Tag: sponsored
Getting older makes me nervous. Plain and simple. I’m going to assume I’m not alone in this. Ladies, are you a bit stressed about aging, too?
But a recent roundtable I attended with a group of very successful women helped to ease some of that anxiety about aging. Assembled by Procter & Gamble Canada, the group of inspiring women included fashion expert Jeanne Beker, lifestyle expert Lynn Spence, dermatologist Kucy Pon, dentist Janet Tamo, and wellness expert Tosca Reno. Jeanne, who’s just turned 65, shared that she’s finding this time of her life exhilarating. “So many years, it was all about pushing forward and having to survive and going out there and getting it, we all need that drive, but this stage of our lives where we can sit back and see the forest for the trees, it’s a sweet time,” she says.
That sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it? A little bit of a waiting-to-exhale moment when it comes to life…Here are the other useful nuggets of inspo I gathered from this powerhouse of women when it comes to taking care of one’s health and beauty.
1. Look to your meals as a way to nourish your body. “Each meal, I see as an opportunity to load myself with nutrients. Not “is it going to be chicken or steak tonight?” I look at food differently, as a way to flood my cells with nutrients.” says Tosca. She added that according to the World Health Organization, wellness is the presence of three lifestyle practices. “Eating clean, whole. nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods, exercise and emotional wellness,” she says. And while she noted that keeping moving physically is important, so is keeping your digestive system moving things along is key, too. And her tip for making sure you’ve got that down pat? Adding Metamucil and a shelf-stable probiotic (just open the capsule and add the powder right in!) to your smoothie is a simple way to make your smoothie instantly better for you.
2. Feed your skin vitamins, too. Eighty percent of premature aging is due to sun damage, says Kucy. And while you can’t undo all the sun damage to your skin, you can make sure your skincare has vitamins that’ll benefit it. Such as vitamin B3 (niacinamide) — it moisturizes, it’s anti-inflammatory, helps pigmentation, and prevents irregular skin tone; vitamin A, which you should use in the evenings, which will help repair some sun damage; and vitamin C, as this antioxidant will help neutralizing damaging free radicals. Where to get these vitamins? Well, Olay Regenerist is, as Lynn points out, affordable and accessible to most women.
3. Give your hair some TLC. Have you ever watched Lynn on TV and admired her shiny, voluminous hair? I know I have. Lynn swears by Pantene 2-in-1 products and its Smart Technology, which targets the areas it needs to treat and then washes out, but still leaves the hair nice and hydrated. She also makes sure to limit her use of heat tools by using a hair dryer that works efficiently so she can minimize the time it’s blow dried, and she finishes off with velcro rollers to build volume.
4. Create a budget and regimen for your dental health. Discoloured teeth are seen as a sign of aging and your teeth will darken with years of smoking and drinking coffee and red wine. The strategies to maintain a healthy mouth, though, are simple. Start with planning a budget for your dental health. “People budget for their hair, but hair grows back, teeth don’t,” says Janet. That’s so true, and good oral health over your lifetime is so essential, it should have its own budget. As for how to use that budget? Crest Whitestrips will immediately make your teeth look healthier and more beautiful. Invest in an Oral-B electric toothbrush, as it has been proven to better remove plaque. And lastly, floss daily as it helps to remove bacteria from your mouth. Did you know most dental conditions are preventable?
5. Exercise can fit into even the busiest of schedules. People often ask Tosca if she spends hours at the gym and she tells them she doesn’t have hours to spend. Thirty minutes performed at 65 percent maximum heart rate is far more effective than spending hours at the gym, she says. Women in the baby boomer demo need to hit metabolic catalysts and target large muscle groups, that is the glutes, core and and quads, so that your burning fat at a faster rate all the time. Her fave? Rebounding. Fifteen minutes on this mini trampoline is the same as running 30 minutes on land, she says.
And when it comes to all of these lessons, it’s important to remember that taking care of yourself inside and out doesn’t have to be an all-consuming, overwhelming task. “Do the doable thing,” says Tosca. “Once you’ve done that thing, the next thing becomes easier. Do it 10 times in a row, and now that’s a new habit, and you can move onto the next one and commit to the next doable thing.”
(sponsored)
November 21, 2017
Maybe it’s because I’m a runner, and also a bit of a germaphobe, but I’m pretty sure I think about my feet and their health more than the average person: I stare at what might be slight bunions from wearing uncomfortable narrow-fitting heels too often; I reluctantly tiptoe barefooted across yoga studio floors and in change rooms, afraid of getting athlete’s foot or a nail fungus. While I’ve never had a fungus infection diagnosis, I know they are pretty common, and my feet have gone through a lot, including one black toenail (thanks to it getting bruised while running a half-marathon).
Our feet are a common area for injury. So you shouldn’t be ashamed of a foot ailment such as a fungal infection because chances are most of us have been there, done that. Toenail fungus infections in fact account for 50 percent of all nail problems. And 2.4 million Canadians suffer from this type of infection, also called onychomycosis. So how to be proactive and keep your feet in good condition?
Air out your footwear. Keep your feet clean and dry by making sure your shoes are dry; and you can prevent them from becoming moist breeding grounds for bacteria by taking out the liner inside your shoes and having your footwear air out near a heater.
Don’t let your feet remain in pools of your sweat. So this means regularly changing your socks (especially so if you’re doing a sport such as running or skiing) and sticking to a breathable material such as wool so that the sweat is kept away from your skin. Cotton, on the other hand, traps moisture and will help bacteria proliferate.
Keep your toenails clipped short and straight across. And while I don’t follow this rule (what can I say, I like pretty pedicured toes!), nailfungus.ca says it’s better to keep your toenails bare (so that your nails are exposed to air) rather than polished.
Practice safe walking. Toenail fungus can be transferred from person to person and even from one toenail to another, so it’s best to not walk barefoot at public pools, public showers and locker rooms. I always bring a pair of inexpensive flip flops when I know I’ll be getting ready at the gym.
Even if you follow all of these careful rules, though, it is possible that you will still get exposed to the dreaded f-word, but if you get a fungal infection, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost and that you have to hide your feet forever. The most frequently prescribed treatment is 10% efinaconazole—more commonly known as Jublia—and it’s been shown to be effective at managing the infection.
If you suspect you have a nail fungus infection, speak to your GP or dermatologist so you can get the right treatment and back on the healthy path.
(This article was in partnership with nailfungus.ca and developed with information obtained from the Toenail Fungus Information (TIP) program.)
December 30, 2016
A couple of weeks ago, I challenged myself to get #evenbetter with my running, specifically in terms of improving my pace. And to help me reach that goal, I had a few tactics in mind, including hydrating with Ocean Spray® PACt® Cranberry Extract Water, which contains the #powerof50 cranberries.
I suppose I should remind you that speed work is not my favourite. Nor is sweating. But I’ve been down about my pace slowing significantly so my hope was that this goal would give me the push I needed to kick-start my training for a fall race.
During my two weeks working on my goal, the weather was hot, I traveled both to New York City and Sayulita, and life was, as usual, just plain hectic. But having the goal to work towards, as well as clear strategies to get me there, worked. In NYC, having not run in a day or so, I committed to getting out of my hotel before 5 a.m. for a short sprint, and this night owl managed to do it.
On a warm Saturday evening, I was very close to putting off my tempo run, but I knew that’d set me back from meeting my goal, and so I ran just as the sun was setting.
And on a particularly hot afternoon, when I would’ve normally eased into a comfortable pace, I was lucky to have my running buddy with me, and she motivated me and helped get me through this run in which we ran tempo and then fartleks.
Hydration also played a key role in helping me working toward my goal. I’m a heavy sweater so I should hydrate more than I do. With a supply of Ocean Spray® PACt® Cranberry Extract Water it was easy to keep hydrated throughout the day since it’s tasty (I always resist drinking plain water as I’m simply not a fan), and the subtle flavour worked well as a drink during my training as it didn’t bother my stomach (always key during a run!). My favourite flavour was Cranberry Pomegranate for running, but I did enjoy having a variety of flavours for sipping when not training.
So did I achieve my goal? While my comfortable pace is still slower than I am happy with, I did learn that when pushing myself to run faster for a shorter distance than I usually train for, I am not as slow as I think I am. When I ran with my friend, she was checking our pace to make sure we were on track and she had us rein in our pace at one point as we were running a sub 5 min/km pace, and that was a nice surprise.
I’m happy to know, thanks to this #evenbetter goal, that I can reach target speeds when I set my mind to it.
Being well-hydrated is always a good idea, so I think being able to enjoy low-cal, tasty Ocean Spray® PACt® Cranberry Extract Water set me on a good track both for my goal and my overall wellness. If, like me, you haven’t been able to get on the water train because you find it bland, you might have more success hydrating with Ocean Spray® PACt® Cranberry Extract Water.
So that’s my #evenbetter goal completed. How about you? What small goal will you challenge yourself to?
Ocean Spray® PACt® Cranberry Extract Water is a tasty and low-calorie way to hydrate in a more meaningful way. Packed with the power of 50 cranberries, PACt® Cranberry Extract Water delivers unique cranberry health benefits. Visit http://pact.oceanspray.ca to learn more and find out where to buy PACt® water at a store near you.
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Ocean Spray® via Mode Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Ocean Spray®.
July 20, 2016
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