With Valentine's Day approaching, you can look your best following simple tips such as eliminating stress from your daily routine, exercising, and drinking water.
Here are some expert tips to make you achieve that perfect look this Valentine’s Day:
* Good nutrition: It is important to include good quality protein in your daily dietary intake. You should have high biological value protein such as milk, yoghurt, eggs, meat, chicken, fish and beans in each meal to accomplish the protein needs of your body.
* Exercise: Exercise produces endorphins (the hormones that make you feel good) and subsequently, helps reduce your stress levels. Stress reduction and endorphins help decrease cortisol and other skin problems and also reduces hormones that occur naturally when you are under stress.
Exercises such as plank is one of the best for core conditioning. Its benefits include toned belly, reduced back pain, flexibility, and improved balance and posture.
Side crunches remove belly fat and helps in shaping your body in two weeks. You will definitely feel a change in your body and feel more muscular and energetic.
Running or jogging helps prevent hypertension or heart diseases, strengthens the immune system, stabilises the blood sugar level, and improves mental fitness.
* Eliminate stress: Stress is a key contributor to poor health and it could be a reason for blood pressure, tension headaches, upset stomach, and poor posture.
Try to release it by spending time exercising and meditating. Exercising helps to release the love hormone oxytocin and serotonin.
* Water has multiple benefits of transferring the nutrients and removing toxins. It is the most essential component of nutrition. Keep the skin hydrated and it will appear more plump and less wrinkled.
* Good sleep is important, as it relaxes the system. A sound sleep helps in releasing serotonin. It decreases mood swings, depression, and anxiety.
* Fats: A diet that is rich in essential fatty acids, also known as healthy fats, is important, as your body needs them and can't produce them on their own. You can get these essential fats only from the food you consume.
Include them in your daily routine diet. Take one serving of fish (such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and oyster) in your meal twice a week. Flaxseed, walnuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds are also packed with omega 3 fatty acids. Munch on these nuts and seeds or include them in your salads.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, couples are ready to celebrate their special day. Our readers share their Valentines memories and their plans with us.
“We met first time at a fashion show event and we walked together on the ramp as a couple. We started dating each other after seven years of friendship. February 14 is not only Valentine’s Day for us but that is the day when we got engaged and started our journey of love together.
“That is why it has always been a special day for us, and we never miss the opportunity to celebrate in a special way. We have been celebrating Valentine’s for last three years by taking some time off from work to spend quality time together.
In 2014, we got engaged on Valentine’s Day, and celebrated 2015's Valentine’s in Maldives. Last year, we celebrated it in Rotorua, and this year, we have planned to celebrate this day on an overnight cruise. We always believed in fairy tales and we are blessed that we are living one such tale."
"Thinking about Valentine’s Day makes me anxious and excited at the same time. Because my life totally changed when I went to India for vacation in December 2016. I was initially a bit hesitant about the concept of arrange marriage until I met this girl—Kavya Ganapathy. I was totally blown away by her beauty.
“The more I got to know her, the more I fell for her. I felt I was living my dream and in the blink of an eye, we were engaged. Destiny made me meet her and I am indeed happy, proud, and lucky about it.
“Valentine’s Day has given me this opportunity to depict my love towards her. I am seriously hoping my surprise reaches her office with her favourites—red velvet cake, temptation rum and raisins chocolate, red heart-shaped balloons, a beautiful bouquet, a hand-written love letter, and a romantic novel—The Fault In Our Stars.
“If given a chance, I don’t want to put an end to the gifts but there is still a long way to go. And yes, I will cherish a lot of memories in future with her.