moms Archives - Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Nov 30 2018

Honoring traditions without harming ourselves

As if modern life wasn’t busy enough, there are certain times of year when many of us just take on too much. Holidays and celebrations which should be joyous can become overwhelming when we forget to apply the principles and practices that keep us healthy all year long.

For most of us, making family memories and honoring ancestral traditions is an important part of special days of the year. The intense pressure we put on ourselves can leave us feeling like failures if we cannot do everything we’ve planned, or completely unwell for overextending ourselves to the point of exhaustion and sickness.

In today’s video message, I address the notion of honoring family traditions and trying to do it all. If any of this message resonates with you, you can begin to explore all the ways of handling extra emotional charge this season.

As always, let me know if I can help. Now, watch this:

[Editorial note: I accidentally blended the phrases “east coast” and “western hemisphere” in this video.]

Much love,

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!

May 28 2018

What to do when you stumble (includes activation exercise & free printable)

Change takes time. But, you already knew that.

Or maybe you forgot. Because when the pain of a situation is great, it’s normal to become impatient for change. When we’re desperately wanting results, it can be really, really hard to wait it out.

Look back to a time in your life to see what I mean:

Exercise:

When was the last time you made a pretty big change? Think back to a time when you either changed your diet, did a detox, made a career change, experienced major weight loss, started an exercise program, made a relationship change, or anything else that comes to mind.

Think for a moment about where you were at (physically and/or emotionally) when you first started and why making that change was so important at the time.

Now, try to remember when you first started noticing results. Remember any other times when you noticed change, growth, or saw visible results in whatever you were doing.

How long did it take to notice that first subtle shift? Days, weeks, months? How about the next time?

How long did it take for you to believe — really believe – change might actually be coming?

Did you consider quitting any time along the way?

While some transformations are immediate (just ask my EFT tapping clients), others can take quite a while. To make matters worse, some things even get worse before they get better.

When making big change, a natural reaction is impatience. When results are slow to appear, we can lose faith that anything is happening at all. For many people, there’s a point when they simply decide to give up.

When reaching that level of frustration, especially if quitting is imminent, I recommend the following:

Being kind to ourselves, since change truly isn’t easy. I’ve written about how to treat yourself like a good friend. At times like those, self-love and care is essential.
Remembering that growth isn’t always pretty at first, but that it’s beautiful and worth it at the end.
Having a reality check, by looking back to exactly where we started, and noticing how far we’ve come in a short period of time.

When clients tell me they’re struggling, I remind them of those 3 things and then we celebrate! Struggling is a signal of budding growth. Discomfort often precedes a major breakthrough.

Struggling is a signal of budding growth. Discomfort often precedes a major breakthrough.

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If you stumble, bring yourself back to where you started from. It’s amazing how quickly this little reminder can be an an incentive to keep on going.

I designed this poster to be that reminder for you, too:

See and/or print it here

It says, “When I stumble, let me always remember where I started from”.

Keep moving forward,

May 03 2018

Beautiful things (includes activation exercise & printable poster)

I’m in the midst of decluttering our home (again), so I’ve been donating boxloads to local thrift stores, and bagsful to lovely people in my community who distribute items to those in need. Though I declutter all year long, I tend to do it more when ultra-busy or stressed. Which describes this entire year so far. Which explains why my family can’t fit in my car right now.

Perhaps you find it counterproductive to take time away from really important things to spend time cleaning and organizing. I don’t. Since clutter is so distracting and stressful for me, spending time getting rid of it actually frees up space in my heart and head. I can focus much more clearly on other things once all the extra stuff is gone. Just like I can’t work at a messy desk, I can’t function in a cluttered environment, either.

Too much “stuff”actually works against me. You might say (as I do), clutter just drives me nuts.

This isn’t just me. Walk by any book store or search for minimalist bloggers. Many are now recognizing the benefits of having less. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend spending a few hours in the nearest closet or junk drawer.

Great benefits come from having less. I highly recommend an hour in a closet or junk drawer.

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People have their own rules about decluttering. Mine include asking my children before giving anything away, asking myself whether anyone has used it in the last 2 years, and trying to predict if I might feel compelled to replace it after I give it away.

But the most important question I ask myself is this one:

Does it bring me joy?

Whether I’m thinking of acquiring something new or getting rid of something old, the joy question is usually the deciding factor. Because if it doesn’t bring joy, nothing else really matters. Joy is the only reason I’d ever want to move something, clean something, find a home for something, or otherwise keep track of something I own. When I boil it down, joy is pretty much the only reason I ever want to spend money, either.

To me, the joy question undercuts everything else. No joy means less value. Less value means weighing how much inconvenience it causes to me or someone in my home. Or how much inconvenience I’m willing to put up with, if there’s a least some amount of joy in having the item to begin with.

What each one of us finds beautiful is different. But, how beauty affects us is the same. Gazing on something beautiful creates positive emotions, and with time, positive associations. Otherwise, in my mind, it’s just clutter. Practical, necessary clutter, maybe. But without beauty, since clutter has the potential for adverse effect, weighing that is crucial before bringing it into our lives.

Keep in mind, other beings can be beautiful, too. Unless they’re not. Now there’s something big to think about.

Exercise:

Identify 3-5 objects or beings in your home environment. These can be items on a kitchen counter, small artifacts displayed on shelves, or any items found in drawers or closets. These can also be people or other beings you associate with on a regular basis.

One at a time, think how it makes you feel.

Is it beautiful? By what definition?

Does it have a purpose (what is it)? Is its purpose honorable or meaningful in a way that justifies it being in your home?

Does it make you think of something? Is that something pleasant?

How would you feel if it were no longer there?

Use these results to aid in decluttering. If decluttering isn’t possible at this time, use the results to limit contact with certain objects or beings that don’t bring joy.

Still struggling with the concept of reducing clutter and surrounding yourself with beauty? Grab my PRINTABLE REMINDER to aid in the process of eliminating that which doesn’t serve your highest self:

I surround myself with beautiful things

Standing with you as you move toward greater beauty,

Nov 16 2017

What’s your adrenal story? Are you lazy? Are you crazy?

I am not a medical doctor. Use this information at your own risk.

I’ve been writing about my journey to adrenal health (starting here), sharing my research, and explaining what has worked for me and countless sufferers I’ve met over the years. In the previous article, I recommended adding nutriceuticals to your diet. In upcoming articles, I’ll share even more tips for achieving adrenal balance.

Today’s topic is about looking back on your adrenal journey. This exercise is important since it identifies behaviors leading to adrenal imbalance in the first place. Looking to the past is crucial in avoiding the same kinds of problems in the future.

I’ll use myself as an example. Bear with me as I describe how long this took me to finally figure out.

Back to My Story

The first time I experienced adrenal fatigue, I was married and in my early 30’s, juggling a challenging job with a stressful daily commute, and trying to deal with several difficult people who just wouldn’t go away. I didn’t know what it was then, but I see clearly in the rear view mirror. I was skipping meals and skipping sleep. Most days, I was even skipping going to the bathroom. I wasn’t taking proper care of myself.

The second time I had adrenal issues, I was chasing around a toddler and expecting another child, trying to maintain a successful career, and still be the kind of wife and mother I thought I should be. Also, those stressful people were still making me miserable — I hadn’t learned how to disconnect from others who stole my happiness. Again, I didn’t know what was going on. But, looking back, I see the stress I put on my adrenal glands (and, frankly, other parts of my body too).

In those early cases, I tried different things and eventually felt a little better. But I didn’t have a comprehensive plan for healing (articles like these weren’t available). Worse, I went back to the same habits after every crisis.

Which explains why it happened a third time after delivering a third child and enduring a houseful of foreign guests a few weeks later. I was beginning to understand myself at that point, so I knew some of the things that sent me over the edge (overscheduling myself, too high expectations, energy vampires, and house guests). Though I finally started disconnecting from people who caused me stress, I remained stubborn about the other life changes I really needed to make.

By the fourth time my adrenals went out, I studied about hormones and the human body and learned everything about natural healing I could get my hands on. Feeling the worst I’d ever felt in my life, I was desperate for answers. With no other choice, I finally put all the pieces together, and healed myself for good.

Examining past behaviors can prevent the same crisis from happening in the future #adrenal fatigue…

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What’s Your Story?

The reason I told you my history was so you would understand how these things can go. It isn’t mysterious, but a clear pattern of not listening to the body as it gradually falls apart.

As you can see, I wasn’t lazy and I wasn’t crazy — what happened to me was real (and perfectly understandable). No amount of being told I needed exercise or a trip to the psychiatrist would’ve helped. In fact, those things only added guilt and frustration to a struggle that was already hard enough to figure out.

Maybe your story is like mine, or maybe it’s quite a bit different. Your body might be like mine, but probably it’s a little different, too. I could tell you what I did each time my adrenals broke down, but could never guarantee the same results. It’s like that list of stressors I wrote about. I felt better after eliminating certain stressors of mine, but there are likely others that really bother you.

What’s important, then, is to review your own life story. What kinds of things set you over the edge? What are your exact symptoms? When do you notice your adrenal fatigue is at its worst (morning, late at night, after a meal)? Do you notice anything different when you eat/don’t eat certain foods? Keeping a journal for a few weeks can be really helpful when answering these questions. If you’ve got recent labs or blood work, tuck those in your journal, too.

You’e not lazy or crazy. Here’s what to do. #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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Stick with me as we conclude this series in the next few articles (SUBSCRIBE on my home page if you like). If you start doing the things I’m suggesting, I think you’ll notice improvements very soon.

Nov 10 2017

Targeted Supplements for Adrenal Health

I am not a medical doctor. Use this information at your own risk. This article may contain affiliate links.

I’ve been writing about my journey with adrenal fatigue (starting here), sharing some of my research, and explaining what has worked for me and others I’ve encountered over the years. In my previous article, I told you what I eat. In this article, I’ll tell you the other things I eat.

But, first, this.

Can You Heal Yourself?

My goal in writing this series was to to give you enough information to help yourself. Many people heal from dis-ease and illness on their own, so it’s possible to DIY the rebalancing of adrenal hormones, too.

On the other hand, what I’m sharing about today is confusing and more complicated than previous topics. If performed incorrectly, there’s the potential of disrupting health in other ways; frankly, it can even be dangerous. In light of the seriousness of this topic, it’s a good idea to hire a health partner for this part of your healing. If you do, I recommend finding a natural, alternative, functional, integrative or holistic health practitioner to get this step right (that’s important, since traditional doctors are usually unable to help).

Taking Vitamins and Supplements

By now, most people know it’s impossible to get the nutrients our bodies need from food alone. At least, not from the foods readily available in this country, and certainly not in the quantities it would take for optimal health. It’s why so many Americans are chronically ill, why there’s a huge market for miracle products, and why advertisers are successful pushing systems to [allegedly] solve all manner of health issues.

I am of the opinion that every American would probably benefit by supplementing what they eat with “nutriceuticals” (the term used to describe vitamins, minerals, and other formulas designed to create health). But, instead of going with the latest all-in-one product or formulation, I think people should take a very exact approach.

To me, nutritional supplementation is like chemistry — it requires accuracy and precision, not just the dumping of substances into a container and waiting for a reaction. That’s my approach — full disclosure. I’m not big on multi-vitamins, unless someone needs exactly what is in the formulation, in exactly those doses.

Supplementation is like chemistry. It requires accuracy & precision #adrenalfatigue…

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Adrenal Support

Turns out, when the adrenals are imbalanced, nutritional supplementation is very important. Since the adrenals produce many hormones that perform many jobs, in addition to hormones themselves, other things can go out of balance, too. So, this is where the nutriceuticals come in, and where it becomes confusing trying to figure out which exact formulas will solve the imbalance.

Not everyone understands how vitamins and supplements work. I know I didn’t at first. What happens is that some substances work together, while others interfere with each other in a way. Still others require their own support in order to even be effective. It’s a puzzle for sure, but a puzzle that someone with the right training can figure out quickly and easily.

When adrenals are imbalanced supplementation is really important. #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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I personally take many things when my adrenals are run down. I also take other things every single day of the year. Something I learned over the years is to tune in to all the areas of my body, not just the ones I think require support, and help them each individually. What that looks like, at least for me, is continually checking in, monitoring, tweaking, and changing the supplements I take throughout my life.

People want specifics, so I’ll share examples that work for me (but may not be appropriate for you): Though I eat well, I consume extra iodine. Even though I live in Florida, I watch my level of vitamin D3. For adrenal support, I add this magnesium powder into my green drinks. I use Holy Basil when stressed or very busy, enjoying this particular tea on a regular basis.

Those are just examples of products that work for me. I could tell you everything else I take, but I can’t tell you what your body requires. I wish I could give you a list, but because I care about you, I want you to get this part exactly right.

What I Recommend

What I recommend for supplementation is one of two things. Either A) do some testing on yourself (either muscle test, carefully experiment, get your own lab work, or all of the above) and do extensive research to learn what you need; or B) hire a professional.

If it’s your desire to study this field and take the DIY approach, do it. Though I warn you — it’s a part-time job! Or, if it’s within your budget to hire a practitioner, I highly recommend doing that instead.

In the next article, I’ll share additional techniques that may help re-balance adrenal hormones. You’re invited to SUBSCRIBE using the button on my home page, and the article will be delivered to your Inbox when it’s ready.

Hope to see you in the next article,