exceeding the feed limit week 6

Right, so we've tackled hair

Onto the next part of our body

Our face..

Now there's quite a lot going on here so in this post we're just going to concentrate on the skin. Obviously, this can then be related to the rest of our bodies but the balance of our facial skin is slightly different so there will be some differences too!

Here are my 10 foods to look for, for skin the oozes natural beauty:

Tomatoes:

The humble tomato contains an essential nutrient for healthy skin called Lycopene. This is what makes tomatoes and other red/orange pigmented foods pigmented! Its essential to lowering activity of the acne causing hormone and preventing outbreaks. They're also good antioxidants which have tonnes of health benefits as well as protecting skin from UV damage a major contributor to skin ageing. Try to eat tomato based foods at least 5 times a week to see benefits in skin.

Berries:

Deeply coloured berries such as strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are all full of anti oxidants. Great for fighting cancers such as skin cancer. And also great for detoxing body giving your skin a more healthy and natural glow. Try to make one of your 5-7 portions of fruit and veg a day a portion of berries, whether its through a smoothie or bitty yoghurt or the actual berries themselves.

Green Tea:

Green Tea, is awesome for you're health! It also lowers activity of acne producing hormone called Dihydrotestosterone and antioxidants making skin appear younger and healthier - "that natural glow" I have read that to see the best results you should drink 3-5 cups a day which is a lot! especially if you don't like the stuff! But I recommend any amount you can stomach is better than nothing as it is really good stuff throughout you're body and personally, I quite like the taste!

Fatty Acids:

Fatty Acids can be found in salmon, walnuts, canola oil and flaxseed. Fatty Acids are used in our body to produce cell membranes. Cell membranes are made from fluid and increase your skins ability to hold moisture making skin appear plumper, younger and softer. Also help fight cardiovascular damage and disease which can have side effects for your skin.**

Brown Rice:

Yet another food you can't go wrong with it. Include it in your healthy diet and if you don't see improvements in your skin, it'll be doing something positive somewhere else I promise. Brown rice contains Ceramide which is present if you look on the ingredients on back of many skin products. It basically improves skins ability to hold moisture making it appear plumper and healthier.

Low Fat Dairy:

Unfortunately low fat dairy is going to crop up in lots of these "healthy diet posts". There is just no escaping from how good it is for you i'm afraid. Dairy contains vitamin A which is an essential vitamin for looking after you're skin and making it less susceptible to certain things such as UV damage and has even been show to reduce the long term consequences of skin damage after it has occurred. Also bacteria in low fat yoghurt promotes healthy digestion which has positive benefits on the skin**

Whole-Grain:

Love your white carbs? Swap it for the whole-grain version and you'll instantly be on a whole new road to health. Yes there is a slightly different texture and taste, but its not a bad one! Whole grain foods are actually good for you in balance and fill you up for longer. In terms of you're skin they contain a mineral called selenium. selenium encourages healthy skin cells which will have a greater chance of fighting skin damage such as sunburn and skin cancer.

Fish:

It's back again... Yes, much to my disappointment there is no hiding from how good fish is for you either. A diet high in fish and seafood prevents the formation of wrinkles (start protecting your skin from wrinkles now and you'll thank yourself in 60 years time) and omega 3 helps prevent acne. To get best benefits each fish 3-5 times or a week.

Or for all you haters fish supplements  may be the way to go.

Extra virgin olive oil:

Oil is probably in our diet more than we think, or certainly more than we'd like to think however, I feel people automatically see it as a bad thing. Oil is a form of fat which of course is high in calories and therefore, should be consumed in balance however, some fats are good for you and are definitely needed for a healthy and balanced diet. That is why you should swap the oil you currently use for the healthy version extra virgin olive oil. Many oils are boiled to high temperatures in the production stages which changes the nature of the fat and many of the useful nutrients are lost where as, this oil is kept at low temps. and is actually good for you! But it is only good for you in the right proportions! Limit yourself to 2 tablespoons a day.

Water:

Last and by  no means least we have the very humble water. A ridiculous % of our body is made up of water and if we look at how much non-water parts of our body we can see that % must represent a whole lot of mass! There is no better way to hydrate your skin than by drinking water and once your skin is hydrated all the other benefits start to come through. There is no recommended amount of water as it varies person to person but if you're skin is very dry you need more than the average person as you're skin is already not getting all the hydration it needs.

So, yet another successful head-to-toe nutrition assessment. At the moment don't get to hung up on trying to change you're diet but maybe if you are reaching for a snack you can be a little bit more analytical about what you chose. Please remember this post are from my own knowledge and research I am no expert and you must take into account you're own dietary requirements when reading my rambles.

Just a little  note, the ** I used on some foods was because sometimes certain foods help other parts of the body which in turn help your skin. Some beauty therapists can break your skin down into sections called skin mapping and allocate one section of skin to a particular part of you're body. If you typically get blemishes or bad skin in a particular area it good link to mis treatment of a part of your body internally as the consequences of bad health internally can be excreted through your facial skin. So pay attention to the following posts and there may still be other nutrition advice which will have a knock on effect onto healthier skin!!? 

Happy dieting 

Peace and Love!

xO

Exceeding the feed limit week 4...

This weeks diet principle:
Define your health from head-to-toe

Before, you even start thinking about weight and calories we need to consider what we need to include in our diet to be healthy head-to-toe. This is a long process that involves researching the required nutrients for optimum health for every component of your body. Yes, it takes forever! But once it's done, it's done for life, and i'm going to be doing it every Monday for you anyway.

 what is the point? 

Through doing this you'll be instantly improving you're health and outside appearance. Many people who diet to lose weight often see a deterioration in their natural beauty because through cutting calories you cut vital nutrients from your diet meaning; yes, you may look skinny but rather haggard too. You can't beat mother nature and these natural changes to your diet could be the secret solution to clearer skin or shinier hair you've always been looking for, giving a massive boost to your confidence. Also eating more good quality food could make your body more efficient at processing food resulting in your actually losing weight by actually eating more!? Without building the foundations to a house, it would fall down therefore, before we can start thinking about shedding the pounds we need to understand what a good diet looks like. And yes, it's long but i'm pretty much doing all the hard work for you..

See below for the first set of nutrient rules for the head of head-to-toe health.

peace and love, Wings ox

Disclaimer: I do not own this picture!

Exceeding the Feed limit...

Not going to rant but heres a great example how the media's messing with people's minds...

 Bridget Jones once said 

"my legs only come up to here and yes, I will always be a little bit fat." 

Now, that's a women we should look up to. 

Thing is i'm no better than anyone else, when I was depressed I constantly compared my body  to other girls when really all I needed to do was stop trying to be them and try a little harder to be myself. 

It's actually much easier. 

Diets invented by some schmuck a million miles round the world from you are tailored to their lives and their way of thinking so why on earth they think they are going to work on anybody else is a mystery to me. I'm not a great meat eater, so i'm definitely going to manage to quit all my eating habits consuming  large amounts of something I don't really like a shed ten pounds at the same time

(no offence Mr Atkinson man)

 Anyhow what i'm trying to say is fad diets don't work.

My inner nerd tells me to think of everyones body like an equation;

optimum diet + optimum fitness = optimum health.

And this is what diets should really be about, how healthy you are. So naturally, i've decided to go on a diet to improve my health. In order to do this i'm going to create a set of principles which I will explain and evaluate in a series of blogposts which you can personalise for yourself. Forget calorie counting and emotional goodbyes with the food you love, this is about reading your bodies signals and getting healthy the way it wants you to. 

So, first principle to learn:

Health is defined as ones general physical, social and psychological wellbeing.

Stop thinking about what you're eating and start thinking what its doing to your body. You may believe that being paper thin is what will make you happy but actually its how your lifestyle affects your psychological health that is responsible.  

Ps. I'm not having a go at towie (i'm an essex gal myself)