Well let me just start this blog with a little disclaimer: Not all blog articles are written by the same person on this site. See Bridget comes in many shapes and forms and we currently have several lovely Bridgets contributing to the blog posts. So what you read may not necessarily be about who you think it is!!
Back to the joys of weight loss!I am feeling particularly pleased with myself at the moment because I am finally feeling (and hearing) the results of many many months of trying to lose weight. Now that I have passed the 10 kgs lost mark people are constantly commenting on how good I look and noticing how much weight I've lost, and generally being really supportive. And I have to say it is so affirming, it just spurs me on to try even harder to keep losing weight. Of course the majority of people making these comments are women, because most men would rather bite the head off a live Brown Snake than comment on a womans weight! But I have noticed more men noticing me, which is an extremely pleasurable ego stroke.
And how have I done it I hear you ask? Well let me tell you all the things I tried that didn't work for me first; meal-replacement milkshakes (although a friend of mine has lost over 30kgs this way), weight-watchers (although an Aunt of mine has had long-term success this way), high-protein low-carb (I put this down to being an A blood group - read the book 'Eat Right for Your Type' it's very interesting), visualisation and affirmation CD's (yeah yeah but it was worth a try), using a personal triner (though I do recommend this if you are initially embarrassed about going to the gym) and various other forms of supplementing binge eating/drinking with excessive excercise, skipping meals and attempting to bargain with God ("I promise I will never ask for anything else if you could just magic me into a size 12 body").
So what did work? So predictable as to be almost not worth mentioning! Smaller meals, daily excercise, and persistence. Yep that's it. As simple as that, with some obvious rules, the smaller meals HAVE to be made up of fresh nutritionally dense foods like fruit, veg, some protein etc, not empty processed so-called food or 'alleged food' as a friend of mine calls it. The exercise has to really push you to your limits for at least 45 mins a day and should vary between cardio and strength through out the week (for me this means walking my dog at a fast pace 3-4 times a week and going to the gym to do a strength class like bodypump or core 3 times a week). And you have to keep at it even if it feels like nothing is happening. It took over a year before I actually lost any weight, at first I toned up and my body shape started to change and then my cardio fitness level improved and then I started to feel more energetic and my mood balanced out, and THEN I started to lose weight on the scales, and boy is it dropping off! FINALLY!!!
So keep at it Bridgets, it really is worth it!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Men....and public urination
What is it with men and public urination?? In the last week I have seen 3 separate episodes of it, and I wasn't even at a major sporting event or music festival!
One of the episodes happened moments after I had picked my youngest son up from kindy and so had all 3 kids in the car. Unfortunately my daughter caught sight of it and this opened up a whole hours worth of discussion on why men can pee in public but women can't. Societal norms, gender specific anatomical differences and under-developed sense of impropriety aside, I just couldn't come up with a decent answer that wouldn't be disrespectful to the 2 other males in the car.
I really just don't get how SOME males can be so desperate to relieve themselves as to be willing to just get their gear out in public and shoot a visible stream of pee for all to see?!?!
I have done kidney damage in the past in my quest to find a decent toilet rather than use a gross, smelly (gag) or dirty one that is close at hand. It's just not fair!! To see some guy wizzing all over a beautiful rose bush with a view of gardens and wide blue sky, when I have to hover in the "kangaroo-squat" position over a seatless bowl, clutching my bag with one hand and holding the broken stall door closed with the other in a vain attempt to make the most of a stinky public toilet! AARRGGHHH it's infuriating!
I am off to bleach my own toilet now, at least I can control that!
Bye bye Bridgets!
One of the episodes happened moments after I had picked my youngest son up from kindy and so had all 3 kids in the car. Unfortunately my daughter caught sight of it and this opened up a whole hours worth of discussion on why men can pee in public but women can't. Societal norms, gender specific anatomical differences and under-developed sense of impropriety aside, I just couldn't come up with a decent answer that wouldn't be disrespectful to the 2 other males in the car.
I really just don't get how SOME males can be so desperate to relieve themselves as to be willing to just get their gear out in public and shoot a visible stream of pee for all to see?!?!
I have done kidney damage in the past in my quest to find a decent toilet rather than use a gross, smelly (gag) or dirty one that is close at hand. It's just not fair!! To see some guy wizzing all over a beautiful rose bush with a view of gardens and wide blue sky, when I have to hover in the "kangaroo-squat" position over a seatless bowl, clutching my bag with one hand and holding the broken stall door closed with the other in a vain attempt to make the most of a stinky public toilet! AARRGGHHH it's infuriating!
I am off to bleach my own toilet now, at least I can control that!
Bye bye Bridgets!
Monday, October 12, 2009
IQ Tests - can they be trusted?
Hi Bridgets,
I have to admit to a dirty little secret...I am a woman obsessed with IQ tests! It mostly seems to happen when I am feeling a bit down or bored that I turn to these judgemental little quizzes, and at last count I had completed at least 12 different tests, none of which have come back with the same answer! (although all within the same range). And although I have yet to crack the 'genius' range I am pretty happy with the overall results. That is until it occurred to me that it has become my vainglorious little ego booster, like an intellectual version of sexy red stilettos. Whenever I need to feel good about myself or my life, I jump on line and google IQ test, just so I can reassure myself, "well I might be over-weight/single/bored/in a career rut/whatever but at least I'm smart".
I'd like to say that I am going to replace this habit with something a bit more altruistic (yes I did score highly on the language section) but I think more likely it will be varied with some numerology/horoscope readings or maybe the occasional EQ or Myers Briggs test. Not sure where I rate on the narcissism scale?
For anyone interested www.intelligencetest.com is a pretty good test in comparison with the others. It's free and breaks down your intelligence into different areas ie I scored highly on spatial but very low on numeracy.
Have fun Bridgets and good luck!
I have to admit to a dirty little secret...I am a woman obsessed with IQ tests! It mostly seems to happen when I am feeling a bit down or bored that I turn to these judgemental little quizzes, and at last count I had completed at least 12 different tests, none of which have come back with the same answer! (although all within the same range). And although I have yet to crack the 'genius' range I am pretty happy with the overall results. That is until it occurred to me that it has become my vainglorious little ego booster, like an intellectual version of sexy red stilettos. Whenever I need to feel good about myself or my life, I jump on line and google IQ test, just so I can reassure myself, "well I might be over-weight/single/bored/in a career rut/whatever but at least I'm smart".
I'd like to say that I am going to replace this habit with something a bit more altruistic (yes I did score highly on the language section) but I think more likely it will be varied with some numerology/horoscope readings or maybe the occasional EQ or Myers Briggs test. Not sure where I rate on the narcissism scale?
For anyone interested www.intelligencetest.com is a pretty good test in comparison with the others. It's free and breaks down your intelligence into different areas ie I scored highly on spatial but very low on numeracy.
Have fun Bridgets and good luck!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A Common Thread
After catching up with various Bridget friends this last week I have noticed a common theme running through our lives at the moment. It seems that we are all learning/re-learning the lesson of personal responsibility in relation to our own happiness and experiences. These lessons are also being delivered by similar "teachers" ie parteners past and present!
When it comes to men and relationships my Bridget friends and I have all gotten to the point of feeling almost powerless, and extremely resentful because of it. But on closer inspection it is not actually the man (husband, ex or otherwise) in each of our lives, that can be wholly and soley blamed for this. It has been an unconscious giving away of our power to him, that is to blame...in otherwords it is "nobodies fault but mine".
One of the D&M's I had with a longterm friend of mine went something like this;
her - "I love my husband, but GOD he shits me! I have been waiting 7 months for him to do this job for me, and it makes me sooo angry when he doesn't even try to do it!"
me - "why don't you stop waiting for him to do it and just do it yourself, get someone in and just get it done. If you were single you would have had it done 7 months ago." (this is my favourite piece of advice at the moment because I am single and my soapbox has a pretty good view!)
Another conversation with a different friend was more like this;
her - "My ex is being such an abusive prick at the moment, he's constantly making my life hell. And now my new boyfriend is whingeing because he says there is so much drama in my life and he's sick of it.....do you think I'm melodramatic?"
me - "no, but I think your ex creates a ridiculous amount of stress in your life so that you are always on edge and tend to over-react to things that you wouldn't normally. Why are you in contact with him so much, why do you give him permission to treat you like shit? They call them 'exes' for a reason you know. The two of you are like a miserable married couple that live in seperate houses." (don't worry she got her own back a few days later with some pearls of truth for me and my particular brand of ex-drama.)
So the key lesson of taking responsibility for my/our own happiness, and all the sub-lessons of setting boundaries, taking action, self-awareness, and standing up for ones-self are playing out in wonderful synchronicity, if not a slightly infuriating repetitive manner.
In case you're wondering my lesson is coming in the form of recognition (finally) of the passive-aggressive way in which I have been dealing with my very controlling ex/father of my children, and the ensuing battles, wiping of said exes feet on my doormat back, and eventual explosion of my inner-bubbling-cauldron of rage. The eventual realisation being that in order to be a happy person I need to take responsibilty for the way I allow him to treat me and for the way I treat him.
So dear Bridget, what are some of the lessons that you are learning at the moment?
When it comes to men and relationships my Bridget friends and I have all gotten to the point of feeling almost powerless, and extremely resentful because of it. But on closer inspection it is not actually the man (husband, ex or otherwise) in each of our lives, that can be wholly and soley blamed for this. It has been an unconscious giving away of our power to him, that is to blame...in otherwords it is "nobodies fault but mine".
One of the D&M's I had with a longterm friend of mine went something like this;
her - "I love my husband, but GOD he shits me! I have been waiting 7 months for him to do this job for me, and it makes me sooo angry when he doesn't even try to do it!"
me - "why don't you stop waiting for him to do it and just do it yourself, get someone in and just get it done. If you were single you would have had it done 7 months ago." (this is my favourite piece of advice at the moment because I am single and my soapbox has a pretty good view!)
Another conversation with a different friend was more like this;
her - "My ex is being such an abusive prick at the moment, he's constantly making my life hell. And now my new boyfriend is whingeing because he says there is so much drama in my life and he's sick of it.....do you think I'm melodramatic?"
me - "no, but I think your ex creates a ridiculous amount of stress in your life so that you are always on edge and tend to over-react to things that you wouldn't normally. Why are you in contact with him so much, why do you give him permission to treat you like shit? They call them 'exes' for a reason you know. The two of you are like a miserable married couple that live in seperate houses." (don't worry she got her own back a few days later with some pearls of truth for me and my particular brand of ex-drama.)
So the key lesson of taking responsibility for my/our own happiness, and all the sub-lessons of setting boundaries, taking action, self-awareness, and standing up for ones-self are playing out in wonderful synchronicity, if not a slightly infuriating repetitive manner.
In case you're wondering my lesson is coming in the form of recognition (finally) of the passive-aggressive way in which I have been dealing with my very controlling ex/father of my children, and the ensuing battles, wiping of said exes feet on my doormat back, and eventual explosion of my inner-bubbling-cauldron of rage. The eventual realisation being that in order to be a happy person I need to take responsibilty for the way I allow him to treat me and for the way I treat him.
So dear Bridget, what are some of the lessons that you are learning at the moment?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Gold Coast Hormone Expert confirms that females are becoming men! Testosterone levels in females is on the rise.
“..One in ten women of childbearing age has PCOS… PCOS leads to high levels of androgens.. ”
http://www.womanshealth.gov.au
Since the 1970s ladies have been entering the work force in large numbers and over time have managed to scale the same corporate ladders as their male counterparts. During the same time period, women are engaging in more physical, and previously male dominated sports, such as cricket, soccer and rugby!
But were woman biologically designed to climb ladders or mug each other on a footy field?
Sam Beau Patrick, The Health Queen, suspects not. What Sam is finding in her clinics (in ladies aged 20-50) is a phenomena that would medically be termed PCOS (High testosterone) is on the rise. Not in a little way, but at an alarming rate.
“..up to one in three ladies in my clinic have elevated testosterone levels..” and “they are having feelings associated with this – anger, rage, acne, excessive facial hair and are finding it very hard to relax and be happy..” said Sam from her Health Queen clinic.
The other physical changes these ladies are experiencing are insulin problems (so weight control is difficult), changes to cortisol levels (stress hormone) so that they always feel tired, and anxious.
Sam would like to see a move to change the current term and diagnosis of poly cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as it is misleading. Sam prefers to refer to the condition as Female Hormone Disorder (FHD) as not all ladies experience ovarian cysts (as the title PCOS implies). Many doctors not trained in this area often only look for the ovarian cysts and miss the diagnosis and tell ladies there is “nothing wrong” which makes them feel even more frustrated.
The medical hormone tests she runs, supports the finding that females are becoming men. Testosterone levels are higher than they have been in previous decades.
The hormone testing is a simple test able to be done at home from saliva. Results take up to 2 weeks and can be ordered on http://www.byebyebridget.com/ecommerce.php?action=search&stk_group=Self%20Test%20Kits&stk_category=Hormones and costs from $95.
Contact Information:
Sam Beau Patrick, nurse, naturopath and author practices from her home clinic 314 Rio Vista Blvde, Mermaid Waters. Ph 0405 669 135.
Websites: www.healthqueen.com.au and www.byebyebridget.com
Saliva hormones cost from $95 and test estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and others can be tested on request.
“..One in ten women of childbearing age has PCOS… PCOS leads to high levels of androgens.. ”
http://www.womanshealth.gov.au
Since the 1970s ladies have been entering the work force in large numbers and over time have managed to scale the same corporate ladders as their male counterparts. During the same time period, women are engaging in more physical, and previously male dominated sports, such as cricket, soccer and rugby!
But were woman biologically designed to climb ladders or mug each other on a footy field?
Sam Beau Patrick, The Health Queen, suspects not. What Sam is finding in her clinics (in ladies aged 20-50) is a phenomena that would medically be termed PCOS (High testosterone) is on the rise. Not in a little way, but at an alarming rate.
“..up to one in three ladies in my clinic have elevated testosterone levels..” and “they are having feelings associated with this – anger, rage, acne, excessive facial hair and are finding it very hard to relax and be happy..” said Sam from her Health Queen clinic.
The other physical changes these ladies are experiencing are insulin problems (so weight control is difficult), changes to cortisol levels (stress hormone) so that they always feel tired, and anxious.
Sam would like to see a move to change the current term and diagnosis of poly cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as it is misleading. Sam prefers to refer to the condition as Female Hormone Disorder (FHD) as not all ladies experience ovarian cysts (as the title PCOS implies). Many doctors not trained in this area often only look for the ovarian cysts and miss the diagnosis and tell ladies there is “nothing wrong” which makes them feel even more frustrated.
The medical hormone tests she runs, supports the finding that females are becoming men. Testosterone levels are higher than they have been in previous decades.
The hormone testing is a simple test able to be done at home from saliva. Results take up to 2 weeks and can be ordered on http://www.byebyebridget.com/ecommerce.php?action=search&stk_group=Self%20Test%20Kits&stk_category=Hormones and costs from $95.
Contact Information:
Sam Beau Patrick, nurse, naturopath and author practices from her home clinic 314 Rio Vista Blvde, Mermaid Waters. Ph 0405 669 135.
Websites: www.healthqueen.com.au and www.byebyebridget.com
Saliva hormones cost from $95 and test estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and others can be tested on request.
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