Lit a fire under my tush! Will it spark you?

I had my own little wake-up call the past few days. Yes, I eat "healthy" by most people's standards...but am I really optimizing my health, energy and vitality for me...and for baby? Am I truly practicing what I preach day in and day out? More water, more fresh greens, eat organic when you can, take your digestive enzymes, eat more raw foods, steer clear of processed garbage, cut our gluten, take probiotics and digestive enzymes, pay attention to gut health and other signs of distress..the list of what I go over with my clients seems endless. But besides eating somewhat clean, I caught myself falling short on my path to OPTIMAL HEALTH.

My wake up came for an unexpected place... a current diet client. By teaching others I quite often learn more about myself.  We have taken up walking and talking instead of our usual in-office weekly weigh-ins and chit chats about life, family, health, emotions etc. So now we walk for 40 minutes in the beautiful, energizing, sunshine instead of sitting under florescent bulbs in sunken chairs. I noticed that just by having the same conversations while walking, my client became more animated, was able to vent and feel empowered instead of weakened by her influx of emotions. It put her on the same plane as me and not feeling stared at from behind a desk while she shared her weekly angst of stresses at home and her plight to fight her brain's temptations to jeopardize her progress. She is a VERY intelligent, compassionate woman, wife and mother. She does tons of her own research on health related topics, makes her own baby foods, actively participates in mommy blogs and explores the natural food stored on a regular basis. She KNOWS what to do but like many of us, gets sucked into eating out of emotion - wanting a hug but settling for a bag of cookies; eating for others convenience - my family wants this so I too will eat this; eating the wrong foods out of frustration or lack of time and preplanning and a plethora of other reasons. So, we battle head vs body every week and I happily report most weeks her body is treated pretty well and she sees the changes in her physique, mood, energy levels, milk production for breast feeding her infant, decrease in skin flare ups etc. Those a great weeks of clairty and calm for her.

After a walk one day I got a text from her thanking me for "seeing her" and not judging her. For sticking by to help her redefine her self and her health. The funny thing is... I should be thanking her! When I listen to her it always makes me think what am I thankful for, what do I need to work on, what am I preaching but not practicing? If she can makes improvements, I am far from being above that as well! A week later, she showed up with a book full of pink highlighter marks, sticky tabs and notes-to-self. She is an admitted self-help and health book junkie..but this I could tell was different for her. She wanted me to read it and she didn't care that I would see her markings. I thank her for her openess...I feel I am becoming a friend as much as a mentor. In fact, it's a really neat way to gain insight into what resonates with people...read their book markings. She said it was  the first book that really spoke to her. She felt as if much of it was me actually talking to her. I was thrilled that a lot of what I said was reinforced by a best selling author - adds to my street cred I suppose (wink wink).

The book? "Crazy Sexy Diet" by Kris Carr. The book has sparked me to get back to my "roots". Take a more green and holistic approach to my own well-being...and I'm only on page 24! It's much of what I already know, but tend to put on the back burner. NOW is the time for me to step up to my plate...my food plate that is. With new fervor, I have taken to the farmers markets, reading about juicing and growing my own sprouts, wheat grass and herbs. I have always thought what does this food do for or to me befor eI put it in my mouth. But now I think on an even mroe intense level. Is this worth putting in my mouth? How does it truly enhance my vitality, immunity, ability to grow a healthy baby, recover from stress etc. I am happiy awaiting the arrival of my super duper Omega VRT juicer; which will be front and center on my "under constructing" raw bar section of my kitchen. Bless the man in my life for being on board and helping to implement my dream juice/smoothie/growing station in our kitchen! I'll have to post a pick once it's complete. But my excuses have been thrown out the window and while my baby may come out green and orange ... she will be uber ready to battle and navigate this crazy world because I will not only have given her the best nutrition while she is co-habitating my body, but she will be set up for success throughout childhood. A mom who leads by example... what a concept..huh?! Join me?? I know my client/friend has.. thank you to that wonderful lady... you know EXACLTY who you are! xo