Denice Murray Health Coaching

While it might seem like just a matter of “willpower” or “motivation” stopping you from reaching your health and wellness goals – or even getting started – there are actually SEVERAL more factors involved than you might think. The three biggest categories that could be affecting your healthy actions each week are: BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL; and SOCIOLOGICAL. So, let's break it down a little more. Biological – How Does YOUR Body Work? These factors vary GREATLY from person to person. Metabolism; Age; Immunity; Male or Female; Recovery; Genetics; Hormones; Pathogens; Exercise; Digestion. All of these biological factors have an impact on your health.  And did I mention they vary a LOT from person to person? Yeah. That's why your spouse can decide they want to lose weight, stop putting an extra sugar in their morning coffee and lose 10 pounds in a week, while you can eat veggies all day, every day and still only lose half a pound. Psychological – What’s Your Mindset? You...

So, this is Part 2 of What it Takes to Lose 10 Pounds versus What it Takes to Lose 50 Pounds. The infographic I saw said these are the “key traits” for people who want to lose a full 50 pounds instead of just 10 pounds. Losing 50 Pounds: Track Food To Eat in A Calorie Deficit and Also Spend a Year or More Learning about Food and Nutrition. Start Cooking at Home   and Build Up to 5 Days a Week After A Year. Start with Exercises You Enjoy a Couple of Days a Week, Then Gradually Build Up from There. Focuses on Losing the Desire to Snack and Get Rid of That Habit for Good. Finds a Way to Lose the Desire to Keep Eating When You’re Already Full. Focuses On Changing the Contributing Habits and Behaviors (like mindless eating, eating take out, etc.) as well as losing the weight. These are my thoughts on each point. Track Food To Eat in A Calorie Deficit and Also Spend a Year or More Learning about Food and Nutrition – I partially agree.  I think this one d...

I came across an Info-Graphic on Pinterest and it kinda stuck with me. It listed out the reasons a person would only lose 10 pounds versus what it took to lose 50 pounds. And – as usual – I agree with parts of it, and other parts I don’t. So, Part 1 is Losing 10 Pounds. What does that look like? This is what was written on the infographic: Mindlessly follows a diet for 2 months and then gives up because it was too restrictive. Tries Shakes and Supplements to lose the weight. Start exercising at a high intensity doing exercises you don’t really like, but think you SHOULD, for about 2 months before giving up. Stop snacking for 2 months but go back to snacking after giving up on the diet. Using willpower to stop eating when you’re full, despite wanting to keep eating. Focuses on “losing weight” and not thinking about the contributing habits and behaviors. So, my thoughts on this list. Following a Diet for 2 months and Giving up because it’s too Restrictive – I agree...

So, what exactly IS Health at Every Size? And what does it mean for busy moms? It’s a lifestyle that encourages healthy eating and enjoyable physical movement as an alternative to “dieting” in order to feel better and live longer. In fact, it could be considered the opposition to the dieting culture which calls for food restrictions, counting calories or macros, eating less, exercising more. HAES focuses on moving in ways you find enjoyable while also “challenging” yourself – meaning if you can only do 5 minutes of moderate walking, then only do 5 minutes of walking, but tomorrow try for 6 minutes . Or dancing around your living room for a couple of songs before you get tired, and then trying for 3 songs the next time. It also focuses on changing HOW you eat, not only WHAT you eat – meaning that you make healthier food choices (an apple with nut butter over a cookie), but you also listen to your body’s hunger cues (are you actually HUNGRY or just bored?). You only eat until 8...

Again, I’m probably going with a “boring” topic, but this is a major issue in our household at the moment so I’m going to throw my opinion out there. Portion Control. It’s about as mundane and ordinary a topic in the health and wellness space as you’ll ever find. And it might be the KEY to unlocking your nutrition difficulties. Here’s why. In our current society, portions are MASSIVE . And massively out of control. We live in the era of super-sized EVERYTHING – drinks, sides, main dishes, all of it. Giant cookies. Enormous muffins. King-sized candy bars. And unfortunately, eating at home can be just as bad. Filling a large plate with huge scoops of whatever you’ve made for dinner. Going back for second or third helpings. Maybe you were taught as a kid to clean your plate. Maybe you suffered from food insecurity at some point in your life and learned to eat what you could, when you could, because you might have to wait a long time before you were able to eat again. Or e...

I’m gonna get a little preachy in this post, so bear with me. When you start  focusing on healthy habits, your goals will happen. As busy moms trying to make changes to our health for whatever personal reasons we have, it can be difficult to look at the ENTIRE thing you’re trying to change and not feel overwhelmed by it. Any mom who has walked in the door after a long day and comes home to a disaster zone knows what I’m talking about. Sink full of dishes. Piles of laundry. Dog got into the trash and spread it EVERYWHERE. Kids toys are all over the house. Marker on the walls. If you know, you know. You can look at that mess and just feel…defeated. You’re tired from work and running errands or taking care of kids all day, and it is daunting to think, “How in the world am I ever going to get all this cleaned up?” So, you start with the trash. Once that’s done, it might be the dishes so you can get dinner going. If you have the time or the energy later, it might be one of th...

For busy moms, this is a tough question to answer. You’ve started making adjustments to your health. You’re drinking water and taking a multi-vitamin to hit possible nutrient deficiencies. You’re adding more movement to your day. You’re being more conscientious about the food you’re eating. All the Micro-Habits you can fit into your day are being utilized. And for a while, it seems to be working! Your energy is going up. You’re feeling better. You’ve dropped a few pounds. Overall, you’ve noticed an improvement in your health and wellness. But then something changes. Your energy is dipping again. You’re feeling more sluggish during the day. The scale isn’t going down, and your pants aren’t getting any looser. You’ve hit your first plateau. Thus far, all the LITTLE things you’ve been doing have been working. The tiny changes have been fitting into your busy life, and it hasn’t disrupted anything TOO MUCH . Maybe the occasional inconvenience, but nothing drastic. So why did the im...

Food as Medicine. Sounds kinda wacky, but it's actually a growing field of study in healthcare and nutrition – the idea of using food to slow, stop, and even REVERSE certain diseases and chronic illnesses. That’s it. Now, before you nod off to sleep or close out of this post, just hear me out for another minute. This can actually be INCREDIBLY beneficial to busy moms. How , you might ask? Please allow me to explain. The entire premise is that by eating healthy, nutrient-dense foods, it is possible to prevent illnesses, slow the progression of a disease you already have, stop the progression of some diseases, and in some cases even REVERSE certain illnesses. There are even trial programs around the country happening now between doctors, dieticians, and healthcare providers who are working together with chefs and food companies to actually PRESCRIBE MEALS as medication in order to treat diseases. These are medically tailored meals. Sometimes it’s pre-made meal...

Okay, so I think it’s been pretty well established that I’m a HUGE nerd! If I find something fascinating, I will research it to death! You can ask my husband or my daughter (or my sons when they’re visiting from college) that I basically study ALL THE TIME . So when I got on this idea of a capsule wardrobe, I have been studying the heck out of the concept. It is very safe to say that fashion is NOT my forte. At all. I suck. But I still LOVE this concept. I’ve been discussing it with friends (shout out to my friend Annie for listening to me and giving some solid advice!), and spending FAR too much time on Pinterest and YouTube checking out options.  I've been posting about it on social media .  And I’m not going to lie – with the plethora of information out there, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. That’s a lot of information to take in about a subject that, frankly, I find rather intimidating. But I love it so much for a few reasons. The first one being – I ...