Category: Healthy Eating

Easy ways to maintain your weight during the holidays

Easy ways to maintain weight during the holidays by Jennifer Ledford

Thanksgiving is in just a few days and all of the Christmas catalogs are showing up on my doorstop.  For many, the holiday season is a time that is spent with family and friends feasting and enjoying seasonal foods.

One of the ways I maintain my weight is I do not restrict myself.  I maintain the mindset that I can do whatever I want when I want to.  By taking restrictions off of yourself you take away the scarcity which allows you to settle into a place of free will rather than some diet having authority over you.  If I know I can eat pie anytime I want to it’s not that big of a deal for me when they show up around the weekends.  I tend to lean toward more savory foods so by allowing myself to taste a little bit of everything, I can go back for the things I really enjoy .

This holiday season I want you to enjoy yourself and enter into it with a sense of peace around food.  I want you to have fun!

In today’s video I share one simple tip on how to approach food during the holiday season without depriving yourself.  Take a moment to watch it and have a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter how you decide to spend it.

I am thankful for you!

Shared with love,
Jennifer Ledford

 

How To Feel Comfortable With Your Body And Enjoy Your Life

Jennifer Ledford - Hawaii Vacation - Be Comfortable With Your Body Enjoy Your Life - Broken FootLast week my husband and I joined some of our close family for an amazing beach vacation in Kauai.  I have never been to Hawaii and it was such a special treat!

Some of you know that I broke my foot back in September.  It’s not completely healed and I’m still wearing a boot, which means I haven’t been able to exercise the way I normally do for several weeks.  I’m also pasty white right now because I didn’t hang out in the sun as much as I normally do this time of year.   I decided a spray tan was out due to the fact that I can’t stand very long on my broken foot without the boot.  The tan is  not worth interrupting the healing process.

Did the fact that I was a bit less toned and neon white mean I was going to hide under a cover up?  Heck no!  It’s Hawaii and I like to wear bikinis.  I also stopped caring what other people think about my body a long time ago.  If someone is shallow and doesn’t like my cellulite then they don’t have to look at it.  I’m not wearing my bathing suit for them.  I’m wearing it so I can play on the beach, get some sun on my body, and create fun memories.  Plain and simple.

One of the reasons a person will hire a personal trainer is to help them get ready for a special event or trip.  Beach vacations tend to be some of the most common trips that motivate people to want to lose weight.  For many people getting into a bathing suit and heading out to the beach can stir up all kinds of comparison and body shaming.  If they don’t look like a fitness or swimsuit model the client feels they shouldn’t get in a suit.   Or, if they do decide to put on a suit they believe they should  cover it up with other clothing.

The reality is most of us DON’T look like traditional swimsuit models, myself included.  I’m not willing to deprive and torture myself to get anywhere close to looking like most swimsuit models.  That’s just not my natural body type.  I have to do things that are physically and mentally unhealthy for me to get even close and I’m not willing to treat myself that way.

Losing weight for a trip can be a slippery slope that can lead to unhealthy restrictive dieting that is unsustainable and will only harm you in the long run.  Dieting robs you of your joy and keeps you from living in the present.  When we restrict ourselves in hopes of obtaining the “perfect” body that we think is accepted by society, we are setting ourselves up for potential failure.  Your body does not like to be deprived and restricted.  It will rebel against suffering and that is when binging can occur.

Treating Your Body Right

When you focus on eating plenty of food that you know is good for you and exercising for all of the right reasons, you will settle into your natural body weight and it will no longer be a struggle to maintain it.  However, I can honestly and personally share with you that if you continue to try to force something unnatural on your body, it becomes a prison.  Will the scale go up and down from time to time?  Sure it will.  That’s NORMAL.  It’s called life.

One of my favorite plus size models, Ashley Graham, shares this awesome insight on body image and self acceptance, “I felt free once I realized I was never going to fit the narrow mold that society wanted me to fit in.”  I totally agree with her because I felt the same freedom when I gave up on being a size too small and decided to focus on being the healthiest me I can be.

You don’t have to lose weight to put on a bathing suit or any other item of clothing.  Don’t ever allow the pressures of the diet culture  to cause you to miss out on having fun.  Be a rebel.  Love yourself no matter what size your bathing suit is.

And most importantly,  go out and LIVE!

Shared with love,
Jennifer

 

Seven Simple Ways To Boost Your Immune System

Seven Simple Ways To Boost Your Immune System - shutterstock_220442575

Nobody likes being sick.  Besides feeling crummy,  being under the weather can interrupt every aspect of your life.

One of the best ways to avoid getting sick is to boost your immune system.

The words immune boosting have been used so often for mass marketing that it’s hard to know what really works.  While it’s impossible to guarantee that you’ll never catch a cold or the flu, there are some simple steps you can take to boost your immune system and dodge as many bugs that come your way as possible. The tips I’m sharing below are my own personal immune boosting secrets. My clients can vouch for me when I tell you it’s very rare for me to even catch a cold so they’re more than just a theory.  🙂

HERE ARE SOME PROVEN TIPS TO BUILD YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

1) Vitamin D. Researchers believe that one of the reasons we catch colds during the winter months is a lack of Vitamin D. Make sure you are getting outside when the weather allows. Ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D levels. Your doctor may recommend that you take a Vitamin D supplement to help boost your immune system.

2) Eat immune boosting foods. Foods like broccoli, almonds, cabbage, beef, garlic, spinach, sweet potatoes, button mushrooms, chicken soup, shellfish, yoghurt, oats and barley, acai berry, elderberry, and grapefruit are all considered to be immune boosting foods.  Do your best to incorporate immune boosting foods into your daily diet. Look for recipes that include them and get creative with snack choices.

Variety is important when choosing foods for their nutritional value. Each food offers its own unique benefit.  Avoid buying into the marketing hype around one magic food that can do it all.  It simply doesn’t exist.

3) Get enough sleep. Per WebMD, the average adult needs 7 to 8.5 hours of sleep per night. Lack of sleep can compromise your immune system, making you more vulnerable to colds, flu, and other more serious illnesses.

4) Exercise. Moderate exercise is proven to boost the immune system.  However, high intensity exercise can temporarily lower your immune system.  Make sure you are allowing yourself forty eight hours of rest between high intensity routines and if your energy seems a bit low, it’s best to stick to moderate activity and get some rest.

Studies have also shown that thirty minutes of moderate exercise can help improve your sleep as well.  Bonus!

5) Hit the coffee shop. Coffee and tea are both rich in antioxidants. Studies have shown that they can fight off illnesses when consumed in moderation.  Too much caffeine can interrupt sleep and cause your body more harm than good. It seems that some people metabolize caffeine quicker than others. If you know it keeps you up at night, you may want to limit consumption to the morning hours.

6)  Laugh more.  Researchers have found that laughter is good medicine.  Studies show that it can actually decrease stress hormones and increase certain immune cells while activating others.  In a study conducted at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, healthy adults who watched a funny video for an hour showed significant increases in immune system activity.

Watch funny movies, take a moment to watch silly videos on social media, spend time with people that like to laugh with you, and do your best to see the comedy in life’s day to day activities.

7)  Look on the bright side.  Studies show that optimists who look to the brighter side of life have less stress which results in better health.   A classic UCLA study found that law students who began their first semester optimistic about the experience had more helper T cells mid semester, which can amplify the immune response, and more powerful natural killer cells, than students who had a more pessimistic perspective.

Start each day with an attitude of gratitude.  No matter what we are facing in life, we can all find at least one thing to be grateful for each day.  Even if it is simply waking up to a new day.

Boosting your immune system doesn’t have to be a chore.  Focus on the things you can incorporate into your day.  A little bit goes a long way!

Here’s to avoiding the cold and flu aisle this year!

With love,
Jennifer