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Jennifer Lopez believes it’s important to take care of your mind and body. She often shows her fans her self-care routines and offers tips for staying healthy. A health scare led her to make some much needed lifestyle changes. J.Lo shared a frightening experience she had a few years ago where she felt like she “couldn’t move.” Here’s what Lopez shared.

Jennifer Lopez follows a healthy lifestyle

Jennifer Lopez poses on the red carpet.
Jennifer Lopez | Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for Turner

Lopez takes time to engage in healthy diet and exercise habits. She once took on a no sugar, no carb challenge during the time she filmed her 2019 movie Hustlers. Lopez also makes sure to drink plenty of water and eat sweets in moderation (Lopez eats a snack she calls “J-Dough”).

One healthy habit Lopez is known for is exercising regularly. Lopez’s workout routine includes platypus walks, sumo lunges, side kicks, and squat jumps, reports Vogue. During an interview with InStyle, Lopez says she works out not only to look good but also to maintain her health.

Jennifer Lopez’s health scare

In her fan newsletter, Lopez talks about a time in her career when she would only sleep for 3 to 5 hours. She says she would be on a set for an entire day and then go to the music studio at night and attend media events on the weekends. Lopez was running on empty. Little did she know her habits would catch up to her.

“I was in my late 20’s and I thought I was invincible,” says Lopez in her newsletter. “Until one day, I was sitting in a trailer, and all the work and the stress it brought with it, coupled with not enough sleep to recuperate mentally, caught up with me. I went from feeling totally normal, to thinking about what I needed to do that day and all of a sudden, I felt as if I couldn’t move. I was completely frozen.”

The health change Jennifer Lopez made

Lopez says she got to a point where she was putting work before her health. She didn’t prioritize her self-care, and this decision negatively impacted her well-being. (Here’s what Lopez’s self-care routine looks like.)

“I had made my work such an all-consuming priority and let my own self-care needs go completely (even as simple as sleeping or taking 10 minutes to just relax),” says Lopez. “I found myself feeling physically paralyzed. I couldn’t see clearly and then the physical symptoms I was having started to scare me and the fear compounded itself.”

Lopez says she later found out she was having a panic attack caused by exhaustion. She says her security guard took her to the doctor. The physician told her it was important for her to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, eliminate caffeine, and exercise. Lopez says this was the moment when she began her health journey. “I realized how serious the consequences could be of ignoring what my body and mind needed to be healthy,” she says.

Now, Lopez makes sure to get enough sleep each night and eat balanced meals. She stresses the importance of a good night’s rest.

RELATED: Jennifer Lopez’s Favorite Self-Care Practice

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