Denice Murray Health Coaching

You’re on a health journey. You want to lose weight/build strength/improve your eating habits/whatever the case may be. You’ve talked to your spouse, your co-workers, your family, your friends. They ALL know you’re working on making healthy changes in your life. And for a while, things are good. The first couple of weeks your family is fine when you make grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and brown rice for dinner a few times. The junk food is mostly gone and has been replaced with a fridge full of fresh fruits and veggies, string cheese, and Greek Yogurt cups. Overnight Oats has become the go-to breakfast in the mornings, and lunches are pre-made salads, wraps, or dinner leftovers. You’re finding the time to exercise regularly, but conflicts are starting to pop up. Dinner is becoming an issue. Not enough variety for the family and not having processed snacks available is wearing on your household’s nerves. Your co-workers continue to bring unhealthy snacks for the breakroom –...

If you are trying to lose weight, or even eat healthier, one of the BEST options is cooking at home yourself.  That would be recommendation Number One. You can control the ingredients (and if you’re a picky eater like me, that’s a VERY important key!). For example, I’m not a fan of avocado. I’ll eat it, especially if it’s “hidden” in other foods (think guacamole in a 7-Layer dip), but I’m not going to go out of my way to add avocado to my diet. You get a LOT more bang for your buck (more food for less money). For what ONE meal costs my family in a sit-down restaurant, I can get 3-4 days’ worth of groceries. You don’t have to get fancy and sometimes less really is more (you can throw a bunch of healthy stuff in a crockpot and LET IT GO!). It might be that you and your spouse/partner are having a healthy crockpot meal while the kids are munching on frozen pizza or mac and cheese, and that’s TOTALLY FINE! Everyone is fed, you can feel good about what you ate, and the kids are happy an...

Most of the time, if you mention the dreaded “Carbohydrate” word to people trying to lose weight, they will tell you they’re talking about bread, pasta, sweets (desserts like cakes, pies, ice cream, candy, etc.), potatoes, rice – and they would be correct. However, talking about carbs isn’t as simple as you might think. Broccoli is a carb. Strawberries are carbs. Beans are carbs. Almonds are carbs. When it comes to carbohydrates I think we, as the general population, have gotten a lot of mixed messages over the years – as research has continued and studies have been conducted – and our understanding of carbs has become a bit skewed. We have lumped certain unhealthy foods into the general category of “Carbohydrates” and by association, a lot of healthy – even NECESSARY – foods have gotten a bad rap. The most common sources of carbohydrates include Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Milk, Nuts & Seeds, and Beans, Peas & Lentils. And all of these food sources – even the...