It’s such a gloomy day here today that I thought I’d talk about our need for sunlight and and how it affects not only our mood, but our weight.

There are many benefits to regular exposure to sunlight:

*  Sunshine on the skin directly influences body chemistry by converting cholesterol (from the liver) into vitamin D, which helps the body utilize calcium. As we know, calcium is needed to build healthy bones and teeth and prevents diseases like osteoporosis and dental decay.

* Regular daily exposure to sunlight can improve fat metabolism.

* Reflected sunlight entering through the pupils stimulates the pineal gland and this in turn help the hormonal system function efficiently. When we are not exposed to regular natural light (for at least 20 to 30 minutes each day) our natural body clock may gain or lose time. This disturbance of the body’s intricate cycles (known as the Circadian rhythms) is thought to cause hormonal imbalances. Lack of sunlight will also make us feel tired, run down and depressed.

* Exposure to sunlight also increases the heart’s output, which quite simply means more blood, more oxygen, more energy and a faster metabolism. This is one of the reasons why people find slimming easier in the summer months, when they spend more time outdoors.

* Sunlight has several other health bonuses: it lowers the resting heart rate; it lowers blood pressure; it benefits arthritis; it improves eyesight; and it increases the body’s tolerance to stress.

* Sunlight also improves calcium absorption, once again protecting you against bone loss and tooth decay.

* Exercising outdoors is of great benefit as sunlight reduces lactic acid formation, so you are less likely to feel sore after a workout, and it also helps to improve endurance.

* Sunlight balances the reproductive hormones and this has a positive effect on fertility, helps overcome difficulties experienced during puberty and even has a positive influence on impotence. It also helps to sort out ovulation irregularities.

* Sunlight helps to build a better quality flesh. You even look healthier from regularly spending time outdoors.

* Sunlight helps control appetite, craving for carbohydrates and therefore weight gain.

* Natural light has a profound impact on the immune system, making you less susceptible to every passing cold and flu germ.

* Natural light increases productivity.

You don’t have to be in direct sunlight for the pineal gland to benefit. Even overcast skies can benefit you, so don’t be tempted to stay inside on a chilly winter’s day, and sitting in the shade in summer will also do the trick. Just ensure that your eyes are not covered by sunglasses, prescription glasses or contact lenses for at least 20-30 minutes, as these reduce the beneficial ultraviolet rays.

It is important to remember that although the sun is essential to your health and well-being, we need to be sensible about our exposure and avoid sunbathing between 11am and 3pm. If you’re very fair, like me, you may even have to make that between 9am and 5pm in summer. If you need to be in the sun for a prolonged period due to a function or a sports event, opt for cool long sleeves and a large-brimmed hat and even an umbrella.

Learn to trust your body. It will tell you when you’ve had enough sun. When you start to feel hot and uncomfortable, listen to your body and get out of the sun. Don’t cool down in the pool or the waves and then stay in the sun! That’s when the damage is done!

There have been several studies that have shown that sun block creams actually contribute to skin cancer because of the chemicals they contain. (Some of these chemicals even have a negative effect on your endocrine system.) It’s up to you to decide whether you want to use them or not, but I personally don’t anymore. I’ve had skin cancer and prefer to limit my time in the sun.

If you see the sun today, give it my regards! 

I found this on Natalie’s blog and thought it was perfect for today, because I know I’m not going to have much time to spend at the computer.

I’m not going to tag anyone, but please feel free to do this one!

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? Nothing.

2. When was the last time you threw up? About a year ago when I had gastro.

3. What’s your favorite curse word? Fuckit!

4. Name three people who made you smile today. Craig (!), Natalie with her countdown to meeting her adoptive daughter and my cat, Pepper.

5. What were you doing at 8am this morning? Well hubby’s off today, so…

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Digging Pepper’s claws out of my toes!

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Hopefully having lunch at the juice bar.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? No, but I’ve seen strippers perform.

9. What’s the last thing you said aloud? The bin, Angel! (It’s garbage removal day.)

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? I don’t know, I don’t eat ice cream.

11. What is the last thing you had to drink? Water

12. What are you wearing right now? Fluffy socks and glasses.

13. What was the last thing you ate? Salad for dinner.

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Not for myself, but I bought a darling sweater for my niece.

15. When was the last time you ran? When someone chased me!

16. What’s the last sporting event you watched? Snippets of Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix in Monaco.

17. Who’s the last person you e-mailed? My friend Carina.

18. Even go camping? No

19. Do you have a tan? Not really

20. Do you drink your soda from a straw? I don’t drink soda anymore, but I didn’t used to use a straw.

21. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes!

22. What are you doing tomorrow? Writing a brilliant, well researched and informative blogpost. Or maybe just a funny one.

23. Where is your mom right now? House-sitting in Upington.

24. Look to your left. What do you see? A chest of drawers with pictures in a frame.

25. What color is your watch? Silver and blue

26. What comes to mind when you think of Australia? A possible place to settle.

27. Would you consider plastic surgery? I plan to have a breast reduction and lift one day.

28. What is your birthstone? Sapphire

29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? I used to drive-thru, but these days I drive past!

30. How many kids do you want? Three

31. Do you have a dog? No

32. Last person you talked to on the phone. My mother

33. Have you met anyone famous? Simon Le Bon, Bryce Courtenay, Natalie Cole, Claire Johnston, Bantu Holomisa

34. Any plans today? Shopping for our trip and lolling around in the Jacuzzi.

35. Ever go to college? Yes

36. Where are you right now? In my bedroom

37. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Africa

38. Last song listened to? The new Bryan Adams song on TV last night

39. Are you allergic to anything? Dairy

40. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? A pair of ethnic leather flip flops. In winter my sheepskin slippers.

41. Are you jealous of anyone? No

42. Who is your favorite actor/actress? Russell Crowe/Uma Thurman

43. What time is it? 09h51

44. Do any of your friends have children? Most of them do

45. Do you eat healthy? Yes, about 99% of the time

46. What do you usually do during the day? Blog, Jacuzzi, read

47. How old will you be on your next birthday? 39! (See #3 above)

48. Have you ever been to Europe? Yes

49. Name one thing you’d still like to do. Cruise down the Nile

50. Favorite colour? Blue

Since my Juice Feast I have been much more aware of how people eat. And frankly, it turns my stomach sometimes. They often look like slavering beasts, stuffing themselves with no apparent joy or pleasure. In my opinion we only think most of the things we consume are good, but since we hardly taste them, we have to rely on the advertising!

Eating slowly will not only make you look more sophisticated, but will change your life! Here are a few benefits:

1. First of all - It can’t hurt you!

Slow eating rate doesn’t have any negative effects on your health, but can bring you a number of benefits without extra cost.

2. Appetite reduction

Eating slowly gradually reduces the appetite from the time you begin to eat. It takes the brain about 15-20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. And if you have no appetite, you end up eating less.

3. Portion control

It is the direct sequence of the point #2. Slowly eating can make it much easier to eat less without feeling deprived. It takes some time to feel the fullness, so give this time to your body. Eating fast lets you eat too much before you are fully aware of it. Slowing the rate of eating can allow the satiety signals to develop before your plate is empty.

4. Weight control

Points #2 and #3 turn into staving off extra pounds. Portion size and eating speed seem to be the part of the reason of famous “French paradox” - the relatively low incidence of heart disease and overweight in France as compared to the United States, despite the generally high intake of calorie-rich foods and saturated fat. It is well documented that the French take longer to eat than Americans despite French eat smaller portions. Recently Japanese researches found strong positive correlation between rate of eating and body mass index (BMI) and obesity.

5. Digestion

It is well known that digestion begins in the mouth, where the saliva is mixed with the food and starts to break it down into smaller chemicals that can be absorbed and nourish the body. Chewing food thoroughly promotes smooth, complete digestion. Basically the slower you eat the faster and more efficiently you metabolize the food. When food is swallowed whole it makes it more difficult for the body to absorb all the important nutrients (e.g vitamins, minerals, and amino acids).

6. Taste and enjoy your food!

When you eat slowly, you end up tasting your food more. Eating slowly lets you experience more of the flavors, textures and smells of the food you eat. Your food will become more interesting. And again, French experience. They focus more on the impression and less on the health effects of eating.

7. Quality versus Quantity

Slow eating may become a small step to a more healthy diet. If you won’t like what you eat when you eat it slowly, probably the next time you will choose something of a better quality and enjoy the pleasures of good food. Fast eaters are more prone to consume “junk” and “fast” foods.

8. Insulin resistance

Japanese researches found that eating fast is associated with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a silent condition that increases the chances of developing diabetes and heart disease. Also, fast eating seems to be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome (combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance).

9. Heartburn & Gastroesophageal reflux

Rapid eating may cause acid reflux.

I think it’s worth it!  Let’s all start eating more mindfully and getting more out of our food!

I just Stumbled upon this and thought I’d share it. It comes from H. Jacson Brown, Jr.

21 Suggestions For Success

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.

2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.

3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.

6. Be generous.

7. Have a grateful heart.

8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.

12. Commit yourself to quality.

13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

14. Be loyal.

15. Be honest.

16. Be a self-starter.

17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.

18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.

20. Take good care of those you love.

21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

I got another postcard from Erin!

Looks like a beautiful city! Thanks Erin!

The first thing I did this morning was to check and see who won American Idol. And I’m overjoyed that “my” idol won!  I would definitely buy his album!

We get to see the finale and the result show tonight! Supper will be served at 6 pm and we’ll be ready by 7 pm for a marathon session… Woohoo!

Thank you all for your kinds comments to yesterday’s post. I have so much more to share with you in the weeks to come… I was going to start today, but it’s a gorgeous day outside and I’ve been lolling around in the Jacuzzi. We have to make the most of these nice days, because they are few and far between now.

A while ago I realized that I was in trouble. I was spending almost every waking minute at my computer reading blogs. Which meant that I wasn’t taking care of myself.

The whole purpose of not working is for me to get healthy, fit and fertile. I wasn’t even getting close. The hours that were being frittered away every day, were the days of my life. Clearly I needed to make some changes.

So I stepped back a little and took a broader look at my life. What I saw dismayed me. I was seriously missing the point. This journey for me was never about weight loss. Yet, I was hopping on the scale every day. When we decided to go to America this June, I declared that I had 5 weeks in which to lose a chunk of weight so that my trip would be more comfortable. It was time for bootcamp! Every day I “wasted” by not pounding my body into submission made me feel more guilty and more anxious. How is that healthy?

I needed to change the way I thought and the way I spent my time. I more than halved the number of blogs that I subscribe to. That left me some time for being good to myself. And no, I didn’t start the bootcamp! I never will.

I took the time to reconnect with my goals, dreams and desires. And very importantly with myself. I reread the books that teach the principles by which I want to live. And I changed my life in a few short weeks.

Now every day is an opportunity to be kinder and more loving towards my body and spirit. I eat the foods that are good and healing and avoid the things that strain, damage and throw my body (and emotions) out of balance. Some days I’m better at it than others. It doesn’t matter. I’m no longer demanding perfection. I’m learning and improving as I go along.

And my body is loving it! The scale, when I remember to get on it, keeps going down slowly but surely. My health is improving every day. I haven’t had a skin rash in weeks. My hormones did some heroic healing task which delayed my menses for more than two weeks. I’m sleeping well. I have more energy.

And with that increased energy I’m starting to get more active. My body is demanding that I work it. Previously I looked at things that needed to be done in the garden and told myself that I couldn’t do it. Now I tell myself that while I may not be able to do it all in one go, I can do something. Sure, it’s uncomfortable to kneel or bend, but invariably I do more than what I thought I could.

I haven’t gone back to gym yet, because I want my mind to be clear about what I want to do there. I want to my work there to be healing. I don’t want to feel as if I’ve let myself down if I skip a day. The call for more activity, for stretching and toning, running and swimming is getting stronger every day. My body is starting to crave it. I like that!

I’m also taking time to meditate, breathe and just be. My spirit is healing nicely alongside my body. I’m pondering my fertility, my life-choices and my future. And a path is starting emerge. I will be sharing a lot of my thoughts and dreams with you in the near future.

But for now, I’m good! In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I’m almost at goal. My goal being to live a healthy lifestyle. That has always been the goal. The weight loss and increased fertility are just byproducts of that lifestyle. I am working with my body, not against it. The scale has ceased to have any hold over me, in fact I barely even notice it anymore when I go into the bathroom.

I won’t be significantly thinner when we leave in just over two weeks’ time. And while we’re away, staying with relatives, we won’t be eating what we normally eat, so I’ll probably put on some weight and throw myself out of balance in various ways. But that’s okay! It’s a minor detour in my life journey. We know what we want and it’s not something we have to attain, but something we’re doing already. I love that!

Just because you’ve never met someone in person, doesn’t mean that you don’t get to know and love her and share in her joys and sorrows.

I’ve “known” Natalie for about 18 months when we were regulars on the fertility message boards. We’ve really been there for one another’s ups and downs on this fertility journey of ours.

Towards the end of last year Natalie and Ian started the adoption process. She began blogging to keep her friends and family informed of the progress, which proved to be agonizingly slow.

But tonight I am overcome with joy. I learned today that they will be getting an abandoned 8-month old girl in two weeks’ time. The tears just keep on coming… I am so happy for this wonderful young couple who will see their dreams come true and for this cute little girl who is going to have a good home, loving parents and a tight-knit, doting extended family.

It’s like a fairytale!

And I’m reminded of this quote by Oprah Winfrey:

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.

I wish I could be there for the baby shower!

Congratulations Nattie! You are going to be a great mom!

Netjane has this wonderful meme where you have to post a music video from the year of your birth. I didn’t realize that they had music videos in those days (we didn’t even have TV in South Africa), but here it is!

I could have picked Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Bob Dylan or Marvin Gaye, but I decided to share the #1 song of that year…

Rupa has awarded me the “You Make My Day” award! Thank you, Rupa! I am very pleased!

I hate having to choose people to pass this on to, because all my readers are special to me. Therefore I’m passing this on to all of you who visit regularly and especially those who comment. Your interest, concern and friendship really do make my day!

I want to especially thank Nicole for the comment she left a few minutes ago. She said:

Your country is making headlines around the world today. I hope you and yours are safe. Big hugs to you. Where would you prefer to emigrate to, if it did come to that?

I am sickened by the reports in the newspapers and on television. I am also very afraid. Not because we are in imminent danger, but because I believe that these attacks are the cause of the frustration that the poor are feeling because the government have not delivered on their promises. I think that the days of stability (despite the high crime rate) may be coming to an end and that the violence may spread to other population groups (remember that the population is made up of various tribes and groups that are historically not the best of friends).

The scenes on CNN this morning reminded me of the State of Emergency in the 1980’s and early 1990’s when the police and armed forces were forced to intervene in tribal fighting in the townships. And while these things are happening in the townships surrounding Johannesburg at the moment, it affects all of us. Already reports are suggesting that the violence will spread to Cape Town. And immigrants don’t only live in townships. In my neighborhood we have many people from all over Africa, who have come here because their own countries were unable to support them.

This does bring the question of emigrating to the forefront again. We’re speaking to people who have moved to Australia and New Zealand at present to find out as much as we can. For us it’s a question of money. We have assets, but in a depressed economy we may not get enough for them to start a new life somewhere else. Craig and I are not in fields that are needed elsewhere, like medicine or teaching - we’re self-employed business owners. We have no close ancestral ties to other countries. Of course we would like to live in the English speaking world (but preferably not the UK). That basically leaves the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some are easier to get into than others. We are definitely doing our homework!

Just as immigrants are not welcomed with open arms here, the above countries also have widespread resistance among their own populations to immigration…

Ultimately we may have to go to Botswana, to the northwest of South Africa. Botswana is probably the most stable country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a strong economy, a less diverse population and a very low tolerance of crime and violence. My friend Charlotte was there recently and she loved it.

This is a huge decision. There are many things to consider. And we are definitely considering.

In the meantime we can only follow the news with horror and concern. And I’ll breathe a lot easier when my husband is home safe, since our business is in a township.