Self Care IS The Best Care

Have you ever heard the adage...you can't pour from an empty vessel? If you've ever been my client, you have because that's a mantra I use often. If you don't care for yourself, how on earth are you going to continue to care for others? Your reserves are finite and if you don't nourish yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, you will deplete your reserves and no one will benefit from that.

Self care is needed to replenish your energy. It isn't selfish or self indulgent and isn't pampering, although a little pampering never hurt anyone. It's about replacing what is depleted to continue on with your day, your week or just the next hour.

So how does one practice self care? I know it isn't always easy to put yourself first but you really need to do so. Here are some thoughts on how you can accomplish that.

• Stop being a perfectionist - Sometimes 'good enough' is good enough. You don't have to make or do everything exactly perfectly. It's okay if your kids pick out their own clothes and they don't match. Let them express themselves. Sometimes eating breakfast for dinner is okay too if you just can't get it together to cook one night.  
• Re-evaluate your priorities - Rather than making everything a priority, look at what needs to be done and do what is important and time sensitive first. Step back and realize that even if some things fall through the cracks, no one will die and nothing bad will happen. Practice this exercise with everything. If you are spending time on things for which the result will have no discernible impact on your or anyone else's well-being, perhaps it can fall off the list, at least for now.
• Manage your diet - Eat to nourish yourself. You really are what you eat so make sure you put the right foods into your body to give you the energy and clarity of mind to get through your day and your 'to do' list. Make easy healthy food choices like fruit instead of candy, add greens to a smoothie, use the convenience of pre-cut veggies from the produce department if time is an issue. Take baby steps to change your diet and it won't be so drastic. Replace one less than nourishing food with one that will support your good health every couple of days.
• Exercise in short increments - If you feel like you don't have time to exercise for an extended amount of time, do it in ten minute increments. You can also use other tricks to get exercise in like taking the stairs, parking farther away from your destination, walking the long way to get where you need to get. Take stretch breaks throughout the day to get your blood and lymphatic fluids flowing. Take a quick walk at lunchtime, preferably outside so you can clear your head and refresh your energy.
• Get a massage - Yes, I know a massage feels self indulgent but you deserve it and are so worth it. Massage has many health benefits like releasing tension built up in your muscles. If there is a lot of stress and you get real release, don't be surprised if a little emotion comes with that. Let it happen. You need the release.
• Take a warm bath - Make it almost ceremonial. Use bath salts and essential oils, turn down the lights, light some candles, play some soft music and take a cup of warm herbal tea or a glass of wine in with you and just immerse yourself in its deliciousness.
• Communicate your own needs - You are allowed to have your needs expressed and met. We are not here to be doormats. If you are not getting your needs met, how are you going to meet others' needs? Make sure you are taken care of as much as you take care of everyone else.

There are many other ways to practice self care and I often recommend them to my clients. Make sure you take care of you and that others respect your need to do so. It will make a happier life for everyone concerned.

ICYMI...How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 16th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey.

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.   

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Your Sugar May Be Coming From Unexpected Sources

Here is some news that many might find disturbing. You know that glass of orange juice you like to have in the morning? Well, drinking just that one small glass daily could increase your risk of some cancers. And it isn't just orange juice...it's any juice, or for that matter, any sugary drink. According to this article discussing a study conducted on 100,000 French people, drinking the equivalent volume of about a third of a can of soda of any kind of sugary drink can increase your risk of any type of cancer by 18% and breast cancer by 22%. Unfortunately, those who consumed fruit juice were at just as high a risk as those who consumed soda or other sugary soft drinks. 

The results of the study provide a clear link between the consumption of sugary drinks and the increased risk of cancer. It's been well known that regular consumption of sugary drinks increases the risk for obesity, diabetes and weight gain. Along with obesity, comes the increased risk for many types of cancer.  According to several researchers not associated with the study, the driving factor in assessing the danger of consuming these drinks was the sugar in them. There are also additives in some drinks that could have a cancer link as well.

Of course, the American Beverage Association was quick to defend the "safety" of consuming such drinks as part of a balanced diet. However, the leading beverage manufacturers are working on providing other alternatives to the sugary drinks like those sweetened with sugar substitutes, which come with their own risks. Ironically, this particular study did not link diet soft drinks with an increased risk of cancer but the study participants didn't really consume many artificially sweetened drinks. Another study however, did link diet soft drinks to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and early death in women over 50.

The results of the study on the effect of drinking sugary drinks and the increased risk of cancer show that this issue needs more scrutiny but it is very clear that lowering the consumption of sugar in the diet is beneficial to all. 

ICYMI...How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 15th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey.

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.   

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Detox...Should You Or Should You Not?

Our bodies are amazing machines. They can take whatever food-like substance we give them and at least for awhile, make it work as fuel. But eventually, they will stop working if we don't consume the right nutrients. 

Because of the Standard American Diet (SAD), the environment, high levels of stress, and water, soil and air pollution, our bodies have become rather toxic. We have chemicals, heavy metals and other substances in our bodies that don't support our good health. 

When these substances enter our bodies through the mechanisms I previously mentioned, the liver and kidneys work to remove them from the vital organs where they can cause the most harm. The body protects itself from the deleterious effects of these toxins by storing them in adipose tissue...aka our fat cells.

The presence of toxins in adipose tissue can hinder a person's ability to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. This issue can be alleviated by removing the toxins from the body through a gentle detoxification process. It is extremely important not to rush the process with an aggressive detoxification because by releasing an abundance of toxins into the bloodstream, the system becomes overloaded and cannot expel them from the body quickly enough. The result is the recirculation of the toxins back through the body, only to begin the process all over again.

The key is to gently detoxify your body by eating the right foods, drinking plenty of healthy fluids like fresh water and herbal tea, getting plenty of restorative sleep, and exercise that generates lots of perspiration.  

If you live on this planet, eat the food it provides, breathe the air, drink the water and live a life that has stress, both and bad, you would benefit from a gentle detox.

ICYMI...How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 15th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey.

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Who Is In Control...You Or The Food?

Do you feel like you lose your mid around certain foods? Do you binge eat? One of the things I used to do years ago before I started on a "diet" was to eat everything that didn't run away from me the day before my "diet" was to begin. So what did that do to me? First, it made me feel lousy when I went to bed that night and woke up the next day. I had hat I call a food hangover. My blood sugar would be all over the place so I craved the foods I consumed in great volume the day before. This made it tough to start my "diet" so I would delay it another day to quell my cravings with the foods I was trying to avoid. This cycle made me a serial "dieter" and ultimately led to my large weight fluctuations. 

I was also always, and still am, a fast eater. I have, for years, often not given myself the proper amount of time to sit, down, relax and eat slowly and mindfully. By eating quickly, you don't give your brain the time it needs to realize you have enough, or even more than enough, food in your stomach. It takes your brain about twenty minutes to catch up with your stomach. If you stuff your food quickly, you may find yourself overeating before you even know you've had enough. 

Mindfulness, in general is a Buddhist philosophy that brings your rapt attention to what you are currently doing and the feelings experienced while you are engaged in the task. It's a form of meditation and helps you to recognize feelings and emotions. Mindful eating is the practice of giving your full attention to the food in front of you and your consumption of it, how you feel as you eat emotionally and physically.

To practice mindful eating, follow these steps:

• Sit down away from distractions like the television, computer, phone, or anything that can take your attention away from the food and eating it
• Eat slowly, chewing every bite until it is almost liquid in your mouth. Digestion begins in the mouth and the more of a head start you give the digestion process in your mouth, the more nutrients are available to you.
• As you eat, feel the physical cues your body is giving you. Are you feeling satiated? Does the food taste good? Is the texture pleasing?
• Before you eat, make sure you are feeling true hunger and not a reaction to a stressor in your life. If you are truly hungry eat something that is nutritionally sound and not junk food. If you don't care to et something good for you, chances are you weren't really physically hungry in the first place.
• Try not to eat while you are feeling stress. Stressful eating affects digestion and may lead to poor food choices. If you are feeling stressed, go for a short walk or sit and do some deep breathing to help relieve some of the stress before you stuff your feelings.
• Be aware of the aromas, the texture, the visual impact of the food as you slowly eat and savor every bite.
• Never eat while you are watching television or are engaged in other activity where your attention is not on the food or the act of eating. This leads to mindlessly consuming volumes of food without you even being aware of it.

Mindful eating is good for weight management, stress management, portion control and helping to get in touch with your feelings. Try it the next time you get hungry.

ICYMI...How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 15th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey. 

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

I Hope You Dance

Another post I thought was worth repeating

I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'

Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'

Don't let some Hellbent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)

I hope you dance

I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)

I hope you dance (Where those years have gone?)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)

I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder?)

Songwriters: Tia Sillers / Mark Sanders

I love this song and always tear up when I hear it. I wish someone had encouraged me to be and do whatever my heart led me to do when I was growing up. But sometimes growing up means just surviving from one day to the next. And so I did. I have had to learn as a late stage adult that I really can be and do what I want when I grow up.

Follow your dreams and do what makes your heart sing. If I had known then what I know now, my life would have taken a much different path but of course I might not be where I am now if I did things differently...or maybe I would have arrived a lot sooner.

There are things about my life I wouldn't change. My family, both nuclear and extended, is filled with an eclectic array of personalities and talents and I love each and every one of them.

I wish as a child, I would have been encouraged to participate in sports or other fitness activities but in those days, girls were not necessarily pushed in that direction or given many opportunities. Thank you Title IX.

If, as a young person, I had some insight into what makes me happy now I may have taken a different educational path. That's not to say that I didn't have a very successful career for thirty years but it never really inspired me like health and nutrition coaching does. My thirty year career made it possible for me to retire early and do what I love. But if I had been doing what I love all along, I never would have needed to retire, because what I do now I don't consider work.

Life is a journey. If you find something that you really love to do, make your own path. Don't wait for someone to tell you it's okay because that permission may never come. Don't be what someone else tells you to be. You're the one who has to live with that decision so make it yours. And when given the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.

ICYMI...How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 15th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey.  

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.
As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

Summer's Over...Now What?

Maybe you've spent the summer eating, drinking and being merry. Maybe you don't feel so great about where you are on the scale or how your clothes feel on your body or maybe you just don't feel so great.

Summertime brings all kinds of reasons to eat foods that don't necessarily provide the best nourishment. Whether it's "road food" while you're traveling on vacation, or barbecue food including what I call "white salads", or lots of happy hours with finger foods and alcohol, you can do a fair amount of damage to your healthy lifestyle.

Maybe it's time to do something about it. Wouldn't you like to feel better in your jeans? Wouldn't you like to have your energy back? Wouldn't it be nice to go into the holiday season in better shape than you are now? As we get older, our bodies don't bounce back like they used to. Many find it harder to lose weight and the extra weight tends to collect in the abdominal area, which will put you at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.

I have a solution. How about a sugar detox? I don't have a fancy name for this program but I can tell you a little about it. We'll begin on September 17th and end October 15th using Zoom. Each session will consist of a short presentation by me, followed by Q&A, discussion of challenges and celebration of wins.

If you want to get your energy back, lose a few pounds and generally feel better, this is the place for you. I'll share some of the strategies I used to eliminate sugar from my life and to get back on track in my own weight loss journey. 

Won't it be nice to eliminate cravings, not feel that "hangry" feeling when your blood sugar drops, and to be able to control what you're eating?

Click here to schedule a quick chat with me so we can decide if this is a good program for you. You'll be glad you did.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.

It's A Holiday...Should You Eat Like It's Your Last Meal?

It's a beautiful day here in the northeast and many of us are continuing the celebration of Labor Day by grilling, going to the beach (or as we in New Jersey say, "down the shore"), going to an amusement park, attending end of summer parties or any number of reasons to eat. Many people also go into this weekend considering it their last hurrah before they clean up their eating and buckle down to more sensible food consumption. 

I think buckling down is a very good idea but healthy eating isn't something that should only be done when there isn't a reason to celebrate. We can always find an excuse for a party, whether it's an annual holiday, a birthday, a wedding, a funeral, someone is visiting, someone is leaving, whatever the occasion. If we need to gorge ourselves every time we find ourselves gathering with other people to acknowledge something, we will remain very unhealthy.

Aren't these occasions for being with those you care about and enjoy spending time with? If you are around my family, all of these occasions except maybe the weddings and funerals, have the same foods whenever we celebrate them. We have certain traditional dishes we always have for a particular day. If that's the case in your life, why do you need to eat those things at unhealthy levels? After a few bites of something, even something you really love, the law of diminishing returns comes into play. The value or benefit of eating that food reduces with each successive bite, so why not just have a little taste of it and move on? If it's a trigger food for you, consider leaving it behind and live with the memory of how it tasted.

Rather than focusing on the food all around you, consider going around the group and chatting with everyone. Introduce yourself to someone you haven't met before and get to know them better. Help the host pf the party if it isn't you. You get to move around and you'll be too busy to eat a lot. Don't just plant yourself in front of the nachos, get a plate of veggies and nibble on them.

I went to a party yesterday that had so much delicious looking food that it was almost overwhelming. I was able to find something that fit my needs and I was quite content to eat my grilled salmon and veggies. It was delicious. I spent my time at the party laughing with friends and having a great time.

 If you like to drink when you get together with friends, do so sparingly. Alcohol can cloud your judgment and hamper your inhibitions. Stay away from sugary mixers and even diet soda and use water instead. If you're drinking wine, make a spritzer by mixing the wine with sparkling water. I haven't had alcohol except for a sip of champagne at some weddings I have attended, in almost ten years. If you're concerned about people commenting on your abstinence from alcohol, get some sparkling water with a twist and they'll think it's gin and tonic. I think more people are being careful about alcohol consumption these days so there isn't as much pressure to drink. Even if there is pressure to drink, stand up for yourself. You're the one who has to live with the consequences, not the person looking for a drinking buddy.

You can have a good time at a party or anywhere without going completely off the rails with your eating and drinking. And even if you do fall off, get right back on when the party's over. Don't let one day turn into one week, month, or forever. Stop the trend before it starts. You'll be glad you did. You'll never regret your recovery but you will very likely regret your downward slide.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.