Crown of Glory » Health/Beauty http://bloglorious.com A Young Woman's Journey to Embracing Nappturality, Sisterlocks, and Financial Independence... Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:47:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Activity http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/activity/ http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/activity/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:39:33 +0000 Neci Baby http://bloglorious.com/?p=89 I just came back from the gym and I am so proud of myself because that was my second workout this week! Yesterday I went to this cycling class and I thought it would be a breeze but it was surely intense to say the least. The instructor had us standing up on the bikes and stuff…I could barely keep up, lol. Today I decided to try a stepping class. That class was a little less intense but my feet were giving me hell. I need to get it together! I decided that I will keep going to different group fitness activities at school until I find one that is at my level (over time I will step it up a few notches). I think I might give swimming a shot next week. To help keep me motivated, I’ve joined The 50 Million Pound Challenge. I’m not looking forward to it, but I definitely need to purchase a scale to keep track of my progress of losing my goal of 24 lbs. I think I’m off to a good start!

]]> http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/activity/feed/ 0 Gaining Weight…and MORE Weight http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/gaining-weightand-more-weight/ http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/gaining-weightand-more-weight/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:10:01 +0000 Neci Baby http://bloglorious.com/?p=87 I guess this week I’m realizing some things that I need to work on. Weight has never really been an issue for me. I was always a very skinny girl. Friends and family would joke around and tell me things like, “girl you need to get some meat on your bones!” No, I didn’t like how skinny I was,but there wasn’t anything to do about it. I ate anything and everything I wanted and still didn’t gain any weight. I would look at other girls and (black) women on TV (read: video vixens) and wish I could be as voluptuous as they were. Well, about 2 years ago, my wish started coming true. After taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen to treat my acne, my weight slowly started to increase. I went from a steady 115 to ~125. Then within ~1 year, I gained approximately 30 pounds! Some idiots that I hadn’t seen in a while even asked me if I was preggers! Right now I am 5’5″, 174 lbs and my measurements are 42-35-45. I like to give my measurements because I don’t believe my weight alone does me any justice. I do have the fab curvy figure that I’ve always wanted and I am (excuse my ghetto slang, but I am from Dade county so it’s bound to come out) definitely “supa thick”. I have no cellulite, no stretch marks, my girls sit up nice & proper, and the only thing that jiggles on me is my backside. BUT I would like to TONE up on some areas (mostly the middle section). When I want to really look glam I wear a corset to pull me in, but I would like a natural solution. Most importantly, I don’t need to gain ANYMORE weight!!

I went to the doctor the other day and he recommended that I lose ~25 lbs. Seems fair enough. My solution is to get active first, and then I’ll work to incorporate eating healthier. Right now, I am the MOST inactive person imaginable. My chest and legs hurt just from a brisk <10 minute walk. I used to have a gym membership, but I barely ever went. It was all so intimidating! These super thin women would come in looking all fab and just get to work doing their thing, but I didn’t know what the heck to do! For the most part I would spend a few hours on the treadmill and call it a day/week/month, lol. Anywho, I’ve located some group fitness classes at school that I could squeeze into my schedule. I’ve had them on my calendar for a few weeks now and only managed to go to 1 class, but I’m sure I’ll get into the routine as soon as I get used to juggling my schoolwork.

This is me last month….

]]> http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/gaining-weightand-more-weight/feed/ 3 Skin Issues http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/skin-issues/ http://bloglorious.com/2008/09/skin-issues/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:40:56 +0000 Neci Baby http://bloglorious.com/?p=86 Since about the 5th grade I have been experiencing problems with my skin, specifically ACNE. I absolutely hate it! I am so fed up at this point because all this time everyone has been telling me that I would grow out of it. Well, I am 22 years old and there are no signs of me growing out of it. During my teenage years my mother shuttled me in and out of dermatologist offices and I’ve tried everything from Accutane to Proactiv to Doxycline to Retin-A, Ortho Tri-Cyclen and countless others. NONE of it (with the exception of Accutane worked).  I stopped taking Accutane, however, due to side effects and $$$. For the past 2-3 years I gave up on treating my acne and just let it do its thing. The most I do is put a full, very uncomfortable face of makeup on everyday. There were some points of time where I felt confident enough to not wear any makeup, but those days are few and far between. So far, the only pattern I’ve figured out is that my skin breaks out the most around the time my monthly comes on. Sometimes I get fooled that my skin is getting better and that it’s finally clearing up for good…but then the hormones always sneak up on me and cut me down to size.

Lately, since I’ve been back in school I’ve been more conscious of my skin again and I’d like to give treating it another shot. There’s this black skin care institute in D.C. that I heard about a while ago that I would love to go to, but I cannot find any information about it online for the life of me. In the meanwhile, I made an appointment to see a dermatologist 9/26. Besides the acne itself, I have a lot of hyperpigmentation to deal with (I think that’s actually a bigger problem than the acne itself). I’m very optimistic about my visit next week and I’ll definitely keep you updated!

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