Face it

I can officially say the sentence, “I am getting married next month.” It’s weird! How did time go so slowly, but yet so quickly?

Until the big day, besides for keeping my head on straight, I’ve really been trying to keep my skin from buggin’ out as it likes to do. I contemplated buying the Clinique 3-step system that a lot of the Bees have mentioned, going back to my dermatologist, or signing up for Proactiv again. I used Proactiv in college and for awhile it worked really well. However, it would eventually just quit working and my skin would dry up like a flaky grandma-face.

I was digging around my bathroom cabinet a few weeks ago and found an old bottle of Proactiv face wash. I had restarted the system a year or so ago, and had promptly quit using it when my skin was getting way too dry (and the auto-payment from my checking account was pissing me off as well). I decided to put together my own little skin plan, and so far, *KNOCK ON WOOD* it’s really working!

I am only using Step 1 (the renewing cleanser) from Proactiv’s 3-step system. I’ve realized that the reason the multi-step skin clearing solutions don't always work is because 3 steps of benzoyl peroxide products are way too drying for me. So, every morning I wash my face with the Proactiv cleanser.

Image via Proactiv.com

Then, I use a non-alcohol based toner. I like Neutrogena’s toner. I focus mostly on using it around the “outskirts” of my face closer to my hairline to get out any conditioner/hair product/face-dirt left behind that.

Image via drugstore.com

Then I moisturize before putting on makeup. Right now I like Aveeno.

 

Image via drugstore.com

At night I use a gentler face wash that isn't medicated.

Image via drugstore.com

I finish up with a topical gel that I got from my dermatologist. I've had this stuff for almost a year now and there is still a ton left. You just dab a little on any pimples or red spots and they're gone in two days time.

Image via medhelp.org

I definitely recommend seeing a dermatologist at least once if you have mild acne. The visits add up fast (even with health insurance), so I'm glad I found a good balance between over-the-counter and prescription products.


Hopefully my incoherent stress and chocolate binging won't turn against me in the next few weeks.

Do you have any good skin-clearing tips?

A Weighty Issue Part 1: The Backstory

Today I signed into my registry to replace something that went discontinued (no worries- I've only had to do this 80 times already) and my jaw almost hit the floor when I noticed I am ALMOST at 100 days out. Crazy little registry countdown clock!

What the hell? I don't think I ever took into consideration that all this planning would lead to the big day, because my mind feels boggled by the concept of me walking down the aisle and getting married. And, with my first dress fitting looming a few weeks away I realized I better stop slacking at getting my arse to the gym, and I better stop eating all those damn tacos (well except for Taco Tuesdays...)

Okay, a disclaimer. I know I am not a plus-size bride and I am not here to whine that my size 2s are just TOO DARN TIGHT (because I will never be a size 2 and um, eat a potato!). But, my desire to be in shape for my wedding stems from my past. I was a chubster! Baby fat, chubby, chunky, however you want to put it I was overweight and unhealthy. I like food and I like to eat. I grew up in a clean your plate(s) family. I was the polar opposite of an active child. My hobbies consisted of doing things like poking out all the chocolate chips in my Chips Ahoys, eating the cookie, and saving the chocolate chips for dessert (yes, I really did this). So, Hive for you only (and I guess whoever else stumbles upon this blog post) I am revealing a teenage awkward photo of myself to prove that I am not BSing you. Here goes:

Yes, I am aware I had oddly un-proportional legs

I can tell you one thing, Junior High was NOT fun. I had great girlfriends my whole life, but kids in general are really terrible. I survived Junior Hellschool and during the summer before High School I remember clearly thinking, “I should lose weight.” That summer I lost maybe 5 lbs. I wasn’t weighing myself at the time so I don’t know, but it wasn’t a significant loss.

My High School was great. I can honestly say there was no teasing or cruelty that I ever witnessed. But, I still felt like I should just lose the weight already. My mom had joined Weight Watchers sometime during my freshman year, and even though I didn’t want to go to the meetings (mostly my lazy ass did not want to wake up early on a Sunday morning) I used all her books and points calculator to do the old school Points system on my own, and it worked! Again, I wasn’t weighing myself then, but I went from chubby to “average.”

Our Senior Year trip to the Jersey Shore before it was a household name... yes, I'm wearing too much bronzer in hopes of blending in with my Italian best friends

I know the Points program has changed somewhat, but I can not talk-up Weight Watchers enough. Their “diets” make sense. They don’t make you eat stupid crap that you will soon give up on. The program honestly changes your life and how you think about food. By my senior prom I was down to a size 6, and then college came around….

Like most people I ate like PURE SHIT in college. I gained the freshmen 15 and then some. I would go through spurts of “I am going to be good,” where I would occasionally hit the gym and eat more salads. However, beer + late night eating + more beer + horrible food choices for weeks on end = blubbery. By the time I graduated I was really unhealthy and felt like garbage.  I looked extremely swollen.

I could barely hustle downstairs to the subway to catch a train I heard pulling in (mind you this was running DOWN stairs, not up). The scale was telling me I was almost 160 lbs and I’m only 5’3.’’ My BMI put me as overweight, and my size 12s were telling me “ha ha you fool!” It still took me about a year after this knowledge set in to cut out the excessive vanilla lattes, bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, and craptastic snacking.

Losing weight isn't something to do on a whim to fit in a dress, but it can definitely be a great motivator. Even though my initial motivator came before our engagement, I’m not sure that my bride brain could have handled one more task. Are you trying to lose weight before your big day?