What would you do in this situation? It’s possibly the scariest situation to be approached with…  In the dark, with no one around (everyone is asleep) and have two dogs look like they are going to attack you.

I have to admit, I was scared and after reading a few articles a fair while ago, decided the best thing to do was to stop and show no fear.

I didn’t really have anywhere to go, I was near the end of my run and near-exhausted, so I couldn’t outrun the dogs, nor could I back away, because from the time of me looking around to see where I could go, they were about a metre away from me.

So, my first thing was to stop and not to make eye contact. I allowed the dogs to stay near me, but not get too close. I slowly backed away yelling “Stay” to the more aggressive dog. This seemed to have some affect, as the dog did not come further to me and seemed to back off a little.

I started walking slowly away, ensuring I still noticed where these dogs were and yelling “Stay” a few more times, making sure the dogs remained at a distance from me.

I was able to get a little distance before a car reversed out between me and the dogs, and I started running away from them, only once they lost visible contact with me.

I’m sure many of us have experienced this before, and never know the right way to approach this type of experience. If we haven’t experienced this whilst running, it could happen at some time. With this in mind, I did a little research to find the best approach and found these articles:

• How to avoid a dog attack
• How to protect yourself during a dog attack
• How to handle a dog attack
• How to stay safe when a dog approaches you

Have you experienced something like this?  What did you do?  Have you got some great techniques? Post your comments below to share your experiences or advice!

With all the current talk on body image and the unrealistic body image of the “barbie look,” I’m amazed that the corset has been allowed back in as a fashion item.

Corsets were used in the 1800’s and, whilst being used as a waist reduction, has many potential medical risks including deformities and broken ribs. Corsets also have their benefits, but I believe the mental issues far outweigh these potential benefits and should not be used as a new fashion item.

What’s your opinion?  Do you think that these items are useful?

Speaking from experience, it’s a combination of things that can cause weight gain.  Girls are shy because of issues with lack of confidence! This can be caused by body issues, but also teasing from peers and problems that are related to lack of confidence or teasing, such as bad grades or lack of friends.

There really is a multitude of reasons why girls can put on weight.  Simply put, to make a statement that “being shy” gains weight shows ignorance on the issue, a lack of understanding and a lack of research in finding the real cause of this “shyness.”

Apparently, studies have shown that the body can’t produce enough “glucose the working muscles require.” Whilst not having the glucose means you burn more fat, the level of exercise isn’t “anywhere near your optimum capacity.”

The study also shows that it could lead to an increase to muscle cramps and pains due to your increase of lactate amounts the alcohol creates.

Exercising the day after a big one also isn’t good! As most of us have experienced, dehydration is the main factor. The study shows that you “will probably have lowish blood sugar levels, which means that your exercise capacity will be less. You will not sweat out much alcohol, if any.”

Personally, I’ve always thought I’ve played my best games whilst having a hangover. The ability not to ‘think’ and ‘just do’ seems to kick in and has allowed me to be more responsive when saving a goal in the net as a goalie. However, my level of hydration has certainly been at an all-time low also during these times.

Whilst trying to lose weight though, I’d suggest staying away from the booze!   The calories in alcohol are quite extreme!  Even with the new low carbohydrate beers out, once you have a few, you’ll always want to grab some food afterwards, which could lead to eating more food or the wrong food!

73 grams of fries equals four slices of flax bread or 145 grams of cooked pasta! I know which would be more filling!

For example, I can choose to let people affect me, I can choose to lose weight, I can choose to be happy. In the end, it’s my choice, what I do, how I feel and how I behave.

This necklace would also be great to use, as it also allows you to see a mirrored version. What kind of affirmations do you use? Do you have anything similar to these two items at all?
Image source

To succeed in weight loss, the article (written by Julia Havey), mentions that the worse thing is “not having a plan.”

Not having a plan. Leaving your actions up to chance in life is never a good idea. “We never plan to fail, we fail to plan.” Get a plan and stick with it, but make sure each step is realistic and change is gradual!

I totally agree, the only time that you can succeed in weight loss and in improving your fitness, is by having a plan of what you are going to eat and what exercise you are going to daily. Once you have that plan, you need to stick to it! What’s the point of doing all the planning, if you can’t motivate yourself to abide by it and push through it?

There’s a lot of other great tips mentioned in the article, but this one here is one I religiously stick by to ensure I succeed onwards and upwards.

Sure, you can have your moments where you go off and be a little naughty, but the key is to get back on your plan and keep moving forward!

Read the article here.

Are you guilty of Portion Distortion? Fitsugar.com posted an article about a plate that was designed to assist those with diabetics or dieters to assist with portion sizes.

The plastic plate has various holes and sizes with scaled measurements to assist in making sure that you eat the right amount and don’t go overboard.

It’s something that I’d personally be interested in buying shortly to assist in my weight loss, as I’m the first to put my hand up and say that I can overdo portion sizes.

Currently, I’m using a small scale to weigh ingredients, but this little handy plate could be ideal for doing multiple ingredients at the one time and also for measuring quickly in the kitchen instead of pouring in and taking back your ingredients.

A direct link to the site can be found here.

The article entitled, “Trim Trolley Takes Off The Weight While You Grocery Shop” advises that the trolley will be able to monitor your pulse, allowing you to see how many calories you are burning.

Whether monitoring your calories whilst shopping will sway your purchase to healthier options is another question though.

This recipe has been adapted from my vegetarian buddhist cooking classes. Although this was a little unorganised, the concept was learnt with the two recipes.

This one is pretty simple, although some ingredients may be difficult to find. Visit your local Asian supermarket for assistance.

One such ingredient is called “Red Medlar,” this was also called “Lycium.” Lycium is a berry almost like a sultana, however it’s not sweet. It has a very unique and pungent after taste, so you don’t need to add to many to your dishes. Apparently, it’s very good for the eyes, used in Chinese medicine.

Mushroom seasoning is also required, and although I found a version of this, it didn’t really match the intense smell with the one used at the class. On smell, you should be hit with the ginger, almost to the point where you tear up. It is quite intense, but most mushroom seasonings I found didn’t match and I ended up adding some crushed ginger to intensify the flavour.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Enoki mushrooms 150 gram pack
• Dry Shitake mushrooms 1-2 handfuls
• Swiss Brown mushrooms125 grams, sliced thinly
• Straw mushrooms, 1/2 a 425 gram can, sliced in half
• 2 tbs mushroom seasoning
• pinch salt and pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 2 tbs red medlar/lycium
• 6 cups water (minimum)
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Boil the shitake, ginger and seasoning in the six cups of water
2. Once the colour of the water has changed, add the other mushrooms and salt.
3. Stir occasionally, adding the red medlar.
4. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add sesame oil and stir.
6. The class added 3 tbs celery leaves diced, but I think coriander would certainly be ideal. Or, like me, add the ground coriander.