While it’s natural for us moms to put our kiddos needs before ours, it’s essential to remember that we are important too! Prioritizing self-care is only going to help you show up even more for your kids, and be a better version of you. 

But, if you are wondering how in the world you are going to fit any sort of self-care into your already jam-packed mom schedule, we hear you. We get just how busy being a mom is, and how most days you just wish there were a few extra hours to do what you need to get done. But, we’re letting you in on some of the top secrets of busy mommas and how even the busiest women maximize self-care. 

We promise self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming. You can maximize self-care while also doing what you need to do for the kids. 

Ready to take better care of you, momma? Here’s how you can take care of you even amongst the chaos of the busy days. 

Four Ways Mommas Can Maximize Self-Care Even on the Most Chaotic Days

#1 Find Your Inner Kid

If you are a momma to young little ones and feel like you have lost your inner kid with everything you have on your to-do list each day,  you are not alone! It’s easy to forget to just let loose and have fun, but allowing ourselves to just be a kid with our kids is a great way to reduce stress. 

Turn on some music, get your kids involved, and have a dance party. Not only will this help release some feel-good endorphins, but your kids will love it too. It’s a win, win, and a great way to lower those stress levels when you feel the tension of your busy day rising. 

#2 Find Your Calm During Nap Time

I think most moms can relate that we could all use a nap in the middle of the day, right? Maximize your self-care by finding your calm during the little ones nap times. Whether you grab a quick snooze yourself, or pour yourself a cup of tea and just breathe, just find your zen for that precious nap time.

#3 Have a Power Hour (or half-hour) Before the House Wakes up 

Another ideal way to really prioritize self-care and make sure that you are taking care of both your mind and your body is to have a dedicated power hour in the morning. Hey, even if it’s just 30 minutes, getting up before everyone else in the house to do a quick HIIT FitOn workout, grab a shower, and have a cup of coffee is pure bliss. 

You would be shocked at how much more centered you feel throughout the rest of your day with getting just a little bit of time to yourself in the morning. 

#4 Just Breathe Momma

When your kids are having a fit, or you look at your to-do list and suddenly feel totally overwhelmed and anxious, stop and take a breath. Deep breathing is such a valuable self-care tool that most of us forget we can use anywhere and at any time. 

Kids acting up while you’re sitting in traffic? Just breathe! Schedule not going according to plan, and you’re feeling frazzled? Breathe! Deeping breathing is such a wonderful form of self-care and one that doesn’t cost you a thing. 

Max Out on Your Daily Mom Self-Care  

Listen up, momma. Make self-care a priority. We are giving you that nudge all mommas need letting you know that self-care is not selfish. Self-care is actually essential, and we are all about maximizing any amount of self-care you can fit into your day. So, ready to make self-care a priority? We are totally here backing you up!

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Want to learn about how hormone imbalance can cause all of those frustrating and miserable symptoms none of us want to deal with? Want to learn about some daily hacks to help balance hormones? Read on.

What is a Hormone Imbalance?

So, what is a hormone imbalance? Simple enough, it’s something that occurs when there is either too much or too little of a particular hormone in the body. And, since hormones play such an integral role in balancing our overall health, even just a slight fluctuation in a specific hormone can throw our balance out of whack.

Ok, great, so we know that hormone imbalances can throw our system for a loop. But what’s the deal with these little chemical messengers, anyway?

Hormones play a role in more areas of health than we could possibly talk about in this article. But to give you the general gist, here are some major areas they play a huge role in regulating.

• Metabolism
• Appetite
• Temperature regulation
• Mood
• Stress
• Sexual function
• Reproductive health
• Sleep
• Growth
• Heart rate

What are the Symptoms?

Let’s talk symptoms-how do you know if you have a hormone imbalance? An important thing to keep in mind is that symptoms will vary depending on what hormones are affected by the imbalance. But, with that being said, there are some common symptoms that go along with many different hormonal imbalances, so keep an eye out for any of these.

• Weight gain or weight loss
• Sensitivity to cold
• Increased thirst
• Depression
• Irritability
• Skin issues (dry skin, rashes)
• Sleep changes
• Sweating excessively
• Fatigue that goes on for an extended period of time
• Thinning hair and or nails
• Infertility
• Bloating
• Headache

If any of these symptoms happen to just pop up suddenly, call your doctor and get an appointment booked asap. Your doctor can run tests to look at your hormone levels and see if they are the cause of your symptoms.

What Causes a Hormone Imbalance?

If you’re dealing with a hormone imbalance and scratching your head trying to figure out what on earth caused it, you’re definitely not alone. Hormone imbalance and wondering why they happen can be confusing since they can really happen at any time. For many of us, they seem like they happen for no good reason.

To help break this down, here are some common causes of hormone imbalance.

• Chronic stress (yup, many of us know this far to well!)
• Diabetes
• Thyroid health issues
• Adrenal health issues
• Birth control pills
• Poor diet & lifestyle habits
• Environmental toxin exposure

3 Daily Life Hacks for Hormone Imbalance

Let’s get to the stuff we all want to know-how to deal with a hormone imbalance. We’re talking about life hacks that you can implement today that may not only help support better hormone balance but will be beneficial for overall health as well.

So, let’s get to it.

#1 Reduce That Stress

This is one of the top ways you can help balance your hormones. This is especially true when it comes to the stress hormone cortisol, which is quick to give you issues when you are dealing with periods of chronic stress. So, here’s your invitation to check in with yourself and be honest about how much self-care your practice each day (if it’s nothing, it’s time for a change!)

At FitOn, we believe in a very healthy dose of self-care (daily!) In order to function at your best, take care of others, and all of your life obligations, you must take care of you and reduce your stress. And, with stress reduction, comes better hormone balance. So, get your yoga mat out and practice with Vytas on the FitOn app. You can also drink that cup of chamomile tea before bed, and get your nails done once a month. Do you, and what makes you feel more relaxed. Your hormones will thank you for it.

#2 Hit the Hay Earlier

If you find yourself getting into bed after midnight each night, here’s one more reason to add to your list of reasons to get to bed earlier. Chances are, you already want to get to bed earlier, but just have so much on your to-do list it’s next to impossible each night. But, if you can just slowly shift that bedtime to be even an hour earlier, your hormones have a better chance at balancing themselves out since sleep deprivation has been linked to hormone and metabolism changes. Not getting enough sleep can even impact the foods you eat, making you more likely to snack on the junk food we all know we should be staying away from.

So, the takeaway? Start by moving your bedtime up just ten minutes earlier each night until you are getting into bed a whole hour or two earlier. (yay sleep!) You would be shocked at how much more rested you feel the next day, and what this can do for your hormone balance.

#3 Quit Sugar

Ok, ok, so we know this is way easier said than done, but by slowing shifting your eating habits away from foods with added sugar, you can do great things for your body, including hormone balance. And, since hormone imbalance and weight gain are often intertwined, you can also help boost weight loss efforts by quitting sugar.

Slowly cut sugar out of your diet by replacing it with natural options like raw honey and pure maple syrup (just be sure to enjoy these in moderation too.) You can also start swapping out packaged foods for natural options, you know like the foods that don’t come with food labels (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, pasture-raised eggs)

The Bottom Line

No one should walk around with symptoms that interfere with their overall quality of life, and having a hormone imbalance can totally get in the way of living life to the fullest. So, if you struggle with getting those hormones in check, do yourself a favor and try implementing these life hacks. While they may not completely fix the underlying imbalance, they certainly aren’t going to hurt. Plus, they will help give your body that little nudge to start to establish that homeostasis we all are after.  

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We’re spilling the deets on exactly why nutrition is super duper important and are breaking down exactly what kinds of foods you should be eating plus, how to replace the sugary and downright toxic food options that dominate the supermarket aisles.

Why Is Nutrition Important?

So, what’s the deal with nutrition-why is it so important for healthy women’s fitness performance? The bottom line is that nutrient-rich foods will fuel your workout. Equate it to the gasoline we pour into our cars. And it’s more than choosing the vegetable over the doughnut. It’s about the right kinds of foods like choosing the right kind of carbs (complex vs. refined) and clean protein sources.

Carbs

Too many people rely on simple carbs to start their day (we’re looking at you bagels and toast.) If you replace these carb-heavy options with fiber and protein, you’ll offer your body a kickstart. Plus, you’ll stay full until lunch leaving less room to snack on unhealthy snack options at the office.

But, let’s look at carbs a little closer because, let’s face it, carbs have a bad rap. Some diets push the idea that we should be avoiding them at all costs, but we don’t have to be so extreme in most cases. Here’s the thing-carbs can serve as an excellent fuel source for both our everyday energy and can supercharge our workouts. But, we must consume the right kind of carbs and leave the refined and sugary options behind.  

Simple carbs are loaded with sugar and cause an unhealthy spike in our glucose levels. Meanwhile, complex carbs are slower to release and less likely to spike our blood sugar. Complex carbs are also more likely to give us longer more sustained energy throughout our workouts.

Some great options include.

• Rolled oats
• Quinoa
• Brown rice
• High-Fiber Fruit (raspberries, pears, blueberries)
• Vegetables
• Beans

Protein

Ever wondered why protein shakes are so popular in the workout world? Well, protein builds and repairs muscles. That means we’re more likely to reap the benefits of a productive workout. Protein shakes are a great supplement after a rigorous workout, plus they are super easy to make for all of us ladies who live a busy lifestyle. The trick is to use a high-quality protein powder free from added sugar and artificial ingredients. Some great options include collagen protein, bone broth protein, or grass-fed whey (if dairy is well-tolerated.)

Also, if you’re ever running low on carbs but your workout isn’t over yet, protein will step in as an alternate fuel source.

Try adding plenty of clean protein sources to your diet by adding some protein to each meal from foods like:

• Chicken
• Wild-caught fish
• Eggs
• Lentils
• Beans
• Quinoa
• Full-fat unsweetened Greek yogurt

Superfoods

Burning 200 calories in a spin class only to consume two or three margaritas at night may not give you the results you are exactly looking for. It fills the body with empty calories that can’t be used for anything beneficial, and it inhibits the brain functionality that was just bolstered during a workout.

The same goes for highly processed foods. They pour nutrient-void elements into our bodies which brings us to the term “superfood.”

Basically, these foods provide tremendous fuel for our bodies. They’re low in sugar and high in vitamins. They provide us with healthy carbohydrates (the ones that don’t douse our systems in sugar) and healthy fats. They’re also super rich in antioxidants.

Common superfoods include:

• Kale
• Turmeric
• Coconut
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds
• Hemp seeds
• Berries

Antioxidants

Speaking of antioxidants, antioxidants are great because they help ward off free radicals. 

We can find antioxidants in:

• Dark leafy greens
• Vegetables
• Berries
• Green tea

While we’re on the subject, it’s worth noting a lesser-known antioxidant called quercetin, which can be found in apples, berries, broccoli, and onions.

Metabolism Boosters

Of course, regular exercise will keep our metabolism running at high levels. But, some of the food we eat can provide a little added boost. There are plenty of foods out there that stimulate the fat burning process.

Heavy hitters in this category include:

• Green tea
• Black coffee
• Nuts and seeds
• Fatty fish (wild-caught salmon, sardines)
• Coconut oil

And,  if you like adding a little bit of heat to your meals, then we’re all for adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to your stir-fry as spicy foods may also help give your metabolism the little kick it needs to rev into high gear.

The Final Word

Healthy women around the globe know it’s not about the hours we spend in Pilates class. It’s about the food we eat. We can choose to fuel our bodies with healthy carbs and antioxidants or we can slow down our systems and spike our sugar levels to dangerous highs.

When you’re ready to merge regular exercise with your healthy eating habits, come on over and join the FitOn community. You’ll join a community of healthy women that enjoys personalized fitness plans from celebrity trainers – anywhere, anytime.

Once you download the app, you’ll have access to premium video content, from yoga to Pilates, to Barre classes, and more.
Get healthy, get lean, get toned, and get happy. Make a commitment to yourself. Don’t just lose weight. Gain control of your life, mind, body, and spirit. Get started by downloading the app today!

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So, if you want in on some serious skin care secrets, read on.

5 Lifestyle Hacks for Optimal Skin Care

#1 Give Your Diet a Refresh by Eating These Skin-Boosting Foods

As we mentioned, diet plays a huge role when it comes to skin care & health, and the good news is that you are in charge of what you feed your body. As the saying goes, you are what you eat, and what you eat is indeed going to show up on your skin.

Here are three skin-boosting foods to add to your diet ASAP!

Green Veggies

We all know just how important veggies are to an overall healthy body, but they can also be especially helpful for skin health. Dark leafy greens are rich in antioxidants and alkalinizing properties to keep your skin looking radiant all year long. Add a handful of greens to your favorite smoothie, and enjoy a side salad with arugula and kale with dinner or lunch as often as possible. Want to supercharge your skin-boosting salad? Sprinkle on some hemp seeds and drizzle on the extra virgin olive oil.

Hydrating Foods

Hydrating foods like cucumber, cantaloupe, and watermelon can all help hydrate our skin and prevent dryness. Try enjoying some sliced cucumber with hummus, and some fresh cut fruit with a handful of nuts or seeds.

Healthy Fats

Don’t be afraid to add fat to your diet! Fats play an essential role in overall health, and the skin relies on healthy fats for that youthful looking glow for a couple of reasons. For one, omega-3 fatty acids found in things like wild-caught salmon, chia, and flaxseeds have been thought to help support skin health and improve the appearance of skin. Healthy fats can also be super helpful if you feel like your skin gets super dry in the winter months. Try adding things like wild-caught fatty fish, avocados, coconut oil, chia, flax, and hemp seeds to your diet.

So, drop everything you’re doing and run to your kitchen, or the closest Whole Foods, and stock up on these skin-boosting foods. Not only will your skin health benefit, but your overall health will as well.

#2 Get Your Beauty Sleep

Getting enough sleep can improve the appearance of general skin care, by reducing those dark circles under the eyes we have all had at one point or another. For some of us, it almost seems like we’ve been walking around with these bags for as long as we can remember. However, you would be surprised at what a solid night sleep and a healthy diet can do to improve those dark circles in a short period of time.

#3 Be Picky When it Comes to Your Skin Care Products

Not all skincare products are the same, and some can be downright irritating and damaging to our skin. If you had to choose something to be picky about, what you put on your skin is something to think twice about.

An excellent resource for checking out the safety of your skincare products is EWG.org, so go and check out the safety of the products you generally use. Here are some of the common things you will want to avoid when it comes to skincare products.

• Parabens
• SLS
• Aluminum
• Lead (yikes!)
• Triclosan
• Formaldehyde (yuck!)
• Fragrance

Be extremely picky, and do your research. If you think you have found a product that works for you and your skin type, check it out on EWG before you buy it.  

#4 Boost Gut Health

What in the world does gut health have to do with the appearance of our skin? The short answer is that gut health is literally connected to every other aspect of our health, including the health and look of our skin. In fact, those who suffer from eczema commonly flare-up when they consume something they are sensitive to. The bacteria in the gut may also play a role here as any imbalance in gut bacteria can throw your whole body out of whack.

So, to help support gut health, try eliminating sugar, processed and artificial foods, artificial coloring and flavoring, and other inflammatory foods you may react to such as gluten and dairy.

Instead, fuel your body with tons of gut-boosting foods such as:

• Bone broth
• Sauerkraut
• Kombucha
• Full-fat unsweetened coconut milk yogurt

#5 Combat Stress

Stress is a silent killer and can make us look and feel tired and worn out. It can also cause premature aging (we’re looking at you wrinkles and fine lines) and can lead to total body inflammation. To help reduce stress, try practicing some form of stress reduction each day. This can be in the form of a daily walk, a 20-minute FitOn workout, or a 10-minute meditation to wind down your day. Don’t let stress age you! Take stress head-on, and implement the steps needed to get your stress levels in check.

The Key Takeaway Points for Glowing Skin

If you’re ready to get glowing and youthful looking skin at any age, take health into your own hands by incorporating skin-boosting anti-inflammatory foods into your diet, supporting gut health, and reducing stress. And, while you’re at it, get into bed earlier, and make self-care a priority. The better you take care of you, the better your skin will look and feel, and guess what? The appearance of your skin is a reflection of what’s going on internally, so by taking the steps to support gut health, you are also supporting total wellness, so keep at it. The reward of glowing and radiant skin is well worth it.

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But here’s the thing-diet plays such an integral role in gut health. Not to mention, diet is one thing that you absolutely can control. What you put in your body has a direct impact on your overall health and how well your digestive system functions.

Read on to learn why ginger is basically nature’s Pepto Bismol (but oh so much better tasting)

Ginger for Gut Health

Have you ever had an upset stomach and sipped on a mug of ginger tea and instantly felt better? When it comes to supporting gut health, ginger has been shown to offer impressive benefits. Oh, and we can’t forget about its anti-inflammatory properties too.

How to Eat Ginger

Ok, so we get it — ginger comes with some impressive benefits — but how exactly do you eat it?

Ginger can be enjoyed quite a few ways including.

• Added to a fresh juice
• Blended into a smoothie
• Added to stir-fry’s
• Powdered ginger can easily be added to many recipes (even sweet treats like muffins)
• Enjoyed as a tea

3 Gut-Boosting Recipes

To help you get started, we are sharing our top three favorite ways to add ginger to your diet.

#1 Ginger Tea

One of the easiest ways to get some into your diet is to make a tea. You can find ginger tea at your local health food store. Alternatively, steep a small piece of fresh ginger in a cup of hot water, strain, and then add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and a drizzle of raw honey for added sweetness.

#2 Ginger Pear Smoothie

This recipe is super easy to whip up and is a great refreshing way to get ginger into your diet. Try making a ginger pear smoothie with almond or coconut milk, freshly sliced pear, a frozen banana, and a sprinkle of ground ginger. Blend and sweeten with raw honey or pure maple syrup.

#3 Ginger Juice

If your digestion is feeling a bit sluggish, and you need a little bit of a boost, then this recipe will hit the spot. Try making fresh juice by running some apples, lemon, and fresh ginger through a juicer. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for added heat if desired.

The Takeaway

Ginger holds so many amazing health properties and makes the perfect addition to a healthy diet. The better you support your digestion, the better you feel. So, go out and pick up some fresh and ground ginger, and get experimenting in the kitchen. Your recipes will have an added flavor boost full of ginger’s amazing gut-supporting properties. Total win.

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Yeah, you probably think it’s good old lactic acid, but here’s the thing. Lactic acid is one of the most commonly misunderstood responses in the body. It’s often blamed for the ‘burn’ you feel after an exhaustive workout. You may think of lactic acid as your workout’s worst enemy and the reason behind your aching muscles. But, what if there was more to the story?

What is Lactic Acid?

First, to better understand what’s really causing those sore muscles, we need to look at what lactic acid is. First, let’s get real about what lactic acid is and what it isn’t.

You’ve probably at some point, or another heard ‘lactic acid’ and ‘lactate’ thrown about by coaches, trainers and other sports experts, that assume that they are the same thing. But, technically they are completely different. Lactate is produced by your body in response to a workout like a strength workout with FitOn trainer Katie Dunlop and serves as fuel for your muscles and delays fatigue.

Lactic acid, on the other hand, isn’t formed in muscle or produced by the body at all during exercise. Guess what? Lactic acid actually doesn’t have anything to do with muscle soreness after a workout, so while you may have been blaming lactic acid your whole life, the truth is that an increase in lactic acid doesn’t make your muscles sore.

So what actually makes you sore after a grueling workout? In order to understand how this works, you need to understand the way your body fuels your workout.

What Happens to Your Body When You Start Exercising?

During intense exercise, your body needs energy to fuel your workout. To do this, it breaks down glycogen, carbs and other molecules to produce ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. ATP is then broken down releasing energy, including hydrogen, throughout your muscles.

Those hydrogen ions then start to build up in your body, causing a drop in your body’s PH levels and interfering with your muscle’s ability to contract.

Your body’s PH levels are actually what leads to a mid-workout burn that will no doubt cut your workout short. This entire process of creating energy requires oxygen and some exercises are so intense that your body can’t use oxygen fast enough to produce fuel.

When you don’t have enough oxygen to perform this process, your body produces lactate to fuel your muscles. The lactate isn’t actually hurting your muscles though. It’s trying to help your muscles from giving out on you.

Your muscles become acidic when they don’t get enough oxygen and their PH levels drop. As you lose energy and power, lactate swoops in to save the day, acting as a protective mechanism.

The Bottom Line

Despite being on the hook for muscle soreness for decades, that sore feeling you get after exercise isn’t actually caused by lactic acid. Post-exercise soreness is simply a result of mechanical damage to muscle fibers and inflammation.

Surprisingly enough you need lactate! Lactate is essential to the exercising process. It helps to boost the mitochondria in your cells improving your strength and stamina.

You may even want to raise what’s called your lactate threshold. You’ll be able to keep pushing further, develop your aerobic capacity, and demolish your next workout.

Try our Hot Body HIIT challenge to jump-start your week and feel awesome.

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Girl, we hear the frustration-so, if you’re the type of gal who seems to suffer from dry skin no matter what time of year it is, it’s time to take exfoliating seriously, and we’re going to tell you why.

Read on to learn how to exfoliate, and more importantly, how to exfoliate for smooth skin.

Why Bother Exfoliating?

First things first, and that’s to talk about why we should even bother exfoliating in the first place. It’s basically a secret weapon again getting rid of dry, rough, and flaky patches of the skin (yay!) This is exactly what you want when your skin still seems dry after the colder months, it may just need a little exfoliating boost to brush away those dry patches. By getting rid of those dry skin cells that tend to just sit at the top of your skin, you can let your new skin cells shine through.

The result? Smoother and more radiant looking skin (win!)

Another big benefit-you can actually make your skin care products work better. Huh? How the heck does this work? Think about the last time you used tanning lotion-was it a total disaster that lead to orange streaks on your legs and feet? Well, if you didn’t exfoliate beforehand, that could be why. Exfoliating can help make applying that much-needed initial tanning lotion application after a long sunless winter look just a little more natural.

Exfoliating before applying your moisturizer can also be beneficial as you are getting rid of the built-up dry skin debris and making room for the moisturizer to really get into the healthy skin cells and go to work.

So, basically, the bottom line here is that if you aren’t exfoliating, you should be. It may be exactly what your skin needs for that radiant and smooth-looking glow.

How to Exfoliate for Smooth Skin

Ok, so we know that exfoliating can help boost the appearance of our skin, and may even make our skincare products work better, but how do you exfoliate?

Here’s a quick guide on how to get started.

How to Exfoliate Your Body

To exfoliate your body, you will need a loofah, an exfoliating washcloth or mit, or a bath sponge. When you are in the shower, use your loofah, or whatever you are exfoliating with, and massage it in a circular motion over your skin with a natural exfoliating wash (read below for our top picks.) Rinse and moisturize when you get out of the shower for perfectly smooth skin!

How to Exfoliate Your Face

To exfoliate your face, start with a clean face and then using your facial scrub (see our fav options below,) rub it into your skin using a circular motion. Rinse and then pat dry with a soft towel. Moisturize with your fav facial moisturizer for radiant and smooth skin.

Ditch the Store-bought Products

In addition to a loofah, or bath sponge, you will also need some sort of product to help exfoliate your skin. You can either purchase a natural exfoliating wash or scrub, or you can make your own with just a handful of ingredients. Making your own means you avoid any unnecessary exposure to chemicals and harsh fragrance.

Here’s our favorite way to whip up a batch of exfoliating scrub.

DIY Exfoliating Scrub

What You Need

• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. raw sugar
• 2 drops of pure-grade lavender essential oil (Young Living or DoTERRA are great picks)

How to Make

Add your ingredients to a glass jar and mix well.

Store in the fridge to prevent the coconut oil from melting.

Natural Store-Bought Exfoliating Scrubs

It really can’t get much easier to make your own exfoliating scrub (it also smells amazing) but, if you are into the idea of buying one from the store, here are our top store-bought natural options.

• Beauty By Earth Facial Scrub
• Everyone 2:1 Exfoliator & Mask
• Lush Scrub, Scrub, Scrub

The Bottom Line

If you suffer from dry, rough, or flaky skin that no matter how much you moisturize still seems to give you issues even during the warmer months, it’s time to add exfoliating to the mix. By smoothing away rough and dry skin cells, you will be amazed at how much healthier and smooth your skin looks.  So, go out and get yourself a loofah, and whip up a batch of some homemade scrub. We promise you’ll thank us later when your legs look amazingly radiant in that bikini or beach dress this summer.

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So, you may be wondering how exactly this works. If you aren’t drinking the tea, how are you getting it into your beauty routine?

We are spilling all green tea goodness with you and breaking down how it may be your new secret weapon when it comes to boosting your beauty routine.

Green Tea Beauty Benefits

Green tea is pretty much the bomb when it comes to helping support skin health. It’s basically like food for our skin, and here’s why.

• Rich in Anti-inflammatory Properties: The powerful anti-inflammatory properties in green tea makes it great for reducing swelling, redness, and irritated skin.

• Helps Reduce Puffy Dark Bags Under the Eyes: You know those dark circles we literally ALL have? Well, as it turns out, the caffeine in green tea may help shrink the blood vessels around the eyes. This can help reduce those puffy dark circles. So, sleep-deprived moms can say goodbye to those dark circles that tend to come along with motherhood!

• Rich in Antioxidants: One of the most impressive benefits of green tea is its antioxidant content. In particular, the antioxidant EGCG that may help combat early signs of skin aging. It may even provide some protective benefits for the skin (yes, please!)

How to Add Green Tea to Your Beauty Routine

Ok, so we know that green tea is pretty legit when it comes to supporting skin health and boosting our beauty routine. But how do you go about adding it into your daily skincare routine?

In addition to drinking it regularly, here are five other ways to add it to your beauty routine.

#1 Make a face mask: Make a DIY face mask using the contents of a green tea bag and a little bit of honey. Let this sit on your face for about five minutes and then rinse and moisturize with coconut oil.

#2 Reduce Puffy Dark Circles: To help reduce those puffy sleep-deprived eyes, chill two green tea bags in the fridge for about a half hour. Place them on your eyes (while closed!) and sit back and relax while the anti-inflammatory properties go to work!

#3 Make a Pore-cleaning Toner: Make a DIY toner using ¼ cup freshly brewed (and chilled) green tea mixed with ¼ cup filtered water. Apply with a soft cotton round and then rinse.

#4 Make an Exfoliating Rub: Green tea can also be added to a DIY exfoliator made with sugar and coconut oil. It can add some extra anti-inflammatory benefits to help give your skin a nice boost.

#5 Make a Shiny Hair Rinse: It’s not just great for skin health, it can also help promote shiny hair. Try rinsing your hair with freshly brewed and chilled green tea before using your regular shampoo and conditioner.

The Final Word

So, here’s your invitation to pamper yourself. Add some green tea to your beauty routine to instantly turn your daily skin care routine into a spa-like experience. Not only will it help improve your skin health, but it may even help you relax and unwind at the end of a long day.

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Plus, there are too many natural remedies available to let eczema hold you back. So, if you are tired of scratching and tired of spending hundreds of dollars on products that promise to help but only disappoint, read on to really learn how to get your eczema under control (naturally.)

The Top 5 Natural Remedies for Eczema

#1 Honey

We love honey around here (raw honey that is.) Not only is it ideal for the immune system on top of all of those amazing vitamins and enzymes it packs in, but we love honey for eczema and overall skin health as well. Honey contains natural and super powerful antimicrobial properties that can help get to the source of your flare-up, which may, in fact, be some sort of skin infection. Or, raw honey can help if your eczema happens to get infected when dealing with a flare-up. You can use honey topically, (manuka honey is especially helpful here) or use a honey-based ointment/cream like the one from the Eczema Honey co.

#2 Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe vera is becoming super popular as it is finally getting the attention it deserves for all of its awesome health properties. Eczema happens to be one of the things aloe vera gel may be able to help with, similar to how aloe vera gel can help soothe a sunburn. If you are dealing with a flare that just won’t give up and is causing intense burning and itching, then aloe vera gel may be your new BFF. Slab some aloe gel on that irritated skin, and feel the instant relief.  

#3 Coconut Oil

Here’s another superfood we love around here as it holds way too many health benefits to ignore, and it may make a great addition to your skincare routine. Again, coconut oil is another natural antimicrobial to help keep skin infections at bay, something you do have to be mindful of. Coconut oil is also super moisturizing, so it’s a great way to keep that dry and flaky skin smooth. It’s basically a secret weapon for fighting off eczema that all sufferers should consider trying! You can even make a homemade moisturizer with coconut oil and a drop of pure-grade lavender essential oil (DoTERRA or Young Living are great options) for a gentle way to protect your eczema-prone skin.

#4 Colloidal Oatmeal

One of the most commonly used natural remedies, colloidal oatmeal works great for reducing the irritation while also helping to reduce the dry and flaky skin that comes along with eczema. You can buy colloidal oatmeal cream, or make a colloidal oatmeal bath to bring some serious skin-itching relief.

#5 Lavender Essential Oil

You don’t have to give us another excuse to use lavender essential oil regularly, but here’s just one more reason to try it. Lavender essential oil can help promote a sense of calm, and when you think about times where you eczema flares up, chances are, you are super stressed or anxious. By adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to a colloidal oatmeal bath, or to some coconut oil to use over your eczema-prone skin, you may be able to help relax your mind and body enough to stop your eczema from itching so badly, or from flaring up in the first place. It’s all about treating the mind and body, and lavender essential oil may totally be able to help.

The Bottom Line

If you suffer from eczema and have tried just about every cream on the market with little to no luck, it’s time to turn to nature and give one of these natural remedies a try. Honey for eczema flare-ups and colloidal oatmeal to soothe that itch may be exactly what you need to get your symptoms under control. So, give them a try for some serious eczema relief.

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And, the good news is that even if you live a crazy busy life the practice only needs to last for a few minutes or can go for 30 minutes or more (as long as you’d like, really!), but no matter how long you meditate, it can provide amazing benefits (both mentally and physically) when incorporated into a daily routine.

When practiced frequently and consistently, meditation can have a powerful effect on your well-being. Whether it’s a guided through an app or simply focusing on your breath for a few minutes, take the time to give yourself some self-care every single day.

So, are you ready to jump out of bed each morning and start a practice to bring some more zen to your life? Us, too and here’s why.

10 Awesome Reasons Why Daily Morning Meditation Can Completely Transform Your Day and Your Health

#1 Meditation increases a sense of well-being

Studies have shown that mindfulness practice (aka meditation) increases our psychological functioning – giving us a feeling of happiness, energy, and overall well-being.

#2 Meditation helps improve focus

Daily meditation improves our cognitive functions and helps us perform tasks that require focus. This means you’ll be able to concentrate on the task at hand, increasing your productivity throughout the day. Plus, this is great news for those of us who get into that 3 PM slump where our focus starts to dwindle and things start to get a little fuzzy.

#3 Meditation promotes creativity

Writer’s block? Lack of inspiration? Daily morning meditation can help with that. Practicing mindfulness regularly can help stimulate creativity.

#4 Meditation improves decision-making skills

More and more companies are promoting classes and workshops for their employees and executives. Why? Because meditation has been shown to improve the areas of our brains that control decision-making – allowing for a clearer head when making tough or complicated choices.

#5 Meditation promotes cardiovascular health

Despite the lack of movement that meditation requires, it has been proven to improve cardiovascular health and reduce our risk of heart disease.

#6 Meditation helps reduce stress

Feeling stressed is something we’re all too familiar with these days. It can come in the form of tightness in your chest or shoulders, headaches or migraines, or just a general sense of feeling overwhelmed. A daily meditation practice has been shown to be incredibly effective at reducing stress, and with lower stress comes better health, and with better health, we can feel our best each and every day (now that’s a total win).

#7 Meditation promotes empathy and connectedness

There is a type Metta, or loving-kindness meditation, that is entirely based around compassion. This type of practice enhances the part of your brain responsible for empathy and feelings of closeness with others.

#8 Meditation improves relationships

In addition to promoting empathy and connectedness, a side effect from this benefit is having closer and more meaningful relationships. It also helps stabilize emotions, which makes you less likely to be influenced by toxic or negative people.

#9 Mediation helps your memory

Wishing you could store more information in that brain of yours? Wake up and meditate! Research has shown that meditation improves our ability to memorize things we experience throughout the day.

#10 Meditation strengthens your immune system

Just a short amount of mindfulness practice every day can have a significant impact on your immune system. Both yoga and meditation have been found to strengthen the immune system, making you more resistant to infections and viruses. So, go ahead and add some into your day during cold and flu season to stay healthy all year long.

The Bottom Line

Daily morning meditation can be extremely powerful. It helps rewire the brain to be more open to peace, happiness, success, and well-being. There are many different types and ways to practice mindfulness, so, be sure to find one that fits your goals and lifestyle. There are also plenty of books, apps, and videos that can help guide you and explain different ways to go about ‘being present.’ Daily morning meditation only takes a few minutes of your day but can have lasting, amazing impacts on your day-to-day life.

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