I’m taking a new and life-giving approach to how I spend my time and it starts on May 13th! Well, I’ve already begun pre-course requirements through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. In 1 year, I’ll take my bachelor’s degree in Health and Wellness and personal trainer experience to the next level by being a Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach.
Nutrition coaches use to give me a ‘quack’ vibe until I did some research on how I can best help girls/women find their personal worth, success, and fulfillment. This world has convinced us that we’re not worthy of love, acceptance, a bikini… unless we fit into a certain diet program, exercise regimen, and weight. I believe that our bodies are much much more than these three things and that, quite honestly, these are small in comparison to our whole selves. ( See my blog series of dimensions of wellness.)
We need Dr.s and nutritionists. They help with plans and approaches that will help heal our bodies from current diseases, to help prevent diseases that are beginning to take hold of us (pre-diabetic…). But what about those of us that are seemingly healthy? I guess, what I’m saying, is that there is a place for all levels of nutrition and health guidance within the varies levels of support we need at any given time in our lives.
I’m under the belief that the food we eat is only one source of our daily nourishment. The other areas that feed you are relationships, physical activity, your career, and your faith.
Thinking of your eating habits for a moment– – are they always related to not knowing what’s best or is it because you’ve had a stressful day, a fight with a friend/loved one, work issues or wondering what your purpose is in this world?
Nutrition is easy – it’s the other nourishment in our lives that make it hard
If I was to ask you, what should you eat to be healthy and fit – your immediate response would be things like – fruits, vegetables, clean meats… And if I was to ask you what you should avoid you’d respond with things like – fast food, fried food, candy…
So, if we know this stuff then why is it that we are still drawn to the cravings and desires for the foods we know we should avoid? It’s because life is hard!
Life is Hard, Nutrition doesn’t have to be
Are drive-through’s easy and convenient? Of course, they are. So, life is hard and drive-throughs are easy. I get it, it seems to be a good fit – but at what cost to you, your hormones, your health and the way you see yourself every day? With a holistic approach to how you eat, exercise, increase your relationships and faith – you’ll be able to make clean eating both easy and convenient all while improving your mood, energy levels, and view of yourself.
We can take steps to make life better through working on our relationships, our mindset, our career goals, food, exercise…and it all fit within your lifestyle (within reason – your current lifestyle might need a tweak or two, but if that’s you-you probably already know that) You may not need a nutritionist or a doctor to help you – but we could all use someone to support us in learning ourselves better and help us personalize our needs in all aspects of life.
As for the feeling that nutrition is complicated, I’ve looked within my program database to discover that there is a Top 25 diet list that people turn to, on top of the 25 there are more than 100 more. No wonder nutrition seems like it’s difficult! That’s what I’m hoping to help you and many other women with – narrow down this list to the one that supports your body, mind, and spirit best.
To make nutrition easy, we need to balance our lives by examining our thoughts, emotions, feelings, careers, foods, workouts… Sometimes it may seem easier to just pick one of the top 25 diets than to deal with the hidden emotions and broken spirit caused by life – but to be truly successful a look at the whole you is required.
If you’ve spent years trying different diets, personal trainers, exercise programs…. with little to no last results you’re probably experiencing a “Life is hard” season. It’s time you find a more personalized approach to you. So, stop trying random workouts and random diets. You need to learn about your whole self and not try to fit into the mold of this world.
Do not be confromed to this world, but be tranfromed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of Yahew, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2
How to Start Personalizing
Rate yourself on a scale of one to 10 on the following:
- Social Relationships (family, friends, spouse, dating life…)
- Career Satisfaction
- Physical Health
- Emotional Health (Joy, sadness, depression, anxiety, stress…)
- Spiritual Health/Relationship (faith)
- Intellectual Health (do you read, study, grow, learn new things..)
- Environmental Health (recycle, don’t litter, clean home, little clutter…)
Each one is linked to a previous blog post to help with more tips on how to grow in each area. Where you are lowest is where you should start with your personalized plan. You may ‘want’ a better body, but the other low areas might be exactly what is Sabotaging your success.
The Female Athlete Life Coach 