Poor ole' feet.
They're at the bottom. All that impact, every day...all that upright energy draining down into them...just look at the noble way they carry you across this earth your whole lifetime, and still, hardly anyone seems to truly appreciate the beautiful, complex structure of their feet.
Your feet are like the high-pressured iron core beneath the molten rock and magma of your body, far below the crust at the surface with all it's pretty landscape and wonderous resources. They were made for the job, and sadly, might be pretty beaten down by the job. So lowly and underrated. What about the proper care and keeping of your feet?
It's no wonder so many people like pampered footsie things like rubs and pedicures. Think about that: pedi = of the feet and cure = fix or heal. It's no surprise Jesus fell for the lady who bathed his feet and visa versa. Of course business girls in short skirts and long jackets like to kick off those pumps at the end of the day and have someone bring them a nice foot pillow and some peppermint oil.
You've got 20 muscles in just one foot! 1/4 of ALL the bones in your entire body are in your feet! Yet, I find that most people will walk around with a certain amount of foot pain and/or podiatric problems their entire adult life, as if it's normal, and never even think seriously about doing something to correct it, until it's practically debilitating. Why is this?
I dunno. Probably because your feet might keep functioning even under extreme duress. If you're losing your eyesight, eventually you can't read or drive so you have to go get your eyes checked and you have to get your vision corrected. With feet, not so dire, maybe. People have really curly toes and overlapping ones, too, bones that stick out and rub against their shoes, nerves that are compressed and send zinging pain up from between the toe bone...and they kinda just live with that. Corns and calluses are self-treated and regularly messed up--but, in comparison to the eyesight analogy, I guess you can only squint for so long? So the feet lose out. No wonder that little piggy cried all the way home. Your feet deserve more.
Pick Your Piggies
There really is a trickle up effect when it comes to toes, ankles, gait, knees, hips and posture, and they all affect balance and physical performance. (Not to mention, quality of life!) But a lot of people are so very quick to dismiss the idea of doing foot exercises, or seeing a foot specialist, or even using a foot spa. It all seems so indulgent. You'll put conditioner in your hair everyday and go get it trimmed, even colored, several times a year (hair which feels no pain in its disrepair), but won't bother to bend over and pumice those heels, or perhaps have those fallen arches checked out by a foot doctor at least once this year.
Now this isn't meant to be a lecture to make you look down at your feet and feel bad for overlooking them. (Although, you might, because maybe you've been ignoring the amazing feats of the feet and spending way more time on body parts closer to your field of vision.) Instead, this is meant to remind you (and me! I'm not big on foot care myself) that we can easily get into the habit of acknowledging how our feet handle all the pavement they've covered for us. A little extra massage here and there, put your feet up once in a while, and how about investing a couple of shoe inserts if you need them?
YOUR SHOES. Rid your life of all toxic footwear. We shall NOT wear uncomfortable shoes! Period. If you use fitness shoes for anything from running to tennis to Zumba, get good ones that feel supportive, but not like cement. If you work out regularly, you'll probably need a pair at least every year, every 6 months if you're putting a lot of miles on.
Also, if you're not actively stretching and strengthening your feet doing things like walking around barefoot and tippy-toeing and flexing them back once in a while, why not start now? Foot therapy is simple and it can happen when you're sitting down doing other things like watching TV or getting out of bed slowly on Sunday or taking a nice warm bath.
So there you go. It's time to pick your feet. But don't pick your toenails because you might get an ingrown one and those really hurt. They get infected easily and you should really have a professional deal with them. Also don't pick your feet as a nervous habit at, like, a barbecue. It's gross. This Little Piggy had Roast Beef is just a figure of speech.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Non-Fat Half Calf, Please
While thighs are such a thunderous concern for some, the lower level leg love is really lacking for others. The bottom line is this: there's only so much you can do if you're going to focus on your calves. Go ahead, pick calves as your one thing, though. Because mostly, after the basics, you're going to need to learn to appreciate them for all that they are.
For example, they are almost always on duty. They are built that way, to hold you up all day long. Your calves are the direct conduit for whatever ideas your feet have about travelling you around. But, like Popeye, they are what they are and that's all what they are. You've inherited most of your calf qualities already. Yes, you can affect them with diet and exercise. A little. But if you want to wear the tall black boot and can't get the dang zipper up past your soleus no matter how hard you try, I gotta tell ya', you may have to just rock the pumps and strappy sandals in this life instead.
Here's an article overview that answers the calf reduction (or calf-building, if you turn the info. around) question in a pretty straightforward way. It's on eHow, written by me.
Calf Reduction
For example, they are almost always on duty. They are built that way, to hold you up all day long. Your calves are the direct conduit for whatever ideas your feet have about travelling you around. But, like Popeye, they are what they are and that's all what they are. You've inherited most of your calf qualities already. Yes, you can affect them with diet and exercise. A little. But if you want to wear the tall black boot and can't get the dang zipper up past your soleus no matter how hard you try, I gotta tell ya', you may have to just rock the pumps and strappy sandals in this life instead.
Here's an article overview that answers the calf reduction (or calf-building, if you turn the info. around) question in a pretty straightforward way. It's on eHow, written by me.
Calf Reduction
Monday, May 17, 2010
Thigh Me to the Moon
It was the core, or center of the body, that received the nickname "powerhouse" from good ole’ Joseph Pilates, guru of the gut. I’ve often thought if the abs, back and butt are the powerhouse, then we should recognize the thighs as the workhorse of the body, and give them their proper respect.
Women often hate their thighs. Especially women with bigger thighs. Even women with lovely average-sized thighs will tend to find something lacking in their legs—they wish they were longer, thinner, more defined, tanner, smoother, etc.
Men often love women’s thighs. In my experience they aren’t nearly as picky about them as most women are. Many men like a meatier thigh shape, a thigh with curving lines. Some men love “legs up to here” and other men just like legs, period, for their function--all those places they can reach, move and wrap.
Men seem to be somewhat attached to the appearance of their own thighs, often wishing they weren’t skinny (if they are). But it’s not nearly as profound of a thigh-rant as many women go on. Women also seem to be fond of men’s thighs, ranking them as a very appealing body part when well-developed. We might find even more women envying a man's thighs when they are on a beautiful drag show Cher or Tina. “Look at those legs. Those are perfect thighs. It’s not fair!”
Well, it might not be fair but it is what it is. Thighs of every shape and size all around you, and as for yours, with all they do for you, you really should love them up a little more.
Pick One Thing: Your Thighs
Thighs are the home for the two largest, strongest, heaviest bones in your body, your right and left femur. Femurs are the connection between your lower and upper halves, so you figure, they better be made to last. If you don’t have a femur then you don’t have use of a leg. Think of it this way: a replacement leg is now made of titanium, the space age metal with the highest weight-to-strength ratio of any metal. Now that’s an important limb. Proud. Precious.
The muscles of your thighs are a rail system of propulsion for you. Which way would you like to go? You’ve got more than a dozen muscles in your upper leg to help you get anywhere you’d like. Some of them are rope-like long extenders, some of them thicker braids of stony strength. Forward, backward, to the outside, to the inside. Bend, reach, jump, land, kick, squat, lunge, get up from a chair or into a car, jitterbug or pirouette, ski, skate or do the splits….there’s gonna be some thigh in there somewhere.
Want to know the best way to take care of your thighs? Exercise them and feed them. Attend to both muscles and bones. You need some light impact from things as simple as walking or doing step aerobics. Make sure you’re consuming enough bone-building minerals like calcium and magnesium. Strength will come from doing many of the movements I listed in the previous paragraph. If you can’t squat big, that’s okay, do some knee bends. Dig a garden and keep it free of weeds. If you can’t ski, that’s okay, hike. Walk up the stairs sideways.
If you happen to lift weights, your thighs have it made in the shade. They have a chance to really respond. If you’re a skinny-legged soul trying to build more size, work that barbell with low reps and heavy weights. Ask the best-looking legs at the gym what the routine is and you’ll usually find out that it’s tough work, but pretty simple. For power, add some plyometrics, which are jumping/explosive movements. If you’re a mighty-thighed wonder wishing to be a bit more willowy, try dancing. Dancing moves you on various planes at various speeds with gravity as your resistance, and of course your own body weight. Plyometrics are built right in, and stretching too. All good for thighs.
If you’re currently losing body fat, give your thighs some time to catch up if they need it. They tend to be one of those stubborn areas that like to be their own deciders. They might be last in line when it comes to letting go of stored energy. After all, your thighs were made to move you. They might feel it’s still their duty to keep some energy at the ready should you really need to run. You know, like you used to, from the saber tooth or the charging rival tribe or the avalanche or whatever.
Whatever the size and shape your thighs, it is useful to remember their value to the survival of our species above all else. Without the heritage of thigh genetics that has been passed on to you, your ancestors wouldn’t have been able to escape the dangers presented them, or move on to the making of more ancestors, which became successful generation after generation of the very thighs that have miraculously led to yours. Don’t hate on your thighs. Thank them. In fact, if you can, call someone over on to your lap right now, to pay homage.
Women often hate their thighs. Especially women with bigger thighs. Even women with lovely average-sized thighs will tend to find something lacking in their legs—they wish they were longer, thinner, more defined, tanner, smoother, etc.
Men often love women’s thighs. In my experience they aren’t nearly as picky about them as most women are. Many men like a meatier thigh shape, a thigh with curving lines. Some men love “legs up to here” and other men just like legs, period, for their function--all those places they can reach, move and wrap.
Men seem to be somewhat attached to the appearance of their own thighs, often wishing they weren’t skinny (if they are). But it’s not nearly as profound of a thigh-rant as many women go on. Women also seem to be fond of men’s thighs, ranking them as a very appealing body part when well-developed. We might find even more women envying a man's thighs when they are on a beautiful drag show Cher or Tina. “Look at those legs. Those are perfect thighs. It’s not fair!”
Well, it might not be fair but it is what it is. Thighs of every shape and size all around you, and as for yours, with all they do for you, you really should love them up a little more.
Pick One Thing: Your Thighs
Thighs are the home for the two largest, strongest, heaviest bones in your body, your right and left femur. Femurs are the connection between your lower and upper halves, so you figure, they better be made to last. If you don’t have a femur then you don’t have use of a leg. Think of it this way: a replacement leg is now made of titanium, the space age metal with the highest weight-to-strength ratio of any metal. Now that’s an important limb. Proud. Precious.
The muscles of your thighs are a rail system of propulsion for you. Which way would you like to go? You’ve got more than a dozen muscles in your upper leg to help you get anywhere you’d like. Some of them are rope-like long extenders, some of them thicker braids of stony strength. Forward, backward, to the outside, to the inside. Bend, reach, jump, land, kick, squat, lunge, get up from a chair or into a car, jitterbug or pirouette, ski, skate or do the splits….there’s gonna be some thigh in there somewhere.
Want to know the best way to take care of your thighs? Exercise them and feed them. Attend to both muscles and bones. You need some light impact from things as simple as walking or doing step aerobics. Make sure you’re consuming enough bone-building minerals like calcium and magnesium. Strength will come from doing many of the movements I listed in the previous paragraph. If you can’t squat big, that’s okay, do some knee bends. Dig a garden and keep it free of weeds. If you can’t ski, that’s okay, hike. Walk up the stairs sideways.
If you happen to lift weights, your thighs have it made in the shade. They have a chance to really respond. If you’re a skinny-legged soul trying to build more size, work that barbell with low reps and heavy weights. Ask the best-looking legs at the gym what the routine is and you’ll usually find out that it’s tough work, but pretty simple. For power, add some plyometrics, which are jumping/explosive movements. If you’re a mighty-thighed wonder wishing to be a bit more willowy, try dancing. Dancing moves you on various planes at various speeds with gravity as your resistance, and of course your own body weight. Plyometrics are built right in, and stretching too. All good for thighs.
If you’re currently losing body fat, give your thighs some time to catch up if they need it. They tend to be one of those stubborn areas that like to be their own deciders. They might be last in line when it comes to letting go of stored energy. After all, your thighs were made to move you. They might feel it’s still their duty to keep some energy at the ready should you really need to run. You know, like you used to, from the saber tooth or the charging rival tribe or the avalanche or whatever.
Whatever the size and shape your thighs, it is useful to remember their value to the survival of our species above all else. Without the heritage of thigh genetics that has been passed on to you, your ancestors wouldn’t have been able to escape the dangers presented them, or move on to the making of more ancestors, which became successful generation after generation of the very thighs that have miraculously led to yours. Don’t hate on your thighs. Thank them. In fact, if you can, call someone over on to your lap right now, to pay homage.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Kick One Thing
I realize this is a little different concept than Pick One Thing. If you've read anything I've ever written about NOT making New Year Resolutions, then you might even say this is contradictory to my previously touted philosophy. I've been saying for years we should evolve instead of resolve each year. We should become a better/happier/more knowledgeable/more capable version of ourselves instead of setting ourselves up for what often ends up being failure. I feel that way because a resolution isn't fluid, it tends to exist outside of you, it doesn't necessarily grow you. Instead of resolving to do this or that, or to stop doing this or that, you can make a goal of growth or revision or refinement. That helps you evolve.
So, kicking a habit seems a lot like a resolution. It can be, but in this case, it's not. Remember, we're talking about ridding one's lifestyle from a dominant vice. When we were last reviewing the subject, we learned that a major vice hurts you or takes away from your other priorities. Biting your nails is a habit you might like to kick. If you aspire to be a hand model, then it's probably an Alpha Vice.
If we're going to oust our Alpha Vice, it does involve kicking a habit, yes--but it's more than that. When you kick a habit, the process is usually one that requires awareness and dedication to the cause; the consequences are usually some sort of withdrawal, plus feelings of loss or even fear of change. When you challenge and replace your Alpha Vice, the process demands you stand up for yourself and fight for your best interests. The consequences mean you'll think, act and live differently. Your consequences will all end up tremendous and positive, though. Because the coup returns so much to you, including power you gave to your Alpha Vice.
Whether it's sugar or fast food or chocolate or junk food...smokes or booze or some other drug you feel you can chase out of town without professional intervention...shopping or cheating or tanning or plastic surgery or insecurities or perfectionism or sitting on your butt too much of each day...whatever it is, if you want it gone, it might not easy, but here are some excellent methods to help you overthrow the choices you have made that have overstayed their welcome or overstepped your originally intended boundaries.
1. Find the emotion in your reason for doing this, now. It won't work unless you believe it's worth it--not just in your head but in your heart. Human behavior tends to boil down to two motivators: avoiding pain and gaining pleasure. What is the pain today, and/or what will it be as time goes on, in your Alpha Vice behavior? What pleasure will be yours when it changes? What will you gain that could literally choke you up? More years with your children? Money to enjoy a special activity you once loved but had to give up?
What pain will you remove? The stigma attached to your vice and thus to you? The sickness of hiding something away from those you love? Hours of wasted time each week?
2. Don't do it alone. So many people don't tell others when they embark on a personal journey to leave something behind. I recommend you tell EVERYONE. Don't be sorry, just be true. Family first, including kids and spouse and siblings and even your parents. Everyone at work, at school, at church, and the neighbors, too. Invest a little bit of every single one of your interactions and relationships into your quest. Bring everyone with you--not just for support and not just for watchdog accountability, but also for true lifestyle change.
People in your environment are a big part of your environment. All around you, you should see, hear and feel your new version of yourself (sans Alpha Vice) reflected. You'll also get help. Possibly even annoyed. Oh well. It won't be annoying anymore once you get to a certain new stage. The one where the former vice has faded and simply isn't all that much of a hot topic.
3. Add desirable new behaviors to replace the old. And if a new Alpha rises to power, it should not be a vice. It should be a grace. When you add to your graces and charms, it makes the things you did before that weren't good for you seem so much less appealing now.
4. Identify and address triggers. What sets you off? Avoiding triggers isn't always possible, but expecting them and knowing what works for you at those times is very helpful. A journal can be useful in the identification process. Practice may be needed to learn what works for you when presented with a wooing from your Alpha Vice. If you do succumb to a trigger, you need to remember that it only means you learned something: what not to do. Good for you. Now carry on. Recover and shine.
5. Impose conflicting new behaviors on yourself to compete with your former controlling vice. This can be anything from going for a quick jog to see your friend instead of smoking, to eating a pickle instead of the daily donut at work, or brushing your teeth instead of lecturing your kid.
6. Reward yourself and make it good. Ousting the Alpha Vice is hard work. You'll reap plenty from what you sow, but an extra nudge along the way can work wonders. Each week you keep the vice at bay could buy you a new book or CD, or take you out to breakfast with the kids on the weekend, or earn you a hot bath with no interruptions. Each month, make it bigger. At the end of 3 months, boy oh boy, you deserve sumthin' real good. Spa day? New tree for the yard? New outfit, with accessories to match? It's up to you.
7. Know when you need more help. This is important. If you struggle with addiction, or have been self-sabotaging for the long term, or are dealing with psychological or personality disorder, or anything that you just can't get rid of on your own (so far) please get professional help! How do you know that's what you need? No reward seems great enough, nothing seems strong enough to combat your attachment and attraction, triggers are everywhere and you can't escape them, no new behavior can compete with the ruling power, or you have no support and no accountability and no one you feel you can tell.
You choose your life. If your life can move forward without some big vice that's holding you back, imagine how freeing that is. Imagine how your relationships--with yourself and others--can deepen and grow. Imagine how much pain you'll avoid and how much pleasure you'll gain. Imagine how great you will feel and how refreshing that will be. If you go ahead and give up One Thing, the very best thing you have to Kick from now on, is simply your own butt.
So, kicking a habit seems a lot like a resolution. It can be, but in this case, it's not. Remember, we're talking about ridding one's lifestyle from a dominant vice. When we were last reviewing the subject, we learned that a major vice hurts you or takes away from your other priorities. Biting your nails is a habit you might like to kick. If you aspire to be a hand model, then it's probably an Alpha Vice.
If we're going to oust our Alpha Vice, it does involve kicking a habit, yes--but it's more than that. When you kick a habit, the process is usually one that requires awareness and dedication to the cause; the consequences are usually some sort of withdrawal, plus feelings of loss or even fear of change. When you challenge and replace your Alpha Vice, the process demands you stand up for yourself and fight for your best interests. The consequences mean you'll think, act and live differently. Your consequences will all end up tremendous and positive, though. Because the coup returns so much to you, including power you gave to your Alpha Vice.
Whether it's sugar or fast food or chocolate or junk food...smokes or booze or some other drug you feel you can chase out of town without professional intervention...shopping or cheating or tanning or plastic surgery or insecurities or perfectionism or sitting on your butt too much of each day...whatever it is, if you want it gone, it might not easy, but here are some excellent methods to help you overthrow the choices you have made that have overstayed their welcome or overstepped your originally intended boundaries.
1. Find the emotion in your reason for doing this, now. It won't work unless you believe it's worth it--not just in your head but in your heart. Human behavior tends to boil down to two motivators: avoiding pain and gaining pleasure. What is the pain today, and/or what will it be as time goes on, in your Alpha Vice behavior? What pleasure will be yours when it changes? What will you gain that could literally choke you up? More years with your children? Money to enjoy a special activity you once loved but had to give up?
What pain will you remove? The stigma attached to your vice and thus to you? The sickness of hiding something away from those you love? Hours of wasted time each week?
2. Don't do it alone. So many people don't tell others when they embark on a personal journey to leave something behind. I recommend you tell EVERYONE. Don't be sorry, just be true. Family first, including kids and spouse and siblings and even your parents. Everyone at work, at school, at church, and the neighbors, too. Invest a little bit of every single one of your interactions and relationships into your quest. Bring everyone with you--not just for support and not just for watchdog accountability, but also for true lifestyle change.
People in your environment are a big part of your environment. All around you, you should see, hear and feel your new version of yourself (sans Alpha Vice) reflected. You'll also get help. Possibly even annoyed. Oh well. It won't be annoying anymore once you get to a certain new stage. The one where the former vice has faded and simply isn't all that much of a hot topic.
3. Add desirable new behaviors to replace the old. And if a new Alpha rises to power, it should not be a vice. It should be a grace. When you add to your graces and charms, it makes the things you did before that weren't good for you seem so much less appealing now.
4. Identify and address triggers. What sets you off? Avoiding triggers isn't always possible, but expecting them and knowing what works for you at those times is very helpful. A journal can be useful in the identification process. Practice may be needed to learn what works for you when presented with a wooing from your Alpha Vice. If you do succumb to a trigger, you need to remember that it only means you learned something: what not to do. Good for you. Now carry on. Recover and shine.
5. Impose conflicting new behaviors on yourself to compete with your former controlling vice. This can be anything from going for a quick jog to see your friend instead of smoking, to eating a pickle instead of the daily donut at work, or brushing your teeth instead of lecturing your kid.
6. Reward yourself and make it good. Ousting the Alpha Vice is hard work. You'll reap plenty from what you sow, but an extra nudge along the way can work wonders. Each week you keep the vice at bay could buy you a new book or CD, or take you out to breakfast with the kids on the weekend, or earn you a hot bath with no interruptions. Each month, make it bigger. At the end of 3 months, boy oh boy, you deserve sumthin' real good. Spa day? New tree for the yard? New outfit, with accessories to match? It's up to you.
7. Know when you need more help. This is important. If you struggle with addiction, or have been self-sabotaging for the long term, or are dealing with psychological or personality disorder, or anything that you just can't get rid of on your own (so far) please get professional help! How do you know that's what you need? No reward seems great enough, nothing seems strong enough to combat your attachment and attraction, triggers are everywhere and you can't escape them, no new behavior can compete with the ruling power, or you have no support and no accountability and no one you feel you can tell.
You choose your life. If your life can move forward without some big vice that's holding you back, imagine how freeing that is. Imagine how your relationships--with yourself and others--can deepen and grow. Imagine how much pain you'll avoid and how much pleasure you'll gain. Imagine how great you will feel and how refreshing that will be. If you go ahead and give up One Thing, the very best thing you have to Kick from now on, is simply your own butt.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Take Me to Your Leader
Is there anything that you do, with unusual passion or with irresistible habitual regularity, that is bad for you? If so, then I believe we can call this thing a vice. A vice has different definitions, some of them referring to what is moral or legal, but for our purposes, we will define vice as something you do despite the fact that you know it is bad for you. It hurts you in some way, or takes something away from some other priority of yours.
Say you shop for expensive shoes and bags. That is not necessarily a vice. It is a preference, a hobby or even an obsession for some people. But if your shoe/bag/shopping habit makes you late with your rent or forces you to only afford .99 cent meals at the fast food window for a month, well, now it’s a vice. A potentially stylish habit gone ugly.
If this thing you do with unusual passion or irresistible habitual regularity detracts from your life--or your health, your goals and desires, your daily happiness or your relationships--and is so powerful of an attraction that all your other preferences, desires and obsessions pale in comparison, then we can call it your Alpha Vice.
The One Thing you can’t resist. The One Thing, which, if were you to rid yourself of it, would make the biggest difference once it was gone.
Not everyone has one of these, by the way. You could drink wine every day like I do and not experience any (known or suspected) negative effects on the rest of your life. You could smoke cigarettes and gamble away a thousand dollars once a year on New Year’s Eve, which is not great for you, but if it causes you no ongoing harm, it’s just a minor vice. On January 2nd you are tired as you do your new annual savings budget, and then you move on. If that’s really all you’ve got, don’t sweat it, those are small vice potatoes. We all have a few quirky obsessions. And fun treats on occasion should kept in our lives unless our aim is to live in Dullsville.
On the other hand, something like (the ever popular) sugar is a vice that often becomes more intrusive and derailing than the examples above. It feels more serious. It’s different--and you know it. I’ll use sweets as our main example in the section below.
Pick One Thing: Your Alpha Vice
Most of us have heard about the Alpha Male. In the animal kingdom he’s the wolf that leads the pack. He is king. He has earned his spot among his peers, and he is also “elected” in a way, to continue to hold this position. He will be challenged occasionally, and eventually there will be a successor who is stronger, with more stamina, more skills or more savvy. No matter what, though, Alpha Male, like Alpha Vice, rules. Until he is ousted or otherwise gone.
We should note, however, that Alpha Male is generally good for the pack, and Alpha Vice, as we’ve learned, is decidedly not. Your Alpha Vice has earned its spot by appealing to you above and beyond all reason, and then, is continually re-elected by you. But not out of respect: you allow your Alpha Vice into power out of weakness. That’s a rough position, because you’re the very one that has to put forth the challenge to oust your Vice. It’s hard to replace the Alpha. It takes strength, stamina, skills, savvy.
For some people, a prime example of an Alpha Vice is sugar. For example, perhaps there is sugar in your every day, in the form of sweets and colas, and then several times a day, and then in place of other healthier things you would also enjoy eating or drinking. Then it becomes sugar that you actively seek out when you have none available, as in rushing to a gas station get to a candy bar before picking someone up, or spending extra money you didn’t have at the bakery but it looked so good…then weight gain, or dental issues, or the jitters and the crashes, or heartburn…you do sugar in the face of the rising diabetes epidemic or even knowing that you are at higher risk due to your family history….
…until the frustrating realization that you have, indeed, appointed Sugar to be Leader among your eating Habits. If sugar (or convenience food or smoking or gossiping or the internet or porn or booze or an eating disorder or laziness or shopping or yelling at people, or a house filled with 18 cats, etc.) RULES, then you have yourself an Alpha Vice.
Time for a Coup
So, what will it bring you, to oust your Alpha Vice?
Vices can take over some of your better judgment, so you get that back. You get the satisfaction of knowing you are using your better judgment every time you do. Don’t underestimate what you get out of achieving something you set out to accomplish, or of being wise with your own choices. It feels good--and it will be more powerful than your weak choice on the side of the vice, for sure.
Alpha Vices hurt you, and not just once in a while. You get to stop doing things that make you feel worse, or that you know will be a problem when they catch up with you. You get to quit doing something that makes you feel bad about yourself, or that stops you from being your best self.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall and the more space they leave. You get to completely change your perspective and regular way of life just by giving up your Alpha Vice, because by the very nature of an Alpha Vice, you're being led into a certain way of being and a certain set of actions. Now you are in charge of filling in your To-Do and Way-to-Be Lists.
Everything good needs replacing. (That's Dave Matthews Band, in case it sounds familiar.) You get to replace your Alpha Vice with deliberate choices from a world of infinite possibilities! What will you do instead? How will that add to your life instead of take away from it?
Your mission at this point is to imagine the coup. Start some secret plans to oust your Alpha Vice and visualize how cool it’s going to be without it. Whether you’ll be saving calories or sugar grams or chemical additives or money or time or whatever, One Thing for sure is that you’ll be saving yourself the trouble of dealing with your Bad Leader.
Next time we talk, it will be about how to Kick One Thing… until then, prepare to fight!
Say you shop for expensive shoes and bags. That is not necessarily a vice. It is a preference, a hobby or even an obsession for some people. But if your shoe/bag/shopping habit makes you late with your rent or forces you to only afford .99 cent meals at the fast food window for a month, well, now it’s a vice. A potentially stylish habit gone ugly.
If this thing you do with unusual passion or irresistible habitual regularity detracts from your life--or your health, your goals and desires, your daily happiness or your relationships--and is so powerful of an attraction that all your other preferences, desires and obsessions pale in comparison, then we can call it your Alpha Vice.
The One Thing you can’t resist. The One Thing, which, if were you to rid yourself of it, would make the biggest difference once it was gone.
Not everyone has one of these, by the way. You could drink wine every day like I do and not experience any (known or suspected) negative effects on the rest of your life. You could smoke cigarettes and gamble away a thousand dollars once a year on New Year’s Eve, which is not great for you, but if it causes you no ongoing harm, it’s just a minor vice. On January 2nd you are tired as you do your new annual savings budget, and then you move on. If that’s really all you’ve got, don’t sweat it, those are small vice potatoes. We all have a few quirky obsessions. And fun treats on occasion should kept in our lives unless our aim is to live in Dullsville.
On the other hand, something like (the ever popular) sugar is a vice that often becomes more intrusive and derailing than the examples above. It feels more serious. It’s different--and you know it. I’ll use sweets as our main example in the section below.
Pick One Thing: Your Alpha Vice
Most of us have heard about the Alpha Male. In the animal kingdom he’s the wolf that leads the pack. He is king. He has earned his spot among his peers, and he is also “elected” in a way, to continue to hold this position. He will be challenged occasionally, and eventually there will be a successor who is stronger, with more stamina, more skills or more savvy. No matter what, though, Alpha Male, like Alpha Vice, rules. Until he is ousted or otherwise gone.
We should note, however, that Alpha Male is generally good for the pack, and Alpha Vice, as we’ve learned, is decidedly not. Your Alpha Vice has earned its spot by appealing to you above and beyond all reason, and then, is continually re-elected by you. But not out of respect: you allow your Alpha Vice into power out of weakness. That’s a rough position, because you’re the very one that has to put forth the challenge to oust your Vice. It’s hard to replace the Alpha. It takes strength, stamina, skills, savvy.
For some people, a prime example of an Alpha Vice is sugar. For example, perhaps there is sugar in your every day, in the form of sweets and colas, and then several times a day, and then in place of other healthier things you would also enjoy eating or drinking. Then it becomes sugar that you actively seek out when you have none available, as in rushing to a gas station get to a candy bar before picking someone up, or spending extra money you didn’t have at the bakery but it looked so good…then weight gain, or dental issues, or the jitters and the crashes, or heartburn…you do sugar in the face of the rising diabetes epidemic or even knowing that you are at higher risk due to your family history….
…until the frustrating realization that you have, indeed, appointed Sugar to be Leader among your eating Habits. If sugar (or convenience food or smoking or gossiping or the internet or porn or booze or an eating disorder or laziness or shopping or yelling at people, or a house filled with 18 cats, etc.) RULES, then you have yourself an Alpha Vice.
Time for a Coup
So, what will it bring you, to oust your Alpha Vice?
Vices can take over some of your better judgment, so you get that back. You get the satisfaction of knowing you are using your better judgment every time you do. Don’t underestimate what you get out of achieving something you set out to accomplish, or of being wise with your own choices. It feels good--and it will be more powerful than your weak choice on the side of the vice, for sure.
Alpha Vices hurt you, and not just once in a while. You get to stop doing things that make you feel worse, or that you know will be a problem when they catch up with you. You get to quit doing something that makes you feel bad about yourself, or that stops you from being your best self.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall and the more space they leave. You get to completely change your perspective and regular way of life just by giving up your Alpha Vice, because by the very nature of an Alpha Vice, you're being led into a certain way of being and a certain set of actions. Now you are in charge of filling in your To-Do and Way-to-Be Lists.
Everything good needs replacing. (That's Dave Matthews Band, in case it sounds familiar.) You get to replace your Alpha Vice with deliberate choices from a world of infinite possibilities! What will you do instead? How will that add to your life instead of take away from it?
Your mission at this point is to imagine the coup. Start some secret plans to oust your Alpha Vice and visualize how cool it’s going to be without it. Whether you’ll be saving calories or sugar grams or chemical additives or money or time or whatever, One Thing for sure is that you’ll be saving yourself the trouble of dealing with your Bad Leader.
Next time we talk, it will be about how to Kick One Thing… until then, prepare to fight!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
You and Your Gene Genie (don't let yourself go!)
Preface: This isn't the first time I have referred to David Bowie lyrics in this collection One Things you can Pick. And it may not be the last. Just making sure you know I know. Oh, and if you want background music as you read: Bowie Video circa 1972
In the quest to be true to yourself and become all you can, to evolve and manifest the best in you and so on, you're bound to have run into a certain pack of stubborn dudes from inner space known to hang out in your cells' nuclei. I'm talkin' about the notorious DNA gang. You know--fancy threads, secret codes you can't crack, hardly any sense of humor....
Also known as your genes. Here at blog time we have word on up to about 20,000 of them and counting*, each responsible for different little bits of you, able to be mixed and matched in seemingly endless combinations. Many experts won't even estimate how many human traits might be owed to genetics, but some estimate at least 60% of everything you are is nature over nurture.
But nurture does have one significant power that can trump nature in a variety of ways. Unlike DNA, nurture is not predetermined. You are NOT a done deal. When it comes to your genes, you can't really change what they say and usually you can't change what they do. But you can change how they show up in your life, and where, and when, and how much if at all. You are a work in progress. Indeed, you have a magical genie inside of you that will hear your wishes and grant many of them (within reason) if only you will work at the wishes in the right way.
Let's try it.
Oh, Genie of the Genes. Hear my wish. I want smaller feet.
Okay, so there's a good example of a wish that is not within reason. Some of the notorious DNA just has to be lived with and worked around. Foot size is one of them. I know, Japanese girls endured foot binding to try to keep their feet small way back when. But that was not working with Gene Genie's power; that was manipulating and deforming for no good reason.
Let's revise. Your wishes must be within reason, and for good reason.
For example, you can't change the genes that determine the color, texture and thickness of your hair. But you can change your hair. Nurture it, so to speak, with a box of hair dye, a flat iron or perm, and voila, you've gone up against the DNA gang and won this round. This wish was within reason. (Lyric connection alert: he says he's a beautician...)
You also can't change the genes, if you have them (and about 33% of you do**), that come from European ancestors, which carry a predisposition to certain aspects of obesity. Something to do with how your body stores stuff as fat and certain chemical processes that tell these fat burners or storers to switch on or off. But can you rub your partly European tummy and make a wish?
Oh, Gene Genie, I wish not to fall victim to obesity even though I have the genetics that encourage that sort of thing.
POOF! You are now Amish.
See, Amish people have that gene a lot of the time, and they have had it for a long time, because Amish people have historically married other Amish people. There's a lot of strong genetics as a result. But guess what? For good reason, Amish people are way less obese with fewer health risks overall than the non-Amish locals in town. This is because the Gene Genie responds very well to the regular physical labor and clean diets of the typical Amish lifestyle. (Lyric alert expanded: he says he's a beautician and he sells you nutrition...)
We all were born with gifts and challenges. When you run into a stubborn showing of the notorious DNA gang, go Amish on its butt. Say, your've got a body type you don't like, or a health condition or a slower metabolism than you'd prefer; what you need is to call upon your inner genie. Get the Gene Genie's attention! Pick One Thing: within reason, for good reason. And do the work while you make your wish know. Don't let DNA bully you. Be a rebel, rebel. (See Preface)
* You can learn more about those crazy smart molecular biologist types and all they have to say about your DNA as part of the human genome project via the the NCBI via the National Institutes of Health...and you can also see a really basic map of the genomes themselves, which I must admit is really underwhelming at first, here:
Human Genome Map and More
** You can read a Time magazine article on the study that showed how the old-fashioned lifestyle of the Amish indicates that behavior can trump genetics, here: Amish People Overrule Some Prevalent Genes
And if you're still interested in proving to yourself that you do indeed have a Gene Genie, consider this study, the results of which are not yet published. Same heritage of Indian tribes, similar genetics, but different lifestyles, looks like Westernized living is losing again...
In the quest to be true to yourself and become all you can, to evolve and manifest the best in you and so on, you're bound to have run into a certain pack of stubborn dudes from inner space known to hang out in your cells' nuclei. I'm talkin' about the notorious DNA gang. You know--fancy threads, secret codes you can't crack, hardly any sense of humor....
Also known as your genes. Here at blog time we have word on up to about 20,000 of them and counting*, each responsible for different little bits of you, able to be mixed and matched in seemingly endless combinations. Many experts won't even estimate how many human traits might be owed to genetics, but some estimate at least 60% of everything you are is nature over nurture.
But nurture does have one significant power that can trump nature in a variety of ways. Unlike DNA, nurture is not predetermined. You are NOT a done deal. When it comes to your genes, you can't really change what they say and usually you can't change what they do. But you can change how they show up in your life, and where, and when, and how much if at all. You are a work in progress. Indeed, you have a magical genie inside of you that will hear your wishes and grant many of them (within reason) if only you will work at the wishes in the right way.
Let's try it.
Oh, Genie of the Genes. Hear my wish. I want smaller feet.
Okay, so there's a good example of a wish that is not within reason. Some of the notorious DNA just has to be lived with and worked around. Foot size is one of them. I know, Japanese girls endured foot binding to try to keep their feet small way back when. But that was not working with Gene Genie's power; that was manipulating and deforming for no good reason.
Let's revise. Your wishes must be within reason, and for good reason.
For example, you can't change the genes that determine the color, texture and thickness of your hair. But you can change your hair. Nurture it, so to speak, with a box of hair dye, a flat iron or perm, and voila, you've gone up against the DNA gang and won this round. This wish was within reason. (Lyric connection alert: he says he's a beautician...)
You also can't change the genes, if you have them (and about 33% of you do**), that come from European ancestors, which carry a predisposition to certain aspects of obesity. Something to do with how your body stores stuff as fat and certain chemical processes that tell these fat burners or storers to switch on or off. But can you rub your partly European tummy and make a wish?
Oh, Gene Genie, I wish not to fall victim to obesity even though I have the genetics that encourage that sort of thing.
POOF! You are now Amish.
See, Amish people have that gene a lot of the time, and they have had it for a long time, because Amish people have historically married other Amish people. There's a lot of strong genetics as a result. But guess what? For good reason, Amish people are way less obese with fewer health risks overall than the non-Amish locals in town. This is because the Gene Genie responds very well to the regular physical labor and clean diets of the typical Amish lifestyle. (Lyric alert expanded: he says he's a beautician and he sells you nutrition...)
We all were born with gifts and challenges. When you run into a stubborn showing of the notorious DNA gang, go Amish on its butt. Say, your've got a body type you don't like, or a health condition or a slower metabolism than you'd prefer; what you need is to call upon your inner genie. Get the Gene Genie's attention! Pick One Thing: within reason, for good reason. And do the work while you make your wish know. Don't let DNA bully you. Be a rebel, rebel. (See Preface)
* You can learn more about those crazy smart molecular biologist types and all they have to say about your DNA as part of the human genome project via the the NCBI via the National Institutes of Health...and you can also see a really basic map of the genomes themselves, which I must admit is really underwhelming at first, here:
Human Genome Map and More
** You can read a Time magazine article on the study that showed how the old-fashioned lifestyle of the Amish indicates that behavior can trump genetics, here: Amish People Overrule Some Prevalent Genes
And if you're still interested in proving to yourself that you do indeed have a Gene Genie, consider this study, the results of which are not yet published. Same heritage of Indian tribes, similar genetics, but different lifestyles, looks like Westernized living is losing again...
Friday, March 12, 2010
Put On Your Red Shoes
I've been mesmerized by this photo, searching for it repeatedly, and posting it here without express permission but with the utmost respect and admiration for its owner, the Pennsylvania Ballet. This shot is from the Ballet's website for the 2009/10 season. Just look at it, ahhh....And then look again--yes, those are both male and female bodies on that stage in those skirts.
As I gawk at the sight of these dancers from behind, I remember the phrase "ballerina back" (closely related to ballerina butt, but higher up). The backs of dancers are traditionally so well-developed and defined. In bodybuilder terms we might call them "cut". So what's the deal with dancers' workouts that helps them achieve these enviable backs?
For male dancers, it's a little more obvious. Pro ballet men regular lift weights-- heavy weights actually--in the form of human bodies (their female partners). But for a woman, and for the corps of men who don't get much pas de deux (steps of two) work, those ballet backs still stand out as remarkable.
This is the answer, then, as far as I can figure it:
1. They hold their arms up a lot. Every day. Their arms, plus gravity, equal enough weight to stimulate muscle development of the shoulders and back.
2. They do some cardio via their dancing, but it's in intervals of varying intensity. Dancers are interval trainers. They go slow, then very fast... they alternate body weight exercise with powerful jumps and leaps... they work hard, and get sweaty and tired and sore. They are fine work horses, and it shows.
3. They don't have a lot of body fat, and especially no back fat, as a result of numbers 1. and 2. And they take care of their bodies with proper athlete nutrition. Or at least, it looks that way. If they ate too little, they'd be skinny. If they ate too much or ate a lot of junk, they wouldn't be able to do what they do for long enough to make it on to this level of stage posing.
Can we imitate? In some ways, sure we can. But if we have a sedentary or lightly active job, versus a physical one that requires lifting and arms up and sweating and intense intervals of various type of exercises, then we probably can't expect to be quite where these ballerina backs are at. Plus they're probably all between the ages of 20 and mid-thirties, tops. They make doing what it takes to be in this sort of shape the main focus of their lives, too.
But all that aside, we can imitate to a certain degree. If you like good back, lift more, and use your arms out in front, out at your sides and up over head more. Eat well and eat enough. Train in intervals of intense cardio, full body power moves, and body weight strength moves.
Orrrrrr.... you could sign up for some ballet classes, maybe? Whatever you choose, if you Pick One Thing and that Thing is Your Back, make sure you take some time to check it out from behind once in a while. We spend so much time looking at the fronts of ourselves, it's nice to focus on the beauty from rear sometimes.
Enjoy the view!
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