The Dermatologist

I wonder what percentage of people actually think about their skin on a yearly basis. Not too many, unfortunately. But, your skin is very important and can, obviously, cause you problems if it isn't take care of. This is where the dermatologist comes in. It's very important as an adult to visit the dermatologist once in a while to make sure that you have a clean bill of health. This is particularly important if you are someone like me, with a lot of freckles and marks on the skin. My dermatologist has requested that I come in every single year. She takes a look at all of my freckles (and boy do I have a lot!) and she makes a note in her notebook about the size of some of them. When I return the following year, she checks those particular freckles more thoroughly to see if they have grown larger or changed their shape. Even though I wear sunscreen and try to take care of my skin, there is still much that I can't control. I want to make sure that my moles and freckles aren't changing colors or shapes. And I can't see all of them.
It's also important to make sure that you use creams and moisturizers to take care of your skin in between visits. Sunscreen is, of course, a must. A morning face cream with SPF is a great idea and an evening moisturising cream allows your face to replenish while you sleep. We only get one set of skin during our lifetime and it gets exposed to an incredible amount of sun, wind and weather during our many years. If we don't take care of it - there isn't going to be a second chance!

The Seltzer Water Secret

I'm trying very hard to lose weight after a baby and I'm doing it with the South Beach Diet. Now, those of you who have been on this diet know that it's great. However, it's also relatively strict and very unforgiving. I'm one of those people who loves drinks. I enjoy a good coke, fruit juice - you name it. And these things are completely outlawed on the diet. I don't mind giving up bread - I'm even living without pasta - but I simply can not drink water, and only water, all day long. It's too much!

So, what have I been doing? Seltzer water. Otherwise known as Soda. Seltzer water is still water, and I'm still giving my body the nutrients of water, but I'm adding a bit of fizz to it. I actually bought a seltzer maker and it's great. No more lugging seltzer water home, no more paying for those bottles in the store. I make my own seltzer water and I can have as much as I want ever day. They also sells syrups that you can put in the seltzer and they have many tasty diet varieties. I add a splash of cranberry syrup or pink grapefruit to my seltzer and I'm ready to go. This allows me to taste something sweet, to fill up on a water substance, and to feel like I'm giving myself a treat. It's a great trick - now I just need to say goodbye to another 10 pounds...

The Dreaded Scale

I say that you should throw that scale out. Throw it right out the window and watch it crash onto the ground! Wasn't that fun? Liberating?! The scale is the worst invention. You don't need the scale to tell you if you've lost or gained a few pounds. Your clothes will tell you much more about your body than your scale will. Often, even when I think I've lost a few pounds, the scale will tell me otherwise. And the opposite is often true as well. I find that my clothes are a much better judge. I don't really care what that elusive number is anyway - my goal is to fit into my clothes and to feel good. So, I let my clothes and my body tell me how I'm doing with my health, rather than a computer with a number.

I know that sounds radical and might be hard for some of you to handle. But, it's truly great not to think about the number anymore. I was considerably heavier during my last pregnancy than I've ever been before, and I didn't need the scale to tell me this. I could feel it in my clothes, in my breathing, in everything. Now, I've been working really hard to get back down to my normal weight and I get excited each time that an outfit that I used to wear fits. That's my barometer - that's my scale!