A Latte Lipstick

5 obviously important guidelines for clear skin that you may not follow

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Nothing is more frustrating than broken out skin, especially if it pops up right before an important event. Skin imperfections can drastically lower your confidence! So… how far do you go when it comes to trying strange things that people swear by working, that appear absolutely crazy? Well my skin irritations have gotten me trying all sorts of “I swear by this” tricks. Just the other night I was smearing honey all over my face in a desperate plea. I can’t say it helped, but I can’t say it hurt. It did make me really want to lick my face clean in a Pooh like fashion.

However, clear skin may be easier to achieve than you think with a few simple tips. Sometimes a breakout is inevitable but try to hold them back by following these essential guidelines. None of these are crazy, but common ways to keep your skin bacteria free and clear!

Take off your makeup

You should NEVER NEVER keep your makeup on. It clogs your pores and doesn’t allow the skin to breathe as it should each night.

Eat healthy

Give your skin those nutrients they need. Avoid sugar and dairy. Get in many darker greens! Have skin strengthening Omega-3 acids from chia seeds, salmon, etc. As always, drink more water!

Exfoliate

Exfoliating off that dry skin is important. Do it about 1x a week.
Oatmeal Acne Scrub – 2 tbsp oatmeal, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp honey
Honey Coconut Oil scrub

Wear sunscreen

No matter if your skin is broken out or clear, wrinkles aren’t cute. Protect your face from burning and future wrinkles by wearing a sunscreen. It’s easy to just buy a moisturizer with a SPF of 15.

Moisturize

Even if you skin is oily, don’t over dry. Cracking open skin lets even more bacteria in!

Do you have any crazy tricks, or do you follow more simple conventional ideas for skin care?

Portion Control Challenge

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Portion control, you are a challenge. My biggest challenge in fact. Granted I eat healthy so it’s not like I’m gorging on potato chips, but excess is still excess. It has to go somewhere. I’m looking at you thighs.

Now that lent is over, the challenge of being dessert-free is gone (yes!) opening up my self control to accomplish another challenge. I never do two challenges at the same time, that is unreasonable for me and it’s important to do what you can do. Take it slow so it doesn’t backfire in the end.

My challenge for the next month (that should hopefully continue forever) is portion control. Instead of reaching into a bag of pretzels a “couple” times, which quickly turns into aimless snacking, I will take it out of the bag and put it on a plate. Basically Healthy Eating 101 but I have failed on that task and am looking to change this bad habit!

Now, think of your “problem food” that you know you just eat way TOO MUCH of when you purchase it. Try to avoid those altogether. But if you can’t, be sure you take out your allowed portion and put it away immediately. This allows you to know how much you are eating each time, not just when it is alarmingly empty two days after purchasing.

Portion control check up –

Steak – 140g. This is about the size of your palm. Really savor your meats and fill the plate with more veggies!

Avocado – 3 slices. 1/2 of it is too much and often the amount I have. Avocados are a healthy fat but that doesn’t mean you should go over board!

Nuts – Ohhhh how I mess up on this one. You should have a small handful of nuts. There is too much fat in them for you to eat way too many in one sitting. Snack on these if you can control yourself, if you can’t buy those portioned packages.

Cheese – 30 g. Cheese is high in saturated fat so don’t eat too much, a little goes a long way!

Nut Butter – Watch out with this one. A healthy snack of apple and nut butter can quickly turn into a fattening mistake if you’re not careful! Two tablespoons is plenty.

Pretzels/Chips – Check the bag portion!! It typically is less than you would think.

Who would like to join me? I think the results will be staggering!

Torch Calories Cooking Workout

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Have to skip your workout because you got off later than usual and you have a growling belly to quiet? No problem – it’s time to cook!
Too often, you may write off moving during the day because you weren’t able to get a traditional work out in, but that just doesn’t make sense!

Sneak in those extra moves between tasks. I think the Fit Bit obsession and its grow to fame has been useful to show how many steps you can get in each day just by making simple swaps like parking farther away, taking the stairs or getting up every hour to take a brisk quick walk. But back to cooking…

Obviously you are getting less added calories when you cook for yourself, you know exactly what you are putting in your body and each ingredient. But it can even extend beyond that! Burn calories while cooking too…win, win!

Cooking can serve as a great mini exercise. Torch major calories by whisking, beating, and chopping in the kitchen. Cardio kicks in once you begin racing from the refrigerator to the stove to the cutting board. While you’re waiting for that water to boil why not rev up that heart rate and do a wall sit or some lunges?

Burn more calories by rigorously stirring versus using a blender, hand chop versus using a grater. How fast can you chop that onion? How smooth can you beat that batter?

Complete your Cooking Workout by offering to do those dishes and scrub scrub away!

Who else participates in the Cooking Workout?

The good bacteria your gut needs!

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Is your gut balanced with good bacteria? The bacteria in your stomach is super important to keep you slim.

Did you know that your gut is home to 100 trillion microorganisms?! A balanced gut flora promotes healthy gastrointestinal functions, regulates metabolism, and supports your immune system. You can easily see the difference in the gut bacteria produced in obese humans versus healthy lean humans.

Gut imbalance is linked to obesity, inflammation, bad breath, gum disease, cancer, back pain, etc. No thanks! In other words, you want a good gut flora!

So how can you get better gut flora?

Eat fiber. True fiber, not the 20% added fiber promised on a sugary granola bar. Get healthy fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You should have around 20 to 30 grams a day. These foods have probiotics, which is another bacteria you should have in the body.

Less sugar. Too much sugar is starving your gut flora. The needed bacteria thrives on complex carbs, not sugar.

Exercise. Lose the gut and boost gut bacteria all at the same time!

Eat your probiotics! This comes in yogurt, Kombucha tea, dark chocolate, pickles and more!

Love this Kombucha drink! Gingerade is my favorite!

I have no challenge adding dark chocolate to my diet!

What can be hurting your gut flora?

Certain medications like birth control and antibiotics, chronic stress, diets low in fiber, diets high in sugar. Basically a woman who is stressed, on birth control, and eats too much sugar… not a good mix. Try adding Kombucha tea or dark chocolate to your day to help combat this issue!

Take charge of your gut flora and cut out sugar, add probiotics, and stress less!

5 Tips to Grow Healthy Hair Quick

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Do you ever have hair cut remorse? yes, it’s a thing.

Oh how I enjoyed my short hair! But as expected… I want it long again. Now! preferably. But it doesn’t quite work that way. Plus, I want healthy long hair, not split end-y unhealthy hair. Long hair is pointless if it isn’t full, shiny and “brush your fingers through” worthy.

Crossing my fingers that these tips will do the trick to have longer luscious hair by bikini season. Long wavy summer hair is too easy and sexy to miss out on.

Here are some tips to get that short hair where it needs to be and grow it out long and healthy.

Trim it. I know I know it hurts, you just got it past your shoulders. However, if you don’t get a trim it’s going to start splitting and become more unhealthy and stop growing fast. If you must call it “dusting” to make the appointment, call it that.

Eat protein. After all, your hair is made of protein! Make sure that you are eating enough healthy protein from eggs and meats.

Condition. Make sure your hair is not dry. Conditioning the ends will discourage breakage.

Protect. If you’re heating it often make sure you are protecting it with a spray. Also, try not to shower with scalding water, which similarly damages hair.

Massage. Stimulate your head to promote hair growth.

Do you have any grow your hair quick tricks?