Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of hosting Kristen Coffield on my Expert Instagram Lives! In case you missed it, Kristen is the author of “How Healthy People Eat” and the founder and owner of The Culinary Cure.
She’s a culinary wellness coach who is dedicated to helping people live younger, longer, and better—needless to say, we have a lot in common!
Read MoreIt’s a known fact that as we age, our posture tends to get worse. Why, you ask? Well, our muscle and bone density begin to decline, which means we’re more likely to slump and hunch over. Not only is poor posture a stressor on our bodies, but it can also impact your feelings of self-worth and confidence. And as badass women, we deserve to feel confident and feel good about ourselves all day, every day.
Here’s why you should care about your posture, and a few tips for how to fix yours!
Read MoreWhen I was mulling over topics for this week’s blog post, I remembered something a woman at the gym asked me. “What can I do about my aches and pains?” I loved this question, because I know lots of women who deal with this, and I myself experience it! Her question got me thinking: What products have actually made a difference for my aches and pains?
You see, as I have gotten older, my body has developed more aches and pains, especially in my back and hips. To cope with them, I devote a lot of time to recovery and carve out time to do mobility work. It’s so important to work your joints and muscles at any age, otherwise your body can develop serious stiffness and pain. That’s why I am constantly looking for devices and products that can help loosen up those areas and keep my body feeling strong.
When we enter the season of menopause, our bodies change...sometimes slowly, and other times quite suddenly. You may wake up one day feeling like you’re in a different body—one that has less energy, a lower metabolism, and a worse mood. Naturally, these changes can be deeply distressing, and the negative feeling we experience during menopause are very real.
Read MoreWhen I look back on my fitness journey, It’s hard to believe there was a time when I didn’t lift weights. Believe it or not, I actually didn’t start strength training until my thirties!
At the time, I was working in television and I was the queen of aerobics. My cardiovascular health was outstanding, and sure, I was thin, but I had no muscle mass or tone to speak of. I was skinny, but I wasn’t what I consider now to be fit. It wasn’t until one of my colleagues at the station said, “You know, you would be great at lifting weights,” that I decided to give it a try.
If there’s one aspect of our health that we should be devoting more attention to, it’s our sleep! The benefits of sleep are extremely well-studied and proven out, so it still surprises me when my clients and friends say they settle for four or five hours a night. (Not that I’m perfect—I also find it hard to get a consistent eight hours, even though I know how important it is!)
Read MoreEvery January, without fail, numerous people jump on the New Year’s resolutions train. They make resolutions to lose weight, get more sleep, improve their nutrition, and much more. And while making those New Year’s resolutions may be well-intentioned, data has proven time and time again that this is an ineffective approach to goal-setting.
Read MoreWhen you think of the word “core,” you might envision six-pack abs or a washboard stomach, but having a strong, healthy core is about much more than that. Your core consists of all the muscles in your trunk—they surround your abdomen on all sides, which allows your body to twist, bend, and rotate, support your spine, and aid in posture. In other words, it’s at the center of everything you do.
You may or may not know this, but October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Given that the Pure Joy Wellness community is composed of strong, badass women, I wanted to use this week’s blog post to spotlight one of my long-time clients, Jessica Moser, a breast cancer survivor, and share some breast cancer resources that every woman should know about.
Read MoreAs a society, we’ve grown increasingly sedentary over the years. We sit at our desks, sit down for meals, sit while scrolling through social media, sit while we watch TV, etc. It’s actually astounding how much time we spend sitting, and how many of our daily activities require being seated. It’s no wonder that many of us struggle to hit our daily step count, or even get outside once a day.
Read MoreWe all know that moving our bodies is essential for staying healthy and happy—but if you don’t have much experience with exercise, starting a workout routine can be intimidating. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that “working out” means you have to go on super long runs, lift two times your weight, or complete intense workouts that leave you feeling drained. Fortunately, that isn’t the case at all.
Read MoreOf all the fat we store on our bodies, belly fat (also known as visceral fat) is by far the most dangerous. It surrounds a number of our vital organs within the abdominal cavity, including our liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Visceral fat is also classified as an “active fat,” meaning it has the ability to influence how hormones function within our body.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that I love to jump rope (and I can get very competitive about it!). Jumping rope was all I wanted to do as a child, and when I would play with my friends, we’d see who could jump the most times without skipping a beat. Today, it’s a consistent part of my daily workout routine—and I still find it just as fun!
Read MoreWhen I was debating which topic to cover in this week’s blog post, it hit me: It’s about time we talked about sleep!
Sleep is an underrated, incredibly important part of our well-being. It’s the third pillar of a healthy lifestyle (nutrition and exercise being the other two). We spend more than a third of our lives sleeping, and sleep plays a major role in both our physical and mental health. Studies show that 1 in 3 Americans don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis
Read MoreAs our age increases, our blood sugar (glucose) levels tend to as well, and insulin becomes less and less effective at bringing it down. This means that the older we get, the more caution we have to take when it comes to eating sugar or anything that gets metabolized like sugar (aka pretty much all carbohydrates, especially the refined ones).
Read MoreEven with a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise regimen, it can still be difficult for women of any age to lose weight. This could be for a number of reasons, but one factor in particular that we don’t always take into consideration is the impact that hormones can have on weight loss—specifically hormonal imbalances.
Read MoreIt’s officially 2020, and after taking a brief hiatus from blogging and social media, I’m happy to say I’m back! I’ve been hard at work on Pure Joy Wellness, and I’m excited to take my brand in a new, community-focused direction this year.
To start, I’d like to look at an email a new client recently sent me:
Read MoreHow do I get rid of extra belly fat? That’s one of the questions I get asked most often. Unfortunately there is not one way to target fat in a specific area, toning your body takes a combination of a balanced diet and regular exercise.
Read MoreAs you can image I live a very busy life. Running my own business, while I love it, is also at times very stressful. My days are filled rushing from one client to another, doing Skype coaching sessions, writing blog post, taking conference calls and managing my own life. I rush through my day with very little time for anything and when I have time to get a bite to eat, I gobble it down.
Read MoreI’m counting calories and working out and not seeing results. What’s the deal? Does this sound familiar? I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this.As it turns out, there are plenty of things that could be countering all your hard work, from what you eat before your workouts, to what you do afterwards.
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