HealthandHappiness

I would like to give a shout out to my friends from the Accentuate Writers Forum who made the Top 100 CP’s of 2008 list on Associated Content! Way to go guys! If you’d like to see the list of forum members who made it, click here.

More than one of these authors credit the Accentuate Writers Forum, and Michy, with helping them accomplish this feat. If this doesn’t tell you how great it is to be a part of the forum, I don’t know what will.

Come on over and join us. Who knows what you’ll be able to accomplish with all the encouragement, advice, and support offered on the forum. Certainly Associated Content is benefiting from the help provide there!

Any poets out there should drop by Kathleen Hansen’s blog. She is hosting a poetry contest. The theme is nature related, and the prize is an original piece of artwork valued at 100.00. There is no entry fee, and you can enter as many times as you like.

Kathleen is the sole judge of the contest. Give her your best work and you just might win! If you know anyone who loves wolves, pass on the information about the contest!

Here’s the link: http://kathansen.com/blog

Check out her other artwork while you’re there. She has some really nice stuff on the site.

Good luck to any of you who enter!

Call it karma, or whatever you wish, but you really will be rewarded if you pay kindness forward.

Being nice to others is rewarding in so many different ways. Your heart will feel lighter knowing you’ve helped a fellow human being. Your mind will be rest because you are being the best person you can be. Your soul will sing, because you have made the burdens of another lighter.

Help people, offer a kind word, and compliment someone today. Any little gesture is appreciated on a bad day. You never know when you might be the one to turn a person’s whole life around!

Pay it forward. Remember the smile, or help you received, and offer the same to someone else. Make today a blessed day!

Susan, at http://dementia.today.com, recently nominated me for the Lemonade Award. Thank you very much for the nomination, Susan, I really appreciate it. The Lemonade Award is for sites that show gratitude and a wonderful attitude. I think that’s a good group to belong to!

Now for the blogs that I wish to pass this award on to:

http://dementia.today.comhttp://alzact.today.com

http://mentalhealthhumor.today.com/

http://sillymomthoughts.today.com/

http://www.zemeks.blogspot.com/

http://www.evstory.blogspot.com/

http://chronicchicktalk.com/

http://recoveryrocks.today.com/

http://healthmysteries.today.com

http://ofsomethingsomething.blogspot.com/

There are my ten nominations. These blogs offer laughter, hope, and understanding. There is creativity, sentimentality, and humor. I hope you enjoy them! 

With so many people using the Internet, the World Wide Web so easily assessable, not to mention a popular place to hang out, making online friends is a breeze! And no matter what you’ve heard, lasting, true friendships are possible.

I am part of an email loop with some online friends I met nine years ago. We talk almost daily. We share important events in our lives, weight loss successes and failures, family matters, and everything else under the sun.

The women in this group are true friends! I don’t know what I would have done without them during some hard times the past few years. Online friendships can be just as real as friendships in the “real” world. Any friendship is only as good as the people who are part of it!

If you actually get to meet your online friends, you are even luckier. I have had the pleasure of meeting a few in my email loop, and they are absolutely wonderful! We are trying to set up another meeting for next year to celebrate our 10 years together. I’m hoping we can all make this one!

Treasure whatever friendships you have, online or off. Nourish them and help them grow. True friends are hard to find, so hold on to them when you do!

I wanted to say Happy Birthday to a very special woman today. Michelle L. Devon is the creator of the Accentuate Writers Forum, a published author, and a wonderful person.

The forum is simply the best place to hang out. Writers, readers, and everyone else is welcome. You’ll find friendship, encouragement, and support. It’s not only about writing either. We help each other through hard times, pray for each other, and provide entertainment. If you haven’t checked the forum out yet, you really should.

I don’t know how she does it, but Michy keeps the Accentuate Writers Forum free from chaos and bickering. Many online forums are full of mean-spirited people who only want to cause trouble. That’s definitely not the case with Accentuate.

If you want a cool place to hang out, that just might help your writing career, come on over to the Accentuate Writers forum and meet Michy!

Surround yourself with positive people! Positive people will lift your spirits, make the day brighter, and put life in perspective.

Everyone gets down now and then. If you are depressed, however, you are sad all the time. When going through depression, surround yourself with positive people. It will help lift the veil of sadness and hopelessness you are under.

Positive people have a different way of looking at the world. It’s not that we don’t believe bad things happen, people get hurt, and everything’s a bed of roses. It’s just that we look to the good in situations, take the time to be thankful for what we do have, and put a positive spin on things.

Positive people have bad days too. Don’t expect your happy-go-lucky friend to always be chipper. They will probably bounce out of it in a short time though. I find it takes much less energy to be happy than sad. It’s easier to find the good in people than the bad. I don’t like being unhappy, so I find ways to stop it. That’s what positive people do!

Trying to lose weight and get healthy are great goals, but not at the detriment of your self-esteem.

During a weight loss phase or diet, remember to be nice to yourself. Don’t put yourself down for slips, or only look at the things you want to change. Concentrate on the good parts too. Compliment yourself on progress, and love yourself for what you look like now!

It is so important to be nice to yourself. Putting yourself down because you weigh a certain amount, or fit into a certain size, will only make it harder to lose weight. Don’t forget the good things about yourself when dieting. Accentuate the positives and praise yourself for accomplishments.

Be nice to yourself and the scale will be nice too! Mind and body go together in weight loss just like everything else in life.

Strength training and weight lifting are wonderful exercises to participate in. They help build muscle and strengthen bone. Lifting weights is good for women as well as men, and especially good for people with certain conditions or on some medications.

Anyone with a thyroid problem should do regular strength training exercises. Thyroid problems lead to weak bones and osteoporosis.

Anyone who takes mediations for diabetes and other conditions should check the prescribing information. Some medications lead to bone loss. Weight lifting and strength training will help counteract the effects of medications.

Strength training is wonderful for healthy people also. Building muscle and strengthening bones will lead to more productive, healthy lives. Start a strength training routine today!

I’m four pounds down now in my weight loss journey. Pretty good start for the first week of the year. I just have to keep the momentum going, and stay focused so I can reach my goals.

I hope to lose a pretty good amount this first month, because I figure my weight loss will slow down after that. Whenever I’ve tried to lose weight before I averaged 2-3 pounds a month, so I expect the rate to slow considerably soon.

Do you lose quickly or slowly when you diet? If you lose slowly, does it make sticking with the plan hard? I know it does for me. My friends will talk of losing five pounds a week each and every week, and sometimes I let my slow weight loss get to me. I have to learn to control that impulse, and be thankful for whatever amount I do lose. Anything is better than nothing!

Good luck to all the others out there trying to lose weight and get healthy!