Life is a series of choices

I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately.  And I've come to the conclusion that life is a series of choices.  Choices that we make every day; choices that are forced upon us and some that we make to change our lives.  I have learned many times over that you can change your life to be what you need.  Yes, many choices are scary and feel impossible.  But trust me, you can do it.

After my divorce, I made a promise to myself to not stay in unhappy situations for very long - not ever again.  I'm not talking about the little, daily skirmishes of life - like burnt toast or an argument with a co-worker or getting stuck in traffic.  I'm talking about the big stuff - where you live, how you live, whom you partner with, where you work, what you do for a living, etc; and of course, your health and well-being.  Sometimes you have to be in a situation that is not ideal for a while, until you can change it.  But in the end, it is up to you to make the choice to change it.  We control our own lives.  If you're unhappy, fix it.  There is always a way.  It may be difficult.  It may have to be done in stages.  It may only require small changes.  Or you might leap all at once and see what happens!  That's the great thing about choices.  If you don't like where you land, choose to change.

This, of course, also applies to our health and our body image.  There is no magic pill or diet or plan to change your body - whether it's taking weight off, putting weight on, or just tightening and toning.  Just as in the rest of our life, it is a choice.  Choose today to start making smarter, healthier lifestyle choices. Choose whole, real food.  Choose to actually cook it yourself.  Choose to invest in your health by eating well and exercising.  Choose to be happy and positive that even though you might not look the way you want, you are starting  to make good choices for yourself.

Sometimes and often, we forget that life is our choice.  We forget that we can change things - that we HAVE A CHOICE!  It's your life to live.  Choose to live it well and fully.  Choose to explore things that may be out of your comfort zone.  Sometimes my choices leave me breathless with trepidation and wonder and excitement and that feeling of leaping into the unknown.  Sometimes my choices turn out to be mistakes.  But I can learn from those too.  We have to remember that at least we are making the choices.  We aren't living half asleep in the drudgery of routine and complacency.  We are leaping and growing and trying and striving and experiencing life.

So here's to you, choice-maker!  Go for it!  Take the risk.  I'll be right there beside you, cheering you on!  We're in this life together!

Smiles & hugs,
Jules

Introduction to E.R. for ur life

Hello! I am excited to introduce my newest blog which is linked with my health coach business, Elemental Renewal Health Coaching.  E.R. for ur life is short for Elemental Renewal for your life.  Where did I get the name? Let me explain.  I began getting interested in nutrition and health through seeing numerous patients as a Cardiac Sonographer who had health issues.  I began seeing some patterns evolve.  Patients came in for testing and evaluation for palpitations (erratic heart beats) or chest pain.  Upon further inquiry, many times (certainly not all!) these were caused by stress.  Stress from work, relationships, money, loss, etc.  They didn't really have a heart problem.  They had a stress problem.  I noticed other patients coming in who were on 20+ different medications.  Take one medication, then another to counteract the side effects of the first, etc. and it just snowballs from there.  And yet other patients came in because they had developed heart problems from a lifestyle of excess - too much calorie laden food, too much of a sedentary lifestyle (no exercise), too much alcohol, too many sodas, etc.  Of course, many people also have hereditary heart problems as well.  In almost all cases, the cardiologists recommend lifestyle changes - diet, exercise, etc.  So I began to learn more about the causes of health problems.  And what I discovered was that the majority of our health issues are caused by deficiencies in nutrition, exercise and life balance!!

So I began my journey toward becoming a health coach.  I read books, watched documentaries and asked questions.  I graduated with a certificate in holistic health coaching from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  I am licensed with the Association of Drugless Practitioners. And I continue to learn every day.

So where does Elemental Renewal come in? Among the things I have learned about nutrition and the body is that the body is continually renewing itself at the cellular level.  We constantly shed dead cells and grow new ones.  Our organs, our skin, our tissues, our blood, our bones - they are all made of cells that die off as new ones are generated.  And everything that you eat...everything that you put on your skin and absorb...everything that you input is used at the cellular level.  Food doesn't just satisfy our hunger and fuel our energy.  It actually penetrates our cells, works to create hormones, helps to tell our heart to beat, nerves to synapse, lungs to breath.  It's absolutely amazing!!  So if food does all that, stop for a minute and think.  If food helps us grow new cells from the inside out, wouldn't it be smart to use nutrition to change our bodies from the inside out?  Couldn't better food mean better, stronger cells?  Leaner, disease-resistant, healthier cells and body?

So here's the news:  Our population is getting fatter each year.  We are fast approaching more than 50% of the population being obese along with the diseases that come from that: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc.  This is a crisis!  I'm sure you've heard that before.  But no one is telling you what to do about it.  Health insurance is in the beginning stages of a huge transition.  No one is sure what's going to happen.  Benefits are being slashed.  Reimbursements cut.  Access limited.  There is a growing shortage of general practitioners as many doctors leave the business.  So here's the solution:  Take control of your own life.  Do it now!  There's no time to waste.  Life is short.  Don't you want to feel the best you can?  Don't you want to live an active, happy, healthy life free of most pain and pills and tests and doctor visits?  That's why I call it E.R. for your life!  Treat this as an emergency -- because it is.  How many years have you been building your cells with fast food, processed food, sugar, sodas, stress, chemicals and negative thoughts?  But it's not too late.  You can still turn your life around.  Start with the basics - Nutrition, Exercise and Life balance. Begin building better cells.   If you control those, you control your own life and health.  You can potentially live longer and healthier.  You could stay out of the doctors office and avoid these health insurance nightmares.

So how do you do this?  The body has an incredible ability to self heal.  But we need to give it the right fuel, the right conditions.  My job is to help coach you toward meeting your goals.  I offer free initial health consultations and six month coaching programs with more services to come.  If you are interested in learning more, you may contact me at Julie@er4urlife.com.  I plan to post regularly to this blog.  So follow me here, even if you aren't interested in the coaching service I provide.  You'll still learn a few things and hopefully be entertained as well.

Thanks for reading!