Lilly Padilla-Health Coach-Cancer Survivor

Happy Work-it-out-Wednesday!

Hope you all had a very HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

Today we have the pleasure of meeting Holistic Health Coach and cancer survivor,

Lilly Padilla, a graduate of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition,

the school I’m currently attending.

Q.  Lilly, please share your journey with health & nutrition.

A: Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I started my journey with holistic nutrition.

Curiosity and understanding of what happened to my health, why my body was sick,

and how to bring myself into balance were reason to educate myself about nutrition.

I stopped working and dedicated my time to learn from the pioneers in holistic nutrition. I read everywhere, in bed when I was weak, at the hospital while getting chemo, at home all day long.I read hundreds of books, and became passionate about health, nutrition and whole natural foods cooking.

I fell in love with Holistic Nutrition and decided to change my career.

At the time, I was a graphic designer until I began formal training to become a

Certified Health Coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City.

Q.  What does a Health Coach do?

A.  A health coach discusses ways to improve eating habits, reduce stress, increase rest,

and focuses on improving the overall quality of life working with the client

to create a plan that fills the unique needs and lifestyle of the client.

The Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s mission is to play role in improving health and happiness

and throughout that process, creates a ripple effect that transforms the world.

And that is our primary mission as well, working with clients to help them create happy,

healthy lives in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline.

This article from Fox News discusses the work of Health Coaches in America.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/12/13/do-need-health-coach/

Q.  What role does sugar play in overall health? Salt?

A.  As a cancer survivor and a health coach I can tell you that anything in excess

will unbalance the chemistry of our body, which will create disease.

We are pure chemistry in balance, preserving that balance is crucial for our health.

Sugar and salt are two major ingredients overused in commercial foods and processed foods, which makes them rich in flavor and in a way addictive. It is imperative for people’s health to read labels, especially the amount of sugar and salt they are consuming.

I use only sea salt in small amounts. Instead of white, refine sugar I use natural sweeteners like green stevia, and sometimes I eat delicious healthy desserts and fruits that provide me with energy, fiber and nutrition!

I practice a 90-10 diet. Meaning 90% of the time I eat well and 10% I give myself permission to eat out of my diet, I’m flexible and love trying new foods. And that works for me, it helped me to deconstruct cravings.

Q. What are your thoughts about following a primarily plant based diet?

A:  Protein to me is probably the most controversial issue in nutrition.  There are many theories and books that talk about a vegetarian diet.

Listening to my clients with a beginners mind has been helpful. I prefer to assess their needs, and help them step by step to find what really works for them. One person’s food can be another person poison.

Generally vegetarians live longer than meat eaters and have less risk of food poisoning. There is also the environmental aspect. The cost of raising cattle is very expensive for our planet, methanol gas from cows is a big problem in global warming, and for the sustainability of the rain forest, which is in decay.

When a person doesn’t eat animal food, I recommend ways to get protein from whole grains like quinoa, amaranth and a variety of beans. Beans need to be cooked with spices and oils to assimilate them better,eating small amounts of beans at a time and chewing well help in the digestion of beans.

Soybeans are the most difficult to digest, which is why fermenting soy like tofu, tempeh help the digestion of soy beans.

Some people find that eating small amounts of fish and lots of whole grains

help them to obtain the right amount of protein needed to be healthy and balanced.

I’ve tried and studied many different diets and discovered, at different stages of my life,

my diet needed to be changed in order to find balance. The most important thing was to learn to listen to my body signals and find a supportive environment to cope with changes.

—Lilly is a Certified Health Coach and 9 year ovarian cancer survivor who changed her life with a holistic approach to health. Lilly studied with ground-breaking pioneers in field of nutrition at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is accredited by Columbia University’s Teacher’s College and by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Lilly offers individual health and nutrition coaching, leads workshops on nutrition, and whole natural foods cooking,

http://www.lilly-padilla.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/