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Is Your Sofa a Silent Killer?

Posted by on Sep 3, 2013 in Health Coaching, Lifestyle Medicine, Nutrition, Stress Management | 0 comments

SofaLast week was a very stressful for me. I found myself spending more time on our sofa as comfort seeking behavior. While parking myself on the sofa with food was easy, it didn’t reduce my anxiety, stress or improve my mood.

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Stress and Vitamin G

Posted by on Apr 22, 2013 in Health Coaching, Lifestyle Medicine, Stress Management | 12 comments

blog-mountain“Those who contemplate the beauty of earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” ~Rachel Carson

Although many studies have shown vitamin G beneficial for stress reduction, mental clarity and healing, you won’t find it at your health food store. Most likely your doctor won’t know what you are talking about if you ask him or her. In my client practice, stress reduction is often a top priority and yet most haven’t heard about vitamin G. Vitamin G is not a supplement you can purchase. So what is it?

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Changing Your Physical Space

Posted by on Jan 3, 2013 in Health Coaching, Lifestyle Medicine | 6 comments

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
~ Henry Ford

I have spent most of my life surrounded by clutter.  Piles of unfiled receipts, financial statements, projects, articles, books, unused clothes, and kitchen appliances we barely use have occupied our living spaces.  For a long time, I had spent more time avoiding my clutter than considering there might be another way.   Avoidance is a self-directed brain skill.  If avoidance is your strategy, your brain does exactly what you tell it to do. It figures out how to avoid fixing the clutter. We have all kinds of messes we avoid because we tell ourselves there isn’t time, resources or energy to solve.

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A New Mindfulness Tool for Stress and Anxiety

Posted by on Dec 10, 2012 in Lifestyle Medicine, Stress Management | 2 comments

This is the season for getting it all done, and women everywhere are feeling stressed and anxious as the holiday clock ticks down.  I love the holiday traditions, but the truth is women have been doing most of the work for a long time.  We are the organizers, managers, and doers for the big family events.  We do the shopping, the cooking, the planning, the decorating, the gift wrapping, the card sending,  and then somehow make ourselves look fabulous for the family meals and holiday parties.  At the same time, many of us are raising a family and working for a living.  Often our holidays are complicated with visiting family members who’s mere presence raise conflicts rather than warm memories.

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Killer Triad Dilemma

Posted by on Nov 16, 2011 in Lifestyle Medicine | 0 comments

Jim and Rita

In my family, both my father at age 63 and my only sibling a brother at age 48 were taken early due to a combination of coronary artery disease and diabetes. My father struggled with obesity and diabetes from his early 30s. Although he saw his family physician often for care related to his diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, no one spent time in a coaching role to help him with the necessary diet and exercise changes that could have extended or improved his quality of life. My father took a multitude of medications for his heart and diabetes, but medications can’t cure diseases like coronary artery disease and diabetes. At best the meds attempt to control symptoms. If he had

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