It’s Not Just Your Body That Needs Attention

This post may contain affiliate links, read my disclosure for more info. Purchasing from these links helps me create more epic blog content for you. Thank you for your support!

I love the ocean.

As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast my passion is to be in, on or under the water. The salty sea has a way of rejuvenating my psyche and putting my entire body back into balance. But all of those years of wind, waves and sweat have taken their toll on my skin and mostly my face. Quite frankly, my face has taken a beating. I’ve used sunblock of course but I still have accumulated sun damage, hyperpigmentation and dark spots. So, I decided to up my game in the anti-aging skin care arena and try some new products.

There are so many products to choose from though that I need to minimize my choices by having some personal product requirements. So, to reduce my product selection I decided on some major “must haves”. The first things I look for are products whose ingredients are ethically harvested, cruelty-free, and used and tested by dermatologists. Also they should NOT contain parabens, allergens or other potentially dangerous chemicals or microbes such as those plastic ocean polluting microbeads. I also love companies that stand behind their products with a no risk guarantee.

The Kanapa Skincare line from Xtend Life products includes all of these elements. Kanapa is a New Zealand Maori word which translates to “bright” or “glowing”, the perfect namesake for the Kanapa™ range.

Start with Cleansing

Most skin care routines, suggest that you first wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Cleansing is important for removing any skin care product or makeup that you’ve applied during the day. Cleansers also remove natural skin oils, pollutants, and bacteria that’s accumulated. Cleaning your face first means your skin care products will be able to enter your skin and work more effectively as well.

So I tried the Foaming Facial Cleanser from Kanapa which is made with manuka honey and kiwifruit from New Zealand. It has a sweet and silky consistency when applied to my skin and a fresh feeling after I wash it off. I use it in the shower as part of morning bathing ritual. Promo Code: FWOF10 – good for 10% off your order starts 8/6

Replenish your Skin

Next, I decided to add an exfoliant to replenish my skin. Our skin slows down replenishing itself as we age. Dead skin cells aren’t replaced by fresh cells as quickly, which means your skin starts to look dull and uneven. Exfoliants help get these dead cells off your skin. I avoid the physical exfoliants, such as sugar scrubs and cleansers with beads, because it makes your skin more susceptible to sagging. And instead I use the exfoliating Konjac sponge with activated charcoal.

Anti-aging Serums and Moisturizers

Even though up to 60% of the human adult body is water we still need to keep hydrated inside and out. Skin is our largest organ and adults carry around some 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) and 22 square feet (2 square meters) of it.

Our skin protects us in many ways by acting as a waterproof, insulating shield, guarding the body against extremes of temperature, damaging sunlight, and harmful chemicals. It also exudes antibacterial substances that prevent infection and manufactures vitamin D for converting calcium into healthy bones.

Still as we age, we need higher concentration of anti-aging ingredients in our skin care regime. The best ones to look out for are vitamin A derivatives known as retinoids (retinol, tretinoin, and tazarotene) and vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate). As well as increasing collagen in your skin, they also act as antioxidants to soak up the biological and environmental oxidative stress that builds up to cause aging. The Luminous Facial Serum from Kanapa has really provided me with that extra boost of hydration I needed, as well working to reduce my sun spots and rosacea. It’s lightly scented so see if you can try a sample before you buy.

I branched out and tried Luminous Day and Night Cream as well. Both are moisturizing creams that are very different from all the ones I’ve used until now. They are quickly absorbed into my face and are perfect for someone like me who is outside a lot. My skin doesn’t feel weighed down but smooth and a bit plumped up.

The feeling is not unlike a dip in the sea.

Promo Code: FWOF10 – good for 10% off your order starts 8/6

FREE US Shipping for Orders Over $60

The Top 5 SuperFoods for Increased Energy & Total Health

by Fit Women

Stop taking petroleum-chemical-based vitamin and mineral supplements and start eating these super-concentrated, nutrient-rich foods.

What are “SuperFoods”?

SuperFoods have the ability to tremendously increase your energy levels, they boost the immune system, elevate serotonin levels, enhance sexuality, and promote the cleansing, and alkalizing of the body.

Superfoods correct our imbalances and bring us back in touch with our original diets.
These foods provide our vitamin and mineral requirements and exceed all our protein, essential fatty acids and our immune system requirements and much more.

SuperFoods can Reduce your Food Cravings and Your Weight

Consuming superfoods provides the pathway to Diet-Free, effortless weight loss, increased energy levels, and beautiful skin & nails. As you eat these foods, your cravings for junk foods and sweets will also subside. But don’t worry there are lots of SuperFood dessert recipes so that you never have to feel like you are being deprived.

#1 – Cacao (Raw Chocolate)

Cacao Nibs – Raw Chocolate

Cacao has the highest antioxidant levels (10%) of any food on the planet. RAW Chocolate is healthy if it is dark with no added dairy products, milk or refined sugar. When milk and sugar are added to the mix, the super antioxidants are cancelled out. Studies indicate that dairy products specifically block the absorption of all the great antioxidants in raw chocolate!

Cacao is a rich source of anandamide (the bliss chemical). Anandamide makes us feel euphoric and happy. Raw Chocolate balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, has high magnesium levels which are great for the heart, is a natural aphrodisiac, elevates your mood and energy, and can slow your aging.

As we age, the level of neurotransmitters decreases, leading to physical rigidity, less creativity, less joy, and more aging. Cacao is a MAO inhibitor that allows more neurotransmitters to remain in the bloodstream, hence it slows your aging.

Goji Berries, a SuperFood

#2 – Goji Berries

Used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years, goji berries are regarded
as a longevity, strength-building, high potency food source. Compared to blueberries, Goji berries contain twice the amount of antioxidants as blueberries, four times the amount in red raspberries, ten times compared to grapes. They are considered as the best nutritional fruit in the world. The berries are similar to olive oil with its unique ratio of omega oils 3,6 and 9 as well as essential fatty acids.
Gram for gram, goji berries pack more vitamin C than some oranges and more beta-carotene than carrots. This superfood contains 18 kinds of amino acids, all 8 essential amino acids, up to 21 trace minerals, high amounts of antioxidants, iron, polysaccharides, B & E vitamins, and many other nutrients.

#3 Chia Seeds

Super Foods – Chia Seeds

Chia seeds contain 16% protein, 38% fiber and 31% fat, most of which is the essential omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid. These edible seeds also contain high amounts of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Originally cultivated by the Aztecs and Mayans, their warriors would carry the seeds as their food source which have twice the protein of any other seed or grain. They also contain five times the calcium that milk has, as well as boron which is trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones, omega 3 and omega 6 which are essential oils for the body.

When the seeds are dropped in water their shells open forming a gel that will absorb up to nine times its volume in water. This Chia Seed Gel is 90% soluble fiber, which helps keep your body hydrated and your digestive tract clear. The soluble fiber in the gel forms a wall between carbohydrates and the body, releasing them slowly into the body. This has been found to be very helpful for people who have trouble controlling their sugar levels like Diabetics.

The seeds won’t change the taste of food or drinks, but it increases the volume up to 75%. As the carbohydrates are released slowly you will get the feeling of being full, so many dieters use the seeds as a way to control their appetites.

Spirulina, the blue algae, super food

#4 – Spirulina and Blue-Green Algae

Spirulina, a type of blue-green algae is a wild-grown superfood, that is rich in vegetable protein, (3~4 times higher than fish or beef ), vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids, antioxidants and high volumes of gamma-Linoleic acid (which can reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease). With over 100 nutrients, and the world’s highest source of complete protein (65%), Spirulina is often described as the most complete food source in the world.

For centuries this algae has constituted a significant part of the diet of many South American & African communities. This food met all protein requirements for millions of people in Mexico for over 5,000 years.

NASA plans to grow Spirulina in it’s space station and some Japanese seniors have lived only on Spirulina and water for more than 20 years showing how good is Spirulina for the human body.

Spirulina is not a medicine, but when used as a supplementary food source, you can avoid nutrient deficiencies that will in turn give you a better chance of staying healthy and avoiding illnesses.

Eating too many animal proteins, such as beef, or pork leads to it being deposited in our body as fat. Too much fat may impact our heart and blood vessels and will cause high cholesterol levels.

A vegetable protein such as Spirulina is water soluble. If you eat too much vegetable protein, it is simply discharged by your system as waste and not stored as fat.

Spirulina is a “living food”. Use it daily to nourish and treat your skin inside and out. Add one teaspoon of Spirulina powder to your raw fruit smoothies.

Before enjoying your anti-aging healthy tonic drink, take out a couple of tablespoons and apply to your face. For best results leave on for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse off and tone and moisturize for a healthy glowing skin. Continue the treatment for three weeks and notice the difference in how you feel and look.

Raw Maca Powder – A Nutrient Rich SuperFood

#5 – Maca

Maca is in the radish, broccoli, cauliflower brassica family and is also known as Peruvian ginseng. It’s the highest altitude crop in the world, grown high in the Andes Mountains in Peru for over 2,000 years. Indigenous Peruvians have been cultivating raw maca root powder and have understood its health properties long before the Western world discovered it.

This very unique oily root vegetable is a nutrient rich superfood that contains over 10% protein, 20 fatty acids, and 20 different amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B12 and B1 & B2, vitamin C as well as many other vitamins and minerals. Maca is an adaptogen that is able to identify stress or weaknesses in our bodies endocrine system and then use healing properties to give you back your vitality and revive your system.

Raw Maca Powder contributes to our overall well-being and also contains over 55 different active phytochemicals and natural sterols. These phytochemicals are why people taking raw Maca Powder experience increased energy levels, happiness, improved libido and fertility as well as stamina.

It supports the body’s systems to reduce adrenal stress to bring our bodies back in to balance. Although maca is not a complete protein it is such a great source of hormone precursors and amino acids, that it provides many of the same effects created by a high-protein diet. Due to the high levels of naturally occurring plant sterols, It’s used by bodybuilders and athletes who want a natural alternative to anabolic steroids.

When you put this powder in to your body it works in tandem with the body’s natural rhythms to help rebuild weak immune systems, re-mineralize poorly nourished bodies, and increase energy and endurance. Maca Powder is a food and is safe to use on a regular, long-term basis. Add at least 1 tablespoon of maca root powder per day to smoothies, meals or even fruit juices to get best results. Maca Powder is non-toxic, non-addictive and has no documented side-effects.

How to Eat Superfoods

Superfoods should be consumed raw. 150 years of research has now demonstrated that living, raw food is superior in vitamin content, enzymes,co-enzymes, usable protein, usable minerals, glyconutrients, and many other elements of nutrition. Raw is how Nature provides us with food. Any superfood can be added into anyone’s diet. Simply discover what you like and eat them regularly.

Want to Get Fit? Choose the Right Fitness Plan

by Fit Women

Backsquats at boot camp

If you want to lose weight, stop doing your 5 mile runs or your hour-long treadmill sessions and replace them with high-intensity interval training or Cross Fit training instead.

One of the reasons why people continue to struggle with their weight despite engaging in regular exercise is because they’re not doing the right kind of exercise! Studies have confirmed that exercising in shorter bursts with rest periods in between burns more fat than exercising continuously for an entire session.

By doing Cross Fit or another high intensity workout, such as TRX Training, you can cut the duration of your exercise session in half and still burn fat! One study showed you can burn more fat exercising for 20 minutes than for 40 minutes. In the study, women either exercised for 20 minutes, alternating 8 seconds of sprinting on a bike with 12 seconds of exercising lightly, or exercised at a regular pace for 40 minutes. After exercising three times a week for 15 weeks, those who did the 20-minute, alternating routine lost three times as much fat as the other women.

This type of exercise works because it produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, the so called “fight-or-flight” hormones, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin and within your muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation is thought to drive the increased weight loss.

High Intensity Exercise Increases Growth Hormone Production

The higher your levels of Human growth hormone (HGH), also called “the fitness hormone”, the healthier and stronger you will be. After age 30, your levels of human HGH begin to drop off quite dramatically, this is called “somatopause and leads to the dreaded “middle age spread”. Maintaining your HGH levels is increasingly important as you age. You will experience vibrant health and strength the longer you can keep your body producing higher levels of HGH.

You must engage your super fast muscle fibers in order to naturally increase your body’s production of HGH. Regular aerobic cardio such as running only works your slow muscle fibers, and can impede natural HGH production by causing your super fast fibers to atrophy from lack of use. Only high-intensity power burst cardio training, such as Cross Fit exercises, TRX Training or others, will engage your super fast fibers and promote HGH production.

The Benefits of Strength Training

Women tend to avoid exercises that will increase muscle mass, but carrying more muscle has many health benefits, including:
• Improved blood circulation
• Increased metabolism
• Increased bone density
• Increased energy
• Decreased body fat
• Improved posture
• Increased range of motion
• Increased body functions

Strength training is recommended for women of all ages, including seniors. Retaining your skeletal muscles is one of the most critical elements of human fitness to keep you strong, functional and healthy. Your muscles also help regulate glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, which protect you against obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Cross Fit and high-intensity interval training which have intense speed and power exercises trigger a mechanism in your muscles that actually promotes muscle growth.

TRX Suspension Training – Total Body Workout

Exercise Slows Down Your Aging

Exercise also has other anti-aging benefits such as it can prevent or delay the onset of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and osteoporosis, which are all common ailments associated with advancing age.

Also, if you can control the aging process inside your cells, as one anti-aging theory suggests, you should be able to control your rate of aging. Telomeres are part of your chromosomes which are inside each of your body’s cells. When your cells divide, these telomeres shorten and when they get to a certain level you will die of old age.

Exercise can not affect the telomere shortening process, but it can be accelerated by an unhealthy lifestyle. Exercise plays an important part in the prevention of aging. So, lack of exercise, obesity, stress, and smoking, all cause production of free radicals that speed up cells splitting and the telomere shortening process.

Need more ideas for Cooking Healthy Meals, then check out: The Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook The Healthy Urban Kitchen is a simple, step by step system for shopping, cooking and eating the world’s healthiest foods. It was created for busy people who want to improve health, have more energy, and prevent disease.

The End of Overeating: Sugar, Fat & Salt

by Fit Women

The End of Overeating: Sugar, Fat & Salt
A Book Review

There is a new book out called: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, MD

David Kessler is a former FDA commissioner who reinvented the food label and tackled the tobacco industry, and now has taken on the food industry. He explains how the food industry has hijacked our brains into overeating when we consume foods that contain sugar, fat & salt. He goes on to say that since the 1980’s the food industry has created products that stimulate our appetites into a cycle of desire and over consumption. He explains why its difficult for people to resist certain foods and why its so easy to over consume.

Millions of people struggling with weight loss, are having their brains manipulated by everything from brand advertisers to fast food super sizes, to chain restaurant foods filled with sugar, fats and salt.

He says that the food industry has been remarkably successful at designing foods to capture the attention of people who have lost control of their eating habits and are totally at the mercy of food. Food designers, food manufacturers and restaurants all understand that sugar, fat & salt added to foods makes a juicy meal that many people simply can’t resist. There’s not a short of people who lack control around such targeted foods and not all of them are overweight. Many people don’t have eating disorders that we’ve all heard about, but for a lot of these people food and eating and over indulging is never far from their minds.

For thousands of years, our bodies were the perfect biological systems, then in the 1980’s, something happened. A senior researcher at the Center for Disease Control noticed an alarming trend. She found through a government survey on health and nutritional status that the number of people who were overweight had spiked dramatically. What had caused this phenomenon? Well by the 1980’s we had larger portion sizes, more chain restaurants, and convienence stores and a culture that promoted going out to eat. But he says that still didn’t answer the question of why we overeat?

Those people that can’t stop eating literally spend billions of dollars a year trying to find a cure to their weight loss. Those in search of a weight loss formula are wasting most of their money for a short weight loss cure that they hope will last. We all know that it basicly comes down to people get fat because they eat more than people who are lean. Apparently some people are still denying this or are confused about it, but we have strong evidence to prove that this is true.

Here is what the food industry knows and doesn’t tell you. “Higher sugar, fat, and salt make you want to eat more”, says a high-level food industry executive who didn’t want to be named. They make it indulgent and hedonistic so that it has a high pleasure value. Restaurants where Americans spend 50% of their food dollars have introduced countless new foods with high hedonistic values. Everything from Potato skins to Cheese fries, a high fat food with more fat layered on top of it, to Buffalo wings, the fatty part of chicken which are then deep fried and served with a sweet dipping sauce that’s heavily salted. Chicken tenders are the worst because I know many Mom’s gives their kids these “unidentified fried object”, loaded with batter and fat and then fried with salt and sugar added. And the list goes on and on.

Dr. Kessler observes that the food industry is “the manipulator of the consumers’ minds and desires.”

To order this book: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, MD

I am a grandma & everyone thinks I am her mom instead…

by Fit Women

Danielle’s fabulous story of courage and transformation….

“I gained weight after being in an abusive marriage. .I turned to food 4 comfort…I went to the doctor& they said I was morbidly obese & knew I had to take my life back for my kids..I had 2 little ones..got divorced & lost the weight..went from size 18 to a zero & have kept it off for 16 yrs..I am a fitness instructor/ personal trainer & nutritionist so I can help change people lives..I love what I do..I am a grandma & everyone thinks I am her mom instead..

I am truly blessed.”
– Danielle Dungen

Why You Should Start Your Fat Loss Regime with a Colon Cleanse

by Fit Women

Add a Colon Cleanse to your New Years Checklist

Like many people at the New Year, I’ll bet some of your goals include: lose weight, burn fat, get fit, get stronger or any number of things.

Well I would add to that list, Do a Colon Cleanse and here’s why. Since about 80 percent of your immune system is located in your gut, Taking special care of your gut promotes overall well-being.

Weight gain and over-toxicity is on the rise and so the trend to detoxification is growing in popularity. In our modern times, our body accumulates more toxins than its natural detoxification system (your liver, kidneys and lungs) can eliminate. Chemicals from pesticides on our foods, chlorine in our drinking water, and carbon monoxide from car exhaust build up over time and cause disease.

People are ideally supposed to have one or two bowel movements a day, but many people go two or three days between eliminations. The normal pathway for toxins to move out of the body is through the liver, which converts harmful chemicals into water-soluble molecules that can be flushed out in the urine or feces. If there’s a delay in elimination, however, those toxins remain in your system longer.

Detoxing your gut with a colon cleanse will remove these unwanted toxins from your system. People with excess weight carry tons of impacted fecal matter in their colon. This fecal matter is rotting away and leeching toxins into the blood stream and can become a precursor to illness. Doing a colon cleanse is simple and painless and helps to flush out the waste in a fast and hygienic way.

Oh by the way, like most things Detoxing does have its side effects. A Colon Cleanse will make your skin glow, give you a natural weight loss quickly, make your eyes white, and make you feel young again..need we say more..

Be careful in what kind of cleanse you chose. I have personally started a Colon Cleanse with a company called Blessed Herbs. A friend recommended this cleanse to me after she successfully completed her 9 day detox program. This cleanse removes something called Mucoid Plaque, which builds up after years of eating on the walls of our intestines. This plaque greatly lowers our ability to absorb nutrition and makes our bodies much more toxic.

This cleanse has 3 different levels for you to choose. I chose the Best Option which is a liquids-only five day intensive colon cleanse, intended to remove as much of this plaque as possible.

The herbs is the cleanse include: Digestive Stimulator™: Cape Aloe leaf, Aloe Vera leaf , Cascara Sagrada bark, Triphala† (Amla fruit, Chebulic Myrobalan fruit, Belleric Myrobalan fruit), Chinese Rhubarb root†, Barberry root, Dandelion root†, Fringe Tree root bark, Meadowsweet aerial parts†, English Plantain aerial parts†, Ginger root†, Fennel seed†, Peppermint leaf†, Fenugreek seed† and Licorice root†

Toxin Absorber™: Psyllium seed husks†, Bentonite Clay, Apple pectin, Ginger root† or Peppermint leaf†

Blessed Herbs has been a family owned and operated medicinal herb business in Massachusetts since 1985. They only work with wildcrafters and organic growers who they personally know and who harvest from pollution free areas at the height of their potency and with regards to continuing a sustainable balanced ecology. Their certified organic growers farm without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides and take care to cultivate their soil.

SAVE 25% off all BLESSED HERBS Products: Use Coupon Code 2013 – Expires 1/15/2013

Here is a quote from there website; “Why choose Blessed Herbs detoxification programs? We’ve been a trusted herbal resource for over 25 years. In a world of online hype, anyone can form a company overnight, employ some slick marketing techniques, and masquerade as a legitimate company. Beware the “snake oil” salesmen.” This is so true, be careful what you buy and what you put into your body that might be masquerading as any kind of program.
Healthy living starts with a healthy diet, and exercise and then with consistent action towards total mind-body wellness.

[ As a disclaimer: In regards to Blessed Herbs, I have become an affiliate for them which means, when you click through and buy any of their products, I receive a small percentage of the sale. This payment allows me to keep writing this blog and articles such as these and it also makes us all aware of good independent companies who can give us the wonderful variety of sourced local products that we desire. In addition, I only promote products or companies, that I have personally used. ]