But drinking water is such a profoundly simple way to get and stay healthy.  Its helps prevent a bevy of diseases and is one of the key factors in kick starting weight loss.

Take a listen to this week’s audio tip about the power of water to impact our health and three simple tips to get you drinking more (and me too).

What’s your biggest obstacle to drinking more water and work helps you stay on track?

So when I can across a story about Ernestine Shepard, pictured here, I couldn’t help but take note — and be inspired. Ernestine Shepard is a retired school secreatary with a penchant for great health. She eats well, runs in road races and inspires people around her to exercise, maintain a healthy weight, and get in shape — for good.

Do you know how old Ernestine is and what she does to be so healthy? Take a listen to this week’s audio tip and learn more about why I think she’s so grand.

Can you see the possibility of looking this great at her age? What’s your inspiration to get and stay fit? Share your thoughts below.

I have to be honest in saying that I don’t love to exercise. In fact, sometimes I don’t even like it, and I have to force myself to go to the gym. That might seem weird coming from someone who’s a health coach, whose job it is to help people with just this topic, but the reality is that I have to work at it too.

This week I’ve done really well. I’ve been to the gym the last four days, doing a mix of weight training and cardio. But I also know that I can be inconsistent. I might have a really good week followed by a week when I barely get there (with all the necessary excuses to justify it). I hear that a lot too from my clients and people on my mailing list. It seems like it’s easier to get started than it is to maintain a rhythm over time.

As I was working out yesterday, it got me thinking about the whole idea of motivation when it comes to exercising. We all know that we need to exercise to be healthy, ward off disease and feel better, no surprise there. But there’s such a gap between knowing what we need to do and doing it regularly. Why is that?

It used to be that I was in a serious groove about exercise. I’d consistently go to the gym before work. I loved that I got strong and felt so good about my body, I loved that I was lifting weights, and even felt confident about lifting free weights (at my gym, you mostly find men in the free weight room). In fact, I met Bruce, my husband, working out at 5:30 in the morning in that very weight room (a fabulous but totally unexpected discovery).

But one day I realized that I was tired of getting up so early and pushing myself. Wasn’t I in good enough shape to slide for awhile (yep, that’s where things started to shift!)? What if I started going less often, wouldn’t that be OK? My motivation started to wane and I became inconsistent. Truth be told, it took me awhile to dig out of my gym rut. After all, I was juggling so many things in my life, I was having lots of fun with Bruce and there just didn’t seem to be enough time.

What got me going again? Well Bruce and I got married last month and I was definitely motivated to look great in my wedding dress. And now that we’re back from our honeymoon (where I ate far too much food and totally overindulged), I’m eager to lose a little weight and feel better in my body.

If I really boil it down though, in the end, I’m motivated by the feeling I get when I’m done with my workout. I love how exercise helps me get out of my head and de-stress. It’s that quiet feeling, my mind is at ease and my body feels nicely fatigued. I definitely can’t get that feeling by working 10-12 hours a day at a non-stop pace! And now that I’m hitting those mid-life years, I’m also seriously motivated by prevention.  I want to feel great in my body, prolong my health, and not buy into that notion that I’m going to need loads of drugs to keep me going.

What’s your motivation and inspiration to go the gym? How do you make it a priority and do it consistently with everything else you have to do and handle in your life?

It’s that notion that our doctor can tell us we need to improve our health in some way, but until we decide that it’s important enough and that we really want to do it, we often meet with mediocre results, if we try at all.  Sometimes it even takes a diagnosis or serious medical condition to convince us we need to take our health more seriously.

What is that inspires you to better health? Do you want to be able to be more active? Have more endurance? Prevent certain diseases that may run in your family? Are you motivated to get into action without the threat of serious disease hanging over you?

Because I’ve had a long history of less than perfect skin and still get eczema flareups, I’m motivated to really watch my diet and practice quiet exercise like yoga. For me that means avoiding wheat, soy, sugar, dairy products and certain nuts, just to name a few.  Instead, I need to focus on certain whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, lots of water and a healthy dose of fiber. Is it hard? Sometimes, but because I’m motivated, it’s easier. My wedding is just four weeks away and that’s an even more compelling reason for me to be jazzed about this and make an effort! This clearly a case where I have the desire and motivation to stay focused on my goal.

What is it that you really want to do or change about your health? What will help you get there? How can you create a healthy lifestyle that really sticks and not just in the short term?

I’d love for you to share your thoughts and ideas here.

I see this all the time when I work with my coaching clients.  So many of us lead a life that’s over the top in our level of commitment, but we often don’t make the time for what’s most imporant – nurturing ourselves, getting connected and sustaining the relationships that feed us emotionally and even physically. But when my clients make a determination to get connected with those that mean the most, guess what happens? They begin to feel better about their health and making changes gets that much easier.

I struggle with this myself. I have so many amazing friends but in my busy life, I feel like I don’t make the time to connect with everyone that’s important to me. Of course, this is all about priority and what’s most important to us. If we decide we want to be more connected, we can do it!

Take a listen to me discussing this connection in more detail and some thoughts about what you can do to get connected in your own life. Just by investing a little time with our friends, we can get on the road to better, more vibrant health.

What do you think? Do you feel healthier when you’re connected to close friends? Share your thoughts below.

The reality, however, is that everyday we ingest a variety of different toxins that slow down our system and have us feeling less than our best. Take a listen to today’s audio tip to learn about why detoxing our body is so important and necessary.

Have you ever done a detox before? What was it like? One of my favorite experts is Dr. Elson Haas. He has numerous years of experience with detoxification and healing the body naturally with foods. Check out his book, The New Detox Diet for more information and inspiration on simple ways to get started. And share your thoughts below on how you’ve used detox diets to help you feel your best.

So even though I knew I’d have to get up earlier than usual, I already sensed that it would not only be worth by time, but also set the tone for the day. Boy was I right! Kundalini yoga is all about the breath and tuning into your body. I love it because it doesn’t require any athletic prowess or ability to hold long postures. It’s gentle, effortless and completely relaxing. What a fantastic way to start the day.

Just making that simple effort reminded how easy it is to be healthy when we want to do it. Instead of feeling like drudgery, it was pleasurable. Instead of feeling like I should do it, I really wanted to do it. When that’s the case, it’s so much easier to get into action about our health. And the great news is that I’ll reap the benefits of this morning class all day – calmer and more focused, in tune with my body, less stress, taking deeper breaths, slowing down and not rushing through my day. What a gift to receive this at 6:00 in the morning.

I hope you’ll make it a great day and tune into what your body and health most need.

Take a listen to this week’s audio tip and hear more about why slowing down is so important and how it can help you. Enjoy!

The Nutrition Source is a website maintained by Harvard’s School of Public Health and it’s chock full of interesting information about healthy eating, nutrition, exercise, disease and many other topics. I can’t wait for you to check it out and let me know what you think. I have a hunch you’ll find it a useful resource to give you an unbiased and research-based perspective on great health.  Just one more way for you to get and stay informed and worry less about your health while getting into action.

I spent far too many years feeling bad when Valentine’s Day would roll around, wondering if there was something wrong with me. Back then, I didn’t get that I could create something special for myself regardless of whether or not I had a boyfriend. Years later, I now really appreciate myself and make it a habit to practice self-care daily.

Given that so many of us run around and have ultra-busy lives, we hardly take time to breath, let alone think about nurturing ourselves. We’re overcommitted, stressed out, anxious, tired, worried, unhealthy and have far too much on our plates to handle. What would your life look like if you took some time to just be? If you got quiet, de-stressed and did something special for you? I have a hunch you’d thoroughly enjoy yourself, just like I do.