Collin County Living Well Magazine November/December 2016 | Page 12

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public eye. I have to look a certain way.’
It’s been motivated by, I want to live a
long, healthy, happy life, and what do I
need to learn to make sure I can provide
that for myself? I don’t have any ideal of
perfection that has to be maintained all
the time. I’m the normal girl, and I’ll gain
or lose five pounds in a week, just like
anybody will.”
Jewel has found it relatively easy to embrace her exercise routine, linking it back
to her commitment to emotional wellness.
“We all know that getting a good workout creates endorphins and gives us
an overall sense of wellbeing because
it engages your biochemistry,” she ex-

plains. “If you want to have a healthier
body, one of the best things you can do
is invest in your emotional and mental
health. It’s going to have an incredible
impact on your overall sense of wellbeing, and there’s a lot of science out there
to show the connections of stress and illness.”
“At the same time, stress affects your
biochemistry. Learning to handle stress
affects your physical health. Talk to any
medical doctor, and they’ll tell you stress
is one of the underlying causes of a lot of
diseases. I know this firstha nd, because
I had unmitigated and prolonged stress
a lot of my life, and it caused a lot of
health issues.”

Philip Macias photo

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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016