New England Patriots cheerleader Tiana Aliyah spent the last days of summer raising temperatures in the beautiful Dominican Republic. Aliyah shared pictures from her sun-soaked getaway, posing on a lounger in a bright patterned bikini against a beach background of palm trees, blue skies, and ocean waters. “Shoulda put me somewhere where no one could find me,” she captioned the post. “THE DROP WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. This suit was also made for you,” commented fellow cheerleader Xedera Townsend. Here’s how Aliyah stays fit and football-ready.
1. Hiking In the Sunshine
Aliyah loves hiking in the fresh air (she even hiked in platform shoes on vacation). “Hiking offers a variety of benefits, both physical and mental,” says Jen Kates, Pn2, NASM-CPT, ACE Certified Health Coach. “Some benefits may be immediate (such as reduced blood pressure and stress levels, heightened focus and an increase in immune function), whereas other benefits may develop over time, such as weight loss and a decrease in depression.”
2. Grilled Fish and Lime
Aliyah enjoys fish so much she constantly posts pictures of her seafood meals on social media, even joking, “You’re probably tired of me eating fish and telling you. Oh well.” The American Heart Association recommends eating two servings of fatty fish a week for optimum health and wellness. “Fish is a good source of protein and, unlike fatty meat products, it's not high in saturated fat,” AHA experts say. “Regularly eating fish and seafood is consistently associated with lower risk for cardiovascular disease.”
3. Mediterranean Diet
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Aliyah loves traditional Mediterranean food, especially olives and red wine. Olives are a great option for a healthy snack that are not only delicious, but satiating, thanks to the high levels of healthy fats they contain. “Olives do what you want a snack to do: They’re good for your health and keep hunger at bay until your next meal,” says Devon Peart, RD, MHSc, BASc.
4. Beach Baby
Aliyah is happiest when vacationing at the beach. Research shows being near the ocean is not only beneficial for physical relaxation, it affects mental health too. “The color blue has been found by an overwhelming amount of people to be associated with feelings of calm and peace,” says Richard Shuster, PsyD, clinical psychologist and host of The Daily Helping podcast. “Staring at the ocean actually changes our brain waves’ frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state.”
5. Dancing Queen
Like her fellow cheerleaders, Aliyah is a fantastic professional dancer, which has both brain and physical health benefits. “Dancing is mainly linked to physical health benefits, but when you dance you are moving different part of your body in a coordinated way, and this activates several parts of the brain,” says the British Heart Foundation. “One small study even found that dancing is associated with a lower risk of dementia.”