Denice Murray Health Coaching

Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I should really go take a walk”, and instead you scrolled on social media for an hour? Or told yourself, “I’m going to prep a salad for lunch tomorrow with grilled chicken and a homemade vinegarette”, but then you convinced yourself you didn’t have time because there was laundry to finish, the dog needed to be fed, and it was almost time to start the kids’ bedtime routine? We don’t like to make changes. As humans, our brains are hard-wired to keep us safe. And part of that process includes being averse or resistant to changes. If what we’re doing has been keeping us safe and maintaining the status quo, our brain will play all the tricks it can to stop us from disrupting our peaceful existence. Even at the expense of our own health. So while you may want and need to take that walk or prep that salad, your brain is going to view it differently. If this is not part of your normal routine, the brain automatically reverts to, “What change is this?...

Hard Truths About Changing Your Health and Your Life. Unfortunately, there’s an untold side to changing your nutrition and fitness, losing weight, or improving your health that not very many people talk about. That is the criticism that can and does come with these changes. Most people in your life will be happy for you . They will be excited that you are making healthy changes, and maybe even inspired to start a health journey of their own. But there are some who will not. Most of the random comments - whether from a nosy neighbor or “Sally” in the office who always has something mean to say about her co-workers - are going to bounce right off you. “That’s just how Sally is,” will be the fleeting thought before you move on with your day. However, there will be comments or remarks that are going to catch you off-guard, and those comments are going to come from people you didn’t expect – a family member, a close friend, even your spouse. Something is going to slip out; a snide o...

I'm going on about adjusting your flavor profile to fit your likes and dislikes.  This is a topic I’ve touched on before, but I wanted to go a little more in-depth about it. The conversation got started in our house when Dearest Step-Daughter sent her dad (my husband) a Mediterranean Cookbook to help with his health and weight loss efforts. Hubs is NOT a fan of the Mediterranean flavor profile. I, on the other hand, am a HUGE fan of a lot of the flavors involved in Mediterranean cooking. Some of them I’m still not 100% on board with, but I’m learning little by little. This sparked a debate in our house. I told Hubs that we don’t have to cook exactly like the cookbook says and that we can adjust things to fit his flavor preferences. He asked, “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of it being Mediterranean ?” Well....he has a valid point. The long and short answer is – Yes and No. Perfectly clear, right? Insert eye-roll here . To make it Mediterranean, it has more to do wi...

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...