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 “Weight where you are the healthiest and happiest”
I was talking to my wife this morning about me losing a little more weight. Rebecca asked me to think back and ask myself what was the weight I felt the healthiest and most comfortable with myself and to make that my ideal weight and try to attain it. After reflecting for a few moments, I had my answer and responded to Rebecca. It was when I weighed 7 lbs and 11 oz. Anochi afar v’efer. In Hebrew this means, “I am but dust and ashes.” Seems to be a less than perky reminder about the inevitable, I know, but it does offer supportive wisdom actually. In the Jewish spiritual tradition of Mussar (the Hebrew word for ethics), the soulful human trait of humility plays a fundamental role in a life of balance. To realize that each of us no matter our accomplishments, inevitably become part of the physical earth, is humbling. Given the truth of this ultimate reality, how can any of us believe we are inferior to others, or superior? Anochi afar v’efer, it’s a perspective grabber, and a cool equalizer. This raises a significant question about what it means to be human in the time we have. How do we strive to fill in the time between life and, ahem, the alternative? How do we make our lives meaningful even in the mundane? How is one’s “mundane” existence actually not inferior to someone else’s life of adventure, leadership, intellectual contribution? We think of all kinds of answers here, or maybe we don’t even know where to begin.
The mastery of something refers to the inner realm, the part of us expressed through the soul traits we are all born with but that each of us have in varying degrees of development and measure: humility, patience, gratitude, compassion, order, equanimity, honor, simplicity, enthusiasm, silence, generosity, truth, moderation, loving-kindness, responsibility, trust, faith, yirah (awe of God). Read the rest of… The next “Big Idea”
The most brilliant solutions are usually the most obvious. Mine is no exception. After you hear it, you will want to kick yourself for not thinking of it yourself. I believe that given the extent of our national debt coupled with individual’s lack of retirement savings and the disappointing failure of multitasking to allow us to complete all of our errands and “action items” each day in our frantic wireless world that never turns off, we need a solution that is bold and “out of the box” — a “game changer,” if you will. Here’s my idea to solve all these problems. It’s this generation’s Star Wars Missile Defense System. Only better. We must use our best and brightest scientific minds to get an extension, as it were—via Mother Nature. We need to slow the rate at which the Earth rotates. Not a lot. Just a little—so that it is barely noticeable after the first month or two (like in the 1970s when the speed limit was dropped to 55 mph to reduce our national usage of and reliance on foreign oil. Car pooling helped to.)
Will it work? I think the Japanese are already doing this and having quantifiable success. Retirement savings are up and cavities are down, per capita We need to “catch up” and we aren’t able to “speed up” any more. Slowing the Earth to lengthen our calendars is the only thing that makes sense. Who doesn’t love that feeling of getting an extra week to finish an major assignment you are behind on or moving a conference call you aren’t prepared for to the following week? This solution would do that for everything! If this doesn’t work, the federal government will be left with no choice but to require the only beverage served in the US to be Red Bull–to speed us up artificially. And not only would that not work since most of us are already hopped up on caffeine, but drinking that much Red Bull daily is really bad for our teeth and causes gingivitis. This “game changer” solution just makes good common sense! Not to mention political, economic , and dental sense. Its brilliant but not a panacea. We should still encourage car pooling too. It can’t hurt.
My always sharply-dressed and well-coiffed friend was visiting town last weekend, and both his Mint Tingle Facial Masque and his hair product were commandeered by airline security. So he asked me for a recommendation as to what he should buy to tide his hair over while here. After busting on him for being such a product junkie, I told him – and now I’ll tell you – about my go-to hair product: Kusco-Murphy Lavender Hair Cream. While in all cases one size doesn’t fit all, I’ve seen it work nicely on a variety of hair types, and that’s why I recommend it. Its texture and weight are perfect, as it’s neither too greasy like some of the heavy waxes out there for guys, nor too sticky like the silicone-based anti-frizz products. Also, it’s not a gel, so your hair actually looks like hair, not a gravity-defying “blowout” like DJ Pauly D’s signature ‘do from Jersey Shore (check out this amusing video tutorial of him demoing his hair styling technique: “I’m just rubbing the gel around the perimeter”…wha? If your hair has a perimeter, we need to talk. See my Services page.). Anyway, back to Kusco-Murphy’s lavender goodness.
Check it out, and let me know what you think! From time to time I experience what most writers call, “writers block.” It is a mythical place where all my thoughts are blocked and my creative juices are shunted. But at last I am back in the saddle and ready to voice my fitness voice to the masses. This could be scary. Anyways, I left you all with the first entry (of a two part series) on juicing titled I Got the Juice. In this masterpiece of blogging I discussed the benefits of adding juicing to your diet and all the positive effects it could have. NOW, I would like to take it a step further and write about the ingredients and what they do and how they benefit us as a human species. Boom! Here we go…
Common Juice Ingredients: Vegetables (organic) Fruits (Organic) Herbs and Spices Vegetables: Kale Kale is a nutrient dense food that packs a high amount of nutrition to it. Considered a “super food” Kale supplies only 36 calories per cup of juice. Kale is rich source of Lutein, a cartotenoid and phytonutrient which acts as an antioxidant and blocks potential damage to the human body from ultraviolent rays. Kale also packs a punch with fat soluble vitamins, A and K as well as water soluble vitamin C. Read the rest of… Thought for the day:Today I am going to have an attitude like the stick figures who work for the “Life is Good” clothing line.They always seem so happy and grateful –like they are having a good day.Not all day.
Because it gets old being line that all the time.And, frankly, the overly-pleasant skinny skinny stick people get on your nerves after a while. It’s like being around a bunch of people who just discovered Prozac or something.
It’s not real.But for this morning , I am going to be like a “Life is Good” stick person.
Dear Readers, I continue to be awed and amazed by compassionate teen girls who support and help empower their younger "sisters". A few years ago, some of the wise teens in Lexington wrote an inspiring book designed to empower girls and their moms. The sentiments and guidance about healthy body image, self-esteem, and mom/daughter communication continue to be a household staple of support and wisdom for many families today. Our little grass-roots effort to help others is always blooming new little buds; we are now funding eating disorders therapy for girls whose parents can't afford it. 100% of funds collected from sales of our book this season will help make this happen! Please buy our book and join a community of people who also want self-esteem and health for the girls in their lives. Even if you don't know a girl to give this book to, someone you know knows one, your local library would like one, your dentist's sister's daughter would love one! From all of us at G.R!, Mail a check for $28 ($3 of this will cover the cost of shipping) to
Girls Rock! Inc “I Can’t Squat.” If there are any trainers that read my rants you can sympathize with me on the following statement made by a client, “My doctor told me not to squat.” Oh he did, did he? Well isn’t that great, what in the world am I going to do to strengthen your legs? Hold up! Do me a favor and get up and down from that chair. So you know what I am getting at. There are some uneducated people out there that tell patients to stay away from certain activities, not realizing that those activities could potentially help the situation. I’ve incurred this situation several times in the 10 years I have been a trainer, nothing surprises me.
The squat is the most basic, primal movement that humans do. We squat when we get in and out of a car, we squat when we get up and down from a chair and when we have to go to the bathroom (#2 for men and always for women) we squat. So how on earth could someone tell me that I can’t squat? Most doctors are not as educated on fitness and it impacts the body, so its easy to tell people what to stay away from. If you have a bum knee its probably not wise to load a bar up with 300 lbs and go at it. But what doesn’t make sense is why you wouldn’t perform the movement at all, without weight. Read the rest of… Josh Bowen, The Recovering Politician‘s resident fitness expert — and The RP‘s personal trainer — was quoted in this Sunday’s New York Times Style section, in an article entitled “Fitness Playgrounds Grow as Machines Go”:
Click here to read the entire article.  Emily (left) & Maggie She was tall and thin with short brown hair reaching just to her ears, and she had the prettiest hazel eyes I had ever seen. “Hi,” she said “I’m Maggie!” My nine year-old self was quite astounded by her excitement and outgoing personality. That summer was spent playing in the pool and running around our beloved camp. That was the beginning of many summers spent together. As each summer passed, we only grew closer. Maggie’s hair turned long, and her previously tall stature became short when she stopped growing; but her fun and crazy personality never changed. I remember the last summer I spent with her. Despite her frequent panic attacks, she was always entertaining. We joked about boys and sang our favorite show tunes louder than ever. It was our last year as campers, and we wanted to make the most of it. When it was time to say goodbye, we cried; but we knew we’d talk on the phone and see each other soon. “I love you,” I said. A few months later when my boyfriend cheated on me, I called her crying. “He’s not worth it,” she said to me. “You’re beautiful and wonderful, and he doesn’t know what he’s missing.” “I love you,” I said. That spring we were reunited at a youth group convention. We stayed up all night joking and laughing and making prank calls. I can still hear her loud contagious giggle echoing through the room. I felt just like camp. When we finished laughing she said to me, “I tried to kill myself this year.” I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. “I love you,” was all I could say. We lost touch after that. Maggie lost touch with all of us. On January 17, 2012, I got a text from my friend. “ I need to tell you something.” “Is everything okay?” “Just meet me after class.” Something felt terribly wrong, so right as the bell rang I ran to my friend. Her eyes were puffy. Her face was red. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s Maggie,” she choked “she overdosed.” My heart stopped. “Well is she okay? Is she in the hospital? Can we call her?” “No, she died this morning.” I cried all night. The funeral was heartbreaking. There were so many people there. She had so many friends. She was so loved. “How could you leave us?” I thought. “How could you do this to all these people?” It took me a while to understand why she did what she did. She was in so much pain. While I wish more than anything that she were still here, I’m glad she’s not still in pain. I wish we had stayed in touch. I wish I could call her. I wish I could say, “I love you,” one last time. |
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