Author: HairWeavings Editorial Team

Amanda Batula’s Yellow Trucker Hat and Shorts / Summer House Season 8 Episode 5 Fashion

Even when in “the great outdoors” Amanda Batula is going to keep it comfy. Like on tonight’s Summer House when she chooses sweat shorts and a bright yellow trucker hat for the endeavor. Though it did somehow get her to not have to partake in the challenge of pitching a tent! But she was pitching something and that was the idea of us stealing her camping style ASAP.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Originally posted at: Amanda Batula’s Yellow Trucker Hat and Shorts

It would be nearly impossible to find even one woman in our Sixty and Me community who hasn’t at some point disliked her body or called herself fat. This criticism and self-loathing is the direct result of a continuous deluge of impossible images of perfection put forth by the fashion and dieting industries. It has been a part of our history, going as far back as 400BC in Ancient Egypt. 

With access to many forms of media, including audio and video broadcast, print, and a multitude of social media platforms, it’s hard to escape messages about weight loss and dieting. Despite all this, there are more overweight women in the world than ever before. 

Why Is This Happening?

I don’t think women are soft, or too lazy to do the work of staying well. After all, how many of us constantly manage our own lives and that of the previous and next generations while also serving our neighbors and community? Women are powerful and productive. But we are given the wrong messages when it comes to our bodies. The focus is entirely on weight, when it should be on self-care, genuinely healthy foods and making the concept of home cooking both possible and attractive. 

How many commercial diets can you name? Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Gluten Free, Keto, Paleo and Zone are just a few. Studies show 85% of diets fail, and ultimately cause women to weigh more after they diet than before. Are you getting the picture? With few exceptions, diets do not work.

Diets Don’t Work, So Now What?

So now we have a new magic bullet that is spreading like wildfire. You guessed it, the obesity drugs. There are several on the market and all have moved the economic needle for the companies and countries in which they are manufactured. But will they help women?

Studies show obesity drugs need to be taken long-term, otherwise you regain the weight you lost. They hold the food you eat longer in your stomach, making you feel full faster. This may seem like a good idea, but common side effects include nausea and vomiting. The process of peristalsis, of moving food and liquid through your digestive system, is interrupted.

Possible side effects include pancreatitis, changes in vision, low blood sugar, and kidney and gallbladder problems. Recent findings show a surge in blood sugar when coming off the drugs. These are potentially serious side effects. Once on the drug, if the choices are to remain on them indefinitely or to get off them and regain the weight you lost, what is the point?

Overlooking the Real Issue

As a health coach for women over 50, it saddens me that many women will put themselves through this experience. If you listen carefully to the messaging, it is singularly focused on weight. There is no mention of food or nutrition, which should be the real goal. Women who struggle with weight and obesity are actually struggling with malnutrition.

They are eating foods with few if any nutrients, triggering appetite as the brain recognizes that lack of nutrients and calls for more food. Women who are overweight need help that leads to a lasting solution, not a drug that may further complicate their suffering.

There Is a Magic Pill

In short, there is a ‘magic pill’. It is real food. It is the gradual elimination of highly processed foods that come in packages, replacing them with simple whole food like wild seafood, meat without added hormones or antibiotics, fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds and copious amounts of water.

These are the basics, and when they are a regular part of your daily menu, hunger will subside, energy will increase, and your mind will be clearer. And with the absence of highly processed low nutrient foods, your body will slowly begin to heal and lose excess weight.

Isn’t that what we all want? So while the pharmaceutical companies are flooding the market with ads for their pills, I ask you to consider what is best for you, while also remembering to honor our unique physique. Not everyone is designed to be a size 6; it would be a very boring world if that was the case.

If you’re a little rusty with your cooking skills or feel you don’t have time to cook, I have written a book of nutritional recipes you can try. They are all fairly simple and designed for quick preparation.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Has weight always been an issue for you? Are you food and nutrient focused or diet focused? Have you considered one of those diet pills that are popping on the market? Do you know anyone who has tried them? Please share your thoughts.

As we age, we notice how our skin changes in appearance and texture. We can attribute the look and feel of our skin to our lifestyle, our nourishment, our genetics, and our skin care regimen. Wrinkles around the eyes may develop as the skin ages, due to it losing the ability to renew itself. Certain essential oils and products may help to diminish those wrinkles in the eye area.

However, whatever product you use, remember to apply it by very, very, very gently dabbing or patting. Never rub, pull, tug, or use anything stronger than a light touch from your middle or fourth finger. Your index finger is just too strong for delicate application.

Wrinkle Categories

We may have one or more types of creases under and over our eyes, each of which occurs due to a different cause.

Dynamic Wrinkles

Dynamic wrinkles form from repeated contraction of muscles underneath the skin. They typically develop between the eyebrows and on the forehead. Crow’s feet, which are wrinkles near the outer corners of the eyes, are also an example of dynamic wrinkles.

Static Wrinkles

Static wrinkles remain visible even when the facial muscles are at rest. They form as a result of exposure to the sun, smoking, and poor nutrition.

Wrinkle Folds

Another type of wrinkle is the wrinkle fold. This is the age-related sagging of facial structures that usually develop in the grooves between the nose and mouth, but they may also occur underneath the eyes.

Prevention

Wrinkles are an inevitable part of aging, but people can take steps to prevent them. Home remedies such as placing slices of cucumber on the eyes or applying banana face masks, are popular, but there is no scientific data to support these, although they feel good and can ‘plump’ those areas of delicate skin for a short period of time.

Other methods include:

• Wearing sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 every day.
• Avoiding sitting in direct sunlight.
• Moisturizing gently with organic products every day.
• Only gently patting the under and over eye area.
• Quitting smoking, if relevant.
• Eating a healthful, balanced diet.

The Good News

The good news is that some studies suggest that polyphenols, chemical compounds found in foods and essential oils, can diminish the appearance of eye wrinkles. The four main categories of polyphenols are:

• Flavonoids, found in colorful fruits, vegetables, tea, and wine.
• Phenolic acids, found in the seeds, skins, and leaves of fruits and vegetables.
• Lignans, found in whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
• Stilbenes are abundant in peanuts, grapes, and berries.

We can all do our own research, experimentation, and applications to see what enhances our particular delicate eye area skin texture. From my own experimentation, I found that combining certain organic essential oils reduces my dry, creased, and loose eye area skin.

My Organic Growing Younger Gracefully Eye Serum

GYG Organic Eye Serum is a unique formula of:

Castor Oil

Rich in polyphenols, Castor Oil penetrates the skin and has been shown to stimulate the body’s own production of collagen and elastin. Castor oil is a humectant, meaning it helps the skin hold onto water molecules and helps to sustain hydration over a longer period of time.

Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed Oil rejuvenates the skin naturally, nourishing while minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles under eye area where dark circles appear.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil carries antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can hydrate the under eye area, reduce inflammation, and potentially lighten dark circles.

Almond Oil

Almond Oil can help to lighten the dark circles under the eyes and reduce puffiness thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It also contains retinol, vitamin E, and vitamin K, which can keep the delicate skin under your eyes smooth without irritating it. These naturally occurring ingredients may also help contract the dilated blood vessels that are causing the discoloration.

Avocado Oil

Avocado Oilcan help reduce dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles. It can be used morning and evening to reduce the appearance of signs of fatigue or skin sagging. Gently dabbing (never tugging or rubbing) helps to stimulate blood and lymphatic circulation, and has a draining effect. Avocado oil is suitable for all skin types.

Helichrysum Oil

Helichrysum Oil tightens and tones the delicate skin around the eyes, quickly absorbing to remove puffiness, and supports plumping to give your eyes a fresh vibrant look.

We have all tried different eye care regimens over the years. Some worked, others didn’t. Whatever you decide to do for your eye area, just remember – always be gentle!

Also read, 10 BEST EYE CREAMS FOR WOMEN OVER 50.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you tried any products that are specifically for eye area skin care? What are they? Have they worked for you? Would you experiment to create your own care formula?

Most of our stories are unfinished… incomplete – the stories that need pages for the telling. Most of the illustrative quirks, curiosities, endearments, and the very molecular breath of personality go into the dust when the body dies.

My Dad’s Unfinished Story

There is the story of the hard times my dad suffered after his factory, Ironmasters, a wrought iron furniture manufacturing company, burned to the ground. The insurance he needed was not what he had. It is the story of my dad walking from his factory to his neighbor down the street, another factory owner, to ask what it would take to borrow from him, to borrow from his family to keep his business going. My dad knew who he was asking. It was a sober last-ditch ask.

The answer is where the story starts. It went something like, “Bob, I like you too much to lend you the money. You know what it would mean, and I will not do that to you. I should, but I won’t. The answer is no.”

Did my father nod and simply walk away? Had he tried to persuade? Did he go to the corner deli and get a pastrami sandwich? I don’t know, nor will I ever.

Remembering a Chance Meeting

Walking on 64^th Street toward Central Park on a brisk late autumn day, the sunlight was a cool yellow with overtones of gold and a breeze whipped leaves and scarves as if in a dance. It was a most beautiful day, and I was filled with joy and the love of my new husband.

Outside a door, held by the liveried doorman of an apartment building, stood a young woman. Under the awning, she was huddled inside a long, plush, dark mink coat. Her face registered; it was Tina, my best friend from 8^th and 9^th grades, whom I hadn’t seen in years.

Tina was such a pretty person. Her hair was thick and blond, lush with swirls of caramel. We both had lavish manes; it was one of our many connections. I could feel my happiness beaming toward her. I was with my beloved; it was a glorious day, and now I see this dear old friend. My delighted face met a face that certainly remembered me, remembered my name, remembered our connection, but was clearly at war with how to respond to our incidental encounter.

She seemed to pull further into her mink shell as she said hello.

Before we exchanged more than a few inconsequential pleasantries, a chauffeured black town car pulled up. You could tell it was there for her; the air shifted in that way that presages an action. Thus, cued, we waved goodbye and walked on.

That was 38 years ago, and I find myself thinking about those few moments. She remains an untold story. I so wanted to listen to it. I remember feeling words poised, experiences begging to be shared. She had been my best friend. I could feel her feeling; I could feel her weighed down as a heavy sac would be, unseen but borne, nonetheless.

I have made up many narratives for the lack of her story. My urge to know so I could understand was at first relentless, but over time, it was not enough to drive me to try to find her and ask.

Stories Lost to Time

In high school, I had a classmate named Wendy. Wendy became a standard to which I aspired for four decades.

I could not figure out how she did it. When a sunny, warm day would turn grey and rainy, I would become soaking wet, my waist-length hair frizzy and knotted, homework ink dribbling down the pages of my notebooks. Wendy, on the other hand, in her little sundress and espadrilles, would pull out a spring raincoat and umbrella, keep her waist-length red hair dry and smooth, her homework tidy and safe in her bag – all of which she did not have with her when she arrived at school that morning.

Awe and fury.

When I would go to her home, her room would always be perfect. The radio was always playing the best music; her underwear drawer was a work of art, and her beading materials – it was the 1970s – were agonizingly organized and just screamed interesting!

Over the years, I have tried to find her and have remained unsuccessful. I have never been able to see how her story unfolded. I could never ask her how the hell she managed to have it together seemingly and always. It was an art form lost to time.

Seeking Stories

In the summer before my senior year in college, I worked in Manhattan, commuting from New Rochelle. When the nights came in early, and the weather held at bay, I walked from the station to my apartment. It was a pleasure of mine to pass by and look at the homes that fronted on the streets. These lovely homes contained stories that I would never know.

I filled the vacuum when I passed by windows with people in them. I sketched out a story about this home and assigned an outline of a personality for each individual I saw, imagining how they interacted with each other. Each lit window, occupied or not, offered me a peek into the vignette of how other people lived and stirred my desire to hear the story not yet told.

Do Other People Do the Same?

I peer into grocery carts belonging to other shoppers to see something new, learn something new, learn about them, and gather pieces of their story.

When I wash the dishes or do the laundry, I imagine others doing the same tasks and wonder how they do it. Are they rushing? Are they careful? As a friend said, are they finding beauty in the act? For me, these musings dispel the banality of the ordinary, and thus, I am sewn into the fabric of life all around me – life I cannot see but can now reasonably believe is there.

People shut the door to their homes as they go out to attend to the list of must-dos. I wonder if they ever drop their keys not once but twice, or if, as they place the water bottle into the carry-all and when adjusting their arms, do the things they just put in occasionally cause everything else to tip out?

Actions caused by distraction are mostly a one-person show, and you are your own audience. Sometimes, they serve as the lead-in or fade-out of a bigger tale that has yet to come to be.

Mostly, we forget the passing moments of our lives when we realize the car needs gas. But were we to consider life’s filler moments as a narrator would, we, the reader, would be thinking, “And so what happened then?”

(Not) The End.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What unfinished stories have you wondered about? Have you wondered about the lives of long lost friends? Do you ever think about other people’s daily lives and how they do their chores?

Paige DeSorbo’s Black Linen Vest and Pants Set / Summer House Season 8 Episode 5 Fashion

The way I’m obsessed with Paige DeSorbo’s black linen vest and pants set in this scene with Craig on Summer House. It’s such a simple look the oozes classiness, like a quiet luxury vibe. But my favorite part about the ‘fit is that its pretty affordable. Meaning we can all easily make space for it in our spare bedroom closet.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

1st Photo + Info: @paige_desorbo

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s Black Linen Vest and Pants Set