You want more energy. You desire mental clarity. You want to feel great. You want to be strong physically. You know what you want but you are not sure how to get there. You’ve tried this diet, you’ve tried that program. They didn’t work and now you feel hopeless, confused and defeated. I can relate to your feelings because I’ve been there too. I was a highly regarded attorney, with a family, part of a wonderful community, and yet I felt bad about myself because I did not feel well physically.
My name is Coach Gila, and I can help you. I teach busy people how to feel their best, how to have more energy, how to have mental clarity and how to feel strong, all without dieting and restricting your food.
My background: I was a busy attorney, a working mom with small children. My weekly dinner rotation looked something like this: reheated frozen chicken nuggets, pizza, fish sticks,and noodles, with home-cooked food for Shabbos. That was all I was able to manage. At the time, I felt accomplished just knowing that there was dinner on the table every night.
Fast forward to after my fifth child was born, when I realized I had to make a change in my personal life. I was overweight, an emotional eater and sick of yo-yo dieting. I realized I had two problems: I wanted to be a healthier version of myself, but I didn’t know how, and I wanted to feed my family healthier food, but I really didn’t have time. I was concerned about transmitting unhealthy habits to my children and determined to rewrite my story.
In search of a solution, I began learning, and in 2014, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and became a certified integrative nutrition health coach.
Synthesizing the information I learned with my desire to spend less time in the kitchen proved to be an amazing combination. I lost weight and began creating healthier versions of my family’s favorite foods. I’m a foodie at heart and still enjoy eating delicious food that also happens to be nutritious. My husband and children were thrilled. They recognized that I was a happier person and more comfortable with myself, and therefore became a more patient, loving mother.
To date, I have successfully helped thousands of women, men and teens who were ready to change their relationship with food, to end emotional eating and binge eating, clients who want to reach their right size body without restricting and depriving themselves. I teach busy people mastery of the kitchen using my meal-prep system.
My goal is to make healthy living accessible to everyone. My approach to healthy eating and healthy living is a three-prong approach: (1) creating a personalized meal plan that takes into account your health history and goals; (2) resetting your mindset so your thoughts can become your actions. Your mindset will become your strongest tool in your journey to reaching your health goals; and (3) creating a sustainable self-care routine that works for you and supports your goals.
My clients’ success is directly related to my unique personal journey as a recovered emotional eater. I understand and relate to my clients and provide a toolbox of proven tips and strategies.
Small changes add up to big results. In future columns I will discuss healthy habits, how to create routines, emotional eating, morning routines, bedtime routines, meal-prep secrets, lunch prep, dinner prep, how to convert family-favorite recipes using better-for-you ingredients and more.
Changing one’s habits can be likened to a ladder. When one climbs a ladder, one does so slowly. One rung at a time, one makes sure one’s footing is secure before climbing to the next rung. So too, I will teach healthy habits one at a time, and you can incorporate them into your family living one at a time, slowly, until you feel secure and it becomes routine for you, before moving on to the next healthy habit.
When embarking on a healthy journey, the first step is your mindset. Elul is a natural time for working on your mindset. Start by setting aside time for introspection. Think about your current thoughts and beliefs related to food, to your body, to sleep, to exercise, to your relationships, to your job. Are they limiting or do you have a growth mindset? The beauty is that you can always change. It’s hard work—I’m not going to gloss over that and pretend it’s easy—but it can be done.
Be kind to yourself. Don’t dwell on the years when you practiced habits that did not serve you. Recognize that you have the ability to re-write your story, to change the ending, to create new habits that do allow you to reach your health goals.
Change your self-talk. Our thoughts become our reality, so think positive thoughts. Change the language you use regarding food. Instead of telling yourself, “I can’t have that,” think, “I am choosing to nourish my body with food that tastes great and is good for me.”
Your next goal is to create habits that will support your new mindset; the first habit is to begin practicing gratitude daily. At the end of the day, think about one thing that you are grateful for—it can be something large or small. Think about it, consider writing it down and feel gratitude for whatever you chose to think about.
Wishing you all hatzlacha as you begin working on your mindset! Wishing you all a happy and healthy sweet new year!
Ketiva V’chatima Tova.
Coach Gila Guzman, JD, CINHC, is a certified integrative nutrition health coach with a local, national and international following due to her popular private and group coaching programs. In addition to teaching nutrition and cooking classes at Ma’ayanot High School for Girls, she is the in-house nutrition coach at Grand and Essex in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and has her own line of “Coach Gila-approved” healthy takeout there. Gila is also the camp nutritional specialist at Camp Mesorah.
For private coaching or to book a Zoom talk or cooking demo, she can be reached at [email protected] or at 917-647-1788. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @coachgilaapproved for daily inspiration, motivation and healthy recipes.
By Gila Guzman
