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Diet etc Health Skin Care Tips video included

December & Yearly (2012) Favs + Some skin stuff

1/06/2013 12:29:00 AM

Happy New Year!

2013 has officially kicked off and I still feel like I'm the only one living in 2012. It's already been almost a week, but for the oddest reason, 2013 just doesn't feel like it's come to me.. yet!

Anywho, I have a new video talking about 4 things.
1. December 2012 empties.
2. December 2012 Favorites.
3. 2012 yearly favorites.
4. Skin improvement that happened in 2012.

I think I pretty much summed up my thoughts on all the makeup products.
As for the birth control pills, it's been exactly a year since I started taking birth control pills (read more about my first month here). I've been struggling with painful (and huge!) breakouts for 2 years. It started sometime around June of 2010 and got progressively worse until early 2012. I was always a bit prone to acne prior to 2010, but not at such a massive scale. The major break out areas were from cheekbone down, concentrated on the jawline and under the jawline, down to the neck and all the way to my back. I don't really think anything diet or exercise related caused the sudden outburst. At first, I speculated that it was stress related to work, but even after I quit work the acne wouldn't subside. I tried a lot of things to stop the breakouts (tried to relieve stress, slept at regular hours, watched my sugar and carb intake, worked out regularly, washed my face properly, had my hair away from my face, tried anything and everything that would remotely prevent any further breakouts...) and nothing seemed to work.

In January of 2012, I moved to LA. One of the first things I did was get birth control pills prescribed so I could see if the acnes would calm down. After a couple of bumpy side-effects, it seemed to work. My acne was disappearing at a fast rate, thus leading to less scars since I didn't have any acne to pick on.

Here are some before pictures of the breakouts.. They are all from previous posts. I've had some up and downs with the amount - but birth control pills dried the seed out of them and completely annihilated acne.

Oh, and for the weight gain.

I'm serious when I say I've gained. It's come to a point where it is uncomfortable to even talk properly because my cheek fat is pushing in on my teeth. I often end up biting my inner cheek because it's pushing in.

I've gained a total of 38 pounds after I started taking birth control pills. 3 pounds fluctuate depending on when I weigh myself, so let's just say it's a solid 35 pounds. My face is one of the last places to put on some padding, so if the puffiness is noticeable on my face - then that means it's game over for me. My waist has gone up 4 inches (and this is TIGHT 4 inches that I try to shove myself into..), my thighs and hips have expanded so much, I've went up so many pants sizes. My shoulders are also getting bulky and heavy.. and the additional weight just makes me miserable because even the simplest bending down puts a frustrating strain on myself.

So why am I not working it off?

It's weird to me too. If I work out and moderate my portions, I drop weight faster than most people. I've been on and off, but working out regularly since 2003.. I've tried, but for some reason it's hard to lose the weight I've massively gained. Even if I increase my workout, it seems to tire me out more. Anyway, I am going to try a new approach to my +35 self for 2013 and try to lose 3 pounds a month, or more like 1 pound per 10 days and return to my previous weight by the end of the year. ;)

I've your curious, let me know.. If I can gather the courage to put up my body shots, I will try to share my progress with you guys.

Anyway,

It's a long post to open up the new year.

Happy new year everyone! :)

See ya'll in my next post.

Catalina

Catalina

17 Comments

Diet Health

Toning up your midsection

4/26/2012 08:56:00 AM

Hi All,

I feel like summer is fast approaching and I am determined to at least not feel uncomfortable in my skin this year. I don't stop myself from wearing a bikini in public, but it bugs me a bit because I don't really like many parts of my body.
My main area of concern is my 'midsection'.
I've always had a lot of flab around my midsection and I'm really eager to get rid of them before it's too late :p

So, yesterday I was flipping around magazines at the library and snapped some workout pictures that I wanted to try out. Since it's in my memory card, why not share it with you guys?!

I think it was either from seventeen or teen vouge.

Have you guys seen any results with tone up tips like these?
I actually find them helpful if you stick to them for a reasonable period of time.

Yay!!
Let's get our tummy toned and have a fabulous summer!! :D

Catalina

Catalina

16 Comments

Diet Health Tips video included

Figure Dance Video

2/27/2012 01:37:00 AM

Hey everyone,

I wanted to introduce one of my favorite workout videos of all time. I've tried almost every workout video out in the market, and this is one of my favorites.

Here are some points that might be helpful for you guys.

This video is for toning and creating a feminine figure. It helps shape your body into a more girly figure. It not a split-second burst, high impact type of video. It's rather a slowly building-up video.
Take every step seriously and try to extend your movements (and muscles) to the max. If you finish the video without feeling like you've worked out, you didn't do it properly. For example, when you are doing the arm movements, stretch them out as far as they go and don't swing them in an half-ass effort. You're investing your time in it, so doing it properly is really going to bring in good results! :)
No specific abdomen workout. I think abs are incorporated in every step of the video.
Try to follow everything she does. When she breathes in, you do so too. When she has her back straight, so do you. When she sticks her thumbs up, you do that - mirror her!
If you have a muffin top or a lot of fat around the upper thigh, lower back, pelvic bone area, this is going to be a great workout video for you.
You have to be consistent AND patient. Do it everyday. It's not a hardcore video so it's really not that intimidating nor straining.
If you get to a point where you think the last thigh part is a breeze, it's time to start doing this video 2x in a row. Or combine more rigorous activities along with this video.
Try following the female instructor (ironically, the male looks like a female and vice versa, but try to mirror the trainer in white pants. She has the more accurate movements).
The key to this workout is NEVER STOP MOVING. That's the whole point of the 'hip dance' in between certain sets. You want to keep moving to keep your heart pumping. Don't stop in the middle and just stare at her. You'll notice that throughout the entire 40 minutes, they never stop. It's all about continuously moving.
She doesn't say anything, so don't worry about the language barrier! :)

Here's some bio on the lady in the middle. She's a super famous person in Korea called MoemJJang Ajumma, loosely translating as 'Mrs. Best Body'. Her success story of losing weight and actually toning up at a pretty late age was one of the biggest media sensations in Korea some years ago.

This is one of the images that surfaced on the Internet that made her an overnight sensation. And here's some motivating before and after photos.

I'm not saying that you'll turn into a body like hers in any short period of time. It took her many years to sculpt her body. She's said it herself, working out takes only a small percentage of losing weight and having a great body - it's actually what you eat that determines a lot of things.

I'm just going to assume that you guys are on a healthy diet and adding this workout routine will help you shed some unwanted flabs. Have fun!!! ^__^

Catalina

Catalina

10 Comments

etc Health Personal Skin Care Tips

Birth Control Pills - A month into it

2/19/2012 08:58:00 PM

Hi Everyone,

I'm almost heading into my second month of Birth Control Pills, and I wanted to update you guys on some of the effects that I have been experiencing so far. I know I haven't officially wrote it on the blog, but for those that follow me on my vlog channel should know that I have decided to take birth control pills, once again!, to help get rid of my jawline and neck acne.

So far, here are some noticeable side effects(?) that happened during the first month.

First few days : Horrible, HORRIBLE mood swings. I do confess that I have a short temper, but the first few days were beyond all-hell-broken-loose-bitchiness. I was moody, easily irritated and angry for no reason. No change in appetite or weight, but I was very snappy with a major attitude problem.

Also first few days : Random breaks outs on areas that usually aren't considered problem areas. I got a random acne on the middle of my cheek. I also don't have forehead acnes, but I did get some smaller ones near my hairline.

Post-mood swings and random break outs : Second week - third week was the 'adjusting' period. My violent mood swings calmed down and breakouts happened less. I still had the occasional jawline breakouts, but there were some improvement in that department.

Third week : Major horniness. I'm somewhere in the moderate section of the sexy/horniness spectrum, but the BC pills seem to have triggered by horny button. I felt like my boobs swelled up (pre-menstural) more than usual and I was horny 24/7. No PMSing or cramps.

Immediately before the period : I'm noticing A LOT more body acne than before. I had one or two breakouts on the chest area, but never like this. Now my entire chest, upper arm and back area is starting to break out (and it's painful)! I feel like my skin problem is migrating downwards, as first it was the cheekbone/temple area that went down to the jawline, then the neck, and now the chest/upper arms and back. I hate how I'm getting body acne and really hope it's a temporary thing.

Period comes : I'm blessed to ~~not~~ barely have any mensural cramps, but this period went away like a breeze. I hardly bled (even on the second day, which I usually bleed so much I have migraines and slight dizziness), and the days were short.

It's hard to say if these changes are permanent since I've only went through one month of the pills. I do have to say that my face area has generally improved. I used to have at least some sort of new, sore breakout on the jawline everyday, but that has substantially decreased. Now the new emerging body acne is a topic on its own. I can not believe how much I'm breaking out and scarring on my upper body. :'(

Oh, and one other thing I've noticed is my skin and hair oiliness. I'm not sure if it's the dry California weather, or if it's the pills kicking in, but my skin and hair aren't as oily as they used to be. I can hardly say that my skin and hair greases up anymore. I think the dry weather has more to do with this, but I'll just put that factor on the table too.

Here are some updated pictures of my jawline/neck acne (taken a couple minutes ago ^^). I still have the horrid scars, but I don't have any active breakouts. So yay for the calming down of jawline acne and *sob* for the body acne.

I'm sorry I've been a bit sluggish with my posts. I've been moving in to my new apartment, and I was a bit preoccupied with it. I have a couple more posts I want to post, so I guess I'll see you guys really soon in my next post. ^__^

Catalina

Catalina

17 Comments

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December & Yearly (2012) Favs + Some skin stuff

Toning up your midsection

Figure Dance Video

Birth Control Pills - A month into it

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