.
Adults with a BMI greater than 30 are considered obese.
Adults with a BMI greater than or equal to 40 are considered extremely obese.
Anyone more than 100 pounds overweight is considered morbidly obese.”
(If you don’t know your BMI, click here to calculate your BMI on The National Institute of Health website.)
Most likely, simply understanding your BMI won’t stop you from overeating or inspire you to exercise, but it will give you a reality check about your body if it is seriously unhealthy.
But if you find yourself in an overweight or obese category (listed above), there is one immediate little change you can make that will have a big result on your overall weight loss and health.
Eliminate processed sugar from your diet. Sugar is carbohydrate that will convert to fat for storage if you eat more than your body needs or burns. (I encourage you to do a “google” search on sugar and read for yourself the many reasons it is unhealthy for you except in very small amounts.)
Start with soda pop which is loaded with sugar. Then eliminate all processed sugars up to a maximum of 10% of your daily food intake. Concentrate on eating only natural sugars found in fruit, etc. Substitute sugar with natural and/or organic sweeteners such as honey, agave, or stevia. And drink water (instead of sugary drinks) with added lemon, cucumber, or mint leaves for a refreshing taste.
If you start with soda pop, then continue until you remove all processed sugars from your daily intake, you will see an immediate and possibly dramatic weight change in a very short time. (My husband, who was not overweight, but due to other health concerns completely eliminated sugar and white flour--another carbohydrate--from his daily food intake and lost 25 pounds in less than 3 months.)
Let me know if you're up for the Sugar-less challenge!
Be encouraged,
Becky
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
A challenge to my readers…
Anyone can change someone else’s life and make a big difference. You don’t have to be educated or trained to powerfully impact someone else’s life. You just have to make a few phone calls, ask a few questions, and be willing to spend a little time with those who are hurting.
A few years ago, I was required to read a book for a Women’s Studies course about women in prison who were abused, forgotten, and hopeless. I can honestly say that I would never have chosen to read this book, especially because it was neither an entertaining nor encouraging “read.” But it was motivating.
As a result of reading about the reality, shame, and desperation of prisoners, I determined to call one of my pastors and see if I could visit a prison. The conversation turned into a very specific idea: take a Christmas service, including one of our coolest bands, to a local county detention center. We did.
For two weeks leading up to the one-hour visit, I would choke up with tears. Having never visited a detention center prior to this occasion, I could only imagine what I would encounter. And all I could think of is being a mom in a room full of kids who were in deep trouble, whose lives were shattered, whose futures were uncertain, whose own families were possibly broken, whose parents might be in jail or drug addicts, and who had no hope. I was passionate.
I didn’t have specialized training for this visit. I didn’t have credentials. But I did have hope. And I brought it with me. Lives were changed that day, including mine. I realized that prisons and detention centers are filled with people who have lost hope, who need visitors to assure them that they can change their lives—despite their genetics or family of origin or past.
So this is my challenge to you. Make a few phone calls—this week. Find a way to visit a prison or detention center or homeless shelter during the upcoming holiday season (and beyond). Take your family members or co-workers. Take a musician or a therapy dog and goodies. Be a part of taking packages, books, food, gifts, Bibles, and a messages of hope to prisoners the homeless or the abused—young or old.
You don’t have to be trained, just willing. You don’t have to be skilled, just compassionate. You don’t have to judge the prisoner or homeless, just offer them the hope that you have in the God of the Bible who loves the lost, hurting, and downtrodden. Remember the Good News is especially Good News to the desperate.
Give a little bit of time away to those in need and I guarantee that you will see a big result!
Be encouraged,
Becky
A few years ago, I was required to read a book for a Women’s Studies course about women in prison who were abused, forgotten, and hopeless. I can honestly say that I would never have chosen to read this book, especially because it was neither an entertaining nor encouraging “read.” But it was motivating.
As a result of reading about the reality, shame, and desperation of prisoners, I determined to call one of my pastors and see if I could visit a prison. The conversation turned into a very specific idea: take a Christmas service, including one of our coolest bands, to a local county detention center. We did.
For two weeks leading up to the one-hour visit, I would choke up with tears. Having never visited a detention center prior to this occasion, I could only imagine what I would encounter. And all I could think of is being a mom in a room full of kids who were in deep trouble, whose lives were shattered, whose futures were uncertain, whose own families were possibly broken, whose parents might be in jail or drug addicts, and who had no hope. I was passionate.
I didn’t have specialized training for this visit. I didn’t have credentials. But I did have hope. And I brought it with me. Lives were changed that day, including mine. I realized that prisons and detention centers are filled with people who have lost hope, who need visitors to assure them that they can change their lives—despite their genetics or family of origin or past.
So this is my challenge to you. Make a few phone calls—this week. Find a way to visit a prison or detention center or homeless shelter during the upcoming holiday season (and beyond). Take your family members or co-workers. Take a musician or a therapy dog and goodies. Be a part of taking packages, books, food, gifts, Bibles, and a messages of hope to prisoners the homeless or the abused—young or old.
You don’t have to be trained, just willing. You don’t have to be skilled, just compassionate. You don’t have to judge the prisoner or homeless, just offer them the hope that you have in the God of the Bible who loves the lost, hurting, and downtrodden. Remember the Good News is especially Good News to the desperate.
Give a little bit of time away to those in need and I guarantee that you will see a big result!
Be encouraged,
Becky
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Another sexual assault on a college campus...
I’ve been finishing my degree online for the past few years. And because I’m part of a state university college campus, I receive daily correspondence directed to all students (traditional, commuter, and online).
This week, I received a familiar notice (i.e. this was not the first time I’d read a similar report):
The Police Department reports that a female victim was sexually
assaulted in the early hours of Saturday, October 3, 2009, by a suspect known to the victim. Sexual Assault refers to a range of crimes from unwanted or offensive sexual touching to battery,attempted rape and rape.
The email went on to include:
-- Sexual Assault is non-consensual sexual activity. No means No!
-- For any sexual activity to be consensual, it must be clearly communicated.
-- Sexual Assault includes sexual activity with a person whose judgment is substantially impaired by drugs or alcohol. Only those who are sober can give consent.
When I first returned to college in 2004 to finish my degree, I wrote a paper that included the following research:
Robert DuRant of Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2003 found that 63% of college students drink and 54% of those who drink get drunk weekly . Research and studies done by New York University Health Center report that “84-97.8% of sexual assaults are perpetrated by men known to the victim and alcohol was involved in 74% of all sexual assaults.”
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “It is estimated that 97,000 students each year are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape, that almost a third (31%) of college students meet the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse…and 6% of college students meet criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence (also referred to as alcoholism.)”
I was compelled to do this research because 30 years earlier, I had been a binge-drinking college student who was almost raped by a rugby team from another college. (I say, “almost raped,” because a few of my friends pulled the guys from the other campus off of me before it was too late.) The next morning I dropped out of college. I walked away from that traumatic event and didn’t tell anyone about it. Neither did I take any responsibility for my excessive drinking.
What was still is a deadly combination—high school and college girls who drink too much and lose control of their faculties and big, athletic, popular guys who drink and are physically stronger than the girls (they know or don’t know) at a party.
I’ve always been a crusader about alcohol abuse, especially with underage students. But when I returned to the same campus thirty years later and realized that alcohol and sexual assault are still way too common, I’ve become more and more out-spoken.
Most of all, I want to alert parents of the prevalence of alcohol abuse and sexual assault on every kind of college campus (religious, private, or state).
So, parents, I'm begging you talk with your students about these statistics. Talk about binge drinking. Ask them about their friends, their habits, and about weekend activities, friendships, and sorority or fraternity policies. Be diligent and unashamed to protect your children by talking about what you see, hear, and know is going on. And consider all of your options—same sex dorms, alcohol-free dorms, etc. Talk to the universities about how they are protecting your children and enforcing the dorm rules, and insuring your students’ safety. You can’t be over-protective in my opinion.
Students, you have to be smart. You have to stay sober in mixed company. You have to find friends and outlets for your passions that support your beliefs in faith, family, education, and the sanctity of life and marriage. Otherwise, you will become a statistic.
I encourage you to become a little part of making big changes in our culture by helping this young generation make wise decisions and live whole, healthy, and meaningful lives.
In all sincerity,
Becky
This week, I received a familiar notice (i.e. this was not the first time I’d read a similar report):
The Police Department reports that a female victim was sexually
assaulted in the early hours of Saturday, October 3, 2009, by a suspect known to the victim. Sexual Assault refers to a range of crimes from unwanted or offensive sexual touching to battery,attempted rape and rape.
The email went on to include:
-- Sexual Assault is non-consensual sexual activity. No means No!
-- For any sexual activity to be consensual, it must be clearly communicated.
-- Sexual Assault includes sexual activity with a person whose judgment is substantially impaired by drugs or alcohol. Only those who are sober can give consent.
When I first returned to college in 2004 to finish my degree, I wrote a paper that included the following research:
Robert DuRant of Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2003 found that 63% of college students drink and 54% of those who drink get drunk weekly . Research and studies done by New York University Health Center report that “84-97.8% of sexual assaults are perpetrated by men known to the victim and alcohol was involved in 74% of all sexual assaults.”
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “It is estimated that 97,000 students each year are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape, that almost a third (31%) of college students meet the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse…and 6% of college students meet criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence (also referred to as alcoholism.)”
I was compelled to do this research because 30 years earlier, I had been a binge-drinking college student who was almost raped by a rugby team from another college. (I say, “almost raped,” because a few of my friends pulled the guys from the other campus off of me before it was too late.) The next morning I dropped out of college. I walked away from that traumatic event and didn’t tell anyone about it. Neither did I take any responsibility for my excessive drinking.
What was still is a deadly combination—high school and college girls who drink too much and lose control of their faculties and big, athletic, popular guys who drink and are physically stronger than the girls (they know or don’t know) at a party.
I’ve always been a crusader about alcohol abuse, especially with underage students. But when I returned to the same campus thirty years later and realized that alcohol and sexual assault are still way too common, I’ve become more and more out-spoken.
Most of all, I want to alert parents of the prevalence of alcohol abuse and sexual assault on every kind of college campus (religious, private, or state).
So, parents, I'm begging you talk with your students about these statistics. Talk about binge drinking. Ask them about their friends, their habits, and about weekend activities, friendships, and sorority or fraternity policies. Be diligent and unashamed to protect your children by talking about what you see, hear, and know is going on. And consider all of your options—same sex dorms, alcohol-free dorms, etc. Talk to the universities about how they are protecting your children and enforcing the dorm rules, and insuring your students’ safety. You can’t be over-protective in my opinion.
Students, you have to be smart. You have to stay sober in mixed company. You have to find friends and outlets for your passions that support your beliefs in faith, family, education, and the sanctity of life and marriage. Otherwise, you will become a statistic.
I encourage you to become a little part of making big changes in our culture by helping this young generation make wise decisions and live whole, healthy, and meaningful lives.
In all sincerity,
Becky
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Splurging has Benefits!
A surprising interview with Kelli Grant from SmartMoney.com showed that splurging can have positive benefits on people who are trying to save their money during tough financial times.
So what are the secrets to a splurge that won’t “bust the bank,” overstep your boundaries, but will instead produce positive benefits for you and others?
Contributor, Kelli Grant, gave four suggestions for “beneficial” splurging that everyone can follow, especially during the upcoming holiday season:
First, splurge on a budget! It sounds like oxymoron, but it’s not. It should be no surprise that studies showed that splurging releases endorphins, initial excitement in your brain—creating a happier mood. So with that in mind, the idea of choosing an item, a trip, a gift that you KNOW will make you and/or others happy is the first step in splurging on a budget. Set your sight on a goal, shop for the best price (versus stabbing at an impulsive purchase at a higher price), and begin to save for that item or trip or gift. Your daily/weekly monetary sacrifices will have a purpose and your excitement will build until you can make the purchase. (Remember “lay away” purchases? You chose the item, it was set aside and you paid for it in increments, but only possessed the item when it was paid in full? Same concept.)
Second, seek daily impact. Splurge on something that will have lasting value to you. A beautiful piece of jewelry you only wear once will not be enjoyable over time. When you think about a splurge—for yourself or others—consider how long, how lasting, how valuable will it be? For example, a framed photo or piece of art will last a long time. A laptop computer, a briefcase, a backpack or purse has daily use and will create continual enjoyment and benefit. A “one-time-wonder” will not produce the same benefit.
Third, check your motivation for a splurge. Ask, “Why do I want it or why do I want to give it?” Is it to compete with someone? Is it to fill a need? Is it a waste of time and money? Only you can answer those questions, but if/when a splurge can leave a lasting benefit, you will enjoy the experience and the purchase much more fully. (Note: Within this informative CBS News clip, research from a Harvard study showed people were happier when spending money on others than when they spent money only on themselves.)
Finally, consider a splurge that will make memories. Examples of splurges that make memories might include family vacations or reunions with friends at a campground, birthday trips (instead of birthday gifts), smaller and intimate destination weddings, or gifts that have much thought behind them such as antique furniture, a special edition used or autographed book, a collector’s item, or a single strand pearl necklace.
Splurging without being impulsive—what a novel idea!
If you will plan your splurge by choosing something that will have a lasting benefit, shop the best price, then budget for it, save "a little change" weekly and allow each sacrifice to build with expectation for the moment of purchase, you will experience the "big result" of giving and receiving something that has lasting value without the shame of lingering guilt or debt.
Be encouraged,
Becky
So what are the secrets to a splurge that won’t “bust the bank,” overstep your boundaries, but will instead produce positive benefits for you and others?
Contributor, Kelli Grant, gave four suggestions for “beneficial” splurging that everyone can follow, especially during the upcoming holiday season:
First, splurge on a budget! It sounds like oxymoron, but it’s not. It should be no surprise that studies showed that splurging releases endorphins, initial excitement in your brain—creating a happier mood. So with that in mind, the idea of choosing an item, a trip, a gift that you KNOW will make you and/or others happy is the first step in splurging on a budget. Set your sight on a goal, shop for the best price (versus stabbing at an impulsive purchase at a higher price), and begin to save for that item or trip or gift. Your daily/weekly monetary sacrifices will have a purpose and your excitement will build until you can make the purchase. (Remember “lay away” purchases? You chose the item, it was set aside and you paid for it in increments, but only possessed the item when it was paid in full? Same concept.)
Second, seek daily impact. Splurge on something that will have lasting value to you. A beautiful piece of jewelry you only wear once will not be enjoyable over time. When you think about a splurge—for yourself or others—consider how long, how lasting, how valuable will it be? For example, a framed photo or piece of art will last a long time. A laptop computer, a briefcase, a backpack or purse has daily use and will create continual enjoyment and benefit. A “one-time-wonder” will not produce the same benefit.
Third, check your motivation for a splurge. Ask, “Why do I want it or why do I want to give it?” Is it to compete with someone? Is it to fill a need? Is it a waste of time and money? Only you can answer those questions, but if/when a splurge can leave a lasting benefit, you will enjoy the experience and the purchase much more fully. (Note: Within this informative CBS News clip, research from a Harvard study showed people were happier when spending money on others than when they spent money only on themselves.)
Finally, consider a splurge that will make memories. Examples of splurges that make memories might include family vacations or reunions with friends at a campground, birthday trips (instead of birthday gifts), smaller and intimate destination weddings, or gifts that have much thought behind them such as antique furniture, a special edition used or autographed book, a collector’s item, or a single strand pearl necklace.
Splurging without being impulsive—what a novel idea!
If you will plan your splurge by choosing something that will have a lasting benefit, shop the best price, then budget for it, save "a little change" weekly and allow each sacrifice to build with expectation for the moment of purchase, you will experience the "big result" of giving and receiving something that has lasting value without the shame of lingering guilt or debt.
Be encouraged,
Becky
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