At base, it's about the wires...

The physicalness of the internet has been all up-in-our-faces these last couple days: a nation, it turns out, can just unplug itself, and corporate citizens of the world's great democracies help out. [See, however, Vodafone's current explanation.]

The Atlantic has a fascinating piece on the infrastructure of the internet. All that data travels through relatively few nodes, it seems. Why some nodes and not others? Undoubtedly the answer is history.

I can't help but think of that first trans-atlantic cable.

Moving Unhealthy Food Is Better Than Banning It

An intriguing study from Cornell University found that strategically re-positioning food in school cafeterias is a formidable strategy for encouraging healthier choices.

Healthier, more visible and more "cool" was the idea behind the strategy, which aimed to improve the eating habits of school-aged children.

These findings are the result of six different studies with more than 11,000 middle and high school students. (Source)

In one set of schools, the study found sales of fruit increased by 100 percent, when it was moved to a colorful bowl.Salad bar sales tripled when the cart was placed in front of cash registers.In other schools, creating a speedy "healthy express" checkout line for students not buying calorie-dense foods, like desserts and chips, doubled the sales of healthy sandwiches.Ice cream kept in a freezer with a closed, opaque top, significantly reduced the amount of ice cream taken.Moving chocolate milk behind plain milk increased sales of plain milk.I have to say I really like this idea - not only for schools, but in homes and offices as well. The out-of sight, out-of-mind, out-of-mouth strategy is certainly universally applicable.This study echo's the results of Brian Wansink's 2006 study, which found that office workers ate fewer candies when they were in opaque rather than clear candy jars on their desks. And, even fewer when the opaque jars were six feet away from their desks.This kind of strategy is also far more appealing than the idea of "banning" foods. People still have options, they just have to look for them.

I hope they implement this kind of strategy in schools across the nation. It's certainly a very economical way to guide youth towards making healthier choices. To quote Chris Wallace, food service director for the Corning, N.Y. School District,

It's not nutrition until someone eats it. You need to have foods that kids will eat, or they won't eat -- or they'll eat worse".

Image credit: packedlunch

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50 Meditation & Mind Control Techniques for Weight Loss

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 11:25 am and is filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

This post is republished by kind permission of Ken Martin from Nursing Schools original post here

As a nurse, you know there is no magic way to shed pounds or become fit. The only way to get there is through hard work and eating right. Yet you can give yourself a leg up in the process by changing how you think about food, weight loss and eating healthy.

By changing how you think, you’ll also change how you act and hopefully impact your health for the better.

Here are 50 tips to help you learn some tricks to get your mind ripe and ready for weight loss.

General

These general tips will help you learn to adapt your thoughts to healthy weight loss.

Be patient. Losing weight in any kind of healthy way is going to take time. Give yourself a break and relax, and the weight will come off.Don’t stress. Stressing about weight loss will likely only make it harder to lose.Be realistic Setting unrealistic goals for your weight loss isn’t healthy for your body or mind. Get your mind set on more realistic accomplishments and you’ll be happier and healthier.Create a routine. Success with any weight loss program requires creating a routine and sticking to it in what you eat, when you work out and how you think about your progress.Listen to your body. It will tell you when you aren’t eating enough, you’re eating too much, or you’re pushing yourself too hard.Use your imagination. Our imaginations are powerful things and you can use yours to picture your body and your life the way you really want it to be.Take it slow. You cannot expect to change your mindset or your body overnight. Take the process slow and steady for the best results.Be honest with yourself. Being honest might be more difficult or more painful, but you cannot move forward in changing your body or how you think about it without facing some hard truths about yourself.Find out what you truly want. The reality is that you might not be ready to lose weight or commit yourself to the work that it takes. Find out what you truly want in your life. Knowing that you really, really want to lose weight can be a huge factor in motivating you.

Mindset

Learn how to change your mindset with these tips.

Always be accountable. There is no one else who is responsible for you losing weight. You have to be accountable for what you eat and how often you work out.Break the cycle of excuses. We all make excuses to try to justify our behavior, but these kinds of excuses aren’t doing you any favors when it comes to weight loss. Force yourself to accept your failures and work to improve them.Deal with your emotions. For many people, food is an emotional thing and a coping mechanism for other things that aren’t right in their lives. If you want to change your mindset about your body, you’ll first have to deal with these powerful emotions.Make the decision to be thinner. Sometimes all it takes is a firm resolution to make a change in your life. If you want to lose weight, make the choice to do so and let your actions follow suit.Take responsibility. No one is forcing food down your throat or keeping you from the gym. Once you realize that and can take responsibility for your own actions regarding your health and fitness, you’ll be one step closer to meeting your goals.Think clearly. Weight loss, body image and personal health can be emotionally charged issues. When you think about these things it it important to separate them as best you can from your emotions and make logical, thoughtful decisions about what is best. For instance, our emotions might tell us we need a piece of cake after a hard day, but our logical thinking would tell us it will only make you feel worse about yourself.Change your programming. Many of us have programmed our brains to think we are fat, unhealthy and will never look or feel like we want to. Thinking this way is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, but by changing your mental programming, you’ll change what you’re capable of in weight loss.Stay positive. There is no upside to negative thinking when it comes to losing weight. Staying positive will help you feel better about yourself, keep you motivated and reduce stress — all of which will help you lose more weight.Train your mind to think in your best interest. If you want to lose weight, focus on replacing your unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones. After a while, you will think less unhealthy thoughts and be a step ahead in reaching your goals.

Motivation

Give your mind some motivation with these ideas.

Pick out a motivational photograph. Whether you want to look more like you did 20 years ago or have the physique of someone else you admire, choose a photograph you can look at when you’re struggling to help keep yourself motivated.Set smaller daily goals. While your larger goals are important, focusing on smaller, individual goals will give you more of a sense of accomplishment and change your mindset on a daily basis.Use support from friends. There are few things that can change how you feel about yourself and your progress like motivation from friends around you.Reward yourself. When you’ve worked really hard for something it’s only fair to reward yourself. Give yourself an indulgence, though not a food-related one, that you’ve really been wanting.Tell yourself you can do it. Change your mindset about weight loss by constantly reminding yourself that no matter how hard it is that you can and will do it.Never stop thinking about your goals. Keeping your goals in mind throughout the day will help motivate you and keep you on the right track.Surround yourself with good role models. You won’t do yourself any favors when you’re trying to lose weight if you surround yourself with people who practice bad habits and influence you to do so as well. Spend time with friends who motivate you to be healthy instead.Have a mantra. Finding your own personal weight loss mantra can be a great way to help keep yourself positive and focused on your goals.Look at the bright side. Setbacks don’t have to ruin your motivation for weight loss. Instead, think of them as a chance to work harder and prove your commitment to your goals.Create a map to your health and happiness. Spending some time laying out your goals, collecting photos that motivate you, and planning out your steps along the way can help make process easier, more real and something you’re more motivated to do every day.

Food

Change your relationship with food by changing your thoughts using this advice.

Think yourself out of bad habits. Bad habits with food don’t have to take down your weight loss goals. Instead, use the power of your mind to fight these bad habits. It will take some doing but you can overcome them.Look at food differently. Food isn’t your enemy or your friend — it’s neutral. Learn to look at food as a source of nourishment rather than a reward or a way to deal with emotions.Picture what food is doing for your body. When you look at what you’re eating, picture what that food can do for your body and how the nutrients will help you feel.Allow yourself to eat when you’re hungry. Losing weight should never mean starving yourself. Listen to your body and feed yourself when your body tells you it’s hungry. Just make sure it’s actually hunger and not boredom or thirst you’re giving into. Likewise, stop eating when you are full.Eat foods you crave. You can have foods you crave while you’re trying to lose weight if you can do so in moderation. Keeping things totally off limits could cause you to binge.Be conscious. Always be aware of what you’re eating. Eating mindlessly while watching TV can lead to a lot of unwanted and unneeded calories.

Self-Image

How you see yourself can make a big impact in how much weight you lose. Try these solutions to feel good about yourself no matter how much you weigh.

Change how you think about your body. If you think you are a fat person, you’ll likely stay that way. Train your mind to see yourself as attractive at any weight and you’ll see more weight loss progress.Get control over your thoughts. When your thoughts are out of control it’s easy to think cruel things about yourself and put yourself down. When you start to feel your thoughts heading in that direction, take the wheel and steer them somewhere positive.Stop looking at the numbers. Weight isn’t everything when it comes to health. Some people look super skinny and feel healthy at one weight while another person might be totally different. We all have our own comfort zone, so listen to your body, not the scale.Focus on how you feel. You might not have met your goal weight yet, but focusing on changes in how you feel can help keep you motivated and feeling good about yourself.Stop berating yourself. Negative thoughts aren’t going to help you lose weight. If you have a misstep or aren’t progressing as fast as you’d like, never berate yourself. Simply get up the next day and start again from a positive standpoint.Fill yourself with love. If you want to get the most out of your weight loss journey, make part of the process learning to truly love yourself. No one is perfect so get a handle on accepting and appreciating your faults.Take pride in your appearance.It doesn’t matter how much you weigh, you can look good and feel good about yourself. Shower, put on a fragrance, style your hair, and wear your favorite clothes. It will change how you see yourself and how others see you as well.

Meditation

Learn how to turn your meditation practice into a reflection on your personal weight loss goals with these tips.

Imagine yourself eating like you should be. The more you imagine it, the more likely it will become reality.Picture yourself thin. If you believe that you can and will be thin, then you give yourself the motivation and drive to actually make it happen.Think about activities you’ll do when you’re thin. If you’re too overweight to do things you love right now, picture yourself doing those things as the new, thinner you.Relax. You can’t take control over your thoughts and your mind if you’re stressed out and distracted. Simply relax and let go the problems of the day.Picture yourself wearing something you’ve always wanted to wear. A big reason many people want to lose weight is to fit into the clothes and style that they love and admire. Get a mental picture of how you’ll look sporting something you’ve always wanted to wear to give you some motivation.Imagine that you love to exercise. Rely on the power of imagination to help give yourself the initiative you need to get fit and in shape.Don’t let negative thoughts interfere. It’s easy to think negative thoughts about yourself when you’re tackling a big and difficult obstacle like losing weight, but you have to make sure to keep these kinds of thoughts out during your meditation. Replace them with happy, supportive ones instead.Kick all unhealthy habits and foods out of visualization. Don’t let your mental fantasies include unhealthy foods and behaviors. You might really crave them but the purpose is to retrain your mind to let them go.Breathe deeply and calm yourself. Once you’re calm, relaxed, and in control of your mind and body, you’ll be able to start thinking clearly about who and where you want to be.

How You Program Your Mind And Body For Success or FailureFAQ About Weight Loss and DietIs Procastination Sabotaging Your Weight Loss GoalsDoes Your Blood Type Matter Regarding Weight LossCan Your Personality Affect Your Weight Loss?Does Being Vegetarian cause Major Weight Loss

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An HOS in USA treasure-trove

Many of you may know the previous incarnation (in-Web-nation?) of Clark Elliot's extraordinary database on the history and historiography of American science. It has just received a face-lift and is better than ever. Check it out here.

I am particularly impressed by the 19th century chronologies, which are even complete enough to note the foundation of the US's first permanent agricultural society. See for yourself.

Hodge-Podge of Goodies

A couple resources of note have crossed my desk recently.

First, I happened upon the University of Wisconsin's digitized collection of Aldo Leopold's papers. They have done a marvelous job, based on a quick look. I enjoyed just piecing through the collection, watching practical ecology evolve.

Second, the Agricultural History Society has announced a new award for the best article on the history of agriculture or environment of the South. It's named for Jack Temple Kirby, whose Rural Worlds Lost is a personal favorite.

Third, the Friends of the Princeton University Libraries announced their annual Library Research Grants of up to $3,500 to use the libraries and special collections. PUL has many fine collections for the historian of American science, including some interesting archival collections for individuals like the biogeographer Robert MacArthur and the mathematical biologist Alfred Lotka.