Take Rest

Lately, I have been thinking about our "no rest" culture that we have all grown up in. It is unhealthy to go through each day without resting your physical body..but what about your mental and spiritual self. It is so important to rest your mind and let your spirit come alive. When we are distracted by filling our day with work, texting, phone calls, driving kids around, running, running, running..how can we hear the voice of God within us helping us and guiding us along our day. 

Where do we find retreat or do we just drop in bed each night in utter exhaustion?

Where is there time for rest in your day?

• Get up in the morning and pray or meditate. Get in the habit, get in the routine. This focus will change your day and possibly your life.
• Pick up carry-out instead of cooking ( I cannot believe I am telling you to eat out!). If this gets you an extra hour to read, nap or watch a mindless show, just do it.

• Schedule rest into each day. Block off 30 to 60 minutes each day. Write it on your calendar. Do not miss this appointment. It might be the most important of the day.
• Get off Facebook, stop texting everyone you know, sit quietly with all electronics turned off. Enjoy the silence, you will be able to think and problem solve in this mode.
• Schedule less tasks on your calendar. Say no more often.
• Ask for help and delegate to the able bodied people you live with. Write down some tasks that you are willing to give up and give them lovingly to someone else. (if you can afford to pay someone to do your most dreaded tasks, that works as well)

Let me know how you are doing with rest. I wish you great health and happiness.

Denise Lovat

Certified Health Coach

What do you do each day to be Healthy?

I was asked this question recently by a Personal Trainer. "What do you do each day to be healthy?" The good news is that I was prepared with a list. It is almost embarrassing how many things I do each day to achieve or maintain my health (I will get to these later). I wondered if my parents ever even had these thoughts "Hmm what will I do today to be healthy?" My parent's generation had a very different hierarchy of needs: food, clothes, shelter, gas money. Aren't we blessed to not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from? We don't wonder if we will eat, we dwell on what the perfect meals will be. This makes me step back with gratitude for all I have, how about you?

I recently had the chance to visit friends in Florida where I did not have control over the meals. This is always hard for me, as I love telling people what to eat or at least forcing them to eat my healthy food. Guess what? I lost weight and food become secondary to enjoying and living each day to the fullest with exercise, relaxation, reading, boating. The lesson, which I have already learned (because I am a health coach): when you fill your life with good things in balance and live it, you don't really need as much food on your plate.

So back to my daily healthy habits. Here goes:

1. Sleep at least 7 hours
2. Drink Reverse Osmosis water with trace minerals added
3. Take Armour Thyroid meds for hypo-hashi
4. Take a pro-biotic
5. Take supplements: curcumin, fermented cod liver oil, homocystein supreme, CoQ10, magnesium
6. Exercise: yoga, run, walk, weight train, bike
7. Spend time outside: hammock or bike rides
8. Find additional ways to move my body naturally: gardening, biking for errands
9. Make sure to have contact with real people
10. Eat whole,clean, highly nutrient dense foods
11. Take my morning blood sugar
12. Massage at least 1x/month
13. Pray
14. Practice Gratitude
15. Practice Kindness
16. Practice Forgiveness

Well that seems overwhelming, but I am in the groove on these habits and it does not seem that hard. I encourage you to write down the things you do each day to be healthy. If your list is empty, make one change and over time, you will have a routine to follow to be your best self.

To Your Best Health

Denise Lovat, CHC, AADP

248-330-6189

Have You Ever Dialed a Wrong Number?

Have you ever dialed a wrong number? Of course you have. If you can remember the old home phone you had, when you redialed the number correctly, your fingers could feel where you made the mistake. Your fingers have muscle memory.

If you play the piano or an instrument the same holds true. If you play a measure wrong, when you play it correctly, your fingers can feel where the mistake was. Your fingers have muscle memory.

Our minds, physical bodies and emotions work this way too. When we do the same things every day, our minds, bodies and emotions want to repeat what they did yesterday.

What if you are trying to make lifestyle changes to benefit your health? Can you wake up on Monday morning and say to yourself, "I am changing everything today?" Have you tried it? If we try to change too many things at once, this massive effort to change everything at once wreaks havoc on our life and all the muscle memory that our body is trying to hold on to. Our mind, bodies and emotions want to go where they were before. They want to react the way they did the last time.

If this is the case, how can we successfully change? It is up to you to reprogram your muscle memory:

1. You need to make a decision to give yourself time: 3 months, 6 months a year. 
2. You need to change slowly, choosing 1 to 2 things at a time to work on.
3. You need to be patient with yourself: mind, body and emotions.
4. You need to keep repeating NEW good habits so that they replace the old muscle memory.
5. You need to make a commitment to yourself for the amount of time you have decided on.
6. You need to allow yourself some steps backwards and you need to forgive yourself when it happens.
7. You need to know why you want to make these changes and they better be solid reasons or the changes won't last. 

You can do anything for 4 weeks, but can you actually change for good? I believe you can.

The next time you dial a wrong number, think of a habit you want to change and start reprogramming it with a good habit.

Good luck and as always, let me know how you are doing.

Denise Lovat

Certified Health Coach, AADP

deniselovathealthcoach@gmail.com

Transition: period of change

tran·si·tion

tranˈziSH(ə)n,tranˈsiSH(ə)n/

noun

1. 1.

   the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

   "students in transition from one program to another"

   synonyms:

   change, passage, move, transformation, conversion, metamorphosis,alteration, handover, changeover;

I am blown away by the transitions all around me this time of year:

• There is the seasonal transition taking place right now..from carefree summer to fall and  back to school. While the weather goes back and forth from summer to fall, we know what is coming soon: gorgeous colorful leaves, pumpkins, sweatshirts and fall classes. We will then transition to blustery winds and snowflakes and chili's and stews.
• My two youngest (Abbey, 22 and Jack, 20) have returned to college. Both had a great summer and are in full swing already, working and starting classes this week. I know that their transitions are not final or complete. They will return home at some point and we will all get used to being together daily again.
• My husband will transition back to coaching basketball shortly which will mean long days for him and me. It will also mean much time away from each other and being alone most nights until mid-March.
• We all will transition from being outside in sun and nature (soaking up vitamin D) to more gray and dismal days, longing for that bike ride or picnic in the park.

Change is constant and necessary. These benefits of change from www.tinybuddha.com are a great reminder that change is good. Embrace change, learn from it, enjoy it and become who you should be from it.

"People usually avoid changes and prefer to stay in their comfort zones, but I am true believer that once you get the courage and take the first step to change, your life will become much better.

Below are just few benefits of change:

1. Personal growth

You grow and learn new things every time something changes. You discover new insights about different aspects of your life. You learn lessons even from changes that did not lead you to where you wanted to be.

2. Flexibility

Frequent changes make you easily adapt to new situations, new environments, and new people. As a result you do not freak out when something unexpectedly shifts.

3. Improvements

We all have things in our lives we’d like to improve—finances, job, partner, house, etc. All of us know that nothing will  improve by itself. We need to do things differently to make that happen. Without change, there’d be no improvements.

4. Life values

From time to time changes make you re-evaluate your life and look at certain things from a different perspective. Depending on what the change is, it may also reinforce your life values.

5. The Snowball effect

Often we give up because we cannot accomplish the difficult task of making a huge and immediate change. That is when small changes become extremely valuable. One shift at a time, small changes will eventually lead you to the desired big one.

6. Strength

Not all changes lead you to pleasant periods of life. Unfortunately we do not live in fairy tale and sad things happen, too. Overcoming the tough period will make you stronger.

7. Progress

Changes trigger progress. Things move forward and develop because of the them.

8. Opportunities

One never knows what each change may bring. When you turn from your usual path there will be plenty of different opportunities waiting for you. Changes will bring new choices for happiness and fulfillment.

9. New beginnings

Each change is a turning page. It is about closing one chapter and opening another one. Changes bring new beginnings and excitement to life.

10. Routine

Remember the movie Stranger than Fiction? The main character Harold Crick does the same things in exactly same time for years. He leads a completely dull, extremely predictable, and uninteresting life. That is how your life would be without changes.

So next time you get the temptation to avoid or resist the change, aim instead to initiate the ones that will lead you to where you want be.

And remember—if there were no change, there would be no butterflies! "(source: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-powerful-benefits-of-change-why-embrace-it/)

Upgrade Your Life for a Boost in Happiness

It seems lately that I have been noticing small ways to "upgrade" my life. There are countless opportunities each day to make our lives better......just a little at a time.

1. WATER: I recently started to drink RO (reverse osmosis) water that I buy by the gallon at Whole Paycheck Market (read: Whole Foods Market).  When I am forced to drink tap water or water from a drinking fountain at Lifetime Fitness, I cannot believe what I taste: chlorine. We get used to what we have, but this simple upgrade makes a difference for me.
2. OFFICE SPACE: I set up my office in our basement because I need so much room for files, my library of resources and materials for putting together many different demonstrations for heatlh fairs. Lately, I realize that it feels like I am dong penance down there. The basement is finished and good enough, but it does not feel beautiful.  Last weekend with the help of my husband,  I moved my office back up to our computer room that we had redecorated several years back with California Closets. I feel human again and it gave me a chance to reorganize my work space and surround myself with some beautiful pictures and flowers. This upgrade makes me more productive.

Here are some other ideas to Upgrade Your Life:

1. EXERCISE: If you are stuck in a rut doing the same 45 minute walk or run on a treadmill, UPGRADE! Ride your bike, jump rope, take a yoga class, or meditate. Join a group! There might be a group of people right in your neighborhood that are biking, walking or running. Group Fitness is very successful and a great way to work out and connect. Start your own group. Ask a few friends if they would be willing to meet 2x /week to run, walk or bike at a local park. This group will add accountability to your goals.
2. CLOTHING: If you have not worn something in 1 year, please donate it. Getting rid of clothes and items that you no longer use, leaves room in your life for some new, pretty and wonderful things.
3. FOOD: Make a commitment to upgrade your week of food. Maybe the upgrade idea is meatless Mondays, maybe it is 2 days eating vegetarian each week . Maybe the upgrade is cutting back on cheese or meat or alcohol. These small UPGRADES will provide you with real health benefits. Make your upgrades slowly, so you don't feel overwhelmed.
4. PEOPLE: If there are people in your life that are not good for your health, UPGRADE by not including them in your life anymore.  Reach out to new people at work, church, clubs, gym, book club. Find people that will support you in reaching your goals.

I would love to hear your upgrade ideas. Email me at deniselovathealthcoach@gmail.com and let's talk.

Do you need to make room in your life?

I finally cleaned out my closet over the past two days. I hate the winter clothes, the dust on the carpeting along the base-boards and the piles of t-shirts with logos from places I never went to. How did I even get these into my house? You can make a patchwork blanket out of t-shirts, but that project is not for me and is not happening in my lifetime.

I remember reading that when you have no room in your closet "physically" when you go shopping, you cannot seem to find anything to buy because your mind knows there is no room. I have found this to be true.

If you seem to have accumulated too much over this winter, this year or over the past few years, now is a good time to clear it out to make room for what you really want in your life. When you are 80 years old and still have a home full of collectibles and clutter, you will truly be overwhelmed.

I am going to start you out with some information from www.MindBodyGreen.com.

"Everyone needs a little more space in their life. The space can be physical or it can be figurative. We may need space for a new relationship to grow, or to allow ourselves to make a long wanted change or to banish something from our lives. No matter what you need space for; here are some tips to make it happen:

1. Focus on the BIGGER PICTURE. Write down your goals for your space. Don’t simply write down “organize closet”, take it a step further and think about WHY you want to get that area organized. For example, having an organized closet may mean that you can get dressed easily and quickly in the morning. Instead of starting your day on a stressful note, you are starting your day with ease and confidence that you look and feel great. 

2. TAKE A POLL. Talk to family members about what and why they want to get organized. They may want to organize the family room so they can have game nights or your spouse may want to organize the garage so you can put in a home gym. Discussing the reasons behind the upcoming changes makes them easier to implement and more important to everyone.

3. DAILY TASKS.  Once you have your end goal in mind you need to decide what you are going to do EVERY DAY to make this happen. So often we think of cleaning out our clutter and lives as a weekend task that is done once and then it’s over with. In fact, being organized, clutter free and stress free are things you have to work each and every day.

4. BE PRESENT. Just like many things in life, being organized comes from being present. When you walk in the door at the end of the day, don’t simply mindlessly throw the mail down along with your coat and bag. Take the few moments needed to hang them up where they belong. Take 30 seconds and discard junk mail and recycle it.  Doing these tasks when you walk in the door means that you are saving yourself time later and you are respecting your home.  Teach your children to do the same. It only takes a few seconds.

5. DO WHAT BOTHERS YOU MOST FIRST. Often we have a household project that bothers us. We complain about it, but do nothing about it. Often we don’t know WHAT to do, so we do nothing. We are paralyzed by the fear that we will do the wrong thing.  Instead of doing nothing, do something. Just take one small step in the right direction and you will feel great. Those things we’ve been putting off and dreading are often the ones with the biggest reward.

6. CLEAN OUT THE KITCHEN. The kitchen is the heart of every home and the epicenter of your family’s health and eating. If your kitchen is cluttered, you will have a hard time preparing healthy meals and your family time will be compromised. If you are going to take the time to organize only one area of your home, make it the kitchen."

It's SPRING, go CLEAN and make room for whatever you want in your LIFE!

To Your Best Health,

Denise Lovat
Certified Health Coach, AADP

You can reach me at deniselovathealthcoach@gmail.com

Are you aware of how you talk to yourself?

Today while running a boring but beautiful 4 miles, I was feeling fatigued around mile 3.5. My mind tricked me into almost walking, but instead of listening to the voice that said "time to walk" I told myself that I only had .5 to go and that "I can do this." I got rid of that negative talk. I stopped it in its tracks, and replaced it with positive talk.

This is a very important aspect of health. If you talk negatively all day to yourself, you cannot possibly feel good about yourself at the end of the day. Are you aware of how you talk to yourself? Do you listen to your own self-talk.

Here is a great 1 DAY exercise to bring awareness to your self-talk.

1. When you wake up in the morning write down the first thing you are thinking. Is it positive, or negative? Do you say, "I am so tired" or do you say "I am excited for this day to see what I can accomplish?" The mindset is so very different and the energy you bring to your day should improve with more positive self-talk.
2. During this same day, be mindful of the way you interact with co-workers or people that you are exposed to during the day. Do you talk negative about them in your mind, do you judge them? If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts, write them down on the left side of the page, write down something positive on the right side to replace it. Give someone a compliment instead of talking negatively or judging them. 
3. During this same day, be mindful of how you treat your spouse or loved ones. Do you constantly wish they were different and let the same things annoy you over and over? If you find yourself thinking negatively about your loved ones, write down your thoughts on the left and the positive replacement on the right. Do something special for them.

Now repeat for the rest of your life and be healthier and happier forever!