#11 – Strengthen My Weaknesses

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New Habit #11 brings us to the first week in June; there’s no better time than to work on strengthening your weaknesses. One big weakness of mine is the regimen of doing a workout every day.  As I’ve mentioned in past posts I’m not a fan of the scheduled workout or even going to a gym, while I’m not 100% sure why, I accept my preferences and try to workout in different, more interesting ways.

One physical activity I thoroughly enjoy doing is yoga and my Kempo forms and practices but I still need to get into a habit of setting time aside at least 5 days a week and do it. In order to accomplish this is to finally just pick a time of day and make it part of my work day because after all, I am my first best client and proof that a healthy lifestyle is important not only physically on the outside but on the inside too. My second step is to determine how much time each day I will workout – my initial plan is at least half an hour – usually it ends up to be more.

I know myself well and so I know it won’t be easy for me to do but I will work toward it every day so that it will become a daily desire that brings emotional and physical balance into each day.

What is your daily physical activity? How do you motivate yourself to doing it?

If you don’t workout daily, what type of workout do you imagine yourself doing and what type of help would you want?

Your Place in the World

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You have a place in the world. You subconsciously know where that is; you’ve revealed that to me several times. So you have a few hurdles to get over before reaching your destination and that’s ok, everything we do has its own course and it’s important for us to accept a particular course we’ve been destined to follow.

Accepting and following the path given to you isn’t a negative thing. Keep that thought near and dear to your heart. You are capable of everything you set your mind to. Also, if you think positively you will succeed. Negative attracts negative and positive attracts positive. When we aren’t open-minded and open to change we miss the window of opportunity.

What you must do is not a burden. It is a new and unique chance to express and experience the beauty of being alive. Experience life despite what any part of your past has dealt you. Let go of that part of your life and begin today-living life on your terms.

 

 

Change the Pain of Your Past

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Trying hard to change the pain of the past is a task worth accomplishing.

The people who have hurt you, disrespected you, used you, abused you, and those that underestimate your abilities, choices and decisions in the past including just yesterday don’t deserve to win anymore. You deserve to win now. Now is your time.

Little by little you will be able to let go of that past so that it won’t haunt you anymore. You are in complete control now, don’t let them into your head; tell them loud and clear that they are not welcomed into your life today. Say it aloud each time these memories creep up on you. Tell them that they can’t come in, they can’t be part of your future because they’re toxic to you.

Tell them to leave.

 

#10 – Changing Your Thinking Can Change Your Life

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My best friend Beth shared this with me several years ago and it pops into my mind often, “If you always think they way you always thought, then you’ll always get what you always got.”

This is true. So many people want things to change yet they continue to do things as they always have expecting different results. We need to be willing to make changes in order to experience the possibility that our life will be improved. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing and it’s often scary to think about how we will do it. We tend to get into our comfort zone and cannot imagine life any different but often wish for a different life. Many of us deal better with change when change is out of our control and just happens, but we eventually find that it’s not the change we were dreaming about and we continue fantasizing about the life we imagine as perfect. By doing this we often get caught up feeling that our fantasy life is in some ways real and we don’t push forward to make a reality of the changes we wish for but we still find ourselves unhappy.

Today, begin to practice making small changes in your life that will bring you to your desired destination and to your biggest dreams.  Be brave, be strong!

Enjoy the satisfaction of making changes reality and continue to follow your dreams to make them come true.

 

Don’t Do it Later; Do it Now!

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We often say “I’ll do it later“ or “I’ll start tomorrow when it’s a fresh new day because today I already ‘cheated‘ ”. But what if tomorrow doesn’t come, or if tomorrow you forgot or ‘cheated’ again? Would you just keep putting it off? Don’t put off your dreams, goals or plans any longer. So what if you started out today on the wrong foot-put the right foot forward and start over as many times as it takes!

 

Eat for Healthy Teeth & Gums

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We all know that brushing, flossing and regular dental check-ups help keep our teeth and gums healthy. In addition to that a healthy diet is equally important.

Maybe you already eat a diet free of sugary and carbonated drinks and sugary snacks, but did you know that milk, cereals, bread, pasta, fruits and some vegetables contain sugars and/or starches?

These starchy foods mix with your saliva causing an acid bath that eats away at tooth enamel making your teeth more susceptible to decay.

So what should we eat then? I’m glad you asked!

Fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts are better snack choices than candies, pastries, chips, soda, and other sweetened drinks and foods. While natural (whole) foods contain their natural sugars, chewing increases and flow of saliva does too which decreases acidity in the mouth and it washes away food particles. Choose apples, pears, grapes, berries, veggie sticks and mixed nuts for your snacks A good habit to adopt is to drink water during and after eating all meals to help rinse away leftover acids and food particles from the teeth.

A balanced diet of whole foods provides the entire body with much-needed vitamins and minerals, calcium rich foods such as leafy greens for teeth and bones and foods with naturally occurring calcium fluoride (which is remarkably safe).

By following these few simple suggestions you’ll benefit with healthier teeth and gums, fresher breath and you’ll get an extra bonus of less unhealthy fats stored in your body and more oxygenated blood which in turn will boost your energy level.

Eat and drink for your teeth and your health!

Stop the Head-spinning Diet Plan Confusion!

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As we all know pretty clearly, there are thousands of books and programs on losing weight, eating better, and detoxing your body and we’re so desperate that we buy them up until we look at our bookcase or e-reader and feel overwhelmed.

My suggestion is stop. Sit back, catch your breath and decide what you want to do, why you want to do it and what your first step will be. Each author of their book or diet plan feels deeply that their plan is the only one that works; that statement is untrue. One plan might work for some people but not everyone. Each of us is different and unique and our diet plan and approach should be different and unique as well.

My approach with my clients is to start where they’re at and build from there based on their daily habits, personal concerns and lifestyle. For now, stop the book buying madness, consider where you’re at, where you want to be and what steps you’re willing to take to get there. Find out who you truly are from deep inside. Take a deep, cleansing breath and relax. Begin your journey to wellness steadily with the basics and support that can guide you in the right direction for you specifically. Find the common theme in which food affects you or helps you and grow with it and stick with it.

If you’re interested in taking the next step toward working with a personal health coach, I’m here for you. Email me and let’s get you started on your way to feeling better inside and outside! Reach me at Dawn@initiatewellness.com

Chin up, smile on and always keep a foot forward!

Dawn ~ Your personal health coach

 

Cool Your Joints!

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We’ve all heard someone say at one time or another “cool your jets” but what I’ve heard quite often lately is “cool your joints”. Yes, all the joints in your body that ache can be alleviated simply by healthy eating. Some folks have food triggers that lead to stomach aches, backache, headaches and even sore, inflamed joints. If you’re one of those with joint pain, consider the foods you eat. Many folks don’t want to hear the words “eat your fruits and veggies”, but they are the foods that will help the most. You don’t have to become a vegetarian but you should eat between eight and thirteen servings per day. It’s not as hard as it sounds. We’ve learned to over-estimate serving sizes, we’ve become gluttons and we eat more food than our bodies need; except when it comes to fruits and vegetables.

So, the foods that will benefit us in more ways than alleviating joint pain, such as keeping us safe from cancers and diabetes are whole grains like brown rice and quinoa, cherries, cranberries, pears and prunes (dried as well as fresh), a variety of fresh lightly cooked/steamed vegetables-green, yellow and orange veggies: artichokes, broccoli, chard, collards, lettuce, spinach, green beans, squashes and sweet potatoes, condiments in moderation such as salt, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract are helpful, and…yes, water. Water keeps the joints lubricated.

If you have chronic pain whether mild or strong, consider adding food to your diet, just make sure the food is in the form of fruits and veggies and eat all you want!

 

Set Daily Intentions ~ Don’t Give Up

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One of my best tips is to set your intention daily. If you set your intention saying it out loud and/or writing it, first thing in the morning every day, you’re more likely to follow through.

You start out setting your intention, feeling positive about it and ready to end old bad habits and begin new good habits. An hour or two pass by and you find yourself heading for the snack table, the smoking area, playing around on social media or whatever thing fits your intention sabotage(r). You feel like you’ve failed early on and you give up until tomorrow. You feel like you can’t do it, you label yourself as a failure and you feel slightly self-loathing. Stop. All of that negativity is unnecessary.

When you set your intention and fail to follow through perfectly it only means that you’re human. Phew! No worries and no giving up. When you give in, you haven’t yet succeeded but you haven’t yet failed either. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, look yourself straight in the eye (in a mirror or other reflection of course) and say, “nice try, now let’s try again”!

Set an intention every morning, say it, write it, believe it and work on it all day long. If you trip, begin again. Forgive yourself for slipping up, remind yourself of your intention, and take a redo. As long as you keep working toward your goal – working on things you want to change and never give up, you can succeed.

Whatever your intentions might be, they are important enough to work on achieving success with them.

Never give up on yourself.

Tips & Tidbits

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Nuts eaten 5 days or more per week can lower the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Nuts also improve the health of the lining of your arteries. Choose almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia, peanuts, pine nuts and pecans for the highest benefits. The proper amount of nuts per day is a small handful or 1.5 ounces.

Regular exercise has been proven to cut the risk of hip fractures more than milk/dairy intake.

If you can’t get your kids to eat their much-needed vegetables, let them choose how they are prepared or seasoned. Let them dip their veggies in anything they choose; ketchup, dressing, yogurt, even peanut butter or jelly! At least they’re getting the vegetable inside them and all the beneficial nutrients.

If you’re feeling hungry after you’ve eaten, consider if you’ve eaten enough complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and fresh vegetables.

Drink water! Too little will lead to fatigue, hunger, headaches and sugar or carbohydrate cravings.

Lycopene in tomatoes helps give you natural sun protection from within; but not complete protection so use a natural sunscreen with plenty of zinc oxide in it!

Dairy allergy is linked to acne. If you suffer from acne, try to omit dairy for 3-4 weeks to see if your acne improves.

Excess sugar intake increases your chance of developing Type II diabetes by nearly half.

Meditating 2x/day = 47% chance less likely to experience heart attack/stroke resulting in death.

Replace soda with seltzer and fruit juice (with no sugars, natural or artificial)

For athlete’s foot or ‘smelly’ feet use 2 tablespoons salt and 1 pint warm water, soak daily for 10 minutes.