Unhealthy snacking can become a bad habit and cutting it out cold turkey can be hard. It can be done.
It starts with a smoothie in the morning. I put away the unhealthy snacks into a cupboard I rarely open. It's high up on the top shelf.
I place several healthy options on the table: an apple, bananas, grapefruit and nuts. They will be the first thing I see when I wander in looking to eat something.
A glass of semi-skimmed milk is followed by a substantial cold lunch of leftovers. I've moved the yoghurt to a place in the fridge that will remind me to eat it.
Intention and preparation makes a difference.
Yesterday I didn't have any unhealthy snacks. After one day, the habit is broken. I hope!
Today I started with grapefruit and melon. The spinach smoothie was my snack. Peanuts, a yoghurt and a banana were great when I got hungry. A substantial cold lunch of leftovers again and I had a lighter vegetarian dinner. I knew I might feel like snacking so I had an orange for dessert.
Plus I squeezed in a 30 minute workout before dinner. Exercise helps my healthy living attitude.
It's been a successful day.
I'm not on a diet. I've not been eating the worst unhealthy snacks. However I want a healthy lifestyle. I want to make better choices.
Junk food is rubbish. You are filling your body with calories that have little or no nutritional value. Would you fill your car up with gas / petrol that you know is bad for the engine?
Snacking is about boredom, not having big enough meals, or feeling tired and needing an energy boost. I know I'm tired and not sleeping as much as I should. I want to address that. In the meantime, I want to stop reaching for unhealthy snacks. Unhealthy snacks like chocolate and icecream should be the exception rather the norm.
Today I was thinking I need to make a batch of energy balls. They make great healthy snacks.
Think about:
Why you are eating unhealthy snacks?
What good habits help you snack less or not at all?
What healthy substitites do you like?
What is one thing you can do now to help you cut out or cut back on unhealthy snacks?
Why are you committed to being healthier and are you willing to make changes? If so, when will you start?
Cutting out unhealthy snacks is not mission impossible, but it does require a commitment to achieving that goal.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak - estimated net worth £200 million
My monthly electricity bill is going up by a scary number. It means that I will be cutting back even more on my expenses. I figure I will buy less toiletries and groceries to begin with. Also, I'm definitely not going out to eat, even if the covid-19 situation improves. There won't be any holidays and also very little clothes shopping.
I'm thinking about how I can increase my revenue. This means I will have less time for myself, less time to do the things I love and less time to spend with family or friends.
The chancellors measures will not benefit me at all. I will be poorer. I will not be helping the economy. That money has gone to the electricity companies.
The cost of living crisis will result in a recession.
I am 100% positive we are in for some very bad years. I cannot understand how we are being flung into this big black hole. Are we expecting a miracle? Or do we expect our imminent apocalyptic demise?
It feels like my quality life and standard of living is lower. I feel sorry for all those who will be plunged into poverty, debt and homelessness. We have a government that has made alot of empty promises. They bury their head in the sand, denying problems exist and pretending that we can go back to the good old days. We are far from that idealistic vision. The reality is truly grim.
The biggest problem for me is electricity prices. I cannot understand why certain businesses are being chosen over the people, economy and country. It is incredible how after two terrible years of a pandemic, the British people will be struggling with the rising cost of electricity and this change to our lives is simply met with a shrug of the shoulders plus a 'we can't do everything.'
We all have things we want to improve. There's a niggling thought that if I could just change x about myself, I would be happier.
Lately I hate my arms. There's articles like Summer Sexy Arm Workout. We feel better knowing we are taking steps to improve whatever is bothering us. However, we also need to learn to not focus on what we're not happy about. Beauty is more than arms, thighs, bellies and boobs. Our emotions about our body can be about us realising we need to be healthier.
I'd love to have sexier arms. It is possible, but it means dedication and perseverance. However, there are lots of other goals which I also want to focus on.
I know I need to cut down on sugar and snacking. Worrying about the cost of living crisis and Ukraine has meant I'm not as clear about what I want or what I'm doing.
I want to meditate more to clear my mind and provide greater clarity. Sexier arms might make me happier about my arms but it won't resolve the other things in my life that I'm not happy about.
Using goals as a way to organise my mind has been helpful in the past. There are habits I need to foster again. Maybe I will have sexier arms, but the quest to happiness isn't in arms alone.
When I heard Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, I thought it might be a publicity stunt, but when I watched it, it became clear it was a violent slap of anger.
As a role model and high profile actor, Will Smith should apologise no matter how angry and insensitive Chris Rock might have behaved. We do not live in a society that encourages a physical response which involves bodily harm.
Will Smith is accomplished. I like his movies. It is disappointing to see that he has done this. He is human and allowed to make mistakes, but the only correct course of action now is to admit he was wrong.
In his acceptance speech for Best Actor,Will Smith said, 'In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world,'
Smith said, 'I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.'
This sounds like he is making excuses for his actions. He is not owning up to his poor judgement.
He further adds, 'I know to do what we do you gotta be able to take abuse; you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and pretend like that's okay.'
His only remorse was 'I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.'
Will Smith must say that violence was not appropriate. He should apologise to Chris Rock. I don't find Chris Rock funny but he should not have been assaulted.
He talks about respect and being disrespected. Humour is subjective and often does go too far. In the heat of the moment, we can want to lash out, but we don't. If we feel threatened or our loved ones are facing imminent danger, it is understandable then to take action. Clearly in that circumstance, words are not enough.
Movies about vengeance may speak to us and we can understand how characters might be driven to unimagineable acts, yet we know in real life we do not do this. This is entertainment. We do not live in imaginary worlds. We rely on justice, laws and the mechanisms of our democracy.
In this situation, Will Smith could have gone on to the stage and said to Chris Rock that it was not cool and that he did not want that kind of joke made about his wife.
It does seem he regretted it. I feel horrified that Chris Rock was subjected to this. It makes Will Smith look like a bully.
When you look at Will Smith's Instagram post with the caption 'all dressed up to choose chaos,' the act tough be tough music and tone of the video, it does not look good.
It's unclear whether this post was before or after the slap. It seems like a complete lack of awareness if the post was made after the slap and he is trying to laugh his actions off as a joke.
The Will Smith brand has tried to shine after a period of absence from the spotlight. Stunts like this, whether delibrate or unintentional, are not funny, especially to victims of violence. Domestic abuse is a huge problem today.
I wonder whether legal action might not be taken even without Chris Rock filing assault charges. Actions have consequences. The message must be that you cannot hit someone in this circumstance. I'm not saying Will Smith should be penalised or arrested. I just wonder how this will be handled as a law and order issue. Laws exist to protect us. If they are not enforced and public examples are not made, it becomes a slippery slope.
After the events of the last few weeks in Ukraine, when people have had to flee their homes and they fear for their lives, after the stories of violence, it makes a mockery of our values to say that violence is fine.
In light of Weinstein, Hollywood is under scrutiny for tolerating bad behaviour. What does it say when we applaud and award powerful men who think themselves above the rules, laws and decency. If they can so publicly behave in this way, what does this say about us all?
It is possible Will Smith's anger may stem from previous jokes, grudges and other things, which made him snap. He may be in denial or too arrogant to see himself as anything other than a victim.
Many armchair critics have also noted how this story might have been different if Will Smith slapped a female comedian, or if a woman had slapped Chris Rock, or if their skin colours had been different. Some people suggest it wasn't a hard slap or that it was just a slap. Others dismiss it as a stunt by actors. This incident raise many issues, but at the heart of it, we must talk about violence and how we deal with it.
The video at the top of this news story shows the few minutes leading up to and after the slap. Make up your own mind about whether the slap is violent and if it is acceptable in these circumstances.
Update: since the initial publication of this blog post, Will Smith's latest Instagram post acknowledges that violence is unacceptable. He has also apologised to Chris Rock and people watching around the world.
I'm glad that Will Smith is trying to do the right thing. Perhaps it is just public relations stepping in. Whatever the case may be, I hope that the Will Smith v Chris Rock slap at the 2022 Oscars does not embolden others to be violent or provide justification for bad behaviour.
Let me tell you about what is happening in the country called Great Britain. It is no longer great. It no longer is a country full of proud people. Instead there is poverty, hunger and disillusionment.
We have a prime minister concerned with political survival. Instead of the will of the people, it is the will of the back benchers.
Lifting all Covid-19 public health safety measures like the requirement to isolate if positive and free testing is imminent. This:
inflicts further damage on an already overwhelmed NHS,
adds to waiting lists,
increases risks to keyworkers
damages our covid management infrastructure, and
costs us the right to prompt medical care.
The UK public were urged to have boosters in December if it was after 3 months from a second dose of the vaccine. Studies suggested immunity wanes 3 months after vaccination.
As we approach 3 months from the mass vaccination in December, the Tory government in England is sending the message that a legal requirement to isolate from covid-19 is no longer necessary.
Whenever you scratch the surface of any issue today, you discover illogical policies without any substantial evidence to support the decision making.
Suddenly, it is as if all government medical and scientific advisors have been gagged and locked up. In a major decision about public health, we do not hear a single word from them. Their silence speaks volumes. It is deafening.
Protect yourself, family and community. Wear masks, socially distance and isolate if you have covid-19. Your life and theirs is precious. Your quality of life will be affected if you have long covid or develop serious complications after a mild case of covid-19.
Look at how far we have come since the pandemic. Have patience and faith that it will truly come to an end, rather than believing charlatans who say it's over when it's not. If we let our guards down with the idea that we need to learn to live with it, then the consequences can be very real and you will have to accept them. Now is not the time to have a medical condition.
If you delve even a little into the state of the UK health system, you will be shocked at its demise. The backlog for the waiting lists for the NHS is years now. It is not days or months. Let that sink in. If you cannot afford private care, you may have to wait years to be treated for a medical condition in a country with how many millionaires and billionaires?
Our country is sick. Scientific and medical advice is being dismissed by cavalier short-sighted politicians who are out of touch with the people. It is a government that embraces reckless premature freedom.
Freedom day in summer 2021 when the government removed mask requirements:
put us at a disadvantage when dealing with omicron.
We had a higher starting point of infection levels.
It created greater complacency, which resulted in more infections, disruption to businesses, deaths and long covid.
At the beginning of the pandemic, it was thought only the vulnerable and elderly were at risk from covid19. In 2021, unvaccinated healthy parents of young children died in hospital. There has been an increase in children being hospitalised in December 2021. The virus is evolving. We do not yet know the end of this story.
The UK has an irresponsible government that promotes a selfish attitude of everyone for themselves. Division does not create strength.
It is collaboration and consideration for others which creates wealth and happiness. It is shame that fills the hearts of good people throughout this country. It is guilt when we hear about the grief of the families who lost loved ones.
There are allegations of corruption, rule breaking and lies. The system has failed and justice has not been served. Our democracy and values have been undermined.
What can ordinary people do? How can we shake this feeling of helplessness? Write to MPs. Vote against this. Tweet. Blog. Support journalists and anyone who is fighting the good fight.
Do not be quiet and allow this to happen to your country. Stop reading or watching mainstream media that is perpetuating this disastrous course of action. When their audience and advertising revenue goes down, then they may listen.
None of our actions will have an immediate effect, but with time and patience, battles are won. All great causes in history took time. It was about people's rights. This is about our rights as the people of Great Britain.
It is as if a disease is spreading and killing this country. It is dying a slow, cruel and excruciating death. Our leaders are complicit. Anyone with influence or power has closed their eyes and are focused only on personal wealth creation. They have all discarded their responsibilities as human beings. They will be judged eventually. History will not be kind to them, and rightly so.
