If you’ve tuned in to American Idol over the past few seasons, you’ve likely noticed Lopez looking better than ever. How is that even possible?!? She seems to be busier than ever with her new born twins, half her age boyfriend, new albums, television shows in multiple languages…AND American Idol?? The key? Her commitment to a healthy lifestyle and exercise to keep her inline. Even with the hectic schedule, she has said that she makes an appointment with herself every day and she never breaks it! Great way to think about it and something we all can do (especially when that appointment doesn’t have to be more than 30 minutes to get the job done).
It’s all about portion control
J-Lo eats everything that she wants. So what is her secret? Portion control. She definitely feels you can have the things you want and enjoy without having that instant remorse after eating as long as you’re eating sensibly and with at least some control!
Lopez generally sticks to five to six meals per day. By eating five to six meals per day, she is able to more effectively control her appetite and limit unhealthy cravings. We’ve all been there. On those days that we’re particularly busy running around from work to family responsibilities, we might even forget to eat! What happens then? Well…look out, when a woman gets hungry no bag of extra salty potato chips is safe (especially if it’s around the time of our period)! The tendency to let your guard down and depart from healthy eating to unhealthy eating can be a slippery slope if we’re not prepared and one that many of us tend to slide down at the first sign of craving. So, the key is to prevent those cravings! J-Lo does this with a commitment to “every 3 hour” eating. It’s the ticket to stabilized blood sugar, insulin control and a huge drop in cravings…all leading to uninterrupted energy levels throughout the day (enough to power her and other supermoms through without missing a beat!)
Carbohydrate intake
As a movie star, Jennifer Lopez takes on a wide-variety of roles in Hollywood. When accepting a role as a leading lady in Hollywood, there are many terms and conditions that come along with each role. For Lopez, she sometimes finds herself needing to drop a few pounds for a role. Even when this is the case, the one thing that Jennifer is careful never to do is eliminate her carbohydrates! Remember ladies, carbs are our friends. Whatever negative connotations you may think when you here the word must be wiped from memory if you are to get that body you deserve to have. Why? Because carbs are fuel! They are fuel for our muscles, fuel for our brain and fuel for getting through every day without having to take more naps than our kids! Now that being said, not all carbs are created equal. When you want to lean and tone up you will want to limit your intake of empty sugar filled carbs and replace them with healthier starch options. Think…out with the cupcakes and Fruit Loops and in with brown rice and oatmeal or whole grain bread. Even better, mixing in lots of fibrous fruits and veggies at every meal helps to lessen the impact that starchy carbohydrates will have on our blood sugar while helping to fill us up in the process. A win win if you ask me…and exactly what J-Lo does to meet the demands of her employers without sacrificing her sanity or body in the process!
Freshology
OK magazine indicates that this American Idol judge uses a service known as Freshology. Freshology provides delicious, nutritious organic entrees and snacks that arrive daily to Lopez’s door and require very little preparation. Daily meals cost around $50 and contain between 1,200 and 1,400 calories each day. This makes eating healthy easy with a hectic schedule easy. There are plenty of food choices – including basil crusted salmon and decadent dark chocolate s’mores.
Now…while we all may wish to LOOK like J-Lo we certainly don’t all have her bank account! But no sweat…because it definitely isn’t necessary to look great! For anyone who does not have $50 per day to shell out on organic entrees and snacks, there are plenty of alternatives. Look for the many organic products that are making their way into your local grocery stores. What used to be super expensive is now becoming much more affordable based on the overwhelming demand for healthier food sources. As the old business adage goes…it’s a matter of supply and demand. Competition among brands to make their organic lines the ones you choose over their competitors will keep making these options more and more affordable for us…and that’s perfect! You can also visit farmer’s markets for locally grown products. If you have a busy schedule, try planning out your meals one week in advance. Purchase the ingredients at the beginning of the week. This way you won’t have to roam aimlessly around your kitchen looking for something to cook each night. As far as snacks go, prepare small baggies of healthy snacks on Sunday and have them ready to go throughout the week. Snacks can include pretzels, veggies and fruit.
Working Out
This busy mother of two still finds time to get in her daily workout. Rumor has it that the twins are frequently seen at the gym with Lopez. According to Shape Magazine, Lopez has three workout secrets that are fun and get her into shape.
- Make it Fun. Jennifer Lopez is a big fan of dancing (no surprise there). Sure, she’s got excellent dance skills to start (as a former Fly Girl), but the success of this as a fitness option is that Lopez finds it fun to cut loose while burning plenty of calories and building up her endurance. Fun and exercise is something that everyone can benefit from!
- Cross Training. Jennifer Lopez had twins and still manages to amaze everyone with how great she looks. Part of her secret is cross training. She mixes here cardio with her strength training so she can kill two birds with one stone, keep her fat burning benefits at their highest from the first minute to the last and can keep her workouts short (so that she doesn’t miss that appointment with herself…as we talked about before!)
- Sports. Lopez is an avid sports fan and an even bigger fan of a little friendly competition. When she has free time, Lopez enjoys playing all sports and challenging herself to be better than the last time she did whatever activity that may be. She has a very competitive nature. She told Shape Magazine, she “loves to get in the game.”
American Idol…or next Athlean SuXXess Story?
I love that! After all…if you’re not “in the game” you can’t win it can you? I’d love to see you “get on the team” and join me and the rest of the ladies on “TEAM ATHLEAN” to get in the best shape of your life in the next 90 days. Using the same easy to follow and forgiving approach to eating that J-Lo does and the same FUN, FAST (no workout longer than 33 minutes) and CHALLENGING workouts that the diva does to fuel her enthusiasm for fitness from one day to the next…the Athlean-XX for Women nutrition and workout system may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. And the best part? It costs less than a couple of bottles of Lopez’ perfume line. I think we all can agree which is the better buy now can’t we?!? I can’t wait to hear about your suXXess story less than 3 months from now! Click Here to Join TEAM Athlean today!