Tag: health

Finding The Perfect Bra

by rhealitycheck

Was not something I would have considered in the realm of possibilities before today. In fact I had a lot of doubts going in to the store but a couple friends had advised me to go so I figured on a lark it couldn’t hurt and I was desperately in need of new bras. Part of my hesitation to go comes from the fact that I have a long and rather unfortunate history with bra shopping. Ever since I began developing breasts I have had a love-hate (ok, it’s really been more of a hate-hate) relationship with them.

I remember almost to the day when my mother first told me we had to go buy a bra. She and a few other adults had begun to notice that it really wasn’t ok for me to be running around playing with the boys without a bra anymore. That was possibly the worst day of my life. I simply did not want to go, I thought it was horribly embarrassing and for the most part I just wanted them (my “not-breasts”) to go away. Then again I was only 10 at the time and when we got to the department store to “size me” it appeared that the closest thing to my size was a 32B. Yes, I developed rather early and a little too much for my taste. I know most girls would kill to have a rack like that when they are just starting to approach puberty, all they want is to be “real women” and I’m sure many of my friends were jealous but that was not me. I was a kid already trying to find her way caught between two cultures and now having the added burden of having even my body shape looking completely different from my peers was not one I was ready to face. I mean I already looked different being that shrimpy Indian kid with the small bones who looked a few years younger than everyone else and whose family had tea time and all sorts of un-American traditions. I mean god forbid you speak to my mother when she got up on her British English high horse, I’d rather die than have anyone else hear that or when she would decide to start spouting German because languages come so easily to her. So imagine my dread when I now have these things attached to my body that don’t even feel like they’re mine and all they do is differentiate me a little more from everyone else.

By the time I was about 16 I was wearing a 32D and they were still a little too loose around the band and wee bit tight in the cups but honestly it’s a bit hard to go down in band size when the cups need to go up too and you’re just that small a person. By this time it had been years going to get new bras and everytime I discovered that they were getting bigger was just massively disheartening, not to mention disconcerting. Especially because nothing ever fit right and all I wanted was to be normal and have normal sized breasts, just like everyone else. I mean part of the problem is never having a mother who understands why I hated bra shopping so much. She was lucky, she had perfect 32 or was it 34B’s up until she got pregnant with me, but she was also one of those women that was like, oh it would be so nice to go up maybe a cup-size. It’s so easy to say that when bra shopping isn’t like going to Guam because you can’t find anything that fits you, let alone anything that might have actual support and not look like a “granny bra”. I think she was always trying to convince me that having large breasts is a great thing but it was coming (to me) from a completely backwards position. I mean always dreaming of large breasts and then trying to convince someone who has always had them that they’re great generally does not tend to work because you’re coming at it from two different angles. On the other hand almost 2 years ago I went off to India to train for my job and made a very good friend. And for the first time in my life met someone with the same body issues that I had, except she’s a little better adjusted to it than I am but we have nearly identical body-types, the variation is minimal. So needless to say meeting her helped change my perspective forever and also gave me a badly needed friend to talk to about such things. Now nearly 10 years later, I realize there is no such thing as “normal”. And I am so grateful to my friend for convincing me to go get fit for a bra and make sure that you get alterations done if necessary. It is the single best piece of advice I have ever received in my life. Everything else I can figure out on my own, this is the one place where I needed someone to guide me and I luckily found someone to point me in the right direction.

Now strange as this sounds the thought of letting some stranger see me half-naked… or well with my top off just sounded a little upsetting. The reason I say it’s strange is that for anyone who knows me well knows that I get a full body wax every 3-4 weeks and well that requires a whole lot of naked around what could be a complete stranger. I started that about a year ago but the women I have gone to see have been consistently the same person in each state. There was one woman I went to in CT who was ok and my waxer here in Chicago is amazing, I just love Jane. She runs her own little shop called <a href=”http://www.alittlespa.com”>A Little Spa</a>. And I really started waxing by accident (it’s a long story) and this is just different. I think it is partially that I have simply been so uncomfortable with my body for so long it just seems like an invasion of personal space and that most of my body issues come from being uncomfortable with the way my breasts look/feel/are.

At any rate I just had a fitting at INTIMACY OF CHICAGO • Intimacy on Michigan • 900 N Michigan Avenue • Chicago, Illinois • 312.337.8366 with Rochelle (who I recommend to everyone). And it was possibly the best thing that could ever happen to me. I never believed that a bra could change your life but if you ask me right now I would say, “A bra can change your life”. It has only been one day and I feel 10lbs lighter, I look a million times better and my clothes have begun to fit me correctly! The best part is they don’t use measuring tapes they have a holistic method to picking out a bra and Rochelle is simply amazing. She took one look at what I was wearing and said, “Hmm the band looks right but… oh yeah we need to go up in the cups” and came back with absolutely the perfect size on the first try! The first try! So now I wear a 34H and I feel incredible and I even got a couple of really cute but yet super supportive bras out of the whole ordeal. And yes I spent a decent bit of money on it but let’s face it bras are expensive (especially if you aren’t in the A-C cup range because they aren’t as common). Honestly I believe that finding the right bra can change your life, it gives you more self confidence and it feels better. It is absolutely incredible to wear a bra that actually feels good. It’s actually a first for me and I don’t care how much money I have to spend, I’m never going back.

Starbucks Not-so Perfect Oatmeal

by rhealitycheck

So I was late-ish to work this morning and starving. Normally I’m not terribly hungry so I’ll just pick up a croissant and a latte and be done with it but this morning I thought I’d like a little oatmeal (well, what I actually wanted was grits but the cafeteria at work only takes cash and I don’t have any on me today). So I stopped off at Starbucks for my morning latte (yes I am one of those people, no I am not proud of it) and decided to get the “perfect oatmeal”. Now the photos would have you believe that this is homemade oatmeal, reminiscent of something my mother or aunt would make. But no, this is that lousy insta-oatmeal crap. I mean I could have just picked up a box at the grocery store (probably for the same amount of money) and had a stash here at work. Now why would I want to pay good money for something awful like that?! I mean I’m willing to pay for the over-priced croissants and coffee simply for the convenience (there are 3 Starbucks within 2 blocks from my office, you really can’t find any other food faster). BUT I do not believe in paying for food that I don’t like. Now that, that is just horrifying. Especially when they try to market it as the healthy alternative. You know it would be a lot healthier if you made it the old fashioned way and not with the instant oatmeal packets.

Losing Weight in All the Wrong Places

by rhealitycheck

So I don’t know if this happens to anyone else. But I have this huge problem that whenever I begin exercising regularly and actually losing weight the first place it goes from is right under my bust, which just means that my bras, which I already have a hard enough time finding, don’t fit properly anymore. Not only that, it’s irritating because my bras don’t fit right and then my shirts don’t fit right and honestly, I don’t need any more cleavage. In fact, I’d like to *lose* all that extra cleavage. But no, for the life of me losing some a few inches around the bust is nearly impossible and the stomach takes a nice long time to start to tighten up but just above my waist right under my bust I lose weight like it’s my job. Wtf?! Some days, I just wish you could pick which area you were going to lose weight from. That would be stellar. I think I need to go to a specialty bra store. I should just suck it up because this is massively uncomfortable. Then again, I’d have to find a specialty bra store which is a task in and of itself. Who has time for this crap?

Becoming a Biker

by rhealitycheck

So I think I can officially say that I am well on my way to becoming and avid bicyclist. I originally started this biking kick to just start living a healthier lifestyle and I think I can officially say that I’m starting to accomplish this. Being in grad school just kills my motivation to go to the gym or try to fit extra things into my day. I guess partly it’s just that between work and school it’s hard to justify spending hours at the gym when I could be studying which is what I need to spend time doing considering I am paying lots of money for this education.

But what I have discovered is that if I bike places then I take care of the being active and staying fit/healthy while actually getting to my destination. It’s like the greatest thing I’ve ever managed to discover. Not to mention biking around Chicago is just great because the bike paths just off Lake Shore drive are just so pretty and nice to bike on. I have to say sometimes the wind can get a little obnoxious, especially when it’s a head wind but I think I just need to get more used to it. It’s been a little sad for me because I don’t really have the time to read the newspaper as I’m used to but I’m trying to work a way out for me to get up earlier so I can get down to work a little earlier so I can grab breakfast and read the newspaper for half an hour before I actually start working. That way I’ll get my news and I’ll be doing something healthy! At any rate, I think my bike is one of the best investments I’ve made and I absolutely love it. I’m so glad I’ve stuck it out and haven’t quit, which I definitely felt like doing because the ride to/from work is a touch long for a novice cyclist who isn’t used to that much exercise.

France Takes on Anorexia

by rhealitycheck

You know I have always had an affinity for France that I really can’t explain, I have just come to accept that I am a francophile and if I had my way I’d live in a small town on the southern coast of France doing absolutely nothing. But that’s not really the point of this post. Granted I’m a little late keeping up with this news but I am so pleased to write that France has actually passed legislation banning “death messages” to young women who starve themselves to be thin. I find this to be particularly progressive and encouraging because Paris is the seat to so many prominent fashion houses. I just love it, I love that they value the health and well-being of their people enough to do something this progressive. Yay! Click here to read the BBC article on it I’m so excited that they are promoting healthy body image instead of starvation on the hopes that you may become a model. Seriously people, looking like a coat hanger is way over-rated.

Junk Food Rejection

by rhealitycheck

So lately, I’ve gone on a bit of a health kick. Or maybe not a health kick per se but I have recently discovered many new active pursuits (such as biking and soccer) that in turn keep me healthier.

Now while I haven’t been actively seeking to revolutionize my habits/lifestyle apparently some of these little changes have had a much larger effect. So I made a couple of small changes, one being that I eat a smoothie with a little granola in it for breakfast every week day and it truly has given me more energy during the day/work week, it’s pretty fantastic actually. Another is that I’ve started biking to work a couple times a week (which is approx 6.5 miles and while that may not be much for an avid biker, it is quite a bit for someone that just took up cycling 2ish weeks ago).

Something interesting I’ve noticed since I started biking is that on the days that I play soccer or bike to work my body craves very healthy food that is generally high in protein. It’s just a natural reaction and kindof cool in its own little way. Now the reason for this post is that this weekend I decided that I deserved a break from being uber healthy and I was going to go crazy and get some junk food. I didn’t think it was all that crazy to think that one meal of Burger King would be all that bad, but after about an hour I felt the worst I have in ages. It was like my body was rejecting all the fried and awful food I had just managed to stuff into it.

I have never reacted that badly before and I’m fairly certain it wasn’t food poisoning because it just felt very different from anything else I’ve run across. I suppose I can only be thankful that my body is just naturally smarter than I am. Clearly, no more junk for me, I just can’t handle feeling as lousy as I felt last night and this morning over indulging myself in a little junk food. It’s really not tasty enough to qualify that kind of pain.

Cylcing to Work or Reading the Newspaper?

by rhealitycheck

This is my dilemma. I really don’t have time enough in the day for both activities but I took my first bike ride down to work today and I was a little slower than public transportation but I also didn’t have to wait for a bus or train, which was awesome. I’m a little precocious on my bike since I haven’t ridden in ages and well let’s face it driving around in downtown feels like someone’s going to run you over all the time. Thankfully that is only approx 5-10mins (depending on lights and cars trying to take me out) out of my 40ish-min trip down. Actually it may be faster than public transportation come to think of it… I think it’s just the taking out the bike, locking it up that takes up all the rest of the time to make it relatively equal.

Ok I got a little side-tracked there. But here is the real dilemma. I subscribe to “The Times” as the good little informed person that I’m supposed to be (at least so says my uncle who is ridiculously biased and been a subscriber of the Times since the 60’s). Now I haven’t always been a fan of the newspaper. In fact, I don’t particularly care for any other newspapers but after subscribing for a little over a year when I was living in CT I got quite attached to reading the Times every week day and at least a good bit on the weekends. Now that I’ve moved to Chicago I have found some problems with this. For one, I don’t have time to read on the weekends because I’m in grad school and my weekends are devoted to a little soccer and a lot of studying and maybe a couple of hours to see some friends if I’m lucky. Just last weekend I decided I wanted to make a healthy change in my life. With my crazy schedule it’s difficult for me to find the time to work out during the week. But then I thought to myself if I get a bike and just bike around town (and luckily Chicago is a hugely bike-friendly city, yay!) then I’ll get my exercise and cut out the irritating waiting for public transportation deal and it’ll be perfect! While I was thinking about this I totally forgot that I will also be cutting out my down-time of reading the paper while on the bus/train. So now I don’t know what to do. I know that I definitely don’t have time to read the paper during the week should I bike to work. But I’m hesitant to give up my subscription altogether.

I suppose I may try suspending my subscription for a little while and see how I feel about that. Oh how I wish there were more hours in the day. Maybe if I just leave early for work and get to work early I can take half an hour to unwind with the paper afte

Coffee is Healthy?

by rhealitycheck

Really, who knew? I was just reading this morning about how coffee can be good for you, in numerous ways. Now I quit drinking coffee several years ago… it was a bit unintentional but I discovered chai. And while I know that there is a drastic difference between (what I call) “coffee-house chai” and real chai, I still tend to prefer either of those to any kind of coffee.  Also to be honest, while I did tolerate regular american coffee for several years I have always preferred the espresso kind. I guess my favorite coffee would have to be a latte. Come to think of it I remember hearing something about how a smidgen of espresso a day is good for you, sortof like that one glass of red wine a day thing. Perhaps I should pick up drinking coffee again. Just something to think about.