Monday, March 29, 2010

Breakfast Blight...

Since when do I eat brownies and drink coke for breakfast??

This is what I asked myself this morning when I sat down at my desk two-fisted with both of these items. What in the world?? How did these things even get into my pantry?

Warning! Warning! Warning! The alarm has sounded. My life has become grossly out of balance! The sign? Coke and brownies. I haven't had either of these items for well over a year, maybe even two!! And today, they were both in my hands...for my breakfast. Hmmm...

In contemplating this catastrophe, I did a mental rewind of the last six weeks of my existence. It has been busy, stressful, and chaotic for sure. There has been a new job offer, which led to a scurrying of new ideas, a lot of traveling, and the prospect of many things to come...a fresh start, so to speak. A new home (yes again!), a new city, a new state, new friends, new church, new schools, new clients, new grocery stores, new EVERYTHING!

With this new adventure on the horizon, there has also been some tragedy mixed in to work through, with the death of my husband's friend. Then there was new life, with the birth of a new baby for one of my best friends. And intermingled with that we are dealing with some hiccups trying to secure our future...the new beginning which will begin just 10 weeks from now!!

Wow. That is a lot to absorb. I am overwhelmed. Nervous. Excited. Afraid. And extremely grateful for the new opportunity. It's funny the way life works sometimes. Just when you think you've settled into a nice groove, it topples over and you need to reset. Frustrating? Yes! Overwhelming? Yes! Too much to handle? Apparently, maybe a little for me. But it's nothing that can't be fixed.

Coke and brownies. My warning sign. Time to reset myself. Time for more self care, quiet time to reflect and process, for exercise that has been neglected in all the travel, time to slow down, regroup, and make sense of all that is happening. This is serious, because I don't even like coke or brownies :) But I can do it.

Step one? Throw out the coke and brownies.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

A Healthy Perspective...My Story

I wasn't always a "health nut"...nor did I ever aspire to be one. All I knew was there were many areas of my life that were not where I wanted them to be and I was constantly searching for a magic solution to bring them all into one happy place. I was feeling depressed, overwhelmed, and out of sorts. My emotions were struggling, my health was struggling, my marriage and relationships were struggling, everything was in an upheaval. I was experiencing complete discontent, and nothing was "right".

When I finally tired of blaming everyone and everything for my problems, I began working on improving my health, where as a result, my eating habits changed, and I began to feel balance come into place in all areas of my life. Could this really be? Is my food affecting everything? Yes! It was. I slowly began to see the bigger picture that was surrounding my life. I was eating junk. And as a result, my life was full of junk...artificial relationships, less than stellar parenting, lazy attitude, lack of sweetness in my marriage, feeling dry and empty...it was an overall full-out funk. I discovered though, that the reason this was, is because I was feeding my self all the wrong things. I was using food to remedy every feeling I had! When ever I was upset and needed comfort, I made a heavy, satiating meal. Whenever I felt lonely or sad, or unloved or neglected, the sweet tooth kicked in. Stressed and burned out? Yep, you guessed it...crunchy, salty anything! I was noticing a pattern, and it was intriguing me!

Once I learned food wasn't the way to handle emotions, I knew I needed to reevaluate everything and figure out what was missing in my life. Was it friendship, love, creativity, security? All of these actually. While I was feeding my body food and food products, I wasn't feeding me. All the areas of my life that make me who I am. And all that neglect began to manifest it's way through my food.

Once I figured out how to handle me and maintain balance with my eating and in my life as a wife, mother, business owner, friend, sister, daughter, etc...I realized and knew there were others out there that struggle just like I had (and sometimes still do)! I began to desire to help these people find what they were looking for in life, while improving their health and overall wellness at the same time. With a little prodding from a friend, and full support from my husband, I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to became a Holistic Health Counselor.

In my counseling practice, I now work with my clients in all the same areas I did to improve and balance myself, my health, my emotions, and my life. We talk about good nutrition practices, as well as all the other areas of our lives that need to be fed as well...relationships, physical health, spirituality, careers and roles, and proper self care. In addition to my health counseling certification, I have a BFA in Interior Design. I understand that the environments we work, live, sleep, and play in bear a crucial role in our health and happiness. This makes my counseling practice unique and different than any other because I use this knowledge to take my clients' health journey one step further. Together, we can transform any environment they spend time in into a place that nurtures them, feeds them, and supports them positively as they make new health and lifestyle changes.

I feel blessed to have gone through that "funk" and the struggles that I did. It led me to the most incredible and amazing journey ever towards health and wellness. I love sharing and helping others discover what they are missing in their lives. I learn so much from every client which only challenges and improves me more. Each one is such a treasured gift!

In your journey towards health and balance, do not be afraid to look to others for help or answers. Support is crucial whether in the form of a community or just one individual. Take time to care for yourself and be a part of a movement to help change your family, friends, loved ones, and even the world, by sharing what you have learned and discovered about yourself!

Luanne Gerrity, HHC
www.imhungryforsomething.com