Living Balance Coaching

06/30/2024

I was speaking with a client the other day about exercise and I realized that so many of us get so hung up on all the "rules" of exercise - having to do a certain type of exercise at a certain difficulty level for a certain amount of time etc...

And that type of exercise serves its purpose, but it's also not the only type of exercise that "counts".

My absolute favorite type of exercise is walking and there are so many reasons why!

💎 It's great for heart health
🌸 It's a mood enhancer
🍃 It's joint friendly
🪷 It's great for weight management

And you can always take it up a notch and get even more benefits if you walk with a friend, walk in sunshine, or walk in nature!

Walking is highly underrated but it's a GREAT way to move your body and you can do it anywhere, anytime, and with no special equipment.

Get out there and walk today! 👟

How does walking make you feel? Tell us about it in the comments!

11/05/2022

Stress has a massive impact on your hormones (and quality of life in general, really!).

And hormones have a significant impact on stress.

It's a delicate relationship and as soon as it gets out of balance, it's REALLY hard to turn the tide...

On top of the fact that stress (even without hormone influence) is something a lot of us have a really hard time managing anyway...

If you're feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone and there are definitely some things you can do to tip the balance in your favor:

👉 Start by taking care of your body as best you can - that means sleeping at night and eating healthful foods. Some of our stress is internal, so these are things that can help bring more peace from the inside.

👉 Then ask yourself where you could make some space. What are you saying yes to that you don't really need to be doing? Where can you ask for help?

👉 Now fill that space with something that helps you unwind and reconnect. What makes you feel calm and joyful? It doesn't have to be a week-long spa vacation or an expensive massage - simple things go a long way when you do them consistently and intentionally.

What steps can you take to destress (even just a little) today?

11/02/2022

❤ this hormone balancing smoothie, especially when things get busy! It's quick and easy and gives me good, stable energy so I can deal with the chaos...

It doesn't always turn out exactly the same but it's always the same basic formula - greens (today it was broccoli & kale), blueberries, seeds (today it was flaxseeds & chia), almond butter, chocolate vegan protein powder and a little raw cacao for an extra chocolate kick.

Lots of fiber, veggies, all kinds of good stuff and it tastes like chocolate - can't beat that! 🙂

What are your go-to quick favorites when things get busy?

09/26/2022

Successfully changing your diet - and getting on top of issues like hormones, weight, energy and mood - starts with how you look at food.

Instead of focusing on calories, start looking at food as information.

What is this food telling your body?

Intuitively, we can see that donuts send a different message than broccoli…

And pizza sends a different message than apples…
(regardless of how many calories of these foods you consume)

Some foods tell us to hang onto weight, whereas some foods tell us to let it go…

Some foods give us energy, while some take it away…

Some foods reset our hormones & promote emotional balance, whereas others send that rollercoaster reeling…

And some foods impact all of the above all at once!

Finding your healthy balance is so much more than calories in/calories out.

Start looking at your food as information and make your eating choices based on that.

What is this food doing for you?

What might it be taking away?

Decide how you want to feel and eat the food that best supports that!

09/20/2022

Women are at a higher risk than men to develop mood disorders and depression.

And a lot of this starts in our bodies...

Changes in estrogen levels due to hormone imbalance can significantly impact mood (you'll see this as crazy PMS, mood swings during your cycle, irritability...)...

Many of us also have a compromised gut microbiome (this can be due to aging, lack of sleep, diet, lifestyle, lots of factors!)...

And that means we're not making enough serotonin - the mood-stabilizing chemical that makes us feel happy & satisfied...

And then when you add in daily stress, kid drama, global pandemics….

No wonder so many of us are struggling!

The good news is, you can turn all of the above around.

And just like the problem, the solution starts in your BODY.

You can support your body by getting your hormones into balance and managing those fluctuations.

And you can improve your microbiome and start cranking out serotonin like nobody’s business.

And when your body starts making all these happy hormones and mood stabilizers?

Kid drama's got nothing on you. 😉

What kinds of changes have you noticed in your mood?

What have you tried that's been helpful?

09/03/2022

Not only do hormones change over a period of about 10 years (give or take) before menopause, but they also change throughout the month and even throughout the day!

(part of why we feel like we’re losing our minds half the time!)

That’s also why lab results and hormone panels can sometimes not show us the full picture - if you have low cortisol in the mornings but high cortisol at night, for example, your results will really depend on when you get tested…

And if your prescription is based on those results from a certain time of day, you might not end up getting the overall relief you’re looking for.

(not to mention that you’re probably not addressing the things that got you to the point of imbalance in the first place)

I think this is part of why hormone balance feels so daunting - we want a one-stop solution to fix it but there’s usually a little more going on than that…

For me, the fix has always been about listening to my body.

Because no matter what the test results are, your body will always let you know if things are working or not.

All those symptoms you’re having - those are actually messages from your body.

And when you know what those messages mean, you can adjust in real time.

And that’s when you really find your balance.

Do you notice your hormones shifting throughout the day? The month?

What messages is your body sending you?

08/30/2022

One of the (many) reasons diets don’t work is that every single food we eat impacts our bodies in a certain way.

Food is information to your body. And while foods like broccoli and turmeric tell your body to reduce inflammation and increase energy, other foods like pizza and ice cream send the opposite message.

What’s more, even the “healthy” foods can send different messages to different bodies - for example, greek yogurt might be a great source of protein for you, but it could cause inflammation for me and send my hormones reeling.

So when we follow a one-size-fits-all diet, we might be eating foods that are sending our bodies the wrong messages - increasing inflammation, exacerbating hormone imbalance (and messing with metabolism), and just overall not getting us the results we want.

But when you start to eat according to your own body and your personal needs and preferences, you can start to bring your body and your hormones into a natural balance.

And being in balance is what allows your body to ease into a healthy weight, rather than fighting you every step of the way...

(and that’s also when your energy increases, your mood stabilizes, your period gets easier, etc…)

Have you noticed that certain foods make you feel good or bad after you eat them? Have you tried any diets that have made you feel better or worse?

08/19/2022

Are you getting enough sleep?

Unfortunately, poor sleep is so common in our busy world that many of us just accept it as a fact of life.

Yet lack of sleep can not only put a damper on your mood and energy, it’s also one of the biggest contributors to a whole host of health problems, including weight gain, depression, and more.

Changing hormones during perimenopause make sleep more and more challenging as we get older, which is why many of us are struggling more now than we used to…

And the kicker here is that not only do hormones impact sleep, but sleep impacts hormones as well!

Meaning, if your hormones are already making it hard to sleep, that lack of sleep could be disrupting your hormones even more, which then impacts your sleep even more, which upsets your hormones even more.….

Talk about a vicious cycle!

How are you sleeping these days?

Have you noticed any changes in your sleep quality over the last few years?

07/17/2022

Sleep is a vital to our overall wellbeing - it impacts weight, energy levels, and long term health.

Unfortunately, sleeping with a loud or restless partner can make sleeping even more of a challenge than it already is...

How are you sleeping these days?
Have you ever thought about a sleep divorce?

What couples should know about sleeping in separate beds.

07/14/2022

Getting older doesn’t have to leave you feeling exhausted, emotionally depleted, and overweight.

You can have the same energy and waistline you had in your 30s without taking pills, starving yourself on a fad diet, or beating yourself up for hours on end at the gym.

Want to know how? Join the free group: https://livingbalancecoaching.com/support-group/

07/11/2022

How's your energy?