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Continuing our series on interviews, today we present to you our interview with Rachel Clark. Rachel Clark is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor and practices in the New York City under the business name RenewForANewYou. She is trained in both eastern and western nutrition and various diet theories. We are proud to also let you know that Rachel has been a very active Boomer411 trustee, (by the user name RenewForANewYou) recommending great resources/articles on Boomer411.com that you have come to rely on. So we want to take this opportunity to present to you our interview with Rachel, so that you can get to know her better…

Boomer411: What is a Health counselor?

RC: As a Health Counselor, I am your personal advocate for living an energized and passionate life. Whatever your concerns are, my job is to help you find which food and lifestyle choices will work best for you and the life you desire. WHEN DIET CHANGES, EVERYTHING CHANGES.

A true holistic approach to life incorporates things that nourish you other than food, including honest and open relationships, a meaningful spiritual practice, a career that inspires you, and physical activity that you enjoy. I work with clients to help them find long lasting balance in both diet and lifestyle.

Boomer411: Why diets don’t work, but Health Counseling does?

RC: Our culture touts diet pills, celebrity workouts, convenience foods, and trendy diets to help us achieve our desired weight, but these quick fix solutions have backfired. America’s populace has reached its highest weight in history. About half of Americans are overweight; one third obese. Diets steer us away from our common sense and dip deeply into our pocketbooks while eliciting few, if any, lasting results. Diets don’t work because each person is unique, with different needs based on gender, age, ancestry and lifestyle; how could one diet be right for everyone?

Health counseling programs are designed to radically improve your life, resolve concerns specific to you and your body, help you look and feel younger, and to provide you with tools for a lifetime of balance and wellness. With the help of a Health Counselor, you can feed yourself wisely, purposefully and be completely nourished. Working with your body rather than against it will bring about increased energy, stabilized weight and sustainable health.

Boomer411: Why should I invest in my health during these tough economic times?

RC: We are being bombarded every day with stress and worry wondering what will happen to our futures, our money, and our investments. Constant stress will cause physical and emotional deterioration. Start to take personal control today. During times like these, the most important thing you can choose to invest in is you. You have control over one thing. What you do, and what you eat. Your health and wellness is the one thing you CAN CONTROL. Get ready-to-use, day-to-day guidance on how to eat and live better in these turbulent times.

Boomer411: How can I control my snacking and cravings?

RC: The important thing is to understand why you crave what you crave; to deconstruct your craving. Perhaps your diet is too restrictive or devoid of essential nutrients. Perhaps you are living a lifestyle that is too boring or stressful. Your body tries to correct the imbalance by sending you a message: a craving. A craving for something sweet could mean you need more protein, more exercise, more water, or more love in your life. The key to stopping the sugar craving is to understand and deliver what your body really needs.

Foods like refined sugar and processed foods can throw your body off balance and leave you with strong cravings. A diet rich in whole foods will help your body remain in balance and provide you with a healthier and happier life.

Boomer411: How can one slow down the aging process?

RC: What you put in your body, can not only help to maintain a healthy weight, but can slow down the aging process and even reverse the damage that has already been done. Nutrition is the real fountain of youth. The general guidelines for looking and feeling younger include keeping your calorie intake down, limiting the number of saturated fats you eat, eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean protein (especially fish) and lowering your salt and sugar intake. Make sure to include some anti-aging super foods like beans, berries, nuts and whole grains.

Boomer411: Why should I eat organic?

RC: When we eat, food goes into our mouth, into our stomach and as it gets digested, our blood absorbs it; and our blood is what creates our cells, our tissues, our organs and some even believe OUR THOUGHTS. So what you eat can not only affect how you feel physically; but it can also affect your thoughts, behavior and even feelings. Originally, all food was organic; grown and prepared without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, or irradiation. Much of our food today, be it meat or vegetable is not only grown in nutrient deficient soil, therefore providing us less nutrients, but also contains many pollutants, farming chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Buying organic meat, dairy, fruits and veggies assures you that you are keeping chemicals off your plate, giving your body more nourishment, saving energy, supporting local farmers and eating more ethically.

Boomer411: Are there simple ways for me to control my portion sizes?

RC: We are a society being weighed down (literally) by the bigger is better motto. Bigger portions mean we typically eat 30-50% more than we would have with smaller portions, hungry or not. In the last 2 decades, portion size has dramatically increased. Here are a few suggestions to help you start downsizing today.

• At the beginning of a meal out, ask for a to-go box and pack up half your meal for lunch tomorrow. Not only will you save yourself from being super full tonight, but also you’ll be really happy not having to think about what is for lunch tomorrow.
• I am a big fan of the cook once; eat 2-3 times idea, just not all in one sitting. When eating in and cooking extra, be sure to dole out 1 or 2 extra portions into Tupperware and put them in the fridge before you even sit to eat. You may not be so inclined to reach for a second serving then.
• Try not to snack straight from the container or package and certainly not standing over the kitchen sink. Putting a snack portion into a small bowl or on a plate will help you eat less; taking the time to sit and eat helps the body register that it is being fed and avoids mindless eating.
• Want to know just how out of proportion your portion sizes are? Measure out a serving of pasta or rice, typically a ½ cup cooked, or look at the size of your lean protein at dinner tonight, which should be the size of a deck of cards. What size do you see? Start to look at labels to get a better idea of what exactly a portion size should look like.

And remember, when it comes to food and size of our backsides, bigger is not always better.

To learn more about Rachel…

Visit her website packed with lots of good information

         OR

Find her on FaceBook

You can also check her recent webcast interview by New York Mother

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