Denice Murray Health Coaching

Experimenting with your health and wellness options is important. Extremely . Can’t stress it enough. Why? One reason is that there may be things you’re convinced from childhood you don’t like (ex. Apples), until you try them AGAIN as an adult and discover they’re not so bad after all. Or, at the very least, you can find ways to incorporate those things into your life without it driving you crazy. One of those things for me is peanut butter. I was never fond of it as a kid, but as I got older, turns out peanut butter is actually good, and I'll eat it pretty regularly. Another reason to experiment is it can be a jumping off point for other healthy habits or activities. I hate doing crunches. I’ve never liked them. But I’ve found that if I do a few (10-20) before I get out of bed in the morning, I’m MUCH more likely to do them without blowing it off or talking myself out of it, in addition to setting a positive tone to start out my day.  Now, do I think doing 15 crunches in t...

The back-to-school season is here for us busy moms. Whether your kid/s have already started, or are preparing to start school again, summer is coming to an end and school is about to kick into high gear. And along with that comes the tide of back to school activities – shopping for clothes, shopping for supplies, meet the teacher, fall sports, and any other beginning of the school year activities on the calendar. To put it bluntly, stuff is about to hit the fan. While for some, back to school can be a return to routine and stability for you and your kiddos, for others it can signal the beginning of a relentless run of programs, activities, and a schedule so full you don’t even know where to begin separating it all. As much as I wish I could give you the “number one sure-fire way” to survive back to school for you and your family, what I CAN give you is a bit of reassurance that this too shall pass, hang in there you’ve got it, and a couple of hints for how to keep your OWN health...

I’m about to get controversial, so bear with me. In the United States today, around 70% of the adult population is overweight or obese. Why? In a nutshell, we have stopped physically moving as much as a society and over 60% of our diet consists of ultra-processed foods. It’s a double-whammy that is making our nation overweight, causing a HUGE rise in medical issues, and is a trend that is expected to continue in the future. So, why does this matter? Mostly because, as a nation, we have reached the first generation that is expected to have a SHORTER life expectancy than previous generations. We are slowly sitting and eating ourselves into an early grave. Does that sound dramatic? Yeah, it does. But that doesn’t make it any less true. So, what’s the solution? Again, in a nutshell – move more and eat healthier foods. Is that easy? Not necessarily. But is it DOABLE ? Absolutely . Now, into the nitty-gritty of what we’re eating. Ultra-Processed Foods are considered to be...

There is a LOT of conflicting information out there, especially when it comes to health and wellness. Honestly, I study health, nutrition, weight loss, movement, etc., all the time and I’m still left scratching my head in confusion sometimes. Keto or Mediterranean? Cross Fit or Yoga? Meditation or Journaling? Alcohol – yes or no? I think you get the idea. Every day there is a new report, study, or finding coming out to inform us about what is considered healthy and what is not. Or what might be better than something else (walking is good, HIIT is better; chicken is good, salmon is better; etc.). And there are a lot of questions asked about what is the BEST way to improve your health. What is the best/fastest way to lose weight? What is the best diet to follow? What are the best exercises to do? There are absolutely guidelines out there for living a healthy lifestyle, important nutrition information, what and how much we should be moving daily. The basics are pretty clear. Across what...

After a short break in my blogging schedule, I am back with another post for y'all. Today's post will discuss the importance of understanding your "WHY". This is arguably one of the most important concepts in health coaching. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to change your eating habits? Why do you want to exercise more? It’s not enough to tell yourself you want to fit into a smaller pair of jeans, or you feel like you should eat more salads because they’re good for you. To put it in a more dramatic way, in order to be successful in changing your habits and achieving your health, nutrition, or weight loss goals, you have to BELIEVE in what you are doing. Your health, your nutrition, your movement, and the resulting weight loss need to be entrenched in your core values and beliefs. What does that mean? For you, it means rearranging your thinking to encompass a new way of viewing yourself, talking to and about yourself, and what you value and envision fo...

There are plenty of reasons why a person can hit a plateau in their health journey. As much as we would like to believe the road to weight loss, or improving our eating habits and overall health, is a Point A-to-Point B straight-line scenario, that is simply not the case. In many cases, though NOT all, once we start making healthy changes to our diet and movement, the weight will start coming off. But then something happens. The number on the scale isn’t going down anymore. Your clothes still fit fine, but you haven’t gone down a size (or another size) in a while. You’ve stalled out. The shortest, though not ENTIRELY correct, answer is your calories in-to-calories out ratio has balanced itself out. You are no longer burning stored fat to meet your body’s energy demands. The deeper question is what is happening in your life that you have reached this impasse? There are usually 3 underlying reasons why this can happen. You’re not doing ENOUGH to lose weight . It’s time to t...

As part of a group health coaching discussion, the topic of realistic expectations was brought up. Mainly, how does one KNOW what a realistic expectation is when it comes to weight loss, nutrition, or just improving your health in general? And as with almost everything pertaining to the health and wellness spectrum, the answer continues to be – It Varies. Goals, behaviors, actions, and outcomes are going to vary depending on a MULTITUDE of factors. Again, there is no easy answer for this question, although some of the answers in the group included: Set a goal to lose 10% of your body weight. Aim for 10,000 steps per day. Try to eat a minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables each day. Practice gratitude and meditation to reduce stress. Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Cut out ultra-processed foods from your diet. Drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water each day. And the truth is, ALL of these answers are “correct”. These are realistic expectations if you are trying to improve you...