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Articles by Scott Q Marcus

Browse published articles attributed to Scott Q Marcus, with full-archive search.

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By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Can We Be Social Without Going Out to Eat?

A good time that doesn’t involve eating I hadn’t seen him in years even though we live in the same town. You know how it is, I’m busy, so is he. Time got away from us. It’s not like we had a disagreement, or we didn’t want to see each other; it’s just that, well, life kicked in… I answered the phone, “Hey Scott,” says he, “I just realized that we haven’t gotten together in a long time and we’ve got so much to catch up on. I thought we could schedule a time.”

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,520 views5/5 (2)

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Handling the food addiction: What to do when slip-ups happen

He was celebrating four years of sobriety. When I asked how he knew it was time to initially seek help, he said, “I finally realized I had no control over alcohol. I thought about it all the time. I couldn’t wait to drink. I was obsessed with it.” As I listened, I thought, “Substitute the ‘food’ for ‘alcohol,’ and that’s me.” It was one of the triggers in getting me to lose my weight. It was also the instant I realized that overeating is every bit as much of an addiction as drugs or alcohol.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,407 views5/5 (1)

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

The power of intention

Being a news junkie, I’m glued to the cable networks. Wedged between the peccadilloes of badly behaving starlets and inappropriately tweeted photos, the anchor brings in two political panelists to discuss the upcoming election (Already? Really? Oy!) To feign “balance” he has a GOP strategist and his Democratic counterpart (as if there are only two sides to a story – but don’t get me started). I don’t remember the first question, and frankly, it doesn’t matter; but what I do recall was once the argument commenced, it became animated without delay.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,406 views5/5 (1)

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Where are the crayons? (Taking Time for What Really Matters)

I was “row monitor” in second grade; sitting in the last seat making sure the students in my row behaved. On this day, all was quiet; no one messed with the law when Scott was around. My enforcement duties complete, I was able to turn my attention to the current “quiet time,” period that daily session where we did whatever we wanted, just so it was without sound. Priority one was schoolwork; so I pulled out my assignment list; decorated with pencil-drawn army men and a poorly drawn reproduction of Mighty Mouse. Nothing was pending so I re-filed it, still seeking something to occupy my time.r

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,921 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

The New Normal: The Economy Will NEVER Recover - and What to do About That

I’ve had a revelation. Since the “great recession” of 2008 (which appears to still be in process) came trampling through our economic landscape, I have been — like so many others — waiting and hoping for the rebuilding. When will things get back to how they were? Can we soon return to easier times of job security and stable wages? My ship is weary of white caps; I long to navigate calm seas. When can we be there?

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,886 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Who is more stubborn - cats or us?

Fixing Smokey My wife, Mary Ann, is one of the most nurturing individuals you will ever have the pleasure to meet. She is also a passionate advocate for animals. More specifically, one might refer to her as “one of those cat ladies.” I personally would not do that as the result would be that I would spend my evenings in solitary. (Of course, she would spend the night-time with our cats, proving my point. Yet, I think the irony would be wasted on her.)

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,829 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Dear Santa - A List We Could ALL use for the New Year

Dear Santa… There are some things I’d like for the New Year. I know that’s not within your usual bailiwick, and you’re probably pooped from a long sleigh ride, but if you don’t mind… First, please give me good health. My body carries me faithfully from before my birth until my last days. I abuse it and overuse it. I overfeed it and undersleep it. Yet rarely do I appreciate it. Nonetheless, it usually works amazingly well. It doesn't seem to smile as much as I'd like (and it's not quite the size I wanted) but in all modesty, it's pretty cool.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,532 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

The Fantasy of Perfectionism

I am a perfect-o-holic. Sure, I know it’s folly; yet I can picture that magical happy place where all goes according to plan and everything works out as I imagined. I have a plan.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,339 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

The Joy of Being Hit by a Car While Biking

Yesterday was horrible. I was going to ride my bike to my appointments. The bright sunny clear morning sky cooperated as I headed north on E Street. Upon reaching the intersection of Highway 101, I waited for a green light.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,319 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

In one lifetime, what can be accomplished?

If there were neither barriers nor obstacles from birth until death, what could one person truly do in his or her time on Earth?

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,285 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

How Your Emotions Can Affect Long-Term Change

Between the covers of the business book currently on my nightstand, the author devotes few pages to discussing cash flow or spreadsheets, while much ink is dedicated to changing one’s thoughts about money. It is her premise that our income basically determined more by how we think than by the actions we take. Of course, those considerations then produce behaviors, which lead to results. Therefore, if we “dig down” and adjust them, we will do what we do in an altered manner. This provides fresh results improving our business. In effect, change your thoughts; change your financial life.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,255 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Building supportive relationships

In the end, we are remembered via the relationships we leave behind. I stand five-eight, no one’s depiction of “towering giant.” Someone of my stature is supposed to tip the scales at no more than 165 pounds. When I was 39 years old, I weighed 250. More frightening was that at such an early age, I experienced chest pains with regularity. As a father for two young sons, I was a ghost. My career was in free fall; my 12-year marriage was in tatters. (When your marriage counselor suggests divorce lawyers, the odds for regaining your long-lost marital bliss are slim.)

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,252 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Is Discrimination Acceptable? Fat People Need Not Apply

In certain instances, job discrimination is considered acceptable. For example, a Catholic Priest would have a tough road to hoe to get hired as a Rabbi, no matter how extensive his career background. There’s really no reaso NOT to hire him, but it’s just not going to happen, is it? We accept that. So when is discrimination out of line?

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,251 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

You Just Never Know, Do You?

You just never know Early morning routine: Jack, my dog, and I are taking our walk. His leash is in my hand, my headphones are clamped over my ears; I am absorbed in the back-and-forth of my favorite podcast. Jack and I; just doin’ our thing. The neighborhood is residential; no major thoroughfares, so I’m quite cognizant of the large diesel truck that rattles up next to us and slows down. Matching my pace, the driver waves at me. I assume he’s just being friendly so I return the action, figuring he knows me from my decades of living in a smaller community.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,235 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Things Are Not As Bad As We Make Them Out To Be

Complain, complain, complain… My, but we’ve become a grouchy lot, haven’t we? Maybe it’s climate change, or the economy; who knows? It could be the alignment of the stars for all I know, but we’ve got our cranky pants hitched on and we’re wearing ‘em a little too snug around our sensitive parts. Okay, maybe YOU are not cranky, but many of us are, and if you won’t own it, I will.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,221 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Excellent or Perfect?

Did you know there is an International Association of Print House Craftsmen (which has several women members)? In the day of $99 ink jets and 24-hour print shops, these folks still “bleed ink.” What they construct with printing presses and paper is art – pure and simple. If you didn’t know about the IAPHC, don’t feel bad. I didn’t either. One of the perks of my occupation is that I get to meet an expansive array of people from a gamut of occupations; some of which I had no idea even existed.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,212 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

A primer on how to change habits, be more productive, and improve your health

Most of life is done by rote.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,211 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Overdoing the to-do list: A conversation

"Yay! I am finally moving forward on my goals for the year!” “Good for you! So, what are these great plans you have?” “Well, I always make resolutions and then I give up. So, I did some research and I found out that experts say if you’re really serious, you have to write them down. So I got organized. I got all these ‘to-do’ lists, each broken down by priority, category, and deadline. And because we’re more likely to change when we focus on the rewards instead of the work, I’ve listed them in this column, ranking them from one to ten. See?”

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,170 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Who do you think you are?

I have a very unassuming, quick-thinking question. Don’t ponder the answer; just blurt it out. Ready? (Um, that’s not the question.) Here we go: “Who are you?” At first blush, it’s such an innocuous query and our replies come by rote. We provide our name. But, in reality, that’s not accurate, because my name is not WHO I am, it’s WHAT I am called; it’s a label. Okay, take it down a level: Who is — in my case — Scott Marcus?

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,160 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Working hard at relaxing

I’m not dead. At least when I wrote that; I wasn’t. Being the intelligent reader of this column, you put two and two together and surmised that in a flash. Hopefully, as you read this, I am still in the not-dead state of being — and shall remain so for decades yet to come. Having proven therefore that I understand very little about what it’s like to die, you will cut me slack about not really knowing — but safely assuming — that no one’s last words were ever, “I wish I would have spent more time working and less time enjoying life.” We would agree, wouldn’t we?

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,132 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

The problem with deprivation diets

If deprivation was a successful weight loss strategy, obesity would be obliterated. At first blush, sacrificing one’s favorites appears like it would blast away those extra pounds, and it does — but only temporarily. Long-term, it’s unnatural and ineffective. Oh, sure, we can sacrifice our pet foods for brief periods. However, let’s face it, as the joke goes, seven days of bland makes one weak. Without variety, we get bored. Take away our special beloved “fun foods” and we give up, sometimes in horrifying ways.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,039 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

If I Was King of the World

If I were king of the world… Should I be anointed Grand Poobah of all things earthly, I would make significant changes. As a benevolent leader, I wouldn’t be “mean;” but be confident I’d wield my power to appropriately mete out consequences to society’s ne'er-do-wells. My first task would be to create a “discomfort pistol.”

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,023 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Dieting Stupidity in the Quest of Becoming Skinny

Stupidity in the quest of “Skinny” In the sixties, the main diet methodology was a purple collection of mimeographed pages covered with a lengthy list of foods and their calorie counts. Dieters were instructed to eat only 1,000 calories. Not knowing how to manage our eating (or we would not have been fat), we’d scarf down our daily allotments before lunch and were then faced with two most unhappy options: a) starve the remainder of the day, or; b) quit. Either way, the process was unsuccessful.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

1,020 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Is Pizza Really a Vegetable?

A “meme” is a basically a “thought virus.” In the same fashion that influenza infects one person, replicates itself and then spreads to another, eventually infecting large numbers of a population; memes follow the same process through the consciousness of our culture, affecting (or “infecting” if you wish) the way we react or behave.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

981 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

Keeping Track: Using a journal or Diary to Lose Weight

When my children were young, I registered their growth on the hallway doorjamb with pencil marks and knife notches. Next to each was inscribed a date and name. Since those statistics are most likely meaningless to the latter owners, I assume sandpaper and lacquer have removed that chronicle; yet I wonder if they left those markings intact, pondering periodically where went “Daniel, January 28, 1988” or “Brandon, April 7, 1989.”

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

946 views

By Scott Q MarcusRecently published1 topic

And You Thought You Were Healthy...

Why do flags flap on a windy day? Believe it or not, this is just one of many questions science cannot surely resolve. There are others: What is gravity? Why do we dream? How many species inhabit our planet? Why is it that the freeway lane I choose is always the slowest? (Okay, in all fai ess, I really doubt if scientists spend much time on the last question.) Each of us has unanswered questions.

Primary topic: Digestive Wellness

Digestive Wellness

930 views

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