Waist training: My Experience, and do they really work?

07:00 Presh_dr 14 Comments


 Hey Lovelies,

 Do you ever scroll through Instagram and see a celebrity, or a instagram model swearing by some kind of detox tea or waist trainer? I'm pretty sure we all have. I sometimes feel a bit mislead with false expectations. Did the detox/waist trainer help you achieve your body shape? Did you already naturally have that body shape? or Did a plastic surgeon assist you with that? (Not that it's a problem if they did). I may be coming off a bit skeptical, but can you blame me? If I am to spend £70 on a waist trainer- 1) Tell me if it honestly works 2) For that price I expect my body to transform into Beyonce's within two months! 

I've been through a fair share of diets, detoxes, and cleanses. Just name it, I've probably done it. But the question is, do they give the results they promise? and are they safe? I thought I'd share my personal thoughts and experience on waist training.   

 My experience
I waist trained for about 2 months,  wearing it everyday and night (with an exception of maybe 5 days). You may be wondering, is that safe? I did what was comfortable for me, neither did I tighten the waist trainer to a point it could cause any damage, or even be unbearable. 
During this period I exercised, went on a healthy diet and as a result I lost a bit of weight (as you may be able to tell from the pictures). 

P.S. excuse the poor picture quality. 
The first to second image is the changes that happened through diet and exercise alone. 
3rd picture is day three into waist training, that is me with the waist trainer on. 
Picture 4 is 2 months of waist training. 
Picture 5 is 3/4 weeks post waist training. 
Picture 6 is 7 months post waist training, but bearing in mind that I do exercise. 

Pros
-Visibly smaller waist with the corset on
-Reduced food intake- This could be a benefit if you want to lose weight.  
-Good posture- I did my waist training during exam period, and I experienced a bit of back pain from constantly being sat by a desk, but it seemed to reduce while I had the waist trainer on. 

Cons
- Scarring- I got minor bruises on areas with the most pressure, which can still be visible to an extent almost 7 months later
- You won't lose any weight unless you reduce your calories and exercise.
- It is uncomfortable
- Temporary results- Once you stop wearing the corset my personal view is that you lose the "curves" it gave you.
- Extreme users are most at risk of experiencing difficulty with breathing, compressed organs, reflux, pain, displaced organs, muscle weakness/wasting etc.  

 Overall, I personally do not believe waist training alone will give you permanent results. If you are going to waist train, it is recommended that beginners start off with 4 hrs per day and gradually work their way up.
If you already have your mind set on waist training, before spending a whole sum of money on a waist trainer you may only wear for a couple of days, maybe start off with a relatively inexpensive one (here).
Thanks for reading!

 xxx

14 comments:

Zanzibar, Tanzania

10:00 Presh_dr 0 Comments


 Hey lovelies,
Can it please be summer already! My fingers are numb, my nose is running, and I'm probably wearing 5 layers of clothing every morning. I can no longer cope with 4 degrees celsius!
I have all of a sudden become a daydreamer, I'm constantly thinking about all the warm countries I could be in right now. I get flashbacks of one of the most exciting trips I went on last year, so I thought I'd do a throwback post on it. 

 Last summer I went to Zanzibar Island, it is often referred to as Paradise Island- largely due to its white sands and piercing blue waters. If I had to recommend anywhere in the world,  I would obviously rank Nigeria number one (because I'm bias), but next on my list would most definitely be Zanzibar, Tanzania. 
What made the trip even more exciting was sharing the experience with the most amazing people. 

 No words or picture could possibly describe or do it any justice, but one can only try. 
Turtles sanctuary in Prison Island
Stone Town
Forodhani Park- food market

Prison Island
 Cafe Miwa
6 degrees South Restaurant
Boat cruise
Beach view from Tembo Hotel



To do list when in Zanzibar
-Visit stone town
-Cafe Miwa (found in stone town)- The chocolate brownie and ice-cream I have ever had in my life!
-Swimming with dolphins
-Sunset cruise
-Snorkeling
-Full moon party
-Kwenda Beach
-Spice tour
-6 degrees south resturant for food and sisha
-Prison Island - Changuu Private Island
-Nungwi Beach
-Forodhani Park- food market for some great street food

0 comments:

Medical Elective

09:00 Presh_dr 0 Comments



med elective
Hey Lovelies,
Planning my medical elective was by far one of the most exciting part of fourth year in medical school. I saw it as the light at the end of the tunnel. So I thought I should write a post on my experience, and the whole planning process.

Deciding on a destination.
I always knew my elective would be outside the UK, the only difficulty was deciding on a destination. I started off by using the website The Elective Network, it gives a profile of each country, reviews from students, and contact details for most hospitals. 

I finally decided upon Zanzibar, Tanzania. I was sold by simply typing in Zanzibar into Google images, it was also highly recommended by other students who raved about the clinical opportunities available.   

The hospital. 
Mnazi Mmoja hospital is one of 4 public hospitals located in Zanzibar Island, it is the major referral point for the island with a bed capacity of 400. Mnazi Mmoja hospital largely provides Primary and secondary healthcare with specialist outpatient services such as mental health, ENT, and Ophthalmology

Securing the Placement
Contact Mnazi Mmoja Hospital- Dr Omar is the guy to call, this was probably the most challenging area. Contact him through his email (here), he takes quite a bit of time to reply. 
You can contact him by phone, this being the best method to get an instant response. His phone number is +255 777 422119/ 715 422119.  I got through to him instantly, I purchased a National Calling card online for like £2.

His contact information is widely known by the public, and it's readily available on the internet, so I am not disclosing his personal information. 

Send documents to Dr Omar- send application (request a form), send CV, and university transcript. 

Fees- It costs, I believe, $75 per week for the placement. There are additional fees for accommodation, which I am not too sure on. 

Confirmation letter- once you've paid, make sure you get a confirmation letter from Dr Omar, so you can submit it to your university if needed. 

Flight tickets - the best place I think you can get a ticket is via STA Travel. There are discounts available for being a student and under 26.

Remember that you will need to buy domestic ticket to go from Dar es salaam Tanzania, to Zanzibar which you can buy from Precision air . 

 Insurance, MDU etc. 

I used the insurance company Wesleyan, it cost around £67. 

 MDU Indemnity - This give you protection against a loss or other financial burden. It’s free for all members. 

 Travel Clinic 
Fit for travel website gives you details of all the vaccines and tablets you may need. 

 Accommodation
I did not stay in the hospital provided accommodation. However, it is compulsory and Dr Omar is pretty much adamant about you staying where the hospital provides. 

Travel checklist 
The luggage from London to Dubai is 30kg, but from Dar to Zanzibar is 27kg (from what I can remember). I had to pay additional fees for my 31kg Luggage! I think it costs me around 13000 shillings, which wasn't too bad . 

Necessities 
  • Hospital- 
    • lab coat
    • stethoscope
    • hand gel (It would be great if you could buy some for the hospital)
    • Scrubs-I took 3 pairs
    • Trainers
    • Oxford handbook 
  • Sunscreen 
  • Deet spray! Ask Well clinic about the best one. 
  • Medications
  • Toiletries, towels 
  • Sunglasses
  • Sandals
  • Swimwear (I got carried away and bought over 10! Do not follow in my example)
  • Clothes- loose fitted, sensible to an extent (Muslim country, however it is very tourist orientated, so they are lenient)
Come in handy
  • Waterproof phone case, I bought from (link)
  • Portable phone charger, Bought for £10 
  • Laptop- There are pretty much wifi connection everywhere, but wifi is not not provided in the hospital or hospital accommodation. There is however a communal computer with Internet.
  • Snacks- preferably ones that cannot melt in your suitcase. 
  • Card games
Money
Currency in Zanzibar is shillings, but American Dollars was widely used throughout. 
You can spend shillings in local places, but most tourist activities are in dollars, but may also accept shillings. 
There are ATM machines available, so take your bankcard in case of cash emergency. 
Most actives ranged from $11 to $40. But expensive activities such as safari can cost from $200.


 Before the journey
Contact doctor Omar in regards to transport. 
Inform him when you will be coming. Because he will not contact you personally. 
The hotel provided transport for us that cost around $15. 

The placement 
We were expected to get to hospital at 8am most days and finish at 12pm.  8am-12pm was the designated time for elective students, but we were allowed to stay longer if needed. 

On our first day we met Dr Omar. He gave us an introduction, needle stick injury, general information about the placement, rules and regulations including not being allowed to take pictures in the hospital premises. 

He then introduced us to Dr Ahmed, he gave us a tour of the hospital grounds. We then had the chance to inform Dr Ahmed our preferred specialty; I chose Accident and Emergency, Internal medicine, and Obs and Gyn.
Language- The doctors were all able to speak English and the medical records were written in English. However, the majority of patients were not able to speak English, but the doctors kindly translated for you. The official language in Zanzibar is Swahili, we had no troubles communicating with others outside the hospital.  

 I thoroughly enjoyed the placement, my favourite department was A&E. It was typically runned by One Senior House Officer and two internship doctors. On my first day I became immediately independent, where we were able to solely assess and managing patients according to A to E assessment.

 I would highly recommend this placement for anyone looking for an Elective destination. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I must definitely would not change!

 Thanks for reading.


0 comments:

RED-Y for Valentine's day?

17:22 Presh_dr 0 Comments


 Hey lovelies,

 I cannot believe it's February already, it feels like just seconds ago we were all wishing each other a happy new year. Where is time flying!
We all know what February means- Valentine's day! Not that we could ever forget,  I can't go a single day without seeing hearts and roses. 
Do y'all remember those hilarious tweets? #Wastehistime2016 and #Wastehertime2016. I  hope none of y'all were part of that, plus it doesn't apply to Valentine's day right?.

 So ladies, I thought I'd share some date night looks. Whether it's a night with you and boo ;) or with the girls. There is no such thing as having too much dresses, date or no date, let's do some shopping! 


1) Pinup dress- I love the fact that it has a classic pin-up 40s vibe to it. I've worn this dress a couple of times already!
    ASOS shoulder bag
    ASOS Barely there heels
2) Topshop Dress
    Long Coat
    ASOS Public desire Heels- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
    ZARA Bag- On sale for £19.99 
3) Bandage dress
    Shoulder bag
    Kurt Geiger Heels- absolutely gorgeous heels, love the hint of colour
4) AQAQ Red V neck- can find somewhat similar here , here
    Wide leg trousers- similar style in white, black and white stripes. I'm obsessed with both the model and the outfit!

 Thanks for reading.
xxx

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