Finding Inner Peace

by The Body Sculptress

Published: September 2004.

After receiving this message over e-mail recently, and because I had just experienced a highly unusual day of amazing stress, I sent this message out to my local clients -- who for the most part become dear friends...

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The message...

Secret of Finding Inner Peace... Revealed!

I am passing this on to you because it has definitely worked for me.

As we get into the summer we all could use a little calm. By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found true inner peace. The article read: "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."

So I looked around the house to see all the things I had started and hadn't finished. And before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, the Bailey's, Kahlua and Wild Turkey, the Prozac, some valium, some cheesecake and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how incredibly good I feel....

ANONYMOUS

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Angela says...

I KNOW that many of you battle with the kind of day I had yesterday...

• It started off with my 1st client calling 2x (and leaving 2 messages) which requested a reschedule to the afternoon because she wasn't feeling well.
• After listening to the messages (which took ~3 minutes), I called her and after 2-3 attempts with which we were cut off because of the admitted poor reception at her new address she decided to go ahead because I had nothing open to reschedule her to (this took another 5 minutes which left me ~ 8 minutes behind).
• While driving in the car, she called 3-4 more times (we were continually cut off) to give me the directions to her new house which put me further behind. Because I couldn't catch what she was saying, I took a mapquest route which got me lost for ~5 minutes (all the while cursing under my breath that she had neither called my office number nor e-mailed me the directions as requested).
• I arrived for the session and stood outside the security door for ~10 minutes because she hadn't come down to let me in. Her instructions were that I should call her and let it ring 2x when I got there and she would come down, BUT I couldn't get a connection to her phone.
• As I stood there, a kind gentleman called the code down to me so that I could get in. Since I only knew her address was #20? inside, I began knocking on doors at #205 -- which was two down, I was told, from her door -- #201.
• I got to her door and knocked while the neighbor who directed me watched me (to make sure I wasn't a thief or murderer) and nobody came to the door. I knocked again, and again after no one came to the door, I wrote a note stating that I was there and that I was going back down to the parking lot to my car to wait for her (I suspected she was downstairs waiting for me) and put the note in the door.
• After getting to my car, and a few more attempts at connecting with her by phone, we finally got a good connection and she said "Where are you! I've been in my apartment the whole time waiting for you. Didn't you knock when you were up here?" You can imagine my blood pressure was up as I had busted my A@# to get to her and she was upset with me over my (perceived) late arrival.
• When I finally got back in and traveled back up to her door and was let in she said, "so I'm not being billed for this session right?! After all, you are 20 minutes late." As you can imagine my blood pressure went through the roof and I told her that it was definitely billable, after which she demanded a refund of her unused sessions. I was so ticked off at that point that I decided it best just to walk out and leave, which I did, rather than say anything I might later regret.
• Then after a couple more LOVELY clients (really -- thank you!), I had a TV program production I needed to rush to which went over the schedule enough to cause me to have to cancel my billable evening sessions. IN ADDITION, since it went over, I ran out of food and you know what a stickler I am -- I missed 2 meals and was ravenous and dizzy from low blood sugar.
• THEN on the way home, my car broke down -- it just stopped -- just off of I40, and guess what?!?
• MY CELL PHONE WAS DEAD TOO! I had to leave my car and walk to a phone, call my husband for help and then walk back (through traffic and across 4 lanes of traffic) back to my car
• THEN after waiting for 20 minutes HE DROVE RIGHT BY ME WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING!! I was certain he would turn around and come right back, but he didn't. He disappeared for another 20 minutes, which meant I had to go back across lanes of heavy 5:00 traffic to beg the use of a phone to get him to come back. After running back to my car, it took another 20 minutes for him to show up.
• It continued on from there. You just have to laugh some times. For the 1st time in YEARS the thought of stopping for a 4-pack of beer was foremost on my mind! I haven't been so stressed out in a long long time. I didn't get the beer, but helped myself to other goodies when I finally got home (after following the tow truck and then finding an AT&T WIRELESS dealer).

Today, as is usually the case, it is a whole different world. Thank God for that.

And as for the client...she had obviously forgotten the time I stayed over for 15 minutes while I was "running energy" to stretch her out, and how over the course of the last several Fridays while she was in the pool that I stayed an extra 5-10 minutes each time because my next client was so close. Some people are so controlling and suspicious and filled with so much resentment and disrespect that there is simply no way to satisfy them.

What did I do to remedy the situation? Out of my compassion and pity for her and her sad personal situation, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and bought a very nice card which said, "My Thoughts and Prayers Are With You," and mailed her exactly what she asked as a refund (even though the request was not just), because after all, the bible says to above all, love, and if someone asks for your coat, you give them your shirt, too...right!?

In the end, I can sleep well knowing that I handled the situation with love as God commands.

I hope you enjoy the story. Perhaps it will help you realize how easy your day is and how pleasant, and that it might remind you to be kind to others. You have no idea what their day has been like.

REMEMBER TO GET YOUR EXERCISE IN!

Angela

My Husband's Business

My New Trail Programs

Join In The Fun, Make New Friends and Get Some Fresh Air As You Bust Your Buns and Burn HUNDREDS of Calories With The Body Sculptress' Outdoor Programs!

Your Spiritual Health

Resurrection. What do you think of when you hear that word? Most people think of the past. Of a stone rolled away. An empty tomb. And a risen Lord.

Praise God, Jesus is alive today!

What we don't fully understand is this: He's not the only One who has been resurrected. We've been resurrected too!

We were spiritually resurrected the day we made the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. That day we passed from death to life. The greater part of your resurrection has already happened!

Think about it. When you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, the Spirit of God hovered over you. The glory of the Lord came into your being. And that glory consumed the old, sinful man that you were. That old man died. And in his place a new creature was born.

Oh yes, there will be a day when the earthly body you live in will be raised and glorified--but you don't have to wait until then to be free from sin and from the sickness and poverty and failure that goes with this natural world. You're free from all that right now!

You may be sitting there thinking, "Well, if I'm so free, why can't I quit smoking? Why can't I lose this weight? Why am I always sick?"

Because you've let Satan convince you that you're still under his power. You've let him talk you into living as if you're still spiritually dead!

So, today I want you to begin considering yourself alive! Begin thinking of yourself as one who already has the life of God instead of an earthly being who's waiting for the resurrection. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to the power of Jesus. You'll find yourself living a whole new life today!

Scripture Study: Romans 8:1-14

The Body Sculptress says, "Remember -- His is strong when we are weak. Ask Him for help with your weight and health and He will SURELY provide it to you. It may not be in the way that you think it will be, though. Sometimes it takes the learning of some hard lessons to get to the point where you can succeed. Learn those lessons well and you'll come out stronger, leaner and healthier on the other side! There are many options on my web site for those lessons. Pray and if you are led to, take advantage of them today!"

Burn It Up!
How To Calculate
Your Exercises' Energy Expenditure

So you ran for 30 minutes last night, then came home and ate a bowl of ice cream because you earned it? Did you end up with a caloric excess (which causes weight gain) or deficit (which causes weight loss)? "The Performance Zone" as written by John Ivy and Robert Portman shows us how to calculate our caloric expenditure as follows.

Energy Expenditure Values
Activity	cal/min/lb
aerobic: high	0.07
Aerobic: low	0.04
Basketball	0.06
Cycling 10mpg	0.06
cycling 15mpg	0.08
cycling 17.5 mpg	0.09
cycling >30mph	0.12
football	0.07
golf (walk)	0.04
gymnastic	0.03
mountain bike	0.06
run: 5.5 mile	0.13
run: 6 mile	0.11
run: 7 mile	0.1
run: 8 mile	0.09
run: 9 mile	0.09
run: 11.5	0.06
ski: vigorous/racing	0.06
soccer	0.08
weights:circuit	0.06
weights: vigorous	0.05
swim: back stroke	0.08
swim: breast stroke	0.07
swim: 50yd/min, freestyle	0.06
swim: 75yd/min, freestyle	0.08
tennis match	0.08
volleyball	0.02

All you need to do is to take your weight, multiply it by the multiplier above, and then multiply that by the number of minutes that you perform the activity.

So...
1. If I run hills at a 11.5 minute mile for 45 minutes, I multiply 120lbs x .06 x 45 = 324 calories.
2. If I do pool aerobics at high impact pace for 45 minutes, I multiply 120lbs x .07 x 60 = 504 calories.
3. If I do running and power moves like I'll have people doing in my "Boot Camp" classes, then I multiply 120 x (combine sprints, circuit strength training and cross country for) .07 x 45 minutes = 378 calories.

You get the idea.

Now...go get that icecream bucket and see how many calories were in the bowl that you had last night! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that finding ways to cut excess calories is the best way to get that beautifully lean body from all of your hard exercise!

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Meet Donna Callahan

I have known Angela for several years and professionally speaking she has the personal values, intelligence, passion for health and body sculpting and the motivation that I was looking for in a coach. I was going to the gym 3 times a week and practiced (from what I knew) really good nutritional habits. I was trying to lose 10 pounds and improve my body strength and appearance - make myself the best that I could.

Since I was having no luck and didn't even know where to start to use my time wisely and most effectively, I called Angela to help.

Here's what happened:

After only 4 weeks I was nearly at my goal weight and after 8 weeks had lost 3% body fat! My daughters were so amazed they kept asking me for all the information on how I did it and what the exercises were.

What was realy nice is that I never had to leave home. I was spending so much time at the gym without the results before Angela. My eating habits changed for the better as did the way I looked and felt. What confirmed it were remarks from friends - "you are getting washboard abs" I never dreamed that possible -- and from a woman half my age "I wish I had a back that looked that great in a strapless - you can tell you have been working out! What do you do?" "You must be so proud of the small butt Angela helped design for you" and I was.

After three months with Angela I decided to continue on my own. She provided me with a workout routine to keep up the exercises - even gave me photos on form and posture for each exercise which helps tremendously when she is not there catching my mistakes.

Angela works with her heart and soul to help you not just temporarily - she does it for life - she really wants and knows how to make you to look and feel your best forever. Three years ago she showed me one simple exercise that I love and have been doing ever since, so I know I will keep up with the whole plan. She is very methodical and deliberate in the way she teaches, and she focuses on form which is the key.

I know that she is up on the latest fitness and nutrition research and has the intelligence to use it wisely. Angela enjoys her work immensely which rubs off on you and you actually enjoy doing the exercises more yourself. The experience was very holistic indeed.

Thanks Angela!

What are YOU waiting for?

Eating Our Way In And Out of Our Symptoms

By Colleen Huber, Naturopathyworks.com

Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food. - Hippocrates

We truly live at a strange crossroads in human history.

Over the last few decades, the human species has been hypnotized by the temptations offered by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The 1950s ushered in the “better living through chemicals” age. And we believed, and we bought and swallowed and injected and are still consuming them in massive amounts, and, most recklessly, injecting such chemicals as ethyl mercury, ethylene glycol (antifreeze), aluminum and formaldehyde into our babies as part of vaccines, without any prior safety testing.

But now with massive chronic disease plaguing our most industrialized populations, autism closely following children’s shots, and more pathology coincident with concentrated chemicals, we are beginning to wake up from our long post-World War II slumber. Now begins the next era when synthetic chemicals are starting to be seen as, however useful in many applications, best kept at a distance from our bodies, homes, public spaces and wilderness.

The old era of unthinking reliance on a synthetic existence is showing severe disadvantages, just as the urgency to forge new relationships with nature is becoming apparent. Plants and other whole foods are coming into their own new era as naturopathic physicians and other well-informed health practitioners rely on them for their central role in healing.

Big Surprise

Within our lifetimes, whole food will eclipse pharmaceuticals in medical practice, as the general public awakens to its far superior healing capacity. But the allopathic profession will be the slowest to catch on, just as most physicians of the early 20th century refused to believe that absence of certain nutrients could bring on such horrible diseases as scurvy, pellagra and beriberi.

Then as now, allopaths were eager to lay blame for these diseases on microbes, until--surprise, surprise--limes cured the “limey” British sailors of their scurvy, and we saw that Vitamin B3 prevented pellagra, while Vitamin B1 prevented beriberi and Vitamin D prevented rickets.

As usual, allopathy corrects itself long after the natural physicians are already healing patients. In fact, evidence now shows that even bubonic plague, which allopathy still attributes to bacteria known as Yersinia pestis, was more likely to strike those with low Vitamin C intakes.

But what would possess a person to think that food could possibly be medicine?

The first clue is the structure of our intestines. Whatever comes into the mouth later travels through miles of efficient tubing that extracts certain molecules from the food we eat, then converts them to one common molecule, Acetyl Co-A, from which the building blocks of the body are then made:

Protein
Glucose
Healthy fats

The intestines are great little machines, but not omnipotent. That is, they can convert food molecules to Acetyl Co-A, because food has familiar and malleable combinations of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. But it cannot do that with bizarre substances of which the body is unfamiliar, such as petrochemical products and synthetic substances used in pharmaceuticals.

The body has no experience with many of these substances, has little clue what to do with them, and often excretes them, which may explain why placebos so often equal or surpass drugs in clinical trials. More often, though, as the body tries to either detoxify or wall off the offending invader drug, it creates new metabolites, which have multiple pharmaceutical effects, some of which may be quite harmful.

The Efficient Eating Machine

Food, on the other hand, is right at home in the body, since our species has always processed it, and we have become quite efficient eating machines as a result. Therefore, we easily break down ingested protein to its component amino acids.

In turn, these get rearranged into the proteins that our genes tell us to make, all of the busy construction that takes place in the womb, and for the rest of us:

Replacement of lost skin and membrane cells
Slightly longer fingernails
Hair
Scabs over wounds, etc.

Carbohydrates and dietary fat get broken down to Acetyl Co-A and rearranged to form the molecules our body needs to function, because this is how our bodies have been handling things for all of our existence as a species. How would the body be able to do that from a pharmaceutical?

It can’t. It’s like trying to make your car run on orange juice.

Except for the last century, in our industrialized society, both humans and animals have almost exclusively relied on plants for their medicine. In fact, it’s noticeable that wild animals still seek plants that are appropriate treatments for whatever illness may be present. Even without access to our pharmaceuticals, animals observed in the wild are still free of chronic disease, even when living all the way to their maximum lifespan.

Our veterinary and zoo populations, on the other hand, present a very different picture: Cancers, heart disease and epilepsy are seen quite commonly among people’s well-loved pets who are subject to a highly processed diet as well as synthetic pharmaceuticals by their well-intentioned owners--that’s us--and the pet food industry.

Whether we were created or evolved, we have been so intimately connected to plants for all of our existence as a species that we cannot live without them. We connect with plants and exchange with plants down to our very cells and our smallest molecules.

That is why they heal us like nothing else can. Our historical reliance on plants has been an integral part of every human society. Plants and humans resonate on levels that are still beyond our comprehension, including biochemical and physiological levels, and some would say aesthetic and emotional as well.

How could humans and plants so closely have shared this Earth, one with the other, and not had complementary, multi-faceted relationships with each other? Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” Medicine is what you get when the most appropriate plant is given to an ill person. The plant kingdom does play the major role of all foods in this wonderfully beneficial relationship for us.

Quality Whole Foods: The Currency of Life

Whether you believe in creation, or evolution or are undecided, most of us would agree that our body (that is our anatomy and biochemistry, our metabolism of food) is substantially the same as that of our recent ancestors. What happens when we substitute factory chemicals such as synthetic food and pharmaceuticals for water and the many different nutrients that our cells and our children’s cells and internal organs need simply to function well?

In fact, the very sad consequences of the latest generations’ food and medication choices is becoming more apparent everyday as we are now seeing chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease become epidemic in our society.

The United States has the worst health status (life expectancy and infant mortality) of any industrialized nation, yet we spend the most money on healthcare and take the most pharmaceuticals. Why are Americans getting sicker and sicker while medicating ourselves more and more?

Forget what you ate until today. What you eat from now on is vitally important to your continued well-being.

Until just a few generations ago, our ancestors were wonderfully fit and healthy compared with present-day generations. The majority lived good, active, healthy lives and ultimately died peacefully in their sleep.

Today, that is a rarity. Whereas chronic disease, chronic pain and prolonged end-of-life care were practically unheard of for our ancestors, such results are becoming much more the expected outcome for us.

What single difference between these two centuries affects our bodies the strongest?

The overwhelmingly different factor in our lives is the refined, processed, chemical products that we eat, that our ancestors simply did not eat. If our species, for better or worse, whether created, evolved or in-between, performs best on whole foods (vegetables, fruits, meats, etc.), then we can understand that putting synthetic liquid or solid wastes in the body will simply trash our most valuable possession: our own good health.

For the rest of the story, visit "Mercola.com"

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A Fitness Model's Sample Secrets

My Workout

Here is a sample week for me:

Monday	45 minutes total-body strength exercises on gym machines and 30 mins on the Elliptical
Tuesday	30 minutes on the Elliptical
Wednesday	30 minutes hill interval run with my husband and 60 minutes total-body strength exercises on gym machines
Thursday	20 minutes on the Elliptical
Friday	60 minutes total-body pool program
Saturday	30 minutes hill interval run
Sunday	OFF

My Meals

And here is a sample day:

	Pro	Carb	Fat	Cals
1c Kashi	13	30	1	140
1/2c Almond Milk	1	6	1	35
1/2 oz almond slivers	4	2	9	100
2T blueberries	0	3	0	11
Total	18	40	11	286
2 eggs	12	1	10	148
1/4 cup spinach	3	3	0	21
1/4 cup onion	1	5	0	24
1oz feta	5	1	4	60
2 slices toast	5	17	1	80
3 pieces bacon	6	0	8	105
Total	32	28	23	438
2 slices bread	5	17	1	80
1 slice low-nonfat chs	5	2	0	30
1 oz chicken	9	0	1	49
1T ff mayo	0	2	0	10
small apple	0	21	1	81
Total	19	42	3	250
1T olive oil	0	0	14	120
1/4c lf cot chs	6	3	1	40
1/2 red pepper	19	2	0	10
1/2 peeled cucumber	1	4	0	19
Total	26	9	15	189
Fugdsicle/Popsicle	2	13	0.5	50
1/2 cup Special K LC	7	9	2	67
1/2 cup cottage cheese	12	5	2	80
Total	21	27	4	197
Total Standard	115	146	55	1359
%	36%	46%	17%

5 meals, total of 1359 calories (not 1000 with all this exercise!), with 36% protein, 46% carbs and 17% fat.

Want To Know More?

Join "The Inner Circle"

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