Tag: mental-health

I Am Enough

“You are enough, just as you are. Each emotion you feel, everything in your life, everything you do or do not do… where you are and who you are right now is enough. It is perfect. You are perfect enough.” – Melanie Jade.

“The single most revolutionary thing you can do is recognize that you are enough.” – Carlos Andres Gomez.

This time of year always seems to put so much pressure on us all. Coming out of the holidays, where perhaps we ate and drank more than usual, we can be upset with ourselves for our lack of ability to control ourselves. Couple this with being inundated with commercials and advertisements for the new year and all its promise to change our ways and start anew. Deeply rooted in these promises are the premise that we are imperfect and in need of changing. The new year, new you machine has long been a multimillion dollar business that preys on our deepest insecurities. 

Gym memberships, diet pills, meal plans and quick fixes are so successful because we all want to believe that we can change ourselves into a better version. Sadly, come February we likely will confirm what we knew all along, we are incapable of reaching perfection. The gym trips will stop, the diet pills will go in the trash and we will settle in to the acceptance of yet another year of failed promises.

This year, I’d love to see us say no to this idea that we are not perfect. A few years back, my daughter gave me a coin and affirmation to remind me that I Am Enough. I have read it and reread it and really tried to internalize the message. I think I have finally reached a new year in which I am not striving to change myself. Amen!

The best advice I can give is that acceptance of yourself, AS YOU ARE, can and will lead you to a healthier space. There is nothing we need to change, fix or get rid of. Wherever we are in our journey is enough. Remember, I am not on a diet, nor looking to lose weight to be thinner, prettier or happier. I am trying to live a healthier lifestyle to be healthier and hopefully a longer and fuller life. 

Reminding ourselves daily that we are enough as we are is important work. The feelings of inadequacy are often deeply rooted in our being and our inner critic has been empowered for years. Taking back our power is the work to engage in during this new year. Reminding yourself daily, especially when self doubt creeps back in is your action plan. Every time you look in the mirror remind yourself that you are enough just as you are. Every time you feel the inner critic rear their ugly voice, remind yourself that you are enough.  Put a sign on your mirror, your closet, inside your front door and your refrigerator! Say it, breathe it, chant it and most importantly live it. Find others who will support you on this mission, for free. You are worthy and so am I. 

I truly believe in the power of positivity, though I cannot promise it to be the easiest road. It is not a quick fix, but it can be life changing. Let’s make a promise to ourselves this year to stay strong in our belief that we are enough, just as we are right now. We have nothing to change or fix. We are enough just as we are.

Have a healthy and happy New Year. I look forward to sharing your health journey in the coming months. 

Small Changes, Big Results

As part of my health coach certification, I learned many science based tools for healthier living. I’d love to share some with you, as I have found these small changes have had a big impact on my journey. I am a mere 18 pounds away from my target weight, a goal that once seemed impossible when I was 60 pounds away. I’m no longer focused on just my weight though, as I realize my health journey transcends more than just that number.

Over the next few weeks, I ‘d like to share a few of the tips I found most helpful on my own personal journey to wellness. This week, I’d like to share information about foods that help reduce inflammation in your body. Inflammation is a natural process by which your body protects itself from outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. Inflammation is often seen as bad, but it is the body’s way of protecting itself. The problems arise when we have too little, or too much inflammation in our body.

Many of us are battling chronic inflammation, due to our lifestyles, which isn’t healthy for our body. Diet, weight gain, illness, injury and life stressors can wreak havoc on our bodies, as my story has illustrated. Weight gain and inflammation affect the production of the hormone leptin, which works in your brain to regulate metabolism and control your appetite. Lower levels of leptin will make you feel hungry, adding to your inability to loose weight. In simple language, inflammation leads to weight gain and weight gain leads to inflammation. You are effectively stuck in this loop and seemingly unable to get out.

Your diet, meaning the foods you eat, can be considered an outside invader. Whatever you put into your body, must be processed by it through the digestion process. There are foods we can consume that will increase our inflammation, think an unbalanced diet with lots of processed foods, that contain ingredients that can activate an inflammatory response. These inflammatory foods are mainstays of the standard American diet, such as red meat, white bread, pasta, chips, pastries, soda and fried foods.

One of the most powerful ways to maintain healthy inflammation levels comes from the grocery store. Dr. William Sears, shared a simple way to think about what foods to eat when seeking to reduce inflammation as part of your health journey. It has been called the Six-S “Diet” to reduce inflammation, with the word diet being used to mean the food you eat, not a program.

  1. Seafood – primarily wild pacific salmon
  2. Smoothies – multiple dark colored fruits, berries, ground flaxseed, organic yogurt
  3. Salads – colorful, arugla, kale, spinach, red peppers, tomatoes, legumes
  4. Spices – turmeric, black pepper, ginger, garlic, rosemary, chilis, cinnamon
  5. Satisfying Snacks – grazing
  6. Supplements – ONLY as necessary to fill in gaps. Omega-3, Astaxanthium

For me, I found Dr. Sear’s list so helpful when planning my daily and weekly meals. I was severely lacking in variety in my meal choices, especially with fruits and vegetables. I’m a creature of habit and was eating a consistent diet of grilled chicken and chopped green salad. I’ve found that now my salads are more thoughtfully constructed, as I seek to add in spices and colors I was lacking. Grazing has helped me with my digestive issues and reduced cravings. The one area I still struggle with is seafood. I do not like salmon, no matter how much I tried. So in this case, I have been exploring other foods rich in Omega and have added in supplementation to close the gap.

My main focus is on the top four Ss listed above. When I plan the week, I am looking to ensure that my menu revolves around these choices. Yes, I do still eat meat, especially chicken, but it no longer drives the meal plan as the main event. As a known vegetable struggler, I have found soups, salads and smoothies serve as places I can increase my intake. I made a beautiful lentil soup this week, in which I added kale, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes and pearled farro. It’s not perfect by any means, but this helpful information has given me some much needed guidance. Further, I believe it has helped reduce inflammation in my body, as based on my recent bloodwork and weight loss.

When planning your meals for the week, try to incorporate the six Ss listed above. Let me know how it goes and more importantly how you feel. I’m excited for you and look forward to hearing how it goes.