Fingertip Amputation: Did you know?

I bet there are a few things you do not know about fingertip amputations. Rejoice - I am here again to enlighten you. 

Invisalign: The End of the Journey

I finally have my retainers, which means that I have reached the final destination of my Invisalign journey. And I have to tell you - I  am relieved that it is all done and over with. Compared to how excitingly I was raving about my Lasik experience, I am not happy with the Invisalign experience at all. 

The Challenge of Invisalign: What no one tells you

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, getting Invisalign is the end of your life as you know it. I am starting to think Invisalign is just as challenging as regular braces. Here is what my experiences have been so far.

Have You Ever Been to NYC?

Happy Thanksgiving! This year I am thankful that I live in LA. Russians have a saying - everything becomes known in comparison (everything is relative). The truth is I was so used to my perfect life that I was completely oblivious to how good I actually had it. I have always deemed Los Angeles to be my dream city and always enjoyed living here. However, I did not fully realize how much I love it, until I visited New York.

Invisalign: Let the Journey Begin

The main reason that I got my wisdom teeth extracted a couple of months ago is in preparation for Invisalign. I would hate for them to start causing problems when my smile is all perfect. ;) 

Fat Head

I watched a movie today that fascinated me so much that I want to tell  the whole world about it.

Are you a LASIK candidate?

Although I have not met many people that have had LASIK done, I do know a few that were told that they are not a candidate for the procedure. Either they have to wait to qualify, or the damage to their eye is not correctable.

How to achieve discipline and moderation

As an INTJ, I am intrinsically motivated.  I do not look for help from outside world to make me want to do things. I have an innate desire to constantly grow. I draw motivation directly from my goals and my vision of myself. I synthesize a strategy and make lists.   

However, since there are three extroverts to one introvert, most of us do require a social aspect to motivation and to keep disciplined. According to this article, "temptation bundling" is the answer to our prayers. 

http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/11/stop-procrastinating/

DENTAL GRAFT DIARIES: The Story

As you may already know, I enjoy the benefits of retail therapy.  Shopping is what I do best.  I shop often.  I shop many venues.  I shop for many different things.  So I bought me some new gums...

Science of Sexy

I came across this TIME article during one of my internet "research" endeavors.  You have got to read this. Although I am utterly convinced that sexiness is the essence of a woman (not what you say or do, I found this "science" very convincing. I guess I will continue to believe.

http://time.com/2859728/science-of-sexy-5-things-that-can-make-you-irresistible/

And another piece of science that is absolutely brilliant.  Confirms all of my prior beliefs.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/humor-sapiens/201105/laughing-all-the-way-the-bedroom

The Scientific 7-Minute Workout

Why, oh why have I been putting in hours on the treadmill?

Source:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The Evolution of Wooing, 1993 - 2013

1993: The world is a cold, heartless place, where, according to the letters, you actually meet and are rejected by chaps in person.

1994: A thing appears on your new office computer that says: “Meet me for coffee.” That thing is an e-mail, and the poetry of its four words—the magic of them!—opens your life forever to the wonder of words on a screen.

1995: Match.com goes live, and you bravely create a profile saying you are looking for a nice guy “with a sense of humor” and receive 1,270 responses. In the first hour.

1996: Best to gloss over the time you visited that chat room.

1997: Wi-Fi is invented, making it possible for you to meet your future second husband at Starbucks in 2009.

1998: You learn the hard way that the more you google a fella you “might be interested in,” the creepier you feel, and the creepier you feel, the pickier you grow, until finally, with the exception of JFK Jr., there’s not a man remaining in America you’d consider going out with.

2001: Auntie Eeee and her sister, Cande, solve the online-dating “cad, wanker, and brainless nincompoop” issue by launching GreatBoyfriends.com, where women recommend their ex-boyfriends to one another. Oprah says it’s the best idea she’s ever heard.

2003: You are courted on MySpace by the lead singer of a band. It is tender. It is sweet. When you fly to see him perform at a Fort Wayne, Indiana, softball field, you discover he’s 15.

2004: Mark Zuckerberg est arrivé. You really gotta love the little bastard.

2005: You excitedly upload to YouTube a video of you salsa dancing with a semifamous reality-show contestant, but since it’s an interminable four minutes long, nobody watches it.

2006: As Twitter debuts, eventually dooming dictators around the world, you stage a coup d’état of someone’s heart with these three simple steps: (1) You follow the attractive person on Twitter; (2) you retweet two or three of the attractive person’s tweets; and (3) you reply to one of his/her tweets with a lusty zinger. (How not to flirt: See Wikipedia, Anthony Weiner.)

2007: You squeal in the grip of the greatest ecstasy woman has ever known when you turn on your first iPhone.

2010: You discover that a tryst with your boyfriend is twice as hot when you’re Skyping with him while on a business trip as when he’s in your actual bed.

2013: Words are dead. You’re now back in the Lascaux Cave, communicating with images via Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat—and your love life is totally happening on Tinder.

Source: 

Ask E. Jean.  http://www.elle.com/life-love/ask-e-jean/e-jean-20-years-dating

Hot Wheels

For 2012, the most stolen vehicles in the nation were (total thefts in parentheses):

1. Honda Accord (58,596)

2. Honda Civic (47,037)

3. Ford Pickup (Full Size) (26,770)

4. Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size) (23,745)

5. Toyota Camry (16,251)

6. Dodge Caravan (11,799)

7. Dodge Pickup (Full Size) (11,755)

8. Acura Integra (9,555)

9. Nissan Altima (9,169)

10. Nissan Maxima (6,947)

Source: 

National Insurance Crime Bureau https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/top-vehicles-stolen-by-state

Is white a color?

If your favorite color is white,

• You are neat and immaculate in your appearance, in the presentation of your home and in your car, almost to the point of being fanatical.
• You have impeccable standards of cleanliness and hygiene and you expect others to adhere to your high standards.
• You are far-sighted, with a positive and optimistic nature.
• You are well-balanced, sensible, discreet and wise.
• You are cautious, practical and careful with money.
• You think carefully before acting - you are definitely not prone to impulsive behavior.
• You tend to have a great deal of self control.
• You are confident, poised and self-assured when at your most positive, but can also be very choosy and fastidious when the mood strikes.
• You can be very critical of yourself and others (in your need for perfection) - but you try to be fair and impartial as well.
• You are self-sufficient and a loner - you don't want or need help from anyone. However, you may also experience times of loneliness because of this trait.
• You may be wishing to create simplicity in your life - perhaps a wish to re-create your childhood, lost youth and happier times in your past life.
• You can be quite sexually prudish with your need for self-control and perfection.
• You hide your flaws from others to give an impression of perfection.
• You may appear to be shy, but you do have strong beliefs about most things and love the opportunity to air those beliefs.
• The challenge for you is to be open-minded and flexible and to communicate your needs and desires.

Strangely, all of the above is true about me.

Source: Empower yourself with color psychology.  http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/personality-color-white.html

Men's Health: January/February 2008

What we gonna right here is go back...way back...back in time...

I do believe that Woman's Health is the best health and fitness magazine for women out there, as I subscribe on and off.  Thus, it is only logical that the Men's Health must be the best health mag for men, right? So yes, I read Men's Health whenever (and wherever) I can get my hands on it.  This time I got my hands on the Jan/Feb 2008 issue.

• About 2% of population is born with an abnormal aortic valve, and this condition is passed on within families (pg 22).
• To prevent rust, apply a light coat of petroleum jelly to screws and lug nuts before tightening.  Removal will be easier, too.  (pg 30)
• When pumping gas, set the trigger speed to slow, not fast.  Fewer vapors will translate into more gas in your tank.  (pg 30)
• Make sure that your 3-day disaster preparedness stash contains food that you will actually want to eat. Also include 3 gallons of water per person (pg 32). 
• 30% of colon cancer cases are not linked to genetics (pg 34). 
• 33% of Americans feel that they are under extreme stress (pg 36)
• Alcohol can temporarily handicap your hearing.  When alcohol content increased to 0.08, hearing threshold decreases by an average of 15 decibels - the equivalent of stuffing cotton in your ears. (pg 36). 
• 53% of average person's worst memories are directly related to a romantic relationship (pg 37).
• 64% of women admit to "sexually teasing" a man (pg 37).
• Men are less likely than women to believe that past arguments predict future problems (pg 37).  Tease on, ladies, tease on.  ;)
• Women who watch X-rated films have better sex (pg 37).
• On page 38 we discover that "eating tomatoes may decrease your risk of colon cancer", "folate keeps your mind young", "black tea reduces the glycemic index of a meal", "amaranth is higher in fiber and protein than rice", and that 18% of all home cooked meals are prepared by men.  
• "Coffee can keep your arteries from clogging.  While analyzing the cholesterol levels of 10 coffee drinkers, Swiss scientists found that LDL particles soak up java's antioxidants.  As a result, the LDL is 20% less likely to become an oxidized form of the bad cholesterol that develops into artery-clogging plaque" (pg 40).  I've always said coffee is the ultimate health food. 
• The best combination for weight loss and building muscles = lifting weights + low-carb diet (pg 42).
• The performance of NFL players decreased by 33% after returning from an ACL injury (pg 44).
• The cost of running shoes does not always translate into their value (pg 44).  
• 17% decrease in muscle power after 4 weeks of inactivity (pg 46).
• Research shows that a hearty breakfast keeps you satisfied for a long time, leading to reduced calorie consumption through the rest of the day (pg 60). 
• A to-do list for making more effective to-do lists: 1. Put it in writing; 2. Make it specific and measurable; 3. Put a date on it; 4. Phrase it positively; 5. Make it realistic; 6. Keep entries short and separate.  (pg 131)
• 53% of men have checked their email standing at a urinal (pg 152). 

The best article in this issue was "Six Women You Need To Meet" (pg 102). 

There are a couple of crazy things they put in in there tho:

• Apparently, making lists sets men apart from women.  Hello! Am I not making one right now?
• You can definitely tell stuff about a woman by her bra.  Hmmm....maybe what she is planning to wear it under? 
• Wear a cardigan. A cardigan on a men?  That's just plain wrong.  Plus, do you really want to channel a Kanye?

Source: Men's Health Magazine.  January/February 2008 www.menshealth.com

RANDOM FACT: Beer vs Coffee

As you may already know, coffee is one of my biggest passions.  I like to collect facts that support my conviction that coffee is a health food.  Here is something I stumbled upon that proves one more time that coffee is good for you.

https://medium.com/what-i-learned-today/f7fcb3b786b1

And below is a super cool graphic summarization of it.  I found it very creative.  How many beers, girl? ;)

RANDOM FACT: Cholesterol

According to American Hearth Association, almost 50% of adults over 20 have high cholesterol.  Shockingly, I am one of them.  Not that I just found that out.  Actually, the last couple of checkups have shown it to be higher than desirable.  But the scariest thing is that it keeps going up.  Particularly, my LDL (bad) level is crazy out of control. So of course, I am concerned – not ready to die yet.  Per my research the risk factors of high cholesterol are:

• Smoking (I never have).
• Obesity (my BMI is under 20).
• Poor diet (until now I thought I was a health freak – I eat very little fat and very little overall).
•  Lack of exercise (I work out 5-6 times a week).
• High blood pressure (last time I checked, my blood pressure was 103/98).
•  Alcohol (I only drink in Vegas ha ha ha).
• Certain medications (I am not on any prescription medication).
• Your age (I am not over 55 yet).
• Family history (No history of heart attacks in our family).

Ultimately, cholesterol deposits in your arteries will result in their hardening and narrowing preventing blood flood to the heart, which eventually will lead to a heart attack and stroke.

As I was under impression that I was already eating super healthy, I purposefully tracked my cholesterol intake for two weeks.  The recommended amount is less than 300 grams a day for a 2,000-calorie diet, if you do not have heart disease.  I did not change the way I was eating during those two weeks, and I was averaging around 250 grams of dietary cholesterol a day.  What da what?  Is it possible that my high cholesterol is hereditary?

Since it does not look like I have any other options for lowering my cholesterol than through diet, I decided to figure out a way to do it.  According to my research, there are three ways that you can affect your levels:

1. Soluble fiber – removes cholesterol from your body (use your imagination).
2. Plant sterols – block body from absorbing cholesterol that you eat.
3. Polyunsaturated fats – directly lower LDL levels.

Basically, I need to eat more whole grains (oatmeal) and beans, fruits and vegetables, omega-3s (fish and nuts), soy (tofu), and olive oil. And cut down on animal protein (even chicken breast has about 45 mgs of cholesterol - see nutritional info below) and dairy. Yup, the future holds a lot of label-reading for me.

Please visit your doctor.  You too could have high cholesterol, even though you may not look like it.

Healthful links:

High Cholesterol

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-cholesterol/DS00178
Dangers of High Cholesterol
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/high-cholesterol-dangers

10 Surprising Facts about Cholesterol

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/24/moh.healthmag.cholesterol.surprises/index.html

Top 10 Cholesterol Fighting Foods

http://www.prevention.com/food/food-remedies/10-best-cholesterol-lowering-foods

15 Surprising Ways to Improve Your Cholesterol

http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/15-ways-improve-your-cholesterol

RANDOM FACT: Body Fat

Yesterday at the gym I had my body fat measured.  I don't know how accurate that thingy is, but I am at 13.7% body fat. It made me curious about what it really means. According to current health guidelines, essential fat for women is 10 to 13%.

Should we focus more on the level of body fat, rather than the number on the scale, in our weight loss struggles?

 

 

Source:

http://txcowboydancer.com/2011/08/27/healthy-body-fat-percentage/what-is-a-healthy-body-fat-percentage-3/

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

OMG! I am a turophile!

I love cottage cheese.  It's one of my favorite foods.  At any giving time I have two or three different kinds in my fridge.  Theoretically, I eat it because it is a great source of lean protein, since I lift practically every day.  In reality, I eat it because I just can't get enough of the creamy goodness. Normally, I strive for portion control and only eat a couple of teaspoons at a time. But on Sunday mornings I allow myself to indulge - cottage cheese is the only thing I eat for breakfast.  And I eat as much I want.

I am not exactly sure why cottage cheese has some kind of stigma attached to it in US.  But I know that you should definitely eat more of it.  It doesn't hurt that some varieties are calcium fortified, which is great for your bones.  In addition, cottage cheese it a very versatile food.  It pairs with so many other flavors and can be used in many dishes. These are a couple of my suggestions.  What's yours like?

• Chocolate syrup
• Raisins 
• Dry cereal
• Orange juice concentrate
• Brown sugar and cinnamon
• Instant coffee
• Pudding
• Fruit
• Jam
• Salsa
• With chopped spinach, thawed
• On peanut-buttered crackers
• As stuffing in crepes
• In pastries
• In a salad 
• In a lasagna (just don’t tell you husband)
• On baked potato
• In dips

Source: 

http://nutritiondata.self.com

January Shape Facts

• Violets are "the flower of modesty because its blooms are hidden in the leaves; violets possess a powdery scent that's popular in perfumes". pg. 16
• 47% of readers spend 2 to 5 hours on social media EVERY DAY! pg. 20
• People who regularly slather themselves with sunscreen aren't more prone to being D-deficient than those who don't.  pg. 41
• The risk of skin cancer jumps 75% when people use tanning beds before age 30.  pg. 44 (Well, I'm screwed!)
• 49% of women who cite crow's feet as their top wrinkle concern. pg. 44
• Overhydrating can take a toll on skin by flashing essential vitamins and electrolytes our of your bloodstream. pg. 44
• When applied to skin, yogurt hydrates and promotes the good bacteria, such as S. epidermidis, while minimizing the bad ones, like pimple-promoting P. acnes. pg. 46
• Women think about their wrinkles 5 times a day on average. pg. 46
• Only 6.3% of women lift weights. pg. 59
• 12% of gym-goers enroll in January. pg. 60
• Women who cycle through their weight loss are just as likely to shed pounds later as those starting a program for the first time. pg. 79
• 33% of women admit to eating in front of the tube. pg. 80
• Those who turn over food packages to look at the nutrition labels weigh an average 9 pounds less than those who don't. pg. 80  (Don't just look at it - read it, people!)
• Working out first thing in the morning may help control your appetite.  pg. 80 (I second that.)
• People who down four or more cups of green tea a day are 16% less likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than nondrinkers are.  pg. 85
• 57% of Americans wash their hands for only 5 to 15 seconds. pg. 97
• One  study found  that a light box (that replicates the sun's beams, sans the harmful UV rays) treatment boosts both mood and cognitive performance; another showed it can improve motor skills.  pg. 98
• Obesity epidemic is spreading... More than half of all dogs and cats in the US are now overweight - compared with 3/4 of humans. pg. 98
• Acupuncture significantly relieves discomfort from osteoarthritis, migraines, and chronic back, neck, and shoulder aches.  pg. 100
• Caffeine ups your energy level and athletic performance. pg 101
• Each year, about 22,280 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer; about 15,500 will die of it. pg. 102
• The average desk is host to 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. pg. 108
• 62% of office workers regularly eat their lunch at their desk. pg. 108
• Visual clutter limits your brain's ability to process information, which makes it harder to focus. pg. 108
• Employees who decorate their work space are happier, healthier, and 32% more productive when those who don't. pg.108
• Excess abdominal fat has been linked to higher triglycerids, pre-diabetes, and inflammation. pg. 114
• 68% of men and 59% of women believe in love at first sight. pg. 116
• Not getting enough sleep has been linked to a number of health problems, including weight gain, decreased immune function, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. pg. 140
• 34% of women make or receive at least 11 phone calls and send or receive more than 11 text messages daily. pg. 140
• Using an iPad for two hours before bed suppressed levels of melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles, by 22%. pg.140
• 9% of pet owners share their bed with them.  pg. 141
• Nearly half of Americans are oblivious about their credit score. pg. 162
• 80% of credit reports contain mistakes.  pg. 162
• The best time to shop for electronics is in March. pg. 165
• Katy Perry has had seven number-one hits in the last two years. pg. 176

Source: Shape magazine, January/February 2013

http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/killer-5-minute-abs-workout