Fitness
Focus on Fitness
What message are we sending our daughters?
Think about the last few conversations you’ve had with your “Mom” friends. What topics of conversation almost always come up? I’m guessing that diet and exercise is one of them. Does the number on the scale in the morning determine how you feel about your day? Yourself? Seriously–how much do you stress about how you look? Here’s an even bigger question–how much of your attitude about these issues gets transmitted to your daughter(s)?
The other day, I was taken aback by a picture of a mom who looks…well, too thin. (How many of you are thinking RIGHT NOW, “I’d rather be too thin than too fat!”? lol) Seriously, though, it made me think about what standards I have for myself. I know the right words to say–I am concerned with being active and eating right–being healthy is more important than being thin, etc, etc. BUT is that the value that I’m passing on to my daughter? Or am I teaching her that being thin is everything–even when that thin is too thin?
Truthfully, I’d rather look like that high school version of me–the me who ate toast for breakfast, an apple for lunch, and broccoli and fresh bread for dinner and ran every day (yes–that’s all I ate most days!). I would rather be too thin than what I am now…but that’s not what I want for my beautiful daughter–I want her to establish healthy habits and to be beautiful because she is who she is–active and healthy, not artificially thin, and with a beautiful heart.
An article in Success Magazine this month focuses on “Your LOOKS.” The article combats the notion that most of us (regardless of what we SAY) have about beauty–that it’s about makeup and fitting into your skinny jeans–and says that “beauty isn’t some vapid and superficial pursuit that exists solely to sell products…beauty, my dear, appearance-obsessed friend, is health.” Hmmm…Health is beauty. That’s an interesting thought. The authors (Drs. Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen) claim that beauty was the way that people assessed the health of their possible future mates–it indicated health. (Interestingly, the article goes on to discuss ways to keep looking young, which seems to contradict their earlier statements…but that’s another blog post. lol)
The video (Warning: it’s graphic) below has been circulating on Facebook, and a friend shared it with me after a conversation about this topic. Our daughters (and us, too!), as you will see in this video, are inundated with images that tell them they need to be super thin, big breasted sex objects whose best quality is not what lies within their hearts or minds, but what men can see from the outside.
Yes, if you’re like me, you monitor what your daughter(s) watch, listen to, read, etc. But my point really is–in the world she lives in, does my daughter see me supporting these images with my own choices and values–or does she see me living out something else, something that is honoring God and my femininity? Because, despite what we are told, we are the biggest role models in our daughters’ lives.
Megan is looking at me to see how I interpret these images and messages from the media–and not just what I say, but what I DO. Do I show her WITH MY ACTIONS that health and inner beauty are the most important thing (by being active and choosing good foods and focusing on being a better me) or that my weight and what I look like are the most important thing to me (by being obsessed with the scale and dieting)? I don’t think she needs to see more women in office, etc, to understand true beauty and her worth, but she needs to see me living out these values every day. Because how I allow the media to change my actions and values is how they will change hers.
A Cool Breeze
This morning, I stepped out of my front door for my morning run–and the heat and humidity took my breath away, even at 8 am! But, I put on my running shoes and started walking anyway. And as I walked, a cool breeze started to blow. I don’t know where a cool breeze is coming from in central Texas today, but that breeze made my task seem easier! The run was just as hard, but that cool breeze was refreshing and gave me a little bit of extra strength.
I started thinking that God is like that cool breeze in my life. Yes, there are tough things. Hard things that I have to walk through. Days it feels like I’m just taking it one step at a time. But with God, those hard things are just a little bit easier to handle. I still have to go through them, just like I had to make it to the end of my run, but God is the cool breeze that allows me to breathe easier and just enjoy the journey.
So, today, I am thankful for cool breezes on hot, humid July mornings and for God’s refreshing in my life.
Have a great day!
Karen
PepsiCo and Senomyx
The response I received from PepsiCo…either they need to do a little more research on the companies they are partnering with, or they need to work on their honesty with consumers.
Karen
Sent: Fri, April 1, 2011 1:00:26 PM
Subject: A Message from PepsiCo Consumer Relations 012652145B
Dear Karen,
Thank you for contacting us to share your sincere concerns. Please know that we take very seriously the issues you raised. PepsiCo has a strong set of defined values we strive to live up to.
Unfortunately, there is some misinformation being circulated related to research techniques that have been used for decades by universities, hospitals, government agencies, and private companies around the world. These claims are meant to suggest that human fetal tissue is somehow used in our research. That is both inaccurate and something we would never do or even consider.
It also is inaccurate to suggest that tissue or cells somehow are being used as product ingredients. That’s dangerous, unethical and against the law. Every ingredient in every one of our products is reviewed and approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
We hope this information is helpful and reassuring. Thank you again for reaching out to us and allowing us to clarify the situation.
Stephanie White
Consumer Relations Representative
012652145B
_________________
My response:
Stephanie,
I appreciate your thoughtful response. I am still concerned, though, because it is clear that PepsiCo is working with Senomyx. As stated in this article on PepsiCo’s website, the PepsiCo relationship includes Senomyx’ research on “natural” flavorings that will change the way human taste buds respond to flavors. In the patents for this research, filed in 2008, it is stated that HEK293 is used. From this information, it is clear that they are using human fetal tissue from aborted babies to do their product development. This is not a “claim,” but a proven fact. While some may question whether or not it really matters…the exploitation of a dead human child for researching food flavorings is never appropriate or ethical. I hope that PepsiCo will reconsider its relationship with this company.
Thank you,
Karen Palmer, MA
Senomyx
When I started this blog, I didn’t intend it to be a sounding board for “political” ideas, but as a Christian mom, abortion really bothers me.
I found out yesterday that the #1 killer in Canada is…Abortion! In fact, when you factor in abortion, the infant mortality rate in Canada is 215/1000! That’s 1 out of 5 babies. Get this…in the US, heart disease is listed as the official #1 cause of death, with about 600,000 deaths per year. But the actual #1 cause of death is, in fact, abortion–killing about 1.6 MILLION babies a year. That means that close to 25% of all pregnancies end in abortion in the US.
And today, I found out that a company called Senomyx is using the cells of aborted babies to create “natural flavorings” for food. The cells are not actually IN your food–they are used to test the flavors, but still–isn’t this a little disturbing? http://www.catholicdadsonline.org/posts/7303/2415-senomyx-green/
Where does it end? We are encouraged to inject our babies with vaccines made from aborted babies, and now we are told it is perfectly safe to feed our babies foods made with the help of aborted babies. I just wrote a letter to Campbells thanking them for severing their relationship with Senomyx, and I will be writing to Nestle, Kraft, and Pepsi asking them to do the same. If you want to take action on this issue, visit this site: http://www.cogforlife.org/senomyxalert.htm
Here is the text of the e-mail I sent to Nestle, Pepsi, and Kraft (be sure to change the company name):
As a mom with small children, I want only the best, most natural foods to enter their bodies. While I find the use of high fructose corn syrup and other unnatural ingredients appalling, it is unbelievable that a company like Nestle would use artificial flavorings made with the help of aborted babies. You can be assured that I will NOT be purchasing any foods created by Nestle, and I will be sharing this information with everyone in my network.
Karen
Raw Milk…
So, this week we are going on Friday to get raw milk for the 3rd time! We get our milk from Stryk Dairy, which is one of the few farms certified to sell raw milk. They are inspected every day by the TX health department, which is great because I know that we are drinking milk that is produced with the highest standards, is healthier for us, and tastes great! (Josyan says that the milk from the farm is the best–and he was disappointed when we ran out!)
The claims that raw milk is dangerous are based upon the conditions at factory dairies, where filth and disease run rampant and cows are fed feed, rather than grass. Raw milk from such dairies is dangerous. However, raw milk from a clean, grass-fed cow (or goat!) milked in a clean barn is definitely NOT dangerous. In fact, we happily drank the goat’s milk we received when Ryan milked our neighbor’s goat back in AZ!
If you are contemplating trying raw milk, I highly encourage you to visit the Campaign for Real Milk site. There are tons of articles explaining the benefits of raw milk. And, before you go buying milk from just anyone, do your research. Make sure that the milk is from grass-fed cows/goats in a clean environment. If you don’t have a dairy or a neighbor where you can get good raw milk, you can probably find lightly pasteurized milk in your local health food store. That’s a great way to start! :-)
More on Sour Dough
 |
| Sour Dough Cinnamon Rolls! |
While my starter was gaining strength in weeks 2 and 3, I started using it every day. After my pancake adventure, I made English muffins, banana muffins, chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls (glorious!) and bread. The English muffins were really weird to make (the dough is soupy), but they turned out so good! The bread rose like crazy–how fun that I didn’t have to use yeast!–and had a yummy sour/honey contrast in taste. The muffins & cupcakes tasted good, but didn’t rise the way I wanted them to. And the cookies…let’s just say I need to tweak my recipe a bit! lol
 |
| English Muffins! |
I knew that last week was going to be a pretty busy week, though, and I knew I wasn’t going to have time to play with my sour dough every day, so I fed my starter and put it in the refrigerator. (You can do that after 3 weeks, as long as you work with it once a day!). When I went back to the course, I realized that I had not followed the procedures properly (feed it, let it sit for a few hours to get it going, then put it in the fridge with the lid not down all the way–then a few hours later close the lid all the way).
BUT when I took my starter out yesterday morning, there were still bubbles! So, I fed the starter and it was full of life again by afternoon! I’m excited to bake more bread and experiment with some other goodies this week while my sister is visiting. Today, bread is on the menu! ;-)
It’s Alive!
I was about to give up on my starter yesterday, but I stirred it really well and fed it…and this morning LIFE again! Hurray! I think we have a winner. I have no idea what happened there for a few days, but hanging in there instead of starting over was worth it. :-) I think I might even try to increase the starter and make pancakes in the morning…what a fun experiment! :-)
Making Sour Dough
So, I recently decided that I would start experimenting with sour dough. Why? With a sour dough starter on hand, you don’t need yeast! Baking with sour dough is healthier for your body. And, it’s kind of fun to think that I can make my own. Thanks to a great online course with GNOWFGLINS, I have step by step instructions. And, it’s surprisingly easy.
To start with, you just mix 3/8 cup whole wheat flour (Arrowhead Mills, Bob’s, and King Arthur are the best–but Handy Andy only had Gold Medal, and I wanted to get started!) with 1/4 cup of water. (no chlorine–if you have chlorine in your water, you have to leave it out uncovered for 24 hours to let the chlorine dissipate) Scrape down the sides (to prevent mold) and cover.
After 12 hours, you look to see if you see any life–bubbles in the mixture.
So this is a picture of my sour dough starter on the very first day. I am really excited about trying out this experiment—especially since it is so much easier than I thought it would be.
Once you start to see life–bubbles–you begin feeding your starter every 12 hours. Until then, you check every 12 hours and stir vigorously until you do see life. Then…Remove 1/2 the mixture, add 1/4 c water and 3/8 c flour, stir vigorously, scrape down the sides, and cover. What’s happening is that the wild yeasts in the flour are being activated.
Here’s what my starter looked like in the morning on Day 3:
I am super excited! I actually did it! ;-) So, I remove half the mixture, add 1/4 c water and 3/8 c flour. 12 hours later, I see bubbles, but not life like this time. But I go ahead and remove 1/2, feed the starter.
Last night, I was still not seeing any good life, so I just gave the starter a good stir and hoped for the best. This morning, this is what I found:
Oh no! No bubbles! There were some bubbles in the top, so I’m hopeful that there is life still in there…somewhere. I’m going to feed my starter and see if anything happens today. If not, I’ll start from scratch tomorrow. It takes a week to get your starter strong enough to actually use, so I’m hoping that this will work and I can start using the starter this week!
Life…
I recently stumbled across a photo on facebook of a tiny baby–just 6 weeks after conception–who had been miscarried. The photo of baby “Blessing” was taken by her grieving mother. It was amazing to see the little fingers on the tiny hand already formed at such an early age. I was moved by the loss of this tiny infant and had to re-post.
This morning, I awoke to a diatribe on the photo by a person who I have known almost all of my life. As I said to him in my response this morning, I did not post the picture to begin a debate about abortion, law making, or when life begins. And I didn’t feel it appropriate to respond to his arguments in that forum. However, I am truly disturbed by some of his statements, and I thought I would respond here.
One thing he mentions in his post is that as a Christian, I would not like legislation passed that I disagreed with, so my religious beliefs should not be the basis of legislation passing (referring to abortion). Actually, this kind of legislation has been passed–raw milk, for example, is outlawed in many states. Homeschooling is banned. We cannot freely speak even the name of God in a public place. As a teacher, openly stating my beliefs in the classroom would get me fired (though it’s perfectly find for an atheist to tell students who disagree with him that they are brainwashed by their parents). And in many places, churches are forced to hire people who violate their deeply held beliefs because of legislation that has been passed. Pastors have been jailed for reading certain scriptures from the Bible. By the same token, many of the laws I’m sure he accepts and applauds, like laws against murder, robbery, etc, are rooted in biblical beliefs, as is the belief that “all men are created equal.” Our very constitution is founded on the belief in God.
Another thing mentioned in the post is the question of when life begins. “This is a fetus, not a baby,” he says. I think it is only people who are removed from the process of life who could make such a statement. A farmer who has just had his crop destroyed by frost or hail does not say, “Oh, well–they weren’t corn, yet.” He laments the loss of his crop of corn! Likewise, a farmer whose pregnant cow is killed by a flood does not mourn the loss of one cow, but two. And a mother who rejoices in the new life growing within her knows with absolute certainty that this is a child–one who she will nurse and rock and kiss. She pictures her baby boy playing catch with his daddy or her baby girl dancing at her wedding–long before she holds that child in her arms.
Finally, his assertion that adoption is traumatic is very sad, especially in light of the dreadful trauma–emotional and physical–that abortion unleashes on the would-be mothers and fathers (as we are now discovering). Even if some adoption situations don’t turn out perfectly, not a single abortion ends well. Isn’t it better to give a child a chance to have a loving family than no chance at all? After all, God even used adoption as a picture of His love for us–we are adopted as sons and daughters. This is a picture of how great His love is for us–that He loves us as His own children.
It is true that each person has been given free will by God. We have the ability to make our own choices. And one day, we will be held accountable for those choices, just as we will be held accountable for “every idle word” we speak. I pray every day that my words will honor God. I know that I fail often and dreadfully, but that is my prayer. I will continue to post things that touch my heart or that I would like for people to think about. I will not be silenced by ridicule. I know in Whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.
Karen
