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<center><h3>NOTES FROM DONNA</h3></center>

Written by healthyalternatives  |  01. February 2001

The holidays are officially over. The barrage of ads for the gifts of the season are gone. Gone also is the shopping day countdown and the endless one day sale lures. (Although now we do have those post-holiday one day clearance sales--every day, or so it seems!) "The fat lady has sung," so to speak and no pun intended. The diet and weight loss ads have begun. It is as if it is somewhere written that on the first day of the new year, thou shalt diet.

I am not opposed to weight loss, but I am opposed to the advertising world's approach to dieting. They suggest that if we take a pill, drink a shake, or eat certain pre-packaged, portioned foods, that we will become model-thin and enter the world of happily ever after. Trial and error has shown us all that there are no lasting quick fixes, and every January 1st we are reminded of that.

As a nutritional counselor, I do not believe in skipping meals, drinking meals from a can, or taking pills to speed us up, fill us up, or otherwise rush us to eliminate foods that we shouldn't eat in the first place. What I do advocate is a gradual health and life changing approach to weight management. It can be as easy (or difficult) as you choose to make it. I believe, and am witness everyday to the fact that sensible food choices, with deference to your specific blood type will result in lasting weight management.

I offer this up to you as a challenge. Why not let this be the year that really counts? Instead of counting calories, make your calories count. Try thinking of empty calories in the same way you think of empty promises--who needs them? There is life after cool whip! Take advantage of the ever-increasing evidence thatour foods do effect virtually every aspect of how we think, feel, act, age and appear. Invest in yourself this year. Invest in your future. Make your calories count.

For more information on the blood type connection, be sure to read Peter D'Adamo's newest book, Live Right 4 Your Type. If this doesn't help you to stand up and take notice, nothing will! Available at Healthy Alternatives, and from our website under books in the health and wellness section.

Food For Thought

A new month, a new year, a new millennium...could there ever be a better time for reflection, introspection and resolve?! What follows is the contents of an email that has found its way to my email address a couple of times in the last month or so. When I received it yet again last week, it dawned on me (you don't have to hit me over the head!) that it was the perfect "food for thought" to share with you. Even if you too, have seen it before, it certainly warrants another look. Who better to offer instructions for life in the new millennium, than the Dalai Lama....


Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Follow the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then, when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

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