Welcome to Love Lentu!

Hello and welcome to Love Lentu! My name is Ashley Nagi and I'm so glad you stopped by. I believe that a successful life starts with a strong body and mind to help serve us through the ups and downs that life will inevitability throw our way. Of course, this is easier said than done! It is never-ending journey that takes consistent effort but will help prevent avoidable health problems in the future. Maintaining a healthy, sustainable lifestyle means that we can comfortably grow older knowing that we are building a foundation for our mind and body that will continue to endure as we grow.

I'm on a mission to find simple ways to optimize health. I'd love for you to join me!

A bit about me - my husband and I are originally from Canada but recently relocated to the West Coast and now call Seattle home. We recently had a baby girl which has been an incredibly fun and exciting adventure and has definitely kept both of us on our toes!

I've been exercising regularly for more than 10 years but in the past few years I've become more and more interested in nutrition. During the pandemic, I became even more attuned to the health of my mind and body and was able to spend more time focusing on how food and exercise in particular were affecting it.

I was born in Canada to Indian immigrants who, like many in their generation, did not exercise, go to the gym or talk at all about "healthy" eating (whatever that means!). Like many immigrants, work and family were my parents' main priorities and everything else was secondary. That said, we often ate quite healthy. By healthy I mean that we ate almost entirely home cooked meals and our meals usually included a lot of veggies and some kind of protein like meat, beans or lentils. Aside from the massive amounts of rice I would eat growing up, it's more or less how I choose to eat today (I still love rice but try to limit it for several reasons). I'm grateful that I grew up on home cooked food. It's so much tastier and almost always better for you!

Although I give my parents credit for helping me build healthy eating habits, they definitely did not instill in me a love of exercise 😂. Regular exercise was not something that was practiced at home. We might go for a walk but that was about it. I only really started to work out in my mid-twenties after I finally came to the realization that I should probably be doing some kind of regular activity to maintain my health.

My workouts have evolved over the years but I love to mix it up with strength training, cardio, high intensity training, Pilates and yoga. The mix helps me from getting bored and gives me energy in different ways. I love that I can feel my body getting stronger with weight lifting and my endurance improving with cardio workouts. My love of nutrition and fitness is so strong that I recently got my personal training and nutrition coaching certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

I've also really tried to increase the amount of time I spend outside each day which has meant lots of running outside! I love running in the summer and made a habit of running daily this past summer. I only run for about 15 minutes each morning but something is better than nothing! It really helps me to feel energized before I start my day.

In the last couple years, I've learned that health for me goes beyond just diet and exercise but encompasses so much more. Nature time, spending time with family and being present in the moment are all things I seek to do more of.

As I continue on my wellness journey, making big changes and minor tweaks along the way, I hope you will join me! And I would also love to hear about your journey to better health. It's different for everyone and there's always something new to learn!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out. You can comment on my posts or email me at contact@lovelentu.com. I look forward to hearing from you!