The Dream Diet - Lose Weight While You Sleep (For Real)

While making New Year resolutions, most of us will include losing weight, but here's why counting sheep may be the answer.  Exercise and eating may not be contributing to the battle of the bulge as much as your sleep habits are ... Plus we all know you can't eat when your sleeping.

Lots of models use crazy blood type, liquid and all sorts of fad diets to slim down, but some just make sleep a priority! Heidi Klum told People Magazine that she clocks 10 hours a night, pretty much going to sleep when the children do. And actress Penelope Cruz claims that she sleeps 12 hours a day to help maintain her flawless figure.

Many models I know get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, choose healthy low calorie foods, and do some sort of exercise every day. Two other things I notice about my model friends is that they often eat the very same thing for breakfast - Every. Single. Day. This eliminates the choices and chances of making unhealthy decisions. After not waking up from a good 8-10 hours of sleep your body is programmed to eat whatever it finds first so making it a no-brainer is a good idea! Finally, the kitchen closes after dinner. No mindless snacking out of boredom or temptation! 

THOSE WHO SLEEP LESS OFTEN WEIGH MORE

Science has shown that sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on hormones that control appetite, cravings and the metabolism of fat. New research in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that overweight adults lost 55% less fat when they got 5.5 hours of sleep per night, compared with when they slept for 8.5 hours a night. In 2011, Australian researchers found that teens and adolescents were more likely to be slimmer if they went to bed earlier than those who stayed up late. Many of us think that if we are staying up late and working hard we are burning more calories, but a study from the Mayo Clinic confirmed this was not true and that sleep-deprived participants consumed an average of 549 calories more than their usual intake when staying up late, but burned no more calories than their well-rested peers.

Sleepless nights will also cause the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, to rise which increases cravings for high-carb, high calorie "comfort foods." And during deep-sleep the brain secretes a growth hormone which helps the body convert fat to fuel. Without enough deep sleep, fat accumulates, especially around the belly.

There are also 2 hormones, ghrelin and leptin, that help to control appetite that can become imbalanced with lack of sleep. Ghrelin, stimulates your appetite whereas Leptin sends a signal to the brain that you are full. When you don't get enough rest, levels of leptin drop, making you hungry, while ghrelin levels rise to stimulate your appetite. No wonder after you don't sleep well you don't feel full or satisfied all day! Prolonged sleep deprivation sets you up to overeat and therefore gain weight. The average American gets 6 hours of sleep or less so if you're in this group it's time to get some more Zzzzzzs! And here's how.

I KNOW ... WHO HAS TIME FOR ALL THIS SLEEP? 

Find the time! That's why you made weight loss a priority for the year on your Resolution List! Go to bed an hour earlier and sleep in an hour later. Remember the quality of your sleep counts too so here are some Sleep Hygiene Tips to incorporate:

• Reduce or eliminate caffeine, sugar and alcohol.
• No late night eating.
• Log out  - no television or computer before bed. The images stimulate the brain and make it harder to fall asleep.
• Eliminate all light and noise.
• Use your bedroom for sleep and sex only.
• Keep a regular bedtime.
• Wear loose and comfortable clothing to sleep in.
• Turn the temperature down, slightly cooler.
• Make a relaxing routine - warm bath, meditation, deep-breathing exercises.

For the brainiac girls that want to understand this concept mathematically, determine your basal metabolic rate with this BMR CALCULATOR - the number of calories your body burns doing nothing, at rest and while you sleep. An average woman's body burns about 1500 calories a day doing nothing, roughly 62 an hour. Sleeping 2 more hours equals 124 calories, about the same as a half hour brisk walk. Plus you wake up without bags under your eyes and avoid eating while you sleep! SCORE!

The findings show that if you are on a diet and workout plan, having enough ZZZzzzz's is important! Not only will more sleep help you lose weight, it repairs muscles, skin and boosts immunity! To find out more tips to what models do to look their best in front of the camera download my new book for only $7.99 on Kindle, Nook or iTunes. Paperback also available on Amazon.com, Face This: Real advice from real models, photographers and makeup artist on how to become Picture Perfect!  

How To Tightline Your Eyes So They Really POP!

Just in time for your big night out on New Year's Eve, I want to introduce you to an advanced eyelining technique I learned from my makeup artist on a big photo shoot.

Many of you are already familiar with using eyeliner on the top of your lids to help define your eyes or to create a cat-eye effect. Probably many of you have also lined the inside of your lower rim for an even more dramatic smokey eye look, but have you ever tightlined ?

Tightlining is when you apply liner to your upper lash line, sort of like drawing roots on the underside of your upper lashes, right at the waterline to make your eyes stand out and give the illusion of fuller lashes and bigger eyes.

Using eyeliner alone on the top lid can look very stark on a naked eye, but tightlining your lash line is a subtle way to define your eyes and not look like you've done anything at all ... perfect when you want to give off that "not trying so hard" beauty vibe.

Here's how you do it:

Close your eye and slightly pull the corner of it upward. Use a flat brush wet with a cake eyeliner, a waterproof gel liner, or my favorite a pen-like liner.  It's best to dab and not create a thick line. Try wiggling the brush in between the lashes rather on the water line getting as close as possible to the lash line itself. (If you use a pencil try to use one that is waterproof to avoid smearing.)

Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner

Think of filling in the spaces between your individual lashes so that it looks lush. Move along the entire lash line and fill in blending along the way. You might find that you need to use a q-tip to clean up some smudging before you go on to apply your mascara. Here is  a video tutorial to show you how.

Have some fun experimenting with this no makeup, makeup look!

CHECK out my post on {How to Make your Face look skinnier Using BRONZER}

To learn more model's secrets to looking your best and taking your best photos check out my new book Face This: Real advice from real models, photographers and makeup artists on how to become Picture Perfect! Available for just $7.99 on Kindle, Nook and iTunes. Also as paperback from Amazon.com

Women's Facial Shaving - DEFUZZING THE MYTH OF THE FEMALE MUSTACHE!

It is well known that Mr. Mustache can also be tragically female. In fact, over 40 million women in the U.S. are bothered by facial hair. It's definitely a hairy situation, but is a woman who regularly shaves her face in danger of becoming the next bearded lady at the circus?

The thought that shaving your face will cause the hairs to grow back thicker and darker is a conspiracy theory that the beauty industry has promoted in order to make us spend thousands of dollars trying to get rid of what a simple 99 cent disposable razor can. I have been razoring the fine hairs off my face for years after a makeup artist told me about doing it for flawless looking skin in photographs. Makeup glides on afterward, plus foundation and powder won't become attached to those fine hairs and illuminated in your photos, especially visible in (Yikes) High Definition!

If you want to learn more about the science behind shaving your face for flawless photos and other secrets to taking prettier pictures, check out Chapter 3 in my new book dedicated to the science and history behind this subject along with nearly 200 color pages of other secrets models know!  FACE THIS: Real Advice from Real Models.

Newport Beach plastic surgeon, Dr. Edward Domanskis encourages his female patients to shave their faces to slow the aging process. He says that by removing the top layer of dead skin cells, the exfoliation can result in a tightening and plumping up of the skin through constant cellular rejuvenation. .Dermatology and plastic surgery offices across the country offer a similar procedure of shaving the face that costs hundreds of dollars called derma-planing. Elizabeth Cummaro, R.N. aesthetician comments, “I see a remarkable improvement in my client’s skin after I perform derma-planing, which is almost exactly what shaving does.” See a You Tube clip of derma-planing being done ----->

Embarrassing and seldom discussed, the peach fuzz and faint mustache on a women’s upper lip is not a good look. Shaving is a simple, inexpensive and safe way to remove it. Some may resist saying,  “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin chin” but if this model’s best beauty secret gets out, don’t be surprised if your man's razor mysteriously goes missing!

Kat gets a quick shave in a barber shop in Japan ----->

If you liked this story check out {Halo Hair Extensions - the new rage in fake hair } because sometimes a girl wishes she had more hair!

Shelley GoodStein is a 47 year old FORD model who speaks to women through television, national articles and public forums about a model's secrets to looking good from the inside out and the beauty of aging! She is the author of Face This: Real advice from real models, photographers and makeup artists on how to become Picture Perfect! Available of Amazon, Kindle, Nook and iBooks.