It’s the fall right now but winter is around the corner in New England.  We will go from balmy and 70 degrees one day to dry and 30 degrees the next.  When that happens, the first thing on your body to “complain” is your skin.

I’m going to let you in on a secret:  my skin is a source of stress for me.  There is very little in my life that bothers me quite like my skin does.  Now you know I am going to tell you it is all my fault—because I am my own worst enemy.  So I am a sun lover for sure!  Nothing I love more than lying out in the sun…in Aruba…on the equator…with oil on me…and a meat thermometer to make sure I’m not overcooked. Hehe.

Yeah, I know, read me the riot act.  But I am now paying for my over indulgence of the big fireball in the sky with age spots.  Now truth be told, it could be worse.  I could have a whole host of things cropping up left and right for as much as I abused the gift of the sun, but I do not because of my insatiable love of omega 3 fatty acids.  Besides keeping my wrinkles at bay and smoothing out the texture of my skin, EFAs provide the structure necessary for skin with “snap”.  You know, non saggy skin.  So let’s get right into it and talk about what you might be going through this winter:

Dry skin:

Ignoring the fact that you want to shower with molten lava and wash your skin with heavily perfumed soap, you may find that no matter what you do you cannot rid yourself of dry skin.  The first place to look is your diet.  Are you hydrated and are you eating fats?  You want to have at least ¾ of a gallon of water per day and at least 3 to 5 servings of a good omega 3 rich fat source preferably in the form of an oil.  A long time ago I was told by a well known naturopath that you should have as much oil as you can tolerate that leaves your skin moistened after coming out of the shower.  I can tell you right now, none of y’all will try that, so let me ease your burden a bit with this recommendation:  if one serving of good fat per day does not help, add a ½ serving per day until it does.  Give it as much as a week to kick in before going up in the fat and cut a little bit of something else out during the day to make up for the extra cals.

Greasy skin:

You have a sweet tooth, girl.  Knock it off.  Too much sugar and fat helps the body to form a layer on the skin that is shiny.  If you replace those sweets with EFAs, you will fair much better.  Feel free to share those sweets with the rest of us so we may help you to move on from your bad habit.  Hopefully it was brownies you were eating…I’m just sayin.

Bumpy skin:

Increase the amount of orange foods in your diet (Vit A) and ease off the dairy a bit.  These occur more as an allergy to a food and typically dairy is the chief offender.  I know you love your greek yogurt, but 2 in a day is a bit much.  Let’s diversify a bit, shall we?

Acne prone skin:

Just like the greasy skin, walk away from the processed fats and the refined sugar.  They are killing you.  A clean diet with adequate hydration should begin to give you some relief although it is not always the full answer.  Also, a vitamin deficiency will also cause your acne to come out more and you know how I feel about vitamins so this should already be handled! [giving you a hairy eyeball]  If you are an athlete, or as active as one, you will not get all that you need from food alone and then your body begins to give you a hard time.  Listen to it when it talks to you, it knows more than you do.;o)

Nutritionally there is more to it than just EFAs if you want to survive a rough winter.  Vitamin E, Vitamin C, zinc, Vitamin A and selenium all aid in keeping your skin soft and healthy and are abundant in a clean, varied diet.  If you can venture out of your zone and eat more than just the same two veggies and one fruit that you eat every day, you should be well ahead of the game.  Another thing to note is, all those vitamins and minerals also do well for you topically.  So if you can find a good moisturizer with any of those added, grab it.  The more back up you can provide your skin with, the better.

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It is a rarity nowadays to speak to any woman who isn’t on some sort of diet.  Low carb, no carb, South Beach, cookie, Blood Type—you name it, they’re on it!  There is no shortage of deprivation and suffering amongst us women!  But there is a very serious shortage of information out there of how to diet to be beautiful.  Face it, when you get to the end of your diet, don’t you want to look good, too?

I have dieted many women in my short 15 year career.  I honestly can put that number in the thousands and still be very accurate.   Over the years I have seen more and more of a sense of desperation among woman:  an “At all cost” approach to dieting.  It really disturbs me simply because when you get to that stage your sense of judgment goes out the window.  When did this become so prevalent?

I don’t know about you but when I reach my diet destination, not only do I want to be the size I desire to be, but I also want to be healthy and beautiful at the same time.  Dieting, however, is not very healthy and you are lucky if you come out of it without a major case of wrinkles, loose skin and brittle hair–or even worse, hormone issues.   What’s missing in our diet adventures that causes us to look like a vagabond when we declare “scale victory”?  I would have to say attention to detail.

The foods you choose (or do not choose) can have more of an impact on your diet experience than the actual diet itself.  I hear so many people going back and forth over carbohydrates and whether they should have grains vs. potatoes but that has so little to do with you looking hot at the end.  And let’s be honest here, how many women really want to suffer through a diet only to come out haggard and beastly?  Why bother?  I would much rather be fat, happy and gorgeous then skinny, deprived and wretched!  Heck—if that was my only choice I would say bring on the Krispy Kreme!  Hair must be shiny, skin has to be dewy, nails long and healthy—and my cycle better be regular! 

I will be talking about this A LOT!  So many foods to cover, so many diets to pick apart…all with one thing in common:  beauty!  You need to look good mama!  And looking good is not about facial features or the prettiest girl in the classroom.  Beauty is about health—inside and out.  Hormones that work properly so that your hair, skin and nails shine;  healthy teeth and bones so they last a long time; make up that compliments your skin and preserves the environment.   Ladies, it’s time to get fit AND gorgeous!!  WOOP WOOP!

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