Mindfulness and Mammaries: Grinning With GratitudeWritten by Maya Talisman Frost
I am truly inspired by a most mindful group of breast cancer survivors. Referring to themselves as "The Golden Mammaries", these women gather weekly to support each other, share stories, and mostly, to laugh. In their fifties and sixties, they've lived through cancer--some more than once--and they never miss their cue to grin. Picture this: white hair, no hair, carefully-coiffed hair, wigs. Pale faces, robust and beaming faces, tense and drawn faces, I'm-at-peace faces. Pink ribbons, Race For The Cure sweatshirts, designer blouses, colorful tunics. Sensible Birkenstocks, knee-high suede boots, running shoes, clogs. These women come from all walks of life, but this is one walk they share, holding hands along way and skipping whenever they get a chance. Despite scalp-scalding radiation, gut-churning chemo, hold-your-breath biopsies, painful surgeries, and unspeakable fear, "Golden Mammaries" are riding high. They know what really matters, and they laugh their heads off at everything else. There's a trick they use to keep things light. Whenever they hear word "memory", they mentally replace it with "mammary". So, if they hear someone say, "I have many happy memories" they would simply change that to "I have many happy mammaries." It has a way of making you grin. Happy mammaries? Now, there's a perky mental image! Think of a pair of smiley faces. How uplifting! Sad memories? Sad mammaries. Droopy. Down-turned. Moping. Losing your memory? Losing your mammary. Heck, many of these women have lost their mammaries--and all have lost good friends. If they can laugh about this, it should be a piece of cake for rest of us!
| | Are Your Kids Sabotaging Your Weight Loss?Written by Kim Beardsmore
If you are a mom at home on a diet, you will probably related to a frequent situation I encounter as a weight loss consultant. Many of my clients with children are able to keep to a healthy eating plan through most circumstances except two. It all starts to go astray when kids come home from school, or when they are preparing school lunches.It's no surprise really. Kids love snacks we buy from supermarket, and parents love them because they are quick and easy to throw into lunchbox or for kids to grab from shelves in pantry. Small bags of chips, tasty bite size crackers, sodas and like. No problem. Except when it comes to mom's weight loss program. Mom loves them too! These products are high in fat, high in energy and high in refined sugars. And after one, two or three nibbles it is possible to wrack up an unwanted 500 calories. This single act will probably stall your weight loss or even worse! To stop your kids from sabotaging your weight loss efforts, here are 20 snack ideas for kids that will do far less damage to your weight loss program if mom nibbles (just a little). 1.Chop up ½ tinned pear or other fruit in natural juice and set in 200mls of low calorie jelly. Make up into individual disposable plastic containers with lids. 2.Cut up crisp vegetable sticks with dipping sauce - ranch, peanut (satay), sweet chili or tomato. 3.Cut celery sticks 6-8 cm, fill with cottage cheese and top with sultanas or chopped nuts. 4.Combine a mixture of low fat hard cheese cubes, nuts and dried fruits in plastic wrap or a lunch bag. 5.Roll up thin slices of carrot and celery with grated cheese in a slice of cold meat. Secure with toothpick. Slice carrot and celery with a vegetable peeler for really thin slices. 6.Cut oranges into quarters and freeze on trays. Put into plastic bags for a fruity ice block. 7.Meatball surprise. Next time you are making meatloaf, double quantity and make a batch of meatballs. These are great in lunchboxes cold. Add a slice of pineapple with a toothpick to each meatball. Add dipping tomato sauce if required.
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