Goals

We put many barriers in front of ourselves. This often leads to us being stagnant and not doing what we should be doing to become healthier. Exercise: We need more! The most common excuse is fatigue at the end of the day. At a time when we most need to move to de-stress, we prefer to sit and do nothing. Even going downstairs to the treadmill feels like a chore. Simplify! Do a little bit. If weather permits, just do a 10 minute walk. If you don’t have equipment, do 10 squats and 10 push-ups (off a table if you [...]

Sometimes we get overwhelmed by the lifestyle changes that we are trying to make. We are trying to change our eating habits and exercise routines, our sleep and deal with stress, and we get stuck. We are trying to accomplish so much change, that it becomes overwhelming, and so we do nothing. Every one of us is in this life together. Separate, but in so many ways, together, and we wish for the same things. Happiness, good health, excitement. Often we find it difficult to define and achieve good health as our lives seem to get so busy. We are [...]

Two weekends ago I had to travel a couple of hours to my cottage and back.  These trips are enjoyable, simply because I can choose any podcast to further my knowledge about health.   The podcast I chose to listen to on that day was over two hours long.  It was an interview by Dr. Rhonda Patrick (her web site is www.foundmyfitness.com) talking to Matthew Walker, a sleep neuroscientist.  It was about his discoveries on how our brain works when we sleep and the detrimental effects when we don’t.  His research is powerful, and to me who has poor sleep [...]

It feels like a long winter; I am hearing this from just about everyone. The extreme cold, then rain, wind and unpredictable weather has a lot of people off track, and they do not seem to be able to get back on track. As the expression goes, ‘I’m stuck in a rut’. Snacks seem to be more permissible; the idea of going for a walk seems impossible. Once home, getting on a bus or in a car to go to a gym just isn’t in the cards. So we sit, watch TV, read a book and nibble. This isn’t something [...]

Each week I learn from my patients. All of them, regardless of their unique life situations and perceptions, are resilient, courageous, and relentless in figuring out what works for their health. Two patients come to mind, both of whom have been working patiently and diligently on their weight loss and health goals. Neither one has found it easy. Each of them knew the basics of what might work, but both found they had to modify their paths. They tried many different variations of food, exercise and intermittent fasting in order to keep weight loss occurring. What impressed me was that [...]

To say there is confusion amongst all of us about the various recommendations we hear from ‘experts’ and nutritional guidelines is an understatement! I’m simply going to avoid this topic, except to say, that I rarely see weight or health issues coming from the main meals. It is invariably the snacking during the day or evening that is the problem. Usually these ‘foods’ are highly processed carbohydrates. How can we simplify things? Well, not eating at all is a good first step. It’s cheap, can be done at home, at hotels, on holidays and at airports. All the research pointing [...]

What is health? I’m not sure if any of us spend a lot of time trying to define what it means to us. We may focus on our weight, but losing weight may not make us happier, or more joyful, or more flexible, or stronger. Is health something we find in the future, when we lose 20, 40 or 100 pounds? Or is it today and tomorrow, when we are working on just feeling better, both physically and emotionally? I’m sure each of us knows that if we have a day of good eating and we make good food choices, [...]

A nutritionist I know refers to herself as a dietary agnostic.  I like her terminology, because each of us needs to find out what works for ourselves.  Also, we need to find out which way of eating makes us feels better from an energy point of view, helps us get weight down and keep it off, how to prevent or reverse Type 2 diabetes, and lessen the risk of Alzheimer’s, or any other chronic disease you can think of.  This is a never ending quest!   ‘New’ food guidelines are soon to be released, which unfortunately are driven by very [...]

There is a small book entitled “Mind over Mood”, and the title says it all. We are all trying not to respond to the internal dialogue that continually seems to run in the background of our brain. That demon that tempts us with thoughts of food, tries to talk us out of getting in some exercise, or reminds us of all the emotional demands and memories of the holiday season. Over these past two weeks I have seen so many clients upset because they seem to be snacking uncontrollably in the evening. It is apparent that even if we eat [...]