What's the scoop on cat litter helping you lose weight

The other day I bought some cat litter at the store. The 28lb Scoop Away was on sale so I decided to scoop up two. As I lifted these heavy vessels into my shopping cart I thought to myself - wow this is really heavy. Then I thought how grateful I was that I didn't have to carry that heavy container around with me because I had a cart. Then I thought ... wait a minute - how much extra weight am I carrying around on my bones. I did a quick calculation and I thought - 'darn, I am carrying the equivalent of this container of cat litter around with me. It made me take a minute and actually pick up another container of the litter and just hold it so I could fully understand the sense of what the extra weight on me must feel like to my body.

So, the next time you are in the grocery store, take a visit to the pet section and pick up a container of cat litter and just let it sink in about what the stress of carrying around that much weight can do to your body. No wonder our backs, knees, ankles and feet sometimes hurt. Remember that the next time you reach for seconds or think you'll take on pass on exercising.

Let's get to be that "size healthy" Queen Latifah talks about and make ourselves a little litter, er... lighter.

Having an exercise buddy helps you stay on track

I don't know about you, but I do better when I have someone that I have to be accountable to. I have been looking for someone who wants to be a "size healthy" as Queen Latifah says and I finally found someone. His name is Richard and he just had by-pass surgery. Part of his rehabilitation is the need to exercise. He lives about 2 hours away so we email each other daily to report our exercise progress. Some days we have to report that, alas, we did not get in the desired workout/s. BUT, there are other days, like yesterday, when I heard from Richard that he walked 4 additional blocks because he knew he had to report to me. Being accountable to me was his incentive as is my committment to report to him is my incentive.

So, find someone who can either work out with you or who will be your email buddy. Someone that you can check in with on a daily basis. It really helps. Since I started this email program with Richard I have only missed one day of exercising. How cool is that??!!!

Soothe Your Inner Child

When I was a kid my mom used to tell me ... "Don't eat that it will make you FAT." So when everyone left the table I shoved as much of "that" as I could down my throat. I was being defiant. I was about 12 years old at the time. So, that 12 year-old is still inside of me and still defiant. I think that "inner child" thinks she will die if I stop eating the foods that are making me unhealthy.

In Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power Of Now, he writes that our constantly chatty mind - which blares things from our past and fears about the future - is scared of our being "In The MOMENT" because, to "be in the moment" means death to the mind chatter.

Similarly our inner child is scared too and she/he only feels safe when she's making us eat defiantly. So how to we help our inner child know that she won't die? It is our job to soothe that inner child and let she/he'll know that they won't die if we resist eating defiantly. Let that inner child know that the food cravings and unhealthy face stuffing is unhealthy for us and that it is time for him/her to relax and be loved by us. They can be free and once they experience that love and peace and freedom they will feel calm and wonderful. Keep soothing them because they really do feel like they will die if you resist that addiction to food.

Whitney Thompson says flaws are what makes her different

I've learned to take my flaws and [realize] they're what make me different. I've got my mom's thighs, you know? Southern! My mom has big thighs; my grandmama has big thighs. God forbid I look like every other robot-cookie-cutter girl out there! You're going to find someone who loves your gian nose or thinks your skinny arms are great!

I think one of the things that really helped me most in middle school and high school as cutting tags out of my pants--that way, other girls couldn't say anything. When someone goes, "What size are those?" you can look and say, "I don't know." Wear what fits-it doesn't matter what the number is. Seventeen Magazine July '08

Alicia Keys on Perfection

I have definitely been over accommodating. It gets to the point where I'm not taking a second to ask, How am I feeling today? We have to listen to our feelings. But a lot of times you ignore them. You're busy, you're in school, you're working, trying to get into college, to make you mom happy, to be the best student you can be, to make your friends like you, to fit in. You don't want to disappoint anyone. But at some point you have to say, Enough! I can't be perfect.

A lot of times you don't really say what you mean because you're like, I don't want to hurt their feelings. I don't want to make them feel bad. But sometimes you have to just say, "I'm sorry if this hurts you. I'm not trying to hurt you, but this is what I feel." I've also worked on becoming more independent-becoming more selfish. Not selfish in a bad way; selfish in the "you need some you time" way.

I think at one time I was so bent on being just one way that I didn't allow myself to explore the many ways I can be or express myself. I've learned to embrace the many sides of myself. And there are so many sides to who I am. I have the more delicate side. I have the rougher, tougher tomboy side. I have the bohemian, '70s retro side. I have the more glamorous side. I have the more feminine side. There are so many sides to who you are. So now I'm just so much more open to trying new things. And it feels good. Seventeen Magazine July '08

Perfection - is it possible?

We are all on this planet to be the best human beings we can be.

It's all about learning and understanding that perfection puts us in a really tight box that no one can get into.

We can't get into it because there is no such thing as perfection and, for those who think they are perfect - no one can get into their lives because that box is so tight. The box is so tight because it is constructed of fear.

Break out of any box you, or others have put you in, and be the healthiest you YOU can be.

How's your body image? Take the quiz.

In her amazing book, DEALING WITH THE STUFF THAT MAKES LIFE TOUGH, our friend, Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, M.S.W., LCSW wrote some cool stuff about body image. For over 20 years Jill has been counseling adolescent girls and young women who have eating disorders and she knows what she's talking about.

Here is an excerpt from her book:

Some people define body image as how we think and feel about our bodies, but that's only part of it. Body image is also created by what we think and feel about ourselves, how we behave, who we choose for friends, and the culture we live in. If you feel bad about yourself, you probably feel bad about your body too. Or if all your friends are dieting, you may begin to think you need to lose weight too. You may dislike your body for lots of other reasons. For one thing, magazines and other media can have a negative impact on your body image. When we look at pictures of very thin models, many of us want to lose weight immediately so we can look like them. Feeling bad about our bodies interferes with our lives. Your poor body image may make you feel awkward and self-conscious with guys. As 16-year-old Tina put it, "No guy wants a fat girl and I'm fat. I know if I start liking a guy, I'll just get rejected so why bother?" You may feel so uncomfortable about your body that you go to the beach in long shorts and a baggy T-shirt, instead of a bathing suit. When you feel dissatisfied with your body, it's important to look at your life as a whole. What else could you be unhappy about. Do you have low self-esteem? Do you exercise moderately but regularly? (Moderate-not obsessive-exercise helps you develop positive feelings about6 your body.) Are you having problems with family or friends? Are you eating healthily or loading up on junk food? Poor body image feels like it has everything to do with your body but in fact, it also has to do with how you're coping with life.

It is important to be realistic about your body compared to your body image. Here is a quiz Jill posted in her book. Let us know how you did on it and remember to love yourself and get healthy.

Do you have poor body image? Take this short quiz to see:

1. How do you feel about how you look?
a. Very good
b. OK
c. Mixed feelings
d. Bad, ashamed

2. Are you happy with your current weight?
a. Very happy
b. Happy enough
c. Somewhat unhappy
d. Very unhappy

3. Have you ever felt too fat after reading an article that reveals the body weight of a model or actress?
a. Yes
b. No

4. If you gained five pounds, you'd
a. Be OK with that-five pounds isn't a big deal
b. Feel neutral-not good or bad
c. Feel somewhat unahppy
d. Feel very upset

5. When someone says you look nice, you think:
a. I'm looking good.
b. They don't have anything else to say.
c. They're trying to make me feel good.
d. They're lying-they really think I'm gross.

Scoring: For questions 1, 2, 4 and 5, give yourself 1 point or a, 2 points for b, 3 points for c, and 4 points for d. For question 3, give yourself 1 point for a and 2 points for b. If you have a total score of 5-9, you're on the road to a good body image. Keep it up! If you scored 10-15, you may have some body image issues to work out. If you scored more than 16, you may have a poor body image.




If you're spending time worrying about how you look instead of having fun, you'll want to read PICTURE PERFECT another cool book written by Jill S. Zimmerman Rutledge. It will definitely help you feel better about your body. You can purchase PICTURE PERFECT at HeyUGLY.org. Just click on our products page. While your on the site check out all our other cool stuff to help self-esteem.