Four Ways to Help Me Stay #ForeverYoung

*Thank you to the amazing folks at P&G for sponsoring this really fun post!

I remember when I was a kid and I would hear that someone was 29 or 30 years old, I just thought that was ANCIENT. I thought, “I’ll never be that old!” Haha! Oh young Molly, how naive you were.

I certainly don’t think I’m old at all, my perspective on age has clearly changed over the years… but I will say that as I get older and as each birthday passes by, I notice that I am becoming… well, older. I don’t get a lot of “jokes” that “the kids” are saying these days, I’m totally out of the loop on a lot of pop culture, and my back feels like I’m about 95 years old… but all in all, I’d say I’m totally still hip and with it. Right? Right.

But, as my dad always says, “Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional” – and I never knew words that were more true these days.

So, I thought I’d just share a few ways (four, to be exact) that I’m trying to stay forever young…

1. Cut back on my soda intake. Y’all know my love for Diet Coke. I’ve gone back and forth over the years cutting it out altogether, cutting back, and not paying attention to my intake at all. But, the older I get, the more I realize how important it is to drink more water and less soda. Not like I didn’t know how important it was to drink water before… I just realized how much better I feel when I drink more water.

Last spring I made a vow to never buy soda for the house ever again… so a fountain beverage has become a treat when I go out.  Not having it around the house has really lessened the temptation… and instead I drink sparkling water or filtered water with some lemon in it! The more water I drink, the better I feel and the healthier my skin looks. Plus, a bonus as a breastfeeding mom, your milk supply goes way up when you drink more water!

2. Daily walks with my daughter and dogs. I’m working to get back into some semblance of a regular exercise routine, but I will admit that it is hard. Lilly gets sick and I can’t take her to the gym nursery… I get sick and can’t go to the gym… schedules get wonky and I can’t make it to the gym. BUT, there’s almost never an excuse to get out of going for a walk.

Even though we have a fenced in backyard, our dogs need to be walked every day and if they don’t get walked, they get so antsy. So, I’ve started going on a long mid-day walk with them before Lilly’s afternoon nap.

I’m realizing that the more I take these long walks, the better Lilly naps, the better I feel, the dogs are less antsy, I get more steps on my step tracker, and I even feel like I’m sleeping better at night. My body doesn’t feel like it’s breaking down so soon. Haha!

3. Laugh. I happen to be known for a rather, uhhh, loud laugh. I can’t say I’m exactly proud of it… but it is what it is. It’s genetic. Everyone in my family laughs so incredibly loud. There were times in my life when I was actually embarrassed by my laugh, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really learned to embrace my laugh.

I love to laugh! I mean, I used to be a comedian, so of course I love to laugh and I love to make other people laugh. Plus, people who laugh more live longer! Laugher has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, defend against infection, increase memory, learning, and increase blood flow and oxygenation of the blood. If laughing doesn’t keep you young, what will?

4. Take care of my skin. This seems like it should be a no brainer, but I’m serious… Y’all know that over the past six months or so, I’ve been on a major quest to improve my skincare routine. It started back in the spring when I just noticed that my skin was looking so… OLD. Wrinkly, showing signs of age spots, dry, and lifeless. Not a good look, people.

So, I’ve been trying so many different things in the hopes of coming across that one product or even set of products that make a difference. Earlier in the summer a friend recommended I try out the new Olay Regenerist line. I first got the Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream and I loved it! I used the whole thing up and was really impressed with it and wanted to try the other products in the Olay Regenerist line.

The wonderful people at Olay sent me the Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream to try out and I was REALLY excited to try this one because I’ve heard great things about it as well…

I’ve only been using it for about a week since I got it, but so far I am really impressed! It has a really nice light scent, nothing overpowering… it doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy (which I can’t stand in a moisturizer), and it leaves my skin feeling REALLY smooth. Sort of that just-exfoliated-my-face kinda smooth… without actually having exfoliated my face… if that makes sense.

I’ve been using it morning and night after I wash my face, and so far I really feel like I’m noticing a big difference in the plumpness of my skin and it’s even seemed brighter. And, this is all while I was sick – and my skin always looks terrible when I’m sick… but it really looked good!

So, all in all, I’d say the little things are adding up and while I may not be able to slow the actual aging process down, I can at least pretend like it. Or something. You know what I mean, right?

What about you? How are YOU staying Forever Young?

Olay is a worldwide leader in skin care and has been trusted by women for over 60 years, maintaining its founding philosophy: to maintain a deep understanding of women’s changing needs and to combine products that fit their needs with the latest advances in skin care technology. Regenerist was created along those lines to address women’s anti-aging needs, and millions of women have tried it and loved it, making Regenerist the #1 anti-aging moisturizer.*

*Based on Nielsen data week ending 2/1/14.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by P&G via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of P&G.