Help cruising in 2 months and let myself go

[jay888]

After nearly two years of Covid, in and out of lockdown.  I have appeared to have aged at least  10 years, over weight, dry skin and as for my hair words fail me.  I have been working from home, no make up, no bra and hair pulled back.  After having many cruises cancelled, it now looks like my April is going ahead. Question, how do I get get my body back to pre Covid in just 2 month.  PS cruising to Hawaii so can’t really hide under a tent like dress. Help any tips will be gratefully received   

[janniebabe]

You could start with a visit to a local day spa.  They can be pricey, but explain what your main concerns are and see what they recommend.  As for hair - i am growing out my VERY short spiky hair and it is mid back now - silver and can be coarse in texture.  Tried the Loreal 8 second miracle and it has done amazing things - hair is now smooth and silky which I am really happy with.  The important thing is, whatever is done whether at a spa or at home, needs to be continued and not let go again.  Always hard working from behind!

[jay888]

1 hour ago, janniebabe said:

You could start with a visit to a local day spa.  They can be pricey, but explain what your main concerns are and see what they recommend.  As for hair - i am growing out my VERY short spiky hair and it is mid back now - silver and can be coarse in texture.  Tried the Loreal 8 second miracle and it has done amazing things - hair is now smooth and silky which I am really happy with.  The important thing is, whatever is done whether at a spa or at home, needs to be continued and not let go again.  Always hard working from behind!

 

1 hour ago, janniebabe said:

You could start with a visit to a local day spa.  They can be pricey, but explain what your main concerns are and see what they recommend.  As for hair - i am growing out my VERY short spiky hair and it is mid back now - silver and can be coarse in texture.  Tried the Loreal 8 second miracle and it has done amazing things - hair is now smooth and silky which I am really happy with.  The important thing is, whatever is done whether at a spa or at home, needs to be continued and not let go again.  Always hard working from behind!

Thank you, tomorrow I will be buy that conditioner.  I usually  have spa  day just before a cruise, I call it my full service, eyebrows, lashes, manicure and pedicure, plus hair.  However, still nervous about having a facial and eye done

[janniebabe]

My daughter is an esthetician and a facial is just wonderful - would have them more often if I could afford it!  Brows get done whenever I get a haircut, mani/pedi before a cruise/vacation as a pampering 🙂. have fun and enjoy your treatments - after the year(s) we have, we deserve it!

 

[Mary229]

The facial is the best.    Add a microdermabrasion to the facial for a real clean feel.  Make sure you do this a month before  and have a very good moisturizer.  I do microdermabrasion, facial/neck massage and facial in a single session.   Great stuff. 
 

I wear very little makeup because of allergies so I splurge on high quality moisturizers.  I love the Rhonda Allison lines of peels and moisturizer. ,pricey but a true treat. 
 

start walking tomorrow and it will energize your metabolism and encourage you to shape up. 
 

we are also ramping up our fitness and purifying our diet for our cruise.  I am getting rid of all of those high salt, bloat foods. I am adding a herbal tea with hibiscus, a natural diuretic and starting the day with lemon water another natural diuretic.  
 

wishing you success.  We can do this. 

[slidergirl]

I'm a COVID long hauler.  I know where you speak of...

 

Honestly, I wouldn't sweat it all that much.  There are a bunch of us out here who lost hair and it came in different, gained 20 lbs, our skin is like a snake, our faces look 20 years older than we are.   

 

Don't run yourself into the ground "trying to get in shape."  Do what you can.   Sometimes I'm happy if I can even walk from the front door to the mailbox.  What happens is going to happen.  

 

Try eating more proteins and greens and less carbs and dairy.  I find my stomach is happier when I do this.  

 

When I'm done working my Winter season, I am going to take a little of my tip money and get a good quality session at a Med Spa.   

 

For clothes - wait as long as you can before you buy anything.  And, again, you're going to wear what you can wear, no worries.  

[jay888]

19 hours ago, slidergirl said:

I'm a COVID long hauler.  I know where you speak of...

 

Honestly, I wouldn't sweat it all that much.  There are a bunch of us out here who lost hair and it came in different, gained 20 lbs, our skin is like a snake, our faces look 20 years older than we are.   

 

Don't run yourself into the ground "trying to get in shape."  Do what you can.   Sometimes I'm happy if I can even walk from the front door to the mailbox.  What happens is going to happen.  

 

Try eating more proteins and greens and less carbs and dairy.  I find my stomach is happier when I do this.  

 

When I'm done working my Winter season, I am going to take a little of my tip money and get a good quality session at a Med Spa.   

 

For clothes - wait as long as you can before you buy anything.  And, again, you're going to wear what you can wear, no worries.  

Snap, we sound alike it reassuring that I’m not the only only in this position.

[Milaandra]

I would give yourself a break.  If you make a decision that you're going on this cruise at the size you are now, that gives you time to prepare, take care of your skin and hair and not stress about trying to lose weight on a tight deadline.  Try on your stuff to figure out what still fits and buy just enough to make it all work...from clearance if it bothers you to spend cash on something you'll only wear a few times.  Deep condition, do a gentle exfoliation, moisturize, maybe get a humidifier going, and look forward to your holiday 🙂

[jhsocal]

Many good suggestions. Some light exercise and try to watch your diet. Hawaii can be humid, do not stuff yourself into spanx. There are nice sun dresses with support, might be able to ditch the bra. In any case, have fun. 

[slidergirl]

On 2/17/2022 at 12:00 PM, jhsocal said:

Many good suggestions. Some light exercise and try to watch your diet. Hawaii can be humid, do not stuff yourself into spanx. There are nice sun dresses with support, might be able to ditch the bra. In any case, have fun. 

If you are indeed a long hauler, please be careful with your exercise!  And, my issue was that I felt so unlike eating anything that I had to throw caution to the wind and eat whatever I could handle that day.  Didn't do my Type 2 much good, but I ate.    I'm 2 years out from Covid #1 and a month from Omicron.   I still have days where I'm exhausted before I even get started. 

 

If you have a good PCP who helped you, see if they have some advice.  

[jay888]

On 2/17/2022 at 7:00 PM, jhsocal said:

Many good suggestions. Some light exercise and try to watch your diet. Hawaii can be humid, do not stuff yourself into spanx. There are nice sun dresses with support, might be able to ditch the bra. In any case, have fun. 

 

8 hours ago, slidergirl said:

If you are indeed a long hauler, please be careful with your exercise!  And, my issue was that I felt so unlike eating anything that I had to throw caution to the wind and eat whatever I could handle that day.  Didn't do my Type 2 much good, but I ate.    I'm 2 years out from Covid #1 and a month from Omicron.   I still have days where I'm exhausted before I even get started. 

 

If you have a good PCP who helped you, see if they have some advice.  

 

On 2/17/2022 at 7:00 PM, jhsocal said:

Many good suggestions. Some light exercise and try to watch your diet. Hawaii can be humid, do not stuff yourself into spanx. There are nice sun dresses with support, might be able to ditch the bra. In any case, have fun. 

One of the positive for me from Covid  was the Spanx went in the bin, comfort is now the order of the day.

[shipgeeks]

Jumping in here.

For those of you who have had facials, please tell me more about the benefits and possible downside.  I am not familiar with any facility here that could do one, and on a cruise, I'm always concerned that having one will lead to a temporary breakout or other unwanted side effect while I'm trying to look my best.

Are they really worthwhile?  What improvements might I expect?  If I were to get one here, say two weeks before a cruise, would I still see any benefits?

[Mary229]

@shipgeeks facials come in all varieties.  The simplest is simply a deep cleanse with moisturizer.  It feels great and removes all of the bygone makeup and debris in your pores.   You can do this at home but in the salon it may also include a neck and facial massage, aromatherapy and facial steam “bath”.  It is very relaxing and very cleansing.    
 

Microdermabrasion is a deep scrub and I would do one with at least three weeks to recover.  You may have redness for a few days but you may also have minor flaking and dryness for a few weeks. 
 

Peels are also fairly deep and I would not do one as a first timer 2 weeks before a cruise.  Everyone reacts a bit differently.  If you are ever interested you can do a test patch once you find a practitioner.  
 

then there are more advanced facials like micro needling which improves the collagen in your face.  I only did this once and did not find it satisfying. 

i prefer the procedures where I have a relaxing spa experience with a clean feeling. Since I live in a hot, sunny location I do microdermabrasion once a year just to clear up any minor summer skin damage. 

[jay888]

I’ve booked a deep cleaning and moisturising with neck, I feel I need to be kind to skin as it has become so dry   

[shipgeeks]

Jay, I've been thinking about our parallels.  Two years ago I was a busy fitness instructor, in pretty good shape for a "mature" woman.  The next day I was retired.  As you know, it's hard to maintain a lot of good habits while at home full time.  I started a daily blog for my students, which keeps my mind and my creativity working, but is horrible for my posture!

In those two years, I've seen very few women face to face, not even my best friend.  But I watch the news, and movies, where the women are universally glamorous, heavily made up, well dressed, with great figures.

Here's where our paths diverge.  Two weeks ago I went on my first post-covid cruise.  (It was wonderful!)  It brought me back to reality regarding beauty and fitness expectations.  Most of the women aboard appeared to put an effort into dressing nicely, doing their hair and makeup, etc.  But we were not the glamorous newscasters with enormous fake eyelashes and such.

So my message is to do what you can, but not to worry too much about being perfect before you go.

 

That said, I hope others here will continue to recommend practical treatments and such.  I am a novice to beauty procedures myself, so am always looking for advice.

[jay888]

I’ve started to walk more, or trying we seem to have storms after storm  arriving each day.  Started using my exercise vibration board 3 times a day.  I want to fitter and able to walk and enjoy my cruise and plus being a cruise I will have to get dressed everyday.

[shipgeeks]

Since I stopped teaching fitness classes, I have become an advocate for doing tiny bouts of exercise at home, all day.  Some of these ideas might help:

Instead of just sitting down (or worse yet, plopping into a chair), lower partway, squat mode, then stand, repeat several times, then sit.  Same when standing up.

Promise yourself never to stay seated for more than 30 (or 60) minutes at a time.

Stretch for upper body posture:  Raise arms to Y, then W, then L, then T positions.  Press chin in while pressing arms back, and breathing, in each position.  You Will Live Tall.

While waiting for the teapot or microwave to complete its time, hold on to kitchen counter and do vigorous leg swings, lunges, or other large-muscle exercise.

When entering or leaving a room, pause in the doorway, place palms on the frame (W position arms), and lean forward to feel a stretch in the shoulders.  I might be a posture nerd, but I really believe that good posture makes every aspect of us look better (and feel better, too).

I agree that walking is tough to commit to, especially when weather is not perfect!