Tag: health

My Perspective On ACNE

As I’m sure anyone who has researched anything with acne, they tell you that it’s more common when you’re a teenager. But even as adults, you can still get them. Ever wonder why that is? Whatever anyone or anything you have heard or read from would tell you, the truth may be a little… different.

CAUSES

As one website has mentioned, greasy foods and hygiene are just a myth when it comes to break-outs. Yes and no. It really depends on the person. The thing is, you know your body better than anyone else. Have you ever tried eating certain types of food and coming to the realization that you break-out more than normal, or not at all? I have this theory that one of the main sources for why people get acne is from what they eat. I’m sure not all greasy foods will affect you, but some surely do. What it really breaks down to is the sodium. I’ve had more than my fair share of what is considered unhealthy food, and after several days to a week, I will start showing pimples. It took me a while to put the pieces together but eventually it really did come down to what I put in my body. And that is just the beginning. When it comes to your hygiene, it’s the lifestyle that you live that can cause more pimples to show up or not. And if that isn’t convincing enough, there’s always you constantly touching your face with your greasy and dirty hands (I’m guilty of this myself).

How To Fix It

If food is your enemy, of course I mean when it comes to this subject of acne, then seriously, start eating more of what mother nature has to offer. I mean fruits and vegetables that grow from this beautiful planet. Unfortunately, I’m still having issues with this myself. I do try to eat them when I can. Like I’ve mentioned before about you knowing your body better than anyone, figure out what works and what doesn’t. Experiment a little. Especially if you get pimples often. If you don’t then there might be something else clouding your judgement (don’t worry, we’ll get into that topic in another post ( šŸ˜‰ wink)). So, with food already been discussed, it’s time to get to your hygiene. In the last paragraph I’ve only briefly mentioned how this causing more pimples. Depending on what you ate growing up, for years it’s going to affect you in some way. It’s the reason why some people naturally have more oily skin than others. And with showering daily or not does affect certain tendencies as well. Then again, who knows? Only you can figure that out for yourself. As long as you’re somewhat healthy, why not experiment with some things like I have. You might learn something.

The Unknown Breakout

Stress. That’s about it. During part of my high school, I have gone through some shit that I hope that others don’t have to deal with or worse. But one of my closest friends just out of nowhere (yes, like Randy Orton with his RKO), decided to roast me for days. Where it came from or why, I have no idea. The only explanation I gave myself was that if anyone made fun of you, it’s because they secretly had a crush on you. But I’ve been told otherwise. So, it is what it is. Anyway, a moments later, I mentally could not take it anymore. The insults, constantly being put-down and made fun of because my vocabulary was not the greatest at the time… it hurt. And because of only what I knew growing up from family and friends that influenced me, I did the only rational thing that I could. Which ended up with me yelling in disagreement with anyone. And unlike what we see in movies and TV shows, where the characters who go through alternating life events, talk their problems out with one another, I never had that happen to me. All I got was just being made fun of and holding that feeling inside. No one to talk to about it, because at least during this time, unless you have a therapist to talk to you can’t express your feelings to anyone because everyone will tell you to stop being a little bitch… and OMG did this spread like a virus. Generations after mine would go through similar situations and no one, I MEAN NO ONE! Would just have the decency to pull each other to the side and talk their problems out with each other. It’s sad. Because the truth is, we are all in a way like the iceberg in Titanic. Or in Hitch. Where 90% of what we’re saying, isn’t coming out of our mouths. And for those of you who still don’t know, it means we keep way too many things to ourselves and don’t talk about our problems and issues with… anyone! Unfortunately, this is part of being human. We are not perfect, and we will never be. But the least we can do is learn. Learn from our mistakes and learn from one another. Because that’s how we grow as a species. All I ask is that we stop for a moment and take the time to be aware of our surroundings.

The Breakdown

I’m sure professionals and anyone else that say they’re pros will tell you the difference between simple and complex carbs. That complex carbs are good for you. Which is true. But! In my perspective, let’s reverse the roles a bit. Natural carbs, as in what we get from fruits and vegetables, are the best carbs we could ask for. To me, I like to look at that as simple carbs. The complexity is when you start mixing ingredients together to form something completely exotic. Ramen noodles, SPAghetti, pizza and so on. Those carbs aren’t necessarily the best for you. Don’t get me wrong, they taste great! But that’s why we should be eating them only so often. Make a treat out of them. Do something that’s out of your comfort zone and that you know benefits you health-wise. Anyone who has pets, like dogs and cats should know better. You don’t feed your animal(s) treats all the time. You reward them when you feel they’ve done something that amazes you and whatnot. And that’s exactly how you should treat yourself. When it comes to being human, we have the will power to easily eat anything and everything we like. Just because it makes us feel good, but in the end, our stomachs aren’t saying the same thing and our bowel movements as well (unless you’re into that sensation). Look, the thing is we need to have better self-control. Otherwise, we’re just proving Wall-E right. That in the future we’re just going to become fat/obese and become mesmerized by modern technology and forget the beauty of what’s really in front of us. But it’s your life, do what makes you happy… and I mean really happy, like deep down and not what you show yourself to be in front of others. Just remember what you’re doing and how it affects others. Not just yourself.

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How I Manage My Time & Money

2 years ago (2020) the world experienced for the first time in this modern age, a pandemic. Right before everything pretty much shut down, I was working 7 days a week at a dead-end job that was burning me out. Sure, the money was good. But whereā€™s my free time? When am I going to be able to spend this money? I couldnā€™t. For the longest, I was miserable because it was work, eat, & sleep, and not a whole lot else. My boss at the time jokingly said to me that I wasnā€™t getting any action. As in no sexy time. No making the bed rock. You get my point. I didnā€™t say it out loud, only thought about it to myself. I said to myself, ā€œNo sh*t. How am I going to meet women when Iā€™m stuck working here every day?ā€ Most of my energy was drained from the job. Yes, the job was easy. But when your boss asks you to do all these extra tasks and work, itā€™s difficult for me to say no. Not just that but the job can be stressful. Especially when things don’t go right (which was more than half the time). Machines would break down or not work properly, and half the time the lead engineers would not be around. That’s where I came in to start learning some of the stuff they did when they’re not around. My boss would rely on me quite a bit to do so much more than everyone else. He knows that I have the capabilities to do that because, and I say this lightly, Iā€™m his best worker. No extra benefits. No incentives. No pay raise, nothing. Just a job well done (well, we did manage to get a dollar pay bump when I threatened to quit). Iā€™m sure he didnā€™t do it on purpose, that is to take advantage of me. I was Dwight Schrute to his Michael Scott. Except he was no Michael Scott. The Assistant to the Manager. Overall, I will say he was a good boss though. Outside of the facts I mentioned. He lacked the charisma and hilariousness of what Michael Scott represented. Still a good boss, nonetheless.

Anyway, the lockdown happened, and I was off work for just over a month. I was collecting a nice treat from unemployment. To me, this was more money than I have ever made. From 7 days a week paycheck to the unemployment paychecks, I was transferring a good chunk of that to my savings account. With some proper budgeting, I know what was needed for my expenses and what could be used for leisure. I was still saving quite a bit. For the first time ever, my savings account was at itsā€™ highest, and it continued to grow every week. So, what did I do with the free time that I had? I spent a good amount of it golfing with my nephews & their dad. We went out about once a week, and I forgot how good that felt. Forgetting how incredible of a golfer I was when I had time and practice to work on my golf game. Despite the terrible lasagna incident (loss of muscle mass and weight), I was still driving my tee shots pretty far. Money was definitely not an issue, and this was coming from someone who probably made about 50K a year. Thatā€™s it. Thatā€™s all it was, and need I remind you this was including overtime work, otherwise it would be much lower.

The point Iā€™m making is with time and money, I could do so much greatness that will make an impact on not just my life, but those that are close to me. Not having the luxury of a wealthy life, I could only imagine what difference I could make with more time, more money. And without even realizing it, Iā€™ve always been giving back to the community. The donations may be small, but itā€™s still something. Like rounding up my bill when Iā€™m ordering food from a restaurant for a good cause or donating my clothes to Salvation Army and Goodwill instead of selling them. Growing up, I used to sleep on the floor. To make a living, my parents had to put in a lot of work to feed us kids. We didn’t have much, but we did make the most of what we had. So, if that tells you anything about my childhood, just know that Iā€™m okay with the rough start to this incredible journey of my life. A journey with a story I hope to someday tell my future kids, and grandchildren. Something I never received myself considering I never met my grandparents. And being that I was transitioning from one language to another at a young age, I never got to hear the stories of my parents and what their life was like. How they met, the struggles in their everyday lives, coming to America and having meā€¦ the journey.

Outside from what this pandemic has brought us, it has gotten me to slow down my life a little bit to embrace it more. With a little soul searching, I am so grateful for this life I have and most of the people that are in it. Although, there are some things about me that is considered bad, I finally picked up on some of it and am working on bettering myself. Every day I try to be a better person. Every day I try to inspire hope for others. Helping others out towards their goals and dreams is a part of mine as well. I have a passion for life. All it took was a little perspective. Let’s change the world for the better!

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500 Calorie Meal In A Hurry

If you’re a fan of Panera Bread, then this article might be for you. Or if you’re just a food person in general. Either way, welcome all! I wanted to broaden my horizons with my cooking skills. I like to think of The Sims as a guide to help me in real life. Like the food that my Sim creates can look very appealing. You really can learn something from video games. Just need to put in the hours.

On To The Meal!

A pastrami sandwich that is simple, yet a little salty, but has a refreshing taste. And if you’re like me, top it off with a dill spear pickle. I’ve had plenty of sandwiches and burgers that dry out my mouth in which the pickle helps wash that down. This isn’t one of those. Maybe it’s got something to do with the spinach and avocado but either way, the pickle was still a delight to have. Toasted buns always seem to give sandwiches that extra kick for looks and style. Although, I may have toasted it too long because when I actually ate the bread, it cut the roof inside my mouth which is still a little tender at the moment. Or maybe I just don’t know how to eat a sandwich.

I wanted to make a healthy meal, despite the high sodium count from the lunch meats and of course, the bacon. But it’s bacon, so you have to. I used salami and pastrami considering when I was grocery shopping, those were on sale at the time(trying to stay on a budget). But you can use just about any sort of meats you desire. Or keep it vegetarian. The options are almost unlimited. And I was able to make this meal around 500 calories only.

Smoothie Time

Just the perfect beverage to compliment a meal on a nice hot day. Cool and healthy. The smoothie that I decided to go with had both fruits and vegetables in it. To keep things simple and easy, I used frozen fruits mostly. Liquid choice, I went with orange juice. You could also use milk, water or any other beverage you like.

So, something that is difficult for me to say. I have a little bit of an eating disorder, so getting the necessary calories I need daily is hard to come by. One method that helps me is being able to drink my calories. The good thing about this recipe is that it comes with plenty of vitamins and nutrients like potassium, calcium and vitamin C. With the orange juice, this only comes out to roughly 200 calories.

Ingredients/Recipe

Total Time: 10-15 minutes

Sandwich: spinach(1oz), avocado(1oz), provolone cheese(1 slice), salami(4-5 slices), pastrami(4-5 slices), bacon(2 slices), and 2 rye bread. Whether or not you decide to toast the bread, I use a little bit of olive oil to help give it that nice golden brown color.

Smoothie: spinach(1-2oz), avocado(1-2oz), frozen fruits(1 cup), and a cup of orange juice. Very quick and easy to make. I pack the spinach in first followed by the liquid and then top it off with the rest and blend to your liking. No need for ice since the fruits are frozen.

And there you have it! A delicious simple meal and drink at roughly 700 calories. Tune in for more updates to see what else I have prepared from my kitchen. I’m David… until next time.(I still haven’t figured out a sign-off catch phrase)

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