Feb-March E-News: Allergies, Genes, Cravings and more!

Greetings! For February having an extra day, it blew right by me, and here we are, mid-March already. I may consider making this bimonthly, as my schedule fills and competing demands arise. I am so passionate about anything and everything related to health, that I could write a newsletter every week! The next cohort of Understanding and Exploring Emotional Eating starts on April 2 and runs for 8 weeks.

If you’re interested in changing your relationship with food, and gaining a solid appreciation of why the tug of sweet, salty, crunchy food is so hard to let go of, this is for you. What would it be like to have more control over cravings, and to stop the cycle of eating and then feeling shame? It all starts with a free consult. Please get in touch: [email protected]

EARLY BIRD! 🐦‍⬛ Register by March 26 and get a 10% discount, or sign up with a family member or friend and you’ll each receive 10% off! I welcome, and am grateful for referrals.

What people are saying about Understanding and Exploring Emotional Eating:

“I’m taking away that shame should not be a part of how we view our eating struggles.”

“Addiction (to food) is a symptom of something missing in your life.”

“The messages in these sessions are really resonating with me.”

“I’m realizing how confused I’ve been about my own eating and how much I needed this.”

“I see how I’ve been using food to meet my needs.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of if I’ve lost weight and then gained it back.”

“I have needs that I need to honor.”

To learn more: https://janetfrankcoaching.com/group-coaching/

AACHOOOOO! Struggling with Spring allergies? It’s awful in Florida. Most people here, me included, are struggling more than usual. I’m seeing lots of writings on this lately, and this is only one example: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/why-are-autoimmune-and-allergic-diseases-rising-andrew-wang/

There is a line from the above article which speaks to my passion for functional health coaching. It’s this line: Our genes haven’t changed much in the last 70 years, but our current environment is vastly different.

(This was the best I could find for a caveman, with whom we still share most of our genes, without spending hours. How’d I do? )

I talk about this all the time in terms of how we live. Our genes really haven’t changed much in way more than 70 years; it’s more like several thousand. Genes just evolve slowly. We are basically still the same as people thousands of years ago. However, we eat differently (there was no processed food back then, no fast food, no bread, no Snickers, no Coke, etc.); we sleep differently. We’ve gone from sleeping from nearly dusk til dawn and being rested (not like wearing sleep deprivation as a badge of honor as we do now); we had only small bursts of stress, like running from a predator, but basically led very simple, low-stress lives (not like now where we run in high gear ALL the time); and we moved all the time as part of life (not like now where we have so many modern conveniences that we never have to get up, and our jobs require most of us to be sedentary).

Not to mention variables that are harder to control, where we have to do the best we can, like our exposure to environmental toxins and heavy metals. Avoiding plastics, non-stick pan coatings, and scented air fresheners, for example, might help.

It’s no wonder that we are experiencing epidemics of chronic diseases like diabetes, Alzheimers, heart disease, cancer, chronic pain, and yes, allergies. All of these may have something to do with lifestyle, and that’s exactly why I am a health coach. We are all about preserving and/or restoring health through lifestyle changes. No one likes to do it; it’s hard! But often (I’d argue always) it’s necessary, and you don’t have to do it alone.

When you’ve tried and failed and think it can’t be done, call me, please.
Here’s a random thought for you. When you think you can’t possibly try to lose weight one more time, what might happen if you reframe it that you’re going to focus on health instead? Because really, when you focus on health, you’re going to focus on many possible things – better diet, better sleep, better stress management, more movement. When you get these things more dialed in, you know what happens? YOU LOSE WEIGHT. In coaching we start where you want, and we go at a pace that works for you.

Stop thinking aggressive personal trainer or cheerleader energy when you think health coach. That intensity may not be for you. That’s not how health coaches work. This is a true partnership where you’re in the driver’s seat.