Thanks for that. My problem areas are cheeks which don't seem to have a clear cause according to TCM. Or well, bad lungs, but I don't know how I could improve that since I don't smoke. More cardio, perhaps.

I'm not sure how accurate TCM is, but it does seem to have a lot of wisdom on how lifestyle and diet and mental factors ("worrying" etc) could contribute to certain types of disease based on centuries of experience, and I think there could something to learn from it.

Besides diet one should also look into topicals that shrink the pores B5, B3/niacinamide, green tea, etc.

Thanks for all the replies! I've been going through a lot of information recently trying to figure out what seems the most credible (browsing the forums/other sites, etc) Right now my diet is as follows it excludes dairy, grains, sugar (even from fruit), nuts and includes fats, meat, fish, vegetables:

Breakfast:

3 Egg Omelette cooked in Olive Oil w/ 1/4 Avocado, Cilantro, and Salsa - This tastes delicious and as far as I'm concerned the ingredients should not cause any acne. (I know eggs are sometimes digestive irritants but I've never felt any symptoms of cramping, bloating, gas, etc.)

Lunch:

Dinner Leftovers, or Baked Chicken tossed in Frank's Hot Sauce mixed with romain lettuce. (Also tastes super good Frank's Hot Sauce only has Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Natural Flavor and Garlic Powder so I can't see this causing acne)

Dinner:

Varies each day, Steak and Asparagus, Mahi Mahi w/ Cilantro and Broccoli, Carrot, Cauliflower Blend, Baked Beef Loaf w/ Green Onions and Carrots.

Snacks:

kale chips, green tea, water

Results: So I've been following this updated diet since Sunday so thats 4 days on this diet. The diet is void of anything popularly documented causes of acne no diary,no nuts, no grains, and no sugar including fruit.

The diet is definitely changing my body, dramatically, within the 4 days (I was following a similar diary and grain free diet but I have now cut out sugars and nuts see first posting) My body fat has dramatically been reduced. I went from I'd say about 10% bodyfat with 4 visible abdominal muscles to about 8% with visibile 6 pack. I'm able to get more restful sleep and seem slightly more attentive/engaged in class. I also seem to be growing more facial/body hair faster (which would indicate its having an effect on my hormones, probably positive?)

Now for the good stuff:, My left cheek has seemed to have cleared of any active acne. All that remains is the fading red spots but the skin itself seems smoother and healing. Acne on my right check is still present but pustules were typically the size of a blunt pencil tip are now super tiny, much like a sharpened pencil tip.

Here's the bad: I haven't had a bowel movement since sunday. *I feel absolutely no discomfort at all*. I'm eating plenty of food volume, drinking water, and eating plenty of high fiber vegetables (avocados, broccoli, carrots) So I'm a little nervous as to where all this food is going? Is it possible that my body is utilizing all the components/nutrients from the food I'm eating? Am I not taking in enough calories and in a deficit since I workout almost daily? Before this diet I literally ate vegetables a handful of times a year so is my digestive system (gut flora) just soaking up all these long awaited nutrients? I know the body typically takes a while to adjust to a paleo diet and I'm in no pain at all.

-Also I've started to develop some more chest acne (which I typically had a little bit off but I have more now) as well as broke out on my neck, this is mostly redness but it goes as low as my adam's apple which seems to be the furthest I've ever seen it. Could this be related to an increase/balance of hormonal levels from dietary change?

-I'm going home this weekend and I will be getting drunk with my friends atleast one night. I'm worried this will throw off my diet so I'm going to try and stay as paleo as possible but I may have to cheat in the airport/airplane.

So to sum up all my questions:

*My diet is virtually perfect right? I can't really exclude anything else and I feel like I'm eating a diverse amount of vegetables and omega 3's to be anti-inflammatory

*Increased body/facial hair, is this a good or bad sign (raised testosterone levels?)?

*Acne looks smaller on face but breaking out on chest and kneck, what could this be attributed to (hormonal change?)

*Lack of Bowel Movements, typical on starting paleo, no pain/discomfort should I be concerned?

Use egg whites and get some fiber in from oatmeal, sweet potato etc. will help with the bowel movement. Also what topicals are u using?

Your diet sounds pretty good to me. But if you still break out after a few weeks, you might want to consider being even more careful with your omega 3/6 balance. 3 eggs do contain quite a lot of omega 6, so possibly cutting it down to 2 eggs per day while taking cod liver oil could help. But this isn't most likely necessary, and since your diet is so strict already, it would be hard to start being very neurotic about this too. Just if you're still having inflamed acne with your current diet after some time, you may consider focusing on omega3/6 to cool down inflammation. This is basically what I'm trying to do now with my annoying break outs, since it has helped in the past. I hope it helps this time too.

Normally just avoiding vegetable oils high in omega-6 and using olive oil, butter, or coconut oil for cooking and maybe having some cod liver oil is more or less enough when it comes to omega3/6.

And if you start losing your sleep, feeling like you're stressed, losing energy etc, then you may be having too few carbohydrates and may want to consider adding some more.

Edit: never mind anything I said about avocados. I just bothered to check its fatty acid profile, and it seems to contain mostly monounsaturated fat which is perfectly fine.

Get more raw organic fruits and veggies in your diet. Avoid dairy and meat packed with hormones and eat more salads with olive oil as a dressing. Use products like sea salt and baking soda to wash your face perform the oil pulling exercise on a daily basis. Defiantly work with using ACV and aztec healing clay (it works wonders). Your body acne could possibly be linked to the soap you use in your shower. I recommend using an organic shampoo (use every other day) and a chemical free body soap. I use a bar of dead sea mud. Use a Lastly keep a positive attitude. Imagine yourself with clear skin and never let it drag you down. You will be surprised what your mind can do.

That's my 2 cents.