How to get rid of weight and spots

I must warn you that this post contains one picture that is possibly NSFW. So review with caution! Thank you.

So I'm finally here to tell you about the method I'm using to lose weight! TADAAAH! *intense drumming and cheering*  I'm not a sort of person who will fall into these fashion diets that promise you to loose weight in 2 weeks with minimal effort, so I've never tried any of these super fast diets like carping, Atkins or lemon juice detox diets. And the first thing why I try to avoid these fashion diets is because they're usually not healthy. So I really have to be convinced that the diet and the long term side effects are healthy for your body before I even consider trying it.

So I watched two documents about fasting and in those documents they told that actually human is made for fasting: when we were still hunting our own food there were days when no prey was caught and we had to survive some days with no food and our bodies are made to endure the stress of fasting and actually it is also very healthy! In the documents they told numerous cases in which people have actually recovered from chronic headaches and even had better health during cancer treatments due to fasting. They had proven that while a person fasts the body starts to heal and regenerate cells by itself - it's still unknown WHY the body does this, but the scientist think that it's a surviving mechanism.

After I had watched these two documents I bought a book (written by an English doctor, Michael Mosley) about fasting. And this was way before the diet got famous and became a fashion scene. I read the book about the 5:2 diet and decided to give it a go. If You don't know about the diet, it's about fasting 2 days a week and during those fasting days you're only allowed to eat 500 calories per day. You have to take two days that are NOT sequentially for example I fasted Monday and Wednesday/Thursday.

The first two to three weeks was quite hard. During those fasting days I got really hungry and sometimes even weak. But after the three weeks my body started to get used to the fasting and it got a lot easier. Also at first there were no change in my body and I was about to loose hope but then at the end of the fifth week I really noticed a change. Our scale is broken so I couldn't use it but I measured my body after every week and at the end of the fifth week I had lost : 2 cm from my waist, 2 cm from my hips, 1½ cm from my arms, 2 cm from my thighs and 4 cm from my butt. And I had done zero excessive exercising!

I ended the diet when we went to Japan with my friends, since I wanted to enjoy the Japanese cuisine and not think about fasting while I'm there. Well after the trip I measured myself again and what do you know I had lost 3 cm from my waist! In two weeks! YAY JAPAN!! So after doing the fasting diet for 3 months I had lost: 6 cm from waist, 7 cm from hips, 3 cm from arms, 5 cm from thighs and 6½ cm from butt. And also my appetite is smaller so even though I quit the diet I continue to lose weight due to the fact that my stomach is now smaller because of the fasting! And I think that's really the key point of this diet.

So what did I eat during the fasting days ? At morning I ate one rye bread, at work during lunch I drank 4 deciliters of very low calorie strawberry soup. After work at home I ate one chicken breast with salt and pepper and some long green beans. And if I got hungry in the evening I made some Miso-soup. I also drank a LOT of water and some tea and coffee - with just a bit of low calorie milk.

While fasting I also noticed that my skin was in very good shape! But that was because of the fact that whilst fasting the body heals itself so it healed my skin! I've been having some minor skin problems since I was 14 and no face wash or cleansing product has ever helped - I've tried so many of them.... After I quit fasting my skin started to get spotty again and I was getting depressed. That's when I heard about zinc. I already take birthconrol pills for my skin and they did some good but not enough... SO I went to drug store and bought some zinc pills and after 2 weeks of daily use I noticed a BIG difference! I mean I would never had thought that the solution for my spots would be zinc, but it is. Yes I still do get some small spots now and then especially if I've been eating too much sugar, but when I get one I just take two pills instead of one for a couple of days and use tea tree oil from The Body Shop  onto the spot and it's gone in a few days. These products that I'm using are very inexpensive.

This product is the zinc and it costs around 5/10 euros
these 130 pills. It also contains vitamin C and it's also good
for your immune system and for your hair and nails.

this little bottle costs about 9 euros and even though it's
quite small it lasts very long. This tea tree oil is diluted and
it has only 15% oil in it. You HAVE TO DILUTE the tea tree oil
otherwise it's too strong. 

My friend's skin was too sensitive for the tea tree oil so if you know that you have a really sensitive skin, I would not recommend this product. I only use it on spots and on the most greasy areas of my face. But these two cheap products have saved my skin and I'm so much happier and easygoing now that my skin is in such a good shape after so many years of struggle. I only wash my face with LUMENE's make up cleansing product and I do it only in the evenings. At morning I wash my face with cold water.

I know I still have some work to do on my thighs and my butt, but at least my upper body is in my opinion in a good shape. I train my abs and thighs at home almost every day, but I don't stress about it. If I'm too tired to exercise I won't do it. I also walk my dog on a daily bases but I don't think that I work out that much - I'm kind of lazy person...... lol. Now I'll post some pictures from my looks and from Japan and then I'll take my leave!

the shirt of my tattooist: One Eye Tattoo. I got it for free
after my left hand was finished. I really like the shirt, it's cool. BTW
I had a serious bed head it this pic.

I cut the neckline bigger in the shirt so it matches with my taste.
I don't like tiny necklines..... feels like chocking! UGH.

this dress is actually quite old one. But I re-fell in love with it this summer.
While we had SO F****G HOT here in Finland during this summer
this dress really saved me. Oh and you can see my new boots! They're
just so cool............. 

we were going to Estonia with my father's posse. It
wasn't so warm in Finland at that time. 

That shirt is really the brightest color I have in my
closet. If you don't count pajamas. 

And please don't take this the pervy way I'm not
an exhibitionist, but I did promise some pics
of the progress of my dieting and well
this is the progress. If you find this picture
too revealing, please scroll down NOW. The point is
that I'm not ashamed of my body anymore.....

FINNAIR + THE MOOMINS in Japan <3  I LOVE Little My.
If you don't know Finnair is a Finnish flying company and if you want to
know about the Moomins Google The Moomins or Tove Jansson
which is the Finnish author. Moomins are really popular in Japan...

This is from Tokyo's Disney Sea. The main entrance. 

Disney Sea, Indiana Jones and the crystal skull. THAT
THING WAS SO AMAZING! I MEAN, JUST
LOOK AT IT!!!!!!!  You bet I was humming the Indiana
Jones theme song the whole time we were waiting in
the line.

Inside of a spooky hotel. Disney Sea.

A volcano next to Venice. Why not? The volcano actually spit some
fire out an made some rumbling noises from time to time. cooolll.

Venice in Disney Sea. It seems as if the day wasn't that hot, but it was very
humid which added some degrees to the weather. I had my leather jacket
with me and I used it at the end since it got a bit chilly...

We didn't try those boats. I've been to one in the real
Venice so been there done that.

And a really beautiful tree right next to our house in
Japan. 

Yes and these were the only pictures I took from Japan............. It was my fifth time so I already have so many pictures of the city and all the pics of people are in my friend's phone and I never remember to ask her to give them to me. So this is the sad outcome of my photographer career. If you want to know something about Disney Sea, the diet or zinc or ANYTHING, please leave a comment or otherwise contact me. I'll gladly answer any question you have! 

There and Back Again, By S.H.

So I finally had the time to do a post about my looks and clothes. Some of these pictures are already kinda old (like few months old) especially the ones with the winter coats since it's already spring in Finland (oh yes, it did finally come!!) and in some of these I don't yet have my new tattoos so I think you're able to spot the not-so-fresh-photos. 

on 29.4. I'm going to take a new addition to my left arm , which I have the tattoos on and it's going to be a full sleeve tattoo ever since, so the kinda crazy looking part-tattoo-part-skin thing which I'm having right now is going to be gone for good! And if you're wondering how expensive these tattoos are my answer will be: not that much for something you're going to have forever. Think about jeans that never wore off or a cake that lasts until you die... and you'll get my point of view! 

So now to the pictures! 

 I love this fur coat on the upper picture! The downside is that it's not that warm, so it's definitely not a winter coat, but a spring/autumn jacket. I also love the top that I'm wearing, it's from Illustrated People. Ps. can you see some creepy stalker on the background? lol

 I had a loose knitted sweater and a cross top underneath it. The top is from Saints and Mortals.

This was taken when it was really cold in Finland. I mean like -17 degrees Celsius. I had one of my favorite shirts on : a Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back T-Shirt. It's actually men's XL-size so it's almost like a skirt to me. and that big lump under my head is a BIGBIGBIG muffle tube scarf, which was necessary in those winter conditions.

Another top from Illustrated People and a high rise ripped shorts. 

And then I'd like to share with you some of the drawings I have made during the dark, long, cold, dark, depressing, cold, long and dark winter! I kinda found my inspiration again and I'm pretty happy about that too! It's been quite a while since I really did draw something.... And beforehand I'd like to announce that YES I AM A HOBBIT FAN! just deal with it. lolll.

Yessssss I love Thranduil. And I personally think that Lee Pace is absolutely freakishly sexypapa. So another YES I had to draw him.. But I did this for my friend. I promised that I would draw her a Thranduil after we went to see the Desolation of Smaug. So I had no other choice. And I think it turned out pretty good! The size is almost A4 and it took about one month to do it since I was also having other things to do incl. work, sleep, friends, etc. But this was fun to do nevertheless!

My camera is not so good so you cannot see all the little details in the hair and in the crown but this is the best I could do! Sorry.

And here are some other things I have done: 

this one is actually still in process. It's for my
Mom and I don't know what colors I should
use so the work is in pause. I was inspired by
Alphonse Mucha in this one...

the next 3 pictures were for my aunt.
I added some text behind the peacock
but it was after the photo was taken...

a broken glass bird. or something.

Semperflorens = forever blooming.

Thorin Oakenshield done very quickly. It was my friend's
birthday card. And oh I know the photo is SO BAD!
but it was taken in a hurry. lol

these were also cards for my Granny and for my aunt. My granny loves flowers
so the Bush Roses were for her.

And yet again a picture for my aunt. this was done in last summer so it's
almost a year old. Apparently my aunt loves my paintings/drawings....?
and I love to paint white roses. figures ?

I would like to tell you about my aunt since I've been talking about her in this post. She's my mother's younger sister who moved to Greece in the early 90's. She fell in love with a man called Christo and they got married. After living in Greece they moved to Germany, Frankfurt in the late 90's. My aunt speaks fluently Finnish, English, Greek, German, French and also some Swedish - so she's quite skilled. In Frankfurt they got their first - and only - child. She was named after my grandmother with a Finnish name, Maija. After Maija was born they moved to a small town called Langenthal. They bought a huge house which was in a horrible condition and even though they were poor they manage to live somehow. My aunt is a ceramist so she brought the bread to the table. The husband, Christo, was no good. Only spending their already little income in some random megalomaniac stuff  while gaining no money himself.

He was a horrible man. A true narcissist in the word's true meaning. Always putting my loving and caring and kind aunt down with horrible ways. He had said that if my aunt tries to leave him, he comes to Finland and kills her parents. And my aunt could not visit Finland because Christo did not want to leave and she could not leave Maija alone with Christo. So she was imprisoned in their huge never-to-complete house. She was truly unhappy and afraid of her husband. And we could do nothing. We visited her as often as we could and tried to help her with the house. My Grandfather is a skilled man in repairing and building so he help with fixing the house. 

Two years ago Christo got a serious lung cancer. He had been smoking since a small kid so it was only a matter of time when he would get sick. The doctors gave him 3-5 years time to live and in 2 weeks he was dead. There was nothing the doctors could have done since the cancer was spread to other organs too. Even though Christo had been verbally, mentally and possibly physically abusing my aunt she was in a shock and she cried hysterically when my mother called her. It's been now two years since Christo died and the house is now fully renovated, my aunt has a better job and studying to become a kindergarten teacher and they visit Finland as often as they can and we also visit them in Germany. Maija has never cried in front of us about her father and she seems like a happy child. She's now 10 and doing all the things a child in that age should do. 

I just wanted to share this with you, since I truly appreciate and respect my aunt, because she is so strong and wonderful person. We are extremely close and before she moved to Greece and when me and my brother were little she would always come to see us whenever she could and she loved us like her own children. And that's why when she asks me to do some paintings for her I cannot refuse. 

Thank you for reading and I hope this gave you some hope whenever you're feeling down. Everything can turn out just well if you're just patient enough! 

Everyone have a great spring and next time i'll tell you about my diet and maybe even show you some pictures... heh. 

XOXO

TOKI

* Teeth Whitening *

So i just wanted to share my experience with these teeth whitening products!

First of all I drink coffee and tea - a lot of tea, i'm like a sponge! I don't drink fizzy drinks like cola or sprite, but i do drink juices. and i smoke occasionally.... so all these harm my teeth and discolor them. I became very self-conscious about the color of my teeth. and it did affect my self-esteem.

So last summer i tried this Pepsodent White Now -paste for four weeks (we were in Japan and I bought this paste for the journey and i threw it away when we left Japan).

it promises immediately whiter teeth but for my experience it did nothing. Maybe the change was to subtle that I didn't notice it. But it was a total waste of money. And yes I used it at least twice a day.

So i started to look for other options. I really thought about going to the dentist to get them whitened, but... jeez it's __really expensive! about 400-500 euros! this one La Chica does it for 140e-350e. the cheapest one is a basic whitening and there are other options and prices depending on how white you want you teeth.

So i think for my budget it is too expensive!

So finally my friend in Japan told me that she had used this Crest 3D White Strips and that they really worked! The only problem was that you cannot buy these from Finland's drug stores. God bless we have eBay!! (i'n not even religious.)

So i went to search these from eBay and they had many options - some expensive and some inexpensive. I did some comparing and i found the best price! They were bout 11e/9 pouches. (Link to the site)
I just noticed that they do not ship to Finland anymore...? What is going on? I just bought these strips from this seller and i was going to buy more later on... OK.

I sent the seller a message considering this matter. That's weird really.

well anyways! I used these strips one in every morning and they did work! My teeth are not yellow anymore! They're not super-extremely white, but I wouldn't even want that - i wished for naturally white teeth. I was quite happy with the result. The package contained 9 pouches which includes 2 strips - one upper and one lower strip.

So how you use them? 

* first of all, don't brush your teeth right before the strips! It might irritate your gums more. My gums are pretty healthy atm so it did not hurt for me, except the first morning when i brushed my teeth just before applying these. 

* make sure you get the strip in every corner so it affects your whole teeth. 

* Dry your teeth before applying! With paper or breathing through your mouth for a moment. The strip stays on and affects better that way! 

* After taking them off you have a nasty gel on your teeth and i just flushed my mouth with cold water to get rid of it. 

At first you won't be seeing much change. For me it took about 4 days before I noticed any difference, but keep using them nevertheless! I don't have any BEFORE/AFTER -pictures, but I'll link some other pics:

I was very skeptic about this product at first, but now I'm a believer. It says that the effect will last about 12 months. And I recommend you to use at least 9 pouches (7 if your teeth are not that yellow) - more if you want even whiter teeth. but use them daily unless you feel too much irritation on your gum. Then just take the strips away. Too strong pain is not normal and you should stop if it occurs.

For those who don't want to put plastic in mouth i recommend other ways. I have heard about mixing a little bit of water and baking soda together, making it into a paste and rubbing it to your teeth with toothbrush. This should be done 2-3 times in a week. it starts to affect after 2 weeks - so it's not as fast as this is, but it's natural, cheap and pretty safe. I'm going to try it soon and I'll come here and tell you if anything has changed or if it works! I'll be your guinea pig!

I'll tell you more about this topic when i have more info. Thank you for reading!

Please ask if you have any questions!

XXX,
TOKI