*Another Cinderella Story- A Perspective*

What if Cinderella was ugly, yet virtuous kind and courageous? And her Step Sisters were pretty and yet ruthless and mean? Whom would the prince choose?

High heels, sexy dress, fluent in language, eyes and lips coated with layers of makeup- that’s how the contemporary princes would expect their Cinderella to look like. Eh! Don’t agree? Well I guess, in that case, you need to think again. In the times we live in, we are never content with a little; we always want something more, something extra. Even those who belong to the “don’t agree” category can’t deny that they might not be obsessed with the looks, but they are not even indifferent. The rate with which the beauty products business is thriving speaks for itself. Every other day there are new products in the market. Nobody wants to look ugly or bad. In fact, sometimes it becomes an additional pressure on girls to look good. To talk of the ones who are into the glamour business is one thing. Imagine yourself going into some kind of family function or some party without wearing much make-up and fancy clothes. People will ogle at you for being such a simpleton. Even your own relatives will start giving you some unsolicited and free fashion advice. And if they don’t dare to talk in front of you, they will make you a topic of gossip behind your back.

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So, if a Cinderella of modern times, who is ugly, lands up on the public platform, will her prince even notice her? When her prince is surrounded with all the gorgeously dressed girls with well made hair and ultra modern make-up on, how will Cinderella be able to get his attention? How would her prince miss her pretty sisters and spot her in the crowd?

Tricky question…

Beauty is not of the face but of the heart. It comes from within, not without. But at the same time, the face is something that opens the door to the heart.  So, in a crowd of thousands of girls where the prince has limited time to interact with all of them, how would he be able to spot a heart which is genuine and beautiful, when the door to that heart isn’t as beautiful.  

Take 1:

The prince spots Cinderella’s sisters who are pretty but ruthless and mean. Infatuation finds its way first, when the face comes into picture. But, if the prince is virtuous and kind, can the infatuation sustain? Eh No! How long the poor prince would be able to put up with a beautifully painted face underneath which lies a heart so black and ugly! Even if the beautifully painted face is adapt at changing colours to fool the prince by its pretensions, it can’t last longer. So, just a pretty face with ugly heart can’t probably work for the prince in the long run.

Take 2:

The prince spots the Cinderella who is ugly, and starts talking to her. He is not infatuated or attracted towards her. But as he interacts with her, he starts enjoying her company. He’s not at all attracted to her face, but he finds her heart beautiful. She has a heart which is just like that of the lady of her dreams. Will her face become a hurdle in their way?

May be not…The prince likes her in their first meeting. But in spite of all his virtues, he is prejudiced. He wants a part of her and does not want to own another part of her. So, he would rather give up and wait for someone who meets both his criteria.

May be…The prince likes her for her genuine heart. Each time he looks at her, he becomes more used to seeing her face, which might not be as beautiful but not something one can’t put up with. When he is with her, he feels so much at peace that no other face could ever give her. He falls for her heart first and then follows the love for her face. So that probably would serve the prince well.

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So, conclusion?

A Pretty face with a genuine heart would definitely work for the prince...

A not so pretty face with a genuine heart may work for the prince…

A pretty face with an ugly heart may initially work, but ultimately will come crashing down on him...Eh! Can’t work!

All these conclusions however are only for a prince who is virtuous, genuine and kind. For a wicked and an in genuine prince, well, Cinderella will herself kick him away ;)

Indispire# What if Cinderella was ugly, yet virtous kind and courageous? And her Step Sisters were pretty and yet ruthless and mean? Whom would the prince choose? #Cinderellawithatwist

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* A Word with Myself *

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When you point a finger at someone, the rest of the four fingers are pointing towards you. We may complain about a thousand things, about the system, about the people, about the situations, but we forget that plain talking is no solution. While we crib about a thousand things going wrong around us, we don’t gain anything, but we surely lose our precious time and energy which we could rather use for doing something constructive.

“Be the change” is one statement that says it all.

Of course, nobody is perfect and same goes for the system too. No system is perfect. Merely talking about the problems serves no purpose and moreover it creates a lot of negative energy. So, it’s better to stay positive and keep doing your bit, rather than wasting time in fault finding. Whatever and how much ever your situation allows you, contribute to your own development and that of the system around you. Nobody is perfect and while we are striving for perfection, we should remember that before pointing finger at someone or something, we should look within ourselves. Work for your own betterment; strive for your own perfection. Focus your energy on yourself and always stay positive.  

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There are times when you don’t understand people, when you don’t agree with what they have to say, when you don’t like their perspectives. At such times, don’t give way to arrogance or rigidity. If you can’t understand them, just let it go. Don’t start judging them or yourself.

“Yours may be a way, but it may not be the only way.”

So don’t jump to conclusions. Always leave room for newer perspectives. Be flexible and if you don’t understand their ways, just listen it like that without giving it too much of your energy. Stop trying to control/ regulate people’s thoughts when there is no visible room for it. It will only leave you exhausted.

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Don’t be afraid to leave behind negative people. Sometimes those people could also include your friends. They may not be in genuine or bad as persons. But that’s not a reason enough to hold on to them, when all they can do is instill negativity inside you. Intentionally or unintentionally, if someone starts going too deep into your head and poisoning it with all the kind of negative thoughts, apprehensions, doubts, it’s better to move on leaving such people behind.

“If a part of the body gets poisoned, we may need to cut it.”

Same holds true for people too. They may be close to you and you may feel responsible towards them, but your responsibility towards yourself is more important.

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There are people who will respect you and then there are those who will not. You can’t demand respect from people. Don’t let your ego be effected with such things. Leave their choices to them and you choose only for yourself. Don’t judge them and don’t have any hard feelings for them. Self esteem is important; but a very high self esteem could lead to more negative emotions inside you. So, just go with the flow and try maintaining a humble and modest way of life.

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Make yourself your best buddy. Enjoy your company. When you feel disoriented or heavy, just spend time with yourself. Keep yourself calm and composed rather than being loud and uncontrolled. When you feel troubled, be silent and sort yourself out before venting out anger on random people at random places. Anger does no good to you. Love your own self and your company. Be yourself and don’t be afraid of being seen as a weirdo. Let your thoughts experiment with the new ideas. Let yourself do the silly and crazy things.

Remember, “Don’t feel lonely, even when you are alone, because you have a whole universe to your company.”

*Crash the Crash Diet with Honey ;) *

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Crash diet and its meaning:

Crash diet means trying to lose weight in a very short span of time by eating very less food. While trying to reduce the intake of calories, the important nutrients are left out from the diet. This leads to weight loss in an unhealthy manner. To reduce weight in healthy way, it is important to cut the calories in a gradual and phased manner. To lose weight one must burn more calories than one eats. So workout is very important for a healthy weight loss.  

Calorie requirement:

A woman requires almost 2000 kcal/day on an average to maintain a healthy weight. The figure for a man is around 2500 kcal/day. This requirement may vary to some extent depending on age, physical activity or related activities.

BMI:

BMI refers to Body mass index.  Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.  BMI gives an idea of whether you’re underweight, overweight or an ideal weight for your height.

If your BMI is:

 Under 18.5 - you are underweight and possibly malnourished. 

18.5 to 24.9 - you have a healthy weight range for young and middle-aged adults. 

25.0 to 29.9 - you are overweight.  

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Losing weight in a healthy way:

Losing weight is one thing and losing weight in a healthy way is another. Practising Crash diet may lead to a speedy weight loss but it impacts the health in a bad way. It may lead to weakness and long-term poor health. Depending on what part of a healthy balanced diet one is missing in the crash diet, it may slow down the metabolism, prevent one from getting important nutrients and vitamins that body needs to work properly or may make one feel energy deficient.

People who crash diet by missing out food or greatly cutting down on their daily calories tend to put weight back on quicker than those who follow a healthy, long-term diet plan. To lose weight in a healthy manner, eating right is more important than eating lesser. 

One may use the substitution method in his diet rather than cutting the important nutrients from food straightway. Swapping of certain food materials with healthier options and cutting the Junk food intake is a healthier way to lose weight along with appropriate amount of workout.

Do’s and Don’ts in the Diet:

Avoid processed foods and Ready to eat foods. Swap the white bread with the whole grain based breads. Include more healthy carbs in the diet like oatmeal, sweat potatoes. Swap the milk based coffee and tea kind of beverages with green tea. Green tea contains anti-oxidants and helps in burning the fats. Swap the regular milk with skimmed/ semi-skimmed milk.

 Increase the intake of fresh fruits and salads in the diet. Include more green leafy vegetables in the diet. Swap the intake of soft-drinks with fresh juices with no added sugar. Fruits like Avocado are source of healthier fats, while blueberries, oranges and pears are rich in fiber. Fruits with a lot of water like water melon are also beneficial in weight loss.    

While it’s important to reduce fat consumption, it cannot be left out from a balanced diet. So, know the type of fat which does you less harm.  Prefer unsaturated fats over Saturated and Trans fats. Saturated fat comes mainly from animal sources of food, such as red meat, poultry and full-fat dairy products. Trans fats are made from oils through a food processing method called partial hydrogenation. Saturated fat raises total blood cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels while Trans fats increase the unhealthy LDL Cholesterol. Unsaturated fats which include plant based oils and omega-3 fatty acids, however, improve blood cholesterol levels, which can decrease the risk of heart disease.

Use natural sugar substitutes for sweetness like Coconut Sugar or Honey. Fruit juices can be used to add sweetness to cakes, tea or coffee. Honey has less calories and sweeter than honey. Moreover, Honey has a special enzyme to honey which makes the liquid easy to digest. It is also a source of anti-oxidants. A Spoon of honey taken with warm water in the morning is traditionally known to be useful in weight management.

On a concluding note,

Enjoy the process of losing weight by not starving yourself and suffering from the nutritional compromises of a crash diet.

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Here I am sharing a simple recipe which uses Honey as substitute for sugar:

Ingredients

# 1/3 cup honey

# 1/4 cup orange juice

# 1/4 cup canola oil

# 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus the juice 1 lemon

# 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

# 1/4 teaspoon salt

# 1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard

# 1 apple, cored and diced

# 1 banana, sliced

# 1 avocado, peeled and sliced

# 1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

# 1/4 cup raisins

# 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Method

For the dressing, combine the honey, orange juice, oil, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, poppy seeds, salt, and mustard in a jar with a tight lid; cover and shake well. Toss the apple, banana, and avocado with juice from 1 lemon to prevent the fruit from turning brown. Combine the fruit, raisins, and nuts in a glass bowl. Add the dressing and stir gently.

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For more recipes visit  Honey Diet  --- http://www.daburhoney.com/ 

Knowledge Source: http://www.nhs.uk/