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Health CoachingTherapeutic Lifestyle ChangeWeight Loss

Want to Lose Weight? Stop Trying So Hard.

Being a health coach, people ask me all the time about losing weight.  Everyone seems to want that elusive “magic bullet” pill or potion that will take the weight off with the least amount of effort.  The truth is, you CAN lose weight without trying, but it’s not as simple as popping a pill or drinking a shake. When I share with patients that I used to be overweight, they always stare at me in disbelief.  Yes, I have a “before” and…
Ashley
October 9, 2015
AllergiesTherapeutic Lifestyle Change

Spring is in the Air: Are You on Allergy Alert?

I don't know about you, but I'm SO OVER this cold and clammy weather - Bring On Spring! Sunny, cool days… budding trees and flowers. Just thinking about it makes me happy! There was a time, though, when the thought of spring made me cringe. Can you guess why? Two words: allergy season. I would get sick with allergies every spring and fall like clockwork. It would start off simple enough... itchy eyes and sneezing. Then, faster than you can…
Ashley
March 20, 2015
Health CoachingNutrition Coaching

Sweets: The Good, The Bad and the Toxic

There are moments in life that can really pull you off track from improving your health; birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, you name it.  Why do we get derailed during these occasions?  Because most of the sweet treats Americans “celebrate” with are like gateway drugs that open the door to poor dietary habits and chronic disease.  The taste of sweet is a natural and healthy part of our taste sensation.  You may not realize this, but food chemists have found some pretty…
Ashley
March 26, 2014
AllergiesHealth CoachingNutrition Coaching

Has Your Immune System Gone on Strike?

How’s your immune system holding up this year?  Is the stuffy head cold you got last month STILL hanging on even though you’ve drunk your weight in cold medicine and taken a couple rounds of antibiotics?  What are you doing wrong?  First of all, food (real food), really is the best medicine – eating natural whole foods provides the raw materials for every cell in your body to function properly.  If you’re eating processed foods throughout the day, you should expect…
Ashley
December 30, 2013
Health CoachingNutrition CoachingTherapeutic Lifestyle Change

Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice… for junk food?

I once had a patient tell me that eating a bag of potato chips was worth having diabetes and injecting insulin every day.  My thought was, "Seriously?  Are potato chips really worth dying for"? How can this mentality even exist? It exists because processed foods in the standard American diet aren't just unhealthy, they're addictive.  They are designed by chemists to be addictive in the same way nicotine makes cigarettes addictive.  One reason that compounds like isolated sugar, salt, fat, gluten, MSG and…
Ashley
September 26, 2013
Therapeutic Lifestyle Change

Are you stressed out?

The answer will always be “yes”, whether you like it or not. It’s the nature of the beast, living in this fast-paced society. We can’t avoid it, but learning how to manage it is critical to your health and well-being. Remember stress is something that happens inside you, not to you (for example; the car cutting you off in traffic isn't "stress", your physiological reaction is). Stressors can include a variety of things that you may not know of, like:…
Ashley
August 9, 2013
Health CoachingNutrition Coaching

Create a New Sense of “Normal” with 5 Simple Habit Changes

Spring is upon us folks, and if the thought of swimsuits and physical activity makes you groan in misery, you probably aren’t feeling well. You feel fine, you say? Most of us have underlying pain and fatigue that we acclimate to everyday until it becomes a new state of “normal” - in other words, you don’t think you feel bad because you always feel bad. So how do you re-set your “normal” and get that spring vitality back? Feeling good…
Ashley
March 21, 2013
Therapeutic Lifestyle Change

America The Broken Hearts Club

Did you know that every U.S. calendar month is dedicated to at least one chronic disease? The purpose, naturally, is to bring awareness to the American public, which increases support and funding for clinical studies and drug research. Yet, in spite of new drugs and media attention, the incidence of chronic disease continues to rise. This month’s focus is on heart disease. Most of you already know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country; it…
Ashley
February 20, 2013
Detoxification

Detoxification – Out With The Old and In With The New

Whew… the holidays are over. How did you fare? Even the most devoted health nut can fall off the “wellness wagon” during the holiday season. The phrase “out with the old and in with the new” resonates with most of us at the start of the new year and detoxification is the physiological way your body does this. Over time, your body accumulates toxins from your environment - the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink…
Ashley
January 21, 2013
Nutrition Coaching

Healthy Holidays?

The holidays are upon us and as much as I love them, trying to maintain healthy habits can be difficult to say the least. Surrounded by a plethora of high glycemic fatty foods and grandma smiling sweetly as she hands you a piece of pie… it’s hard to say no. So how do you stay on track with all of the temptation and chaos? Here are my top five tips: Relax – Don’t let the holiday chaos turn into a…
Ashley
December 3, 2012