Two blogs in one day. Yes, these are two absolutely unrelated items. :) This first half is "ladies only."
Did you know that 85% of all women wear the wrong size bra? That just amazes me. You wouldn't think we'd all be collectively that ignorant. According to "myintimacy.com" here are the top 10 bra-fitting mistakes:
Mistake #10: Don't Be Seam Free (Wearing only seamless bras and never giving the girls any real support)
Mistake #9: De-compressed Breasts (Droopy, unsupportive sport bras. One of my running buddies does this and it looks terrible and I think hers are going to be around her ankles some day from all the flopping that goes on)
Mistake #8: Low Cost = Self-Service Slip-Up (Never getting fitted and always buying the wrong size)
Mistake #7: Low Cost = Low Quality (Cheapo without support)
Mistake #6: Confusing Cups! (Wrong cup size)
Mistake #5: Big Bind! (Thinking you have to compress your breasts and minimize them into submission. Bind them and compress them too much and you will damage the breast tissue and lose firmness. Uh-oh!)
Mistake #4: Don't Be A Softy! (Assuming all underwire bras are uncomfortable or painful)
Mistake #3: There Is NO Perfect Bra! (Thinking water inserts, patented lift-separate seams , etc, will somehow be perfect in every way for everyone)
Mistake #2: Resisting Revolution! (Thinking that pre-pregnancy bras will still fit nursing breasts, etc, etc)
Mistake #1: Baggy Back = Too Much Slack! (You'd think that those pockets of back fat on the edges of bras are from a too tight band - apparently that's not usually the case! A too-loose band without enough support creates nasty fat pockets).
Oprah did a "Bra Intervention" in 2005. Her top three bra fitting tips:
--Bend deeply at the waist before fastening your braâÂÂthis automatically centers it and distributes the volume evenly. Straps should neither fall down nor dig into your shoulders (they ought to provide only 10 percent of your supportâÂÂthe rest comes from the band).
--Buy a size that fits you very closelyâÂÂit may even feel a bit tight at firstâÂÂwhen fastened on the first (loosest) hook. This will enable you to tighten the bra over time as the material stretches out. Make sure that the band is perfectly horizontal on your body.
--Fix minor puckering in the cups by smoothing down and "tucking in" your breasts. Fit check: If there's a major gap between bra and body, the cup's too big; if you're overflowing the top or sides, it's too shallow.
Here's a web page that tells the standard fitting method we all usually learn sometime after growing them.
-
While we were shopping, we saw a great sale on bras - and we decided to actually follow these tips for a change. I discovered that my big mistake was #8 and because of that always having too big a band size. I was wearing a 36C or D and always had a less-than-perfect fit, even fastened on the smallest notch it always seemed to gape alongside my lats (which I figured was because of weight-training). I was also always having to adjust the straps way, way up. Supposedly we tend to make this mistake for comfort, thinking looser is more comfortable.Thankfully, I never had the blumps of stuff over the band in the back from it being too big - maybe it's just because my back is lean muscle and can't blump. Lo and behold, after trying several on... I discovered I belong in a 34D or 34DD depending on the manufacturer. No gaping! My daughter was making the same mistake (probably because her dumb mom had been making it for ages and passed it on to her children). Anyhow, hurray for us, it was a great sale and we got some nice ones... in the right sizes!
I'm still flabbergasted that only 15% of women have been getting it right. It should be part of "mom training," passed on like how to do the laundry right, the family recipes and all that stuff. I guess one of the things that make it difficult is that according to the "experts" in a woman's adult life she can plan on about six bra size changes.
I wonder if the "torpedo" woman at the gym ever got a good fitting. She's one of the morning senior citizens. It is obvious that she most definitely doesn't wear a sport-bra. She wears this "up and out-out-out" style, well - a torpedo bra. She has terrible posture, her shoulders are always quite slumped, but that doesn't effect her girls droop because that bra must have titanium support, lol.
~o~
On to protein. I am so tired of everything having artificial sweeteners in everything and I'm trying to cut back on how much sucralose (Splenda) is in things that I eat. When I ran into Vitamin World, I specifically asked if they had any whey protein without sucralose or aspartame. As it turns out, the salesperson is also on an avoiding-sucralose kick. She referred me to Healthy 'N Fit Egg Protein. It is sweetened with stevia, has no fat, no carbs and 24 gms of protein (from egg albumen). The flavor I purchased is Vanilla Ice Cream and it tastes great.
The other product I purchased was a Vitamin World brand "Absolutely Pure Whey." No added flavorings or sweeteners of any kind. The salesperson said that she mixes it with a little vanilla extract or even coconut sometimes. I plan on trying it in the morning. One tablespoon has 1 gm carb, 1 gm fat and 16 gm protein.
It also claims to be completely free of bovine growth hormones. Even if it tastes like crap, that's a selling point for me!
~o~
These are the great shoes we got with the help of sales associate extraordinaire, Nathan.
Jenna's - she actually got these in a smoky silver:
Mine:
~o~
Workout today - one hour on the elliptical and some stretching.
