Newsletter - July 2012 for Barnstable & Plymouth Counties

Area Captains Newsletter July 2012 for Barnstable & Plymouth Counties

Link to May 2012 Newsletter!

Barbara Pacheco...7 Autumn Way Bourne, MA... 508-833-8805... e-mail bptops@aol.com

"Enjoy the peace your valor won. Let independence be our boast, Ever mindful what it cost; Ever grateful for the prize, Let its altar reach the skies!"

How old are you?

A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.
"I couldn't help noticing how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?" "I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise." "That's amazing," the woman said. "How old are you?'  "Twenty-six," he said.

 

I can't believe this year is already 1/2 over. How many of you made New Years resolutions to lose weight this year? Are you going the wrong weigh?

It's never too late to.........

BEGIN AGAIN

One of the best things we can do in our lives is this: BEGIN AGAIN

Begin to see yourself as you were when you were the happiest and
strongest you've ever been.

Begin to remember what worked for you (and what worked against you), and try to capture the magic again.

Begin to remember how natural it was when you were a child -- to live
a lifetime each day.

Begin to forget the baggage you have carried with you for years: the
problems that don't matter anymore, the tears that cried themselves away, and the worries that are going to wash away on the shore of tomorrow's new beginning.

Tomorrow tells us it will be here every new day of our lives; and if
we will be wise, we will turn away from the problems of the past and give the future -- and ourselves -- a chance to become the best of friends.

Sometimes all it takes is a wish in the heart to let yourself ... begin again.

Collin McCarty

We still have summer to enjoy but before we know it September will be here.

What does that mean? It means we will be going back to school.  The next Inspiration Workshop  will  be on Saturday Sept. 15th.

We guarantee you will get your money's worth when you attend our next Inspiration Workshop on Saturday September 15, 2012 in Franklin, MA. We are offering a double your money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. You are asking yourself how can that be.. Easy, it is a FREE workshop. You and your fellow members will be going "Back to School" for the day. Great workshop to bring a friend to.....whether they belong to TOPS or not. Registration begins at 8:30. Bells rings at 9:15. Do not be late or you will have to deal with Wavering Wanda and Sensible Samantha.

Franklin Senior Center 10 Daniel McCahill Street, Franklin, MA 02038-1878.

Gail and Barbara

We are still in the planning process but some classes are math, english, cooking, recess (YEA YEA) health, Lunch..bring your own in your favorite lunch box, drama, music, gym and assembly hall. The subjects will all be TOPS related.  Directions will be in the September newsletter.

If your chapter would like anything printed in the newsletter just send it to me. Good weight loss for the month ....what did you all do right?? Bad weight loss for the month...begin again!!!!

Any interesting contests or programs you are doing? We all can share and learn from each other.

Thought for the month:  Always remember that your happiness starts with you.

You can use the following article for a program

 

The Best Diet to Lower Cholesterol

 

For decades, those with high cholesterol have been given a list of don’ts when it comes to their diet: Don’t eat cholesterol-rich eggs; don’t eat butter; don’t eat red meat or regular ice cream. Well, now researchers have identified a list of dos for the diet that may work to lower cholesterol levels better than avoiding those don’ts.

In a study published  in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that eating cholesterol-lowering foods like nuts, soy protein, and certain fiber-rich items result in bigger drops in “bad” LDL cholesterol than avoiding high-fat meat, eggs, and dairy foods.

“Doctors tend to focus on telling patients what to avoid instead of what to add,” said study co-author Cyril Kendall, a research scientist at the University of Toronto.

In the study involving 345 participants, one group was randomly assigned to get dietary advice on cholesterol-lowering foods such as oats, barley, soy milk, tofu, nuts, and legumes; they were also instructed to eat margarine enriched with plant sterols, which are plant chemicals that have been shown to reduce cholesterol. People in a control group were told to reduce their fat intake by eating low-fat dairy products, whole-grain cereals, and fruits and vegetables, advice endorsed by the American Heart Association.

The first group had nearly a 14 percent drop in LDL cholesterol -- the average level dropped from 171 milligrams/deciliter to 145 mg/dL -- while the control group had only a 3 percent decline, a drop from 171 to 163. (A level above 160 mg/dL is considered high.) The study didn’t address whether health outcomes, like heart attack prevention, would be affected by this level of decline.

Here’s the diet that brought the biggest drop in cholesterol levels. (The researchers didn’t test to see whether supplements worked, so stick with whole foods.)

-- Soy products. Eat four servings a day; each serving is equivalent to 4 ounces of firm tofu, 1 cup of soy milk, 1/2 cup of soybeans, 3/4 cup of soy yogurt, or 1/3 cup roasted soy nuts.

-- Nuts. Eat about 1.5 ounces per day of any kind of nuts, including almonds, peanuts, and cashews.

-- Foods fortified with plant sterols. Eat four servings a day of products fortified with plant sterols, including an 8-ounce glass of orange juice, cup of yogurt, and tablespoon of margarine. The US Food and Drug Administration allows such fortified foods to be labeled “cholesterol-lowering”.

-- Fiber-rich foods. Eat four to five 4-ounce servings a day of foods rich in viscous fiber, a kind of sticky fiber found in beans, legumes, oats, barley, and cereals that contain psyllium. Wheat bran and produce rich in insoluble fiber -- for all their nutritional benefits -- don’t contain much viscous fiber.