After several weeks of screenings, assessments, and consultations, “Jesse” is ready to start designing his/her life.  The key to any successful, sustainable change is to get in touch with what is most important – this is the role of the Intrinsic Coaching™.  “Jesse” was given a journal to use to record his/her thoughts, successes and challenges, and pondering assignments throughout the program.  There is no cookie-cutter approach to this program, as each participant is unique.  “Jesse” completed a Life Balance Wheel and was asked to state which areas of life are of most importance to work on improving now; “Jesse” stated that the most important areas right now are Energy/Vitality and Health & Well-Being.  “Jesse’s” long-term goal is to change his/her lifestyle and eating and to make healthy decisions – ones that he/she feels good about rather than arguing with and second-guessing him/herself.  The following summarizes the initial findings from “Jesse’s” intake sessions; ultimately, “Jesse” will guide what is taken on first and what direction the program needs to go to make the most profound impact, so this program will be flexible and changing.

Nutrition:

• After meeting with Paul Ratte, ND, several nutrition habits were addressed.  Dr. Ratte recommended that “Jesse” read the Schwarzbein Principle (I).  “Jesse” has already been reading the book and said it’s increased his/her awareness of what he/she eats; “Jesse” even bought a copy for dear old mom.  Other recommendations given to “Jesse” include:

• Implement Rhythmic Eating – more protein for breakfast/lunch and carbohydrates for dinner.
• Take 1 Tablespoon of Carlson Cod Liver Oil with breakfast to provide the body with omega-3 fatty acids, which helps reduce inflammation in the body and improve the fatty acid ratio in the blood.
• Reduce calorie consumption in the evening.
• Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables

Based on “Jesse’s” program application and consultation with Dr. Ratte, Rosie Ward suggested that “Jesse” consider focusing on what it feels like to be satisfied after eating a meal versus full as well as paying attention to portion sizes.  Rosie also suggested donating canned vegetables to a food shelf and purchasing frozen vegetables instead.  The major barrier for “Jesse” is how he/she talks to him/herself and the impact that has on choices, so Rosie challenged “Jesse” with an exercise called The Power of Choice. 

The Power of Self-Talk:

Since one of “Jesse’s” challenges is negative self-talk and can be limited by how he/she views situations, Rosie gave “Jesse” a simple diagram called “The Power of Choice”.  The premise of this is to realize that at any given moment in time, we are at a crossroads where we can travel down a path of being a learner or a judger.  The learner looks at challenges and asks “What can I learn from this?  What is my role? Etc., whereas the judger looks to blame someone else and passes unconscious judgments on others as well as him or herself.  “Jesse” is to start being more aware of how often he/she is on the judger path.  Once the awareness is there, “Jesse” can choose to switch the questions in his/her head to move to the learner path – one that’s more empowering and helps to move forward rather then being stuck in a pit.  This exercise and increased awareness is the key to opening up a space for “Jesse” to move forward and make healthier, empowering decisions, so this is the starting point of “Jesse’s” program.

Exercise:

“Jesse” recognizes that exercise is important but it isn’t a priority right now.  For now, Rosie challenged “Jesse” to be more aware of how much he/she really moves or doesn’t move throughout the day and to try being more mindful of getting around more (including wearing a pedometer).  A specific program will be addressed at a later date. 

Spirituality:

“Jesse” indicated that spirituality and being spiritually connected is something that has been missing from his/her life.  When asked to describe what being spiritually connected looks like, “Jesse” described it as shining from within, radiance, and happiness.  To start to move forward in this area of life, “Jesse” is listening to a spiritual book on tape.