2 replies to this topic

[HobbesRC]

I'm going to try NdnRomeo's plan, and see how it works. This is it:

- Get 4 servings of extra virgin olive oil a day
- Take 1 serving of Twin Labs liquid cod liver oil a day.
- Take 1 serving of Carlson's liquid fish oil a day.
- Vitamins: B-complex, C, E
- Minerals: Zinc, Chromium, Calcium
- Omit Dairy! Way too many hormones

Meal 1 (morning): 2 servings of Extra virgin olive oil in my meal
Post meal: Carlson's fish oil (1 serving)
Supplements: C, E, B, Calcium

Meal 2 (evening): 2 servings of extra virgin olive oil in my meal
Post meal: Twin Labs non-emulsified cod liver oil
Supplements: Zinc, Chromium

Supplement doses:
-C: 500 mg
-Chromium: 200 mcg
-zinc: 50mg
-B-complex (posted in the original link)
-E: 200 I.U.

The only thing I'm confused about is how many mg of calcium I should be taking to make up for my dairy products I'm not eating. My calcium pills say 500 mg which is 50% of my daily value and it also contains 125 IU of Vitamin D which is 31% daily value. Is this enough, or should I take two pills to get 100 % daily value of calcium? Any advice?

Today I've started taking all my supplements (except the fish oils which are in the mail), and I threw away my yogurt. This no dairy thing is going to be tough. Romeo said I'm supposed to have rice milk instead of soy milk, because I guess soy is problematic. I found rice milk in the grocery store. Yay! I think I'm going to ease into the whole no-dairy thing. If anyone has advice or links to advice about how to go dairy-free, I'd love to have them!

[HobbesRC]

So far everything is going well. I've been taking my supplements (except for the fish oils which still haven't arrived). Not eating dairy makes me very sad, but I'm doing my best. Rice milk is yummy, and next I'll try almond milk.

I don't like the taste of olive oil in my food very much. It's not terrible-- it just subtly taints everthing with a distinctive olive oil taste that gets annoying after a few meals. I'm going to experiment with adding spices to the olive oil and putting it on cucumbers and tomatoes and lettuce like my sister's Israeli friends do. I've actually been pouring the olive oil in one of those tiny measuring glasses and taking one tablespoon at a time like a shot. Then as a chaser I drink a little orange juice or crystal light. This seems to work ok. I hope that the fish oils aren't horrible tasting. But I can handle it.

I'm still taking my topical medications, so my face regimen is as follows.

Morning:
Exfoliating cleanser
Apply AHA

Evening:
gentle cleanser
Retin-A
Moisturizer

If I don't exfoliate a lot my skin peels and flakes like crazy (probably the meds loosen the skin and get it started, and then the exfoliating cleanser takes it all off).

So far I'm feeling optimistic. My skin feels very soft, but there's no way to tell if it is making a difference yet. I am super stressed out about school (finals are approaching, and I've got a ton of projects to work on) so that's probably not helping my skin at all.
I'll update again at the end of the week and try to update once a week afterward.

[HobbesRC]

Sorry, I probably should have written a little about my history before I started talking about my new regimen. Here it is.

I've had stubborn acne for about 13 years. I've been on about every prescription possible with no luck. I had one cycle of accutane about 7 years ago. That cleared up my back and chest (which still look decent) but didn't do anything for my face. I kind of got to the end of the road topical-wise because nothing seems to work. And oral antibiotics eventually started damaging my liver so I had to stop taking those. I've had no insurance or inadequate insurance for the past five years, and I've been in college, so i haven't been able to go to the dermatologist. But considering how totally unhelpful my last dermatologist was, I probably haven't been missing much. So at this point, there isn't much for me to do except wait to go on accutane again once I start my real career (teaching) in a year or so and get some real insurance--and hope it works this time. OR--best case scenario--Romeo's plan, or some other holistic-type plan works, and then I'm clear without accutane.