Jenna Lyons, the former president and creative director of J.Crew, has always been admired for her impeccable style and radiant complexion. Now, she's sharing her diet and exercise secrets, offering insights into how she maintains her health and wellness amidst a busy schedule.
The "Lunch Uniform"
Lyons is known for her disciplined approach to lunch, which she refers to as her "lunch uniform." During New York Fashion Week, while others simplify their lives by wearing all black, Lyons simplifies hers by eating the same meal every day. This predictability, she says, eliminates guesswork and anxiety around food. For two years, she ate the Cobb salad from Time Café until it closed, then switched to two orders of ‘Wichcraft’s tomato soup for a year and a half. Currently, she prefers the Cobb salad from Westville, customized with a hard-boiled egg provided by her assistant. While she admits to sometimes feeling bored with the same salad, she's mostly happy to have it.
Eating During Meetings
Lyons often eats during meetings, which she finds less than ideal. She admits it's "the least attractive thing" to have food hanging out of her mouth and feels self-conscious about it. She briefly switched to soup for a more elegant solution but eventually returned to her beloved Cobb salad.
Cocktail Party Strategies
Lyons has developed strategies for navigating the treacherous waters of cocktail parties, particularly during Fashion Week. She avoids caterers' staples like blue cheese, caviar, salmon roe, and champagne, which she believes create a "tragic" breath situation. Instead, she positions herself near the kitchen door to snag freshly served appetizers, like her favorite: pigs in a blanket.
Juice Cleanse Mishaps
While Lyons enjoys the lemon-cayenne-agave cold-pressed juice from Blueprint, she had a disastrous experience with a full juice cleanse. She only lasted three days and recalls a haze of ice cream consumption afterward.
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Ice Cream Indulgence
Lyons has a well-documented love for ice cream, particularly Häagen-Dazs chocolate peanut butter and Talenti's sea salt caramel gelato. She even shares a secret breakfast ritual with her son, Beckett, indulging in ice cream straight from the tub.
Morning Routine
Lyons prefers to wake up as late as possible, hitting the snooze button multiple times. After checking her phone for emergencies, she picks out clothes for her son, Beckett, who has a penchant for cashmere. Her own makeup routine takes about five minutes, and she doesn't have a work uniform, as she loves getting dressed.
Skincare Essentials
Lyons prioritizes healthy, hydrated skin and sun protection. She relies on trusted brands like Joanna Czech, Arcona, Biologique Recherche, U Beauty, and Trinny London. She also uses the NuFace device. Her must-haves include Joanna Czech's The C+ Serum, Coola Full Spectrum 360º Refreshing Water Cream SPF 50 sunscreen, Arcona Brightening Gommage, and Trinny London Plump Up serum.
Exercise
Lyons favors Melissa Wood Health workouts, which are low-impact and mostly body-weight exercises. She misses OrangeTheory.
Managing a Hectic Schedule
Despite her busy schedule, Lyons makes time for her various ventures, including her beauty brand, LoveSeen, interior design projects, and television show, Stylish With Jenna Lyons. She has a calculated process for planning her week, scheduling exercise, and ensuring she has snacks for her son.
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Sunday Scaries
Lyons experiences anxiety on Sundays, particularly if she has a big presentation or meeting the following week. She combats these feelings with box breathing, a meditative technique that involves breathing in for six counts, holding for six counts, breathing out for six counts, and holding for six counts.
The "Zorro Circle"
Lyons employs the "Zorro Circle" technique to combat stress and intrusive thoughts. This involves focusing on small, manageable tasks to gain a sense of control before tackling larger challenges. For Lyons, this includes planning meals and setting her exercise schedule.
LoveSeen
Lyons co-founded LoveSeen, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand that helps people find eyelashes that fit their eye shapes and skin tones. She has always been fascinated with eyelashes because she doesn't have any herself. She noticed that many women were wearing eyelash extensions but little other makeup. She partnered with makeup artist Troi Ollivierre to create a line of lashes that amplify beauty rather than cover it up.
Daily Gratitude
Lyons starts her day with a gratitude list.
Brynn Whitfield's Health Habits
Brynn Whitfield, the newest star of Real Housewives Of New York, follows an adjusted intermittent fasting schedule, aiming to start her fast by 9 pm and not eating her first meal until 2 pm the next day. She loads up on protein, aiming to eat the same number of grams of protein per day as her weight in pounds. She also has a go-to Sweetgreen order and indulges in dessert.
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