Thursday, May 24, 2012

My Get Healthy Eating Plan | Serving Joyfully

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I am not on a diet.? I am retraining myself to be healthy.? When I reach a healthy weight, I may have to add some calories to stabilize, but I hope to have a foundation of healthy eating principles.? I don?t want food to rule my life.? I don?t want to obsess over junk foods and binge, or to analyze everything I eat and count calories.? I want to get the principles of eating healthy and think about food less.

I?ve already shared that I don?t eat ?diet? foods.? So, what do I eat? You can see my family?s weekly meal plans here to get an idea.? There is also a great book out called the Mayo Clinic Diet that sets forth some principles (no calorie counting!), but here are some general guidelines I try to follow:

Small meals throughout the day.

When I first started trying to eat better, snacks were the enemy and my goal initially was to cut out all snacks.? After eating better foods and burning 200-300 extra calories each day through working out, I realized I need to refuel more often.? I eat when I?m hungry, usually 3 meals + 2-3 healthy snacks each day, for a total of 1400-1500 calories, which is the goal set for me by My Fitness Pal.? My snacks are like small meals in most cases, peanut butter and crackers, bean dip with cheese and tortilla chips, tuna salad with crackers, fruit with cheese and crackers, etc.? I try to balance carbs and protein in my snacks.? My snacks are not cookies, cakes, candy bars, etc.

Bye-Bye Sugary Treats

For now, I am mostly avoiding junk food.? I might eat a homemade cookie 1-2 days a week, or a small handful (literally 6 pieces, 21 calories) of regular m&m?s now and then, but for the most part I steer clear of junk food and drink mostly water.? I realized I need to be eating things that are nourishing and not harmful. ?(Yeah, I know?what a concept!)? If you?re finding it difficult to count calories and give up the junk food, there is also the concept of 80/20, which in simplistic form says that if you eat healthy 80% of the time, you can splurge the other 20%.? I don?t splurge that much, but this is a good guide if you?re just starting out.

The Quarters method.

Before I started trying to be healthier, I was eating completely out of proportion.? My average meal was 60% carbs/starches, 20% meat, and 20% veggies.? Now, I?m trying to retrain myself, through following the plate method.? Though I have seen this recommended for diabetics, it seems to be a good healthy standard for everyone.? Separate your plate into quarters, ? should be lean meat, ? should be starch/carb, and the remaining ? should be veggies.? I have cut out the bread from most meals, which is huge for me.? You can see from my menus that I?m not diligent about this, but it?s the goal and I have found that I feel better when I follow this guide.

Make smarter choices.

This is really a no-brainer, but here?s the deal, if you are on a ?diet? and feeling deprived, you?re probably eating the wrong foods.? If you eat healthy (low-calorie) foods, you can eat more of them and still feel satisfied.? If you eat junky food, you get much less of it, which is going to mess with your blood sugar, and leave you hungry.? Not only is a more balanced meal better for me, but I feel better when eating it.

A part of this for me means no eating out.? An average meal out for me carries 1,200-1,500 calories.? An average meal at home is more like 300-500 calories.?

Eat ?whole? foods

No, my family doesn?t eat all organic foods, or even all whole foods.? However, we do try to eat more whole foods and less processed foods.? Less processed foods mean less unnatural chemicals and substances entering your body.? More natural foods are a good thing!? PS? if you?re just trying to figure all this out few, easy to pronounce ingredients is usually a good indicator of?better?foods.? The ingredients of real butter:? sweet cream, salt?go look at the ingredients on a container of margarine.

I am NOT a nutritionist; this is just what I have found to work for me.? Please consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise plan.

*********************************************************

Now for the numbers:

Weight Goals:
Heaviest Weight:
201.8 (I am 5?6?, so this put me in the category of being medically OBESE)
Current Weight: 181.8 (down?20 lbs!)
Next Milestone: 170
Final Goal: 135 (Healthy weight for my height is 115-145)

(also check out: Weight Loss Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well)

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'Dancing with the Stars': Who Won the Mirror Ball?

Find out which stars were sent home and who is taking home the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy!

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mawq3y News ? Health Insurance Quotes For the Sensible

A complete insurance profile is one where just about all financial contingencies in an individual?s life are adequately included. This should not be difficult presently and age as soon as virtually all companies currently have online presence where customers can get residence, auto, life, along with health insurance quotes. The most common insurance plan products that are given focus on are home and also auto insurance products, for the reason that they are required by federal and state regulatory agencies together with financial institutions. What people normally take for granted is to produce provisions for their existence and Individual Health Insurance. These a couple of protection products should round up the basic insurance policies portfolio of an inexperienced ? unit connected investment trust solutions and endowments may be added in by those with a little more extra money to spare. At the very least, every cash flow earner should be able to purchase life insurance to cover whatever debt he might leave behind in the event he passes away prematurely. What is perhaps given the minimum attention is the dependence on health insurance.

People conisder that there is really no need for health insurance especially if many people see themselves since healthy and not virtually in any danger of having sick. The truth is that will illness and car accident, just like death, can certainly strike anyone at any time. The only difference is the fact there are actually ways through which illness can be prevented. And that is through normal medical check-ups and program treatments done inside the best possible time frame ? steps that are not typically taken due to personal and time considerations. A wise person might see the prudence within taking out a health insurance plan. Especially for people with family members who definitely are dependent on them, it?d serve as a huge monetary safety net to have medical insurance coverage. Health insurance quotes would show that the amount of premiums charged are approach below the kind of fiscal benefits that the proper health insurance coverage can provide to their insured members.
Since health insurance products have higher availment premiums than life insurance products, the difference between the costs and the total number of benefits are not as far apart. Nevertheless, the savings usually are substantial enough so it will be wise for anyone to think about health insurance quotes. Those who perhaps do not see any possibility of them getting really ill in the near future may opt to ask for Cheap Health Insurance for a high allowable policy that could help save them money in terms of premiums. Those, on the other hand, with specific problems that they already want to get treatment for would do well that has a health insurance discount greeting card where they can take pleasure in the ?group? discounts offered by specialists and pharmacies exclusively for members of particular medical care insurance networks.

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Healthy marriage interventions: A boom or a bust?

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2012) ? Conventional wisdom, backed by years of research, suggests that healthy marriages equals a healthy society. And politicians and government officials have taken note, investing hundreds of millions of dollars each year in education programs designed to promote healthy marriages, focusing specifically on poor couples and couples of color. Is it working? No, says a Binghamton University researcher in a new study published in the current issue of American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association. And it's because many of these programs were based on research data gathered from White and middle-class marriages, and when applied to poor couples or couples of color, just don't work.

"Initially, the rationale for these programs came from policy makers and scholars, who honed in on the association between unmarried parents and poverty that is plainly obvious in the data," said Matthew D. Johnson, associate professor of psychology at Binghamton University. "This association led George W. Bush to make the promotion of healthy marriages a central plank of his domestic policy agenda, resulting in the implementation of the Healthy Marriage Initiatives. Barack Obama endorsed these initiatives, both as presidential candidate and as president. Now that the data on the success of these programs has started to roll in, the results have been very disappointing."

According to Johnson, the problem lies in the fact that many of these programs lack grounding in solid science and are allowed to run unchecked. He cites research from two recent multisite studies as evidence that many of the federal programs that promote healthy marriage need to be suspended -- or at the very least, overhauled. One of these studies, which was focused on over 5,000 couples in eight cities, examined the benefits of interventions designed to improve the relationships of low-income, unmarried couples who were either pregnant or recently had their first child.

The results indicated that the interventions had no effect in six of the cities, small beneficial effects in one city, and small detrimental effects in another city. The results of the other outcome study focused on 5,395 low-income married couples and found that those who received the intervention experienced very small improvements in relationship satisfaction, communication, and psychological health but no significant changes in relationship dissolution or cooperative parenting. And to add to it, the interventions didn't come cheap, costing on average around $9,100 per couple.

So why the disconnect between a seemingly good idea and disappointing program outcomes? Johnson says there are several possible explanations. The best of these programs -- the ones based on scientific findings -- were initially studied with middle-class couples while the federal initiatives target poor couples. And even if the research that formed the basis of these interventions does apply, relationship improvement just doesn't seem to be a priority for poor couples.

"There is evidence that suggests poor women want to be married and understand the benefits of healthy marriages," said Johnson. "But earning enough for basic household expenses, keeping their children safe and working with their children's overburdened schools are much more urgent concerns, making the idea of focusing on marriage seem self-indulgent if not irrelevant to many poor parents. When faced with a myriad of social issues, building intimate relationships is just not high on their priority lists."

Johnson explains that this doesn't mean the federal government shouldn't be funding intimate relationship research. Instead, the government needs to adopt a more multifaceted approach: focus on programs that will ease the stress of poor families and at the same time, fund more rigorous basic research.

"We just don't have solid predictors for relationship satisfaction for poor couple and couple of color, let alone whether the current marriage models apply," said Johnson. He points to the National Institutes of Health as being the perfect place to coordinate and sponsor the research, noting "It has a long history of using scientific rigor in decision-making and it would certainly help in achieving the type of results that we're looking for from these initiatives."

Johnson also suggests that every community-based program funded by the Health Marriage Initiative should be required to gather standardized quantitative data in order to clearly demonstrate outcomes. And if the data shows programs aren't working, Johnson recommends that the federal government get tough and either defund or filter out those that do not demonstrate effectiveness.

"If we are going to continue these initiatives, let's at least make certain that we are assessing the effectiveness of the programs and learning from our mistakes," said Johnson. "Improving marriages is a worthy goal and one shared by Democrat and Republican administrations alike. The key now is to get that same bipartisan support for improving the research and programs that target poor couples. With the renewed focus on the federal budget, the timing is just right."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Binghamton University, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Johnson, Matthew D. Healthy marriage initiatives: On the need for empiricism in policy implementation. American Psychologist, 2012 [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Koubachi WiFi Plant Sensor takes your cactii's temperature, sends it to your iPhone

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Plants, like pets, need to be constantly cared for, but not everyone's blessed with the requisite green thumb. So, for those of you imbued with what we'll call the bad, brown touch, Swiss outfit Koubachi's got a cloud-based solution to sidestep those negligent ways and keep your window garden thriving. Dubbed the WiFi Plant Sensor, this wireless peripheral nestles into the soil of any potted flora or fauna, sending relevant vitality data off to the company's servers where it's then analyzed and beamed back to your handset (via iPhone app) or online account with care instructions in tow. You'll have to cough up £99 (about $156 USD) for the currently available European-only, golf club-like device, but that's about all -- access to the company's apps and services are free for users. So, if you've been dying to pull back the curtain on the secret life of plants or just sick of shelling out to replace your withering window collection, hit up the source below to get your order on. Official presser after the break.

Continue reading Koubachi WiFi Plant Sensor takes your cactii's temperature, sends it to your iPhone

Koubachi WiFi Plant Sensor takes your cactii's temperature, sends it to your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Social Media Strategy for Social Customer Service Success | Blake ...

social networking amoung people1 333x250 Social Media Strategy for Social Customer Service SuccessWhile many companies are sold on the idea, they also recognise the importance of getting their social media outreach strategy just right in order to make the most of the huge opportunities it presents.

Savvy companies are looking at how they can extend the opportunity that social media presents to other parts of the business. The contact centre, for example, is seen as the heartbeat of many businesses? customer service function and, today, plays a vital role in establishing not just communication, but also a dialogue, with consumers.

Ensure seamless communications

The most successful social media strategies are those that ensure all communications are seamless whether it involves reaching out, or responding, to consumers. When a new social media promotion is created, for example, the marketing department takes on the role of pushing valuable information to consumers. But it is the contact centre that picks up where the marketing department leaves off, responding to customer?s tweets, posts, blogs, messages and comments about whatever is being proactively communicated. Success lies where these two functions work in harmony and respect one another?s significance.

Communicate between departments

With good intra-company communication and team-work, there is a huge opportunity for a social media strategy to work across the entire business and bring significant benefits in terms of positive brand recognition and excellent customer service.

Assign communications responsibilities

Creating a social media strategy and policy that works for both the contact centre and the marketing department is essential. Both sides of the business have an equally important role to play. No one knows better than the contact centre manager that social media is not just about positive proactive outreach driven by the organisation. Social media is about reacting to customer queries, and even complaints, using the same method of communication that the customer has chosen to use.

Share social media best practice

Equally important is to get together and share best practice. Only by understanding the outcomes that the sales and marketing team want can the contact centre manager ensure that expectations are set in terms of what his team is equipped to deliver. Proactively tell the marketing department about the social media capability you already have (and haven?t) ? don?t wait to be asked.

Consider the costs of implementing a social media strategy

Social media outreach can be expensive. For example customers tweet and post twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.? It?s worth considering whether your contact centre is equipped to resource this level of activity and if not, what do you need to service these customers and how can you share the expense.

Inform senior management

It?s also wise to keep senior management and the board of directors informed of what is happening with the social media strategy ? you want them to be aware of the impact on the contact centre as well as on other parts of the organisation. They also need to know what social media success will look like across the company. Or conversely, the negative impact it can have on perception and even share price if it is not executed properly.

Social media is blurring the edges between sales, marketing, customer service and other corporate departments and many organisations could be better prepared for this when they first launch their social media programme. Developing a coherent programme that works well requires inter-departmental collaboration. If done well it can result in valuable customer insights, marketing lift and ultimately improved ROI.

Author:?Natalie Keightley?

Source: Call Centre UK:?http://www.callcentre.co.uk/page.cfm/Action=library/libID=1/listID=24/libEntryID=4219

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