Denice Murray Health Coaching

I’m gonna make it short…shorter….short-ish….today. Just eat the banana. I don’t care if it’s organic, sustainably-grown, non-GMO, blah, blah, blah. Just eat it. If it comes down to eating a candy bar or eating a banana…..eat the banana. Pick the healthier option when you have a choice, but when you don’t, eat what you’ve got. I face this dilemma often when we go to sporting events for Mini-Me. Concession stands are notorious for having lots of junk food, and not a lot of whole food options. You’re going to find chips and candy more than you’ll find vegetables or fruit. And if we don’t pack it ourselves, we’re stuck with whatever the concession stand has. Mostly, I go with popcorn because it’s a whole grain. I’m fully aware that it’s not air-popped, all natural, no unhealthy oils, etc. I’ve seen the palm oil substance they use to make it. I’ve seen the popcorn salt. It’s still better than a bag of Doritos. So, popcorn it is. Nachos or a burger? Probably go with the burger. Is it...

“Yes, eggs are ridiculously expensive right now. Yes, I still eat a ton of them anyways. I will never prioritize saving money on groceries over fueling my body with what it needs for optimal health. The cheapest food is not always the best food.” Okay. This is an anonymous post on a social media site. And while I genuinely appreciate the sentiment – fueling your body with what it needs for optimal health – I don’t think I agree with a part of it that seems to be kinda tone-deaf….in my opinion. While I agree with fueling your body, I also understand that not everyone has the ability to AFFORD the most nutritious options. This post stressed (and again, I sort of agree – to an extent) that making healthy food choices is their priority, and they will not compromise that value to save a few dollars. My disagreement is that everyone’s circumstances are different. At the time of this blog post, I was able to purchase boneless, skinless chicken breast on sale for $1.99 per pound. I ...

I came across a social media post that was essentially blasting the generalization of the health, wellness, fitness, and nutrition industry as a whole. If, as a health and wellness practitioner, you are someone who takes the one-size-fits-all approach and then places the blame on the person trying to follow your approach when it doesn’t work for them, then this post was correct. But there is one caveat I will touch on here – sometimes a generalized approach is all you can do as a practitioner unless you can get deep-down, one-on-one with a client. Taking a generalized approach is a good starting place for a health and wellness journey, but eventually, you’re going to have to dial-in and figure out some specifics for your situation. I had to travel this past weekend for a memorial service. And while I knew the GENERAL area I was going to, I didn’t know the exact location of the chapel. So, I knew I was traveling west. I knew the interstate I needed to travel for a few hours. I ...

This week my mother-in-law passed away. Hubs has been traveling back and forth between two states to take care of all the things one must handle after losing a loved one - final arrangements, legal, financial, etc. And in the midst of this, Hubs is also trying to take care of his own health and medical issues. I'm not really sure what this post is about, other than being a bit of a personal journal of my thoughts. So, if you're not really interested, that's fine. I'll be happy to catch you next week with more health and nutrition coaching information/tips/hacks/etc. I honestly didn't know her VERY well. When Hubs and I met, she was living two states away, and then ended up moving a little closer to his extended family, which was still a four-and-a-half-hour drive. So while we saw each other occasionally, we didn't have the chance to spend a lot of time together. But I did know this about her. She was fierce. She raised three sons as a single mom. I've heard...

A constant joke Hubs likes to tell for something that obviously isn’t super complicated, that we should already know and understand (like the phrase, “It’s not Rocket SCIENCE ”) – and yet somehow we still manage to make a mess of things by making it more difficult than it needs to be (hence incorrectly phrasing it as “Rocket SURGERY ”). Are you making your health, nutrition, or weight loss more complicated than it needs to be? I make posts/content for busy moms for that exact reason, WE’RE BUSY MOMS! We’ve got stuff to do. We’re constantly thinking about what needs to be done, who we’re doing it for, and how we’re going to make it all happen. So, why are we trying to over-complicate our health needs? We’re being bombarded with information from every corner of our lives – social media, family, friends, work, community – and it’s easy to get caught up in the hype. “If you mix cayenne pepper, lemon juice, honey, elderberry extract, ginger root, turmeric, vinegar, cinnamon, etc., et...

Why do you want to start a health journey? Why are you on a health journey? Why is your health important to you? As a busy mom, these three questions are important to ask yourself if you’re working on your health or thinking about working on it. Because, honestly, we've already got enough going on in our lives.  You might find out you’re not even trying to be healthier/eat better/move more/lose weight for the reasons you THOUGHT you were. Maybe you’re thinking about losing weight because someone made a comment that hurt your feelings. Or you went to put on a dress you haven’t worn in a while, and it doesn’t fit anymore. Maybe you don’t have energy like you used to and you’re tired of feeling tired all the time. Maybe you’re noticing that you overall don’t feel good after eating candy or cookies when it didn’t used to bother you before. Or maybe a relative is in poor health much younger than they should be and it’s got you thinking about how you want to be capable and act...