 Nobody really wants to keep a food log. I get it. I don't either! It takes time. It can be hard to remember if you aren't in the habit. But mostly, we don't want to actually know the details about what we are eating. Most of us know we aren't making the best choices 100% of the time, and we don't want to be confronted with our own shortcomings.
But, when I do work with clients who decide to keep a food log, even if it is just for a few days, they always gain some insights that help them to make strategic steps toward their health goals. They didn't realize the frequency of some of the bad habits. They learn just how healthy good foods are and just how unhealthy others are. They are able to identify the quick wins ... small things that they can change that will make a big impact. In my private coaching practice, I primarily work with busy women who do ALL.THE.THINGS ... but then end up feeling used up and exhausted by dinnertime. They want to have the energy after the have-to-dos to actually enjoy and be present for their people and to pursue their passions. If that sounds like you, enter your contact information on the right side of this page to request my Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring what scripture says about loving the body God gave you. By the end you will have developed a simple first step (like keeping a food log) to caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you. Or, if you want to learn more about what it would look like to work with a coach, click on the button below to schedule a 15 minute complimentary strategy session with yours truly!
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 You have been thinking about making a habit change for a long time. You know that taking a walk after work would make a difference in your mood and your weight. You have the gym membership, but after missing a few days the last time you were sick, you just haven't been able to get back again. You have a bunch of healthy recipes on a Pinterest board, but most of them you haven't tried once.
Sometimes we build up things to be bigger than they need to be in our heads. Many of my clients find that they finally take action when they limit their expectations. I call it "breaking the seal." They set a goal like: walk 2 minutes down to the neighbors house and back after work. Or: choose a recipe to try and add the ingredients to my grocery list. Or: drive to the gym on Saturday morning. And really be ok with just meeting that goal ... for now. If all you do is drive to the gym and turn around and go home, you have met the goal. Success! Then you can decide what the next goal will be. In many cases though, you will find that you go beyond that initial goal the very first time just because you have already "broken the seal." Once the seal has been broken, you almost always realize just how much you were overthinking it. In my private health coaching practice, I work with busy women who do ALL.THE.THINGS ... and then end up feeling used up and exhausted by dinnertime. They need to come up with simple strategies (like breaking the seal) and habits that will fill their cups with energy so they can have the presence and clarity of mind after the have-to-dos to actually enjoy and be present for their families and to pursue their passions. If that sounds like you, enter your contact information on the right side of this page to request my Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring what scripture says about loving the body God gave you. By the end you will have developed a simple first step to caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you. Or, if you want to learn more about what it would look like to work with a coach, click on the button below to schedule a 15 minute complimentary strategy session with yours truly! Whew, for a girl who really loves winter, this was a long one! I am again almost embarrassed by how much my mood and motivation are tied to the amount of sunlight streaming through my windows. I honestly did just barely the necessary things to keep my coaching business running over the winter months. I noticed a few years ago how God built into creation a season of rest. Every winter everything slows down. Trees stop growing. Many animals slow their metabolism so much they don’t even need to eat. It is dark much more of the day. I have learned to take the hint and give myself permission to slow down my pace a little bit during the cold, short winter days. Wasn’t it Jesus that said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”? How deeply do I feel that “weary and burdened” in the darker months!! As a health coach, sometimes the goals that I work with clients on are less about being productive and more about being mindful and intentional. Sometimes the goals are specifically about rest and quality sleep. Sometimes they are about strengthening their spiritual foundation before they jump into their physical goals. Almost always I am helping people to take their big goals and identify the next simple step in the journey. In my private health coaching practice, I help busy Christian moms adopt simple health habits so they can love the body God gave them and have the energy to be All In for their families. If that sounds like you, use the link on this page to request my complimentary Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring some of what scripture says on this topic.. By the end you will have developed a simple first step towards caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you. 
 I've had a number of new clients recently, and one of my favorite parts about coaching is helping them to define their Wellness Vision. It helps when I am making decisions today (do I have that 3rd s'more?) to have a clear idea of what I want the cumulation of my decision to be over time. But sometimes, it's even easier to think about how I will feel about the decision I made tomorrow!
What will you think about the decisions you made today, tomorrow? Will your tomorrow-self be thankful for the choices you made today? It’s easy to pick the thing that feels good for the next 10 minutes … screen time, indulgent foods, comfort zones. But tomorrow, or even 10 minutes from now, it doesn’t feel good to be disappointed, frustrated, or uncomfortable. What would happen to your choices right now if you get into the habit of checking in with your tomorrow-self when you make a decision? Will what you are grabbing to eat give you sustainable energy? Will how you are spending your time right now get you closer to where you want to be tomorrow? In my private health coaching practice, I work with busy women who do ALL.THE.THINGS ... and then end up feeling used up and exhausted by dinnertime. They need to come up with simple strategies and habits that will fill their cups with energy so they can have the presence and clarity of mind after the have-to-dos to actually enjoy and be present for their families and to pursue their passions. Having habits in place like checking-in with your tomorrow-self when making a decision can help! If that sounds like you, enter your contact information on the right side of this page to request my Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring what scripture says about loving the body God gave you. By the end you will have developed a simple first step to caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you.  (incredible photo by the amazing Evan Fedorko!) I have been helping to coach my son's mountain bike team. The Morgantown Trail Hawks are part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA for short). I love the emphasis on getting more kids outside and active, regardless of their skill level. We have some super competive kids who will likely be on the world stage in just a few years. Most of the kids in the group I work with are more concerned with having fun than winning medals. Riding with these kids in the Party Pace Group a few days each week, reminds me about why I do some of the things that I do day in and day out. I am able to just pick up and go for a 14 mile rail trail ride partially because of my regular running routine that I have had for years now. I can power up some of the rocky, rooty hills at Coopers Rock in part because of the squats that I do in my strength training. I can feel confident in my bike shorts becuase of the health choices that I make. I want to be the 75-year-old grandma biking in the mountains with my grandkids. That dream starts long before I reach the age of 75 ... I have to train for it now! What motivates you to make your health choices? What do you want to be able to do now and 30 years from now? Maybe for you it is travel. Maybe it is missions work. Maybe it is playing with the little kids God puts in your life at that time. In my private coaching practice, I work with busy women who do ALL.THE.THINGS ... but then end up feeling used up and exhausted by dinnertime. They want to have the energy after the have-to-dos to actually enjoy and be present for their people and to pursue their passions ... long into their later years. If that sounds like you, click on the button below to schedule a complimentary 15 min Strategy Session and we can work together to develop new healthy self-care habits so that you are having fun being active with your favorite people now and years from now!
I just learned the other day that kids my son's age will tell each other to "touch grass." I might not understand completely, but I got the impression it means, "You have been surrounded by these sterile walls and have been staring at screens for too long. Get yourself some fresh air!" I was refreshed to hear that this little phrase has worked its way into teen-speak. It gives me hope that my son's generation seems to understand that getting outside really is important. I've been fascinated by some of the research that I've learned about recently. We are learning that there are some positive chemical and hormonal changes that occur in our bodies when we walk barefoot in the grass or wade in natural water or even look at a picture of a beautiful outdoor scene. One interesting study found that hearing more variety of bird songs on a walk increased mood greater than hearing just a few birdsongs. It just makes sense to me that we were created to thrive better when we are surrounded by things that God made rather than things that man has made. So what are you going to do today to "touch grass?!" In my private health coaching practice, I help busy Christian moms adopt simple health habits, like getting outside regularly, so they can love the body God gave them and have the energy to be All In for their families. If that sounds like you, use the link on this page to request my complimentary Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring some of what scripture says on this topic. By the end you will have developed a simple first step towards caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you.   * image from pngtree.com I just celebrated another birthday ... man those things seem to happen every year! I'm learning that my nutrition habits, which have never been excellent, really do need a revamp. I can't get away with what I used to be able to get away with nutritionally! There are a lot of ideas out there on what it takes to change a habit. Most people are familiar with the thought that if you do something for 30 days, it will then be a habit. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I think there is a lot more to it than that. And the danger in that concept is that if you miss a day, you are back to square 1 … which for a lot of people is enough to send them into a tailspin. (I’m a failure … I’ll never get this right … etc. Been there?!) The way I explain habit development to clients is using the analogy of a hiking trail in the woods. Imagine that like Anne of Green Gables, you have a trail through the woods that links your house with that of your best friend. That trail has been there for years and because you spend every day with your friend, it is nice and clear. Suppose one day you decide that you want to make a new trail so that you can walk past a particular berry bush on your way to your friend’s place. The first time you go that way it is going to be very difficult. You will have to do a lot of work to clear the new trail. But the more often you take that trail, the more clear and packed down it will become. The old trail is still there, but every day it becomes more overgrown because you aren’t walking down it. If you do take the old trail one day, it doesn’t mean your new one is totally gone. You just want to get back to the new one to continue the process of making the new trail wider, more packed down, and easier to travel. And by traveling the new trail more often, you are also letting the old trail become more overgrown and forgotten. This is literally what is happening with the neurons in your brain as you are establishing a new habit. New pathways are being built that make it easier to do the new habit each time. And concurrently, the old pathways are being forgotten. If you slip into your old pattern one day, you simply need to get back to the new one the next time. It is still there! And, it gets easier every time you do it. So I am currently working on creating some new neural pathways around planning for, shopping for, cooking, and eating food. I know it won't be an overnight process and I won't stick to the new pathways every time, but I can still create a new default path over time. Are you working on developing some new health habit "paths?" Or are you ready to get started creating some? Use the link below to schedule a complimentary 15min strategy session to learn how health coaching could help support your new path creation!  We had the opportunity the past few days to get away and enjoy a mini-vacation. Rock climbing, mountain biking, bouldering, trail running ... and a whole lot of porch sitting and living room movie watching was on the menu. It was a nice chance to de-stress. So, what is the big deal about stress anyway?
It is no secret that our stress levels impact our health. Stress in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. God gave our bodies an automatic response to prepare us to handle tough situations well. The problem in our modern society tends to be that the stressors we experience don’t have a defined end point so our stress response doesn't shut off. According to the Cleveland Clinic, long-term stress can result in high blood pressure, a weak immune system, and depression … to name just a few! So what can we do about stress? In some cases, we can actually address the thing causing the stress. Your job is stressful? Change jobs. But, as you can see with that example, these tend to be big changes that can cause more stress in the short term. So in most cases, the only real option available to you is to address your response to the stress. There are many different techniques and I encourage people that I work with to identify a few that they can try. What works for one person, or even one situation, may not work for another person or a different situation. Here are some of my favorites I have heard from people over the years: Take a walk (or any form of exercise) Light a candle and enjoy the aroma for a few seconds Call a friend Read a book Take a bath Pray Pet a dog or cat Garden Think of something to be thankful for Take some deep breaths None of these activities will actually change the situation that is causing the stress, but they halt the physical stress response in the body so that those long-term health consequences can be avoided. And, they equip you to continue your day as a contributor, despite the challenges life throws your way. What strategies do you think you could try? In my private health coaching practice, I help busy Christian moms adopt simple health habits like developing a list of stress-management ideas that works for them so they can love the body God gave them and have the energy to be All In for their families. If that sounds like you, use the link on this page to request my complimentary Loving the Body God Gave Me Workbook. This workbook will walk you through exploring some of what scripture says on this topic. By the end you will have developed a simple first step towards caring for your body so that you can best care for the people who mean the most to you. |
AuthorKatie Kolb - Health Coach Archives
April 2025
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