spring cleaning | keep it social
Social, according to Merriam-Webster: 1: involving allies or confederates 2: marked by or passed in pleasant companionship with friends or associates 3: of or relating to human society, the interaction…
Social, according to Merriam-Webster: 1: involving allies or confederates 2: marked by or passed in pleasant companionship with friends or associates 3: of or relating to human society, the interaction…
How many times a day do we ascribe a particular intent to someone else’s words or actions? Or have someone else make assumptions about the intent behind our words or…
Current state of my environment: I have a toilet in my living room. It’s quite the statement piece. (Although I’m not sure it adheres to all 7 rules for statement…
Small, simple steps. There’s a reason my health coaching practice prominently features the word “Simply.” Many of us feel that re/claiming our best health is complicated. That it takes LOTS…
I’ve written a lot about primary foods (just search the blog for that key word!), so this week, I’m going to take the conversation in a slightly different direction. As…
Here’s a great way to think about making the better choice most of the time: don’t make the choice! The Integrative Nutrition® principle of “crowding out” is sort of like…
Who knew you could connect the Buddhist practice of seeking the middle path to an HR webinar? I recently attended a webinar run by MediKeeper, and one of the resources…
Intermittent fasting is a hot topic these days. There was an article in the NYT recently about how scientists have concluded the first long-term study of time-restricted eating, AKA intermittent…
[W]e’ve lost ground in other [health] areas, and a lot of them are a function of the fact that we don’t have a very healthy lifestyle in our nation. Particularly…
What is up with the holidays? I kid you not: Halloween decorations have started popping up in stores in August. I wondered, in 2020, whether this was because so many…
This week we finish off the emotional eating series with a look at another topic that is closely linked to emotional/stress eating: self-trust. How do you feel when you have…
In the style of health coaching I practice, Integrative Nutrition®, we talk a lot about primary and secondary foods. The majority of my clients come to me because they believe…
Hello? Is anybody there? Or is everyone still doomscrolling, sucked into the vortex of news and social media after the past two weeks? Perhaps it’s time to detox. For the…
“I’m not going to give up my [diet Coke/chips/ice cream/etc.], so don’t even ask me to!” When a client’s goal is weight loss, this sentence comes up more often than…
It’s bound to happen in the fall, the season of plenty: an adult version of elementary school lunch plays out in the land of the CSA pickup. The boxes are…
I’m sure your age probably determined what popped into your head when you saw “walk this way” as this post title; if you’re older, you probably flashed back to Monty…
Irrespective of our political leanings, many (most? all?) of us seem to be feeling our world has spun out of control. As I’ve written about recently, it is stunning to…
I’ve blogged about our relationship with food, our relationship with tech, and our relationship with time, and this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about another relationship—with our stuff. Yes,…
I’ve known since my junior year abroad that I’m a four seasons girl. I spent that year in Taiwan, where there are two seasons: “hot and humid” and “cool and…
I spent part of this holiday weekend watching “old” movies: A Fish Called Wanda with my son, who appreciates 1) anything with the word “fish” in it, 2) Monty Python,…
This week finds me at home in the Green Mountains of Vermont—I know that I can’t claim to be a Vermonter because I wasn’t born here, and their rules about…
I’ve been intrigued by Traditional Chinese Medicine ever since college, when I was a Chinese major (yup, that really was my first field of study!), and I’ve always wanted to…
I visited Heather and Darlene’s studio, Joy | Freedom in Motion, for a presentation on Gyrotonic one evening a few years ago and was inspired. Heather is a wealth of…
How is it already May 31?!? That means tomorrow is the start of our month-long anniversary celebration of community! (Catch up on the details of that if you missed them…
From the moment I read one of her blog posts, I just knew that Tania had to be the first person to do a Q+A in the (Sorta) Secret Sisterhood…
Spring is here—which in Michigan means the temperature still dips below 40ºF and yet the upper limits (in the 60s) are starting to show up more often than the dips….
Have you ever changed your name? My friend Audrey, a business coach for women entrepreneurs, has a podcast called Women Are the Journey, on which she talks to women about…
One of the principles of Integrative Nutrition® is the idea of bioindividuality: what is healthy for one person may be toxic to another, whether we’re talking about secondary foods (what…
Helllp! I seem to have fallen into a Netflix trap, one that features crime dramas from the UK: first there was Shetland, then there was Hinterland, then Broadchurch, and now…
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ve probably come across my Kale + Kryptonite exercise, which is a tool I use with my clients to help them assess the…
Once again, our family’s Spring Breaks didn’t align this year—and we did manage to have some fun anyway! After last year’s epic fishing adventure, my son and I decided to…
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz…. My father used to recite the poem every year around this time. In Michigan, it’s still blustery, and the the grass is not…
‘Fess up: did you binge watch the first season of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix? Because yeah, I did. And I read the book in 2015. I saw…
I’ve spent a lot of the past 10 years writing grant proposals and reports, and I’ve been musing about the parallels between how a majority of funders invest their money…
My brain and I are on vacation this week, so instead of struggling to come up with a new post, I’ve decided it’s your turn! I’m always interested in providing…
This month, I’m taking a look in the rearview mirror at 2018 and a peek ahead at the road ahead in 2019. I invite you to hop in and take…
This month, I’m taking a look in the rearview mirror at 2018 and a peek ahead at the road ahead in 2019. I invite you to hop in and take…
It’s definitely wintry in Ann Arbor, and our seasonal diet has shifted from the cool leafy salads and quickly grilled foods of summer to heartier root veggies and slowly simmered…
Full disclosure: if you love Black Friday, this post is likely to piss you off—maybe read it anyway? america, the privileged Last weekend when I was grocery shopping, I discovered…
If your mind immediately filled in that blank with “and see what’s on the slab,” you’re proof that campy movies never die. THAT one has been entertaining college students since…
This week, I’d like to revisit last week’s post, Full stop. Why? Because I can and because it sparked a lot of responses, not just a couple in the blog…
I’ve always looked at my ability to wake up without an alarm as a superpower: whether it’s for my usual wake-up time (ungodly early) or from a power nap or…
It’s Labor Day weekend, and we’ve made another circle around the sun: as hard as it is to believe, I have two sophomores now: one in high school, one in…
When I was growing up, we didn’t have a television (no, I’m not THAT old—my parents just chose not to have one!) so we listened to the radio a lot….
I’m “on holiday,” as the people of the UK would say—spending two weeks touring Scotland. Diana Gabaldon’s Jamie Fraser and Dougal MacKenzie might be involved—no sightings yet, but stay tuned….
After years of staycations, 2018 is becoming the year of traveling for me—and I’ve been thinking about the learning that comes from not just the trips themselves but the packing…
“Self care” has become a real buzzword in the past decade—and it can include anything from an hour (or a day) at the spa to meditating to practicing yoga to…
Uh oh—am I really going to stray into politics on a health coaching blog? No, not entirely, but with the news focusing so much on the administration’s attempt to rid…
The clubhouse doors are open at the (Sorta) Secret Sisterhood online membership site, and last week, I had the honor and pleasure of interviewing Tania Elfersy of The Wiser Woman…
I recently walked the Dexter Ann Arbor 5K in 40:49 (beating last year’s 52:12 by a long shot despite the pouring rain)—I had meant to run this year, but some…
When I was studying to become a health coach, one of my favorite lectures was titled, “Does Your Poop Float?” I wish I could remember the lecturer’s name, but it…
If you’re about my age and you’ve seen When Harry Met Sally, there’s at least one line that people of our generation all know: I’ll have what she’s having. It…
Let’s take a look at the business side of health coaching for a minute. As a business owner, I spend a fair amount of time networking, and in networking groups—as…
Is it really possible that Spring has sprung in Michigan finally? This past winter really felt endless—more so than others for some reason. And yet, thanks to a new furbaby…
I’m a walker—no matter what form of exercise I’ve done in the past—from running to aerobics to HIIT—I always come back to walking. It’s as though there’s a set point…
Just a quick heads up: April’s FREE health coaching webinar is going to introduce you to what I call the DR/EAM process—a way to stop playing best supporting actress in…
When I was growing up, it seemed as though my vacations never lined up with those of my parents, who taught at a small liberal arts college. There may have…
Last night at the dinner table, my son asked how long it’s been since the new Administration has been in the White House. More than a year, I said, thinking…
If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I was recently featured in an interview on my friend Audrey Groeschel’s Women are Journey podcast—you can check it out…
In response to my question about curve balls two weeks ago, Susan wrote, “I had pinching pain in my left hip which turned out to be early onset arthritis. At…
I’m one of those lucky people, blessed with the ability to fall asleep just about anywhere, anytime, even during a bus or train commute (yeah, sleeping on the Red Line…
Sooo much wisdom (and a fair bit of humor!) in last week’s conversation on the blog in response to my question about what (if any) curve ball/s your body suddenly…
This is the final post in the SOUL food series—you can find the first one at SOUL food | Seasonal, the second at SOUL food | Organic, and the third…
I recently had the honor of interviewing the lovely Dr. Fiona Lovely of the Not Your Mother’s Menopause podcast and Facebook community. We talked a lot about bringing peace to…
This is the third post in the SOUL food series—you can find the first one at SOUL food | Seasonal and the second at SOUL food | Organic. Integrative Nutrition®…
This is the second post in the SOUL food series—you can find the first one at SOUL food | Seasonal. “Organic” has a lot of meanings—perhaps the most familiar in…
As I mentioned at the end of last year, my focus has been shifting from helping clients with their SOLE foods—the seasonal, organic, local, and ethical foods that I recommend…
It’s pretty common for New Year’s resolutions to dissolve just weeks into the new year, and as we approach the start of 2018, I have some thoughts on why that’s…
At the end of 2016, I shifted my health coaching practice from focusing almost entirely on secondary foods—what we put in our mouths—to primary foods—everything else in our lives that…
Occasionally, I need to disappear from my health coaching practice due to the demands that my side hustle as a grants consultant places on my schedule. Late November and early…
My biz bestie, Holly Southerland of Waco Home Organizers, recently sent a note of encouragement to her email list about FOMO (fear of missing out) and doing a “digital detox”…
Because explaining what I do as a health coach can be difficult—while the profession is certainly growing, it’s still an alien concept for many—I like to talk about my work…
As I mentioned last week, explaining what I do as a health coach can be difficult: while the profession is certainly growing, it’s still an alien concept for many. I…
Explaining what I do as a health coach can be difficult: while the profession is certainly growing, it’s still an alien concept for many. In my workshops, I often like…
This is the final post in the SOLE food series, in which we stepped away a bit from primary foods nutrition and focused again on secondary foods, the ones we…
This month, we’re stepping away a bit from primary foods nutrition and focusing again on secondary foods, the ones we put in our mouths. As you find your way on…
This month, we’re stepping away a bit from primary foods nutrition and focusing again on secondary foods, the ones we put in our mouths. As you find your way on…
This month, we’re stepping away a bit from primary foods nutrition and focusing again on secondary foods, the ones we put in our mouths. As you find your way on…
I spend a lot of time talking to people about their health goals and their primary and secondary food choices. And one of their most frequent comments is, “I know…
Labor Day weekend has come to represent a lot more than just a moment to honor the labor movement in the United States, so much so that we don’t often…
Last week’s post on the podcasts I recommend generated quite a few replies, one of the more common being, “But what if I don’t listen to podcasts?” I don’t find…
Vacation ends soon—I’m slipping in another quickie post before I run out to enjoy the end of it! If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m…
You may or may not know that in my “other life,” I contract for an amazing nonprofit called Fair Food Network—our healthy food incentive program, Double Up Food Bucks, is…
Look, look—another guest post! This one comes from Linda Joy Stone, OMD, L.Ac., with whom I connected on Daocloud, which I describe as social media for practitioners and answer-seekers in…
I’ve recently been going through an experience that in an odd way reminds me of what my daughter went through most of last year: encountering the inevitable questions. For her,…
There’s still time to RSVP for Ruth Wade’s workshop on Gyrotonic and bone health tonight, July 26, and in the meantime I have another cool guest blog post and offer…
This is turning into a summer of “lasts” at our house: one child’s last summer before college and last day of work at a job held for three years already,…
It’s 4th of July weekend, which means (yikes!) we’re half way through the year. Whattt? I was thinking that in some ways, this weekend is like what kids call their…
Yay—another fun guest blogger! Today, I’m happy to share a great reminder with you from my friend Cheryl Meyer, who is going to let you in on a deep, dark…
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a big fan of podcasts—I listen to a fair number of self-improvement, health, and entrepreneur/business related ones, and my…
First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, because let’s be real—whether you’re female or male, whether you have borne children of your own or raised someone else’s or been part of a…
It’s April 22 (Happy Earth Day!), and if you’ve been following along on the blog, you’ll know that the past month has seen me on the West Coast, in the…
Every intersection in the road of life is an opportunity to make a decision. ~ Duke Ellington From driving to Ohio to driving in Southern California to driving to Vermont,…
Have you ever noticed how when you’re paying attention, you see “coincidences” everywhere? Last week, I had two acquaintances, both of whom have colored their hair for years, start conversations about…
[Edit: Since this post was written, the S.A.N.I.T.Y. program morphed partly into Declutter Your Daytimer and partly into my membership site for women 40+. I’ve left this post up because…
I learned one of my favorite mixed metaphors from a fellow coach who said, “I view my job as leading a horse to water, then teaching it how to fish.” (My…
Today marks the beginning of a series of workshops my collaborator, Holly Southerland, and I are calling Month of Margin. The goal of the workshops is to help women create margin in…
When I was being certified as a health coach, I live-streamed the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s live events, which are weekend long extravaganzas of top speakers from the world of health…
A few weeks ago, after finally registering the copyright for Fl!p Your K!tchen, I asked a question of my Facebook hivemind: what tasks do you put off and put off and…
I know how one of my teens would respond to that question, and if you do, too, then you’re welcome for the earworm. But the kind of blank space I’m thinking…
Are you… Overwhelmed by the clutter in your pantry, closet, or home office? Feeling like you don’t have time to take care of your home the way you want to? Busy taking…
What do a rotisserie chicken and a kitchen sink have in common? It’s been an interesting week for me—I don’t know whether it’s been a phase of the moon or some…
Last fall, my brother and I spent a weekend in Colorado sifting through the piles of paperwork left by my late uncle—we were on the hunt for 1 specific document, and…
It seems as though 2016 was a particularly rough year in terms of celebrity deaths. (Although I will admit I had to laugh when my daughter found a comment on…
As I get older, I feel the pull of the seasons more and more strongly, and the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 feel more true each year: “To every thing there is…
One of the fundamental principles of Integrative Nutrition® health coaching is that we are not only nourished (or toxified) by the food we put in our mouths—our secondary foods; we are…
I wrote this for a wonderful networking group I am privileged to belong to—if you’re an entrepreneur looking for a facilitated referral team, check out Caerusnet (and if there isn’t one…
This is the tenth of a 12-part series titled “Baby Steps.” On the first of each month, I post 1 tiny step toward better health that you can take every day…
do you need a new cooking/eating + life style? Have you decided (or have you been told) that you need to change your cooking + eating style – eat more…
I’ve extended the registration deadline for the Fall 2016 Supper + Support group coaching series to September 7, 2016. You can read about the series here: https://simply-healthcoaching.com/supper-support-fall-2016/ Questions? Please don’t hesitate…
Long before he really made a splash as the director of blockbusters such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee made two of my all-time favorite food movies, Eat Drink Man…
This is the eighth of a 12-part series titled “Baby Steps.” On the first of each month, I post 1 tiny step toward better health that you can take every day…
This is the seventh of a 12-part series titled “Baby Steps.” On the first of each month, I post 1 tiny step toward better health that you can take every day…
Yesterday, I had the extreme pleasure of sharing an hour on the phone with Andrea Catherine Bachman of Grounded Here, LLC. We had a great conversation about who we are,…
This is the sixth of a 12-part series titled “Baby Steps.” On the first of each month, I post 1 tiny step toward better health that you can take every day…
“It’s complicated….” Just about everything feels complicated these days, … and there’s a great excuse for not taking action, which causes us even more (di)stress. How to make life simple…
This is the fourth of a 12-part series titled “Baby Steps.” On the first of each month, I’ll post 1 tiny step toward better health that you can take every day…
About five years ago, I switched from a conventional primary care physician to an integrative medicine physician. My hope was that when I brought up alternative therapies such as massage…
If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like to work with a health coach, here’s an awesome peek into a (star) client’s side of the health coaching equation! I wasn’t…
How do you feel about mornings? Yes, please – the earlier, the better! Meh – I can survive them when I have to. Please don’t make me morning. If you…
Do you need to develop a new cooking and eating style? • Have you decided (or have you been told) that you need to change your cooking + eating style…
When I was studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I often envied my single, childless classmates: as we were introduced to a large number of dietary theories – from…
Read my recent guest post on Everyday Power Blog and do a little reality testing!
Breaking Bad: A colloquialism popular in the American Southwest referring to when someone has taken a turn off the path of the straight and narrow, when they’ve deviated from what’s…
Before I work with a client, we have what I call a YOURstory session (like a history, but a little less gendered and a bit more personal!), an opportunity to…
I hope you’ll join me for a new workshop I’m presenting together with Su Hansen! $100/person, sliding scale available – call to register: 310-892-9485 or register and prepay below. full…
When I was a caterer (in the years BC – before children), my husband would often watch me preparing madly for a party and comment, “What if they throw this…
PLEASE NOTE THAT REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED. JOIN US IN APRIL FOR OUR SPRING MINI-RETREAT. Full price – $200 per person 3/4 price – $150 per person…
Are you in tune with your life’s purpose – the big why of your presence on this planet at this particular time and place? Do you know what you are…
As an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I work with my clients to understand that our Primary Foods® (career, relationships, physical activity, spiritual practice, etc.) are just as important to our…
What does Autumn mean to you? How do you prepare for the season with its ever-shorter days and the hibernation instinct lurking around the bend? This year, I’m collaborating…
Do you suffer from the sugar blues? Do you constantly crave sweets? Find out how you can control your sugar cravings without feeling deprived! Join me for a workshop hosted…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea that we show up at the table much the way we show up in the rest of our lives, and it is…
I’m thrilled to be offering a new workshop in collaboration with Hands of Light Energy Healer Lucinda Kurtz from 11am-6pm on Sunday, May 3 – it promises to be a energizing…
Does winter have you d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g? What would life be like with abundant energy and vitality? What foods have the power to increase your energy? What else contributes to boundless vitality?…
My family and coworkers would agree – I’m something of a cross between Scrooge and the Grinch. (Scrinch?) Every year, I grumble about the impending holidays … and every year, the holiday…
Ready to invest in your health and happiness in 2015 so you can really thrive – and not just survive – each day? Registration now open for virtual group coaching series, January – April 2015.
I have an 11-year-old son and a husband, so (if you’ll forgive a generalization) I watch a fair number of action movies. Okay, full disclosure: I kind of like them,…
Simply: Health Coaching is going virtual: If you missed the in-person Find Your Balance workshop in September, here’s your chance to experience it for FREE online from the comfort of your…
One of the principles of integrative nutrition is the theory of bio-individuality: each of us is unique, and therefore our needs for primary foods (career, spirituality, physical activity, relationships) and secondary foods…
FIND YOUR BALANCE, or How round is your circle? Do you have trouble finding time to do everything you want to do in your life or even in your day? Do…
Our son, who just turned 11, was born two months early – luckily, he avoided many of the “insults of prematurity” (what an odd phrase that is!) and suffered mainly…
Have you ever listened to your personal script? The one that dictates how every situation will play out because that’s what always happens? The one that spills out in words and…
Our modern lives are full of demands on our time and energy – they come at us 24/7 in surround sound, whether in the real world or in the virtual…
The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean…