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Health Coach Question

What does it mean to honor your body?

Our bodies talk to us. You know the symptom you can’t seem to get rid of…an inflamed knee, high blood sugar or a bloated abdomen…these symptoms are our body’s way of talking to us. We honor our body by listening and trying to figure out the root cause of the problem. I’ll use a story from my own life to illustrate a time when I did the opposite of honoring my body. It was 2013 and I had a chronic cough. It was ever so slight but it was something I hadn’t experienced before. My doctor listened to my lungs and said, “They sound fantastic….perfect! Just take a Claritin for a few weeks and the cough should clear it up.” Instead I decided to teach my lungs who was in charge. I was a runner and I made the decision to run a full marathon. Throughout training, my body was telling me the runs were too long but rather than listening, I continued trying to teach my lungs a lesson. To make a long story short, I did complete the Philadelphia Marathon but it was hard on my body. It took me from one autoimmune condition to polyautoimmunity. To find healing for my lungs, I had to learn to work with my body and listen to what it was trying to tell me. What a hard but important lesson! Take some time to think about what your body may be trying to tell you.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for some time, you may have noticed we skipped a few weeks. In September my mother was diagnosed with appendix cancer and she died 3 months later, December 4th. I helped to take care of her during her final weeks and needed space over the time of her death. I was listening to my body and the result was a break in the HealthJourney newsletter. I knew you would understand but wanted to acknowledge that it has been longer than normal between newsletters.

By the way, I’m Victoria, the Health Coach and Nutritionist behind the HealthJourney program. Welcome to our newsletter! It’s full of lifestyle tips and resources to help you prevent or work at reversing your diabetes. If you prefer to unsubscribe, you can do that at the bottom of this email.

At HealthJourney We Believe:

To be healthy we need balance in all areas our lives…

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition has a Circle of Life Exercise to help you examine various aspects of your life. Take a few minutes to take the quiz and see where you could spend more energy to create balance in your life. You will rate creativity, finances, career, education, health, physical activity, home cooking, home environment, relationships, social life, joy and spirituality. All of these areas make up our overall health and quality of life. Everything is connected. The first step to making a change is always awareness that there a lack of balance or that a problem exists.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” —Stephen Covey, author

We’ve got to keep moving, even during Winter…

This article in Experience Life magazine gives some inspiration for ways to continue moving in the winter. I once heard a quote that if you are cold, you simply haven’t dressed appropriately. The article titled 4 Cold Weather Activities to Boost Fitness also covers how to dress for cold weather. We have a large dog so I’m forced to get out every day, all year long, to take her for a walk. I always feel better when I return home. Nature has been proven to help reduce stress. Time your walk for prior to dinner or directly after so you also receive the benefit of an overall reduction in your blood sugar. If you need help with your prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, remember the HealthJourney Program was designed to help you make adjustments to your lifestyle to lower your A1C within three months without using medications like Metformin. Join us today!

Resources

5 Ways to Make New Year’s Resolutions More Attainable and Fun…it’s not too late!

Gretchen Rubin is full of great ideas around habit change for the new year! I’m still filling in my 22 for 2022.

Featured Everyday Recipe

Comfort food at its best…Low carb/Keto Eggplant Lasagna by blogger Wholesome Yum

Health Coach Question

Do you have a plan for staying healthy during the holidays?

The holidays are busy and for many of us, increase our level of stress. There are three general areas to focus on to stay healthy over the holidays. Let’s start with sleep because it’s the easiest to implement. Decide on a bedtime and stick to it! No excuses. Getting quality sleep will impact your energy, it super charges your immune system and helps you handle the hustle and bustle of the season. Scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter for an excellent podcast on sleep by Dr. Bruce Lipman.

The next important area of focus is movement. Getting outside for a brisk walk, even for 20 minutes a day, improves immune function and can give a boost to your mental health. If you “time your walk” to happen after a meal it helps your blood sugar stay steady without a big spike. Read the Levels blog (https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/walking-after-a-meal) for more details about the blood glucose benefits.

Last but not least, it is important to limit sugar consumption. There is so much diet dogma out there but there is one thing we can all agree on – sugar isn’t doing us any favors. Processed sugar has zero nutritional value and at the same time depletes nutrients (vitamin D, calcium, B vitamins, magnesium and vitamin C) and it suppresses the immune system for up to 5 hours after eating it. During the holidays we need our immune system functioning properly to ward off viruses. You can expect to see local chocolates, homemade cookies, and pies at the office party and on grandma’s table. Choose at which special events you will indulge but regularly focus on nutrient dense vegetables and quality protein and fats.

By the way, I’m Victoria, the Health Coach and Nutritionist behind the HealthJourney program. Welcome to our newsletter! It’s full of lifestyle tips and resources to help you prevent or work at reversing your diabetes. If you prefer to unsubscribe, you can do that at the bottom of this email.

** At HealthJourney We Believe:

** To be healthy we need to get back in the kitchen…

The first step is to prioritize whole foods and limit eating from a box or can with a bar code. To prep whole foods it takes time to rinse, chop, grate and prepare. My favorite go-to simple meals are a combination of protein, veggies and healthy fat on a sheet pan. Check out this article from The New York Times called How to Make a Sheet-Pan Dinner (https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/54-how-to-make-a-sheet-pan-dinner?ds_c=71700000052595478&gclid=CjwKCAiA7dKMBhBCEiwAO_crFE02pi4dkllMSB9TRCdrng8Wu4GGAY4bbz_kFJvQs_zF53MVu-7WzRoC6eUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) . And if you want an exact recipe, check out the Nom Nom Paleo blog (https://nomnompaleo.com/whole30-sheet-pan-meals) . Michelle Tam makes cooking fun and she even includes her children in the process.

** “Every level of your health is impacted by what you eat.” —Dr. Mark Hyman

** We’ve got to back it up and look at root cause…

Why are you struggling with type 2 diabetes? The current medical model uses drugs to lower blood sugar but is not addressing the root cause. This article by Chris Kresser, Functional Medicine and Diabetes: How to Treat the Root Cause (https://chriskresser.com/functional-medicine-and-diabetes-how-to-treat-the-root-cause/) explains it all. There are many potential root causes including diet, sleep, stress, gut health, toxins, genetics and a sedentary lifestyle. Chris states, “Functional Medicine, a science-based approach to preventing and treating disease that is focused on diet and lifestyle changes, is the first-line strategy for managing type 2 diabetes.” The HealthJourney program (https://www.healthjourney.net/) was designed to help you make adjustments to your lifestyle to positively affect your diabetes. Join us today!

** Resources

** All Things Sleep

Elizabeth of Live Purely interviews one of my favorite medical doctors, Dr. Bruce Lipman
Listen to the Podcast (https://purelyelizabeth.com/blogs/purely-elizabeth/live-purely-with-dr-frank-lipman)

** Featured Everyday Recipe

A perfect treat is one that is slightly sweet but keeps your blood sugar stable… try these Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts by COOKIE + kate
Go to Recipe (https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-party-nuts-recipe/)

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