Global Warming Is Caused By Cashmere Sweaters
As I watch the news and talk to my friends and associates, they all tell me the debate about global warming is over. Many explain to me that we are destroying the planet by driving our cars and polluting the atmosphere with CO₂ gas. That’s carbon dioxide, the gas in soda pop.
Imagine that. The late, great planet earth destroyed by a giant Orange Crush or Pepsi. Who’d a thunk it? What an ignoble end.
But I’m here to tell you this is not true, not true at all. It’s not all the cars and soda pop driving us toward doom.
Global warming is caused by cashmere sweaters!
How is this so, you might ask. Well, my research has uncovered these little known facts.
It turns out that cashmere is made from the hair on the belly of a special kind of goat. Personally, I would have preferred this to be the hair of a Yak because it would make my story more interesting – but I must stay true to my journalistic principles, so goat belly hair it is.
And not just any goat living in any old place. It has to be a special kind of goat that lives in a very harsh climate. This causes the goats to create a special kind of soft, warm insulating hair that is known as cashmere.
It’s a little sad that the goats have to live in such harsh places and suffer like this. No doubt many would rather spend their time in Miami Beach, perhaps at Mangos, listening to hot Latin music, bleating and swaying to the beat, slurping margaritas and checking out some nicely filled out dancing cashmere sweaters in the process (indeed, this is what I was doing when I came up with this theory).
But I wasn’t bleating. Everything else, yes, but not bleating, just to set the record straight.
So anyway, back to the sweater theory and across the ocean to the people in England , who used to have a lock on the cashmere goats because of their dreary climate. The English have never seemed to mind this much as they hang out in the pubs all the time, and who’s to blame them really. So while they were swilling pints away inside the warm pubs, their goats were outside suffering, doing their duty and making cashmere hair on their bellies to stay warm.
It was the natural order of things.
One day the Chinese caught on to this gig and one of them said #%#@*+!$$ which sounds phonetically like “cam chon fin seng mucho dollars” (simulated Chinese), which means, loosely translated, “We can do this for half the cost by using cheap labor goats and make MUCHO DOLLARS.”
So they got started on their project chop chop!
Now the Chinese have the perfect place for this with a really lousy climate called the Steppes. No one has ever seen any steps there, actually, and there’s really no need for steps since it’s flatter than Kansas, but that’s what it’s called just the same and so we’ll just go with this. Also note that this ties in nicely with Tom Friedman’s book on the global economy, entitled, The World is Flat.
The Chinese always do things in a big way, and recently inspired by a translation of Carl Sagan’s works, in-sourced billions and billions of goats to the Steppes. The little goats suffered, as was the plan, and made cashmere for billions and billions of cashmere sweaters to be sold at Wal-Mart’s around the world – you know, that global economy thing again.
There was just one little problem, really. The goats ate all the grass on the Steppes, so now they really suffered, and great dust storms started swirling across the land.
All the dust went up into the atmosphere, and carried by the trade winds (that global economy thing again) blew all over America from San Francisco to New York, trapping heat underneath the dust cloud and altering the weather in a gigantic greenhouse effect.
And there you have it. As soon as you say “greenhouse effect” it’s global warming for sure.
Global warming is really responsible for everything these days. For instance, when it’s blazing hot in Kansas in August, that’s global warming. When it’s freezing in Chicago in January, it’s global warming. And when they have droughts in the desert Southwest, or your bank account is overdrawn or you run out of beer during the super bowl, well, it’s definitely global warming.
And all because the little cashmere goats (also known as scapegoats) ate all the grass on the Steppes in China.
So I think the whole thing is irrefutable, really. It’s hard to deny solid facts and evidence such as this.
But wait, you say. I love my cashmere sweaters.
No problem. I’m all for saving the planet, but I’m not one of those uptight environmentalist. After all, we still have to have fun and enjoy life.
So I say, go ahead and wear your cashmere sweaters, particularly if you fill one out rather nicely.
And let’s all meet at Mangos for margaritas!!! (chuckle). Bring a freezing little goat if you have one (as long as they don’t bleat).
Have a nice day - J. Daniel
Note 1: Al Gora invented the cashmere sweater, but refuses to take any personal responsibility for the damage he’s done to the environment. Now there’s an Inconvenient Truth for you.
Note 2: I bet you think I made this whole thing up, don’t you? But truth is stranger than fiction. There actually is some factual basis to this post (granted – cashmere sweaters are not the only cause of global warming). But it turns out, the little goats really DID eat all the grass on the Steppes, which did create dust storms, which possibly has affected weather in other countries – including the United States. You’ll find the following web site articles from The Encyclopedia of Earth, Times Online and News Public quite interesting.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Eastern_Gobi_desert_steppe
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article744158.ece
Bo Derek And Natalie Portman Diet And Exercise
Recently I read an article about Bo Derek who has now turned 54. The gist of the article was that she was still a 10 at age 54, a nice wordplay since she is best known for her role in the romantic comedy movie 10.
I checked out some of her photos, and, well, yes, she has held up remarkably well.
I’m always curious about the diet and exercise of these stars, because fitness and beauty is the key hallmark of their trade. I found out two things about Bo.
The first is that she is on a vegetarian diet. I’m beginning to think there is something to this. You’ll recall in an earlier post that the actress Natalie Portman was also a vegan – one of the variations of a vegetarian diet.
Bo Derek and Natalie Portman also have a similarity in their exercise plans. Rather than doing regimented workouts, they both integrate more physical activity into their daily lives. In Bo’s case, this is rather colorful, in that she says she does much of the physical activity on her ten acre horse ranch, and that nothing is quite as physically invigorating as shoveling horse manure.
A bit comical perhaps, but I think by just leading an active lifestyle doing things they love – in Bo’s case, taking care of her horses – it gives them the discipline to exercise in a way that doesn’t seem like exercise.
We can all take a lesson from that. Walk more, take the stairs, all these things are quite possible, even for those of us with office jobs.
And the vegetarian diet? I don’t think it’s necessary to go totally meat free, but eating much more fruits and vegetables, and less meat, can’t possibly do any harm and certainly much good. This also has the benefit of reducing our intake of the many biotics we may be ingesting from the meat supply in our country.
That said, I intend to walk even more, and add more vegetables, including raw ones, to my diet.
So what do you think. Would making these simple modifications help you too? They certainly seem to work well for Bo and Natalie.
Have a healthy day – J. Daniel
Lincoln, Mark Twain, Einstein and Lingerie
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief…
“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare
This month we celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. It’s appropriate to remind ourselves of some of the lessons we can learn from this great man’s life.
The list is extensive, and so, in the interest of brevity, which is what this is article is really about, I choose to focus his Gettysburg address.
His famous speech, given on a Thursday afternoon, November 19, 1863, has remained one of the most enduring speeches in American History. Its stated purpose was to dedicate a new cemetery at Gettysburg where just three months before 7500 soldiers had lost their lives in one of the worst battles of the Civil War. As an interesting historical aside, he may have had another reason, which was to muster support for the war because he felt he was going to lose the next Presidential election.
Lincoln clearly achieved both objectives, but what has always impressed me about his address was its brevity. Few people know that he was actually the second speaker at the event, following Edward Everette, a widely famed orator, who had just given a 13000 word, two hour speech.
President Lincoln then got up and spoke ten sentences – the Gettysburg address — in it’s entirety.
That was it. Imagine the contrast if you were there in the audience.
Which takes us to our topic of brevity, and how effective it can be.
Clearly effective in this case because Lincoln’s speech was remembered. Everette’s 13,000 word oration was not – indeed, Everette himself is forgotten.
So if brevity is so powerful why does it seem to be so rare?
Because it takes effort to distill an idea down to brevity. The effort is why it is often not done.
Contrary to a common myth, Lincoln had put some effort into his ten sentence speech. Beginning his writing in Washington D. C., he wrote at least five drafts, dispelling said myth that he completed his address while on the train and wrote it on the back of an envelope.
Other famous people have labored at brevity as well. Supporting the idea that concise writing takes effort is Mark Twain’s comment to a friend when he said, “Sorry about the length of the letter, if I’d have had more time it would have been shorter.”
And he illustrated how it can cost you dollars when he told the story that “when he had listened for five minutes to the preacher telling of the heathen, he wept, and was going to contribute fifty dollars, after ten minutes more of the sermon, he reduced the amount of his prospective contribution to twenty-five dollars, after half an hour more of eloquence, he cut the sum to five dollars. At the end of an hour of oratory when the plate was passed, he stole two dollars.”
All that said, no one can beat my final famous person in the area of brevity. I’m referring to Albert Einstein. He wrote a book (among others) entitled The Special Theory of Relativity. I’ve read that book (not saying I understood all of it) and Einstein takes the cake. His summary of it was just five characters.
E=mc2.
Which lead to the atomic bomb. That’s fairly effective, I would say.
So it’s clear that brevity can lead to enduring fame, effectiveness, and save you money. Fair enough, you say. But what does lingerie have to do with it?
While researching this post, I stumbled upon a fun quote I just thought I’d share with you so you can use it as a memory aid. The most effective memory aids, it is said, are those that cause you to create a vivid mental picture. So here’s the quote. It’s by Dorothy Parker, an American short-story writer and poet (1893-1967).
Dorothy said, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”
I’ll leave you with that memory aid, and brief(s) thought-picture.
Have a nice day – J. Daniel (chuckle)
P.S. Feel free to send your comments by clicking the post name at the top of the page and writing in the box below. And no need to be brief with them – we love to hear from you.
Attorneys Weigh In On Groundhog Day Wars Post
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We’ve received thousands of reader comments in the past few months here at the WoodChips. Some are quite good, and some are … hmmm … somewhat suspect.
You see, some unscrupulous website authors will post a generic comment in hopes we will approve it in our Readers Comments section. If I were to do so, then they get what is known as a link back to their site. Sites that have a lot of link backs are rated higher by Google, which generates more traffic to their site.
These disingenuous comments are known as SPAM, and take up a webmaster’s (me) time just to edit and get rid of them.
Here’s an interesting one from some attorneys in New York. I’ll not be more specific about who they are so they won’t sue me (chuckle).
They commented on my recent post about how Groundhog Day almost started the second Civil War and caused Orlando to threaten to secede from the Union. Here’s what they said about that post with my comments. See if you think they were genuine about this or just doing shameless self promotion.
“Bunches of strong, difficult to acquire information here.” Yes guys, this was difficult to acquire information because I just made the whole thing up. Seriously, do you think Groundhog Day really came close to starting the second Civil War here in Orlando? Clearly you have a calling, i.e. the next axe murderer that needs a defense lawyer should see you. Honestly, he should. Because clearly you’re going to believe him when he says he’s innocent. Your belief in him (naiveté) will help you mount a strong defense.
“Retrieved this blog entry by performing a search on AOL Search.” Interesting. Just curious here, what were you searching for. Was it Groundhog Day Causes Civil War? Was it Orlando Secedes From The Union? What was it? Better yet, what would cause you to have such a crazy thought, much less search for it?
“You’re truly causing me amend my view about this stuff and seldom does that happen to me… Thanks!” Great to know I write so persuasively you have changed your point of view on this subject. I take that as a high compliment since you are professional attorneys, skilled in the art of picking arguments apart. Here’s a clue for you as you read future posts. I categorize my posts. This one fell under the category of BullChip. Think that one over and you’ll get my drift.
Okay, so now you have the full attorney’s comment and my response in front of you. So do you think they were sincere, or just trying to use the comment to drum up business?
Actually, I guess it worked, because the next axe murderer I run into, I’m going to point their way.
I rest my case.
Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day Prediction 2011 – It Was …
Obvious fake press shot of Phil shadow checking
As an update to our recent post on Groundhog Day, one of the leading groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted there would be an early spring this year.
Punxsutawney Phil, a national groundhog forecasting figure, is often pictured in the papers and the news as coming out of his groundhog hole, looking around and seeing if he sees his shadow, which is one of his key data points (his only one, come to think of it) that he uses for his professional spring forecast.
This is actually all a bunch of phony news media hype stuff. The weather was awful on Groundhog Day this year and no intelligent groundhog, especially one of Phil’s stature, is going to come out in such miserable weather. Just look at the obviously faked, poor quality press photo above and you’ll know what I mean.
No, the modern GF’s (groundhog forecasters) are a lot smarter about the whole thing. Hidden away in their warm groundhog home offices below ground, they just log on to the internet to see what the weather is doing before making their forecast. I have on good authority that Phil typically checks www.weather.com and enters his groundhog hole zip code to gather the essential data he needs for his forecast.
Then he just posts his forecast on his website and pretty much calls it a day.
So that’s how it’s done these days. Yes, the internet has really changed everything and it’s hard to see some of the old pre-internet traditions die. On the other hand, it looks like a favorable prediction for an early spring, so we’ll just focus on that good piece of news and worry about tradition later.
Yes, we’ll conclude by looking on the bright side, so to speak.
Here’s to an early spring in your neck of the woods – J. Daniel
Groundhog Day Wars In Orlando
Groundhog Day is celebrated in the United States and Canada, presumably because they have areas that can get really cold. So by this time of the year people are winter weary and in need of hope that the sun will shine again and Spring will arrive.
Lending credence to the “cold weather” theory is the fact that Groundhog Day doesn’t seem such a big deal here in Florida. If you mention Groundhog Day in Orlando, everyone will pretend that you are talking about the movie starring Bill Murray, casually mentioning that entertainment is a big thing here in Disney country.
But don’t be fooled. They are using this as a dodge to keep from dredging up old feelings about this highly controversial subject here in the deep South, i.e. it almost started the second Civil War (known as Civil War II) resulting in Orlando threatening to secede from the Union.
It all started years ago, when some local booster tried to get Groundhog Day celebrated in a big time way, with parades and merchandise and related stuff like that. Good as this may sound; the whole thing became highly controversial and rapidly spun out of control.
My research revealed two hotly contested issues.
The first involved cruelty to animals. You see, the little groundhogs would pop out from under their beach umbrellas every year to see if the sun was shining and warm weather would return in six weeks.
The problem was, the sun was always shining and it was always warm, and they began to feel like they were living a pointless existence. They took to drinking and moping about, often muttering “what’s the purpose of life,” under their little groundhog breath. And of course they suffered from depression a lot as well. It was pathetic, really, and the whole thing was getting out of hand with mopey little groundhogs everywhere a body would turn — until PETA stepped in and began pressuring the evil boosters to cease and desist.
Which is just as well because the political consequences here in Orlando were also about to blow up. You see, since a groundhog is a rodent, many people felt that Mickey Mouse (also a rodent) should be the one to pop out from under his beach umbrella to proclaim to the world, “Yup, the sun is shining.”
People take their Mickey Mouse / Disney stuff pretty serious down here, so the clash between the Mickey Mousers and the Ground Earthers (as they were called) quickly deteriorated into food fights and catcalling and the hurling of insults at each other like “You don’t know your B@#! from a groundhog hole in the ground.”
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the PETA action helped put the thing down. Aside from nobody wanting to talk about it much, things have been relatively calm ever since (presumably the warring factions went underground).
Now, for you doubters out there, I admit my facts may be a little uncertain here – but I pretty much think this happened, or could have happened … and for sure Mickey Mouse is a rodent and lives here in Orlando, so the other stuff is probably accurate as well.
That said, if you are in a colder climate, I understand that Ground Hog day is a HUGE BIG DEAL because it gives you hope that the cold weather will be going away soon. As a native of the Great Frozen North myself, I still follow the more prominent groundhogs and their predictions (see exhaustive list).
My favorite GF’s (Groundhog Forecasters) are Woody and Woodstock Willie, but really, these are all the Crème de la Dirt, so I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.
I’ve listed the top GF’s and their last year’s predictions. This way, you have adequate information to pick one based on their professional credentials and get a truly accurate forecast for your region.
So read through the list, choose carefully, good luck, and here’s wishing you get a favorable Spring prediction on Groundhog Day.
J. Daniel (popping his head out from under the beach umbrella).
P.S. Many thanks to Wikipedia and their contributors for the great research on this subject … except for the Groundhog Wars in Orlando piece, which I claim entirely, and have a nagging suspicion Wikipedia wouldn’t want to claim anyway.
Table of Top Groundhogs in the Nation – 2010 Predictions – Word Chart
| Groundhog | Location | Prediction |
| Gus | Athens, Georgia | Early spring |
| Queen Charlotte | Charlotte, North Carolina | Early spring |
| Octoraro Orphie | Quarryville, Pennsylvania | Early spring |
| Sir Walter Wally | Raleigh, North Carolina | Early spring |
| Jimmy the Groundhog | Sun Prairie, Wisconsin | Early spring |
| General Beauregard Lee | Snellville, Georgia | Early spring |
| Smith Lake Jake | Graysville, Alabama | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Staten Island Chuck | Staten Island (New York City) | Early spring |
| Woodstock Willie | Woodstock, Illinois | Early spring |
| Wiarton Willie | Wiarton, Ontario | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Punxsutawney Phil | Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Uni | Myerstown, Pennsylvania | Early spring |
| Spanish Joe | Spanish, Ontario | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Dunkirk Dave | Dunkirk, New York | Early spring |
| Buckeye Chuck | Marion, Ohio | Early spring |
| Balzac Billy | Balzac, Alberta | Early spring |
| Shubenacadie Sam | Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia | 6 more weeks of winter |
| French Creek Freddie | French Creek, West Virginia | Early spring |
| Chuckles | Manchester, Connecticut | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Woody | Howell, Michigan | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Stormy Marmot | Aurora, Colorado | 6 more weeks of winter |
| Fred la marmotte | Val d’Espoir, Gaspésie | 6 more weeks of winter |
May You Live In Interesting Times
Mark Twain once said, “It’s not what you don’t know that will get you, it’s what you know for sure.”
I’ve always liked that quote — a caution to constantly do a self-check on my knowledge. I love quotes, and those that know me will agree I collect them like a kid does baseball cards. Come to think of it, I just started this post with one, didn’t I?
This week I experienced Mark Twain’s caution first hand. You see, I had always thought that the saying, “May you live in interesting times,” was a Russian curse. I wouldn’t have sworn to it, mind you. There are few things I’m totally certain of because I understand, in part, the fallacy of human nature — mine included. But I felt reasonably sure of it.
Then, this week, I noticed a very credible reader of the WoodChips (Peter) ended a post with the following … I am reminded of the old Chinese salutation, “May you live in interesting times.” So I thought, hmmmm … guess I was wrong on that and wrote it the way Peter had said it in my post If Ignorance Is Bliss.
Fair enough. I had learned something and corrected an error in my knowledge. All is good with the world, I thought. I have fixed a mind thing.
The following day I showed the post to an equally credible associate in the office (George). He said he liked it and asked me, “So why didn’t you say, ‘May you live in interesting times,’ was an old Chinese greeting instead of a salutation.”
Okay, so now I really was perplexed. So I told George I called it a salutation because apparently I didn’t know better.
Then I did the thing of last resort. I did some research to fix this mind thing. And what I found out, about what we all thought, was that no one really knows for sure where this came from or when. It could be a curse, it may be a salutation, it possibly is Chinese or it could be American. Interesting.
About all I can say is that we all were kind of right, but nobody really knows for sure. Indeed, the Yale Book of Quotations states that “No authentic Chinese saying to this effect has ever been found.” But there are other indications it might have been Chinese, like the one pictured at the top of this post (for those of you that read Chinese). I eventually settled on it being a Chinese curse and updated the article accordingly.
That said, the purpose of this post is not to prove anyone right or wrong. Rather, the point is to always question what we know. And to really question what we know for sure.
Watching the news these days, it seems to me there are pockets of people in America that should really question what “they know for sure” (no doubt all of us, really). I could name a bunch of these groups, and no doubt you could too. But in the interest of brevity, I’ll just illustrate this point with a theoretical, made-up group.
Let’s say, hmmm, it’s a small but vocal minority in Kansas — they’re always vocal, aren’t they. Anyhow, speaking to them here, I’ll say, “Hey, I’ve got the perfect mind thing for you to examine.”
You still believe the earth is flat, don’t you. And God knows, you are surrounded by miles and miles of “flat” as supporting evidence. I know this – I’ve driven across Kansas. I’ve lived in Kansas.
But I want you to question the thought that the earth is flat this week. I’m not going to come right out and tell you the answer to this. I want you to research it on your own and question your belief based on the NEW evidence you uncover.
Now, I’m not going to leave you twisting in the wind on this, so here are some helpful hints.
1) Go to Google and search on the number 1492. That’s the first big hint.
2) Then maybe look up the holiday celebrated on October 10th. It’s called Columbus Day. Find out why people in America celebrate this day this every year.
3) Final hint. Columbus liked boats, like to sail, and didn’t like Leif Erikson or Amerigo Vespucci so much (hmmm … Amerigo sounds a lot like America, doesn’t it).
Let me know what you find out about your Kansan Flat Earth Theory. Just click the title of this post and write your research results in the comments box that black-magically appears at the bottom of the page.
And have a mind-thing day – J. Daniel
P.S. At the risk of giving the answer away, for you round-earthers out there, mounting evidence suggests the Chinese discovered America as much as a thousand years before anyone (three thousand if you count the Kansan Flat Earthers).
Truly, we live in interesting times.
P.P.S. Here is more information you will like about all the Confucian (confusion) on this subject. You can read it by clicking here at Wikipedia’s May You Live In Interesting Times.
Help The Homeblessed
There’s been plenty of talk about helping the homeless, and I’m all for that. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, actually takes time to build homes for them.
But totally ignored is another group of people who desperately need help. These are the homeblessed.
The homeblessed have the opposite problem of the homeless. They have too many homes and they can’t get rid of them (and the mortgage payments) because the real estate market is in the tank. They wound up with too many homes due to a job transfer, or responsible speculation (hmmm … ) during the housing market bubble a few years ago, and now they are stuck.
Their plight is desperate and you will often see them standing on the street corners with a raggedy old brown cardboard mortgage-like sign that says something like, “Hey Buddy, can you spare a mortgage payment?”
I’m not sure what the solution is here, but one thought is that Jimmy Carter could help a lot with a new campaign to help the homeblessed. Instead of arriving on the scene with a crew to build a home, he could arrive in front of the extra home with loads of dynamite and a wrecking crew. They could start blasting and tearing the house down and then the lucky homeblessed person would only have one home and one mortgage (and an unintended benefit would be the creation of a lot more WoodChips).
Maybe they could get donations by marketing the program as, ummm, let’s say, “Help the Homeblast!”
It sounds like a win-win situation to me. So why don’t we all unite and get behind this plan. Let’s focus on the homeblessed for a change. And soon, “hey buddy, can you spare a mortgage” will start to disappear.
Remember — you heard it here first at the WoodChips.
Have a nice day … J. Daniel (strategic Real Estate thinker)
P.S. An alternative plan might be to save all the building materials from the destroyed home and go build a new home for the homeless at no cost. I don’t have a catchy slogan for that one yet, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.
What would you call this program? Just click the title of this post and enter your thoughts in the comment box that appears below.
Natalie Portman – Vegan Diet and Exercise
Recently I was reading about the actress Natalie Portman in the news and became curious about how she kept such a trim and attractive figure. I thought you might be interested as well, so I did a little research.
I always have two central questions in this area. They are 1) what is her diet and 2) what is her exercise regimen.
It turns out that Natalie is on a vegetarian diet. She started gradually y eliminating meat from her diet and then gradual ally eliminating fish, cheese and milk. Note there are varying degrees of Veganism and her diet approaches a Vegan diet which is eating only plant based foods.
So, to stay on this diet, she can eat organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, soy products, legumes, vegan soups, lentils or raw foods. Also recommended is to seek out interesting restaurants or cookbooks to prevent boredom on this limited diet.
Natalie also combines this diet with portion control, another form of diet we wrote about in Crystal Harris vs. The Twinkie Diet in a past post.
So what are the advantages of her diet? Well, for starters, there’s no arguing with her results. And certainly, she eats plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which is always a good thing. She doesn’t have to worry about accumulating antibiotics and hormones that seem to be put in many farmed animals and eventually end up in our bodies. And she gets a mental satisfaction from knowing that no possible cruelty to animals was involved into her food source.
There can be disadvantages to the Vegan diet. The most obvious is the limited food choices it imposes. Ad vegans have to plan their meals carefully to assure they get all the vitamins and minerals required for good health. Some nutrients vegans need to be careful to get adequate amounts of are Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12, calcium and iron, among others. But this can be done through adequate meal planning and is not a given just because meat has been eliminated from the diet.
Natalie’s exercise ideas are similar to those I favor in that she works them in to her daily regimen. You can exercise like Natalie by simply increasing the activities in your daily life. Much of her exercise seems to be walking, one that I consider to be the ultimate, easy to do exercise. You can walk on your work breaks, do errands on foot where possible, park further for the store to walk more, take the stairs when possible, and if the weather is bad, use a treadmill.
Natalie also does Yoga, something I have been interested in for some time.
So there are the highlights of how Natalie keeps so fit and trim. She stays active and walks for exercise. She is primarily on a vegan diet, with some use of a portion control diet, and no mention of a low carb diet.
Like all diet and exercise programs, you don’t have to do everything all at once. Just pick a couple of the ideas you think you can do and try them. If that works, pick a couple more.
Diet is a personal thing for all of us and over time you will be able to custom tailor the one that works for you.
Good luck and have a nice day – J. Daniel
