Honestly, I used to be such a good blogger. I kind of understand why people stopped following along. I just don’t share anything anymore. It all became so shallow when my motivation disappeared. Life has changed so much in the past couple of years. Like, adulthood started to hit me and I kind of lost myself in the journey.

I used to just post about everything, take pretty pictures and literally share all my thoughts. Now I just think of them, do something else and forget about it. I don’t want it to be that way. My blog is my journal, that was the whole purpose of it. That is what it should be.

I am gonna hit my 6 year mark in Los Angeles this July. It’s crazy to think that it has been that long. 18 year old me landed here in July of 2013 expecting a 2 year stay and then move home and get a job. But that didn’t happen. This fall I’ll have my BS in Marketing and who knows what will happen after that.

Growing up I never really learned the importance of using sunscreen. I guess it’s the Nordic roots and the fact that we barely have any sun over there. It wasn’t until a year ago or so I really started using sunscreen properly. I still forget to put it on sometimes but I am definitely getting better on using it.

By using Olay Total Effects Whip Face Moisturizer SPF 25, a face moisturizer and SPF all in one, it makes it so much easier to remember putting on the sunscreen that I need daily. Living in California has definitely made me more aware of the sun and the possible future damages it can make if you don’t wear any SPF. Here are five reasons to why you need to use SPF.

1. SPF protects you from various UV radiation and most of these are related to skin cancer. By using SPF you care blocking out these rays and have a much higher protection from getting or developing skin cancer.
2. It prevents your skin form aging prematurely. UV rays can damage your skin and you can develop dark spots, wrinkles and more at a younger age.
3. It prevents your skin from getting burnt in the sun. We all love to go on a sun vacation and getting a nice tan. But please don’t forget to wear SPF. You’ll still get a tan but it will be nicer and last longer if you do it the right way.
4. Your skin will get healthier. SPF usually protects the natural collagen, keratin and elastin in your skin. So your skin will stay healthy and glowing.
5. The risks of not wearing SPF is not wort that one tan on your vacation. So just wear it.

You can find Olay Total Effects Whip Face Moisturizer SPF 25 by following this link to CVS.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olay. The opinions and text are all mine.

Thank you Jenny Craig for sponsoring this post.  Tried other diets? It’s time for Jenny Craig!

First of all, let me tell you that I have so many things to say about my experience on Jenny Craig. This has been such a big and important journey for me. Ten whole weeks have passed since I started the Jenny Craig program. Completely crazy how fast time has gone by. When I first started the program, I had my doubts on if it would work, and if I would be able to stick to it. It feels like it was yesterday I first met with my Jenny Craig consultant. It wasn’t easy reflecting over what and why I wanted to lose weight. And it wasn’t easy confessing my bad eating behaviors. I didn’t eat regularly and when I did, I would have one huge meal and just stuff myself until I felt sick. I used to be tired a lot, I didn’t feel good about the way I looked and felt on a daily basis. That is also one reason why I almost stopped posting photos of myself and outfits. I just didn’t feel comfortable and it showed in the photos.

One thing I told Laura, my consultant, was that I wanted to feel comfortable taking pictures and posting looks on social media again. And I have somewhat gotten to that point. I want to start doing YouTube videos again and I have so many ideas and looks planned ahead of me. I felt like it has given me reason to take up my blogging full time again. And I love being in photos with my friends whenever we hang out no matter what I am wearing or if I have a full face of makeup on or not.

Jenny Craig makes the journey easy. I have stuck to the meal plans the best I could. Since I didn’t need to buy anything but fruits and veggies, it was easy not to munch on other things since I didn’t really shop for anything else at the grocery store. Whenever people around me would offer something, I would politely say no, or just try a little bit. I did not increase the weekly exercising and I still lost 1-1.5 pound every week.* I knew that if I had worked harder working out and doing lots of cardio that number would have been even bigger. But I didn’t, and that was a choice I made. I am proud to say that I lost 11 pounds in 10 weeks just by adjusting what food I ate and my eating routines. * Members following the Jenny Craig program, on average, lose 1-2 lbs. per week. I received promotional consideration.

Most of my weight has been lost around my waist and hips. Even my arms started to get a little bit smaller at the end! That is a really hard place for me to lose fat on. Now after 10 weeks of meal planning from Jenny Craig, I have started my transition to try and make it on my own — cooking my own food and coping with my old eating habits. I have still managed to lose weight after going off the food because I have learned to manage my portions and make sure I keep up with eating regularly. I can still eat takeout and have sweets, but instead of eating so much that I go into a food coma, I eat small portions. I ordered two Thai dishes last Sunday and they lasted me for almost 5 days.

The thing is, it’s not entirely about what you eat. Because I have been eating everything from pizza and lasagna, to a healthy tuna salad on the Jenny Craig menu. I even got Triple Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. The portions were small compared to the portion sizes I used to eat, yet they filled me up enough to keep me going for a couple of hours until it was time for my next meal,  which is how I manage my food now as well. Small portions and eating regularly  to keep my metabolism up.

I don’t see this as the end, I see it as the first chapter of a long journey. 

Thank you Jenny Craig for sponsoring this post.  Tried other diets? It’s time for Jenny Craig

This post was sponsored by Jenny Craig and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.