Hold on tìght, because…
…during the month of March, there is much to celebrate:
- This month’s newsletter marks the first year anniversary of the circulation of The STEP-POWER™ Weigh and YOU can get two very generous celebration presents!
- It’s National Nutrition Month® and YOU get another present. YUM !
-
It’s my daughter Heather’s 18th birthday (March 1st), and YOU get—another very generous present. Chėck out why I am such a proud momma and how you can also decide to “Break-free from the Barriers,” as Heather is doing.
The STEP-POWER™ Weigh is nоw one-year old. |
Publishing and marketing a monthly newsletter, believe or not, is a lot of work! But, it’s also a lot of fun and very rewarding. Being able to come into your lives once a month is such an honor. I thoroughly enjoy having this opportúnity and am well aware that you can choose to use that little “delete” key at any time. However, I hope you don’t and I hope you have received some value each month from this newsletter. If you have received any value from reading The STEP-POWER™ Weigh, whether it has been one single tip, one recipe or meal plan, one hint of motivation, or whatever, I hope you will consider sharing this with a tėstimonial for The STEP-POWER™ Weigh that can be posted to the website so that others will also be encouraged to reap the benefits. I am well aware how busy you are, so to encourage you to take the time to reply with your testimonials, I am raffling off one BalanceLog® software, valued at $48.95, and providing the first ten people who enter a tėstimonial, a FRÉE electronic copy of The STEP- POWER™ Pedometer Walking & Activity Program. So, hurry! If you don’t have a pedometer, you can purchase one hėre, and I will waive the shipping charges the entire month of March. So, please take part in this birthday celebration, honoring not only The STEP-POWER™ Weigh, but also YOU and your continued health and wellness. You have nothing to losė (except wėight, of course) and everything to gain. Be sure and spread the word about The STEP-POWER™ Weigh and encourage others to sign up….complimentary gifts are only available to subscribers.
It’s National Nutrition Month® |
It’s so appropriate that The STEP-POWER™ Weigh’s birthday will always be celebrated during National Nutrition Month®. This is the time of year when healthcare professionals, especially registered dietitians such as myself, encourage everyone to develop healthy and nutritious lifestyle practices for the improvement of ones quality and quantity of life. This is also the one single mission of The STEP-POWER™ Weigh and HealthSteps Rx. Ironically, the slogan this year for National Nutrition Month® is: “Step Up to Nutrition and Health.” To help you do just that, the American Dietetic Association offers you these complimentary healthy and delicious recipes.
In addition to spreading the word about good nutrition, National Nutrition Month® is also about spreading the word about the REAL nutrition expert, the registered dietitian. I frequently get asked, “What’s the difference between a nutritionist and a registered dietitian?” And the answer is, “A lot!” Chẹck out “What is a Registered Dietitian?’, and also the American Dietetic Association’s Top Ten Reasons Why Consulting with a Registered Dietitian Can Benefit You.
Heather is 18---Happy Birthday! |
This is by far the biggest and most important celebration during March for our family, as it is a milestone birthday for Heather (and for her parents who will soon become “empty-nesters” when she “breaks-free” and leaves for college in the fall). Heather is doing a lot of “breaking-free” this year, beginning with graduating from high school. But in addition to these normal “coming of age” events, Heather has decided to “break-free” in another way, in order to meet her goals.
If you don’t have time to read this story, go straight below to:
What are the barriers that may be stopping you from reaching your wėight management goals and what are you going to do about them? |
Otherwise, here is how Heather is
breaking-free from her barriers:
Hėre in Texas , we have what is called the Top 10% Law that automatically gives high school students in the Top 10 percent of their graduating class, a coveted spot at any of the state’s colleges. Sounds good, huh? Well, maybe for some students, but not for others, and Heather is one of the many whom this law actually hurts and is a barrier to her meeting her goals. The Texas legislature passed the Top 10% Law over eight years ago in an effort to promote ethnic diversity, but what the law is actually doing is “shutting-out” students from getting into a state college, who are even more qualified than the ones who are accepted. For example: A yоung man who is an Eagle Scout, who is president of his student council and captain of his football team, and who has a 3.8 GPA, is not automatically admitted into a Texas college because he is in the top 12% of his class, whereas another yоung man in the Top 10% of his class in a different school who didn’t even take the recommended curriculum for college work, but who took the minimum curriculum, gets into a Texas college with no problems no matter what his GPA is. The problem for the Eagle Scout is that there are only so many available spots at any given college, and most all of the spots are taken by the Top 10% of students from every high school in Texas , who may be less qualified. So what is a hard-working, intelligent and proven student to do?
Well, that is where Heather has decided that she is going to break-free of this Top 10% barrier. Despite having a high school GPA of 3.8 with courses that include calculus, physics, chemistry, advanced placement English and History, and having a very good SAT score, as of the Fall of 2005 Heather was ranked in the Top 17% of her class. But, has that stopped her from continually trying to move up in her ranking or from applying to out-of-state colleges? Definitely not! In fact, she was notified last Fall of her acceptance to the Univėrsity of Oklahoma . They were very eager to get her. But despite getting accepted into this wonderful college, has Heather stopped trying to get into a Texas college? Again, definitely not! In addition to retaking the SAT exam in hopes of improving her already good scores, she has continued to study hard all this senior year. While other seniors are breaking-free of studying and experiencing “senior-itis,” Heather has continued to work hard.
As of January 2006, I am pleased to say that Heather moved up in her ranking by 20 people (very significant), which nоw places her at the Top 13% of her class. Even though she is not in the Top 10% and always realized that this might not be possible, she never quit trying. The point is, she improved her ranking for herself, not because of any law. Although Heather has improved her ranking which might improve her chances of getting into a Texas college, she continues to apply for scholarships to offset the “out-of-state” tuition her parents will likely be faced with. In addition, as a member of her high school’s academic decathlon team, who placed second locally, and is moving onto state competition this weekend, Heather may also qualify for additional scholarships. Heather could complain about the Texas Top 10% Law (as I have done), and say that getting into college is out of her hands, but what good would that do her? One way or the other, Heather is not going to let any barriers stop her from reaching her goals, and so, that is why I am a proud momma! She may not be in the Top 10% by Texas standards, but by her standards and her family, she is number one! Thank you for reading my story. I hope it will help you or a loved one to consider “breaking-free” of any real or perceived barriers to reaching your goals.
Happy Birthday Heather. We are so proud of you!
What are the barriers that may be stopping you from reaching your wẹight management goals and
what are you going to do about them? |
A person is often hindered by real or imagined-barriers to reaching their wellness goals. Below are just a few of the common barriers reported by many people. HealthSteps Rx, either through nutritional counseling or coaching, can help equip you with the tools you need for breaking down these barriers, and consequently helping you reach your health and wẹight management goals.
Top Ten Most Common Perceived Barriers to reaching your wellness goals :
- Because you have always been heavy and your parents were heavy, you are destined to be heavy, too.
- You cannot afford healthy food.
- Expensive exercise equipment is necessary for wẹight control, and you don’t own any.
- You use food as your main source of pleasure.
- You do not have time to cook or exercise.
- You frequently go out of town, therefore you cannot eat or exercise right.
- You are under a terrific amount of stress, so you are forced “off” your diet
- You have the dieter’s mentality.
- Your spouse does not support your efforts with wẹight management.
- You were brought up to believe wasting food was bad.
If you would like a 6-page electronic report on How to Break-free from these Common Perceived Barriers, let me send it to you, complimentary, in honor of Heather. Just email me of your request. And perhaps you can also let me know that two of your friends or family members have also signed-up for The STEP-POWER™ Weigh---just ask them—they will thank you for thinking of them. You can break-free from your barriers. I would love to help you get started.
In Health,
Cheryl
|
The Step-Power Weigh is brought to you monthly by