REAL TIME - September 25, 2009: Self-Esteem, Self-Image, and Being Overweight
Two major collective movements regarding self-image and the body have taken place throughout the world, especially in western societies. As far back as the fashion industry has existed, women and men, especially women, have been bombarded with images of how we need to look and be like. These images are in advertisements, movies, posters and everywhere we go, and it's been that way for years and years. So if we buy into that, we feel like we need to be skinnier than we are and develop self-image issues. There's no amount of weight we can lose, for those of us who buy the sale too hard.Big Beautiful Women and Men started a backlash and said, "Wait a minute, we're big, we're

REAL TIME - September 20, 2009 - Starting Body Cleanse
The intent of this blog is to discuss the common overeating phenomenon around the world, and most particularly in the United States, and how that contributes to ailments such as stroke, diabetes, and heart attack. On this particular blog, I will focus mostly on stroke.I am a 40-year-old woman who nearly had a stroke last year. I was 100+ pounds overweight and was told by my doctor that I needed to shape up or eventually pay the consequences. He found atherosclerosis in the middle cerebral artery of my brain, developed to the point of the average 60-year-old regarding this condition. Although the development is mild, my doctor explained that I'm well behind my time and was at ris