I am that girl who both loves and struggles with certain things. I have several of those “love-hate” relationships in my life. For example, I love to write, but often when I go to write about something, it feels like I am staring down the face of a mountain. I love to run, but it’s more about how I feel afterwards than during the actual experience. And lastly, I love the topic of nutrition and holistic wellness, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my fair share of struggling with the knowledge I obtain! It’s a lifelong game of tug-o-war, pulling between what I am genuinely passionate about, or what I genuinely know I need to do, and the fear of failure (or sometimes just laziness) that tugs the other way!
When it comes to nutrition, I’ve found that many people I know feel the same way. We care about nutrition, we believe food matters to our health–some believe this to a greater extent than others–but there is a challenge there to find the right path, get on it, and stay on it. Three years ago when I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue, I thought I was a healthy eater. I was raised to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, only whole grains and whole wheat products, the only liquid I consumed was water, and I went on a walk most days of the week. But I had acid reflux, I was overweight, I had headaches almost every day, and I hate to say it, but I was losing handfuls of hair daily! When my blood work came back, my cholesterol was high and several other numbers were not showing the insides of a healthy woman. I had to learn (and I admit I took the slow path) what my body needed. But eventually, after trying the path of least resistance with no results a few times, I got to my goal weight, almost every number on the blood work got back where it belonged, and I eventually became sugar and wheat free which eliminated even more of my health symptoms.
And because of that, because of the journey I have been on to greater health in this crazy-perspective-on-food kind of world, I am excited to begin training as a Health Coach! Under the mentorship of my Nurse Practitioner, Shelley Roby, in Elizabethtown, I’m beginning to some of see her patients (and others outside of her practice) to help them get on an eating and exercise plan. A large part of this experience will be not only suggesting pairing nutrient dense foods in the right amounts throughout the day, but partnering with these clients, encouraging them on their journey to wellness. I am not a medical professional, and will only be offering information that clients could obtain themselves from a variety of sources if they wanted to do their own research. A Health Coach is to a Nutritionist what a Life Coach is to a Licensed Therapist. I will suggest and encourage all-natural and balanced plans, with foods that can be locally bought on clients’ varying budgets…and I will help them stick with those plans as they encounter the hurdles that inevitably will come.
To begin with, each client that I meet with will fill out a Health Questionnaire which gives me information on their current lifestyle in regard to food, exercise, rest, etc. Then we’ll talk through what I call “Green Light Foods” and “Red Light Foods”. As the client shares with me what they like to eat from the Green list, we’ll make a list of sample meals and what a perfect day of eating (and being satisfied!) will look like. Items from the Red list will be avoided as much as possible, but we’ll talk about alternatives to many of these “foods”. We’ll discuss what these foods (both good and bad) do for you, and why your physical and even emotional health depends on you making good choices. We’ll make a plan for exercise and splurges, and also everyone will have the accountability of a food journal to turn into me weekly by email. We’ll meet together as necessary, and also correspond by email often.
Feeding ourselves seems like something we should have figured out at the age of 3, right? But this ever important task is more than just filling our tank with calories and making it from day to day. Food makes the difference between rising and shining, or just dragging from event to event. It makes the difference between being able to think clearly or be foggy-headed, living in a body you like or constantly feeling ashamed. Who knows what medicines will be tossed out and what sizes we will easily slip into when we eat the way the systems of our bodies need us to, as opposed to being enslaved to traditions, cravings, and addictions.
You can email me at journeywell@lyndsaytaylor.com if you’d like to have a consultation and begin partnering with me on this journey to wellness! Everyone has different needs, desires, and paces in which to travel, and I would love to walk with you for awhile. I really believe I can help you know what to do…and actually do it! And you will know that I am doing it right there with you, because this is a lifelong challenge!
