Clarity Wellness

Everywhere I go on social media this month I see posts on how to stick to your dietary plan over the holidays, nasty ingredients that are in your favorite dishes, and recipes for healthier options.  I'm all for eating healthier (obviously!) but aren't the holidays stressful enough?   Case in point: one of my family favorites at Thanksgiving is a corn pudding that we've been eating for as long as I can remember.  It's pretty basic—corn, butter, yogurt, and a corn muffin mix packet.  I saw a post this week on the ingredients in the corn muffin mix that was quite horrifying, along with a link to a healthier option you could use.  The price difference?  Twelve dollars!  Now, I'm all for healthier options (especially the gluten-free varieties), and quite honestly, I don't recommend eating corn muffins—even the twelve dollar ones—at all, but if you're only eating them once a year, why break the bank and stress over it? I will be making the cheaper versi...

One of the most frustrating things I see people struggle with is when they hit that dreaded weight-loss plateau. It happens to everyone. You start a new plan, you lose a few pounds, you're super-stoked, and then a few weeks or months into it you stop losing weight. What's going on? I'm working so hard--why isn't this working for me anymore? Here are the questions I ask them, and often just a tweak or two will get them headed back in the right direction.  1. Are you hitting your protein goals each day? This is a game-changer for most people--especially women. For some reason, many women seem to think that they don't need much protein. That couldn't be further from the truth--especially as we get older. If you want to avoid sarcopenia (loss of muscle) and osteoporosis, then you need to prioritize protein, to the tune of one gram per pound of ideal body weight per day. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, and your body burns more calories digesting it than...

I've been hearing a lot lately in the nutrition stratosphere about the fact that our metabolism doesn't really slow down at menopause, and as a woman knocking at that door herself, I find that very frustrating.  I talk to women every day who tell me that the tricks they used in their 20s and 30s to slim down don't seem to work anymore.  They tell me their weight is redistributing itself and their clothes don't fit the same way.  They tell me they are doing all the things they've been told to do (move more/eat less) and nothing changes.  How can you tell these women that their metabolism hasn't changed? I wish there were an easy answer. There seem to be a multitude of answers--some of them biological, and some lifestyle related. Let's start with the biological. As we age we tend to lose muscle mass, and when you add declining hormone levels, you're going to see a change in body composition. Loss of estrogen causes weight to accumulate around your middle i...

I’m always interested in how other people live their day-to-day lives behind the scenes, so I thought I’d share what I do. There’s nothing earth-shattering about it, just a series of small habits strung together throughout the day. Here's what a typical day looks like for me: 5:00 wake up. I get dressed and drink a glass of water while my coffee is brewing.  I like my French press with a little cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, collagen powder, and a teaspoon of coconut oil. (Cinnamon for blood sugar regulation, turmeric and pepper for inflammation, collagen for my skin, hair, and joints, and coconut oil for my brain.) I drink my coffee while I stretch a little, look at my plan for the day, fill my water bottle, and read for a few minutes. On the weekends, when I have more time, I like to journal and then read for a longer time. Once I get my daughter off to band practice, I go for a run or walk for 30-45 minutes. After a long hiatus due to plantar fasciitis, I am trying to impleme...

  I noticed this morning during my walk that I was ravenously hungry about an hour into it. This doesn't usually happen to me. I can typically go all morning without a twinge of hunger. However, I've had a couple of weeks of not-so-low-carb eating and I can definitely tell a difference! Give me a teacher appreciation donut, some graduation cake, or a couple of pizza slices with the kids, and boom! I'm right back on the blood sugar rollercoaster.  You know how I can tell? I wake up in the middle of the night a hot mess, I run hot periodically throughout the day, my brain is foggy, my running injuries are aching, my nose is stuffy, and I'm hungry more often than usual. I'd like to think that I can have a little bit of sugar and feel ok, but every experiment fails and I find myself scrambling to get off the rollercoaster and back onto solid ground. Here are some key ways I've found to get back on track and feel better soon. Get it out of your house (and work...

  In case you haven't seen my latest post, I recently had skin cancer surgery, and ended up popping a few stitches.  Now I have a hole on the top of my head that is healing very slowly.  It's been over a month now, and I'm still a long way from being healed.  My next stop is a wound care clinic, and then I'm on to a plastic surgeon.   Looking in the mirror in the mornings and trying to do something with my hair while hiding the mess under a headband is the hardest, and honestly, for a few weeks there, I had a really tough time dealing with it.   I'm tired of playing the victim role, though.  I know what I need to do to heal myself, and the answer doesn't lie at the bottom of a box of cookies.  Not that I had gone overboard with the junk food, but I did let things slip a little.   In my nutrition coaching business I give my clients a meal plan to follow each week, and those that do see the greatest results.  So...why was I ...

I am truly like a toddler sometimes. If I can't eat something everyone else is eating, I throw an inner tantrum. (Cheese! I want cheese!) If I don't get enough sleep, I can be quite grumpy.   And if I'm upset, I may just want my binky (in the form of whatever snack is handy--usually mixed nuts or raw almonds). At 52 years old, you would think I'd have that figured out by now, but the hormonal roller coaster ride I'm on right now is actually making it harder.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, remember back to when your kids were toddlers?  What did you do with them?  Do the same thing with your adult self! Make sure you have healthy and easy food choices in the house. Make sure you are drinking enough water. Have a consistent bedtime routine and get enough sleep.  If you can make it work, naps are pretty awesome. Make time for play.  If you want to call it exercise, that works too. Preferably go outdoors. And most importantly, get lots of hugs and cu...