I just heard of the passing of an acquaintance whom I had spoken with about his health, but he wasn’t ready to make a change.  My first thought was, wow, I could have helped him and if we’d worked together, maybe he’d still be here. But he wasn’t ready to make changes and I didn’t continue to speak with him further because he wasn’t ready and didn’t see the need for a health coach. As a health coach, I work with people once they are ready for change, but this news hit me over the head. I realized I can spend more time with people in the early stages and try to influence their movement toward readiness. Of course, their doctors, friends, and family can do this too, and I guess I’ve depended on that route. Are you ready to work with a health coach? As a health coach, understanding the Stages of Readiness for Change is fundamental for guiding clients effectively. These stages come from the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change developed by Prochaska and DiClemente. Here are the stages and mindset.  In what stage do you see yourself? Read More

Are you a “clean” eater, choosing whole food or minimally processed food most of the time? If so, you are doing better in terms of nutritional choices than most.    Currently Ultra-processed Foods (UPF’s) make up 60% of adult calories (67% or children’s calories), up from 57% in 2018 up from 53.5% in 2001. Processed foods make up 10% of adult calories. That leaves only about 30% of our calories from fresh or frozen unprocessed or minimally processed foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, meat, eggs, milk, plain yogurt and spices.     What are Ultra-Processed Foods? Read More

It seems that everywhere you turn people are just getting sick, are sick, or getting over a cold or bug.  It's that time of year where a number of perfect storm factors come together resulting in illness.  We are indoors more, the air is colder and dryer, we have more to do with the holiday season possibly resulting in stress and lack of sleep, and we are eating more sugar starting with Halloween and continuing through the holiday parties and Christmas cookies.  Following these holistic health and wellness tips can help prevent us from succumbing to illness. Tip #1 STAY HYDRATED Read More

Establishing a consistent meditation practice, such as a certain time and place each day, has eluded me (so far). That said, I do practice meditation regularly and as a result I believe it has helped me learn to whether storms, keep my cool, accept what is, let go of what no longer serves me, and make better decisions.  Meditation offers all kinds of benefits for both mental and physical health.  Read on to understand these benefits.  Read More

Nice Cream is a healthy substitute for ice cream, and you can easily make it from home with frozen fruit and a high speed blender.  Nice cream contains no dairy, no added sugar, and no added saturated fat.  Of course you could use a frozen avocado for a variation and enjoy the benefits of healthy monounsaturated fat rather than saturated fat found in dairy products. Most nice-cream will always start with a base of banana nice-cream.  Read More

It’s become common to find people who are turning to a pill or injectable these days to help with health challenges such as overweight, high blood pressure (hypertension), and high blood sugar (leptin and insulin resistance, prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes).   We are told that to lose weight we should upset the calorie balance by taking in fewer calories (eating less) and burning more calories through exercise (moving more). This is only one part of weight loss which doesn’t consider things like our hunger and satisfaction hormones such ghrelin and leptin or our stress hormone cortisol, or our brain chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, beta endorphins, or our balance of amino acids.  You see, it’s complicated! Read More

How are your people doing at work?  Are they happy and healthy?  Are they getting enough sleep, managing stress, eating nutritious foods for energy and getting some physical activity in each day?  This is how we need to live for health and happiness in both our personal and professional lives.   Work plays a big role in our lives. Or at least, takes up a lot of our waking time and energy. Our relationship to our work, our colleagues and bosses, and our workplace largely influence our overall well-being. Our overall performance at work is also influenced by our well-being. Large employers may have resources for wellness programs including EAP's (Employee Assistance Programs), an on site gym, and health coaching through their health insurance carrier, but what about the other 99.9% of us who work for small to medium size companies? That's right, in fact about 90% of us work for companies with 20 or fewer employees without health and wellness program support. In comes health and wellness coaching for the small employer!  Wellness coaching is coaching for performance!  Wellness coaching helps you identify and install meaningful and lasting healthy lifestyle habits supporting work-life balance, joy at work and productive and creative flow. Read More

Way back when in health coaching school, I learned about the benefits of raw foods and was introduced to some superfoods not so well known in the Standard American Diet (SAD).  You see raw foods or “live” foods contain enzymes which act as a catalyst for detoxification and absorption of nutrients.   Superfoods are a class of the most potent, super-concentrated, and nutrient-rich foods on the planet.  They are the optimum choice for improving overall health – increasing immune system, elevating serotonin production, enhancing sexuality, cleansing, lowering inflammation, and alkalizing the body! Are you using any of these superfoods in your diet? Read More

Years ago I learned about the working of the circle or cycle of guilt.  It's important to understand the cycle, and how to break the cycle for healthy living. Guilt is a complex and often distressing emotion that can have a significant impact on our mental well-being. Understanding the circle of guilt can help us better manage and cope with this emotion. Here’s how it works: Read More