Those who know me personally would agree that I’m kind of a spiritual junkie. Studying spirituality as a past time pairs perfectly with my various trainings in human nutrition, the body and world medical systems. Infact in 2009/10 when I was an instructor at CSNN Moncton I taught both the Business and Spirituality courses, thankfully with a month in-between.

In April while participating at the Moncton Wellness Expo I stumbled by the charming Aura Photo & Report table. Refreshing my memory, the last aura photo was shot in 2009 from the same gents. I wonder if I’d encountered any aura changes? So I paid $20, put my hand on a sensor pad and 5 minutes later was handed a photo and printed 28 page report. How cool is that? 

An aura looks at the present moment, unlike psychics and intuitive readers who often refer to the future and/or past (lives). The colors can and do change over time.  Aside from color, each aura has a frequency, temperature, size and many other neat properties. 

In both 2009 and 2013 reports my primary aura color was red mixed with yellow/orange. I give off a radiant vibration and have an average sized aura. Majority red personalities are: active, powerful, energetic, competitive, passionate, driven and have a noticeable presence.

The photo from 2009 has yellow around my head meaning much thought and fatique. In 2013 red around my heart means taking more action and risks. The purple colour is a sign of intuition and higher spirited insights. In comparison, I currently have a more balanced solar plexus (stomach area) or chakra #3, throat chakra #5, and third eye (intuition) #6. My weaknesses lie in an unbalanced heart chakra #4 and crown chakra (divine power) #7.  I’m also 15% more stressed in 2013, but I don’t need an aura reading to tell you that! (evil laughter)

And just for fun some of the best red occupations include: entrepreneur, actor/actress, sports professional, sales person, surgeon, CEO, dancer and model.  (yes 5 on the list!)

If you have the chance to stop by the Moncton Wellness Expo this fall I encourage you to question the unknown and get an aura photo and report!

When I first suggest to clients that they, “throw away the scale”, most look completely terrified.  Why is it that we put so much health emphasis on numbers and not good nutrition and lifestyle habits? Women (and men), confess to me daily that the number on the scale influences their entire day.  From mood to food, that magic number controls much more than just your body weight, and not always in a health building way. 

The truth is that most weight loss seekers are obsessed with over weighing. By definition that means stepping on the scale more than once a day. It’s a habit of control, dietary deprivation and often results in binge eating. You’ve been forewarned! 

Don’t tell me over weighing is the only way to stay on track. What about your clothes and how they feel? They say jeans never lie, with stretch denim being the only exception. The next time you feel as if you’re losing weight sip up those denims. Do you feel sexy? Are they smaller? Notice anything else?

Looking at yourself in the mirror is another sure way to see your weight loss success. This non-numerical practice requires you and a full length mirror. Trust me, you’ll want to look at it more and more each day that you stay dedicated to healthy living. Have you noticed that those dark circles under your eyes have vanished? Or that you’re jumping out of bed with extra energy? The ladies in the PEI Exercise and Nutrition challenge certainly have. Infact our private facebook group confirms that one of them even threw away her scales last week. Now that's music to my ears!

Weight loss seekers I encourage you to push past the numbers and onto your nutritional habits. Restricting sugar and sodium intake will preserve your health for years to come! Celebrate your successes with healthy activities and not high caloric treats. On program we eat meal to meal, not day to day like most diets. 

The majority of my clientele suffers from emotional eating and over weighing. It’s always a reason to celebrate when one of them finally throws away the scales. Dedicating our challenge theme song, Man in the Mirror, to her with much love.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-KrbNmzl8U  

Did you hear the news? I recently opened a second office location in downtown Moncton and moved my residence (cats and all)! As you know, I’ve traveled to Moncton periodically over the past 4 years on a quest to help more Canadians gain health. This extra work included speaking at various Moncton Wellness Expos, teaching Business Mastery and Spirituality at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, hosting Holistic Iridology Readings from colleague’s workspaces, and now facilitating corporate Weight Loss Challenges using the SeeResults system.

The new Moncton office location can be found above GoodLife Fitness 795 Main Street, Suite 207 in the downtown core. Aside from a private office, the space also includes a classroom for teaching groups and seminars.  Moncton service offerings include: customized weight loss programs, nutritional consultations, cleansing protocols, sports nutrition meal plans, holistic iridology, vitamin reviews, motivational speaking and wellness facilitating in the corporate sector.  I operate on Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays from this location and am taking new clients. 

Last weekend I participated in the annual Spring Wellness Expo at ecole Mathieu Martin in Deippe. This well respected event draws thousands of visitors from across the Maritimes. Aside from doing mini Iridology readings from booth #57, I also hosted a Saturday lecture titled, Food as Medicine. Thanks to packed room who took the time to listen to my inspiring, wellness building words (educating and entertaining …right ladies and gents?). 

Back by popular demand my mother, Karen Wood, sat at our booth to greet the public. She did a great job booking clients, sharing my weight loss and business success story and also baked a sweet treat to share with Expo participants.  These chickpea cookies taste a little like PB + Jelly, (but they are nut and sugar free). Also dairy and gluten free too!

Wellness Cookies

1 ¼ cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry

¼ cup raw honey

½ cup no nuts butter (pea or soy or seed) 

1 tsp GF baking powder

2 tsp GF vanilla 

1/3 cup dry cranberries (to place on top of each mini cookie)

Mash chickpeas, add honey and butter, and blend until smooth. Add gluten free baking powder and vanilla until blended.  Place 2 dried cranberries on top of each cookie.  Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Yields 20-24 cookies (which taste a lot like peanut butter cookies) 

Interested in working with me in Moncton this summer? I offer a FREE 20 minute 1st introductory session for all new clients. During this session clients complete a health intake form to discuss nutritional goals and any pre-existing medical conditions.  Then I explain more about my service offerings, prices and packages.  Email info@rachellewood.ca  or call 506-388-LOSS (5677) to book yours.  Many medical insurance plans include all services; contact me for more information about medical coverage. 

Whether you’re looking to lose weight, manage diabetes, improve bowel health, decrease cholesterol or increase your athleticism… let me help! I offer a customized approach to nutrition that includes meal plans, healthy recipes, educational articles and shopping lists. I’ll organize your family nutritional needs, share tips for shopping and preparing foods, and encourage you to make lifestyle changes to improve overall health and wellness. 

I’ve been a nutritional consultant for 10 years, and in all honesty the summer months are when clients need me the most. I will help you design a dietary game plan to face the summer with ease. Dietary accountability is a wonderful tool to build health and prevent disease.  I look forward to working with Monctonians to continue my quest of changing the way Canadians eat with SeeResults!  

It’s that time of year again! If your health is feeling, stuck in a rut, be sure to attend the Moncton Wellness Expo this weekend in Dieppe at ecole Mathieu Martin. This annual event is a huge hit within the local community and drawn attendees from across the Maritimes. The Expo includes many holistic health booths, practitioners, vendors and healthy living seminars. It’s my 5th year participating at this awesome event and I encourage everyone reading this post to attend! 

This year find Rachelle Wood Nutrition and SeeResults at booth #58 on the main floor. Back by popular demand I will be offering mini Holistic Iridology readings, 15 minutes for $20. Iridology is the study of iris patterns to determine health imbalances. It has been practiced in oriental medicine for thousands of years. After the reading, I offer valuable nutritional advice to participants which they take home to follow. Iridology is a great tool to build health with, especially when combined with nutritional counseling my primary scope of practice.  

Aside from readings, I’ve been asked to lecture a popular nutrition topic to attendees. One of my favorite parts about this 2 day event is that attendees can attend free wellness lectures. Come hear me speak Saturday at 12:45 in room B, outline below. 

Food as Medicine, Rachelle Wood, RHN, C. Irid, CEO, Charlottetown PEI 

“Learn to eat your way back to health in this 30 minute lecture with award winning Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Rachelle Wood. She’ll share nutrition tips to better manage body symptoms such as; lack of energy, food allergies, inflammation and weight gain. Eating a healthy diet full of antioxidant rich foods will keep you well for years to come. Rachelle will also share tips for adding more of these super foods into your diet. Want vibrant health? Be sure to attend this lecture!”

Also back by popular demand my mother, Karen Wood, will be working my booth. She baked a sweet healthy bean filled treat for attendees to enjoy at our booth. Stop by booth #58 to chat with her, book a mini Iridology reading or find more information about my popular in office services. 

Did you know that I recently opened a second office location in downtown Moncton? I now split time between provinces and you can find the Moncton office at 795 Main Street, Suite 207 in the downtown core where I work Saturday, Monday and Tuesday each week, 388-LOSS. 

Be sure to pick up the Friday and Saturday Times and Transcript for more information about my next Moncton group Weight Loss Challenge.  Join us Saturday April 27th 1-230pm at the office boardroom for a 6 week group challenge. Participants will receive private weigh ins with measurements, 6 group lectures, and 2 months on the SeeResults online weight loss program which virtually offers a nutritionist at your fingertips. The cost for this group is $200 +hst and insurance receipts are available. Call 388-LOSS (5677) or email info@rachellewood.ca to reserve your spot. Space is limited so call today!

 Join us this weekend at the Moncton Wellness Expo, I can’t wait to see you (pardon the pun)!

I am an advocate for clean food, meaning that I do not want to put food into my body that is full of chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, herbicides and any other form of toxic matter. A lot of people don’t realize just how harmful these pollutants that are found on our food can actually be for our health. For example, pesticides can disrupt our hormones, initiate certain cancers and cause problems with cellular growth and reproductive health. It’s pretty scary stuff.

Treating your body like a temple and filling it with clean, nutritious food will make you feel and look better. Clean food comes out in your skin (it will glow), energy levels (pollutants weigh you down), improve digestion and will boost your energy levels. To put it simply, if you eat trash then you’re going to feel like garbage.

If you want to make better choices and make your food and body cleaner and healthier, here are some simple tips to make it happen:

- Avoid processed foods! Processed food products, or simply anything from a box in which you simply add water and throw into the microwave for 3 minutes, is pumped full of salt, preservatives and sugar which have to be broken down and stored by the body. Your body will break down clean foods much more efficiently and not store them as readily in your body (aka, fat cells) then these processed ones.

- Cut back on salt. Again this ties in with the processed foods, so making your own meals at home will make it so that you are able to control the salt content of your food and make your blood pressure levels much more controllable.

- Cut back on the booze. If you think about it in a very simplistic way, the liver is the organ that detoxifies your blood, so overloading it with alcohol is going to slow down its availability to remove other harmful substances from your blood. A healthy happy liver = a healthy happy body.

- Chose whole grains. Whole grains are complete grains, which mean that they have not been broken down and torn apart into boring and unhealthy white grains. They are packed full of fibre and will keep you satisfied longer and help control your blood sugars.

- Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. These are packed with cancer-fighting antioxidants and flavour, plus are low in calories so you can eat lots without feeling any guilt. Fresh produce will help purify your system and make your body cleaner and healthier. 

- Drink lots of water. Water is important for every internal system, so making sure that you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day will help to keep your digestive system moving, help circulate the blood and other fluids, plus push out unwanted toxins.

- Go organic wherever you can when it comes to produce. There is a lot of controversy around whether or not going organic is worth the added cost for your fresh fruits and vegetables, but my rationale for spending the extra money is that I do not want my fresh produce to be full of unwanted pollutants. And I think that is a pretty good reason! 

- Wash your produce well when you get it home from the store. Even if your produce is organic, washing it will help to remove any bugs or contaminants before it ends up on your plate.

- Use lots of herbs when you cook. Herbs have so many amazing health benefits, plus they will bring so much freshness and flavour to your meals without adding any extra salt. Herbs can detoxify the blood, improve circulation, improve digestion, promote hormonal balance, inhibit disease, work as an antibacterial and provide so many more endless benefits.

- Read labels. Look at what you are eating and know what the ingredients mean. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient then don’t buy the product. The fewer the ingredients, then the better the item. Think about it. The best products out there with the best nutritious value have only 1-6 ingredients in them.

If you want to learn more about Clean Eating stop by the Moncton Wellness Expo Saturday April 20th. It’s hosted at Mathieu Martin High School in Dieppe. At 12:45 I will offer a FREE lecture titled, “Food as Medicine”, and will share even more clean eating tips! Want a complimentary pass to the Wellness Expo?  Be my guest and click this link to register.