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.

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

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.

What are you worth?

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, 'Who would like this $20 bill?'

Hand s started going up.

He said, 'I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, 'Who still wants it?'

Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, 'What if I do this?' And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. 'Now, who still wants it?'

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our live s comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special. Don't EVER forget it.

Source: Unknown

For more cool stuff go to HeyUGLY.org

Advice to hold on to your self-esteem while dieting

Remind yourself every single day that your outward appearance is irrelevant to who you are inside. Think about what you would say to a close friend if she were overweight and feeling badly about herself. Giving yourself credit for what you accomplish each day-even running errands-can boost your mood, make you feel better about yourself and help keep your difficulty with weight in perspective. Judith Beck, author of The Beck Diet Solution Parade-May 11,'08

For more cool info go to HeyUGLY.org