Some celebs just never age. Or they seem to get younger. Besides cutting out the sugar and carbs, do you really want to commit to just your diet for a lifetime?

Well, sure. Healthy eating plays a big role in staying younger. But the thing is, there’s so much more you can do to keep the clock from ticking forward – and you don’t need a big bowl full of crazy potions and pills, either.

Here are a few things I practice daily to help me stay young, other than watching what I eat!

Quality Sleep

Sleep is when your body does its best repairing and healing work. Enough sleep is critical for superficial and deep repairs. That means everything from healing a pimple on your cheek to regenerating your adrenal glands.

Yes, a nap or a weekend lie-in does make a difference, but it’s your day-to-day sleep deprivation that encourages degeneration and aging. Not enough quality sleep weakens your immune system.

The key number is 8. You need at least 8 hours or more if you’re dealing with stress and health challenges.

Go easy on yourself

Studies show that stress actually results in physical changes to the body that can speed up the aging process. Surges in cortisol and adrenaline lead to a spike in blood pressure and a faster heartbeat. When stressors are unrelenting (think traffic jams, money woes, and job pressures) those chronic doses of adrenaline and cortisol take a toll on your body both physically and emotionally.

It’s reported that the majority of doctor’s visits every year are related to obsessive anger, insomnia, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and hostility all caused by stress.

The most effective way to keep stress levels down and aging at bay is to go easy on yourself. I love meditation for this.

Once a day, I sit quietly for just 10 to 20 minutes, close my eyes, relax my body, and breathe. Every time I exhale, I repeat a mantra. If other thoughts try to pop in, I let them go.

Then, slowly I allow my daily thoughts back into my mind. If I feel I just can’t switch off enough to meditate, I practice yoga or, if I feel really worked up from a rough day, I hit the road for a run. But whatever I do, I focus on my breathing and trying to let go of my thoughts. It’s my way of telling myself “hey, it’s okay to switch off and chill.”

Keep Active

Speaking of running, I just can’t ignore the antiaging, stress-smashing benefits of regular exercise. I know running isn’t for everyone, and sometimes traditional cardio sessions can feel like torture. But the thing is, you need to find something you enjoy doing for you. Something that makes you feel good.

You don’t even need a gym contract. Maybe you want to go walking with the family or play a round of tennis – whatever it is, the trick is to keep moving.

Your skin

There are loads of things you can do to keep your skin youthful and glowing. Make sure you never step out the front door without a good quality sun block, use the right lotions and potions for your skin type, and take vitamins to combat signs of aging and prevent new wrinkles and lines.

Mental aerobics

While looking after your body is essential, the same goes for your mind. Studies show that brain exercises help prevent cognitive decline and you can even rewire your brain to improve your memory!

Try strengthening your mind every day with a crossword puzzle or a quiz – anything that gets that grey matter moving.

Have fun

Deep breathing helps me relax enough to get a decent night’s sleep. Working out gets my heart pumping and keeps my joints supple and young. I take vitamins, I apply sunblock and I do everything I can to keep the hands of time from moving. But most importantly, I focus on fun.

Surround yourself with positive people and keep looking for ways to find fun and positive.

You’ll be surprised at just how young it keeps you!

Lifestyle and fitness tips at marksalinas.com.

 

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While juice is by no means a replacement for whole fruits and veg, it’s still a great way to fit in the ones you might not otherwise eat.

Before you turn your nose up, consider this: people who eat at least five servings of vegetables every day live almost three years longer than people who avoid veg at all costs. Upping your intake can also help you drop weight and protect you against cancer.

The Health Benefits of Juicing

According to studies, drinking fresh juices allows your body to better absorb nutrients compared to when you eat your greens. It also gives the digestive system a rest from having to work on that fiber.

Besides that, juicing gives your immune system a powerful boost, removing toxins, aiding digestion, and generally giving you the power boost you need to get through the day.

Best of all, you don’t need to spend a small fortune on a fancy juicer to drink your fruit and veg. Get the best personal blender out and try these easy springtime juices right now!

Homemade V8 Juice

This is a versatile recipe that you can have fun with. You can add other veg or herbs, too. If you like a spicy kick, try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper!

You need:

• Half a cup of diced carrots
• 4 cups of diced tomatoes
• A ¼ cup of spinach
• 1 cup of water, divided
• A tiny sliver of beet
• A tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• Half a teaspoon of sea salt
• A tablespoon of parsley

What to do:

• Combine your beet, carrots, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, half a cup of water and salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on.
• Add the parsley along with the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes, keeping the lid on.
• Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Pour your juice in the blender along with the rest of the water and puree for about 2 minutes.
• Strain using a fine-mesh sieve and serve icy cold!

Hot Pink Juice

This juice doesn’t just look cool, it also gives your immune system a whopping springtime boost.

You need:

• 3 carrots
• 2 beets
• A lemon
• An apple
• 4 stalks of celery
• 5 kale leaves
• An inch of ginger

What to do:

• Stick everything in the blender and blitz until smooth!

The Golden Glow Elixir

Has your skin taken a beating during the winter months? Add some sparkle and shine with this delicious juice.

You need:

• 2 large oranges, peeled
• 2 apples
• 1 lemon
• 2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 inches of fresh turmeric, peeled
• 2 cups of water and a handful of ice

What to do:

• Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Add more water if needed.

Tomato Vegetable Juice

No need for the Bloody Mary in favor of this delicious homemade juice that contains all the ingredients of a delicious salad. Best of all, you don’t need a juicer.

You need:

• One cup of romaine lettuce, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped chives
• ¼ fresh jalapeno, seeded and stemmed
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
• Medium carrot, peeled
• 2 large celery stalks, trimmed
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• Ice cubes

What to do:

• Coarsely chop up all your ingredients
• Place the softer ingredients in your blender first and process until smooth.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Cut up 2 × 24-inch long pieces of cheesecloth and unfold each piece, stacking them on top of each other.
• Fold the double stack in half to create a 4-layer stack of the cloth.
• Line a large bowl with the cloth and pour the juice into the center.
• Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth in one hand and use your other hand to twist and squeeze the mixture, extracting all the juice and leaving the pulp behind.
• If you don’t want the juice to stain your hands, be sure to wear rubber gloves!

Mixing up quick and super-healthy juices this springtime isn’t just a great way to get your system back on track, but an excellent way to make sure you’re getting your fruits and veg.

Don’t worry about expensive juicers, just get the blender out from the back of the kitchen cupboard and try the above recipes for refreshing, health-inducing deliciousness!

Find more springtime health tips and marksalinas.com.

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I’ve found inspiring and helpful in my growth and fitness achievements, using a journal has to be top of my list. I know that achieving health and wellness goals is hard work. And confidence can take a big knock when things aren’t going well. With a journal, I can look back on where I was and how far I’ve come and on those “think I can’t days” it gives me the boost I need.

Why journal writing works for fitness and Health

What gives us the means to understand our own pasts, presents, and futures? How do we document our struggles, victories, and lives in general? The answer is with a journal.

Journal writing provides some much-needed mental clarity in this crazy, cluttered world. It helps us see our lives in the bigger picture and is the perfect way to catalog every success along the way.

Journal writing can improve your life. It helps clarify your thoughts, better assess whether or not you’re on track towards to achieving your goals, and even help you determine if you’re on the right fitness path for your health and lifestyle.

No matter what your goals may be, I bet a journal can help you. It’s a flexible and incredibly powerful tool that sheds light on achieving any goal you set your heart and mind to.

Journaling lets you plan your goals

One of the best things I love about journaling is that it allows me to continually ask “where am I now?” It helps me decide where I’m going and how I’m going to get there, too.

In the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to get lost and lose perspective along the way. But journaling brings you back to the “why.”

A place to store ideas

Jotting things down on a scrap of paper is great, but storing all your notes, ideas, and concepts in one place is the way to go. It’s the way to create a treasure trove of inspiration for your fitness journey.

Reflect

Journaling gives you the chance to take a step back and review the week that was and the week that’s coming up. It’s an exceptional discipline that lets you check what you’ve learned and how to move forward.

Prioritize

Journaling shouldn’t just be a long and never-ending to-do list. By organizing your thoughts and goals in your journal, you should be better able to commit time to do what you want to do and knock that to do list on the head.

What’s Important

It’s easy to get blinded by our own self-importance and general busyness. It’s easy enough to lose sight of what you want to achieve. Using a journal reminds you of your fitness and health goals and ambitions and challenges you to ensure your activities now are relevant to your goals at large.

Learn

Reflection is one of the greatest teachers. It lets you learn about yourself and what does and doesn’t work just for you. You get to see and hear yourself from an outsider’s perspective. Journaling can help you with that.

When you read back in your journal, you do so as an observer, and that can tell you volumes about where you’re headed and how you’re getting there.

Dream

Using a journal regularly enables you to see how even your smallest steps create a larger whole. You can constantly monitor your progress and evaluate it to adjust tactics as needed.

It’s Not Judgmental

Your journal does not judge you. It’s completely neutral. A safe space for you to own yourself.

As you can see, journaling is exceptionally powerful, especially in terms of your health and fitness achievements, goals, and action items.

Do you journal?

 

Find more journaling tips at marksalinas.com.

 

 

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Self-care is necessary

I was chatting with an acquaintance. He opened up and told me about his impending 30-day trip to Europe. He’s  said hes been taken care of everyone else since the age of 18, he realizes it’s time – at 40 – to finally do something for himself.

I completely applaud his courage. Admittedly, I wouldn’t have been so supportive a few years ago. Sure, I would have  and said something nice, but on the inside, I’d have been jealous.

My secret is self-care.

Art of Self-Care

We’re taught from early on that selflessness is good, and there’s no denying the benefit of altruism to our physical and mental well-being. But how often do we find ourselves pushing ourselves to the limit?  I would push to be productive, put my needs last, put everyone else first.

If you’re not attuned to who you are and what you want, you make sacrifices that limit and hurt you and end up negatively impacting the ones we care about.

You’ve heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup? It’s exactly that. If you don’t look after yourself and put yourself first sometimes, you can’t possibly look after anyone else.

Maintaining a regard for ourselves and practicing self-care is fundamental to building a good life for ourselves and our loved ones.

Self-Care Matters

Self-care makes you productive. When you learn to put yourself first at times, you make time for things that matter, bringing your goals into sharper focus and improving your concentration.

When you look after yourself, your body goes into a rejuvenating mode, fortifying your immune system.

Self-care boosts self-esteem. When you carve out time to be good to yourself, you send your subconscious positive messages and in turn discourage negative self-talk.

You also increase your self-knowledge. When you practice self-care, you think about what you really enjoy doing. You get to figure out what revs your engine and inspires you, and this can spark some positive changes.

By filling your own cup, you just have more to give. It’s not selfish to be good to yourself, it actually provides the resources for compassion.

Practicing Self-Care

Self-care is holistic. It’s for your body, mind, and soul. Here are a few ways you can start practicing self-care today.

1. For the body

 

• Clean up your diet – even if it’s one small change this month, work towards a healthier diet so you feel stronger and better.
• Get moving – take a walk, dance around the house, just make time for yourself.
• Sleep – create a bedtime routine and you’ll soon feel more rested and rejuvenated.
• Stretch – muscles carry tons of tension. Whether you take up yoga or stretch every day, make a move to work it all out.

 

2. For the mind

 

• Meditate – you don’t need to spend hours a day zoning out, just find a spot, sit still, and concentrate on your breathing.
• Learn something – educate your mind by learning something new.
• Unplug at night – whether you’re watching Netflix, scrolling through your phone, or following the news, devices keep the mind active. Turn them off an hour before bedtime and get ready for peaceful sleep.
• Declutter – when things are piled up, it’s stressful. You lose things, you trip, you get annoyed. Get rid of anything you don’t use and organize all the rest.

 

3. For your soul

 

• Lose negative people – who’s bringing you down? It could be time to cut ties with energy vampires who suck the joy from your life.
• Your career – it’s hard to find the perfect job, but you don’t have to settle for something you loathe. At the very least, find a job you enjoy.
• Say no – it’s great being helpful but saying no means you acknowledge your own limits and can avoid stretching yourself thin.
• Go on a date with yourself – do something that makes you happy and is all about you.
• Practice gratitude – instead of dwelling on the negativity of the day, remember what’s gone right.

Self-care is about finding ways to strengthen and soothe your body, mind, and soul.

It’s really not selfish to take care of yourself. Getting through life is tough stuff, and your soul can quickly grow weary. But if you remember to refill your cup, you’ll feel replenished, refreshed, and ready for what lies ahead.

Find more life tips today at marksalinas.com.