January Jones, American model and actress starring as Betty Francis in the AMC TV hit series Mad Men, has experienced many fluctuations in her weight over the years and has suffered from depression and emaciation. To get back on track to a healthier lifestyle, Jones focused on healthy eating and daily exercise. 
January Jones on Eating Healthy
- Eating in moderation. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals are ideal; however, embracing the foods you love in moderation will give you more variety in your eating regime and increase your chances of sticking to a healthy lifestyle by eliminating food restrictions.
- Lots of produce. Enjoying plenty of wholesome and nutritious foods is key to an optimal eating regime.
- Splurging. While a balanced diet is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, splurging on the unhealthy foods you love every once in a while will help rid your body of cravings. Over time, you will naturally adjust to more nutritious foods and your cravings and temptations will lessen. Some of Jones’ favorite cheat meals include burgers, pizza, fries and strawberry shakes.
January’s Workout Tips
- Exercise regularly. Jones goes to the gym three to five times a week and focuses on strength training to build lean muscles. Daily exercise will optimize your health and get you closer and closer to happiness and confidence.
- Mix it up. To challenge her body, Jones involves herself in various types of workouts with stability balls to tone her arms, legs, shoulders and butt. She specifically loves swimming, hiking, running and playing with her three kids to stay active.
January’s Tips for Goal-Setting
- Be precise. When setting goals, you need the specifics. Write down what you want to achieve (for example, how much weight you want to lose or a fitness goal you’d like to accomplish – such as running a mile in under 10 minutes) and when you want to achieve it by.
- Think long-term. Set a general goal for yourself and break that goal into manageable parts that youcanachieve one-by-one. Knowing how to set goals is an extremely important and useful skill. All too often, people set goals that they don’t know howtoaccomplish because their goals are too bigtoachieve all at once. For instance, a common goal is to lose weight. Well, how are you going to lose weight? It doesn’t just happen overnight. You need to set smaller goals within this goal, like:
- Going to the gym at least three times per week
- Taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work
- Watching 30 minutes as opposed to your usual hour of television each day and using the extra time to move around outside
- Incorporating one fruit or vegetable into each of your meals
If you are having a difficult time attaining your one big goal, try to break it down into as many small parts as you can so that you develop a more controllable and realistic direction. It might not be realistic for you to lost 50 pounds by this summer, but it is more reasonable and less overwhelming for you to focus on going to the gym three times a week. Remember, achieving a healthy lifestyle should be done little-by-little and not all at once. You don’t want to exhaust your body by overdoing everything to the extreme; it’s OK to start small and work your way up. This method means that your goals should constantly change. If you’ve never been to the gym before and only eat frozen foods or from fast-food restaurants, you will not be able to stick to your goals if you tell yourself you have to go to the gym every single day of the week and only eat fruits and vegetables. This is a hard concept to believe, but starting small will yield big results. Also, it’s not about a skinny body as much as it is a healthy one. People of all shapes and sizes are beautiful and just because someone is thin, doesn’t mean that they’re healthy. Focus on obtaining a healthy body, not an “ideal” body, and you will live a happier and healthier lifestyle.
Featured image found on amctv.com.
Some interview information found on HealthyCeleb.com
