I am a very goal oriented person. If I want to accomplish something, I set my goal, create an action plan, detail it out then get to work. When I am in the groove, there is nothing I can't accomplish! ...or at least, that is what I tell myself. The key is tenacity. Once I set my goal in my sights, I work like a maniac until I achieve it. I have a professional reputation for being a work horse that accomplishes a lot of work really fast. I have always believed that any of us, each of us, all of us, can do anything. If someone else can do it, so can you. If no one has done it, you can be the first and open the door for everyone to follow!
Sometimes (like this past week) I have trouble staying in my work happy groove. It is like I split into two Bonitas. Half of me goes from groove to gutter and the other half just wanders off to Mental Meander World. As you can imagine, the further this goes, the harder it is to get back to where I need to be. Very depressing and demoralizing, too.
Yesterday I looked at my goals & plans. Then I switched it all up. Instead of being mad at myself for aimlessly losing direction, I looked at the roadmap of my goals from a different direction. What do I really want to accomplish? What will I do to make that happen? Not so oddly, none of my old plans met the new agenda. Sometimes my standard "work horse" attitude needs a little shaking up!
Thinking about what I really want lets me lose a lot of "to do" list clutter. If your goals were a burning house, what few precious items would you grab as you ran out? What if you only had 1 week to meet your goals? What would you absolutely have to do to make sure you to make them happen? Then see how they fit with your life. What do you have to change? Your schedule? Your goals? Your attitude? With my workaholic attitude, I normally drop personal care when I have too much on my schedule; but I recently learned that I have to relax a little and have more fun. Also, I need to make time each day to work out. I can't feel guilty for this! My well being must be part of my daily agenda. Plus, I can't stress over it. If I have too much to do, then I need to appraise my goals or ask for help. When I do this, I sleep better, relax more, fit in my clothing (I REALLY need to work out every day! ...or give up food...) and actually accomplish better work.
So instead of working harder or pushing on, I have learned to reanalyze and restructure. Sometimes changing my focus is the best way to find my real path.

 
 
What is the difference? Health Food is an item - food that is healthful. Food Health is a concept - a way of thinking and a philosophy for managing your diet. You can shop in a health food store but food health can't be purchased. Like the young Athena, it must be birthed in your mind.

We hear catch phrases like "mindful eating", "maintain a metabolic balance", "healthy-carb friendly", "acid-alkaline index", "a diet plan that actually works!" or my favorite: "eat as much as you want and still lose weight!" My point is that we are so inundated with diet related concepts, we can easily become confused between what really makes sense and what is media sponsored gibberish.

Dieting is actually pretty basic. The equation is: calories in minus calories out. Also, everyone alive is on a diet. the word means: what you eat. According to Dictionary.com:
di·et [dahy-it]  noun, verb, -et·ed, -et·ing, adjective noun 1.food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.
2.a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.
3.such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet. 4.the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.
5.food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

My point is, often clients come to me upset because they "need to go on a diet". Through our sessions, they come to realize that we all are always on a diet. But if your needs change, the diet should be adjusted to accommodate the current needs. So while we eat health food, the decisions of what to eat are based on our knowledge of food health. The wonderful thing is, the more you know about how food impacts your health and well being, the more you can play with your food. I wish all of you a fun & festive time fueling your delicious health!

all best,  Chef Bonita