A true model is healthy & fit, not starving and weak. I hope that all of you find your inspiration from the models who work hard for their health & body! I want to give you all some tips I have learned over the last few years on healthy living. My main advice is to take care of yourself, stay active and eat healthy - these things should lead to a fit body whether your a size 2 or 12. Its not about being skinny, its about being healthy. Make your focal point being healthy, stop stressing about weighing yourself and obsessing over your body.. make healthy living your lifestyle.
Lets start with metabolism. This is a key factor in your figure. There are actually things you can do to speed up your metabolism!! Its extremely easy and makes a huge difference in your body & energy levels. Remember, the older you get the slower your metabolism gets and the harder it is to burn.. so working on this is very important!
1. Start your day off with a good healthy FULL breakfast. This meal is VERY important. I can't tell you how many people skip breakfast or just make due with a coffee. Your first meal jump starts your metabolism. Its best to have proteins or complex carbs.. This is literally adding the fuel to your metabolism to wake it up and say lets get going!! Oatmeal is a good choice, or egg white omelet with some veggies and hot sauce.. whatever it may be, DO NOT skip breakfast!! Try eating first, THEN if your still hungry get your coffee.
2. Drink water!! You should be peeing every 2-3 hours max.. and the more clear the better. Your body can not burn fats without water.. without water your body will store the fats. Not drinking water is much worse then people think.. did you know your body can hold up to 50lbs of water weight?? If your starving yourself from water and being dehydrated, your body stores up the water rather then releasing it. You will start to become swollen and lethargic... being dehydrated is not a good look.
3. Vitamin B-12 or caffeine .. or hell, BOTH! These things both will speed up your metabolism, give you more energy to burn more calories and fat. I like to drink a sugar free energy drink called XS thats loaded with B-12 around 2-3 times a day + at least 1 coffee.
4. SPICES. I love it, add a little chili to your life :) I have a hot sauce that I sprinkle on my foods, or dried chili powder I like to splash on lots of things. Spices also help your digestive system to get things moving.
5. Green Tea. You can drink or take Green Tea Extract pills ( I do both ) .. Tea is amazing for your body, whether its green or black tea, they all do your body good. Stock up on teas, maybe have one every night before bed.. the warmth is very soothing and puts you right to sleep!
6. Iodine. This stimulates the thyroid gland which is responsible for your metabolism. Eat lots of sushi & fishes! Its a much better source of protein then meat and has more health benefits. Salmon being one of the best and its DELISH!
7. Freeze!! hehe not literally, but being cold actually burns more calories and boosts your metabolism. The heat can lower your energy levels, dehydrate you and slow your metabolism. Its good to be a little cold, shiver sometimes!!
8. When your going to eat fruit, choose blueberries or watermelon. Fruits are LOADED with sugar (even though its natural, its still sugar) and sugar turns to fat. If you decide to eat some fruit, eat these... proven to boost your metabolism!!
Now some easy, easy things to steer clear of when choosing what to eat.. remember you ARE what you EAT. Think about it, why would you ever want to eat something that could harm your body, your body is your temple.. you want to preserve it and take care of it. There is nothing wrong with splurging, but there are healthy choices for splurging.
1. Stay away from Fried. If its fried, DONT eat it. Its super simple & easy... stick with the grill.
2. Don't eat fruits too often, no more then once a day. Fruits do have a lot of sugar and although they are natural, if you don't burn them off it turns to fat. There are other ways to get the same nutrients and antioxidants without all the sugar.
3. Don't eat red meats.. (if your going to splurge, this would be a healthier choice) but.. on a regular basis your stomach is not meant to process this, its rough on your digestive system and loaded with fat and calories. Your putting an obese cow into your body... no thanks.
4. Always have healthy food available to you. I carry a bag of carrots, a granola bar, protein bar, etc in my purse at all times so that when I am on the go and get hungry, the convenient food like McDonalds is not an option because I already have food with me. Cut up some veggies and store them in your fridge ready to eat so all you have to do is whip them out, perfect snack!
5. Don't eat out.. no matter what these companies advertise, eating out is never healthy. They add loads of oils, sauces, dressings, etc that pile up the calories. When you cook at home your much safer by knowing what actually goes into your food.
6. Stay clear away from chemicals like MSG in your foods. This is a food additive that intensifies the taste and actually makes you addicted. You will eat more often and have cravings for often, MSG is like the nicotine of food. Be aware!!
7. Avoid emotional or bored eating. Im the worst when I feel bored, I always turn to food. Find something to do to keep you distracted or go hit the gym and reward yourself with something afterwards. You have to have the strength inside yourself to break this habit.
8. If your not hungry don't eat!!! Is your stomach growling? are you hungry? if so, then eat. Always ask yourself before you eat, am I really actually hungry? I don't care what time of the day it is, you should always listen to your body and eat when your tummy is telling you something, but also know when your mind is playing tricks with you - listen to your stomach not your brain in this case!!
Here are the top choices for foods to help with weight loss... stock up your fridge!
- Eggs
- Chick peas (hummus)
- Oatmeal
- Chili Peppers
- Yogurt (fat free)
- Blueberries
- Almonds
Staying active is also key into being healthy. Its different for everyone but I really believe doing different things is the way to go, never get stuck in one routine or just one class.. do a little of everything. I like to get a gym membership that has everything. Do some yoga, some weight training, some cycling, etc.
I recommend:
1. HITS - Get on a treadmill or elliptical machine and do 1-2 minutes of extreme hard level then 5 minutes on lower level, back and forth for 30+ minutes. Did you know anything under 20-25 minutes of cardio is almost worthless. Doing HITS will burn fat & calories with a bit of toning.
2. Squats/lunges - These are classic exercises, but they work the best!
3. Yoga - This is awesome for relaxation, stretching and working on your core, great for women!
4. Plank - This is great for your core which holds your tummy in and helps with posture. I do it every single day for 30 sec - 1 min, on both sides and stomach.
5. Cycling - This is amazing for your legs and burning tons of fat & calories and burning excess water retention. The more you sweat the better your doing and the better your going to look!!
6. Weight lifting - The more muscle mass you have the more calories you burn just to function which means the more food you can eat and burn as energy vs. fat. Replacing your fat with muscle is very helpful. I recommend for women to do a lower weight and lots of reps so that your burning fat as well as building muscle - you don't want to bulk.
I hope this helps!!!! Stay HEALTHY, healthy is the new skinny! BURN BURN BURN, its a struggle we all are working with so lets all help each other with good education and practice and pass it along to our friends. good luck!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Fall Fashion
I am in SO in love with everything about this collection. I feel he really nailed fall fashion this year.
Roberto Cavalli Fall-Winter 2011-2012
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Peek-A-Boo Highlights
I am so sick of the plain old boring flat hair color. It doesn't look natural. I love this look, as if the sun has slightly kissed your hair in all the right places. It looks so much better in photographs as well to add some dimension. Especially when your hair is dark, if your up against a dark wall you hair completely hides... this tiny bit of color lightens up everything. I recommend everyone do this with their hair.. it can be very subtle or more extreme and so many different shades.
My Style Twins
Taylor Momsen is the over the top version of my kind of grunge style. I LOVE that she adds so much sex appeal to her style, she is a total bad ass. She is always wearing aviators also which I never leave the house without. She carries her style but still looking comfortable.. I try to be comfortable in every piece of clothing I own but also be very trendy and stylish. It's not an easy thing to conquer.
Kim Kardashian knows how to add proffesionalism and femininity to her outfits. This I can really relate to, as I am getting older I am trying to incorporate things into my sexy/casual/grunge style that are more lady-like and professional as I am now managing models careers and need to be looked at in a professional way. I admire her class in style...
I think these three styles combined really symbolize my exact style these days. I think the way you dress is very important in the world today especially in my career field. People judge you off the first impression everywhere you go... Your style is what describes you as a person. I would like to be seen as the professional & trendy young woman I am. It's very important not to mis construe your style, be yourself!!!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Lush International Model Management
I just started my own mother agency for models internationally! I am super excited about this project and all my models. So far I have 4 girls all from USA. Please visit www.lush-models.com to see the agencies website and my models portfolios! Also please like our company page on Facebook at facebook.com/lushinternational and our Twitter at twitter.com/lush_models !! Would love the support! If you are interested in joining the team please send your photos to scout@lush-models.com. Thank you!!!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Koh Samet 2011
Here is just a brief review of our holiday to Koh Samet! We stayed for 2 sleeps and 3 days.. We took a ferry from the main land over to the small island Koh Samet.
The trip there by bus took about 3 hours then 1 hour by ferry starting from Bangkok. The scenery on the way there was beautiful!
My favorite thing about this island is all the lovely restaurants and bars along the beach.. while you eating you have this amazing view of the water.
They had delish food, I don't think there was one place we ate that we did not like. Here is Collins eating some ribs for lunch!
Walk along the beach, life is so simple and free here. Everyone just hangs around the beach and they make money off all the tourists. The water was gorgeous and so clean!
Believe it or not, down below, but this is absolutely normal anywhere in Thailand! I have even seen a father carrying his little two or three year old on his shoulders or lap while driving around the city! How is this legal???!!!
At night the dining is so neat, every one sits on the ground around the tables. They have fire shows and men walking around selling silks and things. Everyone is drinking, eating, and relaxing.. really puts your mind at ease being in this kind of environment.
Here we are at dinner, waiting for our food to arrive taking many pictures of ourselves doing silly faces. We really are so happy & in love, it seems too good to be true. Life couldn't get any better then this!
On this island, the roads are dirt and very bumpy and muddy so people commute my truck, moped with dirt bike type wheels or quads! We had a blast driving around on the quad, although Collins drove a bit too crazy for me!!
More food on the beach! Such a wonderful view!
Strolling along the beach, doesn't take too long to go from one end of the island to the other. Surprisingly, as it is raining season in Thailand, there were quite a bit of tourists/foreigners! But we did get lucky with the weather, it rained mainly at night.
And to the beautiful sunset we go :D
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Thailand Street Foods
This in Thai is called Som Tam (pronounced sum tum) and called Green Papaya Salad in English. This is one of my all time favorites, you can buy it anywhere on the streets for only 30 baht ($0.99)! Because I am picky I order mine "Jay" which in Thai means vegetarian. I ask for no sugar as well so its healthier, Thai culture likes to add sugar to EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, you really have to be careful. The ingredients are green papaya slices, tomatoes, sometimes carrot slices, green peas, fresh squeezed lime, chile, peanuts, fish oil, and garlic. They mush it all up in this canister above and scoop it into a bag, tie it up with a rubber band and off you go!
This is Tom Yum Soup (Tum Yum) which is also sold on the streets, but more of a sit down style food sold for 60 baht($1.98). Also one of my favorites although it isn't as convenient. You can choose between over 5 different type of noodles, and add either pork balls, chicken, beef, shrimp, fish balls. Personally I always get the skinnier noodles with shrimp and add lots of chili afterwards to add some spice! The ingredients in this soup are chicken broth, lemon grass, fresh squeezed lime, ginger, sliced chiles, fish oil, cilantro, and green onions. Be careful, they even put sugar in this as well!!!
This right here is my absolute favorite, they should have these fruit guys in America standing on the streets selling freshly cut fruits for only 15baht($0.50) per serving. They typically carry pineapple (my favorite), papaya, mango, green mango, guava, watermelon, and occasionally you can find other melons. They sit on a cart in a case full of ice that they either push around from corner to corner or attach it to their bike to drag to the next location. Such a refreshing little healthy snack especially in the heat.
Above are fried & grilled bananas. These also are very common on the streets, and sold with a side of sweet sauce to dip them in. The grilled bananas are typically caramelized and sugar coated, the fried bananas are fried in a pancake batter. They both are very good, but extremely heavy and they give you a huge serving for 20baht($0.66). I used to eat the grilled bananas quite often, but they are just too heavy I can only eat 2-3 of them or I feel sick.
Mango Sticky Rice - My mouth is already watering. This is my all time favorite Thai desert that is sold on the streets. Its only half of a mango with sugar coated sticky rice, then coconut milk syrup poured over the top. They sell it for 80 baht($2.64) which is well worth it as mango's are not the cheapest of fruits to buy. Some places flavor the rice and change its colors, its pretty often you will see purple or green sticky rice as well, seems strange but they all taste AMAZING!
Grilled chicken kabobs with a side of peanut sauce to dip them in! You just walk up tell them how many you want and they place them in a little baggy with sauce at the bottom so all you have to do it dip them around in the bag and take a bite. Perfect snack for walking around, not too time consuming. I don't eat meat so I don't eat these, but my boyfriend enjoys them. I believe they sell them at about 10 baht per kabob, which is $0.33. Aren't you loving how cheap the food is? I am!
You will often find little stations like this with all these different dishes that they pour on a plate over steamed rice. These things are often eaten even for breakfast! I recommend staying away from these sorts of things because you do not know how long they have been sitting out or how many insects have landed on them while they have been sitting there. I don't trust that they have timers set on these dishes. You have been warned! :(
These little marshmallow treats are delish! Its a little crepe with marshmallow and tiny sliced fruits (typically mango) on top. You purchase a baggy full of them and they are the perfect bite size treat! They are sold on almost every corner especially in the evenings. They sell a bag for only 20baht($0.66)!
These crepes are quite popular with the children and tourists and are VERY, VERY naughty! They take a ball of dough and throw it around like pizza dough and slap it on a grill, then pour butter and liquid sugar to make the crepe crispy somewhat like the outside of a buttered croissant.. then they slice up a banana and place them in a cup with liquid half&half and mix it together and pour it on the dough. Then they add peanut butter, nutella or honey to it.. after its cooked a bit they wrap it all up into a square shape and add some more butter and sugar. Then they place it on a plate for you, cute it up and add coconut milk drizzle on the top! YUMMMMM! only for 20baht($0.66)!
If you ever make it to Thailand be sure to try out some of these foods! Safe travels! XXOO
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