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Lips are amazing. They help us to eat, talk, smile, and express emotions. And, most importantly, they were made for kissing. We use them all the time, yet we don't know their real name.

It is 'the vermilion border'. And guess what - the vermilion border (okay, I'll call them lips) is not made of skin, rather something close to mucous membranes.

Lips are vulnerable as they are not protected by thick layers of skin, like the rest of our body. The blood vessels in our lips are close to the surface, thus giving them their luscious color.

Lips lack sebaceous (oil) glands and therefore have no natural oils. They burn in the summer and are among the first casualties of the fall and winter. It's likely that they will dry - and in extreme conditions - crack.

The resulting damage can increase your chances of developing cold sores or even lip cancer.

How to care for them?
Protect them against the elements (in summer and winter); stock up on lip balm with protective sunscreen. Due to the damaged ozone layer, the sun is strong year round. And your lips are more likely to become dehydrated in winter. If you live in snowy areas, consider how the light is reflecting off the sun. It's stronger than the summer sun!

Drink plenty-O-water. Helps hydrate your entire system, including your lips.

No licking allowed. Not your friend's ice cream cone or your lips! Licking makes your lips drier. Every time you lick your lips, the saliva evaporates and with it goes your natural moisture (which isn't plentiful to begin with!).

No chewing or biting your lips. For goodness sake, it looks awful, and you are removing the little bit of skin that your lips have.

Be sensitive. At the end of the day, gently remove your ruby red lipstick.

Before bed, slather on some more lip balm or vaseline.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Keep those vitamins pumping through your system.

Kiss away - but be careful! Although not as reliable as fingerprints, there are no two lip prints alike, and they be used to identify you!

Favorite Links:
9 tips: How to Let Your Sexy Rip!
10 tips: How to be fabulous!
New Moon, Full Moon

Spread the word (NOT the icing!),
Janice
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Required Reading:Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal an OPRAH BOOK CLUB pick: Summer 2009 - Buy NOW!

Join the Our Lady of Weight Loss's Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.

Write Janice Taylor, Weight Loss Coach, Certified Hypnotist, Author and 50-pound big-time-loser for an introductory one-on-one coaching session.

Visit Our Lady of Weight Loss.
about Janice

Whether you are a fan of beauty pageants or not, whether you were rooting for Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez or not, you've got to be wondering, "What are these girls eating? What's their secret to their flawless skin?"

Like the heart, stomach, and brain, your skin is an organ. In fact, it's the largest organ in your body and it grows from the inside out. There are many nutrients, including protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and water that are needed to condition, repair and regenerate your skin.

Water, sometimes called the forgotten nutrient, rids your body of toxins and keeps skin moist. Be sure to drink approximately half your body weight in ounces per day.

For healthy and beautiful skin, here's the A, B, C skinny on the subject:

Vitamin A helps to even out skin tone, diminish fine lines and may help to make skin more elastic.
Sources: egg yolks, milk and dairy products, fish oil.

Vitamin B controls oil secretion, decreases propensity towards blemishes, and helps to prevent scaly skin.
Sources: Poultry, fish, whole grains, dried beans, bananas, meat, leafy green veggies as well as dairy products.

Vitamin C helps heal scar tissue, cuts and bruises and protects against UVA rays.
Sources: Citrus fruits, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, berries, melon, peppers, potatoes.

Vitamin D helps to moisturize and condition skin.
Sources: Egg yolks, salmon, herring and fortified milk.

Vitamin E conditions and moisturizes skin, helps heal burns, inflammation, cuts, and irritation and may minimize formation of scars.
Sources: wheat germ, nuts, vegetable oil, green leafy vegetables, whole grains.

Essential fatty acids moisturize the skin while helping to maintain its barrier function.
Sources: flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, blackcurrants, safflower oil, borage seed oil, linolenic acid.

Vitamin K reduces bruising, may help relieve dark circles under eyes, treats actinic purpura in aged skin, and may help fade broken capillaries.
Sources: green leafy vegetables.

More Sexy Beauty:
Sexy 101: How to let your sexy rip!
Kim Kardashian: Sex Tape turns to Weight Loss?
10 Tips: How to be fabulous.

Spread the word ... not the icing!
Janice

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Follow Janice on Twitter and/or Facebook!

Required Reading:Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal an OPRAH BOOK CLUB pick: Summer 2009 - Buy NOW!

Join the Our Lady of Weight Loss's Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.

Write Janice Taylor, Weight Loss Coach, Certified Hypnotist, Author and 50-pound big-time-loser for an introductory one-on-one coaching session.

Visit Our Lady of Weight Loss.
about Janice

Oats: Grown in the U.S.A. by Janice Taylor, Life & Wellness Coach, Cert. Hypnotist, Author, Columnist and 50-pound Big-Time-Loser!

History: As long ago as 7,000 B.C. - in ancient China - man was cultivating his oats (not sowing them). The ancient Greeks were the first people known to have cooked up a bowl of porridge (cereal) from oats. In 1602, a sea captain planted oats on one of the islands off the coast of Massachusetts, thus introducing oats to the Americas.

Today, nearly half of the world's oat crop--more than 4 billion bushels a year--is grown in the United States and Canada.

Health: Oatmeal is a product made by processing oats. It is a whole grain, and its health benefits are many.

Studies conducted over the past forty years demonstrate that ingesting 3g of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

There are a number of heart healthy components at play in oatmeal, including soluble fiber, beta-glucan and antioxidants. They reduce cholesterol by reducing the ability of blood cells to stick inside the artery walls, which in effect stops plaque from forming. (When plaque forms, the diameter of the blood vessels narrow and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.)

Rolled vs. Steel: Rolled oats a.k.a. old-fashioned oatmeal are oat groats that are steamed, rolled, and flaked so that they cook quickly. They're often cooked as a breakfast cereal, added raw to granola or muesli mixes, or used to make oatmeal cookies. Regular rolled oats take about five minutes to cook. If you're in a hurry, try quick oats or instant oats. These have thinner flakes, so they cook faster.

Steel-cut oats a.k.a. Irish oatmeal and Scotch oatmeal are groats that have been chopped into small pieces. They're chewier than rolled oats, and grain aficionados often prefer them for hot oatmeal cereals and muesli. (Our Lady is a big fan of steel oats as is Oprah! They have sooo much in common!)

So, yes, oatmeal for breakfast - a fabulous and smart heart healthy choice.

Exfoliate: AND - did you know that oatmeal is a very soothing grain for the skin?! Those who suffer from psoriasis and eczema appear to find some relief from itching, pain and redness, and oatmeal makes for a great exfoliate.

Exfoliates are materials with irregular textures that are used to release debris which collect on the skin's surface. Sometimes oatmeal is mixed in with our soaps, adding texture. The grainy lather removes dirt and dead skin as it stimulates our healthy cells.

Our sweat glands and sebaceous glands rid our bodies of waste and toxins through the skin. External pollutants also get trapped on the skin's surface. (Not a pretty thought.) So lather up, exfoliate and cleanse on a regular basis.

Spread the word, NOT the icing,
Janice

Write Janice for free 'life' consult!
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For more motivation and inspiration, join the Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.

Pick up a copy of Janice's latest: All Is Forgiven, Move ON ~ Our Lady of Weight Loss's 101 Fat-Burning Steps on Your Journey to Sveltesville!

" . . . . kooky genius ~ see if her idiosyncratic diet plan will work for you." ~ O, The Oprah Magazine

about Janice

My Soul Has a Hair Style ... As Does Michelle's, Cindy's and Hillary's! by Janice Taylor, Life Coach, Cert. Hypnotist, Author, Columnist, 50-pound Big-Time-Loser

I'm having a 'nervous breakdown.' Somewhat dramatic - but nonetheless, in the midst of a rather busy week, I've managed to make time to visit my hair salon, not once, but twice! The hair-raising problem is that while the stylist did a 'lovely' job, it's just not me. And I am simply NOT going to be 'okay' until I am ME.

Which brings me to ME. Or the existential question ... "Who Am I?"
I've read enough Eckart Tolle to know that I am more than my physical being. As Wayne Dyer says, "Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul." Wayne, you omitted hairstyle. My hairstyle completes me.

They say that 93% of what is communicated is non-verbal. With that in mind, what does our hair say about us?

Michelle Obama's 'straightened' hair conveys a clear message; "Yes, I am Black, I have my hair straightened, and please note: I am not Angela Davis. I am measured, sane, safe, and it's okay to trust me."

Cindy McCain's hair is first and foremost tight, blonde and straight. Vogue may have attempted to revamp her, but the fact remains that she is buttoned up, severe, and keeping up appearances. It makes me wonder, "Who is the real Cindy?"

Hillary Clinton's hair is also straight, neat, and blonde. Hillary's hair exemplifies control, and 'highlights' her straight-forward character. Her hair speaks to her ability to step up, ignite and blaze on (as do her pant suits).

And as for me ... my hair, curly, bouncy and (when) boldly highlighted, says, "I do not play it safe, I have a unique point of view, and I bounce (back n' forth)! I permanently removed over 50 pounds of excess fat 7 years ago, and Hello, World, I'm ready!"

How do you communicate in non-verbal fashion? What does your hair say about you (or not say about you)?

Spread the word, NOT the icing!
Janice

Write Janice for free 'life' consult!
Follow Janice on Twitter! Food facts. tips and motivation throughout the day!
Workshops! Come, play with me!
Free Our Lady of Weight Loss E-Cards! Spread the FUN word!

For more motivation and inspiration, join the Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.

Pick up a copy of Janice's latest: All Is Forgiven, Move ON ~ Our Lady of Weight Loss's 101 Fat-Burning Steps on Your Journey to Sveltesville!

" . . . . kooky genius ~ see if her idiosyncratic diet plan will work for you." ~ O, The Oprah Magazine

about Janice

A Perfectly Beautiful Conversation with Janice Taylor, Life & Wellness Coach, 50-pound big-time-loser, and Natalie Fournier, photographer and performance artist.

Janice: You are bold and brave, in your underwear ... and clearly making a statement about your body, the collective body and how we see beauty, and about your relationship with Minnie Mouse ... please, tell us!

Natalie: It started early on ... Like most little girls, the fantastical world of Walt Disney, with its princesses and fairies, inserted itself in my mind. Those Barbie-like princesses became my ideal of beauty, with their small waist, their perfect legs and long silky hair. As I became older, actresses in movies and models in magazines replaced those princesses.

Janice: I know what you mean. I was taken with Snow White and now Catherine Zeta-Jones, who could play Snow White! I know it played with my mind, making me feel less than ... longing to be that form of beautiful.

Natalie: Exactly. This picture of what "perfect beauty" looked like contaminated my mind, as well, and played with my self-esteem. After putting myself down over and over again, it became pretty clear to me that I would never be able to attain that ideal (or myth) of beauty. I realized that trying to be something that I'm not is just simply ridiculous.

Janice: It is ridiculous! Did you know that twenty years ago, models weighed 8% less than the average woman. And today they weigh 23% less. It's a total myth! Airbrushed photos, you know. Nobody is that perfect, especially in the morning. And now ... how do you feel about your 'real' body?

Natalie: Over these last couple years I have learned to love my body, and its every curve!

Janice: Your work speaks so beautifully to this love and acceptance of self. I admire your 'performance.' Your form of expression.

Natalie: Through my art, I try to expose the absurdity of trying to look like something else than yourself, of the ridiculousness of wanting to fit in a mould of what is
"desirable" or "beautiful."

Janice: No point in trying to be someone else ... as Cornell Wilde says, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

Natalie: Great quote!

Janice: And finally, your reference to Minnie?

Natalie: Even if Minnie Mouse and her friends don't think I fit in with them, in my eyes, I am beautiful and that's that!

Janice: You are beautiful! And that is that! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your art!

For more Natalie go to Inplainsight.ca!

Spread the word, NOT the iciing!
Janice

Image from the "Desire" series "Minnie Mouse", inkjet print, 34" x 42", 2007, by Natalie Fournier, Photograph, Performance Artist, currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ipsgallery

For more motivation and inspiration, join the Kick in the Tush Club: Beliefnet Chapter.

Pick up a copy of Janice's latest: All Is Forgiven, Move ON ~ Our Lady of Weight Loss's 101 Fat-Burning Steps on Your Journey to Sveltesville!

" . . . . kooky genius ~ see if her idiosyncratic diet plan will work for you." ~ O, The Oprah Magazine

about Janice

Splash! Sip! & Wash! By Janice Taylor Here are six (count 'em! six!!) mind-twisting, wrinkle-reducing tips that are sure to smooth and soothe. Smelly Fish Parts: I know, it sounds fishy, but no - it's scientific! Word out from the...