Hey guys! How was your weekend? On Saturday I attended a Nutrition & Skin Care workshop hosted by Rujuta Diwekar & Dr. Rashmi Shetty. Especially as I had to leave home at 8 am, I’ve never been more grateful for Starbucks opening at 7am- nothing like a hug in the mug strong Americano to kickstart the day. Although I took in the information with a pinch of salt, I found myself agreeing on more counts than I expected. I wanted to share four points, which stood out to me:
1) Don’t count calories, count food miles: Although weight loss ultimately comes down to a calorie deficit, our generation has become overly fixated on calorie counts. Rather than focus solely on nutritional values, aim to eat seasonal, local, wholesome and tasty food. Instead of constantly assessing your macros and ensuring you meet certain carbohydrate, protein and fat amounts, merely calculate how far a food travelled to land on your plate.
2) Wear Sunscreen Daily: I’m guilty of not regularly wearing sunscreen, but am definitely going to start now. I might still be in my 20s, but I’d like to delay any signs of aging for as long as possible. In terms of picking the right sunscreen, a few things to look out for include:
- Reputable company
- Sun Protection Factor: 20-50 is most effective, anything more is useless
- Tan Protection Index: A product with 2-3 stars or pluses should be enough to give the right amount of protection
If you’re putting a sunscreen with moisturiser and you don’t tend to have dry skin, wearing a separate moisturiser is not necessary. As for choosing between lotions, sprays, emulsions and gels, it all depends on your skin type.
3) Eat rice (and other carbs at night): I’ve expressed my exasperation multiple times about the “no carbs past a certain hour” notion so I was relieved that the speaker shared my sentiments. Aside from keeping hunger levels and cravings at bay, she raised another point which tends to go at the bottom of our priority list: The effect of wholegrain carbs on our quality of sleep. Wholegrains, brown rice in particular, can help soothe our mood because they’re rich in B vitamins which are natural mood stabilizers. As a result eating carbs before bed can promote restful sleep. In terms of losing weight, sleep helps with hormonal imbalances, which usually lead to weight gain and bloating.
4) Prioritize with eye care: After listing the various skin care steps we should follow daily, Dr. Shetty insisted that eye care is the #1 area of skin care we should never go without…ever. I wouldn’t even think to sub-categorize eye care in my skincare routine, but it makes sense: our under eye is the first sign of ageing, lack of sleep, mood and beauty. Especially as this part of our face has no oil glands, it’s crucial to keep it hydrated. Although various under eye creams now exist, apparently a cream as basic as Ponds Moisturizing Cold Cream does the trick.
Unsurprisingly I was more interested in the nutrition seminar of the workshop. Even though there were a few points which I didn’t wholly agree with, overall I was really impressed with the session. It’s refreshing to hear a specialist discuss food & weight loss in basic, honest terms rather than overcomplicate matters in the name of making money. If anything, it was a reminder that eating and nourishing our bodies really is THAT simple.
What produce is in season in your part of the world?
What sunscreen do you wear? I need tips 🙂
Love the food miles over calories!! I’m all about local sustainable food (I’m so lucky to have it readily available!) I’m directly connected to so much of my food- I feel very lucky for that. I get lots of veggies from nonna and the local markets, dairy from nonna or the market, fish from papa, olive oil from a neighbour of Nonnas and my meat, game and animal fat from local farmers too! I think it’s so awesome you are aware and awake Khushboo! Lucas (my man) lost his father to skin cancer 6 months ago- I know he would want to give you a big hug for promoting sunscreen and sensible skin care 🙂 Carbs are beautiful- and always part of my dinner 😉 last night I had angel hair pasta with fresh tomato (raw) sauce because the tomatoes were ripe and lovely, I added lots of fresh basil (also in season) and a great glug of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a heavy shaving of parmasen- I slept well. I love spinach and mushrooms- I would have loved to share some quiche with you! My mamma and nonna make a wonderful spinach and mushroom risotto- I bet that would induce a peaceful sleep 😉 Eat, sleep, love simple keys to beauty inside and out- love it! Love and hugs Sophia
I’m sorry to hear about Lucas’s dad :(! On a happier note, your dinner last night sounds absolutely fantastic- I love Italian food in general but I can only imagine how much more yummier it would taste with such fresh ingredients :)!
Sounds really interesting! Ive become too interested/ obsessed with anti aging now I’m in my very late 20s! So hard to know what really works and what is all hype!
I guess it’s a case of trial and error 🙂
I do use sunscreen everyday, once you start applying it regularly it becomes routine! I actually use Shiseido: http://www.shiseido.com/Ultimate-Sun-Protection-Lotion/0730852105133,en_US,pd.html , it’s good and it has a tint so helps to cover any blemishes 🙂 SPF 50 only because a dermatologist told me it was necessary if I lived in the south of Spain. Eye cream is not something I think about, but better make that a routine asap also! haha if you hear of good recommendations please let me know 🙂
Thank for the sunscreen recommendation, Sonal! I just bought the Ponds Cold Cream to use under my eyes- I’ll let you know how it is 🙂
A workshop that includes food and beauty? Ahhh I’d be in heaven 😀 Loving the takeaways, and I completely agree with all the points. It’s always so refreshing to hear someone praise carbs rather than damn them, especially since I’m the kind of girl that, unless I have a good amount of carbs on my plate, I just won’t feel satisfied. I know everyone says that fat and protein are the keys to a satisfying meal, but whenever I try to go that route, you better believe I’m prowling the kitchen in no time, looking for something carby to much on.
As for sunscreen, I’m definitely not the best at remembering to apply it on an everyday basis, but my moisturizer and makeup has sunscreen in it, so I guess I’m doing okay. The only time I go ahead and apply it separately is when I know I’ll be spending a lot of time in the sun, which is actually something I try to avoid because the skin cancer and early aging thing? Yeah… not so much a fan. When I’m looking to get a little extra color, I turn to the kind from a bottle 😉
Ooooh do you have any good fake tan recommendations? I sure could use all the help I can get 🙂
St. Tropez is definitely my favorite brand of sunless tanner. I’ve been using it for a couple of months now and I’m very happy to report that I look like a lovely version of myself rather than an Oompa Loompa 🙂
Awesome thanks for the recco…the Oompa Loompa look isn’t good on anyone 😉
I wear Neutrogena sunscreen for the body and a different Neutrogena sunscreen specifically for my face. I love them – they’re not greasy like other sunscreens and since Neutrogena is a skincare company, I trust they won’t cause me to break out or anything.
Also it’s refreshing to hear a nutrition professional recommend carbs at dinner. I’m never satisfied without them!
I’d give Neutrogena sunscreen a shot- I use their facewash and am a big fan 🙂
Sounds like a great talk. And I love how the speakers kept it simple and didn’t make nutrition out to seem like a mysterious thing. And I especially love the idea of looking at one’s diet from a holistic perspective versus getting down to the granular level. Eat things that make you feel good – simple as that!
And berries are in season now (I think). Woo hoo!
I can’t wait to get to London in a few weeks and milk berry season to the core 🙂
Awesome advice! I have SPF in my face moisturizer, but I really need to be better about wearing sunscreen on the rest of my body on a daily basis. Skin care is super important, and I really want to be proactive about the way that I care for my skin.
It’s a habit I hope to get into ASAP too 🙂
Yesss on nightly carbs – it’s always such a relief to hear that actually recommended! I may be able to get away with a carb-less salad or something at lunch, but dinner just doesn’t feel complete with a potato or rice or something along those lines.
Despite the fact that I’m trying really hard not to get a sunburn this year, I haven’t been doing really well on sunscreen. I use a BB cream with SPF 30 on my face, but I have to get better with making sure the rest of me is protected.
A piece of meat/fish with just veggies for dinner is kinda sad 😉
Ohh rice at night huh? I may have to start doing that!! Good to know hahaa. I don’t wear sunscreen..I’m so bad. I DO wear it when I am going to be out and about though for a long time…but not for just going to work or places like that.
Me either- that definitely needs to change stat!
I am currently loving berries and tomatoes. I would have loved to attend that talk too – very interesting piece on carbs and eye care.
I so wish it was berry season in Mumbai right now !
Love these tips!! I wear sinscreen on my face everyday. My skin is inthe midthirtirs and you can tell it around my eyes!!!i usually wear a BB cream, they’re perfect!!
Gosh, forgive me all these typos. Writing with the Mini iPad is a nightmare 🙂
Haha no worries at all- blame it on damn autocorrect (or lack of) ;)!
Ohhh, I would’ve loved this so much!
I love learning about nutrition and the skin, I’m fascinated with it ever since about 3 years ago I suffered from horrible cystic acne and I used my diet and other things to help heal it.
And I’m so happy to hear the positive of carbs being explained! The high protein thing gets to me sometimes haha.
I feel like carbs help my skin glow. Especially the good ones.
I wear sunscreen every single day, my friend recently got diagnosed with skin cancer so I’m really good at remembering. And I have a few spots that need to be looked at myself, so I always make sure that’s a number one thing I look after.
I wear elta MD skincare sunscreen. It’s amazing since it doesn’t break me out at all. Is oil free, and my dermatologist recommended it.
Okay, sorry for the super long comment 😉
Ah the longer the comment, the better :)! I love my protein but it’s def a bit overhyped…in my ever so humble opinion. I’m sorry to hear about your friend- hope she is on the mend, Lisa.
I agree with so many of your points. Eating food closer to you (Farmers Markets, etc) counts just as much as counting calories! Also, now I don’t feel bad about eating rice at night. Not that I would ever stop, how can you take rice away from an Asian?! I need to start wearing sun screen everywhere, it’s just so hard when I wake up and come home to fog almost every day.
It makes me cringe when people fall back on processed food when it comes to cutting calories- eat local! 🙂
I just can’t ever see myself wearing sunscreen here! My hometown is directly under a hole in the ozone layer, meaning that you can literally get a sun burn in 5 minutes flat. The sun is so strong! Even when I was in Montenegro last summer, I would lie out for 5-6 hours a day with no sun screen and barely got a tan. I was the only person who went to Hawaii for 3 weeks and didn’t get tanned! I think my skin is crazy resistant to non-Australian sun, which is unfortunately bad because I can now never have a natural tan!
Ah I feel your pain somewhat- it takes me SO long to get a tan…I’m thinking a bottled tan is my only hope 🙂
Love this! I couldn’t agree more with each of these tips, and am especially pleased to see #2 on the list. Amen! As a former carbohydrate fearer – especially carbs eaten after 6pm…*gasp!* – I can attest to the health benefits (both physical and emotional) of eating rice, bread, pasta, and potatoes with dinner. When I go without them, I become an evening snack monster, and usually end up consuming hefty servings of ice cream, chocolate, cookies etc. Nothing wrong with that once in a while, but if it happened every day, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t feel so great. 😉
I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t apply sunscreen on a daily basis, mainly because I don’t think about it. My dad would be horrified! My makeup, however, is SPF 15, which I suppose gives me subtle protection. This is definitely a habit I need to be more mindful about, especially since skin cancer runs in my family.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful Monday, Khushboo! xoxo <3
I’m sorry to hear that skin cancer is in the family…but PLEEEASE start wearing regular sunscreen- better safe than sorry 🙂
This workshop is GREAT to say the least! One that combines food with beauty? Mhmm yes, can’t go wrong with that combo if you ask me 🙂 I really like the idea of the counting food miles verses calories… totally makes sense, plus it does give you even more reasons and ways to maintain a peace of mind when it comes to all of this.
Great tip about the undereye cream too! I find myself rubbing that area too much, eek 🙁 Need to get that under control plus a I know a cream would help out. Thanks for the info pretty lady!
Exactly- I love that it takes the focus out of calorie counting and refocuses that energy onto something positive 🙂
omg, nothing stops me from eating. i wish you had more beauty tips from the doctor. 🙂 not surprised ponds made it, it’s sooooo moisturizing.
for spf – i use estee lauder time zone spf 15 and if i need less moisture bobbi brown skin protective lotion w/spf.
i should use spf 30 given that i’m past 30.
Another skin care tip that just came to mind: for instant color in your face, do 2 rounds of Surya Namaskars- it’s the only exercise which will flush blood throughout your entire body instantly 🙂
I love the focus on eating seasonal, wholesome, local and most importantly TASTY food! I can already see little lines under my eyes from rubbing them so much (eye liner, contacts, etc)…which worries me! I’ve been using coconut oil so hopefully that helps. I need to invest in a good eye cream, though!
More than applying coconut oil, apparently eating 2 spoonfuls daily works wonders for skin 🙂
I’m doing these (most of the time) already – thank god. I started with the eye cream 5-ish years ago. It’s the first place to show age… and sadly it’s showing. Bah.
It’s a good thing you got a jumpstart with the eye cream 😉
Yay for carbs at bedtime! Seriously, a bowl of cereal is almost always my nightly snack. I swear it really does help me to sleep better. I definitely can’t sleep on an empty stomach. The seminar sounds really interesting! Thanks for recapping!
Sleeping on an empty stomach is a no-no for me too- I almost always wake up at 4 am starving!
Nothing is really in season right now in my state, but we are getting a ton of strawberries from the southern US states. Yum!
Mmm love strawberry season 🙂
“eat seasonal, local, wholesome and tasty food.” Yes, yes, yes.
Locally, we are into the greens right now. I have two heads of lettuce and a bunch of kale in my fridge right now from the farm share. I also am grabbing local strawberries whenever and wherever possible.
I use Oil of Olay moisturizer with sunscreen because my skin gets dry and I just so happy to be a lovely shade of white, like ghost white. I’ll check out the Ponds cream though because a little help couldn’t hurt.
Thanks for the moisturiser recommendation. I will definitely check it out as I’ve been a fan of Olay in the past 🙂
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