I believe that our bodies are innately intelligent, and guide us to making healthy food choices. Unfortunately, many of us feel disconnected from that intelligent source, and are overwhelmed, and confused by all of the health and nutritional informational available.
One of my goals this year was to enroll in the Integrative Institute of Nutrition’s Integrative Health Coaching certification program. I am excited to say that I graduated from the program this month, and am now officially an Integrated Health Coach! My goal in completing the program was to improve my own life by increasing my knowledge of nutrition, and then to be able to share what I’ve learned with my clients.
My backstory is that I come from a long-line of Eastern European farmers who grew their own food, raised their own livestock, and prepared their meals from scratch. Even after moving to the United States, my parents and their friends would purchase their poultry from local farmers who raised their animals ethically, and sustainably. I was raised to understand that we become what we put into our bodies.
Yet, as I grew, I became a typical kid who wanted to eat school lunches like my friends instead of the ethnic food prepared from home. I tried Salisbury steak, boxed mashed potatoes, hoagies, ice cream sandwiches, and other lunchtime favorites of the 80s. Although I was petite for most of my life, I started noticing my body changing in high school, and not in a good way.
The summer after I graduated from high school, I decided to become a vegetarian, and to begin eating healthy. The trend at the time was to eat “fat-free”. My college diet consisted of bagels, cereal, pizza, tomato soup, pasta, french fries, and some fruits and vegetables. Poor food choices, along with liquid calories, increased my weight to the highest it had ever been. I was also tired all the time, took daily naps, and I didn’t feel great. I was probably nutritionally deficient for all 4 years of college.
After college, I went backpacking across Europe for one month. The first week into my trip, I ate chicken for the first time in 4 years. It was hard to be a vegetarian in 1994 in many European cities on a limited budget. So, I ate locally grown food that was available and inexpensive. My clothes started to fit better, my mood stabilized, and my energy increased. When I arrived back home I decided to make better choices that would nourish my body. The year following my graduation my weight naturally adjusted itself to a healthy weight, just by making better food choices.
Over the years, my weight, and overall well-being would fluctuate based on what was happening in my life. I was my healthiest when I listened to my body, and nourished it with foods that were medicinal for me. I felt my worst when I disconnected from my body, and made choices I knew would make me feel sick. I compensated for eating what I wanted by working out harder. I ran long distance, lifted, did HIIT workouts, and I did power yoga. I tracked my food in different apps, joined Weight Watchers, went back to the Zone Diet, dusted off the South Beach Diet book, tried Paleo, then Keto, etc. I didn’t get healthier, I just had more injuries, became frustrated, exhausted my adrenals, and raised my cortisol levels.
This year, I decided to take better care of myself by practicing some self-love and acceptance:
Stopped tracking my food. I decided to eat when I was hungry, and eat foods that made me feel good.
Started to “crowd-out” bad choices by incorporating more leafy greens into my diet.
Ate less animal products, eliminated sugar, reduced my dairy intake, and experimented with more plant-based recipes.
Prepared soups with fresh vegetables and beans, and ate more healthy fats.
Stopped intense workouts that were hurting me.
Added in a daily, outdoor morning walk where I could think, and enjoy nature.
Continued with my healing yoga classes.
Became very protective of my daily meditation, affirmation, and gratitude practice.
The result is that I am the healthiest and happiest that I have ever been.
If you’d like to make positive changes in your health, and stop the vicious cycle of dieting, I’d love to work with you. Together, we will identify your health and wellness goals, examine your barriers to success, and teach you how to establish life-long health habits.
Contact me for a free consultation.
