What Would Support You in Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes?

• A hiking, cooking, book club in which we discuss health related books and articles while cooking and/or hiking?  
• A health coaching support group on breaking free from emotional eating?  
• A weekly weight loss support group (by phone or in-person) 
• A health coaching support group for a 4-6 week healthy cleanse (by phone or in-person)?
• A health coaching support group on eating gluten-free, lactose free, vegan, or vegetarian? 
• Weekly Healthy Recipes with Shopping Lists?
• Private Cooking classes?
• Group cooking demos?
• Healthy Shopping Tour?
• Workshops on health related topics?  
• A 5K,10K, 1/2 marathon training group?
• 4-Week Outdoor Summer Shape-up Super Bootcamp? 

Please let me know what services you would like Sprout Wellbeing to offer by completing this survey! Click here.  Whether you live in the palouse area or are a long-distance client I want to  know what services will help you most!

 

Spring Cleaning!

It doesn't quite feel like Spring yet here in Pullman, but let's get that Spring feeling started by doing some Spring Cleaning and I am not just talking about cleaning your closet!  

People like "stuff". We tend to hold onto it year after year. We save and stock up on things that we don't know what to do with anymore. Maybe we keep things because they hold precious memories of days gone by, or they remind us of our parents, grandparents, past loves or childhood. To part with these precious possessions seems out of the question. There is a saying that goes, "You have to get rid of the old to make way for the new."  This also holds true for our emotional "stuff". We hold onto old emotions, habits and perspectives which can, just like the accumulation of stuff in our garage, make us feel weighed down, anxious, overwhelmed, and without space to bring anything else wonderful into our lives. If you are feeling stuck or stagnant in your life, try spring-cleaning! Throw out some of that stuff, say goodbye to your past and welcome the new energy of your happy, healthy future.

For good mental and physical health, we actually have three "houses" that need to be spring-cleaned: our physical homes, our physical bodies, and our hearts. Just as we accumulate "stuff" in the form of outgrown clothes, magazines, rusty bicycles, tools and random keepsakes, so do our bodies accumulate old food residues and toxins that need to be cleaned out, and our brains and hearts accumulate negative thoughts and emotions that can be let free to allow room for positive ones. 

To spring clean your body, give it a break from rich and complicated foods by either cleansing or fasting for a short period of time. Cleansing means paring down your food to just simple fruits and vegetables, lots of water and perhaps whole grains. Fasting means limiting most foods and drinking lots of water, fresh vegetable and fruit juices, teas and soups. Without much energy going toward digestion, more energy is available to the rest of your body and mind. Cleansing and fasting can sharpen your concentration, help you gain insight and promote spiritual awareness. It can also bring improved immune function and better digestion. It is recommended that you get support in your cleansing program so please contact me for a consultation on your cleanse or sign up for the Spring Cleanse Health Coaching Support Group described here. 

 While you're cleaning out your body and home, don't forget to spring-clean your heart. Throw away negative thoughts and habits you've been harboring that no longer serve you. A clean, open heart will allow you to receive all the good that awaits you each and every day. If your heart and mind are cluttered, there is no room for life's gifts and surprises to enter.

Why Weight? Diets Don’t Work

You can’t turn on the TV, drive down the road or go to a party without being confronted with America’s hottest obsession: weight. Diets are a billion-dollar industry; companies spend millions and millions luring you to try the latest diet (low carb, high protein, low fat, no fat, you name it) with promises that this will (finally!) be the solution—your shortcut to a thinner body. Advertising efforts also deeply affect our children, who develop distorted body images and are often on diets as early as nine or 10 years of age.

Our culture touts diet pills, celebrity workouts, convenience foods and trendy diets to help us achieve our desired weight, but these quick-fix solutions have backfired. America’s populace has reached its highest weight in history. About half of Americans are overweight; one-third are obese. Diets steer us away from our common sense and dip deeply into our pocketbooks while eliciting few, if any, lasting results. Why?

Let Exercise Be Thy Medicine: Circuit Training

My true love is Pilates. However, when I am not doing pilates I do circuit training! As a recovering chronic cardio addict (I used to train for marathons!), Pilates and circuit training are now my favorite forms of exercise because both types of workout are time efficient and I see way more improvement in how my body looks and feels in a shorter amount of time per week than I ever did with continuous cardio or straight set training with weights. Are you working out for hours on the treadmill but not seeing as much change as you would like in your body? Have you hit a plateau in weight loss or stopped seeing improvements in your race times or strength? Come try circuit training and Pilates with me!

Circuit training uses a combination of aerobic and strength training to effectively burn tons of calories, strengthen the major muscle groups as well as the stabilization muscles, and improves functioning of the heart and lungs within a shorter period of time than a typical cardio workout. So you don't have to waste hours at the gym! Plus the variety and quick changing movements make it more fun than continuous cardio or straight set training with weights so you are more likely to stick with it! The greatest thing is that you can do circuit training indoors or outdoors, in a group or by yourself, with equipment (bands, weights, balls, bosu's, jump ropes, etc) or with just the weight of your own body. So you can fit in a quick effective workout wherever, whenever! You can even set up a fun circuit training game including relay races and other competitions so you can exercise with your kids and family!

Circuit training combines 4-10 exercises that are completed one right after the other, with little or no rest in between. Perform each exercise for a specified time (like 1 minute), rest for no more than 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise. Completion of all the exercises is considered one circuit. The total number of circuits you complete is up to you. For beginners, start with 30 seconds per exercise and increase the time as you get stronger. Another way to progress is to shorten your rest in between exercises and circuits.

Of course it is important to have good form in each exercise and someone to help push you with new exercises and challenges which is why it is always a great idea to have some of your workouts be with a personal trainer. Just like in Pilates, it is very important to have good form in order to get the benefit of the exercise and prevent injury. Whether you are located in the Moscow/Pullman area or not, please contact me to schedule a free consultation to discuss your fitness and nutrition goals so I can help set up some great circuit routines and nutrition plans with you!

If you want a fun, time-effective way to lose weight, break through plateaus, gain strength, and improve overall cardiovascular health, try this no-equipment-needed circuit training workout and schedule a free consultation with me so I can design more circuit workouts for you! This circuit takes about 10 minutes. You can do it once, twice, three times in a row, use it as a break in your workday and do it every few hours, or do it alternating with aerobic exercise like running, walking, or biking. When I am doing lots of computer work during the day, I set my alarm for every two hours to do a 10 minute circuit...it helps with my energy and concentration and keeps me fit even when I am busy!
Click "read more" to see the circuit workout.....

Newsletter Sept 2010: Sprouting from a Distance: How long distance, traveling, or super busy folks can participate in Sprout Wellbeing

Are you just so sad that you don't live in the Palouse so you can't be a part of the Sprout Wellbeing community? Well don't worry, you can still SPROUT with us in many ways through: