Meet Feven Our New Health Contributor

We are really excited to introduce to you our new Health blogger Feven Shiferaw  from New York. Feven is our new health blogger who is enthusiastic about all things health related. We took some time out to talk to her and learn more about her health routines and fitness tips.

Tell us about yourself and how you got into health and well being?

I was born and raised in Ethiopia, and moved to the states at 16. After graduating high school I moved to LA to study fashion marketing. throughout my college years I became obsessed about eating healthy and exercising because everyone around me was doing it. they looked great and felt great all the time, I said to myself I want to feel what they feel, that's really how it all started, that was one of the best thing I ever did for myself.  People starting to see the difference in me, they would ask me what am doing in terms of eating, exercising or what I'm using on my face to keep a youthful look.  It became a passion to me to share knowledge of what I knew about fitness, nutrition and healthy living, that's when I decided to go back to school to study nutrition so I can touch even more lives. 

Have you always been into healthy eating and working out?

No. Not always, growing up in Ethiopia I knew nothing about fast food, so when I found about it in high school-that's all I wanted to eat, so I did. After a couple of years of eating junk I wasn't comfortable about how I looked and felt, I knew I needed to change. Thanks to the beautiful people in LA I made a drastic change in order to become healthy, ever since then I have been pretty consistence, there have been some weeks even months I go without working out but I've always mange to bounce  right back. 

What’s your daily health routine?

First thing in the morning I meditate anywhere between 5-20 min, followed by drinking hot water with lemon.  Before I leave my apartment I take a shot of wheatgrass on an empty stomach. For breakfast, fruits and some eggs with toast, green juice, and lunch is usually salad with some kind of lean protein, I snack on nuts in between meals and I also take my multi vitamins throughout the day. After I finish work I either do yoga or body strengthening exercise for one hour. 

How do you stay motivated, and do you have any motivational tips for our readers?

One of the rules I live by is simplicity, by that I mean simplifying my daily routine to what I can handle physically and mentally.  I find motivation on those little steps I take in accomplishing the big goals. 

Best tips to stay fit for our readers?

What kept me fit all these years is not having restricted diet or working out  everyday, it's finding out which healthy foods are most enjoyable to my taste and finding out what kind of exercise I enjoy doing, so try different things, be open minded and try to have fun doing it and stick with it, Consistency is the key

Can you give our readers your Top 5 tips for eating a healthy diet?

Top 5 tips for eating healthy, instead of "for eating a healthy diet" Reason is, for me it's not a diet, it's a way of life, it’s easier to sustain a lifestyle than it is a diet, as diets always tend to fail. My advice on eating healthy is;

1. Buy foods that are local and seasonal 

2. Eat a verity of fresh foods

3. Drink plenty of water

4. Go lean with protein 

5. Enjoy each meal 

Any motivation tips you can offer our readers?

Have realistic goal, be patient, know that good things usually takes some time but the result could be life changing if only you show up everyday working towards that goal. Be consistent [practice makes perfect] 

What do you think is the key to living a healthy lifestyle?

Find balance between work, family, friends etc.. Have more time to take care of your needs.  Often time we don't give ourselves the love and care that we give others, so take some time for yourself. Give gratitude for what you have. Exercise, Eat healthy and its okay to indulge once in a while and most importantly enjoy life.  

How do you work with a client to create a plan of action for increasing their fitness and well being level?

Before working with clients I'll do a one hour free consultation basically talking about them that allows me to get to know them on a personal level.  Through that process we'll build a trusting relationship which makes it fun and easy to work with them toward their goal whether it's too loose weight or having balance in their lives etc... I'll create a 6 months plan depending on their lifestyle, and we meet twice a month to see how they're progressing. After the end of their session most client are ready to take the journey on their own. I'll always be available to them via email after they're done with the program for support or any question they might have.  

For more information on Feven click here

Look out for Feven’s monthly Health Posts, if you have any requests for posts or topics please leave a comment below.