June 7, 2022

Hi Amy,

This is my first foray into writing a newsletter, and it comes at the perfect time! For many of us, me included, this is a time of change. Change, by definition, means endings and new beginnings and often brings with it a plethora of emotions! I am right in the thick of it and one of my coping strategies, when I feel overwhelmed or unsure, is… writing!

Journaling helps me process my emotions, visualize my choices and synthesize information. Having a chance to slow down and gain clarity helps me stay present with those around me and feel a sense of control over myself.

Like many of us this time of year, I have a child who is graduating. He happens to be graduating from high school, but graduation from anything means essentially the same thing — the end of one thing and the beginning of another. While I can’t know for sure, I have no doubt he is experiencing a large range of emotions.

As a parent, I too have many feelings — pride, anxiety and excitement for him mixed with sadness and grief that he is taking another step away from me. This combination of feelings comes at me in waves, some big and some small. Sometimes I like to talk about them, sometimes I cry. Other times I feel a huge sense of pride, and still other times I just need a hug.

We all have different ways of managing our feelings. Understanding what they are and having a plan to manage them is essential. In fact, just writing this short entry has helped me get a better understanding of them. So, thank you!

Standing for your very best health,

Fran

Healthy Living Coaching
HealthyLiving.coach

Change Is Hard

When I talk with people about what they imagine will happen when they make a change toward wellness — whether that is making better food choices, drinking less alcohol, going to bed earlier, or making time to exercise — so many of them feel resistance when they recognize that their decision to get healthy will impact others.

Those we love the most — our kids, spouse, friends, co-workers — will inevitably feel the impact of our choices. That’s because all relationships function as a system and a change in one part of the system necessitates a change in other parts. In an effort to get healthy we are, by definition, imposing changes on other people. Often we anticipate that our loved ones won’t like the change, and sometimes we are right — our kids won’t eat the healthier food, our spouse resents us going to bed earlier, our friends want us to have one more drink with them. For many of us, just anticipating these reactions is enough to derail us from our goals and keep us in our rut.

If this sounds familiar to you, there are many small action steps you can take to prioritize your health while mitigating the impact on those closest to you.

Change is hard, especially change we choose. Making choices different from the ones we have always made, different from the ones our families have made, different from the ones our friends make is really hard. But it can be done! And you can do it!

Here’s one quick tip to help you stay on track with your goals:

Talk about your goals and plans with your family and friends. Share with them why you are making the changes and ask for their support. The more you can include them in the process, the less resistance you will feel.

Recognize the impact you are having on them and brainstorm ways to soften it, such as:

Plan meals with your kids so they feel included as part of the process
Find other times to spend quality time with your spouse if going to bed early/getting up early interferes with that
Create other activities with your friends — coffee, walks, exercise classes, lunch dates

Cool Tool, Tip or Resource

Tired of not having a plan for your workout? SmartWOD gives you a new WOD (workout of the day) every day! The app assumes you are familiar with Crossfit terminology and moves, so make sure you are only doing exercises you know how to do with correct form to avoid injury!

Get it here: App Store | Google Play

Upcoming Events

Fran will be at this event — Stop by and say hello!

Coach Amy Chang

Amy Chang, MS, RN, NBC-HWC is a health coach who works with people struggling to lose weight, have enough energy, and choose better health to create healthy bodies, feeling more confident and empowered with peacefulness and ease.

Amy knows that people can accomplish more than they think they can, and with a little coaching people can have the health they really want to do all the stuff they want to do with all the people they love.

Amy is a board-certified health and wellness coach through the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching

Coach Fran Paradine

Fran Paradine, MSW is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who partners with women and men to overcome the mental and emotional roadblocks that stop them from reaching their optimal health.

She has counseled hundreds of individuals, mentored many more, and has created a podcast focused on the multi-faceted world of wellness called Creating Wellness.

Fran has a Master of Social Work degree and a Certification in Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching.

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