Kids,
One of my best friends in the world has created a DVD for children. Mighty Me helps young kids develop confidence through exercise and simple yoga. It is fun, entertaining and beautifully produced. If you have a child and love children then I demand that you buy one for the holidays. For kids ages 3 and up. You'll find the link to his website in this e-mail he sent to his friends and family.
Dear Family and Friends,
Finally, my children’s show MIGHTY ME is available on
DVD!!! I am really excited about my grassroots
endeavor to get Mighty Me out in the world and I am
asking for your support. Currently, MM is available
through Discovery Education at a whopping
institutional price of $89, BUT I would like to make
it available to my family and friends via my website
for $14.95 plus tax and shipping (a limited supply of
T-shirts are available too)! Please allow up to 2
weeks for delivery.
To buy the DVD/T-Shirt or to learn more, please visit
my safe & secure site http://www.mightyme.com and be
sure to check out the trailer, play the games and get
your free Mighty Me certificate! Long story short, I
am distributing MIGHTY ME myself, initially with
family and friends to try and create a “movement” if
you will. Please consider getting some (the holidays
are coming) for YOUR family and friends (and schools:
I would be more than happy to ship in mass and discuss
subsidized donations especially to economically
struggling areas).
I believe our children need MIGHTY ME now more than
ever.
My best to you all and THANK YOU,
Brian Donovan (and Mighty Me!)
P.S. If you can’t afford a DVD or you want to buy in
bulk (12 or more at a discount), please email me at
tobriand@sbcglobal.net
I just want MM out in the world.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Other Dr. Ruth
Kids,
While doing some research I found this article on line. I've been getting 8 hours of sleep ever since. Give it a read.
Tony
Ruth M. Benca, MD, PhD
Associate Chair and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
Individuals with insomnia are known to have significantly elevated rates of depression, and insomnia is a predictive factor for the future development of depression, both for new onset of a depressive disorder as well as recurrence of depression.[1] Conversely, some patients with depression report significant worsening of depressive symptomatology following a night of poor sleep. It is not definitively known whether (1) insomnia causes depression, (2) depression leads to insomnia, or (3) insomnia and depression are both caused by a common underlying process. Nevertheless, insomnia is more closely related to depression than to any other medical disorder, and the fact that insomnia most commonly precedes depression suggests a possible causal association between sleep disturbance and depressed mood.
One approach to study the relationship between sleep and mood is to assess the effects of sleep deprivation. Normal subjects typically show acute worsening of mood, with complaints of irritability, depression, and decreased motivation. Some depressed patients, however, show a seemingly paradoxical response to sleep deprivation; about half of depressives will show an acute antidepressant response following total sleep deprivation, or even partial sleep deprivation, usually involving the second half of the night. Unfortunately, depressive symptoms recur following even a short amount of recovery sleep. Patients with bipolar disorder may have episodes of mania triggered by periods of sleep restriction or sleep deprivation and, conversely, they may report excessive sleep during periods of depression.
The mechanisms for the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation are not known, but have been attributed either to activating effects[4] or the build-up of pressure for rapid eye movement (REM) and/or slow-wave sleep (SWS). Recently, it has been suggested that sleep deprivation and antidepressants both may act by increasing expression of brain plasticity genes, with sleep deprivation leading to acute induction of these genes and antidepressant treatment increasing expression of these genes only after chronic administration, paralleling the clinical effects of the drugs.
The association of insomnia with depression and sleep deprivation with antidepressant effects or even mania seems contradictory on the surface. This may be related to essential differences between sleep deprivation (inability to obtain sufficient sleep due to lack of opportunity) and insomnia (inability to obtain sufficient quantity and/or quality of sleep despite adequate opportunity). Although patients with insomnia may experience chronic sleep deprivation, it is possible that the deprivation is not severe enough to trigger a sleep rebound response, and in fact sleep restriction therapy is often helpful for treating insomnia. Alternatively, a subset of depressives may have a qualitatively different response to sleep loss. For most normal individuals and many depressives, however, sleep loss -- either through insomnia or sleep deprivation -- is associated with a worsening of mood.
While doing some research I found this article on line. I've been getting 8 hours of sleep ever since. Give it a read.
Tony
Ruth M. Benca, MD, PhD
Associate Chair and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
Individuals with insomnia are known to have significantly elevated rates of depression, and insomnia is a predictive factor for the future development of depression, both for new onset of a depressive disorder as well as recurrence of depression.[1] Conversely, some patients with depression report significant worsening of depressive symptomatology following a night of poor sleep. It is not definitively known whether (1) insomnia causes depression, (2) depression leads to insomnia, or (3) insomnia and depression are both caused by a common underlying process. Nevertheless, insomnia is more closely related to depression than to any other medical disorder, and the fact that insomnia most commonly precedes depression suggests a possible causal association between sleep disturbance and depressed mood.
One approach to study the relationship between sleep and mood is to assess the effects of sleep deprivation. Normal subjects typically show acute worsening of mood, with complaints of irritability, depression, and decreased motivation. Some depressed patients, however, show a seemingly paradoxical response to sleep deprivation; about half of depressives will show an acute antidepressant response following total sleep deprivation, or even partial sleep deprivation, usually involving the second half of the night. Unfortunately, depressive symptoms recur following even a short amount of recovery sleep. Patients with bipolar disorder may have episodes of mania triggered by periods of sleep restriction or sleep deprivation and, conversely, they may report excessive sleep during periods of depression.
The mechanisms for the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation are not known, but have been attributed either to activating effects[4] or the build-up of pressure for rapid eye movement (REM) and/or slow-wave sleep (SWS). Recently, it has been suggested that sleep deprivation and antidepressants both may act by increasing expression of brain plasticity genes, with sleep deprivation leading to acute induction of these genes and antidepressant treatment increasing expression of these genes only after chronic administration, paralleling the clinical effects of the drugs.
The association of insomnia with depression and sleep deprivation with antidepressant effects or even mania seems contradictory on the surface. This may be related to essential differences between sleep deprivation (inability to obtain sufficient sleep due to lack of opportunity) and insomnia (inability to obtain sufficient quantity and/or quality of sleep despite adequate opportunity). Although patients with insomnia may experience chronic sleep deprivation, it is possible that the deprivation is not severe enough to trigger a sleep rebound response, and in fact sleep restriction therapy is often helpful for treating insomnia. Alternatively, a subset of depressives may have a qualitatively different response to sleep loss. For most normal individuals and many depressives, however, sleep loss -- either through insomnia or sleep deprivation -- is associated with a worsening of mood.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Is it fun being you?
I was watching Boston Legal last night. I love that show. James Spader and Bill Shatner together make me laugh and applaud. Typically Spader's and Shatner's characters (at the end of the show) sit on a balcony at their law firm and discuss the week's events. William Shatner's character Denny Crane is completely crazy in that "like a fox" kind of way. He's this right wing Republican who feels like his best years are behind him and he goes around telling people that he has mad cow disease. What's great about Denny Crane is that he doesn't care what other people think of him. He's very happy and content with being Denny Crane. He also loves to walk into a room saying his name to everyone. You've got to love the guy.
At the very end of the show last night he and James Spader are sitting on the balcony and Shatner tells Sader, "It's fun being me." He turns to Spader and asks, "Is it fun being you?" Well...that got me thinking about how incredibly important this is to me. I also starting thinking about what that actually requires. I asked myself if having fun is the most important thing in my life. Not just having fun but also, "Is it fun being me?" Upon reflection I felt that fun-ness is certainly in the top five. But at the same time I figured out that fun being me is priority number one. The difference between the two is substantial. I believe that most people are capable of having fun while at the same time not having fun with whom they are. This simple reality made me sit up and think about what that means. Having fun and having fun being who you are (at the same time) is critical for a happy, purposeful and successful life.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country that have fun all the time. Those same people are over weight & out of shape. The vast majority of obese people can have fun, but are they having fun being who they are? If you are not happy being who you are then you need to do something to change that. What are the odds that this whole thing is going to come around to the importance of exercise and a healthy diet as a way to get there? And you thought I was just going to talk about a TV show. Think about it...what if liking who you are got mixed with being able to do the things you love? That is called fun being you. You can't have fun being you if you're treating yourself badly. Lack of physical movement and eating sugar and fat makes it impossible to have fun being you. You're still capable of having fun, but that fun fades and you're left with just you...not liking who you are. This can be easily remedied by taking care of yourself through fitness & a healthy diet.
Before I discovered fitness as a solution to my situation I had fun all the time. The whole time I was having all this fun I was very unhappy with me. The fun I was having was a means to try to give my life value, but it wasn't working. The highs were short lived and the lows were deep and often. It wasn't fun being me! The day I started lifting weights and got off of Dr. Pepper and cheeseburgers I began to combine having fun with liking who I was. This changed everything. I was beginning to have the life I always wanted. No one gave it to me. I earned it. And it allowed me to combine having fun and liking who I was. All by simply deciding to shift my lifestyle to a healthy one. So, if you'd like to have fun being you then decide and commit to the healthy lifestyle that can make that happen.
At the very end of the show last night he and James Spader are sitting on the balcony and Shatner tells Sader, "It's fun being me." He turns to Spader and asks, "Is it fun being you?" Well...that got me thinking about how incredibly important this is to me. I also starting thinking about what that actually requires. I asked myself if having fun is the most important thing in my life. Not just having fun but also, "Is it fun being me?" Upon reflection I felt that fun-ness is certainly in the top five. But at the same time I figured out that fun being me is priority number one. The difference between the two is substantial. I believe that most people are capable of having fun while at the same time not having fun with whom they are. This simple reality made me sit up and think about what that means. Having fun and having fun being who you are (at the same time) is critical for a happy, purposeful and successful life.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country that have fun all the time. Those same people are over weight & out of shape. The vast majority of obese people can have fun, but are they having fun being who they are? If you are not happy being who you are then you need to do something to change that. What are the odds that this whole thing is going to come around to the importance of exercise and a healthy diet as a way to get there? And you thought I was just going to talk about a TV show. Think about it...what if liking who you are got mixed with being able to do the things you love? That is called fun being you. You can't have fun being you if you're treating yourself badly. Lack of physical movement and eating sugar and fat makes it impossible to have fun being you. You're still capable of having fun, but that fun fades and you're left with just you...not liking who you are. This can be easily remedied by taking care of yourself through fitness & a healthy diet.
Before I discovered fitness as a solution to my situation I had fun all the time. The whole time I was having all this fun I was very unhappy with me. The fun I was having was a means to try to give my life value, but it wasn't working. The highs were short lived and the lows were deep and often. It wasn't fun being me! The day I started lifting weights and got off of Dr. Pepper and cheeseburgers I began to combine having fun with liking who I was. This changed everything. I was beginning to have the life I always wanted. No one gave it to me. I earned it. And it allowed me to combine having fun and liking who I was. All by simply deciding to shift my lifestyle to a healthy one. So, if you'd like to have fun being you then decide and commit to the healthy lifestyle that can make that happen.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Grand Plan Stan/Stella
So you want to be fit and lean and you want all the news on how to get there. Well, you need a plan man/woman. Your plan must be simple. Exercise and eating right does not have to be convoluted. You need a philosophy for getting there. Know ahead of time when you're going to workout. Write it on a calendar (I'm old school...that's what I do) or in your PDA and get into WOWY with a group of committed people. Schedule out the whole month in advance!
If you really want results you have to stop with the FOOD PORN. Remove the porn from the house and buy fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. If switching over makes you feel deprived then do what I do. I call it the 90/10 Plan. Ninety percent of the food I eat is in the top two tiers of Michi's ladder. The other ten percent of the time I dip into Michi's basement. I stay away from grease, fat and salt but I do relish in the sweet side of life. Can you say chocolate chip cookie? Another plan is the 50/50 plan. This is for people who have been eating poorly at every meal for years. Your job is to clean up your act just half the time while sticking with the old ways for the other 50%. You have to decide ahead of time which meals are clean and which are PORN. Three meals a day, seven days a week makes for 21 meals. Make 11 of them healthy (you know what that looks like) and keep the rest ugly. This plan will improve things immensely for many of you. The hope over time is that 11 good meals becomes 12 and 10 bad becomes 9, etc.
If you really struggle with your healthy diet then start writing down what you eat. Try this for just 3 weeks. Buy a small note pad or some 3 x 5 index cards and start keeping track of every morsel. Grade yourself at the end of each day. Healthy foods get no grades while junk/porn get a negative number. That blue cheese dressing in your healthy salad gets a negative 1. Add bacon bits and you're at a negative 2. On a 1 to 10 scale 8, 9, & 10 are best. Below 5 means you've been cheating all day long.
Your simple plan is to schedule workouts so that you can stay consistent and find a food philosophy that works for you.
If you really want results you have to stop with the FOOD PORN. Remove the porn from the house and buy fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. If switching over makes you feel deprived then do what I do. I call it the 90/10 Plan. Ninety percent of the food I eat is in the top two tiers of Michi's ladder. The other ten percent of the time I dip into Michi's basement. I stay away from grease, fat and salt but I do relish in the sweet side of life. Can you say chocolate chip cookie? Another plan is the 50/50 plan. This is for people who have been eating poorly at every meal for years. Your job is to clean up your act just half the time while sticking with the old ways for the other 50%. You have to decide ahead of time which meals are clean and which are PORN. Three meals a day, seven days a week makes for 21 meals. Make 11 of them healthy (you know what that looks like) and keep the rest ugly. This plan will improve things immensely for many of you. The hope over time is that 11 good meals becomes 12 and 10 bad becomes 9, etc.
If you really struggle with your healthy diet then start writing down what you eat. Try this for just 3 weeks. Buy a small note pad or some 3 x 5 index cards and start keeping track of every morsel. Grade yourself at the end of each day. Healthy foods get no grades while junk/porn get a negative number. That blue cheese dressing in your healthy salad gets a negative 1. Add bacon bits and you're at a negative 2. On a 1 to 10 scale 8, 9, & 10 are best. Below 5 means you've been cheating all day long.
Your simple plan is to schedule workouts so that you can stay consistent and find a food philosophy that works for you.