Helina Blogs

You don’t ask for a sedentary lifestyle, but years at a desk and thousands of hours spent couch-surfing have caught up with you. You've got a belly!  Sure, other parts of your body have a little excessive puff, but isn't your stomach capturing your attention along with everyone else’s? There's an apple shape problem going on here. You get teased about having a beer belly even through you don't drink, or occasionally someone asks when you're due to deliver. This is embarrassing, I know. You know this game has to end.  When you choose to diet, it goes at a snail's pace, in fact sometimes you actually gain even while eating a lighter, healthier diet. Here are some common excuses I here among the gazillion others who refuse to give dieting a try.  I work all day and don’t have time to exercise! I’ve had kids. It’s too much effort! I don’t have the energy after a long day. My spouse loves me the way I am. God loves me the way I am. I love to eat! I just want to rel...

This adorable pair of  hamburger earrings by the "adorable Sophie" 

The American Heart Association makes the following statement:  "Physical inactivity — Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular aerobic exercise plays a significant role in preventing heart and blood vessel disease. Even modest levels of low-intensity physical activity are beneficial if done regularly and long term. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity as well as help to lower blood pressure." “i sit in a cubicle and im getting fat”  Whoever searched that and ended up on my blog – I feel you In today's world, a lot of people just sit around. They spend endless hour watching TV, and they hold jobs that require them to sit behind a desk for 8 or 9 or 10 hours a day engaging in virtually no physical movement at all. As a result, they are being diagnosed with chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory ailments -- all related to a lack of regular physical exercise. A new study...

If you’re like me, you’re probably reading this past midnight on a worknight. Go to sleep and stop gchatting.

It was late morning of May 4th where I  decided to check into my facebook account and boom- here I see everyone's status announcing the assassination of Osama bin Ladin.  Honestly speaking I was very conflicted - conflicted about hearing the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Conflicted because his death in many ways was the only option.....I don't think he would have been taken alive nor that he could have survived very long anyway if he was ever brought to trial. I was also conflicted because I have mixed feelings on capital punishment, let alone state-sponsored assassination....but that is due to my background in human rights advocacy.  What I felt most conflicted on was what does his death really symbolize/mean? Osama Bin Laden was an evil misguided man that I am VERY glad is no longer around to spew his own personal brand of hate, however, I don't in anyway feel that his death translate into ending the al-Qaeda's movement as his end-goal of martyrdom per the...

It should be known that the murder of any identity is our own murder, regardless of what our language, religion or identity might be. To me, my identity is what makes me unique. Well — at least this is the pride I nurtured deep inside me growing up in America. Being expelled from my own culture as a child was traumatic.  My family and I were forced to leave everything behind and head to a place where the culture, language, and people were so different from my own. As a teenager, I was already going through the turmoil of discovering my own personality. Now imagine the added complication upon changing continents, cultures, languages, etc. The difficult transition from a very strict, patriotic cultural background, where the practice of double standards is prevalent, where the superiority of men over women is a given, and where females are not encouraged to seek education, to a culture where females were routinely given opportunities and rights only made life more difficult for a youn...

That is right.  I hear who pays for the date reflects on the bad dating life .  I was reading this random article online the other day about the red flags that any woman should look for in a bad-date.  And to my surprise one of the red flags was this whole dating thingamajigs that I’ve been thinking about lately.  If a guy allows you to pay in a date, then that is definitely not a good sign!  Well then what have you been doing in terms of paying the bill? Are you anticipating it coming, and then jumping on it as soon as it hits the table? Or do you have money out when you get in line? If so, hang back a little, just be relaxed. It doesn't have to be awkward. I was also having a conversation with someone the other day and we were talking about the social implications of who pays on a date. She contend that if a man pays for the meal that it means he is interested and is expecting something further from the date/relationship/whatnot. If a woman pays for the meal...