The Year of My Health, Self-Proclaimed

I’ve been having loads of headaches lately, and I’m not allowed to take Imitrex anymore because it doesn’t play nicely with Prozac. In addition to this, I’ve had pretty crummy tummy goings-on. Nothing overly dramatic, just feeling crampy and generally uncomfortable after eating. Not cool, body. Not cool.

I’ve always been on the hippier side when it comes to medicine: I keep Sudafed in my cabinet during cold season, but most of my medicine comes in tincture or homeopathic form. The exception is Alleve and/or Ibuprofen which I swallow like candy when I’ve got headaches or menstrual cramps. After some scientific observation (noting that my stomach hurt when I took Alleve or Ibuprofen), I decided this was some straight up bullshit and I needed to get off the Western Medicine roller coaster as much as possible. Without compromising my sanity, of course, so I’m still taking Prozac. I’d like to work on natural alternatives to this as well in the next year, but I’m still recovering from feeling so bad so I don’t want to push it in the depression arena.

So here’s my new routine. I’m feeling pretty damned great. Much more energy, less feeling tired in the afternoons, and I’ve been sleeping really, really well.

Herbs & Vitamins

Daily vitamins (heavy duty Vitamin D, multivitamin)
Chyawanprash – Ayurvedic, sweet herbal honey stuff, 2x/day (Sky calls it my paste)
Triphalia – Ayurvedic, antioxidant/detox support, 3x/day
Detox herbal tea – (mine is from Rainbow Health, but you can find it everywhere)
Kava kava – when I’m feeling a headache coming (I use MigraProfen but you can also just drink it in tea)

I’ve been practicing Dry Brushing once a day. It feels amazing and I’m so energized yet relaxed when I’m done! My skin feels much softer and I noticed I’m much more aware of it, as I think about all of the things it does for me as I dry brush. Thank you skin!

Nutrition

I’m been eating less sugar, which has been SO HARD. But I’m doing better, and after a week, cravings for almond croissants have decreased by about 27%. [Editor's note: my birthday morning breakfast yesterday was an almond croissant. It was amazing, but it was also so sweet! I shared it with Sky and wasn't even a tad resentful about it]

I’m drinking more water, which I thought would be impossible because I drink a lot of it, but even more now and it’s feeling good. I’ve been eating my vegetables first, saving everything else for when I’ve finished them. I’ve noticed if I eat this order: 1) veggies 2) protein 3) starch or carbohydrate that I eat all of 1 and 2 and only have enough room for a bit of 3, which I think is healthy. My snacks tend to be more carbohydrate heavy because I LOVE saltines + cheddar in the afternoon.

Overall being more attentive to what I’m eating and when. Also I’ve been paying more attention to when I’m first getting hungry instead of waiting until I’m starving to eat. I get into a mode at work or when I’m focused on something and then I put off snacks until I’m past the point where they are useful.

The Great Declutter

I got around to going through ALL of my products and reading through their ingredients. That was difficult, because I’m a practical person and it was hard to get rid of stuff that was only half empty. What I found was that I had a lot of old, no longer usable stuff: old lotions that had separated, tons of eyeshadows I don’t wear, and some face powder and blush that was over 8 years old. I also went through my perfumes and found that most of them weren’t even good anymore – they’d been sitting, gathering dust, because I really only wear 2 of them.

One thing I found telling was how hesitant I was to throw away my nicer items. It made me realize that even though I like to think I’m not influenced by glossy magazines and the status of certain brands, I totally am. I balked at throwing out my Chanel foundation, mostly because it looked so nice on my dresser. My Phyto shampoo cost $26! Does costing $26 make something better? Sometimes. Not always.

So I got rid of all of it. Lots of money spent on stuff that was sometimes great, but oftentimes purchased because someone else said it was good. Don’t get me wrong, that Chanel foundation was beautiful, but it made me look far more made up than I’ve ever felt comfortable being — I used to mix it with moisturizer so I could use it. Same goes for a lot of the makeup I owned: stunning and well crafted, but things I wore very rarely, and all of them full of unpronounceable stuff.

Now I have a MUCH smaller set of products. I’ve bought each one because it fit what I want out of makeup and face care. They are all natural and good for me. So now that I’ve said my piece about the pitfalls of being influenced in what you purchase, I’m going to try to influence what you purchase! Or at least give you some good options if you are trying to clear out your cabinets and restock them with healthier alternatives.

Facial care & Makeup

I have really sensitive skin that tends toward the congested yet dry side. I get a spot now and then around period time, but overall my skin is pretty clear.
(Almost) every evanhealy product I can get my hands on.
I first mentioned her products in May when I started looking for healthier products. Since then I’ve bought a lot more of her line: it’s amazing. The first week was the honeymoon — super moisturized skin, smelling good, feeling glowy, etc. The second week I hit a stage where I had broken out and my skin felt awful; I considered using less or going back to something different. Instead I read on Evan’s blog about purging and realized that my skin was just getting rid of all of the junk that previous products had packed in there. Now it’s been about 3 weeks and I’m feeling really good about all of these products – I can see that my pores are emptying out slowly and the overall health of my skin is so improved! I probably sound like an infomercial here. I’m just really happy to have found something that feels (and smells) so good!

RMS “Un”-Cover Up
In lieu of foundation, I’m wearing this. It comes in a little bitty pot and is very creamy/oily in texture. I dab on bits where my face is darker or uneven – not very much at all. It melts in super fast and looks like nothing! I’m pretty in love with this stuff, too.

Alima Finishing Powder
I don’t like to be too shiny, so I fluff some of this on top of the RMS. It’s not sparkly like other mineral powders I’ve seen, and it’s not pigmented much at all. It looks really natural and just makes everything look softer. Nice!

Lipstick – I have not yet found a good one yet. This is the hardest area for me because I’m really into the lipsticks I use now. They are highly pigmented and matte and I’m not sure I’ll be able to find a good alternative. I use NARS & Lipstick Queen. NARS is rated around a 4 or a 5 for lipsticks which isn’t good but isn’t HORRIBLE. Lipstick Queen ingredients don’t have anything that looks overly scary. But maybe I’m just justifying these because I love to wear hot pink lipstick.

Body & Hair

Acure Firming Lotion
This stuff is delicious smelling and it’s full of good ingredients that you can easily recognize. It smells lightly of lemongrass, which I like (not fakey at all) and is very thick and emollient. I’m not sure if it’s firmed anything as of yet, but my skin soaks it up and I’m liking it so far.

John Masters Zinc & Sage Shampoo
My hair is curly. I color it (more on that in a later post). I also have a terribly cranky scalp that itches with most shampoos I’ve tried. This was the hardest part for me: giving up the shampoo and conditioner that had become my favorite. But both of them were full to gills of bad stuff. So I tried a lot of samples and grilled a lot of salesfolk and here’s what I came up with: this shampoo and the Intensive Hair conditioner. I’ve not used the conditioner much yet, though I’m liking it so far. The shampoo is awesome: my color is bright, my scalp feels all cozy, and my curls are defined and not frizzy. Plus it smells like caramel.