Eating Right For 2012

Happy New Year everyone!

I seriously want to start eating right starting now! It's a brand new year, fresh start, new beginnings. I know you hear this every year and think "that's what everyone says"....But to me, I love to stick to my word. I'm also on a mission to lose a couple pounds so eating right would be very beneficial.

On New Years day, my first meal was the traditional Haitian Squash soup that Haitians eat to celebrate our Independence. New Years is also Haiti's Independence day :)

Today January 2nd, my first meal of the day was a bowl of oatmeal and raisins garnished with strawberries. I had a small cup of orange juice on the side. I am trying to stay far away from eating animal products or dairy. I used soy milk when I cooked the oatmeal. It was delicious! My favorite dish for breakfast :)

What vitamins do I take??

Garlic = 75 mg [1 every other day]
Biotin = 5000 mcg [1 every night]
Iron= 28 mg [2 every day]

In order to have nice healthy growing hair, one of the many things you should do is add vitamins to your daily regimen. You don't necessarily have to take vitamins if you don't want to. If you're not taking any vitamins, then I hope you're eating a well balanced meal!

I feel that vitamins give you that extra boost that you need to get the hair growing a little faster than usual. Sometimes, our bodies may lack vitamins and minerals that we need to maintain growing hair and other bodily functions. We need to take vitamins to be sure that we're supplying our bodies with things that we're lacking.

I dont take that much vitamins. I only take 3.

My first vitamin, and by far the most important one in my regimen is IRON. I'm very anemic which means my body is not supplying itself with all the iron that it needs. So I need to take iron every day to try to bring those iron levels up. Being iron deficient comes with a consequence for hair. With out much iron, the hair tends to shed a little more than usual. This is one of the few reasons I take iron. I take 2 pills everyday.

My second vitamin is GARLIC. I recently started to take garlic probably a month ago. I take it because it helps control shedding. I am seeing results already! I am almost 3 weeks post relaxer and have only shed a few strands since then. I take 1 garlic pill every other day. When I see my shedding being controlled, I will stop taking them. But if the shedding comes back, I will be retaking them again. As of now, I am still taking them.

My third vitamin is BIOTIN. I am currently on day 3 of taking them so I cant speak yet as far as results go. I am taking the 5000 mcg's. My first day of taking them, I got a huge headace and felt really lazy. The headache followed me to work the next day, and I felt I couldn't function that well, and the time was going by so slow because I wanted to go home. But the headache went away after my break at work. Now, I take biotin every night before bed...never again in the middle of the day. I am also increasing my water intake so that i dont break out. Many people break out when they take biotin. If you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, it should help resolve the problem. I have a goal to be as close to BSL before the year ends. I know I will not make BSL, but I want to be near it! This is why I am taking biotin. I take 1 pill every night.

Time To Detox...

For a long time, I've been experiencing unhealthy eating habits. From chips, to soda, to burgers and fries, I've eaten it all. There are even times when I eat fast food almost everyday, and sometimes I even eat fat greasy foods late at night, past 10p.m. I cant help but to feel so disgusted with myself when I binge on a whole box of cookies in 1 day. My bad eating habits are also interfering with my health, and have caused a few minor problems before. I'm always running to the doctor for check-up's and follow-ups because of some type of infection that occurred.

The only good thing about eating so much, is having the ability to not gain so much weight because of my high metabolism. But the truth is, internally my body is horrible, and I'm out of shape. I always feel tired, sluggish and lazy, and I feel that it's the right time to detoxify myself.

I've been doing some research and found that I can actually detox myself by drinking water! Only water, nothing else. It's basically a water fast. I've read journals of people who did water fasts, watched videos on Youtube, and read articles for months. I have been thinking of doing this fast since last year, but was never disciplined enough to go through with it. Well, now I feel it's time to really cleanse out my body.

Water fasting is very beneficial, because it removes all the nasty toxins from your body, clears up your skin, and helps you drop a few pounds too. People who have tried it felt energized and brand new. This experience also led them to eat healthier, which is what I need to start doing. People usually fast for 3 days or more. There was a woman on Youtube who did for 40 days!

Anyways I am gonna start my fast at 1AM on Monday May 31st to start off fresh. I'm going to attempt to do it for 7 days, so wish me luck. I will keep you all posted with a daily update on my fast. I'm not doing it for weight loss purposes, I am doing it for cleansing. This procedure is very healthy and most Doctors recommend it to their patients. Thanks for reading.

**Update** I will be restarting my fast on June 6, 2010 because it will be the beginning to a brand new week, and I would like to start off fresh.

Drink your way to Gorgeous!

Healthy drinks to help you boost your beauty!
Nutritionist Lisa Drayer picks her top beauty boosting beverages...

For strong hair, drink a protein shake!
"Protein is the key to glossy, healthy locks. Try an iron-fortified shake with yogurt or milk to help promote growth and prevent dry brittle texture."

For bright eyes, drink a mango smoothie!
"The beta-carotene in mangoes is converted into vitamin A, which helps your eyes adapt to darkness and brings out shine."

For a healthy smile, drink milk!
"Milk helps build up your enamel, making teeth sparkly. Horizon has an Omega 3-fortified milk that also helps keep skin soft. "

For glowing skin, drink lemon water, green tea, and Acai juice!
"Adding vitamin C packed lemon to a glass of water can aid in collagen synthesis, minimizing wrinkles and dryness."

" Green tea hydrates like water but also contains poly phenols to protect skin against sun damage."

"Ingesting the Acai berry's juice is the best way to absorb it's skin-enhancing, anti-aging nutrients."

To get results...
Drink your beverage of choice daily, but dont expect an overnight transformation: Changes can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months.

Source of article: People Style Watch