Denice Murray Health Coaching

I wrote an article about this a while back, but I think with the holidays in full swing (at the time of this post) it’s important to revisit this topic. When it comes to your health and wellness goals, consistency is the KEY to success. By establishing habits and routines you are far more likely to achieve your goals than by starting a new diet/weight loss program/fitness routine every few weeks or months. But there are other benefits to consistency with your healthy habits and routines during the holiday season. It will Help with Stress and Overwhelm .  This is the time of year for our family that activities go into overdrive. This week alone Hubs and I are working our jobs, we have basketball games for Mini-Me 4 nights this week, we have Christmas celebrations, and one of my sons is coming for a quick visit from college before heading back for finals. With all the back and forth we are doing, it’s extremely helpful to know that we have our meals planned out and prepped fo...

WHAT NUTRITION COACHING IS   Nutrition Coaching is a partnership between the coach and the client to examine the client’s eating patterns, the reasons behind their food choices, and to determine what steps can be taken to improve their overall eating habits and reach their nutrition goals. Yeah…. So, what does all that mean? First, why do you need/want to work with a nutrition coach?  Well, a few reasons.  Each person is unique – and by unique, I mean we all have different things that influence our eating habits. I didn’t try LASAGNA until I was an adult. Why? Because I grew up in a rural farm community, both of my parents did the same, as did THEIR parents, and even though there was limited access to grocery stores, my family for several generations ate off the land, so to speak. Beef, pork, and chicken was butchered from their farms. Eggs gathered every morning. Vegetables grown in the garden. There was not a lot of cultural diversity in the area, either. So…...

I’ve been harping on CONSISTENCY for the last few days when it comes to changing your health and wellness and meeting your goals. But. I would like to address another aspect of creating healthy habits, reaching goals, and changing your health. And that is Starting Small . What?? Yep, that’s right. Starting Small . I’m going to hop up on my soap box for a minute and give a little rant, so just bear with me. It gets a lot more attention when you have a headline like, “Learn the Super Secrets of Changing Your Life, Losing the Weight for Good, and Becoming a Vixen Your Husband Can’t Resist.” You want to read that article or watch that video.  Even I want to read that! And then it tells you to workout for 75 minutes, 3 times per day at high intensity, while drinking aloe juice mixed with exotic spices from the highest mountain tops of the Andes 5 times per day. Eat only organic seaweed, sea bass, and a special blend of crushed herbs from the jungles of Burma, and bathe in...

“Have Six-Pack Abs in 10 Days!” “Lose 33 Pounds in 15 Days!” “Get The Body Of Your Dreams In 6 Weeks!” Any of this sound familiar? Those are just some of the headlines I’ve seen in magazines or on websites over the years. Heck, probably just in the last month! And while there is nothing wrong with wanting six-pack abs, to lose 33 pounds, or to have a dream beach body, the TRUE cost of getting those things is a lot greater than you think. There are definite benefits to striving for such a goal, but there are also many trade-offs as well. It’s also important to understand that there are also many different levels of fitness, not just Overweight & Pudgy to Totally Ripped . Several key factors when it comes to getting ripped include nutrition, activity level, sleep, stress, work, personal time, and your social life. If you work 12-hour shifts (work), have children who rely on you (personal time), volunteer in your community or church (social life), have a sick family memb...

How many times as a busy mom/spouse have you heard that one? I know. This article is probably going to get me booed by all the busy moms out there (myself included) who are struggling to juggle all the things (kids, job, house, spouse, activities, etc.). I know I could write a book on all the things moms have to take care of on a daily basis. And popping off with “Hey! You should add more stress to your life by cooking more,” is probably the last thing you want to hear. But! If you are truly looking for a way to lose weight, improve your overall health, actually save time , save money, and help prevent chronic diseases, then cooking at home more often is a strategy you should be considering. In fact, according to Harvard Health: “ We already know that the more people cook at home, the healthier their diet, the fewer calories they consume, and the less likely they are to be obese or develop type 2 diabetes. A growing body of scientific evidence supports teaching patients how...

"Title said in my best annoyed teenager voice" When it comes to weight loss, Consistency is BORING . But it’s true , it’s necessary , and it’s the best way to improve your health, lose weight, and get LASTING results. There is always “another” diet. South Beach. Atkins. Keto. Paleo. I’m old enough to remember the Grapefruit Diet! There’s always “another” fitness craze. CrossFit. P90X. V-Shred. TaeBo. I’m also old enough to remember Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda’s workout videos! There are always weight loss programs. Weight Watchers. Jenny Craig. Noom. Nutri-System. But. The only way these things work is if you do them CONSISTENTLY. If you don’t stick with it, not only will you stop losing weight, but most likely you will gain it back. This is why it’s MORE important to develop Healthy HABITS than to jump on another diet, fitness, or weight loss program .  I said what I said. One of the reasons that health coaching is not only growing in popularity, but also...

We all do it.  I know I’m guilty.  Go for a 2-mile walk in the evening, come home feeling great, and then see a post on FB of someone training for a 5k Run and think, “Gah! They are so much better than me! I should be running more/exercising more/working harder/etc.” Well, newsflash to me – I have knee problems and I'm not supposed to be doing ANY running (unless being chased by something!). So, why would I do that to myself? Compare myself to a person who DOESN’T have knee issues and actually LIKES to run, whereas I’ve NEVER liked running, even when I was perfectly capable of doing it?! Everyone working on their health and wellness, at some point, has thought other people were doing better than them, that their efforts weren’t enough, or they can’t quite seem to get where they want to be like so-and-so does. So, if comparing ourselves to others is a normal part of human nature, how do we stop doing that and focus on feeling good about ourselves? Here are a few ways to...

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...

Fats have gotten a bad reputation over the years.  For most of my childhood, teenage years, and even into early adulthood, I was taught that fats are bad for you, they make you gain weight, and it’s best to cut them out as much as possible – hence the rise of “fat-free” products that litter the grocery store shelves. But as nutrition research continues to develop, recent studies have shown that fats, are in fact, very good for you and necessary. Fats ARE essential for a healthy diet! It just depends on what type of fat you’re consuming whether they are helping your body or harming it. They can either cause disease in the body or help prevent it. The 2 main kinds of fats are Saturated Fats and Unsaturated Fats. Saturated Fats usually come from animal sources (meats and dairy products) and are solid at room temperature (think cooled bacon grease). The exception to this is Coconut Oil or Palm Oil, which are also saturated fats. Unsaturated Fats come from vegetables, nuts and...

I'm gonna try to keep it short and sweet today.  There is so much going on in EVERYONE'S life right now that finding the time to read a blog post (or writing one) can feel like a hassle. So today I'm making it easy. And this is also reiterating a post I wrote a couple of months ago on healthy eating and nutrition, No Such Thing As The Best Diet .  Building on that post, I wanted to add a few things that would be considered Nutrition Fundamentals that are true of ANY eating pattern (diet) you follow, whether it's Paleo, Keto, Vegetarian, Vegan, Mediterranean, etc.  Nutrition Fundamentals: 1. Emphasize Whole Foods - Eat the baked potato instead of the tator tots. 2. Get Enough Quality Protein - Legumes, Poultry, Fish, Lean Beef, Lean Pork and Eggs are good examples of quality (less fatty) proteins. 3. Incorporate LOTS of Vegetables - Eat a rainbow of vegetables and fruits to make sure you're hitting as many vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, ...

New Blog. New Adventure. I started the journey of becoming a health and wellness coach over a year ago. My reasons were simple. My husband was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, and I wanted to find a way to help him ease the burdens of not only his disease, but also the side effects of the medications he will now have to take for the rest of his life. And let me assure you, the side effects of these medications are worse than the disease itself. PH is no picnic, but the side effects ravage his body on a daily basis. The good news from all of the bad news we've faced in the last couple of years is that his body weight directly correlates with the amount of medication he has to take. So the more weight he can lose, the less medication he has to take and the less severe the side effects are. And that leads me back to health coaching. I wanted to find a way to help him effectively lose weight, but also help myself get in better shape and have more energy to deal with the ...