Diet and Nutrition

The best epiphany I've ever had was acceptance. We all love to eat fast food, cookies, and cakes. But I know this cannot be part of a healthy meal plan. Evil temptations such as sugar-loaded treats, foods high in trans fats, and unhealthy heart fats are a test to all of our will power. 

The first thing to start a diet should begin with a routine at the grocery store. Make sure to never have junk food readily available in your cupboards by never buying it. Chips, soda, and other sugary goodies are out of reach for good reason. We’re not made of steel. 
When it comes to vitamins, make the habit of taking omega 3's and multivitamins at the same time every day after a meal. Ensuring you are giving your body the extra love it deserves. You only have one life and one body. Treating it well and putting good things into it will, in turn, give you a better quality of life. Healthy living can translate into confidence because you are doing something for yourself every day. Let's not forget the other wonderful positive side effects: preventing cancer, glowing skin, a thin figure, healthy skin/hair, and self-esteem.

Green Tea

Green tea has many benefits that aid in beauty and health. While recommended daily consumption is debated, drinking four to five cups a day seems to be the average suggested amount. Of course, consult your doctor about what daily dose is right for you. 

Green tea aids in weight loss because it contains catechins. Catechin is a chemical that lowers cholesterol and burns calories reducing your overall body fat. It's also good for your teeth because it prevents plaque from being formed by inhibiting bacteria growth. 

If used as a topical treatment green tea can prevent UVB skin disorders like photo-aging and melanoma. The wonder tonic can also help acne and has been proven to be just as effective as benzoyl peroxide. Sweet!

Low Fat Yogurt

Low-fat yogurt should be in your beauty diet because it contains tons of protein and calcium, which can fight hunger, stimulate weight loss by burning fat, and repair the body. It's a great on-the-go snack when you’re in a hurry and you don't have to feel guilty eating it. Usually, calcium and mineral deficiencies are the cause of dry hair and brittle nails, along with dehydration. Grabbing a yogurt will ensure you are not lacking anything your body needs for the day. The calcium stimulates hair growth and makes it shiny, as well as making your nails strong.

Yogurt is made from milk by adding cultures which transforms the milk's sugar and lactose into lactic acid. The cultures added have good bacteria in it which contain live microorganisms that help with digestion and can kill bad bacteria. The low fat, low-calorie immune system booster also contains an anti-carcinogenic – which means it fights cavities too!

                  

Omega - 3s

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Considered an essential fatty acid, omega-3s play a major role in beauty, body, and brain function. Your body needs fatty acids to be healthy. However, *researchers have said omega-3 fatty acids are the only nutrient your body cannot reproduce. We have to find it elsewhere. You can take a supplement of omega-3s in the form of a fish oil capsule or eat omega-rich foods like some cold-water fish such as salmon, halibut and mackerel. Some of the other foods you can find omega-3's include walnuts, spinach, flax, soybeans, and whole grains.

Not only are omega-3s your health’s best friend, the beauty benefits are astounding. It's been proven it will improve skin condition and make it glow. Fatty acids help hold in moisture and replenish lipids which is what keeps our skin flexible. Taken over a long period of time omega-3s can even reverse the effects of sun damage and photo-aging. Other beauty bonuses are luxurious hair and stronger nails. I noticed a major difference about a month after I started taking the capsules. I’ve received the most compliments on my hair and skin AFTER I’d been taking the fish oil supplements!

Now, we know omega-3s give us beautiful hair, glowing skin, and strong nails. You can also take omega-3s due to all this other additional interesting research. We should also know our bodies need a tremendous amount of the omega-3 fatty acids to function. Why? Because the human brain is comprised of 60% fats, and approximately half of the fat is DHA omega-3. Meaning the organ which controls all of our body systems is a big piece of fat! Having fatty deficiencies in our brain has been linked to Alzheimer's disease, mood disorders, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood-altering catastrophes millions of people suffer from.

Keeping our brain sharp is just one of its health miracles. The biggest and best benefit of taking omega-3s is what it does for our heart health. By making platelets in the blood less sticky it will prevent clotting, which can reduce blood pressure and heart disease. It also reduces triglyceride levels, which are fat deposits in our blood. High levels of triglycerides and cholesterol increase your chances of heart complications.

Omega-3s are good in many ways, but as a woman, I'm mentioning it for a specific reason: omega-3s reduce inflammation helping with our menstruation cycle. Fish oil has been known to stabilize moods during the time of the month and reduces cramps. Since inflammation is one of the reasons women feel a dull pain before and during a cycle, taking an omega-3 supplement is a natural remedy with a ton of benefits.

Water

Have you ever noticed your skin not glowing and you see bags under your eyes? When you look tired and feel sluggish it may be caused by dehydration. Everyone needs the energy to work long days, making water the most important thing to keep you energetic, healthy, supple, and beautiful. Our bodies are 70% water, therefore it's essential to all our important functional systems. Water aids organs like the liver and kidneys in ridding toxins and flushing infections out of our immune system. Being dehydrated not only makes us feel run down it takes out the suppleness in our skin cells which makes us appear healthy.

Beautiful looking skin, nails, and hair can all be attributed to H20. Dehydration will make wrinkles appear deeper than they really are, cause our nails to break and discolor, and our hair to be dull, dry and brittle. Since water flushes out toxins and impurities, our skin will appear fresh, clean, and moisturized. Water also stimulates growth in our hair (which is 12-15% water) by transporting amino acids, vitamins, and minerals to hair follicles.

Drinking water is also a fantastic tool for losing weight. If you drink a glass of water before and after every meal you will feel fuller, reducing the likelihood of overeating. The best part: it's zero calories! If you switch soda, coffee, and fruit juices to water your caloric intake will be reduced drastically, making it far easier to lose weight.

To ensure you drink enough water:

1. Carry a bottle of water with you everywhere (preferably Nalgene or steel bottles). You never know when you will be stuck somewhere like a grocery store, traffic jam, gym, or the airport. Try getting something cute to drink out of.

2. Make sure to drink a glass when you wake up, before coffee, and before bed.

3. Drink a full glass before meals.

4. Keep a glass of water at your desk to drink from regularly.

5. Add lemon for more excitement.

6. Never enter the gym or workout location without a full bottle (you should have at least one bottle of water for every half hour of exercise).

7. Keep an empty glass/cup next to your water filter. When you pass by, fill it up and chug.

8. Have a cup in your house you can call “my big cup.” Always know where it is and always make sure it's full.

Have you ever felt hungry an hour after your post-workout snack? Your brain could be telling you you're hungry, confusing hunger with dehydration. You should hydrate before and after your workouts to tame those false hunger pains.

Antioxidants, Vitamins & Free Radicals

Aging is a woman's worst enemy. Side effects from aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage can take away adolescent allure. Planning a full attack to slow down the normal process of oxidation (the damage to our cells to make us appear older) is something to think about. Oxidation can be accelerated by pollution, sunlight, alcohol, and smoking. Sunblock and a healthy lifestyle are the beginning of maintaining youthful beauty, while antioxidants and vitamins will help with the rest.

Damaged cells called free radicals are oxidized unstable atoms. Damaged atoms try to repair themselves by taking electrons from their surroundings or the healthy stuff from other cells. Antioxidants can be offered as a treatment since they are chemicals that offer their own electrons, thus sparing your healthy cells from damage. Antioxidants = oxidized-atom crime fighter.

*Researchers say antioxidants are helpful because they can reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles, improve the look of skin, and protect us from further sun damage. People who study their benefits also say you have to keep a continual supply of antioxidants because once the antioxidant loses its electron it ceases to be useful. Therefore, you should take vitamins with antioxidants in them and eat antioxidant-rich foods every day. Some vitamin and antioxidant treatments can work from the outside in. Nutrition and diets can work from the inside out, targeting harmful free radicals and sun damage.

There are multiple ways to get antioxidants, omega-3s, and vitamins daily. Drink green tea as much as possible because of the richness of its antioxidants. Take a multivitamin and omega-3 supplement every day with a meal to ensure the vitamins have something to absorb while the body is processing it. Eat vitamin and antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, almonds, peaches, and avocados. Topically (applied to the skin), make sure your face and body lotions contain skin and anti-age protecting awesomeness too. Try to look for facial moisturizers that contain green tea extract.

Vitamin A: This antioxidant helps your skin maintain moisture and restores elastic fibers which keep the skin taut, ultimately helping anti-aging effects like fine wrinkles, sunspots, and rough skin. Vitamin A is best in a concentrated gel or cream form.

Vitamin B: Essential for all our body's cells. B Vitamins can boost the rate of your metabolism as well as your immune and nervous systems. Deficiencies can also lead to dry and itchy skin.

Vitamin C: This vitamin is known to help protect skin from sun damage and cancer. It's also great for boosting your immune system which will, in turn, speed up your skin repairing system, making it an antioxidant vitamin powerhouse. Vitamin C is also important in the formation of collagen to hold skin cells together and other body tissues.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D helps your body consume calcium which is good for your bones and teeth. It also helps regulate cells, systems, and organs throughout the body. One way to get vitamin D is by having your body create it after it reacts to ultraviolet light or sunlight.

Vitamin E: A fat-soluble vitamin found in many foods, fats, and oils. Vitamin E is an antioxidant superhero that fights off free radicals.

Flavonoids: Found in green tea and even chocolate. Flavonoids can protect from inflammation and cancer. It also protects the adverse effects of sunlight exposure.

Vitamin K: Another fat-soluble vitamin that aids in reducing bruising and broken capillaries by helping with the coagulation of blood. I started to use a vitamin K gel under my eyes for dark circles and I saw results within a week.

Sugar

Have you ever looked at the ingredient labels on the food in your cupboard? Almost everything contains chemicals, lots of sugar, or high fructose corn syrup. The best way to stay lean is to accept the fact sugar and processed foods are empty calories which make you gain weight. It's bad for your skin and bad for your teeth. Instead, change your eating habits to fresh foods, devoid of high fructose corn syrup, and contain no unwanted chemicals.

I know Cheetos are tasty, soda is delicious, and Oreos are to die for, but at what cost? Gaining weight and not being comfortable with the way you look? Your health? I had to give up all those things a long time ago after I realized it would help my career by making me more competitive. The second I gave up sodas, I noticed less fat in my body a week later. When I moved onto fresher foods, I noticed my energy levels were higher. I took sugar out of my diet completely and switched over my sweeteners to natural sweetener replacements (like agave nectar), making maintaining a thin weight a breeze. I never looked back.

Bad sugar really is the devil and you can't get away from it unless you make an effort. It's even addictive, which will have you coming back again and again. Toughen up and realize your overall health is much more important than a tub of ice cream. Looking better in clothes will give you priceless confidence in life. It worked for me.

Anti-Sugar Helpful Tips:

Replace artificial sweeteners and refined sugar with agave nectar. Agave nectar comes from cactus and is rich in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals which can be beneficial to your health. It also doesn't have a significant impact on blood sugar levels because it absorbs slowly into the bloodstream.

Grab low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream. Vanilla is my favorite and satisfies my sweet tooth every time. I like to have it as my “before bedtime, watching TV, I wish I had something sweet” snack. Watch out for fruit added yogurts. Add your own fresh fruit since many have the sugary syrup added.

Have a trail mix on hand and ditch the cookies. Trail mix is great for an in-between-meal snack. It's healthy and will hold you over until it's mealtime. The best trail mix contains whole nuts, uncovered raisins, and dates. Be aware of coated raisins with palm oil covering because it’s full of saturated fats.

Don't buy anything that will tempt you. If it's not there you won't eat it. I’m personally too lazy to go to the store just for cookies.

Keep healthy snacks in the fridge and cupboards at eye level. Cut up veggies and fruits like carrots and apples are perfect to have at your eye line. If you must have sugary temptations around for guests or leftovers from a party, store them in a far place where it will take effort to get to them. Maybe you'll think twice on the far walk to the basement.

Read ingredient labels. Generally, the shorter the ingredient list the healthier. Know what the ingredients are and their benefits. Lots of companies like to reword chemicals and sugars to trick us into thinking it's something else rather than sugar. The simpler the better. If I have a tough choice between two products, the one with the shortest chemical list wins my decision.

Fruit, fruit, fruit - Fruit has natural fructose making it sweet, good for you, contains lots of antioxidants and you can eat tons of it. You’ll never have to worry about going in for a second helping.

No more soda - ever! Trade soda for water, it's zero calories, it hydrates you (giving you energy), it flushes out toxins, and makes your skin look beautiful. To make it more exciting, add cucumber or lemon and pretend you’re at a day spa.

If you must drink alcohol, have a vodka and club soda, then add lime for some flavor. Darker alcohols will make you hungover because they contain a higher concentration of congeners (the chemical which causes hangover symptoms), and sugary fruit drinks have tons of calories and make you crave even more sweet stuff.

Accept reality. You can't have king-size candy bars and cookies to snack on daily. You have to make sacrifices if you want to change.