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Not Sponsored: Aging is a natural progress. We age every single day. When we are born, we progressively get older each and every day that we live on this earth. There's nothing we can do to stop the aging process. We are at the mercy of genetic, environmental, personal and many other factors. But there are measures that you can take to help you be the very best you can be. I am not a doctor. I am simply a 51 year old woman, that constantly receives compliments about how I look. People are always astonished at my age. My advice to you is based on my experiences and my family's experiences. I would like to share these things with you, so that you can be the very best you can be.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
1. Protect Your Skin And Eyes Against The Sun's Rays And Blue-light
I can't stress enough, the importance of wearing sunscreen. It's something I wish I would've taken more serious in my younger days. The sun's rays are very strong. Skin cancer is very real. Protect yourself. Invest in a really good face and body sunscreen. Apply it all over your face and body. Be sure to apply it to your ears and back of your neck (areas which are often missed). Not only can the sun cause cancer, but it can also speed up the aging process of your skin (here, here, here). Blue-light from your electronic devices can also be detrimental and cause you to age (eyes and skin also skin). Especially around the eyes (from looking at our phones). To combat both of these issues, I really like the brand COOLA. I use COOLA Sunsilk Drops on my face (Bloomingdales, Harvey Nichols, Macys, Neiman Marcus, Revolve, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Space NK), COOLA Sunscreen for my body (Macys, Sephora, Revolve, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom) and COOLA Lip Balm (Harvey Nichols, Nordstrom, Space NK). Also consider investing in blue light glasses.
2. Moisturize Your Skin
My grandmother use to slather Nivea lotion all over her face and body. I think it's about the heaviest lotion on the market. I use to tease her about it and laugh at how much lotion she was using on herself. Well, I no longer laugh about it. Moisturizing ALL OF YOUR SKIN (face & body) is so important. Moisturizing keeps your skin supple and young. My body lotion of choice is Archipelago Botanicals Oat Milk Lotion. My face moisturizer is Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base (Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Harrods, Macys, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges, Sephora) and Eye Base (Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue). For my lips, I love Lawless Forget The Filler Overnight Lip Plumping Mask (Sephora), Fresh Advanced Therapy Lip Balm (Neiman Marcus, Space NK) and Emile Cordon New York Lip Balms. Find moisturizers for your skin type. Use them both day and night. The level of moisture you need may increase as you get older. Stay moisturized.
3. Tailor Your Skincare
I've been using skincare since I was a pre-teen. The very first skincare products I used was Mary Kay. In my late 20's and early 30's I went to a dermatologist. She recommended Cetaphil (Target). As I advanced in age, I had to change my skincare products again. There are more product choices now available then when I was growing up. Blogging has opened up a plethora of information for me as it relates to products on the market. I now use a conglomerate of products, as listed in this blog post. You MUST find skincare products that work for you. It's most important! Do this before investing in makeup. Your skin is your palette. Anything you put atop it, will not look right unless your skin is really good. It took me years to find a cleanser, moisturizer etc. that worked best for me. It was trial and error. But once you find excellent products that work for you, your skin will show off the results.
4. Exercise
I exercised a lot when I was younger. As I got older, I slacked off. I'm now paying for it in my 50's! I can feel the extra weight, that I've put on. Stuff is jiggling, where it shouldn't jiggle. My doctor told me, Kim, you have to lose weight. So this past month, I've been spending 1 hour on the treadmill and a 1/2 hour on my stationery bike. I've made a commitment to work out 4-5 days a week. Pay attention to how you feel and how you look in your clothes. Are you happy? Can you look better? How do you feel? Devote either mornings or evenings to working out. You will feel better. How much physical activity do adults need per week? As recommended by the Center for Disease Control: Each week, adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activity, according to the current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. That's about 30 minutes a day! I'm doubling up on that.
5. Eat Healthy
My doctor also told me, I need to change my eating habits. I needed to change WHAT I was eating and HOW MUCH I was eating. I cut out sodas several years ago. When I did, I saw a big drop in my weight. I drink juices very sparingly. They also contain a lot of sugar. Recently, I've cut out a lot of processed snack foods: potato chips, cheese puffs etc. I really love Raisinets as a snack ... Instead of eating an entire box in one sitting ... I split that one box into four snack bags with 25 Raisinets in each bag. Sometimes it's not what you eat, but the quantity you eat. I'm limiting my fast food intake and cooking more. I'm eating more seafood and less red meat. For breakfast, I'm eating more fruit, smoothies and yogurt. I'm also eliminating a lot of breads and limiting pastas in my diet. This hasn't been easy, but I must say I'm feeling better. My body is looking better. It's definitely a lifestyle change. The key is moderation! MODERATION! My grandfather once told me, Kim you can have anything (food) in moderation. NOT the whole bag of candy! NOT several slices of cake! So I encourage you to evaluate your diet and see how you can improve it.
6. Don't Smoke
Besides various types of cancer (throat, lung etc) it can cause, smoking also ages the skin. Smoking leads to
increased production of an enzyme that breaks down collagen, so it
reduces your skin's elasticity and makes it look more aged, sagging and
wrinkled. Smokers have characteristic patterns of wrinkling of the
skin, including lines around the mouth and “crow's feet” around the
eyes (Source: Tobacco Free Life). Try not to even start smoking. If you are a smoker, ask your doctor about a program to help you kick the habit. It's a very addictive and detrimental habit. I'm listing the American Cancer Society as an excellent resource.
7. Drink In Moderation
Drinking ages you. Especially your face. Are you laughing? I kid you not! I had a female family member that loved to drink. She was not an alcoholic, but she drank hard liquor. It aged her face. Constantly drinking alcohol, will suck all the cuteness out of you. I know you're laughing, but it will. Plus excessive drinking long term, will wreak havoc on your kidneys and liver. Have a drink on special occasions. From time to time. But put the bottle away. Stay cute!
8. Get Rest
When you're young, you can get away with staying up all night etc. It's easy to bounce back! But let me tell you! Those late nights staying up all night on Twitter, partying, clubbing etc. will eventually catch up with you. You will look tired through your eyes and your body will also tell you. Life nowadays is not as simple, as when I was growing up. There are a million things to do nowadays. In order to accomplish just half of them and to function in this world, you need to get proper rest. The CDC recommends 7-8 hours of sleep for adults. Children sleep recommendations are by age. Also as you age, you will require more rest. When you hit milestone birthdays (30, 35, 40, 45, 50 etc), you will feel a difference in your body. My first "hit" was at the age of 35. I felt a difference and had to make changes then.
9. Reduce Stress
The world nowadays can be super stressful. You have stress at work. Stress at home. Stress with your partner. Stress with children. Stress with others. Make a list for each one of these categories. Write down what is causing you stress in each area. Then figure out a solution. For example, constantly going grocery shopping was stressing me out. Going to the store. Putting things in the car. Hauling groceries in the house. Then putting things away. It's something I didn't enjoy. I now use Shipt, Walmart etc.! It's really helped me eliminate that stress, so I can do other things. Now I just go to the store for special things. Another example. I remember a time when I could clean my entire house in one day. Then that turned into a weekend. I haven't hired a cleaning service yet. I thought about what could make house cleaning easier. I now clean two rooms at a time over several days, until everything is complete. Break things up into smaller, more manageable projects so it is not overwhelming. Try and find solutions to your stress and take action.
10. Reduce or Eliminate Debt
Lack of money can stress anyone out. You first need to take an honest look at your situation. Write down every bill, credit card, and/or loan you own. Write down the balance of each. Figure out an amount you can pay every month and how long it will take you to pay it off. This gives you a PLAN! Stick with that plan. It's a really good feeling to know, you only have 12 more payments or 24 more payments left (and then the debt will be gone). At least you will see the debt going down. To speed the process along, take a look around and see what you no longer need? Can you sell it on eBay etc. and pay down that debt? Can you pick up a part time job? Do you have a side hustle? Those things do not have to be permanent. They can be temporary. But it will help you eliminate your debt. Eliminate debt and only keep what you need.
11. Schedule Medical Appointments
Your health should be your #1 priority. If you don't have your health, how can you help yourself or others. I got super serious about my health a couple of years ago. I started having problems. Make sure you have a primary doctor, eye doctor and see specialists as needed. Have them do blood work and test your urine. Get shots and vaccinations. Find out what is your overall health picture. Find out what you need to work on to stay healthy. This will benefit you in the long run. Also ask family members, what health issues are in your family tree. This will help you and your doctor (share it with them), what could possibly be a future problem for you. A family member of mine died from colon cancer. Last year, I had my first colonoscopy. A polyp was discovered and removed. Get mammograms, etc. These things can save your life.
12. Have Fun
Finally, I try and incorporate something FUN in my day EVERY SINGLE DAY! You need both DAILY FUN and LONG-TERM FUN plans in your life. It will give you something to look forward to. Long term fun can be a weekend trip or longer vacation. I'm looking forward to attending a concert that's coming up. There maybe a movie you can't wait to see. Write down your dreams, wishes and desires. Incorporate them into your calendar. Daily fun can be going to a restaurant with your loved one, watching a new television series, scheduling a spa treatment, decorating for a holiday, stopping for ice cream, picking up some new candles etc. The list is endless. Think of things to do that will put a SMILE on your face.