awake: to become aware of, to come to a realization
When it comes to our health and wellness, sometimes awakening comes abruptly in the form of a wake-up call, aka a diagnosis or a serious health event. Better still, awakening comes before that, at a time when you can still prevent disease or decline. In either case, though, it’s never too late to start investing in your health.
align: to come into line with something
In this case, it’s aligning healthy practices with your daily lifestyle. It’s moving from knowing to doing. And this is the hard part; it can be inconvenient, costly (in the short-term), and may seem complicated. Time spent with a health coach can get you past these hurdles.
“The starkest point in my health journey came when I awoke to what my habits over the past 50 years had produced. I had to meet myself where I was at, reflect on my journey thus far, and align my future habits to what I really wanted: To live a vibrant and happy life.”
The good news
With the support of a health coach and resources for exploring the multiple dimensions of health — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — you can make changes that serve you and build wellness. And sticking with those changes truly does get easier over time.
As you break addictions to sugar and artificial ingredients, crowd out foods and behaviors that don’t support health, reduce and manage stress, move more and gain muscle strength – energy increases, motivation blossoms, and even tastes and preferences change.
About me
I’m a wife and mother of 2 adult children with a 30+ year career in marketing strategy and research. And now I’m a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.
My awakening came as a series of subpar (but not yet alarming) lab results, weight that just kept creeping higher than I ever imagined I’d see, and increasing fatigue, brain fog, and aches.
This went on for about 7 years until one day when I realized, “this might be the best I feel for the rest of my life.” I was 54 and decided that I couldn’t afford to keep thinking that I’d focus on my health “one day.” If I wanted to be capable of living the vital, vibrant life I imagined, it needed to be DAY ONE of focusing on my health.
My journey was catapulted forward when I started working with a health coach and functional medicine physician. Things I thought were impossible have happened. Pounds shed, gut microbiome healed, stress better managed, sleep improved, energy increased, and health markers trending positive. And I am forever grateful.
I decided to continue my journey toward health through a year-long Health Coach Training Program offered by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. During that year of intense learning, I became more convinced that I wanted to help others seeking positive change in their lives.
I call it a journey toward health because it’s ongoing. Even now, I continue to pursue further education and work toward discovering what my body needs to thrive physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.