Primary Food

March 2022

What do I mean by “primary food?” Spoiler alert: I don’t mean the food you eat every day! Primary food is all the areas of your life that ALSO give you nourishment. Look at the Circle of Life in the photo and think for a minute about how you feel in each section of the circle.

Are you feeling amazing with career and finances but stagnant in your relationships? Have you cultivated a spiritual life or are you spending most of your time on fitness? Where do you feel like some changes could be made?

Primary food is so important because when there is an imbalance here, it is very difficult to have the energy and focus to start and maintain a nutrition and fitness plan (or any goal or change). If we are constantly putting out fires in one or more of the primary food areas, it is exhausting and consumes most of our time. There is little left for making health changes. 

Even more important is that primary food is the story of YOU. It represents your time here on earth: the life you’ve built, the people you share it with, your hobbies, your purpose, every part of you is here. Primary food is your foundation. We want it to be strong and even, a solid place on which to build out and grow whatever goals you want to accomplish. 

My own Circle of Life is a work in progress- yes, even a health coach must evaluate and make changes, sometimes more than once! I have a really solid foundation with fitness, nutrition, health, spirituality, and home environment….but lots of the other areas need work. I struggle a lot with my purpose, which flows into career, finances, joy. It is all connected. And I must revisit this tool often to see how my foundation is and if there are places where it needs some reinforcement.

What I love about this tool is that it is very visual, and it is also ever evolving. All the primary food components represented in this circle will change due to goals and circumstances. The important thing in our coaching relationship is to identify what you most want to achieve and make that the focus of our work. Remember, you design your coaching program and I guide you. You design it! How cool is that?? So, let’s get started!.