2020 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
HOW SMALL CHANGES CAN LEAD TO BIG DIFFERENCE
If you are a reader of our blog, it should be evident by now that when it comes to the appearance of your body and skin, overall health and wellness cannot be ignored.We often highlight the steps you should take to consistently eliminate acne and pimples, and deep dive into my personal story and issues I had with my skin, but I wanted to write down the small ways I have made changes to my busy, often stressful lifestyle that I will continue to do in 2020, which have in turn massively affected my skin and even outlook on life.In a way, it is a New Year’s Resolution list with a twist:
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 1: If you must eat sugar, eat it after your largest meal to avoid blood sugar spikes and continuous cravings
SNACKS AND DESSERT
I love chocolate, so forgoing dessert was never really an option for me. What I have personally found though is eating a piece of chocolate or cake straight after my meal left me satisfied that I’d had my treat and didn’t leave me wanting more an hour later or snacks until my next meal.
There is different research published when it comes to snacking (I consider eating dessert a while after I’ve finished my meal snacking). Some say it’s good for the metabolism and others disagree. I personally find snacking leads to mindless eating and acts as a stress reliever so I tend to avoid it.
If like me you don’t want to say bye to desserts, try eating them directly after your largest meal of the day (lunch or dinner – for me it varies on what I’ve got going on that day).
This way the spike in blood sugar levels from the sugar is stabilized by the nutrients in the meal you have just consumed, leading to less of a spike in glucose that leads to less cravings in general. It’s a small change, but made a huge difference to the amount of sweets I craved and ate during the day.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 2: Don’t eat an hour before, During, and half an hour After a flight
At a high altitude your digestive system slows down, putting more stress on your body to digest food properly.
Its far better to either consume a liquid diet of smoothies or shakes than solids when flying, but aim for just water. Planes dehydrate the skin also, so anything you can put on your skin or in your mouth that is light and hydrating is optimal.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 3: Walking 30 minutes a day for Detox and Skin Health (plus a load of other vital benefits, but we’re being vain here)
I am naturally quite lethargic and don’t like going to the gym – which is why I walk.
The number one aspect that helped me commit to moving my body at least 30 minutes EVERY DAY was understanding the difference between two of the most important circulatory systems in our body (and I hope the below inspires you too):
The Cardiovascular System vs the Lymphatic system
The Cardiovascular System transports oxygen, blood cells, water and nutrients around the body to cells AND transports and removes waste. The cardiovascular system also protects the body from infection and distributes heat accordingly.
The Lymphatic System is critical to our body's ability to drain fluids, detoxify, regenerate tissues, filter out toxins and foreign substances, and maintain a healthy immune system.
Both vital right?
The main difference is that the Cardiovascular System does all the work for you, carrying blood towards and away from the heart automatically.
Your Lymphatic System doesn’t work properly unless you move.
Help your body out by committing to moving a little bit EACH day and you won’t believe the detoxifying, circulatory and health benefits you will be able to SEE on your skin in a few weeks’ time. More vigorous exercise is obviously optimal, but if you can’t do that then at least do something each day.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 4: COOK YOUR OWN FOOD
Know the quality and source of your food. Be aware of what you are putting inside your body and create and eat with love and care.
‘Let food by thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food’ – Hippocrates
NEW YEARS RESOLUTION 5: WATER QUALITY
Invest in a good water filter.
There are hundreds of studies out there that show how water molecules work within our body. We are made of 70% water. It is why our supplements focus so strongly around working with water (for quality, absorption and potency reasons).
My favorite story when it comes to water quality comes from a pseudoscientist called Masaru Emoto:
Emoto said that water was a "blueprint for our reality" and that emotional "energies" and "vibrations" could change the physical structure of water.
Emoto made the claim that water exposed to positive speech and thoughts would result in visually pleasing crystals being formed when that water was frozen and that negative intention would yield ugly frozen crystal formations.
Emoto held that different water sources would produce different crystalline structures when frozen. For example, he held that a water sample from a mountain stream when frozen would show structures of beautifully shaped geometric design, but those structures would be distorted and randomly formed if the sample were taken from a polluted water source.
(Source: Wikipedia and his book The Hidden Messages in Water )
I hope your 2020 is positive, happy and full of small but consistent changes. Happy New Year.
