Greetings all, Rebekah here. I've recently had the pleasure of mentoring a student from the Applied Nutrition Science Program from Elevated Learning Academy here in Calgary, AB. I'm pleased to introduce you to Lorraine Meisner with her company Circles of Nature Wellness Consulting. Please read her feature below where she talks a little about her health journey and some nutrients important for the aging female.
I will admit, it has taken a fair amount of time to get to where I am right now! I’ve tried many paths looking for my “medicine”, the medicine that I have been called to share with others.
I’m certainly not done looking and learning but for right now, this is what I have to share… buckle up ;)
As I am writing this, it’s my birthday today and yes folks, I am in my 6th decade! I don’t know about you but I sure plan on being what I like to call a “Wisdom Women” and have people thinking - Oh dear, what is she up to now!!!
The older I get, the more I realize that I am intent on doing everything I can to have my health span match my lifespan! Granted this journey started over 20 years ago when I was halfway through my career as a police dispatcher…I am a recovering emergency services dispatcher (and I have the twitch to prove it ;).
When I left that profession it was with a sleep disorder, gut issues and I suspect a little bit of PTSD. Shortly after I left I was diagnosed with breast cancer, so where does a girl go from there?
I had already started, what I thought at the time, a path to better nutrition. I know now that I was off the mark but I was doing the best I could with what I knew.
Unfortunately, the media and marketing has us so confused about what we should or shouldn’t eat. Diet culture would have us believe if we choose this diet over that diet we can look like Bo Derek (there, I really dated myself) and let's face it, for most people, dieting doesn’t work.
Now there’s a whole lot of story between then and now. I became a Life Coach, an Equine Assisted Life Coach, a Nature & Shamanic Coach, and in less than a week, I will be starting my journey as a Personal Fitness Trainer.
When COVID changed our world, I took this as a sign to challenge myself and do a few things that, well, I wasn’t sure I had the confidence to do.
I’m a hiker, but I don’t always push myself to do bigger hikes. There was a certain hike in Jasper Nat’l park that I never quite made it to the top of, this year was going to be the year I did… yup, I did it, but I had some training to do before that was going to happen.
This was also the year I was going to do something about actually learning about nutrition. And I specifically wanted to know what I needed as a woman, heading into my wisdom years. And how I could help more women that still want to kick some hiney!
First and foremost, we need to eat a balanced diet. To heck with the weighing of food, and denying ourselves carbohydrates and fats! If you want energy to do the things we want to do, we absolutely need those carbs and “healthy fats”.
We do need to pay some attention to the sources of those; for carbs, it’s the whole grains, breads, pasta’s & rices. Whole fruits and vegetables also put that all important fibre into our diets.
Numerous studies show that refined carbohydrate consumption is associated with health problems like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Healthy fats, olive & avocado oils, whole avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish (I love salmon & trout).
And let’s not forget about protein! Very important, as we age, good clean sources of protein are what’s going to keep our muscles, and our immune system in good working condition.
There are other things, as wisdom women, we need to know about too, calcium, B12, D3, magnesium…but I’ll save that for another day.
The old adage “we are what we eat” is very true, but don’t forget to have fun. Food and eating is a pleasure we don’t need to deny ourselves. With a little bit of guidance and knowledge, we can heed that call of our nature and be healthy & ALIVE!
This is what 60 does!
Wisdom women, let’s kick some bootie!
Lorraine Meisner
Circles of Nature Wellness Consulting
Instagram: Circles Of Nature and Women Of The Forest Tribe