A Change in Pace: Part 1 How to be Healthy

So I just renamed my blog from "the mad hatter's daughter" to "Healthy, Happy, Beautiful."
I'm taking a change in pace so that I can help everyone be, well... healthy, happy, and beautiful.


How to be Healthy:
First, answer these questions. Are you 18 years or older? Does your BMI (Body Mass Index) fall in a healthy range for your age and body type? Are you unhappy with your weight or trying to maintain it? What do you eat on a typical, daily basis? How MUCH do you eat on a typical, daily basis? How often and how hard do you exercise? And finally, are you friends with your body?

Now, I'm not here to tell you about the health risks of being under or over weight. Just let it be known that there are many. I just hope you can take all that you already know, and finally gain the determination to do something about it. So pull out the measuring tape and get ready to set some long-term goals. But first, the facts.

If you are under 18 years old, then you should not be on any kind of diet unless specifically directed by your doctor.

If your BMI is good, then hey good for you! If not, well then keep reading. If you have a low BMI, this is not healthier than having a normal BMI. So please talk to your doctor.

You should be following the ChooseMyPlate proportions. Half of your (small) plate should be colorful fruits and vegetables. Make at least half of your grains Whole Grain (not multigrain which isn't the same thing). Try more lean meats and lentils to get that protein. Try gradually lowering the percentage of your milk until you reach either 1% or fat-free. Switching to a lower percent too soon will make it taste watery and unpleasant. Also, I've personally found that fat-free milk stays fresh longer. Children should be drinking whole milk.

You should try to get in moderate exercise 20-30 minutes a day if you are trying to maintain your weight, and up to 5 hours a week if you are trying to lose weight. The good news is: you can do it in allotments of 10mins and get the activity you need through simple, fun, and rewarding activities.
-- Try briskly walking to school/work/the store
-- Join a fitness activity: dance class/zumba club/gym membership/swim team
-- Do gardening (yes, those weeds you've been meaning to pull will count as exercise)
-- Do some deep cleaning to music (Spotify offers thousands of songs for free)
-- Ride your bike to that new place that opened up: library/park/gym/store/mountain trail

And if you feel too lazy to leave the house try these:
-  -- Do toe-ups, squats, or lightly jogging in place while reading (just don't do this at bedtime because it can mess up your sleeping schedule)
-  -- Exercising first thing in the morning is a rumored to help boost your metabolism
-  -- Try taking the stairs 2 at a time, up AND down.
-  -- Stand more, sit less
-  -- Do a couple jumping jacks whenever you have a few seconds (buffering video/website, commercial, waiting for the shower to heat up, waiting for your food to finish, and whatever else you can think of)
-  --Drop the sugar, raise the healthy. Stop all consumption of Soda and sugary drinks; drink more water and milk. Forget the low carb diet; cut out the sugar! Consume less Sodium; Stuff yourself with Fruits and Vegetables which are sodium free and healthy!
-  -- Finally, portion control. I love portion control! If I haven't exercised in a week and I want something unhealthy - say some cake- then I have no shame in eating a nice piece because I've been eating small all week. However, most people hate portion control because they don't feel satisfied. Now this is my question. When was the last time you heard your stomach ACTUALLY growl? You will never feel satisfied if you cannot feel natural hunger. This is because overeating tends to override the body's normal eating hormones. Once you get back to the basics, your body will tell you when and when not to eat. You may be surprised at how little you really need to eat everyday. Don't eat if you aren't hungry; drink some water and go exercise. Exercise also helps to reduce your appetite.

Avoiding dieting. All the weight you lose with diets is likely to be gained right back once you go off the diet, and you're likely to weigh more than you did before the diet. Plus, diets don't last forever. There's a reason the word "die" is in diet.
So the best thing to do is set some realistic goals. Are you going to fit that supermodel swimsuit by next week? Probably not. Losing too much weight, too soon, is actually dangerous. But working to lose about 5 pounds a week is pretty healthy.  But remember, you want to lose fat, not weight! So, forget the scale for awhile. Stop asking everyone one how you look. Just remember, this is your goal to become healthy and the results take time.

My last question for you was this, "Are you friends with your body?" A positive attitude can go a long way. Think to yourself words of encouragement. YOU CAN DO THIS! :) One mom of four recently wrote,
"Well, I have focused negatively on my body for a long time. I have felt like I am in a constant battle with it. Me verses my body. The other day I started thinking of my body being my friend. A friend who is weak and needs some help. I am spending time with my body by exercising, rather than exercising as a way of retaliating against it. I have made my body into my own imaginary friend, and it has helped me work out more often, longer and harder. It's a weird concept, but it's helping me."

Character Parallels for Alice in Wonderland (The movie)

The thing about some great movies is that they have depth to them. However, many people who go to the movie theaters don't bother to look deep into the movie itself and end up becoming thoroughly confused. For example.

I have heard multiple times in regards to the movie Alice in Wonderland: "That Mad Hatter loved Alice! EWW! That is sick and wrong 'cause he's so much older than her!"

STOP STOP STOP!!!!!

I can't stand this any longer. For backstory, Lewis Carroll's original stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass were packed full of character parallels toward the government of his day. The movie isn't quite as deep but it follows the same method. So perhaps this may help.

The Mad Hatter (Tarrant Hightopp)=Charles Kingsleigh
Charles Kingsleigh, Alice's Father, was depicted as mad at first but was ultimately successful because of his madness, as such was the same for The Hatter. The Mad Hatter shows signs of fondness in Alice's dream because that was how she viewed her father. At the end of her adventure, The Hatter asks Alice to stay with him saying if she leaves, she will forget him. This is because while the other characters in wonderland double with real life, Alice's Father is dead so she wouldn't get to see the Hatter on the other side. But Alice promises that she could never forget him, just as she will never forget her father.


The Door Mouse (Mally) / The White Rabbit (Nivins McTwisp)= Helen Kingsleigh
Helen is very much about propriety, like the White Rabbit, as seen in the beginning of the film when she is complaining about being late for the party and how Alice is "not properly dressed." Meanwhile, it is clear that Mrs. Kingsleigh really doesn't want to force Alice into anything, but cannot do anything about the situation, much like how the door mouse may be brave but is still too small to do much help.
Meanwhile for costumes, Helen is dressed in white, like the fur of the White Rabbit and the door mouse. Looking at her facial features, she fits the depiction for someone who is mousy: colorless, meek, timid, quiet. The door mouse in Alice's dream is more brave than Helen no doubt because that is how Alice wished her mother would be, small but brave.


TweedleDee and TweedleDum= Fiona and Faith Chataway
This one goes without saying. Especially at the end when Alice says "you two remind me of some funny boys I met in a dream."


The Cheshire Cat (Chessur)= Lord Ascot
One line of the Cheshire cat is most prominent in this parallel. "I never get involved in politics." This is because, neither does Lord Ascot. The Hatter gets mad at Ches because he didn't help out in the war. Likewise, Charles Kingsleigh thought Lord Ascot was a fool for not joining his "mad-venuture" and likewise would be disappointed at the fact that Lord Ascot was not controlling Lady Ascot in order to protect the wishes of Alice.
For Costume: It is fitting that Lord Ascot is the only one who has a thick mustache, while the animation department did the most to accent the soft fur of the Cheshire Cat. Also, Lord Ascot is the one who is Smiling most out of everyone at the party and trying to stay cherry despite the circumstances just like the Cat.


The Red Queen (Erasabeth of Crims) = Lady Ascot
Lady Ascot, like the Red Queen, wants to control everything and isn't as verbally proper as she should be. In many ways this gives her a metaphorical "big head", as is parallel to the Red Queen's physical big head. Her big quote is "the gardeners have planted white roses when i specifically asked for red," followed by Alice's famous quote "you could always paint the roses red." Meanwhile, The controlling-ness of Lady Ascot is similar to The Red Queen in a way that she really doesn't need a husband in order to rule. Finally, Lady Ascot doesn't not like rabbits and would set the dogs on them, much like how The Red Queen enslaves the White Rabbit (also a parallel to her relationship to Helen Kingsleigh) and likes to set out the Bandersnatch, the Jub Jub bird, and the Jabberwock (which she mistakenly calls a jabberwocky). Both Lady Ascot and The Red Queen do not hide their rudeness from everyone else thereby gaining but a few, fake friends while most do not like her at all.


The White Queen (Mirwona) = Margret Kingsleigh
While never truly happy, these two pretend that life is perfect. This is the reason why Ann Hathaway played the White Queen in such a cheesy way. She didn't act like that because she's a poor actress (believe me, she's excellent). It was the more obvious way of depicting the inner actions of Alice's sister Margret. Likewise, it is the White Queen and Margret Kingsleigh who tell Alice that she will eventually have to make a big descion.


The Knave of Hearts (Stayne) = Lowell
Just like the Knave of Hearts, Lowell is going behind the back of the only person who loves him. Lowell is found kissing a girl in the bushes where Alice catches them. Lowell tries to intimidate Alice by saying she would ruin her sister's marriage if she told anyone even though it is clearly his fault for sneaking around. This is exactly like the Knave who tries to seduce Alice but then blames everything on her when the Red Queen finds out.
As for costumes: The Knave is dressed in black with a black cape and a usually black eye-patch that changes colors depending on who he's with. This goes as an parallel to the stereotypical "bad guy". Lowell changes how he acts when he's not around Margret and his secret side is shown as evil.


The March Hare (Thackery Earwicket) = Aunt Imogene
I'm still not sure why they included her besides that fact that they just wanted another obvious parallel, but the delusional Aunt Imogene matches the truly crazy March Hare.
As for costumes: Aunt Imogene's hair is not well kept and hangs around her face like big March Hare ears.


The Jabberwock= The Proposal (and Hamish)
Alice has been dreaming about Wonderland since she was very little. This is because she always knew that one day she would have to face the Proposal seeing as Lord Ascot said his wife had been planning this engagement for nearly 18 years. When Alice was little, the dream was more colorful and light-hearted because she did not have to face anything at that age but when she is older, wonderland becomes dangerous because the Proposal is in the process. Hamish is not handsome and Alice does not want to marry him but she feels trapped and obligated because of priorities. All of Alice's friends wish that they could fight the Jabberwock for her but because this is her fight, they cannot. Just like they can't say yes or no for her at the proposal. Eventually Alice has to face her fears, fight the Jabberwock and say no to the Proposal.
(P.S. Through the Looking Glass describes the "Jabberwock with eyes of flame". The beast is mistakenly called the Jabberwocky in the film, which is actually the name of the poem that talks about the Jabberwock. You can find the whole thing on Wikipedia.)


The Blue Caterpillar (Absoluem) / Bayard= Alice
Finally, these two represent the final inner processes of Alice. The blue caterpillar prompts Alice to come to terms with who she is, what she stands for, and what she's going to do. Bayard is part of her conscious that tells her the problems if she "diverge(s) from the path" where Alice finally determines that she "make(s) the path". The path is the one where she marries Hamish and ends up living like her sister. If Alice leaves the path she might never marry and end up poor and starving. But Alice cannot let this deter her since she knows that she cannot fight her heart.



Wow, that was long. But ya, the Movie in Alice in Wonderland is really deep so that the story makes more sense. Wonderland really was a dream but an extremely significant one, which is why she always had the same nightmare that was always filled with some many choices.

P.S. Alice in Wonderland isn't the only movie to do this. The movie The Host, goes deep with the meaning of love: familial, physical/lustful, and mental/emotional.