Happy Tuesday!

Let me just start by saying I purposefully did NOT photo shop these pictures. This is my skin and it’s kinda pinkish from a photo shoot in the heat haha. I feel like I’d be falsely advertising myself if I airbrushed my face in this article based on its content, you know what I mean?

Okay, read on for deets and enjoy!

I hope you’re all getting ready to enjoy some tacos this “Taco Tuesday” lol. I’d also like to let you know a lot of restaurants are now offering vegan tacos.

Yes, VEGAN. Or at the very least, dairy free. Even at Mexican restaurants, you just have to find the right one!

Oh and speaking of food did you know one of the major reasons we have problems with our skin is due to our diets?

Yep… weight, energy levels, getting sick and now our skin… it’s all related to what we put in our body. I can attest and assure you it’s the truth. My skin totally goes along with what I eat. When I used to splurge on sweets and things that contained processed sugars, I would get little white heads popping up.

Eeeeww, TMI I know and so very gross!!!

I have to be honest- sometimes it’s frustrating. I used to be so good for a week and then splurge on the weekend. My skin would react a day or two or three later and then we all know how long it takes to recover from a breakout. Even one or two or three pimples can totally ruin our “date night look” for days.

And that certain week of each month? Forget date night. I wanted to hide at home. Even the strongest glycolic acid couldn’t help me!! And then of course I’d make it worse by picking at my skin and burning it with more glycolic.

Sometimes being ocd is definitely far from helpful, haha.

Oh and all of those dancer tanners and heavy makeup applications when I was competing professionally really helped my face… NOT!!!

So what did I finally do to change things? Well, I started cutting out a lot of excess starches, sweets and dairy that I really didn’t need. I also started drinking A TON of water and kept my coffee intake to one cup a day in the morning.

But the biggest help in my challenge to keep my skin breakout free, even during those times of the month when it’s toughest for us ladies, was CONSISTENCY OF A HEALTHY DIET. The longer I stayed away from things like cake, pie, cookies and scones, the longer my skin stayed smooth and prettier. I even had my students commenting on the sudden difference in my skin.

Well, correction. It wasn’t SUDDEN. It wasn’t OVERNIGHT. The changes happened over a long period of time… weeks… months… and with all the right ingredients.

Simple, natural, vegan creams and active exercise to sweat out the toxins definitely help!

SO are expensive foods and creams necessary to improve your skin’s appearance?

HECK NO!

I’m the first to tell you I’ve used aquaphor on my skin for that “glowing” look and it totally works. Now who would have thought a dirt cheap, “greasy to the touch” product at CVS could do the trick??? My Russian facialist HAHAHA. (Btw she’s amazing so PM me if you’re in the San Diego area and want her info).

When all is said and done, my skin is in better shape than ever due to the consistency and cleanliness of my diet. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t cheat. I mean, OF COURSE I CHEAT! I couldn’t live without my chips and guacamole, sweet potato fries and vodka-lime martinis LOL!

I just believe in my overall diet and what I do and don’t put in my body on a consistent basis. It’s basically like when you’re watching your weight. Once you figure out how to lose weight and get into a healthy pattern of eating well and working out, you can begin to cheat every weekend or once in a while. But when you first start your diet, cheating is going to keep you from your goal of losing weight. Well, the road to healthy skin is the same. You need to start out with great consistency to get your skin looking how you want it to look. Once you are there, you can slowly add in a cheat meal here and there and eventually, each and every weekend and vacation.

I decided to write down my TOP FIVE diet tips and tricks when it comes to getting and maintaining your healthiest skin possible. Now I realize we all have different genetics and skin types, but I think if you guys can just follow these very basic steps like I’ve done, you’ll start noticing a difference in the appearance of your skin very quickly!

1. STAY CONSISTENT! Make at least 80% of your diet as healthy as possible. Stay away from dressings and sauces, switch to olive oil and vinegar. Save your cheats for special occasions, weekends and holidays. And remember, vegan doesn’t always mean it’s healthy. There are plenty of vegan meats loaded with sugars and chemicals that are bad for our bodies and our skin. Try to eat as cleanly as possible by sticking to lean proteins that are hormone free or organic and plant based. And always eat your organic fruits and veggies on a daily basis.
2. KEEP YOURSELF HYDRATED! Hydration is key to glowing skin. Our bodies need water to replenish our skin cells. When we are dehydrated, we set ourselves up for dry skin and wrinkles! Save your money on botox and use it for your retirement plan. Drink WATER WATER and more WATER! At least 8 fluid ounces a day. And if you exercise, drink another glass or two of water. Start your day with water before your coffee and down another glass after your coffee. Oh and don’t forget to filter your water- it doesn’t have to be bottled. See how inexpensive and effective water can be?
3. SAY BYE BYE TO PROCESSED SUGARS, SWEETS, CANDY AND SAUCES. These “evil” calories will not only cause breakouts, but weight gain too! I’m not saying you can never have sauce, dressing or a candy bar. I’m just saying you should try giving them up on a daily basis. Try a week then two weeks then a month off. Then slowly start incorporating your faves into a splurge day. I love peanut M&M’s so I snack on a few every year at my friend’s Christmas party. Then I’m done for the year until the next year’s Christmas party!
4. LESS IS MORE WHEN IT COMES TO DAIRY. More and more studies are coming out showing us how unhealthy dairy is. Not only can it be quite inhumane for the animals who produce it, it’s all around not so healthy for us. The hormones and chemical additives are sooo bad for us! And now we are finding out dairy may be as addictive as smoking, YUCK. Since giving it almost entirely up, my skin’s appearance has really improved. It’s less ruddy and much more smooth. I have always been a cheese lover but now I’m really trying to stay away unless I’m vacationing in France or Italy, you know what I mean?! 
5. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY’S REACTIONS TO CERTAIN FOOD TYPES. Start by eating slowly and savouring each piece of food. I have uber sensitive skin that gets very red when it doesn’t like something I put in my body. For example, chocolate and red wine make my face flush and give my cheeks a burning sensation. Clearly something to stay away from, ya think?! Also, too many strawberries give me hot cheeks. Could it be that I am sensitive to sugar?! ABSOLUTELY. It’s no wonder my skin got better when I stopped eating things like cake, sweet tart candies and cookies. In fact, now that my diet is so much cleaner I can detect when my body says it’s had enough freaking strawberries. The moral of the story? Experiment with the foods you eat and try eating them separating and slowly to see if you have an allergy you may not know has existed. These allergies could be keeping you from having radiant, glowing skin!

Now please don’t think I’m telling you my skin is perfect. CLEARLY IT’S NOT. But it has gotten much better over the years due to my 5 diet rules. Do I still imbibe in a glass of red wine? Not really. But when I was in Argentina for 10 days all I did was drink Malbec after Malbec after Malbec hahaha. I mean, what else is there down there? And when I got home, I went back to my normal, healthy eating regimen and noticed my skin hardly reacted to those ten days of red wine and cheat meals.

SO SEE… YOU CAN HAVE A FUN LIFE! You can have cheat days. You don’t have to give up everything.

Remember, this blog is about positivity and finding our perfect lifestyle fit. Everything is in moderation, nothing too much nor too little. Life is all about balance and compassion. Live your life to the fullest by being as healthy as you can be as consistently as you can. Live, laugh, love, try new things and be compassionate!

Speaking of cheats, I may go enjoy a skinny Taco Tuesday margarita and vegan taco or two tonight. I balance it out by changing my tortilla into a lettuce tortilla. See, it’s all about finding the perfect balance and being a little creative!

xx Shanna