20 days and counting...

Yikes! It's been almost three weeks since my last post. Sorry to my readers but the internet issues have still not been resolved. That, coupled with me starting 40 hour weeks means I haven't really had a whole lot of opportunities for writing blog posts.

I'm happy to report that I'm still lactose free. I've been asked quite often in the last few weeks whether I'm on any medication, and it's certainly been strange to answer in the negative. Strange, but good. The basal body thermometre was purchased not long after my last post. My only complaint is that it beeps incessantly and when you're taking your temperature at 6 in the morning, it's not the most pleasant sound to the ears. So the FAM is well underway... I'm learning lots but I think I'll have to wait a few months as my body gets back into a natural rhythm and I can rely a bit more on its signals.

I've yet to start the Oil Cleansing Method. I've been waiting for the funds to be a little less tight so I can buy castor oil in bulk and give it a go. I'm super excited about it though, it's just one of those things that feels right without even trying it. On a similar note, a friend of mine brought the movement that is "No Pooing" to my attention. The idea is similar to the OCM in that shampoo actually strips the hair of its natural oils, meaning it overproduces and we need to clean it more often and so on and so forth in a positive feedback cycle. Apparently if you give your hair about 6 weeks to get over stopping shampoo cold turkey and find its own balance then you really have no need at all for shampoo. I should mention here that while I'm very tempted to give this a go, I also have hair that needs to be washed every day. It's very fine, but there's a lot of it and it greases up like you wouldn't believe. To top it off I've just started a new course at uni and figured that I wouldn't give off the best first impression if I were to rock up to class and/or clinics with a greaseball on my head. So for now, I've put the shampoo ban off until winter when I can wear beanies every day to disguise my lank locks.

While on the topic of hair, I've been tossing up in my head my future colour options. I haven't had my natural colour since I was 17 and I quite like it that way. Towards the end of the year however, funds will become extremely tight and it may be that colouring my hair is one of the areas that will be cut from the budget. Also, I'm aware that it's probably very unlikely that the products used at my hairdresser are vegan/ not tested on animals. This is truly where veganism and vanity are in conflict for me. A good vegan would source vegan hair colour or go au naturale immediately. But I am so insecure about the blah-ness of my natural colour that I'm really tempted to live out the next few months as one last hurrah before my financial situation forces my hand.
I hadn't planned to dye my hair for the rest of my life. I had it all worked out in my head. In a few years time, I would go from my dark locks to being a blonde again, and once I had children (and less time for hairdressers) it would be a relatively easy transition back to my real hair, light brown. But I'm dark at the moment, and aside from letting my roots grow out foryears or tinting my hair until it resembles brown (neither are really options) I'm not quite sure what to do. In a compromise between veganism and vanity I may have to sacrifice my vegan ideals for a few months and bleach my hair in order to transition smoothly to no colouring at all. Do the ends justify the means? I'll need to ponder it some more I think.

I'll end with my vegan 'moment' for the week. While having a discussion about high cholesterol with a member of my immediate family, I thought I'd throw a little vegany goodness into the mix. "You know what really reduces cholesterol? Eating no animal products." To which this person replied,"Well then what do you eat?" I'd better clarify that this person is intelligent, world-wise and full of common sense but this was not a joke. It was a serious criticism of my diet. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to this kind of 'ignorance' but to hear it coming from someone who is quite familiar with my vegan diet, cooks vegan food for me and peruses vegan cookbooks to find good recipes just for my benefit was a big shock. As some fellow vegans mentioned, comments like this are usually a reflection of non-vegans' insecurities at their own diets when faced with your healthy changes. I'm not sure, but I really hope it's defensiveness and not close-mindedness.

Until the next time I have internet access and a spare moment,

Love.

Take that, milk!

To begin with I must apologise. It's been way too long since I last posted (ten days!) but I'm having internet difficulties at the moment so please bear with me.

I am very happy to report that progress has been made in my camp. I have been officially lactose-free for six days now! No more antidepressant and no more contraceptive pill. It's a tad strange not having to pop pills before bed time every night but really it's just two less things to think about, and who couldn't use that? This also means that I'll be starting the Fertility Awareness Method of birth control very shortly. It'll be a steep learning curve I'm sure, but I'm very excited to see how things turn out. I just need to purchase a basal body thermometre, so once I have some funds things will be on their way.

Mentally, I'm finding the transition away from antidepressants relatively smooth. It probably hasn't been the best week to stop as things have been a bit tumultuous in my world recently but everything is looking pretty good... fingers crossed. I must say I am shocked at the physical toll the withdrawal is taking on my body. I have been unwell for days now, all side effects of stopping the medication. It's certainly a reminder of all the chemicals contained in those tiny little pills, and makes me even more thankful to be free of them. Natural all the way!

On a different note, I mentioned in a previous post that I'd been looking for a vegan moisturiser. I tried Yes to Carrots moisturiser with SPF 15 and I'm pleased with the results. The only downside is that it is actually more expensive than Invisible Zinc so I'm still trying to decide whether or not this is a long-term option. I'm also excited to announce that I'll be trialling a new method of skin care very soon. I currently use Sukin foaming cleanser as it's vegan, environmentally friendly, made in Australia and just really really nice. In the name of saving money and going back to basics, however, I've decided to give the Oil Cleansing Method a go. The idea is that the skin (even if oily and pimply like mine) has its own pH balance and we are continually disrupting that when we use cleaning products. The most gentle and effective way of removing oil is by using... oil! Companies have replaced this idea by using harsh emuslifying products that strip the oil (good and bad) off our skin and the skin has to overproduce to compensate. So hopefully by fighting oil with oil, my shiny face will no longer put marine life at risk, and my pimply skin will no longer resemble the gravelliest of roads in the Welsh leg of the World Rally Championship. I'll keep you upated on my progress, of course,

Your lactose-free friend.