How to Honor Your Hunger & Stop Feeling Deprived
No one enjoys feeling deprived. I associate deprivation with punishment, and it feels lousy to me. That's why diets don't work, IMHO...a dieting body is a starving body.
I can still remember it; I was on the Fat Flush diet, sitting in my kitchen frantically obsessing about my next meal. Starving and irritable. I went from just living day to day, eating as I pleased, when I was hungry, totally happy go-lucky; to feeling like a crazy lunatic, not enjoying my days, voracious appetite, impatient, wanting to find a way out of my newly committed diet.
Experiencing intense hunger, wanting to binge or hide and binge, eating much larger portions in some meals. I became a slave to food and eating. I spent exorbitant amounts of time, meticuloulsy planning meals, searching for recipes and food shopping. Buying new cookbooks and kitchen gadgets that were recommended for every new diet plan.
So many times I'd commit to a diet plan, go buy all the stuff for a week of a regimented meal plan, then...
How to Ditch 'The 'Perfect Diet' Mentality For Good
Ladies, are you ready to get set free from 'the perfect diet' mentality'?
It was 1998, and I was searching for a way to feel better in my own body and find a 'path' to follow. I felt I needed a diet to follow because I honestly needed something to control my health as well as have a mission, something to believe in. Truthfully, I was not informed, connected to myself and quite frankly feeling a bit lost.
I had found out I was pregnant for the first time and all of a sudden my diet, what I put into my body mattered. I also had a lot of symptoms of IBS, which at the time, I didn't realize was what I was struggling with.
So I set out on a path to find 'the perfect diet'.
I began to read everything I could get my hands on at the time. I have to be honest and disclaim, going on a 'diet' when you are newly pregnant is not the wisest plan. But that was where I was at during that period of my life.
My first diet attempt was the 'Fit For Life' diet. Again, NOT a smart choice for a ravenous,...
What Happens When You Create A Vision Board
Many years ago, during my Nutritional Therapy training, I learned about using a vision board to help fuel my goals for my business and practice. It was one of those, "Oh Yes!" I am SO going to do these moments, where I just knew that it would be a powerful project to utilize.
Fast forward four years, and I finally got around to creating my first one. Today, I want to share more with you on the 'how,' but first, I need to share the immediate benefits I saw shortly after I created my first board.
As I added things to my board, I started to get happier than I had been in a while. My focus became clearer and I became more proactive about my life in general because I had a grand vision to actually look at and forward to. Knowing what I wanted and what made me happy, fueled me daily to take BIG action and not waste time.
Within six weeks, I started to see things on my board appear or happen in my life. I focused a few minutes several mornings a week on going over my board and revisiting...
How To Increase Joy By Decluttering Your Life
It was 2004 and I can still remember my excitement when we arrived at the workshop all about organization. I only had two kids at the time and they were little. Life felt chaotic and out of control. My ex was a bit of a hoarder and I was the one left to manage it all. It felt incredibly overwhelming to me; mentally, physically and emotionally.
I learned far more than I ever imagined in that workshop all those years ago, it was like therapy. Going in to the meeting I felt like I just needed to be more organized. What I really learned was my home wasn't bringing me joy OR peace. And by clearing the clutter in my physical space I could also clear the clutter in my mind, relationships and enjoy my time more. Instead of carrying all the heaviness, the stress, the energy to manage all the stuff we had that we didn't need.
Ever since that day, I've been on a mission to live a simple life with less stress. One of my healthy habits is an ongoing practice of de-cluttering. I...
How To Become Who You Want To Be
It was the summer of 2007, I had gone through the eternal fires from the pit of hell in my life experience in many ways. I was barely surviving. Deep down, I knew there was more to life that my current experience dictated. My soul was screaming at the top of her lungs; "I want more than this, there has to be more!"
To give you a little picture of where I am coming from. I had just had my 4th son and had to flee from his father to another state to escape his abuse. At the time, I felt like no one could help me but myself. And truth be told, I was exhausted beyond all comprehension of fighting - I was drained to the core; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
It took a lot to get to this point in my life and that’s all a story for another day (I’m actually writing a book about it), but that summer was the turning point when I finally ‘woke up’ and began to fall in love with myself. The me that was buried and hiding my whole life dying to be...
Praise & Testimonial: She Learned How To Love Herself
I am incredibly grateful for the amazing women I get to work with and support. Today I'm sharing Julie Thorn's story of how she learned to love herself AND overcame some major health issues over the course of our time working together.
Julies's Biggest Challenge
I could say I was eating like crap, not getting proper sleep, no time to myself, recurring yeast infections and rosacea. While all of those things were true, I would say one of my biggest challenges was my emotional state (stress, worry, you name it). It is linked to all of the above, one thing leads to another.
In the past two years, I have been through quite a bit emotionally. I was an emotional wreck inside, but I kept on smiling. I have always kept everything bottled up inside me which is not good. I have always been a people pleaser and felt like I was not worthy. I put everybody else first including people who do not have the right to be first in my life. After going through what I thought was ultimately going to...
How to Keep Your Life in a State of Balance
I have been involved in the health and wellness arena for over 11 years.
I've observed a pattern when someone finds a path to wellness that leads them into a health journey towards freedom: this pattern is one I lived myself and now see occur in clients and colleagues. There is a sort of pendulum swing from one total opposite of the spectrum from where you've been.
With me, it was radical. I went from a state of apathy/lethargy to become quite the zealot. From McDonald's drive-thru with the kids on the way to summer camp one day and purging my pantry the next to only fill it with real/whole foods.
Believe me, this can be good. I mean for me, it got me out of a huge rut, but the flip side is it may lead to burnout. Too many sweeping changes all at once can lead to a form of unhappiness and restriction that seems like a spiritual health journey, because after all it's 'healthy'.
As an example, let's say you decide to do a mass overhaul on your health through diet. Like me, I chose to...
Why I Quit My Old Blog To Become a Personal Brand
In case you didn't know, I wrote a blog; 'Divine Health From The Inside Out'.
Which, I started in 2010 mostly for fun at first, but then it became my storefront for my 'business'.
To be totally honest I never had a clear vision or long term goals for my blog/website. I was driven, I had enthusiasm even, but honestly it was quite nebulous.
So, I stopped blogging over there about 8 months ago, even though I had a huge fan base of over 13,000 subscribers.
The reason it didn’t resonate with me anymore, it just didn't feel like 'me' or 'home'.
I stopped deeply caring about what I was writing about and was only writing to GET attention and in light of that, I wasn’t connecting with people anymore. I had no tribe.
Truthfully, I was disconnected to my purpose and my work showed it.
I craved more of a creative outlet for expressing my truth, so I could feel good about what I was writing and make sure I was writing in a worldview I was aligned with to connect with a tribe of...
What You Need to Know to Overcome Adrenal Fatigue
Hi, my name is Lydia Joy ... and I am not only recovering from adrenal fatigue I now radiate health and vitality. Which in truth, is EVERY woman's birthright... to thrive, not just 'survive'!
Statistics currently show, that 80 percent of adults will experience adrenal fatigue during their lifetime. 80 percent!!! That sure is a lot of people and the reason for this epidemic is not just physical. Our physical well being totally depends on our mental, emotional and spiritual health too.
Essentially, your adrenal glands are where the strength center of your body is located. They give you the ability to keep going and to endure. They are one of your two main energy producing glands in the body. You probably know that the adrenals are there to spur you on, to give you energy to tackle stressful situations, both emotional and physical.
The adrenals are closely connected with your sympathetic nervous system (the gas) as opposed to the parasympathetic nervous system (the brake). During times...
Don't Just Cultivate Gratitude, Embody It!
We’ve all heard the popular phrase, “Keep an attitude of gratitude,” especially in the month of November when we become the most thankful for everything in our lives because we celebrate Thanksgiving.
However, did you know that being grateful actually benefits your body physically and mentally?
There have even been studies done where scientists find that people who practice gratitude consistently are reaping many healthful benefits.
When you practice gratitude, it really benefits your entire body and well-being. Feeling grateful can:
- Improve your immune system
- Improve mental alertness
- Improve sleeping habits and better quality and duration
- Lower blood pressure, preventing heart attacks
- Decrease depression, stress, and anxiety
- Create more sustained happiness, optimism, and joy
- Create more acts of compassion and generosity
- Help you manage stress better and cope with difficult challenges
- Help you feel less isolated or lonely, leading to better relationships and...
