The first step on your 2013 EMOTIONAL diet plan.

As we approach the end of January 2012 and make plans about how we're going to tackle the new year, one of the biggest themes that draws attention is weight.

After partying it up with coworkers, inhaling the abundant supply of cookies and milkshakes, and savoring Mom's signature guilty pleasures, our waistlines begin to voice the need for change. And many of us answer that need with renewed focus, a new gym membership, and a commitment to a proven diet plan -- anything to lose weight.

 

Given the importance of weight in our lives, especially around the new year, I wanted to share with you its exact definition.

 

Weight: 1) "A body's relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it ... the heaviness of a person or thing"

 

As a fitness freak, this definition intrigues me -- kg's are not even mentioned! Weight is not about the scale; that's our society's interpretation. In fact, a person can be very fit and still be heavy. How? I propose the following reasoning through my definition of "emotional weight."

 

Emotional Weight: "A spirit's relative mass or the quantity of matter, the weight of words, contained by it, giving rise to a downward or upward force; the heaviness of a person or thing."

 

I see so many slim, trim people daily  that look so heavy. Yes, they are in shape, but their auras and demeanors make it seem like they have packed on an additional hundred pounds! This emotional weight can be just as alarming and detrimental as unhealthy physical weight.

 

 

A healthy person isn't weighed down by emotions. Instead, his or her true spirit shines so clear and vibrantly that the world can't help but experience it.

And how we understand, articulate, and share our spirits with the world occurs through words. Let's say I wake up in the morning and tell myself, "I wish I were different, no one understands me," or "I will only be happy when I lose weight," or "I'm so beautiful, nothing can bring me down." Before I even eat my breakfast, I've already started packing on the weight of words.

 

Over the years, we have all accumulated this emotional weight -- the weight of words -- and just like we should be aware of what we eat, we should also be aware of the exact words we digest into our spirits. One word has the power to weigh much more than that single slice of cake at the holiday party this year.

 

If we want to be healthy, fit and confident in the new year, we have to appreciate the weight of words. It requires strength and conviction to challenge the ideas of pounds, food, exercise and perfection that intermingle so seamlessly in our society. All of us will experience the ultimate weight transformation only when we start to lose this emotional weight.

 

Going on the latest diet will not necessarily help us lose physical weight, but a desire to take ownership of our lifestyle will. Similarly, going to therapy or dedicating our lives to yoga and meditation will not help us lose emotional weight, but a desire to take ownership of the words we use, have been exposed to, listen to, admire, and live by, will.

 

For most of us, hopping on a treadmill for 30 minutes is much easier than devoting 30 minutes on the phone call to our moms and owning up to the words we said to her in a fight. It requires clarity and drive to reflect on our emotional weight, and patience and accountability to understand the impact of the words and actions we live with and by. If you can start to lose the weight of words, you will lose emotional weight and be on a loving, long-lasting path to a healthy spirit.

After all, there is no perfect body, no perfect mind, and no perfect person. There is only the perfect you. Maybe you like to be pleasantly plump or maybe you like to be skinny -- none of it matters if your spirit is weighed down. Rather than chase after the subjective notions of body and mind prescribed to us, why not trim down our ideals and discover our light, beautiful, and individual spirits?

 

This New Year, let's draw needed attention to and appreciate the simplicity and significance of the weight of words. Let's gain control over our emotional waistlines and reflect on the words and sayings that weigh us down and lift us up.

 

The first step on the 2013 emotional diet plan: Connect to one word that reflects your spirit or goal this year. Look up its dictionary definition and interpret it for your life. Own and live it. Let your one word shine and serve, as your ultimate scale this year -- don't let it get weighed down by other words

Tips to improve your diet!

 

 

5 tips to improve diet now

Are you trying to be a “healthier you” in 2013 but don’t know where to start? Try putting these five tips into action, and your diet will be instantly healthier. Yes, it’s that easy.

1. If it says “whole wheat,” “whole grain,” or “multigrain” on the label, then it’s a-OK. Complex carbohydrates make you feel fuller faster and generally are a good source of fiber. Substitute whole-wheat pasta for regular pasta. Ditch the white bread for multigrain bread. Ask for your sushi to be rolled in brown rice instead of white rice. You get the idea.

2. Cut out the sugar. I think of sugar as empty calories. The sad thing is, there could be a significant amount of sugar in things you may not even think about— in your tomato sauce,Fruit such as Banana's, juice, or even your salad dressing. Before you buy it, check the nutrition label for the sugar content. Compare various brands to find the one with the least amount of sugar, and, when available, opt for products with “no sugar added” written on the label.

 

3. Just because the label says “diet,” it doesn’t mean it’s “healthy.” Diet soda is still soda, people. It doesn’t mean soda magically becomes healthy because there is fake sugar in it. If you’re thirsty, drink water. If you want caffeine, try green tea. You likely won’t be missing the diet soda once you figure out what it is you are truly craving.

4. Ditch the frozen meals and take out's. While frozen dinners  and take out's are convenient, they are usually loaded with sodium. A high amount of sodium can make your body retain water. (Bloating…gross!) Whenever possible, prepare a fresh meal instead of fishing in the freezer or ordering take out.

5. Sneak in fruits and veggies whenever possible. Making spaghetti? Throw in some broccoli. Cooking fish? Sautee some spinach on the side. Want to spice up a boring chicken salad sandwich? Throw some cauliflower in there. The possibilities are endless! Use your imagination.

and the healthiest salaad dressing is...

 

Healthiest Fats

Salad dressing is solely responsible for turning many healthy meals into unhealthy ones. While it's understandable to want more flavor on your salad, make sure you're making healthy choices when it comes to your diet.

The first tip is that healthy fats are actually a liquid at room temperature. These oily fats are much better for your heart than dressing made with mayonnaise, for example.

 

Boosting Nutrition

You can increase the nutrition value of a salad by using citrus juices instead of dressing. Add a dose of vitamin C with sweet red grapefuit or orange juice. Sweet red peppers and kiwi are both great sources of vitamin C as well!

 

Healthy and Creamy

Non-fat yogurt makes a delicious and creamy guilt-free dressing. Thin out the yogurt slightly with water or vegetable juice and pour it over your leafy dinner.

 

Fat-Free Dressings

Salad dressings that contain little to no fat are obviously better for you. The juice of watery veggies combined with herbs make for a great tasting, fat-free dressing. Making the switch to fat-free dressing will save you hundreds of calories a day.

Good Fats

The healthy fats in avocados make a nutritious, creamy dressing. The combination of low-fat buttermilk and mashed avocado packs vitamins, minerals, and good fat. Avocado lovers might even forget that regular dressing even existed!

 

Anti-Aging Options

Fight aging while dressing your salad by creating your own homemade batch. Adding a dash of turmeric to your homemade dressing introduces antioxidants that kill off free radicals, and it will give it a spicy kick!

 

Vinegar Dressings

If you have fresh herbs available, douse them in vinegar and add them to a salad for an immediate flavor boost. An even better choice is rice vinegar, which is smoother than regular vinegar. This is a much healthier option than fatty or oily substances, and a little goes a long way.

 

Fruity Dressings

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth, then color your dressing with bright fruit flavors to keep the calories low. Fruit vinegars are naturally sweet, and you'll need less oil to create a dressing. You can also use fruit juices in small amounts to add that sweet flavor.

 

Avoid Hidden Sodium

Something to watch out for is sodium. Often, the "healthy" low-fat varieties of salad dressing contain a lot of sodium. That hidden sodium adds up fast, so make sure to check nutrition labels on bottled dressing for salt content.

 

Measure, Don't Pour

One of the biggest reasons why people are getting fat off of salads is portion control. Pouring a full cup of salad dressing onto your salad might make it more fattening than a hamburger. Keep an eye on measurements. Two tablespoons of dressing is more than enough for one serving of salad.

saudi champagne

Saudi Champagne
This a very famous Saudi drink that is
soothing and refreshing esp in hot
summer days. 'Saudi' and 'Champagne' are 2 words that do not go together, but this drink is totally non-alcoholic.Ingredients

1 cup Mixture of fresh fruits(apple
with skin, Oranges skin, strawberry
and pineapple) cut into chunks.
Few mint leaves washed
500 ml (cold) apple juice
500 ml (cold)sparkling water 1 can (cold) 7 up
Lots of ice.

Method

1. Put all your fruits in a serving jug.

2. Just before serving pour in the Apple
juice, sparkling water and 7-up.

3. Decorate with mint leaves and ice and Serve chilled.

yeah baby! BIG BROWS ARE BACK!!

Clinic reports a surge in women wanting eyebrow enhancement as Duchess of Cambridge's Power Brow creates a new trend for big brows.

If ever there was a moment to embrace the Power Brow, it is now. With everyone from Chanel model of the moment Cara Delevingne to the Duchess of Cambridge rocking a heavy eyebrow, there has never been a better time to be hirsute.

But many of us sadly jumped tweezers first into the Nineties' trend for plucking our brows into tiddly tadpoles - and those few years of over-plucking are all it takes for some never to recover their brows in all their glory.

Then there are those of us born with fine or very light eyebrows - yet we all know that a good strong brow not only frames the face, but it has youthifying properties too.

Face framers: The Duchess of Cambridge's brows are always accentuated with a brown pencil, giving Kate an impressive Power Brow.

Cara Delevingne has made the most of her bushy brows - and many make-up artists at fashion shows choose to accentuate her brows even further

An over-arched, over plucked eyebrow not only dates your look - it ages you too.

That is why, reports one cosmetic enhancement clinic, the number of women seeking to enhance their brows has surged in recent months over all - and even more notably, every time the Duchess of Cambridge appears in public.

what's your take on the brows?

5 must have beauty products in your 20's

A Lipstain : Revlon Just bitten lipstain or the Body shop Lipstain As well as the new clinique Chubby stick

WHY YOU NEED IT This decade is about fresh-faced, natural beauty , The colors really pop without feeling overdone—plus they last for hours and aren’t drying.

Your Blush: In a shimmer colour from fashions houses such as mac, bobbi brown, chanel, givenchy

WHY YOU NEED IT You can still pull off shimmer in your 20s. This powder has the perfect proportion of glitter to pearly iridescence. Use an oversized powder brush and apply liberally over your foundation.

Your Skincare: Benefit Foamingly Clean Face Wash

WHAT IT IS A gentle, foaming facial cleanser benefitcosmetics.com) that whisks away makeup.

WHY YOU NEED IT “Life in your 20s may equal late nights out,” says Frieda Pinto’s skincare expert Sunday Riley, “but it’s critical to wash your face before bed, no matter how tired you are.” A gentle foaming formula is a must.

Your Hair Product: Frederic Fekkai Tousled Waves Spray

WHAT IT IS A lightweight styling spray (fekkai.com) that adds definition—not crunch.

WHY YOU NEED IT "Women in their 20s like easy, undone hair," says hairstylist Marcus Francis, who works with Hilary Duff and Evan Rachel Wood. "A few spritzes of this spray and it's like you've been at the beach all day."

the wavy undone hair look is currently my new summer do, adore it. Give it a try!

Your Fragrance: YSL

WHAT IT IS A floral oriental fragrance with playful notes of rose, a very sparkly fragrance.

WHY YOU NEED IT There's just something fun about this iridescent fragrance. It's good for dancing nights and laughing days in.

ways to say thanks, but no thanks to total diet saboteurs!

 

 

During the holiday season, food temptations are everywhere. From stuffing and pecan pies on the weekend to milkshakes and sugar cookies in December, the seasonal temptations are endless. It can be tough enough to navigate the braai buffet without having your  aunt force an extra helping of potatoes on your plate or resisting Grandma's  pleas that you take a second piece of her famous sweet dish.

Food pushers range from well-intentioned loved ones to total diet saboteurs. Regardless of their motivation, it's important to stick to your guns. You can always be honest and say that you're simply trying to eat healthier, but if that response gets ignored (or doesn't come easily), the following retorts to their food-forcing ways will keep you in control of what goes on your plate and in your mouth!

Note: These tips work year-round at birthday parties, family get-togethers and Sunday brunches with friends alike!
 

 

The Push: "It's my specialty, you have to try it!"

Your Response: "I will in a bit!"

Why It Works: Stalling is a great tactic with food pushers. Odds are the offender won't follow you around making sure you actually try the dish. If they catch up with you by the end of the party to ask what you thought, tell them that it slipped your mind but you'll be sure to try it next time.

The Push: "This [insert name of high-calorie dish] is my favorite. You'll love it!"

Your Response: "I had some already—so delicious!"

Why It Works: A white lie in this situation isn't going to hurt anybody. You'll get out of eating food you don't want or need, and the food pusher will have gotten a compliment on what probably is a delicious dish.

The Push: "It's just once a year!"

Your Response: "But I'll probably live to celebrate more holidays if I stick with my diet plan!"

Why It Works: People can sometimes see healthy eating as vain—a means to the end result of losing weight and looking better. It's harder for a food pusher to argue with you if you bring attention to the fact that you eat right and exercise for better health and a longer life. Looking good just happens to be a side effect!

The Push: "Looks like someone is obsessed with dieting…"

Your Response: "I wouldn't say obsessed, but I am conscious of what I eat."

Why It Works: Words like "food snob" or "obsessed" are pretty harsh when they're thrown around by food pushers. But don't let passive-aggressive comments like this bring you down—or make you veer away from your good eating intentions. Acknowledging your willpower and healthy food choices might influence others to be more conscious of what they eat. Sometimes you just have to combat food pushers with a little straightforward kindness.

The Push: "If you don't try my dish, I'm just going to have to force you to eat it!"

Your Response: "Sorry, but I can't eat [insert ingredient here], I have a negative reaction to it."

Why It Works: It's hard to argue with someone's personal food preferences. If someone doesn't like an ingredient whether its sweet potatoes, raisins, or butter, odds are that he or she hasn't liked it for a very long time. If you'd like to get creative with this one, go into detail about how you got sick on the ingredient as a kid or how your mom says you always threw it across the room as a baby. Who can argue with that?

The Push: "You need some meat on your bones."

Your Response: "Trust me, I'm in no danger of wasting away!"

Why It Works: This food push is definitely on the passive-aggressive side. Using humor to fight back will defuse any tension while making it clear where you stand.

The Push: "One bite isn't going to kill you."

Your Response: "I know, but once you pop you can't stop! And I'm sure it's so delicious I wouldn't be able to stop!"

Why It Works: This is another situation where humor will serve to distract the food pusher from his or her mission. It's a way to say "thanks, but no thanks" while making it clear that you're not interested in overindulging.

The Push: "But it's your favorite!"

Your Response: "I think I've overdosed on it; I just can't eat it anymore!"

Why It Works: If you have a favorite holiday dish that everyone knows you love, it can be especially tough to escape this push. If a loved one made the dish specifically for you, the guilt can be enough to push you over the edge. But people understand that food preferences change, and most have been in that situation of enjoying a dish so much that they can't touch it for awhile.

The Push: [Someone puts an extra helping on your plate without you asking.]

Your Response: Push it around with your fork like you did as a kid to make it look like you tried it.

Why It Works: While putting food on someone else's plate can be viewed as passive-aggressive, it was probably done with love. (Let's hope!) Making it look like you ate a bite or two can be an easy way out of the situation, but you can also just leave it alone and claim that you've already had your fill. (After all, you didn't add that extra helping!)


The Push: "We have so many leftovers. Take some!"

Your Response: "That's OK! Just think, you'll have your meals for tomorrow taken care of."

Why It Works: Not every party guest wants to deal with the hassle of taking food with them, and this makes it clear that you'd rather the food stay. If the host is insistent, you can feign worry that they'll go bad in the car because you're not going straight home, or it'll go bad in your fridge because you've already been given so many leftovers at other parties recently. Or be polite and take them. You'll have more control of your food intake away from the party anyway. So whether you don't eat the leftovers at all or whether you split a piece of pie with your spouse, you're in control in this situation.


These tactics can work wonders in social situations, but honesty is sometimes the best policy. A simple "No, thank you" is hard for a food pusher to beat, especially if it's repeated emphatically. Remember, too, that it's okay to have treats in moderation, so don't deprive yourself of your favorite holiday foods. Just make sure that you're the one in control of your splurges—not a friend, family member or co-worker who doesn't know your fitness and health goals!


Do you have a favorite way to say, "No, thank you," to food pushers? Share your strategies in the comments section