Fighting Acne - The Unconventional Way

Prevention is better than cure.

I have read countless posts on how to treat acne/pimples/cysts. Extremely helpful as they may be, the take home message that I always get is that, prevention is better than cure. (I am very thankful for some of the articles, like Splendicity, and Viva Woman's.)

If in the first place, I don't have a pimple to begin with, then what for would I need a pimple cream, or tea tree oil (lol. I invested in a 100% pure one from Thursday Plantation, and it's left on my shelf collecting dust now.), or honey, or go through painful needle extractions during facial?

So after concluding from some of my observations, I decided that one of the best ways to fight acne, is by the "torturous", maybe time-consuming, but very beneficial way - A Healthy Lifestyle.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is the indirect, frequently overlooked, unconventional way of stopping all that unpleasant zits from popping out all over. And I have many athletic friends who can "prove" it. I am always so envious of the guys' baby smooth face. And even more envious when they say they use nothing but normal soap and/or water to wash their faces.

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So how did I go about trying to lead a healthier lifestyle?

In my opinion, I feel that this can be divided into 2 big catergories, that is exercise and diet.

Exercise
1. DECIDE that you want to lead a healthier lifestyle. (I wouldn't say healthy, just aim for moderate, healthIER lifestyle)

2. Start moving.
I started off with the little exercises that one kind friend devised for me. That includes things like leg bend, calf lift, squats, cruches, and swimming. Very simple, at low intensity, low repetition.

Then I also added in cycling.

Subsequently, I cut out magazine articles and start to follow them. This is very good! Just grab any girly mag, like Seventeen, Cleo, Women's Weekly, sure to see a page of healthy lifestyle.

3. Increase the repetitions and intensities as you go along.
I just increase after around 1 week, then 2, because by instincts, I feel that I am stronger, and can do more times. So this is up to individual to judge for yourself.

4. Stick to whatever movements you are doing for 4-8 weeks to see results.
Then you might like to change, e.g. your aerobic exercise can change from cycling to jogging, swimming, dancing/workout, ball games with friends.

Anyway, by that time, the next issue of magazine would have come out with new ideas, so just keep a lookout.

Diet
I don't mean go on a diet, starve yourself. I find it torturous to feel hungry. And I am against being extremely underweight, anorexic, bulimic etc. (My reasons range from being unable to donate blood, lack nutrients/hormones to have baby, bad fatless dry and hairy skin and more.)

Diet simply means change the things and way you eat, not don't eat.

1. Start by replacing one meal.
I chose lunch. Instead of just eating any amount of whatever I want, I choose boiled stuff, soup stuff, vegetarian, such as brown rice.

Also, take in protein from soy, beancurd, eggs, nuts, instead of meat. I don't abstain. Just take less. Cos I believe we should eat from every catergory.

Then for dinner, I also try to cut down on the processed food.

I am aiming to replace my peanut butter bread breakfast with banana, milk and oat by this week. (Here is a fellow beauty blogger's post on banana breakfast.)

2. Be on a calorie deficit
haha, actually this is for losing weight. But oh well, having a smaller waistline is part of beauty right. hehe.

Calorie deficit simply means eat lesser calorie than you use in one day. Normal sedentary lifestyle adult should be around 1500 kcal - 1800 kcal a day.

***It's very important to include the calorie from your drinks!!!
Simply don't take sweet drinks, you should be fine with this part.

3. Take vitamins the right way. Eat fruits, eat dark green leafy vegetables. Kiwi, banana, brocolli, mushrooms, all these are good food.

This is very important. Because it is quite common for people to think that going on a lean diet means cutting everything. You need to cut the bad things, but increase the nutrients. So that's why choosing is important. Choose the nutrients dense stuff.

The following is a simple list I can type off-hand:
Wholegrains/Carbo (oat, barley, brown rice, wholemeal bread)
Good fats (salmon, sardine, mackerel)
Vegetable (brocolli, spinach)
Fruit (kiwi, banana)
Protein (soy bean/milk (lactose free), plain boiled beancurd, eggs, skim milk/cheese/yohurt)

The idea is to cut fats/saturated fats. Protein makes us feel we are full, so we eat lesser. They are also used to build our DNA, bones, everything. Carbohydrates are to make us think we are full. We crave sweet things, and carbo, so if you cut carbo totally, you will just keep thinking you are so, so, so hungry. As for fats, the latest article I read says a normal adult only needs less than 50g a day.

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THE RESULT

A healthier, prettier, happier you!

Asides from my skincare, I do think that this change in lifestyle has contributed significantly to the fact that I don't need to touch the pimple cream for weeks already.

Not only for the face, but I read that if you suffer from body acne, diet also helps a lot. But I am unable to testify for that, as I only get one or two body acne if my clothes are too tight, and I fail to bathe quickly after sweating (during chalet).

I know, this post is so long. But I sincerely hope it can help someone out there. Signing off here. =) Bye.

Conjuring Beauty w/o Busting Your Purse - Intro

I am writing this after being inspired by the article, "Perfect At Every Stage" in August issue of Cleo. The article in Cleo is more of an advertisement for L'oreal's 100 Years of Beauty, featuring a plethora of products coming from all brands under the huge wings of L'oreal.

The long list includes L'oreal Paris, Maybelline, Garnier, L'oreal Elseve, Biotherm, Vichy, La-Roche-Posay, Emporio Armani Diamonds Intense, Diesel Fuel for Life, Matrix Bioloage Colour Care, YSL, Shu Uemura, Lancome, Kiehl's, Skinceuticals, Raplh Laren, Kerastase, Redken.

Amazing isn't it? I was truly dumbfounded when I saw all these. To tell the truth, I googled "L'oreal" last month, before this 100 Years of Beauty Campaign appeared. It was pure coincidence that I saw in Wikipedia that L'oreal is the oldest cosmetic company in the world, which started in 1909 (of course). And then I posted on my facebook that L'oreal own 40% of Nestle!!!

Imagine how big L'oreal is... ...
It's like, know it or not, you probably have contributed to their profits before.

Actually, I like it! Cos L'oreal's L'oreal Paris products are good and affordable. I like L'oreal Elseve shampoos too.

A Post for Cleo

Where more appropriate to blog about Cleo, the magazine itself, than at askCleo.com?

I just found out that Cleo provides us a space to blog although I have been a member for some time now. Funny isn't it?

Having abandoned askCleo.com for so long already, why am back? Why do I start now? This is because I love the August issue so much! So many surprises, so many goodies, what more can a beauty lover ask for?

I was bored over the weekend, when I asked my significant other (SO) if he could get me a copy of Cleo along the way back from buying lunch. And of course, as the ever-loving SO, he sent the brightly coloured beautiful Ciara cover into my hands. Together with the words, "I saw that there is a bottle of Brands essence packed together with every copy, so I bought it".

haha, so now we all know that all the freebie gimmick works wonders, even on males. Perhaps, especially on males, because males tend to buy things based on "wu-hua, boh-hua", value-for-money or not. (My SO happily bought another SPH magazine because August issue comes with a sample bottle of Colgate Plax.)

So that was the first surprise that Cleo gave me - BRAND’S^® InnerShine^® Prune Essence. I like the taste of it, and will review it and my thoughts (yes, I have an issue with selling prune juice) about this product in a later post.

My bottle of Brands InnerShine Prune Essence as a freebie from Cleo.

Then of course, I was so over the moon that Cleo came to relieve me of boredom, and I opened it much like child with twinkling eyes, and dying to play with an Optimus Prime model. And before I managed to fully flip over the cover, tadaa! A slip of paper with a peculiar blue straw fell out. Goodness! What is a straw doing in a magazine?

I picked up the "cup" of ZA Dewy Effect Lotion and almost put the straw into my mouth, just for fun. LOL. I honestly think that this is one eye-catching, insanely innovative advertisement. (And to think I thought doing the RevitaLift "lift" in another SPH magazine is creative enough.

So in this second surprise by Cleo, I have to answer 5 questions that will tell me how thirsty my skin is. Ah, this is consumer psychology unfolding. I am very attracted to doing quizzes, no matter how silly (on facebook etc), the designer of this ad really got me reading. That's not enough. The answers, of course, are strategically printed on the other side of the ZA card.

The quiz on the front of the ZA card ad.

So I flipped it over. It says that my skin needs regular hydration, which I already knew for 3 years now. LOL. I actually did a quiz that I know the answer to. But it was fun. The best thing is that I love the Dewy Effect light green bottle, I do think that I will like the product, and ZA is offering Cleo readers a chance to get some ZA freebies!

The back of the ZA card tells you more about ZA Dewy Effect, and offers freebies and discount.

And now, for the third surprise, probably nobody would guess this. It is Genefique. Yes, i just said Genefique, the latest scientific product that is fresh out of Lancome's lab. The Genefique that has been on our TV screens for the past week now. And the Genefique that one would likely see on every (Singaporean) magazine's first page advertisement for August.

Tucked nicely away on Page 86 -87, is the advertorial for Genefique, and pasted snugly besides the spine of the magazine, is a little sample of the miracle serum. I really am loving Cleo so much, up to this point. How did they clinch the deal for a sample??? The other SPH magazine does not have that. So anyway, Lancome offers readers only, a 7-day trial of Genefique. And using it, 5 girls who give the best blog entry about it will receive a full bottle of Genefique free.

Page 86-87 of August Cleo, Genefique by Lancome.

It says, "the No. 1 selling Lancome skincare product in France since its launch!"

It features a girl who has tested it, and likes it very much.

There is the silhouette of the sample that given to Cleo readers. I have plucked it out and used it. Enough for two times.

At this time, I would really say, Cleo, you are naughty. Hiding all the goodies so well, then letting me stumble into wonderful surprises. You are one naughty, playful mag.

After the third surprise, if you think this is all, you are wrong.

Are you the Cleo Star we've been waiting for?

Cleo wants you! If you are an avid reader of Cleo, you can talk, and have the personality, Cleo wants you for a host and a fashion spread.

Go for an auditon and receive a free makeover. Sign up with $30, fully redeemable for ZA products, and get a goodie bag worth $80. Sounds pretty good. I told my SO I just wanted to go and buy the goodie bag. LOL. But he says I don't need all those products. The other reason is of course, also because I have been wanting be a host for many years. A newcaster, or a compere, I think it will be great.

So here goes the forth lovely delight. You know, turning page and page and beyond the halfway mark, you see what thought shouldn't be there. But it is right there, smiling and beckoning you.

Now, this is like eating a 3 course meal, with no desserts promised. But at the end, the waiter serves a scoop of chocolate chips peppermint ice cream. Then you wipe your mouth, hands on your bag, but the waiter comes again with a strawberry cheesecake ice-cream. This time, you half-wonder if there will be more, but still take out your wallet, hands up for the bill, when the waiter comes a third time with a scoop of durian ice-cream. You keep shaking your head and say this is not real. Now you stand up and prepare to leave and the mango sherbet ice-cream presents itself.

Enjoy, cheers. =)

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Slimming

I really must put up my pics for this. Guess what my weight is last time?

haha, below is what I did to slim down:

1. Be disciplined.
2. Have a goal/dream in mind for motivation.
3. Strictly no snacks. Fruits and vegetables are ok. But in my opinion, I don't snack because I want to kick the HABIT of munching between meals. So nothing, strictly nothing but 2/3 meals.
4. Eat only half portion for all meals, including breakfast. (unless your breakfast is already very little, like 2 pieces of bread ok.)
5. No fatty/oily food. Steam, boiled etc.
6. Strictly NO SUGAR. Not even teh ni. No can drinks, fizzy drinks. Nothing but plain water.
7. Exercise at least 2 times a week. Exercise = repeatedly doing the same work with the same big muscle consecutively for 20 min. Jogging is the fastest. Think PE...
8. What Mind Your Body says... : eat carbo (half portion) (rice, potato, bread, biscuit etc) when your tummy growls. You brain is craving for carbo. Eat to get the full feeling, so you wouldn't eat some more. No point eating all chicken, egg, fruit, salad... I can vouch for this. Eating yoghurt etc doesnt makes you full. End up you will eat even more calories then you plan to.

*caution* the part that you treasure most - your breast will down size around half also. I don't know how to keep that. Anyone knows please comment. =) thanks =)

*note* do run, cos the fats in the thighs are hard to shed. you don't want to have unproportionate body.

remember -> slimming is about being disciplined, discipline is about repeatedly doing the small little things that you HATE most part of your life.
Always remember -> beauty queen said before, her favourite food is chocolate, but she has not eaten it for 5 years.

disclaimer:
- thin not equal beautiful
- if what you want is beauty, aim for figure and proportion, think Lumimi
- in my opinion, no breast and butt is not nice.
- whatever I wrote above comes from my personal experience along with knowledge from some readings. It may at most serve as a guide, not "bible".