Putting off Life Until You've Lost Some WeightWritten by Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP
I can't do that Until I Lose This Weight!If you don't enjoy life you've got because you think you don't look good in shorts or you can't bring yourself to wear a bathing suit, you're doing nothing more than wasting your life for nothing. Maybe you don't look like a bathing beauty but who does? I've heard so many people tell me that they would give anything to be at a weight they once were, but when questioned they almost always say, "Now that I think about it, I thought I was fat back then too," but guess what? They weren't. Those same people are sometimes shocked to see photos of themselves as a teenager or young adult; "Why I wasn't fat at all," they'll say. Where do these fears originate except within our minds, and that makes me wonder - is this another way of brain to try to keep us from taking steps necessary to affect change? Remember, your brain will do what it can to keep things way they are, at least at first, so crazy notions about future may be clouding your judgment. It's unlikely you'll hear someone on their death bed say, "If only I'd spent more hours at job," but more likely they'll say, "I wish I'd spent more time with my family." Go ahead and spend that time now, doing what you love, being with people you enjoy. If you like being outdoors, be outdoors. Do you love water but you haven't been in a pool for 20 years because you think you look awful in a swimming suit? Who cares? Go swimming, today, tomorrow, or next week. Just go. It's Not Always About Us Think about this: Sally cannot stand to go out because she doesn't want anyone to see her in a size 22 dress. She's embarrassed and too self consciousness, so she doesn't date. On her way to work one day she has to stop and buy some stamps. John passes her on street on his way to Post Office, but she didn't see him because she was looking at her shoes and feeling bad for herself. As John is walking toward Post Office he's thinking about how he wants to workout at gym but he can't seem to get himself started. After all, "Everyone will notice me and make fun of me." Mary, clerk is wearing a dress that no longer fits because she's lost 25 lbs. yet she can't bring herself to buy new clothes because of, "What people might think." She's lost in her thoughts and almost gives John wrong change, which he hardly notices because he's thinking about gym and horror of everyone noticing him and pointing.
| | What You Should Know About Genetically Modified FoodWritten by Jarba
Americans are either bravest or most stupid people in world - they have no scruples against being human guinea-pigs to genetically modified food industry which promotes GM foods with very few credible studies on safety. Aided by government support, up to 60% of processed food in this country contains genetic modified ingredients, which European and South American and many Asian countries have banned from human consumption. And since GM foods are labeled as such in this country, you can be sure majority of foods on your dinner table are genetically modified, as long as you are not taking conscious effort to avoid them. To highlight how brave we are, recently an African country has rejected food aid from US because it contains GM corn. Many scientists are seriously concerned about risk GM foods pose to our health and environment. First, no credible research is available to prove safety of GM foods. The few independent studies conducted so far have instead raised alarm - young rats being fed with GM foods showed hazardous effects in their stomachs. Other studies suggest that bacteria of vital importance to human body can be contaminated by genes infused in GM food. Some genes are feared to have long term serious and irreversible effects on our health system, either by themselves or their mutations. Second, genetically modified food is detrimental to our environment. The pollution of other plants by GM crop seeds in Thailand test fields demonstrates that transgenic contamination is unavoidable and hence probability of creating super-strong plant species which can overtake native ones is high, thus destroying biodiversity of local environment. These "superweeds" have already started to emerge in various parts of Canada, which is one of many reasons that Europeans have steadfastly resisted importation of American "contaminated" food. As shown by a recent case where a Canadian farmer found that artificially introduced genes showed up in his supposedly organic crops, contamination will, in long run, destroy organic foods by depriving them of their purity. The issue of GM food safety has crossed border of scientific debate and into political arena, due to our government's evident partiality towards GM companies. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA), supposedly regulatory body advocating for consumer safety, approved GM foods on a "substantial equivalence" approach which assumes foods are safe, as long as products can be vaguely defined as "substantially equivalent" to their traditional counterparts. As it said, "the FDA has not found it necessary to conduct comprehensive scientific reviews of foods derived from bioengineered plants'. The GM propponents' arguement that GM food is safe, based on there's no obvious ill effects detected in 1bn consumers since its first introduction in 1996, is utterly lame and irresponsible, considering how poorly we understand this new technology and normally health issues develop over a long period.
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