As of today I am 28, I'm married with two children. I work full time an hour away from home, and I sit at a computer desk while I work. I am Hispanic and I am on the short side. Also, i love in California.
I am away from home for about 10 hours a day and because my time is so limited I rarely cook dinner. Fast food is a staple in my diet. I'm sure this contributes to my acne. Yes, I have adult acne and it's embarrassing. Worse than that I have acne scars from not being able to resist trying to rid myself of them (popping and picking).
Of course, I try to hide it all with make-up, which also contributes right back to my acne as well. If I remember, I may wash of my make-up before bed, but I usually don't. So I wake up, wash my face and then reapply. My skin gets a break from make-up on Sundays. My face is always either way dry or oily from the make-up.
This leads me to the rest of my body. I have dry skin, dry scalp, and dry hair. I have lotion but I bought it 2 years ago and it's still fairly full... in other words I hardly use it. Even after shaving my legs I fail to moisturize, which in turn dries them out more. My hair is both oily and dry. I'm not quite certain how that happens but I'm guessing it has to do with me coloring my hair and then not washing it for 3-4 days. my scalp can be flaky, my roots oily, and my ends are split, dry, and easily breakable. I do not use heat tools everyday but I use them often.
My dental hygiene is bad, but not great either. I brush my teeth once a day every day, but I still have bleeding gums. I rarely floss and when I do it hurts. It's been a while since I have been to the dentist, I know I am past due for a check-up.
I have a very love hate relationship with exercising. It is actually more love than hate. I weight 138 lbs. which doesn't sound horrible, but for my stature, and the way it sits on me, is not preferable. Up to about 3 months ago I was rather fit but i got tired and so I am now out of shape once again. 7 months ago I gave birth to my daughter and in the course of 3 months I managed to lose 40 lbs and hit my goal weight of 125 lbs. that might sound great and all but the way I did it was rather unrealistic for an actual lifestyle. I was on a VERY restrictive diet and was exercising for roughly 1 hour a day every day. The combination of the two made me feel weeker than stronger. I still have a gym membership, and I like to jog around my neighborhood but since I have gone back to work (from maternity leave) it just doesn't seem like I have time for eating right and exercising. I will however try my best.
Last, bust certain ly not least, my clothes. Where I work there is a dress code policy and. Surprisingly the policy allows jeans and t-shirts, as long as the t-shirts are plain with no logos or outstanding design, and the jeans can't be torn. Sometimes I will be required to dress up as a business professional, so I have pencil skirts, button downs, and blazers. So my problem hear is that when it comes to work, I either dress SUPER chill (but plain jane) or SUPER Profesional (and uptight). I could dress somewhere in between the two but that usually takes more effort and time than I'm willing to give in the morning. And weekends it's worse. On days where I don't have plans, I stay in pajamas ALL day. This usually I end up getting nothing accomplished on those days. I just relax at home. For the record I do not leave the house in my pajamas, I draw the line there. Also since I have a 7 month old, many of my clothes are stained. Some stains are noticeable, some are not, but I know they are there.
So that is me. I sound like a hot mess now that I type it all out. I definately see myself as "frumpy." Part of me no longer wants to post pictures of myself but I know deep down I'm not THAT horrible. I feel like it might be impossible to find time to do all of this, but I need to do it. I feel like a big chunk of me is lost. I care about myself, I really do, but it doesn't show.
So for the next 8 weeks I will be blogging status updates and my thoughts on whether or not I feel better. Tomorrow it begins.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Natural You
From a very young age we are told what to do by our parents, teacher, and doctors how to take care of ourselves to stay healthy. When we are little we look forward to taking care of ouselves and we gladly oblige to doing those things by ourselves. Bathing ourselves, brushing our own teeth, selecting our own food, brushing our own hair, getting our own cup of water, and playing outside. Somewhere along the way to adulthood we become too busy to do everything we were taught to do, or we disregard it all because it's just not fun anymore. Why drink water when soda is sooo tasty or a nice cold beer can be so relaxing after a hard days work? And who has time to go to the gym 3 days a week? By age 30 it is completely possible for our bodies to be internally corrupted by all the bad stuff we were always told to avoid or limit that we feel and look older than we are.
So I would like to start over again. A re-do, if you will, without the clean slate of course. I'm throwing my mindset back to all those times I was taught to take care of myself and I'm going to do it all wits the sam oomf i once had when I was younger. I call this the 'Natural You Challenge' because it is naturally what we should be doing to take care of ourselves. Let me explain.
My dentist always told me to brush twice a day and to floss once a day. I brush my teeth once and floss maybe once a week, if I remember. Doctors and teachers have always recommended to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day; on most days I eat 1, some days 0, and rarely 2 or more. Many doctors/coaches recommend exercising 30 minutes a day, five days a week, just to stay fit... the last time I went for a jog was nearly 2 months ago. Also I've drank 2 glasses of water today, which is more than usual for me.
Does any of this sound familiar to you about your life?
So we all know what we SHOULD be doing. What would our health status be if we actually did it all? would my skin be less dry? Would my hair be less brittle? Would my dress size be smaller? Would I have more energy? In general, would I be happier?
I would like to find out and I welcome anyone else who is willing to find out to do this challenge as well. Here are the basic things I will be doing as part of the challenge, if you have more ideas for your own personal life feel free to add to the list.
For the next 60 days:
Stick to 2100 calories per day (standard for adult women)
Exercise for 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.
Drink 8 glasses of water
Get 7-8 hours of solid sleep.
Brush my teeth twice a day.
Floss once a day.
Eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day.
Stick to low fat/sodium foods.
Do not pop my pimples.
Remove make-up before bed.
Clean face daily (even after make-up free days).
Moisturize skin twice a day.
Do not use heating tools on hair every day.
Use sunblock whenever going outside.
Always wear clean clothes.
Wear clothes that fit.
Wear what makes you comfortable but not lazy.
If you already do some of these then don't worry about doing them as part of the challenge. I know the last few sound weird, like how could clothing affect your health? Mental health is a big part of this challenge too and to me, personally, clothing really has an affect on my stress levels everyday and my confidence. This is what mean by customizing the challenge to you.
So I would like to start over again. A re-do, if you will, without the clean slate of course. I'm throwing my mindset back to all those times I was taught to take care of myself and I'm going to do it all wits the sam oomf i once had when I was younger. I call this the 'Natural You Challenge' because it is naturally what we should be doing to take care of ourselves. Let me explain.
My dentist always told me to brush twice a day and to floss once a day. I brush my teeth once and floss maybe once a week, if I remember. Doctors and teachers have always recommended to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day; on most days I eat 1, some days 0, and rarely 2 or more. Many doctors/coaches recommend exercising 30 minutes a day, five days a week, just to stay fit... the last time I went for a jog was nearly 2 months ago. Also I've drank 2 glasses of water today, which is more than usual for me.
Does any of this sound familiar to you about your life?
So we all know what we SHOULD be doing. What would our health status be if we actually did it all? would my skin be less dry? Would my hair be less brittle? Would my dress size be smaller? Would I have more energy? In general, would I be happier?
I would like to find out and I welcome anyone else who is willing to find out to do this challenge as well. Here are the basic things I will be doing as part of the challenge, if you have more ideas for your own personal life feel free to add to the list.
For the next 60 days:
Stick to 2100 calories per day (standard for adult women)
Exercise for 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.
Drink 8 glasses of water
Get 7-8 hours of solid sleep.
Brush my teeth twice a day.
Floss once a day.
Eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day.
Stick to low fat/sodium foods.
Do not pop my pimples.
Remove make-up before bed.
Clean face daily (even after make-up free days).
Moisturize skin twice a day.
Do not use heating tools on hair every day.
Use sunblock whenever going outside.
Always wear clean clothes.
Wear clothes that fit.
Wear what makes you comfortable but not lazy.
If you already do some of these then don't worry about doing them as part of the challenge. I know the last few sound weird, like how could clothing affect your health? Mental health is a big part of this challenge too and to me, personally, clothing really has an affect on my stress levels everyday and my confidence. This is what mean by customizing the challenge to you.
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