by Lucy | Aug 22, 2017 | Transformation Tuesday
Cassandra has been on her own wellness journey for some time. She has dealt with many health concerns at a young age and through diet and exercise she has found healing. When I first met Cassandra she was already on the right track. It’s been an honor to support her along the way and help her sustain the lifestyle that makes her feel best. Here she tells her story.
Why Cassandra decided to go vegan…
“My well-balanced nutrition story officially began March 31st when I first met Kristen. However, there are many events that led to this, but the most integral piece was my recent decision in February of this year to go vegan; or more appropriately fully plant based/animal product free.
For many, this would be a drastic change. But for me I haven’t eaten mammals in close to 14 years and I probably ate poultry or seafood 3-4 times a week. The change to a plant based diet was influenced by health conditions to include gastrointestinal issues, asthma, joint pain, and acne. Guess what!?! I’m only 27! The final straw was when I developed hemorrhoids from my GI issues. Sorry for the overshare, but pain is a GREAT motivator for me!
Over the years, I’ve learned different things about my body and what it doesn’t like. Such as dairy!!! It causes asthma flare ups and fun break outs. I knew that my current diet was contributing to much of my complications and wanted to make a change. So, I decided a vegan diet.
The next two weeks of adopting this eating style, I noticed a difference in my GI issues. At the time, this was my main reason to turning plant based. Though I was eating a plant based diet, I also knew there was a lot of information that I needed in order to make this lifestyle a permanent success. This is where Well Balanced Nutrition comes in! Kristen has been amazing and informative.
I had many struggles with this transition but the two primary struggles were working 3rd shift and cooking; cooking probably 
being the greatest. Meeting with Kristen has helped with developing strategies for when to eat, as well as setting realistic goals when it comes to cooking. I’m no chef and have no desire to become one but I’ve found that cooking is a necessity for me especially since I try not to eat too many processed foods.
I admit I initially was a bit overzealous due to my extreme nature and became quickly overwhelmed with the cooking piece. However, I’ve been granted permission to just keep things simple! This has really worked for me in the past weeks while I leave the culinary arts to the professionals.
This has been a journey that I look forward to continuing with Well Balanced Nutrition! I’m starting to have simple go-to recipes, getting on track with an eating schedule and beginning to not be so overwhelmed in the kitchen. All of my health issues have gotten better and I attribute the improvement to my eating as well as regular exercise. I’ve also lost 20 pounds and dropped two sizes. Weight loss has been a goal for me during this journey but it has not been a primary focus. The weight loss and smaller size are just icing on the cake–an eggless, dairy-free cake that I don’t have to bake! -Cassandra.
Are you ready to make a transformation like Cassandra? Contact us today to set up your own personal wellness adventure.
by Lucy | Aug 21, 2017 | Motivational Mondays
Monday, Aug 21, 2017
The other night, while reading Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, I got to thinking about my people. You know, the ones that make life more fun, doable, and interesting. I joke that God knows I am such a handful I needed two partners – one in life and one in business.
If you have ever been through tough times, you know how important relationships are. Whether it’s the relationships with your family, best friends, or church community we all want to know that we matter and have a sense of belonging. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need to feel loved and accepted is just above the need to be safe.
Back to Harry Potter, in the fourth book – The Goblet of Fire – Harry is competing in the Triwizard tournament. He is at least three years younger than his competitors and has less magical education, knowledge, and experience. Luckily, Harry has several helpers along his journey to give him the support he needs. For instance, his best friend, Hermione, helps them learn a summoning charm to successfully complete the first challenge. He also gets a tip from one of his fellow competitors for the second challenge, and so on throughout the story.
We cannot expect to reach our big goals alone. It is imperative to have support and help from others to succeed.
Who are you hanging out with?
Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, says we are all the sum of the five people we spend the most time with. If your goal is to be fit and active, but all your social time is spent sitting at a friends house eating snack foods and drinking wine, is that helping you reach your goal?
In another example, we can look at Sarah’s story. Sarah has always been a healthy eater who also happens to enjoy sweets. She recently started dating a guy who loves all things chocolate. He takes candy with him everywhere and often brings chocolate to share with Sarah whenever they hang out. In the first six months of their relationship, Sarah was surprised to find she gained 8 pounds.
In life, there are helpers and hinderers when it comes to living well-balanced. We have friends and accomplices. Our friends genuinely want to help us and our accomplices want to help us… get in trouble.
Be the change
Before you go saying farewell to all of your friends or family members, let’s consider a few other options.
- Find a helper. Get someone on your team to support your health initiatives. This can be an accountability partner at the gym that encourages you to work out consistently. Or a coworker that is keeping a spreadsheet of your progress.
- Join the tribe! We have an active and fabulous Facebook group that provides ideas and encouragement to help you make healthy lifestyle changes.
- Train your people. I have a client who has successfully “trained” his guy friends that he does not drink alcohol on work nights. That means they do not offer him a beer or other drink if it’s Sunday through Thursday. This helps him continue to make good choices while still enjoying the social time.
- Get accountability. Find a friend, coach, or app that can support and encourage your healthy habits.
Food for thought: It’s never too late to ask for help. If you noticed your partner bringing more snack foods home lately and it’s affecting your habits, perhaps now is a good time to have a conversation about your goals and how the ones that love you most can help you reach them.
And while you’re at it, check out this accountability tool to help you get or stay on track! Just a few more days to sign up for 4 free weeks of the Healthy Habit Tracker.
by Lucy | Aug 15, 2017 | Transformation Tuesday
I first learned about Well-Balanced Nutrition (WBN) at a Health Fair my company had last year. I went because I really wanted to adopt a new and healthier lifestyle. I signed up for the email newsletter [Motivational Monday] and shortly after I met with Lucy for a one-on-one appointment.
I knew I wanted to be healthier but talking with Lucy helped me pinpoint exactly what milestones I wanted to achieve on my journey. I feel like Lucy is a great person with an exuberant passion for teaching her Well-Balanced friends and clients how being healthy can be fun. She helped me figure out what my goals were on this journey. Now that I am more on-track, meeting with Lucy is like I have my own personal “cheerleader.” She has knowledge and insights to share with me along the way.
I knew I was getting on track when I started feeling healthier and craving fruits and veggies instead of those “quick fix” snacks like chips, candy bars, etc. Now I am eating healthier and including small healthy snacks during the day to keep my metabolism in a constant “burn” mode. Also, I could tell I had more energy towards the end of my work day. Opposed to when I was eating less healthy foods, such as those afternoon carbs binge with a side of sugary soda. I even started making healthier choices when eating out instead of choosing high-calorie fast food (hello, endless broccoli at Red Robins!).
The best strategy I have learned on my well-balanced journey is to have fun! Try new things, mix it up, and learn to laugh at yourself!! Like the first time I ever made homemade chicken fried rice and used waaaayy too much black pepper because, well… that’s what the recipe called for! Let me just admit that I actually Googled “can you die from eating too much black pepper?” Let me assure you, my Well-Balanced friends, you cannot!!! (Unless, you inhale it in large volumes!)
| When I get off track, I try to remember why I began this journey. I have cravings, sometimes bad ones. I’m still human! |
I started working with WBN because I wanted to learn more about my new healthy lifestyle and not just a temporary diet to achieve a specific weight goal. I mean, sure, everyone wants to lose weight, don’t they? But my main goal was making sure my heart is healthy because heart disease runs in my family. It is also stated by the CDC that heart disease is the “…leading cause of death for both men and women.” That’s scary!
I have cravings just like anyone else and sometimes I give in. Most of the time, I think about how many more memories and life experiences that I can be around for if I live a long healthy life. I also remember that I can positively impact the people and the world around me. Woah! 🙂
I really want the tribe to know it’s okay to have “set backs” or “bad days” because what matters is that you are trying to be healthier! If you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure you are successful at it already. So, don’t beat yourself up for having a weak moment, a “cheat day,” or even a “cheat weekend” if you’re on vacation, or going through something emotional. Just shake it off and “Keep on Truckin’!”
Are you ready to make a transformation like Malinda? Contact us today to set up your own personal wellness adventure.
by Lucy | Aug 9, 2017 | Well Balanced Wisdom
“I’m going to do better,” you say. “I need to lose this weight and I’m starting today.” “I’m so out of shape, I’m going to join the gym.”
How many times have you said something like this to yourself without following through? Or maybe you did, but it only lasted a day, because things like this happen….
We all want to do better. It’s just not always easy getting there.
When clients come to see us at Well-balanced Nutrition it’s often not about what they need to do. They show up knowing what to do. They just can’t make it happen on their own. Maybe, just maybe, they think to themselves, there is a secret solution they can share with me so I can finally do this. That’s true, we have a few secrets to making healthy changes, but they might not be what you think.
Why is it so hard to follow through with our goals?
Because they come from within and nobody else knows about them. Many people respond to outside expectations and make them a priority, while their inner expectations fall quickly to the wayside. For example, you may want to meal prep on Sunday, but then you get asked to help someone move or your boss gives you a new assignment you want to get ahead start on. So you choose the activity that involves others’ expectations over fixing your meals for the week. Gretchen Rubin, the author of Better Than Before, classifies people like this as obligers. She says, “for Obligers, accountability is crucial. Key. Necessary! If you’re an Obliger, external accountability is the element that will allow you to follow through.” There you have it. One of our secrets to successful change.
So, are you an obliger?
If you could relate to the above scenario or if you are a person who really needs deadlines and late fees to keep you on top of things, there is a good chance that you also need similar accountability with your health habits. When people learn that they are an obliger, many are relieved. They realize it’s not their fault for letting themselves down, putting others first, nor lacking “willpower” to make a change. It’s just the way they are wired. So if you would call yourself an Obliger, instead of blaming yourself for not following through… again, this time set up some outside accountability that will ensure you make the change you desire.
Accountability: The obligation of an individual to account for their activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner.
Which types of accountability will you try?
Here are some ideas:
The scale (regular weighing), your Well Balanced dietitian, your coworkers, your BFFs, your doctor, your food journal, your weight loss group, your fitness buddies, clothes you want to fit into…
There’s an app for that:
It’s never been easier to get accountability from your favorite dietitians here at Well Balanced Nutrition. 😉 We just launched an upgraded version of our
Healthy Habit Tracker and Obligers are going to love it! It allows you to track and share with us your:
- food journal
- exercise
- steps (syncs up with your fitbit)
- weight
- measurements
- Healthy Selfies or before and after shots
The best part is you can try using the Tracker for one month at no cost when you sign up in August (no tricks, contracts, or obligations – we promise!).
So, start today because we know how much you want to make that change and how hard it can be to do it on your own. Let us encourage you along the way. We bet you finally follow through with those goals!!
by Lucy | Jul 31, 2017 | Motivational Mondays
Revised: Monday, July 31, 2017
“You cannot manage that which you do not measure.”
Peter Drucker
As dietitians, Kristen and I are big advocates of food journals. I know, I know… Oh, here it comes. This request is often scoffed at when brought up; however, a recent literature review suggests that self-monitoring is the cornerstone of behavioral weight-loss treatment. What’s more, is recognizing that keeping a food journal does not guarantee change; however, having a coach that is also keeping track of your progress can improve outcomes dramatically.
I sometimes ask clients to keep track of everything that’s going in – including food and beverages – before an initial assessment or follow-up. Similar to the doctor asking for blood samples, it is essential for a dietitian to know about your food habits. In reviewing our top posts about tracking, I discovered that every one of our #TransformationTuesday stories, such as “It’s a Journey, Latoyia’s Baby Steps are Paying off,” include some form of self-monitoring.
The good news is, keeping a food journal is not only easy and one of the most effective means of behavior change. It’s also a great way to keep yourself on track. You don’t have to be precise. Just be consistent. Try it! You might like it :-).
And MORE good news! We are now offering the Healthy Habit Tracker for a FREE 1-month trial when you sign-up in August. This handy tool is powered by Healthie, offering:
- EASY: No calories or points to worry about here. Simply snap a photo of your meals and snacks.
- ACCOUNTABILITY: Both you and your dietitian can see your entries which can keep you accountable.
- FEEDBACK: Get frequent feedback and non-judgemental advice from Well Balanced Nutrition dietitians
- FUN: take a healthy selfie (aka a Healthie!), track your workouts, rate your hunger and track your metrics so you can see how far you’ve come.
