Dove Proves Women Are Prettier Than We Think We Are

By Linda Franklin

Do other people see you differently than you see yourself, especially in the looks department?  A new Dove campaign “Real Beauty Sketches”, says yes  – and offers proof, in the form of forensic sketches.

Dove recruited seven women of different ages and backgrounds and had FBI-trained forensic artist Gil Zamora create composite sketches of them based on descriptions of their own facial features. In this video, produced for the campaign, you can hear the women use phrases like “my mom told me I had a big jaw,” “I kind of have a fat, rounder face,” “I’d say I have a pretty big forehead.”

The women had been asked to spend time with strangers, though neither party was told why. These strangers were later brought one by one into a room with Zamora and asked to describe the women who had been sketched earlier. The two resulting drawings of each woman were then hung side-by-side — and the contrast is pretty stark. The tagline of the campaign is: “You are more beautiful than you think.”

And it’s women’s existing shame that the Dove campaign does a good job of exposing through its sketches.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there’s no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Men’s Obsession with Our Boobs

By Linda Franklin

Men’s attitudes toward women actually influence their attitude toward the perfect breast size.  

A recent study from the University of Westminster, published in  the Archives of Sexual Behavior, showed results after interviewing 361 white, heterosexual men, ranging in age from 18 to 68.  Each man was shown five different 3-D models of women, each with a different breast size, and then asked to record which “woman” he found most physically attractive.

Afterward, the participants were given surveys which measured each man’s level of hostility toward women, his attitudes about relationships between men and women, benevolent sexism and how much he objectified women.

The researchers found that the largest percentage of participants (32.7 percent) rated medium-sized breasts as “most attractive,” followed by large (24.4 percent), very large (19.1 percent), small (15.5 percent) and very small (8.3 percent). However, a preference for large and very large breasts was significantly correlated with overt sexism, benevolent sexism, female objectification and hostile attitudes toward women.

In other words, men who tend to idealize “traditional” femininity and perceive women as meek and weak, are also the most likely to prefer big boobs.

Obviously, these findings don’t mean that all men who find big breasts attractive are sexist.  But this research is a good reminder that social ideas about what makes a woman sexually desirable don’t just impact the way women feel about themselves or how they imagine men perceive them. Those ideas impact the way that men view women — both how attractive and how powerful men think they are.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Hair Hair Everywhere And It’s Not Yours

by Linda Franklin

More and more women are turning to false hair pieces to enhance their look.  It’s fast, it’s easy and for the most part it looks just like your own locks.

All the celebs wear them and the women you see everyday do too.  It’s fast and its easy when you are in a rush and don’t have time to wash, dry and style.

“It’s not necessarily about poor quality hair — it’s actually about time,” said Peter Gray, a New York editorial and commercial hairstylist.  Human-hair wigs (the gold standard of wigdom) are part of Mr. Gray’s regular bag of tricks for photo shoots and fashion shows. They can provide a new look in an instant, without commitment or damage. They can be washed and styled with regular products and lengthened with extensions. “They’ve become so high quality, you can stand a foot away from someone with a wig on and not be able to tell,” he said.

Human hair wigs are expensive but you do have choices.  I personally like the synthetic versions, because unlike real hair they don’t react to humidity and they are affordable.  You can experiment without breaking the bank.  Just yesterday I ordered a phony pony and a messy bun – getting ready for the summer.  This way I can cut my own hair and still have he flexibility of other fun styles.

Try one – it just might set you free.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality.  Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Men Don’t Forgive Cheaters As Easily As Women

by Linda Franklin

Cheating – not a good thing – most of us would agree, but men find it harder than a woman to forgive this betrayal.  If you’re a woman who is thinking about confessing  an indiscretion be ready for the explosion of anger and grief that will follow.  It’s probably even worse than you imagine.

While infidelity has traditionally been regarded as a masculine trait, an increasing number of women are cheating on their husbands. Financial equality plus more time spent at work are fueling this role reversal.

It wasn’t so long ago that women would  have felt obliged to stick at an ailing marriage, these days they don’t feel so compelled to stay.

A surge in power may have propelled women to be unfaithful but the male attitude isn’t changing quite so fast.  For a betrayed man, it’s a slight against his manhood.   It goes right to the core of his identity.

For men, the sexual component of their wife’s affair is very important – they are more concerned about the sexual aspect than if their wife loved the man she slept with.

‘I don’t think a woman’s reason for having an affiar is that different from a man’s –  they’re looking for attention, affection, emotional support that in that’s going to lead to a sexual encounter.

Before you have anything to confess, try improving communication with your mate.  Tell him how you are feeling and see if you can work it out together or with a trained therapist..  If you don’t  you might be headed for a blowup you are not prepared for.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Diet Myths That Keep You Fat

by Linda Franklin

We are bombarded daily by the do’s and dont’s of proper eating. Tune into any daytime television show and there’s a discussion going on about healthy eating.  But despite the constant stream of experts trying to scare us thin, there are several dieting myths that keep us fat.

Here are 6 of the beliefs that sabotage our success despite our best intentions:

1.  SKIPPING BREAKFAST

Myth –  Not having breakfast encourages your body to burn fat

Fact –  Thin people eat breakfast; fat people don’t‘

Missing breakfast leads to overeating later in the day as blood sugar drops mid-morning, making you more compulsive around food and less likely to resist that double mocha and danish.  Plus, you are more likely to binge at night as your body plays catch-up on missed calories, making you more likely to store the calories as fat.

2. WEEKEND BINGING

Myth –  If you eat healthily all week, it’s fine to treat yourself at weekends

Fact - Even after five days of restraint, two days of freestyle carbicide will make you gain weight

Carbs are first stored as glucose and water, and will turn into fat if it isn’t worked off, so you’ll need to do extra exercise during the  week.

To avoid the temptation to binge, pepper your working week with small amounts of what you love to eat, maybe a nice glass of wine, some cheese and a few squares of dark chocolate.

3. DIET DRINKS

Myth –  Diet drinks have no calories so they won’t impact on weight

Fact –  People who drink diet drinks are fatter than those who don’t

A study from the University of Texas Health Science Centre found that people who drank 21 diet drinks a week were twice as likely to be overweight.

Another study that followed diet drinkers over a ten-year period found their waists grew a staggering 70 per cent more than non-diet drinkers’ waistlines.

‘Diet drinks feed a sweet tooth. When the body receives a sweet taste without the calories it expects, it triggers sweet cravings that make you eat more.

Sweeteners have also been shown to have a similar effect to real sugar on blood glucose and insulin levels.

4.  ‘BUT IT’S HEALTHY’

Myth –  I can eat as much healthy food as I like

Fact  – Healthy food has calories too

Hummus, pistachios and peanuts contain healthy fats but come with masses of calories and often fail the ‘eat just one’ test. Such foods can act as triggers for those with a tendency to overeat.

Being “healthy” doesn’t give people carte blanche to completely ignore calories.

5.  FAT PHOBIA

Myth –  Avoid fat if you want to lose weight

Fact –  Successful dieters get 30 per cent of their daily calories from fat

Studies show that the tiny ten per cent of people who lose weight and keep it off eat moderate amounts of fat.

When dieters avoid fat, they are hungry all the time. Dieters’ obsession with low-fat products merely fuels a craving for fatty foods, and that’s why they end up bingeing on cakes, cookies and ice cream – all sources of the fat the body needs.

Low-fat food is pointless for people wanting to lose weight because when real fat is removed, something needs to be added to retain taste and texture – ‘usually sugar and flour, which provide calories but are nutritionally poor’.

6.  DIETS, Full Stop

Myth –  Diets work for long-term weight loss

Fact -  90% of yo-yo dieters don’t keep the weight off

Most people can’t tolerate rigid dieting for long so once it’s inevitably stopped, weight goes on a little more than before.

‘Then you go on another diet, lose again, stop and go a little higher still. That is how crash dieters gain more and more weight over time.

‘The body thinks it’s starving so, to compensate, will switch on all the mechanisms it has to store food.’

‘One of these is hormones. Last October, a University of Melbourne study of 50 overweight women and men showed that after dieting, our hormone levels start to work overtime and react as though our bodies are starving.

The bottom line: dieting was making them hungrier.

What you should do ‘The only diets that have been proven effective for long-term weight loss in randomized controlled studies are those that focus on higher amounts of protein and vegetables, and limit carbohydrates to those with a low glycemic index.

Losing weight isn’t rocket science.  Common sense rules.  You will gain weight if you take in more calories than you burn off.  Make sure you include exercise in your healthy living routine.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Mastectomy Not Always The Best Choice

 by Linda Franklin

Many women diagnosed with breast cancer choose to have a mastectomy thinking it will remove the tumors as quickly as possible and give them the best chance of survival.  But a new major study has found that women stand a better chance of surviving breast cancer if they don’t have this radical surgery.

If you are over 50 and have only the lump removed, followed by radiotherapy, you are almost a fifth more likely to survive the illness than patients who lose the whole breast.

Results of a ten-year research project conducted at Duke University looked at the records of 112,154 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1994 and 2004. It showed that a  less radical form of treatment – breast conservation surgery – is more effective.

It involves taking away the affected lump and then administering high doses of radiotherapy over a course of five or six weeks to ensure any remaining cancerous cells are killed. Women who had breast conservation surgery were 13 per cent more likely to survive the illness. But the results were even more promising in women over 50 whose survival odds were 19 per cent higher than those who had mastectomies.

It also found that women of all ages who had breast conservation surgery were a fifth less likely to die from other causes such as heart disease.

This study looked only at women diagnosed with breast cancer early – known as stages one or two. It did not include patients with advanced forms of the illness.

Experts believe radiotherapy may be far more effective at killing all cancerous cells than removing the entire breast.

Lead researcher Dr E Shelley Hwang, of the Duke Cancer Institute in North Carolina, said: ‘Our findings support the notion that less invasive treatment can provide superior survival to mastectomy in stage one or stage two breast cancer.

This study provides further reassurance allowing women to be more confident when making this decision.

‘More research is needed to confirm these results, and we urge anybody concerned to speak to their surgeon so they can make an informed decision, as every choice is personal.’

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Five Things A Man Isn’t Thinking When He Sees You Naked

by Linda Franklin 
Women worry too much about how their bodies looks.  It even discourages many from having sex because the stress of looking perfect is just too much. If you are focused on your saggy belly – you are not focused on the exciting sensations in the moment.

You’ve got to trust me on this, no man is going to say or even think any of the following:

 

 

• “Oh, gee, you have so many wrinkles!”
• “You’d be so pretty if you lost weight.”
• “Huh — I thought you looked younger with clothes on.”
• “I like firmer butts and perkier breasts.”
• “Uh, I gotta go now.”

Whether or not he voices it out loud or conveys it with a smile or melting eyes, here’s what he’s thinking:

                   ”Oh wow, did I get lucky! This is going to be wonderful.”

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Women and Binge Drinking

 by Linda Franklin

Women are drinking more than ever.  According to the latest survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 14 million U.S. women binge drink about three times a month, downing about six beverages per binge. The survey defined binge drinking as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women.

It’s not unusual for young women aged 18-34, as well as high schoolers, to overindulge; 1 in 8 women and 1 in 5 high school girls report drinking to excess, but binge drinking accounts for about 23,000 deaths among women and girls in the U.S. each year.

Women who binge drink may be putting themselves at increased risk for breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease and unintended pregnancy.

Women are drinking in work related situations more than ever.  It isn’t just male professionals drinking on the job anymore. In this era of greater gender equality — and less workplace debauchery — is it helpful or detrimental for women to drink with their colleagues? This is the question the Atlantic‘s Alexandra Chang posed on January 7th.

Chang said she rarely drinks at work events and “tend[s] to avoid situations where drinking is likely to be happening” but worries that she’s missing out on potential bonding with her coworkers as a result. A friend of Chang’s who also passes on alcohol at work concurs recalled that one female colleague wouldn’t even talk to her until she attended a work-related drinking event. Chang suggested that the pressure to drink may be greater for women working in male-dominated fields like finance and technology.

But the consequences of drinking may also be greater for women, she noted. If women who choose office sobriety run the risk of missing out on coworker bonding, they also avoid the potentially negative consequences of having one drink too many. (After all, no one wants to make a fool of themselves in front of their boss.) Leah Epstein, founder of the website Drinking Diaries told Chang that mixed-gender workplace functions hold extra concerns for women. “A woman drinking with a group of men in a work-related situation could cross into flirtation and the sexual. She might be stigmatized,” Epstein said.

Do you drink too much when you are out with work colleagues or clients?

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Wives Calling It Quits

by Linda Franklin

   Ask any man on the planet and they will tell you women are complicated.  So, it’s no wonder that husbands have a tough time knowing if their marriage is going through a rough patch or it’s headed for the rocks.  Today the greater percentage of divorces are initiated the wife.  That’s quite a switch.

Most men might be vaguely aware of problems at home, but write it off to a ‘rough patch’ that will pass and be forgotten.

January 3rd has been nicknamed ‘divorce day’ by lawyers, because it’s the most popular day for couples who have been struggling to hold it together over the holidays, to pick up the phone and call their lawyers.

The warning signs are always there if you look for them. Women tend to stifle their emotions and their needs to keep everyone happy. But this suppression causes problems.

By shutting off negative emotions such as anger, frustration and sadness  you end up switching off all feelings — even positive ones, like love.

The male myth that relationships are women’s work just doesn’t apply any more.  Men may be conditioned to buy flowers, chocolates or an expensive dinner occasionally, but they often fail to keep an eye on the health of the relationship.  This is what women crave – a man who is sensitive to their needs.

Men think that if there was a real problem, their wives would tell them and they could fix it. So – the unhappiness goes unchecked. By the time the alarm buttons are going off,  she’s not saying ‘You’re taking me for granted’ or ‘We should go out more’ but: ‘I want a divorce’.

Men are emotionally ill-equipped to deal with this, because the one person they always turn to for advice — their wife — is unavailable for them now.

And, while women have close friends to talk things through with, men keep their personal feelings held pretty close to the vest.

Of course, it’s not just a husband’s job to save a marriage. If you feel you are falling out of love, chances are that you’re alternating two strategies, neither of which is working.

First, you keep trying to fix the relationship single-handedly, but feel increasingly resentful of this.

Second, after suppressing your unhappiness for some time, you explode about something trifling and all the pain and bitterness floods out.

This will barely register, as men tend to put outbursts down to feminine over-sensitivity or they simply can’t understand why such a minor issue has caused so much fury and soon forget about it.

The time to broach your issues is when you’re getting along. Calmly, explain that you’re exhausted and running out of hope that things can change.

The words ‘I don’t love you any more,’ may be harsh, but they are ones he will, at least, understand. If the situation is not quite so bleak, say: ‘I love you, but I’m not in love with you.’

This will give your husband a final chance to shoulder his share of the responsibility for saving your marriage. It’s much better than joining the line of women outside the lawyer’s office.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.

Relationship Success Requires 3 Basic Ingredients

by Linda Franklin

There are three basic ingredients needed to maintain a healthy relationship. Love is tough to come by and even tougher to hold on to.  Keeping a relationship fresh requires a strong commitment from both people involved, and making sure you don’t lose sight of the following.

1. Authenticity

Each person in the relationship need to feel they can be authentic. Trying to make yourself into what you think the other person wants never works long term.  Being fake is exhausting and over time you build up a huge resentment.  Respecting each other’s differences is essential to keep the love growing.

2. Expansion

Change is a given.  You are both going to change over and over again throughout the years..  Respect the changes, talk about the changes and don’t get stuck in the what was.  Give your partner space to grow and make sure they do the same for you.

3. Appreciation

Appreciating your partner for who they are seems to be the cornerstone for a happy relationship.  If your partner exhibits behaviors that really drives you crazy, before your pounce, take a deeper look.  More than likely they are hitting a sensitive nerve because whatever you don’t like in them is something you don’t like in yourself.

It’s important to remember that nobody is perfect – so don’t be so hard on yourself.  You will find that when you like yourself better you will be less critical of everyone around you.

The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.