The battle against the pred pounds - 12WBT take two!

So no doubt if you have RA (or pretty much any other auto-immune illness, for that matter), or if you know someone with RA - you will have heard them simultaneously sing the praises and bemoan the side effects of prednisolone and/or prednisone.

Steroids are a mainstay of treatment of RA and other diseases like it; a double-edged sword for people like me.  In their 'pros' we have reduction of pain, reduction of swelling, improved movement, improved function, and general improvement in wellbeing.  The 'cons' column (and believe me when I say I'm giving you the summarised version!) includes insomnia, mood swings, depression, emotional lability (crying at the drop of a hat is my super-power!), constant hunger, fluid retention and weight gain.  And that, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg of the short-term effects.  Don't get me started on the crazy manipulation of your body that it causes if you're on it long term!

Funnily enough, I (and many RA patients around the globe) have long referred to these little white pills as "Satan's Tic Tacs".  The irony in this is that the company that makes Tic Tacs has long used the ad line "Two hours of Tic Tac freshness in less than two calories.".  Satan's version, however - well those little $*#^@&! basically make people like me pack on the kilos just by reaching for the bottle they come in.  Not fun.

Actually printing those three little words on the bottle might prevent some lawsuits in the future for "failure to acknowledge likely outcome".

So, after receiving a full-length mirror for Christmas (I have carefully avoided having one since living in my current house for the past 3 years; I'm not sure whether my family thought I was putting together my outfits badly or whether they were concerned about my weight gain...) I have had to come to terms with the way I look now.  Sure, my work pants had become a little tighter - but I really didn't think I was in too much trouble.  Seeing the way I look now, in my before photo for the 12WBT - I was clearly delusional.

I'm one of those people who has always been a bit of a problem solver - see a problem, acknowledge it, fix it - and I couldn't very well treat my body and my health any differently, could I?  So I got online, pulled out my credit card and signed up for another round of Michelle Bridges' 12 Week Body Transformation.  The signing up was the easy bit.  The hard work was yet to come.

The before photo I mentioned before evoked a different response to the one I get when I look at myself in the mirror.  In the mirror, I find myself focusing on my face.  When faced with the photo, I can't help but take in the whole picture.  And while I try to be very open and honest on my blog, sharing the photo would be cruel to you so to give you an indication of how unhappy I looked, allow my friend to demonstrate:

Grumpy Cat is not impressed by what she sees.

But the clincher for me wasn't the way I looked in the photo.  The thing that got me to hand over my money and commit to another round was Michelle's announcement that this round would also mark the launch of her "Move" program - for people with movement and mobility issues, whether they be from illness, injury, having not done exercise for an extended period, or having a BMI > 30.  The promise of an exercise program that was actually within my capabilities was simply too good to pass up, and I'm not going to lie - it felt freakin' awesome to complete my workout this morning.  I did it - not a 'modified' version for the girl with the dodgy joints, or only completing selected exercises because of pain - I did the whole darn thing!  Talk about building a girl's confidence and her pride in her work!

As I type this and day one of my twelve weeks comes to a close, I am proud of the start I've made.  Under my calorie target, and having gotten out of bed at 5:45 am to exercise - I am impressed with my day one dedication.  The trick will be keeping it up from here - but if I want to look less like Grumpy Cat in 12 weeks time, I need to get it done.  Fix that problem.  Change my life.



I'll be checking in from time to time to report back on my progress in the 12WBT.  For information and to sign up to be reminded when future rounds begin, go to  www.12wbt.com - I'll be honest, the meals are great and now with this new exercise program, we have no more excuses!

Things I love: clean skin!

I've been a bit of a beauty buff my whole life - being on a first name basis with my dermatologist in my teen years, I have taken steps to ensure that my skin is as healthy and radiant as humanly possible ever since.  However, there are many nights since developing RA that I really struggle to motivate myself to wash my face, so I'm always on the lookout for products that help me do the things that 'normal' people take for granted.

Firstly, I discovered Ego QV Face Cleansing Wipes.  Available from all good pharmacies, they not only cleanse the skin and remove makeup (including stubborn eye makeup!), but they also remove oil, moisturise the skin and are still gentle enough for even very sensitive skin.  I use these daily - either on their own, or prior to the Rolls Royce of all home cleansing systems...

Which brings me to my single best investment of 2013 (because despite my loudly-professed adoration for the product, nobody has made me a brand ambassador just yet - so I had to buy myself a little present!).  Drumroll, please...

Introducing the Clarisonic Mia 2 - an ultrasonic cleansing brush that cleanses your skin SIX times better than your hands - and best of all, it only takes 60 seconds!   It also prepares your skin for better absorption of creams, serums and moisturisers; which means you use less of (and get more bang for your buck from) the things I have been known to splurge on.  I know it works in allowing better penetration of  your products - because the forehead lines I have been trying to minimise for about two years have all but disappeared in the 6 months I've been using my Clarisonic.  Can't get better evidence than that (and I truly wish I had a photo I could show you to compare!)!

While I would recommend starting with daily use, it's gentle enough to use twice a day, and has made my formerly "pretty good" skin utterly flawless!  It's not cheap (definitely an investment!), but I should add I haven't had a facial or needed to use any exfoliants in the 6 months I've had my Clarisonic, and my skin is the best it's ever been.  I've changed the brush head twice (once every 3 months), but that's really the only ongoing expense aside from cleanser.

The ultrasonic vibrations are really very tame, even on days my hands are flaring.  I do find my skin can get a little sensitive around flares, so at these times I only use my Clarisonic at night and with a very gentle cleanser, and I'm sure to follow it with really gentle moisturisation - but I am so impressed with this little gadget, I praise it high and low!  It also comes in a variety of colours (pictured above is the Sea Foam, which wasn't a difficult choice for me... if you saw my house you'd understand my obsession with aqua and turquoise!) but most are limited edition, so if you see a colour you love then my advice is to snap it up!  Each cleansing brush comes with your first brush head (I think they all come with the sensitive skin brushes, but I could be wrong); as well as with a travel case, charger and cleanser sample.

If you want better skin - then trust me, this is a good investment!