Tinnitus Cure

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

5 Mental Tricks to Feeling Amazing, Even if You Miss a Few Workouts

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Your plan was to relaunch your regular gym and clean eating regimen on January 1. More than a week into the new year, that’s mostly fallen by the wayside. Logically, you know that your self-worth doesn't rely on perfect attendance at SoulCycle. So why do so many of us drop into a shame spiral when we skip a few workouts or finish off a sugary treat?

“We’re in a society that hyper-values fitness and thinness, and we’re taught to be ashamed of feeling like we’re not to living up to expectation,” says Andrew Walen, a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and body image and the founder of The Body Image Therapy Center in Washington, D.C. Not sticking to a routine can also make you feel out of control, and that too tends to fuel anxious or depressive thinking, says Walen.

Maintaining your healthy food and fitness goals is hard work, and sometimes life gets in the way—or the couch and a Stranger Things binge session are calling you hard. Next time you start to feel guilty for what you view as slipping up, try these simple mental tricks, which will banish negative thoughts and empower you with body positivity.

Recite a mantra

Repeating an affirmation, song lyric, or some other catchy and motivational phrase might sound a little silly. But reciting inspiring words keeps you in the moment and gives your brain something to focus on, crowding out self-criticism while the mantra’s positive message sinks in, says Walen.

Next time you start to beat yourself up for ditching the treadmill, repeat your mantra out loud or in your head with intention. We like "I’m more than my body" and “I am beautiful” because these phrases are simple and super upbeat. But anything that resonates with you in a personal way will work just fine.

Banish ‘I should' from your brain

Pay attention to key words in your own internal dialogue. “Every time you hear 'I should' or 'I must,' recognize that you’re punishing yourself for no reason,” says Walen. For example, if you’re spending time relaxing on the couch with family and suddenly catch yourself thinking, “I really should put on my gym gear and go for a run,” stop right there. Distract yourself with your social feed, a conversation with your partner, anything to get out of that negative head space.

Put on clothes that make you feel awesome

You should never feel bad about your body, but if you do, there’s no quicker way to start feeling sexy and attractive than changing into an outfit you know you look good in. “Dress in a way that makes you feel adventurous and flirtatious and desirable,” says Walen. “Don’t feel like you need to fit into a mold with what you wear—it’s a time to express yourself.” Whether it’s a revealing bandage dress or comfy jeans and sneakers, your clothes can switch up your mindset.

Don’t get sucked into someone else’s body criticism

Body shame is so prevalent in our culture, you might frequently find yourself caught up in other people’s body drama—such as a conversation about your sister’s failing efforts to stay on Whole30 or your coworker's guilt about gaining a few pounds. Before their body negativity triggers your own dissatisfaction, change the subject, suggests Walen.

If redirecting the conversation isn’t your cup of tea, just leave the vicinity. Politely excuse yourself and spend time with people who are talking about something besides diet and exercise.

Be kind and forgiving—to yourself

When we feel guilty for not living up to our own (our society’s) expectations, we tend to punish ourselves for it—vowing to skip a meal to make up for a binge, for example, or overexerting ourselves at the gym to compensate for blowing it off all week. Problem is, doing this treats food and fitness as punishments, when they should be celebrations of your body and mind. So give yourself permission to make mistakes and enjoy life’s indulgences, with no regrets whatsoever.

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You Asked: Do I Really Need an Annual Physical?

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A yearly check-in with a doctor seems undeniably prudent. He or she can listen to your heart, check your blood pressure and help you nip any looming health issues in the bud.

But while annual well visits are a familiar part of the health care system, a growing pile of evidence finds that for healthy people without any symptoms, these yearly physician exams are a waste of time and money—and in some cases may do more harm than good.

One large-scale review, published in 2012, found that annual physical exams do nothing to improve a person’s disease and mortality risks. Another recent study found a little evidence that annual physicals could reassure some people of their good health, and therefore reduce worry. But it did not find that these exams save lives or prevent disease.

As a result of these lackluster findings, some experts have called for an end to annual physicals.

“If you’re healthy, there’s every reason to believe these visits make no difference,” says Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a professor of health care management and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “Doing a bunch of unnecessary tests and taking up valuable time for people who are well—that’s not useful.”

But it is expensive.

Roughly one in five adults gets an annual physical—also known as a preventive health examination, or PHE—and all those check-ups cost insurers and patients more than $5 billion annually, according to a 2007 study from Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, an associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. (That figure doesn’t take into account the billions in lost productivity that result from healthy adults taking time off from work to visit their doctors.)

Annual physicals are a big drag on physicians’ office hours and cut into their ability to spend time with sick patients in need, Mehrotra wrote in 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“In our [annual physical exam] trials, we have not seen any improvements in what we care about, which is longer and healthier lives,” Mehrotra says. “While older adults”—those 65 and above—“may benefit, younger people don’t need this exam every year.”

Even some doctors who feel less certain that an annual physical is wasteful agree with the research findings to date. “The evidence does not support that an annual physical exam is necessary,” says Dr. Ted Epperly, a physician and president of Family Medicine Residency of Idaho. “Having said that, my sense is that [the annual physical’s] place in American medicine is still felt to be valuable by both physicians and patients.”

Epperly says annual physicals help doctors and patients form closer relationships, which can improve the quality of care. “I think having a relationship with my patients builds trust and allows for better counseling around preventive behaviors and lifestyle factors like diet and exercise,” he says. Also, when people feel they have a good relationship with their doctor, they may be more willing to make appointments when they notice new symptoms, or to request advice when debating a health-related decision, he says.

Mehrotra says he agrees strengthening the doctor-patient relationship could provide some benefits. “But if the goal is to improve that relationship, we should get rid of the head-to-toe exam elements and the tests that get ordered—like annual bloodwork—and spend more time discussing patient lifestyle and concerns.”

Even those who believe the routine physical should stay say changes are needed—and that healthy people probably don’t need to see a doctor every single year.

“It is very well known that having a strong and trusting doctor-patient relationship is essential to getting best outcomes in health care,” says Dr. Allan Goroll, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Unfortunately, it’s becoming harder and harder to have this relationship because of the current system’s focus on procedures and generous payments for procedures, rather than on taking time to get to know someone and establishing a relationship.”

Goroll says annual physicals shouldn’t be so much an exam as an “annual review of health, both going over concerns and coming up with a plan for prevention.” He says that payers—or insurance companies—are starting to recognize the benefits of this sort of visit, and so are reimbursing doctors better for these sorts of wellness consultations, rather than for ordering tests and analyses.

But he says he agrees that much of the current system—physical exams that are “rushed, impersonal, and bureaucratic” affairs that are mostly about ordering tests, as Mehrotra puts it—are not doing patients much good. He also says younger adults (those under 40) without health issues don’t need to see a doctor for an exam every year. As long as you’re going often enough to establish a trusting relationship with your doctor—every few years, or less if you grew up with your doctor—that’s probably good enough.

Even for older adults, many experts say that if you’re following the guidelines laid out by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—guidelines concerning the right age and frequency for cholesterol checks, blood lipid tests, mammograms and other screening services—you don’t need to worry about annual physicals. (To see which tests you need, plug your age and gender into the government’s MyHealthFinder tool.)

But if you have health problems, don’t skip your annual. “All of this discussion about annual physicals is not for people with health problems,” Emanuel says. If you’re sick or symptomatic, or if you have a family history of disease, then “yes, you should be seeing a doctor,” he says.

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Jazz Jennings Is 'Absolutely Horrified' She Might Not Be Able to Get Gender Confirmation Surgery

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Jazz Jennings‘ lifelong dream of undergoing gender confirmation surgery may not be possible for the transgender teen.

The 17-year-old TLC star and LGBTQ rights activist has been mentally readying to undergo the surgery, but now she’s been informed that she must also physically prepare — but it might take longer than she expected.

In a PEOPLE sneak peek at Tuesday night’s episode of I Am Jazz, Jennings and her parents visit her doctor, who delivers some bad news.

“I saw Jazz and her folks about six months ago and that was actually the first time I’ve gotten to examine Jazz, so I called the Jennings today because I’ve been speaking with colleagues and I wanted to get their take on a number of issues,” Jennings’ surgeon Dr. Marci Bowers explains.

“I wanted to follow-up with you in person just because your surgery will be very difficult in terms of what even the most experienced surgeons have encountered,” she tells Jennings. “Not to bring up the bad news first, but you gained in your BMI — which is called body mass index — which basically looks at your weight compared to your height. If we’re going to get a hospital to say, ‘we’re going to allow a surgery at age 17,’ you’re going to have to be at a lower BMI. Literally, they won’t approve it if your BMI is one dot over. When it translates to pounds, it’s about 30 pounds.”

Upon learning that she is required to lose 30 pounds to be approved for surgery, Jennings is fearful that her dream may not become a reality.

“The fact that I might not be able to get the surgery if I don’t lose 30 pounds, I am absolutely horrified,” she share. “I knew that my weight was a problem, but I didn’t realize that it could affect something that I’ve been waiting for my entire life.”

Dr. Bowers continues to explain that a surgery candidate could be denied if their BMI is too high because “if there’s more weight, it makes the surgery longer and it makes it more difficult.”

The surgeon adds: “What we’re finding is that as one new technology emerges, like hormone blockade — nobody thought we could block puberty — it creates another problem elsewhere. Now we don’t have enough tissue to create the adult genitals of the opposite sex.”

In the season 4 supertease of the reality series, Jennings opened up about her battle with overeating.

“My eating habits are beyond my control,” she admitted. “I really feel like a beached whale.”

I Am Jazz airs Tuesdays (10 p.m. ET) on TLC.

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

This Life Advice From a 27-Year-Old Before She Died of Cancer Is Going Viral

Friday, January 5, 2018

How to Survive Weekends When You're Doing Dry January

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Dry January has become a global trend. And we get why: After weeks of stress, parties, rich food, and (for many of us anyway) too much to drink, we all have an urge to hit some sort of reset button. There are health benefits to giving up alcohol too, even for social drinkers—no more empty calories from booze is a big one.

If you’re on the Dry January bandwagon this year, then you already know it can be a challenge. But the real test starts now, as the weekend arrives, and with it office happy hours, a wine list at dinner, Sunday brunch, and other factors you don’t typical encounter during the workweek. These expert tips will help you ride out the next four weekends and make your Dry January a success.

Stick to your usual social plans

Just because you’re giving up drinking doesn’t mean you have to stay home while your social circle is downing shots at a dance club or sampling the vino at a new bistro. In fact, not showing up might just give you a case of FOMO, which could cause you to lose your resolve later in the month.

Instead, “do the same things you would usually do with your friends and loved ones, but just do them without drinking,“ suggests Jenna Hollenstein, MS, RDN, author of Drinking to Distraction. You may even notice that after 10 o’clock, your friends get boring or stupid, and you’ll likely be glad you’re not the one who will waste three-quarters of the next day sleeping off a hangover or regretting a drunk dial.

Detox your social media feeds

Everyone has that one friend (or five) who constantly posts pics of herself at parties with a drink in her hand, looking like she’s having a blast. Don’t torture yourself! Unfollow your harder-drinking buddies for the month, so you don’t start to feel deprived every time you go on Instagram.

Stock up on alcohol-free stand-ins

Sometimes it’s the rituals around drinking—the pop of a cork, the glug-glug sound of booze pouring into a glass—that we crave even more than the taste or effects of the alcohol itself, says Hollenstein. Think about what you like most about about your go-to drink and give yourself nonalcoholic options to indulge in instead. La Croix can stand in for hard cider, a bottled kombucha could fill in for your favorite yeasty beer, and some fancy juices now come in corked bottles.

Play around with mocktails

Most bartenders can make beautiful alcohol-free versions of any drink on their fancy menu. Don’t want to drop $10 on a nonalcoholic drink? Oder a Coke, but ask the bartender to tart it up with a lime wedge, vanilla syrup, or a sugared rim and umbrella. If you’re hosting friends or otherwise staying in, whip up these yummy mocktails, and thank us later.

Count the money you’re saving

If you find yourself feeling really down that you can’t imbibe, try this instant cheer-up idea: Pull out your phone, fire up the calculator, and multiply the average cost of a drink at your favorite watering hole by the number of drinks you’d normally buy in the month of January. Doesn’t that number look good?

Reward yourself with a small splurge

Passing on a good bottle of wine while everyone else is enjoying themselves isn’t easy. So give yourself props for sticking to your goal by indulging in some self-care that will reinforce how good you feel—a leisurely run, a relaxing mani-pedi, or even the quiet luxury of sleeping in and catching up on rest.

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Think about how much better you feel

As you hear the clicking of glasses and see so many people drinking and enjoying themselves, fight the temptation to give in by contemplating what giving up booze has done for you so far. Are you more energized? Less bloated than usual? How’s your skin looking? If you’re not sure you’re seeing any health benefits yet, think about the resolve it took to make the commitment to give up alcohol for an entire month—and know you have the strength to see it through.

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How to Conquer 5 Resolutions You’ve Always Had Once and for All

Take that, bottomless Sunday brunch.

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