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Finding a good guy to date in LA, or really anywhere, is difficult enough. Pile on the fact that you are tired, had a tough day at work, have a gigantic underground pimple threatening to break the skin, and your period has made you bloated and bummed. But tonight’s the night. You just may have found your Mr. Right! In fact, he is due at your front door in a matter of hours. So what do you do to perk up, de-puff, and focus on the positive? Chickadees, it’s time to pull out your box of dating power tools.
Guys love their power tools. Well so do we. Ours are just a little bit different. Choose from this list of confidence-boosting, body-perfecting, skin-beautifying tips as well as tricks to make your date (and the day after) that much better! Surely there is something that perfectly suits your needs and mood.
POWER TOOLBOX
First You Need a Base- popchips
Hangover Prevention- Asparagus
De-Puffing- Yams and Cucumbers
Calming- Sunflower Seeds and Soybeans
Beautiful Glow- Greek Yogurt
Slimming- Coffee Grinds
Confidence- Power Panties
Quickie Workout in Bed
Confidence- Post-Its
Focus- Intention Board
How to Stand Out- Fab Bag or Stilettos
Just in Case…
Let me explain…
Base Food: The problem with dating, particularly “drinks dates,” is that you are generally going out on an empty stomach. Then you’re drinking with an empty stomach. Not a good thing. Why? Well, because you could way too easily get wasted and not be yourself. So you might want it eat first right? Well, what if the drinks date goes so well that it turns into a dinner date and you have already eaten dinner? Now you’ve eaten dinner twice and you feel bloated and sick. OR you order a salad, don’t eat much, and look like a typical picky eating chick. Also bad. Instead, eat SOMEthing that gives your stomach a foundation, but not with offensive flavors like onion or garlic. Popchips or nimble bars (the new 120 calorie bar from Balance bar) are the perfect foundation- giving you a base without filling you up or making your breath offensive. Love it.
Asparagus for Hangover Prevention: Don’t let that one-too-many leave you in less than festive spirits the day after. Use food- like Asparagus- to help your liver better break down the alcohol, getting it out of your system faster and without the residual throbbing head. You know how eating asparagus makes your pee smell? Well, eating asparagus also has an active chemical that helps to digest and clear out alcohol faster.
Yams & Cucumbers to De-Puff: Increasing your potassium intake by eating foods like yams, avocado, papaya, spinach, and yogurt, as well as water-filled foods like cucumber, celery, and lettuce have diuretic qualities that counterbalance bloating foods like salt or PMS swell.
Soybeans for Pre-Date Anxiety: If the butterflies in your stomach are flapping their wings a bit too frantically and you are over the top anxious, eat magnesium-rich foods like soybeans before the date or salmon and spinach at dinner. Magnesium helps regulate blood pressure and adrenaline levels.
Coffee Grinds for Cellulite: Caffeine—It gets you amped up for that morning meeting and, of course, causes a few extra runs to the bathroom, but that is because caffeine gets blood moving, and pulls excess fluids out of cells. Same goes when you rub it on your skin.
To Make You Glow! Greek Yogurt Refrigerator Facial: Facials are beautifying, skin repairing, and they feel like a splurge. But you can indulge in a regular facial without spending even a cent by making your own Refrigerator Facials. Just remember that every fruit vegetable and natural ingredient has a purpose and a power… that you may as well harness and spread on your skin! So raid your kitchen and start spreading potatoes, honey, horseradish, tomatoes and milk all over your skin!
Power Panties…like the red power tie for men… Men have Power Ties. Well, we have Power clothes too. Ours are just a little different… According to Feng Shui belief, wearing something red can up your “wow” factor, arouse self-confidence, energetically emit power and attract luck. But you can’t always wear a red outfit, or even a red accessory. So… wear red panties to take your confidence to a whole new level. It’s a QuickieChick must for every important meeting or event
Quickie Workout in Bed: You wouldn’t expect to do a quickie in bed before your date, but this is not that kind of quickie. You know how some guys suddenly drop down do to push-ups right before a big presentation or important meeting? They are pumping up their muscles while simultaneously flooding their brain with fresh confidence boosting oxygen. You can take advantage of this natural ego energizer too. Plus, if you’re wearing an arm-exposing outfit, do some quick pre-date toning and your arms will looks super yoga-chick sexy. http://quickiechick.com/2010/11/sexy-shapely-arms-quickie-workout-in-bed/
Post-It’s the Pantry/Front Door/Steering Wheel: Post post-its in your pantry, on your bathroom mirror, on the inside of your front door, even on your steering wheel as reminders to work out, eat right, and that you’re beautiful, fabulous, and deserve happiness. These are little reminders like: “Can You Fit Into Your Bikini?,” “If Worked Out When You Started Thinking About Working Out, You’d Be Done By Now” or “You’re Gorgeous. You Deserve to Feel Gorgeous”
Intention Board: What’s your type? What are you looking for in a mate? It’s time to put it out there, visualize it, feel it and make it real, on an intention board (and then hopefully in person). Intention boards keep you on track to becoming the person you want to be and the things you want to bring into your life- love life included. Cut out images and words you are drawn to, look at the board every morning, and think of what you can do that day to live up to the images and words on the board. Before your date, take time with your board and spend just a few calm minutes meditating on your board.
Spicy Style & Flare: Like cooking, style can be about spice, flare, little extras and accessories. It’s ok to sometimes explore outside your comfort zone. You might discover that something you thought “isn’t my style” actually is! Take chances. Like cooking, sometimes you will have winning results, and other times not so much. Ask your friends their honest opinion. Incorporate their feedback. Have fun and wear one super fabulous and stand out thing- a bag, shoes, clip in your hair… something.
Just in Case: Just in case your date is passion-fueled and ends up under the sheets, you’ve got to be prepared. Your health is your responsibility. Carrying condoms is not just his duty. Take control of the situation, and be a totally cool chick while you’re at it, and carry condoms in your purse. That doesn’t mean that you’ve got to flaunt it though. Just in case is a so-fab compact carrying case that does double duty as a mirror and condom container (you can also fill it with other mini discreet necessities like medications. Because you never know…
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My name is Laurel House and I’m a Relationship and Lifestyle author, expert, personal trainer and the “QuickieChick.” No, not the late night booty call kind of quickie, my "quickies" are all about making the most out of every moment- whether it’s a saddlebag-burning “Quickie Workout in Bed,” a metabolism-boosting “Bites with Benefits” meal, or how to get a $150 spa-quality skin peel out of a $1 tomato and lemon at-home Refrigerator Facial. My YouTube videos have received over 7 million views and now you can get even more Quickie Tips in my new book “QuickieChick’s Cheat Sheet to Life, Love, Food, Fitness, Fashion and Finance on a Less than Fabulous Budget” (St. Martin’s, May 2012). http://quickiechick.com/quickie-chick-book/
