FitSugar

You Asked: Working Out and Breaking Out

FitSugar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:30:32 -0800

Hi Fit,
I've been running in the woods near my house since last Spring and love it so much that I've vowed to keep it up through the Winter. It gets cold where I live so I have to bundle up, but the past few weeks I've noticed that my skin is breaking out on my back and chest. Maybe I am sweating more? I didn't have an issue with this before. Is there any way to prevent this embarrassing problem and still continue running outside?
-Irked About Acne

Kudos to you for keeping up with your outdoor runs even in the chilly temps. I'm sure the fresh air is exhilarating, but I can understand your frustration with what's happening to your skin. I have some ideas to help avoid any more irritation, so read more.

Don't overdress. While it may be frigid out, you don't need to wear a ton of layers. Not only will you become uncomfortably overheated, but your body will sweat to cool you down. This can cause pimples, and will also make you feel colder.
Don't suffocate your skin with polyester. You'll have to pick up a Winter running wardrobe that's made of wicking material such as merino wool or polypropylene. This fabric will pull moisture away from your skin rather than trapping it in, which is what's causing your breakouts. A wicking bra, tank top or fitted shirt, and a long sleeve wicking shirt (I am a fan of this shirt by IceBreaker) will make a huge difference.
After your run, be sure to get out of your clothes ASAP and hit the showers. Use a gentle body soap that's made for dealing with body acne. Don't scrub your skin with a loofah, as that will only exacerbate the issue.
If your skin is dry because of the Winter weather, be sure the body lotion you use is noncomedogenic (won't clog pores).
If you're still noticing flare-ups, use an on-the-spot acne medication on trouble spots.

If any of you fellow runners have other running questions, post them in the RunningSugar community group.

Credit-card industry may cut $2 trillion lines: analyst

Woop — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:41:50 -0800

Mon Dec 1, 2008 4:06pm EST

(Reuters) - The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18 months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said.

The credit card is the second key source of consumer liquidity, the first being jobs, the Oppenheimer & Co analyst noted.

"In other words, we expect available consumer liquidity in the form of credit-card lines to decline by 45 percent."

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) represent over half of the estimated U.S. card outstandings as of September 30, and each company has discussed reducing card exposure or slowing growth, Whitney said.

Closing millions of accounts, cutting credit lines and raising interest rates are just some of the moves credit card issuers are using to try to inoculate themselves from a tsunami of expected consumer defaults.

A consolidated U.S. lending market that is pulling back on credit is also posing a risk to the overall consumer liquidity, Whitney said.

Mortgages and credit cards are now dominated by five players who are all pulling back liquidity, making reductions in consumer liquidity seem unavoidable, she said.

"We are now beginning to see evidence of broad-based declines in overall consumer liquidity."

"Already, we have witnessed the entire mortgage market hit a wall, and we believe it will, for the first time ever, show actual shrinkage over the next few months," she wrote.

The credit card market will be 18 months behind the mortgage market and will begin to shrink by mid-2010, Whitney said.

Whitney also expects home prices to continue falling another 20 percent hurt by lower liquidity. They are down 23 percent from their peak, she said.

"In a country that offers hundreds of cereal and soda pop choices, the banking industry has become one that offers very few choices," Whitney wrote in a note dated November 30.

She also said credit lines to consumers through home equity and credit cards had been cut back from the second-quarter levels.

"Pulling credit when job losses are increasing by over 50 percent year-over-year in most key states is a dangerous and unprecedented combination, in our view," the analyst said.

Most of the solutions to the situation involve government intervention, and all of them require more dilutive capital to existing lenders, she said.

"Accordingly, we continue to be cautious on our outlook on US banks."

(read rest of article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B01HI20081201?pageNumber=...)

Downward spiral? Scarey times.

Today I washed my face..

Johanna88 — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:40:12 -0700

just like any other day. I use these products, they're sort of like cetaphil, but better!

I start my day of with:

Neutrogena

Cliniderm skin tonic

Cliniderm mattifying day lotion

Lumene Eye lotion with spf 6

I end my day with:

Neutrogena Visibly Clear body wash - no bacne!

Neutrogena

Skin tonic again and then zink moisturizer

Sometimes I use Body shop's tea tree masks and gels..

Tea tree stuff

Then I use this freaky thing to get rid of blackheads.. uck!

Looks weird

That's it folks! Sorry about the pictures, my computer won't let me turn them around..