It's been about three months since I started actively working on my weight loss. Calorie counting, stepping with my Fitbit, and swimming once a week have all contributed to this and I hope I've created a routine that I can maintain.

      Initially, I had a lot of water weight just hanging around. During the first month of calorie counting, this just melted off at an insane rate. I was shocked at just how much I lost in the beginning. Like, double digit loss with very little effort. By the second month, I was steadily losing about a pound a week. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as fast as month one, but still seeing those losses really kept me motivated. I was doing something right!

      I think calorie counting is ideal for me. I mean, I can still have McDonalds, the stereotypical epitome of fatness and unhealthy food. I didn't start this to eat perfectly healthy. I just wanted lower numbers on the scale to prove a point to my doctors (the number didn't matter, the pain was always there). I knew that over time I could make the healthier choices because I felt more confident in my diet. And I did. I started choosing to cook instead ordering in. I would go for a protein heavy meal to stave off hunger. I'd excitedly drink water to stay hydrated. Slowly, but surely I'm making healthier choices and I have the willpower to maintain it.

      So, the big reveal. The thing that I never thought I'd be able to say. "I've lost weight." A decent amount of weight. As of a week ago, I'm now down just over 30 lbs. I couldn't believe it. I've never lost that much intentionally in my life. It felt like such a victory. I did this. I worked hard and earned this.

      Now, I still have weight to lose and I will continue to work on my weight loss for the rest of the year. However, I feel really proud of myself and motivated to keep going.  Maybe I'll never be the "perfect" weight, but I can be healthier overall and prove that my condition exists at any weight. I hope to find a happy medium and work towards that. I'll check in again a few months from now, but until then I'm going to celebrate my current success, not of the weight loss but of my immense effort producing results. All my hard work is what matters. I made the impossible possible for myself. Now, I want to revel in that for a little bit.

-Dana.


Have you ever lost a large amount of weight? How did you feel losing weight? Do you maintain the weight loss? Sound off in the comments section!

      I've put a lot of pressure on myself since setting my goals for 25. I really want to achieve them and I thought clearing my skin would be the easiest one considering I'd been working on it for so long. Unfortunately, last month's set back really threw me through a loop. Then, things continued to get worse.

      I felt like nothing I did was working. I felt like my face was redder and angrier than ever before. Turns out, I was right.

      With all the pressure I'd put on myself, I'd started being super strict about cleaning my skin (way too often). I was also using a harsh serum (12.5% Vitamin C) when I probably should've started with a lower dose. Worst of all, I was picking at any little imperfection until my skin cracked and bled. This caused redness and more scarring. Trying to make myself better I just made everything worse.

      So, I decided to do something similar to my basic routine from a year ago when I wrecked my skin. I only cleanse with water in the mornings. Cerave Foaming Cleanser is only for night time. Next, I stopped using heavy toners and switched to Thayer's Fragrance Free Witch Hazel toner. It's very gentle, listed as an SCA Holy Grail product, and alcohol free too. Then, most begrudgingly, I set aside the Vitamin C Serum since it felt a bit harsh. It was expensive and I felt it was a bit of a waste, but I needed to start over.

      My routine is much simpler now, and I'm hoping my skin can recover over the next couple months. I'll have to resist picking (which feels impossible) but I can see that it's counterproductive. We'll see how my skin fares in the warmer weather, but I have high hopes. Maybe hitting rock bottom was what I needed to find success.

-Dana.


What was your worst skincare setback? Did one of your favourite products suddenly cause a reaction? Have you ever had to get rid of an expensive product? Tell me in the comments section!

I never thought I would be able to exercise with Fibromyalgia. Getting out of bed seemed like a physical feat on it's own. How on Earth was I supposed to supplement my weight loss if I could barely get myself to the bathroom?

In a previous post, I discussed my weight loss plan involving Calorie Counting on my Fitbit. Well, as it turns out when the Fitbit tracks my calories burned it adds to it every time I exercise. So if I go for a long walk, my calories burned will jump up. I can even walk around my house and it still counts as exercise so long as I get my heart rate up. This shocked me. Just walking around, gently and at my own pace, could increase my calorie burn. That let me eat more and still meet my weight loss goals. I thought it was a bit of a joke, that my fitbit was lying. But every week I continued to meet or exceed my weight loss goals by adding more steps. I was so pleasantly surprised and empowered that I started walking more when I wanted a snack. I felt motivated to push myself because I knew I had something that worked. This changed my beliefs about exercise and I felt more confident that I could really keep this routine up.

Around the time I figured out the whole stepping burns calories thing, I was instructed by one of my doctors to try a water fitness program. She wanted me in the pool, exercising gently once a week. I scoffed. That was out of the question. Getting to the pool, let alone working out for almost an hour, seemed impossible in my condition. Then my mother, who is recovering from major abdominal surgery, agreed to join me in this program. It would help her recovery, I would have a ride to the pool and I would have the support to keep going. Still, I didn't know if I could do it, if I could push through the pain.

Here's a list of some of the activities the doctor requested I complete:

• Forwards Walking 5 Mins 
• Backwards Walking 5 Mins  
• Side Step 5 Mins  
• Single Leg Balance 10 X Each Leg  
• Squats 20 X  
• Hip Flexion & Extension 10 X Each Leg 
• Arm Circles 10 X  
• Calf Raises 20 X

Getting in the pool changed my tune real quick though. I don't know exactly why, but I felt so soothed by the water and the weightlessness. My nerves calms and my muscles relaxed. The pain was lesser and when I began doing the stretches and basic aerobics the doctor requested, I found that while challenging the routine wasn't hard. Furthermore, when I added the workout information to my Fitbit, it helped me burn extra calories! After a few weeks, the pool program became a regular thing and I loved it. Spending the time with my mom and enjoying the water, I enjoyed it all.  Sure, instead of a regular "work out" I get a "swim out", but it works for me. The only thing I don't like is how heavy and sore I feel getting out of the pool. Too bad I can't live underwater, maybe my fibromyalgia pain wouldn't be so bad!

While exercising used to be entirely out of reach for me, a few small changes made it a regular and easy addition to my lifestyle. I'm very shocked to say that I'm enjoying it. Turning 24, setting these goals for myself, it's really changed my perspective. I can't wait to see what else this year brings!

-Dana.


Have you found any gentle exercises that work for you? Do you like aquafit programs? Have you ever used step counters for weight loss? Let me know what works for you in the comments!

You know, I'm really tired of spending money hand over fist because of a few pimples. Unfortunately, after my fiasco a year ago due to basic drugstore brands, I felt I needed to try the more expensive products. Sure, they haven't harmed me one bit. But have they helped? That question is harder to respond to than I'd like.

Short answer? No. Long answer? Still no.

Maybe cleansing my face everyday has helped a tiny bit. However, any basic cleanser could do that. From my readings on r/SkincareAddiction, I learned that there are safe and gentle drugstore brands for skincare. Ones that didn't cost hundreds of dollars. I mean, in total over the last year I spent more than $1200 on skincare products. Worse yet, I don't think my skin looks any different that before I started Lush last May. YIKES!

I feel a bit scammed. Skincare is such a tricky thing and it's very subjective. What works for one person doesn't for another. I understand the need for variety, but preying on people who are desperate for solutions and vulnerable due to self-esteem issues is pretty crummy. Thanks capitalism.

Well, I think I've learned my lesson. No more trying brands in a sweeping manner without tons of research. I've read so much about my skin type and conditions via SCA and I will continue to do so. Over the next month, I'll be phasing out most of my Kiehl's products (except the Vitamin C serum. I can only order that online from other brands). In their stead, I'm switching to Cerave cleansers and moisturizers. As for a toner, it's really up in the air right now. Maybe I won't use one at all for a while and see how I fair. Still, I'm going to keep my eye out for something soothing and cheap!

Setbacks are normal, but this is a bit rough. I'm only two months into truly pushing myself on skincare and to lose a whole year's worth of work really sucks. Maybe this spring will go better.

-Dana.


What products did you feel scammed by? Did you buy anything that you later felt was overpriced? Do you find expensive skincare routines worth it? Leave me a message down below!

A few weeks ago, I created a goal list to complete by my 25th birthday that included weight loss. This specific goal feels like the biggest challenge on the list. How am I supposed to drop pounds when my Fibromyalgia keeps me housebound? When I can barely cook for myself? When I can't digest a lot of vegetables?

It seemed like a throwaway goal. Like I set the bar too high. Still, I set the goal because I wanted to achieve it. I didn't give myself a specific amount of weight because I felt that was unfair. I didn't want to fail to meet a certain level and then backslide because I was ashamed. So, I decided to research weight loss techniques that were more flexible. I needed something that let me eat whatever I wanted while not feeling deprived. You know, the ideal diet that everyone wants when they set out to lose weight... Yeah, I didn't think I'd find anything.

Then I did. I stumbled upon weight loss discussions in various forums that discussed Calorie Counting. I always thought that it was bad; it made me think of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, systems that were expensive and didn't work very well if you ate food off menu. However, from my research I soon discovered that weight loss was a simple equation. "Calories In" needs to be less than "Calories Out". That's it. If I could eat just a little less than I burned, eventually the weight would come off with very little effort on my part. This meant I could still eat at restaurants, that I could still have sweets and pasta. I just needed to portion things better and plan my meals accordingly.  So, I went to TDEE Calculator and sorted out my numbers according to my activity level. It was somewhat low because of my height, gender, and activity level. Still, I could work within it. I could also eat dinners with my ravenous partner as long as I followed portion control rules.

The most involved part of this was tracking everything I ate. This meant snacks, drinks and even licking the spoon after cooking. The piece of gum I chewed to freshen my breath? Count it. That little nibble off my partner's fork? Count it. The sip of my friend's drink to prove how bad it tasted? Yep, count it.  It felt a little daunting, but I already had a tracking function built into my Fitbit App. This would come in handy because my Fitbit already tracked my calorie burn. It tracked how many calories I expended just by existing and how many I burned while doing basic daily tasks. This gave me a much higher number than my estimates on the calculator and I was able to eat until I was full each day while still losing weight! It feels like I've actually found something that works.

As of today, I've lost 7 lbs just by calorie counting. It's a small number, but the losses have been steady every week. If I keep this up maybe the weight loss goal won't be so bad after all.

-Dana.


Have you ever tried calorie counting? What diet works for you? Do you use apps to assist in your weight loss? Tell me what you think below!

I bite the bullet today and dug deeper into the world of skincare. There are some pretty obessed communities out there that I've been avoiding because I knew I'd get swallowed up by all the information. Still, it's been more than a year on this journey of mine. It was time.

Yes, I finally decided to join the r/SkincareAddiction forum.

SCA is a popular subreddit that boasts a plethora of skincare information. There recommendations for every skin type and lists for "Holy Grail" products for each type. You can post pictures and discuss different conditions. The routine help section is probably the part I was most interested in. It was there that I found out a lot of the steps I was missing from my routine.

I had the basics down, but I was missing key serums and moisturizers. (Did you know your skin shouldn't feel tight after your routine? That means it's too dry!) A standard routine would look like this:

AM

• Cleanser
• Toner
• Light Serum
• Moisturizer
• Sunscreen

Today, I turn 24 years-old. Today, I made some choices about my future.

For a long time now, I've been coasting. I'm not really pushing myself. I'm not striving to achieve anything. My chronic pain condition (see: Fibromyalgia) has really been holding me back. I can't work, I can barely sleep and I've really let myself go while trying desperately to maintain my pain levels. This stops today.

I've set myself some goals for the following year. These are targets that I've wanted to make progress towards for a long time. Things I've put off for years. I hope to achieve some or even all of these by my 25th birthday.

Before Age 25 I Want To:

• Lose Weight 
• Clear up my Acne
• Finish Writing a Full-length Novel

On television, often when celebrities or the rich elite are depicted, you'll see women getting expensive facials at spas rather than at home face-masks. I always thought those were a little ridiculous. If I can do this at home for cheap, why would I pay someone else to do it?

Oh, am I sure eating some crow now.

Over the Christmas holidays, my lovely partner bought me a day of pampering at a local spa. This was so sweet of him and, with my current obsession with skincare, I was super excited.  When I arrive at the spa and began my other treatments, the whole time my mind was focused on the facial. Was it going to do anything? Was it a gimmick? Would I look like a fresh faced baby?

The treatment I selected was designed for acne and involved chemical exfoliation using fruit enzymes. (You know how pineapple tingles when you eat it? It's because the pineapple is breaking down the cells on your tongue. It can be used to exfoliate skin too!) When I laid down for the experience, I was really pleased with how many steps were involved. My boyfriend had paid over $100 for this treatment and I definitely wanted it to be worth it. We spent about half an hour steaming and rubbing and extracting. Then came the actual facial. We did the chemical exfoliation first and the esthetician mentioned it might tingle... Wow, what an understatement.

It didn't tingle. It didn't feel fresh or even itchy. No. It BURNED.

I mentioned this to the esthetician to which she said, "Yep, that's normal." Normal to feel like my face is melting off like the cheese sliding off a slice of pizza. Okay. Sure. Then I had to sit there for 10 minutes with that shit on my face. When the woman left the room, I said a few choice words to myself. The lava began to settle into my pores and I started to accept that this was my life now. I would be fire face. Maybe you could cover up exposed muscle with foundation.

Time ticked by slowly and I spent the majority of the time screaming internally until she returned and took it off. Once the chemical exfoliation was removed, I shivered in pleasure. It was so nice to not feel the burning I was relishing in it. Next came the soothing oatmeal mask, which felt like ice after the magma treatment. When all was said and done, I got up from the table and swore to never come back. Those rich ladies on TV were nuts, this was awful. Only insane people who had killed all the nerve endings in their face with plastic surgery would do this.  Then I looked in a mirror...

Damn. I looked good. Smooth, clearer. I still had skin, really good skin, even though it felt like I left it on the spa floor. I thanked the esthetician and tipped well, noticeably quiet as I contemplated what had just occurred.

The following month, I had some of the best skin of my life. Clearer than usual and so soft. I even felt confident enough to not wear make-up. The only difference was the expensive facial. It felt like a revelation and I realized that maybe facials were worth the money. Eventually, my skin went back to being it's naughty self and I longed for another face-melting that drained my bank account.

So was it worth it? Yes and no. I didn't like the experience of the burning exfoliation, but I loved the results. If it weren't so expensive, I'd do it more often.  However, it's nice to know that it's a viable option when I can afford it. Doing regular upkeep for it would be a big hit to my wallet as they recommend you do it every six weeks (which is when my skin started to freak out again). So, maybe I understand how these wealthy women do this regularly if it shows such good results. Beauty is pain, apparently. For good skincare, you start to become a masochist if something works. You want the burning just for the results.

While this facial won't be a regular addition to my routine, I'm pleased to have tried it. I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever have a skin emergency again.

-Dana.

Have you ever tried chemical exfoliation? Did you get a strange facial at a spa? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments!

Yeah, I already have enough doctors and specialists in my life. I don't need another, and I especially don't need one not covered by my government health plan. If you think cleanser is expensive, try seeing a specialist for five minutes. Anyways, I dug deeper into the hormone angle. This lead me to remember my PCOS and how I had been neglecting it for a while (2 years-ish?). Like I said before, the symptoms weren't really my top priority with my other health issues in the spotlight. It didn't seem like a really big problem, though maybe I was ignoring the obvious. So I took a step back for a moment. I cut out the extras in my Lush routine, and just observed my skin for a while. When only using a cleanser and toner, I noticed my skin was decent (not great, but not awful) for a few weeks at a time. Then, like clockwork, my skin would breakout terribly and get all inflamed for a two week period. The cycle would restart and I was keeping track of it all in my period app. This went on for a couple months and I had to come to terms with the fact that my hormones were contributing to my acne problem.

This meant it was time to go back on a daily medication, one I had taken before briefly, but not a task I was looking forward too. I have trouble taking medicine and vitamins every day (there's a reason I got an IUD for my birth control), and I hadn't been on a medication for anything since the summer because everything was making my Fibromyalgia fatigue worse. Still, I begrudgingly made the appointment with my doctor to go back on Spironolactone. It's original use is as a heart pill to lower blood pressure, but its biggest side effect is helping eliminate the nastier symptoms of PCOS like Hirstutism (I have a tiny blonde beard that I can wax or shave easily. Like I said, I'm a lucky patient really.) by lowering the amount of androgens in my system which are caused by my high levels of testosterone. The best part is that by lowering my androgens not only does my tiny goatee go away but so does my acne. It can take a very long time to work, from three months up to a year, but it was truly time to take this step. I may not see results for a while, but I can't keep ignoring my PCOS.

The second supplement I'm adding to my routine is a lovely little spinning face brush. Like I said above, this is more of a pampering item than a big decision. It's certainly an upgrade for my twice daily face wash. A lot of the well-advertised brands are super expensive, but I got a spin brush for cheap through a cosmetics company at which my mother used to work. You can get one on Amazon, or any drugstore really. All it really needs to do is have a soft brush and twirl it's little bristles. You don't need bells and whistles. Adding this to my routine has been great as I use far less product and still manage to lather my whole face. The gentle exfoliating is also quite lovely. It makes cleansing a little more fun too, which definitely makes me want to follow my regimen. I'm hoping to continue using it for the remainder of my Kiehl's routine and for any future products if I decide to switch it up.

My only real complaint about the spin brush is that it can take a few minutes of cleaning after use. The soaps really nestle themselves into the bristles and that can be a pain. I'm sure I'll get it down to an exact science after repeated use though. Fingers crossed that the new year brings me some relief in the skincare department! Shortly after my birthday next month, I will have reached the one year mark in my journey to achieve clear skin. Hopefully, I'll have some positive things to report by then.

Dana~

Do you have hormonal acne? Have you ever taken pills for your acne? What do you think of spinning brushes?  Am I nuts for trying so many things at once again? Sound off in the comments down below!