Wednesday 14 May 2014

Mom, Chemical Footprint and a Weigh-in

Had a really nice weekend visiting my Mom. Bonus was it's warm enough to wear sandals for the first time this season! We went shoe shopping and I picked up a nice pair for work. My Mom chose a pair of Birkenstocks. Didn't know she was a hippie, ha ha! Made me realise how I've not been taking care of my feet over the winter, so we gave each other pedicures. Emery boards, foot soaks, olive oil and moisturizer, woo-hoo! No polish though... I'm just not into that.

Once home, I noticed I had some spring cleaning to do. Lots of dust and sand have come into the house from outside so after taking off a layer with a damp mop, I had a second go-round with a water-vinegar mix with a little bit of dish soap and some lavender oil drops. Did the trick. 

More and more, I'm looking to reduce the amount of chemicals I use. Like with food, just trying to make better choices. I use a damp cloth, vinegar water or baking soda water mixes as much as possible. I still keep bleach though... you never know when you have to disinfect. I use it rarely. Still haven't found a good 100% solution for the laundry yet. Method or Seventh Generation brands do an okay job.

One solution I found was for antiperspirant. I no longer use it. I use deodorant instead. I kept getting skin irritations with the standard antiperspirant brands that I had to find another solution. Also I had a couple of white dress shirts that became pit-stained. Apparently it's the aluminum that does that.  Finding a "natural" deodorant has been a trial. Going through over ten different brands until I found one that worked with my own body's chemistry.

As for sunscreen, I haven't found any ideal solution here either. The Environmental Working Group's Guide to Sunscreens is a good place to start. I use one that has zinc oxide or titanium dioxide even though they make my skin look a bit paler than I already am. Avobenzone makes me itch like crazy so I stay away from that ingredient. I also will wear a hat and stay in the shade whenever I can. But I love traveling to the beach and swimming at the lake so... I takes my chances :)

Weigh-in: 183.1 lbs

Not as good as I've been doing lately, but that number is still going down. This week I had a hard time getting a good night's sleep, which in turn made me extra groggy in the mornings and running late I had skimpy breakfasts. The domino effect set in and I became a hungry hippo at the end of the day. Yes, that problem again with eating big portions at suppertime. Also because of running late, I didn't walk in the morning and was too tired at the end of the day to make up for the lost workout.  Will do better this week!

3 comments:

  1. When I was losing the bulk of my weight (~70 lbs) my only weekly goal was to see the scale go DOWN, 0.2 or 2.5, it didn't matter, because as long as it was going down, I would get where I wanted to be eventually. So any loss is great, good for you!

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  2. Wise words. Thanks for sharing and I'll not be so hard on myself :)

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  3. Down is down! All the little downs add up over time!

    Pedicures sound heavenly!

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