Emily Segal | Triumph Wellness

The Plight of the Righteously Wronged Victim

May 12, 2013 by Emily Segal 2 Comments

Awhile back, I noticed a pattern that was occurring in my relationships – both personal and business. It would play out like this: I would connect with someone less than kind, pretend I didn’t notice their unkindness, then get all wounded and indignant when they did something mean to me.

The last time it happened, I was participating in a business coaching group and decided that since being all twisted up with this drama was reducing my productivity, it was on-topic for the group. The coach who was leading the group first identified that this was indeed a pattern for me. She asked me for several examples, which sadly I was able to give generously, going back years and years.

My coach pointed out, and I reiterate for my dear readers here, if something is a repeating pattern in your life, there is a good chance that you are doing something to attract this to you. Until you identify and clear it, it is likely to persist.

Then it went something like this:

Coach: So Emily, what are you getting out of this situation?

Me: Frustration, pain, sadness.

Coach: Could there be anything positive you are getting out of it?

Me: I guess it enables me to be distracted and procrastinate my work.

Coach: OK, maybe, but could there be something else? Who do you get to be when this happens to you?

Right away, without even thinking, these words came out of my mouth:

Me: The righteously wronged victim. I get to be the righteously wronged victim.

Coach: So how is it to be the righteously wronged victim?

Me: Well, I thought it was good. I liked being righteous and a victim. But now that I think about it, I HATE it! What a stupid thing to be! The people who “victimize” me just go on, unperturbed, happy with their lives, and I am the one sitting here, wasting time, stewing in my pain. Really, this is pretty much the dumbest and most unproductive thing I have ever done. Ding!

My coach warned the whole group that while being aware of the pattern we are attracting is the first step to changing it, we must completely disconnect from this old pattern. If we are attached to it even 1%, we will fall right back into it out of familiarity and comfort. I did NOT want that, so I committed 100% to divorcing myself from this pattern I have been practicing for about 40 years. Yes, 40 years. My parents are reading this and thinking it has taken me an awfully long time to figure out for myself what they were telling me all along.

Over the course of the next few weeks, several “tests” arose (as they often do when you have made an advancement in your growth). Thanks to this article on victim mentality, I was able to identify right away if I was entering righteous victim mode and immediately change course.

Guess what happened when I stopped engaging in this behavior pattern? Well, you would not believe it if I told you! For starters, all those drama mamas, they just vanished like smoke. Move along people, nothing to see here, no drama to feed on. Suddenly the people who were contacting me to book appointments were totally different than the people I had previously been working with! They are responsible for their own work, they have good boundaries, they are kind. And the other folks? Miraculously I watched as they removed themselves from my practice.

My personal relationships have mirrored what is happening with my business relationships. Do you have any idea how much more time and energy you have every day when you are not tangled up in massive efforts to defend your poor victim self and try to make everyone feel so, so sorry for you?

Now, everywhere I look, I see OTHER people playing the righteous victim role. Now that I can see what they are doing, I can choose to not play the game. All those online arguments, comment wars and facebook foibles? Done, gone, vanished, unfollowed, disconnected… Turns out that not having the last word in every argument to prove how you have been WRONGED-oh-woe-is-me! is quite liberating.

Recently for example, there have been protests about how women can pray at the Western Wall and groups and counter-groups have sprung up. When you read their editorials and replies back and forth, you see both sides saying “WE are the ones being wronged here! WE are the innocent victims of your group!” Both sides. Each claiming righteous victimhood. Everyone stuck and trapped and making no progress.

Look at almost any stale-mated argument (and yes, I can see the Middle East peace process through these eyes too) and you will see two sides both jockeying for righteous victimhood.

Being the righteous victim is a place of stagnancy and no forward progress. It sucks all the creativity and energy right out of us! Who the heck cares if you are so righteously wronged? Who WANTS to be the idiot who lets nasty people wipe their dirty feet all over the place?

The great news is that you don’t have to play along! Be a creator, not a victim. Again, more helpful details in this article HERE.

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Filed Under: coaching exercises, Growth, health coach, Inspiration, Positive Thinking Tagged With: Anti-Ick Techniques, creativity, Self-Improvement

Get Over Yourself

April 29, 2013 by Emily Segal 9 Comments

OK, so I have a little writer’s block. Writing is like any other discipline, when you get into a shvoong and do it everyday, it just pours out with ease and flow. When you get distracted and neglect the practice, you find that starting it up again has become like rolling that dadgum rock uphill.

So, what to do to get things flowing again? Write something shockingly personal and from the heart of course!

I want to write about something today that really is one of my deepest and darkest shames. And the reason I risk exposing myself like this, is because many of you share this particular shame and really, I am freaking sick of it already! We need to shine some light on this thing and sweep it the heck out.

Here’s the heart of it: I am often fearful of doing things because of how I look.

Backstory: The other day I was speaking to a friend about something that was holding her back from taking her next steps. She knows what she wants and needs to do next in life, but is held back, in part, because she has gained a couple of kilos and that makes her lack the confidence to get out there in front of people.

Gee, I have never heard that one before! And NONE of my clients ever say that. And I certainly have never felt like that myself!

You see, the truth is, that although I am proud of the weight I have lost and maintained, I am still not a thin woman. Every single time I meet a new client or teach a class, or show up to run a race, or introduce myself to new people and say what I do for a living, I imagine people are thinking:

“If she eats so healthy, why isn’t she skinnier?”

“Why should I take her advice? She weighs more than me!”

“She’s awfully large to be running this marathon!”

“I thought vegans are always thin?”

More often than I would like to admit, the fear of those thoughts makes me want to cancel the class, lie about what I do for a living, drop out of the race. Heck, sometimes I even think “I should just go work in a shoe store or something where I won’t be expected to have a certain body.” (No offense to shoe store workers!)

The underlying thread of this ridiculous internal monologue is the familiar old fear by the name of, “Who do I think I am?” Boy, do I hate that guy!

I know that many people have this same fear and it is not always related to weight and appearance. And I know that it DOES stop many of you from doing the things you know you want or need to be doing in life!

So how to get past it?

Well, I convene a Mind Monkey Summit where I invite these fears to the table and let them say their piece. The truth is, these thoughts and fears are trying to protect us from making fools of ourselves. I thank them for that, but then I tell them why it is important for me to proceed despite the danger.

As it happens to turn out, I have information to deliver that literally saves lives. It saves the lives of the people who learn from me as well as saving the lives of their kids and even grandkids! If I let my Ego get in the way of my delivering this information to the people who need it,well that is just a stupid, pitiful shame!

OK, worst case scenario – people really WILL say those things to me out loud, in public, in front of others – then what will happen? Well, I can tell you that they have said some of those things to me, and although painful and embarrassing, I didn’t die. I answered honestly, “You are right that I am not skinny, but I have lost a huge amount of weight and kept it off, reversed a deadly disease, healed an eating disorder, cured emotional eating and sugar addiction. I am still working on my weight and sometimes I still struggle with overeating. But if you think that my current weight is more important than my vast experience, I’d have to guess that you are looking for excuses not to have to make your own changes.”

OK, I don’t say that last sentence out loud but… yeah, pretty much.

While we should all work towards making ourselves the best we can be, we should not wait until we are PERFECT to get out there and deliver our gifts! If we hold back from living our purpose because we don’t think our bodies are the right size or shape, or we are not smart enough, or “Who-do-we-think-we-are” is running the show, we are depriving the world of receiving the work/words/message/gift we are here to share.

And because I know some of you are going to be thinking this, remember: Not knowing what your gift is, is not the same thing as not having one! Subject for a different post.

Now, get over yourself and go leave your mark.

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Filed Under: coaching exercises, Growth, health coach, Inspiration, Rants, weight loss

Purple Toed Vacation

April 5, 2013 by Emily Segal 5 Comments

I’m fairly certain that Marketing 101 says “Keep pictures of your gnarly, ruined feet OFF the internet!” But I’m a rebel, ya?

I PROMISE you that will be the last one! Just wanted to show you where I’m at, because frankly my family isn’t exactly oozing sympathy anymore.

OK, I’m done with the pity party. But did I mention how much it hurts?? OK, OK, but are you feeling bad for me yet, because that is definitely what I am fishing for here…

Anyway, it seems like every time I get in a groove of writing, blogging, seeing clients, a Jewish holiday happens and throws me off track completely. This time it was Passover and I was the designated seder host:

Twas a lovely evening!

We decided on a Stay-cation this year and pledged to spend every day that was not a holy day, out and about, climbing the land. We hiked every day! Yes, with that toe. Yes, I whined so much that everyone left me behind.

We hiked the South:

Nachal Pratt

The giant on the right, simultaneously rooting for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Vancouver Canuks, is MY BABY, by the way.

We hiked the North:

Park Utopia

This is the breathtaking memorial for the 44 people who lost their lives in Israel’s deadliest forest fire on Mount Carmel in 2010.

At the end of all the exhausted climbing, we felt like we had walked all the way back to prehistoric times!

The Carmel Caves where some amazing prehistoric remains have been found.

I have to say that as the first time we have ever taken a hiking holiday when I am NOT training for some future race, how crazily liberated I felt! I didn’t have to worry about my knees, or about twisting an ankle and having months of training ruined. I feel like I have my life back! Well, in 6 months when I have normal toenails again, I imagine I will feel like I have my life back, but this was pretty close.

Clearly, it was time for me to move on from that hobby and so far I am really glad I did!

Alas, the holiday ended and the back-up of waiting clients began. Now somehow it is Shabbat again?! Next week starts off with a very exciting Sugar Blues workshop I’ll be leading for a private group in Efrat on Sunday! After that is done, I pledge to be back to a regular schedule of writing. I have so much amazing information to share! Stay tuned…

And no more toes. Scouts honor.

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Filed Under: Holidays, Rants, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Travel Tagged With: Exercise, Holidays, Running

On Not Settling for just OK

March 17, 2013 by Emily Segal 2 Comments

As those of you who follow me on Facebook already know, I finished my last Half Marathon on Friday, in a race where sadly, one young man lost his life, and many others were hospitalized for heat related injuries. A few posts ago, I predicted people were going to get hurt if the forecast was correct and I described how we runners were being encouraged by local coaches to change our pre-race prep and our plans for the race to just run a relaxed pace, watching ourselves and those around us all the time, for signs of heat stroke. The race organizers postponed the full marathon to next week on a changed course off the main streets. They were unable to postpone all the races scheduled because of Obama’s visit to Israel next week. But moving the full marathon assured that no one would be out in the heat too long and enabled them to move all the other races up an hour. The first half marathon heat began at 5:45am. I was in the 6:00am group.

I ran the course from 6am – 8:40am and although the heat was rising quickly in the last hour or so, it was really not THAT hot. And I am someone who is totally sensitive to the heat! There were a couple of problems from my perspective: First of all, they ran out of electrolyte drink very early on. I’d actually love to know how many of the sickened were suffering from hyponatremia rather than dehydration. I had electrolytes in my pocket so I felt comfortable guzzling back large amounts of water. I also didn’t feel like there were enough water stations. Yes, they were every 2 kms, but they were manned by kids – hot and suffering volunteer kids – and there were times I had to actually stop running and ask to be poured a cup or two of water! Finally, we were promised sprayers with hoses and by my count there were only TWO. I could have used 50!! At every water stop, I took 4 cups: drank 3 and poured the 4th over my head. Oh yeah, and there was no food, or at least none by the time I rolled through. Again, I had my own supplies, but if I had been depending on what had been promised, I would have been in big trouble!

Despite these rather minor criticisms - and I know plenty of other runners who do not share my opinion or experience – I don’t think you can lay blame on anyone for the tragedies. I don’t know what happened to those people so how can I say? The man who died was apparently the epitome of fitness and health and nearly 20 years younger than me. How can you explain such a thing? I was running with 50-70 year olds and we were plodding along just fine. I did not see a single person weave, trip, or show any signs of distress where I was at the back of the pack. I was also, for the first time in my life, completely willing to take a DNF (did not finish) if I started to feel unwell.

As you can see from above, my finish time was 2:40 – a far cry from that 2:15 I had been training for!! But I must tell you that this is by far my proudest finish of all the races I have run! I am proud mainly because I got SO many emails and texts from people who said they ran on Friday because they had been inspired by me. I mean, does it get any better than that?! But I’m also proud because despite the string of very valid reasons to drop out of this race over the last few months, not only did I stick with it, but for the VERY FIRST TIME, spent the entire race thinking “I’m OK ! I can totally do this!” I wasn’t worried or wondering. I wasn’t gasping for air or feeling at all hopeless. Other than blisters and toenail trouble, I felt absolutely no pain! I was tired when I crossed the finish line, but I actually forgot to stop running for a minute until someone said “You can stop now.”

Lastly, I am proud because my husband went from non-runner to successful half marathoner who finished a few minutes before me. When I flew into his sweaty dazed arms in the finish corral, he said “I did it! YOU inspired me and I did this!”

shucks ya’ll

You know what I am going to miss the most by not competing in long-distance races anymore? Being an inspiration for people, yes, but I will endeavor to do that in different ways now. Yes, the high of accomplishment and the bragging rights too. But more than that, is the energy of a group of committed people who are out there pushing their physical limits because they want something MORE than the ordinary in life.

There were 35,000 people out there running on Friday. That is 35,000 people willing to put in the training, say no to months of desserts, get out of warm beds on cold days when everyone else is snoozing cozily on, run in rain, get splattered with mud, skip the late night drinks with friends, lose our toenails, (sacrifice our Achilles in the case of my training partner!), stay committed, stay on track. We all have our own reasons for being out there, but I believe we all share the desire for something more. Something greater.

I gave myself one day off. One. Then last night, I sat down with my calendar and my journal and mapped out my next goal. I hope I always have this desire to grow, to better myself, and to make the most of what G-d gave me. I hope I never settle for just OK.

I hope you won’t either. It doesn’t have to be running – it can be any area in which you choose to push the envelope and to stop accepting “good enough”. You will get a calendar, make a plan, check off your day by day goals, and before you know it, be standing at the pinnacle of your achievement, knowing that every single drop of blood, sweat and tears was worth it. Amen.

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Filed Under: Exercise, Goals, Growth, health coach, Inspiration, Positive Thinking, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Tel Aviv Marathon Tagged With: Achievement, Exercise, Goals, Nutrition for Athletic Performance, Running, Self-Improvement, Tel Aviv Marathon, Vegan Athlete

My Top 5 Healthy Vegan Breakfasts

March 14, 2013 by Emily Segal 1 Comment

You may have noticed there have been fewer recipe posts lately. The reason for that is kind of interesting, I think. Since I have adopted a more Nutritarian style of eating, I have begun to understand the difference between eating to live and living to eat. I promise I will write a whole post on that subject soon. But in the meantime, what that means is that I am eating really simple meals and not really using recipes and creating all sorts of fancy taste treats. It is quite liberating actually!

But I know that people still get hung up on what the heck to eat each day, so I thought I’d do a little series on my top 5 healthy vegan breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.

First up, BREAKIE! All recipes cook in 5-10 minutes so don’t tell there’s no time for breakfast! (Calories listed at the top of each recipe with serving size. All recipes make one serving except the tofu and you can half the recipe if desired).

Tofu Scramble

Serving Size: 2 (save 1/2 for the following day)

Calories per serving: 207 calories, 28g protein

Tofu Scramble

Ingredients

300g tofu
spritz of oil spray
2 cups of whatever veggies I happen to have on hand (mushrooms, green onions, spinach, tomatoes etc)
dash turmeric for color
seasonings vary: soy sauce, or tomato sauce, or a cream sauce of 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast + 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk, salt and pepper

Instructions

Crumble tofu in a bowl and mix well with turmeric.
Spray non-stick pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
Add any veggies (except spinach) and saute for about 1-2 minutes.
Add tofu and saute for another 1-2 minutes, seasoning as desired.
Add spinach in the last 30 seconds and stir just until wilted.

Notes

high in calcium and fiber too!

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Recipe and Photos Â© Emily Segal www.TriumphWellness.com

Whipped Banana Oats

Serving Size: 1

Calories per serving: 360 calories, 6g protein

Whipped Banana Oats

Ingredients

1/3 cup rolled oats (Quaker Aveh in Israel)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup non-dairy milk of choice
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash cinnamon
1/2 oz (15g) chopped nuts of choice
1/2 oz (15g) raisins

Instructions

Put all ingredients in a saucepan.
Turn heat to medium-high.
Mash banana with a fork and stir mixture until uniform consistency.
Cook 3-5 minutes until your desired texture.
Serve topped with nuts and raisins.

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Recipe and Photos Â© Emily Segal www.TriumphWellness.com

Fruit and/or Green Smoothie

Serving Size: 1

Calories per serving: depends on the fruit, but usually about 250-300

Fruit and/or Green Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana
1-2 other fruit(s) of choice (right now I like 1 cup strawberries and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. In the summer I like to use a mango or peach).
2 big handfuls raw spinach (optional)
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed (optional)

Instructions

Blend everything in the blender until smooth.

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Recipe and Photos Â© Emily Segal www.TriumphWellness.com

Chickpea Flour Omlette

Serving Size: 1

Calories per serving: 225 calories, 15g protein

Chickpea Flour Omlette

Ingredients

1/2 cup chickpea flour (Kemach Hummus)
1/4 cup salsa or tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
spray of oil spray

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. It should be like a thick pancake batter.
Spray pan and heat over medium-high heat.
Pour batter into pan and gently spread to edges with the back of a spoon.
Cook 1-2 minutes on one side.
Flip with a spatula and cook on second side 1-2 minutes. Both sides should be golden brown and center should be firm.

Notes

You can add veggies to this too. Scallions and chopped spinach work well. Mix them raw into the batter and proceed with directions.

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Recipe and Photos Â© Emily Segal www.TriumphWellness.com

5. Can’t believe I’m going to list this but it be truth:

Good old PB&J plus an orange

Serving Size: 1

Calories per serving: 270 calories for the sandwich alone

Ingredients

2 slices whole grain bread
1 Tbsp natural, no-sugar or any else added peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 Tbsp no-sugar jam
1 orange or other fruit of choice

Instructions

Spread peanut butter and jelly on bread.
Put slices together.
Eat.
Enjoy a piece of fruit for dessert!

Notes

Seems silly but sometimes we over-complicate things. I eat a PB& J for breakfast on days I am really rushed and need to eat on my way.

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This post is participating in Healthy Vegan Fridays and Wellness Weekends. Check those links for loads of delicious, vegan recipes!

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Filed Under: Recipes, vegan Tagged With: Dieting vs Lifestyle, Vegan Recipes, weight loss

Leave Yourself Room to Grow

March 11, 2013 by Emily Segal 9 Comments

The first part of this post is going to be a running update but then I’ll be discussing something more universal and IMPORTANT. So hang with me for a minute even if you aren’t into the running stuff.

Here I am, 4 days from the half marathon that is the culmination of 22 weeks of dedicated training. Sadly, the weather report has predicted unseasonably high temps in the 90′s. The race has been pushed forward half an hour to try to reduce the inevitable weather related injuries that are going to occur and we runners are being urged to give up on our time goals, leave our Garmins at home, walk through all aid stations while drinking, take salt tabs, and focus on crossing the finish line NOT on a stretcher. This is more than a little disappointing to the thousands of us who have prepared so long for this day, but there’s nothing anyone can do about the weather.

But even before this weather news broke, I had come to a decision – This will be my last endurance sporting event. 10K’s yes, but longer than that, no. I have LOVED being an endurance athlete. I have adored the preparation, the step-by-step achievement of small goals and then larger ones, and every single lesson each training period and race has taught me. Many races have taught me about perseverance and the depth of my strength. Others have taught me humility. They have ALL taught me to trust in G-d that whatever I truly need is delivered right when I truly need it.

So why would I give it up? Well, the lesson this training period has taught me, is that sometimes, even when you love something, you need to move on.

Long-distance training aggravates a health issue I have. Simple as that. When I get above 35km/week I start suffering in ways that blacken and char every single aspect of my life. I am simply not willing to live this way anymore. I did my absolute best to ensure that this would not happen again this year: professional guidance, the very best nutrition and supplements, more rest, better training. But I still did not escape. One more long run on Friday, and then I’m done. It’s time to move on and find a new sports hobby I will love and that will love me back.

The important take-away here is that those of us who are on a committed path of self-improvement, MUST leave room for growth! And when we are working really hard on ourselves every day, growth can happen so rapidly, we must be prepared to quickly shed our skin OR we will be choked by self-sabotage and stuck in a too small space where our dreams and spirit wither and die.

Recently I realized that I had painted myself into a corner in several areas of my life. I tried to delicately extricate myself from these corners but unintentionally made a painful mess, splattering paint everywhere.

Watch those corners, stay awake to your intuition, and always leave yourself room to grow. Pay close attention to when something is starting to chafe. Even if it was your favorite sweater in the whole wide world, there comes a time when you will need to let it go.

It’s scary also because you cannot know what lies beyond. What if what you had really was the best you’ll ever get?

It’s not, darling. It can’t be. The world I choose to believe in has limitless possibilities. But you will only find the new and wonderful things, if you let go of the ones you are choking to death in your sweaty, fearful grasp.

Let The %$#@ Go.

My Tel Aviv Marathon 2013 Theme Song. Every single word of this = YES

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Filed Under: Goals, Growth, health coach, Inspiration, Love, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon Tagged With: Achievement, Anti-Ick Techniques, Goals, Tel Aviv Marathon

Can you Moderate? Or must you Eliminate?

March 4, 2013 by Emily Segal 16 Comments

The three little words that almost killed me:

“Everything in Moderation”

For me, these words are an utter lie, an impossibility, and the height of denial. They made me try and fail and try and fail more times than it is possible to count. As such an accepted part of our lexicon, “Everything in Moderation” must be true! Therefore, I, incapable of eating certain things in moderation, must just lack willpower. Right?

Years ago, when I was suffering from obesity and high blood sugar, my doctor sent me to a dietitian to help me lose weight. After the first week, when I returned to the skinny, perky dietitian’s office with my chocolate-smeared food log in hand, she asked incredulously “But you are trying to lose weight! Why are you eating boxes of cookies??!” I answered, through my tears of shame, “I don’t know! That’s why I am here. It’s like I am an addict and I can’t stop. I need help!” To which she angrily replied “There is no such thing as food addiction. Just follow the diet.”

I never went back to her office. I went home and ate another box of cookies. There is no such thing as food addiction. Just have ONE cookie, Emily. One. everythinginmoderation

But what I found, once again, is there is no such thing as “one cookie”. Not for me.

I honestly and truly owe my life to the angel in women’s clothing, who came along and said “Food addiction is a real thing and I too, am a food addict.” She introduced me to the concept of Elimination of Trigger Foods and taught me the importance of recognizing and having a strategy for handling Trigger Situations. She told me to read a book called Thin Tastes Better by Dr. Stephen Gullo. I read it, mouth agape, one hundred times. There are foods that render certain people utterly devoid of the ability to stop eating. I might be crazy, but I am not the only one!

In his book, Dr. Gullo asks you to remember every diet you ever went on. Then he asks you to remember every time you fell off the diet and what food you fell of the diet with. In 99% of the cases, we fall off our diet with the same handful of foods. For me: cookies, candy, cake. Every. Time.

So, if the same handful of foods lead you astray, those foods are your trigger foods and your life will be so much more peaceful without them in it. Tada, Elimination. As I have written many times before, when we stop negotiating with the terrorists in our minds and on our plates, we finally achieve that sought-after peace agreement.

Now, I do recognize that if this were not my own personal reality, I would probably think it’s nutso, just like that dietitian did. So if you are the type of person who can eat one cookie and stop, then keep on with your “Everything in Moderation”. BUT, know that there ARE people who CANNOT do moderation. They are not weak-willed and they should not just “try harder.” They can’t do it. In fact, you may even be living with one of these people! They may be your own children, or your partner. So when you buy cookies to have in the house for when guests come, and your food addict child or spouse drags the box back to his or her room like a fresh carcass on the savannah, the answer is to:

a. Lecture this person about “everythinginmoderation”

b. Stop buying cookies and leave your loved one in peace

the answer is “b”.

And if you really want to know what it is like inside the head of a food addict, read this most amazing description over on the Disease Proof blog. Then get a copy of The End of Overeating by David Kessler where you will learn why some people get addicted in the first place (brain chemicals and food chemicals oh my!), and that even the former head of the FDA considers himself a food addict. We’re in good company.

So the next time you find yourself looking up from an empty packet of whatever, after promising yourself you would just have ONE, open your eyes and see your trigger food for what it is: a life robbing, self-esteem sucking, lying terrorist with a bomb strapped to his chest. Do not even try to negotiate!

Elimination is not as hard as hard as Moderation. I promise, promise, promise you.

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Filed Under: coaching exercises, Growth, health coach, Rants, Recommendations Tagged With: Anti-Ick Techniques, Getting Kids to Eat Healthy, Self-Improvement, Sugar Addiction

Becoming a Health Coach

February 19, 2013 by Emily Segal 1 Comment

In 2006, I was working as a personal assistant and cook in the homes of some of New York’s wealthiest residents. While it was fun to spend the day shopping for and then cooking meals in beautiful kitchens, it was truly exhausting work. I liked the playing with food part. I enjoyed feeding people. I really loved knowing that a family too busy to cook, was sitting down to a nutritious home-cooked meal that I had prepared with care. But standing on my feet for 8 sweaty hours in a blazing kitchen with the oven and 4 burners firing wasn’t really a sustainable career path for me.

A few years earlier, I had worked with a Health Coach on my own health transformation. I knew I wanted to go into health coaching myself and teach people how to prepare the healthy food I was cooking for my clients, but I was really afraid of opening my own business. I was working in an agency that took care of all the client bookings, payments, and marketing. I didn’t know anything about running a business, and couldn’t imagine being responsible for making my own money.

After attending an Open House at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition – the school I wanted to attend – my fears were assuaged and I registered for enrollment in the class of 2007. At that time, classes were taught in person in the auditorium of the Time Warner center in NYC. Once a month, several hundred of the shiniest, happiest people I have ever seen, took planes, trains, and automobiles from around the globe, to learn from integrative health leaders such as Deepak Chopra, Annemarie Colbin, Debbie Ford, and Michio Kushi. The classes were electrified, edifying, and inspiring.

More than just teaching nutrition courses though, IIN takes students on a journey to know themselves, their dreams, their beliefs and their fears. If you go in thinking you will learn about protein, carbs and fats, you come out having conquered your life-long fear of public speaking, as well as understanding why you always pick the same fight with your husband!

And yes, IIN also teaches students how to coach people, how to run a business, how to design a website, how to market yourself, how to find your tribe of clients and much, much more. (Some of that is taught in the 2nd year of the program, which is offered to students for free!)

For the past few years, IIN classes have been taught entirely online to thousands of students around the world. Considering you are trained and ready to see clients in under a year, and given all the materials you need to start from the get-go, (including your fully loaded and designed website with lifetime hosting!), tuition is remarkably affordable.

In case you couldn’t tell from this post, you can color me 100%, more than satisfied, with my IIN experience. As for my feelings about my career as a health coach, just look through the 3 years of blog posts on this website to see how I feel about this amazing career where I get to help people change their lives and the lives of their families. (And it’s a lot less sweaty than standing over that hot stove for 8 hours a day!!)

If any of you are interested in hearing more about the school, or have questions about health coaching as a career, please email me and we will set up a time to Skype: Emily@TriumphWellness.com.

If you already know you want to attend, speak to me (or any IIN grad) first, as many of us are given discounts to pass along.

To see why the world needs more health coaches, watch this inspiring video HERE.

Or for more info, simply click the link on this banner:

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Filed Under: Goals, Growth, health coach Tagged With: Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Running the Houston Marathon Vegan Style

February 17, 2013 by Emily Segal 1 Comment

Today’s guest post is by Triumph Wellness reader and vegan runner, Kanishka deSilva. I want to thank Kanishka for writing this post for us and congratulate him on his vegan marathon finish!

As soon as the gun went off, the rain started. I knew it was not going to be a day for a PR (personal record)! I was among the 12,000 marathoners and 13,000 half marathoners who had trained hard to achieve a personal goal and the time has come to execute it. The weather on January 13, 2013 in Houston, Texas was wet, cold and windy. The wind was gusting at 15 to 25 mph. The Cold Front bringing arctic cold air slammed into Houston around 6.30 am on race day just before the 7.00 am start time. Despite this nasty weather and the challenges I faced over the next few hours, I am proud to say that I completed the full marathon that day in a time of 4:24:29!!

I started running about 10 years ago. As years went by, I needed a goal to keep me motivated and continue running. I did 5K’s and 10K’s for a couple of years. During this time I was a non-vegan and ate a typical meat centered diet. I love nature, wildlife and the environment. As an environmentalist, I participated in local environmental causes and supported national organizations such as WWF, Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund. As I read about what causes harm to the environment, I realized that raising meat is one of the worst environmental offenders! So I started to cut back on meat consumption. I also started to realize the effect of red meat on my health and the benefit of eating vegetables. I slowly removed meat, poultry, and finally dairy from my diet and became a vegan in 2009. I was still running and competing in 5K’s and 10K’s.

Each year in January, the local TV station provides live coverage of the Houston Marathon. When I watched the coverage, I wished that I was at the starting line ready to run rather than watching it from the comfort of the living room couch. But running 26.2 miles was a huge jump from your typical 10K. In 2011, I joined a running club that was formed at my work place and started to run with some co-workers. We had folks who were Ultra Marathoners and some who couldn’t even run 1/2 mile. Each week we added miles and our training runs extended to 5 miles. A few times we did two laps and I was able to finish 10 miles! It was an awesome feeling to complete a 10 mile run and I knew that I was ready to do a 1/2 marathon. My fellow runners urged me to register for a local 1/2 marathon in March 2011. My goal was to finish the 13.1 miles. I finished in 2:10:16 at a pace of 9:56 min/mile.

By this time I was a total vegan and my vegan lifestyle certainly didn’t stop me from finishing a half marathon in good time. So I set my sight on the next goal, the Houston marathon. During the training for the full marathon I read about Scott Jurek, one of the top ultra marathoners in the US who is also a vegan. Jurek writes about running, veganism and how to get proper nutrition when you are a vegan runner. He was an inspiration for me as I prepared for my event.

In 2012, the runners in our club were running hard and fast in July-August, the worst times to run in Houston. Some days the temperature would be 95F with 98% humidity in the evening and we would still go out and run. My times were slowly improving and I PR’d most of my races in 2012. I PR’d the 5K, 10K and the half Marathon distances in 2012. I shaved off 15 minutes from my first 1/2 marathon and finished in 1:55 at a pace of 8:49 min/mile. My vegan lifestyle was definitely helping as I was running faster despite getting older.

On January 13th my big day arrived and with it, that horrible winter storm! As the marathoners started off, the atmosphere was electrifying and my adrenaline was in full swing. I was not used to running in a rain poncho (rain coat) and it took me some time to adjust to it. At 5K, I was running at 8:52 min/mile pace and realized that I was going too fast. I slowed down and was still making good time. At 15K, the weather was taking a toll. My pace has decreased to 8:56 min/mile and the cold windy rain was still coming down in bursts. My fingers were numb and I could not even reach into my pouch to get my energy gels! At the half way mark (13.1 miles), my pace has dropped to 9:06 min/mile. I was really slowing down and if I ran slower than this my finish time would be over 4 hours. At 30K, my pace was 9:28 min/mile! I resigned to the fact that my goal of finishing below 4 hours was over. A few miles after the 30K my legs started to hurt. The muscles were screaming for oxygen and energy and I had to slow down and walk as my legs refused to run.

At this point my goal was just to finish and forget about getting a PR! I think I lost interest in the race when I knew that I would not be breaking the 4 hour mark. The mind does play an important role in racing! If the mind is not fully engaged with your goal, things starts to fall apart. I believe training the mind to keep your goal in the radar is as important as training your body to finish 26.2 miles. As I was so tired and exhausted, I slowed down considerably and added a some walking to give my legs a break. As we headed back to downtown, the rain had ceased and the crowd was getting larger. I grabbed some oranges that folks were handing out and that gave me a little boost. As I got closer to the finish line, I gathered up the last few grams of energy and pushed on. My wife was there to cheer me and I put on a brave face for the camera. As I crossed the finished line, I was overcome with mixed emotions. Happy to finish the marathon but dejected that I could not achieve my goal.

The hardest part was walking back to the car to get home!

The weather affected everyone who braved it and ran that day. None of the top finishers in the full and the half marathon established records or PR’s. The local newspaper mentioned that only 40% of the marathon runners started the race. The normal dropout rate is about 10%. Out of the 60% who started, 98% completed. Which is really good. I guess only the die hard runners were at the start line. I am still trying to figure out what I could have done differently that would have changed the outcome. During the last two months of training, I had started to change my diet based on Dr Fuhrman’s Nutritarian program. I feel that I may have not consumed adequate calories as my weight went down by about 4 pounds during the last month before the race. Maybe I should have increased my long run from 20 miles to 22 miles and increased my calorie intake to compensate for the change in the diet? I will take notes of all these issues and adjust my training plan for next year.

Personally, completing the Marathon was a great achievement for me and the most physically demanding event that I have done.

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Filed Under: Exercise, Goals, Growth, Positive Thinking, Running, Triumph Race Club, vegan Tagged With: Achievement, Goals, Nutrition for Athletic Performance, Race Club, Running, Team Triumph Race Club, Vegan Athlete, vegan diet benefits

When A Loved One Won’t Change

February 14, 2013 by Emily Segal 1 Comment

Subtitle: ”Why Can’t You Do This For Me, for the kids, for yourSELF?!”

Here is the Mad Libs version:

Your _____________________

(spouse / partner / sister / father / best friend / child)

Needs to____________________

(lose weight / get his blood sugar down / get her cholesterol down / stop smoking / stop drinking / wear a seat belt)

Although he/she insists it has nothing to do with you, and that your nagging is only making things worse, you feel______________________

(betrayed / angry / worried / massively betrayed)

Sound familiar, anyone? I bet it does!

Today, instead of telling you what to do from my standpoint as a health practitioner, I want to share with you the other side of the coin.

I was your spouse. I was the one who was willfully disregarding my health and my family’s future all in the name of getting my next binge. I hope that if you can see things from your loved one’s perspective, you will be able to find some peace and clarity.

Several years ago I tried eating myself into oblivion while my husband was the one to be angry about my growing body and frustrated by my resistance to change. The more he pushed and threatened me, the more I ate and the fatter I became. I truly felt that it was MY business and had nothing to do with him. I seriously resented him making it his problem, even though somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I kinda-sorta understood how my health and weight ultimately WOULD impact his life and the lives of our children.

I was in Stage One: Pre-Contemplation (click that link to read the post I wrote about the 5 Stages of Change). I was only dimly aware that there was some sort of a problem but feeling like I was a victim of intolerable levels of stress with food as my only lifeline. I could no sooner have given up over-eating than I could have gone without oxygen.

You can read about what advanced me from Stage One to Stage Two HERE. Basically, I finally understood that my actions were causing my outcome, plain and simple. Change my actions and I’d change the outcome. But more than that, here was this man, Tony Robbins and he had done it himself. And all the thousands of people who followed him, they were taking this kind of action in their lives. I understood for the first time that it could be done and people were doing it. I could change my story and change the way my story would end.

So this is my message to you (and when I get around to publishing that post about overweight kids it will be the same message):

Shut Up and Walk Your Own Talk.

End of story.

People do not hear what you say as much as see what you do. Ghandi said “Be the change you want to see.” You – be the change. Model the behaviors you want others to adopt. SHOW don’t say. Work on Yourself. Be the best you can be. Be Inspiring. Make the people around you WANT to reach higher. Show people what is possible.

Married folks: I realize how painful it feels for you, that your partner is betraying the agreement you made when you got married. He/she is digging an early grave and will leave you holding the bag. But go back and read the stages of change. People who are not changing likely do not believe that it is in their power to do so. No amount of screaming and threatening is going to change that.

Those Stage Oners need hope and belief. They need to come to understand that they CAN reverse their problem. They need to move from helpless victim to artful designers of their own destiny.

Model it for them and then butt out.

P.S. I am not suggesting you stay with a partner bent on self-destruction. You may decide that you need to leave a relationship in order to take care of yourself. That is modeling healthy self-care as well.