The Reason That Diet You're On Won't Work

I feel compelled to write about weight loss as we enter into "resolution season" on the first of the year. One of the greatest lessons I learned while at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the concept of bio-individuality. This means that each person has unique food and lifestyle needs; one person's food is another's poison and that is why fad diets tend to fail in the long run.

Since I began working at The Wellness and Nutrition Center, I was able to really dive deeper on what this means, not just with food but stress, hormones, and overall lifestyle. 

If you're sick of making the same resolution year after year, consider a personalized- holistic approach to weight loss. Drs Dave & Jill Noble practice what they preach and truly have their patients best interest in mind. 

Weight loss is NOT a one size fits all. You could have layers of obstacles keeping you from your goal and that absolutely cannot be resolved with food. Find out if you're an easy, moderate or hard weight loss case by taking this quiz: https://goo.gl/forms/hp0n9pSYEgPS5Ldy1

Your goals are 100% possible! Message me to learn more about how you can get started.

in health and love,
Daisy

Emotional Healing and Essential Oils

Emotions, both good and bad, are an essential part of life. When we experience more bad emotions than good, it is a sign that something is "off", not just in the mind but in the body as well. Essential oils have been sought out for their pure, medicinal properties for centuries. Since they are derived from nature. They are the perfect option for anyone looking to address their health in a holistic way.

Research shows our bodies digest emotions just like we digest our food. Emotions left unattended show up later as ailments in the body and wreak havoc on our nervous system.

Essential oils are a great way to help us naturally heal unresolved emotions, however, they cannot do the work for us. I recommend using essential oils during a meditation, before prayer or simply by setting an intention and taking a few moments to slow down your breath.

My mission is to empower women through miscarriage, pregnancy, and motherhood so they can show up standing tall, happy and present, ready to pass on what they've received to other women who are new to the journey.

Below is a list of essential oils to assist in emotional health and wellbeing when dealing with loss or grief. If you have questions on how to get started, please comment below or email me at daisy@sanamentehealth.com

• Anxious/Anxiety: Comforting Blend
• Body Shame: Grapefruit, Patchouli, Jasmine
• Centered: Vetiver, Roman Chamomile
• Comforted: Comforting Blend, Uplifting Blend, Joyful Blend
• Courage: Helichrysum, Ginger, Encouraging Blend, Clove
• Depressed: Joyful Blend, Peppermint, Melissa, Encouraging Blend
• Emotional Pain: Helichrysum, Geranium
• Emptiness: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Arborvitae
• Faith: Anti-Aging Blend, Sandalwood, Arborvitae, Uplifting Blend
• Forgiveness: Thyme, Renewing, Blend, Calming Blend, Geranium
• Grief: Respiratory Blend, Geranium, Lime, Comforting Blend
• Heartbroken: Geranium, Rose
• Loss; Geranium, Ylang Ylang, Comforting Blend
• Sadness: Calming Blend, Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Peppermint, Uplifting Blend, Comforting Blend

Reference Book: Emotions & Essential Oils: A Modern Resource for Healing

Simple Oil-Pulling-Chews Recipe

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic technique that has resurfaced in recent times. When swished around in the mouth, the antibacterial properties of oil pull out bacteria and fungus, alleviating inflammation, congestion, and even allergies. It squelches bad breath, bleeding gums, cavities, gingivitis, plaque, and sensitive teeth, and moistens the mouth, lips, and throat. Needless to say, it is more powerful than simply brushing your teeth and flossing, combined!


Directions to mastering your oral health, compliments of IIN:


Measure out 1-2 teaspoons of oil and put it in your mouth OR see video below a step by step how-to make your own peppermint essential oil infused chewables.

• 1| Swish and pull the oil around your mouth and between your teeth. Start with five minutes and then build your way up to 20 minutes or more. Be careful not to swallow the oil since it contains toxins and bacteria from your mouth. 
• 2| When you’re ready to spit out the liquid, make sure you do so in the garbage. The contaminated oil can clog your pipes. 
• 3| Rinse your mouth out with salt water or water mixed with a little apple cider vinegar to ensure that all of the oil is out of your mouth. 
• 4| After you’ve thoroughly rinsed your mouth, brush your teeth well to kill any bacteria remnants. 
• 5| Smile in the mirror and thank yourself for taking time to take care of you! Your self-care should be an extremely high priority. When you care for yourself deeply, you’re able to show up in the world in a big way

Don't forget to share the love with your friends & followers! 

In health and love, Daisy

Yours Truly, Integrative Health Coach at SanaMenteHealth.com

Make LOVE Your Language

In light of our 3 year anniversary this week (and the very obvi theme this month :) I’d like to focus on relationships with your plus one.

I've mentioned before that at IIN, we focus on Primary Foods which are Relationships, Career, Spirituality and Physical Activity. Secondary Foods are anything else that goes on our plate. So, let’s say you love your job, eat your greens, hit the gym and pray or meditate – whatever gets you closer to a higher being, but come home or have to deal with a tumultuous relationship full of resentment and anger. You don’t see eye-to-eye and there is constant tension around you. Your body, as healthy as you may think it is, is producing a high dose of the stress hormone, cortisol. According to Psychology Today, cortisol is not to be taken lightly. "Scientists have known for years that elevated cortisol levels: interfere with learning and memory, lower immune function and bone density, increase weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease... Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels also increase risk for depression, mental illness, and lower life expectancy..." 

As a health coach, my job is to help you see through the fog so you can balance the Relationship part of your Primary Foods and work towards being your happiest self. 

I’m a huge fan of personal development; literature and in-person development are a constant in our home. A great book to read on this topic is 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. We all know communication is key, but love-language communication is, I believe, absolutely instrumental.

If you find yourself out of balance in this area, I not only encourage you and your other half to read 5 Love Languages, but also to take the quiz (here) and make time to discuss your findings. 

All relationships take work, but lifetime relationships take an extra special "umph" to make work. Before you get started, know that in the eyes of God, we are all innocent beings and - that the ego has no place here. As always, if you need help in getting started - contact me for a free consultation.  

In health & love, 

Daisy

Romans 5: 3-5 

"And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; 

 and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. 

Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

The Selfless Struggle

In my last post, I talked about self love and it being a great place to start when looking to change the world around you. This one, is for all the moms who -out-of-love, forget that we need self love, too.
It is my core belief that women are majestic. Our bodies are incredible and we don't hear that often enough, so hear me now.

Something amazing happens when you become a Mom. Not to slide dads in any of this, but I believe there is automatic re-wiring of thoughts and emotions and suddenly your mental capacity pours selflessly into another human; one you've created. For moms with multiple children, this happens approximately every 2 or 3 years.

I was infatuated with learning about the development of my son while pregnant; completely mesmerized at how life begins and unfolds in the womb. I felt amazing (yes, I was one of those ladies with a glorious pregnancy), but nothing could prepare me for the surreal love and devotion I would feel as soon as they placed him in my arms.

For many moms, our physical and emotional world changes once our baby is born. You love, think-of and care-for this tiny little human from here on out - slowly forgetting about yourself and your needs. It's okay at first, right? You think- "I can swing this no-sleep, messy hair, dark-eye-circle thing." And you may, for a little while. The truth is, our love for this new being is so beyond words that it can easily create a false sense of care. We feel accomplished if baby is happy, dressed, fed and snuggled asleep. But what about you? When is it okay to sneak back to the top of your list? As a mom of an almost 2 year old, I recently discovered I'm one of those moms who unintentionally finishes last. If my son is taken care of, I'm happy. I feel accomplished. I feel like all is well, even if a small voice inside says somethings missing.  It takes a brave friend to say "you're doing great, but think of how much more amazing you can contribute to the world around you if you took care of yourself first?" She's right.

Selfless acts of love and self care can be hard for moms, but I'm taking a stand to say no, it doesn't have to be! Maybe it's not mom guilt, maybe you don't even realize you're doing it. Wherever you are, take a deep breath and know that you're doing amazing.

I prefer to deposit self love in the morning, before anyone else gets up. It's very refreshing and it instantly puts me in a good mood. Incorporating essential oils to my routine is just icing on the cake.

Here are a three morning routine tips to get you started. There is no right or wrong way, the bottom line is to carve out some time for you and what you enjoy doing.

• In those first few moments upon waking up,  you are in pure awareness. Instead of picking up your phone and scrolling through your feed or checking emails, meditate/pray and give thanks. Sit in gratitude for 5 minutes if that's all you have. Become present in the new day and set an intention. 
• Read 10 minutes or 10 pages from a book you enjoy. I great book I just finished reading is Strong Mothers, Strong Sons by Meg Meeker (read it, love it) 
• If you have extra time on your hands, journal. Write down everything that comes to your mind; leave the self judgment behind. Morning Pages are a good way to clear the subconscious and start with a clean slate. 

How do you start your day? Contact me if you're interested in a free consultation. 

In health and love, 

Daisy

Image taken from @heyletsmakestuff

The Oil of Self-Acceptance

I have this incredible Emotions & Essential Oils book that explains the healing properties each oil carries. (This book never ceases to amaze me.) Here's what it says about The Oil of Self-Acceptance: #Bergamot

"Bergamot relieves feelings of despair, self-judgement and low self esteem. It supports the individual in need of self-acceptance and self-love. Bergamot invites individuals to see life with more optimism. Bergamot has a cleansing affect on stagnant feelings and limiting belief systems. Because of individuals' core beliefs of being "bad," "unlovable" and "not good enough," they seek to behind behind the facade of cheerfulness. They may fear revealing their true thoughts and feelings. Bergamot's powerful cleansing properties generate movement in the energy system, which in turn, brings hope."

Isn't that lovely? Just what the world needs. Message me to learn more about Essential Oils or RSVP to one of my events: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/essential-oil-basics-tickets-26079019048

In health and love,

Daisy

Love Thy Self

One of the things that continues to reinforce my decision to pursue a new career is the fact that Health is so much more than the food we eat. In school, we learn about Primary Foods that come before the actual food on our plate. Those are; Relationships, Career, Spirituality and Physical Activity.

As an Integrative Health Coach, I work to bring awareness, empowerment and guidance by helping you achieve your goals- in all 4 areas. There is no right or wrong way to get started in addressing your health, but I prefer to start with Relationships. 

Relationships are instrumental to everyday life, no matter how much of an introvert you feel you are. When you take everyone else out of the equation, you are still left with a relationship with Yourself. Loving, honoring and respecting yourself needs to be at the top of your priority list, every. single. day.

Louise Hay says "When people start to love themselves more each day, it’s amazing how their lives get better. They feel better. They get the jobs they want. They have the money they need. Their relationships either improve, or the negative ones dissolve and new ones begin."

In my personal life, I know that when my relationship with my Self is off, everything is off. My morning routine, diet, work, relationship with others, etc. It's an awful downward spiral that, if I'm not present to, can send me into a day-in, day-out fog-like state. A place where I'm simply existing and not living.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, I'd like to point out that there is nothing wrong here; the first step is acknowledgement and the second is to increase that awareness. When moments like this take over, I recommend taking purposeful, quiet time to sit with that uncertainty and face it head-on. Because I'm a huge fan/advocate of essential oils and their healing properties- here's a bonus tip: place a few drops of Bergamot essential oil in a diffuser or on your hands and inhale deeply before you begin.

Once you've settled in, ask yourself: Where am I feeling out of line? In which areas of my life do I feel "stuck" in? Where am I cause in the matter? What can I do to move forward? Who do I need to talk to or clear things up with? Where am I at a loss of power? There are a number of questions that- when answered honestly- can bring a lot of clarity and a plan of action.

If this is all overwhelming and you don't know where to start, that's okay too. I am offering free health assessments this month. If you'd like more information, comment below.

On the other hand, if you're feeling completely aligned and at peace with who you are, ask yourself - what can I do to experience more of this? and, How can I help others experience the joy I feel? I can tell you with certainty that becoming a health coach has allowed me to be that person for others and I am extremely grateful. If you'd like to know more about my school, comment below for a sample class.

In health and love,
Daisy

Proverbs 19:8 To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.

Love Thyself

Avoid refined sugars | Clear your mind | Clean your home | Dance your heart out | Drink more green tea | Do what makes you happy | Drink more water | Eat often, with controlled portions | Eat more veggies | Eat more fruit | Exercise | Forgive | Get a massage | Get enough sleep |  Get enough sunlight | Go to your regular checkups | Go green | Keep a journal | Laugh | Limit your caffeine intake | Meditate | Read food labels | Reduce sodium intake | Respect others | Stretch first thing in the morning | Smile | Take deep breaths | Walk at least 15min a day

Artist Unknown

-Dais