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I've been napping multiple hours a day. It's getting annoying, losing precious time from my day. I've been dealing with horrible digestion and breakouts as well.
However, I got my monthly today. I noted my symptoms alongside my period and will be tracking this for the future. For now, I have cracked a couple times on this front. I feel like such a mess.
The worst part about these "experiments" is that life doesn't give you breaks to undergo these kinds of journeys. You have to really want it. You'll always, always have distractions and things that need to get done. I'm currently trying my best to balance this focus with my other priorities, of which there are many!
Now time for another nap. I hope to report that these urges to nap will go away, and very soon.
Good luck with doing the no sugar, dairy, caffeine, etc.! I started doing the same thing about two months ago and found giving sugar and caffeine up really difficult for about two weeks, I was really tired and kept getting awful headaches, but I hardly eat any now. It gets easier and it's good for our bodies! 
Good luck with doing the no sugar, dairy, caffeine, etc.! I started doing the same thing about two months ago and found giving sugar and caffeine up really difficult for about two weeks, I was really tired and kept getting awful headaches, but I hardly eat any now. It gets easier and it's good for our bodies!
Thanks so much for the support. It's going to be very tough. For my sanity I'm letting caffeine in the mix in the form of one (very) small cup a day.
As it stands, I wake up every day and tell myself no dairy or sugar, but it generally hasn't been going that way. I think when I get into a rut, I have this general way of eating...and stepping outside that sometimes just frustrates me, because I haven't the time to really think about it. But I do make a "valient effort," as Gordon Ramsey would say.
I also wanted to take the time to mention forum member bryan. I had one interaction with him on the forum, but if you can dig up his threads, they are very informative. His posts inspired me to think outside the box--farther outside than oil cleansing and moisturizing. I no longer feel an incredible need to moisturize and slather heavy products on my face, thanks to him.
Of course, I still am trying to find the right balance for my skin, but his contributions have changed me for the better.
I had to gradually decrease the amount I was having too, I found it really difficult to go completely cold turkey on everything at once. I used to eat a small amount of chocolate/something sweet everyday, but now I have a treat maybe once every two weeks. There's always bad food in my house too, and now I find that I just don't want it at all. Keep going, it gets easier!
I'll look up bryan's posts, thanks for the tip!
I had to gradually decrease the amount I was having too, I found it really difficult to go completely cold turkey on everything at once. I used to eat a small amount of chocolate/something sweet everyday, but now I have a treat maybe once every two weeks. There's always bad food in my house too, and now I find that I just don't want it at all. Keep going, it gets easier!
I'll look up bryan's posts, thanks for the tip!
Oh no problem. It was just something I wanted to say in general.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'll be posting back soon with progress updates. 🙂
No sugar has been making slow but sure progress.
On the downside, I do find myself reaching for sugar during the afternoon. It's hard to get over that hump. I tried to do it yesterday, but during my classes my students asked if I was upset. Truth is, my energy was horrid.
When I have sugar and caffeine, my mood is generally fantastic. I have a hard time pushing myself through that icky feeling. I can do it on the weekend when I don't have to work, but otherwise, I find it very difficult. But I will keep on.
10/25
If there's anything I hate more, it's logs that fizzle out and no one has any idea why!
Like I did with my last log, I'll be updating periodically and reporting.
I've noticed washing my face at night versus the morning makes a huge difference. My skin looks much, much better if I wash my face in the morning.
So far, sugar withdrawal symptoms include headaches, oversleeping, tired/fatigue/poor mood, brain fog, inability to concentrate, and so on.
Oversleeping includes sleeping 12 hours a night some nights, and taking 1-3 hour naps.
10/27
Many days I have gone all day with no sugar or dairy, and then would have a little something at night. Now I'm officially no dairy, no sugar OFFICIALLY. As in not one ounce.
Experiencing major cravings. This has happened to me many times before when I try to eat clean: a craving comes, I let myself have a little, then I make no progress. And sometimes a little turns into a lot.
I watched a video on Julia Ross again. I keep forgetting about her because no one really talks about her anymore.
She has an addiction rehab clinic in the bay area and she started developing treatments for sugar addiction, because she reports the average rehab paitient gains 30 lbs from replacing sugar with their cocaine, heroine etc addiction.
She explains those who crave sugar have neurotransmitter deficiency that can be compensated by amino acid supplementation. By doing amino acid therapy, you can cure your sugar cravings. I'm not sure why I don't hear more people doing this. Heck, I'm not doing it. But I haven't eliminated the possibility of trying it.
I've never heard of sugar directly resulting in breakouts. However, my skin is looking quite alright. I'll report more progress after a bit more time has passed.
10/28
Skin texture feeling 10x better than it has in a long time. Still haven't given in to sugar, and I'll post on what that's been like, as well as some research I stumbled upon about women, neurotransmitter deficiencies and emotional eating.
10/30
Last night I got SUCH a bad craving that it was all I could think about. I eventually had a 4 pieces of candy and that somehow worked. For people that do not have a sweet tooth, I don't know how to explain a craving. But it sucks. I'm still told that it only takes a couple weeks for cravings to go away, but after days of (what feels like) torture, I begin to wonder if they'll ever go away.
I really want to get serious about cutting sugar as well. I have pretty bad hormonal acne (finally just stopped birth control after 9 years!) and I am set on going the natural route to heal this mess. I woke up this morning and decided today was the day--but then one of my students gave me a halloween tin full of chocolate during my 8:30 apt. I drove around all day (im a traveling speech therapist) with that tin on my passenger seat lol. 3:00 rolled around and I finally gave in and ate about 5 mini candy bars over the next hour. Ughhh I'm doing a candida cleanse right now (OTC cleanse I bought in desperation) I'm thinking I won't get results even if it was an effective cleanse bc I'm two days in and still haven't got the diet part down.
Don't mean to ramble but I'm pretty sure my fianc© is sick of listening to me so I'm glad to people who can relate to my madness
Oh and my job is one of the main motivations to doing this (aside from my wedding). Because I work with all 3 &4 year olds and get asked on a daily basis what's wrong with my face, how I got boo boos on my face, why do I have poison ivy on my face etc. :/
And it doesn't really help my confidence when dealing with parents and other professionals bc I feel like they already don't take me seriously due to my age. Even when I keep this in mind sugar always wins lol.
I really want to get serious about cutting sugar as well. I have pretty bad hormonal acne (finally just stopped birth control after 9 years!) and I am set on going the natural route to heal this mess. I woke up this morning and decided today was the day--but then one of my students gave me a halloween tin full of chocolate during my 8:30 apt. I drove around all day (im a traveling speech therapist) with that tin on my passenger seat lol. 3:00 rolled around and I finally gave in and ate about 5 mini candy bars over the next hour. Ughhh I'm doing a candida cleanse right now (OTC cleanse I bought in desperation) I'm thinking I won't get results even if it was an effective cleanse bc I'm two days in and still haven't got the diet part down.
Don't mean to ramble but I'm pretty sure my fianc© is sick of listening to me so I'm glad to people who can relate to my madness
Oh and my job is one of the main motivations to doing this (aside from my wedding). Because I work with all 3 &4 year olds and get asked on a daily basis what's wrong with my face, how I got boo boos on my face, why do I have poison ivy on my face etc. :/
And it doesn't really help my confidence when dealing with parents and other professionals bc I feel like they already don't take me seriously due to my age. Even when I keep this in mind sugar always wins lol.
Hi! I was just about send you a message linking you here. Welcome! I'm going to try to find a way to re-name the thread. Feel free to post as much as you like and anything you think is important. Glad you got off birth control. I think it will definitely help your hormones.
You work with 3-4 year olds? How cute! I work with kids as well (dance teacher), but oddly none of them have ever asked about my skin. Once I broke out really badly and I had to put on a ton of makeup. I was teaching a class of 3 year olds and one of them asked me why I was wearing so much makeup, haha. I guess I'm not as good with makeup as I thought.
I'm in the process of changing my skincare regimen. I didn't apply my exfoliant today. Of course that might result in MAJOR breakouts. We'll see! Oh, I also bought new makeup so...switch alot!
You definitely need to be off sugar to kill candida. Candida feeds off carbohydrates and ketones, so a modest carbohydrate diet is important. I've heard people mainly sticking to 70-150 grams of carbs a day while trying to kill candida.
I'll see if I can change the title of the thread. 
I really want to get serious about cutting sugar as well. I have pretty bad hormonal acne (finally just stopped birth control after 9 years!) and I am set on going the natural route to heal this mess. I woke up this morning and decided today was the day--but then one of my students gave me a halloween tin full of chocolate during my 8:30 apt. I drove around all day (im a traveling speech therapist) with that tin on my passenger seat lol. 3:00 rolled around and I finally gave in and ate about 5 mini candy bars over the next hour. Ughhh I'm doing a candida cleanse right now (OTC cleanse I bought in desperation) I'm thinking I won't get results even if it was an effective cleanse bc I'm two days in and still haven't got the diet part down.
Don't mean to ramble but I'm pretty sure my fiance is sick of listening to me so I'm glad to people who can relate to my madness 🙂
Oh and my job is one of the main motivations to doing this (aside from my wedding). Because I work with all 3 &4 year olds and get asked on a daily basis what's wrong with my face, how I got boo boos on my face, why do I have poison ivy on my face etc. :/
And it doesn't really help my confidence when dealing with parents and other professionals bc I feel like they already don't take me seriously due to my age. Even when I keep this in mind sugar always wins lol.
Hi! I was just about send you a message linking you here. Welcome! I'm going to try to find a way to re-name the thread. Feel free to post as much as you like and anything you think is important. Glad you got off birth control. I think it will definitely help your hormones.
You work with 3-4 year olds? How cute! I work with kids as well (dance teacher), but oddly none of them have ever asked about my skin. Once I broke out really badly and I had to put on a ton of makeup. I was teaching a class of 3 year olds and one of them asked me why I was wearing so much makeup, haha. I guess I'm not as good with makeup as I thought.
I'm in the process of changing my skincare regimen. I didn't apply my exfoliant today. Of course that might result in MAJOR breakouts. We'll see! Oh, I also bought new makeup so...switch alot!
You definitely need to be off sugar to kill candida. Candida feeds off carbohydrates and ketones, so a modest carbohydrate diet is important. I've heard people mainly sticking to 70-150 grams of carbs a day while trying to kill candida.
I'll see if I can change the title of the thread. 🙂
Thanks for the info! I think mine is so noticeable to the kids because I'm very fair and a horrible picker so I cause my blemishes to turn red/purple and scab (I know it's horrible, it's like an addiction lol). Can I ask what your regimine is? I try to use natural products (baking soda, Evco, acv) but I'm always changing it and never stick with it for long. I have tried every over the counter face product under the sun, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, retina-a, topical antibiotics, every face mask (I'm on an Indian Aztec healing clay kick right now, derma roller during my clearer days,) and I take a million supplements a day. I know the only thing I have left is to change my diet which is harder for me than anything.
My diet is horrible. I crave carbs, junk, sweets all the time (oh hey candida). When I get these cravings I look in the mirror at my acne and try to remind myself why I'm doing this-but a lot of times it overcomes me and I just say screw it and eat the junk.
Thanks for the info! I think mine is so noticeable to the kids because I'm very fair and a horrible picker so I cause my blemishes to turn red/purple and scab (I know it's horrible, it's like an addiction lol). Can I ask what your regimine is? I try to use natural products (baking soda, Evco, acv) but I'm always changing it and never stick with it for long. I have tried every over the counter face product under the sun, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, retina-a, topical antibiotics, every face mask (I'm on an Indian Aztec healing clay kick right now, derma roller during my clearer days,) and I take a million supplements a day. I know the only thing I have left is to change my diet which is harder for me than anything.
My diet is horrible. I crave carbs, junk, sweets all the time (oh hey candida). When I get these cravings I look in the mirror at my acne and try to remind myself why I'm doing this-but a lot of times it overcomes me and I just say screw it and eat the junk.
Awww! I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. I have an old log from a couple years ago and I did EVERYTHING. Aztec indian healing clay, mint julep mask, other sulfur masks, benzoyl, glycolic/salicylic/mandelic/lactic/azelaic acid, manuka honey, essential oils, oil cleansing method, oatmeal cleanser, NO washing...to name a few. I ask tried different product lines, Garden of Wisdom, I did Acne.org's "The Regimen," Mario Badescu, MyChelle, and so much more. I also have done TONS of supplements.
I finally joined a skincare clinic. I started getting treatments and their products. It's very expensive. But they haven't fully cleared my skin, so I want off the products.
To come back to your original question, I recently ordered a very gentle cleanser from Garden of Wisdom, and I'll be using that cleanser 1-2x/day and moisturizing 1-2x/day. Once I get my new makeup in, I don't think I'll be moisturizing much at all.
Btw, I ALSO have very pale skin AND I pick too. Such a horrible habit. I'm not sure how to combat the picking.
I'm so proud of you for getting over the cravings! Have you ever tried drinking acv? A lot of people think its disgusting, harmful, too acidic for teeth etc, but it is truly the only thing that I know helps my skin when I drink it on a regular basis. I use a straw so it doesn't touch the enamel on my teeth as much. I drink it in the afternoon when I get off and it gives me a nice energy boost (ex redbull addict). I also think that it curbs my junk food cravings but it could just be the large amount of water I drink with it. Anyway there's no doubt you havent at least heard of it but if you haven't tried it, it may be worth getting a bottle to help with the cravings/crashing. I know it works for me bc I'm on and off and every time I start again after a few days I'm always mad that I ever stopped, but it may not work for others the same way.
Anyway, Ive had a great day! So busy at work that i didnt even think about eating junk lol. but going out tonight for the penguins game so we'll see how that goes. My biggest enemy tonight is alcohol, I really enjoy having a drink on Friday night...but oh well!! Are you cutting out fruit as well to eliminate sugar or still allowing fruit in your diet?
No fruit for now. In the past I would eating mangoes and bananas and cantelope desperately trying to run away from a craving. I want to see I get on without it for a bit.
I think alcohol is totally ok, by the way. I've heard that distilled liquors have little sugar compared to fermented alcohol. Fermented alcohol would be hard cider, beer... Distilled would be tequila, vodka, gin, spirits, etc. My drink of choice next time will be a gin and tonic with fresh lime (a slice of fruit haha).
I also think it'll help my stomach. Last time I had a cider I wanted to keel over and die. Ugh, my stomach!
11/1
Been decaf for the past 2 days. Napped yesterday. Hoping I can be decaf and it'll help my sleep.
Day 3 of no exfoliant serum and my skin texture is feeling great. Better than it has all year.
11/4
Low carb can induce elevated cortisol. I haven't been counting the grams of carbs I eat per day, but I'd wager I eat around <20g per day.
I planned to eat a big carb meal once every few days. I thought that might be enough for my hormones.
However, the past few nights I was waking up every couple hours. Not good.
Tonight I'm going to try eating a small starch meal before bed to see how it helps with sleep.
11/6
I upped my carbs with potatoes and rice the past couple days, and the sleep has not improved. I'm going to start looking into other things to improve sleep.
Skin is still looking better and better. However, now that my acne is disappearing, I have noticed: I'm so pale! I need to tan!
Back to half-caf coffee, 1 cup per day.
I have been doing horrible with my diet still, I just don't have the willpower to not eat junk lately. It didn't help that my monthly came and its been 20x worse since getting off the pill. On top of that i havent been to the gym since saturday. Ugh. Feeling horrible. If my face and the fact that I'm getting married this summer doesn't motivate me I don't know what will. But I'll try again tomorrow.
Since I'm not even contributing to this group ill post again when I actually start cutting sugar or do something healthy lol.
Ps-I love sleepy time tea or any chamomile. It's like relaxation in a cup. I drink it almost every night and green tea in the am for energy as well as acv concoction...
I have been doing horrible with my diet still, I just don't have the willpower to not eat junk lately. It didn't help that my monthly came and its been 20x worse since getting off the pill. On top of that i havent been to the gym since saturday. Ugh. Feeling horrible. If my face and the fact that I'm getting married this summer doesn't motivate me I don't know what will. But I'll try again tomorrow.
Since I'm not even contributing to this group ill post again when I actually start cutting sugar or do something healthy lol.
Ps-I love sleepy time tea or any chamomile. It's like relaxation in a cup. I drink it almost every night and green tea in the am for energy as well as acv concoction...
Good luck. All the best.
11/9
I indulged in some ice cream, and immediately regretted it.
I also consumed a couple cups of coffee with heavy cream. No sugar but, dairy. I noticed two blemishes pop up, and a few other little whiteheads. That's interesting to me so I'll be going very strict again, get back into some low carb for a few days too.
I also switched up my cleanser and have been trying to abandon moisturizer. It's hard to pinpoint causes seeing as I'm changing so much, but I'll be going much more strict again and keeping my skincare routine consistent.
Hey! I'm still doing no sugar, no dairy, no caffeine, though I guess about sugar free 95% of the time and dairy/caffeine free like 99% of the time. I love food too much to say no to a piece of cake every now and again
I still eat fruit though, that's one thing I couldn't do without. I've started drinking green smoothies 5-6 times a week so I'm eating more fruit now than I ever have.
I've noticed I don't really crave sugary foods anymore though, which is nice seeing I used to eat some form of chocolate nearly everyday.
I've also lost 8kg this year since cutting down then cutting out dairy and sugar. I have to be pretty careful with my weight now though because my BMI is on the low side of healthy and my doctor warned me about letting it fall any lower.
How're you doing with the low carb? My friend convinced me to try carb free with her a few years ago and it was horrible. I don't eat too much anyway but I felt faint a lot of the time.
Hey! I'm still doing no sugar, no dairy, no caffeine, though I guess about sugar free 95% of the time and dairy/caffeine free like 99% of the time. I love food too much to say no to a piece of cake every now and again
I still eat fruit though, that's one thing I couldn't do without. I've started drinking green smoothies 5-6 times a week so I'm eating more fruit now than I ever have.
I've noticed I don't really crave sugary foods anymore though, which is nice seeing I used to eat some form of chocolate nearly everyday.
I've also lost 8kg this year since cutting down then cutting out dairy and sugar. I have to be pretty careful with my weight now though because my BMI is on the low side of healthy and my doctor warned me about letting it fall any lower.
How're you doing with the low carb? My friend convinced me to try carb free with her a few years ago and it was horrible. I don't eat too much anyway but I felt faint a lot of the time.
Carbs get people in a frenzy! I like experimenting with it because of the research on theraputic ketogenic dieting.
What I've learned so far: low carb is easy when your activity level is minimal-moderate, and high calories. If I ever accidentally undereat and up activity, things really take a downturn. I'm reading more into this and how I can help this, because it seems like my body doesn't mind using fat for fuel, but if I dip under calories, like heck it wants to burn my bodyfat! Which uh, I seem to have the opposite problem than you 🙂
11/11
I have slight (very slight) textural problems, only on one side of my face as of yesterday. Not sure if things are surfacing still and need to let it run the course.
Thinking about getting a tanning membership again.
11/16
So my monthly is coming soon. I have all the right symptoms: mild breakout, bloating, bad digestion, terrible mood, etc. That might explain my skin except that I've indulged the past couple days.
The first day I had a little something sweet, it's made it that much harder to say no the next day.
We're back to square one.
Another note: I'm doing the "baking soda/acv" rinse for my hair instead of shampoo. Initially it seemed to not work. I upped my baking soda and now it DRIED my hair to bits.
I'm hoping to get my diet back to 100% clean. Then my skin will come back, and if I can figure out a hair routine that requires minimal washing, I can reduce my showers to every other day instead of every day. I LOVE showering, but I'm always open to trying new things, and lately I've been curious about how my skin would feel when its water exposure is cut in half, considering the water I wash with has chlorine, metals and minerals that irritate the skin.
If I had the money, I'd buy a $1500 whole-house water purification system that purifies and remineralizes (with the right minerals) your tap water.
As it stands, my baking soda/acv rinse is doing ok, my cleanser is all-natural (has 6 or 7 ingredients), and my body wash is an all-natural soap bar. The skin is the largest organ in the body and can readily absorb what you put on it. I'm trying to remove the chemicals I put on it.
11/22
Sugar Update
I don't want to blame my monthly for taking things off track, but it's most likely the biggest factor.
Once I gave in to a few days of sugar, the cravings HIT, and they hit HARD. And they haven't gone away.
Overall Diet Update
I've been eating very plain foods. For more on this, read Stephan Guyenet's blog. He's a researcher and I found his ideas interesting. So far they aren't helping me in the ways I wanted or the ways his research said they would. I'm wondering if the hormonal response to this eating method requires an adjustment period. I'm willing to ride that out.
Hair Update
My hair absolutely needs conditioner. No question. I have no idea how other girls are getting away without conditioner. My routine has become:
baking soda rinse (LESS baking soda than before!)
ACV rinse (for shine)
condition ends (which are damaged and need the pick-me-up)
I hate baking soda. I either don't use enough and it leaves my hair oily, or I use too much and it dries my hair to straw.
I'm beginning to think baking soda is too abrasive and inappropriate for my fine hair.
11/23
Hair
I saw the girl with the most beautiful hair today. I could slap her it was so shiny.
Not giving up on natural hair care.
Skin
Undecided. It looks "ok."
Diet
Looking better. Still needs more time.
11/25
Skin is looking better much better.
12/1
Thanksgiving wasn't ideal, and my skin did not appreciate it. But it is nothing compared to when I first started this log.
1/5/14
Over a month since last update, but the holidays put me nearly back to square one. I managed to refrain myself in many ways, so I applaud myself for no immense overeating.
My skin has NOT liked it AT all. A friend said that back in November my skin was "glowing." I want to get back to that.
This no sugar-group is sad. I should change this to the lone ranger.
Or, MAYBE I should turn this thread into "eat only sugar group," because lately I feel like that's all I've been doing. The holidays royally screwed me, seeing family and relaxing. You kinda forget all your goals, especially when you make so much progress. You make all this progress and then start saying, what's a bit of sugar in my coffee to hurt? That's the devil I think. The devil is when you start believing a little bit is okay.
Well, a little bit IS okay, if we define a little bit as having something once a week. A little bit is not sugar in coffee, a treat every day, etc. That's a lot of sugar.
Sugar is toxic and it ruins all my progress and goals. I need to stop consuming it. I want to get back to my "glowing" skin!
Haven't updated this since January, but the pendulum has swung again--I'm back to minimal sugar. Still consuming dairy (cream, butter and cheese), no bread products as usual, no soy, minimizing vegetable oil consumption, and that's about it. Also eating lower carb and cycling carbs.
My skin feels a shit-ton better, however, there's still some issues with my jaw/neck area, which I'm still waiting out. Overall, skin looks and feels 10x better and that is great.
It's very tiring you know, to continually think about how your skin looks, how your body looks, how you hair looks, every damn day. It's mostly tiring actually because I generally don't like what I see. If I like what I see, it'd probably be highly stimulating. Knowing you look good and going about your day with that extra confidence is great. When you don't feel you look good, that's when it becomes a drain.
The solution really becomes not thinking about it. You want to improve, but the mind can only sustain it for so long. Maybe the ritual of healthy eating and exercising remains, but that initial fire--running after the dangling carrot--greatly dissipates. One cannot live in a constant state of self-scrutiny in this superficial way.
Other juvenile things tend to run in the same vein, like worrying what people think of you and how you are perceived. Our physical appearance and social perception are greatly tied together (at least we think they are), and it's fucking draining.
Some say they "don't like people." Sure, I LIKE people, but I don't like having to deal with them on a personal level, wondering what they're thinking of me and if I'm saying the right things and looking a certain way.
Growing older, I'm at a point in my life where I have largely stopped fretting over what others think. It has decreased to a great degree. A LARGE degree. A manifestation of that has been lowered aggressiveness in making new friends. The effect is then, being lonelier. Maybe not completely alone, but less alone than you would be if you gave a damn to network and socialize.
I don't like putting on a show and convincing people to like me.
So if I have some acne, as long its not overwhelmingly bad, then I don't *really* care.
It'd be nice to have it all gone, but...not worth my time. If it happens, it happens.