How to Look Younger Longer

How Can You Look Younger?

The question has been asked since ancient times and has sent people all over the world in search of an answer.  Is there really a fountain of youth somewhere?

Alas, no.

While plastic surgery, Botox™, and various other sciences are rapidly increasing in popularity, these are often just quick fixes to a much larger underlying problem.  Poor diet, little exercise, and too much stress are just a few of things that can speed up the aging process, causing lines, wrinkles and sags to appear much sooner than expected. 

Fortunately, there are some easy solutions.

If you take the time and effort to care for your body like the temple it is, you’ll not only retain your youthful face and figure longer, you’ll save time, money, and effort later trying to reverse years of neglect.  And most of them won’t cost you any more than you’re spending in these areas right now.

1.    Eat a Healthy Diet

Yes, I know.  You’re tired of hearing about it.

But in the United States, 65% of all adults are overweight.  That means that two out of every three people weigh more than their bodies can comfortably carry, and it’s translating into BIG business for the health care industry.  Diabetes, heart disease, and joint complaints are on the rise as bodies begin to malfunction and breakdown, unable to cope with the added load.

While there are lots of reasons why good nutrition falls by the wayside, including hectic schedules and emotional eating, it all boils down to one thing:  if you won’t take responsibility for what you eat, it WILL come back to haunt you.

If you want to trim down, have more energy, be more alert, look younger, and stay out of the doctor’s office except for routine visits, skip the drive thru and head straight to the grocery store to pick up the basics:  meat, dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables.  Eat them in their simplest, non-processed form, and stay away from the fast foods that are quick and easy in the short run but deadly on your body long term.
Popular healthy-approach meal plans that promote the five food groups include:

*“Suzanne Somers’ Fast and Easy:  Lose Weight the Somersize Way with Quick, Delicious Meals for the Entire Family!” by Suzanne Somers.

http://www.dianaprefers.com/books/deliciousmeals.html

*“The South Beach Diet” by Arthur Agatston

http://www.dianaprefers.com/books/southbeach.html 

 2.   Exercise

Another simple way to keep your body fit, your mind sharp, and your appearance more youthful is to do aerobic (enhanced respiratory) and/or anaerobic (non-aerobic) exercise three to four times a week.

If your knee-jerk reaction to this is, “I don’t have time!” then you’re missing the point. No exercise causes the body to loose mass and muscle tone, which leads to sagging and jiggling – adjectives usually used to describe middle-aged or older people.  If you tone those arms, tummy and fanny and slip them into some form-fitting clothes, you’ll not only turn heads, you’ll look younger than you are.

So how do you get started?

If the gym scene just isn’t for you, think back to the activities you enjoyed as a kid and strive to make them part of your life again. Whether it’s roller-skating, swimming, riding a bike, horse, or surfboard, you’ll need to ease back into it if it’s been a while.  But the re-mastery will come much faster than before, and you’ll be delighted at how quickly you can reshape yourself.  You’ll also notice how much sharper your mind will become as you get your blood pumping, your heart rate up, and your body re-oxygenated. 

3.   Get Sufficient Sleep

This is a toughie for anyone who has small children in the house, myself included.  But frequent sleep deprivation can dull the mind, age the body, and ravage the face.  It can also lead to injury or death from falling asleep behind the wheel or responding too slowly when using dangerous equipment.  So yes, you really do need your beauty sleep.

The National Institute of Heath recommends 7 to 8 hours every night for adults.  To help ease into slumber, remember to:

    *Go to bed and get up around the same time every day
    *Avoid caffeine within 4 hours before bed
    *Avoid eating heavily 3 hours before bed
    *Avoid aerobic exercise within 3 hours before bed

If you suffer from a sleeping disorder such as insomnia or sleep apnea, consult your doctor. Also, if your mattress in more than 10 years old, or if you typically wake up with back, neck, or foot pain, it’s time for a new mattress. 

4.   Kick the Habit

A smoker I know once described her pack of cigarettes as, “Twenty friends I can always count on to be there.”  Unfortunately, these “friends” come at a price.  And not just the money it takes to buy them, which is pretty steep these days. No, besides the health risks, lingering smell, and constant fire hazard, smoking shrinks the capillaries of the skin, creating “smoker’s face” – the dull, puffy complexion that suddenly appears about a dozen years after someone starts smoking.  Not only does it make the skin look unhealthy, it also makes it look at least ten years older than it is.

If you’re a smoker and want to quit, check with your doctor to see what options might be best for you.

5.   Stay Out of The Sun

What one thing can speed aging the fastest of any on the list?  Sunbathing! 

A hundred years ago, skin untainted by sun was a sign up the upper class.  Only laborers toiled outside during the heat of the day and had the sun-baked skin to prove it.  That all changed in the 1920′s when Coco Chanel, the media darling of the time, stepped of a yacht in the South of France sporting a golden tan.  Suddenly, tans became a status symbol, for whom but the leisure class had nothing better to do with their time than sit around, basking in the sun?

Unfortunately, this status symbol, like the “hip and cool” image once associated with cigarettes, has come at a heavy price.  In addition to the health issues caused by tanning, like cancer, burns, and heat stroke, tanning ages the skin quickly.

So be liberal with the sunscreen anytime you head outdoors.  If you want a tan, hit the salon for a sprayed-on version, or try many of the self-tanning products available on the market. It’s a little messy until you get the hang of it, but the savings to your skin is worth the effort.

Yes, you CAN ward off the signs of aging by treating your body with a little TLC.  If you eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of rest, don’t smoke, and stay out of the sun, you will look younger longer.

Need some other ideas for maintaining a youthful appearance?  Download a copy of the AGELESS STYLE seminar at:

http://www.fashionforrealwomen.com/ageless

to see how easy looking great at any age can be.

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Diana Pemberton-Sikes is a wardrobe and image consultant and author of “Wardrobe Magic,” an ebook that shows women how to transform their unruly closets into workable, wearable wardrobes. Visit her online at www.fashionforrealwomen.com .

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