Saturday, March 14, 2009

What does 120 look like?

My teeth are a-shinin'. If I have been drinking anything with stain-ability, it has been through a skinny, white, bendy, plastic object(a straw). And it feels DAMN GOOD. I have been flashin' these pearly whites non-stop. When I told my co-workers about my stained/mildly decaying tooth, they had all sorts of remedies. Whitening strips(yeah, I'm sure what I need is to make my teeth MORE sensitive and LESS enameled). Gum(?). Scrubbing my teeth with hunks of pure baking soda(I'm sorry, I absolutely refuse to try this...even if it worked, it makes me dry heave just thinking about it). What it came down to was just consistency and a tube of Crest with Baking Soda and Peroxide. The taste, I'll admit, is a bit funky, like eating a chocoate covered pretzel for the first time...sweet and savory. But now I'm used to it and actually enjoy the paste in my mouth.


My dietary choices, on the other hand...


Alright, upon my decision to change my lifestyle to a healthier and hopefully happier one, I got sick. ILL. My head was filled with a substance that only the devil should have to deal with...the phlem(sp?)/snot/loog was almost too much for me to deal with. For one thing, I could taste nothing. This is pure agony for a foodie like myself. Also, having had my tonsils removed in 2005, I lack the ability to hack up the repulsive matter that I was constantly coughing up from my (10 days smoke free) lungs. This caused me to choke and often begin to suffocate until my body somehow managed to lodge it out of my throat.

Needless to say, I was miserable. I didn't visit the gym for 6 days. I barely ate for a week. But once I began feeling better(and regained my sense of taste), it was on like Donkey Kong. You better believe I had Lion's Choice, a huge slurpee, and some Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies. AHHHHHHHHHH.

Flash to yesterday, at work, face to face with a scale. I sighed and curiously stepped on. The number that flashed up: 120. Pretty much my average weight since I was 18. Really? No weight loss with the sickness? And the working out?

I will defend my argument(that is quite valid, I might add) that I screamed to a friend of mine, when I was an angsty teenage girl. We had begun swing dancing with each other(circa Zoot Suit Riot), and after picking me up for the first time, he exclaimed, "Whoa, Katie! You're a lot heavier than you look!" In which I raged back,

"MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT, OKAY? I HAVE A MUSCULAR AND SPORTY FIGURE!"

2 comments:

  1. A few tips to combat teeth sensitivity, as I had the world's most sensitive teeth:
    (1) Get a fluoride rinse, like ACT.
    (2) Use a sensitive teeth toothpaste. Over-the-counter Crest Sensitive is pretty good, as is the Rembrandt Sensitive (more expensive, but better). I use Colgate Prevident 5000, the Mercedes of sensitivity toothpastes. You have to get it from your dentist or a pharmacy, but it is totally awesome and worth it. (If you get the Prevident, you don't need ACT as the Prevident has a greater amount of fluoride.)
    (3) If you use Listerine, rinse with it for 30 seconds like you're supposed to, and then immediately rinse with water. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but letting the alcohol sit on your teeth dries your mouth too much. Tartar likes a dry mouth.
    (4) Don't brush too hard. You'll create calcium deposits that are very sensitive. I have done this. It sucks.
    (5) If you can, get a Sonicare. I love that thing more than Josh. (I may or may not be kidding.)
    (6) Keep some floss in your purse. If you eat something that sticks to your teeth, you can floss anytime, anywhere.

    My routine:

    (1) Rinse with Listerine Advanced 12-hour before flossing.
    (2) Floss. (Always floss at night as tartar only takes 8-10 hours to build up.)
    (3) Brush with Sonicare and Prevident.
    (4) Rinse with water.
    (5) Rinse with Listerine Advanced.
    (6) Rinse with water.

    I know this sounds like a lot, but once you're in the routine, it only takes 5 minutes. Because I've spent so much money getting my teeth fixed, this is the one area in my life that I am disciplined.

    My dentist is all about total health. Many dentists and doctors believe that strict dental hygiene is the way to avoid getting sick. Did you know that scientists have found that tartar build-up in the mouth is the same as tartar build-up in the heart? Creepy. Anyway, I'm militant about this now. I wish I would've been when I was younger.

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  2. I also LOVE my Sonicare, seriously it was worth every penny! And they have floss for sensitive gums as well just fyi...

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