My name is Pam Yudko and I am a Holistic Health Coach and the owner of Wholefully Aware. I am also a busy mom whose trials and tribulations became my motivation to raise my family clean.
OVARIAN CANCER BECOMES A GIFT
My journey to becoming clean started at the age of 23 when I was diagnosed for the first time with a non-invasive form of ovarian cancer. This was the first time that I started to try to take a closer look at my health. The tumors re-occurred roughly every 3 years over the course of a 12 year period. Each diagnosis got me closer to realizing the impact that my lifestyle and nutrition had on my health and overall wellbeing. Fast forward to two healthy little miracles named Dylan and Jessie, now 5 and 6 years old. I was faced with my fifth surgery which also included the removal of my beloved ovaries. This is when I finally took 100% responsibility for my health, as well as the health of my family. With the support of a Health Coach, I learned how to prepare, cook and integrate clean foods into my lifestyle. I chose to look at all of my challenges as lessons – as my greatest gifts.
During this time, my husband and I did the 21-Day Clean Program for the first time. The Cleanse took my business and my health goals to an entirely different level. I became my own health expert and got a fantastic look at how foods and my lifestyle either inspired me or tired me. I’ve now teamed up with the Clean Program and offer their products to my clients. Living a Lifestylestyle is what makes me tick and I am extremely grateful for all of the “gifts” that inspired me to get here! I also went back to school to become a Certified Health Coach, earned numerous certifications, and built a business guiding busy people to lose weight, double their energy so that they can do it all and do it well!
Day 1
5:20AM: Wake up to get to a 5:45AM Barre 3 Class to start my day. I love sneaking out of my house before dawn so that I don’t wake up my sleeping husband and children. It feeds my inner rebellious child and reminds me of sneaking into my house when I was a teenager! How great to feed that inner rebellious child with something that nourishes my mind, body and soul (unlike my teenage years).
7:00AM: Getting my family and I ready for our day can always be a challenge if I’m not extremely organized (not an easy one for me). After getting my 5 and 6 year old dressed, lunches and snacks packed, we sit down together and eat breakfast. I then get my children ready to walk to school, which is ten blocks away. Today happened to be an extraordinary day as it is snowing outside. I don’t always get the opportunity to walk them to school, but when it happens life just seems much calmer. After giving them some love and sending them on their way, my walk home alone is MY time – time for me to be silent before the next part of my day begins. What a beautiful snowy day to start my morning – so serene.
9:00AM – 3:00PM: My day is packed with clients, preparing for clients, and working on workshops that I have planned. I am excited to share that one of my clients that I worked with today is finishing up his 21-Day Cleanse with the Clean Program and it’s transformed his life. To be able to stretch, support, inspire and guide people on this program is something that I value and enjoy tremendously.
3:30PM: I pick my kids up from school and immediately put on the chauffeur hat as I take my daughter to dance class. During the hour that she’s at dance, my son and I sit together and do his homework. We enjoy this time together, as there are no distractions and we get to have our “special time”.
5:30PM: Dinner time. Unfortunately my husband does not get home until 7:30PM today, so I made the kids dinner and will wait for my husband to get home to eat. This morning my son asked what was for dinner and when I shared that it was portobello mushrooms with roasted tomatoes, parsnip and sweet potatoes fries, he wasn’t digging it. I decided that tonight, instead of struggling to get them to eat something that they didn’t want, I was going to make a special treat of “breakfast for dinner”. They both ate an egg and spinach omelet sandwich on ezekiel bread.
7:30PM: The kids are in their rooms off to dream land and my husband and I have an opportunity to sit and slow down over our delicious dinner. This is our time to connect and catch up on our day.
9:30PM: I decide to get into bed and get a good and long nights rest.
Day 2
6:30AM: I slept for 9 amazing hours and I feel great. By the end of the week, waking up early just isn’t doing it for me. So today, I chose to nourish my body with some extra ZZZZZ’s. I wake up and meditate. My husband and I both sit on our meditation pillows with the door closed, hoping that our children respect our 15 minutes of privacy. They are used to this routine by now, and know not to disturb when they see our meditation sign on our door. We also have a rule for them to stay in their rooms until 7:00AM. Today, they listened. Meditation is an area in my life that I know is so important, yet I go in and out of phases with it. It’s my New Year’s resolution to have a consistent meditation practice.
7:30AM: The morning routine begins with getting the kids off to school. My time management got the best of me this morning and I did not carve out enough time to sit for breakfast. Instead, I made myself a delicious “Sweet Green Juice” from Kris Karr’s Crazy Sexy Kitchen book. Yummy!
9:00AM: I do a tennis clinic on Thursdays and have an hour to have fun, learn new strategies and get back to a sport that I loved as a child.
10:00AM: I didn’t book any clients until 11am today so that I can have some time to shower and get myself ready for my day of coaching.
11:00AM- 3:00PM: Coaching hat on. I saw clients back to back today, but was struck by one client’s ability to truly understand a concept that I had shared with her in our first session. She is now on her 3rd session and came in excited to share her progress. I listened to what was “new and good”. She explained to me how she has limited her coffee intake by simply being more conscious of the water she drank throughout the day. This is a concept that I learned called “crowding out”. The principle is that you add nutrient-dense healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains and water during the day. This consumption will naturally allow little room or cravings for the unhealthy foods, especially at night. Your cells will have already received what it needs, so there would be no need or desire for more. This is an effective way to overcome the habitual consumption of foods and fluids that simply don’t serve you.
3:30PM: Chauffeur hat goes on and I take my son to karate. Now, my daughter and I have a 30 minute period for “special time” and we make bracelets together with her Rainbow Loom kit.
4:30PM: As I come home, it’s time to do homework and get dinner ready. My husband comes home twice a week on the earlier side (6:15pm) so that we can sit down and eat dinner as a family. The kids LOVE when he’s home for dinner and look forward to this time together. Tonight, I made a White Velvet Soup from the Clean Meal Plan as well as Salmon Cakes with Peach and Avocado Salsa. It was so delicious and the kids loved it too. Feels so good when this happens.
8:30PM: Tonight I have a client and work on taking off my coaching hat right when she leaves so that I can spend some quality time with my husband.
10:30PM: Pooped from my day, I give in and head up to bed.
Day 3
6:00AM: Sneak out for a Hot Yoga Class.
9:00AM: Fridays are typically MY day to take care of myself. I don’t schedule clients and practice what I preach. Today I had an appointment with my chiropractor. Not only did I get adjusted (thank goodness, since I recently fell down the stairs) but I also got an Applied Kinesiology session to make sure that my body is functioning at its optimal level with the nutritional supplements that I’m on.
Fridays are my day for self-care. Owning my own business as a Holistic Health Coach allows me to make my own schedule. Since I inspire busy people to nourish themselves through food, relationships, career, physical activity and spirituality, I feel that it is important to practice what I believe in.
I met an old college friend for a manicure and then came back home. I made a delicious White Bean and Escarole Soup for lunch and cut up red peppers, cucumbers and carrots which I dipped into hummus. Cutting up vegetables soothes me, as I chop away my stresses. Coaching Hat back on, as I squeezed in one client – then off to a piano lesson. My kids started taking piano lessons in the fall. I played the piano as a child and wanted to tap back into that creative side and just have some fun.
3:30PM: Chauffeur hat on – time to pick up the kids from school and a friend for a play date. I was able to sneak in some practice time on the piano while they made an obstacle course behind me.
5:30PM: I made my kids homemade chicken tenders from Gwyneth Paltrow’s book, It’s All Good. I dipped the chicken in rice milk, took a cup of mashed gluten free pretzels from the Vitamix, added some spices and sautéed them in coconut oil. So easy. The kids got to pick their vegetable from the containers of raw veggies that I keep cut up in the fridge.
Babysitter shortly arrived so my husband and I could go out for a “date night” – Wife Hat on! We enjoyed some red wine and connected over clean food at a farm to table restaurant nearby.
My name is Pam Yudko and this is My Way! Thank you for allowing me to share a piece of my life as I work towards creating a Lifestylestyle for my clients, my family and I.
Pam Yudko, MS, CHHC, AADP is a Holistic Health Coach. She has a practice in West Orange, NJ, guiding busy people to lose weight, double their energy so that they can do it all and do it well. She tailors programs specifically geared to her client’s individual health goals. Her clients gain insight, strategies and tools to help them sustain the life that they desire and deserve. Check out www.wholefullyaware.com to learn more., or connect with Pam on Facebook or Twitter.
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