HEALTHY BODY

ARE ALL CALORIES EQUAL?

By: Anja Springthorpe

Calories are often perceived as a food-currency many of us count, save, spend and worry about. In reality, a calorie is nothing more than a unit of energy a particular food provides. All foods have calories as all foods provide some form of energy.

How many calories do we need each day? That answer depends on our age, gender, height, weight, level of activity and other circumstances such as metabolic functioning, stress levels, sleep routine and potential medical conditions to name just a few. Determining calorie consumption is complex indeed.

Rather than worry about how many calories we should consume each day, we ought to shift our focus to the nutritional value of the calories we consume. This simple step can tip our diets into a more wholesome and balanced direction, which by default improves health, wellbeing and supports realistic, achievable weight goals.

Just imagine 200 calories found in sugary or fatty foods, compared to 200 calories worth of fruit and vegetables. It is not hard to see which calories provide better and varied nutrition. A calorie is a steady unit for all foods, and the nutritional quality of the foods we choose decides whether we provide our body with well-balanced nourishment.

2 ½ apples vs 20 gummy bears

FOODS AROUND 200 CALORIES

50 baby carrots vs 16 cheese puffs 33 stalks of celery vs 1 kids McDonald fries with ketchup

2 large filets of trout vs ¾ of sausage link

1 large head of broccoli vs ½ blueberry muffin

1 avocado vs 2 slices of bacon

3 eggs vs 1 small handful of M&M’s 24 mini peppers vs 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Art Brings Us Together: Team Building

Wether you are a corporation or a small mom and pop business, your work team must learn to work together. If you’re looking for a way to build a more cohesive work team through fun, creative experiences, consider Impastato Gallery & Art Therapy’s one-of-a-kind, team building exercises.

Using one canvas, your team will learn to communicate, trust one another and use time management effectively to complete a single painting. In the beginning, everyone feels a little vulnerable, but by the end of the project, everyone will discover new things about themselves as well as the individuals on their team.

Owner and Art Instructor at Impastato Gallery & Art Therapy, owner and art instructor, Elizabeth Impastato says, “When I used to work night shifts, I needed to know how to organize, manage my time, to do things alone as well as with others and went to ask for help. The painting is an opportunity to learn your communication style and how to express your needs with each person in the group.” The result isn’t just a beautiful piece of art displayed at your place of business, but a constant reminder of the team’s collaboration and deeper understanding of one another.

Although others have tried, she is the only one that offers this type of creative team workshop successfully. “After 14 years of pharmaceutical sales, you learn how to build strong teams. I merged that experience with art, keeping a business framework in mind,” she says. Elizabeth customizes her team building workshops for every type of company, depending on their needs. But these workshop skills go beyond the office. “You take team building into every aspect of your life, not just business,” she says. “You need a healthy work-life balance.” As a small business owner, Elizabeth Impastato cares about the people and businesses in her community. Like small moving parts, she believes we must all work together to build a strong society. “People are more powerful when they work together, even small businesses. I am a small business, so I understand exactly how important this is. I believe in team building that uses strong communication and working with other local business to accomplish goals together for our community.”

To set up a team building workshop, schedule a special event or take an individual art class, you can reach IMPASTATO GALLERY & ART THERAPY at 985-778-5338 or Visit them at CHENIER MARKET PLACE today at 1901 US 190 STE 28 Mandeville, LA. 70448

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IMPASTATO GALLERY & ART THERAPY

CELEBRATE YOUR Unique Charisma

By Patricia Fitzmorris Danflous

You don’t have to be Oprah or the Dalai Lama to unleash your charisma. You already have the internal force for living a successful, joyful and culturally diverse life.

Cultural Anthropologist and Non-verbal Communications Specialist Robin Sol Lieberman explains charisma as a universal, non-verbal language. “Charisma comes from our soul, from our spirit, from the deepest essence of who we are to express our personality through words, through physical body language, through tone of voice. It’s the deep, deep, deep authentic way of communicating.”

A world-traveler since the age of 16, Lieberman defines her insight to charisma, communications and connecting in what she terms “the charisma code.” She details her personal journey to develop and define charisma while guiding others in achieving their full potential in The Charisma Code, Communicating in a Language Beyond Words (White Cloud Press). Recognized by CEOs of major global companies, congressmen and United Nations representatives, The Charisma Code is a rich resource. Lieberman presents a guide for resolving conflict, inspiring engagement, changing culture as well as achieving personal success and joy.

The 35-year-old, Los Angeles resident has made presentations before the United Nations, as well as frequent media appearances during national and regional elections. She explains the charisma code of appeal that makes candidates attractive to their diverse supporters. For instance, some politicians match Einstein’s charisma while others embody Marilyn Monroe’s allure.

Leiberman emphasizes, however, that charisma is not an elusive quality reserved for the famous or influential. “Charisma is an innate force, that infuses the most basic communication and gestures with passion and purpose, magnetically attracting people and opportunities,” she said. “Charisma is the currency of connection which inspires engagement, motivates teams and elicits commitment. It opens doors, dissolves borders and makes any culture feel like home.”

Clearly passionate about non-verbal communications in an expanding global environment, Lieberman’s first recognition of speaking without words came during her teens. “When I first left the country at 16, on a safari with my parents in Kenya, Africa, I remember having a profound connection with the individuals in the Maasai tribe we spent time with. I was more interested in learning about the guide than seeing the animals,” she said. “We obviously didn’t know each other’s language, but we had a connection. ‘Okay,’ I remember thinking, ‘connections happen with people who don’t speak the same language. What is that?’ That experience was the root for my studying anthropology in college.”

By the age of 21, Lieberman was traveling alone to Nepal, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Bali, Nicaragua and other countries while reinforcing an emerging recognition that charisma is communias an advisor to Alliance 4 Empowerment, an organization committed to creating social and economic inclusion worldwide. She is equally committed to encouraging individuals to enhance charisma by recognizing value and developing confidence.

“Once you ask ‘what if’ questions that support your worth and encourage your authenticity, you can magnetize others by showing your value,” she said, explaining steps to release charisma. “Magnetizing others starts with a commitment to love yourself unconditionally, connecting with what your body feels or what your mouth says, and believing your own authority while standing up against the cultural backlash that comes with the territory of daring to be different, bold and even outrageous.”

That was a life-changing year for me. I realized there was a connection in a language beyond words. As a younger, somewhat of a hippie at that time, my word for it then was ‘telepathy.’

cating without the need for words. “It is a force, a currency that anyone can cultivate by acknowledging and unleashing confidence, magnetism and connection that exists within,” she emphasized.

“I turned 21 out in the boonies of some village where I participated in an African dance on fire, an inspiring ritual,” she continued. “That was a life-changing year for me. I realized there was a connection in a language beyond words. As a younger, somewhat of a hippie at that time, my word for it then was ‘telepathy.’ But as I matured, I recognized that communication skill as charisma. It is what I am now teaching to others.”

The founder of TrueCharisma, a communications training firm dedicated to the emerging culture of the global citizen, Lieberman’s client list is impressive and growing. She has worked with global leaders through events organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with new arrival immigrants and refugees and with the marketing teams of international companies such as Pfizer. She leads training sessions for IMPACT Leadership 21’s Emerging Global Leaders program and serves

“Charisma, to me, is just the act of giving who you are to the world,” Lieberman emphasized. “It heightens our communication, our ability to communicate with others, the gifts that we have so that we can collaborate as a species. If there is a language beyond words we can all speak, and if that language connects us instead of divides us – we have a tool from which to wage world peace.”