Empowered Wellness Health Coaching

I mean, it’s true. 🤷🏼‍♀️

With back to school, homeschool, college, or work, comes illness. Being around others is a big reason why we get sick more often. But also because we fail to spend time outside, we increase our screen time hours, and our stress loads are higher.

Take time to fit in the foundations daily or as often as possible. And then add in the immune boosters and additions to decrease your chances of getting sick.

Here's to staying well this school year!

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Movement is medicine. Even something as simple as walking, has so many benefits.

Walking 1 mile, 3 miles, or 10. Walking instead of driving, taking the stairs, hiking, walking your dog, or any kind of walking will benefit your health!

Bonus benefits if:
🌳 You walk outside
🌲 You hike in the forest
☀️ You walk while getting morning light
🌅 You walk at sunset
👣 You walk with a friend
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 You walk with your family
🦮 You walk your favorite pet

There isn't a wrong walk get in some walking. So let's get moving!

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It's usually not just one thing that leads us to being chronically stressed or burned out.

Often times we just think of stress as doing too much or being too busy. This IS one big contributor to feeling stressed! But there are other factors that can leave us feeling stressed too. ⬇️

Things that can add to your stress load:

▪️ EMF's, wifi, 5G
▪️ Acute infections/viruses like colds, flu, stomach bug, etc.
▪️ Chronic infections/viruses like EBV, bacteria overgrowth, candida, lyme, parasites, etc.
▪️ Vitamin + mineral deficiencies
▪️ Hormone, thyroid, gut imbalances
▪ Toxins like BPA, phthalates, aluminum, lead, parabens, etc.
▪️ Feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, depression, and fear from doing too much or over-committing, from bad relationships, and/or work
▪️ Not getting 7-9 hours (for adults. Kids need much more) of sleep each night

1️⃣ If you are feeling stressed, burned out, or constantly overwhelmed, try stress relieving activities from my previous post.

If you are not feeling better...less stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, etc.

2️⃣ Then I suggest talking with a health care provider or Integrative Health Practitioner 🙋🏼‍♀️ to see if you have underlying infections, deficiencies, or need to make lifestyle changes.

Healing IS possible! You CAN feel better! You can enjoy and LOVE your life!

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Just a few things I've been pondering and putting in to practice lately.

Do you agree or disagree?

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Is your body telling you that your hormones are unhappy or imbalanced?

Everything in our body is about balance. You don't want too much or too little of...estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, or cortisol.

Symptoms you may experience if you have hormone imbalance are:

𖼆 fatigue
𖼆 bloating, gas
𖼆 pounding or migraine headaches
𖼆 fibroids
𖼆 weight gain
𖼆 joint pain
𖼆 recurring yeast infections
𖼆 hot flashes/night sweats
𖼆 decreased libido
𖼆 insomnia
𖼆 PMS
𖼆 depression/low mood
𖼆 anger, rage, irritability
𖼆 missed or heavy periods
𖼆 infertility

How do you know your hormone levels? 🤔
⬇️
"Test, don't guess" is the best way. Running a simple saliva lab test gives you easy and accurate results. Or you can speak with someone knowledgable 🙋🏼‍♀️ that can help you get to the root of your symptoms.

Fill out the free discovery call in my bio and we can get to the root cause of your unwanted symptoms.

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We all have stress in our lives and managing it is key 🔑 to living a healthy lifestyle.

You can use these tips "in the moment" if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed. 😣

Also, making these exercises a part of your daily routine will help keep your body from feeling chronically stressed. ✅

Did you know ➡ Chronic stress can tax your HPA axis. The hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is the communication between your brain and your adrenals. When you are stressed 😖 your body is putting all of its resources into making cortisol to manage your stress.

Continually making extra cortisol depletes the production essential hormones 😬 like progesterone and testosterone. Not having enough progesterone or testosterone can leave you with imbalanced hormones...which comes with a slew of unwanted symptoms (more on this later!) besides the symptoms of feeling stressed.

Start doing these activities daily and you will find the benefits are priceless 🥰

Shout out if you need extra support with stress reduction or think you have symptoms of hormone imbalance.

Sending you lots of love, laughter, and less stress today 🤍

So many job and lifestyle requirements today require you to sit for long periods of time, or even all day.

Try some of these activities that you can fit into your day, that get you moving. 🚶🏽‍♀️

See how many steps you can get in each day. 10,000 is the goal! But start with 2000-5000 and see where you can go from there.

Let's get moving! 🏃🏻‍♀️

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Do you still have a fear of eating fats? Thanks to the low-fat craze of the 1980's, I think the fear of eating fatty foods is still something we hold on to. Unfortunately, taking fats out of our diet, even healthy fats, has been one of the biggest nutrition lies in history.

So I'm here to tell you to not fear fat! Our bodies actually NEED healthy fats. Here are some of the benefits of consuming healthy fats regularly:

▪️ Help you absorb fat soluble vitamins A, E, D, K
▪️ Keeps your brain, cells, hormones, tissue, hair, nails, and skin healthy
▪️ Slowly releases energy and keeps you full longer
▪️ Insulates our organs and keeps our body's core temperature normal

Talk about important! Healthy fats are vital to our wellbeing. 💯

Healthy fats to include regularly into your diet:
🥑 avocados
🥑 eggs, preferably organic, pasture raised
🥑 grass-fed butter + ghee
🥑 extra virgin olive oil
🥑 olives
🥑 nuts, especially walnuts + almonds
🥑 seeds like flax + chia
🥑 virgin coconut oil + full fat coconut milk
🥑 full fat dairy, preferably organic, raw, or from a local farmer
🥑 fatty fish like salmon + sardines
🥑 grass-fed beef, especially fatty cuts
🥑 dark chocolate (yep!), try for 70% or higher and check ingredients to make sure your chocolate isn't full of harmful ingredients and tons of sugar.

What would you add to this list?

Have your thoughts about healthy fats changed over the years?

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Spring is right around the corner 👏🏽

This is a great time to eat more fresh veggies, especially greens. 🥬

Check out the start date of your local farmers markets and be on the lookout for these fresh veggies!

I ❤️ my clients! Thank you for all your kind words. 🫶🏼

How many times have you gone to your primary doctor or pediatrician and they’ve told you to change your diet or your lifestyle before taking a medication? 🤷‍♀️ Probably not many.

A majority of the time when you go to your doctor with a problem like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, the flu, headaches, insomnia, being overweight, etc. your doctor will prescribe a medication. Instead of asking you to eat more whole foods, incorporate exercise, reduce stress, or go outside more, they will give you a prescription for a drug. Our healthcare system isn’t meant to help you get healthy. Our current healthcare system is about keeping you sick so they can keep selling you prescription drugs. It's ultimately about money.

But our bodies are very smart! Our bodies are designed to give us symptoms when it's out of balance. Taking prescription drugs masks what our body is trying to tell us, which makes it harder to get to the root of the problem.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am very thankful for Western medicine. If I was having a heart attack, needed a blood transfusion, or had an infection that needed antibiotics, I would gladly accept the help. And there is no shame in taking a prescription if it is really needed! But the goal is to get to the root of the dis-ease and get healthy again.

There are so many good doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers out there and I’m so grateful for all they do! ❤️ Somehow we need to find a balance and I’m here to do my part.

What do you think about our current healthcare system in the US?

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Most of us don't think about magnesium every day 🤪, but when it's used in over 300 functions in our body, maybe we should! Magnesium is called the miracle mineral because of how essential is it to our brain and body.

If you suffer from any of these signs + symptoms of low magnesium, you can start by adding in more foods that contain magnesium. Also, cutting out processed foods and focusing mainly on eating whole foods can help.

For some people though, eating a diet rich in magnesium-containing foods won't be enough and you may need to supplement. 🙋🏼‍♀️

Reasons you may not be getting enough magnesium from food alone:

Our foods are less mineral-rich than they used to be because of current farming practices and soil degradation.

Chronic stress uses up our magnesium stores really quickly and its hard to get enough magnesium from food alone if you are under a lot of stress.

Or it could be because you are not absorbing or digesting food properly due to stress or a dis-ease of the body.

→ For me personally, taking a magnesium supplement, (along with eating mostly whole foods and living a healthy lifestyle of course 😉) has helped reduce my anxiety, helps me fall asleep easily and stay asleep, helps with regular bowl movements, helps me feel calm and relaxed, and I don't have restless legs or leg cramps anymore. Plus I now have almost 0 PMS symptoms or cramps and my blood sugar is most stable. Whew, Magnesium has helped me a lot!

As usual, none of this is medical advice 😉 It is just my personal experience with magnesium and what I've learned.

Hope this is helpful!
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https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cnw__fBAvPE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Laura | Empowered Wellness on Instagram: "👆🏼The things I’ve learned to help me enjoy the cold, dark winter months. I used to really dislike the cold. I hated going outside. I felt depressed by the constant gray that is NE Ohio. But now I actu Laura | Empowered Wellness shared a post on Instagram: "👆🏼The things I’ve learned to help me enjoy the cold, dark winter months. I used to really dislike the cold. I hated going outside. I felt depressed by the constant gray that is NE Ohio. But now I actually like the darker, slower months....

Many people have asked me what a health coach is and why I became an Integrative Health Practitioner. So I’ll try and explain some of this in a short-ish post.

About 10 years ago I began seeing a naturopathic doctor for some health issues that my P*P only prescribed medication‘s for. Those medication only made me feel worse instead of better. I wanted to figure out how to get to the root of my problems and not just take prescription drugs.

The longer I worked with my naturopathic doctor the more I wanted to know about my body, the way it worked, how to heal and feel amazing again. With the support of my husband and the encouragement of a mentor and coach, I began taking classes online with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).

IIN was great because it fueled my passion for intentionally creating a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits, and mindset. Once I completed my certification and started seeing clients I still wanted to know more. I wanted to be able to get to the root of my health issues as well help others with more complex dis-eases. I also wanted to be able to use labs and supplements when needed. This is when I found The Integrative Health Practitioner Institute (IHP).

Completing level 1 of IHP taught me more about common imbalances of the body a.k.a. dis-eases, and how to heal with diet and lifestyle. As I’m finishing up level 2 of IHP, I’m learning how to read labs and when to add supplements to a healthy lifestyle.

I have loved *almost* every minute of the last three years. 😉 It has been hard to balance life with 3 kids, schooling, and working while also taking care of myself. I continue to realize how many people are in need of real health care and the real farmacy. It’s my mission to help as many people as I can in hopes that they teach those around them. Our current healthcare system is actually a sickcare system and it’s no way to live. (More about that later 🤪)

I’ll post more about IHP or you can always DM me, but this is a start.

🤍 Laura BS, IIN, IHP1 ☺️

Hi friends! I wanted to introduce myself to those of you who are new around here and say 👋🏼 to those of you who've been flowing me since the beginning.

My name is Laura and I'm passionate about holistic health and healing. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and adrenal fatigue several years ago, as well as hormonal imbalance, I was able to restore my own health holistically.

After my 3rd child, I decided I wanted to help others heal and feel empowered with their health. 💪🏽

I started my certification with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), completed my second certification with the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute (IHP), and I am finishing up my third certification with IHP also.

When I'm not studying or working with clients, I am taking care of my 3 children, turning our home into a simple, non-toxic space, spending time in nature, or cooking up something new!

Please message me or DM me any time. I'm happy to answer questions or say hi to you.

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If you've ever asked, "Where do I even start in getting healthy?!", you aren't alone!

With so much information out there, how do you know what to believe and what you should be doing?

👆🏻 These are great places to start!

Just make 1 small change each day or each week as you are able.
Small changes = big results.

If you want personalized health and wellness tools that work specifically for YOU, comment below or message me. I'm here to help you feel better, no matter what you are facing or what your goals are.

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It's here! 🥰 Gifts you can feel good about giving. 🙌🏼

My non-toxic gift guide has something for everyone!

stocking stuffers ✔️
your bearded brother ✔️
crunchy sister ✔️
aunt who has everything ✔️
teen who loves makeup ✔️
a self-care gift for you ✔️

or whoever you are shopping for, I've got you covered!

All links to products are in my bio. 👆🏻

(I will update links and stories as sales happen. I got you boo 😉)

Questions or need help finding that perfect gift? DM me and I'd love to help you.

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Happy Thanksgiving friends! So thankful for you and this space we can share 🤍

If life ever feels overwhelming, too much, too busy, sad, or you can't seem to keep your feet on the ground, you aren't alone. In our society and the way the world is today, we are often asked to do too much, stay too busy, and spread too thin. And there will be seasons when life is busier than others.

If you are one of those busy seasons of life where you often feel overwhelmed, make sure you have anchors throughout your day. Anchors are certain things we do each day, at a specific time (if possible), to keep us grounded. These anchors help with stress relief, bring us joy, and allow us to stop for a few moments between the busyness.

Some anchors I have throughout my day:

☀️ morning sun
🍵 quiet time with my matcha + Bible
🏋🏼‍♀️ exercise
🧘🏼‍♀️ meditation/deep breathing
📔 weekly + daily planning that includes each days must-do's and meals for my family
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 evening walk with my family
🛀🏼 evening bath
📖 reading before bed

Some other anchors you could incorporate into your days are deep breathing, not working while you eat lunch, putting your phone on silent to spend time with your family in the evenings, 10-minute walks 2-3x a day, or scheduling something fun into each day.

Anchors can take as much time or as little time as you need.

What anchors do you have each day that you look forward to? 👇🏼

Need help with overwhelm, stress, or making anchors specific to you and your life? Message me and we can talk!

Love to all of you in those busy + overwhelming seasons 🤍

Yes its true, getting sunlight is so good for us! It is not something to fear like many of us have been taught.

The sun regulates so many of our bodily rhythms and functions. Getting outside in the morning and evening is best if you can. Even when its cloudy, as it often is here in NE Ohio, you can still enjoy the benefits of sunlight.

Here are my suggestions for getting daily sun, no matter the season:

☀️ Spend at least 5 minutes outside (more if you can), morning and evening.
☀️ Bundle up and layer if its cold.
☀️ Get in movement and sun, like walking or biking outside, to maximize your time and maximize the benefits.
☀️ Take your kids outside with you to maximize the fun!
☀️ You don't need sunscreen unless you plan to be outside multiple hours
and are not used to being outside.
☀️ Take an umbrella and walk in the rain.
☀️ Enjoy your morning coffee and sunshine on your porch or deck.
☀️ Eat dinner (and/or breakfast if you can) with your spouse or family outside.
☀️ Go to a park, on a hike, or walk with a friend on the weekends.

No matter what you choose to do, get some daily sun!

What would you add to my list of ways to get sunlight? Tell me in the comments 👇🏼

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In my busyness lately, I realized I have not been stopping to rest, take a break, or just breathe. 🤦🏼‍♀️

When we stop what we are doing to take a break and reset our minds, it's half the battle in reducing stress and overwhelm.

The next time you feel stressed, overwhelmed, burdened, have a racing mind, can't fall asleep, or just need a break, try some box breathing.

📦 Box breathing is when you breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold for 4. Then repeat until you feel calm and relaxed.

It's best when you can stop what you are doing, sit in a comfortable spot, close your eyes, and put a hand on your heart and a hand on your stomach. This helps connect your body and breath. Closing your eyes pushes away distractions and helps you focus on breathing to bring you into a more calm and relaxed state.

The goal is to take your body from a sympathetic nervous state aka stressed 😵‍💫, to a parasympathetic nervous state aka relaxed 😊. Being in a chronic sympathetic nervous state raises your risk for chronic disease and overall dis-ease. We are not meant to go, go, go without rest and relaxation.

Let me know in the comments when you try box breathing and if it helped reduce your stress and anxiety. 👇🏼

🤍 Laura

Do you lift? 💪🏽

One form of exercise that I enjoy is strength training. I have lifted weights for the past 4 years and have learned so much. I began strength training with a personal trainer to aid in weight loss after 3 kids and to boost my mood. Winters in NE Ohio are brutal! 😜

My personal trainer helped me learn form, dos and don't, and the benefits of building muscle. I had no idea in the beginning how much I would learn to love strength training.

If you have never lifted weights or done any strength training, the best time to start is now! You do not need a personal trainer to start and you don't need to belong to a gym. Some resistance bands or free weights will get you started. YouTube is also a great source of how-to videos.

I am not a personal trainer, but exercise does fall under my health and wellness training. And strength training is an amazing way to increase your wellness now, and down the road. I promise you won't regret it!

I've listed just a few of the benefits on the second slide. And yes, these benefits apply to men too!

Do you lift? Or want to know more about strength training? Tell me in the comments 👇🏼

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We're still in full summer mode over here, but I know many who are starting back to school in only a week or two. Whether your kids are going back to school soon or you are going back to work, or you are just dreading the winter (germy) months, start taking advantage of these health boosters 💪🏽 now.

My family and I have been working on these for awhile now and its never too late to take charge of your health and the health of your family!

Which of these health boosters are you working on?

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My family spent time in Colorado last week visiting family. We didn't do a lot of touristy things. But we did spend a lot of time in nature exploring God's amazing creation. As I spent time with family, spent
time outside, and lived out of a suitcase, there were several things I realized. Even though I knew these things before, they became more of a reality to me and I'm working even harder to put them into practice in my every day life.

🌎 In this lonely, post-covid, screen-dominant world, we spend too much time alone. We need more time with people, community, family, and loved ones to be happy.

🌲 Spending more time in the mountains, in the woods, at the beach, and in our yards, makes us feel happier and is good for our health.

🩳 Less is more. Having less toys, less clothes, less gadgets, and less of everything will make room and time for what really matters.

🥩 Eating more nutrient dense food is how we fuel our bodies for energy and health. Processed foods mess up the signals in our bodies, don't give us the needed vitamins + minerals, and shift our bodies into chronic disease.

😄 Laughter is medicine. It truly is. Laughing sends signals to our mind + body that we are safe and happy. It activates our parasympathetic nervous system for rest and healing.

Are there other things you think I should add to this list of "more, less"?

Are you currently dealing with any or all of the things on the "less" side? Message me and I'd love to connect with you!

Much love,
🤍 Laura

Want to know the things I'm doing to work on my own health? I've been working on reducing stress, increasing energy, building resilience against pathogens, balancing my blood sugar daily, and balancing my copper/zinc levels to get rid of candida and put my psoriasis in remission.

Here's what I'm working on 👇🏼

😴 Aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep a night which often means going to be a little earlier
🥩🥬 Eating protein + veggies for breakfast to balance my blood sugar + energy levels for the day
🍭🍸 Cutting out almost all sugar + alcohol -both of which spike blood sugar levels and damage your gut
🧘🏼‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️ Move every day to increase energy, maintain healthy weight, + stay healthy. I do at least one of these ever day - walk, bike, yoga, weights
☀️ Get morning light in my eyes by spending time outside before noon to promote better sleep + energy
🌲 Spend time outside every day to reduce stress and activate my parasympathetic nervous system
📱Reduce screen time to reduce stress, eye strain, and promote better sleep
🦵🏼Do dry brushing to help circulate my lymphatic system to reduce toxins in my body
💦 Infrared sauna helps my body to detox and remove toxins and it also helps me sleep better and increases my energy level
😊 Practicing gratitude helps reduce stress and activates my parasympathetic nervous system

I am not perfect and don't always do these every single day. But I try to do them most days. My kids do most of these things as well. We do a lot of these as a family which makes it easier to fit in each day. But sometimes life happens. 😜

What are you working on for your health?

Much love,
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I don’t think we give food enough credit these days. We have too many options and far too many processed foods!

Chronic disease rates are ⬆️
▪️In 1930: 7.5% of people
▪️In 2000: 45% of people
▪️In 2020: 65% of people

Obesity is ⬆️
▪️In 1960: 19%
▪️In 2018: 43%

Diabetes is ⬆️
▪️In 1950: 1%
▪️In 2020: 10%

This is just a glimpse of diseases that are rapidly increasing.

So what gives? 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s primarily our food! What we eat has changed drastically in less than 100 years. Processed foods with sugar, inflammatory seed oils, and artificial everything account for a majority of the food we consume.

Our bodies were designed to eat whole, unprocessed foods from the God’s creation 🌍. And changing your diet can literally change your life!

The next time you go to the store, to the farmers market, or order food online:

✔️ Read the ingredient label - or better yet, your food doesn’t need a label 🍉🥑🥩
✔️Stick to the aisles around the outer edges of the store. The inner aisles usually contain processed foods. Or better yet, shop your local farmers market.
✔️Don’t buy processed foods, sugary foods, or foods with food coloring & artificial ingredients. If it isn’t in your home, you won’t eat it 🙌🏼

Shop the farmacy and see how you feel!

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If you know me well, you know I love the sun! ☀️ The sun is so life-giving and energizing! Most of the time when you go outside, you do not need sunscreen. In fact, if you wear sunscreen every time you go outside, you body is not getting adequate Vitamin D. And Vitamin D is important for so many body functions.

But, you plan to spend many hours outside in intense sun, you may want to use sunscreen to prevent sunburn.

Before you purchase sunscreen this spring or summer, please educate yourself on safer sunscreens. That's why I'm here to help ☺️

The main ingredients in most sunscreens are highly toxic!
❗️They absorb quickly, they are found in high levels in the blood, and stay in the body for weeks after use.
❗️Many active ingredients in chemical sunscreens can cause fertility issues, hormone and endocrine disruption, cancers, allergies, and more.

So how can you find a safer sunscreen to use when needed?
☀️ Beautycounter's sunscreen uses non-nano zinc oxide, in water resistant, and doesn't leave white residue. Its also safe ocean, river, lake, and reef safe. There are no parabens, fragrances, or chemicals. I feel good using Beautycounter sunscreen on myself and my family!
👉🏼 You can find the link in my bio to check out Beautycounter's sunscreen
☀️ You can go to EWG.org and check out their sunscreen guide or search for a specific sunscreen to see how safe or how toxic it is.

Here's to a fun, safe, and sunny summer!
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The foundations of health are what most people are missing. We need to live more like our ancestors and spend less $ on gadgets, pills, and quick fixes.

Do you want to get back to the foundations of true health + vitality?

Stay tuned for more on the foundations of health, group coaching offerings, and freebies 😀

Hang in there! Let's do this together, one step at a time.
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