You must take the first step to win any race. The first step will take some effort and maybe some pain. But after that, everything you have to do is real - life movement. Once you're moving you must keep moving. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desires and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put your plan into action. If you can get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed. You can only fail if you fail to start. Winning starts with beginning.

THE BIGGEST REASON PEOPLE GET FAT IS SUGAR

TO AVOID SUGAR, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE IT HIDES

Choose foods with five grams of sugar per serving or less.

Sugar hides in foods under clever names like beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, lactose, maltodextrin, malitol (a sugar alcohol), mannitol (a sugar alcohol) sorbitol (a sugar alcohol), sucrose, and turbinado sugar. These sugars are in everything from protein bars and shakes to breads and diary.

Sugar is found not only in things that are sweet but in processed food like ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and BBQ sauce.

One day I woke and had a huge reality check. I was sick and tired of being out of shape and overweight. My health was on a downward spiral and I needed to get it under control fast. I would wake up everyday in pain from my back to my knees. I was sad and just did not like the person I saw in the mirror. So I embarked on a journey to get me back. Today I am a much healthier and happier person now. I was a 301 pounds and wore a size 26 jeans. I have released 80 pounds and nearly 50 inches and now wear a size 14 jeans. I celebrated my 40th birthday on 4/24 and I must say I feel FABULOUS! I now have a new outlook on life and I am happy with me again.

An Empty Pickle Jar
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty pickle jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two glasses of chocolate milk from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
The Moral of the Story - The professor waited for the laughter to subside....
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things...your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."
"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your home, your car."
"The sand is everything else...The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are critical to your happiness."
"Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house or fix the disposal."
"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand."
This story is a wonderful reminder to focus on what is most important in our lives. And focusing on our priorities is one of the 10 Rules to Simplify Your Life in one of my favorite books...Stress is a Choice.
Many of us hurry through life going from one place to the next, focused on conquering the next mountain, making the next deal, running the next errand, and believing we will never have enough time to do all the things we need to get done, yet, there is all the time in the world if we just realize that we are the creators of this life we choose to live. That's right. Life is a series of choices and being free from stress is one of those choices.

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

Not getting enough sleep may bring about binge eating in women, a new study finds.

1. Target
   You are not all things to all people. Decide on your niche--narrow your focus and broaden your appeal.

 

It’s normal for the human brain to get smaller with age. But too little of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may shrink brains more quickly and cause thinking problems, research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) suggests.

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