A safe harbor where beliefs are respected and kindness prevails.

Living A Life Of Health & Wellness

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95096361-2What does it mean to live a life of health and wellness? To live each and everyday making the best choices you can?

Health and wellness is a lifestyle. It’s how you feel about yourself. It’s about who you know yourself to be. It is loving yourself enough to take care of yourself spiritually, mentally, and physically.

Most of the time we just move through our days without much intention of taking care of ourselves. It is as if we were taught there is no need to pay attention to our bodies, no need to concern ourselves with our thoughts, no need to develop a deep relationship with our higher self.

Yet this is exactly what we should be taught. We are born with an innate knowing of the grandeur of life. The possibilities before us are endless when we are young. We believe we can be, do, and have anything we desire in life. This is what many have let go of due to a lack of faith in themselves.

I want you to rekindle this faith in yourself. I want you to remember how amazing you are.

I want you to treat yourself as you would your own child. You would protect and watch out for your child. You would shield your child from negative situations and thoughts that would diminish their self-belief. You would feed your child nourishing food. You would encourage your child to be brave even in moments of fear and sadness. You would encourage your child to reach beyond what they feel is possible.

You would do this because you see in your child the potential that lies within, even though they do not. You see how amazing and special they are. You know that if they just apply themselves to creating what they desire the will succeed. You see this all laid out before them as if it were already complete.

Now I want you to see this in yourself, because it is true. You must look upon yourself as this amazing being who if only applies themself to creating what they desire with bravery even in the moments of fear, will manifest their desires. Your path of happiness, health and wellness is already laid out before you. All that is required is the bravery, and boldness to know you will create it.

You are meant to be full of life, full of happiness, full of health and full of wellness. It is our birthright.

So as we progress through this and every year ahead, let us remember this birthright, and begin to bring health and wellness back into our lives.

It is my pleasure to share with you all that is needed to create health, happiness and wellness on a day-to-day basis.

I will give you clear understandable and simple steps that you can apply in your life, and in doing so you will begin to change your life for the better.

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

Want to work with David?  Want to know more about David’s lifestyle?

 

Starting Fresh

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First I would like to extend a warm and Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season.

Some of us in the northern hemisphere are going to be donning coats and gloves for a few more months, while others get to bask in the warmth of the sun.

No matter where you are, it is a time for renewal. What a perfect time to look forward and create even more health and wellness for 2014.

Ask yourself, “How much more can I improve my health? How fit can I become? What would I really like to achieve this year?”

It is good to remind ourselves that no matter what we have or have not done in the past, it has no bearing on what we do from this moment forward.

Why not dream big? What is it you want to create?

If you are stuck for an answer, try this: Ask yourself “How would it feel to be really healthy? How would it feel to be really happy? How would it feel to have an overwhelming sense of wellbeing?”

Before you ask these questions, quiet yourself down and close your eyes. Then ask the question(s). Give yourself time to feel what it would be like to feel healthy, happy, well.

Most folks start the New Year with best intentions but no true connection to what they want to create.

We see it every January when the gyms are full of people who are dieting, working out, and putting all that effort into what? Getting healthy?

But you see, most, if not all, have no idea what that really means for them, or better said, they have no idea what that is supposed to feel like.

When you go within and begin to feel what it would be like to be healthy and happy, your subconscious will effortlessly respond. It already knows, even if you have never felt it yourself. This may seem ridiculous, but in fact you are tapping into your higher self which knows no limitation.

Let go of the resistance and fear of what is possible for you. You can be healthy and happy.

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves and be vibrant. They do the best they can, but you have to help by integrating just a few simple steps as part of your lifestyle.

It is so easy that most folks ignore them and think they have to beat themselves up on a treadmill or lift heavy weights.

I would suggest putting down all the fitness magazines with photos of fitness models doing exercises. Also stop trying the next-best diet. Stop listening to people at the gym, and for goodness sake, stop listening to infomercials.

Here are the six fundamental factors to health and wellness. They may seem familiar. Well, if they do that’s because I have given them to you in previous articles. The question is: Have you been listening and integrating them into your life?

Are you ready? Let’s start a new year.

  1. Happy thoughts! – You must focus on bringing joy into your life. Contemplate what makes you happy. Let go of thoughts that cause pain, fear, anxiety, and drag you down.
  2. Breathe – Proper breathing heals. You’re doing it anyway, so why not do it right? Look into diaphragmatic breathing.
  3. Hydration – Drink water! Half your body weight in ounces everyday is a start, more is better. Nothing else replaces water. Not coffee, not tea, not SODA, or fruit juices.
  4. Nutrition – Only whole foods. Please, if you are not sure of this, visit my blogs.
  5. Sleep – Do not skimp on sleep. That is when your body heals and recovers from all you put it through.
  6. Movement – Your bodies are meant to move. Go easy at first and pay attention to posture and form of the exercise. If you are a beginner, hire a qualified trainer.

 

So what is your new life for 2014 going to be? It is up to you to decide and then step forward into it.

 

Everything you’ve done in the past is in the past. No need to do them again.

 

How about a new you, a fresh you.

 

I am here to help.

 

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

 

 

 

 

 

Simply Your Healthiest Holiday Season Ever!

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DFHappy Holidays everyone,

This is the best time of the year, don’t you think?

The leaves are changing. There is a cool bite in the air. It is a time for families and friends to come together and celebrate the harvest, thanksgiving and the beginning of a new year.

It is also a time when we have the tendency to ignore how our bodies work and what can happen when we consume treats, processed foods, and alcohol. We stop giving our bodies the simple factors that allow it to heal.

As wonderful as it can be, the extra activities of the holiday season can add increased stress to our lives and over-burden our digestive and immune systems. We put off exercising, we eat poorly, and we don’t get enough sleep. We don’t allow time to sit and be still, or to reconnect with those activities that bring happiness into our lives.

Remember, health and wellness is a lifestyle. It is not something you can buy in a bottle or create at the gym a few times a week. How we chose to live our lives will create the health, fitness, and wellness we desire.

Making the most of this holiday season is a gentle reminder of how amazing you are.

Give yourself a moment to feel how you would like your holiday season to be. Feel it filled with loving moments with friends and family. Make those moments about sharing your thanks for having them in your life, not about the deserts and alcohol. Treat yourself with time to eat well, and prepare wholesome meals for your family. And again, feel how fortunate you are for all that you have.

Create some activities special to fall and winter – ones that get you outside and close to nature. Autumn is a wonderful season for hiking, riding horses, playing football, roaming pumpkin patches, bike riding, photography, raking leaves, canoeing, or whatever you enjoy.

Winter is even better with all its activities. Give yourself permission to get out there and be a kid. Make a snowman, take a brisk walk, go sledding, skiing, or snow mobiling. You can still hike, ride horses, and bike ride.

Winter doesn’t mean you are supposed to lock yourself up inside, sitting in front of the T.V. waiting for spring.

Our bodies love to move and be active. Give yourself this gift, and you will find that the ten pounds most of us put on over the holidays isn’t on your hips or around your stomach. Do you know what that means? You are already ten pounds ahead of the game, and you will move into the New Year with a healthier, happier, spirit, mind, and body.

Here are a few simple steps to create for your holiday season.

Take a moment to actually visualize how you will feel the day after New Years: happy, healthy, and proud that you did so well through the holiday season. Really live in it.

Create a small list of five key thoughts you will focus on each day such as:

  • eat well  – lots of vegetables, clean proteins, and little bits of fat.
  • get sound sleep – this is when your body repairs and rebuilds
  • drink lots of water – hydration is so important to your health.
  • breathe – take time to be still and quiet your mind.
  • get outside and move – start to really enjoy your outside environment.

Here are a few of my best ways not to fall prey to the abundance of sweets and such.

I always make sure to eat or juice before going to a holiday party, even if they are serving food. This way I am not inclined to crave sweets. Remember:  sweets and junk food are not the reason for getting together. This is a time for celebrating our family and loved ones. You can easily do that without ice cream, pies, alcohol, and pizza.

I always prepare myself ahead of time by visualizing myself having a wonderful time without diving into the cheese dip, and the rest.

I make sure to drink water in a wine glass with lemon, so it has the same feel of participating with the group, and folks are less likely to tease me into drinking.

Most of the time people want you to drink because they are, and they feel uncomfortable if you are not.

I make sure never to take food home with me.

I keep my kitchen filled with wholesome foods so there are no temptations.

Believe it or not, this is not challenging at all. The key is to remain focused on your desire to feel and be healthy and happy. Every time you do it right, it gets even easier. After a week or so you won’t even think about it.

You already have the ability to do so.

I would like to leave you with one last thought.

Only you can take responsibility for your life and everything about it.

Most folks hear the word “Responsibility” and think, ‘Oh great, one more thing I have to do.’ We already have responsibilities to our partners, our kids, our work, and our groups.

In actuality, responsibility is a gift.  Look at the word “Responsibility,” and let’s break it apart into two words. Response–Ability or having the ability to respond.

It is my feeling that having the ability to respond means that you have been blessed with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to take care of, solve, resolve, teach, share, and express who you are and what is important to you in each and every moment of your life.

Having the ability to respond and how you respond determines your life.

Use your gift of  “Response-Ability by expressing the best choices for your health, happiness, wealth, and wellness.

Have a holiday season full of happiness, health, and well being!

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

One Size Does Not Fit All

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Fotolia_49656615_Subscription_XXLWe always hear “Everyone is different,” but when it comes to exercise and the latest diet, most folks don’t question the validity of the program … they jump on the wagon with everyone else, hoping for the fantastic results advertised.

It is important to understand exercise and food are medicine and need to be prescribed based on the client’s genetics, needs, and abilities.

Let us look at food and how the body can respond (a good effect) or react (a poor effect.)

This is a basic understanding so that you can begin to grasp how your body works.

Some of us are considered Fast metabolizers (protein types) while others are Slow metabolizers (carbohydrate types [don’t get excited]), and then there are hybrids called Mixed types (a combination of protein /carbohydrate).

Here’s a simple breakdown of how each one works:

Protein Types 

Protein types are able to breakdown carbohydrates at a faster rate, which then allows the sugars (glucose) into the blood steam at an elevated rate. Normal levels range from a fasting level of 70–100 decimeters to 135–140 decimeters after a meal. When levels go above this, you begin to feel the negative affects.

 As a protein type you do best on vegetables as your carbohydrate source, and higher purine proteins (meat, fish, fowl, eggs). Protein sources such as salmon, red meats, dark meat poultry, and organ meats have a higher fat and/or purine content.

Carbohydrate Type

A carbohydrate type is a slow oxidizer and breaks down carbohydrates at a much slower rate. This releases the sugars (glucose) into the blood stream at a tolerable rate so there is an appropriate insulin response.

Carbohydrate types usually do better on lite meat proteins such as chicken breast, white fish meats, egg whites, and more vegetables. Remember when I said “Don’t get excited?” Here’s the catch to being a carb type. Just because, as a carbohydrate type, you can handle carbs better, doesn’t mean you should be eating pasta, breads, grains pastries, and sugars.

Mixed Type

Then there is a Mixed type. These folks vacillate between a Protein type and a Carbohydrate type. They have the most variety in their food choices but also have more of a challenge knowing their responses to the foods they are eating. For instance, if they are working out hard, they may feel the need for more protein. When they are spending more time working at their job using their minds concentrating, they may wish to increase their vegetables (carbs) intake.

These different metabolic types help us understand why some folks do really well on high protein diets such as the Atkins, and others do not. Some folks do great on high carb/low fat diets while others pack on the pounds.

So this is why one size can’t fit all.

Here are a few keys to help you to begin understanding what type you might fall into.

Signs you could be a fast oxidizer:

  • After eating a high carbohydrate meal you feel a cloudy head, tired but wired.
  • After eating a meal with carbs you feel hungry or want to take a nap.
  • Highs and lows in your energy.
  • ADD/ADHD symptoms.
  • Anxiety
  • Headaches.
  • You may possibly have chronic issues such as depression, toxicity, neck/shoulder pain, lower back pain, sleep poorly, adrenal stress, immune system issues, diabetes, constipation or diarrhea.

Signs you could be a carbohydrate type:

  • After eating a high fat/protein meal you feel lethargic, sluggish, too heavy in your gut, crave sweets, or some kind of stimulants such as coffee or tea.
  • You may possibly be dealing with chronic depression, overweight, toxicity, not getting a good response from aerobic exercise, neck/shoulder pain, lower back pain, aging too quickly, adrenal fatigue, ill health, low energy, and bad body odor.

You’ll notice that many of the chronic responses for both of the types are the same. This is because when you are eating incorrectly for your type, your body can react in common ways.

Here is a good way to start once you have figured out your possible type:

  •  A Protein type should consume dark, heavier proteins/fats with vegetables.
  • A Carb type should stick to lighter proteins and more vegetables.
  • As a Mixed type you get to experiment a bit more trying a couple days as a protein type, and then the next couple days as a carb type. You can then take note of the differences in how you feel.

You see, your body will actually tell you what type you are by it’s response (good) or reaction (poor) to the foods you eat.

When you eat a meal and it is right for you, you will actually have more energy than before you ate. You should feel a state of well-being, and should be able to sustain good energy till your next meal 3.5 to 4 hours later. You should have a clear head with good mental focus, and have no cravings for sweets or more food. This means eating the right foods in the right portions. Overeating is not healthy. It takes an incredible amount of energy for your body to breakdown/digest, and assimilate food.

We always want to choose high quality foods that have been minimally processed. This means organic, free range, wild caught, no hormones or antibiotics, no pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides or chemical fertilizers.

Once you begin to feed your body the way it is designed, all manner of health benefits will begin to emerge.

There really is no big secret to eating healthy and enjoying the benefits of properly feeding your body. These benefits include losing excess body fat, which has for the past forty years become a national obsession with little result.

Eating healthy for your individual type is so simple.

Quality foods that are not processed are first and foremost. Secondly, becoming aware of eating what feels best for your body. Lastly, choosing the right portions without overeating. These three simple steps will go a long way to increasing your health and wellness so you feel and perform at your very best.

Start feeling what your body is telling you every time you eat and drink. Your body is amazing. It is giving you feedback every moment of the day. All that is required is to embrace what your body is telling you, and then take note. With just a little bit of attention you will quickly begin to understand how to eat in order to heal yourself and allow your body to thrive only on the foods it truly needs.

If you would like help with this, just drop me a line. I’ll be happy to coach you through it.

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