Last week, I had a rash that was on my right thigh. At first, it was just a few bumps and I wasn't too worried about it. But then, last Friday night, the bumps were red, raised, itching, and spreading. I began to get concerned. We all have our reactions to certain illnesses—like some people hate to throw up. I'm not saying I like to throw up, but I don't hate it like some people. Well, I hate rashes. It's hard for me to live with myself with my skin so foreign looking.

I woke up in the middle of the night with it itching. I turned on the light and noticed that it was spreading to my arm. I woke up my husband. He got me an ice pack which helped tremendously with the itching. He then went to search on the internet. I had scraped my knee (See "In My Body") a few weeks prior, so we searched whether rashes could come from scraped knees. They could. But, of course, they could come from a whole host of other things too. The more I researched, the more concerned I got. I saw MRSA popping up in my husband's searches.

I decided to go back to bed. My husband continued to search the internet. The fact was, I felt fine. Other than the rash, I did not have a fever or feel sick. I didn't think it was emergency room worthy, so there were two things I could do about it. First, I could come up with a list of 100 things it could be and turn into, or second, I could go back to sleep and get to an urgent care center in the morning. I chose the latter. I went back to bed and just breathed. Even when my husband came in after his searching and said, "We really need to get you to a doctor tomorrow", I just breathed. I was not going to give the rash more power than it already had. I wasn't going to feed into it and make it more than it was.

Too often we let the mental get into our illnesses. The internet provides a wealth of information, but it can also be a dangerous thing. It lets our mind get to scary places of all of the crazy diseases we could possibly have. Not feeling right is always scary. But next time you find yourself letting your mental thoughts encroach on your physical illness, try to stop it. Breathe. Calm yourself down. Stress has very real effects on our health and the last thing we need if we are already not well, is to add stress into the mix.

I did go to the urgent care center on Saturday and to a dermatologist on the following Monday. Jury is still out as to what caused the rash, but it is improving. The less I focus on it and go about my day, the better off I am mentally and physically. I'm not ignoring it since I am doing what needs to be done to heal it. I'm just not giving it any extra energy than it needs.

Do you let the mental compound your illness? If so, try to recognize the role that it is playing in your healing process. And then breathe.

_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter         Like on Facebook         Newsletter Sign Up

.

I don't get it. Seriously, why do people think it is okay to litter? The other day I was in the car waiting for my husband to get some items at the grocery store and I saw a guy come out of the store with a pack of cigarettes. He opened his pack on his way to the car, leaving the wrapper on the ground. I was so annoyed with this behavior that I just could not let it go. I got out of the car and went over to him and picked up his trash and said something like, "Why do you think it is okay to litter?" I did not wait around long enough for a response, but I'm hoping that the embarrassment of someone seeing him do it and then pick up his trash will at least shame him into not doing it anymore (or at least to think twice about it).

This is not an isolated incident. Within the same week, I saw a woman carrying her Starbucks coffee, and granted, she did have her hands full, but she dropped her napkin. She saw it fall behind her and she just walked on. I spoke loudly about how unbelievable it is that people don't pick up after themselves. I picked up her trash and threw it away. What is with people? Why do they feel entitled to leave their trash on the streets? Is it really that hard to make it to a trash can?

I just looked up some statistics and found that over 51 billion pieces of litter land on U.S. roadways each year. Motorists (52%) and pedestrians (23%) are the biggest contributors to litter. On roadways, tobacco products, mostly cigarette butts, are the most littered item (38%), followed by paper (22%) and plastic (19%). Off roadways, mostly at entrances to businesses, transportation, and other places where items must be discarded before entering, the top littered items are confection (e.g. candy, chocolate, gum) at 54% and cigarette butts at 30%. The reasons for why people litter include the following: people don't care, litter begets litter, ignorance, lack of pride, and lack of consequence for their actions.

There are many reasons why it's not a good idea to litter. To highlight a few,

• Houses for sale in litter neighborhoods are valued lower, estimated at a 7% decrease in property value.
• Fires started by litter causes millions of dollars of damages every year.
• Every year there are numerous vehicle accidents caused by attempting to avoid litter in the roadways.
• Millions of birds, fish, and animals die annually from litter.
• Litter carries germs.
• Litter costs money. Litter cleanup costs the U.S. almost $11.5 billion each year. 

(Statistics from Keep America Beautiful)

Littering is illegal in all states in the U.S. In California, penal code 374 says it is illegal to litter and penal code 23111 says it is illegal to throw a lit cigarette out of a moving vehicle (this one really irks my husband). The fine for littering ranges from $100 to $1,000. I contacted the police departments in my city, Danville, and nearby Walnut Creek, to see if the police actually give tickets for littering. Danville police said they do, mostly for cigarette butts. My friend who works in the Walnut Creek Police Department said he has stopped people who litter—sometimes citing them and sometimes making them pick up after themselves. I would imagine both would be effective coming from the police.

In my research for writing this blog, I came across a site, LitterButt, that lets you tell on litter bugs who throw trash from a car. You report the license plate number and the offender receives a letter from the state notifying them they were caught littering. No fines are levied, though they are informed of littering fines. Three states currently participate—Pennsylvania, Texas, and North Carolina. I think this is pretty cool. Too bad California doesn't participate. The site does have ways to take action to try to get other states to participate, making it very easy with a written form to submit online to your state governor. This site has a wealth of information including litter laws by state, statistics, and effective ways to reduce litter.

So, what can we, as concerned citizens do? Educate! People who are aware of the dangers of litter often make more of an effort to not leave their trash behind. Call people out when you see them littering to let them know it's not okay (if the person seems approachable). Teach our children not to litter. Pick up litter when you see it. Others may notice you doing it and follow your example. Encourage our police departments to more proactively enforce the law.

Now that I'm armed with more information, I plan to handle my conversations with litter bugs a little more maturely. Rather than speaking loudly in my disapproving tone or saying something and leaving, I plan to try to engage them in conversation and educate them. I'll tell them them that not only is it harming our environment, but also it is illegal with serious fines.

Who else will join me in the "No More Litter Bugs!" campaign?
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter          Like on Facebook          Newsletter Sign Up

Have you really not thought about how cool it would be if Diet Coke (feel free to substitute your favorite unhealthy food here) were broccoli? I can't be the only one who has entertained such thoughts. We all know that broccoli is a superfood with a lot of reasons to make it a staple in your diet. On the other hand, Diet Coke doesn't have a redeeming nutritional quality about it. But, I like it.

For at least two decades, I've had a close, loyal relationship with Diet Coke. I wasn't into health so I didn't know any better. I mean I kind of knew that it wasn't the best "food" for me, but how bad could it be? It has 0 calories, 0 fat, 40 mg of sodium, 0 carbs, and 0 protein. So I could maybe concede that it's not giving me any nutritional benefits, but is it really harmful to me?

DC (hey, is there any coincidence here that those are my initials too?) and I had a very consistent, predictable relationship. Every day, I had one DC at lunch time. I never had more than one and typically not less than one. I knew that drinking it in excess might not be ideal, but a can a day seemed pretty restrained. I suppose our relationship bordered on addiction because I did go out of my way to make sure I had my can a day. If I was out at a restaurant and they didn't have DC (Diet Pepsi just won't do), I would go to a nearby place to get it and bring it back to the restaurant. And, it had to be a can. Fountain Diet Coke never seemed to satisfy, so with time I learned not to even bother ordering it if it wasn't in a can.

In the fall of 2008, my journey to health began. I dove into learning about nutrition and one day I decided to break up with Diet Coke cold turkey. I had just bought a case from Costco so it wasn't the greatest timing, but my mind was made up. I took all of the cans and poured them down the sink. I didn't break up with DC because I didn't like it anymore. I still do. I broke up with it because it's not good for my health.

So what are the harmful effects of drinking soda? Researchers believe that diet sodas contribute to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. Some say that regular soda is preferable despite the increase in calories because it doesn't contain the artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, I don't like the taste of regular Coke. I've heard many a warning about aspartame, the sweetener in Diet Coke. It is believed to cause side effects like headaches, dizziness, mood changes, loss of memory (hmmm... I do have a really bad memory), and skin reactions. In addition, soda consumption has been linked to lower bone density, since it can block your bones' absorption of calcium. Plus, when I'm drinking DC, I'm choosing not to drink something else—like a healthy glass of water.

For a couple of years, I didn't drink DC. And then DC came back into my life. I'm all about having balance. A part of health is pleasure and denying ourselves all of our favorite foods is not healthy. So, I thought it was okay if every now and then I had my Diet Coke as a treat. This worked fine for a while. Every couple of months, I would enjoy DC. But then, every couple of months turned into more and more frequent dalliances. I would only buy one can at a time, but I found myself going out of my way to get it. And then recently, I bought a 12-pack. Logically, it was more economical and efficient. I would have the cans in the house when I wanted them. The problem was, I wanted a can a day.

I always say that when you are in a low willpower state, you have to help yourself. If I could have the cans in the house and drink them on an irregular basis, that would be one thing. But the temptation is just too great right now because our relationship seems to have picked up right where we left off. Even though I am a Healthy Living Coach, it doesn't mean I don't have my temptations. And DC is a strong one for me. So today, I'm breaking up again. Right now, we just can't be friends. Having an on and off again relationship is not working for me. I broke up successfully before so I know I can do it again. As a ceremonious breaking up, I just poured the remaining cans down the sink.

Goodbye, my friend. Perhaps when I'm strong enough we can meet again for a very irregular, special occasion meeting. But for now, DC must say goodbye to DC, at least until the day that the makers of Diet Coke can give it the nutritional benefits of broccoli. Hey—a girl can dream.


Breaking up with Diet Coke (again), March 2012
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter          Like on Facebook          Newsletter Sign Up

Lately, I've been very up in my head. This isn't really that different than how I normally operate, but I was pushing it to the extreme last week. I've been in the process of changing the tagline for my company, Four Quadrant Living. For most of last week, this was all I could think about—morning, noon, and night. I had about 20 different versions. Was it "Healthy living simply done" or was it "Choose healthy living" or ...

Well, my dog, Kora doesn't really care whether or not I have decided on my tagline and am living in my head. When it is time for attention, it is time for attention. She had been sleeping quietly for most of the day, and it was time for her afternoon walk just as I was in the thick of my tagline mental activity. As we walked, I was ruminating over my tagline. "This is the one. No, I think this is the one. No...". And then, ouch! I was on the ground.

Kora is a 1.5 year old border collie mix with a lot of energy. We had just walked by a couple walking their two dogs. These dogs were growling so I pulled Kora along and we walked on by. But, I was so in my head thinking about my taglines, that I wasn't fully present in the situation. One of the dogs growled again, which engaged Kora and caused her to lunge toward the other dog. With this unexpected pull on the leash, I found myself on the ground. The couple asked if I was okay, but they really couldn't do much to help me since they had their hands full with their own dogs. I said "yes" and Kora and I went on our way.

But I wasn't okay. My right palm was hurt, my shin was scraped, my knee was skinned and bleeding—and I was embarrassed. What the heck just happened? I'm a 40-something-year-old woman and I just skinned my knee? Walking a dog, nonetheless? Within an instant, I was out of my head and into my body. I had no choice. My knee and palm were hurting and the pain sensation took over any remaining thoughts in my head. I was in my body for the rest of the day because of the pain I felt. It's a week later and I still feel my knee every now and then when I straighten my leg because the scab is still forming. In an odd way, I like it because it is a reminder to me to not always be in my head.

Do you go through most of your days in your head? If so, bring yourself into your body now. How are you feeling? Are you feeling tired? Angry? Sad? Happy? Are you hungry? Feeling any pain? Feeling good? When something happens, good or bad, really try to feel it. Acknowledge it in your body. Some people use certain practices like yoga or meditation to keep them grounded in their body. These are on the to-do list in my head, but I haven't made the time to do them on a regular basis.

For me, the balance of time spent in my head versus in my body is completely tipped in favor of head. What about you? Do you have any grounding techniques to keep you in your body? If you're like me and you go about your day mostly in your head, I have some advice: Don't wait for a skinned knee to put you in your body. There has to be an easier and more pleasant way to remember your body.

(P.S. I wish I could say that the fall gave me clarity for my tagline and I had an instant epiphany, but it took me another few days before I decided on it. It's now "Four Quadrant Living: A simpler way to a healthy life". With that done, I've now moved on to a dozen other things that are vying to keep me in my head.)
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter           Like on Facebook           Newsletter Sign Up

Sometimes I feel like the Environment quadrant is the ugly stepchild of the four quadrants. When I'm talking about the four quadrants, people seem the least interested in the Environment in the context of health. It's not as much in our awareness when we think of healthy living. Each week, I blog about one of the four quadrants so that each one is covered in a month. This week, it's time to feature the Environment. Rather than focus on something specific related to the environment like I usually do, this blog is about giving a general shout-out to it and bringing it into the spotlight. Today, the Environment is the belle of the ball.

Of the four quadrants, the environment is the one that people think least relates to their own health. There is a lot of focus on the Body quadrant as it relates to health—nutrition, exercise, sleep. There is a fair amount of focus on the Mind quadrant and its connection to health in the form of stress management. Although we may not think about Relationships in terms of our connection to health, we get it. When we spend time with toxic people, we don't feel good. In contrast, the Environment is seen as somehow separate from us. It is viewed as external rather than internal. But the truth is, we are intimately connected to our environment. If we keep the environment healthy, we keep ourselves healthy.

According to the World Health Organization, 25% of health problems are caused by environmental factors. Toxins in the environment have been linked to numerous diseases and health conditions, including asthma, allergies, premature birth, learning disabilities, early puberty, diabetes, reduced fertility, and even many cancers.

Environmental factors that affect our health can be found everywhere—both indoors and outdoors, as well as at work and at home. We ingest the toxins in many ways—through our skin, nose, mouth, and ears. This includes polluted air and water, excessive noise, radiation, hazardous wastes, chemical-filled cleaning products, pesticides, and food and food container contaminants. Some we have control over and some we don’t, but the idea is to lower our toxic load where we can— to do our best to make our environment healthy so that we can be healthy.

According to the Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups, scientists have found more than 100 potentially dangerous industrial chemicals and pollutants in the body of the average American. Read that sentence again. That's scary. Many of the chemicals used in products are introduced into our society and are only later realized to be harmful to our health. Unintentionally, we are the guinea pigs for these chemicals, and the price is high. For example, DDT and PCBs, once used abundantly, were banned in the 1970s when it was recognized how harmful they were. What chemical that is commonly used today will we find out in the future is actually toxic to our health?

I think about the Environment quadrant in connection with health in a variety of contexts. For example, I think about it in terms of cleaning up my personal environment which includes using green cleaning products in my home, using air purifiers to clean the air, removing shoes to keep toxins out, and gardening organically to keep chemicals out of my yard. I also think about it in terms of cleaning up the larger environment which includes reducing my use of plastic bottles, carrying my own reusable shopping bags, stopping catalogs, being kind to wildlife, and using less energy. In addition to greening my personal and expanded environments, I also think about the Environment in terms of the solace and peace it provides me. Creating my home as a safe and clean sanctuary is not only good for my physical health, but also my mental health. Being out in nature is also good for my health. Studies show that even just five minutes of exercising outdoors can be beneficial to us—increasing our self-esteem, improving mood, and decreasing anxiety. There are many ways that our health is intertwined with our environment.

if you are ready to dance with the belle of the ball instead of ignoring the ugly stepchild, here are some ideas from past blogs and the Four Quadrant Living website to help you create an environment that can promote your health. You can just read through the list as a reminder or click on the links if you want more detail.

• Environment Topics - reduce, reuse, recycle, stop catalogs, clean green, properly dispose of toxic waste, use less energy and water, walk or bike instead, say no to plastic, save lives (adopt & spay), travel lightly, simply be (in nature)
• Plastic At Home, Really? - say no to plastic, use cloth instead of paper napkins, be creative with gift wrap, print on both sides
• Shoeless Sanctuary - leave shoes at the door, clean green, avoid non-stick cookware, remodel green, set bugs free, get an air cleaner, garden organically
• Don't Judge A Weed - garden organically
• Free Space, Free Mind - remove clutter (a decluttered environment makes for a decluttered mind)
• Frying the Birds - be kind to wildlife
• My Love Affair with a Mountain, Peace by Nature - find solace (and health) in nature

What changes can you make in the Environment quadrant to promote your overall health?
_________

Dina Colman, MA, MBA is an author, healthy living coach, and founder of Four Quadrant Living. Dina has a private practice helping clients live healthier and happier lives. Her book, Four Quadrant Living: Making Healthy Living Your New Way of Life, guides readers to make healthy living a part of their daily lives, leading to greater health, vitality, and happiness. Contact Dina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow on Twitter     Like on Facebook     Newsletter Sign Up