Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Energy of Foods

Energy of food? Who ever came up with that went far beyond the nutrients.
As I study, I'm totally drawn to this concept. Consider this:
When you eat greens you feel happier and more energetic.  You can see it in others.
Meat and potato lovers often look kind of pasty and blah.
Veggie lovers always have a bit of a glow and a brightness.

The foods that we eat affect us more than most people know. Reach for an apple and you feel happier. It's a happy fruit. It grows on a tree. It grows upward! It reaches towards the sun.

One of our lectures was all about the Energy of Foods. i bought a book which I'll post later.  It's so fascinating.

Ok -- so this is a huge learning process. The best way to grow is to continually stretch out of our comfort zones. I've been somewhat isolated while running a home based business.  For me, the stretching will be continually reaching out to others, and talking with health businesses.  I know my mission. I know my vision.  To get where I see my future, I must take strides to move away from the past. Continuous effort, even if it's little steps every day.

So -- while at the writer's conference, I have an opportunity to share with hundreds of others!  It's going to be a multi purpose conference for me and my goal is to return home with 10 - 20 initial consultations scheduled or completed.  Some I might be able to do during breaks at the conference.

Cool to have fresh goals that are totally aligned with our lifestyles.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

In the right place

This is the best thing I've ever done! All signs are a go. I talk with people and they say things like my friend Linda just did. As evidence, a doctor, a surgeon, and even family members have said: We need you to do this.

I don't personally know of a health coach in my home town of Snoqualmie, but there are many fitness instructors. And sure there are personal trainers, executive business coaches, life coaches and all that. But the world needs integrative health coaches in a huge way.

Why? People want to take control of their health more now than ever. And they are not getting the help they need. Not until now. There is a ripple effect moving through the world.

Insurance companies are dictating what doctors prescribe. Even when they don't, their time constraints do.

Doctors are trained to diagnose and prescribe medicine, and they are rarely trained in foods and nutrition. My doctor claims that a high protein diet is the way to go. He can quote scientific studies for all of his theories, but I can dig up opposing theories for every one.
And in some cases, I know by my own experience that his theories are just wrong.

Case in point: "Eat what you want" he told my husband as they discussed a recurrence of diverticulitis. A month later, we made a healthy snack bar loaded with health foods including nuts and seedS. Regardless of the doctor's insistence that there was nothing proven about nuts or seeds, my dear husband suddenly had severe attack.

Uh, yeah. That is the 4th time this doctor quoted some scientific research that we proved wrong within a couple weeks.

Same doc told my hubby that he may need a pacemaker to resolve problems with nausea, wooziness, and extreme fatigue because "perhaps your blood pressure is dropping too low". My intuition chimed like a loud gong! I suggested that perhaps if it's his blood pressure, maybe he didn't need medication for high blood pressure. Cured after 4 years of guessing games! All it took was thinking about the connections.

I am not writing to trash the medical profession. They do what they are supposed to do. I am writing to encourage people of all ages to tune into their own needs. The human body is intelligent. Listen to it. Ask yourself what the body needs to feel satisfied. It might be a bit of warm relationship and not that hot apple pie.

Docs are human too. They have great training in their specialty. But when it comes to healthy living, we need specialized training. Go to your doc when you are sick, sure.

Come to me when you want to live well. With over thirty years practical experience, university training in foods and nutrition, and now professional training in health coaching, I can help!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

It started with the Gravity Bar

Anyone remember this funky metallic food stop on Capital Hill? Or the even smaller bar near the Pike Place Market?

I sure do. It was a revolution against fast food. It was the coolest, funkiest food bar ever.  The groan of juice extractors and pulverizers permeated the barren decor. Espresso shots were served with the freshest sandwiches, salads or desserts.

Fresh juices were the coolest thing. They went beyond!  It was with great joy that the Gravity Bar insisted on freshness.  100% of the menu items were created fresh to order so that every vitamin, mineral, and enzyme was retained in the food.

Just imagine: You walk in to this stark funky light restaurant filled with small tables rising from metal legs. All the chairs are really metal bar stools. The place hums, buzzes and groans.  As you sit to order an espresso you realize this place is just different!

The menu includes categories you've never seen the likes.  Sure there's your normal Espresso, but back in the 80's, Espresso drinks were completely uncommon.  Fruit Juice came from a bottle or a can. And no one drank vegetable juices unless it was a V8, again from a can. This place was different.

Perhaps its an idea whose time has returned with a vengeance.  Farm Fresh? Organic? Buy Local? Raw Foods?  Reboot Your Life?  This is not new to me, but after 10 years of challenging situations, I'd fallen off this path. For me, it's like coming home!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fun Group Study Session tonight

The internet is bring students together from all over. Some of us in the Sept. 2011 Institute for Integrative Nutrition decided to form a FB Business Study group. The first meet was tonight.
It was fun, but scattered.  That's how they go.
I'm really looking forward to connecting with more students and alumni to build on my dreams.

It's definitely the right way to go.  Building a health coaching business is a dream I've held for years.

I scored on a LinkedIn connection today too. A contact gave me an idea or ten.  His offer was an idea where I do a series of three articles on his MTB camps.

It's coming together. I must keep faith.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Alanon 101

Yep -- I can sit here and think I'm turning things over, but am I really?
If I do nothing, nothing happens. If I take step after step after giant leap after step, and still get nothing, does that mean I'm doing nothing?
If I expect others to get results and see them doing nothing, aren't I really just mad at myself for getting no results? I can justify my annoyance, but the truth is, I'm just annoyed that I'm doing stuff and getting nothing for it.

I should retitle this to Keeping the Focus on Myself
Alanon 101.

New Life brings up old fears

This is so prevalent.  As soon as I felt solid confidence a couple things happened to blow it up ... for a moment.  Changing careers is not exactly easy, but this is not totally new.

A glance. A moment of silence.  A quizzical look or blank stare as i explained to close friends how my decision to become a health coach just makes total sense.  I told them that long before I became a technical writer, I was totally engrossed in healing arts, healthy living, and all things health and fitness. And now, I have a way to pull it all together and build the lifestyle I really want.

As a health coach and a health writer, I can make a difference by helping others, sharing what I know, and serving to build a healthier planet.  It's not about fanaticism. It's not about a diet. It's about customized programs helping us baby boomers find ways to feel great as we age.  Too many people are suffering, whether quietly or not.

Too many people are complaining that they feel like crap because they are just getting older.  My self doubt  turns to rational reason and super confidence when I realize how many people are buying that load of malarkey!  When I hear a 40 or 50 something whine about old age, I chuckle in amazement.  Usually, it's their own choices that got them there.

Well, I'm here to help where I can, when I can.

I am not trying to be a Harvard Graduated Medical doctor. In fact, in the last 3 years, I'm the one that found answers the MD's had no clue about.   Then again, I'm armed with knowledge, experience and recent research.  And a hell of a lot of common sense and intuition.

My husband's been sick for 8 years of our 8 year marriage. I've been quietly begging him to eat differently, exercise, and get enough sleep.  FINALLY -- something caused him to jump in with both feet.
I didn't like that his doctor put him on meds all the time, but never cross checked symptoms with the meds.
When he told us that my spouse might need a pacemaker because his blood pressure could be dropping too low,  I connected the dots.

I said: "Doctor, can I ask you a question?" and he nodded.  I asked: "Doctor, if his blood pressure dropping too low causes his near passing out state, wouldn't taking him off high blood pressure meds make sense?"  Can I say: DUH?  From the day he'd been put on HBP meds, he'd been complaining of nausea and cramping and wooziness.  Not one, but 4 gastroenterologists, a sleep doctor, an ENT and 2 general practitioners didn't make this connection.

My holistic approach to healthy living is the same holistic approach I use in project management and customer relationship management.  The high level view and strategy must drill down to details -- and intuitively, I can connect dots.

I solved nagging problems with my feet much in the same way. New orthotics fixed one foot, but damaged the other.  Nearly a $1000 later, the doctor still hadn't fixed the problem and I was tired of pain.  I tossed out the orthotics, and that healed the left foot. I noticed my foot was at a funny angle when I slept with a knee pillow.  Toss the knee pillow, feet are level against each other, and there is no more pain.

My health coaching practice not only teaches healthful choices, but advocates the power of listening to your own body.  Not your head and your old thinking.  Just tune in, ask your body what it needs.

:) Fears emerge, but I'm staring them down today.