Look Great and Feel Great For the Holidays: Making these healthy practices a habit can help, says anti-aging aesthetician Linda Leibl

To look great and feel great every day of our life does take some work. However, if we focus on the outcome and make healthy practices a habit, it will not seem like work at all. For ladies, just as with brushing our teeth every night, we must take off all our makeup before bed and apply any treatments and moisturizers before we hit the pillow.

Water is crucial. They say you can go without food for five days, but only three days without water. So, look for the purest, best water you can. Drinking half our body weight in ounces (130 pounds equals 65 ounces, or about eight, eight-ounce glasses) is a good start to losing a few pounds. Put it in a pretty glass and add a squeeze of lemon or a twist. A great way to break our fast in the morning before consuming food is lemon and water upon rising.

“The big five” food problem groups are red meat, caffeine, flour, sugar and chocolate. People eating these acidic foods that turn into sugar and then into fat comprise a large portion of the gym and workout population. If we ate healthier, perhaps we wouldn’t need to feel so guilty and exercise so much.

If you take a look at other cultures, they don’t even need a gym in their entire country, and still live way beyond 100 years of age. The Chinese eat warm, healthy food in small amounts and move their bodies in moderation all day long. They are so healthy there that the language does not have a word for menopause, because they do not eat manmade, processed, packed, dead food, as we do. We need to take full responsibility for our health and longevity as far as our eating habits go.

When we eat too much of the big five, as well as dairy that is pasteurized, bleached and has other little surprises in it, this all builds up in our body. Like the queen of our castle, we must monitor what goes in and out of our body; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Of course, we want it to be clean, spotless and pretty at all times, too. We want it to be in optimal working condition for as long as we can.

Two great sources of more information are the books Eat Right for Your Blood Type, by James D. Adamo, and The pH Miracle, by Robert Young. Following their advice, many people are losing weight and beginning to feel better by seeking more variety in their food selections and reducing their intake of processed, packaged and manmade choices at the grocery store.

In addition to shopping for healthy foods, we should be getting our crèmes, lotions, face products, body products, hair products, gels and mousses, makeup, cosmetics, deodorants and vitamins at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Aveda, Mac, GNC, Hi Health and the like, as well. We absorb products through our skin all the time, so wise choices are in order.

Our bodies can only handle so much toxic exposure, and we may end up with conditions like fibromyalgia, lupus, thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances and all kinds of other symptoms which, coupled with unhealthy lifestyle habits, will only harm us.

Linda L. Leibl is a master anti-aging aesthetician and owner of Advanced Skin Technology. For more information, call 480-254-0302 or visit MyBeautifulSkin.com.