
Just Another Sunday- A Son's Mother's day Tribute

05/06/2016 11:51am
Mother's Day is Sunday. For the first time in my 47 years on the planet, it really is, JUST another Sunday. Since my mother passed away last August, this Sunday becomes just another weekend. For the first time, no trips to the florist or the candy store. No need to call or send a card. No use of construction paper and glitter in art class. Mother's Day is now, just another Sunday. Ironically, this is probably the first time I've ever actually valued Mother's Day. Most times I saw those flowers and cards as some kind...

10 Super Foods to Eat This Spring

04/27/2016 06:17pm
Warmer weather is gradually arriving (at least to us in Seattle!) and many of you, like myself, are likely starting to shift your eating. Heavy stews and fortifying soups are on their way out in place of lighter fare with seasonal produce. Personally, I always find this time of year that I've forgotten many of my favorite Spring and Summer foods as this transition happens, and I get into a food rut, rotating through many of the same meals until something reminds me of the variety at my fingertips (ie the store or farmers market). For that reason I created a...

Is Your Weight Gain Caused by a Calorie Imbalance or Gut Breakdown?

04/27/2016 05:05pm
I see clients every day who have struggled for years to achieve a healthy weight. They have tried every diet on the market with at best minimal results. And so often they also live with chronic digestive issues. Their stories almost always include some or all of the following: a history of the Standard American Diet, regular antibiotic usage as a child or into adulthood, a period of time on the birth control pill, over-the-counter or prescription medications for reflux, constipation or diarrhea.What do the statistics tell us? (data from the National Institutes of Health) 230 million Americans are overweight or...

Switching Jobs? How To Go On A Free $2,000+ Health Shopping Spree Before You Leave

04/27/2016 06:56am
This article appeared in Forbes on March 31, 2016 previous column advised job switchers on how to maximize bonuses, retirement matches and other payouts before leaving a job. This column provides additional opportunities to save by taking advantage of health benefits and vacation days. In todays economy, leaving a job may not entitle you to a lavish good-bye party or a shiny farewell gift. However, if you plan ahead, you could go on a 2,000+ shopping spree courtesy of your employer before you walk away, or turn leftover vacation days into...

Swimming In The Real-World Financial Pool

04/27/2016 06:47am
This article appeared in The Huffington Post on 7/11/2012 Summer always brings a certain excitement as a new crop of freshly minted college graduates descends upon Manhattan and other cities, ready to take on the world. But while these young adults come armed with diplomas, a new wardrobe, and endless ambition, most lack a solid grasp of what it means to be financially literate. Todays graduates are diving into the real-world financial pool without even the basic strokes of personal finance. As the recent financial crisis has illuminated, not only is the water quite deep, but there are also plenty...

To Be Your Best, Create Space in Your Business

04/14/2016 02:25pm
In 2005, David Lynch created the Quiet Time Program. Yep, that guy the award-winning director, writer and producer of Eraserhead , Elephant Man , Wild at Heart , Twin Peaks , Blue Velvet . Thats the short list. This guy is known for his frankly weird films. Now, hes teaching kids about inner space. He pushes the limits . He has his own vision . He brings it to life . Sound like anyone you know? Kind of sums up the entrepreneur experience , right? Quiet Time integrates the practice of...

Why Is Behavior Change Towards Healthy Diet and Lifestyle So Hard?

04/13/2016 06:21pm
I've been pondering this question ever since reading an article that public health officials in the UK want to start labeling foods with "activity equivalents."(1) While only a proposal at this stage, these depictions would let consumers know approximately the time and types of activity required to burn off the calories in the product being purchased. A box of biscuits might, for example, have a picture of a person walking for 60 minutes or swimming for 30 minutes to demonstrate the type of activity and length of time it would take to burn off the calories in one serving. With more...

Duality - The internal struggle can we ever win?

04/13/2016 03:23pm
What is duality? Duality in this context is the idea that there are two contrasting aspects working together to create something, in this instance the self. It seems that over much of time we have been programmed to fear duality and its inevitable conflicts, the fight between good and evil, the fight between light and dark, the fight between heaven and hell. But duality should not be something we fear it should be something we embrace.There is a constant battle going on within us, for some imperceptibly, an internal monologue we are either in direct contact with or not. An internal...

WADA - Fixing doping in Sport

04/12/2016 04:17pm
Is the World Anti Doping Agency fit for purpose, it appears to be broken so how can we fix it without tinkering around the edges rather lets go in with a clean sheet of paper and design a system that allows athletes to compete in a clean environment. The World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) is tasked with monitoring sport around the world to ensure that sportsmen and women are not gaining unfair advantage by using substances and techniques know to provide performance enhancement. However we know of recent instances where this has failed, Lance Armstrong and members of his team where systematically...

How to Stop Being The Best Kept Secret

04/07/2016 03:10pm
You've decided to start a small business. You ignored your friends and family and stepped out on faith. Then you realized that having an online business means you have to show up. You created a Facebook business page and posts in several Facebook groups about your amazing services and/or products, but even the crickets are quiet. You hear of all the great new platforms like Periscope, Blab, Facebook Live and SnapChat, but instead of creating a strategy for your business to get on board you sign up only to watch in the background. Does this sound like you? You are...

Dysphagia: Diagnosis, Treatment and Controversies

03/30/2016 03:42pm
Have you ever swallowed and had food "go down the wrong way"? For an estimated 15-40% of adults over the age of 60 this is a constant concern. Dysphagia is simply defined as any difficulty or inability to swallow. It is not a disease, but a disruption of a normal process. Problems at any point during the swallow can result in difficulty swallowing. A person with dysphagia may have a delayed, incomplete or absent swallowing response. Potential causes include obstruction, nerve and muscle problems and miscellaneous issues such as trauma, medications, poor dentition and poor mouth care. Dysphagia can have a...

Three Messages for National Nutrition Month

03/23/2016 06:03pm
Happy National Nutrition Month! Yes, that time of the year is here again. Naturally it seems appropriate to write on the topic, so earlier this week I sat down and thought about what National Nutrition Month means to me.There are many nutrition themes that will be discussed this month, but I narrowed it down to three main messages that I think are important and worth re-educating yourself on. These might seem common sense, but they are lessons that most of us so often forget with the constant feed of new nutrition information bombarding us every time we get on the web...

Savor the Flavor With Healthy Options

03/16/2016 06:10pm
Most of us enjoy eating. We have a list of favorites and are fond of sampling new dishes and foods that we can add to our list. Suddenly advice from the doctor to make lifestyle and daily diet changes can be jarring. The meal routines that we have on auto pilot now need to stop. I hear all types of excuses from my clients when they are faced with this challenge. " But I can't," "it is not the same", "it doesn't taste good ." I totally get it, change is challenging. However you can continue to savor eating experiences by...

A Healthy Gut Is Essential to a Healthy Weight

03/09/2016 06:02pm
Okay, I'm about to throw you a curve ball. Ready? It's possible that the reason you are having such a hard time losing weight is because the bacteria living inside your gut are out of balance.Until recently, it was assumed that these bacteria (our microbiome) didn't do much. But now there is a growing body of research suggesting that the 100 trillion bacteria - about three pounds - living inside our gut play a huge role in our health and disease. Researchers believe that this is especially true for the metabolic diseases that plague us today such as Type 2 diabetes...

Bloating - 60+ Million People Live With It, What Can Be Done?

03/03/2016 07:55pm
Do you live with chronic bloating? Would you guess that 1 in 5 of your friends and family may as well? It is one of the most prevalent symptoms that we endure - when you wake up, after each meal, and getting worse and worse throughout the day. Statistics show that about 20% of the U.S. population has bloating. I would think that is a low estimate. The digestive system isn't the sexiest of systems in the body, and people are embarrassed to talk about it. But the chronic symptoms that so many people are living with can be changed!I...