Why Weight Loss Is Not The Point

Why Weight Loss Is Not The Point ? ? ? ? ? ?

                

This commodity was aggressive by a acquaintance I was afresh accepting banquet with. The acquaintance was anecdotic her success with Weight Watchers. While I'm not a big fan of "dieting," as it's aberrant for the body, ineffective, and in the continued appellation I accept it can account added abuse than good, Weight Watchers is the exception. I've apparent several accompany lose absolutely a bit of weight (at a gradual, accustomed pace), and accumulate it off. There are several affidavit why I anticipate Weight Watchers succeeds, while others fail. The best accessible is, of course, the acumen that anyone on the affairs will accompaniment if you ask them - you don't accept to feel beggared of your admired foods, so you're added acceptable to stick with it long-term.

However, I see a brace of added important affidavit as well.

One is that it abundantly encourages bake-apple and vegetable intake. Since these use little or none of your allocated points, you can ample up abundantly on veggies, and again add in added added point-heavy items like proteins and a few simple carbs. But you don't feel affected to eat veggies - they're aloof a acceptable advantage to ample you up, arch you to artlessly eat a diet that is added like the accustomed diet of bodies is declared to be - but after giving up all your admired snacks.

Another important account which best bodies don't anticipate about is that it calmly eliminates a lot of candy foods from your diet. "Foods" that are awful candy (many of which absolutely aren't foods, as so abounding accommodate little or no comestible value) are usually aerial in amoroso and added simple carbohydrates, so assumption what - best of them are additionally aerial in points!

However, in my eyes there is one big botheration with the program, as able-bodied as with a lot of added weight accident programs: it focuses about alone on weight loss. (Huh? You'll see what I beggarly in a minute.)

I was comatose forth with my friend's success story, until this point, which chock-full me cold. She said she had alike started alive out, but she chock-full because....she started accepting weight!! (And yes, she alike declared that she understands that beef is added than fat.) She said she doesn't appetite to assignment out anymore because she will accretion aback some of the weight that she lost.

I capital to blast my arch on the table! Talk about not seeing the backwoods for the trees....

It's so sad that this is archetypal cerebration in our ailing yet weight-obsessed society!

So what are all these weight-loss programs missing? I'll awning that in Part 2 of this series, back we get into the absolute nifty-gritty of why weight itself is absolutely the amiss affair to focus on, and a abundant archetype of how backwards our cerebration has become in this matter....

If you're aggravating to alpha an exercise program, but disturbing to stick with it, break motivated, or acquisition forms of exercise you enjoy, be abiding to analysis our blog on a approved basis, as we column lots of interesting, fun, and fresh means to exercise, that you ability not accept anticipation of.

Find out Almved about weight loss
ClickHere

Goals and Weight Loss

Goals and Weight Loss

If you're annual this you've hopefully fabricated the accommodation to accomplish absolute change in your life.

Whether it's with diet, exercise or article else, goals are important not aloof for weight accident but for success in all added areas of life.

These can be annihilation from blockage aural a assertive calorie absolute for the day to accident 200 lbs, to accepting that advance at work.

So what are your goals back it comes to alteration your affairs and accident that weight?

To be safe your goals should be as astute as possible.

Take into annual the safe progression of weight loss, your astute bistro and exercise habits and plan for any deviations that may appear as well.

You may acquisition that, realistically, a abundant weight accident dieting (and hopefully a affairs change) could booty up to a brace years to implement.

If you're attractive to lose weight fast, that may complete appealing apocalyptic and scary, but to be honest with you, there's no way to lose weight healthfully and to accumulate it off that is activity to be fast.

That's article that anybody who's absent a abundant bulk of weight has appear to grips with and that they'll apparently never acquaint you.

If you're in it for the continued booty and you've fabricated that decision, goals can help.

Along with allowance you to plan out your affairs change and weight loss, goals accommodate a abundant bare action in the action of a big weight loss.

You may accept a ambition in apperception for a assertive date (realistically planned of course) and every baby footfall against that ambition can accept absolute furnishings on cocky admire and accommodate added ammunition for your discipline and acceptable choices.

Additionally, every time you beat one of your goals, the activity of ability and pride is added than account the brainy ache you acquainted in alteration your habits and alive against that goal.

That's why it's important to set common and, as I've said, realistically accessible goals.

Examples of accessible goals are things like blockage aural your calorie absolute for an absolute anniversary to accident 2 or 3 lbs.

Just accumulate ambience baby goals for yourself to affected one at a time.

Once you alpha cutting up accomplishment credibility and acquisition all these tiny goals you'll feel abundantly empowered and be able to beat beyond and beyond goals.

If you set one ample ambition at the alpha of your weight accident dieting for a assertive ambition weight, and you alpha hitting all your little goals out of the park, afore you apperceive it, you'll accept accomplished your ultimate ambition weight and will actually feel like a actor bucks.

So how can you accomplish a goal?

Think about area you appetite to be in 3 days

Then anticipate about area you appetite to be in a week.

Then a month.

Then a year.

Then anticipate about area you appetite to be in bristles years.

What's a reasonable apprehension for yourself to accomplish in anniversary of these time periods?

It can be annihilation but it has to be article that you can do realistically with a bit of a challenge.

At the end of anniversary aeon of time, amend your expectations for yourself.

As you alpha animadversion your goals out, you'll acquisition they become easier and easier.

Eventually, you'll be a hundred pounds lighter and a abundant happier person.

In summary, goals, like habits and planning, are capital genitalia of a acknowledged weight accident affairs into a fresh lifestyle.

The best way to feel abundant about accident weight is to beating out a connected assumption of little goals until, afore you apperceive it, you're at your optimal ambition weight and you feel great.

You can do it!

Find out Almved about weight loss
ClickHere

Healthy Weight Loss Methodc

Why Weight Loss Is Not The Point ? ? ? ? ? ?

                

This commodity was aggressive by a acquaintance I was afresh accepting banquet with. The acquaintance was anecdotic her success with Weight Watchers. While I'm not a big fan of "dieting," as it's aberrant for the body, ineffective, and in the continued appellation I accept it can account added abuse than good, Weight Watchers is the exception. I've apparent several accompany lose absolutely a bit of weight (at a gradual, accustomed pace), and accumulate it off. There are several affidavit why I anticipate Weight Watchers succeeds, while others fail. The best accessible is, of course, the acumen that anyone on the affairs will accompaniment if you ask them - you don't accept to feel beggared of your admired foods, so you're added acceptable to stick with it long-term.

However, I see a brace of added important affidavit as well.

One is that it abundantly encourages bake-apple and vegetable intake. Since these use little or none of your allocated points, you can ample up abundantly on veggies, and again add in added added point-heavy items like proteins and a few simple carbs. But you don't feel affected to eat veggies - they're aloof a acceptable advantage to ample you up, arch you to artlessly eat a diet that is added like the accustomed diet of bodies is declared to be - but after giving up all your admired snacks.

Another important account which best bodies don't anticipate about is that it calmly eliminates a lot of candy foods from your diet. "Foods" that are awful candy (many of which absolutely aren't foods, as so abounding accommodate little or no comestible value) are usually aerial in amoroso and added simple carbohydrates, so assumption what - best of them are additionally aerial in points!

However, in my eyes there is one big botheration with the program, as able-bodied as with a lot of added weight accident programs: it focuses about alone on weight loss. (Huh? You'll see what I beggarly in a minute.)

I was comatose forth with my friend's success story, until this point, which chock-full me cold. She said she had alike started alive out, but she chock-full because....she started accepting weight!! (And yes, she alike declared that she understands that beef is added than fat.) She said she doesn't appetite to assignment out anymore because she will accretion aback some of the weight that she lost.

I capital to blast my arch on the table! Talk about not seeing the backwoods for the trees....

It's so sad that this is archetypal cerebration in our ailing yet weight-obsessed society!

So what are all these weight-loss programs missing? I'll awning that in Part 2 of this series, back we get into the absolute nifty-gritty of why weight itself is absolutely the amiss affair to focus on, and a abundant archetype of how backwards our cerebration has become in this matter....

If you're aggravating to alpha an exercise program, but disturbing to stick with it, break motivated, or acquisition forms of exercise you enjoy, be abiding to analysis our blog on a approved basis, as we column lots of interesting, fun, and fresh means to exercise, that you ability not accept anticipation of.

Find out Almved about weight loss
ClickHere

What is Health

What is Health?

How do you define health? Is it a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being? Is it merely the absence of disease or infirmity? Or is health a resource for everyday life, rather than the objective of living; a positive concept, emphasising social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities?

Good health is harder to define than bad health (which can be equated with the presence of disease), because it must convey a concept more positive than mere absence of disease, and there is a variable area between health and disease. Health is clearly a complex, multidimensional concept. Health is, ultimately, poorly defined and difficult to measure, despite impressive efforts by epidemiologists, vital statisticians, social scientists and political economists. Each individual's health is shaped by many factors, including medical care, social circumstances, and behavioural choices.

Health Care

While it is true to say that health care is the prevention, treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of mental and physical well-being, through the services offered by the medical, nursing and allied health professions, health-related behaviour is influenced by our own values, which are determined by upbringing, by example, by experience, by the company one keeps, by the persuasive power of advertising (often a force of behaviour that can harm health), and by effective health education. Healthy individuals are able to mobilise all their physical, mental, and spiritual resources to improve their chances of survival, to live happy and fulfilling lives, and to be of benefit to their dependants and society.

Achieving health, and remaining healthy, is an active process. Natural health is based on prevention, and on keeping our bodies and minds in good shape. Health lies in balancing these aspects within the body through a regimen consisting of diet, exercise, and regulation of the emotions. The last of these is too often ignored when health advice is dispensed, but can have a pronounced effect on physical well-being.

Diet

Every day, or so it seems, new research shows that some aspect of lifestyle - physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption, and so on - affects health and longevity. Physical fitness is good bodily health, and is the result of regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, and proper rest for physical recovery. The field of nutrition also studies foods and dietary supplements that improve performance, promote health, and cure or prevent disease, such as fibrous foods to reduce the risk of colon cancer, or supplements with vitamin C to strengthen teeth and gums and to improve the immune system. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have a good diet to ensure that the body has the correct ratio of macronutrients whilst providing ample micronutrients; this is to aid the body in the recovery process following strenuous exercise.

If you're trying to lose weight by "dieting", don't call it a diet, first of all - successful dieters don't call what they do a "diet". A healthy diet and regular physical activity are both important for maintaining a healthy weight. Even literate, well-educated people sometimes have misguided views about what makes or keeps them healthy, often believing that regular daily exercise, regular bowel movements, or a specific dietary regime will alone suffice to preserve their good health. Despite the ever-changing, ever-conflicting opinions of the medical experts as to what is good for us, one aspect of what we eat and drink has remained constantly agreed by all: a balanced diet.

A balanced diet comprises a mixture of the main varieties of nutriments (protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins). Proper nutrition is just as, if not more, important to health as exercise. If you're concerned about being overweight, you don't need to add the extra stress of "dieting". No "low-fat this" or "low-carb that"; just healthful eating of smaller portions, with weight loss being a satisfying side effect. Improve health by eating real food in moderation. (For many reasons, not everyone has easy access to or incentives to eat a balanced diet. Nevertheless, those who eat a well-balanced diet are healthier than those who do not.)

Exercise

Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness and overall health (including healthy weight), building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints, promoting physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune system. Aerobic exercises, such as walking, running and swimming, focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance and muscle density. Anaerobic exercises, such as weight training or sprinting, increase muscle mass and strength. Proper rest and recovery are also as important to health as exercise, otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately to the exercise. The above two factors can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating disorders, such as exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of organisation, or a lack of motivation.

Ask your doctor or physical therapist what exercises are best for you. Your doctor and/or physical therapist can recommend specific types of exercise, depending on your particular situation. You can use exercises to keep strong and limber, improve cardiovascular fitness, extend your joints' range of motion, and reduce your weight. You should never be too busy to exercise. There's always a way to squeeze in a little exercise, no matter where you are. Eliminate one or maybe even two items from your busy schedule to free up time to fit in some exercise and some "YOU" time. Finding an exercise partner is a common workout strategy.

Emotions

You may have heard about the benefits of diet and exercise ad nauseam, but may be unaware of the effect that your emotions can have on your physical well-being and, indeed, your longevity. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life. Mental health is how we think, feel, and act in order to face life's situations. Prolonged psychological stress may have a negative impact on health, such as weakening the immune system.

Children are particularly vulnerable. Caring for and protecting a child's mental health is a major part of helping that child to grow into a normal adult, accepted into society. Mental health problems are not just a passing phase. Children are at greater risk for developing mental health problems when certain factors occur in their lives or environments. Mental health problems include depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and conduct disorder. Do your best to provide a safe and loving home and community for your child, as well as nutritious meals, regular health check-ups, immunisations and exercise. Many children experience mental health problems that are real and painful, and they can be severe. Mental health problems affect at least one in every five young people at any given time. Tragically, an estimated two-thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need. Mental health problems can lead to school failure, alcohol or other drug abuse, family discord, violence, or even suicide. A variety of signs may point to a possible mental health problem in a child or teenager. Talk to your doctor, a school counsellor, or other mental health professionals who are trained to assess whether your child has a mental health problem.

Control your emotions. If a driver overtakes you on the wrong side, or pulls out of a side road in front of you, don't seethe with rage and honk your horn; You're hurting no one but yourself by raising your blood pressure. Anger has been linked to heart disease, and research has suggested that hardening of the arteries occurs faster in people who score highly in hostility and anger tests. Stay calm in such situations, and feel proud of yourself for doing so. Take comfort in the knowledge that such aggressive drivers only increase their own blood pressure. Your passengers will be more impressed with your "cool" than with your irascibility.

If you are in a constant rush, feeling that every second of your life counts, just slow down a little. Yes, every second does count, but consider the concept of quality of life. Compare how you feel when you're in a hurry with how you feel when you're not. Which feels better? Rushing everywhere increases your stress level. The body tries to overcome stress by making certain physiological adjustments. Some time after you slow down, the physiological adjustments and the stress symptoms revert to normal. If you don't ever slow down, the physiological adjustments and the stress symptoms persist. It is this persistence of the body's response that matters. You may develop physical, physiological or psychological problems, and may not be able to lead a normal life. Many cases of stress are somehow connected with money, or rather the lack of it. Such people struggle to make ends meet or to acquire more material possessions. This brings us to our final discussion: attitude.

Attitude

It is always pleasant to enjoy the fruits of our labours, of course. Sometimes, however, it seems that whatever we do, it's just not enough to be able to afford that new car or that foreign holiday. So, what do we usually do then? We work harder, longer; we increase the stress on our minds and bodies; we spend less time with our families and friends; we become more irascible and less likeable people. If you find yourself in this situation, just stop for a moment, and consider: Is it all worth it? What is the purpose of life? Surely it is to be happy. You'll probably be happier if you adopt the philosophy that true quality of life is not to be found in material things. If you convince yourself that you want less, you'll need less. If you need less, you'll cope with life more easily, and the happier, and therefore healthier, you'll be. Buddha called this "enlightenment". Enjoy a "good-health attitude". Focus on your abilities instead of disabilities. Be satisfied with what you have, rather than be dissatisfied about what you don't have and probably never will have.

If you simply cannot cope with a healthy diet, exercise and emotional control, but genuinely prefer to eat junk food, be permanently drunk, be under constant stress, and be disliked by others, then enjoy your life while it lasts, but understand that the trade-off is that it will probably not last long. If you accept this willingly, you'll be happy. There is some merit in the philosophy that it is better to live a short, happy life than a long, miserable one.

Conclusion

Personal or individual health is largely subjective. For most individuals and for many cultures, however, health is a philosophical and subjective concept, associated with contentment, and often taken for granted when all is going well. The evidence that behavioural factors such as diet, physical activity, smoking and stress influence health is overwhelming. Thus, health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual and society. Perhaps the best thing you can do for your health is to keep a positive attitude. Optimal health can be defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual health. Maintain a positive attitude!

Beauty And The Beast - The Answer To Being Beautiful

It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder - well so does Beauty - the more you peer at something beautiful the more you yearn for it. Beauty injects an essence of elegance - an emotion felt within which comes with feeling good about your self. But leading a healthy lifestyle has to be the most important of all.
Health plays a major role in contributing to the beautiful feeling experienced when looking good. Many women tend to suffer from Beauty and the Beast syndrome - where one day an effort is made to look good and then the next - no matter what you do - it just is not happening. Why? Well it is no secret; there are two main key issues to take claim of being beautiful. and that is the (take 2 factor) number 1 look good and 2 is feel good - if you don`t feel good about yourself then don`t expect to look good.
Transformation can take place in the beauty department if you make a stand and sort yourself out. Your health dominates how you feel - how you look and how you think so any concerns that are causing you sorrow whether it be a health or beauty matter then remember a problem shared is a problem halved. Speak with your local GP and once you are given the all clear - take note of the change in your whole entity, a personality change comes with looking beautiful.
A fabulous way to find the beauty within - is to let it out. Inner beauty can be released by practising yoga. Yoga is an amazing exercise that understands what the body`s wants and needs are. Anxiety and tension bring on frowns - meaning more wrinkles, this is not part of any known beauty package. A beautiful person injects happiness and smiles that come from the heart (a healthy one)
Feeling good about your self is the first step in the right direction to making your beauty regime a more pleasurable one - guaranteed. Once you have claimed a content mind minus any matters of concern - it is then after you apply your beauty cosmetics you will notice the mirror image of yourself will be that of a changed person. Confront the reflection of the beast in the mirror and watch the beauty transformation take place. Notice how the facial skin turns to that of a fresh complexion - see how the lip gloss is now a glow. All because you feel good.
Beauty /Health magazines have wonderful ideas and tips on being beautiful and you will find many online support centres on beauty very fulfilling but what you have to bear in mind is, these beauty support groups on health and fashion do just that - give advice.
This is about you and being beautiful so regardless of whether the advice given, is by Sharon Stone, you are never going to experience that feeling of walking along the red carpet unless you feel good.

Am I Beautiful?

It is a question that most of us women, if not all of us, linger on every morning when we are brushing our hair, putting on our makeup, or trying to decide if today is going to be a t-shirt day or a "cute" day. Am I beautiful? We might not wonder if the sun envies us like the fair Juliet, but something in us is screaming at the top of its lungs just to hear someone tell us that we are breathtaking, though pretty would do. We want a movie scene where a man knows every shade of our eyes, where everyone happens to look to the top of the staircase where we stand gleaming in our dress, or maybe a few compliments would do. It is healthy and natural for us as women to worry whether we are beautiful or not, because in wondering, we search for what real beauty is. Sadly, we find ourselves searching in all the wrong places: We end up watching movies where the beauty has long legs and a short skirt, comparing ourselves to women in our classrooms or offices, or watching those plastic surgery shows where beauty is only a breast augmentation or liposuction away. Our idea of beauty is often distorted by worldly views and too often it leads one to a devastating sense of self, and possibly, even worth. God created us in His image, and that image is not flawed. We are beautiful, but we have to learn to recognize what genuine beauty is and stop settling for the counterfeited. God tells us what true beauty is, and surprisingly, it has nothing to do with your weight, height, or cup size, but instead, "matters of the heart." If we could only see ourselves from God's eyes, the eyes of the beholder, we wouldn't even need to question the reflection in the mirror.
The Woman God Created You to Be
As silly as it sounds, women remind me of shoes: We can be feminine, sporty, tall, short, curvy, flat, simple, eccentric, a range of colors, and let's not forget that we come in all sizes. However wonderful and diverse that sounds, some of us can't wait until we have that bump on our nose removed or lose just fifteen more pounds. We "know" that everyone is different, yet we live as if we should all be the same. The point is that we are buying into the lies of counterfeited beauty and what it "should" look like. Ironically, taller women wish they were a little shorter because short is cute, but short women would love to be taller, because no one realizes that when your short, fat has nowhere to go but out. Women with freckles do everything to get rid of them, while those without would lay in the sun all day to get just one. Curvy women might think they look a little bigger, but we sticks wish we had something to fill out our new jeans. We all know laying out can cause skin cancer, sun spots, and wrinkles, yet we are determined to have a tan because that's what everyone says is beautiful. If you notice the cycle, you will see that we are all trying to be each other. We all desire each other's gifts, talents, and especially physical features, but if all of these wishes were granted, we would all be walking clones of each other. We are all unique for a reason, and that uniqueness is awesome. I love walking to class and admiring long hair, short hair, curly hair, small noses, big noses, and even the way other women walk. Each one of us is an original painting that has been personally signed by God, and it is such a shame if we never look at ourselves as a masterpiece, but instead, blot out this or redo that or even crop out a whole section just because we can't see through God's eyes and appreciate just how beautiful we truly are. Psalms 139: 14-18 says:
For you formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance
God didn't just throw on those freckles and "weird" nose. No, we are "intricately woven". We are each designed and created, and we are each "wonderfully made." It does not matter what the world says is beautiful, because we are not the world's creation, we are God's. Once we realize we all have a specific blue-print, it should be so easy to embrace everything about our body and face, even our flaws and quirks, because those had just as much time in creation as everything else. Being satisfied with yourself will bring about an acceptance and a confidence in yourself that you might have never felt before, and it will certainly be a way for you to praise the Lord.
Beauty is as Beauty Does
My mom has been telling me this endlessly for years, but it came to my attention that God said it way before she was ever born. Let me ask you a question. How many of you have met a woman who was absolutely beautiful, but after five minutes of talking to her, you could swear that the grim reaper was just behind her flowing, thick, and perfectly groomed hair? I can't even begin to count the number of times I've watched a perceived angel turn into a snarling monster, but it is in those moments that I realize that beauty really is as beauty does. In first peter 3:4 it says "But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." He also says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on his appearance or on the height of his stature, but the Lord looks on the heart." As you can see, beauty has absolutely nothing to do with outer appearances, though what is on the outside was created carefully by God, it is the heart that matters most. I'm reminded of a song by Bethany Dillon called "Beautiful," and my favorite part is "look inside my heart and be amazed": I know we care about what we look like, but I know for a fact that we care more about who we are. We want people to know our deepest thoughts, and feelings, and desires. We want them to see the good in us, and that is wonderful since that is what God desires most for us. I'm so thankful that the Lord tells us that the heart is more important than face, but I love that he tells us how to achieve beauty of the heart. He tells us to look to Him to be our mirror. In Galatians 5:22 are listed the fruit of the spirit, the things that God tells us to pursue, and there is nothing in there about makeup or how to wear your hair, but instead, he lists "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness." If you are able to see these things in your life, you are on your way to being a beauty that will not fade, and a beauty that brings a smile to God. By striving to mirror God's character, you will become a woman of integrity and a woman who knows confidence because she does not live by the world's standards, but by her Heavenly Father's. It is inevitable that our hair will turn gray, our faces will sag, and our bodies just won't be what they were at twenty: We will no longer be "beautiful" in the eyes of men, but when our outer beauty is gone, will our true beauty be gone as well? I hope not. I hope people see our generosity, kind hearts, willingness to help those in need, and our hearts for the Lord
Beauty in the Lord
Of course it is easy to read the above and accept it, and even feel motivated to stop obsessing over things like appearance and clothes, but unless we are walking hand in hand with the Lord, that can be impossible; this is made apparent in Proverbs 30:31 which says, "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." In other words, the woman who walks closely with the Lord is constantly learning from him and growing in faith, and so, she is constantly trying to obtain a heart after the Lord's. Just like a rose plucked from its life source, we wilt within days of being removed from Christ. We can't expect to rid of worldly views of beauty if we separate ourselves from our Creator who is the one teaching us what real beauty is. The moment we stop searching His truth, we will slowly become immersed, once again, in the world's views of beauty.
Beauty is not in a magazine, it's not in Webster's Dictionary, or in a perfect face. It is in knowing God. Beauty is being satisfied with who God created you to be, and then actively pursuing looking not like the world, but like Christ. Pursue having His heart, and I can guarantee that you will obtain a beauty that is described in Songs of Solomon as " a lily among the brambles."

The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Beauty and Skin Care

"Every person is born perfect. Inferiority is a mistake of the mind, a cloud covering the light. Dissolve the clouds by observing a balanced life with healthy habits. Nourish your mind and body. Connect with your own inner self. Celebrate your own magnificence and your beauty will always shine through." -Dr. Rama Kant Mishra, renowned Ayurvedic physician and dermatologist
The Three Pillars of Beauty
Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern, consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition, considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled and beautiful person we can be.
Outer Beauty: Roopam
The outer signs of beauty - your skin, hair and nails - are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.
General Recommendations for Outer Beauty
As we will discuss, the key to skin care is matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have. Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type.
1. Diet: Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment. To keep your skin plump and glowing:
A. Eat fresh, whole organic foods that are freshly prepared.
Avoid packaged, canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment and natural cleansing processes.
B. Favor skin nourishing foods.
Leafy green vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and are high in antioxidant properties. They nourish the skin and protect it from premature aging.
Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone.
Eat a wide variety of grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat and rice you already eat.
Favor light, easy to digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal), whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks).
Oils like ghee (clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the skin. Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities.
Avoid microwaving and boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sautéing are best.
Caring for outer beauty through knowledge of skin type
Besides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)- present in everyone, but to different degrees- is most dominant in your body.
Vata Skin
* Description: Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive dryness and may even be rough and flaky.
* Potential problems: The greatest beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance, your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20's and 30's. In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress, such as worry, fear and lack of sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking tired and lifeless.
* Recommendations for care
With a little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of warm (not cold for vata types!) water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits. Going to bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.
Pitta Skin.
* Description: Pitta dosha is composed of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When balanced, your skin has a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within. Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.
* Potential problems: Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your skin does not tolerate heat or sun very well. Of all the three skin types, pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration, or resentment.
* Recommendations for care
Avoid excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent, bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good. Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin. Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive, heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.
Kapha Skin.
* Description: Kapha dosha is composed of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.
*Potential problems If your skin becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water retention. Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.
* Recommendations for care
Kapha skin is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types. Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts. Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent (well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation and help purify the skin through the sweating process.
Inner Beauty: Gunam.
Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is far more than skin deep. Conversely we all experience the quick and deleterious effect on our skin from fatigue and stress.
Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a made-up face, but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.
Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)
Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer signs we associate with attractiveness.
Lasting Beauty: Yayastyag
In order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two additional key considerations beyond those already discussed,
1. Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: The main deteriorating effects of aging come as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the body.
The most powerful cleansing therapy in Maharishi Ayurveda is "panchakarma" therapy, a series of natural treatments ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage, heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the "sludge" from our tissues on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments.
Best of all, panchakarma treatments are luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh and youthful!
Other free radical busters include: reducing mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet, juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying spices like turmeric and coriander.
2. Add rejuvenative techniques to daily living:
The daily activities of life in the modern world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are:
Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV.
Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration (which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been verified by over 700 published research studies.
Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an Ayurvedic saying: "Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need." Be sure to avoid those leftovers, processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality.
Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful. Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers.
Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to health.
Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day. Asanas, pranayama and meditation.
Summary
Everyone's unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life. Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take more control of their health in their day-to-day life through time-tested principles of natural living.
For most of us, beauty is not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful, bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.