Beauty or Health?

If you had to make a choice between the two, would you choose beauty or health?

The old saying, "nothing is more important than your health", rings so true these days! And while I hope 100% of us would answer in favor of health over beauty, unfortunately what we say and do are sometimes two different things!  In our quest for beauty, we often do things that are definitely not in the best interest of our health.

We pick up weight and go on crash diets; we seek out chemical or surgical fixes in the hopes of "perfection".  Even when we know what's best for us, we don't always follow that path.  As much as I try to be healthy, I can honestly say I know there are things I do that aren't good for me.  Like eating too much candy.  I should probably give up coffee too, but I love it!  And while I should exercise, I hate it with a passion. 

In recognizing my downfalls, however, I attempt to compromise.  The key I have found is no extremes!  Most of us cannot keep up with such a strict, perfect lifestyle and need some day to day exceptions.  So aside from eating candy, I try to eat well.  Lots of fruits and vegetables, with very few carbs.  With this I'm able to keep a steady weight and eliminate crash dieting.  I limit my morning coffee intake to 2 cups (okay maybe 3 on some days!), but ditch the cream and sugar that I'd really prefer. ;)  Knowing I will never, ever go to a gym, my "exercise" consists of running, dancing, and playing with my Grandchildren--hula hoops, jump ropes, it all counts!  And in the beauty department, I try to stay as natural as possible.  Is it sometimes tempting to look at all the ads in magazines for the latest "fix"?  Yes.  Is it worth it?  I don't think so.

I also try to remember that so many things are also out of our control--family history, childhood environments (talk about second hand smoke!), etc.  At almost 59, I do my best to stay healthy and feel young.  In this regard, Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy has been my personal life changer.  Yet not everyone wants or is a candidate for it.  Recently one of our customers shared that after battling Breast Cancer, and as a result of the estrogen risks, she could no longer take HRT and it led her to us, as she now needed a natural way to add fullness to her lips, (as estrogen loss can cause lip thinning).

I'd been thinking for awhile that I wanted our business to be able to give back in some way, and this customer gave me the inspiration that our little beauty product could do something positive-even if just in a small way.  We are hoping we can offer our Fullips lip enhancers to the very strong and beautiful women that have battled Breast Cancer and find themselves in this situation.  While we clearly recognize that thin lips are the least of anyone's concerns after facing cancer, we hope that if in some small way it could be helpful to those that would like to add it to their daily beauty routine, then we are happy to provide it!  to my attention (Linda Gomez) and we will arrange to get a set out! www.fullips.com 

We are putting aside 100 sets to distribute over the next three months to women who have faced Breast Cancer and feel like they would like to try these to avoid more chemicals, or because they are no longer HRT candidates.  If you, or someone you know, is in this position please email me at info@fullips.com to my attention (Linda Gomez) and we will arrange to get a set out!

xoxo, Linda

Are hormones really lunch time conversation? It depends how old you are... ;)

In deciding what to write about for this post, I thought I’d let one of the topics that seems to come up a lot lately with women friends and family make the decision.  I have always found that women are pretty comfortable talking about issues that affect us, but I believe that to be even more so as we age.  When I go to lunch with friends, there is no topic that is out of bounds.  Children and grandchildren seem to be a favorite topic, while men and husbands (and no they are not one and the same) are always of interest, along with work and careers.  The biggest change in lunch time chat as we age seems to be health.  I don’t ever remember talking about our health when I was in my 20’s, of course I didn’t discuss children, grandchildren or husbands either.  Men, yes, and other things I’m sure, but those things seem to escape me at the moment.

When discussing health issues with women starting in our forties, I would say hormones are probably the number one topic of general interest.  Being married to an amazing and very progressive Ob/Gyn I consider myself very lucky, not just because he’s a wonderful husband, but because his expertise as I hit the ominous change of life period kept me in balance and without issues.  For me, the only issue I had was dryness, and I mean dryness everywhere.  My hair, my skin and every other place that should have had moisture were dry.  Many women try to treat these things with topical remedies but when the moisture loss is from lack of hormones, it’s almost impossible to fully replenish that moisture with creams.  Aside from looking much older because our skin can appear more wrinkled, other more important issues can occur.  Sex can become very uncomfortable and less enjoyable, which can certainly start to affect both partners.  Throw in some mood swings or hot flashes which affect some women and…eessshhh…poor husbands...poor us!

So, enter my husband, not that I always listen to him because sometimes I can be stubborn, but in this case I did and wow, what a difference!  He suggested (BHRT) Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy.  Once every three months a small pellet is inserted, this is based on a hormone panel done ahead of time to make sure you have everything in balance.  This little pellet can truly be life changing, both for the woman and her partner.  BHRT can help with dryness, balance of moods, energy, hot flashes, sex drive, pretty much any of the symptoms that are associated with pre-menopause or menopausal symptoms.  You will not only feel better, you will look better too!

So, if you are having these kinds of issues it might be worth asking your Gynecologist about this option…and of course if you are in Arizona…I could highly recommend one Dr. Ernesto Gomez M.D. at Mesa Ob/Gyn…and not because he’s my husband but because he really is an amazing doctor!!!

You will find my husband listed in Suzanne Somers Sexy-Forever online resource guide.  If you are out of state, this is an excellent place to find other doctors that she also recommends for BHRT or any additional information.

http://www.suzannesomers.com/sexy-forever/SEXY-FOREVER-online-resource-guide.pdf

***On a side note about moisturizers…during all of my experimenting with face creams during my dry skin period--prior to taking my husband’s advice--I bought dozens of creams, lotions, oils, etc.  Some were really expensive, others were cheap and I tried them all.  What to my surprise did I fall in love with?  Ponds cold cream…yes, grocery store Ponds cold cream!  The regular one, with the blue lid.  I still use it...it’s inexpensive and wonderful, at least for me it is.  I put it in the palm of my hand, add water and put it all over my face, neck, arms, anywhere you need it.  It’s so inexpensive you can use it all over your body.  The only drawback might be that your kids will be all too happy to point out that you smell like Nana.  Smelling like Nana is not a bad thing and it isn't an issue for me, I like the way Ponds smells, but you might want your favorite perfume ready to go...just in case that isn’t the smell you are going for.  ;)