January 2025 Starters - Thread 10 - Onward & Downward Losers!

[meatyryvita]

thread 10 already!

I just love skincare - I used to love make up more, but my skin is so good now, I use very little make up. Plus I have tattooed brows and eyeliner.
Now this will sound totally ridiculous and over the top, but I consider it a hobby 😁

Double cleanse - Dr Althea cleansing balm plus a foaming cleanser
then layer on several different toners - start with more watery ones, follow with thicker milky ones.
Serums - depends what my skin needs. either Niacinamide, PDRN, azelaic acid, hyaluronic acid (they are all medicube or Anua)
Occasionally peeling serums like AHA and BHA, those make a noticeable difference, I use Some by Mi at the moment, but good old Paula's Choice BHA was the thing that really got me addicted to it.
Some evenings retinol, mornings sunscreen.
Eye creams - Some by Mi retinol in the evenings, Skin 1004 in the morning.

In the evenings, also a good moisturizing cream like Dr Althea 345 or Panthenol by Some by Mi.

@MJalltheway 😄. I thought I had upped my game in my 50s. I haven't got many wrinkles/have got good skin too which I agree is genetics, plus I am very pale/don't do sun.

@HeidiNotSoHeavy one of my friends is really into skincare and has a similar regime to you, she absolutely loves it. I'd love to be brave enough to have semi permanent make up but I am not. I wear very little makeup too, mascara and lipgloss most days.

I was looking at my diet dates/predicted goal date earlier and it reminded me to book our festive ballet tickets 🎄- should be where I want to be weight wise by then. Ballet booked!!

@BlueLimes what do you you use to double cleanse? I have added an eye cream and night cream to my sparse routine but if I'm not in the shower with my foaming cleanser I don't know what to do! 🤣

@BreezyPeer i use an oil or balm cleanser first.

I rate this one
https://www.boots.com/superfacialist-vitamin-c-skin-renew-cleansing-oil-100ml-10279019?traffic=paid.shopping&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21096115648&gbraid=0AAAAA-AdmwRtHLbVBAhQ9kpIjXIg4jueQ

Elemis balm is lovely but expensive.

I follow with
https://www.boots.com/cerave-hydrating-oil-cleanser-236ml-10306571?CAWELAID=620000410000680283&srsltid=AfmBOooed1lzPsrm-RHd4hH0DvettN1-yaMR7wPIVrz26TM7ADOWGoGTbZY&gStoreCode=248

This lasts ages and is very reasonable but is as good as much pricier options (Ren, Dermalogica, eve Lom etc).

sorry for big links - I need to learn how to shorten.

Can use a flannel or get some face cloths 😊

Both those you can get on Amazon cheaper than Boots. Do you do the boots recycling?

I had something similar whilst travelling to Egypt. I kept the pen in a frio to keep the temp below 30 and put it in the fridge as soon as I got to the hotel. I wasn't using the golden dose then and worked out Id still use the pen within the 30 days of it being out of the fridge. The most important bit is keeping it below 30.

I am in Stockholm and it’s beautiful.

I went crazy yesterday and treated myself to a caramel muffin. Practically shit myself on the plane and had 💩💩💩💩 for the rest of the day. Had to take four immodium to stop it! Won’t be making that mistake again.

enjoy, @Zempy !

We were having dinner with friends, everybody was serving themselves and it was quite surprising to see how much my portion sizes have changed. Took half of theirs and was plenty full - while losing and on higher dose, would have taken 1/3.

Off to gym now.

Enjoy @Zempy 😍, sorry to hear about your gastric experience. We’re back there later in the year. I love the place!

I measured my waist today, haven’t done it for a couple of months. I have always been pear shaped and it comes off my top half first - 4” off my waist 🥳 shocked. Waist to height ratio is now 0.52. Not bad.

@BlueLimes thank you for the links! I am going to look now. As you seem to have unwittingly become my beauty guru can I ask if any of these are good for removing mascara?
I haven't worn any for years, just started after my 'Colours' session. I like the way it makes my eyes look but I struggle to get rid if it and end up looking like a panda. 🐼🤣 xxx

Have a lovely time @Zempy

can I suggest getting your lashes tinted? You can do it yourself or get it done in a salon and it doesn’t need to be the fancy lash lifts the youngsters go for. I tint both eyebrows and lashes then don’t need to bother with mascara. No panda eyes and I can find a good dark brown which can be trickier than you think to find in mascara.

@PenelopePerseveres well done. It’s good to see health markets have improve isn’t it.

@myladyjane yes it’s good to see things move in the right direction.

I dye my lashes when I can be bothered to, I love the effect. Must do it more often/think about prioritising these things a bit more.

Love a bit of beauty talk!! It takes mine off well, so I think you’d be fine.

I realised yesterday that I'd completely forgotten to jab on Friday 🤦🏻‍♀️ so did it yesterday evening instead.
DS off to Boardmasters for the day today so that's today's anxiety for me 😖

@hunkydory54 I’ve just used the needle/syringe combo I linked to. A much better experience than using the same needle for me. The needles were longer than the ones that come with my pen so I didn’t push it all the way in. I’d consider a shorter needle if I were you.

I got .7ml out of my 5mg pen so a dose of almost 6mg. Think I might leave it there for this week after last week’s stupidly high suppression. New 7.5mg pen in the fridge.

This is a really good mix of things - good to try out:
https://www.next.co.uk/style/su807920/f51507#f51507

A good budget brand is The Inkey list. The oat cleanser is good.

Also a lot of beauty shops do kits which are good to try: look fantastic, bit more expensive but more luxury brands are cult beauty, spacenk and Liberty with kits ranging from £60-120 but they normally come in a lovely bag.

For example:
www.libertylondon.com/uk/festival-re-fresh-kit-000846028.html?queryID=79bd5b53b8199bf481bd8446a79b084e&objectID=R658802006&indexName=production_emea_libertyltd_demandware_net__liberty__products__default

Although I don’t think that kit is the best. They’ll probably be a few in September and always loads at Christmas.

I did purchase this which is lovely:

https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/scent-with-love-kit-000851056.html?queryID=eb8c755388d0c2bbc3e98c38942c89b1&objectID=R669956006&indexName=production_emea_libertyltd_demandware_net__liberty__products__default

Don’t forget to use top cashback (I can pm my link if helpful!).

@PenelopePerseveres Thank you for that info, I'll order shorter needles and I'll let you know how I get on. I think it could be very difficult with all that lovely French food and wine without some MJ in my system.

@BlueLimes this is all so helpful! Thank you. I feel like it almost hasn't been worth it the last couple of years bit with the weight loss and starting a new wardrobe, I am looking to up my beauty and make up game too!

You absolutely should treat yourself x

Maintenance stats:
Jab#32 • Maintenance wk 12 • 5th 3.33mg dose
SW 79.6kg • GW 62.4kg • CW 58.8kg BMI 21.5
0.8kg loss this week, I’m on day 8 of my cycle and 58.8kg is exactly where I was a month ago with a 1kg fluctuation upwards. Which is a perfect maintain.

This time last month I was worried about hitting a new low weight so I lowered the dose and made a conscious effort to eat more. This time, I’ve stayed at the same dose and I’m not going to try too hard to eat more, knowing the hungry days will come post-ovulation and I can eat more intuitively then. But if I lose again next week I may come down to 3mg, although will be in Cornwall on hols so I may need those extra 4 clicks to keep my cream tea intake in check.

I trained heavy yesterday - went up to 50kg on the barbell back squats (pre-40s I got up to 60-65kg), which is progress from last week’s 40kg.

@BlueLimes and @BreezyPeer , I like Elemis and Espa products, I always buy a couple of Christmas boxes in the sales when they are such a bargain - like sometimes £200 of products that I already use for £50.

I used really nice products in my 20s and 30s and really liked that but I think I used it because I walked past Space NK on my way to work so it was easy!
I had to tighten my belt after I got divorced for a few years. I was skint and used much cheaper products, which was fine, needs must. But, you absolutely should treat yourself if it interests you @BreezyPeer.

I always think that my nice products feel like a bit of a treat/luxury every day of the week. 🌸

@MJalltheway oh no! Never mind about jab day, I often move mine, a day forward, a day backwards, it is all over the place 😂. I bet DS will have a fab time, he'll be home later on full of the joys of his day - try to enjoy your day.

I bought some protein thin bagels yesterday, managed half of one with a bit of apricot jam for breakfast (and that was before injecting), suppression still quite high, I hope 6mg is better for me this week.

Absolutely @PenelopePerseveres it’s a little treat and I see it as my one indulgence as I don’t normally drink much. Although I’m a complete social drinker who gets carried away after one 😳

Id also really recommend looking at a beauty advert calendar- they can be great value @BreezyPeer There’s a thread on style and beauty which I’m a bit too active on - but sone good suggestions there.

impressed with your weights @DGonMJ I need up up my game !

@BreezyPeer as another recommendation, I have had great success with Byoma. It seems to be marketed at the youth (dd tells me it had a real TikTok moment) but it’s about skin barrier/hydration and my skin has always been a bit dehydrated. Plus I burned it to buggery using too many actives. It’s a reasonable price point, you can get it in Boots or from Amazon and the bottles are pretty! I particularly like the brightening serum and weirdly the retinol oil - it’s super weak and I was highly doubtful at first but I realised my skin loves something about it.

@DGonMJi love your scientific approach. Also the heavy lifting. I lifted with a pt for a year from 100% novice to beginner and I did love that feeling of really pushing.

i am a bit cross with myself as I weighed in again today to check my small gain had gone. It had plus a tiny bit extra but it’s not good for me to check that often. Not good for my zen approach.

@PenelopePerseveres you are v sensible re moderating dose according to suppression. Fingers crossed you have a bit more room today.

i am on my last day of holiday today. Probably not a bad thing to get back to work but also pah. I don’t want to.

@Zempy and fellow travelling losers, your Scandi trips have inspired me ✈️ Copenhagen half-term city-break booked for the four of us. So excited! 🇩🇰 🧜‍♀️ 🐥

I think we’re on the same advent thread @BlueLimes but my name is different!
I agree with others, beauty is fab, I am
in awe of @HeidiNotSoHeavy routine!! I love my skincare and bought an advent for the last time last year, a fab way of finding new things and then picking up on Vinted for a good price!
I love Elemis and Espa cleansers too but would love to find a wipe on/ wipe off one rather than a water/ foamy one if anyone has any recommendations? Second the suggestions of the boxes too!! I always forget about eyelash tints so thanks @myladyjane i may book in, so much easier than mascara!

@MJalltheway hope DS has the best time and that you’re ok, my DS wanted to go to Reading this year and stay, thankfully he thought we’d be away and I didn’t correct him🫣, he’s 16 but quite a young 16 year old! My current anxiety is GCSE results in a week and a half’s time!!

@Zempy poor you, hope you’re recovered and having a fab time! Stockholm
is on my list!

@DGonMJ Copenhagen is such a fab city, you’ll have an amazing time! It sounds like you’re getting on so well with maintenance too!