Whether you’re newly health-conscious or you’ve been watching your weight for decades, we all know there’s nothing quite like the holidays to derail our best efforts! 

If you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, you know how the holidays can also be frustrating! Here’s a few tips to keep in mind for your next holiday food gathering!

Holiday Food Planning Tips

1. Bring a dish to share. Most gatherings are potluck so offer to bring a dish to share that will be safe for you to eat. Pick a dish that you enjoy so you are not so tempted to dig into unhealthy dishes. Also, avoid hanging around the buffet tables. Take your plate and sit as far away from the food as you possibly can.
   
2. Eat almonds before you go. Don’t show up hungry. Have something to eat before you arrive at the party so that you’re not so hungry when you get there.
   
   Have you heard of the “Almond Trick”? If you have a little of the right kinds of fat before you eat, you can “trick” your hormonal system by sending the signal to your brain that you’re full. Because of almond’s fat content, consuming it may make you feel full longer and avoid temptations. In addition to the usable fats almonds contain, they’re full of fiber which also helps you stay full longer and helps you from overeating.
   
3. Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated helps manage your appetite and also helps balance high sodium party snacks. Hydration is also very important for digestion.
   
4. Have holiday digestive support handy. Take a digestive enzyme to assist in the break down of the proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the meal. And of course, a good probiotic will help promote good digestive health.
   
5. Defend those Holiday Cravings. Cravings are often the reason we fail during the holidays. Even with our best intentions, we cannot overcome the urge to feed the sugar craving. Make sure you are taking your Craving Defender to stop the crazy cravings!
   
6. Enjoy Ginger, Peppermint and Chamomile Tea. These soothing teas will help any uncomfortable stomachs post party foods. If you have any alcoholic drinks, sip on a liver supportive tea such as dandelion root tea and lemon water is also helpful.

From all of us at Little Choices Everyday we wish you abundant health and happiness this holiday season! 

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Have you ever wondered how your muscles stay attached to your bones? Or why you have cellulite? It’s your fascia (pronounced fah-sha). Fascia is a thin layer of tissue that covers your complete body under your skin. It wraps around our muscles, joints, and organs.

While fascia may be very thin, it is mostly responsible for the shape of our bodies. If you want to lose weight and reduce pain you need to learn about this mighty organ system. 

In its healthy state, fascia is stretchy and pliable. When your fascia is healthy, it is flexible enough to slide, glide, twist, and bend, pain-free.

But if you experience physical trauma, emotional trauma, scarring, or inflammation, the fascia loses its pliability. It becomes tight, restricted, and a source of tension to the rest of the body. When the fascia tightens, it adheres to the skin and muscle, which then causes bulges like cellulite and fat pockets.

A Healthy Fascia Means…

• improved vital functions such as breathing, digestion and evacuation.
• increased blood flow – you bring more nutrients to tissues to make them healthier.
• increased energy levels
• a loss of pounds and inches
• joints can move more freely so there is reduced pain.
• scar tissue breakdown
• reduced stretch marks and cellulite
• improved posture and body alignment

Fascia and Weight Loss

We all have an optimal amount of space inside the body. This space allows for flow of nutrients to cells, as well as the removal of toxins and waste from cells. When we compress, we lose space in one area causing ballooning in another which halts weight loss. Once the fascial system is freed up, you will likely notice the numbers on your scale starts to move.  

Ways to Improve Facia Health – Work it!

Stretch daily. Stretching elongates your muscles can help you release tension in your muscles, which is one element of fascia.

Take breaks from sitting. Get up and walk more often and take more breaks from sitting in one position too long.

Keep moving. Fascia needs movement to stay healthy. Try cardio or Yoga.  Both forms of exercise can improve both your flexibility and balance, as well as strength.

Use Fascia tools. Foam rolling, myofascial work, and manual therapy will help break down the fascia and therefore help a person move more fluidly.  

Stay Hydrated. Movement of any sort works to pump hydration throughout our body so make sure you give the body enough. Getting the proper hydration is necessary to remove waste from the body which will help keep our fascia healthy.

Feed your Fascia. Eating foods high in Vitamin C is very important for the production of collagen and elastin. Also include foods high in vitamin D, K and B. They can prevent premature aging of the connective tissue and are involved in regeneration of healthy cells.

Being overweight is bad for connective tissue so in order to keep the fascia as healthy as possible, obesity should also be avoided. Do you need help losing weight? We are here to help! Click here to get started!

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Getting an adequate amount of sleep has many benefits, including maintaining a healthy weight. Studies have shown hormones affecting our weight can be compromised due to lack of sleep, thus contributing to an ever increasing over-weight society. 

There are two hormones at play in our sleep story: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is your body’s hunger hormone and signal you to eat more. Leptin is your satiety hormone which lets your brain know when you’re full so you stop eating.

When you are sleep deprived your leptin levels decrease, while your leptin kicks increase, meaning you’re both sleep deprived and hungry. After a poor night’s sleep you may also notice increased cravings or have a tendency to eat more calories.

So, how do we get our leptin and leptin hormones to work properly with our bodies? Get enough sleep!

Tips for How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

• Darkness: Make sure your room is completely dark. Any light can hinder the production of a hormone called melatonin that helps you fall and stay asleep. Black-out blinds or simply using night shades over your eyes will make a huge difference in your sleep quality.
  
• Temperature: Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is quite cool, between 60 to 68 degrees. Keeping your room cooler or hotter can lead to restless sleep. Opening a window slightly in the cooler months is easy.  Using a ceiling fan or table fan is also a great way not to get overheated. Breathable bed linens are also very helpful – stick with 100% cotton sheets, wool or down comforters and blankets. For those with long hair covering their nape (back of neck) try pulling your hair up in a pony-tail above your head. The nape area keeps a lot of the heat inside the body, and may contribute to overheating at night.
  
• Noise: If you have annoying noise keeping you awake like a ticking clock or a tap dripping – fix it. If you live on a busy street where you cannot control the noise – try using ear-plugs. If you sleep with a snoring partner, moving to another room can be very beneficial.
  
• Wakefulness:  For those with hypoglycemia and who wake between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., have a protein snack such as a tablespoon of peanut butter or an ounce or two of cheese a couple of hours before bedtime. Do not drink caffeine after 3:00 p.m. and avoid sugar and alcohol after 6:00 p.m.
  
• Over Stimulation: For those who have trouble falling asleep – no computer use, work you have brought home, or TV. before bed – this is extremely stimulating. Some quiet time prior to sleeping like reading a book, meditation, or a warm (not hot) bath can aid the body to get ready for bed.  Journaling, listening to soothing music is also relaxing.
  
• Create a ritual before bed: Give yourself 30 minutes to prepare yourself before your scheduled sleep time. Brushing your teeth, changing into comfortable night clothes, opening a window, having a glass of water by your bed if you get thirsty, setting your alarm clock, getting your clothes ready for work, etc.  Take a few minutes to write down any plans for the next day. Writing them down and then forgetting about them is the best way to fall asleep as opposed to running a “to-do” list through your head before sleep time.
  
• Comfortable mattress and pillow: If you are sleeping on something uncomfortable, look for a replacement. if you can’t afford a new mattress, sometimes all you may need is to add a topper to a mattress for added softness, or a board under the mattress for more firmness.
  
• Try sleep supplements. Try supplementing such as melatonin supplements, 5-HTP, Valerian Root, etc. Try and avoid addictive sleep aids.
  
• Play the right tunes. Turn on a sleep machine that play “white” noise, ocean waves, storms, wind chimes, etc. You can also listen to a meditation podcast or search for sleep sounds on YouTube. Make sure you download anything you listen to. It is important to turn wifi off and put your phone on airplane mode while sleeping to avoid EMF radiation or having your screen light up which will eventually disrupt the cycle of your sleep.

Getting enough sleep will reduce stress, improve your mood, lower inflammation, give you more energy, and is also imperative for the brain to function properly. Learn more on the importance of sleep.

The post Tips for How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

Your hormones play a major role in your overall health including controlling your appetite, weight, sleep and mood. Hormones naturally change throughout different life stages (i.e. menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause) but they can also be cused by other health issues as well as environmental factors. 

Why is Hormone Balance Important?

When your hormones are off balance, it can cause a range of symptoms and even long-term health issues.

Our body’s endocrine system is responsible for regulating a range of bodily functions through the release of hormones which are spread throughout your body. Those hormones control nearly all the processes in your body, so having balanced hormones is really important.

Hormone imbalances cause a lot of problems for us women (see below) and can can spiral into serious issues such as adrenal and thyroid disease.

Hormone Imbalance Symptoms and Issues

Symptoms that may suggest hormonal imbalance include weight gain, bloating, fatigue, irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, thinning hair or hair loss, brain fog, mood swings, trouble concentrating, and low libido. When gone unchecked, our hormone imbalance can lead to thyroid issues and adrenal fatigue, just to name a few.

Balancing Hormones

Fortunately, by making some simple changes to your diet and lifestyle you can balance your hormones and prevent or reverse many of these health issues. Studies have shown that minerals and vitamins play an important role in hormone regulation. There are a number of ways you can incorporate the needed vitamins and minerals through the healthy foods you choose and supplements you take. Magnesium and Pyridoxine Vitamin B are very helpful in balancing your hormones.

Magnesium

Magnesium is magic for your hormones and is one of the most essential minerals to help balance hormones. Chances are you are deficient in magnesium and don’t even know it. Our bodies literally get rid of magnesium when we are stressed and let’s face it, today’s women are stressed.

Magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents the creation of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. It also helps the production of the thyroid hormone and helps prevents thyroid issues. It’s also  improves your sleep, helps control insulin production and reduces sugar cravings. (Learn More)

Food sources: Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, raw almonds, black beans, avocado, tofu, salmon, bananas and even dark chocolate.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Vitamin B6, otherwise known as Pyridoxine, is a water-soluble vitamin that has many important roles and is required for over 100 enzyme reactions in the body. It is involved in more bodily functions than any other single nutrient and has one of the most impressive mood-elevating effects of all the B vitamins.

Vitamin B6 helps reduce estrogen dominance and plays a role in progesterone production restoring the balance between estrogen and progesterone. It also reduces histamine (high histamine contributes to PMS).

Vitamin B6 is needed for tryptophan to be metabolized into serotonin giving a positive effect on both mood and sleep. (Learn More) Vitamin B6 also helps with the production of the neurotransmitter GABA, an amino acid which has a natural calming effect on the brain and helps to reduce stress and regulate mood.

This vitamin allows the body to efficiently metabolize carbohydrates so that the carbs act as a potent energy source rather than getting stored as fat. Great news, right?! (Learn More)

Food sources: spinach, walnuts, eggs, fish, poultry, beans, seaweed. 

Supplementation

As you can see, magnesium and Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) play an important role of balancing hormones. This is why we included them in the Craving Defender. Taking a supplement such as Craving Defender can help reduce cravings and encourage a balanced hormonal system.

So who is ready to balance hormones, lose weight and defend those crazy cravings? Check out our Craving Defender today!

The post Hormone Balance and Why it’s Important appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

This beautiful fruit is loaded with  anti-oxidants and vitamins—especially A, C, E, K and B complex vitamins. Mangos are also high in fiber and contain calcium, potassium and copper. Even though they are low in fat, they contain those all important omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which have numerous benefits for improved health.  

Just because mangos are higher in natural sugars than many other fruits, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat mangoes, even if you or your loved one is diabetic. In fact, studies indicate that eating mangoes can help prevent diabetes and help prevent the complications that seem to come with diabetes.

Look at all the reasons to include mangos in your diet:

Mangos contain a relatively unknown substance called mangiferin. While it may not be a common component of mangoes, mangiferin’s benefits are many. This substance is known to have anti-viral activities, which is important for all-around health especially during cold and flu season.

Mangiferin has been shown to have beneficial effects on gastrointestinal health, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular health, and may have anticancer properties. It’s also known to have anti-inflammatory benefits which will help with weight loss.

What’s more, acccording to research, phytochemicals in mangoes have been proven to suppress fat-producing cells, indicating that mangoes can be good for reducing weight.

Mangiferin is also known to help control and even lower blood sugar levels as well as help stabilize and support blood vessels. Mangiferin may very well work via the same types of cell receptors that the diabetic medication glitazones do. This is really important for those with diabetes. (learn more)

Recent research has indicated that mangiferin may also affect certain enzymes that can positively influence the metabolism of blood sugars and to protect against fatty deposits in the liver. Did you know that our liver has over 500 functions in our bodies? Including clean toxins out of our bodies. When we don’t take care of our liver, it won’t work at the capacity God created it to do. Our liver is the body’s main fat-burning organ so we need to keep it clean if we want to be healthy and maintain a healthy weight.

It’s no wonder, mangoes are a healthy fruit choice! Serve them diced or juice them or add to a smoothie. You may also want to mix them into fruit salads, chia puddings or make a fruit bar.

The post Sweet Mangos for Detoxing & Weight Loss appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

Did you know that you must eat fat, to lose fat? Of course, it must be the right type of fat! Fats like avocados, butter, coconuts, meats, fish, nuts, seeds and olives are not only delicious, they provide essential benefits to help your body function properly, improve your vital immune system, aid in heart disease, reduces inflammation, and helps balance your hormones.

Without adequate amounts of dietary fat, you can become deficient in many important vitamins and minerals as they are not absorbed into our system. And we need the fat in order to utilize the protein. Without fats, the important nutrients in your other foods will not be absorbed and will be lost. It’s why I am not a fan of low fat diets.

Avocados are full of heart-healthy, monounsaturated fat and one of my favorite healthy fats for weight loss.

They are high in fiber and very low in carbs – two attributes that promote weight loss as well. 

Avocados contain over 20 vitamins including vitamin E which is something we need in order to keep burning fat all day long.

When you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%!

Two tablespoons of avocado has just 50 calories and 4.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of which are unsaturated.

But it’s not just for weight loss. When it comes to boosting nutrition and preventing diseases, avocados pack a good punch. The anti-inflammatory properties in avocados have been known to decrease the risk of cancers and improve health conditions! But wait, there’s more… 

Avocados …

For the skin:
The nutrients – the healthy monounsaturated fats found in avocados contribute to healthy skin. These nutrients moisturize your skin and smooth out wrinkles. They also protect you when you are in the sun—a natural sunscreen!

  For the heart:
Avocados are high in potassium—and essential nutrient. Potassium is known to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. 

For the joints:
Avocados contain high-levels of phytosterols, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids, which have an anti-inflammatory effect and may reduce arthritis-related pain.

For the eyes: 
Avocados are an excellent source of the phytonutrients lutein and zeaxanthin. These phytonutrients may reduce the risk of developing age-related cataracts and macular degeneration.

For the gut:
Avocados contain high-levels of fiber which can improve regularity and overall gastrointestinal health.

So go ahead! Eat it right from the skin or mix it up! The possibilities are endless!

• Spread some on your bagel then top with a fried egg
• Slice some and toss on your salad
• Make a Creamy Avocado salad dressing
• Make Holy Heathy Guacamole 
• Avocado makes for a great substitute for mayonnaise
• Slice it up and add to a turkey sandwich
• Mixed in with tuna for a salad or sandwich
• Mix in your favorite Chile or Black Bean Soup
• Make a salsa – chopped avocado, black beans, corn and chopped onion 

If you don’t eat the whole fruit, you can store it for later. To keep fresh longer, slice it and leave the seed in half of it. Use what you need then place the pieces back together and wrap tightly in saran wrap. 

The post Avocados: A Weight Loss Favorite Healthy Fat  appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

Do you need to increase your energy levels? Are you ready to lose weight? In our last post, we gave you tip #1 – Consume Nutritionally-Dense Foods. Today we are going to give you a tip that will help hold you accountable in order to meet your weight loss goals.

Tip #2: You Bite It, You Write it:

One thing extremely important in a successful weight loss is self-monitoring. You can also do the same with your body’s energy levels.

Food journaling is recording every bite of food you consume in a day. Studies have shown writing down every bite increases weight loss. But it can also prove to be effective in boosting your energy levels. By writing down the foods you consume, you can better learn what foods boost your energy levels.

Don’t get stuck on the number on the scale. You do not need to get your readings every day as our bodies naturally fluctuate. And always remember—muscle weighs more than fat. Try checking your weight once per week and recording it in your journal. This will be helpful in measuring your progress and will be more prone to stick to a healthier regimen.

Want more ways to increase your energy and lose weight? Add Craving Defender to your daily routine!

The post Increase Energy & Lose Weight Tip #2 appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

It’s that time of year where we all want to shed a few pounds and to make our time in the great outdoors count. We have gathered 10 tips to help you increase energy and lose weight NATURALLY! All month we’ll be sharing these tips to help you have a healthy and happy summer!

Make the most of your summer! Let’s kick off this amazing season with tip #1:

1. Consume Nutritionally-Dense Foods:

Consuming healthful snacks and meals are important for increased energy levels and to reach and maintain a healthy body weight. Creating a meal plan consisting of 25% protein, 25% whole grains, and 50% vegetables and fruits can be helpful in this regard. The recommended daily fiber intake should be 22 to 34 grams daily.

Reducing the intake of saturated and trans fats from the diet can also minimize the risk of coronary heart disease. Rather than saturated fats, you can eat polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA).

To maintain successful weight loss and boost energy levels, you can consume the following nutrient-dense foods:

• Nuts

• Legumes

• Whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice

• Vegetables and fresh fruits

• Fatty fish, including salmon, sardine, and tuna.

Besides consuming healthy foods, here are some of the foods you should avoid eating:

• Processed foods.

• Gluten found in items such as bread, bagels and baked goods.

• Foods with processed sugar, butter, and unhealthy oils.

• Processed meats, and fatty red meats.

Consuming the right foods will not only help you lose weight but it will help increase your energy. Want more ways to increase your energy and lose weight? Add Craving Defender to your daily routine!

Craving Defender Can Help:

• Destroy sugar cravings
• Defend salty cravings
• Aid in weight loss
• Increase energy levels
• Fight body fat
• Build muscle
• Boost a positive mood
• Support a healthy metabolism
• Improve sleep
• Help keep you calm
• Keep your muscles from cramping
• Promote healthy digestion
• Helpful in treating leaky gut
• Regulate blood sugar levels
• Aid in the detoxification and cleansing of the liver
• Encourage digestion and circulation

The post Increase Energy & Lose Weight Tip #1 appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

Many Americans are cutting back on carbs and doing a low-carb diet. This is a smart strategy for cutting calories and helping to moderate blood sugar levels, but be careful not to cut back or eliminate ‘good’ carbohydrates. People often count carbohydrates on diet sites, such as fitday.com or sparkspeople.com as well as looking at the number on nutritional panel of packaged foods. Our bodies need good carbohydrates so keep them in your diet. Not only are good carbohydrates the body’s most immediate energy source, they get absorbed slowly into our systems thus avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels.

What is a good carbohydrate?
Good carbohydrates are unprocessed carbohydrates in their ‘natural’ state – or very close to their natural state. Green vegetables are the ultimate good carb foods and should not be eliminated, especially dark green leafy vegetables. They are my favorite and  I recommend having at least 2 cups of dark green leafy vegetables each day if you are on a weight loss plan. Beans and legumes are also generally included on the good carbs list, as are many raw nuts and seeds. Also on the list are whole-grain foods such as whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas, however, when trying to lose a few pounds, it is best to keep grains to a minimum. These choices (even including whole-grain pasta, brown rice, and baked potatoes) are calorie-dense, easy to overeat, and known to elevate blood sugar.

What is a bad carbohydrate?
When doing a low-carb diet, or a healthier lifestyle, it is best to cut out or eliminate the ‘bad’ carbs. Bad carbs are refined, processed carbohydrate foods that have had all or most of their natural nutrients and fiber altered or removed. These include white breads, white sugars, white pastas, snack foods, candies, french fries, donuts, juices, and soft drinks, just to name a few.

If you are considering making your diet a more healthy, low-carb diet, cut back slowly. If your body is used to a large amount of bad carbohydrate foods, you may experience detox-type symptoms if you remove them all at once. This can include fatigue, moodiness and strong food cravings. Try completely omitting bad carbohydrates and starchy vegetables at dinner a few nights each week and work up to eliminating it every night first, then proceed to every meal. Build your meals with lean protein, and add a good portion of filling, fiber-rich vegetables.

Be bad carb-free for life!
Many who go on low-carb diets, and then go off their low-carb diet usually gain the weight right back. Our bodies will go into shock if we go without (bad) carbohydrates for a period of time and then reintroduce them. When our bodies are shocked, it almost always results in gains. It’s best to remove all processed foods and stick to healthier choices for life to maintain your weight and a healthy lifestyle.

The post Why Our Bodies Need Good Carbohydrates appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

When it comes to food, cravings can be intense and why most of us fail with our weight loss goals. You set out to eat healthy but then you find it hard to resist a handful of chips, a bowl of popcorn, or a heaping serving of French fries. Can you relate?  

Our body needs salt to survive. Many people have nutrient deficiencies can result in cravings so if you are experiencing cravings for salty things, you might be calcium deficient. Our bodies require a relatively high amount of this mineral in comparison to many other trace minerals. 

Scientific studies suggests that often a calcium deficiency can lead to cravings for salty things. This is because the level of sodium from something salty increases in the blood which in turn increases the calcium level in blood temporarily. The body is tricked into thinking that calcium deficiency has been overcome. However, this might be a temporary fix of salt cravings, it leads to more calcium deficiency as the secreted calcium comes from the bones. Thus, it will again start the cravings.

How calcium and magnesium works in Craving Defender

Calcium and magnesium work together extraordinarily well. Magnesium is actually the key to the body’s proper absorption and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. The deficiency of both of these minerals goes hand in hand priming you for salt cravings. That’s why we put them together in in Craving Defender. Because magnesium and calcium support the body to maintain the water and sodium balance, the body’s craving for salty food will lesson with Craving Defender.

Defending your salty cravings will help you get back on track and reach your weight loss goals.

Ready to get your cravings under control? Grab a bottle of Craving Defender.

The post How Calcium Deficiency Causes Salt Cravings appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

Cinnamon has been used for thousands of years as a spice in baking and cooking. It is also popular because of its antioxidant properties. Cinnamic acid, cinnamate, and cinnamaldehyde are the compounds present in the cinnamon that imparts its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic functions. 

But why did we include this spice in Craving Defender? There are a number of reasons.

Did you know cinnamon has been shown to help in shedding weight? The anti-diabetic function helps to decrease and maintain the sugar levels in the blood. Additionally, the cell sensitivity to insulin improves with the use of cinnamon. Moreover, many digestive enzymes and their activity is blocked by cinnamon resulting in reduced sugar absorption by the cell from the blood after consumption of a meal rich in carbohydrates. Pretty amazing, right?

Cinnamon also has high fiber content which will slow down the passing of food from the stomach to the small intestine, thus it promotes the feeling of fullness and satiety and curbs the food cravings. Since the body needs more energy to process cinnamon in comparison to other foods, it can help to boost metabolism. The improved metabolism targets the abdominal fat deposits resulting in weight loss.

Additionally, cinnamon supplementation has been shown by research to significantly improve metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.

Cinnamon also has the ability to mimic the action of insulin. This increases glucose metabolism in the body, reducing the need of the body to secrete more insulin and fighting the craving for more food. When sugar levels are high in the blood, it is stored in the body as fats. These high levels are prevented by cinnamon which will promote weight loss.

You can get all these amazing cinnamon benefits (and more!) by incorporating Craving Defender into your daily diet!

Ready to curb your cravings and lose weight? Grab a bottle of Craving Defender.

The post How Cinnamon Defends your Crazy Cravings appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.

It has been a couple months since we complained about how hot and humid it was, so now our focus may be on how cold and dry it has become. It does seem that the grass is truly greener – in the other season, right?

But winter doesn’t have to be unbearably dry and miserable. It is a fabulous time of year, and without it, we may not truly appreciate the other 3 seasons.

There are some wonderful and healthy things you may have laying around your home that can help you combat the moisture-zapping winter months! Pair them with some routine changes and you will stay soft, smooth, and supple right into the promise of the spring season.

First and foremost (and possibly the cheapest and easiest tip) is to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. When the heat is kicking inside and the cold wind is blowing outside, don’t forget to drink your filtered water! You will want to drink half your weight in ounces. For example, a 150-pound person would need to drink 75 ounces of water daily. If you are a coffee drinker, remember that is a diuretic and will NOT count towards your liquid intake; it will, in fact, deplete from it. Add equal amounts of water for the coffee you consume!! A 12-oz cup o’joe in the morning is fine, but remember to add 12 ounces of water to compensate.

Also, the intake of healthy fats will help our skin more than one might realize. Try adding salmon, avocado, nuts, olives, olive oil, and MCT oil to your diet. Another option would be a supplemental form of Omega 3-6-9 or Borage Oil. Skin and hair love dietary fats.

Next, we turn our attention to bathing and showering. Hot and steamy baths and showers may feel amazing when we are dealing with the winter blahs, but, truth be told, the heat causes the lipid barriers in our skin to break down which will lead to moisture loss. To protect your skin, turn down the heat in your bathing routine, and shorten up the bath and shower time! Your skin will thank you.

When you get out of the shower, pat your skin dry. The brisk towel rubbing method will also sap the skin’s moisture. This is a great time to lock in the moisture by applying coconut oil. Baby oil used to be all the rave, but since learning it is a petroleum based product, a natural coconut seems much more appealing to slather on skin… not to mention the amazing, tropical smell of the coconut lifting our spirit while we dream of our island getaway and listen to the sound of the steel drums…

OH WAIT – where was I?

Oh, yes. Dry, itchy, cracked skin – or preventing it!!

You can also protect your skin by choosing natural fabrics like flannel and cotton for your house wear! Cozy on up naturally and forego the synthetic and polyesters that can irritate even the healthiest of skin. If you have ever rubbed a dry hand along a microfiber cloth, you will know what I am talking about!

Speaking of hands, our hands and feet are often the most affected by the seasonal conditions. Since the skin on our hands and feet is so thin, our appendages often suffer the most extreme drying. Keep your hands covered outdoors in winter weather by wearing gloves. Keeping your feet covered outside in winter is kind of a no-brainer, but I will just throw that in here to be sure. You can also consider giving yourself a special treat on a cold night by applying coconut oil to your hands and feet and putting on gloves and socks while you sit back and read a book – or a blog – about winter skin care, perhaps. Be generous with the oil on your cuticles.

There isn’t much to do to protect our face outdoors, but a good moisturizer and perhaps a mineral based foundation will provide a layer of protection.

Lips will certainly enjoy a lip balm protectant which can lock in moisture and help prevent licking our lips to keep them moist – which will also irritate them and dry them out. There are so many healthy and organic lip options out there now. Beeswax, shea butter, essential oils, and the like are all amazing rewards for our lips that will serve as protection.

Now if this blog came too late, and you are already dealing with the dryness, or you don’t want to use heavy coconut oil, you can use therapeutic MSM lotion that is truly nothing short of amazing. I use it multiple times per day, and my skin remains smooth through the winter – and summer, too!

There are other supplements for healthy skin, too. Biotin is great for hair, skin, and nails and Resveratrol is an anti-oxidant that is well known for its skin benefits – specifically anti-aging.

Hopefully these tips can help you make it through the cold months comfortably.

How about you? Do you have any healthy tips you could share? Feel free to comment below!

The post Baby, It’s Cold (and Dry) Outside! appeared first on Little Choices Everyday.