u/ThrowRA-confused-gf

I felt a small bump deep under my bottom lip, inner-center area, 11:50 PM July 1st. My lip was also pulsating like my heart beat in that area. I've never had a cold sore form like that before, so part of me is wondering whether it even was a cold sore or something else, but here is exactly what I did to try and stop it:

- 3000mg lysine pills immediately (3x1000mg). I took 1 more at 4:00 AM (I happened to wake up to use the restroom coincidentally), then 1 more at 10:30 AM. Like, I'm really lucky that I noticed it IMMEDIATELY and was able to take action IMMEDIATELY.

- Acetone on a q-tip, pressed to the spot for 2 minutes. The skin on my inner lip peeled off, like 0.5-0.8cm wide. That freaked me out, since I'm only used to applying acetone on my outer lips, not my inner lip, but I kept going with my treatment plan.

- Ice, wrapped in paper towel, I applied the ice directly to my lip at like 12:00 AM, July 2nd. So, 10 minutes after noticing the cold sore forming. They say you shouldn't do that, but I did it. Idc. Kept the ice on there for 5-10 minutes, basically until the cube fully melted. About 10-15 minutes later, I grabbed another cube and pressed it on again because I could still feel the pulsating sensation.

- Once the ice cube was done, I grabbed my acyclovir topical cream and applied it. Fell asleep. Reapplied at 4:00 AM. Reapplied at 10:30 AM. I've found in the past, Valacyclovir (Valtrex?) pills sort of worked to reduce the size of the bump, but I'd have another cold sore come back with a vengeance. If it matters, I got the generic rather than name brand. It happened twice before I decided to switch to the XERESE acyclovir cream.

It is now 11:30 AM, July 2nd. I'm not seeing anything on my lip. No bump, minimal redness, no pulsating lip anymore. I can keep you all updated if you want updates.

What potentially triggered it? I've been eating a low sugar, low refined-carb diet for the past 8 months for weight loss and PCOS management. So no bread, no pasta, no oatmeal, no rice, no potatoes, etc. Yesterday, I ate Chinese food (no rice or noodles, just meat and veggies... But the sauces contain some sugar and SO MUCH SALT). I was actually told by a pharmacist when I was picking up my latest bottle of XERESE that salty food and spicy food can trigger cold sores, due to the irritation. He also said a good preventative measure is 1 oz Manuka honey, 1 oz lemon juice, and a sprinkle of ground cloves, mixed, and you drink it. I have not been doing that since I don't want the sugar, but I figured I'd pass along that message since I'm writing this post.

Anyways, I also ate quite a few sweets. Cookies, 3 slices of a chocolate cake (like, 200-300g of cake at most). I haven't had that many sweets in a loooong time. I'm quite convinced that my poor diet yesterday triggered it, but you can never know for certain.

Hi everyone!! ❤️

I love this community so much, everyone is so knowledgeable and so supportive of one another.

I wanted to take some time to write my own personal experience losing weight. I started October 28, 2025. Currently it is June 26, 2026. So about 8 months. I am 29F, 5'4. SW: 235.7... CW: 181.6...(Down 54.1 lbs)... GW: 155 (for now).

I have PCOS. This is a quick summary of what I've done so far before I get into the "resting" part of this post:

• Low "net" carb diet. This means NO SUGAR, no honey, agave, maple syrup, no desserts with sugar (I still have "dessert", just low carb versions), etc. The only exception to "no sugar" is if I'm going to an AYCE sushi restaurant and the meat dishes have sugary sauces. I try to just push the sauce off and call it a day, but I don't sweat it. I've also had a slice of cake every few months for birthdays, but there's a birthday at least once a month in my life, so more than half the time, I'm turning down cake. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no quinoa, no potatoes *(very rarely sweet potatoes... They take up 1/8 of my plate at most and I think I've only had them twice since I started),* no oats, no beans, rarely fruit (other than berries, I have those multiple times a week), rarely corn, rarely carrots, etc. I know this might be extreme for some, but I know it's been working for me because after 15 years of irregular periods (wildly ranging from 34-58 days), I have completely regulated my menstrual cycle, 27-29 days over and over again since the start of this new lifestyle. My hirsutism has also decreased a good amount.

• I eat one meal a day. My eating window is between 4-8pm. Technically, on some days I'm not completely fasting since I'll have a protein coffee (double shot espresso + chocolate protein shake) or protein matcha (matcha powder + vanilla protein shake) in the morning. I've also quit caffeinated coffee recently and I coincidentally dropped 8 lbs in the past 2 weeks after being in a plateau for 8 weeks.

• I aim to walk 10-15k steps a day, but realistically I'll only hit 3-5k 2 or 3 times a month.

• Resistance training 2-3x per week. My routine isn't fancy, I've been doing the same workouts for the past 8 months. Day 1: Glutes - hip thrusts, RDLs, leg press, abduction machine. Day 2: upper body - lat pulldown, incline dumbbell press, seated rows, regular bench press, and dumbbell lateral raises. Sometimes I do face pulls, but they make my right arm tendon (or something?) click, like literally I feel something inside my arm snapping, so I just don't bother.

ONTO THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THIS POST:

I mentioned early that for the past 2 weeks, I've dropped 8 lbs. The 8 weeks prior, I was in a plateau, ranging from 187-191 lbs. It was pissing me off SO MUCH, but I stayed consistent. Well, in the past 2 weeks, I quit caffeinated coffee. Lost 4 lbs. In the past 3 days, I've been laying in bed all day, sleeping on and off. One day I only reached about 750 steps 🤣. Another day, I reached 2000. Dropped another 4 lbs somehow. I may have ate maybe 300-500 calories less than normal, but that's probably because I just wasn't hungry due to a lack of activity. Another important factor is I'm currently on Day 4 of my menstrual cycle, and we tend to retain water weight leading up to our periods.

Please, let your body rest if you want to see results! Even if it's multiple days every once in a while. I also watched this video years ago, and this really fit dude with a background in kinesiology (or biophysics? I can't remember) mentioned that if you're doing resistance training 4+ times a week, you should be giving yourself a 2-week break, completely from resistance training, once a year!

If you're in this community or reading this, I have so much faith you'll be able to reach your goals if you remain consistent overall. Think of your progress like the stock market! There's ups and downs, but the long term trend line will ALWAYS go up!

Hi everyone!! ❤️

I love this community so much, everyone is so knowledgeable and so supportive of one another.

I wanted to take some time to write my own personal experience losing weight. I started October 28, 2025. Currently it is June 26, 2026. So about 8 months. I am 29F, 5'4. SW: 235.7... CW: 181.6...(Down 54.1 lbs)... GW: 155 (for now).

I have PCOS. This is a quick summary of what I've done so far before I get into the "resting" part of this post:

• Low "net" carb diet. This means NO SUGAR, no honey, agave, maple syrup, no desserts with sugar (I still have "dessert", just low carb versions), etc. The only exception to "no sugar" is if I'm going to an AYCE sushi restaurant and the meat dishes have sugary sauces. I try to just push the sauce off and call it a day, but I don't sweat it. I've also had a slice of cake every few months for birthdays, but there's a birthday at least once a month in my life, so more than half the time, I'm turning down cake. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no quinoa, no potatoes (very rarely sweet potatoes... They take up 1/8 of my plate at most and I think I've only had them twice since I started), no oats, no beans, rarely fruit (other than berries, I have those multiple times a week), rarely corn, rarely carrots, etc. I know this might be extreme for some, but I know it's been working for me because after 15 years of irregular periods (wildly ranging from 34-58 days), I have completely regulated my menstrual cycle, 27-29 days over and over again since the start of this new lifestyle. My hirsutism has also decreased a good amount.

• I eat one meal a day. My eating window is between 4-8pm. Technically, on some days I'm not completely fasting since I'll have a protein coffee (double shot espresso + chocolate protein shake) or protein matcha (matcha powder + vanilla protein shake) in the morning. I've also quit caffeinated coffee recently and I coincidentally dropped 8 lbs in the past 2 weeks after being in a plateau for 8 weeks.

• I aim to walk 10-15k steps a day, but realistically I'll only hit 3-5k 2 or 3 times a month.

• Resistance training 2-3x per week. My routine isn't fancy, I've been doing the same workouts for the past 8 months. Day 1: Glutes - hip thrusts, RDLs, leg press, abduction machine. Day 2: upper body - lat pulldown, incline dumbbell press, seated rows, regular bench press, and dumbbell lateral raises. Sometimes I do face pulls, but they make my right arm tendon (or something?) click, like literally I feel something inside my arm snapping, so I just don't bother.

ONTO THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THIS POST:

I mentioned early that for the past 2 weeks, I've dropped 8 lbs. The 8 weeks prior, I was in a plateau, ranging from 187-191 lbs. It was pissing me off SO MUCH, but I stayed consistent. Well, in the past 2 weeks, I quit caffeinated coffee. Lost 4 lbs. In the past 3 days, I've been laying in bed all day, sleeping on and off. One day I only reached about 750 steps 🤣. Another day, I reached 2000. Dropped another 4 lbs somehow. I may have ate maybe 300-500 calories less than normal, but that's probably because I just wasn't hungry due to a lack of activity. Another important factor is I'm currently on Day 4 of my menstrual cycle, and we tend to retain water weight leading up to our periods.

Please, let your body rest if you want to see results! Even if it's multiple days every once in a while. I also watched this video years ago, and this really fit dude with a background in kinesiology (or biophysics? I can't remember) mentioned that if you're doing resistance training 4+ times a week, you should be giving yourself a 2-week break, completely from resistance training, once a year!

If you're in this community or reading this, I have so much faith you'll be able to reach your goals if you remain consistent overall. Think of your progress like the stock market! There's ups and downs, but the long term trend line will ALWAYS go up!

I have absolutely no idea where to start with this process. Do I need a record of employment (ROE)? I read my board automatically sends it to service Canada (or whatever agency is responsible for giving out EI).

Do I need to start applying for jobs NOW, or will I not be eligible since I wasn't applying weeks/months ago?