I met Cathy last year in my New Years Resolution workshop that I host at the Mindful Body.

I believe Cathy had been ready to make these changes for a long time, but she needed some words of inspiration to help her make the first step.  She came to me asking for support and we created a plan around exercise, nutrition, cooking, and even a little bit of mindfulness.

Cathy is a testament to what choosing health can do for your life. I am honored and feel much gratitude for being able to share this experience with Cathy.  I thank her for her generosity to share her story.

I think the 3 main ingredients to Cathy’s success were her positivity, consistency, and effort.

Cathy’s Milestones:

January 1: I weigh 207 pounds.

February 15th: Lost 10 pounds.

March 2nd: Lost 15 pounds.

April 13th: I’m in size 10 blue jeans!

April 16th: Lost 24 pounds!

May 6th: My breathing is so much improved-thanks to my weight loss-that I’ve been switched to a lesser asthma inhaler.

May 25th: Used the elliptical machine at the YMCA for the first time.

June 12th: I can swim for 50 minutes.

June 22nd: Lost 30 pounds.

July 5th: I weigh 175 pounds.

July 18th: A new high for me: 465 calories burned in 38 minutes!

August 10th: My percentage of body fat is down 17%, to 25.7%! The optimal range is 15-25%.

Cathy has lost 40lbs total and has an intention to lose 50lbs. She is now an avid road biker, exercise enthusiast, mindful and healthy eater, and has actually biked more than 100 miles in the month of January.

Cathy already started off interested in cooking and eating healthy, but really transformed her cooking and her lifestyle with her food choices.

Her husband wasn’t exercising, but actually lost weight just by eating what she was eating. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

I always say you get fit in the gym, but you lose weight at the table.

Cathy feels the most helpful resources for cooking were:

• Martha Rose Shulman, who writes the Recipes for Health column in the New York Times.

I’ve liked practically every recipe of hers that I’ve tried. And the fact that they’re accompanied by nutritional info has been very helpful.

• I’ve liked a lot of recipes from Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101 Cookbooks, and her latest cookbook, Super Natural Cooking Every Day.

Cathy modified Swanson’s recipes to fit her tastes.

• I love Salad as a Meal, by longtime cookbook writer Patricia Wells.

I wanted to share this story with you to inspire you that if Cathy can do it, so CAN YOU!

Here are 5 Tips to Keep Your Health Motivation High!

1.  Stay Accountable

Accountability is an important self monitoring tool and can keep you accountable to the intentions that you set each week.

How do I stay accountable?

• Check in with a friend, coach, or family member every week.

• Write it down.  Put it on the calendar, use a food diary, etc.

2. Be Adventurous

Try new things!

• Learn a new exercise (rock climbing, swimming, road biking, etc.)

• Try new recipes

• Explore nature and be active

3.  Enlist Support

Its important to have support outside of ourselves.  Keep a cheerleading squad of support who knows you are on the path to health and can encourage you along the way.

Cathy created an entourage of support:

- Her daughters and husband

- Me, her coach

- Friends

- Extended Family

- Her road biking community

- Her hyperactive Jack Russel dog who helped Cathy get outside at least once a day.

4.  Keep Your Commitment

Its so easy to be distracted by what other people are doing or not doing, but that isn’t necessarily what is best for you.

Example: You are at a restaurant and everyone is ordering dessert, but you know you aren’t hungry.

What do you do? You keep your commitment to making healthy choices and pass on dessert, but get tea so you can join in.  Next time, when you have some room and really want dessert, you order it.

We all slip and in fact this is a normal part of change. When one slips, its important to be compassionate with ourself, see what might’ve caused you to slip, and then get back on your plan and the routine that has been working. It is as simple as that.

Long Term change looks like taking 2 steps forward, maybe one step back, but you are still 1 step ahead.

How does Cathy keep her commitment?

•Brings exercise clothes when she travels and aims to exercise 5-6 days a week.

•Eats healthy at restaurants and while visiting friends and family out of town

•Looks for new and healthy recipes that she shares with friends and family while in the Bay Area or even cooking these recipes if she is able to and out of town.

5.  Recognize Your Success!

This important step is often forgotten.

We can often have our to do list, check it off, and then start a new list the next day.

What is missing in this equation? We aren’t actually acknowledging the work that we are doing and giving ourselves a moment to soak in our efforts.  Its important to stop and say, “Hey, Good JOB Lady or Mister, that was hard work you just did.”

This week no matter what it is, how can you take in and acknowledge your beauty, hard work, and goodness?

If you can start these tips today, I know you can create the kinds of healthy changes you are seeking!

If you feel inspired by this story and/or want more support to create healthy changes in your life, coaching might be the answer.

What can I expect from Coaching?

• A integrative and tailored approach to your unique goals and lifestyle.

• Education, Support, and a Plan you can stick to.

• Weekly Encouragement and Accountability

Carley Specializes in the Following Areas:

• Mindful Eating and Weight Loss

• Nutritional Counseling

• Mind/Body Practices

• Exercise Prescription

• Couples Counseling

• Work Life Balance

• Meditation and Stress Reduction

Make your first step today and call Carley at 415-971-7556 for a FREE 20 minute Wellness Consultation!

Intuitive Wellness

It can always be challenging to find the perfect gift. I know that the gifts that have been the most meaningful to me were ones that were lasting.  This might be memories you create with family, an item that you will use over and over again and actually adds to your health and wellness, vs. just having another pretty sweater or scarf right?  In the last few years, I have been giving gifts to family that help the environment.  These are lasting and I believe make the giver and receiver feel good.   If you are looking for different and healthy ideas for yourself and the environment I have come up with a list that may put a new twist on gift giving.  I will be giving some of these below and hope they are helpful

Giving to Mother Earth

This holiday season, you can adopt acres of land to be protected, plant trees to cut down your carbon imprint, or even adopt animals that need a fair chance for survival.  Here are some organizations I believe are doing great work.

Adopt an Animal- Oceana

Buy Land or Plant a Tree- The Nature Conservancy

350.org- Helping to Solve the Climate Crisis- http://www.350.org/

Wellness Books

The Buddhas Brain

I highly recommend this book to all my clients to really understand how your brain works and learn to incline your mind to the positive.

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach Ph.d

This is a book for women and men alike who struggle with being kinder to themselves.  Tara Brach is a very gifted writer and compassionate teacher.

Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

There are so many cookbooks, but one I have come to enjoy and love and helps you to cook from more whole foods is this one.  Enjoy!

Mindfulness

I couldn’t talk about gift ideas without some helpful tools in how to integrate more mindfulness into ones day

Daily Mindfulness Practice

Hugger Mugger sells wonderful zafus aka (meditation cushions) yoga mats, and other products that will help you to slow down and reconnect to yourself.  Simply click on the above link which will direct you to my home page and then click on the Hugger Mugger icon.

Awaken Your Joy

Awakening Joy is a 10 month class one of my meditation teachers, James Baraz teaches.  I myself took the course 2 years ago and really enjoyed it.  It is a a wonderful class that you can do here in the Bay Area or even gather friends and family who don’t live here to take it with you online.  The class starts in February.

Awakening Joy

www.intuitivelywell.com

Are you ready to make 2012 your healthiest year ever?

Each New Year brings hope for new intentions, accomplishments, and transformation.

Sunday, January 8th, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

In this two hour workshop we will hit the reset button and move into the New Year with clear intentions for your health and wellness.

Topics include:

• Learn how to align your actions with your most important values
• Learn how to develop a healthy relationship with yourself and food.
• Learn how to take more breaks during the day to tune in and take better care of yourself.
• Complete a full wellness assessment to address all of your health and wellness needs.

Carley will guide you in creating a routine for work life balance that is personalized to you and your lifestyle.

One Month Wellness Challenge: 4 Week Series

Week 1 (January 10th- 6:30-8:30)-Enjoy Exercise

You will learn how to find your right fit with exercise and re-ignite your motivation.  We will cover simple techniques to increase flexibility, core strength, and learn to find a plan that works for you indoors or outdoors.

Week 2 (January 17th- 6:30-8:30)-Stress Less

You will learn to identify what your stressors are and then develop healthy ways to manage stress.  We will use simple tips backed by research to allow you to be Stress Free for GOOD! You will learn how to practice mindfulness at home, work, and in your relationships.

Week 3 (January 24th- 6:30-8:30)-Eat Right

Many of us have a good understanding of what to eat, but do you we really know how to eat?  Integrate nutrition knowledge with mindful eating practices to create a healthy relationship with yourself and food in the New Year.

Week 4 (January 31st- 6:30-8:30)-Be Happy

Do you often battle those winter time blues?  Learn to incline your mind to the positive and live from a place of abundance with simple joy and gratitude practices.

Receive an entire month of wellness support and teachings!

When: January 8th- 31st

Where: The Mindful Body- 2876 California St. San Francisco, CA

Full series- $175 (Initial workshop and 4 week series)

$40 for each Workshop and your Personalized Wellness Prescription

Reserve your spot today, as this workshop is limited to 12 participants and will up fast!

Call and Register at the Mindful Body- 931-2639

A New Year: A New You- http://www.themindfulbody.com/main/workshopcarley3.htm

www.intuitivelywell.com

As a wellness consultant, meditation teacher, and therapist I find that I am often teaching and talking to clients about how to be happy and take in the positive.

Did you know that our brain has a natural negative bias? Rick Hanson, Ph.d a psychologist and meditation teacher illustrates this in his book the “Buddhas Brain”.  Even though we typically lean to the negative we can offset these normal negative and judgmental thoughts, by taking in the good and the positive.

In my draw to happiness, I recently finished the book the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It was a fun read and gave some insight into the authors own search in how to be more happy in her life over a years time.  This book inspired to understand my own happiness rituals.

I have often been told I am very positive and optimistic.  One of my graduate school mentors told me I had a big hardiness factor and would comment, “Carley you seem to be able to make the sweetest lemonade out of sour lemons.”  I guess this tool and inclination has come in handy in my life and honestly makes my life a little happier too.

So I asked myself what are some of the things I do for my own happiness? I try to surround myself with happy and optimistic people.  I recently have developed friendships with a husband and wife in my neighborhood who are amazing and happy people and have created a nutrition bar that is called,“Can DO!”  Its a very healthy gluten free bar, please feel free to check it out at-http://www.candobar.com. How positive is that?  I also try and read about things that inspire me and thus make me happy.  About 6 months ago, I started reading and subscribing to a magazine called Ode. Guess what their subtitle is? For Intelligent Optimists.  Amazing!  I really enjoy this magazine because it talks about all the good things happening in the world and how people are trying to make our world a better place.  I also meditate, eat well, exercise, and spend time in nature daily (even if its just a 5 minute walk in the sun).

In addition to some of the things I do for my own happiness quotient I have blended some of the latest research and recommendations on happiness from Shawn Achor, Harvard Psychologist and happiness expert and Rick Hanson.

For habits to stick, you have to practice them right? Lets do a Happiness Challenge together. Make time for these simple 5 tips for 21 days and then see how you feel. If you don’t feel happier, then call or email and I would be happy to support you with more tools.

Five Activities to Improve Happiness

Gratitude Journal.

Write down 3 things that you are grateful for everyday. They must be new things that occurred in the last 24 hours and they must be specific.  For example: Just saying I had a good day at work isn’t enough.  Instead, how was the day at work good?  Oh, thats right I got some great feedback on my performance from a co-worker.  Once you have down this for a few weeks, you can scroll through the list

Internalize the Positive.

There are good things happening all around us, but we seldom allow ourselves to take them in.  For example, Someone is nice to you, a flower is blooming, or you do really well on a task at work.  Once you have opened up to this positive experience, savor it for 10-20 seconds. Allow yourself to take it into your mind and body by focusing on body awareness and emotions.  For example: Allow yourself to take in the feeling of happiness and warmth when you are giving or receiving a hug, this can help to intensify this experience and store it further in your memory.

Exercise.

It has been reported that those that exercise consistently create more natural serotonin than those who don’t.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that makes us feel happier.  When people were studied who suffered with depression, those who exercised instead of taking an anti-depressant had equal drops in depression, but had 30% fewer relapses after the initital 6 months. Wow!

Meditation.

Helps you single task, which has so many benefits such as: focused concentration, calm mood, ability to tune into a challenge or even your ability to attune to those you are around.  If you are more attuned to your life and the people around you,  you are probably enjoying your life more. Meditation= Happiness

Send random acts of kindness.

You can hold the door open for a stranger, send nice emails to friends or family, pay for someones bus or train fare, pay a compliment to a total stranger, or tell friends, family, or a loved one that you love and appreciate them.

Twenty one days later your brain can feel so much more gratitude and appreciation for what you have and the positive person you are becoming even when life doesn’t always feel so rosy.

We can do it together, Come ON!

Day 1

11/24/11

Gratitude Journal

Its Thanksgiving and I am grateful for all the wonderful family I am surrounded by.

I am thankful for getting to go outside and run in the beautiful countryside of New Hampshire

I am thankful for the precious time with my one year old nephew who just makes everyone smile.

Internalize the Positive

While being with my family today, I internalized all the feelings of warmth, love, and gratitude for the time to be together.

Exercise

I ran for an hour outside and enjoyed the brisk cold air, quiet, and autumn colored leaves.

Meditation

I spent 10 minutes sitting this morning.

Send Random Acts of Kindness

Today, I sent texts to friends telling them I was thankful for their friendship and love.

As one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area (Cafe Gratitude) states,

“What are you grateful for?”

www.intuitivelywell.com