Movie Review: Lone Survivor

 

    

Lone Survivor is a movie based on the true story of four Navy Seals set out on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative, and his army of men in Afghanistan. Their attempts to confirm the presence of the Taliban terrorist failed because of poor communication with the base keeping track of their steps. The four men are then left to depend on themselves and their brotherhood in order to survive. They face an army of Taliban men willing to do anything to kill the Americans. This movie shows the strength and bond of brotherhood of the military and the brave SEALS who risk their lives each day for the safety of America. The "lone survivor", Marcus Luttrell, lived through the agony to tell the story of what himself and his brothers, Michael P. Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matthew Axelson endured in Afghanistan. 

This movie deserved more than 5 out of 5 stars, if that is even possible. To watch what these brave men went through to keep us safe in America makes you appreciate that we do not have to live through war each and every day. Mark Wahlberg did an amazing job at fulfilling the role of Marcus Luttrell and what he accomplished as leading his team as far as he could before fate took over. Not only do you appreciate the Navy Seals, but you see a side of Afghanistan people that is not mentioned when speaking about the war.  When Marcus Luttrell needed help and no where left to turn, a tribal leader in an Arghan village names Mohammad Gulab put his life and his families life in danger to protect this stranger. His tribe has a code where they are required to help any one who comes to them in need, under any circumstances. Without Mohammad Gulab, Marcus would not be alive today and living on the legacy of his fallen brothers. More movies like Lone Survivor need to be more public over insane movies like Wolf of Wall Street, where naked girls and drugs are what makes the movie entertaining to most people. Lone Survivor shows the true dedication of a group of Navy Seals and what they did to protect us. 

If you have a faint heart and cannot face the sight of blood or gruesome events, I would not recommend you watching Lone Survivor. However, if you can get past the blood and watch this movie, I would highly recommend you taking the time to watch this movie and hopefully you get the same feeling I did after watching it. This movie truly deserves 5 stars for the acting and true story they portrayed in an amazing and emotional way. 

P.S; If you tend to be an emotional person, or maybe if you have a heart, I would insist on bringing tissues for the movie, especially during the end.

Image and Health: Bones Are Not the Way To Go

                                   

There's a huge difference between being healthy, and being too skinny. If you compare yourself to artificial super models, you might start to feel like an over sized beached whale. But truly, many stars and models out there today are on no-food diets and eat kale chips and blended fiber smoothies, possibly twice a day. Oh, and then they throw it up. Anorexia is a common, yet hidden problem with teens around us these days. Many teenage girls especially have this idea that skinny means bones showing and skipping out on a day of eating. The hidden truth behind anorexia and eating disorders is that they can lead to death, more often than not. Here are some facts on eating disorders:

• 1 in 10 cases of eating disorders lead to death by starvation
• Eating disorders can cause cardiac arrest
• Those with eating disorders are more likely to attempt suicide

Yes, teenage girls and even guys in some cases can hate their image and want to change it, but shutting out food is not the way to go, If you want to be thin and still be healthy, know your limits and do not supply yourself with too few many calories a day.  Any diet that tells you 400 calories or less a day is okay for you, it is a total lie. You need the proper, recommended amounts of nutrients and water to live a healthy life. Anorexia and bulimia is NOT healthy. There's no need for anyone to be ashamed or unhappy with how they look. As long as you keep yourself healthy, there should be no reason to want to be bone-thin like unfortunately some people feel.

Not a Fan of Milk? Try a Healthy Alternative!

Many people are lactose intolerant, or simply do not enjoy the taste of milk. If you think about it, milk comes out of female cow utters, and put through filters to make sure it is safe to drink. Would you not feel better drinking an all natural type of milk? If you do not like the idea of drinking milk from an animal, I would recommend drinking almond milk. Almond milk is a beverage made simply from ground almonds. Unlike animal milk, almond milk contains neither cholesterol nor lactose. If that did not convince you enough, here's 6 more benefits of drinking almond milk:



1. It keeps your heart healthy.
 Almond milk has no saturated fat or cholesterol. It;s also low in sodium and high in healthy fats, which can help to prevent high blood pressure and heart disease.
2. It keeps your bones strong.
 Although almond milk does not provide as much calcium as cows milk, it does offer 30 percent of the recommended daily amount, and 25 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin D. This reduces the risk for arthritis and boots your immune system. Calcium and vitamin D also work together to provide healthy bones and teeth formation.
3. It helps with weight management.
 1 cup of almond milk only contains 60 calories compared to 146 calories in whole milk, 122 in 2 percent milk, and 102 calories in 1 percent milk. It provides a great substitution for milk when your trying to lose or maintain your current weight.
4. It keeps your skin glowing.
 Almond milk contains 50 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin E, which protects against skin damage.
5.It barely impacts your blood sugar
 Almond milk is low in cards, which means it will not drastically increase your blood sugar levels, like regular milk would. This decreases your risk for diabetes and your body uses the carbs as energy so the sugar is not stored as fat.
6.It's convenient.
 Since many people do not have cows grazing in their backyard in the city, almond milk is the convenient alternative to make at home. It is made by drinking almonds and placing them in a blender with water, then filtering the pulp with a strainer to separate it from the liquid.

Skinny Almond Shake Recipe
- Almond Milk (3/4 cup)
-Vanilla Extract (1/2 tsp)
-Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (1-2 tsp)
-15 Ice Cubes 
-Blend and enjoy for only 60 calories!!

This blog may seem boring or irrelevant, but for those trying to lose weight or stay healthy/fit, this blog should provide informational health tips.

Is Diet Soda Really Good For a Diet?

   Normally when someone is on a diet, they tend to search for foods with clear DIET labels, and big words that say LOW CALORIE. Yes, something may actually be labeled as diet because of its low calorie amount but in reality, its not that good for you at all. Something that surprised me that was actually bad for you is diet soda. I personally stopped drinking soda a long time ago because in general, all sodas are bad for you, but I would sometimes give into at least drinking a diet soda. In reality, diet sodas are worse for you and cause you to GAIN weight over time. You might think, how is that even possible? If I'm drinking a diet soda with zero calories, there is no way I can gain weight from it, right? Wrong. A daily intake of diet sodas have shown to cause more weight gain over time. Naturally, were fat-seeking, sugar-feined Americans who want everything super sized. Our bodies have evolved to accept natural sugar and anticipate the intake of sugary foods, so when we trick our bodies and drink artrificial sweetened sodas, our body "tricks" us back. When we drink a sugary, sweet drink, our body is ready to accept the sugar. Unfortunately, our body is let down because it does not get any sugar that it's been waiting for. This makes the body create it's own fat, and a study shown proved that you gain weight and become more hungry when you drink a diet soda. It also increases the risk for metabolic syndrome, and ultimately you end up with a horrible metabolism. This doesn't mean in any way that regular soda is good for you, because it is not at all. I'm not saying you should ban soda from your diet, but maybe consider cutting down to once a month or even once a week to overall have a healthier body.

My Fitness Pal

Best Weight Loss Program!
 Ever wonder what the easiest way to lose weight is? Simply COUNT YOUR CALORIES! Thanks to our wonderful technology these days, there's no excuse as to why you can't keep track of your calories. The best app out there right now is called My Fitness Pal. For iPhone users, simply go to your app store and download the free app.

What is it?
 My Fitness Pal is the easiest way to keep track of your calories and stay on task with your fitness goals. Not only can you track the foods you eat and set your calorie limit, you can add your workouts and exercises and they tell you how many calories you've burned. You can add friends in to keep yourself motivated. As long as you update your foods and stay at your set limit for calories, you can start to see results in 5 weeks!

How Do I Use It?
 The app may seem over-whelming at first, but it gets easier the more you log on and get used to it.
Here's a quick view on what the logging screen looks like:
                                                                        
                                    

 

-Once everything is added in, you press finish logging for today and it gives you an estimated weight that you can be in 5 weeks if you were to eat those same foods every day. Of course, everyone has a cheat day and some weekends, but as long as calorie counting and exercising is done almost every day of the week, you can be sure to see results. I will keep updating My Fitness Pal to keep track of my weight loss and keep you updated on the results! I hope this can help anyone with weight loss goals!

About Me

About Me

  My name is Anne-Margaret Sullivan and I am a senior in high school. I love working, sports, cleaning, and running in my free time. My favorite places to go are Ireland and New Hampshire because they both are relaxing places away from the busy city of Boston. I love being outdoors and staying active. I started to become focused on exercising and conscience of what I eat in the ninth grade after simply wanting to become a more healthy person. Ever since then I've been trying different diets and simply trying to eat well and exercise while still being a teenager and dealing with the stress of growing up. I chose to create a blog about health and fitness to help people who want to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. Have a great day!
- Annie Mags