What do you have to lose? 

Let's chat about your specific health goals during a complimentary one-hour health consultation. 

Achieve your health goals in 2010!

A lot of people begin the New Year by making resolutions. We've all been there. We take a vow to lose weight, exercise more or spend more time with our family. We start the year with great intentions, but then we quickly relapse into old habits. Why is it so hard to stick to those New Year's resolutions?

Here are some ways you can make your intentions a reality this year:

1.     Write down your intentions and keep them in a visible place, like taped to your bedroom mirror or the dashboard of your car.

 2.     Get to the source of whatever is keeping you in a rut. Are you in a stressful relationship that causes you to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's every night? Are you stressed at work and feel too tired to exercise after work?  If you don't tackle the root of the behavior, it will be much harder to accomplish your goal.

3.     Be clear about what your life would look like once you achieve your goal. If you resolve to go to the gym more, how will this benefit you? Get connected to the result of your action, and you will be more likely to stick with your plan.

4.     Share your resolutions with friends and family. Hold each other accountable for achieving your goals. If you want to go to the gym more, have a friend call you two or three times a week to check on you or invite them to join you.

5.     Reward yourself with every little accomplishment. If your intention is to lose weight and you lose 1 pound a week, pamper yourself with a massage.

Big changes do not require big leaps. Permanent change is more likely to happen gradually than through one big restrictive plan. Allow yourself to climb the ladder one rung at a time.

In traditional Chinese healing, sea vegetables correspond to the winter season and to the kidneys, adrenal glands, bladder and reproductive organs. The strengthening, balancing and cleansing properties of sea vegetables are known to help these organs as well as the hair, skin and nails. Sea vegetables (or seaweeds) provide a variety of minerals and vitamins, including calcium, iron and iodine, and can help balance hormone and thyroid levels in the body. Eating too many processed foods or foods grown in mineral-depleted soil can result in a lack of minerals in the body, leading to cravings for salty or sugary foods. Adding sea vegetables to your diet can help balance your energy levels and alleviate cravings.

* This is an actual photograph, not a computer-generated image.  Sea vegetables are really this beautiful!

About Me  

After more than 16 years in the financial services industry I decided to follow my passion to help others more directly.  A vegetarian since the age of 14 (and a Southern vegetarian at that!), I've been a proponent of conscious living for some time.  Delving more deeply into nutrition seemed natural and an ideal way to help others, especially given the current health crisis that is creating so much inconvenience and pain.  As the late astronomer and educator Carl Sagan said, "we are made of star stuff."  Literally, we are organic beings made from the same elements that make up the universe and to regenerate we need organic materials. We need to eat foods our bodies recognize.  We are doing ourselves a great disservice by consuming all of the artificial, chemicalized, synthetic junk-food made available to us by desensitized, profit-hungry corporations.  There is a time and place for packaged food and pharmaceutical drugs, but they should be last resorts - not how we live on a daily basis.  Our bodies can heal themselves when they're given adequate amounts of organic materials -  vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.  These essential elements are best assimilated through whole foods rather than synthetic versions.  I look forward to sharing ways to live healthier lives through these newsletters and my counseling services.    

I received my certification to practice Holistic Health Counseling at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition - the only nutrition school integrating all dietary theories with an emphasis on the whole person, designed to help individuals determine what works best for them.  I completed the Food As Medicine course through The Center For Mind/Body Medicine, and am enrolled in the Natural Kitchen Cooking School to become a Natural Food Chef (May 2010).  I am also a certified personal trainer and incorporate exercise into my counseling services.  Come join our running group in Myers Park every Mon/Wed/Fri morning at 6:30 a.m.  Beginners are welcome!  Contact me for details.

I offer a complimentary one-hour health consultation.  If you or someone you know needs support, I'd love to hear from you to see how I can help.  Just complete the confidential Health History form located in the bottom right-hand corner of my website and we'll meet to discuss your specific health goals.

Sincerely,