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.

I am exactly the same! I walk about half an hour every day, which is something at least, but by the time I'm back from work, I'm shattered!

I didn't have a C-Section, but very easy labour, i went to a Zumba class about 3 weeks after, and my fanjo has never hurt so much in my life. I nearly died! DD is 4 months now, no exercise since, weight loss though.

I will check out the Tupler, but am sort of thinking of getting a slender tone to cheat my way to a flat tummy!.....

Too exhausted for princessing this week. All I want to do is sleep! Booked an appointment to get my gels done this weekend though, fingers and toes for a wee boost

BlackSwan - my GP was puzzled so referred me to the hospital. The surgeon took one look and said I should do some exercise and that every woman has a different stomach after they've had a baby, and that his wife had quite a bulge and their daughter was 5 years old ! I was somewhat miffed - and his advice made no sense as I'm sure you're not supposed to do situps if you can fit e.g. 4 fingers between your rectus abdominal muscles, in fact situps make it worse. Finally when I saw a physio specialising in woman's health post baby who spent 5 mins (rather than the 5 seconds the surgeon spent) prodding my stomach, checking the gaps and the tissue strength, I felt so much happy. I have one exercise to do 3 times a day, and I wear support underwear (I'm starting to get the idea behind spanx) to help the muscles as the bulge is more pronounced at the end of the day when I'm getting tired. Four weeks later, the gap is closing up, and the bulge is slightly less. I've got a way to go though before I'm back to where I was at 5 months post delivery, which is why I suggested caution before launching into the Shred.

KateSpade - bloody hell - zumba 3 weeks after delivering ? I'm in awe. I'm 16 months post delivering and I don't think I could zumba if my life depended on it. Good for you ! The Tupler technique is possibly the most boring exercise set I've ever encountered. However I have a 20-30 minute commute so I can do all the Tupler stomach sucking things on the way to and from work. Who knows if it works, but I'm sitting in the car anyway so I might as well multitask... I think walking everyday is a great - once I went back to work I stopped walking (I don't have a lunch break anymore so I've no time to get out of the office), stopped breastfeeding and I've put weight on. But procrastination is my middle name....

didireallysaythat Is there anything more disappointing than seeing a surgeon/specialist who is meant to have all the answers, only to find they're dismissive and too caught up in their own ego to help?
Sounds like you're on the road to recovery now.

therumoursaretrue do your nails cope well with gels? I haven't had them done - worried about damaging the underlying nails. Gels look so nice though & last a lot longer than regular varnish, I'm quite tempted.

I need to get on the exercise hype! It's really annoying me now, i've been trying really hard and its just not going as fast as i want it. I might do the 30 day shred tonight and tomorrow!

I have had my extensions put back in! My hair is lovely and thick again! :)

Sorry you have been ill - that's a drag. Hope you're on the mend.

I've been so busy I haven't been thinking about princessing but I'm sitting here with cuticle oil and lash serum etc on so it has just become part of the daily routine.

Has anyone here noticed a difference since starting this insane routine? Better still, have any of your loved ones noticed a difference?

Hi girls, went AWOL for a bit while I panicked about being in a primary school black spot and got drunk slightly depressed after another failed month TTC. Princessing taken a bit of a back seat BUT I have splashed out on a personal trainer once a week. It's the only way I'll have any chance of getting in shape. Shredding every day just will never happen for me. Two weeks in and I feel a bit more toned already.

Blackswan you are an example to us all. I am feeling inspired and this week will be the week I dye my eyelashes, go to hairdressers and get some gel nails!

Bah, I'm ill now. To cheer myself up I'm buying some Epsom salts and a body brush. I've also bought some Pearl Drops, so now I just need some eye cream.

I desperately need to get my eyebrows done, they are disgusting. I just can't be bothered. Somebody kick my rather large backside!

Joy, rapture. DS is starting nursery & all going well that will give me time to get to the dentist and have my hair done occasionally. This is the plan anyway. More likely he will just get sick and bring home nits. But we live in hope.

Eternalprocrastinator sorry you didn't get the blue lines you were hoping for. Are you using ovulation sticks (I tend to over-engineer everything in my life, but sometimes it helps). They worked for us. There's always next month.

Sorelip. Book an eyebrow appointment asap! Do you know of somewhere good? My brows are too sparse for me to trust anyone else with them. Wish I had more brows, like I used to. You can always pluck and wax what you don't want. I think it's ageing to have thin brows.

Aiming to do the 40 days of Lent as a habit change. Dedicated to diet and exercise and back princessing.

Hopefully 40 days is enough time for the changes to become habits! Wonder how much of a change can happen in 40 days????

I have lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks but I can't see it at all!!

I got my eyebrows threaded, finally! I used the DVA brow bar in Westfield Stratford. £7.50, which isn't bad at all, and they did a really good job. They tried to sell me some eyebrow powder, which did look good on me but costs £25 - naaahh, don't think so.

In spite of my strict low calorie diet, I haven't lost any weight in 3 weeks. I'm having bastard thyroid trouble (currently hyperthyroid after years of being hypo) but where is the weight loss as a symptom? Nowhere. Grrrrrrr.

I'm having a clearout today, and cleaning. Jesus, I didn't realise how much dust our bedroom accumulates!

Princessing hasn't been going fantastically, but today I feel a lot more positive, so that should translate into me putting the effort in.

BlackSwan, when is your DS starting nursery?

No I'm here. Checking in

Just found a place that does a nail polish and shape round the corner from me for £5! (I am in London so this is v exciting).

Did intensive condition ahead of colour appointment on Friday and it is v silky.

I need to get back to it as well. Think I managed 2 whole days last time!!

Come on! Let's all give ourselves the pampering we need and deserve. I've been going to the gym, but otherwise have been pretty useless.

I keep hurting my knee when doing the Shred, so that is out for the moment.

Come on Princesses! Report your successes! That wasn't meant to rhyme...

All I can say is, gel nails have massively assisted my attempts to look groomed.

1. 8 glasses of filtered water a day - I'm getting there
2. Exfoliate (everything...within reason) - I need to do this
3. Use teeth whitener - I've been using Pearl Drops
4. Use anti-aging face cream - I use a basic moisturiser
5. Intensive nail care (feet and hands) - I have been slack. I need to step this up!
6. Use eyelash growth serum OR eye cream - the eye cream I got leaves a horrible residue, so I will carry on using my serum and normal moisturiser
7. The Shred / other intensive exercise - I have been going to the gym most days
8. At least 2 extra fruit & veg every day - I must do better, you wouldn't think I was a vegetarian!
9. Healthy breakfast daily - this has been yogurt and banana

10. Use hair oil (moroccan hair oil for eg, or kerastase etc) - I will do this on Thursday evening 11. No alcohol during the week & no boozing it up on weekends - I've quit drinking 12. Take vitamins every day - I have taken it today 13. Body brushing - I got the brush but haven't used it yet 14. At least 2 servings of salmon or other fatty fish per week. - nope 15. One early night once a week. Suggest 9PM. - I go to bed between 10 - 11pm every day 16. Regular hair removal - I've started this again 17. Give up one naughty favourite item e.g. chocolate/crisps - I don't deny myself anything, if I want something I have it, but not a lot 18. No more fizzy drinks - I don't usually drink these anyway 19. DAILY body moisturising - yep 20. Warm water with lemon first thing in the a.m. - I can start with herbal tea...

Hello! This is still around!? I have long dropped off the thread. And have fallen off the wagon. Mind you, today I had a blow dry, but a new tube of lash serum, and have cut back on my sugar intake. I need to get it all together again! My body feels lumpy and slack, I need to get moving.

It's all to easy when life gets busy to neglect ourselves. But then we feel crappy, which affects other areas of our lives.

Should we perhaps start another thread? A reboot?

I would love to join this thread. A few years ago I lost 4 stone in weight but it has slowly crept back on and I am sitting here feeling decidedly unfit and frumpy. It's going to take some time to get back to my previous weight - I am suffering from depression and an iron deficiency just now so get tired really easily.
But I can definitely do the other stuff which will perk me up a bit.