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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Can You Hear My Voice? Part 1

It occurred to me that many of us may not know what our true voices sound like. How many times have you recorded your voice, heard the play back only to say "I sound like that?" Of course there are many physical/auditory reasons for that but bear with me as I explore this idea...


It is my opinion that the only true voice we ever possessed was at birth. That first cry. It was authentic, unrestrained, even welcomed with enthusiasm "hooray she/he is alive." But then things start to change. Mom and Dad start to "hush" the baby, start to wonder what each cry means, assign roles to each cry. As we get even older we are taught about the inside and outside voices and when to use them. Then we are told never to use a certain tone with our elders. As we age even further into puberty the girls are encouraged to keep a girly voice and boys will lament for not having bass in the voice at age 12.


But our literal voices are not the only thing we alter. What we say with our voices starts to become taboo. In my household I rarely had a say. Shut up and/or stupid. These words met my ideas. So I started to keep things to myself. "Quiet my voice."School wasn't any better. I remember writing a paper on date rape in the 8th grade. Don't ask me how I knew about something like that, let's say that I was mature beyond my years or perhaps clairvoyant. My male teacher didn't seem to like the paper and gave me a C without any red markings. When I inquired his behavior was so ill a meeting with the principal was warranted.


My former church was an extension of family and school. When I tried pointing out a sin by an authority figure it was met with silence. Thankfully GOD hears my voice otherwise I would have ended up in a coffin over all the ill in the church I attended for many years.


I'm sure most of you have stories to tell about not being heard, taken seriously, or plain told to shut your face.

After years of silencing, molding, and controlling the voice, where does that leave us?

Can we recognize it anymore?

Can we even hear our voice?

Can anyone else hear us?

Really hear us?



Monday, January 13, 2014

Meat is the Devil

Since I haven't touched on the Eat part of my blog title in awhile, here's an EAT entry!

I have been a Vegetarian, Vegan, Pollo Vegetarian, and every variation in between.

None of them particularly stuck, since I'm eating meat again. However, I don't remember being particularly outspoken about any of those dietary choices until recently.

I find diet as touchy a subject as religion. Vegans will say eating meat is of the devil, while meat eaters will harass vegetarians regarding their choice to abstain from meat. I figure do what's best for you. Eat meat if you please or don't.

As my fitness goals have evolved I have adopted a "clean" diet. It basically means I don't eat anything with long chemical names or additives I don't recognize. It also means cutting down on sugars, "bad" fats and simple carbohydrates. I also find my body doesn't like dairy despite my love for cheeses of all types.

At the same time, I found a group of people in CrossFit circles who adopt a Paleolithic Diet. Which is very similar to a clean diet. However, just like Vegans and the like they get pretty militant about their choice of diet.

At the end of the day I think people have to do what's best for their body. However, I think many of us can agree that eating any product laced with chemicals and additives couldn't be good for the body. Because I have adopted several diets I can say that many well meaning vegans, vegetarians and the like will eat meat substitutes that contain chemicals and additives and high sodium yet frown at a meat or cheese eater. In fact some veggie burgers contain upwards of 16% of the daily sodium allowance. Not to mention processed soy which is not a great alternative.

Honestly, whether or not you choose to eat meat is up to you, however if you need a meat substitute are you really in it for the right reasons?

Not to harp on the vegetarians and vegans because having been both I don't have ill feelings. It's just that I have found those in the Paleo, Vegan and Vegetarian camps to be the most judgemental about their chosen diet. They are pretty quick to point out the ills of any other diet but theirs.

However, I would like to suggest that no matter what diet you adopt for your life consider what you eat. One thing I hope we can all agree on, eating anything containing the following is actually the real DEVIL...


• Bleached Flour
• Calcium Peroxide
• High-Fructose Corn Syrup
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Partially Hydrogenated Oil
• Polydextrose
• Potassium Sorbate
• Silicon Dioxide
• Sodium Benzoate
• Sucralose
• Xanthan Gum

If you don't believe me, maybe you will believe Dr. OZ...

Happy Eating!