I recently wrote a post sharing the story behind my choice to stop eating animals and their by-products including eggs and dairy. In that post I shared that what tipped the scales for me (formerly a mostly vegetarian eater) was the information I learned (after long avoiding it) about the cruelty of factory farming. In that post, I did not address the cattle industry and the environmental impact of raising cattle for food. I felt that there was so much information to share

Full confession: I have a deeply entrenched sweet tooth. In fact, I LOVE a sweet treat, preferably of the chocolate variety. And don't even get me started on how much I love cupcakes. However, I know that binging on refined sugar is not good for me and does not make me feel good after the initial sugar rush has passed. Did you know that there is mounting scientific evidence that sugar is as addictive as cocaine? HERE is just one article if you want to read more about re

I am absolutely fascinated by the information in one of my health coach training modules through IIN - the mind-body connection. While a lot of this is new learning for me, I did have a basic understanding and belief system about how the brain and body communicate. However, the depth of information around this topic that has been uncovered in recent decades of scientific research is pretty amazing stuff. Today's post is about the ANS (autonomic nervous system) and, in part

I don't know about you, but I am one of those people who is actually highly motivated by tracking my habits. I like to have visual representation of my progress towards my goals and habits. TJ says it's like a sticker chart for grown-ups, and he's not wrong. One of the best tools I've used over the years to set personal goals and intentions, journal and track my progress are Silk & Sonder journals. These are absolutely beautiful journals with so many details and features.

Is your home a haven or a source of stress? Our homes are where we go at the end of a long, tiring work day. They are where we retreat and hunker down when we are sick. Hopefully, they are a source of joy in our lives. Too often, however, our homes become an additional source of stress instead of providing a respite from it. Our home environment is important to our overall health and well-being. In fact, IIN has identified home environment as one of the areas of primar

Note about photo: I so wish I had a photo of me as a little girl with my chicken, Peep-Peep. However, the look on this little girl's face must be exactly how I looked hugging my pet chicken. In January 2020 (right before the pandemic) I decided to join the Veganuary challenge and to eat vegan for a month. While I did not initially make the commitment for more than one calendar month, the information I learned during the Veganuary challenge unexpectedly prompted me to make

Last month I wrote a post about primary versus secondary food. You can read it HERE . To recap, primary food includes all the things that nourish you OFF the plate such as relationships, career, creativity, spirituality, etc. Secondary food is the literal food on your plate that you put in your mouth. With that said, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) identifies home cooking as one of the primary foods. Hmmmm .... is this confusing or what? Home cooking RESUL

When the new year starts it is quite common and somewhat of a cultural expectation that we develop lofty goals for our self-improvement (AKA - New Year's resolutions). I don't know about you, but I hopped off that bandwagon several years ago and have no plans to get back on. Instead, I am trying to add more good habits to my daily routines. These little habits, known as microhabits, can actually have a pretty big impact on overall wellness, even though they seem pretty sma

In my last post about the Rhythms of Rest , I shared briefly about ultradian rhythms. To refresh, our bodies experience circadian rhythms in response to dark and light over 24 hours cycles. We are hard-wired to sleep when it's dark and be awake when it's light. Ultradian rhythms are like mini circadian rhythms that occur many times throughout the day and night. There is a solid body of research (much of it done through the military) that confirms that our bodies need a 20

Happy New Year!!! I had a couple weeks off from new health coach training modules which was nice. Now I'm all caught up and have SO MUCH to share with you!! Today is all about rhythms of rest. Did you ever stop to think about all the ways your body experiences cycles and rhythms? If you're a woman, the cycle of menstruation is a prime example. However, there are other ways that our bodies replicate and mimic the cycles and seasons found in nature. For example, look no cl

A few posts ago, I wrote about the concept of primary and secondary foods . Primary foods are the things that nourish you off the plate. Health is one of the 12 primary foods in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition model. Why is health considered a primary food? Think about it this way.... When your primary food is balanced and satiating, your LIFE feeds you, making what you eat secondary. <insert lightbulb moment> Health is self-care - it's the recognition that your

We've all probably heard of "eating the rainbow", right? We know it's good for us. We know it's what we're "supposed to do." Have you ever stopped to wonder WHY? In my health coaching training module this week, Dr. Deanna Minich gave a powerful and information-packed lecture about the science behind eating the rainbow. If you want to explore in depth, I highly encourage you to visit her website HERE . Dr. Minich said several things that really resonated with me, and I was

One of the most compelling lectures I've heard so far in my health coach training was delivered by Dr. Lissa Rankin . Lissa Rankin is a New York Times best-selling author and has been on a life-long quest to understand the mysteries of healing. One story she told was about the people of Roseto, Pennsylvania, a small town of Italian immigrants. Back in 1961, a couple of local doctors started talking over a few beers about the low incidence of heart disease in this community

Do you see any food in this photo? Unless you consider flowers to be edible, I'm guessing you would say NO to that question. Keep reading to learn how this image represents primary food. One intriguing key component of the Institute for Integrative Health approach to wellness is the idea of primary and secondary foods. Let me explain. Primary foods are all the things that fuel you off the plate, the parts of your life that nourish you on a deeper level. Secondary foods

Humans and food - especially in our Western, diet-obsessed culture - can have a complicated relationship. On the one hand, food is one of life's delights. It can bring comfort, connection and literally keeps us alive. On the other hand, there is a fire-hose level onslaught of information about what foods we SHOULD or SHOULDN'T eat .... what foods are GOOD or BAD .... and on and on. It can be a tricky business to tiptoe into a potential revamp of what you eat on a daily basis

If you're like me, it's possible that you have internalized the idea that wellness is on the other side of an invisible "finish line". If I lose XXX pounds, I will be well/healthy. If I go for a walk every day, I will be well/healthy. If I eat more veggies/whole grains/lean proteins, I will be well/healthy. The fact is, the journey to wellness is non-linear. There are many factors that contribute to our wellness, and our health fluctuates from day to day, week to week, and

I think, for the most part, that humans are hard-wired to try to fit into the group. We are a social species. It's important for us to feel belonging and connection. Some of us, however, have had the life-long experience of never feeling like we quite fit. For most of my adult life, I've found myself at the periphery of the circles I'm immersed in. While in large groups of people (at church in the past or in a social setting), I find myself wondering if I'm the only perso

For most of my life (actually, let's be honest ... for my ENTIRE life until starting my Health Coach Training Program), I have conceptualized or thought about health solely in the physical realm. What I mean by this is that I only considered myself to be "healthy" if I was "eating right" and getting regular exercise. While physical health IS a component of health, it is definitely not the only dimension of our overall health and well-being. There are so many more influenc

This is a photo of me from 1975. It was an ornament I made at school in the first grade. Yes, I'm a mature adult. (ahem) But damn!! I was a little cutie!! My mom has often told me that from a very young age I wanted to know "why" about pretty much everything. I would not accept being asked to do something or being told something was a certain way without wanting to know more. This trait has continued through my adulthood. I am constantly wanting to know more and to unde

Before I decided to sign up for the Health Coach Training Program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition , I strongly considered a different program entirely focused on plant-based nutrition. Since I've been mostly vegan for four years now, I was really interested in learning more so I could help people wanting to switch to a plant-based diet. During the process of looking at several program options, I heard a statistic that only about 4% of the American population