Category: uncategorized

On Not Being Thin

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To start this story where it should end I have no desire to become thin.

I feel I have nothing in common with white affluent “Influencer” women who proselytize getting a “beach body.”

Using the term Thinspiration alarms me. No one needs to be thin if they’re going to go on a crazy “diet” to try to whittle down to their bones.

My body is at its “fighting weight” now. Which is great because by exercising I can burn off the anger I have at the injustice in society.

Hello folks–it wasn’t my goal to lose 20 pounds in the last 2 years. Nor do I like using the word “thin” or “skinny” to describe my body or anyone else’s body.

From the time I was 22 until I turned 23–in only one year–I gained 30 pounds. At five feet tall I was unhappy weighing 138 pounds. In the early 1990s I had about 5 sessions with an M.D. who had a practice focused on nutrition.

It took me 6 years to lose the extra weight.

In my forties I weighed 125 pounds.

Three months before I turned 46 I was going through a hard time. Suddenly and out of nowhere I told myself: “You must start lifting weights.”

Not at all so that I could lose weight or become “thin” or “skinny.”

I decided to lift weights as a coping mechanism for the emotional pain I was in. In March of this year I celebrated my 10th Anniversary of lifting weights.

So I went out and bought a cool DKNY pocketbook as a reward.

Again: the goal is not to be thin or skinny.

In the coming blog entries I’ll talk more about my weight lifting practice. I will review 3 health and fitness books that are right-on.

Too I will talk about my Left of the Dial lifestyle that is predicated on this motto:

“No judgments.”

Upcoming Blog Topics

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In the coming blog entries I’m going to talk about how to manage anxiety, fatigue, and depression that is caused by a poor diet.

Should you need to take a happy pill that is okay too.

I talked with the health coach Devorah that I had first hired in 2019 two years ago.

She gave me ideas about how to get my energy back.

Stress, a lack of sleep, and poor diet all impact our mood and energy levels.

Stay tuned for a detailed examination of what I found out.

Happy New Cheer

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Happy Season. Happy New Cheer in the coming year.

In the week ahead I’m going to write blog entries about portable healthful snacks you can take with you.

I’ll refer to where you can buy the containers to use.

Hint: refrain from using plastic containers. Glass and food-grade stainless steel are better options. For the planet and for your health.

I’m excited that 2021 arrives soon. With it the opportunity to chart a new course.

Keep wearing your face covering when you go outside your house or apartment. Even when walking down the hall to the compactor chute.

The coronavirus is out to infect as many people as possible.

Should you feel unwell and not know if it’s a cold or something else: get tested for COVID-19 to rule out that you’ve been infected.

Stay 6 feet away from others even with your mask on.

In time when the spring returns we will be closer to the time when life returns to normal.

It will take time to get there. This has been an extraordinary year. Not in a good way.

We need to do more than pray for change. We must act to make the changes.

As Michael Jackson sang in “Man in the Mirror”:

To change the world you first have to change yourself.

This is something I’m committed to doing.

“Peace on Earth” rings hollow to me as a holiday sentiment.

In my own life I seek to bring peace and harmony in my interactions with others.

To serve the greater good.

Now more than ever living solely for self-gain is not the right way to live.

Let’s celebrate each other and our individuality as the clock ticks towards 12:00 on January 1, 2021.

A better day is coming for us all. I firmly believe this.

Healing through Meaning

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In the last blog entry I referred to logotherapy a modality that focuses on healing through meaning.

In any internet search you’ll hit on the quote: “You’re possessed with a power bigger than the pain.”

In my life I fix 36 as the magic number. It’s the year I decided to become a mental health activist.

My goal was to turn my pain into a thing of beauty for other people. To spread the gospel that people could recover.

Healing through meaning sums up how exactly a person can recover.

Everyone deserves to live a life of meaning and purpose no matter how great their challenge is or whether their illness is chronic or not.

Amidst the struggle finding meaning in what’s going on might be hard.

Decades later I know I’m a better person today for having gone through what I did when I was younger.

How to find meaning and purpose in your life:

It comes down to engaging in rituals often termed self-care that make you feel good.

In being who you are not who others want you to be.

In looking in the mirror and shouting: “Hello, Beautiful!”

Who knows why you and I have to bear whatever burden we’re going through.

The holiday season is here. A time when a lot of us feel sad not cheerful.

What’s powering me through this time is going easier on myself. I changed the dining table decor to the winter tablescape.

In December out comes the holiday dinnerware I bought in Crate and Barrel. Hot cocoa is my go-to drink.

I’ve begun wearing eyeshadow every day. Applying moisturizer at night as well as in the morning.

Little things like these are what I call taking “bite-size chunks.”

Now is not the time to bite off more than you can chew. Not when you’re going through a hard time.

Healing through finding things that give your life meaning and purpose can make all the difference.

As hard as it can be to find the time to take care of yourself I say:

Just Do It. Set the table with the holiday dinnerware. Cook a meal for yourself on the days that you’re able.

Do what gives you joy. Always.

Giving Thanks

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November is Native American Heritage Month.

We should remember the Indigenous forefathers of our country.

They risked their lives to continue to live here. Thousands were killed in the worst genocide in American history along the Trail of Tears.

We should honor their peaceable worship of nature and the natural world and the Spirit.

It’s why I prefer to celebrate the Giving Thanks part of Thanksgiving.

Not the shop-till-you-drop Black Friday frenzy.

I recommend keeping a grateful journal and writing in it 5 things you’re grateful for as often as possible.

I’m grateful my family is here to celebrate with me.

A Happy Season to You!

Spring Cleaning in the Pandemic

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This is how I define the fancy word self-determination:

The right to choose how you want to live your life.

It’s as simple as that.

After the pandemic ends will you want to remain in a soul-sucking job?

Will you want to continue in an unhealthy relationship?

I say: time’s up on the status quo.

It’s time for each of us to decide for ourselves the kind of life we want to live, who we want to have in our lives, and what ideals we want to carry with us into the future.

I’m going to spring clean my mind with the help of a therapist to get rid of the weedy and overgrown thoughts that held me back.

My goal is to publish 2 books in 2021.

While everything has shut down and our lives have appeared to come to a halt:

It’s the perfect time to do spring cleaning.

“Out with the old–in with the new” rings truer today if you ask me.

On Spirituality

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A friend and I were talking on Zoom.

I was telling him about the blogs. He thought it would be great to talk about spirituality.

Your Spirit is a unique and precious part of who you are.

In my view I champion fitness of body mind spirit career finances and relationships.

A person will make themselves ill trying to be someone they’re not just to get other people’s approval.

Your Spirit must be free to express itself.

You don’t have to become a recluse living in a cabin in the woods to have a spiritual life.

Living among other people gives each of us the chance to be spiritual.

I think spirituality is the secret sauce in life.

Action Plan

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I write this from my iPad on an early Saturday morning,

The tactics that have helped me were to email a friend and to listen to music.

The friend thinks that history will right itself.

The time is now. We cannot wait any longer for justice for our comrades.

To read the Action Plan see the https://www.blacklivesmattergreaterny.comBlack Lives Matter Greater NY website.

Listening to music is a way to heal. I recommend listening to music when you’re going through a hard time.

Music can power you through. I firmly believe in the healing power of music.

My Credo on Making a Difference

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When you’re younger and have a disability or however old you are when you face a struggle your first priority is taking care of yourself so that you can recover.

A lot of people in society are barely surviving whether financially due to the pandemic or for whatever reason.

Compassion is owed to those of us who have a harder row to hoe.

As you get better that’s when you should consider taking up a cause outside of your pain.

The longer you’re able to live on earth the more time you have to make a difference while you’re here.

When you’re older and doing better it’s time to stop living only for self-gain with no regard for others.

I’m 55 years old. I have lived in New York City my whole life.

I remember Amadou Diallo whose life was cut short in 1999 by “41 shots” that cops fired at him.

A murder Bruce Springsteen protested against in his chilling song “41 Shots.”

So why has it taken so long to get to the point of mass outrage at the killing of George Floyd?

The point is we are all here today living on earth faced with this choice point to no longer turn a blind eye.

My goal had always been to bring people together. I chose early on not to divide people into those of us with disabilities versus those who are “normal.”

There’s nothing normal about hate killing and violence.

There’s nothing normal about judging people as being less than you because they’re different–have a different skin color or whatever marks them as Other than you.

Won’t you join me in speaking out?

I align with Black Lives Matter and always have. Everyone should.

Chris’s Workout #3

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My old trainer who left the gym used to write out an Upper Body and Lower Body routine to alternate each week. Four sets of four exercises were listed on each workout sheet. I alternated the first two sets of the Upper Body with the first two sets of the Lower Body. Then six weeks later I alternated the last two sets of each sheet.

Remember: you have to change up the exercises you do after every four weeks or so. To challenge your muscle. To keep yourself motivated. To see the maximum benefits.

Here’s Workout #3:

Upper Body:

Push-Ups [try decline push-ups off a coffee table]

Dumbbell Russian Twists

Dumbbell Flyes to Shoulder Press

Kettlebell or Dumbbell 1-arm row off box – can be coffee table

Mountain Climbers

Jumping Jacks

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Lower Body:

Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell Goblet Pulse Squats

1-leg Dumbbell Box Step-Up [try a Step-Up to Reverse Lunge] – use platform with risers

Dumbbell Walking Lunges

Leg Raises on the Floor

Plank Jacks