!i$@ bee™: DIY

Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

4/28/11

How I lost 10 pounds ::squee!::

I've discussed my dedication to eating healthier and getting my body fit again before, most recently in this post. However, several people have asked me for more details as to how exactly I achieved this miraculous feat...

I was never Heavy-status before the car accident, but months of being bedridden and barely able to move did make me pack on the pounds. Since I couldn't wear pants with a waistband because of the pain in my hip, I was basically living in sweats and yoga pants, both of which have elastic waistbands. That and the generally baggy fit of those types of pants made it difficult to gauge how much weight I was actually gaining.

Luckily, from the outside, those same features also made it difficult to tell I'd gained much weight at all--unless you were me, of course. When I couldn't fit into my favorite skinny jeans anymore without looking like a sausage, muffin top, or some other stuffed food, I knew it was time to take action.

What a difference a few months of hard work & determination make

With my doctor's permission, I put myself on a strict diet and exercise regimen starting in January. I got a very helpful calorie-counting app for my iPhone, which helped me maintain my limit of 1200 calories a day. I also started working out with Wii Fit (so fun!) 5x a week, doing a combination of yoga, strength training exercises, and aerobics.

Mii !i$@

Instead of regularly eating out or getting ~~seconds~~ thirds of foods I like, I'd prepare more meals at home, which allowed for greater ingredient and portion control. I also started toting a water bottle around (purple, of course) and began drinking more H2O instead of always going for my usual: fruit juice. I love, love, love juice to this day and it is a semi-healthier alternative to soda. But truthfully, juices are often packed with sugar and all kinds of dyes. Some sports drinks even have hydrogenated oil in them... nast.

Anywhoevers, I kept this new behavior up 'til I started seeing results. Since it wasn't THAT much weight I was trying to lose, I was patient with myself and would try not to freak out over missing a day of exercise here and there, or devouring the occasional cupcake in .5 seconds. Once I was near my goal weight--as I am now--I increased my calorie intake to 1500 a day and started working out 3x a week to avoid the risk of sending my body into starvation mode. Once your body does that, it's difficult to continue losing weight. In fact, you might just plateau or start gaining more weight since your body will seek nourishment from whatever sources it can (those sources being lean tissue and muscle), since it doesn't know when it will next receive food or drink.

I'm glad to say my weight-loss journey has been a success thus far! In fact, just the other day on Facebook I updated my status to reflect a new, rather unfortunate (but not really) state of affairs: my favorite leggings are now too baggy for me to wear. Nothing's sadder than baggy leggings

But nothing's better than a tighter, righter body to display this summer, and for the foreseeable future!

12/6/09

Oyin bottling party!

My homegirl Erin and I went up to Bmore today for an Oyin bottling party. Oyin is a fairly new natural hair, bath, and beauty products store based in Baltimore. From their website:

We are a family-owned company, named after the Yoruba word for 'honey' - one of nature's most versatile beauty products! We make our products from scratch, by hand, in small batches to ensure freshness. We never use petroleum, silicones, or non-nourishing fillers - every ingredient in our mixtures has work to do! In our goodies you can find unrefined shea butter, nutritive sea vegetables, pure aloe vera juice, nourishing vitamins, and herbal infusions carefully chosen for their beneficial and healing properties.

For the month of December, Oyin is hosting a series of exclusive, in-store bottling parties. A little birdie told us that the store could use a few extra hands to help them bottle, label and box up their products during the holiday rush. Being the natural ingredient loving and helpful mofos we are, of course we were down (plus: hello major discounts and free products

).

The bottling party was a lot of fun. The other folks there helping were chill, there was dope music in the background, FREE FOOD, cute decor, and delicious-smelling natural hair & body stuff. I would have taken pics but unfortch, I left the digicam at home.

But here's a pic of the $0.44-worth of Oyin products I received for helping out! (Gotta love the 50% discount, thanks to our bottling efforts... lol.)

Clockwise, from left: HoneyHemp Conditioner, HoneyWash (for hair & body), HoneyStick, Whipped Pudding, and Frank Juice

Before the bottling party, I'd heard of the Oyin brand but had never tried any of their products. We promised the owner, Jamyla, we'd try what we picked out today and get back to her on what works best for us.

Because I'm a nice person and I'm sure y'all are DYING to know how these products work out for me, I'll keep you guys posted as well

Meanwhile, if you're in the area and would like to lend a hand (and score some bath & beauty products for yourself or your loved ones), here are the rest of the bottling dates and the store address:

Available Dates**:
Wednesday Evenings,
December 2nd, 9th, 16th -- 5:30pm-9pm

Sunday Afternoons
December 6th, & 13th 2:30pm-6pm

**RSVP first: store@exittheapple.com

Address:
2103 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21218

11/25/09

!i$@ makes her own exfoliating body scrub

When the weather starts getting colder, my skin gets stupid dry. Instead of going out and dropping $$$ on a brand name body scrub and moisturizer, I decided to make some myself using household ingredients. I've done this in the past and it works wonders. And it makes you smell like a cookie. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar (as an exfoliant)
1/2 cup olive oil (as a moisturizer)
A few drops of vanilla extract or another scent of your choice (for fragrance)
A small air-tight container

Stir all of the ingredients of your homemade scrub together inside the container you've selected. It's recommended that you store the mixture in the fridge, but 1. I'm totally gonna forget it's in the fridge once it's shower time, which is when I'll be using it and 2. I'm not rubbing cold a$$ scrub into my body! I just leave mine with my other bath supplies; since the scrub's in an air-tight container, the heat from a shower shouldn't lessen its effect too much.

The mixture will settle, so I always shake it up before applying it to my skin. You can apply the scrub before or after you lather up, but I prefer to apply it after so the olive oil holds some of the moisture from the shower in my skin. I leave the mixture on for a few minutes so it can sink in and take effect, then I rinse it off. The loofah I normally use is also an exfoliant, but it's a far gentler alternative to the body scrub. So double duty with the loofah and the homemade scrub definitely moisturizes my situation.

The beauty of using granulated sugar as an ingredient (salt can also be substituted) is that it melts on contact with moisture, so no clogged drains

I haven't had any problems with the olive oil clogging drains either.

If you decide to try this recipe, let me know how it works for you

11/1/09

My Legos arrived today!

Here's that Dee & Ricky heart pin I said I was going to make myself, because I'm sure as eff not buying THEIR version at $75.

Dee & Ricky, eat your heart pins out.

UPDATE: While gluing the Lego pieces together after taking this pic, I accidentally glued two mismatched pieces together. I was using Krazy Glue and that stuff does not play, man. I needed some nail polish remover and pliers to get those pieces apart again. Anyways, the nail polish remover and pliers slightly damaged one of the Lego pieces, so I remedied that by painting over it with some red nail polish. Now that particular Lego is darker than the rest (most people probably wouldn't notice; my mom did immediately, lol) but you know what, Imma roll with it.

Imperfection *can* be sexy