Facing Facts

I  just had a facial. Ow.

After relaxing alone in the room, I was joined by the aesthetician. She pulled one of those horrifyingly large magnifying glasses over to my face and said "I do a lot of extractions on you, ok?"

Having been using the OCM (though not exclusively) for a couple of months now, I've become a little obsessed with my skin, and in particular, my pores.  I was getting decent results and then had a series of breakouts, quite possibly due to stress.  So, in hopes of further unclogging my pores, I went for a facial. And I was enthusiastic about the extractions... until they started.  If you haven't been through this process, just be aware - this is not the relaxing, cucumber on the eyelids facial they show you on tv. It is a relatively painful process that left me looking like I'd been attacked by bees.  Granted, my pores were pretty clogged - but I'd wager yours are too. The discomfort goes away pretty quickly, and the swelling followed suit after about 40 minutes.

Since then, I've been trying to exfoliate regularly and continue to unclog my pores as much as I can from home.  I'm probably going to buy my own extraction tool as well.  I think it will take a couple more sessions to get the results I really want.

Non-Scale Victories

Since starting my journey to better health & better fitness, I've lost about 20 pounds.  But that's not the point.  Here are a list of things that have happened along the way:

• I can walk up 4 flights of stairs without needing to stop to rest (or thinking I'm going to die.)
• I can button my jeans without looking or feeling like a sausage.
• That would be my old jeans that I couldn't fit into for the 2 years before that.
• I have completed 3 5Ks.
• I can climb on pole (a little bit).
• I can see definition in my biceps.
• I have successfully worked out more days than not for the past 3 months.
• I have lost 2 inches on my waist (which I mostly only care about as it relates to my clothes).

I Pick Things Up & Put Them Down

I've started strength training.

I've resisted strength training for most most of my life, because I find it too cerebral. In a Zumba or Yoga class, I don't have to think too much. I follow an instructor, and I don't need a plan for what to do next. I don't need to remember what weight I'm up to or how many sets & reps I'm doing of anything. Smartphones have helped with some of that, and the Fitocracy ap has especially made following a plan simpler.

A friend introduced me to  The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

It has 7 stages of progressively harder  routines, each of which you intensify  along the way to help move you along the journey. It's designed to be really efficient.  I haven't read the original New Rules book, but I suspect I would like it better. 

In the short time that I've been doing it (4 weeks) I do see a bit of a difference in my body. visually, but more importantly in my actual strength.  It's definitely showing up in my efforts on pole.

Stay tuned for more about muscle!

Doing the Weight Watchers Thing

April 2, 2013, after deciding I wasn't going to take control of my weight & my health without some help, I went with a friend to a Weight Watchers' meeting. After the meeting, I signed up. 

I really like the WW system. You count points, not calories - because all calories are not created equally.  The primary tool is the tracking of your daily & weekly points. If nothing else, it makes you really aware of what you're eating. It also then causes you to ask questions like, "Is this brownie really worth 14 points?"

I love the bounty of resources, from the in person meetings, to the online tools and the apps on my phone. My regular meeting is incredibly supportive and motivational.  While we do celebrate "non-scale victories (NSV)" are celebrated, the one thing I don't like about WW, is that the ultimate goal is measured in pounds only. So, the NSVs, which may ultimately be more important to your overall health, are treated as bonuses. That simply means that I have to make sure to value those things for myself.

I was really successful at first. I lost nearly 25 pounds through October, but then slowly they started to creep back as I became less diligent. Some of that may be increased muscle, but until I go back to tracking my food every day, I won't know for sure. So, that's a priority for me - however, as it goes, life is getting in the way right now. Until I  get some other things under control, I'll have to try to be more mindful of my decisions without the real-time tracking.

Nobody's Even Chasing Me!

I've tried several times over the past few years to take up running again (I ran in high school & the beginning of college) but it hadn't worked out until this most recent effort.  I think all the additional cardio work (read: Zumba) has helped.

I'm doing a beginner 5K program, and I'm still walking more than running. But my pace per mile has been slowly coming down. I started the year with a 5K. (No, really, it was New Year's Day!) and I'm registered for another on March 1st. I'm planning for 1 in April and 2 in May as well. Then, hopefully, on to a 10K. 

The tentative race calendar is this:

• 3/1, 5K
• 4/5, 5K
• 5/3, 5K
• 5/10, 5K
• 6/14, 10K!!
• 8/23, 8K (Yeah, I know that's backwards, but I can't help that the 10K I want to do is scheduled earlier!)
• 10/4, 5K
• 11/9, 5K
• 11/29, 10-miler (or 5-miler, if I'm not ready)
• 12/9, 8K

I won't say I've actually been bitten by the running bug, but I really appreciate how easy it is to measure progress.   I'll be posting my progress here (along with Runkeeper, Facebook, Fitocracty, Twitter...)

Make-Up

Once again I have delved into cosmetics. For whatever reason, I never experimented with makeup wen I was younger.  I wasn't one of those kids begging or fighting with their parents to let them wear makeup or sneaking tubes of lipstick to put on at school and be sure to remove on the way home. No, I was blissfully oblivious to makeup until college & even then it was mostly something I was never comfortable with.

My makeup routine, such as it is, basically consists of wearing lipstick and maybe some eye makeup when I need to dress up. I've gotten reasonably proficient at basic eye makeup. I can apply eyeliner & mascara without looking like a raccoon. I can use a single color of eye shadow and get the placement more or less where I want it. I can choose a single color of eye shadow or lipstick that I think is appropriate for my face.

But I want to go further.

Along with my exploration of the Oil-Cleansing Method, I feel like proper use of concealer/foundation/powder would really help even out my complexion. I'm pushing myself to use blush and lip-liner, and I'm working up to using more than one shade of eye shadow at once.

I've visited a few makeup counters and spent more than one Saturday treating my face like a coloring book.  I've polled friends and consulted books (Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro and Making Faces have been fun & helpful). My friend Kristen is a Mary Kay Consultant, and she's been really helpful in this journey too.

I've developed a color palette of browns and purples, I've learned that I should only need one color of blush, and I've maybe, possibly, tentatively found a foundation that works for me.

Stay tuned. This should get interesting.

Drink Up

With my additional activity, as well as multiple health concerns (diabetes, depression, weight loss, headaches, etc.) I'm looking into juicing for additional nutrients and holistic solutions.

Here's where I'm starting:
http://juicing-for-health.com/fun-free-recipes/juicing-by-health-conditions.html
http://juicerecipes.com/health/

There are so many options that I've started a separate recipe binder, just for juices. The first one I want to try is apple-carrot-lemon-ginger.  I'll let you know how it goes!