Turkey Time

With Thanksgiving comes the feast on turkey.

I heard somewhere that eating turkey makes you unusually drowsy and wondered if it was true or merely an urban legend. In otherwords, is there actually something in turkey that causes sleepiness?

Well turkey does contain tryptophan, which is an amino acid that is a natural sedative, but in order to produce drowsiness there must be no protein present and tryptophan must be taken on an empty stomach. Since turkey obviously has protein, the tryptophan in it is not likely to make you nod off.

Furthermore, the amount of tryptophan you consumed even during a huge Thanksgiving feast is too small to make a significant difference. Beef and soybeans contain more tryptophan than turkey as well.

I reckon people feel so tired after Thanksgiving dinner because they've just gorged themselves on a huge meal, probably had an excess of carbohydrates as well and imbibed a little alcohol to wash it all down.

Quote

"A healthy body and soul come from an unencumbered mind and
body." - Ymber Delecto

Fat Attack Massage Oils

I love having a massage don't you? They are excellent after workouts. Apart from the health benefits of improved blood circulation and lymph drainage and so on... they just feeeel soooo good.

Now I have heard tell that massage can even help break up fat. I'm still on the fence on this one but here is a massage oil that's supposed to break up fat. Maybe you'd like to try it out.

Combine:

30 drops of essential oils blend
2 tablespoons of almond oil
10 drops of carrot oil

Blend the almond and carrot oil together before blending in the essential oils. Rub it on your stomach, hips and thighs in a circular motion ( or better still get someone else to rub it on!).

Let me know if it works.

Bugs and life wisdom

Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

If you're human and it's a bug day, maybe you should stay in bed and read a good book. If it's a windshield day, go out and conquer the world. Make as much progress as you can while you have the drive. And file the memory of that day away as how you always want and expect your days to be - and keep reminding yourself of it.
If you're really a bug...

Well I guess you're buggered!

Manage your attitude

In the animal world the speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack. That probably applies to humans as well. Certainly for humans... "The attitude of the leader will determine the attitude of the pack."

I'm always on about attitude and thinking right but do you reckon that means I never have a negative thought?

It sure doesn't. I wish I could be that way but I've got this big problem.

I'm human. And like every other human being, I too have doubts, fears, and disappointments in my life. Sometimes they get the better of me for a little while too. But to help others and be a leader, we've got to minimize those times.

Do we need to be perfect and never feel negative? Of course not. But we can manage our attitudes and constantly aim to think the right way. Thinking affects our feelings and then our actions. Never underestimate the influence that our actions and our attitudes have on our team, even if that team is just the people around you.

The Haloween Diet

Last Halloween one of my daughters made some scones and cream to give out to householders as treats. Since it was Halloween she added black food colouring to the scones and to the cream.

Well the scones smelled good and tasted good but they looked like horse droppings and the cream looked like brickies mortar. I wonder how many of her Halloween treats got eaten. I suspect most got chucked away.

There were a few left, which I ate of course because I don't like waste, but I must admit they weren't very visually appealing They tasted good but to look at they certainly didn't get my juices flowing.

Perhaps you could use this idea in your own efforts to avoid the foods that add to your waistline. If you are into baking pies, cakes, cookies and desserts use a generous dose of a food colouring likely to put you off eating the finished product.

After a while you'll get sick of complaints from others in your household and all the food you're wasting. I doubt you'll be over your addiction to those foods and your poor eating habits by then but you never know, it could be a crazy idea worth trying.

Santa Claus message

Last week I went to a training day to be a Santa Claus at shopping centres over Christmas. I was the only bloke there without a paunch! I sure felt different. Some of those fellas were heart attacks waiting to happen.

Now I love the concept of Santa and the fun of it. I love the way Santa is accepting of all races, creeds and values. He is an example of love and tolerance, the two things the world needs most if it is to be peaceful (How sad that in the 20th century over 1 billion people were murdered by fellow human beings.)

Unfortunately though Santa is also an example of poor health and fitness. To most kids Santa is a hero figure who can do no wrong. Yet he is obviously overweight. I wonder what messages we are reinforcing in our children.

So I'm in a bit of a dilemma. While I believe in health and fitness through a lean muscular body, I also believe in the other values he promotes. I dress up and portray the very body shape I help people get rid of.

In the end I suppose a peaceful world of fat people who have associated health problems is better than a world of fit, healthy people who war amongst each other because they have little tolerance for differences.