Do you wish you could just press the “easy” button on having a healthy lifestyle? Yeah, you’re not the only one. And I don’t want to burst your bubble, but ... you can’t. Whether you made a decision to be the healthiest version of yourself one decade ago or one day ago, you should know that your goal will require daily effort from you. It’s going to take some work.

So, now that you know that your new lifestyle won’t be easy, I have good news for you! It can be simple. So, please let it be simple. Simple, not easy. And, because I’m a nerd, let’s look at the definitions of easy and simple, as according to Merriam-Webster.

Definition of easy:

1. causing or involving little difficulty or discomfort

2. requiring or indicating little effort, thought, or reflection

Definition of simple:

1. free from ostentation or display

2. sheer, unmixed

3. free from elaboration or figuration

4. readily understood or performed

As the old adage says, nothing worth having comes easy....

Nutrition science is fascinating but also frustrating. Like anything in science, the facts of nutrition science can be proven. But if you wait long enough, these facts can also be disproven. That’s just the nature of science. The worldwide community of physicians, nutritionists, biologists, chemists and the like is constantly searching for answers and gaining knowledge. So, what we know is always changing.

And what we now know about nutrition science now is so far removed from what we used to believe, say, in the 90s. That means if you’re eating according to 1990s knowledge, you might not be serving yourself well. And who knows what truths we’ll uncover in the next 20 years! But it’s likely that some of today’s nutrition recommendations will become moot. That’s just the nature of the science game.

But hang onto your hats. Because keeping up with the facts is hard enough, but it’s even more difficult to separate fact from fiction. There are an infinite number of opinions about what yo...

What is a diet?

According to Merriam-Webster, a diet is:

1. food or drink regularly consumed (noun)
2. habitual nourishment (noun)
3. the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person for a special reason (noun)

As a surgeon, this is how I used to define “diet.” When I’m caring for my patients in the hospital, I select their diet. And I make my selections according to their needs:

• High blood pressure? Low sodium diet.
• Weak kidneys? Low potassium diet.
• Diabetes? Low sugar diet.

Made sense to me! A diet is simply what someone eats. And you pick what you eat based on what your body needs, right? It turns out a diet is not that simple. It doesn’t just address a physical need. It incorporates mental and emotional needs too. And that’s how it gets complicated.

What is a diet … really?

Merriam-Webster also offers these definitions of diet:

1. A regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight (noun)
2. To eat sparingly or according to prescribed rules (verb)
3. Re...

I have a confession to make. I love sensational television. When I was a kid, I watched soap operas regularly. General Hospital was my favorite. This was before the age of DVR and I was a student. So, I had to be pretty dedicated to keep up with it. But it did help that neither the plot lines nor the characters changed very quickly. 

But eventually I stopped watching GH. For me, the magic was gone. But I still like dramatic television. Now, it’s most often “reality” tv like The Real World (yes, I just dated myself), The Bachelor(ette), or The Real Housewives … I find them incredibly entertaining! I confess! But I never watched one of the biggest reality television shows in history, The Biggest Loser. It was … too much for me. And that’s saying a lot! Because … The Bachelorette is just too much!

via GIPHY

The Biggest Loser was hugely popular! It was one of the most successful reality television shows ever and absolutely the most popular weight-loss show ever. It had a really long r...

I love talking about dreams. In a nutshell, here is my philosophy on dreams:

Dreams are big and beautiful and they come true by setting and getting a series of goals. You reach your goals by mastering healthy habits. And as I wrote in my post, “The #1 way to achieve your dream life,” healthy eating is a cornerstone habit. You can read that post here.

I love to be future-focused, but I want to be clear. What you do now determines what you will be in the future. What you eat now determines how you will feel in the future. Start now. Your dream is not sitting around and waiting for you. So, why would you wait to eat healthfully? 

Don’t wait! Take care of yourself now and everyday. Eat well now and everyday. And this routine of healthy eating will help you reach your dream. More than that, when you do, you’ll have a body and mind fit enough to enjoy it to the fullest.

Healthy eating is everyday self-care.

In a previous blog post, called “What is self-care?,” I offered the following de...

When I first started health coaching, I asked a lot of professional moms a lot of questions. My questions were geared to learning how to help them the most. I wanted to know if and how health coaching could help them. I asked questions like:

• What are your current eating habits?
• Are you content with them?
• Have you tried to change them before?
• What has stopped you in the past?
• What are your obstacles now?
• How do you want to feel in your body?

And I got amazing feedback! I’m so grateful for those women who gave me their time and their thoughts. From those conversations, there were two overwhelming ideas. I’m going to share one with you in this post. (Don’t worry. I’ll share the other one in time.)

These accomplished, Xennial and Generation-X moms asked:

What should I eat? I can do it if I know what to do!

And honestly, I struggled with that. I didn’t want to tell them what to eat. That sounded like a d-i-e-t to me. And I don’t support the d- word.  See … I can barely write i...

Last week’s blog post was about how to use healthy habits to achieve your goals and how each goal gets you one step closer to your dreams. And it’s true! But there are a lot of healthy habits to choose from! Such habits include moving your body, getting organized, thinking positively and sleeping well. Each of these habits will definitely build you up and not tear you down. And each one will help you level up your health.

So, where do you start? There are arguably hundreds, if not thousands, of healthy habits that can help you get from where are you now to where you want to be. But which one is the most high-yield? Which habit can be the first domino that will knock down all the other dominoes in your life? Which habit will have the biggest, most meaningful impact on your health?

What’s the most important healthy habit?

Start with eating well. When you eat well, you will feel well which allows you to perform well. It’s true! Now, there are plenty of opinions out there that will disa...

I coach because helping you get from where you are to where you want to be lights me up!

It’s an honor for me to be by your side as you dream big and knock down your goals, one by one. 

With every goal that you set and meet, you get closer to your dream. I think of your goals as the roadmap to your dream. So, if you want to make your dream come true, you need goals. And you have to make reaching your goals inevitable. 

But how do you do it? How do you reach your goals? 

To be successful, you need a system. And an essential part of that system is your habits. But not just any habits - healthy ones.

For this to really work, you need to understand it. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of meaningless steps. With that said, here are some key ideas about habits:

• What is a habit?
• What makes a habit healthy?
• How do you make a healthy habit anyway?
• And how long will it take to make this healthy habit?

What is a habit?

First of all, without your knowledge, there’s a lot going on inside...

It’s July 1st!

July 1st has a special meaning for physicians and surgeons. Traditionally, it’s the first day of the training year. What does that mean? 

It means that brand new doctors start their first day of work, internship, on July 1st. With the flip of a calendar page, they go from medical student to doctor. On June 30th, they couldn’t possibly order a medication or a test for a patient, but on July 1st … Bam! They’re instantly capable!

It’s an incredibly exciting, albeit chaotic, day in teaching hospitals all across the country. I’ll be honest - it’s a chaotic month. Ok, really the first three months of the year can feel kinda wild. Oh, the memories!

The inside joke is don’t go to the hospital in July! I kid. I kid! You’ll get great care. Just know that July 1st is a big switch day. All of the young doctors are getting acclimated in new roles. It’s a time of transition and transitions can be slow. Or messy. Even confusing. 

But there’s an exciting, new world on the other sid...

It’s officially summertime! And summertime is synonymous with summer vacation! My last blog post was about detox diets, but a good vacation is a detox of sorts. You get to unplug and unwind. You get to reset and reconnect.

But sometimes parents can find it stressful to travel with kids. And stress can seriously ruin your vacation high! So, I’d like to offer 5 simple tips for healthy travel with kids. Use them in good fun and in good health!

Have fun!

My first tip is to keep it positive. Let’s be honest - traveling with kids is work. It isn’t relaxing. But it should be fun! So, make having fun your priority.

It’s been said that you only have 18 summers with your kids. When you think of 18 years as 18 summers, it sounds like so little time. And, in a way, it is! Many more experienced parents have advised me -  your children’s early years will fly by. I know … tears. But it has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? So, make the most of those summers by creating vivid, fun memories!

Let i...