At fifty, Estelle Lefébure, the purest symbol of a healthy and active woman is more beautiful and radiant than ever and is now revealing her health and well-being secrets in a new book “Orahe – Ma méthode anti-âge” that is brimming with advice to live life to the full without a care in the world.
Flammarion recently published your latest book “Orahe, ma méthode anti-âge”, a second literary opus in which you reveal your secrets to well-being. Can you tell us a little more?
The book is based on the five seasons that are used in Chinese medicine: Spring, Summer, Indian Summer, Autumn and Winter. With the coming of each season the idea is to focus on a specific organ that you then pamper with a range of recipes that are prepared using natural and seasonal produce. I give a whole list of recipes and beauty advice based on mixtures you can prepare yourself at home using fresh produce like avocados, lemon, honey, citron … Natural products are an unlimited source of goodness. Physical activities are also listed. This does not simply mean going to the fitness club each day. Sport if obviously important but that does not mean you should feel guilty because you don’t have the time. I recommend exercises you can do at home: postures, core strengthening exercises, breathing exercises … easy to do and inexpensive exercises that don’t take too much time to do. I believe that by doing these exercises on a daily basis is the equivalent of a regular sporting activity. Basically, my book gives a global approach with tons of advice and tips to make life easier and to look after your body to live better longer.
Sport if obviously important but that does not mean you should feel guilty because you don’t have the time. I recommend exercises you can do at home…
At 50 you are more beautiful and radiant than ever, as if aging is beneficial … Do you have a magic formula for your elixir of youth?
I think it all happens in your head. You have to accept your age because what you feel inside shows on the outside. If you refuse to age, this is reflected on your face. There isn’t any miraculous formula. Life goes on and you have to accept this. In any case it is an inevitable process. The years go by, so why not just make the most of the present. It’s like dieting. I am against diets. But, a healthy way of life is essential. This is not about magic. You can lose weight on your own. You can lose 10 kilos in not much time. But you are damaging your vital organs by making one work more than it should and so on. This means you are creating an imbalance and disorders that one day will turn against you. The natural capital we have is both easy to destroy and easy to preserve. A healthy lifestyle is a way to ensure you maintain a balance and keep this capital longer.
Copyright photos : Estelle Lefébure
To look after your body takes time. How do you manage to do everything, with your children, your work, your activities, sport, cooking…. without forgetting anything?
You just need to be organized to look after yourself and the benefits are simply wonderful and you feel so good afterwards! What you get from it is enormous compared to the time you “waste” doing it. Also, it doesn’t take that much effort. It’s all a question of organization. When I go shopping, I know what I am going to cook, everything is planned for the days ahead. This saves me hours because I know in advance what I am going to buy. The meals are planned and this saves time. It is possible to prepare simple, healthy meals in next to no time.
And when you want to do something, you can!
Are your children like you?
My son is still too young but my daughters are active and pay attention to what they eat. Their father is also on the same wavelength so they quite simply follow our example. They don’t exaggerate, don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol. There’s no secret involved. They see us and simply copy what we do, so the process begins at an early age.
Your book is divided into seasons. With winter just around the corner what dishes would you recommend for our readers?
In winter you should work on your kidneys. You have to drink a lot because the cold dries the body. I recommend seasonal fruit and vegetables, this means squash, pumpkin, beetroot… and for fruit, pears, apples, Clementine oranges are great.
You also explain that it is important to work on the inside to enhance the outside … Did your work as a top model get you thinking this way?
Modeling glorifies appearance. Only the outside counts, even if when I was modeling, personality was also important. We all came from different backgrounds with different personalities. No-one was on the same wavelength. We all had our own identities. Today, they all look the same. The creators have changed, as has the fashion industry. The 80s were the golden years. Now we have muses, you need to have 1 million followers on Instagram to attract the brands. Everything digital is taking over whereas before you had paper, videos, clips. Times have changed …
When you began modeling, you were seen as someone real and sincere, someone with their feet on the ground. How can you keep a cool head with all that gloss and glitter?
By staying the same.
My motto is “Don’t try and be someone different”. So I stayed being just me while respecting a degree of stability.
I almost certainly lost a number of contracts or missed out on many things … but there were other things that were more important like my kids’ birthdays that I never wanted to miss. I don’t regret anything. I needed this sort of balance between my career and my private life and today I am proud of my kids. They have grown up well and probably because I was always with them. Being a model is not as easy as it looks. You travel enormously, you are often on your own in one place or another … I also needed these times with the family to unwind.
You seem to be totally happy with yourself today, so what is your next challenge?
I have a lot of challenges on the horizon! I would like to explore naturopathy much further to be able to pass on my knowledge to others, so I need to train more. My book is also due out in England and Australia early 2017. I would also like to launch a TV program based on Orahe. A sort of magazine so I can share my discoveries, my encounters and well-being tips with others.
Then, …
ESTELLE LEFEBURE FOR ORAHE
www.orahe.com
