You might be asking – why should I listen to her? How is she different than the other thousands of people on the internet claiming to know all the secrets to being well?
First off, I have a science and medical background. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree. I also love to learn and am constantly doing so, so I can bring you all the latest and greatest.
I also believe it takes focusing on a lot more than just food to truly be well. I will focus on not only diet, but environmental and lifestyle factors as well.
With that said, food and eating is an easy place to start and where a lot of work can be done! I believe I have a different food focus and some core concepts with regards to eating that drive me.
Two core concepts that I learned during my Health Coach Certification training related to food.
- Bio-individuality
- Crowding out
Bio-individually: there is not a one size fits all diet out there. You will find I do not push a certain way of eating on people. You must try different things and learn to listen to your body. Some people will thrive on a 100% plant based diet, while others on a Paleo diet (heavy animal protein diet). There are also many more people that will fall somewhere in between. I actually strongly discourage you from associating yourself with one particular community or way of eating and would like to remove the word “diet” from your vocabulary. This is a lifestyle and way of eating. Also, keep in mind these preferences might change over time. Together let’s find the best way to eat to nourish your body on a daily basis.
Crowding out: fit into your day all the things your body wants and needs to thrive, you will naturally start crowding out the bad stuff and your body will thank you!
A few other food concepts I feel strongly define me.
- I don’t believe in eating 100% ‘clean’. Surprised? Clean eating is a big catch phrase in the health world right now. I guarantee you will not survive (or quite frankly enjoy live) if you don’t ever allow yourself to indulge. And indulgent might look different for you and I. For my husband it is BBQ or a big sandwich with a side tater tots or biscuits and gravy. For me it is ice cream. The key is listening to how your body feels after those indulges and I bet you will find you want them less often. I also hope on this journey with me, you will find better choices and better ways to have those same indulges. You don’t necessarily have to restrict certain food, unless you have a known reason to do so, just let me help guide you to make better choices. Maybe you make homemade dessert instead of going out. Maybe you get a bag of french fries at home, bake them and drench them in cheese sauce instead of going out and getting fried french fries with questionable orange ‘cheese sauce’. The goal is the indulgence truly becomes a treat and not a regular way of eating.
- Food freedom to me is learning how to eat well and make good choices and making the decision to eat that way because you want to and because it makes you feel good, not because someone else told you to!
- Finally, my number 1 goal for all of you and your family is ultimate wellness which for many of us starts by changing the food we put into our bodies. That doesn’t necessarily mean weight loss, although that will likely happen by default if weight is of concern for you. My food focus is driven towards disease prevention and while I cannot legally diagnosis, treat or claim I can cure your ailments, I can empower you, support you and encourage you to make better choices through education, which will likely lead to you helping your body be in the best state. Your body was made to heal itself without medications, given half a chance.
Please understand that life is a journey and you will not and should not try to accomplish it all immediately. I will motivate you to continue to make small changes to help your family embrace wellness, whatever that means for you.
I am a big quote person. They make me sit back and think and motivate me to continue to do better and be better. I will leave you with two today, in hopes it does the same for you.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates
“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” Ann Wigmore
I hope you will stick with me and let me guide you on this journey!