Monday, January 16, 2012

Annoying Things That Happen When You Work in Retail - My Personal Experience

Why working retail can be annoying

When you work in retail, you will learn life lessons about human behavior. However, there are some interesting funny and annoying things you will learn and observe in retail that will always have you shaking your head. Shoppers are great, and of course retail and consumers is really what makes the world go 'round. If there weren't consumers that buy retail products on a consistent basis, then of course, the economy would be worse off than it is at the moment.

When you work in retail you are forced to work insane hours, be nice to everyone, be helpful and cheerful and even deal with some people who are just plain rude. It's not always as easy as it looks, but it's somethings very amusing.

Top 5 Annoying Customer Habits

Customers are sometimes too personal. From personal experience, I can tell you that some folks just get way too personal with their cashier. Sure, it seems harmless to make a confession or talk about something personal with a cashier at check out, but sometimes it's plain weird. I've learn it's best to just smile, nod and agree even if you are thinking, "wtf just happened here?"

Personal conversations on cell phones should be private. Not everyone needs to know about how pissed off you are at your boyfriend, or for that matter that you think you might be pregnant. If you find yourself cussing out your boyfriend on the phone, stop and think about it. People are around you.

People seem to think that swiping a card before the items have been checked out is acceptable. It's not. Registers are not magical objects that can predict whats going to be scanned and the price. The cashier has to scan the items, total the sale and then actually confirm the total before the card can be processed. So please, crazy card swipers - stop it and wait for the cashier to give you the total amount of the sale.

People have kids, but retail stores are not a subsitute for day care. Working in retail is one thing, you know you will have to deal with adults that can possibly be loud, get angry or annoyed but you don't expect to deal with children. Note to all parents who don't care if their kid is tearing up candy in the floor - get off the cell phone and pay attention to your children. It's totally not acceptable to let your 5 year old boy commit lewd acts (such as humping) on a shopping cart while you talk about what type of shoes you want to wear that night on the phone.

Some people don't appreciate a good old fashion, "Have a Great day!" closing. And this is so rude. Of course, some people will appreciate a cashier taking the time to close the deal and say 'have a great day!' and they will also say the two words that every cashier likes to hear "YOU TOO." It's so rude that some people just walk away and never say a word. It just shows a sign of the times where people think being courteous is a waste of time.

How To Cure Writer's Block - A Writer's Cure

Have Writer's Block? Yeah, It happens sometimes.

Writer's block happens a lot, especially if you are a constant writer who depends on writing as income. It really gets frustrating to write when you can't think straight. I get writer's block quite a lot. I can stare at my laptop for hours on end and have nothing but a blank Word Pad screen. I think that a lot of writers, like myself, get frustrated simply because they started worrying about the income more than the passion to write. I'm currently trying to get back to my old writing mojo (before I realized I earned income from writing) and get back to how it made me relax and de-stress myself.

My own personal ways to cure writer's block

Of course, the question still stands "how do you cure writer's block?" I think the answer is pretty simple. Stop TRYING to cure writer's block. Pretty much, you need to use reverse physiology on yourself. Stop trying to write, stop trying to understand why you can't write. Stop it all together. Take a break and do something that you enjoy that might give you inspiration.

Personal Ways That I Cure My Writer's Block

Writer's block for me is like remembering to find my keys daily. It happens a lot and it happens often. I also don't realize that I'm having a moment with writer's block and I tend to think I suck at writing. While, at times I know that's not the case, I still tend to be too hard on myself. So at that point, I close my laptop and refuse to open it again. But then I remember after trying one of the below mentions of how I cure my own writer's block, that I'm not a crappy writer -- I'm just tired or stressed or distracted.

Try not writing. I did this for 7 months and I STILL had writer's block. It was a pretty sad time in my life. However, I decided to put on my big girl pants and stick to it. I also discovered that writing shouldn't be about keywords or key phrases - it should be writing about what I WANT. So I did that, and I'm still doing that. BUT -- I did take 7 months off. In that time, I started a new life. I found a nice place to rent, I worked on my fitness, and I also branched out and found that writing is not the only way to earn money online. I just missed that part of my life.

Stop blaming yourself. I did this and I still do this when I have writer's block. I think that my mind has just crapped out enough that I can't focus to write. But in reality, sometimes I'm just too tired or too stressed to write. Other times, I really have other important factors that I should be concerned about instead of writing online. You need to find balance in your life, but don't blame or be hard on yourself for not being able to type out that article at night. Give yourself a break.

Workout, it's good for you! I discovered that when I have writer's block -- the BEST thing I can do for myself is to workout. Go outside and go for a walk, do some Yoga, get on a treadmill and sweat or even do some old-fashion push-ups. Yes, it does work. Working your body helps relieve some stress off your mind. For me, it's running. The more I pound the pavement, the better I think and feel. When I get done with one running session, I feel like I could write a novel. Sweating does help writer's block. So go work on your fitness a little more often.

Have a drink and relax. While I'm not saying that you should consume alchohol on a nightly basis of writing, but on the nights that you are stuck and in a rut, yes drink up! There is nothing like a little liquid courage to get your thoughts going rapid. Pour a glass of wine or crack open a beer, you might find that you just needed a little bit of relaxation to help you unwind.

The most important thing that you can do for writer's block is to stop worrying about actually having writer's block. If you cannt write, don't waste time trying to. Instead of worrying about why you can't write - take up another activity that might give you inspiration. Just remind yourself that every writer goes through the same experience and it will pass - eventually.

Do you need a new job? I know I do!

Do you need a new job?

Working isn't something that most people choose to do, it's something they have to do. Just like going to school when you were a child, work is much like the same. You would rather stay at home and play sick, but now you are an adult with bills and responsibilities. As much as you wanted to grow up when you were little, now a job can completely stress you out to make you want to be a child again. Much like high school, your job might begin to get too personal with other co-workers, you will feel that you are being singled out, intentionally. Here are the top 5 ways to know if you need a new job.

Top Reasons You Might Need Another Job

You Need a New Job If You Feel Anxious Constantly. While having some anxiety is normal, you shouldn't feel anxious over every second of the day at work. It should be a somewhat healthy environment of comfort. While no one is truly comfortable at work, you should feel like you have your own personal space as well as your own level of comfort. If you feel anxious every second while you're at work, whether it be from co-workers or management, you may need to find another job.
You Need a New Job If You Feel Singled Out. While everyone disagrees with someone every once in awhile, if you feel like you are singly being picked on, bullied, or punished for no reason by co-workers or management, you might need to find another job. A healthy work environment should flow smoothly. If you feel that co-workers or management are constantly focusing on flaws and problems they may have with you, it's safe to say you need another job.

You Need a New Job If You Are Not Getting Paid For Work That You Do. If you take on projects occasionally to prove yourself, that is one thing. If you are working double the hours, double the work and responsibility and are only getting paid for half of it, than you need to look for other employment. Your job may be taking advantage of your hard working nature and mistake it for being a pushover. Make sure you are getting the hours, payment, and benefits for every bit of your work.

You Need a New Job If You Being Verbally Abused. Too many times, employees put up with too much verbal abuse from their supervisors. Constructive critisicm is great for most people, but do not let it go too far. If you feel that your name or work is being slander, especially for no good reason, and often, you may need to find another job.

You Need a New Job If You Are Not Being Recognized For Your Work. Another common mistake employees make, is being over looked. While a few times of being overlooked may not strike you, you shouldn't let others take credit for the work that you do. If so, you may need to find another job. Employers seems to have certain people that they see as 'perfect' employees, which the people that do all the work never get the credit. If you work hard and the employer refuses to recognize the hard work that you do, you may need to find another job.

Five Things I've Learned To Help Become a Better Writer/Blogger In This World

My Advice When It Comes To Writing Online

Writing online isn't all fun and giggles. It really is hard work. Work that will pay off, but still hard work. Sure, sitting at your computer writing away seems like a simple task but when you put your full self into writing -- burning out is possible and it will happen. While this is my own personal experience, I'm sure this will be helpful advice for many beginners and advanced writers alike.

My 5 personal lessons I've learned about writing online

1. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. As many have probably heard in the world of passive income. eHow, one of the best rev. sharing writing sites out there, closed it's doors on the Writer's Compensation Program and called it quits for accepting new articles and writers. Now, only the selected writers of the eHow world can still publish on eHow but through Demand Studios terms. A lot of writers put their eggs into eHow's basket and got burned. I was one of them. Though I was accepted into Demand Studios program for eHow. Most of the terms and what I liked about writing for eHow was ripped from me. So, let this be a lesson to me and everyone else. Don't depend on one site to earn income online.

2. Branching out can only lead to good things. Once I was afraid to branch out and spend time writing for various sites. The reason being: I didn't want to learn new guidelines for each site. Then I tried my luck at a few different sites and found that it made me grow as a writer and helped me depend LESS on just one type and style of writing. This will also help you increase income without really worrying about it. You may find out that the site you didn't want to write for actually paid off while playing with a different writing site on the side. It's a pleasant surprise.

3. Try, try and try again. While some writing sites are very strict, and may decline your first article or offer, try it one more time before giving up. Usually you will find that there is someone out there that WILL accept your content. If you give up before knowing what you could have had - you will be the one that lost out.

4. Motivation makes for good articles. I have tried various different styles of writing, and while some of them I was very interested in, some of them I was not at all interested but did it anyway. The lesson learned here: Write what you know and love. Passion and motivation towards a topic or 'niche' is the best way to make a article flow. If you have no real passion for the topic, or at least a good deal of knowledge - it might sound very dry, which leads readers and editors alike feeling dry.

5. Write what you know. This lesson follows the fourth lesson, because knowledge is everything when writing articles. If you have no clue what your writing about - your readers will know. And this will make for bad feedback and less traffic to that article. In the long run, it is totally worth the effort to spend a few minutes researching a topic before typing.

This may be common sense to some and to some it may spark a light in their brain, yelling "I'm not the only one after all who did this before!". These are all mistakes I've made and learned from while writing online.

Find good music you will love, it's true!

Find music that you will like!

Are you searching to find good music that relates to your taste? This article will outline the 5 best ways to find good music, music that will is similar to the genre of your choice, and it's all free! If you are searching for new songs for your iPod but cannot seem to find anything that you like, try out some of these tips on ways to find good music!

Top 5 Ways to Find The Music You Like

Find Good Music on Pandora Radio! http://www.pandora.com/ Pandora Radio is one of the best ways to find music that is similar to your tastes, by just processing the music that you already like. You create a list of songs, bands, or even genres you like and instantly Pandora Radio will give you new musical choices to chose from! It's free to sign up, free to use, and a great way to find new music!

Find Good Music By Using Music Map to Select Similar Artist. http://www.music-map.com/ - Music Map is a great tool to finding good music that you will love. Music map works by searching for artists similar to the artist that you suggest. It's a branch out tree of similar musicians. It's a great tool to find underground bands and artists of the same genre of music that you would like.

Search Amazon to Find Good Music. http://www.amazon.com - Amazon isn't just a place to buy stuff. On Amazon's musical department, you can preview tunes before you decide if you like the record. You can use this to your advantage. Amazon also suggests other artists, albums and songs that are similar to what you already like. By clicking on a suggested artist or album, you can preview their songs to see if one tickles your fancy. If so, then you just found good music to listen to!

Use Taste Kid to Find Good Music! http://www.tastekid.com/ - Taste Kid is a very awesome site with very awesome features. You can find just about any type of entertainment similar to what you like, but especially music. You can type in a song, album, artist or genre and instantly you will pick up 100's of different suggestions all similar to what you like. It's amazing, it's free and it's fun!

Find Good Music By Using Mog. http://mog.com/ - Mog is an up and coming invention and website that is generated solely based on it's user and it's user's likes and needs. It's free to try, but it does cost just under $10 a month for regular usage. The most amazing thing about Mog, is that you can use this with your mobile phone, iPod, Ipad or any other media device.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Best Sites For Free Retail Coupons Deals

If you want to where you can find free coupons online, you are in luck. Now days, no one pays full price for anything without looking for a coupon first. The economy has gotten worse, and the growth of coupons have grown enourmously. There are plenty of sites that offer free coupons online for food, fashion, electronics, online shopping and even free shipping if you like to buy online. If you are looking for coupons, you need to be aware of the millions of sites that offer free coupons on anything and everything. This article will explain the best of the best websites and also how to use your online coupons.

Food and Grocery Coupons

Grocery coupons and food coupons are the most sought after coupons, simply because everything is way too expensive now days. Even cereal is truly pricey now, compared to 4 years ago. However, there are plenty of reliable trusty coupon sites that are centered around your grocery list.
  • Valpak - This site is one of the best reliable sources for coupons and they even offer different coupons according to the city and the state that you reside in.
  • RetailMeNot Food. RetailMeNot is a very generous source on coupons ranging from food to electronics to online shopping, however the food coupon section is the most used section on their site and even offers a rating of how well the coupons work or if they are expired.
  • Grocery Coupon Network. This site is really great. There are millions of food coupons to choose from and also have detailed shopping lists and recipes to buy exactly what you need, with your coupon and also gives tips. Plan your meals, save money and find new exciting foods to add to your table every night.


Retail Coupons

If you are looking for retail coupons for items that are related to fashion, makeup, grooming, hygene, or even entertainment -- you need to check out a few of these websites that offer retail coupons free on a huge selection of items.
  • RetailMeNot. You can pretty much find a coupon for anything on this site. If you want to shop online, you can find free shipping, pertenage off, discounted deals -- anything and everything. The selection of the site goes from food, fashion, electronics to even hygene products. The great thing about this site is that it offers a rating system to let you know if the coupons are successful or expired.
  • Wow Coupons. This site isn't the most user-friendly, however this site does offer a wide range of coupons for retail stores. Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, and many other retail stores are among the favorites on this site.
  • Flamingo World. This site is really simple and easy to use. The coupons can be printed out without any needed software and you can find just about everything here.

Dying to be thin: A personal story. An Intimate Tale of My Eating Disorder



I'm not proud of having had an eating disorder or the fact that even today I still struggle with the balance between healthy and unhealthy, I feel that now I can speak and write about my experience in an enlightening way. I suffered from an eating disorder most of my teen/young adult life. It wasn't pretty and it sure wasn't healthy for me. Along that path that I took for myself, I learned a lot about me, myself and I. The lowest weight for me was 95 pounds and I still remember weighing myself that day and thinking, "wow, that's great". Now days, I do realize how unhealthy that mental behavior was for me. I would literally go days without eating more than 200 calories worth of chewing gum. I kept a diary of exactly what I ate, how many calories it contained and how many bites I ate of it. That's awful, isn't it? It is. And I didn't realize that back then. Now days, I'm a healthy adult who eats way too much but sensibly. However, there are still those thoughts and feelings that creep into my mind almost every time I have a meal.

So anyone who reads this probably wonders why I would ever want to put this out there for the entire world to read. I know it's way too personal and embarrassing. The point being is that yeah, it's personal and it's embarrassing to talk about out loud. But me talking about my issues with food and body image is what helped me change. Along with lots of running and thinking and music while running.

I wrote an article for Examiner.com to get accepted as a Eating Disorder Examiner is South Carolina. I wrote there for awhile but discovered that the site wasn't fully functioning all the time. I decided to take my articles else where, but I was looking through articles I had saved the other day and came across the article that got me accepted.
It was my personal essay on my own eating disorder. I decided that the best place to publish this article again would be my own blog. Here goes! If I can change one person's life through my experience I will be very happy knowing I reached out to someone.




Dying to be thin: A personal story.



This is an intimate look into the mind of a recovering eating disorder patient. I suffered with an eating disorder my entire teenage life, and still struggle with it being an adult. I have recovered, and doing well, but seem to look back and wish someone had told me what I now know about life, body image and healthy eating. Looking back on the days when my eating disorder was at it's worst, I now realize how much denial I was truly in. I couldn't see the bigger picture, only a few hours in front of me. I had no clue that I was so deep in need of help that I honestly had to fall before I could catch myself again. I guess the saying is true, sometimes you really have to hit rock bottom before you can help yourself crawl out. I feel motivated now, being healthy and happy, to share my opinion and thoughts with those who struggle with an eating disorder now to prove that you really can change things around for the better and live a normal healthy life.

Back to the beginning. When the world thinks of someone with an eating disorder, they see skin and bones. That's not the case for many people. I was in those awkward teen years, just turning 13, going to middle school, and was chubby. I wasn't obese, but I wasn't considered 'thin'. I also had a family history of most of the women in my family were thicker rather than thinner. At that time, I noticed girls in middle school that were considered 'pretty' were pretty much stick thin and popular. I noticed magazine covers and TV shows, and thought "I want to look like that." So I decided to go a on diet to lose a few pounds, as I said I wasn't obese, but I wasn't thin. After that, I tried the popular late 90's trend, The Atkins Diet. At 13, I followed this strict diet and lost my 'chubbiness' and become healthier. It took a year, and I was then 14. I learned some healthy eating habits along the way and I lost enough weight, that for an average 14 year old girl, I was now considered a 'healthy weight'.

The obsession began. After that I began to realized how much attention I got from losing weight. I had more friends, boyfriends, I was more popular - average teenage stuff. I remember thinking, "Wow, this makes me feel so much better." I noticed that losing weight, somehow, made everything better in the world. Any problems I had seemed so much smaller, the more weight that I lost. I also began to see that you *could* transform your body into anything, if you tried hard enough. I continued to diet. The obsession grew to an unhealthy level in no time flat, but at the time, I honestly did not or could see what I was doing. I started to skip meals, exercise a lot, and even lie to my parents about eating. Pretty much anything to skip eating, I would do. I discovered that I could buy diet pills over the counter, so I began consuming more than the average dose of diet pills. Yes, a 14 year old could buy diet pills, I was never checked for an ID. In between the time I was 14 until I turned 16, I didn't realize that my habits had grown unhealthy. I was completely in denial and hid my problem well from my family and friends.

The breaking point. At 16, I was so consumed with my unhealthy obsession/love affair with my eating disorder (though, at the time I *never* thought of my habits as an eating disorder) had become so persistent, it's all I could think about. My thoughts were consumed with how I would not eat in front of anyone, get out of eating, or what I would eat next time I did decide to eat. It was an awful and violent cycle of obsession with food and not eating food. I would really be hungry, decide not to eat, and then think of all the food that I would want to eat. But as I stated before, at that time, I never considered that I had a problem or this behavior wasn't normal. It never occurred to me. It was one day in summer, I had went for a run, came back and had an awful headache and I went to sleep it off. After that, I remember waking up and feeling like I couldn't move. The next thing I remember was being rushed to the emergency room. My body was actually shutting down from the lack of food, nutrition and strain I had been putting on my body. My compulsive exercising combined with the lack of food, nutrition and vitamins had taken a toll on my body. Not to mention the numerous diet pills I had been taking. My body was failing. I don't honestly remember too much from that time, except thinking "What is happening?" and "How could this happen?".

The turning point.
After I had been rushed the emergency room, they had stabilized me. I was in a hospital, I had no clue why, and my family was deeply concerned, and all right in front me. I realized at that moment, what had happened and it hit me like a stack of bricks. Everything all at once. After that, doctors recommended I speak with a counselor, which I did and everything started to fall into place. I realized I had a problem and had had one for years. A few months later, I had learned new healthy eating habits, and had taken up a love for running with a new light. Instead of controlling my life and emotions with food and lack of food, I began to channel my feelings into running. It was the only therapeutic help I needed. I also know that not everyone with an eating disorder was as fortunate to have such an easy recovering process.

The life lessons I learned.
I have recovered from my eating disorder, and I live a healthy life today, however there are times when I still struggle with imbalance. There are some days I think to myself, "I should just skip a meal..." or "I shouldn't eat this or that...", but in truth, I believe, just because someone has recovered from an eating disorder doesn't mean that the mental aspect of it ever leaves you. You can improve yourself, and you can learn to live healthy, but there is always a part of you that has that eating disorder in the back of your mind. It's all about balance, self control, and strong will. I hope this look at my eating disorder will help others look into their self and find strength to get healthy and have a better quality of life.

Image Credit Provided By: treatment-centers.net and  coloribus.com

An Outline of Body Image and Eating Disorders, Just an opinion.


In today's world, eating disorders seem to be more of a trend than an actual disease or illness that is dangerous. A recent study shows that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder of some sort. One in 200 women suffer from an eating disorder, while 10 to 15 percent of those American's are men. It's an alarming number, and it's not taken as serious as it should be.

So why are so many people developing eating disorders? Well, the answer to that question is an endless string of answers, to be honest. There are different reasons why one might develop an eating disorder. Most believe it's the media, which is true. The media is mostly to blame. Young women and men, a like, are often brainwashed of images of what their body should be, compared to what an average person's body actually is. It's a sad story of true American history. However, not all of the blame should be put on the media, because in reality, most young adults, even as children, did not develop healthy eating patterns as they grew. As they grow older, picking the wrong nutrition supplements and foods has lead America to an awful disorder unlike any kind.

Why are people so obsessed with body image? Physically, it's the first impression of what others see of one another. It's human nature to want to be desired or liked, but when the obsession becomes unhealthy, or deadly, in many cases, it seems that people in today's society doesn't really care if it's unhealthy, as long as they look acceptable. It's a sad but true statement. Many celebrities have proved this. A famous singer/actress went on a very unhealthy and strict diet, The Master Cleanse, which suddenly became popular after she stated she dropped over 15 pounds in a matter of days. This dietary habit is known as a fast, not a diet or healthy lifestyle. In return, this diet became so popular, many women sought this diet out and have strictly followed it. Many cases of this popular trend became unhealthy when cases showed that many people were malnourished after trying this diet. This is just an example of many trends that young women digest into their conscious and live out, thinking that it's acceptable.

What can people do to stop the effect of media in relation to eating disorders?
First of all, schools should have better programs and workshops for young women and men, to instill healthy body images upon all students of schools. It should also be localized and enforced in every school district to teach young children how to eat healthily and to teach young adults the nutritional values in foods. Parents also need to become more aware of what young adults are eating and instill proper nutrition at a younger age. Adults need to rethink values and even further their education in nutrition as well. People need to stop looking in magazines and look at the people right in front of them. Healthy people are right next to others, and they don't pay attention. Be healthy, be happy, and live life to the fullest without insane expectations of what some say is ideal. Ideal is being happy and healthy.

Photo Credit: drkathleenyoung.wordpress.com

10 Ways To Burn Calories Without Trying! Hell Yes!

Want to know how you can burn calories without trying to? Well, sure, everyone does. The fact is that every time you make a single body movement, it will burn a calorie. The main goal in weight loss and exercising is to burn off more calories than you exactly consume each day, thus helping you lose weight. Burning calories isn't truly hard to do as long as you stay active during each day. One of the biggest weight loss tips that you will ever be given is to stay active.

Your Body, Calories, and Metabolism

Burning calories is basically what burns fat. In order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume within a day. That's the general idea. However, when you are on a healthy diet that boosts your metabolism, you are instantly burning calories without trying. The same rule fits with exercising on a regular basis. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have a higher metabolism that people who don't.
There are a few things that weight heavy (no pun intended) on how your body and your metabolism work according to your body. These factors include things such as your body size, your age, and your sex. These are the most common principles to go by. You can find free BMI (Body Mass Index) calculators to help you determine how many calories you should be burning each day in order to lose weight.

The Top 10 Ways To Burn Calories Without Trying

  1. Eat healthy small meals, six times a day. This alone will help you burn calories without really trying to. By consuming 6 small healthy meals a day, you are allowing your body to fuel up on energy. That energy helps keep your body going throughout the day without much rest in between. Never skip meals, this only leads to you being hungry later on and munching on whatever is closest to you at the time. It also slows down your metabolism when your body doesn't have enough fuel to keep going.
  2. Drink cold water. Water can do amazing things for your body. If you want to burn some extra calories, try drinking up cold water. Drinking any type of water is healthy for your body, don't get me wrong. Cold water actually helps you burn more calories because your metabolism has to work harder to warm up that water for your body.
  3. Clean your home more. Yes, cleaning can burn up to 300 calories in an hour. This seems like a no brainier, but many people do not think of cleaning in that way. Being active automatically means you will be burning calories. Try setting a goal to clean your entire home in an hour and a half. The constant moving and activity will burn calories without you actually trying to. Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and many other house hold chores can burn fat just as quick as a quick run.
  4. Fidget more. Yes, people that fidget and can't stay still are likely to burn way more calories. Why? Just the constant moving of your body is burning calories. Those who like to clean their desk constantly, move objects, twiddle their thumbs and so on are more likely to burn 20% more calories than someone who doesn't.
  5. Walk to and from. Okay, this tip also sounds like common sense but you would be surprised at the amount of people who park closer to the store, or would rather ride 12 feet than just walk. It can be as simple as walking to go get your lunch, or walking to pay that cell phone bill when you went shopping in the same mall. Make it a point to park your car and walk further.
  6. Eat more protein. Protein is an essential fatty acid that your body needs to be able to burn fat quickly. Protein is also the make up of your muscles and tissue. When you consume protein, your body reads it as fuel. Fuel to energize your body and to keep you feeling energetic. When you consume more protein, your body becomes more capable of burning extra calories without trying.
  7. Standing often. Did you know that just standing more often can help you burn up to 20% more calories in a day than not standing? It's true. If you have an office desk job, make sure that you stand up every so often and move around. If you have phone calls, stand up and walk around instead of sitting.
  8. Taking a mini-fitness break. Everybody can do this more often. Instead of taking a break and watching TV or checking your phone, do a set a squats or jumping jacks. Even 3 minutes or exercise bursts can help boost your metabolism.
  9. Get intimate more often. If you are in a relationship, use that advantage to it's fullest. Having sex or even just kissing burns off calories like there is no tomorrow. Sex can burn up to 300 calories per session while just kissing can burn at least 70-100 calories easily. Is there a better excuse out there? No! Go for it!
  10. Dancing in the shower. Everybody is guilty of hearing 'that song' can getting busy busting moves. Dancing in the shower or just anywhere for 3 minutes can help burn you extra calories and let you have fun. Don't be ashamed, bust a move!

Monday, January 2, 2012

What You Can Do To Help Raise Awarness For Eating Disorders

Eating disorders have now become so common, that one out of every two students in America will struggle and battle some form of eating disorder. It is estimated that nearly 8 million Americans have an eating disorder - 7 million of which are women, while only 1 million men suffer from the issue. One in every 200 women suffers from anorexia, while two to three women suffer from bulimia. Usually, most people tend to think that eating disorders only apply to women but 10 to 15 percent of men also suffer from it as well. It's becoming an epidemic that some might honestly say is a "trend" instead of an actual dangerous health hazard.

Among mental illnesses, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that five to ten percent of anorexics die within ten years after contracting the disease.
While 18 to 20 percent of anorexics will be dead after 20 year to 30 years (from complications due to suicide as well as heart complications) and only 40 percent of anorexics truly recover. These statistics do not lie, and shows the ever growing popularity of the illness.

Knowing the statistics is the first step is becoming more involved with Eating Disorder Awareness. If you want to raise awareness or help with those who suffer from the illness the first step is to join with NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) and The Alliance for Eating Disorders. Become a member, and start finding ways to help raise awareness in your local area. You can also offer your help and dedication to many high schools and mental health communities and ask to volunteer to help individuals who need some guidance and advice.