Wellness Interview, Pt. 2

Part 2 Interview with Meredith Rhodes Carson (Part 1)

Can you explain more about the “why” we’re asking ourselves in that last statement? Why what? Why are we ill? Or why do we want to lose 30 pounds?

Sure – we ask ourselves ‘Why?’ to get to the root of our health concern, to sharpen our focus, and to strengthen our motivation.

Consider this, Person A has a goal of weight loss because they think that they are overweight. Person A is very likely going to start restricting calories and exercising a lot to lose weight. Person A may indeed lose weight – that was the goal. But Person A may now find that the diet and exercise regimen that got them there was unsustainable – and the weight will begin to creep back up, they are right back where they started.

Person B weighs the same as Person A, but has a goal of getting healthy – maybe measured by being able to come off of prescription medications. Person B learns a bit about ‘why’ they are on those prescription medications, and about what lifestyle changes that they can make to address their health challenge. They slowly shift their diet and lifestyle to begin the process of gaining health bit by bit every day. Person B checks in with the doc to evaluate their need for those medications and is happy to see some weight came off… huh, Person B wasn’t even trying for that. Bonus.

Bottom line is, there is a ‘Why’ behind Person A’s want to lose weight. It could be because she wants to feel more energetic, or because she wants to cultivate a good body image. These goals are very different from ‘lose weight’ – and there is different work to be done to achieve them. By addressing the ‘why’ behind her desire to lose weight – she may end up in a healthier place.

Is there something in the Thrive workshops for someone who is generally healthy, but is looking for that next level of health and balance?

The Thrive Workshop is for anyone who is ready to see their health from a new perspective. Your health is the cumulative result of your life up to this point (and the lives of your ancestors before you for that matter). We all have room to tweak our outcome, the Thrive Workshop will help you to determine what knobs might be nice to tweak so that you can enjoy your good health for years to come.

Is this a workshop that could work for people in chronic pain?

I have a zillion ideas that run through my head when I hear the words ‘chronic pain’, but fundamentally, chronic pain requires inflammation. My personal approach has been to decrease inflammation in my body in order to allow it to heal. I would be happy to consult with anyone with chronic pain to better understand how I might be able to support them.

To find out more about Meredith Rhodes Carson, please visit her website at http://forwardhealthcoach.com/ or to register for the workshop go to our schedule page.

If you are interested in ongoing Thrive coaching sessions, Meredith is going to lead a twice monthly coaching program at Jules Pilates on Wednesdays beginning March 5 th, 5:15 to 6:45 pm. You can register through Meredith’s website http://forwardhealthcoach.com/.