Reasoning Theorems of Success

The best way to decide what you need in your kitchen is to first
decide what it is you are going to be cooking in there. The best
suggestion I ever heard on this matter is to find five dishes
you really love. The dishes you like to find on menus at
restaurants. The next thing you want to do is learn to prepare
those dishes to your standards. This is going to take some time,
and some research, but I promise you it is well worth the
effort.

They say that professional cooks don’t like to discuss the way
they prepare a disk or recipe, and I find this to be a fallacy
most of the time. People in general love to talk about what they
do, and enjoy appreciation for their hard work. So don’t be
afraid to ask, politely, a chef how he makes a certain dish or
what is in the recipe. Keep the question general, and you might
be surprised about the tips you can pick up from a simple
question. If she doesn’t want to share her knowledge, thank her
and be on your way. Its not like you can’t find out from several
other sources what is in a certain dish and how to prepare it.
No harm no foul. Most of the time I get great results by paying
attention to the chef if only taking a quick look at his pots
and knives.

Each of our five dishes are going to have a few nuances
regarding the items required in their creation. But there are
some basics we want in our kitchen no matter what we are going
to put on our home menu.

The first item on the list is a set of good cooking knives. You
can’t do much without chopping and slicing. A set of good knives
is always worth the money. Generally they last forever. When
ever I get offered something like a “life time warranty” I
always wonder “whose life?” But in the case of a fine set of
cutlery we don’t have to worry about things like that. In the
higher echelons of fine cooking, a chef’s set of knives is part
of the job interview process.

When you look at chef knives, you will notice they generally
have a wide triangular blade which tapers to a “center tip”,
meaning both the back of the knife and the blade are gently
angled to meet in a point at the tip.

This blade shape is perfect for allowing the blade to rock back
and forth on the tip (using it as a fulcrum) when you are
chopping. It is a great all-around, all-purpose knife for most
of your kitchen. They tend to be a bit heavy, 6 to 10 inches
long with the most popular being 8 inches. If you have never
purchased or handled on on a regular bases, start with an 8 inch
chef’s knife and get used to how it feels before moving on to
something bigger.

Another choice you will have to decide on is whether you want a
French or German style chef’s knife. The French version has a
longer and thinner blade that is better for slicing while the
German style is shorter and wider and better for chopping. To
help you make this decision, check your list of five dishes and
see what you are going to be doing the most of. Make sure the
knife has a secure grip and a good feel in your hand, you’re
looking for balance. The handle should be riveted to the blade.
Those would be real rivets, not the painted on kind.

The next items we are going to need are a good set of pans and
pots. Which pots and pans can probably be decided by our list of
five dishes we made before. However, the pans should be of good
quality. We don’t want a poor ‘non-stick’ application flaking
off and ruining our dinner. There are plenty of things we can do
to ruin our own dinners, we don’t want to be required to worry
about our Cookware.

You want pots and pans made of stainless steel or heavy-gauge
aluminum with non-oxidizing surfaces. The base of the pan should
be thick and flat on both the inside and out for better heat
efficiency. You also want handles that are riveted to the pan
not welded and certainly no plastic handles. The lids should fit
snuggly. The most important aspect however is how they feel in
your hands. Pick them up and handle them. Just because some
bouncy gourmet said they were the best doesn’t mean you are
going to enjoy using them.

You probably want a good spice grinder. You might already have
an electric grinder for your coffee beans and these are great,
but don’t use the same one for your spices. Mornings have enough
surprises.

Once you have these basics, start going through your recipes and
keep in mind the methods you have to use to get them prepared.
The rest of your kitchen will fill out from there.

The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry filled with meal plans that provide very low calorie levels. This is the magic bullet because if you follow these meal plans closely you will absolutely lose weight. You’re happy and the company can say they gave you what they promised. Physiologically we know that very low calorie diets work for short term weight loss but the question is what are we doing to ourselves in the long run?

The fact is; very low calorie diets (1,000 - 1200 calories or less) are contributing to weight gain more than they are helping people to find lasting weight loss. Many people feel they have to go on a very low calorie diet because this is the only way their weight will budge. Well…they’re right and this is why.

When a person goes on a very low calorie diet they are putting themselves into starvation mode. If they lose more than two pounds per week they can end up losing muscle mass which will negatively affect their metabolism. This is a topic that is worth spending a minute on. Let’s look at what happened to Sally when she lost more than 2 pounds per week. It may be all too familiar to you!

Sally’s Story:

Sally’s resting metabolic rate (how many calories she burns) was 2500 calories per day. This means she was consuming around 2500 calories each day to maintain her weight where it was. She decided to lose weight by going on a “diet”. The diet program estimated her calories at 1000-1200. She lost 10 pounds in two weeks. She is of course very happy about this weight loss. This is success! What she doesn’t know is that part of that rapid weight loss is not fat but muscle. Sally then gets bored on this diet after the first month, which is typical, and goes back to her old eating habits.

What happened to Sally’s body during this diet?
She lost lean body mass along with body fat. Muscle is the most important factor in keeping your metabolic rate high. One pound of muscle burns 30-70 calories while one pound of fat burns around 0-10 calories. During her weight loss in the last month Sally lost approximately 6 pounds of muscle mass (lean body mass).

Sally’s metabolic rate used to be 2500 calories for her weight to stay stable and now it has decreased to approximately 2100 calories. Now when she goes back to her old eating habits which were landing her on an average of 2500 calories in per day, she will gain her old weight back plus more.

What do you think will happen when she goes on the next low calorie diet? What will happen after 4-5 weight loss diets? You guessed it! She will continue to decrease her metabolic rate. This is why so many people feel that they don’t eat that much but still gain weight. It’s true! To add insult to injury, there are also studies that suggest when people go back to their original eating habits they gain fat tissue rapidly instead of lean body mass.

Don’t despair dieters! There are steps you can take to get your metabolism fired up again but the first step is to stop low calorie diets. The next time you see a program that tries to estimate your calorie level by height, weight, and age; don’t do it! This method is almost never accurate because they aren’t taking into account your health history, genetics, age and all the other multitude of things that make up your individual metabolism. Remember, they want you to lose weight fast so you are satisfied with their product or service so they will give you the lowest calorie level.

The only way to truly know how many calories you burn is to get your metabolism tested with a breathing test. These tests are now made affordable and can be done for $50-$125. To find someone in your area that provides these tests go to www.healthetech.com. Otherwise do not trust estimates from scales or calculations. They almost always under estimate your calorie level which will do you more harm than good.

© Meri Raffetto, 2005. All Rights Reserved

Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness.
Learn about her online Balance Weight Loss Program and sign up for her free monthly newsletter to receive nutrition tips, inspirational stories, and healthy recipes.

Do you ever wonder where your money goes every month? Does it sometimes seem as though you cannot afford to do things because your financial obligations are holding you back? If you find that you are asking yourself these sorts of questions, perhaps you should take a look at your financial situation and assess whether you are practicing good personal finance management or not. Good personal finance management spends within their income, plan for the future and solve financial problems as they arise. Poor personal finance management pay more, do without and fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your finances by planning your personal finances.

Planning your personal finances doesn’t always come naturally, and even if you’re just beginning to take your financial matters seriously, then you likely need a few personal finance tips.

Evaluate your current financial situation. One of the most important goals for most people is financial independence. Collect accurate information about your personal financial situation. Calculate your net worth which includes the real estate, saving and retirement accounts, and all other assets. This will help you decide how much money you can set aside for meeting future needs and goals.

A basic personal finance tip is to make a budget. A personal finance budget is information made up of your income and expenses and the more accurate this information is, the more likely you are be able to meet your goals and realize your dreams. A personal finance budget should be made for at most one year at a time and include a list of your monthly expenses.

All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find expenditures that recure every month and expenditures that happen less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals.

Get an electronic bill pay. This is a very convenient way to pay your bills. You pay them electronically, by direct withdrawal from your bank account. The transaction is processed immediately. You can even link your bill pay service to your personal finance budget, so that your expenditures are automatically entered in the appropriate category. Personal financial management can be really easy.

Make an investment and finance plan. Now that the fundamental state of your personal financial security has been established, the time has come for the more prosperous part of your personal financial life. You need to make a personal finance plan of what you really want in life that money can buy. Your personal financial plan can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Find out how to finally start to implement this plan and get the money to finance it. This is the long term part of your financial. This journey is the most interesting and exciting part of personal financing you can have toward financial freedom.

You can prepare for a secure personal financial future by following these simple tips. When you take control with your money, you don’t have to worry about debt taking control of you.

Oyvind Hennum runs the site Financial Freedom Online

A large free resource directory containing book reviews, articles, biographies, motivational quotes, affirmations,practical tips, budgeting advice, success tests and free e-books.

Working from home has stormed the world as more and more people
are checking the option out so that they can drop out of the
‘rat race’ and create an income that will build a financial
security fence around themselves and their families.

Work at home business entreprenuers have also been quoted in
world class magazines like, in The New York Times, The Savannah
Business Journal, BottomLine, in Forbes, Good Housekeeping,
At-Home Mothering, Woman’s World and many other magazines.

Let’s start with women. These women could be mothers,
mothers-to-be-grandmothers, retired women, women who can’t move
out of the house due to health problems and so on…Working from
home is the fairest of all deals. Inspite of these situations
they can be co-providers in the family and still make the right
choice to put their children or health first. Working from home
doesn’t require any special skill or money. All it requires is a
computer, access to internet, willingness to put in a few hours
everyday and willingnes to pick up strategies online to grow
your business. After all isn’t your career as important as your
children or health, for that matter?

Coming to men - all categories as above, too will do well with a
home business. They can do a better balancing act. Balancing an
office job with home business. One income takes care of basic
necessities while the other can help uplift their standard of
living or chidlren’s education (May be in the reverse order!).
They are known to be more internet and computer savvy than
women, so they have an abviuos advantage of starting from a
higher platform.

Coming to students, they can pay their own bills and loans from
the income they generate from home business and make the best
use of time. Not only that, work at home business will prepare
them to be more organized, focussed, disciplined, better at time
management etc. than any other part time job they take up. And
these are the most important qualities to succeed in any career.
Education is a mere gatepass. These traits are the backbone.

Next abvious question is how to sign up for a home business?
Which ad to believe? how to know which product is a scam? Many
people just sign up with a home business because their friend or
“friend of a friend” told them it was a reputable company, or
because the ad read that they would double money overnight.
These are NOT good enough reasons for joining a hoem business!
There should be research and footwork involved before signing up
with anybody.

Its a fact the home business’ that have been around for years
and years may not be the best companies to join? As many of
these companies have outdated pay plans, bad reputations, or
other problems you may not want to get involved with. Of course,
you may find one that fulfills all of your requirements - just
don’t assume that because they have been around that they are
reputable. The effort involved may seem too much of hard work at
first, but it will help you find the right home business to
join… An ideal home busienss will not ask you for a fee to
join them. They are supposed to pay you, remember? Their online
support will be on 24X7. You will have access to their tutorials
to grow your business. They will not make tall promises of
overnite riches.

Chances of a lifetime do exist - be open to opportunity when it
comes and recognise that this could be the chance to change your
life forever! Men, Women, Students.. everyone can have
everything. Career, money, home, car, good education, TIME with
family and TIME for yourself.

The Florida Registered Paralegal Program goes into effect beginning today. Around 300 people have already asked for an application, with many more expected to go on to the Florida Bar’s website and download it today.

An applicant must also pay a $150 application fee. Welcome packages with certificates are sent in the mail in about two weeks to all approved applicants. The program is made up of two levels. In the program, aspiring paralegals learn to establish a disciplinary system as well as a code of ethics and responsibility.

The first level of the program has been created to allow a person to become a paralegal and perform duties that have been delegated to them and supervised by an attorney.

To advance to the second tier of paralegals one must meet additional requirements in both education and experience or be certified by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) or National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).

Furthermore, the following three years is for students that can express extensive experience but cannot display that they have earned an education are able to become Florida Registered Paralegals by means of a grandfathering provision.

The recipients of this designation shall be published in The Florida Bar Web site.

It is required that the Florida Registered Paralegal continue their education by earning 30 hours of continuing education courses every three years. Five of those hours must be in professionalism or ethics courses. Monitoring the work of paralegals is now the responsibility of all attorneys of any paralegal - not just Florida Registered Paralegals.