Author: Deb Nelson

My greatest joy is helping people kick their old habits to the curb to live their best life. As an integrative nutrition health coach, I support people in individual and group settings as they set and achieve health goals. Healthy living starts now.

Keep It Simple, Sweetie: Shake Off the Sluggishness

It’s 3:00 in the afternoon. You’re sitting at your desk. Eyelids are heavy. No, really. H E A V Y. You thought you had managed to keep your eyes open until your neck bounces and you look around hoping that nobody saw you nod off. Whew…not this time. NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

No worries. Keep It Simple, Sweetie! Choose from any of these to shake off that sluggishness:

Turn on some dance music. Yes, I know, you might be in an office setting. Earbuds are magic! If you want to shake anything off, take a lesson from T. Swift. A couple of other favorites of mine to get myself moving are Band of Gold (even though this sounds a bit tinny) and The Weather Girls.

10 Jumping Jacks – I learned this one from Gretchen Rubin, and it definitely kicks me into high gear.

Move – Get up and walk around your office, talk to a co-worker, make a phone call.

Hydrate – Drink a glass of water.

Get outside. Get outside. Get outside. It’s raining? Put on a raincoat and a hat.

Take Pre-emptive Action. Once you wake yourself up, you’ll want to make sure you stay alert at work. Set the timer on your phone so that you’re not sitting for more than 50 minutes without getting up for at least a stretch break at any point in your day.

Keeping it simple is a great approach to good health. Check out the details for my 30-Day Wellness Transformation Program for women. Kickoff is July 30. Let me know if you’re ready to keep your health front and center this summer!

Keep It Simple, Sweetie: Shake Off the Sluggishness was last modified: June 28th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Grab A Book. Get Outside. Feed Your Soul.

Yes, as simple as that.

Grab A Book.

Get Outside.

Feed Your Soul.

No need to complicate the idea.

Repeat.

Turn to activities that bring you joy, and make them a regular part of your life. Those activities that drag you down? As the song suggests, let them go. Then experience the magic!

Grab A Book. Get Outside. Feed Your Soul. was last modified: June 13th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Meeting Your Goals: As Easy as 1, 2, 3

You gotta love the number 3. Why, you ask?

  1. We can wrap our arms around this wily number and be a superstar of action.
  2. We are not overwhelmed by focusing on three items. Three just isn’t complicated.
  3. The combination of three is a powerful one. It helps us to understand the full scope of what we’re about to undertake. I often use the power of three when talking about my business: Live Well. Eat Well. Be Well.

So…taking all of this into consideration, I’ve set some goals for myself for the month of June. And…no surprise here…the number three is prominently involved.

My three goals for June:

  1. 30 minutes of cardio every day. I’ve been on vacation this week and have a head start on this one. Setting this as a goal will keep me moving in a positive direction.
  2. Start each day with a glass of water and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I’ve wanted to explore apple cider vinegar for a while. Now is the time.
  3. Drink 64 ounces of water every day. I’ve not been paying much attention to my water intake. It’s a goal, so it has moved up in my priority list.

Some practices I’ll put in place to ensure that I’ll meet these goals:

  1. Make SMART goals. Setting myself up for success is a key element for achieving those SMART goals.
  2. Put an accountability system in place. I’ll be checking in with someone EVERY day – this is a 30-day limited frame remember – who will encourage me to do whatever it takes to stay on track to meet these goals.
  3. Write them down on my calendar – this helps with committing to achieving goals. They become more real and attainable.

If you’ve been thinking about making a few lifestyle changes, now is the time. When you feel like you’re losing momentum:

  1. Connect with your accountability person / team for support.
  2. Listen to the Jackson 5’s ABC.
  3. Take one small step toward one goal, and push those doubts aside.

Let me know what you’re changing up, what challenges you face, and how you plow through those challenges.

Meeting Your Goals: As Easy as 1, 2, 3 was last modified: May 31st, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Stay on Track with Your Exercise Program on Mother’s Day Weekend

Mother’s Day weekend presents a challenge and plenty of opportunity to stay on track with your walking / jogging / running program:

Challenge: you might be traveling to a family event, or cooking for or hosting a family event which could leave you with less time than you usually have for your exercise routine. Never fear – there is no need for your exercise program to get derailed!!

Opportunity:

Make a game out of getting some exercise time in:

Got kids? Head outside with them – you’ll get some walking / jogging / belly laughing done in no time!!

Got kids and want to have some time to yourself? Ask a spouse, parent, friend to watch them for a half hour.

Go for a walk or jog while your guests clean up the kitchen.

If you’re traveling, go for a walk when you arrive to stretch your legs after sitting in the car.

If you’re traveling, leave early enough to take a detour to a park or beach where you can get a walk in.

Get up a half hour early to get outside and clear your head and get your steps in.

Saturday will probably be a soggy day – I’ll pretend I’m on vacation. Rain never stops me from getting outside when I’m on vacation.

Lots of sun on Sunday – can you go to the beach for a walk / jog / run? Go solo or bring your family and friends.

Remind yourself WHY your exercise program is important to you.

Consistency in your exercise program is key. Exercising three times a week can make a significant difference in your health. Already exercise three times a week? Up the challenge: go for five times a week. 

Keep boredom away! Shake up your program by:

Doing some speed work – sprint from one telephone pole to the next; walk it out and sprint again when you’re recharged.

Embracing hill work – yup, charge up that hill. Again. Again. Again.

Adding in a different type of exercise: cycling, yoga, weight training, swimming — whatever piques your interest.

Getting your steps / miles in at a new location.

Bringing a friend, family member, colleague with you.

Making your walk / jog a working meeting.

Congrats to you for making your health a priority. As always, drop me an email if I can help you stay on track or get you back on track.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend that supports your exercise program!

Stay on Track with Your Exercise Program on Mother’s Day Weekend was last modified: May 11th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

KISS: Keep It Simple, Sweetie

Congratulations! You’ve decided to change up your diet and lifestyle to include healthier options for you. Excellent, awesome even. UNTIL – you realize that there are SO MANY options to consider, so many choices to be made. Then the dreaded paralysis sets in and you Can’t. Make. One. Decision.

No problem – just Keep It Simple, Sweetie.

Have a mindset reset. For this week only, focus on adding more plants to your diet via salads. This is how you do it. Before lunch and dinner, have a salad:

Include some greens – choose from kale, spinach, red leaf, arugula

Add on some crunch – bell peppers (yellow, orange, red, green), red cabbage, celery, cucumber (keep skin on if organic)

Keep those veggies coming – onion (yellow, red, green), grated carrot, tomatoes, corn

Roasted please – beets, sweet potato, carrots, Brussels sprouts

How about some beans and legumes– black, pinto, kidney, peas, chick peas, lentils

Try it out – broccoli sprouts, avocado (keep in mind that this is high in fat)

Herbs – parsley, dill, cilantro, mint

Skip the dressing – top your salad off with salsa, sauerkraut, ground flaxseed

Yes, this list could go on and on. And I think you get the picture. You can put whatever strikes your fancy into your salad. Bonus points when you have a rainbow of colors in the salad bowl. Soon enough, you just might find you’re eating a giant salad for your full lunch and/or dinner meal rather than having it as an intro.

Why salads? They

Provide you with a variety of food choices

Pack a powerful nutritional punch

Allow you to use up whatever you have on hand

Keep you from getting bored with your meals

Are versatile: you can put them together at home, or choose them at a restaurant

Give it a go and let me know how this suits you!

KISS: Keep It Simple, Sweetie was last modified: June 14th, 2021 by Deb Nelson

Challenge Yourself: Live Your Dreams

Challenge yourself.

Set a goal.

Make a plan.

Recruit supporters.

Live your dreams.

The arrival of Spring, like the celebration of the New Year, provides a great opportunity to review and set goals, assess our life paths, and forge ahead. Since Spring seems to (FINALLY) have arrived here in New England, I’ve added a challenge to my life: I’ll be running a 10K (the TD Beach to Beacon). While I’ve run this race in the past, it’s been a while since I participated in a road race, so my training has begun!!

As I considered setting the goal of participating in this 10K, I kept a few things in mind:

I’m challenging myself; I am NOT competing with anyone else.

My goal for participating in this 10K has been set; the time I’d like to finish has been set.

I have a reasonable roadmap to get me there: running or run/walking three times a week. (Walking and cycling will also be part of my exercise routine.)

Support team in place.

How does this let me live my dreams? Setting this goal:

keeps me healthy and in shape

frees up my mind, which allows me to

get my work done more efficiently

work out conflict or confusion

minimize distraction

So…hop on it. Healthy living starts now. Set a goal to improve your health and see if it allows YOU to live your dreams. As always, let me know how this works for you.

 

Challenge Yourself: Live Your Dreams was last modified: April 25th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Hop to It and Put Some Play in Your Game

Today is Opening Day for Major League Baseball and a good reminder of the importance of taking time to play. After all, baseball is really nothing more than a game – a game played by adults. My fellow Red Sox fans and I look forward to the dance that the outfielders perform following every win. These players have added a new dimension to the fun of being a baseball spectator.

My advice: put a little more play in YOUR game and see if your productivity and happiness skyrocket. Set aside that project that’s sucking the life out of you, and get outside for a half hour. You don’t need to go to a baseball field and dance with your coworkers (although that could be really fun). Put on a pair of walking or running shoes and breathe in some fresh air on your walk or run , and look at the world through a new lens (out of doors v. the inside office setting).

If you just can’t seem to take a break during the work day, make play a priority when you leave work TODAY. Do the same thing tomorrow, and you’re on your way to establishing a healthy lifestyle habit.

The weather here in the Northeast has given me a serious case of Spring Fever, and I’m looking forward to getting back to running outside. I’ll be working with the staff of a nonprofit organization to train for a 5K walk / run in early June. I’ve also signed up to run a 10K this summer. I’ve now got a sense of urgency pushing me to train throughout the spring and summer.

Find a challenge for yourself: walk a few miles a day, swim a few times a week, hop on your bike a couple of times a week. Whatever you undertake, put some goals around your play. Yes, it’ll still be play and you’ll be able to track your progress easily if your goals SMART goals:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-Bound

Enjoy Major League Baseball’s Opening, and get out there and put some play YOUR game!! As always, let me know how your play goes.

Hop to It and Put Some Play in Your Game was last modified: March 29th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

Welcome Spring: A Great Opportunity to Jumpstart Healthy Living

Never mind that the ground is snow covered and speculation is that more snow is headed our way here in New England. It’s March 20th and Spring has officially arrived! With that pronouncement, many of us automatically feel that the temperature will rise, the sun will shine brighter, and the world will seem a kinder place. Whether that ultimately rings true may depend on your outlook: decide it and it will happen. Put on those rose-colored glasses and sit in that world of which you dream for a moment or two.

Change up a few habits, and sit in that world of which you dream indefinitely. WHAT? You’re in control of your world? You betcha!

Here area few examples of small changes you can make to brighten your world:

  • Laugh more – starting today, fake it ‘til you make it to a belly laugh a day
  • Drink more water
  • Eat more veggies
  • Move (exercise) more
  • Get some fresh air
  • Spend time with people who energize you
  • Call someone whose voice makes you smile
  • Be kind to a colleague or stranger in the form of a random act of kindness
  • Take one step in a project that’s been on your to-do list

Take advantage of this change in seasons to up your game and boost your happiness, health, and productivity. Starting today, put on rose-colored glasses and build the life you’re meant to live. Before you know it, your world will look different to you. Let me know how it goes!

Welcome Spring: A Great Opportunity to Jumpstart Healthy Living was last modified: March 20th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

A Prescription for Health – With a Side of Happiness

You’ve got an appointment with your doctor. What’s the likelihood that you’ll walk out of her office with a prescription or two in your pocket?

What if your doctor gave you a handful of prescriptions that looked like this:

A minimum of 7 hours of SLEEP every night

30 minutes of EXERCISE at least five days a week

No less than 60 ounces of WATER per day

Do something for the FUN OF IT 3 times a week: call a friend, take a class, go to a movie, read a book

Avoid TOXIC people (you know who they are)

Ditch PROCESSED FOOD (one day at a time)

Thirty days later, you return to your doctor to have a conversation about your progress. Now wouldn’t that be a wildly uplifting conversation?!? What are the side effects of getting good sleep, exercising, eating nutrient-dense food, and enjoying yourself? Health and happiness perhaps? Keep this trend going:

Take 10 minutes of ALONE/QUIET TIME every day

Increase PLANT-BASED WHOLE FOODS in your meals

SAY YES to doing things that energize you

SAY NO to doing things that suck the life out of you

This is why I became a health coach: to help people meet their health and wellness goals. Each of us can take control of our health in a variety of ways. I’ve written about it before, and will undoubtedly keep on writing about it.

If you incorporate any of these changes into your daily practice, let me know how it goes!

A Prescription for Health – With a Side of Happiness was last modified: February 28th, 2018 by Deb Nelson

What Are You Feeding Your Soul?

We talk a lot about what we’re feeding our bodies: healthy food, junk food, some mix of the two. It seems to me, though, that we also have an opportunity to feed our souls – our mind, character, and thoughts – and that those elements will have an impact on our overall health.

Take some time to think about what it is that:

charges you up?

relaxes you?

gives you a sense of confidence?

makes you feel comfortable, happy, at ease with the world?

Then ask yourself a few questions:

  • Are you spending time doing activities, going to places that allow you to experience these feelings?
  • Are you spending time with people who encourage you to be your best self?
  • Do your work and personal lives provide the environment for you to excel?

Starting today, do one thing that gives you a sense of fulfillment. Let me know how it goes!

What Are You Feeding Your Soul? was last modified: February 23rd, 2018 by Deb Nelson