Pure Cardio, Abs and Skin Journey

So, I'm all about honesty. Wednesday or Thursday I did not work out (unless you count chasing dogs and a baby, haha). I stayed at my friend's place (the one who had the birthday party) and food-wise I didn't eat the healthiest. But that's life. I try to eat healthy most of the time, but for special occasions, I sort of let loose. Also, I feel that if I were home, I probably wouldn't have been able to put 100% into my workouts, as I was really nauseous and had cramps. Some days, you just have to listen to your body and relax.

I was better than I used to be before I cared about my health though. I didn't drink anything other than water, had two slices of pizza - one chicken with bell peppers and one cheese. I really like pepperoni, but stayed away from that since it's super greasy and salty. I also had some red grapes and a cupcake. Not horrible since before going to the party I had one avocado and a smoothie. The next day, however was similar meal-wise.

Today though, I felt much better.

I started taking "evening primrose" oil supplements. I actually found out about the benefits of Evening Primrose on Pinterest: "Great Anti-Aging supplement that you should start taking by age 30. Will see major improvement in skin tightening and preventing wrinkles. Helps with hormonal acne, PMS, weight control, chronic headaches, menopause, endometriosis, joint pain, diabetes, eczema, MS, infertility, hair, nails, and scalp." I looked into it, and the "weight control" is mostly for those who have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, for instance, via surgeries.

I'm taking it for hormonal breakouts as it is that time of the month and I started having a cyst form on my chin. :( Ugh. So painful. I haven't developed any more new ones and with my new skin regimen, my skin is looking muuuch better. It's interesting being on a skin journey and a fitness journey at the same time.

I feel like they go hand-in-hand. Foods that are good for your skin are often beneficial for your overall health as well.

I started the next day of Insanity today. Pure Cardio (~38 min). The thing I like about this particular workout is that the set-up is differently than all of the other Insanity videos. In the other ones, you do about ~10 minutes of warm-up (3 rounds of cardio moves, for the most part it is the same in all the vids with a move or two that might be different), followed by ~10 min of stretching/static moves/hip-flexor stretches, followed by the actual workout. Now, Pure Cardio is the same until you get to the actual workout.

In the other videos (exception of the Ab one and I can't really remember month 2 workouts, since I did that for 1 week), the actual workout is split several moves that you do 3 rounds of, with a 30 sec. break into between each round. And then you do another set of different moves that you also do 3 rounds of (also with a 30 sec. break between each round), followed by a few minutes of cool-down. (Does this make sense?) Basically you do 3 sets of each move, with as many reps as you can do during the allotted time.

In Pure Cardio, the actual workout are segments of different moves, but once you do one move, you don't repeat it in rounds. You do one move, you move on to the next. All of the moves are different. I also don't believe that there are 30 sec. breaks? I didn't really pay attention as I was trying to push myself. I thought I'd be sick, even though I didn't eat a lot before the workout. I just pushed through the pain though.

I think the hardest for me were the level 2 drills (jump into plank position, 8 pushups, 8 floor-sprints, jump feet together, stand-up and straighten as you do a vertical jump and repeat), especially since it was followed by "the pedal" (sprints followed by jumping lunges).

Near the end, I was ready to give up. Not because of the workout itself, but because my right arch was killing my foot and it was hard to push through it. I did push through it though. This happened last time I started Insanity too. My arch started strengthening though, and within a couple weeks it wasn't an issue any longer. I suppose I just need to strengthen my feet. Perhaps I'll try wearing my Nikes instead of my Vibram/Merrells and see if that helps.

I followed the workout with some Blogilates ab workouts.

Best Lower Abs Workout. This one is ~10 minutes. The first move was the hardest for me. Not only because my arms were exhausted already, but I had difficulty getting my butt behind me arms. Though, she does say that it's okay if that's difficult for you. I've done this a few times before and struggled with it too, but was able to do it. I didn't use plates, as I have a hardwood floor. I just put on some socks.

Tough Love Handles Workout. This one is ~13 minutes. The side planks at the beginning. Oh my gosh. I feel like I'm starting pilates all over again, after taking a break from it. My elbows especially were dying as I did these. I had to fold my mat to provide more cushion for my elbows. Otherwise, I really actually liked this one. It was my first time doing this one, as it's fairly new (Valentine's Day this year). I also like the scenery, even though it's harder to hear than the ones she does in her apartment though, but that's expected.

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Food-wise, I wanted to sort of "detox" from some of the junk food I ate. I did have coffee though this morning. Followed by green tea and then nothing but water afterwards.

Breakfast: Eggs benedict. One whole wheat English Muffin, one poached egg with Tumeric, sea salt and parsley on top. I decided to skip the hollandaise sauce this time (usually I just use 1 egg yolk, squeeze of a lemon, 1/4 tsp of Earth Balance butter - melted, sea salt and cayenne).

Snack: Raw almonds.

Lunch: Protein shake (3 carrots, 4 mini cucumbers juiced. 2 handfuls of spinach. Raspberries (~1/4 cup), Trader Joe's Very Green Supplement Powder, Muscle Milk Vanilla Whey Light, filtered water and unsweetened coconut milk).

Dinner: Baked salmon w/coconut oil to grease the foil, garlic, lemon, parsley, dash of sea salt and Mrs. Dash. Roasted broccoli with garlic and tumeric. Baked sweet potato.

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Skin Journey Updates

I ordered the PMD (Personal Microdermabrasion). Hopefully it'll help fade my hyperpigmentation faster. I'm happy to say that I don't have any active acne, except for one cyst on my eyebrow and one on my chin (hormonal). The rest is just flat and red. My skin is much brighter, smoother, hydrated and is glowing now. It's not as clear as it was last year, but it's getting there. People have been raving about the PMD all over youtube, etc., so I'm hoping my results are similar. I'd like to see it help with the hyperpigmentation as well as the shallow crater-scars I have on my right cheek from some severe cysts several years back.

I've also been washing my face with filtered water. Some people have a reaction to hard water clogging their pores and leading to breakouts (I believe this is due to the chlorine in the water. It dries out my skin and makes it flaky and tight). I've seen some improvement since. I've bought a filtered showerhead that should come in soon, hopefully that'll help as well. I've just been avoiding washing my face in the shower and will wash it in a bowl that I fill with filtered water. It's also nice that because the filtered water is room temp, it's not the hot water that I usually use, which I suspect also dries out my skin.

I've also ordered the Tanda (similar to the Zeno, but sold by Sephora) mini device. I've read reviews on Sephora and it seems to helps with cystic acne. The only caveat that most people have is that it's a battery guzzler. I bought it for $25.99 on Groupon (instead of the $49 on Sephora).

Will post the skincare products/foundation hauls soon (sorry, it's been a busy week, I'll try to get it up on Sunday though) followed my current regimen for skin.

Love always,
Marie