We don’t want to grow old, right?
Well, maybe we do.
I am in my forties now. How did that happen?! I still think of myself as in my twenties and then I look in the mirror. 😉
On the other hand, I’m grateful that I’m as old as I am, and that I have the experiences and maturing to prove it. Life is really good these days and I feel like I’ve finally grown up in many ways. Ways that only aging and maturity can do.
That doesn’t mean I want to look old, though. I want to age gracefully and I want to keep youthful features as long as I can possibly can… call me vain. 🙂
So, this is actually something I have intentionally worked on for the last couple years.
It started about two years ago when I noticed my skin was looking old, the grey hairs were popping out, and things like that.
I don’t mind having a few silvers. I just don’t want to look rundown and greyed out. In my opinion, we can be old and mature and still glow with youthfulness. I’m not asking to be a teenager again, I’m asking to be a happy, appealing, youthful mature woman.
Does that make sense? What about you?
I want to make sure everyone understands that this goes way deeper than vanity. It goes to our hearts, and who we are in the Lord, and the work of our hands that God has given us to do, and our relationships, and the way we love those in our care! If we are happier and healthier, we can better fulfill our purpose on this earth.
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Video from Periscope
I recorded this podcast live on Periscope last week and here’s the video from that! It’s just like the audio file above, except you can see it, too. 🙂
Want to join the fun of the live recording? Follow me on Facebook or @TradCookSchool on Periscope. I hop on to record most Thursdays!
8 Ways To Look & Feel Younger {& Happier}!
These are the 8 ways to look and feel younger… and happier! This is a brief summary; for the full version of each, watch the video above or listen to the podcast.
1. Make an effort each day.
This has to do with personal hygiene and taking care of ourselves. Get dressed for the day. Make an effort to be appealing to our spouse, especially, but also just for yourself!
If you like makeup, wear it!
If you don’t like makeup, don’t!
What about perfume? Here’s how to make your own essential oil perfume.
Here are some makeup companies I like:
It’s not important what you do, but that you make an effort. Even a little makes you feel pretty — and others around you can see it, too.
2. Smile More! Stress Less!
Attitude is half the battle, right? So let’s smile and laugh and get any chips off our shoulders.
If we are happier, those around us get happier.
In addition, stress can mess up hormones, disrupt sleep, and make other people around us harder to deal with.
“A soft answer turns away wrath” as the Bible says.
3. Sleep More and Better
I highly recommend this book: “Sleep Smarter: 21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way To a Better body, Better Health, and Bigger Success” by Shawn Stevenson.
Shawn was a guest on my podcast here. It’s a great listen!
Some quotes from Shawn’s book:
“Studies have shown that just one night of sleep deprivation can make you as insulin resistant as a type-2 diabetic. This translates directly to aging faster, decreased libido, and storing more body fat than you want to.”
“Other studies show sleep deprivation encouraging cancer, Alzheimer’s, depress, and even heart disease.”
“When you don’t sleep well, you get slower, less creative, more stressed, and underperform.”
“High quality sleep fortifies your immune system, balances your hormones, boosts your metabolism, increases physical energy, and improved the function of your brain.”
Need a better bed? Here’s the non-toxic like-sleeping-on-a-cloud bed we use and LOVE –> Intellibed.
4. Drink Water — Stay Hydrated!
We wake up dehydrated, so the most important drink you’ll take is first thing in the morning.
Hydration keeps you regular, alert, your skin healthy.
When you feel hungry, you might well be thirsty.
If you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.
5. Consume Foods To Support Connective Tissue
Although women have special hormone issues, I can’t address those.
This information is for the general health of your connective tissue. Why connective tissue? We need it to stay supple and springy so that our skin will stay tight and smooth (rather than sag). Cellulite, stretch marks, whether or not you bounce back from pregnancy — it’s all related to connective tissue.
Do these things:
- Get serious about nutrient-dense foods and cut out the empty calories.
- Focus on gelatin and collagen-rich foods and nutrients, like broth, the building blocks of collagen (amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants).
- Eat plenty of protein, to build your muscles and keep them healthy.
- Reduce sugar and starch.
- Stay hydrated.
- Focus on gut health — because it’s the key to overall health (hormonal issues, skin issues, allergies, etc.).
If gut healing is on your radar, be sure to get signed up for the FREE Heal Your Gut online conference coming up soon!
Also check out these excellent books regarding connective tissue:
- Primal Moms Look Good Naked by Peggy Emch
- The Gelatin Secret by Sylvie McCracken (podcast 72 and 73)
6. Maintain Good Posture
If you sit straight and stand straight, your health and breathing are better, your core muscles are stronger, plus you appear more confident and happy. You’re more attractive and appealing overall.
So, stand up straight. Engage your core muscles. Look into an ab ball. Use a standing desk. Don’t lean on the counter or walls; use your body (especially core strength) to hold you up.
7. Move More!
Even 15 minutes of exercise a day can make a huge difference in your health and how you feel about yourself. You can also lose weight and inches in not very much time.
Look into T-Tapp, google tabata routines, do body squats, go for a walk…
8. Work On Something
Choose something to work on to improve yourself. It can be anything! Professional, personal, your character, your spiritual life.
Don’t stay stagnant. Engage your mind, body, and/or spirit in the pursuit of something that interests you (or will be good for you).
Helpful Links
The links are all above in the text. 🙂
iTunes
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Anything to Add?
I would love to hear from you! Do you have questions for me, or comments about anything shared in this episode?
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My broth did not gel. Do you know how to add gelatin to the broth for a recipe. I am making stroganoff.
This is the first podcast I’ve watched. It was so good. I will be sure to look up more! Thank you.
When you mentioned standing desk, I recalled I saw this in the news the other day: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/personal-tech/alternative+pricey+stand+desks/11650098/story.html?__lsa=dca5-2e3c
When you spoke of the Intellibed I recalled I had checked one out years ago. I need to do something now. Thank you again.
Laura
Laura — Thanks for sharing the article. 🙂
I’m glad you’re looking into the Intellibed again — it’s great!
I love the way you put this: “I think we can be old and mature and still glow with youthfulness.”
All good points to continually keep in mind. I don’t wear makeup, but #1 is definitely something I could do better at. Coincidentally, I just recently even got some roll-on bottles, so will try the homemade perfume idea.
Jackie — Enjoy the perfume! It’s lovely. Thanks for your kind comments. God bless you!
Hello my friend, I like everything you that speak about here, and I like the output that you have here also. You look great! You are willing, and very helpful in helping others, and I appreciate it. I do try my best, but I do fail at times, in going to sleep too late, but I checked up on myself, knowing that sleeping patterns are very important to one’s health, and have started lately to change that. God bless you and your family always.
Thank you, Abigail! God bless you and yours, too. Keep trying your best; that’s the best way to to progress. 🙂
Someone mentioned a Canadian made makeup but I didn’t see it in your notes and I couldn’t make out the name. Could you please let me know what it was. Thanks.
Great sermon! I’m going to pass it on to my pastor and suggest he steal it in his own words.
I’ve been a limey for about 6 months, drinking nothing but filtered lime water because I wanted to make sure that I got plenty of real vitamin C, not ascorbic acid. I’m nearly 70 and was amazed to find that my old age crepie skin began to improve significantly. I now have to push my skin into crepe to see that.
Another tip that I happened on by happenstance by reading that as apes turning into humans our diet consisted mainly of fruits with veggies to make up the difference. It was recommended that I eat fresh fruit for breakfast after the long night’s sleep, one fruit, not a mixture, because some fruits will interfere with the digestion of other fruits. Been doing that for a month or so, not overdoing it, and was amazed to find that as a type 2 diabetic, my morning blood sugar readings dropped by 20 points almost immediately and I’m less tempted by refined sugars as I go through the day or excessive snacking at the end of the day. I’m determined, if at all possible, to lick this malady through diet. Results like this make it less likely that I will cheat and go off course.
Thanks for your great efforts,
Ron