Are you frustrated with how your body is not changing (or moving in the opposite direction you want it to) despite your best attempts to live a healthy lifestyle? You aren’t alone. It is one of the most common concerns I hear from the women I work with. And despite what you may have been told, the successful solution is not to just eat less and exercise more.

Healthy eating is so confusing, isn’t it? You can find conflicting information for just about everything. There is no one size fits all approach that works for absolutely everyone, but there are some general guidelines I teach that are an effective framework to determine what works best for you. Let’s take a look at them…

One of the main concerns that patients come to see me for help with is hormonal symptoms related to either peri-menopause or menopause. They may experience a wide variety of symptoms including: difficult sleeping, weight gain, hot flashes, extended PMS symptoms, changes in bleeding, night sweats. vaginal dryness, hair loss, memory difficulties, fatigue and/or decreased sex drive. That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, does it? No wonder a lot of the women are also experiencing mood changes! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a rough transition - there are lots of options that can help to make it much smoother. That’s the focus of what I do.

I know firsthand what it’s like to feel tired all the time, and how life-changing it is to correct it. In January of 2021, I had routine blood work done. My doctor called me shortly after and asked me how I was functioning. It turns out that my iron markers were REALLY low… I check them with most of my patients, and I had never seen someone as low as I was! In fact my hemoglobin (the protein that carries the iron and oxygen) was half of what it should be. Normally that only happens when someone is undergoing cancer treatment or is really sick.

Are you struggling with poor sleep? If the answer is yes, then reply back so we can chat about the best way to help you change that sooner rather than later. A good night’s sleep can really be a life changer as it allows you to recharge and have the energy to do all that you want to during the day. You deserve to feel that way.

How often in life have you done things because you felt like you “should” and not because you really wanted to? Sure, sometimes that is necessary… like making dinner for your family when you would rather be relaxing on the couch. But what about the majority of the time? If you find yourself frequently saying yes because you think that’s what other people want or expect from you, then that is a perfect recipe for unhappiness and burnout. I know I was definitely there in the past. I feel like it’s only in the last couple of years that I have become better at saying no more often and tuning in to what I want and need. It can be a tough transition - if you are used to always thinking about others, then it can take some time to even know what it is that you really want.

My goal is to help you build muscle so you can be stronger in your daily life and to rev up your metabolism so you can be leaner and healthier. That takes time. You don’t build muscle overnight or even in a week. As that shift starts happening, you may see little or no change in your weight, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a lot of change happening.

Now why the heck would you want to do intermittent fasting? There are so many health benefits! A major one is that it helps to make you more metabolically flexible. Many people spend most of their time burning mainly sugar (or carbohydrates) for energy and then the extra gets stored as fat. When you go for longer periods of time without eating (ie when you fast), your body will switch to burning fat as a fuel source.

It is 100% true that your collagen production decreases with age, starting in your 30’s, but increasingly so as you get closer to menopause and beyond. The loss of collagen has an effect on your skin and joints. Collagen is kind of like the springs in your mattress. That’s why as we lose it, we get more wrinkles and fine lines. Collagen is also an important component of your joints and helps keep them springy.

As I type this, my family and I are getting ready to take a road trip to Washington, DC for the kids’ March Break. We have always wanted to go there, and now that the kids are old enough to appreciate the history and the museums (it also helps that they are free… travelling with 6 of us is not cheap!), we decided this is the year! I often hear that it’s challenging to figure out how to eat healthy when you are eating away from home, so I thought it might be helpful to share what I do. There are actually lots of good options that make it possible to keep your wellness goals on track while you are exploring somewhere away from home or eating out to give yourself a break from cooking.

You can’t afford not to put in the time to take care of yourself. It’s so easy for us to prioritize taking care of everyone and everything else. If we don’t take care of ourselves though, then in the best case scenario we will find ourselves going through the motions but feeling exhausted, or in the worst case, we will find ourselves in a position where we can’t take care of anyone. We don’t want to wait until we are sick before we start taking the steps to be healthy.

As your hormones change with peri/menopause, your body starts to break down muscle at an increasing rate. Muscle is very metabolically active, so less muscle means a slower metabolism, more inflammation, more insulin resistance, lower bone density, and less strength. This has a huge impact on your ability to stay healthy and active as you age. It’s also why so many women I talk to are frustrated because they find themselves gaining weight despite their best efforts to change that.

The good news is that this isn’t just something we have to accept as part of aging. We have the power to change that trajectory with what we eat and how we exercise. When you build your muscle, you will speed up your metabolism, reduce inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, increase bone density, and get stronger!!

Many people spend the majority of their time in sugar burning, and that has many negative health consequences including poorer sleep quality, higher blood sugar levels, weight gain, and increased inflammation. But with a few changes, you can be on the path to better health, no matter your age.

I never played on a sports team in elementary or high school. I grew up thinking of myself as the smart kid (as seen here!), but not the athletic kid. I’ve been working to change that story in my adult years, even though it still replays at times.

We may not be able to make more time, but we do have choices about what we say yes to and how we choose to spend the time we do have.

It is true that your hormones change as menopause approaches (it can start as early as your mid 30’s!), but hot flashes and abdominal weight gain do not have to be a given outcome.

Have you heard of macronutrients? Maybe you know a little, maybe you are super confused by all of the information available, or maybe you’ve never even heard of them. That’s okay! I am going to simplify what macros are…

I think we all deserve to feel confident and energetic and beautiful at whatever stage of life we are in.  I love helping people achieve that by naturally improving their sleep, getting rid of hot flashes (they are NOT a given you have to deal with), showing them how to exercise and eat so they can get stronger and leaner, enhancing the appearance of their skin, or adding a little sparkle to their wardrobe. 

It’s that time of year where the weather is getting cooler, the leaves are falling and warm and cozy comfort food is on everyone’s mind. What better way to celebrate fall than with a delicious and nutritious soup recipe that not only satisfies your craving for comfort foods, but also nourish your body as well?