Posts by Frank Alvarez8

Melissa Cruz2 said:Alright, I'm going to stir the pot again. I'll say this quite dramatically and pathetically: every Tai Chi master is probably spinning in their grave knowing this beautiful art has been watered down into those typical Americanized weekend courses for beginners.
Tai Chi workshop 👏

By the way, does anyone know if you can pick up a kimono 🙂 like the one in the picture at the link? They all look gorgeous, and I'd love to grab one. 😍

You can find Tai Chi kimonos at a shop out toward the suburbs near the highway (near my neighbor's place); I can't recall the exact name, but this is what they look like.

Regarding those weekend seminars, Tai Chi instructors have been coming through here for over 15 years (I know some folks in Seattle who attend), and it's perfectly fine for regular practitioners or even just for beginners to get a feel for it. These aren't "express" weekend courses, though—they're actual seminars. Besides, our own masters and teachers travel to China for seminars to study under their own mentors whenever they get the chance. 😉

Melissa Cruz2 said:Whether I want to train in a gi or not is strictly a personal choice.
To me, wearing a gi provides the full experience. It’s like how everyone wears gis in karate, but boxers just wear trunks...

Of course, you can't go for a run without the latest Nike gear, and you aren't really hitting the gym unless you're fully geared up with the newest stuff either. 🙄

Melissa Cruz2 said:I really wanted to get into Tai Chi, but everyone at the club was just these moody types with sideburns and dreadlocks. Honestly, they looked like a cult. Nobody was even wearing a kimono, which is a huge dealbreaker for me...
so I just bailed. 😁

I practiced Tai Chi in Seattle for three years, and only the instructors and masters wore kimonos. Once we passed our first level, some of us bought them to practice in.
Personally, I just wore loose summer pants and a T-shirt down at the beach.

Practicing Tai Chi isn't about wearing a kimono.
If that's how you look at it, you probably shouldn't bother with Tai Chi at all.

Kevin Jackson said:I was wondering where I can go to donate plasma... do you know?

Like I mentioned before, you can do it at the Blood Transfusion Institute on Rockefeller Boulevard.

Kevin Jackson said:Is there any way—or any specific spot in Washington, D.C.—to "donate" blood or plasma in exchange for cash? Maybe at a medical school or somewhere similar? Does anyone know?

Blood is strictly for donation, but you can sell plasma. About 10-15 years ago, students used to head over to Rockefeller Boulevard en masse to sell their plasma, going about three times a month for maybe $50-$27)

Why isn't today Wednesday?

Billi said:I was wondering if I should whip up a good shake and toss in some sweetener and chocolate too, what do you think?😁

There’s actually a full list out there somewhere: "The 1001 Ways to Make a Shake" by Munch-Mayov and granitegull3😁

brisknomad6 said:The taste? 😁

Personally, I'd count apple pie as a staple, and you can't deny it has plenty of flavor.😎

nimbledriver81 said:I’ve gotta say, this thread has become a nutritionist's dream. It’s nothing but healthy living talk in here.😂

My grandfather lived almost entirely on beans, bacon (the white kind), fatty roasted meats, and apple pie, yet he lived to be in his 90s.

What's wrong with eating healthy? 😁

I’m not a fan of pork rinds (under any circumstances), but I can't stand poppy seed or walnut rolls either. I’ve never quite understood why everyone goes crazy for them. 😕

But I absolutely love strudels and various fruit pastries, whether they're served hot or cold. 😍

Melissa Cruz2 said:So you're saying cholesterol levels can actually drop after just one week of dietary changes? Got it. I had my blood drawn yesterday, so I'll stick to the diet next week and then head back to the lab. Thanks, Sarah Gomez52!!!

But if stress is the real culprit, I'm pretty much screwed, right? Does that mean I have to fix the underlying stress? That's a much harder problem to solve...
Should I be looking into supplements, herbal teas, or anything like that?

Check your PM

Melissa Cruz2 said:I'm picking up my results tomorrow, though my doctor already called to say they're high (6.2 at 3 months, compared to 5.8 last year). I'm worried about why it's climbing. I want to see how things look now.
Next week I'm getting T3 and T4 tested.
What does being "on the grasses" actually mean?

Up until about ten years ago, a normal cholesterol level was around 115 mg/dL. Since then, because cholesterol levels have been rising across the US, that threshold was lowered to about 90 or 100 mg/dL (I don't recall the exact number). Anything between that new baseline and the old 115 is often treated as a potentially high-risk group. If your cholesterol is creeping up despite not eating anything that should trigger it, it could be stress or a metabolic issue.
Try switching to a vegetable-heavy diet that's low in carbs—skip the potatoes and other starches, and avoid fruit like pears or bananas. Stick to kale, spinach, collard greens, lettuce, arugula, and cucumbers. Just make sure you get blood work done for cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL both before and after trying this diet.
During this trial period, definitely cut out meat and processed meats (especially things like hot dogs or sausages, whether store-bought or homemade), and skip milk and cheese too. You can survive a week without them. 🙂

NITEWORKS said:

Looks like McGregor-Hummer-Mayo has cloned themselves again!!!!
welcome back! It's boring here without you
🙂

rustymoose54 said:Maybe there’s just some pig in the neighborhood she was fighting with over a property line, and now she's happy she can finally take him out.

If it's a true Cow from the Rural region, she probably had scraps with more than one of them.😁

Melissa Cruz2 :
I'm not pretty sure there's even a Small town in rural area. There's the main one, Zlatar Bistrica, Lipovec, and a few other towns, but nothing called "Lower" 😁
So you're definitely not from a Small town in rural area then.🙂

True, but hey, at least we have Budinščina. 😁

Melissa Cruz2 said:Hey... does seeing a nutritionist count as a "standard" medical service? Like, how do I even go about finding one?

I have high cholesterol, and my doctor put me on this strict diet, but honestly, I’m not even eating any of the stuff they say to avoid. That's why I want to see a pro—to figure out why my levels are still high despite all my efforts to cut out fats.

If you aren't actually eating things that spike cholesterol, you might be looking at a metabolic issue. In that case, you don't need a nutritionist; you need a solid internist or an endocrinologist.
Stress can also drive those numbers up significantly.

As a test, go get some bloodwork done—check your total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and lipoprotein typing. Then, try sticking strictly to a plant-based diet for a week. After that, get your blood checked again. That'll give you a clear answer on whether it's your diet or something else entirely.
👋

And which independent institution actually verified those Herbalife claims? 🙄

Rachel Brooks63 said:What I find really interesting is when you click on this page, http://niteworks.edietstar.com/facts.html (I clicked it myself because I wanted to see what the actual facts say about Niteworks, unlike those terrible Macov translations), try counting all the asterisks (*). Every single one of those * means the sentence before it hasn't been verified, isn't proven, and is very likely untrue.

So, just try counting the statements that DON'T have an asterisk, and only take those for granted...

Don't be so harsh, Rachel Brooks63, there's actually 1 sentence without an asterisk 😁

casualnomad42 said:1)

You didn't mention any actual tests, but you're acting like discovering the Nitric Oxide molecule in the bloodstream is some massive breakthrough that Dr. Herbalife just whispered to you ten minutes ago, and now you're on a mission to enlighten the entire planet!
Get real—we've understood Nitric Oxide, how it works, and why it matters for over 15 years now. You didn't just "discover" this yesterday. 😁

casualnomad42 said:Once again, I am ASKING YOU 🙂 please don't derail this thread, because this information could actually save lives...

And once again, WRONG!!! Sure, maybe you'll save a life, but only your own if you can find enough naive people willing to buy the HL powders you're peddling as a cure-all for every ailment on Earth.

STOP ADVERTISING HL!!!
🙄 🙄 🙄

mayo said:The reality is that Big Pharma suddenly decided they're vitamin manufacturers too, even though they haven't laid eyes on an actual plant in years... 😁 (draw your own conclusions)

Pharmaceutical companies started churning out vitamins a long, long time ago—way before Herbalife was even a thing.

And where does Herbalife actually have plantations for non-GMO, pesticide-free soy, fruit, and veggies? Probably in some perfectly healthy corner of America? 😁 Or maybe they just have a few small-time HL dealers pumping out vitamin pills. 😁

mayo said:PS: There are actually some scientific studies on this. Go check them out for yourself (draw your own conclusions).

Ooh... a "scientific" article... 🙄

Alright, ex mayo!!!

First off, tests to analyze Nitric Oxide levels in the blood have been commercially available on the market for over five years now.

Second, please, learn the language before you start posting, because you constantly prove you don't even understand what you're copy-pasting! It isn't "nitric oxid," it's Nitric Oxide, and it isn't "taurine" or "carnitine"... it's arginine, taurine, and carnitine—and "argitine" isn't even a thing, it's ARGININE!!! That’s basic high school science curriculum, honestly.

And third, 🙂