Single Parents Town Blog

Last night I was watching a documentary on CNBC about a topic that upsets me deeply and one that I am very passionate about. It is a topic that, quite frankly, is often misunderstood, lacks awareness and it is one that many people would prefer to forget. Unfortunately, HUMAN TRAFFICKING is not going away and it is actually becoming a far bigger issue and problem than any one of us would like to believe. Watching these young women share their stories brought me to tears and made me so angry. As a mother of three daughters whom I love more than anything in this world, I was enraged at the horrific abuse these young girls endured and it was once again a dark and painful reminder that this monster is alive, thriving and lives closer than most people realize. The terror, pain and abuse these young girls survived was appalling and sadly, the circumstances that led these innocent and unsuspecting girls to their fate could happen to anyone.

As with many things in life, perception is everything and human trafficking falls prey to a great deal of misperception. Often times, people that live in the United States are lulled into a false sense of security because they believe human trafficking does not happen here. People believe that human trafficking is a crime that happens in other countries and that the victims are poor, runaways or drug addicts. It is time for a wake-up call. Human trafficking can happen to anyone and is prejudice to no one! It does not matter if you are male or female, young or old, rich or poor. It does not matter where you live, what ethnicity you are or what level of education you may have reached.

Human trafficking is a booming business in the United States and it is in the cities, small towns and the suburbs. Our children are at risk just like everyone else. The perpetrators are finding their victims in on- line chat rooms, at malls, schools, after-school programs, theaters and parties. All kids can be vulnerable and these perpetrators are smart, enticing kids with false promises of modeling jobs, gifts, clothes, popularity, love, money, friendship, drugs and more. At times, girls are being used to recruit unsuspecting girls into this nightmare. While teenagers are often targeted kids are trafficked at all ages. The belief that this only happens to runaway kids and in other parts of the world is wrong. It is happening everywhere and it is happening NOW. Continue reading »

I have been racking my brain tyring to decide what to write about for my first blog. There are so many topics but the one I feel is most important is nutrition. What you eat is 70-80% of what you do that affects your health and how you look and feel. Exercise is only one part of a small time commitment to your health and fitness program. It’s what happens outside of the gym that has an emormous impact on the results you are trying to achieve. You should provide adequate and well balanced nutrition to your body. The food we eat supplies nutrients needed for muscle growth, recovery, and daily life activities. What you eat affects how your body performs. Here are my top “rules” for a well balanced diet that will have you looking and feeling your best.
1. Eat every 3 hours – Eat 6-8 smaller meals throughout the day. Your body is receiving a constant stream of nutrients and maintaining glucose levels throughout the day. Going longer than 3-4 hours puts your body into “starvation mode”, a natural response to protect itself. In starvation mode your metabolism slows down to conserve energy, your body uses lean body tissue (muscle) for fuel and stores fat. This is one reason why many people struggle to lose weight and also, as we age, lose muscle. The meals should contain protein(chicken breast ,fish, lean red meat), carbs (fruit ,veggies, rice, oatmeal) and healthy fats (raw nuts, olive oil, avocados). Stay away from sugars, processed foods and fried foods. Food should be eaten as close to it’s natural state as possible.
2. Stay Hydrated – Drinking water is vital to our health. Water prevents fatigue, aids in digestion, detoxifies the body, moisturizes the skin, prevents muscle cramps, and transports nutrients and oxygen into cells and muscles. You should be drinking at least one gallon of water a day, more if the weather is hot or you workout.
3. Don’t skip the Carbs – Eating carbs balances your mood. Carbs produce key chemicals in your brain that stabilize your mood. Carbs give you energy to get thru the day and your workouts. They also preserve and build muscle tissue, along with protein. Carbs can be tricky to figure out which to eat.  Here is my rule of thumb here in deciding whether a food is “good” or “bad” carb….where does the food come from? Food at its most natural and unprocessed state contains the most nutritional value and is considered a “good” carb. Examples are fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, yams, brown rice. Bad” carbs are mostly processed , especially those that are white and refined, such as pasta, white bread, bagels, crackers, white rice, pretzels etc contain very little nutritional value and will cause spikes in your insulin making fat loss very difficult.
4. Portion Control – Don’t think that because you are eating healthy, you can eat as much as you want. Eating too much of anything will cause weight gain, a calorie is still a calorie. So be conscious of what AND how much you are consuming.
5. Don’t skip Breakfast – This is so important and a big mistake many people make.  You are replenishing your glycogen stores and jumpstarting your metabolism for the day. A good breakfast would be oatmeal and egg whites or Greek yogurt and fruit.

So in a nutshell….eat 6-8 small meals every 2-3 hours, include lean protein, carbs, and healthy fats, remember portion control, drink a gallon of water per day, and please don’t skip breakfast. I know it can seem overwhelming but take it day by day, week by week. Slowly incorporate or change one or two things, make a plan, write it down and before you know it you will have created a new eating lifestyle.
Please feel to contact me with any questions and follow my page on facebook for weekly FIT TIPS!

As I sat down to write this blog, I knew what I wanted to write about but I was struggling with how to write it – how to get the message across. I thought of a few different examples to throw out. I even started one version with asking questions. Nothing felt right until I decided to just  get straight to it. No soft interlude needed. The question just needs to be asked.

Here it is…

DO YOU THINK YOUR EX TREATS HIS/HER NEW PARTNER BETTER THAN HE/SHE TREATED YOU? Continue reading »

It is not always a behavior that is the problem in itself but rather the why behind why the behavior happened in the first place. Take a moment to step back, look deep within, soul-search and try to find the why. It is when you discover and understand the why that you can truly start the process of change, learn to forgive and finally heal. Michele DeVille

I recently attended a course and one of the main themes that day was talking about human behavior. We as humans are sometimes vulnerable to poor behavior and unfortunately we make poor choices and mistakes. For some, these behaviors become a part of our identity – a pattern that weaves its way into our being if you will and we find ourselves repeating a behavior regardless of the consequences or potential pain it might cause.  This leads to the perplexing question of why. Why would anyone engage in a behavior or repeat a behavior when it is wrong, causes pain, hurts, has consequences or at times can ruin a life if not steal it?

While there are no easy answers to this complex question I do believe that we must at a fundamental level look beyond the behavior itself and focus on the reasons for the behavior. We must peel back the layers of the onion as unpleasant as it might be and get to the core of what might be causing the behavior. Regardless of how big or small, there is a why that lies deep within that core; there is a powerful why that is driving the behavior. Continue reading »