29 Lifestyle Experts, Authors, and Blogs to Follow in 2019

We’ve gathered 29 of the most noteworthy lifestyle experts, authors, and blogs revolutionizing the industry.

Let’s take a look!

upjourney-lifestyle-experts-authors-and-blogs-to-follow-in-2019

Dr. Toscha L. Dickerson

Dr. Toscha L. Dickerson

CEO, Live Empowered Coaching and Consulting, LLC

I am empowering women to find their path and to do it with ease and grace. I am a co-author of international best selling book Nonprofits: Strategies for Effective Management (Volume 15) and Sisterhood: Traveling the Scarlet Road to an Authentic Life.

I have been in the field of procurement and contracts for 20 years and my experiences include consulting, project management, leadership and business services.

I have a BS in Computer Information Systems, a Master’s in Public Administration and a Doctorate in Business Administration.

I am a certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner and I believe the key to a successful life is to have faith and to never stop learning.

I have been blessed with meeting courageous women from all walks of life who experienced some sort of trauma in their lives and caused them a tremendous amount of distress.

I provide guidance to the women by working with them to find the root cause of the pain and together we find a solution.

I also work with women who have been incarcerated and have re-entered back into their communities to assist them in preparing for their future. I am a professor of higher education and in everything that I do, I enjoy empowering women and children to reach their highest potential.

With 2019 around the corner it’s time to take health to a new level and it’s time to “give it to you straight”.

The thing I like about blogging is that it has enabled me to share so many client stories and combine it with the latest research to share something that is actually doable.

I have been in the health and fitness industry for over 30 years; you know how much garbage I have heard? Too much to speak about, but with that also came so many confusing diets, training fads, weird gadgets, and so much more.

My shtick is all about giving you life-changing information that is packaged in a way that makes sense and you can actually see yourself doing it.

I hate to break it to you but you can’t lose a ton of weight overnight, and actually, if you did, it wouldn’t be permanent.

Health is a balanced combination of exercise and movement, food and nutrition, sleep and relaxation, and happiness.

When combined in a balanced manner, or as balanced as can be, you are healthy.

As a mom of two, I also realize that life gets in the way and if you want to balance those 4 things, you better get pretty creative.

I try to teach my clients how to eat healthy in the car because sometimes, that’s what you got. Who said squats and brushing teeth don’t go together?

The regimented gym workouts work for some, stress out others, and many times placed on the back burner because of so many time constraints.

Let’s face it, everyone has an opinion of how, when, and where we should work out. What about just fitting it in without any stress? Or better yet, what about creating easy ways of setting up your refrigerator? This way eating the right foods doesn’t become a chore but a habit.

Most of us have way too much on our plate, I know I do but I also know that if we are not healthy and energized how can we inspire all those people around us that depend on us?

So my goal is to share with you strategies and tactics that ramp up your SuperPowers of health in a manner that is fun, efficient, and never overwhelming!

Dr. Lisa N. Folden

Lisa Folden

Licensed Physical Therapist | Naturopathic Lifestyle Coach | Owner, Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants

In addition to managing my private practice and being a wife plus mom of three, I am a newly published author of “Healthy Made Easy: The Ultimate Wellness Guide for Busy Moms.”

My book provides women (and men) with busy lifestyles carve out time for their own wellness with meal prepping tips, quick exercises on-the-go, social eating suggestions and so much more.

My blog focuses on addressing real-life issues around health, wellness, fitness, motherhood, and relationships.

Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorites, called “Are You Living The Life You Dreamed Of?”

As a start to a new tradition, I “interviewed” my three children separately on New Year’s Eve. It was a random and hilarious encounter that I filmed to show them later. Through the laughs though, was a very important lesson that I’m so glad I recorded.

My oldest daughter, Aubrey, started rambling on toward the end of her video and said something so sweet that it nearly brought me to tears (yes, I’m THAT mom…lol).

She said “This is just the life that I wished for. When I was in mommy’s tummy…I was really excited for when I was born because I wanted to be alive and have a good life and draw pictures, and run, play and dance. So this is the life I wished for when I was a little baby.”

I’m not just being sappy…that statement really did mean a lot, right? I mean any parent would appreciate hearing that their child actually loves their life. It gave me the sense that my husband and I were doing SOMETHING right.

But wait, there’s more.

Beyond patting myself on the back for being a “great” parent (at least in that moment), Aubrey’s statement rebuked me in a way that was almost uncomfortable.

Here she is, this 6-year-old, with minimal control over her own life, saying with confidence that she has the life she always wished for.

How is that even possible??? She’s a kid…and let’s be honest, due to incomplete brain development, all kids carry a certain level of self-centeredness and selfishness.

Many kids are easily upset and lack understanding when they don’t get their way (mine included). So how is Aubrey able to be so content with her life already?

After some pondering on my part, I think I’ve figured it out and I want to take a page out of her little book for myself.

I believe that my daughter feels so complete in her current state of life because she is an optimist at heart and she truly takes time to enjoy her life…every second.

She relishes in her play time. She gives her all each time she runs or dances. She’s ALL IN when it’s time to play a game. She is focused on every detail when she draws a picture.

She laughs so vigorously that it’s contagious. Whatever she is doing, she is being present, she is living in that moment and she is absolutely enjoying it. And quite frankly, I want to be like that.

The Mindful MD Mom

Dr. Nadia Sabri

Dr. Nadia Sabri, MD FAAP, Founder | Board Certified Pediatrician

With relatable stories, easy to use tips, mindfulness strategies, The Mindful MD Mom blog is a great resource for millennial parents, mindful living enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to more life-work balance.

She writes about mindful living, life-work balance, conscious parenting, holistic wellness.

Dr. Nadia has been featured in The Washington Post, KevinMD, Motherly, MomMD, She Knows, The Baby Spot, MD for Moms, Wholist Heath, We are Pediatricians, Help Mama Meditate— among others.

Dr. Nadia enjoys advocating for the health and happiness of kids and their caregivers and seeks to empower others to live their best lives.

Aurora Satler is a mom-chef on a mission to make home cooked meals accessible for all families, starting from the womb.

A mother herself of two young children, Aurora was working as a Creative Director to an artisanal food e-commerce site when she had her son.

Noticing there was no single resource for first-time parents when it came to nutrition, she set out to create one with the help of a dietician, Dr. Allison Childress.

Their inspiration was to create an all-inclusive manual for first-time parents to make the culinary journey from pregnancy through the toddler years so much simpler.

The result of their labor was The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook which has over 80 recipes as well as read-at-a-glance nutritional information for each stage from prenatal nutrition through family meals.

Meals are designed to be accessible to all level of cooks but also hold enough interest to keep even the smallest eaters at the table.

The cookbook also served up affordable meals that use common supermarket items and encourage families of all income brackets to prepare nutritious and easy to prepare foods.

The book also offers up a welcome dose of humor from two veteran moms simply hoping to make it easier for the newest batch of sleep-deprived parents.

Nancie Vito, MPH, CHES

Nancie Vito, MPH, CHES

Personal Development Coach

Nancie Vito, MPH, CHES is a personal development coach who works with people who feel stuck, crave more fulfillment, and are ready to make big changes in their lives.

Since 2009, she has specialized in helping her clients flourish and works with creatives, aspiring entrepreneurs, and other professionals who want to get unstuck, prevent burnout and take steps towards what they really want.

Since a big part of reaching your dreams involves getting out of your own way, Nancie helps you recognize cycles of negative thought patterns and breakthrough perceived barriers in order to move forward.

In addition to coaching individuals, she holds workshops, pieces of training, and webinars using techniques based on theory and research.

Lisa Lewtan

Lisa Lewtan

Health and Lifestyle Expert | Founder, Healthy, Happy, and Hip

I’m Lisa Lewtan, a Health & Lifestyle Expert, the founder of Healthy, Happy, and Hip, the award-winning author of “Busy, Stressed, and Food Obsessed!“, blogger, and a podcast host on The Healthy View.

After co-founding a successful tech startup, I collapsed from years of stress overload. Using the skills I developed as an entrepreneur, I self-hacked my own mind and body to restore her health go on to feel better than ever.

With private coaching, online courses, workshops, and retreats, I help highly successful hungry go-getters to slow down, chill-out, develop a better relationship with food and stress, reframe negative self-talk, investigate habits and triggers, and set strategies for success.

I have been featured in numerous publications including The Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, MindbodyGreen, and Better After 50, and have been a speaker at companies such as Kripalu, Canyon Ranch, WGBH, and Google.

Nora Bouz, AdvDip HID, BA, CPM

Nora Bouz, AdvDip HID, BA, CPM

Wellbeing Design Consultant, Lucida, Wellbeing by Design

Lucida, Wellbeing by Design, the leading expert in Wellbeing Design: design that focuses on improving the quality of life for a healthy and happy life.

From stress and low energy to SAD and depression, Wellbeing Design addresses emotional and mental issues by applying the most effective design elements: lighting design, colour design, Biophilic design, Feng Shui and universal design.

Wellbeing Design also supports focus, productivity, intimacy, healthy habits and improve the general state of being.

While many talks about wellbeing in the workplace, Lucida, Wellbeing by Design is one of the very few to address this topic for the home, the single most important cell in our society.

You will get 2 posts a week with links to the monthly blog. It’s all about practical tips and high-quality contents about what makes a home support emotional and mental health.

Bodhidevi

Iris Lami

Iris Lami, Founder | Certified Yoga Instructor | Ayurvedic Therapist

Bodhidevi’s blog is your go-to resource for all tips and trends related to holistic wellness.

Inspired by over 6 years of practice in Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, and physical fitness, Bodhidevi’s blog serves as a wellness guide for beginners and wellness experts alike.

Iris uses her blog as a platform for sharing the best kept Ayurvedic and fitness secrets with the women of the world. Her objective is to provide accessible, comprehensive resources that assist all women in achieving their peak wellness potential.

Though Ayurvedic medicine is the cornerstone of Bodhidevi’s blog, Iris’s articles delve into a variety of topics and trends in the world of holistic wellness and spirituality.

Iris is also incorporating insights from Western and naturopathic medicine to provide informed and well-rounded articles.

Bodhidevi’s frequent topics include Ayurvedic tips for losing weight, healing the skin, reducing inflammation, and ailing other medical conditions; the history of yoga and Ayurveda; spiritual practices for women; functional fitness advice and information; and natural medicine.

If you are a woman inspired to take charge of your own wellness through personal dietary, physical, and spiritual practices, Bodhidevi’s blog is an absolute must-read.

Danielle Keith

Danielle Keith

Holistic Health Coach | Founder, CodeGreen Wellness

If you aren’t following the CodeGreen Wellness blog or Instagram, you better get on that immediately.

On the blog, you can find all things related to health and wellness with everything from advice on how to naturally whiten your teeth, why you need turmeric in your diet, what supplements you should be taking, to healthy, easy-to-follow gluten-free/plant-based recipes.

She is always sharing free content on her website so be sure to sign up to receive her free grocery guide and her newsletter. She also offers free consultations to anyone has interest in taking control of their health.

On her Instagram, she shares health tips, nutrition advice, meal ideas, natural skin care tips, inspirational quotes, and provides a glimpse into the daily life of a health coach.

Danielle encourages mindful eating and doesn’t believe in calorie counting or measuring food. She emphasizes a diet of eating real, whole, unprocessed food in its natural state.

All of her recipes that she provides are simple to make, nutritious and yummy at the same time. In addition, she focuses on sharing recipes that help to restore gut health, improve digestion, reduce inflammation, aid in weight loss, balance hormones, prevent disease, and boost energy.

In 2019, you definitely need to follow this positive health coach who will inspire you to live a healthier lifestyle this year.

Jodi Rose Gonzales

Jodi Rose Gonzales

Founder, Jodi Rose Studio

Jodi Rose Studio is the ultimate resource for entrepreneurial artists, creative professionals, and anyone else seeking fun, creative and effective methods to clarify goals, develop breakthrough business strategies, and overcome flow-blocking stressors and emotions.

“Once you discover how to activate your creativity through proven techniques that are based on your mind-body biology, you will find that it is easy to restore vitality and become more prosperous and fulfilled,” Jodi said.

Jodi’s methods have championed economic development projects, business and organizational change, and personal growth among artists, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and military members.

Jodi Rose Gonzales ATR, NCC, RYT200 is an award-winning artist, credentialed art therapist, author, yogi, and coach.

Her mission is to empower people to achieve lasting personal change and breakthrough professional results using a unique evidence-based program informed by art therapy, positive psychology, neuroscience, and yoga.

Kristi Andrus

Kristi Andrus

CEO and Head Coach, LUXI Coach

If you are a mom or contemplating becoming a mom, this coach is for you.

She shares her unique brand of empowerment, offering up confidence, inspiring happiness, and helping you uncover your potential with an extra dose of real-world grounding that comes from being a mother who also wants to change the world.

She’s inspired, optimistic, and honest about what it takes to raise great kids, claim her own power, build a company, and make the shift from executive to entrepreneur.

She shares life lessons and her entrepreneurial journey across platforms including her blogs, Medium, and Instagram.

She’s rediscovered herself and her motivation through motherhood and loves coaching, connecting, and collaborating with other women because she fiercely believes that the world needs smart, driven, confident, compassionate women and mothers in leadership roles, guiding organizations, running companies, nurturing families, and empowering each other to live their best lives.

Patrea Aeschliman

Patrea Aeschliman

Founder, 15 to Fit

Adopted at birth by sedentary, overweight smokers and drinkers, as a child Patrea escaped her home life through the positive confines of her beloved gymnastics pursuit.

Driven to accomplish success no matter the cost, as a teen her pursuit sharply detoured to an eating disorder, body dysmorphia and self-loathing that lasted for years.

Her life dramatically changed one day when she read an article about the dangers of bulimia and made a definitive decision to stop.

She chronicles in her blog how applying the powers of determination, visualization and positive thinking she learned in gymnastics helped her triumph and ultimately become the healthy role model she is today.

An advocate for body positivity and diversity, Patrea spreads the message of strength and in general, kick ass-ness for women.

Through her own struggles, she has developed an empathetic and empowering approach to optimal health and energy levels that she shares with her clients and instructors at her boutique studio 15 to Fit Pilates Inspired Wellness outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Erin Abernathy and Stephanie Pulido

Erin Abernathy and Stephanie Pulido

Founders, Out Of Office Media

Erin Abernathy and Stephanie Pulido founded Out Of Office Media in late 2015 as a collaborative community for up-and-coming bloggers and influencers to meet, share information and make friends.

Flash forward to today, the new media and micro-influencer company works with lifestyle brands such as Dunkin’ and Kendra Scott to help them reach a female, millennial audience while continuing to prioritize the community-minded mission they were founded on – to engage with female millennials across the nation in a real, meaningful and fun way.

Out of Office Media hosts parties for its 5,000+ micro-influencer network and has created an owned media property, My Life Out Of Office, which has a reach of roughly 500k per month.

Their blog and social media work have been so successful that they were even recognized as part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2019.

After nearly a decade, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list has become the most trusted index identifying the next generation of entrepreneurs, visionaries, and game-changers throughout the world. More than 15,000 online submissions were received for only 600 slots, making it a 4 percent acceptance rate.

Forbes collaborated with expert judges in each category to create a distinctive list of 600 youthful visionaries and disruptors. The honorees chosen in the Marketing & Advertising category chosen by Musa Tariq, Katrina Craigwell, Rohan Oza, and Jim Stengel.

Their story is also extremely unique and inspiring – these female millennial founders started off as best friends and sorority sisters at The University of Georgia before moving to NYC and starting their own new media company and micro-influencer network.

The two initially moved to NYC to pursue careers in PR and digital advertising sales and started a lifestyle blog together on the side.

Through blogging, they started to make lots of new “influencer” friends and began hosting intimate events where they could all get together, share information and make friends in real life.

Their community started gaining traction through word-of-mouth, and their informal group turned into a business. With backgrounds in PR, marketing and sales, the two quickly found new ways to monetize their community of influencers.

The buzz around their influencer community as well as the revenue they brought in allowed them to continue to build what was once their blog into a digital media property — My Life OOO.

The feedback they receive from so many girls (influencers, readers of My Life OOO and even clients) is that they’ve met some of their best friends through this community, whether at an event or through a brand project and that they look forward to My Life OOO email newsletters and visit the website to decide how they’re going to enjoy their time out of office.

In 2019, My Life OOO readers can expect even more content covering things female millennials love when they’re out of office (think Instagrammable pop-ups, best happy hour spots, NYC “hacks”, boutique fitness news, coolest new products and more).

Jesse Mecham

Jesse Mecham

Founder, You Need A Budget 

Financial expert Jesse Mecham is the author of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller You Need A Budget and creator of the four-star You Need a Budget budgeting app.

The tool and book have countless success stories, from people who got out of more than $70K in debt in 18 months to those who went from being broke to saving enough for an emergency fund and dream family vacation!

YNAB allows people to follow four easy principals to excel in budgeting, while also offering financial coaching and inspiring stories on its blog and podcasts.

Demi Dee

Demi Dee

Fitness Trainer and Health Coach | Founder/CEO, The Knockout Room

The Knockout Room (TKR) is a lifestyle brand for tween and teen girls that provides online holistic coaching in fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Pre-adolescence and adolescence are periods of transition where the seeds are planted regarding body image, self-esteem, eating habits, etc.

It’s important to model a strong sense of self and healthy habits, especially amidst the toxic effects of social media and the traditional media.

Body confidence, self-esteem, and joie de vivre are important elements of the TKR brand, online programs, and social media presence.

Demi Dee incorporates Feminine Power principles into her methodology and program offerings and utilizes Kangoo Jumps rebound boots for an effective, fun, intense, full-body workout that gets her clients results.

Jessica Castaneda

Jessica Castaneda

Owner, Easy Living Today LLC

Easy Living Today was founded by Jessica Castaneda in order to help busy moms reach their health and fitness goals even while trying to survive the hectic mom life.

From super easy yet delicious and kid-friendly recipes to exercise and fitness tips, Easy Living Today covers everything moms need to live a healthy lifestyle.

Furthermore, Jessica realizes it’s not just about losing weight but also learning to love yourself where you are now. The goal should be to become healthy/fit for yourself and to just generally be healthier, not to fit in to societies mold of what women should look like.

Cheryl Suchors

Cheryl Suchors

Blogger | Author, 48 Peaks

Recommended by Taylor Brightwell, Senior Publicist

At the age of 48, Cheryl committed to hiking the highest 48 peaks of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Her pages thoughtfully explore novice mistakes made, tears shed, lessons learned, and spiritual nourishment found as she connects with nature and friends alike.

Before she began her career as a writer, Cheryl earned her MBA from Harvard and spent many years in the accounting and consulting realms.

From here, she published a few short works and poems before she began her48 Peaks journey. On her blog, she talks about nature and hiking, relationships, health, writing and publishing, books, and more.

Maureen Muldoon

Maureen Muldoon

Author | Blogger

Recommended by Madison Ostrander, Associate Publicist

She has authored two memoirs, her most recent, The Spiritual Vixen’s Guide to an Unapologetic Life, released in November and outlines her journey of finding strength and spiritual fulfillment after her husband left her for Miss Universe. This new-age memoir is perfect for fans of Louise Hay’s work.

Not only has Maureen appeared in “The Matador”, “Dexter” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, and bravely shared her stories in print, but she’s also developed an online community.

Maureen’s goal is to “bring people together.”

Her website does just that through providing unique coaching and course resources, event and tour calendars, a place to shop her retreats and merchandise, direction to her Spiritual Community and blog.

Her blog explores a vast and relatable array of topics including spirituality, photography, motherhood, creativity, and much more. You can learn more about Maureen by checking out her blog, Youtube channel, or Instagram.

Christina Cherry

Christina Cherry

Travel Publicist, Everywhere with Cherry

Christina Cherry is a writer and public relations expert whose primary focus is to champion innovative projects in travel and hospitality.

A nomadic spirit at heart, Christina’s passion for travel began on a school trip to Italy, inspiring her to make a career out of helping others see the world.

Christina started in public relations six years ago, working for two of the top agencies in the country to promote hotels, destinations, restaurants, members’ clubs and design firms around the world, before starting her own consulting business.

As the founder of Cherry Creative, Christina has made it her mission to serve as an alternative to traditional PR agencies, combining her travel industry know-how with a personalized approach and operating as the client’s confidant and trusted advisor.

In 2017, she started a travel blog called Everywhere with Cherry, in an effort to help travelers discover richer, more immersive experiences that focus on self-discovery.

Having traveled significantly both professionally and personally, she wanted to share the knowledge of her travels with an audience similar to her: one that values experiences over things, and one that thrives on adventure and spontaneity.

On Everywhere with Cherry, Christina shares travel guides, itineraries, and advice on destinations around the world based on her first-hand experiences, and makes it easy for readers to find all of the information they need to take a last-minute trip.

She’s learned how to make olive oil at a grove in Florence, dove the Great Barrier Reef at night, paraglided along the Aegean Sea in Turkey, hiked an active volcano in Bali and so much more. You can do the same.

Sara Beth Davis

Sara Beth Davis

Blogger, Inner Compass Blog

Tired of the daily 9-to-5 grind, Sara Beth is currently taking a professional gap year to focus on her health and happiness.

She is documenting this process on Inner Compass Blog, her outdoor recreation and lifestyle blog. Her professional gap year comes on the tail end of a year-long recovery of her ankle reconstruction surgery.

The surgery and subsequent recovery period forced Sara Beth to redefine her relationship with her body and the outdoors.

Instead of weekly hikes and frequent nature-based trips, she now focuses her energies on finding balance in nature and improving her overall physical and mental health.

Her outdoor adventures may be limited due to her permanently limited mobility and weight, but she doesn’t let that stop her from getting out on the trail. Now instead of focusing on how many hikes or miles she can fit in, she focuses on soaking in all that nature can provide to the mind, body, and spirit.

Sara Beth is also using her blog and social media platforms to encourage other people to find their inner compass through supporting and participating in the inclusive outdoors movement.

Chris Shelton

Chris Shelton

Certified Qigong Practitioner, Shelton Qigong

Chris Shelton is a certified Qigong practitioner and teacher with 18 years of clinical experience in Qigong, an ancient holistic health modality that combines traditional Chinese medicine with movement, breath, and visualization.

Chris has helped thousands of people across the United States and around the world reclaim their health and enjoy lives free from chronic pain.

He’s worked with Special Olympics teams, professional martial artists, weightlifters, and celebrities looking for deeper meaning in their lives.

Chris is blessed with happy clients and students who attribute physical and emotional transformations to his work in Qigong. He has studied with some of China’s most revered traditional Chinese medicine masters who, until recently, were kept silent and hidden from the West.

Chris’ belief in the healing powers of Qigong is rooted in the first-hand experience. As a teenager, Chris suffered from a devastating back injury that left him in constant pain and partially paralyzed.

He attributes his full recovery to Qigong, a holistic healing approach perfect for people who want non-invasive, affordable and empowering healthcare.

Laura-Lee Bowers

Laura-Lee Bowers

Holistic Health Practitioner | Professional Development Mentor, LaLee Lifestyle

Laura-Lee Bowers of LaLee Lifestyle is a Holistic Health Practitioner and Professional Development Mentor you do not want to miss.

Following her blog and social media accounts delivers a mixed bag of wellness and goal achievement strategies.

What is unique about her is also the one idea which is common throughout: her techniques target how to make even the grandest pursuits (from a dream body to a stellar career) simple, straightforward and easy.

Laura-Lee, or LaLee, has a background in academia and as a researcher was pressed by her mentors and colleagues to publish her theories in an academic book.

She started a blog after a well-received article she wrote showed her the potential impact she could make by releasing her theories to the public.

LaLee brought her groundbreaking work on “sustainable dreams” out of the ivory tower and directly to the people who could benefit from it most.

To her credit, she has travelled around the world throughout her adolescence, become a first-class student in university without previously attending high school, created a holistic solution to overall wellness that conquers unnatural weight gain and has been travelling the world for the past three years which have passed since graduation — all provided for by what she explains is the law of “sustainable dreams”.

Dai Manuel

Dai Manuel

Lifestyle Mentor

I blog about health from the inside-out, nutrition, family, mindset, fitness, and anything that allows me to help people lead more FUN-ctionally fit lives. I started my journey from obese teenager to athlete when I was 15 years old, and haven’t looked back since, dedicating my life to helping others create amazing transformations in their lives.

Jacquelyn Youst

Jacquelyn Youst

Etiquette Expert

We all have those awkward moments when we aren’t sure of the proper way to handle a situation. We can be left feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed.

These situations may happen at a social event, family gathering, or business function. Have you ever thought “I could have handled that better”?

The good news is we can learn appropriate ways handle those awkward moments. Jacquelyn’s blog gives you valuable information so you can navigate through life with dignity and grace.

Jacquelyn Youst’s blog provides practical information for real-life situations. You will learn how to deal with rude people, how to correctly write an email, how to tip properly and even how to carry yourself with confidence.

When you visit this Modern Manners Website you will leave armed with information for your personal and professional life.

Lori King

Lori Ann King

Author

Lori is the author of Come Back Strong and Lean In or Lighten Up. She is an athlete, writer, blogger, sports nutritionist, and wellness consultant. She was the 2015 Isagenix Isabody Honorable Mention Winner.

Jimmie King

Jim King

Certified Personal Trainer | Sports Nutritionist | Blogger

Jim is a certified personal trainer, sports nutritionist, blogger, and graduate of West Point Military Academy. As the 2017 Isagenix IsaBody Challenge Grand Prize Runner-Up, he is redefining graceful aging, and putting the boom, back in baby boomers!

Felice Cohen

Felice Cohen

Author | Speaker | Professional Organizer

Felice Cohen is an author of 5 books, a professional organizer, motivational speaker, and Holocaust educator. You might have seen Felice in that infamous YouTube video of her 90-square-foot Manhattan studio that now has over 20 million views.

She moved into that tiny space for one reason: the low rent allowed her to quit her full-time job and finish writing her first book, What Papa Told Me, a memoir about her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She planned to stay only one year, but something happened during that one year. Her life got better. Turns out, living tiny made her life larger.

When the YouTube video of that teeny space went viral, people around the world asked her for advice on organizing and decluttering, and praised her philosophy about “living large” in a small space.

That was the motivation for her second book, 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (….or more), which tells how living tiny made her life larger, as well as offering lessons on how to live the life you want in any size space.

Traveling around the country, Felice speaks at Tiny House Festivals, women’s groups, bookstores and elsewhere telling her story of how living tiny changed her life, and she also shares tips for how to find more time to do what you love to do.

Carolina Drake

Carolina Drake

Wellness Coach | Blogger, The Rulebreaker Coaching Program

I am a trained philosopher, educator, and anti-diet wellness coach, creator of “The Rulebreaker Coaching Program.” My writing has appeared in Bitch media and Bustle. I use science, empowerment tools, and intuitive eating principles to help people have a “normal” relationship to food again (kind of like when we were kids and food was just one of the fun things we tried!).

I think that something funny/cool about me is that I started this practiced after I FAILED so much at wanting to be in control around food.

But before I accepted UTTER AND TOTAL FAILURE at controlling my food, these are the things I tried:

  • I followed “healthy” food plans but was still restricting calories to feel in control of my food.
  • I would do “day-counts” and see how long I could last sticking to my food plan and NOT binging.
  • I ate whatever I wanted but only if I exercised every day, as a form of “food allowance.”

On bad weeks, I took myself to support groups and called myself an “overeater” and a “food addict,” and the group recommended I follow another food plan.

I tried the “don’t eat emotionally” diet and only ate when I was hungry and tried stopping when I was full. I did the “eat whatever you want to eat” diet, but still measured my portions.

I explored my underlying issues around food by journaling every time I got “triggered” because I was convinced that if I fixed my emotional issues, I would stop binging. I tried the “I just want to be lean” diet and exercised even when my body was tired because it’s the strong, fit thing to do, and why not “just do it” etc.

Oh, and I obviously did the vegan diet for a while because it helped me stay in control of my weight and food.

Time went by. I was a respected professional at my job, a good friend, a good sister, and yet I still wasted so much energy and time in the constant quest to GET OVER MY FOOD ISSUES.

One day, when I was YET AGAIN, doing research on a new “food plan” that would help me STAY ON TRACK and stop binging, I had a simple but radical realization, This S***t DOESN’T WORK. It just doesn’t.

I just knew that I had no willpower left to go on another food plan, to continue to do what I was doing. I knew that if I had to go on another diet, even if it was one of those “it’s not a diet” diet’s, I would just lose it.

I knew I couldn’t continue to live like this and I asked. What’s keeping me stuck? I knew the answer!

For me, it was my fear of not being in control of my weight and size. The idea of letting go and giving up the chase was terrifying. But I knew I was ready and there was nowhere else to go.

Yup, I was an academic who studied feminist theory for years. Yup, I knew that body diversity is essential and that the diet industry BOMBS us every day with messages prone to trigger us into buying the latest pursuit of “thinness” or “fitness”.

But I couldn’t practice this theory. Couldn’t admit to myself how terrified I was of letting go of my body size and just surrendering the chase. But I finally GAVE UP my pursuit for wanting my body to look a certain way, and I knew that I just couldn’t afford to care to focus on my body.

My sanity was at stake. I examined my own stigma around weight. I looked at how much validation and importance I had unconsciously put in this area of my life. I examined my misconceptions about what “being healthy” meant to me.

I trusted that my body would reach the weight and size it needs to reach ONCE I FULLY ALLOWED MYSELF TO EAT, and that this is a million times better than having to go through more dieting and binges.

I told myself, starting today, my body isn’t my business and I won’t focus on it anymore. I won’t weigh myself, I won’t count calories, I won’t do “it’s not a diet” diets and I WILL call myself out on my own diet mentality judgments, any stigma I had around weight gain and size, and all that stuff.

Because so much BS was keeping me stuck. I completely stopped restricting. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and as much as my body needed. I practiced, I made mistakes. Once I got it, I started helping other people get unstuck too.

Diets tell you what you SHOULD eat, and that’s easy because you have a plan. But when you stop dieting, you actually need to really listen to yourself and what your body wants.

I had to stop restricting physically but also emotionally. And at first, I HAD NO CLUE WHAT I ACTUALLY WANTED TO EAT, because I had spent so much time looking outside to WHAT I THOUGHT I SHOULD EAT.

It was really hard to let go of perfectionism at first, but I made it through, peeling layer after layer of diet mentality and toxic judgments, and on the other side there wasn’t a pot of gold or unicorns, there was sanity and getting my energy back, my life back and just having so much more head space to do other things, like start projects, a business, and be a better aunt and a more honest partner.

I now help women get free from their food issues and my blog has reached hundreds of people. I would love to get my empowerment out to a broader audience because it has lots of great resources that helped me in my own recovery.

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