Hi, I'm 36 and still have acne. Basically tried it all, including several courses of roaccutane. My acne is not severe and I don't scar. However, I have daily break-outs of white heads and other bumps and it really affects my mood and self-confidence to the extreme.
So, I started Paleo two weeks ago. Have tried it before, but maybe not for long enough to see actual results. This round I want to record my diet and track any changes, good or bad. My skin has actually worsened since starting, not a good sign! And I am stuggeling a bit with depression and lack of motivation.
What I don't understand is how my skin can get worse before better? My diet is a bit more carb and include butternet squash and sweet potato on a daily basis, for the rest I eat eggs, veggies, avo, fish, chicken, ostrich and seldomly beef. Few nuts and one banana per day. Also drink / eat kefir and sauerkraut everyday.
Anyway, I will stick with this for at least 3 months and update daily.
My skin looks particularly bad, hehe! Last Friday I decided to follow an overall natural approach, in addition to a Paleo diet. I started the OCM to cleanse my face. Not good, I have bumps all over my face. Why did I try it again? Anyway, I stopped the OCM 2 days ago.
Breakfast: 2 eggs with steamed broccoli and 1 sweat potato
Lunch: 1 can pink salmon, sauerkraut, 1 avo, 1 sweet potato
Dinner: ostrich mince, sauerkraut, 1 sweet potato
Snack: handfull macadamia nuts
Drinks: black coffee, kefir
Mood and energy: good for a change
My skin still looks horrific from what I hope was caused by the OCM and not my diet. Tonight I applied diluted ACV and tea tree oil after washing. More oil...? Not sure if I'm doing the right thing here.
Breakfast: baked butternet, mixed with 3 O3 eggs
Lunch: 1 can salmon, baked butternut, sauerkraut
Dinner: salmon, roasted marrow, small potato and tomato
Snack: handful macadamia nuts, 1 block 85 % dark chocolate
Drinks: black coffee
Mood and energy: 6/10
Could also be the nuts or eggs. Or even the sauerkraut (probiotics). However, my skin got progressively worse this last week since the oil cleanses. Monday will be 3 weeks on Paleo.
Yesterday I had:-
Breakfast: sweet potato, fritata with veggies
Lunch: norw salmon, avo, sweet potato
Dinner: chicken, avo, carrots, cucumber
Skin: terrible, whiteheads popping up everywhere
Today I had:-
Breakfast: eggs (butter), pumkin and avo
Lunch: chicken, avo, carrot, cucumber, sweet potato
Dinner: norw salmon, broccoli, cantelope
Skin: terrible still, had to apply zineryt tonight, and is seriously contemplating taking my left-over bactrim
Will exclude egg and butter for a while
Today i had:-
Breakfast: norwegian salmon and sweet potato
Lunch: norwegian salmon and sweet melon
Dinner: norwegian salmon, broccoli, avo and sweet potato (OK, norwegian salmon was on a buy one, get one free special)
Snacks: 2 blocks of 85% dark chocolate, carrots
Drinks: black filter coffee
Almost canned this diet today, but then I'm a failure and will never know if it works or not, which means I will try again in a couple of months, so I might as well sit it out now, what is another month on Paleo anyway.
Omitted butter and eggs today, but started taking Bactrim yesterday (only until things settle down a bit, a week max).
Worked from home today because I could not face my colleagues with their perfect skins. But tomorrow I have no choice but to go to work. Anyone know of an overnight cure?
Today I had:-
Breakfast: sweet potato and cinnamon
Lunch: avo, salmon, pumpkin
Dinner: raw carrot, avo, broccoli, sweet potato and salmon
Snacks: 1 banana, 1 block 85% Lindt
Drinks: black coffee
Skin: super bad still, nothing to report, still inflammation, just not sure from what. I know coffee is not good but I've always had coffee without it having an effect on my skin, same goes for dark chocolate.
Day 23
Breakfast: sweet potato and cinnamon
Lunch: free range beef jerky, coconut, strawberries
Dinner: chichen salad with lettuce, boiled egg, avo, green beans and very little grated parmesan cheese (the last two items technically not Paleo), I ate at a restaurant and already had to tell the waiter to hold the sauce and croutons, imagine I had to also hold the beans and cheese...there'd be nothing left.
Drinks: 1 water, 1 apple, carrot and ginger juice (fresh), 1 tea, coffee rest of day.
Snack: 1 85% Lindt
Skin: looking a lot better, inflammation seem to have gone down.
Energy and mood: good
Still staying away from butter, had one egg today.
Also stopped Bactrim last night.
Day 24
Breakfast: sweet potato with cinnamon
Lunch: carrots, avo, pumkin, salmon, banana
Dinner: brocolli, ostrich mince
Snacks: jerky, 85% dark chocolate (2 blocks)
Drinks: black coffee (I need to drink water)
Mood: a bit on the bi-polar side, terrible mood swings, crying spells, next moment not sure why I over-reacted the way I did, really strange and inconcistent. Struggled to cope with normal stressors.
Skin: still improving
Day 25
Breakfast: sweet potato and cinnamon
Lunch: sweet potato, can of salmon
Dinner: salad with chicken, butternut, beetroot, avo and spinach
Snacks: sweet potato and cinnamon, 2 blocks of 85 % Lindt, 1 small sardine
Drinks: black coffee, 1 small water
Mood: terrible in morning, much better as day progressed
Skin: everything is healing, great, but I don't want to be too optimistic because it has done this before and then all of a sudden it freaks out for no apparent reason
Day 26
Breakfast: sardines and 1 carrot
Lunch: 2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, half avo
Snack: banana, sweet potato, 1 block of 85% chocolate, 1 carrot
Dinner: norweigian salmon, avo, salad (tomato, lettuce, cucumber)
Mood: 6/10 so not that great, went mountain biking and got tired early on
Skin: good, still have the sandy bumps on my forehead and temples from last week's ordeal
Drinks: black coffee, 1 dry red wine
Day 28
Breakfast: sweet potato and cinnamon
Lunch: salmon, 1 avo, 2 carrots, butternut
Dinner: bone broth (ox tail) with vegetables, brocolli, chicken, 1 avo
Snacks: banana, 1 block of 85 % dark chocolate
Drinks: 1 peppermint and green tea, black coffee
Skin: very good, still healing from last week
Mood and energy: good, 7/10
Lilo, i've been following your log and i have started eating Paleo as of yesterday. It is a modified diet that included some sweet potatoes as i am trying to gain weight. I plan on giving it 30 days to see if there is a difference in my breakouts. Hoping to hear more of your journey!
Day 34
My acne is getting worse again, the only change in my diet was eating 2 eggs per day since last week Wednesday up until this morning. I had to test it because i did not want to believe that eggs could have an effect, I thought it was the sauerkraut and kefir. So, if I drop the eggs, I should be clear in say a week. It's funny because it's exactly the same inflammation issues as last time, the same spots that remain active for days and don't heal-up.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, spinach, bacon and avo
Lunch: chicken and veggies soup, sweet potato, salmon, avo
Dinner: salmon, sweet potato
Snacks: banana, 85% dark chocolate (2 blocks)
Mood and energy: for the first time in my life I have more up than down days. 8/10
Lilo, i've been following your log and i have started eating Paleo as of yesterday. It is a modified diet that included some sweet potatoes as i am trying to gain weight. I plan on giving it 30 days to see if there is a difference in my breakouts. Hoping to hear more of your journey!
Hi, can't say that I have gained weight, but at least I have not lost any. Good luck to you!
Day 35
Breakfast: salmon & sweet potato, beef broth with blended veggies - fatty meal (
Lunch: pumpkin, sweet potato, avo, 2 medium carrots, salmon
Dinner: salmon & sweet potato, beef broth with blended veggies
Snacks: 2 bananas, nuts (a definate no-no), 85 % dark chocolate
Skin: bad
Mood: good, coping so much better with my bad skin
Tomorrow I have a business trip to very small towns until Thursday. Obtaining quality food is going to be a major problem.
Wish I had something more positive to report.
Day 37
My skin has relapsed, not quite sure why. I find it a bit difficult to believe that a few eggs eaten a few days in a row last week can be resonsible for this break-out. Back to the drawing board, I have decided to avoid red meat and eggs, also too much saturated fat (contained in meat broth). I'm still having chicken broth though, but have opted for skinless.
Anyway, I'm back from my trip and really struggled with lack of food choices and basically lived on bananas, avo and canned alaskan pink salmon. Went hungry for most of today.
Energy and mood: still very good in spite of my skin. I'm really loving the improved mood, if it wasn't for this byproduct, I probably would have ditched the diet by now. I also had no PMS this month.
Today I have purchased some Mg citrate, which acts as a muscle relaxant for improved bowel movements.
I wan't to force my body to stop relying on my skin to eliminate waste products and rather use the bowels. As far as I know, Mg citrate is not habit-forming. Will start on 800 mg.
Basically diet wise, still sticking to mostly fish, avo, sweet potato, pumpkin, brocolli, spinach, carrots, some chicken, coconut, banana...and we'll see how it goes in a week from now.
I have been vegan and vegetarian before, but no change in skin. But maybe I ate to much bread and stuff, which is also acid-forming. I'm kinda at a loss at the moment.
Day 38
Breakfast: chicken and veggie soup
Lunch: sweet potato, butternut, 2 avos, sauerkraut, carrot, salmon
Dinner: chicken and veggie soup
Skin: still have actives with new developments
Mood: 5/10, feel like giving up on paleo, but where do I go from here? I have exhausted all other avenues. This is essentially my last hope, my only hope...
I have been vegan and vegetarian before, but no change in skin. But maybe I ate to much bread and stuff, which is also acid-forming. I'm kinda at a loss at the moment.
Day 38
Breakfast: chicken and veggie soup
Lunch: sweet potato, butternut, 2 avos, sauerkraut, carrot, salmon
Dinner: chicken and veggie soup
Skin: still have actives with new developments
Mood: 5/10, feel like giving up on paleo, but where do I go from here? I have exhausted all other avenues. This is essentially my last hope, my only hope...
Hi Lilo, i'll be your Paleo buddy if you want . We can definitely cheer each other on. I know how frustrating it can be especially when you are doing your best. Keep at it! Its supposedly a better way of eating so........
What is your skin care like? Also, have you looked into the possibility that diet may not be your main issue? What kind of acne do you get and where?
Hi Sasch12, I can definately do with a Paleo buddy!
I use an organic range on my skin. It's called Sanctum. Have only been using it for a few weeks, before that I used Ahava (too expensive but very good).
I basically get red bumps that turn into whiteheads. Normally, if I get one in an area on my face, a few pop-up closeby. I get acne around my mouth, forehead, temples, sides of face. I also have blackheads but they are tolerable.
My chest has never been bad, but has cleared-up since Paleo. I don't get acne on my back. Most people will describe it as mild, but i think it is moderate, whereas it's effects are severe.
How far are you in and what is your skin and diet like?
I have been to an endo before, my hormones were mostly normal, slightly high 17-OH progesterone, so they ran a CAH test, but it was negative. I had low iron and vitamin D as well, so she basically accussed me of having anorexia because I did not wan't to eat the plan that the dietician gave me in order to pick up weight. So, that was a dead-end, I never returned.
Also, my glucose tolerance test was abnormal, basically said that I was pre-diabetic, my thyroid was underactive, but they blamed everything on my low body weight. I weigh 50 kg and my height is 1,68 m. I wouldn't mind gaining weight but find it difficult when not eating grains.
Day 39
Breakfast: chicken and veggies soup / broth
Midmorning snack: avo, sweet potato, salmon
Late afternoon snack: sweet potato
Dinner: grilled sardines, potato, roasted peppers. I don't normally eat potato but have a mountainbiking competition tomorrow, so I need carbs for energy
Mood and energy: 8/10
Skin: in repair mode, a lot of marks, less actives
In retrospec, I maybe overdid the red meat, animal fat and eggs, so from now I will mostly do fish