​Feel and Look Better—Now! Three quick steps to change your mood, almost immediately. Great for kids, too!

If you don’t feel well, or just sort of sluggish, then you probably don’t look so great, either. The blahs also impact your moods. Maybe it’s because you didn’t get a great night’s sleep, or you have a little headache or hangover, or you’re coming down with a cold, or you’re fighting the common afternoon slump which usually strikes between 2pm and 5pm.

My kids were often exhausted and cranky when they got home from school; my son would complain of a headache every day and my daughters were grouchy. Not the greatest condition for doing homework or enjoying a family meal! I would press them to do the Feel Better Now routine, reminding them that it always worked. And it did; within minutes, they had new energy and improved moods that lasted several hours, ready for chores and homework.

Whatever it is making you feel less than 100 percent, here is my tried-and-true recipe for feeling better within minutes. Try it and you will become a believer!

How to Feel Better Now

1. First, eat an apple or an orange, and a few ounces of protein: A cup of yogurt, or a glass of milk, or some meat, chicken or fish, or a lower-calorie protein bar will serve well for the protein needs. The fruit gives you a quick burst of natural sugars and the protein helps to sustain the energy boost from the sugars (note: only use a banana as last-choice. An apple or an orange is lower-calorie and loaded with vitamin C). This food combination starts to work on giving your body needed energy almost immediately. ( Note: it is VERY important NOT to eat or drink processed foods and sweets with added sugar because the opposite effect will happen: You will get a quick “sugar high,” followed by a crash that will make you feel worse than if you had eaten nothing at all! Only natural sugars found in fruit have the perfect amount of what your body needs).
2. Drink a full glass of water. This helps your digestive system process the nutrition, while giving you extra hydration ( Note: if you drank a full glass of milk as your protein source as noted above, you can skip drinking the full glass of water).
3. Stand up and stretch your arms overhead, inhaling and exhaling slowly and deeply. Repeat this four or five times, followed by a ten jumping jacks or twenty knee raises (using your arms). This will get your blood flowing. Do a few neck and shoulder rolls, too; the point is to loosen up, release a little physical stress.
4. SMILE! Yes, it is a proven scientific fact that smiling— even when you don’t feel like it—triggers the brain to release feel-good hormones that improve your mood within 20 minutes! Grin and bear it!

And th-th-that’s all, folks!

Sounds too simple, right? But within 10 minutes, the hydration, sugars and protein, combined with the increased blood flow, will make a dramatic difference in how you feel. Shortly, it will occur to you that the little nagging headache is gone and you don’t feel like you must crawl into bed. You’ll feel awake and alert and it will last for the next several hours. Will it work to repeat it after a few hours? It sure could—but be sure to get proper meals and rest so you will always look and feel your best.

Now get back to work!

A few feel-good extras:

The Feel Better Now recipe will give you a nice boost, but if you have some time and want to increase your energy and overall feeling of well-being, here are a few things to try:

1. If you have the time, get outside and take a walk, preferably in a natural environment: Research has proven that it is good not only for your body, but also for your brain. Not just walking anywhere, but walking in nature—in the woods, on a hiking trail, on a quiet beach—has shown to have profound effects on our psychological well-being, particularly on stress and depression. Scientists found that the results are undeniable and comparable to the benefits of meditation, but they aren’t sure exactly why this is so; they guess it might have something to do with our genetic programming and a primal need to connect with Mother Nature. Here are some other benefits you get from walking:

• Strengthens your heart and body (fast walking)
• Lowers your risk of disease, dementia and osteoporosis
• Helps maintain your weight
• Increases your energy
• Helps control arthritis pain

2. Take a room-temperature shower and give yourself a head-to-toe full-body scrub-down. Use a rough washcloth, loofah or scrubbing brush and slough off dead skin cells. This not only increases your blood flow to the skin, but is also a great way to exfoliate the largest organ of your body: Your skin (yes, skin is actually an organ, in case you don’t remember that from eighth grade science class). Towel off and slather on a great moisturizer like …. You’ll feel lighter and fresher immediately.

3. Stretch from head to toe. Start with slow neck rolls, move down to the shoulders and arms, your back, legs, and even your feet. Take your time to relax into the stretch; you’ll feel more energized, less tense, and your blood will be circulating more freely throughout your body.

4. Pamper yourself a little bit: Treat yourself to a massage, or give yourself some at-home TLC by brightening up your skin with a mild facial peel, followed by hydrating mask (or just use the mask). When you look better, you feel better; and same with the other way around!

Try pampering with some of the  amazing peels, masks and other terrific skincare products for men, women and children right here at Platinum Skin Care, make by Platinum Skin Care—and The Skin Regime, too!

Wishing you a great day—the whole day long!

Where can I buy Dana's Book?

The Skin Regime; Boot Camp for Beautiful Skin, available as a Kindle download or Buy paperback to buy your paperback copy from Platinum Skin Care. You can also read the first chapter--FREE--by click here to read 1st chapter.

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