If you do not understand racism (white supremacy) and how it works, everything else you understand will only confuse you. - Neely Fuller

We need something to clarify everything for us, because we get confused...but if we use the concept of Asili, we will understand that whatever it is they are doing, whatever terms they use, however they come at you, you need to be thinking about what? How is this going to facilitate their power and help them to dominate me? -Marimba Ani

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Food Fight 4: The Fight Plan

Food Fight #4

Every fight has basic rules. Food fights are no exception. If you wanna win, you'd better know what those rules are. First, set goals and take them in stages. Then, refine and repeat until you achieve what you seek. This is a basic fight plan.

Now for a little more detail. Unless you already have a specialized health condition that causes you to monitor certain things, you will do your health a lot of good by not obsessing on calories, fiber, starches, fats, saturated fats, good fats, cholesterol, protein, antioxidants, metabolism, dieting, etc. These self-imposed concerns are greatly minimized by eating a variety of food and getting regular activity.

A few more common obsessions are carbohydrates, sugar in fruit and fat in avocados and nuts. If it's food, eat it, especially if it comes from plants. Just make all other food (that does not come from plants) a side dish, an accent or an accessory to meals.

Eating more food means quitting non-food. If you can't quit right away, taper the unhealthy stuff out of your diet. One way could be to buy a more healthy version each time until you're strong enough to leave it alone.

Here are a couple of sites I've found useful as I continue to build my plan:

1. The World's Healthiest Foods. Also use the Food Advisor, FAQ's and search box.

2. Dherbs.com. Use the search box to learn causes and solutions to many food-related or health-related conditions such as skin, prostate, menstrual pain/cramps, insomnia, headaches, back pain, acne, weight loss, cancer, etc.

Use other websites to double-check this information if you sense the need.

The last part of the basic fight plan is to plan for the predictable. Keep healthy snacks and drinks at work. If you don't prepare your own lunch, make a list of places that sell food and use them only. Keep healthy snacks and water in your car. Certain trail mixes, nuts or fruit perhaps. This part of the plan will help you bypass the mostly fake food joints waiting at every intersection of no preparation and unable to resist temptation.

When it comes to food fights, a fight plan doesn't have to be burdensome. Be confident in your ability to create your own reality. Use what has and hasn't worked to shape your exact path to health. Do not stress trying to follow every bit of advice. Just watch what you eat, how you prepare it and what you add to it. A fight plan can be even simpler than that. Eat food and get active.

Previous Posts: Food Fight 1-3

Friday, January 29, 2010

Published in Short Humour Anthology

A previous blog post, Shopping Conspiracy & Depression has been included in the anthology, People of Few Words – Volume 2. The Short Humour Site is the publisher.

This anthology, People of Few Words - Volume 2, is available in paperback via Lulu.com. Without purchasing, you can still read Shopping Conspiracy & Depression on Writer's Whirlpool and leave comments here and on Lulu.com.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Food Fight 3: The Weigh-In

Food Fight #3

Health means so much more than just exercising or “dieting” for the purpose of losing weight.

(1) How your body exercises internally, (2) your ability to be active/exercise and (3) weight loss are significantly affected by what you eat.

Before you concern yourself with exercising and losing weight, concern yourself with eating food. Remember, “food” is good for the cells of the body. Each time you eat, a simple reminder could be: Concentrate on the weight of what is on the plate. Is your plate heavy on food or non-food?

This approach should weigh in your thoughts whenever you think about your body weight. This approach says, it's better to think about food a lot than not. Not thinking about food is pretty much the problem.

Are you getting your daily nutrient requirement from food? If not, begin the transition back to health. Start by eating more food, then increase your activity level in a week or two. Why?

As you eat more food and less non-food, your body's functioning will begin to transition also. The body and the mind will both begin to adjust as you change your eating habits. Your body will begin to detoxify and learn how to function with less and less of the addictive additives in many of the things you probably consume. If you increase your activity level and increase your food intake at the exact same time, the body and mind will also have to deal with two sets of changes at the exact same time.

Set initial goals of at least 50% improvements in both food and activity level but start with the nutrition side first. This will provide more energy and help you endure as you become more active. Use the time you don't spend being active during that first week or two, actively learning about food choices and purchasing those choices. Your pantry will help put you in position for lifestyle success.

I will let you in on more good news. Once you start eating food and committing to daily nutrition, there's no room to eat much else. There will also be less and less of a desire to eat much else. The more and more you self-educate on what eating food can do for you and what food can do for some of the things you're suffering with, you will be empowered. That alone will squash a lot of desire. What used to be tempting will begin to become sickening to the sight and smell. Once you eat, embrace and taste the natural goodness of food deep in your cells, the mind and spirit will be stimulated as well.

Your bouts with your bottom, belly and thighs is a fight that could be much easier by pigging out on nutrients. Eat a lot of food. It much easier to be active and be motivated to exercise when your cells have energy. The heavier you are on healthy eating, the lighter you will be on your feet.

Previous Posts: Food Fight: The Fight System and Food Fight: Fixing The Fight

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Food Fight: The Fight System

Food Fight #2

Last week we learned:

(1) What “food” really is.
(2) We can significantly influence our health every time we eat.

This week is about how food affects the immune system. The immune system is the second biggest item affecting our health. The first reader to respond last week referred to it. It is also mentioned most of the time when food and nutrition are discussed. It has one function. The immune system is the body's fight system.

The immune system is our defense department. Its job is to fight off non-beneficial germs. Its weapons are millions of cells. These cells need ammunition. This ammunition is energy from food. If cells don't get this energy, the immune system cannot protect us. In many instances, our health starts to slowly lose ground, so there could be a tendency to not believe this or think it's not that serious.

My immune system has been so weak and so confused for so long, I am suffering from “friendly fire.” My immune system is fighting me instead of protecting me. My immune cells are attacking my skin cells. That's like the police attacking citizens. Hmmn!

What causes an immune system to malfunction like this? Generally accepted medical professionals, their organizations and the governments in this country say they don't know. I am certain years of not giving these cells the energy they need has contributed to this infighting. I am certain years of opening my mouth and swallowing a lot of chemicals in the stuff I've eaten has messed up the mental circuitry of these already weak cells. When the mind is messed up anything can happen. My mind has been short circuited due to shortsightedness and this is what has happened. My immune system has significantly broken down. I'm reaping what I've eaten.

Whenever we eat things that contain any portion that is not food, the body still has to decide what to do with it. If we're lucky it won't be digested and will pass through the stool. If we're partially lucky, non-food is absorbed into the blood but quickly swept out through the kidneys. If we're totally unlucky, which I suspect is usually the case, the non-food chemicals use up energy, interfere with nutrients, are absorbed into the blood, are circulated to cells, are stored in cells and alter cell performance. When cell after cell after cell is interfered with and cannot do its job, chaos and confusion becomes our general health condition. Where the negative effects stop, we're the last one to know.

One more analogy: Unnecessary chemicals/drugs/poisons/toxins in our food, in our bloodstream and in our bodies are not guests we can simply and eventually get to leave. Non-food ingredients are the kind of guests who steal something or harm us every time. Once we let these known criminals in, they take, little by little. These type of guests track mud, put their feet on the furniture, do their laundry, eat our food, take stuff...you get the picture. Tell someone your guests have been robbing you, are more trouble than they're worth and have been acting this way for years. They will immediately ask who keeps inviting them and why invite criminals and good-for-nothings into your body in the first place. As we open our mouths and swallow before answering, those two seemingly small actions, will be the entire answer.

Just because we get check ups, vaccines, flu shots, wash our hands, stay home when sick, go to the doctor, take medicine, get rest, drink fluids and eat something doesn't mean we are taking care of the basics of health if what we eat is lacking the energy our cells need. We can make improvements right now by educating ourselves about food, especially nutrition and the immune system. This should help us understand how critical it is to drastically reduce eating things that work against our immune system and therefore, against our health. Since our immune system is designed to fight for us, the immediate, intelligent, life choice is to stop fighting the system.

Previous Post: Food Fight: Fixing The Fight

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Food Fight: Fixing The Fight!

Food Fight #1

Who does not want to be healthier? Since no hands went up, the next step is a firm foundation of understanding. As always, this is about sharing things I've recently learned. By reviewing some very simplified but necessary basics, we will have a better chance of winning the food fight we're personally responsible for instigating every single day.

The food fight I'm talking about is happening inside our bodies. Food is responsible for a huge part of our health. Food is not just something to put into our mouths and swallow when hungry. In its purest sense, hunger is a reminder that the cells in our bodies need energy. Food is how the energy gets into the body.

Our stomachs are the primary energy replacement storage tanks. If the food in our stomachs does not contain energy, even though our stomachs are full, there won't be enough energy to go around to the trillions of cellular mouths we have to feed. Some cells will get fed, others won't and many will be partially fed. We have over 50 trillion cells in our bodies. They are all alive and need energy to do their job. When a cell does not get the energy it needs, it becomes tired, weak and does a poor job. Sometimes it dies. The moment any cell doesn't get the energy it needs, we are one cell closer to poor health. It's that simple and that serious.

Here's the definition of food: Food is good. “Good” means it is helpful and healthful. This means that in order for food to be good it must supply the energy our cells need. Whatever we eat that does not supply energy for our cells is not food. Call it what you want but not food. Even though it's FDA approved, edible and sold in stores, if it is not helpful and healthful to our cells, it's not food and it's not good. This is why we must focus on feeding our cells and not on filling our stomachs.

Don't believe me. Do a bit of internet research. For example, apple + benefits. Do the same for doughnut, soda, juice, broccoli, coffee, hot dog, nuts, hamburger, onion and anything we put in our mouths and swallow. Once we perform some quick searches, we will notice a common theme of two words being mentioned. If anyone knows now, please mention below. Go ahead and venture a guess, otherwise we'll discuss next week.

Food is manna from heaven. This energy was placed here to help us in every aspect of living. Food is here to assist the body, the spirit and the mind. Nothing says personal growth, nature and spirituality like food. Food is a direct, daily link to living fully.

Here's how I look at it for myself. Several times a day I have a choice to continue to ignore these basic facts and keep doing as usual. If what I put in my mouth and swallow only serves to fill the stomach, it serves me right if it kills the lummox.

Here's the forgiving part. Our cells are the original “will work for food” crew. Our cells will give us back more than the energy we give them. All we have to do is help them fight their way back by giving them energy.

BTW: Why is it, in food fights, people are always throwing soft, mushy, cooked things and desserts. Why isn't anyone hurling apples, oranges, brussel sprouts, carrots, etc. Because there ain't any around! How quickly the fight would be over if there were. If fact, imagine what a cell might say if it is holding some of this energy and a bacteria, virus or renegade cell approaches. “Don't start nunthin', won't be nunthin'.”

That's how it will be inside our bodies once we start giving it weapons of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. We can fix the fight in our favor.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Ways To Avoid A Good Samaritan

When A Friend Is In Need

Adapted from a comment on Holiday Half-Stepping

I was talking to a friend I hadn't spoken to in awhile. He lost his job earlier this year and his life appears to be in shambles. He hustles constantly trying everything he knows just to make enough money to keep him and his daughter afloat. He said he gets depressed a lot, feeling his world has let him down and he has to fight to stay strong on a daily basis just to keep from ending it all. I guess there are a series of reasons why he's where he is, at this point in his life. His opinion is that a half step is better than no step at all. He feels he would be "set" if he had half of the things men his age acquire (he's 48).

The main thing here is this person's state of spirit and mind. If I were you I'd stay in frequent contact, no less than once per week, and provide positive energy to help him refocus to find that feeling of control, his centering point, his source of strength, his love for himself and his daughter, his purpose for being here and his spirit-given talents not his dollar-driven talents (what the spirit gives and what we allow to be revealed is not necessarily the same as things we're good at, have learned to do or matches the skills and abilities on our resume').

All it takes is one person to help someone. Continue to provide positive information to feed his mind and spirit. Try Job Lost? Don't Lose Spirituality.

Also, if you know anyone else who knows him, get them involved in doing real things to help him regain control such as money (if he refuses your offers tell him it's an investment of belief or a long term loan or ask if he'd do the same for you). Other ways to help are a gas card, helping with his daughter, job leads, resume' and letter writing and editing, life planning (short and long term), budgeting, etc.

If unsure what to do after listening closely, ask directly how you can help, what concerns him most and what is creating the most difficulty. Ask, be silent, wait for responses.

Being there in person can go a long way. Whenever you talk to him be sure to allow plenty of time so it doesn't feel like a drive-by discussion or a routine checkup and then you're off to live your life until the next time. Before talking to him, allow 15 minutes of silent and still transition time to start focusing on this person. By just meditating on him, the entirety of your knowledge and experience with this person can provide insight on words to say and ways to help. Have a conversation.

Lastly, relate personal stories of trying moments you've experienced or are aware of.

It will make a difference.

For further enriching energy (you decide which ones to share and when by seeking your spirit's guidance):
Torture Chambers, Freedom & Obligations
I & We Are Strong
Father May I Start Over In 2009?
What Does It Take To Live?
Personal Growth: Enjoy Monstrous Screams (This is about self doubt)
It Can Be A Wonderful Life
Opening The Gift Of Childhood
Passion – Let It Go
Inspiring Quotes
Quotes & Proverbs To Live By
Break Away, Still Away
Giving Up & Spiritual Death, inspired by Tyler Perry's movie
Positive Poems of Hope & Healing

"The Hurricane," the story of Rubin Carter is a great movie of personal triumph and friendship in dire circumstances.

Naturally, all of this cannot be accomplished in one interaction but when a friend is in need, a friend will always do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. Their need becomes yours, their emergency becomes your priority. You take their pain personally. A friend is the only cool person that exists and is the best way to avoid leaving someone's time of need up to a stranger.