Tag: routine

Fibro Fridays: Morning Routine for Relief
health

Fibro Fridays: Morning Routine for Relief

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Fibro Friday! I’m glad that we’ve completed another beautiful week, and I’m hoping that all of you are feeling refreshed and relaxed.

On this fibro journey, one thing that I’d been resistant to was routine. I enjoy doing things at the spur of the moment, and I used to feel that routines kept me from living a fun and spontaneous life. As it turns out, routine has been a saving grace for me. Between getting into the regular habit of taking certain prescription medications, having regularly scheduled visits to physical therapists, and creating better sleep hygiene, I can see where routine is critical to my pain management strategy.

I noticed that I had morning, mid-day, and evening routines that have helped a lot with minimizing my pain and discomfort. So, I took note of my current practices and decided to film my lists. For this week, I filmed my morning routine. You can watch the video here:

The four things I’m currently doing are as follows:

1) Drink 8-16 oz of room temperature water upon waking. I’m always so thirsty when I first wake up, so this is crucial to helping me gently start my day.

2) Complete 5-10 minutes of bed yoga and stretching. Again, starting my day gently is vital: part of keeping my nervous system calm is to avoid overstimulating routines, such as hopping right out of bed and throwing myself directly into the activities of the day. Gentle stretches warm my body up and get me mentally prepared for the day.

3) Moisturize my skin thoroughly. For me, a hyper-sensitive nervous system has meant more sensitive skin. Fabric that was once fine is now uncomfortable against my skin, but I notice that this discomfort is minimized if I’m well moisturized. I use a body butter formulated by one of my friends, but prior to that, I used a light layer of petroleum jelly. It works great and it keeps my skin from getting dry throughout my day.

4) Consume mostly liquid supplements. When I start my day, I’m not usually in the mood for solid or heavy foods. Likewise, I am almost never in the mood for pills or other supplements that cannot be sipped or added into beverages. I try to make most of my morning supplements some sort of liquid: I find these easier to digest and much more effective for me.

This additional point is something that I’d like to try in the upcoming weeks. I have noticed a little more tooth sensitivity than normal, so I’m going to try using a desensitizing toothpaste (like Sensodyne) to help with that. I’ll try it for a few weeks and I’ll follow up to let you all know whether it’s something I’m going to keep in my rotation.

So that’s my morning routine in a nutshell. I find that these steps help me to have a smooth, gentle and effective start to my day.

That’s all for today! Have a great day and a fantastic weekend, and I’ll talk to you all next week. Take care!

fitness

Days 22 – 28 of My Fitness Challenge

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Sunday friends! I’m delighted to say that I think I’ve FINALLY found a really good health and fitness routine for me. I incorporated the elements of this routine at the beginning of the week, and I’ve enjoyed how I’m feeling, so I think I’ll keep it up!

Last week, I mentioned that a friend recommended intermittent fasting (IF) to me, and I gave it a try. This week, I stuck to the IF plan for 6 out of 7 days. The IF routine that I’m following consists of fasting for 16 hours and limiting my food intake to an 8-hour block of time per day (16-8 plan). I usually begin eating at 10 or 10:30 AM and have my last meal before 6 or 6:30 PM. After this time, the only thing I will allow myself is water or herbal tea. Likewise, before I have my first meal, I’ll only have water or tea.

sneakers

If all continues to go well, I will eventually transition to a 17-7 plan (17 fasting hours, 7 eating hours). The goal is to eat using the 18-6 plan consistently.

During my 8 hour eating window, I’ve eaten whatever I want, including some junk food. I took off my food restrictions while I tested out the eating times because I wanted to see how my body would react to “cheat day” meals while doing IF. All went well, so it’s time to really kick this into gear. Now that I’ve settled into a routine, I’ll go to the store and stock up on a bunch of good-for-you foods so that I can compound the positive effects of IF.

Speaking of positive effects, I noticed that I slept well and had more energy. I noticed less bloating and even my skin looks a little better. This could all be coincidence, but I’m pretty observant and I notice small bodily changes, so I’m thinking that I can credit all of this to IF.

I worked out five times this week and have already started to see my body beginning to tone up a bit. I used an old trick to get back into consistently working out: I wore my workout clothing to the office. You see, my gym is in the building where I work, so wearing gym clothes to the office practically forced me to go to the gym before I start working. I’ll continue to wear the workout clothes to the office so that I won’t have any excuses for not going to the gym.

Well, that’s it for this week’s update. I look forward to having some more great updates in a week. Thanks for stopping by, and talk to you all tomorrow!

beauty · luxury

Glass Skin Challenge – Updates

Mstldelano2 Comments

So I’m 15 days into my Glass Skin challenge, and yes, I have updates.

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(from Pinterest, courtesy of Getty Images)

For starters, keeping up with the routine is MUCH easier than I anticipated. I did, however, make a few modifications.

For Step 6: Serum/Booster/Ampoule, I added a benzoyl peroxide cream along with my serums. I’m currently bouncing between Oxy Maximum Action Spot Treatment and Mary Kay’s Clearproof Acne Treatment Gel. I apply both in a thin layer all over my face, right after I apply my Niacinamide but before I apply the Buffet serum. I apply the benzoyl peroxide cream every time I cleanse (morning and night).

I’ve done the mask consistently two times per week, and I’ve noticed that my skin really enjoys the extra moisture. Also, I decided to forgo the Mary Kay Firming Eye Cream. Instead, I’ve been using Mary Kay Indulge Soothing Eye Gel, with a layer of The Body Shop’s Smoothing Night Cream on top on the eye area only.

I’m saving the photos for the end of the month, but let me just say, I’ve been LOVING the results so far! I’m looking radiant and even, and I’ve been skipping foundation on most days. When I do decide to use foundation, I need so little of it. I’m delighted with how things are going!

 

 

beauty · luxury

March Beauty Challenge: Glass Skin

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I don’t spend a lot of time talking about my skin care routine on this blog because, well, there’s a lot more to life than beauty stuff. But I recently saw a post about a woman that had “glass skin”: skin so flawless that it looked shiny and smooth like glass. And, I was intrigued by what could create such a perfect, poreless complexion. After reading the post and comparing the “glass skin” routine to the Korean 10 step product routine, I decided that I would do a “glass skin” challenge during the month of March.

My skin is combination and can be sensitive at times. This routine will (hopefully!) help nourish my post-winter complexion and give me the kind of skin that looks perfect without makeup.

djournae

The goal is to look as gorgeous as Kezia by the end of the month (photo courtesy of D’Journae)

The ten steps as outlined by Self magazine are as follows, and the products I’ll be using for each step are also listed:

  • Oil cleanser (to remove makeup): food grade coconut oil
  • Foam cleanser: Mary Kay 3-in-1 Cleanser (for combination/oily skin)
  • Exfoliant (advised for 1 – 3 times week use): Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel for Sensitive Skin (I’ll use this one daily, as it’s gentle)
  • Toner: Caudalie Grape Water
  • Essence: SCINIC First Treatment Essence
  • Serum/booster/ampoule: The Ordinary Niacinamide and “Buffet” serums, Mary Kay Timewise Night Solution
  • Mask (1 – 2 times per week): Mary Kay Moisture Renewing Gel Mask
  • Eye cream: Mary Kay Firming Eye Cream
  • Face cream: Mary Kay Age Fighting Moisturizer (for combination/oily skin)
  • SPF: Mary Kay Timewise Day Solution

Whew, so many products! I currently use anywhere from 4-7 products per cleansing session, but adding these additional products will be new for me. To be fair, some of these will only be used once or twice a week, or only once a day, so, while the list looks long, not every product will be used twice a day.