2012 Princess Project - it's back, by popular demand...

[BlackSwan]

This is your new year's resolution:

1. 8 glasses of filtered water a day
2. Exfoliate (everything...within reason)
3. Use teeth whitener
4. Use anti-aging face cream
5. Intensive nail care (feet and hands)
6. Use eyelash growth serum OR eye cream
7. The Shred / other intensive exercise
8. At least 2 extra fruit & veg every day
9. Healthy breakfast daily

10. Use hair oil (moroccan hair oil for eg, or kerastase etc) 11. No alcohol during the week & no boozing it up on weekends 12. Take vitamins every day 13. Body brushing 14. At least 2 servings of salmon or other fatty fish per week. 15. One early night once a week. Suggest 9PM. 16. Regular hair removal 17. Give up one naughty favourite item e.g. chocolate/crisps 18. No more fizzy drinks 19. DAILY body moisturising 20. Warm water with lemon first thing in the a.m.

All the hard work has been done for you. This list was carefully crafted in the course of 2 previous threads and hundreds of posts by women determined to make the most of what they've got.
All you need to do is stick to it & by the time we emerge from winter, you will be glowing & energetic. 100% guaranteed or your money back. Tiaras and princes not included.

Pretty good i'd say! Although i'm going to give you a "could do better" on the fruit and veg, fish and water. But who am i to judge? I had chocolate and diet coke in the afternoon :( but to balance it out I did Spin today, drank gallons of water, and haven't so much as had a sniff of wine all week. AND there is no Baileys in the house so I'm sticking to that one. Hmmmm Baileys

I definitely could do better :o

Having much more water, and made a chopped salad for lunch today.

Fish is never going to happen though, I loathe fish. But I take fish oil capsules every day, I should have included that above [slightly less of a slacker emoticon].

I don't mind a little Baileys either. Can I admit to having a teensy amount this week for medicinal purposes? All better now, so that excuse is gone. Jacksmania, chopped salad, I am impressed. Glad I didn't have to give you the 'could do better' sticker myself! Seems you're on the right track though. Fish oil caps are very good.

Yesterday was a total write-off. Didn't get to shower, brush my hair, or eat anything other than slimfast, the world's smallest pot of fruit, and some cheese spread and crackers. I may be losing weight, but if I carry on like this, I'll end up losing vital signs.

Today, however has started well, in spite of my having only two and a half hours sleep. I have had breakfast, a shower, my drugs, multivitamin, and I've even brushed my hair. Last night DH and I decided that I will return to work as soon as is humanly possible, and he will stay at home with DS. It turns out I don't have a maternal bone in my body, and that spending most of my time crying and wishing I had never got pregnant isn't normal, so work may be the very thing I need to feel sane again.

I managed to pull something in the lower abdomen area when putting away shopping on Monday, so I haven't done any exercise since then. I had visions of my c-section scar opening up and spilling my guts all over the floor.

I have the world's biggest spot on my nose

It turns out I don't have a maternal bone in my body, and that spending most of my time crying and wishing I had never got pregnant isn't normal, so work may be the very thing I need to feel sane again.

I felt a bit similar, minus the crying i was PND or anything, but i'm quite glad someone else out their felt a bit.. well.. like they needed to have their own life, aswell as being a mum!

I've not been on the thread in a while, but i have been Princessing with Avengenge!

I've been using Beyond Bronze by Fake bake mouse £12.50 body care is cheapest, and i have to say it is the best fake tan i have ever used. And i have used A LOT!
I've also learned a new technique, which sounds really strange but give it a go, it works best! - Buffing the excess off with a (dark) towel, the tan dries quicker, isn't too dark or too light, just perfect. You can get a mitt that has a side to do this also from body care - But i have lost mine.

I'm getting my Hair extensions put back in, No extra length, just thickness instead of wearing clip - in's every day! My consultation tomorrow, appt. Next Saturday!

I've been back to wearing my false eyelashes everyday, love it!

Good dieting, Weet-a-bix for breakfast, WW micro-meal for lunch (purely for low carbs and easy peasy to prepare!) and Chicken for tea + 2ltrs of water. 3.5lbs loss in two weeks, not loads but am pleased!

Always early night my 4mo still wakes up almost every hour, and have to get up for bed at 5.45am!

Have had a naughty boozy weekend, but overall have been trying really hard!

I WILL BE SKINNY!

BUT WHAT ABOUT MY SPOT!!!!

I don't really get spots, so i can offer no helpful advice.

However i swear by Estee Lauder Double wear concealer for my eye-bags! Maybe an Investment Purchase?

Catinboots, could you soak the spot with a hot flannel to bring it to a head? Or maybe post a thread about your spot, there is an entire zit porn brigade on here who would love to help.

Double wear concealer?? Will add to the shopping list

I have another thread on here asking about the Double Wear mascara

( I already love the foundation, the foundation light and the DL lipstick)

I've had many samples of the Doublewear foundation, and the shades always look funny, its either too light or makes me a have a strange tint to my face. I know its a cult product and its annoyed me a bit.

Bobby brown also do a concealer duo, that is amazing, however i find bobby brown a bit harder to get hold of than Estee Lauder!

Back on track and hair is looking so much better I tried a gorgeous coconut body scrub this morning so am feeling all soft and lovely.

Am off to the beauticians to boook a traetment. Will fill you in with my choice when I return.

Sorelip, don't beat yourself up, it's such early days - the sleeplessness quickly erases any maternal feelings. Try to get as much rest as you can & get as much hands on help as you can too. Don't spend your time reeling at the fact you're not loving this new role. It's very tough in the beginning and it gets a lot better as the months roll on. You're still at the stage before DS has started smiling - which is hard because it can really feel like you're doing all this work and you're not even making him happy or getting a smile. I felt really pushed to the limit with my newborn DS. I thought I would run back to the arms of my employer when I felt my only purpose in life was to keep putting the dummy back in DS's mouth 30 times before he would go to sleep. Time ticked on and things got better, I became more maternal as he got older. He's 2 now and I'm only just thinking of getting back to work. We're all different of course, but in the early days I sorely missed my old life and independence and career.

Taking care of yourself is so important - mind and body. Do what you can to regain a bit of your old self. Sending one big hug. PS if you are in London I am always around for coffee and a chat.

One problem i have its a bad routine i need to get out of.
My lack of time their just aren't enough hours in the day, i've been trying to squeeze in exercise, but look at my day!
I get up at around 6, leave for work at half seven and return home from work at half six, then its tea, bath DD, shower, get ready for work tomorrow and bed at around half nine-ish. I'm sure its similar for everyone else, any magical solutions?
I have the 30day shred, and may try fitting that in for half an hour before i go to bed!

Kate totally agree on the Fake Bake, best tan I have ever tried!

I have been doing well this week with princessing, minus some slight over-indulgence but that's down to 2 birthday parties with yummy homemade cake so next week back to normal hopefully.

KateSpade, I've also experienced a surge in ambition. I want DS to have financial security, so I need to get off my bum and actually have a career. The best way to do that is to go back to work, and pay my mum to look after DS. She is someone I trust, and she needs the cash, so it is a win-win situation.

BlackSwan, DS is actually really advanced. He smiles, and from birth could actually hold his head up properly (obviously I didn't encourage that, but he did it anyway). He is a very alert baby, and I spend most of my time wondering how the hell I can occupy him. My mum is my saviour at the moment. He seems to calm down immediately in her arms.

Lucewheel, thank you. I never expected to feel so sodding useless! I can't wait to be able to attempt the Shred. Does anyone know how soon after a c-section you can do the Shred?

Sorelip We are the same!
I want to have the financial security, i want a career, Thats what I've been telling everyone who will listen! aha!
I also feel like i've taken too many things on this year, but i can finish work soon (i have to do so many hours to complete something for uni) and spend the summer with my DD and actually have free time in my day!
and its hard to feel good at work when you just feel fat and frumpy!

Ok so I'm a little late to the party but I'm here and I've brought a bottle

Got paid (thank you, thank you, thank you) so I'm ready to commit to a little me time. Not sure I can manage 20 life changing steps all at once, so I'm thinking I'm going to commit to 5 for this week and then add on 5 next week (yes, pathetic, but these things needs to be routine for me and I think to work my way through the 20 steps might take most of my waking hours).

I'm guessing a lemon in a cup of hot water in the morning doesn't count towards my 2 extra fruit a day ? (Already see how I'm trying to cheat multitask...)

Off to drink 2 litres of water and then to bed, wearing a pot of sudacrem. Bring on the transformation !

Sorelip - the shred is fairly intense and I'd perhaps leave off the stomach bit if your stomach muscles are still a little separated. I didn't and 16 months post c-section I'm having to see a physio to try and pull the muscles back together after they re-separated when I started gym classess and the shred at home. I don't want to put you off, as I think I was a little gung-ho (but I have the pot-belly to show for my poor technique!).

Crikey, I did my first day of the shred last night and it nearly killed me. I woke up this morning with a blinder of a headache too. Please tell me it gets easier!

Apart from that I've been doing pretty well, although my eczema prone skin has been a bit sore and itchy, not sure what's causing that. Maybe I should try drinking more water. Been cheating a bit when it comes to my nails and now they are in terrible condition, hopefully a bit of tlc and some new varnish will make them look presentable for a wedding I've got this weekend.

didireallysaythat

Do you mean you were trying to do too much tummy exercise too soon?

Teeth whiter, face smoother (well, that's what the face mask I've been slapping on every day claims). Nails definitely looking better, though I need a good hand cream as I'm just using nail oil all over and it's not that practical.

Exercise always gets harder the first few days, then easier bit by bit, fitflopflap.

KateSpade

Yeah I was feeling so good, I had the easiest c-section possible, was back at work feeling really good about my body as I'd lost all the pregnancy weight breastfeeding, had been doing a postnatal workout and finding it easy so I thought "what the heck?" and took a couple of step/pilates classes at the leisure centre and tried the shred a couple of times when I was around 4-5 months c-section. A couple of weeks later I noticed what could be best described as a golf ball at the top of my tummy which I know hadn't been there before. Turns out the underlying tissues and muscles weren't as strong as I thought they were, and hey presto I'm two steps away from a hernia-like thing.

Now everyone is different and I think I've just been unlucky/stupid, but if I could have my time again, I'd do some cardio, do arms and bottom exercises but I would stick to the stomach exercises they give you to do when you leave hospital for another month or so. Definitely do some stomach work, but do the gentle stuff. A couple of mn'ers told me to look at Tupler exercises again - Tupler would have you never do another crunch-style situp again, but that doesn't mean you can't get a 6 pack back...

Now my problem is that being back at work full time I can come up with a hundred and one reasons as to why I haven't got the time to exercise... Sleep comes first in my world...

That's certainly unlucky. What did you have to do about the lump? I had a c-section too, but I didn't even do the post natal exercises you're meant to do. LAZY WOMAN.