Blog
Staving off Sniffles
Staving off the sniffles can be challenging during the holidays. With holiday parties and family gatherings, you’re bound to pick up some unfriendly germs. What can you do to keep from catching this year’s bug? 1) Maintain your immune system all year long. By eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, and whole, real foods, you are setting your body up for success. Not only will you be maintaining your weight, but you’ll be building a healthy body that is more able to fight off nasties come cold season! 2) Load up...
read moreGrowing my Mindset
Today, I spent about an hour brainstorming my dreams and goals. A bucket list, of sorts, for dreams for all aspects of my life. While reflecting on the list, I realized something. I want to know how to do everything, but I don’t want to learn how to do it. There’s a disconnect in my mind between my desire to learn a skill and the willingness to take the time to learn it. I want life to be more like The Matrix. Want to learn Kung Fu? Just plug in and install the program! When I realize my desires and my actions...
read moreWhat my dog taught me about fear
My dog, Princess, is neurotic. She will fall to the floor and roll around uncomfortably if you stare at her too long. When you tell her to speak, she doesn’t bark, rather she whines in a ridiculous fashion. In the past couple days, however, she has taken her neuroses to a whole new level. My dog is scared of the floor. Apparently this isn’t uncommon. A lot of dogs don’t like hardwood or other shiny floors. They can easily lose their footing, slip, and hurt themselves. Last week, Princess took a pretty good...
read moreBeing an Experiment of One
Throughout my training as a health coach, I have been encouraged to conduct my own experiments of one. In other words, I’ve been encouraged to try different dietary theories to discover not only what foods fuel me the best, but if any particular class or type of foods don’t agree with me. Food sensitivities come in all shapes and sizes. Digestive issues (bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, upset stomach) are the most recognizable indicators of a food sensitivity, but other issues could be related, too. Your chronic...
read moreHealthy Halloween Tips
Happy Halloween from Soul.Body.Food! Halloween is known for horror — ghosts, goblins, and children dressed as Twilight characters — but what’s really scary is the amount of candy up for grabs everywhere. If you have little hooligans, you might be wondering how to manage their candy stash without turning into the wicked witch in your children’s sugar-crazed minds. Here are some tips: 1) Before Trick or Treating, establish the ground rules. Are your children allowed to eat their candy as they go, or do they need to...
read moreCommitment
At some point in every person's life, she decides she's had enough. She's tired of the status quo; she's tired of mediocrity. She longs for more. She used to dream in vivid colors, but now she dreams in muted tones, and she wants that vibrancy back. She feels an itch in her feet to move. She feels a pull on her soul to do something meaningful. And at that moment, she commits to doing it.
read moreYou Are a Role Model
No matter how old you are, you are a role model. No matter who you are, you are a role model. Whether or not we realize it, we are modeling our behavior for girls younger than us, for our peers, and even for women we may look up to ourselves. My mom is a role model for me. I’m a role model for my teen-aged sister-in-law. Even my four year old niece is a role model for the three year old girls in her preschool. What do you want to model to your community? When you look in the mirror, suck in your tummy, and make a disparaging...
read moreQuick and Easy, Cheap and Delicious
In our hurry-up world, our society relies heavily on convenience products. Pre-packaged, and easy to stuff in a purse or backpack, convenience foods are popular for a reason: they’re convenient! However, consumers pay for convenience not only in a literal monetary sense (convenience foods are more expensive), but also with their health. Many convenience foods are high in salt and sugar, artificially flavored or colored, and don’t contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Their manufactured flavors make the pleasure sensors in our...
read moreCheck in with your Habits
Are your habits aligned with your values? Do your actions reflect your beliefs? A few weeks ago, I wrote a post reminding us that there were 13 weeks left in 2012. The other day, I counted that there were 75 days left. As of today, we have just over 10 weeks left. How are your habits coming? If you’re following my 13 until 2013 habits, you will have started on the following habits: 1) Challenge yourself to eat at least one meal each day completely free of distractions. Practice the art of eating: slow down, give...
read moreEmbrace your Imperfections
I’m listening to the audio version of Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection, and I’m loving it the second time around. She has so many insights from her work as a shame researcher that just make sense of the world. One nugget of wisdom that jumped out at me today is the simple truth that you can’t selectively numb your emotions. If you are hurting, and you turn to something to take the edge off (shopping, drinking, smoking, eating, whatever), you not only take the edge of the pain, but you also take the edge of...
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