Being overweight not only weighs on our own health and quality of life, but it can greatly decrease a woman’s fertility and puts both mother and baby at risk when we do conceive.

Risks include:

• Miscarriage
• Birth defects
• Pre-term birth
• Stillbirth
• Gestational diabetes for mom, with potential of a birthing  injury for the child due to macrosomia (oversized, large baby), and can also put the mother at risk for a cesarian delivery.
• Preeclampsia, high blood pressure during pregnancy, is often seen in women who are overweight or obese. Preeclampsia, if uncontrolled, can lead to kidney and liver failure, eclampsia (seizures), and even the rare occurrence of a stroke. This often results in having to induce an early delivery of your pre-term baby.

According to The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (www.acog.org/), even losing a small amount of weight between 10 and 20 pounds can improve the health of a baby and lessens a woman’s risk for these unfortunate birth outcomes.

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

Let’s face it – learning how to eat healthy is confusing! Even us nutritionists, we can end up scratching our heads trying to follow all of the conflicting scientific journals and studies. Especially for those without a nutrition education background, it can be hard to differentiate between bad information and good reporting.  

While everyone has an opinion on fad diets and eating techniques, there are basics that apply to everyone. And sometimes it just helps to have that cleared up and get us back on our healthy journey. 

Other times, we may not even realize we’ve picked up a few bad habits along the way that are easy to fix – especially if we have a nutritionist helping keep us accountable in attaining our health goals. Want to hear more?

Click on the link below, and let’s start!

Click Here

to start today!

Old (Emotional) Habits Die Hard

I won’t insult you by saying I know more about healthy eating than you do.

A good many of my clients know the difference between a potato chip and a carrot. But oftentimes, we find ourselves overweight because we cannot break old, long-ingrained dietary habits that aren’t good for us.

I also frequently hear from my clients that they feared seeking help in losing weight from a nutritionist. They thought that it would mean they would be judged and made to feel guilty for their weight or habits. But Plateful of Soul is a safe place. And I’ll tell you why.

You’re not alone…

According to the American Psychological Association (www.apa.org), 38 percent of men and women in the US say that stress in their lives have driven them to overeat or seek out unhealthy foods in order to distract themselves. Half of those who reported this eating habit say they do it on a weekly basis, if not more.

When you come down to it, eating is as much of a behavior as any other bad habit such as swearing or smoking. For many of us, we at some point in our lives found food soothing and consistently learned to lean on its comfort when we were facing difficult times in our lives. Emotionally motivated stress eating is one of the most common reasons for weight gain. 

If you’ve struggled with your weight and shoulder the frustration – sometimes guilt – of about your relationship with food, it’s okay to ask for help. I’m right here, and I’ve been where you are.

Although today I am a nutritionist (here I am with my first and only tomato I’ve ever been able to grow here in sunny Arizona), I wasn’t always a healthy eater. I spent most of my adult life thinking I was eating “healthy,” yet I couldn’t understand why I was gaining weight, and couldn’t seem to shake it. I would feel guilty if I ate a cookie or potato chip, and would then try to work it off by doing stomach crunches – thinking that made a difference. Well, at least I hoped I did. It was confusing, too, with all of the conflicting information out there about what was and wasn’t healthy – which only got worse as the Internet grew.

Or when I was tired, stressed, or lonely, I found myself raiding the fridge, mindlessly eating the worst things I could find while zoning out in front of the TV. Some years, this was a nightly occurrence.

I was frustrated, had no energy most of the time, didn’t like who I saw in the mirror, and felt miserable about being me.

When I started learning about nutrition and physical health, I was floored about the habits I had that were contributing to my weight gain. I began to see the cyclical effect our lifestyle as a culture here in the US has on our eating habits – from our self-talk and personal confidence, to our physical activity level, our stress level, and general positive outlook and happiness quotient.

And I suddenly realized that I had to change myself inside in order to start seeing positive changes on the outside.

Like I said, you most likely have all the knowledge you need on what to eat; but re-learning how to eat may be the base of your struggles. If these other elements in our lives are off track, we often turn to food to console ourselves. And that is what creates the cycle that I can help you break free from.

But if you invest in yourself today by claiming your FREE 20-minute Soul-Search session with me, you will learn how nutritional coaching can help you:

• Reduce your weight before conceiving
• Maintain healthy weight gain for your pregnancy
• Understand how your diet affects you and your unborn child
• Learn and practice healthy lifestyle habits that you can pass down to your children
• Find peace of mind throughout your pregnancy 
• Educate you and your partner on the benefits of breastfeeding – for the whole family!

Invest in yourself today by claiming your

free 20-minute Soul Search Session with me!

Click Here

To Start Today!

Want More Free Tips and Support?

 Sign Up Here For My Monthly E-Newsletter