How to Survive the Tourist Season in Coastal Maine
Ok, all you Mainers. I know exactly what you are thinking - "when are all these crazy tourists going to leave so I can enjoy my peaceful Maine life"? It's a legitimate question. From Memorial Day until all the "leaf peepers" have gone home, our small town life becomes a busy-stuck in traffic - listening to Southern accents all day- chaotic mess. I can attest that not being able to find an open seat at my favorite local bar during the middle of the afternoon to watch the Sox game is a tad on the frustrating side. I can also agree with you that anyone with an out of state license tag needs to retake their driver?s test. But let me assure that you can and will survive yet another season of the tourist; if you just follow a few ground rules:
Rule #1 ? You can always avoid them by knowing that you can spot them a mile away ? they?ll always be the ones wearing either the ridiculous lobster hat, or the ?got Lobstah? shirt.
Rule #2 ? The actually do bring a lot of money into our area, which can only hopefully translate into better things for our town(s) in the future (like more open days at the Snow Bowl).
Rule #3 ? Avoid the ?big beaches?. You know where the locals go ? so head to the smaller lakes, the semi-private beaches in neighborhoods, which the tourists would never know existed.
Rule #4 ? Remind yourself that this is temporary. As soon as the nightly temperature dips below 60, they?ll be out of here faster than you can say ?blizzard?.
So for all of you locals/townies/Main-uhs?, sit back and enjoy the short season of the tourist. It?ll be over before you know it, and the long winter season will be upon us, making us undoubtedly ask, ?when are those tourists coming back again??
Weight Loss - The Real Truth behind why you aren't losing that weight
The latest news regarding the obesity rates in this country are staggering. More than 15 states in this country have an adult obesity rate of over 25%. This doesn?t even include the young children are who are obviously learning their behaviors from the families. With all the weight loss products, nutritional information, and weight loss ?specialists? that are available to people in this country, why is this number climbing, and not falling?
The hard truth is that this country has turned eating into a mere ?convenience?. Long gone are the days when the family unit would sit down to the table every night, eating a meal prepared by the mother, and made up of nutritional ingredients that didn?t come out of a box or from a fast food restaurant. There is no longer any thought put into what we actually put into our mouths. We ?don?t have time?, or we are ?too rushed? to even think about a recipe, or healthy ingredients, and to top that off, we aren?t exercising enough to make a dent in what we have put into our bodies.
Our battle with obesity is our own fault. We choose to not think about what we eat, where we eat, when we eat, and because of those factors, our bodies/minds are being harmed and our children are learning habits that are going to be even harder for them to break in the future. But it isn?t too late. There are so many things that we can do to change our diets, become healthier, and help our children to become active adults who make good nutritional choices.
The biggest way we can start to overcome this battle with obesity is to stop eating out of the home. At least ? of Americans eat out at least once a day. Portions at fast food places, and other restaurants are 3 times as large as what is considered a ?healthy? amount of food. If you take a few extra minutes a day to plan out your meals, you can prepare food ahead of time so that you aren?t forced to eat outside of the house/office.
Stop eating processed food. Yes, it is much quicker than preparing a meal from scratch. But cooking what is convenient has obviously gotten us into this mess in the first place. Look at the labels of the prepared foods you see in the store. Read the long list of ingredients in something as simple as ?Bread Crumbs?. 30 ingredients for breadcrumbs? I thought breadcrumbs were just breadcrumbs? How do you know what these other ingredients are doing to your body? The majority of them are to extent the shelf life of that product. Do you need that in our body?
Look for organic products. Stick to organic fresh foods, like vegetables and fruits, breads and cheeses. If you are looking for faster weight loss, STOP EATING THINGS THAT ARE FATTENING! Seriously ? don?t eat cheese, or any dairy for that matter, stay away from carbs and meats, and for God sake, get rid of the caffeine. After a week without it, you will be fine and realize that you don?t need it if you are eating healthy.
Above all, go to your doctor for a check up. Let them tell you what your BMI is, and what your normal weight should be. Make sure you not only eat healthier, and eat less, but that you exercise MORE. And not just while you are eating less. Until you realize that exercise is a life-long adventure and commit to that, you will never be where you want to be with your weight. You have to keep exercising regardless to stay healthy.
This epidemic doesn?t have to continue. This country is filled with intelligent, hard-working people, and if these same people applied the multitudes of information that we have available to them, we would all be happier, healthier, more productive individuals.
mtbmarmar on July 17, 2008
I think you are going in the right direction, but this is a rather unrealistic viewpoint. "Stop eating outside the home?" Anyone who has a normal life, job, commitments etc. will find themselves eating out of their home. It can't be avoided sometimes. We would all love to prepare all meals from "scratch" and I agree that most processed foods are not just disgusting, but full of junk! We definitely avoid Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti O's etc in our house, but it is impossible to prepare all meals from scratch. I am a teacher, so during the summer I have time to devote to shopping locally-grown, preparing meals from scratch. However, during the school year on a "regular" schedule with my own family's needs,work, etc, that is impossible and sometimes you reach for the rice-a-roni to go with your chicken! I agree that portion sizes are out of control. However, there is an easy way to fix that: order less, or take half of your dinner home. I do it all the time. Also, I think we all know what to order and what not to order when eating out --are we going to be sensible, or splurge? Moderation is key. I agree that incorporating various forms of physical activity is also very important. I have been a gym "regular" for years, but I much prefer walking my dog, gardening, swimming, and other non-structured activities that burn calories, are free, and give you down time to clear your mind.
I agree that it would be wonderful if we could all eat organic, free-range, locally produced food all the time, and I think most of us try to by shopping at farmer's markets and such when possible, but have you looked at the price of organic food? I make a decent income, but I can't afford to shop organic all the time, and those less fortunate? Forget it! Why do you think McDonald's is so successful? Because for $3 you can get a "meal" from the dollar menu.
Anyway, I think your heart is in the right place, but you need to come down to earth with the rest of us mortals.