Do you wish you could afford a coach? Even though I am a wellness coach, I have a coach I rely on to keep me focused on my goals. We do a trade, so that cuts out those pesky fees.
I am offering a class called Be Your Own Coach at Tamarack Wellness Center in Eugene on June 2. For those of you who live out of town or can't make it Tuesday night at 7:00pm, here's some thoughts on being your own coach.
First, know what you want to accomplish. Be specifc about this, so you can form a mental picture in your mind. If it's a weight loss goal, see yourself at that goal weight. Really build some emotion about how good you feel and hone the description of yourself. Write it down. Two or three sentences will do. Here's an example: I have lost 20 pounds by October 31st and feel energized, impowered and strong. I can now see my belt buckle without looking in the mirror because my belly has shrunk.
Second, figure out why this goal is important to you. Usually, my clients want a change to enable them to enjoy life more. This can mean being able to hike in the mountains without stopping every 15 minutes to recover their breath, or being able to crawl around on the floor with a future grandchild without struggling to get up again. It can also mean recovering lost self-esteem, renewing vigorous activity, or fulfilling a life-long dream.
Whatever it is for you, picture yourself in that situation and then write it down. Here is an example: I am now playing frisbee on the beach with my kids. We are laughing and having the best time ever. I'm am fit and healthy and so are my kids.
Third, map the steps that it will take to get to your big vision of health and wellness. These are the actions you'll commit to so reaching your vision is not just a dream. Action steps have components like a date, a commitment, and a duration. For example: I will walk every day for 20 minutes (commitment), beginning May 29 (date) and I'll add 2 minutes per week for 6 weeks (duration).
You can make many steps to reach your goal. In fact, most people need to approach their goal from several aspects. Try to think of all the different areas of your life that will contribute to your overall success in reaching your goal. Write them down.
Your list is probably pretty long, right? If you feel overwhelmed, then you're doing it right! The next step makes it easier to achieve your stated goals.
Fourth, break these big steps into tasks. Using my example of walking everyday for 20 minutes, I'll need to do a few things first. Here are a few examples of tasks that will help accomplish this step of our plan: buy some shoes, get up 1/2 hour earlier, lay out clothes the night before, simplify breakfast to a smoothie.
Some things won't need a task list, so don't think you need to break everything down into its component tasks. Laying out your work clothes the night before isn't going to require a step-by-step list. However, if you aren't already in the habit of making smoothies, you may need to create a shopping list, find time to do the grocery shopping, and maybe even make the smoothie the night before and re-blend it in the morning.
Fifth, celebrate your accomplishments as you achieve the steps. Make these rewards something to support your overall goal. If you are planning to write a book, the steps would be something like write an outline, plan the chapters, find a publisher, write the book. When you get the outline completed, you probably deserve a celebration like a great dinner with a friend. If your goal is weight loss, you'll want to plan something like a trip to coast or a hike. You don't want to celebrate weight loss with a hot-fudge triple scoop sundae, right? Well, you may want to, but your goal is staring you in the face, so you'll make a better decision.
The point is to plan your celebrations so you have something to look forward to when you accomplish the steps to your goal.
If you'd like to come to the workshop and do some of this work, register at Tamarack Wellness Center, 541-683-7506 or online at Tamarack Wellness Center.
I hope you will set some goals and use these coaching tools to help you reach them.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Boost Your Immune System
Do you want a stronger, more competent immune system? Sure you do!
If you take loads of supplements hoping that will do the trick, you could be overloading your system, leading to the OPPOSITE outcome.
Here are a few things you can do to enhance your immune system while not going to extremes.
1. Get sufficient Vitamin A, which is an anti-viral. Eggs, calves' liver and milk are animal products with pre-formed Vitamin A. Vegetable sources have carotinoids which your body converts to Vitamin A. Sources high in carotinoids include carrots, cooked spinach, kale, and raw red bell peppers. How do you know if you are deficient in Vitamin A? If you have permanent goose bumps on the back of your arms, you're likely deficient.
2. Other vitamins are important too, of course: C, D, E, and minerals such as zinc, iodine and magnesium. I'm a proponent of low-dose, naturally occuring vitamin supplementation. Look for supplements that say whole food derived. Cleaning up your diet and eating organic, locally grown foods are an excellent way to boost your immune system while cleaning up the 'terrain' of your body - the host for viral, bacterial, fungal, and other illness-causing invaders.
3. Hydrate yourself. If you drink half your ideal body weight in ounces of pure water every day, this is a great start. Why your 'ideal' body weight? It's just too daunting to think that if you weight 250 pounds, you need to drink 125 ounces of water daily. However, if you drink lots of caffeine containing beverages: soda, coffee, green tea, or loads of juice, alcohol, and other diuretics, you'll need more water to offset those dehydrating beverages.
4. Reduce sugar and simple carbohydrates in favor eating less processed foods. Nutrient dense, properly prepared food is key to boosting your immune system and providing your body with the building blocks for maintenance and repair. Variety is important to get all the micronutrients needed for a strong immune system. Adequate protein is particularly important. In case you didn't get the memo - eggs are fine to eat daily. Read more about the benefit of eggs here. If you are a vegetarian not eating eggs, be sure to use good protein combining skills. Don't leave it to chance that you will get all the essential amino acids you need to enhance your immune system. Quinoa, hemp seed, kelp, spirulina - eat these nutritious foods often.
5. Rest, sleep, relax! Our body does its greatest repair while we sleep.
6. Move - the dreaded E word is EXERCISE. After resting, move your body to detoxify through perspiration and deep breathing. Exercise circultes blood and lymph. Lymph moves toxins out of your system. If you want to enhance that pathway, try dry skin brushing when you can't adequately exercise.
7. Remove stressors, such as allergens. If you know you have a wheat allergy, an egg allergy, a chocolate allergy, etc. don't eat the foods that cause your immune system to over-react. Instead, concentrate on healing your gut, which is often inflamed from dealing with allergens. Seventy to eighty percent of your immune system is adjacent to your gut. A healthy digestive system can go a long way to enhancing immunity. I'm a nutritional therapist, so this is my personal bias and there is plenty scientific information to back me up when I say, "Heal the gut, heal the entire body." If I was a chiropractor, I'd probably say something like, "Balance the nervous system, balance the entire body." Another way to say this: don't challenge your immune system unnecessarily.
Here's a quick recap for increasing immunity: adequete nutrients, ideally from foods and low-dose supplements; good hydration; get rid of crappy foods in your diet; sleep 7-8 hours nightly; exercise; reduce stressors.
If you take loads of supplements hoping that will do the trick, you could be overloading your system, leading to the OPPOSITE outcome.
Here are a few things you can do to enhance your immune system while not going to extremes.
1. Get sufficient Vitamin A, which is an anti-viral. Eggs, calves' liver and milk are animal products with pre-formed Vitamin A. Vegetable sources have carotinoids which your body converts to Vitamin A. Sources high in carotinoids include carrots, cooked spinach, kale, and raw red bell peppers. How do you know if you are deficient in Vitamin A? If you have permanent goose bumps on the back of your arms, you're likely deficient.
2. Other vitamins are important too, of course: C, D, E, and minerals such as zinc, iodine and magnesium. I'm a proponent of low-dose, naturally occuring vitamin supplementation. Look for supplements that say whole food derived. Cleaning up your diet and eating organic, locally grown foods are an excellent way to boost your immune system while cleaning up the 'terrain' of your body - the host for viral, bacterial, fungal, and other illness-causing invaders.
3. Hydrate yourself. If you drink half your ideal body weight in ounces of pure water every day, this is a great start. Why your 'ideal' body weight? It's just too daunting to think that if you weight 250 pounds, you need to drink 125 ounces of water daily. However, if you drink lots of caffeine containing beverages: soda, coffee, green tea, or loads of juice, alcohol, and other diuretics, you'll need more water to offset those dehydrating beverages.
4. Reduce sugar and simple carbohydrates in favor eating less processed foods. Nutrient dense, properly prepared food is key to boosting your immune system and providing your body with the building blocks for maintenance and repair. Variety is important to get all the micronutrients needed for a strong immune system. Adequate protein is particularly important. In case you didn't get the memo - eggs are fine to eat daily. Read more about the benefit of eggs here. If you are a vegetarian not eating eggs, be sure to use good protein combining skills. Don't leave it to chance that you will get all the essential amino acids you need to enhance your immune system. Quinoa, hemp seed, kelp, spirulina - eat these nutritious foods often.
5. Rest, sleep, relax! Our body does its greatest repair while we sleep.
6. Move - the dreaded E word is EXERCISE. After resting, move your body to detoxify through perspiration and deep breathing. Exercise circultes blood and lymph. Lymph moves toxins out of your system. If you want to enhance that pathway, try dry skin brushing when you can't adequately exercise.
7. Remove stressors, such as allergens. If you know you have a wheat allergy, an egg allergy, a chocolate allergy, etc. don't eat the foods that cause your immune system to over-react. Instead, concentrate on healing your gut, which is often inflamed from dealing with allergens. Seventy to eighty percent of your immune system is adjacent to your gut. A healthy digestive system can go a long way to enhancing immunity. I'm a nutritional therapist, so this is my personal bias and there is plenty scientific information to back me up when I say, "Heal the gut, heal the entire body." If I was a chiropractor, I'd probably say something like, "Balance the nervous system, balance the entire body." Another way to say this: don't challenge your immune system unnecessarily.
Here's a quick recap for increasing immunity: adequete nutrients, ideally from foods and low-dose supplements; good hydration; get rid of crappy foods in your diet; sleep 7-8 hours nightly; exercise; reduce stressors.
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