Thursday 28 January 2010

2010 - The Year of the Makeover!






DH & I have decided that 2010 is the year of the makeover for us both!
We have changed Medical Insurance Schemes in order to benefit from the healthy lifestyle incentives that our current {new} medical aid offers. Hubs is running every morning with various different permutations of children {depending on who is feeling up to it!} - I haven't joined them yet as I'm only capable of staggering around first thing in the morning but I have started on a low cal/low fat/low GI diet & lost 8kg's so far! (1 kg per week). Due to our circumstances over the last few years we haven't been in a position to prioritise our health & outward appearances so 5 years into our journey here in South Africa we have agreed that now is the time...


We have been visiting a very skilled dermatologist here {world-renowned actually - South Africa, and our province in particular, boasts some of the finest aesthetic medical specialists in the world believe it or not...so it's high time we benefited a bit ;-D} Hubs has this disorder & has so far only had one IPL treatment & is scheduled for another 3. The result so far has been amazing - a really visible difference. I had my first dose of this the other day & it was rather unpleasant but - again - the results are phenomenal. Each area has to be treated 3-4 times so I am in for quite a long haul but if I want to be able to wear shorts {which I do as this climate is incredibly humid for 2 - 4 months of the year} then ND Yag Laser is the only way to go. I also had my first {of 8} treatments of this & again the results were & are still totally amazing. Microdermabrasion is totally painless...in fact I thought that my treatment was just the preparation & there was more to come...then I was told it was over! So no sweat here - really....

I went into all this rather sceptical as I don't even go to the salon/spa regularly here due to the cost factor & because I've never been convinced of a visible difference when I've had a treatment. This dermatological stuff is incredible though - it has waaaaaaaaaay surpassed my expectations & I am looking forward to improving my appearance monthly!
I'm not interested in doing anything unnatural or pumping toxin into my body but I am keen on doing my best to get rid of my spider veins {on my legs - due to 4 pregnancies} & my uneven skintone {due to the hormonal changes that go hand in hand with 4 pregnancies} & considering that my eldest will be 17 this year it certainly isn't a day too soon!!!

Every so often I'll be sharing our journey to health & vitality here with you & letting you in on my discoveries along the way. In the past I have bought all sorts of creams that claim to even out skintone - none of them did - my dermatologist sold me this & it's worth every penny let me tell you...I can see the changes daily! {Good news too is that it's no more expensive here} So if you also have uneven skintone as a result of hormone changes, sun exposure or just plain age then this is the stuff!!! The reason I want to get an even skintone is so that I don't always have to wear foundation/base as it's a terrible feeling in summer in this hot & sticky climate & I'd much rather go make-up free - roll on next summer!

If only we could all look like this we'd have no worries!

Our "Golden Girl" enjoying her 398 234 swim of the day!!!

Those ectomorph genes certainly come from the other side of the family ;-D

She is currently fighting a raging temperature ;-( She spends so much time out in the sunshine that I'm wondering if it's just a touch of sunstroke. She has a beautiful olive skin that none of us have that tans instantly without ever burning so it's difficult to tell. Of course I'm hoping it's only a 24 hour thing & that she'll wake up healthy again tomorrow...





9 comments:

topkatnz said...

Well you guys are certainly giving yourself a makeover - hope it goes well, and you are so right about it being well and truly time to take a bit of time for yourselves. Here in NZ, the sorts of treatment you talk of are not really within most peoples grasp - so very interested to hear how it all goes. Sorry to hear Cami is sick - get well soon my friend!

tania said...

shame, hope cami is feeling better this morning. wow!!8kg!! that is great:) you must mail me the details on that diet,please.like your journey into the makeover,keep us updated.

Penny said...

Will be watching with interest to see how Shane goes - I have the same problem, and have been toying with the idea for a while, but have heard it's really sore!

Lynette Jacobs said...

It is wonderful that you lost so much weight so quickly. I hope your little one is better today.

Andrea said...

2010 is the year then :0) Good to take time and prioritse your health, look forward to regular updates but remember to stay happy on the journey.
xxx
A

Michelle Ramsay said...

Keep going - you are doing well. SOmetimes we just have to take a step back and say "this is my time" and go for it. Will be looking forward to your updates. Cami is a stunning young girl and I hope she is feeling better.

Jessy Christopher said...

Oh wow!!! One kg per week is just awesome! I wish I have such determination like urs. It's so difficult for me to start, thinking of all those yummy food slacken me all the time. Lol!! But I guess I need to be more focus. How I wish I have ur DD's fit & lean body... Sigh

Ella Swan said...

Thanks everyone - I am certainly feeling a lot better for it but seem to be a bit "stuck" now as nothing has shifted for a couple of weeks...really need to start exercising but so busy sorting & packing for our move that surely that should be exercise enough in this humidity! Cami is all better now thank you...she had a gastro virus going around here & now DH has got it! Just hope I'm not next as I have just been playing "nurse" for a week now! Tania my diet is pretty flexible - all based on units - specially formulated for me by a dietician but all claimable on Medical Aid - I was really surprised about that. It's basically mostly Low GI foods & pretty boring if you stick to it rigidly so I cheat here & there lol!!!

Pearl said...

i love it that you call it the year of Makeover , Helen ! awesome ! awesome ! way to go ! so inspiring !

I'd love to hear your results on the spider veins on legs too ! woot ! yeah ! got the same problem here !