Nutrition is such an important, yet complex topic. It is of great interest to me and very close to my heart. I think it is the amateur home chef in me. I love creating meals and trying new ingredients. I love the challenge of discovering ways to get my 5 year old and 3 year old to eat nutritiously. I love taking ingredients and seeing how they can transform into beautiful meals and life around a table. But I also love discovering the ways in which food allows my body to grow, heal, function and perform.   There really is…

With any goal you set, there has to be a reason behind it – your WHY.  This WHY sets an internal fire that keeps you motivated towards reaching the goal.  Setting a WHY  is just as important when setting your activity goals.  Your WHY is your underlying reason for wanting to make a change.  You want to lose weight but WHY?  Perhaps your parents had Diabetes and many complications and you are motivated because you want a different lifestyle.  Perhaps you want to feel comfortable in your body and know that you have the physical stamina to keep up with…

Meet Laura Hello everyone! My name is Laura Fischer and I am a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh working towards my Master of Science in Health and Physical Activity. A little bit of background on me, I actually began my professional career in development for higher education after graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 2007. After my husband, Adam, and I had our two young children, I knew I needed to be in a career that I was truly passionate about and one in which I could work towards helping others. That is where graduate school…

With the start of the New Year, you’re probably thinking about setting new resolutions. Maybe you want to workout five days a week, lose X amount of pounds, eliminate processed foods, run a marathon, declutter the house –  the list goes on and on. And although setting resolutions can be beneficial, only a tiny fraction of us keep our resolutions; University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals. Focus on Sustainable Lifestyle Change Why is this so?   For starters, rather than set big goals that, for many, fall by the wayside by spring,…

An interesting thing happened to me in the last year. Well, 2015-2016 has been quite a journey for my family and I in general but one thing in particular really took me surprise: my decision to create a part-time business educating people on the use and application of essential oils with doTERRA, a multi-level marketing company. Why was this surprising? Many reasons. For one, I didn’t have the time. I run a full-time business and a full-time family and some how I manage to make time for my own health and wellness. We just moved into a new home in…

Do you believe that you live a mostly healthy lifestyle? Why or why not? This is often the first question I ask when working with a new individual who doesn’t come with something specific they want to discuss. Most people have something (usually many things) they want to improve but it always surprises me when people accept habits or issues that they consider normal for themselves. Pain isn’t normal. Insomnia isn’t normal. IBS syndrome isn’t normal. Our bodies tell us when something is not right or when we are out of balance. Sometimes we just don’t want to listen or…

Wellness is an Inside Job By Nicole Trombley We live in a society that demands immediacy. We want to look good; we want to sleep better and feel more energized; we want a flat stomach; we want to run a half marathon; we want to lower our cholesterol and we want these things now, actually yesterday. Too often I work with people who want immediate results without taking a look at the whole picture. If you want to sleep better, you first have to understand what’s keeping you up and compromising your rest in the first place. If you want…

You would think that after running since seventh grade, including Division I Track and Field in college that I would know what to expect when I decided to run my first marathon at the ripe age of 30. Well, I was wrong. Full disclosure, I did not do my due diligence in preparation. I had the “how hard can it really be” attitude, which I still find all-too-common in folks who attempt to run their first marathon without proper training. So please learn something from my mistakes and read on.   The training is truly the hardest part.  Folks, 26.2…