On a Mission: Update

A few months ago I embarked on an adventure to focus attention on getting myself into fabulous shape and looking great, just in time for my 40th birthday.  I lost a few pounds, and plateaued on that, but I gained a much clearer understanding of what it means to be healthy and look great at any age.

I quietly watched other friends and acquaintances and their efforts and actions towards feeling better about themselves and I came to the conclusion that I needed to shift (but not lower) my expectations even more than I had originally thought.  For example, I have been regularly eating a wonderful variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with other healthy choices.  I enjoy moderate exercise and because business is beginning to pick up I just don’t have the time to work out the way I did last summer when I was able to spend hours a day at the local fitness center where I worked part time.  I made up my mind that I can sustain my healthy eating and moderate exercise habit.  I already knew and needed to be reminded that I am absolutely not willing to give up cookies for the rest of my life and thanks to a foot injury during workout boot camp I learned that crazified workouts are just not an option.  I have a few friends who are petrified of getting older and how vowed to fight it at any cost.  One of them has achieved a significant weight loss through an excessive obsession with gym workouts. She was never fat, and now she just looks thinner.  She looks sturdier but she doesn’t look happier or more delicious.   Similarly, a woman who works at the weight loss doctor’s office told me that she follows the terribly restrictive diet they recommend all week and only eats what she wants once a week.  She is skinny as a rail and looks like a miserable human being to me.  Her cheeks are sunken in and drab and she doesn’t smile very much.  If I ate like that I wouldn’t smile either!  Neither of these women look vibrant, enthusiastic, or content, which are all very important components to my idea of fabulous.  Meanwhile, the changes I have made get me lots of positive compliments from strangers and friends.  Lately, I have been hearing lots of comments about looking “glowy, peaceful, happy,  sexy, like a newlywed”…and I like this.  Conclusion:  be healthy, and don’t worry because 5-10 lbs is not all that important at all.

Although eating cleaner (fresher, less processed) diet has not really resulted in fat loss for me this time around, it has led to a definite clearing of my skin.  I have much smoother, clearer, softer, and more even-toned skin all over.  I don’t wear foundation regularly and recently I stopped using face powder on a regular basis as well because I have no bumps to cover up.  The sparkly bronzer I love is now just a little too much for me now because my color is great and I just don’t need that pick-me-up anymore.

As the weather finally warmed, I had to buy new clothes.  I had all wool pants and fall tops in the closet.  This time I really paid attention to creating a style, being comfortable but not opting for the commonplace.   I rediscovered my favorite clothing store, which by the way, I never would have shopped at age 20 because it’s just too darned expensive.  So the truth is, it is so much more exclusive (unique) than Gap or Target.  You’ll think I shopped at a little standalone boutique somewhere.  The clothes I am finding are not the typical cookie-cutter crap that you see worn on MTV.  I buy items that have flattering cuts that don’t attempt to hide me, but just look great.  I’m not keeping up with the teeny-bopper trends like those aging “Sex in the City” types.  Oh yes, and I wear dresses!  After all these years.  I love the carefree no-fuss style that is not frumpy-hippie but sophisticated and versatile because it reveals a different kind of beauty that satisfies me.

What else have I been doing?  You would never believe how simple.  I just made a conscious effort at putting myself out there and being comfortable with it, in very simple ways.  When I get a manicure, I just have the high-shine buff instead of nail polish.  I took my sister Kelley’s advice on natural hair care and leaning more towards the clean, slightly tousled look for my locs.  I relax in my backyard hammock whenever I get a chance.  I enjoy wine and cheese in moderation.  I flirt with my husband in public.

Many of these things I have done before.  The truth is that you don’t just do a bunch of stuff and then one day be fabulous and have a “reveal” episode like in “Extreme Makeover”.  You do things and constantly refine and shift them as needed, not with the corporate-inspired trends and continue to get better and better with time.

The Most Important Beauty Product

I love beauty products.  I am sure I have done enough research about beauty products and makeup to earn a Ph.D. on the subject.  I could spend all day in the beauty store and only come out to eat.  However, when I find an excellent product I can stick with it unless something changes, unlike many cosmetics junkies who one day claim to have found the holy grail and less than a week later are on to something else.

The most important beauty product hands-down is sunblock.  It is imperative to use sunblock every day because it prevents skin cancer, hyperpigmentation, burns, and the breakdown of skin cells that leads to permanent wrinkles.  If you don’t want to look like a troll someday, you have no choice but to wear sunblock daily unless you never go outside.  But I HATE sunblock!  It smells bad, it is too thick and greasy, or, in the case of the nice mineral ones, leaves a chalky white cast on brown skin.  I have exotic brown looking but normal/combination sensitive rosacea-prone pale red-haired Northern European acting skin, which is hard to protect from the sun.  For YEARS I had been satisfied using Purpose Redness Reducing Moisturizer SPF 30, except at the pool or beach because it is not water resistant ( I have a different, thicker SPF 45 for that).  All of a sudden this past fall this same product began to break out my skin with a crunchy red itchy rash.  I stopped using it for a while since it was winter and my day job prevented me from seeing the light of day anyway.  But now with spring arriving and longer days I tried it again, hoping maybe my face forgot about the abuse it took from that sunblock before.  But no, the itchy rash is rearing up again, dammit!  I asked my dermatologist(s) to recommend a sunblock that is:

• fragrance free
• lightweight and easily absorbed
• broad spectrum
• portable and sanitary–not packaged in a jar
• moderately priced
• gentle but not zinc or titanium oxide-only (because of the white chalky film)
• does not leave a shiny sheen
• SPF 20-30
• doesn’t burn eyes or stink too badly
• water resistant (ok- wishful thinking)
• can be worn under makeup

but they seem to find this topic way too boring.  All they say is find an SPF 30 that I like.  But here are hundreds of them!!!!  Even the ones with the best reviews are horrible. Now I am hunting again.  According to my research this time, which consists mainly from reviews by Paula Begoun, I have 3 good viable choices:  Neutrogena Age Sheild SPF 30, Neutragena Active Breathable Sunblock SPF 30, or Ultra Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 30.  I am headed to the drugstore today to smell, feel, and read the lables of the products.  I am not in any way promoting these products.  I am promoting the use of daily facial sunblock.  I encourage everyone to find the right sunblock for themselves.  I do however, recommend my most reliable beauty product information resource, Paula Begoun aka “The Cosmetics Cop”.  Check out her website and books for  comprehensive objective information on hundreds of makeup and skin care products.

On a Mission

This is my third week on the plan with the weight loss doctor.  Just like before, it’s working.  I am exercising too.  On my way

So here's my BEFORE photo--Hahahahaha!

to the exercise class I saw some free books on a stoop, which is a fairly common thing where I live.

I spotted the Perricone Prescription book and scooped it right up.  So many times I have contemplated buying that book but just never did.  (Thank you, neighbor!)  I had used some of the concepts from my previous shape-up a few years back when I got into the best physical shape of my life, since I was about 20.  The eating plan I followed was  basically the South Beach Diet with some Perricone ideas thrown in.  I am never an advocate for silly faddish temporary “diet” plans.   These are sensible guidelines for eating for great health, enhanced beauty, and reduced fat stores.  The book provided a little inspiration.  It provided another resource for my quest to be fabulous.  It was a sign to keep going, I’m on the right track.

In less than a year I’ll be 40 years old.  I don’t feel apprehensive about it the way I did about turning 30.  I freely own my age thanks to the wisdom and authority is has brought me.  I know everything.  (At least that’s what my husband says).  I do what I want and don’t give a rat’s ass what others think about it.  I don’t feel any pressure or worry at all about turning 40, it is just another year.  But just knowing how people typically react to a 40th birthday makes me want to start a new (well maybe not) project.  Fabulous at 40.  I think it will be so much fun to do my own mini extreme makeover. There will be NO surgical face lift and NO liposuction and I won’t be changing my style to look like a wannabe supermodel.  It’s gonna be authentic Lisa, new and improved, and sustainable!  YEAH!  Of course this means I’ll have to have a party.  Any reason will do.

A New Day

Hello everybody, it’s been a long absence. But here I am again in the dead of winter, before the emergence of the crocus flowers, after two

Crocus Flowers from The Door Garden Blog

MAJOR family losses (my dad and grandmother), and while being sucked dry of all creativity by an office day job that I took to lessen the blow of slow business in this withering economy. I have been feeling sorry for myself, and rightfully so for the past few months. I realize that I have stopped in my tracks, broken my stride, and been stuck, not going anywhere. Is this surprising, coming from a skilled lifestyle consultant? Perhaps. But it shouldn’t be. Everybody experiences the doldrums from time to time.

I haven’t had the energy or desire to write, create a mosaic project, dance, or countless other important activities that make me happy and keep me balanced. I haven’t been eating properly or making time for daily exercise and I had to buy some new pants because the old ones are too tight. I just finished the last of some bbq potato chip crumbs on the sofa, at 8am.  What happened to the sensual Goddess Lisa?

Ok that’s enough.  As a lifestyle consultant I know exactly what I need to do, where my weaknesses are, and what to do about it.  All it takes is the honest and true readiness for change.  My first course of action is to CONTACT MY LIFE COACH.  Yes, all great life coaches have life coaches.  (A lifestyle consultant is a form of life coach).  This is a testament to the fact that life coaching should not be considered to be a fix for broken people.  Life coaching is for people who are ready to make changes.  As a lifestyle consultant I already know a large portion of what needs to be done here–make time for fun, increase my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, schedule exercise time, incorporate incidental physical activity throughout the day, and get up and write in my blog on Saturday or Sunday mornings.   My life coach is going to provide much much more than the intellectual answers to problems.  She will back me up, encourage me, and put a virtual foot in my ass when I need it.  She knows my particular buttons to press, what makes me tick, and the concepts to bring to my attention when my own ego, which prefers the status quo comes in with critical discouragement.

Now this is not a shameless advertisement for my services as a lifestyle consultant, though I welcome you to call me if you are ready for change and are willing to invest in your success.

I am going to share with you Goddesses my journey back from a mess to fabulous.  I will chronicle my challenges and successes right here on Passion Fruit.  Your attention will help to keep me accountable and hopefully benefit those of you who either are thinking about change but not quite ready for it yet (there’s absolutely NO shame in that, your time will come) or for the Goddesses who don’t have the resources at this moment to invest in coaching or lifestyle consulting and wish to start work on your own.  Reading this chronicle is by no means a substitute for getting your own life coaching, because no matter how similar we may be each person is vastly different in his or her own individual needs, quirks, and triggers.  Not everything that works for me will work for you unless you are my clone.

So let’s go!  I’ve just taken the first step.  I promise to post again next week with an update and/or some literary bric-a-brac.