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NO REGRETS

2/13/2019

So, I was spending some time today in mediation and prayer and I started apologizing for all the time I wasted not taking control of my health and not listening to my body. Then it went past apologies and went to self-depreciation. Putting myself down for not knowing what to think and what to do to improve my health. Feeling poorly about all the years that I could have been healthier and feeling like a fool for not researching holistic health and taking care of my body the way it was designed to be taken care of. I had to stop myself. I was starting to go down that dark hole of coulda, shoulda, woulda.

I then had to apologize to myself for starting to go down that critical road. I gave myself a spiritual hug and remembered that the roads I’ve been down are part of my story. Part of my journey. Part of the plan for my life. To be critical of living the journey I was designed to live was non-productive. The truth is I’m now on the path of healing. I am working to heal myself and instead of chasing all sorts of diets and fads, I’m listening to what my body says it needs. I’m doing the Me diet-it’s all about me.

No need to put myself down or have any regrets. This is my journey, my tapestry and at the end of it-it will be beautiful. I refuse to allow myself to spend so much time regretting past mistakes that I forget to enjoy the present. Those mistakes made me who I am. I am on the path I’m on because those paths lead me here. How refreshing is that. Instead of regretting choices that didn’t produce the results I wanted, I embrace them as the choices that lead me to the place where I am now. Happy, fulfilled and working to continue my personal growth.

NEVER TO LATE

2/10/2019

You may have noticed, I took some time away from the website and blogging. I was struggling. Struggling with the idea that someone would want to listen to me about health. That someone would value the experience and education I have when it comes to improving health. Afterall, I’m over 50 and, though it’s coming off slowly, I’m overweight. I’ve been overweight most of the time since I was 8.

In my 30’s I was thin, at one point far too thin, but I didn’t eat healthy. I barely ate-1 meal a day and a yogurt and a granola bar each day-that was it. As a single mom with little help financially, I didn’t have the money to eat a lot. And I didn’t think anyone would want me if I wasn’t thin. Everyone I knew thought I was one of the healthiest people they knew because I would walk 3 miles a day each day. But the truth was I was so afraid of being fat and rejected I couldn’t eat-even when I did get more money for food.

In my late 30s I got re-married and started eating more meals because I didn’t want my spouse to know how poorly I had been eating. As a result-I gained weight. I continued to gain weight and get sicker. I was so sick at one point that it was all I could do to go to work each day. I’d come home and sit on the couch and fight to sit upright and not lay down on the couch. I had no energy and thought I was going to die. I was beginning to become convinced I’d be “that girl.” You know that girl that everyone would remember by saying, “she was so young when she died, we had no idea she was so sick.” Then I got handed an unexpected gift-I was sitting at my desk one day and felt a clot (or something that felt like a clot) clog the bottom of my heart and stop the blood flow. I remember thinking “oh God, is this it? I don’t want to die yet”; then the clot got pushed through my heart and out the left side and I felt the blood pumping through again. I did what I’d yell at anyone else for doing- I didn’t go to the doctor or the hospital. I didn’t go because I was afraid of what medicine they’d put me on and how bad they’d say my health was. I didn’t want anyone telling me I was the victim of poor health.

I’ve been through a lot in my life-rejection, domestic violence, divorce, single motherhood, etc. But I’ve always refused to be a victim. I had to take the same attitude with this. Instead of giving up or giving away my power, I decided to take back my power and learn what it really meant to be healthy and actually participate in my health, not my illness. What does a healthy diet look like? What does it mean to be healthy? Truly healthy . . . food, relationships, physical activity, finances. As a result, I have more energy and vibrance than ever. I had to redefine some relationships, let some go, learn how to communicate better with my spouse. When I look over the past 3 years at all the progress I’ve made, I’m amazed. I have stamina, I can exercise, I have energy and I rarely sit down when I’m not working. When I get home I keep active until shortly before bed-with the exception of eating.

During my time of reflection one message kept nagging at me. One message kept being heard over and over. I felt compelled to tell my story and pass encouragement on. To send a positive message to people of all ages-You can be proactive in your health care. You can improve your health naturally and you can take back your life. No matter what age. You just need someone who believes in you. Someone who has been there.

I specialize in older clients. People who, like me, have lost all hope that there could be a time when they could feel energized and empowered to do the activities they want and eat the food they never thought they’d like. To make choices for healthier lives and healthier habits without much effort. To not have anyone tell them what to do but to be able to listen to their bodies to give it the foods and activities it needs to feel good about the world and their place in it. To be able to work with your doctor and your health coach to have true health care and resolve the causes of illness and not just mask the symptoms.

ADDITION FOR HEALTH

6/28/2016

One of the primary concerns I hear from people when they talk about me coaching them is that they're afraid that all I'm going to do is give them a set of “don't do's”. I try to reassure them that the changes we make are going to be slow and easy. Rarely do they believe me, but over time I'm able to show my clients how easy it is to make lasting, healthful changes without making yourself feel guilty, deprived, shamed or stupid.

I like to give potential clients my list of don't s. Don't do drugs, don't drink and drive, don't be an alcoholic, don't jump out of an airplane without a parachute. . .you get the picture.

The reason I don't give the pitch that people are used to (don't eat chocolate/dessert, don't eat fat, etc) is because we don't have to go to those extremes. How would you feel if a health coach came to you and said eat what you want but let's figure out why you're craving certain foods? How would you feel if your coach helped you actually eat foods that nourished your body so that you don't crave the crap food? How would you feel if you lost weight and regained your health naturally, easily and effortlessly?

This is possible. I help many clients make positive changes in their lives to lose the weight, regain their health and energy, lose the cravings and find true happiness in who they are and their lives. By adding in healthful foods we crowd out the harmful foods and defeat the cravings one delicious morsel at a time. By adding in the right foods I help people regain their health and even get off medications that do as much harm as they do good.

If you would like to have more information, please contact me for a free health consultation so we can discuss your health concerns.

BEATING THE HEAT FROM THE INSIDE OUT

6/4/2016

So often I hear people complaining about the heat when the temperature rises above 80. At least here in Oregon. I don't seem to have this issue, in fact, I have this issue even less the more I hone my eating skills. You see part of beating the heat is beating it from the inside out.
The first and most important part of beating the heat from the inside out is eating locally and seasonally. I know I say this all the time but it's true. There is a reason we're given certain foods at certain times. When the weather warms up we find the Earth provides us cooling foods. It's a perfect system. People who are eating seasonally and locally are eating berries, cherries, watermelon, lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, etc. These foods have high water content and help to naturally hydrate your body while giving it the nutritional support necessary to survive the heat.
This is a stark contrast to what we're told are cooling foods—ice cream, tacos, milk based dressings, and on and on. These foods are actually warming foods. Dairy products are very congestive and, in addition to making you warmer, add to the severity of seasonal allergies. Sugary foods (ice cream, slushies, sodas, etc) dehydrate. So that's no bueno either.
Drinking water as your main hydration source should be what we do all year long, but during the hotter days of summer, it's important to increase your water consumption. I hear people say all day long that they know this but how many people actually do it. If you eat the local, seasonal foods and increase your water intake staying cool when it's hot outside isn't such a challenge.
Here's a great hot weather recipe:
Carrot Raisin Salad:
3 Cups grated or julienne carrots ½ Cup raisins Juice of one orange Juice of one Lemon Zest of one orange zest of one lemon 1 Tsp honey.
Mix all ingredients together. Let the salad marinate in the fridge stirring occasionally for at least 8 hours before serving. Serve cold.

FUNCTIONAL EXERCISE

5/1/2016

So it's Spring again. As some of you know I started blogging about eating May flowers, incorporating those local, seasonal flowers that our ancestors had used; however, it clearly was not time for me to write about that because most of that blog was lost when my computer crashed Friday night. Now I'm back up and running and instead of writing about flowers I'm feeling the need to spread the word about Functional Exercise. Springtime is a great time to get your movement habit groovin’ again and there's no better way than to get into it using functional exercise.

What is Functional Exercise? Well, it's exercise that is functional. . . Ok, duh Collette, but what does that mean. Yard work, garden work, Spring cleaning, mowing the lawn, walking the dogs, throwing balls for the dogs, playing with kids or grandchildren. These are all ways to incorporate exercise in your day without feeling like you're taking time away from what “needs” to be done. They get your chores done but also get some movement in.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a huge proponent of exercise. I love it. Especially if I'm outdoors. Hiking, swimming, aerobics, running (believe it or not I love to run), are all ways I love to workout. But I tend to have to fight those feelings of not meeting my obligations or someone else's needs when I take the time to do those activities. And I tend to think of all the things I should be doing instead of working out. I've learned, most of the time, to fight off those feelings of letting someone else down or not doing what I should be to keep up my house, etc. But I've also learned not to try to fit too much into a day or a weekend. So what's the lesson here?

Doing functional exercise is still exercising. The more you get done around the house the more “workout” you get in. Washing walls is work, cleaning the garage is work, creating and maintaining a garden is work and all of these are also workouts. So if you're like I used to be and are one of those people who feels you're not working out unless you're at the gym or the track, start giving yourself credit for the workouts you do daily while meeting your regular obligations of caring for you, your house and your family. Sometimes the best motivation to increasing movement is simply acknowledging all the movement you do regularly.

So this Spring, set goals, find projects, keep active and you'll find Spring is a great time to naturally start getting more movement in daily while accomplishing the big chores that Spring beckons you to do.

SPRING TIME HERBS

4/15/2016

Ancient people treasured herbs. Herbs were used to heal as well as flavor foods. Over the years we've continued to use them for seasoning our food but have lost the art of using herbs as medicine. Once dried most herbs lose the ability to heal. For instance dried oregano doesn't heal anything except bland food; however, oil of oregano is a known, natural antibiotic. Try incorporating fresh herbs to heal you and flavor your food each day. Here are some more facts about fresh herbs and their benefits:

ROSEMARY
Anti-oxidant Memory booster Anti-fungal Anti-carcinogenic Heart health support OREGANO
Anti-fungal Anti-microbial Digestive aid (soothes heartburn, low acid production) BASIL
Excellent source Vitamins K and C, copper, iron, folate, magnesium and manganese Contains Omega 3s Anti-bacterial Anti-inflammatory Promotes cardiovascular health by helping blood vessles relax to improve blood flow CILANTRO
Helps remove heavy metals (binds to heavy metals and removes them from tissues) Antioxidant Anti-anxiety Improve sleep quality Lowers blood sugar levels PARSLEY
Rich in Vitamin C, K, A and B12 Kidney support and flushes excess fluids from body Regular use can help control blood pressure Helps digestion Inhibits tumor formation SAGE
Improves brain function Anti-oxidant Anti-inflammatory Reduces indigestion Relieves muscles tension Relieves menopause symptoms Improves memory Helps improve lung health (reduces asthmatic symptoms) Traditionally used to treat typhoid fever, liver /kidney issues, head colds, measles and palsey

The Colors of Spring

4/10/2016

Spring has definitely sprung in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. And that means it's time to have more colors in our diets. One of the easiest ways to start incorporating colors are in Salads. Salads should include an array of colors, orange from carrots and/or orange peppers, red from tomatoes and/or red peppers, white from radishes, green cucumbers, dark green leafy vegetables, and purples from some of the leafy vegetables.
Branch out and include different vegetables in a stir fry or ramen noodles (see my recipe on the recipe page), grill different vegetables. Again, vegetables should cover 50% of your plate so go big and bold. Experiment with different vegetables in different dishes. Why can't meatloaf have some orange and green (carrots and celery or peppers)? If you try something and it doesn't go over well either adjust the recipe or decide to try a different way. The internet has all sorts of recipes for incorporating vegetables into your regular meals.
Also, if you have someone who's a picky eater remember it takes a bit of experimentation sometimes to find how to include colorful vegetables in a way they can enjoy. Be patient with yourself and others as you work to include the springtime vegetation. And don't limit yourself to just vegetables. Fruits start to about in mid to late spring and have many of the same phytonutrients. So, for instance, I cannot eat nightshades; therefore, I cannot get lycopene from red tomatoes which is what most people eat to get that nutrient. I eat watermelon which is also red and has an abundant amount of lycopene. So does papaya and red carrots. By eating a variety of colors every day I ensure my body is getting the nutrition it needs from whole, seasonal, organic foods and it rewards me by giving me the energy I need to stay awake the extra hours of daylight, work in my yard, play in the sunshine, garden and work. Spring is a time of bursting energy. Your body is just waiting to spring into action! Give it some spring colors and Go Play!!!!

Happy Easter

3/27/2016

Happy Easter to all. When I was growing up we always had Easter baskets filled to the brim with candy. That was all that was in the basket. And the traditional center piece of the basket was a solid, chocolate Easter bunny. I would take me a week to eat the Easter bunny alone. . .

Now that I have a healthier lifestyle, Easter doesn’t worry me like it used to. I don’t have to worry about having a ton of sugar around and being tempted by it. At the same time, I can have a little bit of sugar, a chocolate Easter egg and not beat myself up over it or worry about the consequences. You see living life healthy isn’t about living so rigidly that you can’t enjoy yourself. It means enjoying yourself through nourishment and allowing yourself to have the occasional treat and truly enjoy it.

Actually, part of being able to process the “junk” foods that we eat is being able to enjoy them. If we beat ourselves up about the foods we’re eating we don’t digest them as well, we have a greater propensity for the foods to adversely affect our body. In my past, when I’ve eaten “junk” foods, I ate the food (i.e. chocolate cake) with remorse, guilt and shame for being weak or “unhealthy” and the scale would never hesitate to justify my bad feelings. Now when I eat “junk” foods I savor them. No remorse, no guilt, no shame, just pure pleasure. After all, God gave us taste buds for a reason and I believe that reason was to enjoy our food. Why else would He give us such a variety of plants and food? Why would we care what it tastes like if food was meant only as fuel for our bodies? Doesn’t it make sense that we should enjoy eating?

I ate a chocolate Easter egg today. It was a large one that fit perfectly my palm and I just enjoyed the taste and feel. I know the rest of my day will be spent nourishing my body, but for those 5 minutes while I savored that chocolate egg, heaven was here on Earth and I’m so glad I was able to enjoy a little bit of my childhood on this Easter day.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks I’ll be continuing my transition to lighter, Springtime foods. This will help support and condition my body for the Spring Cleaning cleanse that will be kicking off on April 15th. In fact, we need to cleanse our bodies twice a year to help it work optimally and to give your digestive system a break from having to process all the toxins. The cleanse will include three 50 minute conference calls and the materials necessary to begin your cleanse with us on April 15th. The first conference call will be on April 14th so that you are prepared for the beginning the cleanse. If you would like to join me for this 2 week cleanse, please shoot me an email at collette@saluteyourhealth.com.

A Diagram of Health

3/13/2016

So often I hear people discussing their health by talking about low fat this, low calorie that, worked out here, worked out there, burned this many calories, reduced my calorie intake, etc. We are on diet overload! I studied 100 different dietary theories when getting my certification as a holistic health coach and that was just a drop in the bucket for all the “diets” out there. And with all this calorie cutting and fat burning we, as a society, are still fatter, more unhealthy and sicker than ever. I believe this is because we're focused on the wrong thing. We're so focused on losing weight we don't focus on regaining our health. This may lead you to ask, “Okay Collette, how do I get healthy?”
Let me tell you:
The first step to getting healthy is knowing the difference between primary food and secondary food. Primary food are our relationships, movement, career and spirituality. They form the base for a healthy mind and body. Think about this: how satisfied are you with your current relationship, your job, your ability to move in ways you enjoy, your spiritual practice. Then there are subcategories to this: finances, career, education, health, physical activity, home cooking, home environment, relationships (spouse, children, parents, friends, etc), social life, joy, spirituality, creativity. The more unsatisfied you are with these areas the less likely you are to have an easy time controlling your food intake. And, the more likely you will be to crave sugar, flour and salt.

Remember, our body can't tell the difference between stress from too much to do, not enough resources, an argument with someone close to us and running for our lives because a bear is attacking. So when our primary food is out of balance, our health is out of balance.

Health is so much more than how you look on the outside. I remember seeing a movie years ago about a famous, well loved woman who was beautiful. She was the perfect size, had fabulous fashion sense, was always smiling and behaving appropriately, she was loved by all that met here and even those who just saw her on TV. But the movie showed that when nobody was around she showed how she really felt. She was bulimic and miserable, she had a low self-esteem and was completely unsatisfied in her relationship. All the money in the world couldn't buy what she needed to be healthy. And despite her appropriate caloric intake/output, she still struggled to be healthy.

My hope with this article is to encourage people to quit counting calories, points, carbs, etc. Start listening to your body—the whole thing (mind, body, spirit) and see what your body is needing. Do you need a new career, do you need to find or grow your spiritual practice, can you enjoy movement everyday, are you able to speak to the people around you with love and respect and feel love and respect from them. Food fuels our body and nourishes it, but food made without love provides less nourishment than food made with love—on every level. Stop worrying about the nonsense of calories and start learning how to regain your health.
As always, if you need help with this, I would love to meet with you in a personal, confidential setting where we could discuss your personal health and work to help you improve it painlessly. Also, in April I am offering a Spring Cleaning 2 week group program that will give a jump start to regaining your health. Feel free to fill out the request for a consultation or email me by clicking the button below to get signed up for the Spring Cleaning event.

MeatLess Monday??

3/6/2016

One of the more disturbing treads of the past 20 years or so has been the push for us to eat more meat. The truth be told most Americans eat far more protein that we need. And all this protein continued over time can cause health problems.
The average person only needs 4 to 6 ounces of protein per day; however, many Americans eat more than twice that amount per meal. Protein overdose can create kidney stones, osteoporosis, kidney disease, heart disease, cancer, general fatigue and irritability.
Newsflash, too much of anything is bad for your health. I have a friend whose aunt drank so much carrot juice her skin turned orange—a clear sign that she'd had too much carrot juice. You can overdose on foods.
In America, it's almost our M.O. If something is supposed to be good for us we figure a little is good, a lot must be better. But Hippocrates had a very poignant insight, food is our medicine. It's how God designed us and the Earth-that's why we get the foods we need when we need them when we eat local and seasonal.
When the doctor gives you a prescription and tells you to take one pill twice a day, do you decide that one pill was good so two pills must be better? No, most of us obey what the doctor instructed us to do. So why would we overdose on our food? We've discussed previously America's overdose on sugar. Today, I'm picking on protein.
Often times we forget there are plenty of other sources of protein that are plant based. Many plants have protein in them. A salad is a fine meal without having to add any meat. Vegetable fried rice is a lovely dinner that hits all the food types. Miso soup with vegetables, vegetable quesadillas or nachos, butternut squash or vegetable soup are all fabulous ways to feed your family without animal protein.
Now I'm not suggesting you never have animal protein but having a meal once or twice a week or a day or two a week when you don't eat it is one more way to incorporate healthier habits and feed your body. So give it a try. Be creative and remember Meatless Monday is an opportunity to have fun and enjoy a new tradition.

Everything is coming up Vegetables

2/27/2016

With the warmer weather the Earth starts giving us the food that our bodies need. Dandelions are starting to pop up. This fabulous Spring vegetable is very good for us and comes at the start of Spring which is the season of cleansing and new starts.
Many people don't realize but dandelion greens are included in most Spring Salad mixes. The plant provides us with potassium, iron and zinc, as well as vitamins A, B, C and D. It is a great cleanser for the body and flushes our system—it's a diuretic.
Ancient civilizations used it to treat swelling, digestive issues, kidney problems, inflammation, appendicitis, liver and gallbladder problems and stomach problems.
How to incorporate dandelion into your diet—use it in salads, saute it then dress it with a little lemon and sea salt and olive oil (check out the new recipe in my recipe section). Make dandelion tea-one of my favorites.
Don't forget too look to the Earth to tell you what time of year it is for your food sources and body. When the Spring greens start sprouting, start cleansing with the greens. Incorporate a little Spring into each day, and eventually, each meal and your body will thank you for it.

The Sugar/Flour Conundrum

2/6/2016

It's hard to believe but the amount of sugar and flour consumed by the average person has skyrocketed over the past 65 years. In the 1940s the average person at 22 teaspoons of sugar a month, today, the average person eats 30 teaspoons of sugar a day and the average teen eats 54 teaspoons of sugar a day. Added together experts say the average person today eats 1 pound of sugar and white processed flour a day. You should know that both of these get processed as sugar in your body. With all that sugar, how can our bodies process fat?
Your body burns the fast burning energy first—that's the energy you get from sugar and white processed flour. It doesn't burn fat until it no longer has fast energy to burn. This is why so many people find success with the Atkins and Paleo diets. But your body needs grains. Note I said grains, not flour. Flour typically has been stripped of the parts that provide all the nutrients; then it has to be enriched or supplemented with nutrients to keep people from getting sick from lack of nutrients. Historically, that's not how people ate. Grains are an important part of our fall/winter diet but we want to make sure we're getting nutrient rich grains, not supplemented, stripped, processed grains.
When grains are overly processed, as stated above, your body processes them as sugar. This taxes your pancreas and it's ability to produce enough insulin to handle all the sugar. This causes your pancreas to burn out, your liver to try and handle the extra sugar and your kidneys to malfunction—not good. The difficulty in trying to eat processed foods and avoid this is that there are 78 different names for sugar: sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, cane sugar, evaporated cane sugar, crystal dextrose, just to name a few. Some of the names for wheat flour are all purpose, bread, bromated, cake enriched, wheat gluten, atta, durum, farina, graham, kamut, semolina, spelt, and triticale to name a few.
The moral of this story: as much of a pain as it can be, it is essential to read labels if you're buying anything processed. Know your labels. And if you're not sure, look it up before you buy!!

Fat For Weight Loss

1/31/2016

This week I have been attending the Fat Summit. It's been a great week of learning from a lot of prominent doctors of functional medicine. Basically, what science has proven now is that you need to eat fat to lose weight. All the low fat, no fat foods hurt your body more than they help.
Your brain is fat and needs fat to work. One of the most interesting and helpful tidbits I learned this week is that they've shown that if you eat a small handful of nuts approximately half an hour before you eat, you will get fuller, faster with less food. This is because the nuts get your brain awake because of the fat and it primes the leptin receptors so that your brain can receive and understand that hormone and let you know you're full.
Nuts are great sources of protein, fat, trace minerals (like selenium and magnesium) and antioxidants. Many nuts are good for the organs they look like: walnuts for brain health, hazelnuts for breast health, etc.
Commit to eating an ounce of nuts each day before lunch and dinner. Get a variety of nuts so you're don't get bored and it will also give you a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and your body will thank you for it.

I'M BACK AND FOLLOWING MY OWN ADVISE

1/15/2016

Well some of us have to learn lessons the hard way. For some reason I always seem to have to learn my lessons the hard way. One of the basic rules of holistic medicine is to listen to your body. Yeah, about that. . . I didn't blog during Christmas because it was Christmas. I had every intention of talking about resolutions and intentions, etc. on New Year's Day but I was headed home on New Year's Eve and felt my lungs burning as I was coughing. I went home and ate healthfully, did a hot mustard plaster and went to bed. The next day I woke up feeling better, so I kept my plans for the day and about 2/3 the way through the day I knew I was getting tired but I pushed myself anyway to finish meeting with friends and family and shopping, etc. That Sunday I was exhausted and slept. Monday morning I woke up to go to work and my first thought was, “No!!!! anything but having to get up and get going, I'm exhausted and don't feel good.” I was thankful we had freezing rain and I couldn't drive for a couple of hours but my inner pleaser came out and I was afraid I was letting someone down so I forced myself to stay up and fret about getting to work until I could get there. Tuesday I again felt horrible but forced myself up and out the door. By Wednesday I was so sick I couldn't do it any more. I lay in bed and slept and kept fighting with that inner voice saying I had to go to work. I finally decided I was having such a hard time breathing I needed to go to Urgent Care. I had worked myself into being very sick. I was put on antibiotics for a bronchial and sinus infections. I spent the next two days sleeping. I forced myself to work on Friday but realized Saturday, after a sleep in, that I didn't remember much of the day before. Clearly I was too sick to work but I made myself because I didn't want to let anyone down. I spent that weekend sleeping and finally started to mend. What would have been a 3-4 day recovery has turned into a two week recovery and required antibiotics, which destroys gut health. Now I must take several weeks to rebuild the bacterial balance in my gut. Lesson learned—listen to your body. If you're not feeling well and need to sleep, sleep. Your body will always tell you what it needs or doesn't need but you have to be willing to listen. Our bodies are made to heal themselves but we need to listen and give them what they need. Bone broth, sleep, hot shower, chicken soup, sleep and more sleep--the body repairs itself when it is sleeping, when it's awake all of the energy is spent working so its only when we sleep the body can heal. Listen to your body, especially in this time of flu, cold, bug season.

HEALTHY HOLIDAY TIPS

12/18/2015

As we're approaching Christmas and New Years, I wanted to revisit my primary tips for eating healthier, painlessly through the holidays.

1. Breathe—remember your body needs a full breath. That means that you breathe clear into your belly. When you breathe shallow, your body takes it as the first cue that you are under stress and will need to run for your life. This makes your body hold onto calories and crave carbs. Take frequent breathing breaks to avoid throwing your body into a stress reaction; thereby reducing cravings and avoiding a metabolism slow down.

2. Set a food allowance. Commit to eating healthy 70, 80 or 90 percent of the time. During this time focus on eating 50% of your plate in vegetables and the remaining to include grains and a protein source. The remaining 30, 20 or 10 percent of the time you can relax a little. Remember when you let your guard down a bit treat it “like going out for drinks, not going out to get drunk.” You can have a serving of dessert, you don't need to have all the desserts, have a glass of wine, not a bottle of wine, etc.

3. Chew; then chew some more. Chewing is the most important part of digestion. Not only does it make the food small enough we can swallow it but it also breaks the cells open that hold the nutrition. If we don't break open the cells we don't get the nutrition and our bodies will continue to crave food. This also allows our body to start dispersing the enzymes necessary to process the food. The mouth is the only place the body releases salivary amylase which is the enzyme that allows the body to process carbohydrates.

4. Review the table before you eat. Take the time to look over the food being served. Eat foods that are minimally processed first. Look for foods made by friends and family members. Avoid the foods made in stores and factories. Look for the foods that have Vitamin L(Love) and avoid foods made by machines and/or in a tense production environment. Remember the old adage “You are what you eat” is true. Your food goes into your mouth, your body assimilates and absorbs the food; then uses it to make new cells and fuel your body.

5. Fill up on primary food first. The holidays are about family and relationships. Enjoy the company and the connections. People who have a strong community supporting them live longer, happier lives. So take a bite, chew, talk, laugh, love. Savor the food and the company.

Also, take small portions. Give yourself permission to go back for seconds or thirds but make a rule that you have to wait 5 minutes before going back for another portion. This will give time for you to enjoy the holidays, the food and allow your body to get the leptin, the hormone that tells your body it is full.

I hope you all have happy, fun and fulfilling holidays. Keep your focus on what matters most-love!

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

12/4/2015

That's right it's the holiday time of year, but it's also the cold and flu time of year. This time of year it is imperative to support your immune system by getting proper nutrition and extra sleep.
It becomes easy to keep making exceptions to the food allowance, to have fewer vegetables and more comfort foods. People tell you not to worry about what you eat, they justify overindulgence and sugar overload and it can become very tempting to throw caution to the wind, but if we do that we compromise our immune systems. We need to be cognizant of the importance of continuing to make our main focus eating seasonal, local vegetables and properly prepared grains; the other items become less tempting. Nature provides the foods we need at just the right time. Focus on local winter squashes, leeks, root and cruciferous vegetables. These provide the natural vitamins and minerals necessary to boost our immune system. Remember the more healthfully we eat the better armed our body is to fight off infections, colds, flu and other bugs that seem to run rampant at this time of year.
Another important element to boosting the immune system is getting enough sleep. As humans we have been told we don't hibernate. While that is true in the sense that we don't sleep for months at a time, the truth of the matter is that humans require more sleep during the winter. In the time before we had all the artificial lighting when the sun went down people went to bed. Also, they got up with the sun, they didn't have alarm clocks, nature was their alarm clock. This becomes important at this time of year because your body can only heal and repair itself while you sleep. That's why we sleep so much when we get sick. However, if we acknowledge the need for more sleep and give ourselves the extra sleep needed, we become healthier and our immune system is supported and we have fewer illnesses. Unfortunately this natural immune system support is usually missed or more likely dismissed as nonsense.
Another good reason to get more sleep is the additional stress we take on during this time of year. We're trying to do so much in so little time--work, year end, quarter end, shopping, decorating, budgeting, Christmas, New Year's Eve, family, friends, festivities, kids, kid's concerts and plays, etc. A very wise doctor of mine once told me our bodies actually process stress between the 5th and 6th hours of sleep. I've never forgotten that. He told me that because I was having a hard time processing stress. I was taking care of a baby and going to college and taking care of 2 other children and a house and a husband. I was just never able to feel like I was able to handle it all. When the wise doctor started talking to me he quickly realized I never got more than 3 hours of sleep at a time. Because of this I wasn't able to process stress, this affected everything in my body and, yes, my immune system. Once my ex-husband stepped up to help me out and I could get hours of sleep at a time I improved almost immediately. I stopped getting sick and I was able to handle my stress better.
Taking time to recognize what your body needs is one of the best ways to care for your body. If you would like to hear more and have support and instruction to help you with this, please sign up for a free health consultation. I would love to help you get back in touch with your body's needs.

Eat Away, Just Savor It

11/20/2015

One of the hardest things to learn, or rather unlearn, is that food is not meant to be pleasurable, that if we enjoy food we must be an “addict” or have another issue resulting in finding solace in food. Food is supposed to be fuel only. Loving food is bad, loving the taste of food is even worse.
News flash--You are meant to enjoy your food. You should be able to savor every bite. That is the way I truly believe each of us is supposed to experience food. That's why were we given taste buds. What was the purpose of the taste buds and the sensation of pleasure when we eat if we were not meant to enjoy the food we eat? A funny thing happens when we savor our food—we slow down. When we take the time to eat for enjoyment we don't scarf down our food, we slow down and savor it and chew and get fuller faster and are more satisfied with less food. When we make eating the enjoyable experience it was intended to be, we naturally control our portion sizes and find ourselves feeling more in control.
Another benefit is that we crave less. When we are able to find the nutrition we need in the foods we eat we crave less because our body has what it needs. We also crave less because we are relaxed when savoring our food, we're not in a hurry or stressed and the body can get what it needs. Our bodies can either process stress or food but it can't process both at the same time. Also, when we take the time to make and savor a beautiful meal we feed our hearts. We feel proud of our beautiful meal, we feel the love that went into the making of the meal and we feel truly cared for and nourished through out our mind, body and spirit.
I often hear people saying they can't eat this and they can't eat that. I always tell them to go ahead and eat what you want (please limit the sugar though) but when you do, savor it. Don't rush the experience. Set the table beautifully, light a candle, put on some wonderful quiet music and take a bite and revel in the smell, feel and taste of each morsel. I promise you will feel more fulfilled with less food and will feel better about your food and yourself.

FINDING YOUR PASSION

11/16/2015

In a day and age where people are encouraged to be themselves I see so many people being sheeple. They follow the crowd and do what they think they’re supposed to do the whole time feeling empty, unaccepted for who they are and unfulfilled in the life they’re living.

So let me speak truth to you. We were uniquely and wonderfully made. Each of us were made to be somebody different. We have different passions and different dreams and different likes and that’s the way we should want it. Life would be really boring if we were all the same. But beyond that, life would be really incomplete if we were all the same. Think about it. I love to cook and even to garden. My spouse likes sci-fi stuff and to tinker with things. When I need a specialty item for my garden he can make it, I can’t. If he only liked to garden we wouldn’t have the garden we do because there would be no innovation, no answer to the need for a specialty item to assist with the garden or make it better. Or conversely, if I loved to tinker with things but didn’t cook and he didn’t cook, how would we eat? I’ve learned that we are all who we are for a reason. We all have a unique purpose and need to fulfill that purpose. It’s what gives our lives meaning and value. Not everyone can cook well, not everyone can garden, not everyone loves sci-fi or tinkering with things or health coaching or any other thing that comes to mind; but for me, I need to health coach, I need to cook, I need to garden. They are my calling. This is how I fulfill my purpose on this planet-by helping people heal themselves and their bodies by embracing them. By learning how to hear what your body is saying and asking for and needing or not needing.

I have learned that by being me, fulfilling my purpose in life, my calling in this world, by embracing my uniqueness and wonderment, I bring a new level of pleasure to myself and those around me. It reduces my stress and make my whole person happy and makes me feel more secure in who I am than chasing the “I’m supposed to” does.

If you need help hearing your body, understanding it or finding your calling or learning to “fit out”, please contact me for a free 50 minute health consultation or sign up for the New Year, New You group program which is beginning January 2016.

Love Revolution

11/8/2015

Recently I was reminded of how critical I am of myself. How much I doubt myself. How much I expect others are judging me and seeing every flaw I have. Why do we do that? Why do we think that way of ourselves and others? Why in the world would I feel that people around me are just waiting to find a way to break me down? Honestly I don't know, but we do. It was laid on my heart when I was speaking with a young man who'd had an accident, he wasn't at fault for the accident but there was an issue with the insurance so his vehicle hadn't yet been repaired. He was upset and frustrated because he thought that people were staring at him and judging him because his front bumper was torn off. It reminded me of how often I go in front of people or talk to people and wonder what they're thinking of me.
I won't lie, I do worry about what people think of me. Everybody wants to feel accepted and loved and treasured. But mediation on this helped me realize I am accepted and loved and treasured—just not by myself first. And therein lies the problem. If I don't guard myself and my thoughts I can tear myself down so much thinking “that must be what that person is thinking when they look at me” that “they” never have a chance to express what is on their mind. When given the chance to express themselves, I've found that most of the time “they” aren't thinking about me at all. The “stare” was just that person looking into space and thinking something completely unrelated to me. So this begs the questions, how do I stop the negative thoughts? Accepting myself.
Committing myself to telling me that I am loved by me, that I am enough, that I am loveable, smart, beautiful, perfectly me. Now this doesn't mean I can't improve myself, but I need to learn to accept who I am, where I am. There are lessons here. There are victories here. There is beauty right where I am at. I am enough. There is no shortage of people who can and will be negative. I don't have to be that person. And I definitely don't want to be that person towards myself. I'm making a commitment to tell myself daily how much I love me-even through my growing process. I challenge you to make that same commitment to yourself too. Let's start a revolution-to no longer perpetuate self-victimization but to keep self-celebration.

Fall is Fabulous

10/17/2015

Fall is all about transition and harvest. Going from growing to storing, long days to shorter ones, warm weather to cooler, rainier weather. This means our bodies are in transition as well. We're going from eating salads and cold, raw vegetables to needing warmer, cooked vegetables. If we don't eat the right foods, vegetables especially, we will be colder during fall and winter and more susceptible to colds and the flu. You see our body and our Earth are perfect. Our bodies know exactly what we need to keep warm and healthy. And the Earth does too. That is why at this time of year we have warmer foods that have more vitamin C and other nutrients to help us stay healthy. Your body wants to survive. It's also why we crave more food to help insulate us from the cold winter weather. This doesn't mean we need to pack on 15-20 lbs but if you gain a few pounds (typically 1-5) it is normal. Your body will lose those extra pounds over the course of the winter and in the spring when we shed all the extras from winter and start getting out and more active.
Another important aspect of winter is wanting, needing more sleep. Your body needs sleep to heal and to fight off illness and to refresh and revitalize. If we didn't have all the artificial lights we would be sleeping more during the winter. That's just how we are designed so that we can stay healthy. So give yourself permission to sleep more, eat locally grown, seasonal vegetables and enjoy the beauty of the season. Your body needs this season just like all the others. Fall is Fabulous!!!