Year of Giving

Blog post by Stephanie, a Kindness Investor from Mt. Laurel, NJ.

I created an intention this morning ~ Today, I honor healthy living and well being!

I met Beth at Starbucks and we chatted over coffee.  She is a mother of four and a breast cancer survivor with a great faith and zest for healthy living.  She knew over 12 years ago she was fighting for her life against the aggressive form of cancer. With the support of her loving husband and the desire to raise her children (ages 5 to 13 at the time), she began “feeding” herself all kinds of fruits, vegetables and healthy foods while surrounding herself with positive people.  She was receiving great support through letters from other cancer survivors who openly shared their stories of what they did to win the battle.  Beth also focused on prayer and asked God to help her with the fight. The cancer itself became a catalyst in itself to live a healthier lifestyle.

With the power of veggies she was not only able to rebuild her immune system but also created a path for her family to become healthy as well.  though Beth went through chemo, radiation and surgery, she truly believes God taught her how to be healthy and in doing so led her to  become educated about whole foods.  She learned a great deal from Christine Pirello, a local food expert and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Beth is now better known as a health coach and instructs others to eat healthy.  She works with children, teens and adults while also running her own website!  Beth believes you don’t change anyone by telling them to change; rather you give them reasons to want to change. For her, the reason to create change in her own life came from the fight to beat cancer and she now uses that passion to help others change.

I would highly recommend Beth as a health coach.  I appreciate her openness to share her knowledge. Healthy eating for her is less about a diet, and more about creating a lifestyle of choices that are easy to implement.  She says it’s easy steps that make the difference. People, she feels, should simply cook for leftovers,  create their own healthy snack packs (especially for kids) and eat more foods that grow.

I had considered myself a “healthy eater” but Beth shared a great tip for me.  I tend to like “soft” foods: yogurt, avocado, humus, etc.  I honestly I don’t love food and therefore don’t spend much time cooking, preparing or eating.   Beth shared the value of simply taking more time to chew the food I’m eating because it allows the body to release more enzymes to aid in digestion.  Speaking with Beth helped to highlight that I always seem to be eating on the go, even when I am eating healthier foods. I have a new attitude towards healthy living thanks to Beth and now value the time it takes to eat properly.

Much in the way Beth passes along great advice, she is going to give the $10 to someone else.