Hey ,

A couple things today:

First, I want to let you know that my 3-Day De-Bloat System is on sale for $12 for the next 48 hours. Grab it here. 

Second, I want to share with you something that I haven't really talked much about, and that is the fact that I experienced the worst acne of my life at age 26.

Not in my teenage years. But my mid-twenties! How is that possible?? 

One thing to know about acne is that though it does have to do with things like keeping your face and hands clean and changing your linens frequently, much of what shows up on our face begins in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. The quality of our digestion directly influences our complexion.

And if we are struggling with anything from gas, bloating, heartburn, constipation, loose stools (yes, we are going there!), etc., it will often show up on the skin--rashes, acne, eczema, rosacea and more are affected by what you eat and how that food is processed in the gut.

Enter me, at 26. 

I was about a year and a half into my competition career, and I had recently discovered alternative sweeteners--some artificial, like Splenda, and some natural like xylitol and maltitol (sugar alcohols). I thought, "Yes! This is awesome! I can get the taste of sweet with no calories! Game on!"

And did I start eating a TON of Splenda!

I was putting it in my EGG WHITES and the 3 coffees I was drinking every day and even my protein shakes. I even put it on my plain brown rice once! I guess I was really excited about making ANY food taste sweet :( Yuck.

But, I think this is common. Especially in competition prep and dieting circles. We crave the taste of sweet so frequently and so we use artificial sweeteners liberally thinking they're not affecting us in any way.

And the truth is that these things are not benign. 

They impact digestion, they can lead to gas and bloating (don't believe me, just eat a bag of sugar-free chocolate--no, actually don't, it's that painful), and they aren't necessarily fat loss friendly either. They are not absorbed into the blood stream when they are digested (which is why they don't technically "count" as calories), so where do they go? Often, straight out the bottom! In the form of gas, loose stools and painful bloating and discomfort. And these reactions can change the gut lining over time, affect absorption of other foods eventually, too.

I was eating so much of this stuff that my gut was messed up constantly. My stomach was bloated a lot of the time (especially by the end of the day) and as disgusting as it is, I was farting a lot :( (Sorry, Jade!) Not fun.

And over time, it started showing up on my face. I had the worst acne of my life. There are many other dietary influences of acne (I recommend Loren Cordain's 'Dietary Cure for Acne' if you're interested in the biochemistry--it's fascinating) including dairy, chronically high insulin levels, hormonal changes as a result of many different factors (one of the reasons we tend to get a zit in the week leading up to our menses) and even things like gluten and soy.

Not every one will respond the same way, and for me, I believe it was a combination of artificial sweeteners (and even natural sweeteners like xylitol, which also affects your gut), an increase in whey protein (which is dairy) and also hormonal changes as a result of bumping my lifting volume and gaining more muscle quickly.

For most people, I think they'd be fine with the last two, but alternative sweeteners ... oh my! True, they don't add calories in the traditional sense of sugar but their effects are not benign, and if your body responds like mine did, then the effects can range far and wide to weight loss resistance, GI upset, skin problems and your husband's complete disgust! Ha, ha, just kidding ... but seriously.

All of this is to say, what you put in your mouth influences your complexion big time. A lesson I learned the hard way. But once I cleaned up my nutrition, my face cleared up over the next 6-12 months.

Here are the steps I took to resolve it:

1) Stopped with the artificial sweeteners, gave up the sugar alcohols, and moved to stevia, which is an herb.  And I also figured out how to handle my cravings better, by quitting so much cardio and working on de-stressing.

2) I switched from whey protein powder to a pea/rice blend powder so as to limit dairy, and cut my protein bar consumption back. As you know, I used to eat multiple bars a day and many of them contain sugar alcohols. And then I started practicing Intermittent Sampling and moved to a single bar every other day.

3) Cleaned up my nutrition. What I mean by that is I spent time away from hyperallergenic foods-common allergens like gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and even eggs for a time, since I was doing up to 24 egg whites some days! Did I mention I was crazy??

Do I think everyone needs to do this? No. But I do think that if you are dealing with adult-onset acne like I was, looking to your gut health is critical. My sister-in-law Dr. Jillian Teta, creator of Fix Your Digestion and super smartypants sweetheart has just released her first major book-hits shelves today, called 'Natural Solutions for Digestive Health.' Highly reco grabbing it if you think you are struggling with GI health in any way.

And finally, because we are talking all about clean digestion, I wanted to give you an opportunity to grab my 3-Day De-Bloat System at 30% OFF (just $12), which is essentially a 3-day clean meal plan to help get your system back on track and also shed a few l-bs of water. Includes general guidelines and workouts too.

=====> Get the 3-Day De-Bloat System for $12 here

Deal is only good through this Thursday, May 8th! Once you purchase, you will be automatically re-routed to a page to download your materials, so don't quit the browser right away.

Let me know if you have any questions and as always, wishing you the best! Let me know how you do! 

Ox, Jill