Category General

Yes, I Really DO Eat Clean Year-Round

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A couple of my fitness friends have recently noticed that I continue to eat clean, almost as if I was in prep for a contest. One of those friends IS in prep, so I guess she expected a stark contrast between what she has been consuming and what I eat on a regular basis. Basically, I continue to eat seven meals each day, and my protein intake these days is around 150-170 grams per day. I don’t pig out on forbidden foods, but I am not fanatical about eliminating all fat and carbs. On low carb days, I allow myself a bit of healthy fat, usually in the form of avocado, olive oil, or nuts. I have two high carb days, and I make sure that my weekly cheat meal falls on one of those days. Every once in a while (perhaps every three weeks) I may indulge in something like a nonfat mocha from Starbucks, a slice of gluten free zucchini bread, or a bowl of chicken pho.

Out of the 49 meals I eat each week, only ONE meal is a dirty cheat meal. Because I follow clean eating the majority of the time, I have been able to maintain a reasonable off-season weight. I compete at 117-119 pounds, and my weight has hovered between 119 and 122 pounds for quite a while now without even trying. I know I could always pack on more muscle, and my body fat is up a bit (around 15-16% right now), but I am happy with where I am at. My abs come out to play every now and then too, which is something I always welcome. They aren’t super chiseled and ripped, but I don’t need to walk around like that.

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Can Animals Be Left-Handed/Pawed?

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left handed dog

Here is an interesting article which I copied and pasted. The article can be found through this link:

http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/can-a-dog-be-left-handed.html#sthash.siZgW3BC.dpbs

It turns out that dogs do show a clear preference for their left or right paw and there’s roughly a 50:50 split between left-pawedness and right-pawedness across all dog breeds. Here are a few tests you can do to find out whether your dog is a ‘southpaw’:

Have your dog sit, and then get up and walk. Which paw do they lead off from?
When you ‘shake hands’ with your dog, which paw do they offer most often?
When trying to get a toy out from under the sofa, which paw do they use?
But whereas left-handedness in humans makes you superior in lots of ways (well, we think so anyway), what does it mean for dogs?

Well, it seems left-handedness in dogs also gives you an advantage. Left-pawed dogs are generally preferred for police and military use and also as guide dogs because they are easier to train (this is mentioned in a few articles but we cannot find a research reference for it. There IS research showing that left-pawed dogs are more aggressive and that may explain the military use) . And a recent study by the Vrije University in Amsterdam has proven once and for all that left-pawed dogs are quicker at learning and better than problem solving (Report: Paw Preference Correlates to Task Performance in Dogs). In the study, the team of researchers selected an equal number of left-pawed and right-pawed dogs to complete some basic intelligence tests. The team found “that dogs departing with the left front paw perform significantly better than dogs departing with the right front paw.”

So let’s hear it for our four-footed lefty friends, and all the dog owners out there do let us know in the comments here if your dog is a lefty or a righty and what effect you think this has.

Music Performance and Cognitive Function

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piano

Please check out my original post at:

http://xactmind.com/xc/articles/music-performance-and-cognitive-function/

By: Dr. Stacey Naito – Physician and IFBB Pro

Play For Your Brain

Not all of us are able to play musical instruments well, but the challenge of learning to play one can be a fun hobby. Recent research suggests that people who play a musical instrument regularly, even if they aren’t musically gifted per se, are reinforcing their brain’s function at the same time.

Musical training is thought to increase neural connections in the brain which are associated with decision making, complex memory, and creativity. Musical education can even boost cognitive function in people who have suffered from strokes, and equip the brain to adapt by using intact brain regions.

Musical Brains

Numerous studies have proven that the brains of musicians differ functionally and structurally from the brains of non-musicians. Skilled musicians are like athletes, because they need to coordinate multiple senses, and focus on complex elements like melody and tempo, while performing a piece.

There is also research which suggests that the areas used in musical performance are closely linked with other important cognitive functions. One study by Schaug discovered that musical disorders such as tone deafness affect about 4 to 10 percent of the population, which is the same percentage range seen with disabilities such as dyslexia and dyscalculia (math difficulties).

Another study, performed by Wang, examined the brains of 48 young adults who had studied music for at least one year between the ages of 3 and 15. The subjects who had begun musical training before the age of 7 had greater development in the areas of the brain associated with language and executive function.

My Favorite Stores For Hot Dresses

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One of my favorite hot dresses is this gold bandage dress from Hot Miami Styles

One of my favorite hot dresses is this gold bandage dress from Hot Miami Styles

I love hot dresses, but I honestly can’t stand shopping. The mere thought of stepping into a mall to shop makes me cringe. Thank goodness for online shopping! There are several sites which I turn to for hot dresses, all of which have decent prices and lots of cute styles.

http://www.hotmiamistyles.com/ I love the bandage dresses from this site, and I also love two very distinctive and comfortable maxi dresses which were purchased from this site. However, I haven’t had any luck with the other maxi dresses, because they all are cut to fit someone over six feet tall! My advice to anyone who is shorter than 5’10” is to stick with the shorter dresses.

http://www.venus.com/ This is a great site for maxi dresses, and I have found also found nice dresses for work. However, this is not the site to visit if you are into the club dress or bodycon look, because their selections are a bit on the modest side.

http://tobi.com/ The clothing on this website is trendy, yet well made, and the prices are fair. Their cuts fit a willowy fashion model type very well, but often hide the hard work that a fitness gal has. That being said, I love their cut-out designs, and one of my favorite dresses is a dress which looks very modest and sedate, but features a very sexy open back.

http://www.amiclubwear.com/ and http://yandy.com/ I used to love these sites because they both have TONS of selections, and the prices are amazingly low. However, you have to dig through a lot of trashy and cheap looking designs to find the good designs. I think it’s worth it if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. If you are a fan of club dresses, you’ll enjoy these sites. I have stepped away from the club dresses, so I don’t find myself perusing these sites anymore.

http://www.zaful.com/ This site has so many selections that you could probably visit every single day and find something new that you will want to buy. The prices are unbelievable, and the quality of most of the items is quite decent. However, I would advise you to read the size charts for each item very carefully, and also read the product reviews before buying anything, because these items are shipped from overseas, and returns are difficult at best.

http://www.hellomollyfashion.com/us/ This site is based in Australia, but ships to the US and has US dollar pricing as well. The clothing is SO cute, and there is a pretty big selection. My only beef about this site is that too many of the items are pink, which I absolutely hate and refuse to wear.

http://www.fashionnova.com/ Cute stuff, big selection, and great prices. The quality is a bit cheap, and the materials used are rather flimsy, but the site is good for trendy, bodycon type, “throw away” fashion.

My Mom Thinks I Am Fearless

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My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader, and encouraged me to give every endeavor all of my energy and ability. She is also a typical mother, and worries about my safety, particularly when I travel. She was so concerned when I went to Hungary alone last year that she worked herself up into a fuss, almost begging me not to go. I later discovered that she was concerned that I would fall in love with the country so much that I wouldn’t want to return to California. Though I loved Hungary, and would love to visit again, I have zero desire to live there, so my mom has nothing to worry about. It’s funny how my mom will suddenly become anxious when I tell her I have a trip coming up, so I figured the same anxiety would kick in if I took part in a daring activity.

trpeze
This year, I took two flying trapeze classes, and loved them so much that I plan to take a class each month to satisfy my desire to learn as much as I can about the art of trapeze. I told my mom about the first class I took with some hesitation, because I thought she would scold me for doing something she might perceive as dangerous. We were at lunch, and while we were waiting for our food to arrive, I showed my mom video footage of me up on the trapeze, doing a knee hang, then dismount. I waited for her to berate me, but instead she calmly watched the video and said, “Good for you, I’m impressed.” I asked her if she was okay with the fact that her 49 year old daughter swung from a fly bar (the pole the flyer uses to swing from and do tricks). Her response was, “You’ve always been fearless. I’ve never worried about you being afraid of doing daring things.”
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I was so surprised, because I thought my mom was under the impression that I shied away from daring activities. As we talked more, I realized that my mom admired my willingness to engage in activities which forced me to deal with heights. In addition, my mom revealed her own fear of heights, something I never realized until that moment. She said, “Why do you think I had other people take you on the roller coasters when you were a kid? Why do you think I had someone else take you up on the giant carpet slide?”

My mom had a fear of heights all this time, yet I never knew that until two months ago!

Mint

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mint

Most people think of gum, candy, or toothpaste when mint is mentioned, but this plant is actually quite versatile, and can add great flavor to a beverage or dish. Mint plants also have a strong antioxidant known as rosmarinic acid, which can be effective in alleviating the symptoms of seasonal allergies.

Mint can soothe indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome, and its anti-inflammatory properties can provide some pain relief. Mint oil can also calm and soothe skin which has reacted to insect bites or other skin insults. Many of you are also aware that the menthol which is found in mint serves as a natural decongestant, a wonderful feature when you are struggling with the symptoms of a cold.

One of my favorite ways to drink water is to add mint leaves and sliced lime for a refreshing, tasty, and calorie free beverage. Fortunately, I live near a grocery store which sells huge bunches of mint leaves for a very reasonable price. That means I can have mint with my water every day if I want, without incurring a huge expense on the herb. For those of you who don’t want to buy mint leaves at the store, you can grow mint plants pretty easily in a pot near a windowsill.

STACEY NAITO – IFBB Bikini Superstar (Interview)

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Please check out the great interview which Christian Duque from Strength Addicts hosted, and in which I am the featured guest! We talked about a lot of topics, and I covered a lot of ground on my background, my contest journey, and my philosophy on training, diet and competing. Check it out and please LIKE and SHARE! Thank you so much!

Willpower

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will-power-806x393

Please check out my original post at:

http://xactmind.com/xc/articles/willpower/

By: Dr. Stacey Naito – Physician and IFBB Pro

Tempted Then, Tempted Now

Are you able to resist temptation, or do you cave in when something irresistible beckons? Scientists state that the level of willpower we have as children extends into adulthood, particularly in emotionally charged situations. A famous test, conducted in 1970 by psychologist Walter Mischel, measured willpower in preschoolers by offering them a marshmallow, then informing them that they could either consume it immediately, or wait 15 minutes, in which case they would receive a second marshmallow. Almost 70 percent of the children opted for immediate gratification, while those who were willing to wait showed greater self-control which continued throughout their lives. This study was followed up in 2011 by B.J. Casey at Cornell University, who assessed self-control in nearly 60 subjects from the initial study. Subjects with low self-control as children still had low self-control as adults, while those with greater willpower exhibited the same self-discipline in adulthood. In addition, those with more willpower had higher SAT test scores than their impatient fellow subjects.

When Emotions Are Involved

An interesting feature about the differences in willpower in Casey’s study is that they emerged when there was an emotional component to the situation. Through neuroimaging techniques, Casey examined brain activity in subjects while they tried to ignore photos of happy faces. Subjects with less willpower had stronger activity in the ventral striatum, which is involved in processing rewards and positive social cues, while those with more willpower had more activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with impulse control. Casey concluded that individuals use their brains differently when challenged to practice self-control.

Can You Strengthen Willpower?

It may be pure torture to deal with the internal conflict of wanting that piece of cake and knowing that you are better off avoiding it, especially as the day wears on. That is because willpower seems to be a finite resource which is zapped by trying to control your temper or ignore distractions while you are at work. Any sort of decision-making process also saps us of our willpower stores. Luckily, there is a large body of research which suggests that willpower can be strengthened like a muscle, simply by training oneself regularly. You can start willpower training by redirecting your thoughts and avoiding triggers which tempt you.

These Desk Designs Are SO Cool!

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Check out the five amazing desk designs which are featured on the blogsite in the link below:

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-5-coolest-desks-for-geeks

I especially love the one-of-a-kind Han Solo in carbonite desk (not that I would actually want it for myself!) which Tom Spina designed for Star Wars collector Mark Hall. Evidently, this desk sold for $10,500, all of which was donated to charity.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The desk which I would love to have, especially when I am trying to focus on my writing, is the Armadillo Desk which is a prototype from designer Sophie Kirkpatrick. If she ever gets funding to produce this desk, I would probably buy one in a heartbeat! How’s this for shutting out the world when you need to concentrate?

Armadillo Desk