As you've read, I attended my nephew's 8th birthday party this past Sunday, and that was the first time in a few months that my sister and I saw each other. (She had really pissed me off by treating our mentally-ill mother badly.)
She really noticed how long my hair had gotten and tonight on the phone she asked me how my hair got so long so fast; was I taking any supplements?? I then proceeded to tell her that it's probably related to our diet improvements and the fact that I haven't used shampoo or conditioner (save for a couple of times) since January 1 of this year.
Her reaction was common: "What?? What do you wash your hair with? No conditioner? I couldn't do that. My hair gets too tangled."
I explained the baking soda and ACV regimen and I'm sure she'd heard of it before (at least my mom had, when I told her awhile back), but she actually sounded interested. When she mentioned her tangle-prone hair again I mentioned that it's because of what she's been using. The shampoo strips way too much of the natural oils away, making you depend on using conditioner, which in turn makes your hair feel really dirty soon after, making you depend on more shampoo! "They've got you by the balls," I said. She agreed.
I forgot to mention the coconut oil as a treatment. Oh well, next time.
Showing posts with label "'poo free". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "'poo free". Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
13 Pounds and Counting
After all the "diet cheating" I'd been doing over the past few weeks (a small piece of cake here, some homemade bread there), I was pleasantly surprised yesterday morning when I stepped on the scale. 152.8! Holy crap, I'm almost into the 140s again! I don't remember the last time I was in the 140s, it was so long ago! Yeehaw!
Just over a week ago I started doing small amounts of crunches and lady push-ups during my evening stretch session on the bedroom floor. I did 5 of each for a couple days, then raised it to 10, and then 20 each. I can now do all 20 of each straight without needing any rest time.
Today is Canada Day so I have the day off and I slept til 10am. The stupid cat woke me up at that point - how annoying. I hope she isn't one of those ones that will live til 28 years old...she's already at 19 and I love her but I need a break from cats for awhile.
On another note, an update on the poo-free life! The skin on my face has never been smoother and I haven't had a huge monthly zit in a couple of months (I think I've had one since returning from our vacation). My scalp was a bit smelly (at least to me) last weekend so I did a good cleaning with diluted baking soda with the ACV rinse. Aaaaaah, much better.
Otherwise, it's going pretty well. Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple posted about this "way of life" and his post has a ka-jillion comments on it (it's a fascinating topic for the masses!). Someone mentioned making a deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda so I'm trying that sporadically for now. Once my deodorant stick is finished I'll re-fill it with this new mixture.
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I haven't felt much like blogging but I'll try to post more often now that I'm getting some positive results!
Just over a week ago I started doing small amounts of crunches and lady push-ups during my evening stretch session on the bedroom floor. I did 5 of each for a couple days, then raised it to 10, and then 20 each. I can now do all 20 of each straight without needing any rest time.
Today is Canada Day so I have the day off and I slept til 10am. The stupid cat woke me up at that point - how annoying. I hope she isn't one of those ones that will live til 28 years old...she's already at 19 and I love her but I need a break from cats for awhile.
On another note, an update on the poo-free life! The skin on my face has never been smoother and I haven't had a huge monthly zit in a couple of months (I think I've had one since returning from our vacation). My scalp was a bit smelly (at least to me) last weekend so I did a good cleaning with diluted baking soda with the ACV rinse. Aaaaaah, much better.
Otherwise, it's going pretty well. Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple posted about this "way of life" and his post has a ka-jillion comments on it (it's a fascinating topic for the masses!). Someone mentioned making a deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda so I'm trying that sporadically for now. Once my deodorant stick is finished I'll re-fill it with this new mixture.
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I haven't felt much like blogging but I'll try to post more often now that I'm getting some positive results!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Itchy Update
I didn't bother to update this past Saturday because my weight was exactly the same as the previous Saturday. Boohoo.
To update on the soap/poo-free "lifestyle", I must say the condition of my skin (all over) is not one bit different -- still fucking itchy as all hell! The heat rash from our trip is still visible and is itchy again for some reason. For the past two days I've been scratching my forearms too much and now have some bigger bumps and such. I'd just trimmed my fingernails, too, so I have to scratch harder to get relief.
Dammit.
I haven't been rubbing coconut oil on myself, other than on my face, which has gone back to acne breakouts in the usual areas. Is it my pillow?? Is it because I don't sweat through my pores on a daily basis that the zits just keep re-occurring in the same damned spots?? UGH!!!
My hair, on the other hand, feels very nice and it's getting long. I haven't used shampoo since our trip (had to a couple times, to get the sea smell out) and have been brushing thoroughly with the boar bristle brush every other night or so. I barely need any aloe vera as gel, and I'm not rinsing it every day anymore, either.
It's going okay. I'd wished for better by this point. Oh well.
To update on the soap/poo-free "lifestyle", I must say the condition of my skin (all over) is not one bit different -- still fucking itchy as all hell! The heat rash from our trip is still visible and is itchy again for some reason. For the past two days I've been scratching my forearms too much and now have some bigger bumps and such. I'd just trimmed my fingernails, too, so I have to scratch harder to get relief.
Dammit.
I haven't been rubbing coconut oil on myself, other than on my face, which has gone back to acne breakouts in the usual areas. Is it my pillow?? Is it because I don't sweat through my pores on a daily basis that the zits just keep re-occurring in the same damned spots?? UGH!!!
My hair, on the other hand, feels very nice and it's getting long. I haven't used shampoo since our trip (had to a couple times, to get the sea smell out) and have been brushing thoroughly with the boar bristle brush every other night or so. I barely need any aloe vera as gel, and I'm not rinsing it every day anymore, either.
It's going okay. I'd wished for better by this point. Oh well.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
On My Merry Way...
...to 140 lbs! Woot!! I could have done better, but I'm happy with this week's weigh-in. Hubby just made chocolate chip cookies so I have to avoid those (had to taste-test them already, of course). We ran out of apples a few days ago and I'm missing them. I really love gala apples.
Last Sunday I finally tried a homemade granola cereal recipe that turned out really well. The yield was huge so it's lasted us through the week, having some each day as breakfast and occasionally on top of some yogurt. Hubby and I will have to share the kitchen tonight as he makes bread and I make more cereal. I'm so happy we have the ability to make our own stuff rather than buying boxes of granola bars from the store. They're so full of garbage it's not funny.
To update on the no poo side of things, I cheated and used a touch of shampoo this past Thursday, but only because I had a job interview. I really didn't want to risk having an off scent. It was only a touch, but I really feared that I'd blown this whole thing by doing so. I'm not sure if it stripped all of the natural oils I'd painstakingly brushed through the ends of my hair, or if I just thought it did. Either way, I'm off the poo again and back on track. Still no soap on anything but my hands, which are dry and itchy as usual. The coconut oil isn't helping so much, it turns out. My legs are itchy again as well.
Just less than 3 weeks til BARBADOS!!!!!!!!
| Date | Weight | BF Weight | BF % | Body Water % | Bone Mass % |
| 02/13/2010 02/20/2010 02/27/2010 03/06/2010 | 162.5 161.9 158.7 157.2 | 50.9 51.1 48.6 47.6 | 31.4 31.6 30.7 30.3 | 50.0 49.9 50.5 50.8 | 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.4 |
Last Sunday I finally tried a homemade granola cereal recipe that turned out really well. The yield was huge so it's lasted us through the week, having some each day as breakfast and occasionally on top of some yogurt. Hubby and I will have to share the kitchen tonight as he makes bread and I make more cereal. I'm so happy we have the ability to make our own stuff rather than buying boxes of granola bars from the store. They're so full of garbage it's not funny.
To update on the no poo side of things, I cheated and used a touch of shampoo this past Thursday, but only because I had a job interview. I really didn't want to risk having an off scent. It was only a touch, but I really feared that I'd blown this whole thing by doing so. I'm not sure if it stripped all of the natural oils I'd painstakingly brushed through the ends of my hair, or if I just thought it did. Either way, I'm off the poo again and back on track. Still no soap on anything but my hands, which are dry and itchy as usual. The coconut oil isn't helping so much, it turns out. My legs are itchy again as well.
Just less than 3 weeks til BARBADOS!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Introductory Post
Greetings and welcome to my blog.
I created this blog mostly to discuss how December 31, 2009 was a day of revelation for my boyfriend and I. On that day there happened to be a Fark headline that linked to a particularly interesting post written by Richard Nikoley, which was a progress report after he stopped using soaps and shampoos. After spending most of the evening reading all of the reader comments, we decided we would also try going "'poo free." (The part about the Paleo diet was very interesting too, but one thing at a time...)
As of January 1st, we pretty much went "'poo free". We have daily showers, usually just rinsing our hair with hot-as-we-can-stand-it water, but if I feel the need to do more with my hair I use a baking soda rinse as "shampoo" with a chaser of diluted cider vinegar as a "conditioner." (Don't get this in your mouth...it tastes awful!)
Now, since we haven't made any drastic diet changes, we still use soap on "the bits", meaning the crotch, bum and armpits, but the rest just gets a good rinsing. Once finished, I turn the temperature down and have a cool rinse. After a light drying-off, I dampen a face cloth, add some olive oil to it, and gently rub it over my face and body. I usually get severely dry, itchy skin in the winter, so the oil helps moisturize. I still have the "winter itchies" so far, but it's not as bad now, and getting better every day.
Rather than glopping all kinds of hair gel/product on my curly (head of) hair, I use a couple of pumps of 100% aloe gel. I don't blow dry; haven't for over a year now. My hair is much more hydrated and the brown tones seem richer. It feels nice, too.
We also stopped using toothpaste (after just stocking up, too, dammit!), brushing only with water and rinsing afterward with mouthwash. (Yes, I know that's cheating a bit, but this is a gradual behaviour change and I haven't yet figured out what to substitute instead.)
As for changes to our diet, we've stopped buying pre-made (sodium-packed!) meals, most canned foods, pre-packaged snack bars, etc., and are making an effort to make our own meals and snacks. It's not easy when you're not a natural in the kitchen, but we are managing thanks to family advice, the internet, and a Betty Crocker cookbook. "Real food" is SO good for you.
Tonight, the boyfriend is making his first solo attempt at making homemade bread. This should be interesting.
I'll be writing more about how things are going with the "'poo free" lifestyle and life in general, and may post some favourite recipes as well. We'll see.
Mouse
I created this blog mostly to discuss how December 31, 2009 was a day of revelation for my boyfriend and I. On that day there happened to be a Fark headline that linked to a particularly interesting post written by Richard Nikoley, which was a progress report after he stopped using soaps and shampoos. After spending most of the evening reading all of the reader comments, we decided we would also try going "'poo free." (The part about the Paleo diet was very interesting too, but one thing at a time...)
As of January 1st, we pretty much went "'poo free". We have daily showers, usually just rinsing our hair with hot-as-we-can-stand-it water, but if I feel the need to do more with my hair I use a baking soda rinse as "shampoo" with a chaser of diluted cider vinegar as a "conditioner." (Don't get this in your mouth...it tastes awful!)
Now, since we haven't made any drastic diet changes, we still use soap on "the bits", meaning the crotch, bum and armpits, but the rest just gets a good rinsing. Once finished, I turn the temperature down and have a cool rinse. After a light drying-off, I dampen a face cloth, add some olive oil to it, and gently rub it over my face and body. I usually get severely dry, itchy skin in the winter, so the oil helps moisturize. I still have the "winter itchies" so far, but it's not as bad now, and getting better every day.
Rather than glopping all kinds of hair gel/product on my curly (head of) hair, I use a couple of pumps of 100% aloe gel. I don't blow dry; haven't for over a year now. My hair is much more hydrated and the brown tones seem richer. It feels nice, too.
We also stopped using toothpaste (after just stocking up, too, dammit!), brushing only with water and rinsing afterward with mouthwash. (Yes, I know that's cheating a bit, but this is a gradual behaviour change and I haven't yet figured out what to substitute instead.)
As for changes to our diet, we've stopped buying pre-made (sodium-packed!) meals, most canned foods, pre-packaged snack bars, etc., and are making an effort to make our own meals and snacks. It's not easy when you're not a natural in the kitchen, but we are managing thanks to family advice, the internet, and a Betty Crocker cookbook. "Real food" is SO good for you.
Tonight, the boyfriend is making his first solo attempt at making homemade bread. This should be interesting.
I'll be writing more about how things are going with the "'poo free" lifestyle and life in general, and may post some favourite recipes as well. We'll see.
Mouse
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