I'm a Fitocracy Addict!

I'm loving this site/app, Fitocracy.
http://ftcy.me/uyLKie

It's a social networking site focused on fitness. There are groups, challenges, articles & more.  But the 2 features that I find most addictive are the tracking (you can enter physical activities for points, and level up like a video game) and the encouragement.  The site is designed for users to encourage each other through workouts, diets, slumps, victories, etc.  I love it. You should check it out.

The Diabetes Update

I have a family history of diabetes. So much so, that part of me has always felt that the diagnosis was inevitable (I do know that it wasn't, but that's not the point right now.)

January 19, 2013, my roommate drove me to the ER because my vision had gone blurry. The culprit, it turns out, was blood sugar so high it had caused my lenses to swell. I had just fought off a fairly serious bug, which is apparently a common trigger for people on the border of diabetes to tip over. Of course, I didn't just tip, I plummeted. My blood sugar was so high that we don't actually know how I was still alive, much less perfectly functioning (except for the eyesight).

I was put on quite a bit of medication, and went on about my life for a couple of weeks. I was still pretty exhausted from the virus, as well as the diabetes. I paid a lot of attention to the card counts (especially the sugar counts) in my food.

The quantity of pills I was taking was hard on my stomach. So, I resolved to get weaned off at least some of it. That meant, in part, losing weight. I started walking on a somewhat regular basis. I signed up for a 5K, and I joined Weight Watchers. 

Since joining WW In April 2013, I'm down 19 pounds (I was down 21, but I've gained a couple back). I've started working out much more regularly, and in fact just started a strength training program.

I'm on slightly less medication, but my goal is to get to half where I am now. I can walk up 3 flights of stairs without feeling like I'm going to die, but I'd like to get it to 5.  I've done another 5K, and I have plans for at least 3 more in the next few months. 

All in all, I'm actually healthier than I've been in a while.

Pole Pressure

I've taken up pole dancing as a major component of my fitness regime.

Well, sort of. I'm still in the beginning stages, but I'm using pole to mark my progress. One of my major goals for the year is to invert on pole. I'm not strong enough yet, but I'm actively working on that. It requires more upper body strength and a lot more core strength than I have right now. In the meantime, I've learned a couple spins, and I can climb one level. There are more spins & higher climbs in my future, my for now the primary goal is that inversion!

The Oil-Cleansing Method

It all started with a pimple, or rather another pimple. I had a breakout, so I started using something stronger to clean my face (St. Ives Green Tea Scrub). It worked great at getting rid of that pimple. But I kept using it, even though it was too strong for daily use. My skin was irritated and flaky.

I did an informal poll of my Facebook friends to ask what they were using to clean their faces.  One answer was very surprising. One friend said she was using oil to clean her skin and was happier with it than any product she'd ever used before.

If you haven't heard of the Oil-Cleansing Method, here are a few articles about it I found. But the basic premise is "like dissolves like." I shouldn't have been too shocked, I know lots of people who was their hair with conditioner rather than shampoo. It's a very similar principle.

So, after debating it for what ended up being a couple of weeks. I tried it for the first time at the end of November 2013.

I started with a blend that was roughly half castor oil & half grapeseed oil. After 1 try, my skin was actually too dry. The up side was that this calmed my fears that OCM would turn my face into an oil-slick.  

I needed to use less castor oil, so I adjusted my blend to roughly 2 parts grapeseed oil to 1 part castor oil. I've been doing this roughly 2 nights on / 1 night off for over a month.

So is it working? I think so. One thing I can say for sure is that the moisture balance of my skin has changed. I need far less moisturizer than I usually do in the winter. So it's probably worth the switch just for that. 

However, I've been a little frustrated/disappointed with the other promised benefit of OCM, unclogging pores. Now, I've never thought of my pores as particularly clogged, and they're certainly not very large. But I bought a mirror with 10x magnification to check them out. Sure enough, what I thought were tiny dark spots on my skin were actually clogged pores. I became obsessed with unclogging them. 

The increased efforts mostly included steaming my face, using pore strips, and trying different facial masks. This seemed to work on my forehead, nose, and chin, but my cheeks have remained pretty stubborn.

I certainly don't think OCM is doing my skin any harm, so I'm going to give it some more time.

New Year, New Me

Last year, I was diagnosed with diabetes. More on that later. I started working really hard on my health, with weight loss as a major part of that. I joined Weight Watchers & lost 20 pounds from April to August. And then I stalled. I've also lost inches, and increased my overall fitness, but I'd really like to get the scale and clothing sizes moving again.

I've started going to the gym regularly. In fact, I have 2 gyms - a regular gym & a dance studio. Why a dance studio? Because I've taken up pole dancing as part of my fitness regimen. In addition to Zumba and walking/jogging, pole has been a big part of my routine, and the major strength component. Also, it's helping me regain a positive view of my body, at whatever size & weight I happen to be at the moment. Except on the days where it makes me hate my body, which are becoming rare.

I'm starting to include juicing as part of my diet.

I'm looking for a sustainable yoga workout.

My fitness goals for 2014 include getting back down to a size 12, inverting on pole & completing a ten-miler.

I've also re-focused on beauty & skin care. There's a whole post coming about my journey with the oil-cleansing method. Also, I've been trying a lot of new make-up, still looking for what works for me. Top priorities there include finding a blush color that works for me, and matching eye looks to lip looks.

For some reason, blogger changed the dates on the entries I just went back & tagged.  I'll go back & fix them eventually.  Probably.