In Michael Pollan’s great little book, Food Rules, he lays out a diet paradigm that any Functional Medicine practitioner or wellness coach would heartily endorse…

Eat food. 
Mostly plants.
Not too much.

With these six words, he encapsulates so much of what we know about the benefits of eating a healthy diet. Today we want to focus on the middle two words, “mostly plants”, and share some incredible insights on the topic by our dear friend and colleague Dr. Mark Hyman.

“We all know that veggies are good for us, and most of us know we ought to eat more of them than we do. Vegetables are the ultimate low-calorie, high-nutrient foods. They are filled with antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that we need to optimize our health. Moreover, they provide a myriad of health benefits like:

• Improving gut health. Veggies are a great source of dietary fiber, which helps food pass through your gut easier and may also improve the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.
• Lowering blood pres...

We all want strategies of how to keep our hunger at bay, maximize our metabolism and to be fully satisfied in the process. And thankfully it doesn't mean maintaining willpower of steel or depriving yourself. With these seven strategies from Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin, you have everything you need to get the results you desire.

“Manufacturers have conditioned us to believe that even the slightest degree of hunger means we should run to eat something. As a result, we habitually reach for something at the slightest whim—usually a high sugar impact snack.

It isn’t just big food corporations that are promoting that graze-all-day mentality. Some people in the nutrition and fitness world still promote this myth that we should be grazing from the moment we wake up till when we doze off.

Trust me, you shouldn't be. If you eat a meal and feel the need to snack a few hours later, I encourage you to look carefully at what you’re eating. When you’re eating a good balance of protein, ...

We’ve been obsessed over the past years to learn everything we can about the science of behavior change. From all our work with the Daniel Plan and in the Corporate arena, it’s been a central focus. Why? We want to soak up the wisdom, and then impart those life-giving learnings with YOU!

Bottom line, when we find important keys to lasting change it’s a treasure to be able to share those…

...in fact it’s one of our greatest joys!

So this week we wanted to feature an excerpt from the bestselling book Atomic Habits by James Clear, as it is one of the best texts on how to transform our lives one simple step at a time. It’s been transformative for us and we know it can be for you as well.

"We all want to become better people — stronger and healthier, more creative and more skilled, a better friend or family member.

But even if we get really inspired and start doing things better, it's tough to actually stick to new behaviors. It's more likely that this time next year you'll be doing ...

Hi my name is Sean….
and I am a recovering Health & Wellness Professional!

Let me explain.

For years I have been teaching individuals how to improve their personal fitness, health and wellbeing and all the while I was suffering from a sickness I really didn’t know I had.

Exhausted, on my knees….I was done.
Have you ever been there?

You see, over the last 30 years as a health & fitness author and coach I’ve spent the majority of my professional career training others to strengthen and improve their physical fitness, health and lives.

It was on this day it hit me, I saw aspects of my own life, beginning to unravel.

I was suffering from a condition I really didn’t know I had.

I had been reading a book titled “Margin”-Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives written by Richard Swenson MD. As I was perusing the pages I kept finding nuggets of information I thought would be helpful for many of my clients who were struggling with balancing thei...

In his book, Finding the Life You’ve Always Wanted, best-selling author John Ortberg uses a sports metaphor to explain a tried and true method to maximizing your motivation.

He says, “Suppose you woke up tomorrow morning and decided to run a marathon. You put on some running shoes, don the right apparel, and head out the door to begin your 26.2 mile run. Could you do it? What if you tried hard? Really, really hard? If you gave it the ole’ 110%? The obvious answer is, for most of us would be no, of course not.”  

“Too often, we “try to do better” in an area of life. The problem is that trying won’t get us any closer to our goals. Only training will do that.”

No matter how hard we try, most of us couldn’t simply head out the door and run 26.2 miles. If we want to run a marathon, we’re going to have to train for it. Effort alone just won’t cut it.

But what if you woke up each morning and trained to run a marathon by following an exercise program, a running schedule, and a recovery...

We thought it would be encouraging to check-in with our RISE Expert Faculty, Dr. Mark Hyman and glean a few of his favorite ways to strengthen and fortify your health for the journey ahead. Here are a few recommendations he prioritizes to support your immunity and energize your life…

1. A whole-foods, nutrient-dense diet.
Our immune system relies on nutrient-dense whole foods to function well. Vegetables are the foundation of a nourishing diet, and they provide so many immune-supporting nutrients like vitamin C (red bell peppers, broccoli, and spinach) and carotenoids (carrots, sweet potatoes, and kale). Aim for two servings of fruits and eight or more servings of vegetables a day! (A serving is half a cup.)

Berries, pasture-raised meats, and nuts and seeds are also nutritional powerhouses that will hold up great in the freezer, so you can stay stocked without going out.

2. Cut out sugars and refined starches.
There has never been a better time for a sugar and junk food detox. I pract...