A Historical Look At The Ideal Body

How did the ideal body image for women go from sexy, voluptuous figures to stick-thin, boyish looking creatures? The last time any women idealized a full figure was during the Renaissance. Compare Leonardo’s famous Mona Lisa to a picture of any girl in Hollywood today and you’ll see a drastic difference of a woman’s glorified body image. From revering Marilyn Monroe’s body to Angelina Jolie’s one thing is certain a woman’s ideal body image is constantly subject to change and usually based on someone else’s point of view.

In 14th and 15th century paintings you’ll see the ideal body image for women that was desired and respected- round stomach, modest breasts, and thick thighs- is on a completely different end of the spectrum from what is valued today. In the 1800s plump, full-figured, pear-shaped women were what every woman desired to look like and every man desired to have. Corsets became fashionable at this time because they accentuated a women’s shape. In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe, who was a size 16, sent the drive for this body style into full force. However, half a century later statistics show that 1/3 of women who are a size 12 think they’re overweight.

Credit

All of this very scary but realistic information leaves every woman wondering how to achieve the perfect body. Many women today believe that starving themselves or exercising to the point of exhaustion is the way to accomplish this but there’s a much simpler way to do it. Although, exercising on a daily basis is beneficial for losing weight or achieving a ‘perfect’ figure the real reason any individual should strive to be in the gym should be for their health. Contrary to popular belief 90% of weight loss is correlated with eating habits, not dieting, rather than work-out regime.

Dieting isn’t the way to shed body fat; it’s changing your eating habits all together. The best way to go about this change is to learn ‘how’ to eat properly, learning what food(s) and what amount of each food is good for you, and what you need to avoid in order to keep the body fat off. Many experts agree that the best meat for women to eat is chicken or fish- and it is important to keep in mind safe preparation, since it is not just about losing weight but staying healthy. Researching these changes is the easy part. It is actually employing these changes into your daily lifestyle that can be difficult.

Although, running into the nearest fast food chain saves time and feeds your hunger you have to gain and utilize discipline if you really want to achieve and project a health body image. The best way to reduce body fat is to keep yourself from ever letting the unwanted calories into your body. You’ll be amazed at how much less you have to exercise once these changes have been made and enforced. If you have a well balanced diet and work-out plan you’ll be able to achieve whatever body style you desire. Your diet will provide the appropriate amount of nutrition while exercising will burn excess calories keeping you at a healthy weight and a body image you are happy with.

Fall Back – On Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 2 a.m

Louisville South KOA

Louisville (KY) South KOA

Fall Back – On Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 2 a.m

Daylight Saving Time is the plan to keep us productive in our day-to-day lives.  This is in the sense that the daylight hours of the day are maximized when the afternoon light shines as brightly as possible as long as possible.  When we shift the hour behind in the autumn season – “fall back” – the sky stays lit until 5:00pm well into December, where I live on the -85° 38′ longitude line.  The spring forward time change has the complementary effect in the morning hours, as well.

Matt Rosenberg of Geography.about.com states, “The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours.”

U.S. Daylight Saving Time

Year Spring Forward Fall Back
2004 2 a.m. April 4 2 a.m. Oct. 31
2005 2 a.m. April 3 2 a.m. Oct. 30
2006 2 a.m. April 2 2 a.m. Oct. 29
2007 2.a.m. March 11 2 a.m. Nov. 4
2008 2 a.m. March 9 2 a.m. Nov. 2
2009 2 a.m. March 8 2 a.m. Nov. 1
2010 2 a.m. March 14 2 a.m. Nov 7
2011 2 a.m. March 13 2 a.m. Nov. 6
2012 2 a.m. March 11 2 a.m. Nov. 4
2013 2 a.m. March 10 2 a.m. Nov. 3
2014 2 a.m. March 9 2 a.m. Nov. 2
2015 2 a.m. March 8 2 a.m. Nov. 1
2016 2 a.m. March 13 2 a.m. Nov. 6

Can Cyber Communication Weaken our Relationships?

bandwagon

Can Cyber-Communication Weaken Relationships?

I always wonder if I am alone in thinking that electronic mail, text messaging, and social networks depreciate our relationship with others. Things we used to say face to face can now be conveyed ‘mechanically.’

This results in a number of changes; it eliminates our ability to see the other person’s facial expressions, which can communicate a great deal. Our circles of friends increase to a significantly larger number because we are able to befriend people very easily online.  For example, people who have hundreds of ‘friends’ on Facebook have many friends that are simply acquaintances. Yet, because so much of their lives are exposed on Facebook, we suddenly know lots of random information about them. This can leave us with less time to concentrate on our relationships with people that are closer to us.

I myself am a great sucker for Gmail chat. It is easy to use and very reliable. I feel like I am freer to speak my mind. I find it easier to say things because chat is less formal. In one aspect this feeds our laziness, although, John Suler’s The Psychology of Cyberspace points out that email forces us to be more creative in expressing the “subtle voice and body language cues (that) are lost.”  This may entail more effort for some people. The positive of email shortcuts is that it frees up our time to accomplish other things.

I love Facebook too. It instantly updates me on the comings and goings of my friends. The downside: I think I know what’s going on in their lives and no longer feel the need to call them. When I do, I realize how much I miss without verbal conversation.

Ravenwerks – Global Ethics, Etiquette and Effectiveness, successfully tackles The Downside of Personal Communication Devices! They really seem to have their ‘head screwed on’ with regard to drawing the line between work and personal life. Easy access to these communication systems causes us to unintentionally merge all aspects of our lives. Is this what we really want? Thankfully, Ravenwerks suggests ways to segregate the work and the personal.

Having grown up in a cyber-world, I wonder what it would be like to have to write letters, and send them via post, and to indulge in eloquent conversation. It just seems so real. And yes, I know I can do that today, but today we seem to have so much less time for these ‘luxuries.’ We are not forced to live the way we were then. We live in a fast pace, flat world.

I'm Only One Person- And Proud of It

imperfect everything to everyone
Photo by Dez Pain

Eat your vegetables… exercise… don’t smoke… don’t drink… reduce your carbon footprint… give to the less fortunate… meditate… volunteer… don’t pollute… plant a tree… save the planet… buy organicbuy local… help fight injustice…

You do what you can, but in the end – you’re just one person. Although one person’s actions can change the world, you, being one person, can only do so much. You can only change but so many habits at once… if they stick.

Besides, your choices make you who you are. Being different is your strength. Choosing to be different is, in fact, a sign that you are an intelligent person.

At the end of the day, the best you can do is the best you can do. Focus your efforts on what will provide the greatest benefit, and don’t worry so much about being perfect.

“I am only one, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.”

Edward Everett Hale (American Clergyman and Writer 1822-1909)

Google Goes Green

The Associated Press released an article about Google by Bob Keefe this weekend that would make any socially conscious corporation blush. Among their many philanthropic agendas, supporting green research and energy appears to be at their forefront – literally. From the Googleplex’s garden to its garage (where each parking spot has a place to plug in an electric vehicle), Google is teeming with green goodness inside and out; publicly and privately. Above, co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin plug in under car port with solar panels! Last September, Google endorsed renewable energy research with $10 million.Read the article here!

Just one last happy comment about Google, an important note for this author, you can bring your dog to work with you!

We PayPer Paper, Recycle and Save (The World)

 

According to paperrecycles.org:

“In 2006, a record 53.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. (53.5 million tons) was recovered for recycling. Paper recovery now averages 360 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the United States. “

The American Forests & Paper Association (AF&P) is proud of this feat, but paper continues to comprise more than 40% of waste created by Americans today, according to Carnegie Mellon University’s Green Practices site.  AF&P hopes to increase the amount the percentage of paper recycling to 55% by 2012.  This should be easy, since 86% of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off recycling programs.  If you currently do not use a curbside pick-up, which costs around $2 a week, locate your local drop-off center.  If your office does not currently recycle, visit A Guide to Recycling at Work.  Finally, for easy to read recycling information for children, click here! 

When it comes to the financial end of things, if we could recycling 100% of our paper goods, we would be nearly doubling the life of our landfills, saving taxpayers millions…in dollars and good sense.

The Little Things

Adjust Thermostat 

In a previous post, I provided a link for a quiz that revealed your Ecological Footprint.  Here’s another way (slightly more complicated) way to calculate part of your footprint (adapted from The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen):

Home energy carbon use:

  1. Electricity per year:  ____ (x 1.34 lb CO2/kilowatt-hr) = year total ____
  2. Natural Gas per year: ____ (x 12.06 lb of CO2/therm) = year total ____
  3. Home Heating Oil per year:  ____ (x 22.38 lb of CO2/gallon) = year total ____
  4. Propane per year: ____(x 12.8 lb CO2/gallon) = year total ____

Okay readers, I know what your thinking: “That’s all nice and depressing, now how do we DECREASE our ecological footprints.” Patience, quick and easy tips are on their way! In the mean time, here’s a teaser:

Turn Down your thermostat at night.  According to Rogers and Kostigen, you’ll decrease your electricity bill by an average of 1% by every degree it is turned down while everyone is sleeping, and about 10% during the day when no one is at home.

No Child Left Inside

 

As Americans’ obesity continues to rise, our concerns are for the adults suffering from heart disease, diabetes, and other weight-related illnesses.  In the mean time, children’s obesity is increasing drastically as their parents’ largely sedentary lifestyles become their own. 

In 1976, 5% of children were overweight
In 2002, 23% preschoolers were obese or overweight
By 2010, it is predicted that over 50% of children will be overweight

In an effort to combat obesity and a lack of connectedness with the natural environmental in children, the Connecticut Department of Environmental protection founded the  No Child Left Inside initiative.  While the idea is to promote more family time spent outdoors, taking advantage of public parks, there are many health benefits and the catch phrase has spread across the nation.

For more on this topic check out Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”!

The buzz about fluorescents

Dimmable Fluorescent Light

Fluorescent lighting is the poster child for efficient technology and electronics. While the long white tubes were traditionally seen in large institutions, like office buildings and product warehouses, CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lighting) can now be found in household floor lamps, street lights, and ceiling fixtures in restaurants.

According to EnergyStar.gov, CFLs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Since they’re more efficient, and a byproduct of energy consumption is heat, CFLs create less heat, making them safer to use in the home.

These kinds of statistics are impressive, but how many typical consumers understand the science behind lighting technologies?  And further, what are the health impacts of fluorescent lights?
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