Big or Small

Posted on October 25, 2017 by danayeats

Recently I have started meditating again in the morning and I have to be honest I forgot how much I enjoy it. Now I know for many people the thought or the act of mediating can be intimidating, restless or down right hokey.  First off I am here to tell you, there is no WRONG way to MEDITATE, and there is NEVER a BAD TIME to MEDITATE.  If you have 5 minutes or 30 minutes go for it.

Recently I completed a guided meditation that really hit home for me, the ending prompt was :

“Life is as big or as small as we choose to make it. It all depends on our understanding and perceptions of the limitless nature of our mind“.— WOW! Reread that, take a minute to really absorb it.

I guess I have always thought I was living a big life but when I saw this prompt it made me pause and really think about the power of our mind and the impact we can create for ourselves vs. staying on the hamster wheel of life. I for one want a big life that is full of many wonderful adventures, happiness, health…the list goes on an on. But what really hit home for me with this prompt was, I know I have been in those spaces where I have been complacent or maybe even too comfortable with “life”. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying we all need to be going  110% all of the time but what does a big life mean to you, to me, to our family and friends – everyone’s answer will be different as it should be. However, so many times we find ourselves going through the motions to get by and to keep the “wheels on the bus intact” but is that embracing this idea of a Limitless Mind?

Take a minute right now, what comes to mind when you think of this notion of the limitless nature of your mind. What are your biggest wishes for a Life that is Big, what are the steps that you can start taking to make these changes today for that Big Life you so desire?

My husband and I have talked a lot about this. We have both over the years realized that huge changes are usually not sustainable, however if you start to create small positive changes every day for example meditating for 5 minutes every morning, going for a 20 min walk or run, that when you do this other acts of positive change won’t be as hard. Your Limitless Mind will already be trained to accept and thrive under positive habits and it will embrace these challenges you put forth.

I challenge you all right now to reread that above prompt and think to yourself do you want a Big or Small Life and what doest that really mean to you….

 

If you would like more personalized help with identifying positive habits around health, wellness and fitness please contact me for a complimentary session at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com.

 

In Good Health!

 

Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

 

 

 

 

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Tasty and Quick Lunch

Posted on September 25, 2017 by danayeats

I wanted to share this quick and tasty lunch with you all. It is packed full of Iron, which is so important for all of us but especially my women readers, high in Protein, B-Complex, high in Fiber, and for the grand finale it contains a rich source of Glycine Betaine which is wonderful for all my readers Cardiovascular Health!!! Essentially what this phytochemical compound does, is it helps lower the homocysteine levels within the blood, when we have high levels of this toxic metabolite it is harmful to our blood vessels which can lead to cardiovascular diseases. So based upon this info I know you are all ready to hear what my tasty and quick-lunch was….

Here it is,  I call it the “Protein Packed Spinach Lentil Beet Salad”. I know some of you are thinking Beets, they aren’t my favorite or Beets they take a while to roast and prepare. As a mom of 3 kids 9 and under I have a solution for you… If Beets aren’t your favorite please give them another try with this salad – I think you will be surprised and if you think you don’t have time to roast them I get that too. I buy my beets already roasted and peeled at Trader Joe’s or Safeway. Now I know my parents who are both amazing Home Chefs are cringing right now, but honestly I think they taste as good and guess what there is no hassle for me to get my fill of Glycine Betaine in my diet. So for me it is a Win-Win.

It takes minutes to  make this quick and easy salad. One layer of fresh spinach leaves, 1/4-1/2 Cup cold lentils, 3 beets chopped, handful of red grapes sliced, a sprinkle of goat cheese (if you like that sort of thing and don’t have an intolerance to it). I stick with my favorite home dressing where I lightly drizzle olive oil over the salad, squeeze 1/2 fresh lemon to give it a pop of citrus and lightly drizzle balsamic glaze to finish it off. Trust me you will love this salad if you give it a try!!!

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I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do for so many reasons: it is quick and convenient, packed full of essential vitamins and minerals and most of all extremely satisfying!!! If you would like more personalized help with your nutrition or fitness please reach out to me for your complimentary session at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com.

In Good Health!

Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

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Too HOT to cook….But I am starving!!!

Posted on September 1, 2017 by danayeats

I know with the kids back in school we all think it should be time for Fall eating. Where we get out our favorite stews, chili or pumpkin recipes (unless of course you are my friend Stacy who despises anything in the pumpkin region – still love you girl even though I think that is un-American), we bust out the snuggly blankets and watch football.

Well, here in the lovely Bay Area we are experiencing a heat wave and it is reaching 105 up to 113 degrees. I know my family in the Mid-West and East Coast are calling me soft right now since we will probably only have to endure this for 4 days, but to all my Cali peeps out there it is Hotter Than You Know What!!!

I understand the pain of first hand trying to come up with something delicious that won’t heat you or your house up. Here is one of my favorite go to lunches that can be made the night before so you can take to work, or can be made quickly when you have a minute in your day.

The base is baby spinach, topped with a combo of shredded kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage (Safeway has a great organic brand that comes packaged with all of these shredded together). I then cube organic tofu, add a handful of dried cranberries and top it all off with some sliced grapes. I lightly drizzle olive oil and a balsamic glaze, and to really give it the POP of flavor I am looking for I top it with fresh lemon juice from half a lemon. Is you mouth-watering yet….Trust me it is SO GOOD and REFRESHING on these miserably hot days or really any day!

Tofu Grape Salad

Trust me after you eat this you will be so happy that you spent the 5 minutes it took to prepare it vs. grabbing the chips and salsa or cheese and crackers as a quick non cooking meal/snack. These meal is packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, honestly too many to mention where I don’t bore you!

If you are looking for more personalized help with meal planning, strategies for meal prepping or just overall help with your nutrition and health please let me know. Feel free to reach me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com to schedule your complimentary 30 minute coaching session.

In Good Health!

Dana

Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

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Small Steps For Sustainable Change

Posted on July 6, 2017 by danayeats

Children with Type II diabetes are raising at an alarming rate, some are calling it an epidemic. I am truly saddened and scared for our current youth due to this disease that is completely avoidable based upon a balanced diet and regular exercise. We all mean to do the best for ourselves and our family’s, but do you feel you have the right tools to impact sustainable change not only for you but them as well?

We all need the tools to help not only ourselves but our families. I have had so many friends and clients say if they aren’t in a healthy space themselves with diet and exercise they notice that their families aren’t either, and how quickly everyone can fall off the nutritional wagon. Let’s be honest as women, we are usually the leaders in our families when it comes to food, we do the grocery shopping and usually are the ones that cook the meals. But what if you feel you weren’t given the tools to understand food labels, food pairing, portion control, moderation of sweets, the list can go on and on. Trust me the food industry with their marketing and branding can confuse anyone on a good day, let alone someone who feels overwhelmed already when it comes to food and nutrition.

One of the biggest steps we all can do is to adjust one negative habit at a time, with a positive habit. For example if your family enjoys eating ice cream frequently make a conscious effort to limit this treat and try an equally enjoyable treat of fresh berries. We are at the beginning of summer when there are so many tasty berries and fruits to choose from. You can make a delicious fruit bowl with mango, blueberries, strawberries, apple. Not only will you be satisfying your sweet tooth, you will be doing it in a much healthier way with natural sugars, tons of fiber not to mention all of the amazing vitamins and minerals (Vitamins A, B, C, E, K, Niacin, calcium, Magnesium, Iron to name a few).

Do you feel like you could make small sustainable positive change over the next month? I know you can and I believe in YOU!!!

Make this a family event, encourage the entire family to talk about their small steps and how as family you are choosing your health and longevity for each other. I would love to hear what small steps you and your family have chosen over the next month. I would be happy to help you with a free consultation appointment where we can discuss strategies and tools to ensure that these SMALL STEPS are SUSTAINABLE POSITIVE CHANGE for YOU and YOUR FAMILY. Again it comes back to having the right tools for success.

Please contact me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com to schedule your complimentary session.

In GOOD HEALTH!

 

Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

 

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Childhood Healthy Living

Posted on June 26, 2017 by danayeats

As most of you know I have 3 kids that are 8 and under and trust me I get the juggling act that we go through from partner in marriage, to our professional life, (Engineer, Lawyer, Doctor, Teacher, Head of Household, Advocate …etc), to mother/nurturer  (we do have to keep everyone alive), cruise director (aka social calendar guru)…the list goes on and on!  Trust me I am not trying to add-on more “mom guilt”, that we all experience for something at least once a day. However, as a mother I think a very important life lesson is to help our children understand what healthy living is where we teach moderation, not gluttony or deprivation. At the end of the day we have one body forever and it is much easier to learn healthy eating and exercise habits at a young age then trying to dramatically change later in life. I am not saying it can’t be done because I have seen people make dramatic and sustainable changes later in life for their health, but we all know it is harder to teach an old dog new tricks.

The 2 biggest areas that I see many families struggle with are meal times, and sustained family activity.

Many of us have kids that play sports so they are active in pockets of time but as a family are you creating the space to do something together? If not, try to walk or bike together, play a simple game of tag or basketball after dinner (trust me the dishes can wait, or better yet once or twice a week use paper plates so you don’t have the excuse of dishes). It is amazing what fresh air will do and how kids thrive under a routine. If everyone knows Friday is family night, where you end that evening with a walk, it not only will create that space of sustainable activity as a family it will reconnect you all as a family unit.

Eating out or take out can take the pressure off of “what I am going to feed these ravenous animals again” (which is how I feel about my 2 boys,1 girl, and hubby from time to time) but when you prepare the meal you know exactly what is going in it. Trust me I enjoy take out as well but if you feel your family eats out a lot already, start with 2-3 nights a week where you are eating in. Set yourself up for success by putting in 5-10 minutes to intentionally plan out your meals.

I know it can feel overwhelming at first to plan out meals, along with the intentional food prep. But isn’t it worth 5-10 minutes at the end of your day, start of your week or over your cup of coffee to avoid the 5:30 rush and stress of “Oh Crap, I have 5 people to feed and I have NO IDEA what I am going to feed them” feeling….We all get caught off guard from time to time, because life happens but if we can be a bit more intentional and mindful we can not only avoid excess stress for us but we can help create an environment of balance and health for ourselves and our families!

If you would like more personalized coaching to help identify the tools to you need to create sustainable meal planning please contact me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com to set up a complementary consultation session.

In Good Health!

Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

 

 

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Clean Eating Principles for Every Day Living

Posted on May 9, 2016 by danayeats

I know we have all heard the buzz word of “clean eating” but what does that really mean. Does it mean we all need to become Vegan, Vegetarian,  grow our own grain and sprouts…ok now I might be getting carried away but there are a lot of opinions out there with what clean eating looks like, which can lead to a ton of confusion.

As you may know I am a mother of 3 young children that are 7 and under, we need simple, efficient, time and money- saving ideas in all areas of our lives not just in health and nutrition.

For me clean eating can be broken down by the following:

  • Eat Whole Foods – WE can NEVER eat TOO Many Veggies and Fruits and they are excellent examples of whole foods
    • Instead of eating the fruit bar that has a shelf life for eternity eat the whole piece of fruit
    • Instead of packaged frozen dinners with chicken, veggies and rice make your own quick stir fry without any of the freezer burn
  • Avoid processed foods
    • These snack or meal foods have a lot of hidden ingredients in them, if it sounds like it was made in a lab I would steer clear.
  • Avoid packaged foods with more than 5 ingredients
    • There are healthy clean foods that come in a package, greens, nuts or yogurt are great examples.
  • Watch your Sodium
    • The standard American eats out at restaurants or eat processed food for many meals; their sodium intake is more than 1,000mg higher than what is recommended for your health – help your heart and keep your blood pressure stable by limiting your sodium intake.
    • Cook from scratch more often, then eating out. By cooking your own food you know exactly what is going into your meals.
    • Limit the amount of salt you add by being creative with spices and citrus (lemons and limes) are wonderful additions to bring out the natural flavors of food.
  • Choose Whole Grains
    • Avoid the processed non-nutritional white enriched breads or rice, instead choose whole grains such as steel-cut oats for breakfast, add quinoa to your lunch salad and include wild, black or brown rice at dinner. The added fiber will not only help with your intestinal health, but you will feel satisfied longer which leads to less overeating.

Look at your current eating habits and determine what your current level of “clean eating” is. Next identify areas that you could do better at (is it adding fresh lemon juice to your chicken instead of salt, is it cooking at home 1 or 2 more nights a week, is it ordering a salad at lunch with lean protein and healthy fats instead of eating your standard processed meal) start making slow, sustainable changes and I believe you start to crave more clean eating and it will become what you do. I recently had an old client drop me a note, asking who she was and what I had done with her, since she was enjoying her quinoa and kale salad at lunch and was loving every bite of it. I truly believe once you start nourishing your body and fuelling it with what it truly desires, you will see the benefit and continue down the path of healthy clean eating.  

Stay tuned for my next blog that discusses how we can get our kitchen and pantry ready for summer eating.

If you would like more personalized coaching please contact me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com to set up a complimentary consultation session.

In Good Health!

 Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Resilient

Posted on May 6, 2016 by danayeats

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how we as humans are resilient. Now you may be thinking, geez it has been a while since I have read a blog from 4 Pillars Coaching but I thought this was a nutrition blog, fear not, I promise I will get there just stay with me.

I truly believe we are “wired” to survive, this has been proven time and time again. Take for example our bodies; we can abuse it with lack of exercise, poor nutritional choices, levels of high stress and anxiety but yet our bodies keep fighting for us. If we just gave our bodies a fighting chance imagine how they would perform for us, and in turn how we would then feel.

Energized, Nourished, Fulfilled, Motivated, Healthy, Fit, Inspired

                Now we all fall off the wagon one time or another…take me for example it has been a while since my last blog…I would say a year…Yikes! I could continue to beat myself up for not showing up, or I can choose to be resilient and accept that life changes. We have to identify that sometimes we need to roll with life, and know that in our heart everything will eventually stabilize, to where you can regain your footing and your priorities.

My challenge for you today is to ask yourself have you fallen off the nutritional wagon, stress management, or level of activity that you desire. If you have you are not alone and I don’t ever want you to feel alone. I believe that in today’s fast paced society, we are tested with our resilience and our true desires for healthy living.  I believe a great first step to regaining or footing with healthy choices is to make them be known. Engage your community – this might look different for each person, it may be a spouse, a close friend, a family member, or even a nutrition and fitness coach… Think of all of your extended community and who you lean on for different areas in your life. We are not meant to exist alone, so we can not believe we can achieve optimum health on our own either. It takes dedication from us ,but I believe when we are open with our intentions or our challenges we can overcome them.

Ok, right now I want you all to write down your health goals for the next 3 months. Why 3 months you might be asking, well it is a great short-term goal amount, where you can make intentional small changes that are sustainable and impactful over that timetable. I want you to share them with your community, and I encourage you to communicate how they can help you be successful. We all need extra support, and these people in your life can help remove obstacles so that you can achieve your goals more easily. It might be as simple as saying, instead of meeting out for drinks or dinner once a week can we meet  for a walk instead, or I am trying to cut out empty calories such as alcohol, let’s together be healthier and not drink or have alcohol free nights or weekends. I believe you will be surprised with the support and encouragement you will receive from your “community” , because again these people are the people who you surround  yourself  with to help and encourage you along the way of this thing we call “life”.

Stay tuned for my next blog that will discuss clean eating principles and how you can easily incorporate them into your daily life.

If you would like more personalized coaching please contact me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com to set up a complimentary consultation session.

In Good Health!

 Be Fit…Be Healthy…Be Mindful…Be Inspired

 

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5 Steps to Achieve Your Healthy Weight

Posted on January 5, 2015 by danayeats

With the New Year most people have the BEST intentions to exercise more and to reach or maintain “their Healthy Weight”. I have found over the years that most people fall off the preverbal resolution wagon around March. We all know the “secret” to weight loss – eat less and exercise more – I know this is shocking stuff here.

But by adopting healthy eating habits and by incorporating a regular exercise regime, you will surely loss weight, have a refreshed amount of energy, and will feel satisfied by the nutritious foods that you are consuming. By maintaining these healthy habits once you have achieved your “healthy weight”, you will be able to sustain this desired weight for the long haul. Here are some healthy tips to get you on track:

  1. Avoid artificial sweenteners and synthetic fat substitutes. They are unhealthy for you and don’t help develop healthy eating habits.
  2. Fat burning herbs are usually just stimulants – don’t rely on them. Once you stop taking them, the pounds will surely return.
  3. Build lean body mass. Strength training has many health benefits but for weight loss goals it burns additional calories and influences the way your brain regulates hunger. This helps to make you less susceptible to food cravings.
  4. Pay attention to the mental and spiritual aspects of weight control – food triggers. Use relaxation techniques INSTEAD OF FOOD to combat anxiety.
  5. Accept YOU and YOUR BODY. You may see it as less than perfect, but it is you and you are amazing just the same!

If you are interested in more personalized help to achieve your nutrition, fitness or stress management goals for 2015 please contact me at 4pillarscoaching@gmail.com. In Good Health!

 

 

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Anticipating Turkey Day

Posted on November 26, 2014 by danayeats

Are you worried that tomorrow you will overeat and feel fatigued, not exercise and feel drained, or be stressed by your family and cover up that stress with food or drinks? Well, with this group of amazing women I am confident that we are all going to THRIVE tomorrow. We will not only be present in the moment but we will enjoy all that the day has to offer!

Now tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the day of eating and being with your family. I know I am going to enjoy all that the day has to offer and I hope you all do to. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure you enjoy the day to the fullest but don’t fall into the traditional holiday gluttony, that inevitably leads to the Food Hangover.

Follow these simple steps:

  • Plan ahead with healthy options
    • If you are hosting or if you are going to someone’s house, make sure you have fresh veggies and fruit on hand for quick snacks throughout the day
  • When you are eating implore the tips of mindful eating
    • Chew slowly
    • Put your fork down in between bites
    • Be mindful of all the wonderful flavors that Thanksgiving brings
    • Stay hydrated
    • Remember it takes 30 minutes for our stomach to signal our brain that we are satisfied and full
  • Start the day off with a walk or have the whole family take a walk in between football games

Finally enjoy the day, be present, and keep your body in motion tomorrow. If you do that,  you will get  in a great state of mind.

Relax

 

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To Your Health

Posted on November 24, 2014 by danayeats

Fitness-Motivation-Sign-25-220x300As the week of Thanksgiving begins remember to take time for yourself, your health and your sanity!

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