Single in Saint Louis: Health and wellness

Good Advice that has been given to me about healthinessish stuff

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:34:36 GMT

I love skin care, but your skin doesn't look good unless your whole body feels good. Skin is the most telling part of our whole body. So, here is some healthy 'at home' stuff you can do to keep healthy and quite frankly, get in good glowing bride shape, even if you are not a bride.

The List

First, Keep a positive attitude. A positive attitude, no matter how hard it is to keep, will get you through and help your glow.

Vitamin C is awesome for your skin and immune system. Find a face wash with vitamin C or drink lots of tropical fruit juices. Both have the effect of improving your complexion. Especially Mangos. Mangos are like God's gift to skin.

Take some time to pray or meditate everyday. Start by allocating a ten minute period and then eventually let it become longer. Do not do anything during this time other than pray or meditate. No reading bibles, no devotionals, no anything. Your job is to just sit there. That is all you need to do during that time. It will eventually kill any anxiety and jitters and give you time to work through your thinking and let stuff go to God. If you want to stimulate your olfactory system, get some essential oils or a calming candle and light it during this time. If you don't feel like praying, meditate while smiling and think of someone you love for ten minutes. The world today is too busy not to sit and take a break from it every once in awhile. Trust me. I know this is hard to do. Especially when the laundry list of things to do comes rushing through your mind while you sit. This can be fixed by making sitting still for ten minutes as 'to do'. Then you are working with the list. You give kids time out. Give yourself one.

Eat more organic fruits and veggies. The pesticides in stuff are hard on your immune system. When your skin is sallow it is because the immune system is having to fight off disease instead of doing maintenance work. It's why you look droopy when you have a cold. A diet rich in fruits and veggies with no more than 4 oz of red meat per meal (excluding fish and chicken, you can have a little more fish and chicken) will boost your immunity and improve your skin! Don't skrimp on food. Eat, but eat good things.

Stay clear of fast food of any kind. This includes stuff that seems healthy. For example if you look at Panera Bread's nutritional information, a lot of the sandwiches there have just as many calories as a greasy hamburger. The oriental salad at Applebees is one of the worst things on the menu as far as fat and calories. BE choosy. Look at labels. Know what you are putting into your body.

Speaking of food. It is a good idea to keep to fiber and fruit in the mornings until noon. Eat as much fiber and fruit that you want until noon. This will keep your body cleansed and give your metabolism a chance to get going on the "easy" foods before you beat it down with the more difficult meats and carbs. It is like letting your metabolism wake up slowly instead of throwing a bucket of water over its head and screaming in it's ear to wake up.

Drink water. Drink balancing teas like green tea, chamomile, and Dong quai Tonic.

Brush your teeth at the start and end of the day and maybe one more time mid afternoon for a healthy happy smile.

See to it that you are exercising at least three times a week, even if it is just a thirty minute walk in the park. Let yourself sweat. Sweat is very purifying and gets toxins out of the body.

For your hair, Once a week, puree some cucumbers and mix it with some 100% aloe and apply it generously to your whole head of hair from roots to ends. Wrap it in a towel and wear it overnight. (Leave the towel on or your pillows will get aloey. 'Ok, maybe I am the only one who needs to hear that one.') The next morning shower and wash it out with shampoo. You probably do not need a conditioner that day. It will repair moisture in your hair and make it super soft and pretty! Plus aloe and cukes smells awesome.

We Italian Brides have been taking Lavendar baths for centuries. Lavendar is a relaxing calming scent and you can add the essential oil to your tub (I like it with Eucalyptus too) and sprinkle rose petals or put in milk bath. It will relax you and make your skin soft and moist. When you get out use a lotion with no alcohol content in it. Any addititve that has the letters "ol" at the end is likely an alcohol. Alcohol will dry out your skin. Then wrap yourself in a big fluffy robe because that is by far the most important part of this whole thing. The big fluffy robe makes you feel loved and comforted!

If you are worried about wrinkles use Honey. Honey stimulates collagen production and is like natural botox. Spread it on your face and let it absorb for 20 or 30 minutes. If you want to tighten your pores at the same time, mix it with an egg white. *Be careful not to lick it. No one needs salmonella.* You can also use olive oil to improve skin. Just spread it on your skin and leave it on for a few minutes like a face mask.

Olive oil can also be used to strengthen your nails. Soak your nails in olive oil for about 20 minutes and over time they will get stronger.

Adding Bath Salts to a bath will fight bloating and will help fight infections.

For sinus problems buy a neti pot. Use it as it says on the package. These things rock. They really help allergies and sinuses and help breathing.

AND LAST BECAUSE I COULD GO ON ALL DAY WITH THIS STUFF BECAUSE I LOVE AND SWEAR BY IT,

Get plenty of rest. Take time outs during the day. Sleep all through the night, preferably without medication if you can. Steer clear of pain killers and pills that throw off your system, and be very careful about mixing any supplements you have acquired. Some of those in certain combinations may not work the way they are supposed to. In addition to a multivitamin, try taking a different supplement each day, not all of them at once.

Post Workout breakdown.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:18:42 GMT

I cannot move from the couch. I have doused myself with icyhot and am now living on a heating pad. All because two days ago I decided to do the unthinkable, work out. Yes, I worked out. Unfortunately, I am not in the shape I used to be. One year ago I could have run a marathon. Today, after a 3 sets of 25 crunches I am in pain. This is ridiculous. Working out should be outlawed.

Deep Tissue Massage

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:55:06 GMT

About 3:00 this afternoon I decided I needed a massage. My back was aching and I couldn’t see straight. The work day had taken it’s toll. The new office design is a nice little feng shui, and lucky for me most of the negative energies in my office can safely bypass my desk to fly out the window. However, today, I watched a few too many fly by, and was feeling worn out. This summer finally has caught up with me. My head is throbbing, my thoughts a mile a minute, and I needed a moment of zen. I called the day spa with a quick prayer they could get me in on short notice. Sure enough, 7:30 appt. I was like, so there. As soon as 6:30 rolled around I headed out the back door, peaking my head in to let my boss know he needs to come into my office and see the new decor. I was out. The drive to the massage all I could think about was Caribbean waves crashing onto the shore. My happy place. I rushed into the building, paid my money and sat for a good 45 minutes waiting in the nice oasis of the day spa. Then, my new masseuse, came to call me back in. Her name is Lorien Self. Everyone should go to her. She rocks. I got my much needed massage. With every pressure and pain on every knot in my upper back (believe me there were a lot) I remembered a horrible happening of the summer. One knot for the bar exam...release, two knots for the ex...release, three knots for the 8 million trips home....release, for my grandfather...release, for graduation...release. I remember a year ago, laying on a beach in Cancun with Ex and getting a massage. For some reason, life seemed easier then. Only now, I have way way less stress. What has happened? I think hard as she presses into my back, and I wince in pain as she hits a knot in my upper shoulder. Then, I realize the painful truth, this has truly been the worst summer of my life...there is one reason why, I didn’t get a summer. What time was not spent flying back and forth to Oklahoma, was spent studying for the bar exam, or dealing with relationship issues. Short of seeing my family, who I love dearly, this summer has quite frankly sucked. Everyone says that the summer you take the bar exam is the worst ever, only I don’t feel like the bar exam was the worst part (although I do hope I do not have to take it again). I can honestly say that maintaining my relationships with people who are important to me has worn me out far more than any of the horrible events of the summer. Interestingly, that is something I completely enjoy. Good things can stress you out too. It is the harsh reality of life. Positive stress and negative stress. It is just as stressful to win a million dollars than to have no money. To be living the perfect life you have always wanted than to live the life you never dreamed would happen to you. Then the even sadder part. You aren’t allowed in our world to vent about Positive Stress. If you are walking down the street and say, “Man! I am so stressed out! I just won the lottery, got a massage, lost nine pounds, and went shopping only to find that everything in my favorite store was 75% off!” I doubt anyone would have even an inkling of sympathy. I wouldn’t. But the hard truth is, all that stuff is really stressful too. It takes its toll after awhile. That is when I realize, on that soft, warm happy massage table, that my summer has officially been bipolar. EIther things have been really really good, or really really bad. There has been absolutely no middle ground. All of it, just stress. Left and right, up and down, north and south, east and west, side to side stress. I am sure in the whole scheme of life, things will even out. There was likely just as much good as bad, but the fluctuation between the two has just become a pain in my back. And that, my entire summer, good and bad, was the last knot....release....mostly...try again...add pressure....dig into the knot...try again...released.