food

Today I am having Health Coach and friend, Amanda Kelly take over the blog! Here she is…

Aloha!! I am so excited to write a post for Jenna’s Fitness & the City! I have been following her since she started last year and I LOVE her blog.

My name is Amanda Kelly and I am a certified Holistic Health Coach.  I work with people to slowly incorporate healthy habits into their lives, so they can live a happier, fuller life (and get healthy!).  I love what I do and I adore talking nutrition, so I was psyched that Jenna offered a guest post to me! Woot woot!

Everyone wants to be happy and healthy.  For you ladies (and gents!), I made a quick list of easy-to-implement healthy habits that will make your skin glow and your body tight.  I don’t believe in a one-day overhaul of your health; it takes time to get totally on track!  These are simple, easy tips that you can slowly take on, one at a time.

1. Sleep at least 8 hours a night.  Everyone loves to sleep.  Give your body a much-needed break at night to restore itself.  There are so many benefits to getting enough sleep at night, including: WEIGHT LOSS, improved memory, increased life span, and improved performance at work and in real life (think exercise!).  Aside from all that, getting enough sleep will make you one hot lady! While you sleep, your skin repairs itself.  They don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing!

2. Eat more color!! Include more dark greens, rich purple, orange, red, and white produce into your day.  Colorful produce has an array of vitamins and minerals, and you need every color of the rainbow to get each of those vitamins.  Try something new each week, like eggplant or mashed cauliflower. I have recently come to love purple cabbage in my salads!

3. Don’t skip meals.  EVER.  Eating should be your favorite thing in the world.  If you are eating all those colorful fruits and veggies, you should be able to eat until you are full without worrying about packing on the pounds.  It is seriously impossible to over-eat veggies.  Plus, if you are eating well, you will be feeling well!!

4. Check your labels.  Anything that doesn’t come from the produce aisle is likely to have some questionable ingredients.  If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, you probably shouldn’t eat it.  Just imagine all that gunk trying to break down into your body and get into your cells : Try whole foods, which are easier on your body.

5. Take your vitamins!! Although eating lots of fruits & veggies will get your gorgeous bod glowing with vitamins and minerals, you should still take a multivitamin daily.  It is a good back-up.  You want all that goodness in your body! I swear that I am happier when I take my vitamins.

6. Avoid GMO’s – just know that GMO’s have not been researched enough on humans to be deemed safe.  That does not sound appetizing! Stay away from anything made in a lab and you will be looking fab (Like my rhyme?).

7. Try organic.  This is one super easy way to increase your health and probably your lifespan.  Organics are so good and pure they make me want to jump for joy!  Do a little experiment, if you like.  Grab an organic apple and a non-organic apple from the store.  Take a bite of the conventional apple (after you pay for it) then take a bite of the organic apple.  Prepare to be blown away!  You will never want conventional produce again.

Little side note: I know organic is more expensive.  If you aren’t ready to go all-out organic, take a look at the dirty dozen list.  This is a list of foods that have been shown to carry the most pesticide residue.  You do NOT want to buy these in the conventional form.  There is also a list called the clean fifteen, which have the least amount of pesticide residue.  Google them!

8. Switch to all-natural products.  I’m talking skin care, toothpaste, body wash, household cleaners, you name it.  I have started using coconut oil on my face and hair. It’s amazing! Also, you can make a fab toner out of a little apple cider vinegar + water.  Plus, using natural products is less expensive than all those creams and face products. Yay!

9. Exercise!! I swear, you will get hooked on endorphins. Get fit AND get high! The easiest way to incorporate exercise into your life is to find something you like.  Try a Zumba class, Jazzercise, spin class, whatever.  Even long walks with friends count.  Try it! You can even start a little weight circuit – dumbbells are super fun.  Feel like a boss and get toned at the same time.  Weights are inexpensive (get some dumbbells at Target for less than $10) and there are TONS of free Youtube videos that show you weight circuits for any body part.  I am a huge fan of Tone It Up – these girls are fun AND know how to get toned!

10.  Slow down.  Take some time to relax!! I’m talking about doing something every day that makes you feel rested and well.  Take a long hot bubble bath.  Get a massage.  Read a novel.  Do something totally indulgent and feel good about it.  YOU should be your first priority.  Don’t feel bad about it either! When you take care of yourself, you are happier, healthier, and more of a joy to be around.

GIVEAWAY!!

If you got to the end of this article, you are in for a prize! We are prizing one of you lucky ladies (or guys!) with MY FAVORITE COOKBOOK! I cook one of these recipes weekly, and the food is freaking delicious! Aside from it being mouthwateringly-incredible, it is also healthy! I nearly died the first time I made the split pea soup with kale.  My boyfriend even ended up eating FOUR BOWLS.  In one sitting! There are so many recipes in this book that will make you want to entertain for days.  I love making these recipes for guests, because they are so incredibly delicious but so healthy!  The cookbook is called … (drumroll please) Crazy Sexy Kitchen!! It is written by a cancer survivor (Kris Carr) who has lived with an incurable stage 4 cancer for 10 years! She knows a thing or two about health, let me tell ya.

1. You must be following this blog to enter. Just subscribe by entering your email to the right —>
2. Then “like” the Fitness and the City Facebook page
3. Go over to my Facebook page, Amanda Kelly Health Coaching, and like that also
4. Lastly, I want to know which of these little health tips you are going to work on this week. Share that as well as tell us what you completed in the comments below.

The winner of the giveaway will be selected Tuesday 6/4/13.

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Thanks Amanda! Be sure to check out her website: www.amandakellyhealthcoaching.com 🙂