Age Defying Mantras

Who does not want to be complimented as a timeless beauty, sweet 16 forever, mother or sisters, age defying looks, gorgeous as ever, super-hot, and so on. We sure love to receive such compliments as they boost and gush our body and soul with happiness and self-confidence and aspire us to do all that it takes to keep people pouring in such compliments on our social media sites or in person.

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Most of us might wonder that the women for whom, even we are genuinely pushed to write timeless beauty like comments, must be having all the time and no other work, but to fully focus on their beauty regime and treatments. But the truth is far from this notion. Of course, each one of us has to dedicate some time to ourselves to rejuvenate and recharge ourselves and it is perfectly ok and nothing to feel guilty about.

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I am, like many of you, a busy mother of two teenage kids, managing household chores, picking and dropping kids to school, teaching them, going grocery shopping, socializing, and writing blogs as well. With this routine every day, it seems impossible to take out time to pay attention to ourselves. Even though we want to start a regime to stay young and healthy but, unfortunately, we keep procrastinating by giving ourselves some lame justifications.

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So here I am, to help all the women who pity themselves rather than perform some action to remain fit and fine. I would like to share with you my secret fitness regime which has helped me defy age and remain fit.

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Nine effortless and natural ways to remain young and healthy

 

1. Set a daily routine/Clock your daily habits

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Everything in this world runs based on the world clock. So does our body. We must try to have a constant body clock as far as possible. This would put less stress on our body and enable our body’s internal functions to perform tasks efficiently. So clock and keep your habits regular to stay healthy and young.

 

My tip – Clock the time you wake up, eat, work out, and sleep. You can derive the most out of your body only if you set a routine.

 

2. Keep yourself hydrated

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Our body is made up of 70% water. Water is essential to flush out toxins and other wastes from our bodies, also, to keep us healthy and hydrated. Drink 2 to 3 glasses of water early morning empty stomach to cleanse your body.

 

My tip- I would recommend drinking warm water always irrespective of the weather.

 

3. Follow a hygiene routine

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It is really important to have and follow abody hygiene regime every day. Follow some daily hygiene habits like :

• Touch your face as little as possible. Hands can transfer bacteria on to your face and cause breakouts.

• Wash your face with mild soap and cold water at least twice a day to remove all the build-up and makeup on your face and open your pores. Use different towels for face and hand.

• Try to use homemade face packs and face cleansers. Just pick fresh vegetables from your kitchen (like a cucumber slice, tomato slice, lemon juice, honey, etc) as per your skin type and apply it for 10 minutes on your face while you fix a meal and have to probably cut a vegetable. Just keep a bit of it aside and apply as you work and viola, your skin gets its dose of cleansing.

 

My tip – Keep cosmetics away from your skin as much as possible. Use cold-pressed virgin coconut oil for dry skin (which I use daily) and lemon or tomato juice for oily skin.

 

4. Eat raw, boiled or baked food

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The path leading you to stay young goes through the stomach. How healthy you are is directly proportional to the food you eat. You should eat to live and not live to eat. My principal is eating as much raw, as much boiled, and as much baked as possible.

• Eat raw- Eating raw fruits and vegetables every day is the biggest secret of mine to stay young. Drink 5 raw vegetable smoothie (carrot, cucumber, beetroot, baby spinach and broccoli) and eat 5 fruits fruit bowl (apple, mandarin, kiwi, pear, melon etc)  every day. A glass of vegetable smoothie and a fruit bowl curbs your hunger by giving you your daily dose of fiber, vitamins, minerals and good sugar.

• Eat boiled- Who says boiled food is boring. The Internet is full of innovative recipes with minimum oil which are healthy and tasty at the same time. Give them a try and you would thank yourself for changing your food habits one day and so will your family too.

• Eat baked- Remember to keep oil, butter, fat and sugar at bay and shift to healthier options. Avoid being tempted to have fried food even though it looks very comforting. Try to bake the food rather than frying it and eat your food without any guilt because I know I can bake my samosa, puffs, french fries, vegetable chips and so on and have the same taste, in fact, better without feeling guilty. Invest in an oven or an air fryer and you will never regret it.

 

My tip- Keep a check on the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and sugar in your daily diet. Eat according to the number of calories you consume. In simple words, if you exercise regularly, then you eat more and vice versa. Eat small portions and keep nuts and fruits handy to binge on. Plus drink a glass of water before you reach out for a cookie, to curb your hunger pangs.

 

5. Exercise at least three times a week.

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If you want to keep wrinkles at bay, workout regularly. Exercise at least 3 times a week if not more. Adopt any form of exercise to begin with, which is simple, easy and interesting for you and keeps you motivated to follow. I started by going for brisk walks for half an hour every day when I was in my 30s to 30 minutes of jogging later, then started to run when I reached the age of 40 and finally progressed to 10 kms run in 60 minutes when I reached 45 years of age. It was difficult to start with even 30 minutes of run initially. But I slowly and steadily kept on going and built my stamina. Today I look forward to wearing my jogging gear, put on my headphones and run my way to fitness which refreshes, rejuvenates and energizes me to gear up for my busy schedule ahead of me.

 

My tip- Start today, start right now. Do not give any excuse to yourself. It’s a good idea to invest in a fitness wrist band or a watch to keep track of your activity level and to motivate you. Try to follow the workout routine alone so that you do not wait for anyone to begin. Do a mix of cardio and muscle-building exercises. Notice how refreshed and energetic you feel after your workout.

 

6. Decrease stress

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Stress is the silent killer which causes irreparable harm to our body without us even recognizing it. It impacts our immune system, our hormonal system and mainly our mental health to a great extent. Our body tries to show us in small ways that our body is stressed. Mood swings, not socializing, unhealthy eating habits, insomnia, heartburn, hair fall, dark circles under the eyes, acne; the list of stress-related symptoms is endless. Instead of worrying, try to analyze the crisis and find a solution to it.

 

My tip- It’s a good idea to talk or take the help of the people you trust. I am a firm believer in the fact that worrying will never solve our problems. Try to face your problems, failures, fears, issues etc head-on.

 

7. Socialize at least once a week

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It’s important to meet and greet people as often as possible. If physical visits are not possible, we have the technology to help us socialize. Meeting friends and family helps us to forget your worries, relax and lighten yourself a bit. You look forward to sharing your experiences and listen to some as well. All this plays a crucial role in making us feel wanted, loved and cared for, which in turn improves our mental health and stress.

 

My tip- Try to meet and make as many new friends as possible. Force yourself to go out of your comfort zone and greet a person and start small talk. This way you would never find yourself feeling lonely.

 

8.Learn a new skill

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As we age, our brain cells begin to degrade. To stay mentally alert and healthy, we must engage in some form of mental exercise or activity. Learning some new skills like a new language, new software program etc, or developing a new hobby like painting, writing, a new sport, etc, or playing brainteasers like crossword puzzles, sudoku etc can help your brain to remain active and going. This will help you to divert yourself automatically from your daily tensions and help you get a positive feeling of self-achievement and self-pride.

 

My tip- You can research on the internet on what hobby or skill you would like to develop. There are a load of things that you can take up but most important is that you reserve some time every day for it and do not give up on it.

 

 

9.Cherish yourself

 

Last but not least respect and love yourself. If you do not love yourself, then who will? So think about yourself, take out time for yourself, act for yourself and respect yourself.

 

My tip- You should plan your next day a day before so that you can accommodate some me time in your schedule and follow the plan religiously. Keep weekends free for all the binging, partying and relaxing so that you can start afresh from Monday onwards.

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Aditi Mahajan

Content writer, Poetess & Blogger