I have made a list of 5 things that I do WITHOUT fail (99% of the time) in order to maintain inner and outer beauty…
1. ALWAYS (always, always, always) eat breakfast: Eating breakfast gives me tons of energy and that extra boost to start my day. Breakfast increases my ability to concentrate at work and at a home and I’m always so much more productive on days that I have a well balanced breakfast. My favorite breakfast is protein Oatmeal. I put 1/2 cup of dried oatmeal into a bowl, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, almonds, a banana, berries & cinnamon. I put hot water in it and cook it like normal oatmeal! SO good. Oh and I usually have greens juice as well!
2. LIMIT THE HOT TOOLS: Try not to use a blow dryer, curling iron or straightener everyday. The heat is really damaging to your hair and can make the ends break off and make your hair appear shorter. Trust me, I learned the hard way. Try a side braid (I really like fish tail braids) or a sleek bun instead. This will give your hair a break and keep it tough and strong! (( I’ll post a blog soon giving different active hair style options))
3. EFA’s (Essential Fatty Acids): These decrease bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase GOOD cholesterol (HDL), improve your metabolism, enhance brain function, improve mobility and make you more alert. These omega-3,6,9 are essential fatty acids (EFA’s) which means that they are ESSENTIAL to your body BUT you do not manufacture them on your own. You must get them through your diet OR supplementation. I do both! Omega 3’s are your fish and flax oils, omega-6’s are from nuts and omega-9’s are from oils like grape-seed oil and olive oil.
4. WASH YOUR FACE BEFORE BED: First of all, it JUST feels good waking up in the morning having washed your face the night before. DEFINITELY do not be lazy and forget, ladies. Even if you keep some of those make-up removing cloths by your bed— anything is better than nothing! If you think about it— your face is absorbing oils from your pillow case so make sure you wash those often AND wash your face so that all the makeup and oil from the day doesn’t transfer onto the pillow case.
5. GET ENOUGH SLEEP: Now, this one I did not believe for a while. I would work, work, work all day, sleep very minimally and then do it all over again. That one ended quick. No matter what you health and fitness goal is, you need sleep! Too much sleep or to little sleep can cause you to put on extra unwanted pounds due to lack of energy and increased cravings, to name a couple. Lack of sleep left me with poor work quality, I LOOKED exhausted and I wasn’t very friendly. For the passed 2-3 years I have really made sleep a priority and it was probably one of the best things I have ever done for myself and my career.
6. MEDITATE/PRAY: Now this one is my #1, but I figured if I listed it last it would resonate the most. You need time to reflect, unwind and free your mind. If I go a few days without a meditation and prayer session— my emotions and drive fall apart. I have to have this time to myself in order to recoup, regroup and bounce back in action. I have to remind myself that I am not in control of what goes on in my life and, as long as I stay true to my purpose and plan, eventually it will ALL fall into place.
These, of course, are not things you HAVE to do. I have just learned that hearing other peoples’ ideas and perspective has always helped me find my own. Try these tips or share some of your own in the comments section.