[SpyralBound]

What I have found is that for almost every diet/weight-loss tip, there's counter-advice, or an exception, or something else. 

Eat more fish – healthy Omega-3 fatty acids! Except, fish also often has mercury. 
Avoid sugar – but don't rely on artificial sweeteners, those are bad too, and so is honey because it's processed, and so is agave nectar because it still has calories. 
Peanut butter is a healthy source of protein – but oh wait, that can of Jif has been highly processed and has salt+sugar added, you have to get the "natural" peanut butter which is about as appetizing as pencil shavings. 
Do cardio! No, do weight training! No, just walk it off! 
Drink 8 glasses of water! No, drink 1/2 gallon! No, you don't need that much water, you only have to drink when you're thirsty!
Do a short fast to cleanse out toxins and/or jump-start your weight loss. No – fasts are dangerous, you're putting yourself in starvation mode! 

And on and on and on. It's all very contradictory. And almost every point mentioned above does have some sort of merit or scientific backing. I've even read that recent research shows that there can be significant differences from person to person in how the body uses, processes and stores calories – that the traditional diet+exercise caloric deficit model is not as foolproof as it was once thought. Ugh, here we go again…

So unless someone is saying something patently false (like, "Hamburgers are fruit!") then it's sort of useless to get stuck in this around-and-around about the 'right way' vs. 'the wrong way' because for every 'right way' there will be detractors, for every 'wrong way' there will be advocates. 

I agree most with the notion that it will likely take some experimentation to see what your body responds to. Start small, with the most obvious stuff, give it about 6 weeks to see if it makes a difference, and if not, adjust and try again. It's taken me several years to learn what works for me (mostly because I don't always stick to it, but partially because my medications have changed a few times too), and I'm still tweaking it to this day. 

Bottom line, reducing fat anywhere on the body seems to come down to a smart combination of a cardio-heavy workout plan with a lean, reduced-calorie diet. The specific methods you use to get there are up to you – aim for X minutes of cardio a day, reduce your calories by cutting out processed foods or carbs or fatty meat or soda or whatever. There is no such thing as a 100% foolproof method that will work for everyone. 

[SpyralBound]

Piggybacking off the above…

I think Creatives tend to be very in-touch with their emotions, because emotion often fuels creativity. Just think of how you dance when you're in a great mood, vs. a so-so mood, vs. all PMS-y and/or grumpy. So for Creatives, the impetus for action comes from the heart (so to speak). For non-Creatives, like engineer/scientist types, I think they're more in-tune with their intellect than with their emotions; the impetus for action comes from the head, not the heart. 

Which is of course not to say that engineers can't be creative (in fact, I'd say that solving engineering problems requires a lot of creativity – just not "artsy" creativity) or that Creatives aren't intellectual. My husband doesn't come across as a Creative right away, but his favorite hobby is homebrewing, which demands creativity (in creating and modifying recipes) as well as technical knowledge of the process. 

Back to my point, though…Going on the theory that Creatives are intimately connected to their emotional state, they're more sensitive to variations, dips and surges, in that emotional state. And without the proper tools to handle certain emotional extremes, I think in some cases, mental illness can develop out of them like an infection on an untreated wound. Unchecked sadness leads to depression, unchecked fear leads to anxiety/paranoia, unchecked anger leads to violent/aggressive mood swings. (Obviously this doesn't apply to all mental illnesses, there are plenty that don't arise from emotions but from deep-seated physiological or chemical influences.) 

As for famous "crazy" Creatives like Van Gogh or Poe, just remember there was a lot of substance abuse going on with them too. Poe, at least, was a drunk, and I think Van Gogh was no stranger at the neighborhood pubs either. Oscar Wilde was a terrific writer, an opium hound, and (for his time) a sexual deviant. So it sort of becomes a chicken-and-egg scenario: Did the substance abuse create the mental disorders? Did the mental disorders push the people to substance abuse? Did the substances bring out latent creativity? Did the creativity open the door for mental illness? Etc. 

I guess what it's most important to remember, though, is the golden rule of statistics: Correlation does not equal Causation. So while there may be a higher correlation between creativity and mental illness, that's not necessarily an indication that Creatives are naturally predisposed to developing mental illnesses. 

[SpyralBound]

Glad it didn't come across the wrong way, stoneycook. 

Now that I've actually LOOKED at your profile which I obviously skipped yesterday, LOL, I think you could skip the pet/street thing and use a stage name that reflects your diverse dance background. Maybe borrow from, or create a combo of, the names of some of your favorite ballet performers, sort of like the people at the top of the thread with favorite actors/characters?

Just a thought. I feel like I have to suggest *something* constructive after my gaffe. 😉 

[SpyralBound]

Whoops! Lol, look who got caught not paying attention. >_

[SpyralBound]

Whoops! Lol, look who got caught not paying attention. >_

[SpyralBound]

@Stoneycook, you could always turn Marshmallow into Marsha/Marcia – Marsha Madison isn't so bad! 

I've come up with two names, both related to my red hair – Ginger Snap or Blood Orange. I think Ginger Snap would be a cute burlesque name, if I did burlesque – heck, it's probably already taken. Blood Orange, I feel, is a little more original – and touches on the PAIN part of pole, LOL! Plus, mmmmm blood oranges. 

As for the "classics…"
Middle name/Street name – Angelina Pekin. Yawn. 
Pet name/Street name – Koko Allen. Not so bad – but Koko was a boy dog, and I feel Koko/Coco variations are pretty common for these kinds of things. 

I like trying to mix it up, though, if strictly following the rules turns out to be a bad name – I've lived on many streets  and have lived with many pets over the years, I'm sure there are some good combos in there. Too bad so many of my pets were males, though! 

I'd also say almost any name can end in something like "Lane" or "Lee" and sound good. One of the streets I lived on was Chimney Lane, that's not too bad! (Up for grabs for anyone who wants it, I'm sticking with Blood Orange.) 

[SpyralBound]

Nice to meet you too! And glad my points helped – I think I did myself a favor, too, by thinking about the benefits of shorter but more frequent pole practices. I've been in a pattern of only poling twice a month or so because that's "all I had time for" – except that's not true, I DO have time for more than that, if I stop thinking I need at least an hour to pole! 

Another idea would be to designate those shorter sessions to specific objectives – like maybe one short practice for just the basics/beginner stuff, one just for spins, one just for practicing tricks on your "bad" side, and one just for the new moves you want to conquer. That could help if you tend to stare at the pole and think "what should I do next" a lot when practicing, I know I do that. 

Thanks for putting this on my mind – November is going to be a crazy busy month for me, so I should take the time now to create an exercise structure that will work around everything else that will be on my plate next month. 

P.S. I never realize how much time I spend staring at the pole, wiping sweat off myself and cleaning the pole until I'm editing my video after and have to cut out HUGE chunks of footage where I'm not doing anything. 45 recorded minutes often ends up producing a 4-minute video. Sigh. That alone should be enough to tell me I'm not having the most efficient practices I could be. 

 

 

[SpyralBound]

Oh, one more thought too, about squeezing in Rest Days and still making progress – in my opinion, a yoga-only day IS a Rest Day. I don't think your body has to recover from yoga the way it does from a hardcore pole session or long runs — provided that you're not working on super-hard poses like inversions or arm balances or something. Or if you had a strength-training workout the day before, try to stick to poses that use different muscle groups than the ones you trained. 

 

[SpyralBound]

Ninja, I have the same problem – too many hobbies and not enough time! I think a weekly yoga class plus at-home practice is a good idea. I've started keeping my yoga mat at work too so I can a quick series of asanas at lunch, but I know not every workplace is suitable for this – I'm very lucky to have my own office with a door. 

One thing I've been trying to do is to arrange my workouts by *function,* not by activity. I know I need strength, flexibility and cardio training, so I combine activities to meet those goals. For example, a strength workout might include Veena's pole strengthening routine video, traditional strength training like pushups and situps, practicing tough tricks, and ending with some yoga to stretch my muscles. A flexibility workout might be just yoga, just pole, or a little of both. And a cardio workout, I can warm up with a jog, do one of my exercise DVDs and/or have a mostly freestyle pole practice, and cool down with yoga. 

So you might try arranging your exercise schedule that way – Monday is Strength, Tuesday is Flexibility, Wednesday rest, Thursday Cardio, etc. 

I understand what you mean, though, about practicing them separately too, and getting all the benefits of each without dividing your attention. There's nothing like an hourlong+ yoga session if you ask me. That's a trap I fall into sometimes, though – when I try to block out time for exercise, in my mind it's always at least an hour commitment, even though I could just as easily do a 20-30 minute workout and have more time in the rest of my day for every other damn thing on my to-do list. 

Now that I think about it, shorter, more regular practices would probably help me progress more than the occasional hour+ session (where I spend almost as much time wiping off the pole and de-sweating myself as I do actually practicing, and by the end of it I'm too tired to get much out of my moves anyway). Hmmm. Maybe something for both of us to consider?

[SpyralBound]

Danielle, I'm not sure it's a good idea, not for safety reasons but because that small room where the showcase is will fill up with fog pretty quickly. It will probably make any photos or videos taken of the performances pretty hazy, too. I've been through those sweet-smelling fogs and personally the smell makes me a little nauseous – combine that with the breath and body heat of a crowd and I have a feeling any cool effect would be lost. 

Not to be a Debbie Downer of course… 

[SpyralBound]

I've showed my husband how to do a few spins (fireman and front hook I thnk ) and I admit I have to suppress laughter. He's 6'2" and 280lbs and honestly not in the best shape, so to see someone his size twirling around a pole… well, it's funny. 

Like if Zach Galifinakis took up poling. 🙂 

He's too heavy to use the at-home pole safely, and I haven't been able to get him into a studio yet. He's pretty supportive of me and a little curious about pole, but not curious enough that he's dying to learn it. 

[SpyralBound]

My mom's attitude is "Well, good for you, but I don't want to hear about it or see it." I've only sent her one of my videos and that's pretty much how she replied. She's said to me before that while she understands that some women do it purely for fitness, she can't get over the sleaze factor.

I still manage to sneak it into conversation every once in a while because I'm proud of what I do and it's part of my life, and I'm not going to hide it from her just because it makes her think of strippers. But I don't send her videos or ask her to watch me perform. I did show her a photo of me doing a Butterfly fully-clothed on a tetherball pole, and she didn't say anything but I could see it all over her face- "If you have to do this, can't you do it in private?" So needless to say she doesn't know about my public performance this past January either. 

My dad… if he has an opinion on it, he hasn't made it known to me. 

My mother-in-law is totally down with it and admires me for it (though I do shield her from the sexier stuff that I do). My other female relatives – both grandmas, at least one of my aunts, my cousins and a few of my cousins-in-law (I'm pretty picky about who sees it on the in-law side) – are all cool with it too. It'd be nice if my mom was more supportive but in the end I don't really give a damn, I'm doing it anyway. 

[SpyralBound]

HotelChick – Yes! Totally agree. It would be a chance to goof off a little instead of being so intently focused on perfecting a trick, or getting the splits, or training for a competition etc. etc. Flexed feet be damned – just have fun!

[SpyralBound]

I'm sure I could get better at moving & dancing in heels, it's just not someting I'm interested in trying or working towards, to be honest. I'm not upset or disappointed that I can't dance in heels – y'all can keep 'em. I'm not really a girly-girl and never have been, and to me personally, platform heels sort of represent the kind of femininity that doesn't ring true to who I am. In fact I'd say the fashion aspect of pole dance is more or less lost on me. I can appreciate a good outfit or pair of shoes on someone else but don't feel compelled to get all dolled up myself. Maybe it's just because I'm not really a performer in any sense – I have no interest in competitions and have only performed publicly once, and while I'd love to do it again, I'm not rushing out to find opportunities. So as long as pole remains something I do just for me at home or with friends, why bother with what's on my feet? 

(This all applies just to me personally – no judgment intended.) 

[SpyralBound]

So I've been better about using the Curel lotion and Hydrocortisone this week and noticed this morning that things seem to be subsiding a bit, the cracks are healing and the skin isn't flaking so much, and none of those pesky little blisters. They still itch, but not that bad (for now… you never know when an Itch Attack will strike). 

I bought some Tea Tree Oil but have not used it yet. It says on the package to never apply it to skin undiluted and to dilute it in massage oil, which I don't have any of right now. And I don't think water will work since oil & water don't mix so it's not really *diluting* but *suspending.* I guess I could add it to lotion? Maybe? I don't know.