I have made the decision to move my blog to
nancyoglesbywellness.medium.com. I would live for y’all to follow me over there, and consider creating content there as well.
Read all you can about writing on Medium and the many ways you can get paid. It will inspire you to develop content and shine your light around the world!
Hope to see you there!
Does getting healthy seem overwhelming? Do you think you’re going to have to give up everything you love? Change your entire life?
It doesn’t have to be that way! Instead of worrying about changing your lifestyle completely, pick one thing to change and just make one simple change every month or two. In a year you’ll have made six or twelve … TWELVE healthy changes.
It’s not all about food and exercise either. Good health begins with building a satisfying life. Here are some ideas:
Make one simple change every month or two and by the end of a year you’ll feel better, look better and will have set yourself up for a higher quality of life long term. You can choose to feel energetic, healthy and happy. Following the one simple change formula will get you there.
I just got off the phone with your DNA. Yep, it’s true. It called because it’s concerned that you aren’t aware of its fragility now that you’re getting a little older. Sure, sure, you could do a lot of things when you were younger (and you did), but now your DNA is starting to feel a little out of sorts.
What’s happening as we age is that DNA repair is a bit slower unless we provide a solid nutritional base of fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s just not enough that we drop a multi-vitamin or supplement with vitamin A, C and E. As a matter of fact supplementing with some of those individual antioxidants, or multivitamins has proven harmful. Many studies show supplementation increases the incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer and increases mortality from all causes. Now what?
Don’t want to read further? Just watch this two-minute video. It’ll make your DNA happy!
The key is to actually eat fruits and vegetables. Your DNA responds to nature’s packaging. When you eat an apple you’re not just getting vitamin C or A. When you eat broccoli and kale you aren’t getting three vitamins or seven antioxidants, you’re getting a nutritional package made up of hundreds of phytonutrients. Your DNA responds to whole foods because it has evolved through hundreds and thousands of years of eating the whole package. It does not know what to do with single nutrients isolated in a lab.
There is a lot of information on the internet, and a lot of misinformation. In researching this topic I came across a site that put forth specific antioxidants for DNA repair, including beta-carotene and vitamin E, both of which have been shown to cause an increase in overall mortality when taken alone or together. That’s simply irresponsible. Instead of taking supplements, make sure your diet includes nature’s packages high in those antioxidants: spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, peanuts, sunflower seeds and almonds, to name a few.
Don’t want to read further? Just watch this two-minute video. It’ll make your DNA happy!
This singe-nutrient focus hasn’t been around very long. It began in mid-1930 with vitamin B and a semi-synthetic vitamin C, but really took off when Linus Pauling got on board with a high-dose Vitamin C regimen in the 70’s. Prior to Pauling’s interest, there wasn’t much to intrigue the general public, but the cover of the April 6, 1992 issue of Time magazine was a colorful pile of pills with the lead article, “The Real Power of Vitamins: New research shows they may help fight cancer, heart disease, and the ravages of aging.” Unfortunately, the research was flawed, but the supplement makers were all over this and the rest is history. Except that …
In 1994 National Cancer Institute found that smokers who were taking vitamin E, beta-carotene or both were more likely to die than those on placebo. In 1996 another study showed higher mortality from cancer and/or heart disease in the supplement group.
In a 2004 review of randomized trials involving over 170,000 participants, researchers concluded that those taking vitamins C, E, A or beta-carotene had higher mortality. When reviewing the seven best studies, mortality rates were 6% higher in the supplement groups.
Burnt out now? Just watch this two-minute video. It’ll make your DNA happy!
I could list study after study, from 2005 through 2011 showing a strong correlation between vitamin supplementation and an increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease. I’m betting you’re just not that interested in reading all of them. If you are, I invite you to read this article in The Atlantic.
The bottom line in DNA repair is to toss those multi-vitamins in the garbage and focus on whole foods. The USDA recommends that we get 9-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I would add that you should be thinking variety as well. If all you eat is grapes and oranges, you’re not getting a full spectrum of nutrients. If you or your loved ones subsist on green beans and corn, you aren’t even close to getting the nutrients you need. Variety. Fresh.
I’ll let Dr. Avery, an oncologist from the Cancer Care Center in Montgomery, Alabama have the last word on DNA repair. Click here for this two-minute video. It’ll make your DNA happy!
What do you think drives good health? Do you automatically think about diet and exercise? Those are definitely two important elements of health, but there are some others you might not realize have a big impact as well: Spirituality, community, self-esteem and self-worth.
It might seem a bit cumbersome to try to tackle all of those in one blog post, but in reality it’s quite simple and they can all be accomplished easily if you add one activity into your life: Volunteering.
When you volunteer you become a part of a community of people that have at least one interest in common with you. Because you are sharing yourself with others, helping someone or something, you begin to feel good about yourself and as a result your self-esteem and self-worth expand.
As many of you know, I volunteer at an animal shelter and I am rewarded by the friendships and camaraderie with staff and volunteers, the joy of seeing pets find their forever families and having the opportunity to spend time with some of these precious animals. I go home feeling happier and more in balance than you can imagine … There’s not much that’s healthier than that!
I have friends who help cook and serve meals at a homeless shelter, play games with families at Ronald McDonald house, help with gardening at non-profits, usher at church, serve as prayer chaplains to their congregations, support staff at battered women’s shelters, help out seniors who need home repairs, greet people visiting someone in the hospital and re-shelve books at the library.
There are so many opportunities, some formal, some just in the moment. In my neighborhood little magical things happen:
So, make healthy choices when it comes to food and exercise, but don’t neglect that spiritual side that craves connection. Take it to the streets and be the change!
You know how exciting it is when Olympic level gymnasts stick their landing? The commentators and crowd go crazy and the gymnast just beams with pride! What an amazing sense of satisfaction they experience. You also know that they don’t always succeed. As a matter of fact, they probably take a step back more often than not.
What’s the key to that perfect landing? Practice and a willingness to adjust. Champion gymnasts don’t dig in their heels and refuse to change while expecting to stick that landing. They don’t go to the store looking for a magic ‘landing’ pill. They get with their coach, analyze, adjust and go back out and try again.
Changing habits for better health is no different. You’re not going to get healthy by doing the same thing that brought you to obesity or disease. There isn’t a magic pill that will make you healthy, although the pharmaceutical and supplement industries would like you to think otherwise. What will change the course of your health?
The AAA Method
What are the triple A’s?
How do you succeed? By choosing one habit at a time until you are sticking the landing 80% of the time. That’s when it’s become second nature. For example:
You are 50 pounds overweight, have arthritis, asthma and absolutely no energy. Your coach determines that you need to do several things including adding in a fitness plan, eliminating dairy and wheat, journaling and reducing your reliance on processed carbohydrates. Together you choose one of these things to focus on and you develop a plan. Next you attempt the change, get together to discuss the challenges and successes, analyze the results and adjust the plan. Then you go back to the first A and continue the process until it becomes second nature. That’s when you add in the second change.
You don’t have to work with a certified health coach, but we are trained to identify what’s causing our clients to experience challenges and we have a wealth of experience at finding solutions that will work within a client’s lifestyle.
I would be honored to help you stick that landing! Together we’ll determine the number and frequency of your 30-minute telephone sessions. Some clients do great with a session every two weeks, others are more reassured with weekly sessions in the beginning. There are no contracts to sign. Come in for one session or ten … It’s up to you. If you’d like to discuss coaching further, please email me at: nancy@healthworkskc.com
Thanks!
Nancy Oglesby, the Practical Health Coach
Simplifying Healthy Lifestyle Choices™
We’ve all heard about the importance of goal-setting, writing/speaking affirmations and/or creating visions for our future and most of us have probably sat down with pen and paper to set some goals or put together a vision board at one time or another. Having goals and dreams is supposed to make them happen and for some people that’s true … They set a goal, write it down or put pictures of it on a vision board and before long they’ve achieved it.
For me, it doesn’t quite work that way. I often set goals. I’ve even gone through the process of reading my goals every morning. Unfortunately, I usually end up with an argument raging in my head. I have a powerful inner critic!
Let’s say one of my goals is to have a home on the water, and I read that goal every day. The first few days I can visualize the house, the water, the breeze and the beautiful smell of the ocean. It’s lovely!
After a few days I can still visualize but as the days progress I start to pick apart everything in the vision and a new, internal narrative starts up along these lines:
“Well, come on now, do you really think you can afford that house? I mean really, look at all that glass and teak! Who are you kidding? And the ocean? Seriously? Even though your little house in Kansas is paid for, you know darned well that a house on the ocean is not a house-for-house trade, so what the heck miracle is going to drop into your lap to make this possible because nothing you’re doing is going to create that level of income sweetie.”
Hmmm. All of a sudden my vision board and goal-setting is getting burdensome. I’m not going to sit around and listen to that inner critic harangue me every day so I quit reading my goals.
I’ve been going to Unity for several years and have heard about the process of creating affirmations and denials, but I never really understood how to make them effective until this weekend when I learned (Thank you, Reverend Jan Stromseth!) how to use my vision to write a denial. At that moment it all became clear. Finally a way to put the inner critic to good use!
Once you give voice to your inner critic, he or she quiets down and the argument raging in your head evaporates! Here’s how to get this down on paper and out of your head:
Determine what area you want to focus on. Let’s work with food for our example.
It is with ease and grace that I only choose foods that support my health. I crave real, whole foods that nourish my body, mind and spirit. I easily plan for healthy meals and snacks by utilizing planning strategies including developing a list of easily prepared/purchased healthy foods from the places in which I’m likely to find myself.
I would love to never again be tempted by junk foodI hope this process helps you as much as it’s helped me!
Namasté
Nancy Oglesby, the Practical Health Coach
Simplifying Healthy Lifestyle Changes™
I adapted this from an exercise that is found in the Prayer Chaplain Training Manual at Unity Church of Overland Park. What a gift!
What happens when we don’t think we’re good enough? We don’t go for it! Maybe ‘it’ is dancing or painting, theater or music. ‘It’ might be counseling or writing. Whatever ‘it’ is, when we don’t express it, we rarely think about the impact on others, but if art and music, counseling or a good book can change a life then the lack of those things changes lives as well.
Is dancing the gift you’re not expressing? 
Let’s assume it’s ballroom dancing. So many people feel joy when they watch ballroom dancers! That joy would be absent if not shared. What about partners? Would there be one less person able to share their gift? And then there are the people who are inspired by those who showcase their talent. You might be the one who inspires others to step into the joy of expressing their gifts!
Does your heart sing when you get to organize something? Are your home and office totally organized? The garage? There are so many places who could use your talent … Volunteer! Schools, churches and other non-profits can often use the help of an organizer whether it’s for events or for office systems. You would be such a gift!
Are you a natural at interior design? Can you walk into a room and see exactly what it needs to create a fabulous look? Maybe you don’t want a career in interior design, but there are many ways to share your gift. You could offer to help battered women, just getting on their feet, create beautiful space on a garage sale budget. There are probably young families that are just starting out (ask around at work or church) who could use some help fixing up their homes. Even non-profits, churches, nurseries, etc., might be interested in your skills. Think of the difference it would make to a woman starting out on her own to be able to enjoy her home … What a gift!
Is your gift writing? Tell your stories! I have a friend that loves to write and she tells the funniest stories! Most of them are about her adventures with her best buddy; her autistic nephew. She adores him and they love spending time together. She feels blessed by the joy he brings to her world.
I beg her to share her stories in writing but so far she hasn’t done it. When I think about the parents and families that are hearing the diagnosis of autism for the first time, I wish I could hand each of them her book of stories celebrating the magic of one autistic child … Now, that would be a gift!
I cannot wait for the day that her book hits the bookstores … It will be a runaway best seller. (You can say you heard about it first!)
What gift are you holding back from the world? And, when you hold back, or push away thoughts of your gift, how is your health impacted? Trust me, it’s not good. Stress is often silent and deadly. It is the leading cause of chronic illness in the United States.
Expressing our gifts is not only good for the world, it’s integral to good health. You would be less tempted to eat that bag of chips, pint of ice cream, tub of popcorn or giant piece of cake if you were feeding your soul by finding and expressing your gifts. Eating numbs the call to action and allows us to sit in sameness. It requires little on our part. That temporary satisfaction will keep us coming back for more until we decide to break the cycle. Step off the junk food treadmill and express yourself … You’ll be bringing joy to the world!
Would you like help finding ways to identify what feeds your soul and improve your health? As a health coach, I can work with you to develop a plan that will move you forward. I’m currently offering a Strategy Session for $97. You’ll come away with at least two strategies to improve the state of your health and ideas on how to make them work in your life. Drop me an email: nancy@healthworkskc.com
Nancy Oglesby, the Practical Health Coach
Simplifying Healthy Lifestyle Choices™
Last week I posted 10 Ways to Lose Weigh Fast! For the next few weeks, 
I’ll be filling in the blanks by sharing ways to achieve each of those ten things. (If you haven’t read it yet, visit the post here.) Today I am going to focus on setting yourself up for a good night’s sleep.
Don’t have a problem falling asleep? You could be one of the people who fall asleep easily but toss and turn all night or are simply restless during the night without even being aware of it. If you don’t feel rested in the morning, you might want to try some of these suggestions for quality sleep.
So, turn off the electronics, quit guzzling liquids (especially caffeinated ones), turn off the television, close the black-out curtains and get a good night’s sleep!
For more info on quality sleep, visit www.sleepfoundation.org and/or http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/
Sweet Dreams,
Nancy Oglesby, the Practical Health Coach
Simplifying Healthy Lifestyle Choices™
Move. Leading a sedentary lifestyle leads to weight gain, hinders weight loss and is responsible for many chronic diseases. Get up and move. An easy way to start out is to walk out ten minutes and walk back. If you do that every weekday, you’ll add 100 minutes of exercise to your week. Increase to 15 minutes each direction and you’re at the recommended minimum of 150 minutes a week!
Tra
ck. It sounds worse than it is. I recommend MyFitnessPal. You can use it as an app on your phone and/or on your computer. Wherever you use it … Use it! Studies repeatedly show that people who track their food lose more than those who don’t. Trust me, it’s can be an eye-opener!
Drink. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Not only does being hydrated keep your skin silky, it helps your digestion and with flushing toxins (including fat) out of your system. Each person has to find the right amount for them. Some days you’ll need more than others. Set a reminder to have 16 ounces every two and a half hours from 10AM to 5:30PM.
Unplug. Having your face in your phone or tablet all day and night gives you the sense of being busy but in reality you are sitting, disconnected from family, nature and pets. Putting down the devices typically means you’ll move more, interact face-to-face more, read and be more peaceful. Learn to check social media and email on a regular, but less constant basis. Your friends might be annoyed to start, but they’ll soon adjust to your new schedule. Also, the blue light emitted from device screens signals your brain that daylight is coming. Uh-oh, it’s 9PM and your brain thinks daylight is coming. You’ll sleep better if you put it down!
Sleep. Experts agree that when your sleep is disrupted it can be challenging to lose weight. Not only does your fat-storing hormone, cortisol, kick into high gear, but you are less able to handle stress and not being well-rested causes errors in job performance which causes stress which causes cortisol to rise which … You get my drift. Sleep.
Add. Add in good, whole, healthy foods. Greens, veggies, beans, whole grains and fruits. Your body will love you! (Just make sure you track them in MyFitnessPal.)
Subtract. Reduce, with the goal of eliminating, processed, prepackaged foods. That even means those frozen meals you can buy that pretend to be home-cooked. They’re not home cooked. Make a plan to cook at home more often. It’s not too bad if you create a plan.
Play. Have fun. Schedule it. What does fun look like to you? Is it girl’s night out? Date night? Do you like wine and paint parties? Paintball? Playing with your dog? Taking your kids (or your nieces/nephews) to the park? Don’t have kids in your family? Why not become a big brother or sister? It’s fun to go to the park and just watch the kids play. They are so joyous! … Just don’t look creepy.
Connect. Spend time with family and friends. Go to church, join a community center, or find clubs or MeetUp groups with members who enjoy similar interests. Again, research shows that connection is a factor in living a healthy lifestyle. It’s not always easy to make connections, but it is worth it in the long run.
Weigh. Record your progress. Some people say weigh daily, others say weekly or even monthly. You have to find what works best for you. I like to weigh every day because I get to know what causes the fluctuations. If I got on the scale once a week and saw no progress or even gain, I’d be discouraged and it might have been caused by the extra salt I had the day before. When I weigh daily, a small gain doesn’t signal the end because chances are it will go the other direction the next day. I get used to the high/low range and I watch that to know if I’m headed in the right direction.
So, ten things that you can implement right now to lose weight. Can’t do the all this week? Pick three this week, three the next and four the next … done!
Want a bonus? Only eat meat at one meal a day and make it lean, organic and/or grass-fed. If you choose fish, buy wild caught. Your body will be happy and so will your wallet!
Blessings,
Nancy Oglesby, the Practical Health Coach
Simplifying Healthy Lifestyle Choices™
Nancy’s Wellness Blog 