“I didn’t grow up eating a lot of junk, so I didn’t come from a bad start,” she comments. “It wasn’t until my mom died that I started to take this more seriously. I started researching out of fear and for knowledge, and I started to ask ‘How much of this was up to her? Was there something she could have done?’ If my mom didn’t die so drastically, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Upon graduation from Spelman College where AJ earned her B.S. Magna cum Laude in psychology and chemistry, she pursued her passion for the arts and nurtured her career as an actress and choreographer. She’s best known for her co-starring roles in House Party, Sister Act, The Inkwell, Baby Boy and others. As she pursued her career in the performing arts, AJ suffered the loss of her father and says she started to kick the idea of teaching a health-conscious lifestyle to others into full gear.
“He told me if I couldn’t save him, then I should work to save others,” she adds. “I wake up and thank God for each day because it’s not promised.”
The death of her parents and her knowledge base of both medicine and nutrition helped AJ “zone in” on how to give back to others, which is how she established THE AJ ZONE. As a lifestyle coach who focuses on spiritual, physical and mental health, AJ uses her passion for health and philanthropy to fulfill what her father desired for her life. The New Jersey-native pushes health awareness in all three areas because she’s doesn’t believe there’s a separation in order to achieve overall fitness.
“I’m just living,” she says. “If you live your truth and your profession, work will come to you. I’m just living out my assignment by God and I go where I’m told to go because when I made decisions, I never got it right. The tentacles of THE AJ ZONE have reached to different areas such as speaking engagements, writing, working with clients and it shows how healthy living has become popular.”
The life coach says she strives to lead by example because it’s one thing to teach it, and it’s another thing to live it.
“As I took this more seriously, people watched my body and 
energy level change because I had a strict nutritional lifestyle, but I was also very consistent with it,” AJ comments. “I represent change. That’s my brand and that’s my life.”
At a time when obesity rates are at an all-time high all over the country and diseases such as cancer are linked to chemicals in the foods we digest, the lifestyle coach says consumers should also maintain an awareness of undetected food allergies and conduct research on prescribed medications.
“The notion of ‘you are what you eat’ is serious now,” she adds.
Every program in THE AJ ZONE is at least 14 days and nutrition-based, AJ says. With a 90 percent focus on nutrition and 10 percent focus on fitness, she says THE AJ ZONE doesn’t concentrate solely on fitness, but places an emphasis on better health. As she continues to promote health and wellness, AJ may not know what’s next in her career, but remains confident who will steer the wheel.
“I’m excited to say I don’t know,” AJ says. “I’m excited for Him to reveal and the best thing is to not claim the future.”
For information on THE AJ ZONE, visit www.theajzone.com.
Follow AJ on Facebook at THE AJ ZONE and follow her on Twitter at @THEAJZONE
*Image courtesy of THE AJ ZONE.
