My passion as a health coach is to promote health and happiness. That’s it.  It’s foundational to every decision I’ve made in my business as a health coach.  Not only the health and happiness of my clients, but for myself. After all I must practice what I “preach”.   When I taught WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) classes as a Wellness Coach, I saw people who came in to lose weight struggling with their routines and habits and wanted to know what to eat to lose weight. Whatever you want to say about WW, that’s fine.  It’s a 60-year-old billion-dollar public company that has maintained its mission from day one and has helped millions of people around the world lose weight, sometimes, repeatedly.  Some WW members called themselves “repeat offenders” which is not such a nice thing to say about yourself.  What I came to realize after being on the program over many years was that it’s not about a diet, but a lifestyle. But getting to that helpful lifestyle is sometimes a long and winding road. That’s why my business logo is a (healthy green) path. Read More

Making lasting change in behavior is rarely a simple process.  It usually involves a substantial commitment of time, effort, and emotion.  That’s why people look to a personal trainer, health coach, or life coach. But how sustainable are these changes?  The stages of change model seeks to explain and effect such change, and the science says it works.    In my practice, I identify the client’s stage of change.  Generally, we all cycle through them throughout our lives as we make decisions.  However, there are ways to prevent the relapse, or at least quickly recover without doing too much damage.  And that’s where your health coach comes in!   What are the stages of change?   Read More

 
A friend of mine (also a coach) asked me a very important question today.
 
To para phrase: “Mary Ellen, how do you square your no-added-sugar lifestyle, and your quit-sugar programs with the unhelpful ‘all-or-nothing’ thought pattern?”
 
Wow, this hit me over the head with the truth.  In fact, I’ve been thinking about this disconnect for a while, even since the beginning of my dedicated “sugar free year” started in July 2021. 
 
As a health coach, one of the things I help people identify is their all-or-nothing thinking (if they have this thought pattern) and how it could be a disservice to the consistency in their habit change toward a healthier lifestyle.
 
What is all-or-nothing thinking?
 
All-or-nothing thinking refers to thinking in extremes. You are either a success or a failure. Your performance was totally good or totally bad. If you are not perfect, then you are a disaster. This binary way of thinking does not account for shades of gray and can be responsible for a great deal of negative evaluations of yourself and others.
 
Who wants or needs negative evaluations of self or others? No one!
 
If you join a quit-sugar program, your aim is to not eat any added sugar.  If you do eat some sugar, you may feel as if you “cheated” or were “bad”.  With all-or-nothing thinking, we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves and set ourselves up for failure. 
 
My friend was so right, and I am so grateful for her honest question.  Saying ‘I don’t eat any added sugar’ is an all-or-nothing mentality, and perhaps unrealistic expectation.
 
My latest quit-sugar group clients had it right too– learn about added sugar from the group program, reduce added sugar in daily meals, make informed choices when shopping, at parties, or ordering at restaurants, but quit the dogma of NO added sugar, and be reasonable.  This is success.
 
The 21-Day Quick Start Quit Sugar Group Program is a juicy title but quitting completely is not necessarily a healthy goal for some.  In the first session of the program, all participants will have an opportunity to define their own goals for reducing and eliminating added sugar.  You are in the driver’s seat with coach support.
 
I can’t wait to take this next journey with the new group and hope you can join us!
 
 
 

I didn’t know how bad I felt until I felt so good!  

After years of eating processed low-fat “diet” food, working long hours with a long commute, not exercising, not getting enough sleep, taking care of everyone else's needs, and not taking care of myself in any way, my chronic stress and poor lifestyle finally caught up with me. One unforgettable morning, after dropping off my crying preschool age son at his child care center and rushing to the train, my world was rocked. I literally got off the train, called my boss, and left my big city job.  My life had to change, and my health had to come first.  I became a wellness coach with Weight Watchers, and started my journey of taking care of myself.

 

Everything related to good health is about lifestyle, how we think about ourselves, and prioritize our health. I had not prioritized myself and had to do a lot of work to get well.  That led me to go all in and become a certified health coach so I could help others find the health and happiness I found through my journey. I healed myself from chronic pain, a myriad of autoimmune conditions, and digestive issues that held me back from living my best life every day. 

 

Non-negotiables for my good health include meal planning, eating whole food in season, getting 8 hours of sleep, being active every day, and managing my thoughts.  It is essential that I “walk the talk” to be the best coach to help my clients.

 

Now, I help others with their health and wellness.  I “meet people where they are” and work step-by-step to help clients make lifestyle choices in order to support better health and happiness.  By helping my clients determine their unique goals and by providing support and encouragement, they succeed. I offer individual health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching to busy people and run several cleanse programs each year. I lead workshops for employers and community organizations.

Do you need to step off the train and turn your life around? Let’s do it! 

 

 

June 26, 2022
Day 347

Another hot day. Since I received Bibb lettuce in my Co-op basked the other day, I decided to make a curried chicken salad lettuce wrap for dinner. It was cool, crunchy, and refreshing. I did add a few organic no-added sugar raisins for a bit of sweetness.

 

#quitsugar #mysugarfreeyear #sugar #sugarfree #healthcoachmaryellen #sugarfreediet #nutrition #sugarfreestyle #sugarfreelife #nosugaraddedlifestyle #nosugaradded #sugaraddict #sugaraddiction #anxiety #sugarhabit #depression #energy #prediabetes #healthcoach

June 25, 2022
Day 346

It’s too hot to eat! This afternoon I cut up a grapefruit and two oranges to put in the refriigerator for a cool snack or side for breakfast tomorrow. Same for the mango that was ripe.

Food management is real.

 

#quitsugar #mysugarfreeyear #fruit

June 24, 2022
Day 345

Yesterday I picked up my bi-weekly organic co-op basket and it was overflowing with green! Now is especially the time to bring all of that freshly harvested, vitamin and mineral rich green (and summer fruits too) into your diet. Having the fresh produce on order gives me a break from planning and deciding what to cook. The basket is a surprise, and I just then have to cook it up. When I get home, I prep all of the food so it is clean and ready to go. Last night, I sauted the spinach and boiled the kohlrabi for dinner. I made breakfast smoothies with some of the kohlrabi and spinach leaves. Also in the basked was a bunch of arugula, a bunch of radishes with the greens, parsley, zucchini, and lots of stone fruits. I’m set for the week!

 

#eatingwiththeseasons #crowdoutbyaddingin #quitsugar #mysugarfreeyear #sugar #sugarfree #healthcoachmaryellen #sugarfreediet #nutrition #sugarfreestyle #sugarfreelife #nosugaraddedlifestyle #nosugaradded #sugaraddict #sugaraddiction #anxiety #sugarhabit #depression #energy #prediabetes#healthcoach

June 23, 2022
Day 344

I am energized not only about my “recommitment” but also about my work with sugar! The Quit Sugar Group Coaching group are doing the detox this week as next week is our final week of the program. Also, this week I am watching the Quit Sugar Summit, with interviews from doctors, researchers, coaches, and other sugar experts from around the country and world. Call me a sugar geek, or the sugar lady as some are referring to me now!

Nothing challenging today with sugar and I’m feeling good, clear, responsible, and on track. This means good conversations, productivity, honesty, being present, and so much more – yeah!

 

#recommit #quitsugar #mysugarfreeyear #sugar #sugarfree #healthcoachmaryellen #sugarfreediet #nutrition #sugarfreestyle #sugarfreelife #nosugaraddedlifestyle #nosugaradded #sugaraddict #sugaraddiction #anxiety #sugarhabit #depression #energy #prediabetes #healthcoach

June 22, 2022
Day 343

On the way home the other day, we stopped at Starbucks. My husband loves Starbucks. Me, not so much. It is like a foreign land to me. I asked for a small decaf. They don’t sell that. They have decaf Americano. What is that? It’s three decaf espresso shots, and you can turn it into a latte or add hot water. Okay, give me a decaf Americano latte with oat milk. I figured that wouldn’t have added sugar, but the almond milk might. I looked it up of course I was safe; no sugar in the oat milk. If you are wondering, yes, the almond milk contains 4 g of added sugar.

I was curious about the pretty pink and yellow summer tea drinks they were advertising.

Dragon Drink 23 g sugar
Mango Dragonfruit, 19 g sugar
Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade, 31 g sugar
Paradise Drink, 23 g sugar

You get the picture. What a sugar factory!

 

#refresherdrinks #mysugarfreeyear #sugar #sugarfree #healthcoachmaryellen #sugarfreediet #nutrition #sugarfreestyle #sugarfreelife #nosugaraddedlifestyle #nosugaradded #sugaraddict #sugaraddiction #anxiety #sugarhabit #depression #energy #prediabetes #healthcoach