Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Iron Will

While driving with a friend today, I found out that she ate tomato soup that completely attacked her digestive system and left her feeling sick for a few hours.  We spoke about health, decisions, commitments......we spoke about her hair falling out, about the extra weight, about the digestive complaints, and consistent tiredness that she experienced.  She lamented that she couldn't bring food to work as she did not have the time.  There was no time.  I listened with compassion because I remember going through the same process of decision making that she is currently going through when I made a quality decision to change my lifestyle.

I remember my own health issues that sparked the change.  I couldn't sleep enough, I couldn't focus and concentrate on my friendships the way that I used to, I wanted to nap and then sleep 10 hours at night, my moods were low most of the time, I felt old and I was 25.  That is what did it.  I am not going to be an old 25-year old.

My brothers used to make fun of me for my supposed lack of common sense when I would talk to the "wrong" strangers, or end up signing a contract for something that left me with nothing of value and the business or person with complete advantage over me, or when I announced to as many people as possible that my parents' were out of town and that we were having a party......haha...

When it came to the moment, when I was 25 and feeling old, my common sense kicked in.  Surely the Chai tea lattes', bread, pasta, chocolate, and ice cream were contributing to the oldness type feeling.  There must be something wrong with my diet.

Decision making is so vitally important and I remember some of the most important decisions that I made in my life.  One such decision was my decision to attend Vanderbilt University after high school.

How did I make the decision?  I traveled to schools in California, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  After I thought I toured enough schools, I found another school to research and visit.  I compared all the schools to schools in Minnesota although I knew that I was going out of state.  I thought, I journaled, I emailed, I talked to my friends, I talked to my parents....eventually it came down to the decision.....I make decisions intuitively.  I have a gut reactions to decisions that I need to make.  I feel my way into a decision.

With Vanderbilt, I felt my way into the decision.  Visiting the school, staying with a friend, and walking the campus, was enough.  I knew.  I saw myself walking the campus, meeting friends, going to classes.  More than seeing it, I felt it.  It was true and it was the decision I needed to make.

Once I made that decision, every action that I made sent me in that direction until I was there.  I couldn't  believe it and yet I could.  It was perfect, it was difficult, it challenged every part of me and broke off certain parts of me while adding new parts.......it was the right decision.  But it wasn't the easiest, the fastest, the cheapest........in fact, quite the opposite, it was the most expensive, the hardest, and the slowest route I could have taken.

Seems to be a theme in my life.....haha.....

With my quality decision to become healthy and to change my lifestyle, I had to do the wrong thing with my food choices and health for long enough to feel the effect.  And once I started feeling the effect, I had to decide if it would continue or if I would invest in my health.

Lifestyle change is not easy, cheap, or fast.  It is hard.  However, anything of value is not easy, cheap, or fast.  Lifestyle change has been exhilarating, challenging, exciting, fun, and so valuable.  It has been one of the most valuable decisions that I have made.

The extra energy, the focus that I can have on my friendships and family, the extra thought, time, energy and love that I can put into people makes the entire process worth it.  And now, I am making a business out of helping people through the same process that I went through.....and it is more rewarding and exciting than anything that I can do with my time and resources.

Unfortunately, in America, many people have not made the quality decision to invest in their health through nutrition and lifestyle change...the result, many of us are sick.  Many people are having organs removed, surgeries, drastic medical intervention simply because they have not made a quality decision to be healthy and to chose health daily.

It takes guts, it takes dedication, it takes an iron, unbending will.  However. we all have will-power and when we make the decision, it amazing how the hard becomes easy and the challenging becomes fun and exhilarating over time...

Have you made the quality decision to invest in your health?  If not, think about it.  Talk about it.  Explore the possibilities.  There are solutions to your health issues, you just have to be seeking them out.




Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Get At The Roots!


Have you ever tried weeding a garden? My mother is a gardener and she has a huge garden in her backyard that has taken years to perfect and beautify. Part of the process of making a beautiful masterpiece is the mundane, back-breaking work of weeding. No one wants to do it and yet, without proper care and concern the weeds will grow and overtake the beauty of the garden. The thing about weeding is that if you don't use your core muscles, if you don't pull close to the ground to get the roots, and if you don't concentrate on what you are doing, you will pull and break half of the weed off and leave the roots to grow deeper and stronger....just to spite you the weeds will actually dig in deeper and grow more wild and crazy the next round....leaving you discouraged and impatient with this whole garden thing.

In fact, one time my roommate and I tried to start a garden. We lived in Nashville at the time and went to Home Depot, super excited with the new endeavor. The helpful worker looked at us as we explained our plan to create a master garden...she looked at us and her stare become more and more blank until she managed to interrupt our excitement to tell us, "you are not going to get a garden planted in this season, wrong season." She walked away clearly annoyed at our lack of understanding of seasons and timing to plant....and we were struck with dismay and then laughter at the obvious mistake of trying to garden in the fall......

That brings me to my next question, have ever tried "weeding" your life?  Now that is intense. If you don't find the right roots or even know that roots exist, you may find yourself in the jungles of Africa with no guide and get you out of the mess that was created all around you without seemingly any input or agreement on your behalf....it just happened you will say, or how did this happen to me? I never invited this mess of weeds and all of a sudden, out of no where, the weeds will start their master plan of destroying your garden, your heart, your soul...

I, as a Nutritional Therapist, love the back-breaking effort of weeding and find the exact place of the roots to free people of bothersome and stubborn weeds.....I am way more stubborn than the weeds and they will have to fight quite a bit to get free from the tug and pull of my weeding skills.

In celebration of my 4th year as a Nutritional Therapist in Minnesota, I am reintroducing the efforts of the blog!! I have been asked by clients to create and maintain a blog, which I have been fighting tooth and nail to avoid and yet....I am intrigued and inspired by the challenge to write and express my thoughts, ideas, and emotions regarding health and YOU.....the most important person in this process...the one that is seeking, the one that is open, and the one that is desiring to be healthy and willing to fight to get to the root and go against the grain of culture norms.

I am excited to be partnering with 3 new locations this year: Moore Chiropractic in Edina, Indulge Salon and Spa in White Bear Lake, and Jesse Tomme Salon and Spa in Mahtomedi. Please do not hesitate to contact, comment, tweet, call, email, pin, blog, or send a letter to me in order to communicate most effectively and to find the best partnership that we can find in your effort to become and maintain health and healing!

Here is a picture of one my clients who was able to "Get at the Roots" and lose 30-pounds and to maintain her progress: Weight loss truly does not have to be a yo-yo process of up and down and frustrating moments of spinning out of control with your weight. We can truly find the roots of your weight loss challenges. Finding exactly why the extra weight is there is my ultimate goal and that we accomplish through various nutritional testing methods. More on this in my next blog.....Nutritional Testing and its many benefits! But for now, with the sun out and spring/summer/fall upon us.....start working on your garden outside and inside.....