HOLIDAY RECIPES

& A REMINDER THAT YOU ARE A PRETTY SPECIAL PERSON!

The holidays are here! I want to share my best tips for a healthy holiday with better choices to maintain your health during this time of family and food.

Make a plan.

Who said that when we fail to plan, we plan to fail? Many of us have worked very hard to get to where we are health-wise right now, and the holidays and our planning or lack thereof will make all the difference in whether we keep our gains or go backward and have to start again.

Either way, I will help you, but I worked hard for my health gains this year and want to keep them until January and not start again!

It can be more than tempting when that table laden with goodies is right within our reach, but you can be ready!

When I first started my health journey, it was at this time of the year almost 30 years ago. Like many of my patients, I had severe health problems. I was addicted to sugar, and sadly I was the last to figure it out. Thankfully, I had the help and support of my health team and my husband to make it through that first holiday season sugar-free! I did it because the long-term health I sought was more important than the sugar I was abandoning. I wanted to be well, and I know you do too!

So that brings us to the plan. What to do when all around us have different ideas about how to eat and what to eat?

Know yourself and determine where you are regarding the condition of your health right now.

Like me back then, you may just be getting started on a health journey. You may have blood sugar problems, gut issues, and health concerns that the wrong foods can worsen. At best, for you, the healing that you have been building for the last several weeks or months can be jeopardized; at worst, you could put yourself back into the conditions you just pulled yourself out of recently.

So, take a good honest look. If you are in an acute phase of healing, it is best for you to take a more sugar-free, low-carb approach to the holiday season. This means avoiding the high sugar and the high carb meals and desserts bound to be at the table. You could volunteer to make a keto dessert with a sugar substitute like monk fruit or stevia (recipes attached) and bring some lower- to the table for you and others who would thank you.

You do not have to make yourself stand out. You can share with your loved ones that you are on a health journey and appreciate their help and support. Most of our good friends and family will be so happy for us as we travel the road to wellness. You have choices; please remember this.

You have more willpower and control than you think.

For those of you who have past the acute phase of health and have things more under control, I recommend healthier options for sure and moderation.

Those of you who can tolerate some meals that contain more foods than your normal diet, be moderate. In this situation, I take a look at where I am health-wise and plan ahead.

This year, I am in charge of the desserts, so I will make all my desserts with monk fruit, and make them gluten-free. I do not do well with wheat or gluten and dairy has never been my friend. I have also worked super hard to lose a few pounds recently and now a days a week off of eating properly for me can undo 3 months of hard work!

Here is my plan for this year: I will enjoy the turkey the vegetables, the potatoes. I may have a small serving of the gluten free dressing  and the sugar free sweet potatoes.  I am bringing  a large healthy salad.

If you have specific question about your individual health condition please ask! We can make a plan together.

Here are two scenarios:

1. You have a health problem, and you know your current eating choices will either help you or hurt you. In this case, plan! Get help from us to plan your holiday meal. Just email or give us a call. We are here to help. Your choices today and for the next few months can determine your future holiday choices!
2. You are in more of a wellness condition but need to be aware and mindful of what you eat so you do not activate old habits or lose progress you have worked hard for. You should also make a plan. Figure out what you can bring to the table so you can enjoy the feast and still feel well afterwards. Be moderate and enjoy smaller servings of the rich stuff, and larger servings of the healthier options like vegetables, salads and protein.

Here are some of my very favorite holiday recipes.

You can make all of them gluten free and dairy free. If you want help to modify one of your recipes to make it healthier, please send it to me via email and I will do my best to help you! I love good food and just because I choose to live healthier does not mean I sacrifice eating well! We teach you how to eat healthy in our crazy world so holidays are no exception. You can have your cake and eat it too. You just may have to modify it a bit so it feeds you and nourishes you! I am here to help.

A Word About Immunity & Avoiding Illness

There is no better time to boost your immunity than right now. We currently are experiencing high levels of upper respiratory illnesses across the age categories. This fall, many of my patients have been sick multiple times with different illnesses, sometimes for weeks on end. Children seem especially vulnerable.

Eating healthy is very important as we ride this new wave of viral overload. Sleeping well and getting a walk in or a workout in regularly can go a long way to preventing illness. Vitamin D vitamin C and zinc are great nutrients to keep elevated during the flu season. We have immune supplement packages available at the office for children and adults.

As many of you know, my custom herbal remedies are strong and effective. Please call and I will formulate one for you. I use therapeutic strength herbals from Australia that are pure and tested to contain exactly what is listed on the bottle. We also have liquid remedies and chewable supplements for the kids. Our immune protocols have kept our patients healthy for the last three years and they will continue to do that now. Even if you have not been in the office for a while, we can still customize an immune supplement program for you and your family. Give us a call.

Getting sick is never good for your body. Long Covid is a reality for many people and comes with a sobering list of inflammatory problems, that current medicine has no solutions for. Repeat infections with Covid carry risks for long term lung problems, heart problems and neurological problems. This is a new virus for our world and for our individual bodies. We are still learning. This Covid virus may very well undermine our bodies’ own immunity. It is never good to be sick. The risks and damage can sometimes be irreversible. I am attaching two articles I would recommend that you read to give you some perspective.

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/11/07/COVID-Reinfections-And-Immunity/

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/repeat-covid-is-riskier-than-first-infection-study-finds-2022-11-10/

Please remember as you gather, to take precautions. Make sure no one is ill and if you are stay home. Masking works. Wear a mask in large groups when you are out. When you gather for holidays, ventilate your home by opening windows, using air purifiers or having large gatherings outside. Take care to protect the older and immune compromised around you.

Here’s a link to the air filters we use at the clinic.

We are still in this pandemic. We are still learning. My advice is to stay vigilant, and do all the common-sense things you have learned to do. I wear a mask in a crowd, in a store or if there are too many people in a small space I wait outside. I carry hand sanitizer and I sanitize often and wash my hands often. I eat outside at restaurants as the weather permits and we do carry out as well.

Take good care. Each of you bring something special and beautiful to this world whether it is art, or being a good mom or a great friend or a mentor to others. Your life matters in this great scheme of things. Advocate for yourself and your loved ones. You are valuable and you deserve the best self-care and the best life you can create!

Happy Holiday Season!

Do You Have a Stubborn Health Problem?

I may be able to help you.

Dr. Melodie Billiot

Would you please take five minutes to fill out a health assessment survey and send it to me? I’ll review your information, then have my assistant call you for any additional information. Then, I’ll let you know if your case might be a good fit for my clinic. This assessment is complimentary, with no strings attached. Either I can help you–or point you in the right direction to get help.

Don’t give up! You can recover your health if you persist.

Is Your Thinking Broken?

“Effortless, sharp, quick, and accurate.”

What if this were an accurate description of your thinking, memory, and concentration?

What Happened to Your Thinking?

Several things can damage your cognitive function:

Here’s a list of the most common problems:

Brain fog: Trouble with attention, memory, and slowed thinking.

Brain Fog often stems from:

• Hormone problems from perimenopause and menopause.
• Thyroid problems.
• Digestive problems (your gut is directly connected to your brain) READ ABOUT THE GUT-BRAIN CONNECTION HERE.
• Allergies, especially food allergies.

Memory: Age often affects memory, although this can be overcome.

Memory problems often stem from:

• Hormones in perimenopause and menopause.
• Nutritional deficiencies, especially essential fatty acids (such as found in many fish, flaxseeds, and almonds), B vitamins, and several other nutrients.
• Food allergies.
• Digestive problems.
• Metals toxicity (mercury, lead, copper, aluminum, etc.).

Concentration: Do you find that your mind wanders, even when you are trying to do a specific task? Have you meant to do something, even started to do it, but found yourself doing something else with no recollection of what happened?

Concentration problems are commonly related to:

• Food allergies.
• Nutritional deficiencies.
• Digestive problems.
• Metals toxicity (mercury, lead, copper, aluminum, etc.).

Cognitive Processing: Do you have difficulty reading, following instructions or get frustrated easily? I see this a lot in children, often diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Cognitive Processing issues often relate to:

• Food allergies.
• Immune stress made worse by sugar and simple carbohydrates in diet.
• Digestive problems.
• Metals toxicity (mercury, lead, copper, aluminum, etc.).

Thinking Distractions

Being anxious or depressed can cause your thinking to be much less efficient and effective.

Depression tends to slow down thought processes and prevent you from thinking of creative and positive solutions to problems.

• What depression is NOT: chemical imbalances in your brain. This theory, fabricated to sell antidepressant drugs, has been completely disproven (see article here).
• Often depression is caused by having long-term chronic health conditions with no real hope of a solution. If you are convinced that your health will prevent you from reaching your goals, depression can be a natural emotion to feel.

Anxiety can be very distracting. It’s hard to be “sharp as a tack” when you’re freaking out, and often for no good reason.

• Your adrenal glands produce hormones that prevent stress from damaging your body. If the adrenals are fatigued, stress can cause physical reactions and even panic attacks.
• Adrenal glands are stressed by poor sleep, allergies, eating sugar and refined carbs, not eating enough protein, alcohol, junk foods, and life stress.

I frequently help my patients to heal their adrenal glands in my clinic. It’s among the most rewarding activities, as healthier adrenals can change your life!

I have had high levels of success with depression by helping patients to improve their physical health. Hormones, blood sugar, and digestive problems are the top health issues that also could improve depression.

How to Improve Your Thinking

Did you notice that the thinking problems listed earlier in this article are caused by physical health problems?

Memory, concentration, and brain fog are caused by digestive problems, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, toxins and hormone problems. These are problems that have solutions!

You don’t have to live with brain fog, concentration, or memory issues.

Your thinking could become effortless, sharp, quick, and accurate!

I see this every day in my clinic. Probably a third of the success stories patients write mention memory, concentration, brain fog, anxiety, or depression.

Many of these successes are major, life-changing improvements!

Solutions: What to Do?

In most of these cases the body became unable to maintain and heal itself completely.

As time goes on, additional stress and damage build up, and this overwhelming stress became symptoms, like anxiety, depression, brain fog, concentration problems or other “broken” thinking.

Many layers of complex damage prevent these problems from resolving by medical treatment. The only successful resolution of this problem is to address the primary cause: the body’s inability to heal itself.

My treatment programs address just this. I work with patients to reduce stress, supply raw materials, and eliminate barriers to healing. But your body healing itself is what creates 100% of my results.

One Accurate Test is Worth 1,000 “Expert Opinions”

The best solution in many cases of cognitive health problems is:

Get tested to determine what factors are preventing your body from healing.

If you don’t do this, you will be guessing, trying one thing after another to see what might work, researching the internet endlessly, and finding little that actually helps.

A word of caution: Discovering the cause(s) of your health problem is just the first step. You’ll also have to do something effective to assist your body in regaining its ability to heal.

If you have a stubborn/long-term health problem, there is no single treatment, drug, supplement, or diet that will solve it.

Read that last statement again. It’s important.

You Don’t Need a Single Treatment; You Need a Guide and a Program

You need an entire program to work with your body, diet, and lifestyle to restore your life and health. You’ll also need a guide to work with you through the program and ensure you get complete results.

It doesn’t have to be hard. Often a health treatment program takes much less time than you may imagine.

I understand how you feel; it was my own frightening health diagnosis that inspired my clinic. I’ve been where you are myself!

I’ve been helping the most stubborn health cases for 28 years and have developed a comprehensive program that is individualized and unique to you. What I do isn’t a secret! You can go to my Information and Education Hub webpage and read as much as you like about what I do and how it works.

Here is your plan:

1. Use the link below to go to my online health quiz.
2. Fill out the quiz and submit it.
3. We’ll call you and do a phone consultation to determine if it’s likely that we could help you.
4. You’ll get started toward feeling better and achieving your diet and health goals.

PREVIOUS FAILURES IN GETTING HELP WITH YOUR HEALTH ISSUES CAN CREATE A FEAR OF TRYING ONE MORE TIME.

DON’T GIVE UP! DON’T BE STOPPED. DON’T DELAY OR “THINK ABOUT IT.” TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW TO DISCOVER IF THIS IS THE SOLUTION YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

TAKE THE QUIZ! GET YOUR ENERGY (AND YOUR LIFE) BACK!

Do You Have a Stubborn Health Problem?

I may be able to help you.

Dr. Melodie Billiot

Would you please take five minutes to fill out a health assessment survey and send it to me? I’ll review your information, then have my assistant call you for any additional information. Then, I’ll let you know if your case might be a good fit for my clinic. This assessment is complimentary, with no strings attached. Either I can help you–or point you in the right direction to get help.

Don’t give up! You can recover your health if you persist.

My “Healthy” Diet (I Wish!)

QUESTION: Would you like to have a healthier diet?

ANSWER: “I wish I could, but I know I can’t.”  

When I talk to people other than my patients, many say that they have tried to improve their diets for years without success. I’ve seen that, in general, most people who say that they want to eat better don’t manage to succeed.

I’ve also seen that almost everyone who says they want to improve their diet has a health issue they hope to improve or control with their healthier diet.

HERE IS HOW TO SUCCEED!

The Two Common Diet-Improvement Goals

1: Get my health problem improved! (This can be weight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. But it can also be fatigue, hormone problems, digestion, sleep, or many more).

2: Eat healthier = be healthier. I want to be healthier, happier, and feel like I will stay that way because I eat a healthy diet.

Barriers to Eating a Healthy Diet

1: Not knowing how to eat healthier or accepting the wrong advice and trying to eat a diet that won’t work.

2: Uncontrollable sugar, carb and junk food cravings.

3: Being ambitious and attempting too much change too quickly.

4: Changing to a non-sustainable diet that you can’t continue with long-term.

5: Then there’s the big one: “It didn’t work” or “It didn’t work well enough.”

Honestly, it’s rare to hear that a person changed their diet and resolved their health problem. This is because health problems are often made worse by an unhealthy diet but have other causes than just diet.

So, you may see improvement in your health problem if you improve your diet, but it is unlikely to resolve entirely or become stable.

So Then, Why Try to Improve My Diet?

Because if you can successfully improve your diet long-term, you can:

• Feel better,
• Slow the progression of your health problems,
• Prevent new health problems from developing.

AND: You are DOING something about your health instead of just waiting for it to worsen.

What Diet Changes Do I Recommend?

The right thing to do is SOMETHING that will improve your health, and set yourself up to continue doing that “something” long-term.

The wrong thing to do is to get excited about starting a complex diet that involves many changes and then fail (such as low-calorie, keto, paleo, vegan, etc.).

Here’s a link to an article on a simple, immune-boosting diet that breaks down seven simple diet changes by importance. You can start with the most important, do it long enough to become stable, then do the next one.

Since you’re likely to feel better in some way by putting in each of these steps, there’s positive reinforcement.

If you don’t try to change too much too fast, you won’t blow up and quit.

Cravings!

Many of my patients tell me that there’s no way for them to eat a healthy diet, because they have  uncontrollable cravings for sugar, carbs (bread, pasta, doughnuts, pastries, cookies, cake) and junk foods (chips, candy, fast food, pizza).

This can be a very difficult problem, and most people can’t overcome these cravings on their own.

Cravings Solutions:

If you have this problem, you many need some help:

1: Herbal remedies: Herbs such as gymnema can sometimes help.

2: Desensitization: I have often seen patients with sensitivities to such foods as wheat, corn, soy, and sugar can cause severe cravings. Using an acupressure desensitization technique called Systems Desensitization Technique to eliminate these sensitivities can greatly improve cravings while destressing the gut and improving overall health.

3: Acupressure Cravings Treatments: Over a decade ago, I developed a specialized acupressure treatment to help the body better handle the stresses that cause cravings. There are treatments for sugars, refined carbs, food chemicals (junk food cravings) and chocolate. These treatments along with desensitizations and help with diet improvement have all but eliminated cravings as a barrier to health improvement for my patients.

OK, But How Do I Solve My Health Problem?

So, if diet alone is unlikely to resolve most health problems, what IS the solution?

Get tested to determine what factors prevent your body from healing.

If you don’t do this, you will be guessing, trying one thing after another to see what might work, researching the internet endlessly, and finding little to nothing that really helps.

A word of caution: Discovering the cause(s) of your health problem is just the first step. You’ll also have to do something effective to assist your body in regaining its ability to heal.

If you have a stubborn/long-term health problem, there is no single treatment, drug, supplement, or diet that will solve it.

You Don’t Need a Single Treatment; You Need a Guide and a Program

You need an entire program to work with your body, diet, and lifestyle to restore your life and health. You’ll also need a guide to work with you through the program and ensure you get a complete result.

This doesn’t have to be hard. It could be done in less time than you may imagine.

I understand how you feel; it was my own frightening health experiences that inspired my clinic. I’ve been where you are myself.

I’ve been helping cases that are probably similar to yours for 29 years and have developed a comprehensive program that is individualized and unique to you.

Here is your plan:

1. Use the link below to go to my online health quiz.
2. Fill out the quiz and submit it.
3. We’ll call you and do a phone consultation to determine if it’s likely that we could help you.
4. You’ll get started toward feeling better and achieving your diet and health goals.

TAKE THE QUIZ!

Anxiety: It’s A No-Brainer

Chronic anxiety isn’t always caused by a problem with your brain

Anxiety. It can be a horrible, twisting feeling of dread and fear in your stomach. You may be hot or cold, tensed, sweating. It can be debilitatingly severe or just under the surface and slightly coloring everything you do and think.

It’s not anything that you want to experience, ever.

If you’re living day-to-day (and possibly with sleep-deprived nights) with anxiety, you only want it to end. Remember how it feels when, for any reason, the anxiety lightens up a little? It’s such a relief, only to start all over again.

Anxiety can prevent your happiness, but it can also wreck your productivity. It can make you much less effective in all of your endeavors: in your job, your marriage, and as a parent.

The stress from anxiety can create health problems. In particular, digestive problems often are caused or worsened by anxiety. Other symptoms can get worse, from blood pressure to skin conditions.

The Anxiety Myth

Anxiety is very hard to treat effectively.

People do many months or years of therapy trying to reduce their anxiety. They take drugs. They use breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga. But very few anxiety sufferers ever feel that their problem is “solved.” At best, it’s “under better control.”

An important reason for this is that the cause of chronic (continuing) anxiety has been misidentified. If you treat the wrong cause, it’s a sure bet that you won’t solve the problem.

Your brain doesn’t always cause chronic anxiety. This is the myth.

Sure, the brain can signal your body to have anxious feelings. This is a survival reaction, like a healthy fear reaction from getting too close to the cliff edge.

A good shot of anxiety for a few minutes or hours can be completely normal.

Anxiety becomes a problem when it won’t stop.  When it continues and worsens and interrupts your life, this is often caused by a physical problem with your body.

Chronic anxiety can be caused by digestive problems, hormone problems, and even blood sugar issues.

An End to Your Anxiety

Correctly testing for and identifying the problems causing anxiety may lead to a real solution and an end to the problem.

I understand anxiety so well because I’ve worked with it extensively. In the past 28 years, I have helped over 10,000 patients with chronic health conditions, and more than half of them have complained of anxiety as one of their problems.

Your Plan

If you would like to put an end to chronic anxiety, I have two plans for you to follow:

Cause of Chronic Disease

WebMD.com: “The exact causes of high blood pressure are not known.”

MayoClinic.org: (Referring to Type 2 diabetes) “Exactly why this happens is uncertain…”

National Institutes of Health (NIH): “The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown.”

If you or someone you love has any chronic (ongoing or recurring) health problem, you should understand that the causes of these problems are unknown, so there is no cure for them.

Doctors are very good at treating conditions and diseases with identifiable causes (trauma, infections, physical abnormalities, etc.). But when you present your doctor with a problem with no known cause, you’ll get long-term drugs to manage symptoms and no cure.

A workable definition of “chronic disease” would be, “A health problem that doctors can’t fix.”

Right now, 60% of the adult population of the US has one or more of these chronic diseases. There’s a good chance this group includes you.

A Different Model for Your Body

It’s common to think of your body as a biochemical machine. If it breaks, you take it to the mechanic (doctor) for repair.

It’s more accurate to view the body as an independent, living, intelligent entity. Think about it: if there weren’t an onboard intelligence running your body for you minute to minute, you’d be mired down in keeping your digestion going, monitoring your immune system, etc.

There are a few things I can deduce about this body intelligence:

1. Its prime directive is to help keep you alive (after all, it has a lot at stake here as well!).
2. To keep you alive, your body will try its best to keep you comfortable and un-distracted. When things go wrong, your body will attempt to hide any symptoms from you as long as possible.
3. Your body “thinks” like a mechanic. Every day your body takes damage from toxins, stress, and minor or more extensive injuries. None of this bothers your body; its job is to maintain and repair itself without worrying you any more than necessary.

How Chronic Conditions Happen

If your body develops a problem that it can’t repair (certain toxins, allergies, infectious agents, etc.), it will do everything possible to cope with the situation in a way that hides it from you. If you feel bad, your chances of survival are less, so your body will try to avoid bothering you.

A problem your body can’t repair can be similar to a fender bender on the interstate; it may not even be a huge problem, but it can create a much bigger issue by jamming up everything else.

Your body will do everything it can to keep you comfortable despite this problem, compensating, doing workarounds, patching things temporarily, and generally coping in any way possible to prevent you from developing a symptom. But at some point, often years after the original problem developed, it will run out of options. Your body may finally lose control, and you will have a symptom. Now you can understand why this symptom never goes away; your body has no ability left to cope with a problem it can’t fix.

You can also understand why your doctor has no way to treat the problem; it’s caused by years worth of a hopeless snarl that would be impossible to figure out.

A Solution: Sequence-Based Health Care

I have developed a method of helping the body to overcome the barriers and reasons that it has become unable to heal.

This has resulted in a stable improvement of these problems for over 10,000 patients over the past 28 years.

Honestly, it’s a fascinating story. Just understanding how it’s possible to recover from chronic health problems and not have to deal with lifetime medications and declining health is enlightening and and encouraging.

Find out about this solution to your problems here.

Never Ever Ever Give Up

I gave this to my oldest son when he was about 8 or 9 years old, engraved on a flat stone. I thought it was one of the best lessons I could impart to him as a young mom. He would often try something new and get frustrated if he couldn’t figure it out quickly. He would then throw the object or project down and give up. We would talk about it, and I could often convince him to try it again and not get so down on himself when he didn’t get it the first couple of times. He is a very persistent young man now.

But what if we don’t figure it out after lots of tries? What then? Are there a certain number of attempts we should try before throwing in the towel? I had a patient this week tell me, “I am just going to give up! I have tried so many things, and I can’t get well under this amount of stress. I’ve applied to 16 job offers, and I haven’t received a single call back. Even if I sleep well and eat well, I am so unhappy I will never heal!”

So many times, we have goals that seem impossible to achieve from where we are in life. What is the difference between those who reach their goals and those that fall short? Maybe many factors make the difference, but I am sure that one thing that gets us across the finish line is persistence in the face of any odds and suggestions that we cannot win.

Sometimes we are called on in life to do hard things. Often, we are called upon to do hard things for many days or even years in a row. When we give up on ourselves, we are often giving up on those that depend on us as well. Our decisions affect more areas of life than just our own space. We are so interconnected to each other.

When we give up on our own goals, that can be rough. When we disappoint ourselves and our personal points of integrity, that can affect us for a lifetime. I was thinking this week that life can get pretty convoluted! Decisions and choices made in conjunction with others can take us down paths that are hard to turn back from. All the threads can weave us into places and spaces we never planned to be. What happens when our path isn’t the right one for us? How do we get back? How do we get back to ourselves? Do we choose to give up when the going gets tough? Do we pretend that the relationship, job, and school are just the right ones for now until now turns into later and later is most of our life?

Having kids has, hands down, made me a better person. I know my boys are watching when I am tempted to give up on a situation or a plan that I know is right, but that might be hard for me to accomplish. They see my choices, and I remember that little rock, and I think, “Never, never, never give up!” Never give up your dreams. Never. Never give up loving even when it is hard. Never give up when the road is tough and when all the things seem to conspire against you. If you know the way is right and the goal is worthy, persist.

You don’t have to be alone. Communicate, find help if you need it, find support, and believe that you deserve it. We all have our struggles, and sometimes it is hard to ask for help. Ask for help at work; you don’t know what can be done if you talk to someone. Ask for help in a relationship. You might be surprised that a helping hand is waiting for you if you ask. Ask for help with your health. Now that is something worth working on! It can be challenging. I started a new fitness program this week, and partway through the class, the teacher asked how I felt. I told her, “Old!” My body is sure not what it was 20 years ago! It would be tempting to give up, not try to put my body through difficult motions that feel super awkward and not at all graceful. I have committed to a 6:00 am yoga boot camp this Friday morning!

I am telling you because I want to do this. I want my body in shape; I want to feel flexible and strong. I want to have excellent cardiovascular health. I want to have lots of energy down the road and not be that woman who cannot get up off the floor! That doesn’t mean it is going to be easy. I am coming back from a severe ankle sprain I sustained last September. I had started a fitness plan last summer only to have to go back to zero after having to be in a boot for almost six weeks! Then the PT and rehab! There went my built-up reserves and strength! Starting again from scratch! Thankfully, I have a great rehab specialist and an excellent soft tissue specialist! They have cheered me on and encouraged me to meet my fitness goals no matter what! A good coach is a wonderful thing!

Never, never, never give up. We all must start from somewhere. We always have to start where we are and build from there. I know that slow and steady wins the race. Being consistent every day gets you closer to the goal. And don’t forget half the fun is in the journey! That childish project turns into a dream, goal, workout, or health program. We can so easily sabotage ourselves with our thoughts and past failures. The self-talk we have going on in our heads can either help or hurt us so much!

One exercise I do when I am worried about or unsure how to handle a situation that has tempted me to give up is to write down the things I feel the most defeated about. Next to them, I write some possible solutions and who might be available to help me with them. Sometimes that simple exercise can be enough to spark a solution, remind me of someone I can ask to help me, or remind me to Never Ever Ever Give Up. I also like to keep thoughts like this one or others that I need to work on somewhere close by for easy viewing. I often have the solution in the palm of my hand, but the confusion all around me can make me miss it.

If you feel stuck in a health habit you can’t seem to break, reach out to me. I have solutions! You are not alone. You don’t have to give up. There is help! If you feel you have tried so many times that it isn’t in you to try again, I can help. I have observed that life and living can be messy. Trust yourself. Don’t give up and fight for your dreams. You deserve them, and you don’t have to ask anyone for permission to achieve them! You are enough. Your dreams are enough. Fight for them. Achieve them. Let me know if I can help.

Lots of love for the journey!