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 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 MoreAs women, we’re often warned about aging. We’re told scary stories about how bad it will be, and how we should enjoy our youth while we have it, because it’s all downhill from there. But in my experience, and the experience of the countless women I’ve worked with, there isn’t much truth to those stories. Sure, the factual, biological information we’re taught about menopause holds up, but in terms of the information we’re given about how we should live our lives and feel about ourselves...let’s just say I have some issues with it.
Read MoreOver the last few years, collagen has become a buzzword in the health and wellness community. Its popularity as a supplement and ingredient has risen dramatically, and nowadays you can find collagen in everything from smoothies and protein bars to drink mixes and daily supplement capsules.
Read MoreThe wellness industry is saturated with products. (It’s a multi-trillion dollar industry, afterall.) My goal with this series, Pure Joy Wellness Approved, is to help you cut through the noise, and give you insight into the items and brands that I use on a regular basis. Every month, I’ll be featuring a product I love that can make achieving your health goals easier—whether you want to lose weight, take better care of your skin, develop an exercise routine, find balance with your nutrition, or improve your mental health, to name a few.
Welcome to the sixth edition of my monthly blog series: Pure Joy Wellness Approved!
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 MoreWhen it comes to skin health, what you put in your mouth is more important than what you put on your skin. This may be new news to some of you. “But isn’t skincare about skin care products? What does eating have to do with it?” The answer: Actually, a lot. Everything you eat becomes part of your inner AND outer being. Your skin is your largest organ, and everything going on inside your body (specifically in your gut) shows up on it.
Read MoreThe wellness industry is saturated with products. (It’s a multi-trillion dollar industry, afterall.) My goal with this series, Pure Joy Wellness Approved, is to help you cut through the noise, and give you insight into the items and brands that I use on a regular basis. Every month, I’ll be featuring a product I love that can make achieving your health goals easier—whether you want to lose weight, take better care of your skin, develop an exercise routine, find balance with your nutrition, or improve your mental health, to name a few.
Welcome to the fifth edition of my monthly blog series: Pure Joy Wellness Approved!
Read MoreThe dishes we tend to eat on the Fourth of July aren’t always the healthiest. Mac and cheese, mayo-filled salads, and other heavy dishes often find their way to the table, forcing our health and weight goals to take a backseat.
Fortunately, there are plenty of healthier, delicious dishes that are easy for you to make and won’t rob you of that indulgence feeling. Below are five of the best-tasting (and also festive!) recipes I could find that I highly recommend for this Fourth of July.
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 MoreAs we get older, we slowly start to lose our flexibility—the ability to move our muscles and joints through their full range of motion. It’s kind of a “use it or lose it” situation. And while flexibility might not be top of mind when you think of training, it’s an essential part of fitness and plays a major role in our overall well-being.
Read MoreIt’s hard to remember a time when grocery stores were so full and empty at the same time—of course, I mean full of people and out of items. As the weeks pass, we’re all trying to stay stocked on food and minimize trips to the grocery store in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus. So with that in mind, I thought I’d put together a list of items you should ALWAYS have in your pantry and freezer—no matter what.
Read MoreWith restaurants and stores continuing to close due to the coronavirus, eating at home has become a necessity for everyone (and this may or may not be the case for a while, depending on how this situation pans out). Everyone is stocking up on canned foods, frozen foods, and anything non-perishable—but these foods still carry a stigma of being less healthy or not as delicious as fresh (usually more expensive) ones. Fortunately for us, that is not the case.
Read MoreIt’s rare that I recommend a supplement across the board, but if there’s one that I feel everyone can benefit from—especially women over 50—it’s turmeric. Not only is it surprisingly easy to work turmeric into your diet or routine (don’t worry, I’ll tell you how), but in doing so, you’ll reap numerous benefits and improve your overall health.
But first, let’s start with the basics...
Read MoreValentine’s Day is a pretty loaded holiday—it comes with a lot of pressure and expectations about what the day should look like. In our minds it should have chocolate, a romantic dinner, gifts, cards—and most of all, we should feel loved. Unfortunately, though, we’ve been conditioned to look for love, validation, and even permission outside of ourselves.
We’ve come to rely on other people for love, and we spend a lot of time waiting to receive it instead of giving it to ourselves. I believe that until we become our own steady source of love, it’s very difficult to fully love anything or anyone else.
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 MoreWhat's your version of Olympic gold? Is there anything in life that you'd pursue with single-mided intensity like these athletes? How we can use that type of energy in our day to day - my tips for being in "gold medal" focus!
Read MoreTry a salt bath. When added to warm bath water it can help alleviate muscle pain, reduce swelling, relieve stress, improve circulation, soften skin and improve mood.
Read More
