Hello Everyone!

I turned 20 about a little over a month ago and I wanted to start taking better care of myself since then. I feel really happy about how I look right now and want to stay looking this way for many years to come. I want to get your opinion on my daily routine that I do....

I drink nothing but water usually about 4-6 ounces a day. I wear sunless tanning lotion to give me a tan and it also has sunscreen built in so I can have a tan without the sun. I workout 3 out of 5 days and I eat grapes and tangerines daily with hardly no junk food, I may slip and have a good treat 1-2 times a week. I also maintain my weight so it stays the same. I have never smoked or drinked before.

With all that said, will this help me to keep looking the same for years to come?

Also at what ages should I see any major changes? for example if I took a picture of myself now and another 5 years from now, would I still see the same me except of course any hair style changes.

Sorry for the long thread lol, I just want to live a healthy life style and be happy with myself so I can live a happy life.

Thanks a lot!
Scott

do you mean 4-6 GLASSES of water? You wrote ounces...and either one probably isn't enough fluid a day. They say 6-8 8 ounce glasses per day. Just of water...not to mention what other fluids you may take in per day. And even though you are a man, get a moisturizer for your face, throat and hands. Those are the places that will give your age away in no time! Take it from a woman who just turned 60 last week and has many friends who thought I was in my late 40's. Many larger department stores and day spas have men's lines of products. And just keep working out and take care of yourself. Oh yeah, and I hope you inherited good genes...that's the maint hing to keep you young looking...is your dad still young looking and feeling?

No its 4-6 ounces not glasses, I drink about 8-12 bottles of .5 ounces of water a day. I don't know how my dad looks as I haven't seen him in years, but my mom is 52 and doesn't have any wrinkles on her face,

Reevaluate your sunscreen. I'm a sunscreen snob and I do not put much faith in american sunscreens. Even less, when they're added to products such as facial creams, body lotions, and did you say sunless tanning lotion? Or did you mean bronzer. At any rate, even if your tanning lotion had UVA/UVB protection you would need at least 1 teaspoon of the tanning lotion on your face and about 1/2 that on your neck. I'm not sure how much you would need if it's a foam type tanner. I'm guessing much much more than what you are applying.

You cannot beat the anti-aging properties of a good sunscreen that blocks out the both UVB and UVA. Usually, most american sunscreens only do a good job of blocking out the UVB rays (burning rays), not the UVA (aging rays). Be sure you supplement your diet with Vit. D with these types of sunscreens!

I think you must be misreading the bottle....I know of no commercially available .5 ounce bottles of water...that's ony a few spoonfuls! I've got a small bottle of Aqufina on my desk right now and it's 16.9 ounces....and lay off caffeine...it's bad for you too.

My bad its not .5 ounces, its .5 Liters, so I drink 4-6 liters of water a day.

So you actually drink 4-6 half liter bottles a day...that's fine...

Im 42 but people tell me i look alot younger. Iv'e always taken vitamins since back in high school and eat lots of vegetables with the Phyto nutrients and Flavanoids that keep the Collagen in your skin strong and act as an natural Sunscreen and have always slathered Sunsreen all over my face and neck.Anyway thats some of my pointers and im probably going to add Blueberry powder and Resveratrol powder to my regimine.... :cool:

You definitely want to use a SPF 15 or SPF 30 sunscreen during spring and summer.

Other things to look young.
I would recommend taking anti oxidant vitamins.
The best ones are Vitamin C, Grape Seed, Alpha Lipoic Acid, R Lipoic Acid.
R Lipoic Acid is 8 times stronger then Alpha Lipoic Acid.
A good one is Doctor's best R Lipoic Acid. You can get this cheap online.
CQ10 (coenzyme Q10) and ofcouse take Calcium for bone strength.

I would also recommend Celestial Seasonings Green Tea decaffinated.
This is my favorite Green tea.
I found a great sugar to use with it.
Its called Florida Crystals Demerara cane sugar.
This is a brown crystal sugar.
It has this molasses taste.
This sugar tastes amazing in tea and coffee.
This sugar has no chemicals in it and is all natural.
Sweet and Low and all those types of sugars put so much chemicals in them.

I think it's good you're consciencious at such a young age. Very wise.

I'm 41 years old and a lot of people mistake me for either 29 or 30 *blushing* until they find out I have a 19 going on 20 year old in college. :D LOL

Another advice which I started doing at around age 16 is moisturizer. I learned that the "expensive" ones that you find in department stores are okay, but a few years ago, I found Eucerine to be the most effective one. At my age now, I needed to start spending at more expensive items such as Carita which costs a lot.

Laughter, it's another secret of a lot of older, young looking women.

Sleep. I noticed that when I get at least 8 hours of sleep, I look and feel good.

Sex. ;)

Good luck kiddo ~from an older, wiser woman. :D

.

Happiness...staying away from abusive men altogether, having a lot of good sex with someone you love, reading many books and varied topics, staying out of the sun, eat and learn to cook good interesting food, minimise the alcohol, dont do drugs or smoke, find a job you like and build on that, stand upright...dont slouch.

Genes are the basic component of how your skin reacts over the years. Some cremes help...Ella Bache might...or just having a skin routine. I always sucked at paying any attention at all to my nails but...when I started beauty therapy school when I was 25...I was MADE to have perfectly nails twice a week for each lesson...and as I HAD to look after them...I was astonished at how they grew and got strong. I mean...I was always the gal with the short stubby flaky nails...I didnt know they COULD grow...but they did with attention. Same with skin I guess.

I still have crappy nails and skin is all gene work as I dont look after it much at all BUT habits die hard. Get into a lifelong habit of caring and you might stay younger looking all your life. It wont stop gravity doing its thing, in the end, BUT worry about that when it happens.

:wave: I'd like to STOP the aging process not just slow it down.... ;)

I'd like to REVERSE the aging process, not just stop it. ;)

I'd like to REVERSE the aging process, not just stop it. ;)
The research is exploding on this ..Geron is a biotech company working on the ''telomeres'' which control aging . There's the American Acadamy 4 Aging, Life Extension Foundation and Aubrey de grey's foundation etc. There's the mapping of the Genome , Proteome, Gene therapy's ,stem Cells etc... Stay tuned ......

Someone mentioned Blueberry powder and Resveratrol supplements to help slow down the aging process. I would like to know more about these products, i.e., amounts to take per day, benefits, concerns, etc. If anyone has this information I would like to know about it.
Thanks.
:eek:

Someone mentioned Blueberry powder and Resveratrol supplements to help slow down the aging process. I would like to know more about these products, i.e., amounts to take per day, benefits, concerns, etc. If anyone has this information I would like to know about it.
Thanks.
:eek:
Sure ....Blueberries have one of the highest ORAC scores to supress Free Radicals which are a cause of aging (many causes).They also have high amounts of anti aging flavanoids ''Anthocynidins and Pterostilbene '' which have been shown to improve collagen formation which is the cement that holds our skin and body together ...not to mention cataracts, JUST IGNORE THIS POST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! 6foot3

Someone mentioned Blueberry powder and Resveratrol supplements to help slow down the aging process. I would like to know more about these products, i.e., amounts to take per day, benefits, concerns, etc. If anyone has this information I would like to know about it.
Thanks.
:eek:
Sure ....Blueberries have one of the highest ORAC scores to supress Free Radicals which are a cause of aging (many causes).They also have high amounts of anti aging flavanoids ''Anthocynidins and Pterostilbene '' which have been shown to improve collagen formation and prevent crosslinking which is the protein (cement) that holds our skin and body together. Resveratrol which is a flavanoid of red wine, grapes and peanuts was shown the several research labratory's to shut down the ''SIR2'' gene that prevents longevity.Only ''Calorie Restriction'' and'' Resveratrol'' are the only 2 things on earth at this point to have this effect on the ''SIR2'' gene and even the oldest living person on record ''Jean Calmont'' who died a couple of yrs back at 122 yrs old said her daily consumption of red wine since she was a teenager was her secret to her longevity although i know that in its self is not proof. So there you are some info on these foods/flavanoids......

Yes, of course take care of your health daily, but you asked what to do and the financial aspects are important too.

Every human is just one car accident away from total disability.
What you can do to take care of yourself or enjoy life after becomeing disabled is HIGHLY depend on your income or lack thereof.
Certainly try to keep health insurance.
Take out a private policy of very good disability insurance.
One that pays you income for life if you ever get totally or even partially disabled.
Keep disablity ins on your credit cards to pay them off if you are disabled they offer it for most cards.
If you buy a car take out disbility insurance that pays it off.
If you have a mortgage on your home that out disbility ins that would pay it off.

All of the above is hard to pay for (none of it is cheap) especially when you actually hope you never even need it. But when suddenly unexpected total disability happens all of the above would be very nice to have. I didn't have those.

I am just approaching 41, and a lot of people assume I am in my mid twentys! infact people think I am lieing when if reveal I am often older than them!

People say avoid stress and worry, as it ages you! well I suffer from OCD and so live on extreme worry and anxiety! plus I have insulin dependent diabetes, along with other health problems! so with me I can only assume it is:-

I have never smoked,
never grew up around central heating
don't really drink
don't eat red meat
cook with extra virgin olive oil
eat loads of garlic
don't ever sunbath
and the one thing I often wonder is I consume about 4 pints of milk everyday, so wonder if there is anything there to consider!

Also genetics are a big factor! if parents look younger in their years, there is a good chance you will too.

Where do you get the blueberry powder and resveratrol powder?? Is it mixed like a protein shake? Also, someone mentioned that European sunscreen is better. I was just wondering....now that Neutrogena has an SPF 55 sunscreen with helioplex....if European sunscreens are still considered better? I have been trying to wear a lot of sunscreen, and just want the best protection possible.

I too would like to know where to get Blueberry Powder ??????
Please?
And how do you use it in the food ?????

Blueberries and cranberries are the only two berries I am NOT allergic to.
I drink cranberry juice, keep Craisins on hand and have some cranberry pills (bought those pills at Walgreen's).

But Bueberries are something I've only found fresh or frozen.
I've only used them in pancakes, muffins, oatmeal and nice fattening pastry such as pie ;)
I've never seen a powder or pill or powder of Blueberries.

A store near me just had blueberries on sale. I went and looked but they were moldy! Not a lot but still some were just a little. That's icky. I just hate when you go to a store some of the fruit has a little mold on it! Things like that make me trust the frozen packages more than the fresh items.
I think it would be very handy to have a powder or pill around instead.

Where do you get the blueberry powder and resveratrol powder??
They are usually in supplement form (capsule) some health food stores are carring them and you can find them easily on line thru different companies.....

Sounds like you're doing a lot of really great stuff in terms of diet and exercise (though, you could add some flax seed oil - cold pressed - thats great for the skin)

What you should also consider is your emotional well being. I find that when the late twenties hit, you've accumulated a lot of baggage and anger and frustration which does not benefit your skin (esp. when you get frown lines from stress!!) So, try to do stuff to keep you centered emotionally - maybe take meditation classes or reiki or something just to keep your mind positive and keep the bad energy OUT!!

I'm 35 and still at "hot chick" (my 28 yr old boyfriends words!!) but I definately feel that emotional issues - esp anger and frustration have caused my frown lines.

Good luck.