Confessions of a Health Coach
Surviving, Not Thriving
In the midst of a crisis, no one worries about proper nutrition:
You’re just trying to survive. You pace the halls outside the Emergency Department. Your mind is racing so you forget to eat. Eventually, you might spot a vending machine and click on something salty or sweet to keep you going.
But what about when the crisis has passed?
Or worse, when the crisis is ongoing?
One mom who has been dealing with her child’s illness for more than five years has these simple words of advice:
Stock the fridge.
Pack a lunch.
Sleep when you can.
Ask for help, and
Be kind, not just to others, to yourself.
Here’s What I Know
I’m a certified integrative nutrition health and wellness coach, and I know all about restoring balance to your mind and body.
I know what you need to do to be healthy.
I know how to whip up quick and easy meals that are not only nutritious, but delicious too.
I know which vitamins and minerals most Americans are deficient in.
I know the most important supplements to take on a daily basis.
I know that even just 15 minutes of high intensity interval training can help you optimize your health.
I know the importance of practicing mindfulness and slowing down to enjoy the moment.
Most of us innately know what our body and mind needs to be healthy. It’s quite simple really. We need to:
- Sleep well
- Eat healthy food & drink clean water
- Relax more and stress less
- Love who we are, what we do, and those around us
- Have purpose & meaning in our lives
It sounds so easy; and, yet, it can be so hard to do!
That’s why we need coaches. They’re our guide on the side reminding us to prioritize our own wellness because, if we’re being honest, many of us feel like we don’t have enough time to take care of our own health. We’re too busy with work, family, and other commitments.
So, we turn to the experts to help us — doctors, nurses, nutritionists, health coaches. Surely, they have to know how to find balance. They know how to be healthy, right? It’s what they do!
Well, I have a confession to make. I’m a certified health coach and it’s been over a year since I’ve done any of the things I need to do in order to be healthy.
Here’s What I’ve Done
I spent three and a half years of my life researching everything I could find on cancer. I studied and trained like my life depended on it.
I consulted with some of the world’s best oncologists and naturopaths, as my husband and I did everything we could to strengthen his immune system and heal his body from terminal cancer.
I’ve read countless books on optimizing health and fighting cancer…Dr. Kelly Turner’s groundbreaking book, “Radical Remission”, Dr. Servan-Shreiber’s pioneering work, “Anticancer: A New Way of Life”, Dr. Thomas Seyfried’s seminal text “Cancer as a Metabolic Disease”, and Dr. Nasha Winter’s recent bestseller “The Metabolic Approach to Cancer” to name just a few.
I travelled to the Omega Institute for Dr. Turner’s and Dr. Winters’ workshops, so I could learn everything they could teach me about nutrition, gut health, purification, positivity and mind/body balance.
I know all about the damaging effects of sugar addiction, toxic GMO foods, BPA in plastics, and hazardous chemicals in beauty and cleaning products.
I spent the last several months of my husband’s life guiding him through a strict ketogenic diet. I measured every bite of food, charted everything he ate and drank.
When he experienced a setback, I sat down and researched some more. Surely there must be more we could do, one more trial, one more experimental possibility we hadn’t yet explored.
I Have To Be There
We did all we could and we were blessed with three and a half years together.
Then, when my husband died and the long battle with cancer was over, I drove the boys down to Florida to spend time with my family.
I rocked Lucas to sleep and sang lullabies to James. And when the boys were finally asleep, I had a quiet moment to myself. I crashed onto the couch with a tall glass of cabernet in one hand and a box of Girl Scout Samoa cookies in the other. Both were empty when I finally mustered up the energy to peel myself off the sofa and crawl into bed.
Over the next few weeks, I went out for pizza with my girlfriends and ate half a pie. I devoured cheeseburgers and fries like they were in limited supply. I binged on donuts and pasta. I ate like I hadn’t eaten in months.
I knew this wasn’t healthy. I just didn’t have the desire or strength to change it.
Weeks went by. I was nursing the baby, who was barely sleeping through the night, and I was trying to be there for James, my five year old son.
James was missing his daddy, asking me all kinds of questions.
As I tried to comfort him, he didn’t realize how much he was helping me get through these dark days. My love for him forced me to find an inner strength I never knew I had.
I have to get up every morning, to be there for James and let him know he still has one parent.
He still has his Mommy.
I have to eat and drink every day, whether I feel like like it or not because seven-month-old Lucas is still nursing.
And I realized: I don’t have to be perfect, but I do have to be there,
regardless of the turmoil inside.
I have to breathe. I have to look James in the eye and smile. I have to.
Eventually, I pulled myself together, a little bit.
I still cry every day, but I’m starting to look ahead, to think of a future.
Not the future I wanted, but — I still have things to do. I can still help others.
Maybe not right now, but soon.
A Plan To Be Better
My older son, James, came up to me one day.
“Mommy, am I going to get cancer? Mommy, are you going to get cancer?”
“I don’t know, honey. I hope not.”
“Mommy, I don’t want to get cancer. I don’t want you to get cancer like Daddy.”
Guilt flooded my heart as I pulled James onto my lap. I haven’t been taking care of myself and James needs me to do better.
He just lost his daddy, and he’s worried about dying himself. He’s terrified of losing me too.
It hit me. The least I could do was offer him a plan.
Getting James involved in heathy eating would give him a sense of control, some assurance that we were doing all we could to avoid getting cancer.
At five years old, James was old enough to remember when his daddy was in remission and ran Spartan races, when his daddy was strong and healthy, chasing James around the park and tossing him in the air. James remembered when daddy spent hours playing with him.
This last year had been hard on all of us. James loved his daddy so much and I don’t want him to forget the good times. He also needs to know that we will find a way to be happy again.
“James, I have an idea. Let’s make a plan.”
“What kind of plan?”
“A plan to stay healthy.”
“Does that mean I won’t get cancer?”
“That means your body will be very strong. Strong bodies are better at fighting cancer.”
“Yeah. I’m super strong.”
“That’s my boy.”
“Mommy? Are you super strong?”
“I’m going to be. I have to be, to keep up with you, right?
“Yeah.”
There lies my future. Like any mom, I have to be there, for them. I coach others to have stronger, healthier bodies. But my coach? He’s in kindergarten.
A Call To Action
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