Author Archives: Cherylanne Skolnicki

When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies…

When women stop hating their bodies…

How would you finish that sentence? The vision that stretches forth at the end of that sentence is one of the things that wakes me up in the morning. I can’t quite see all the details but I just know it will be an epic shift. The chained-up potential we’d collectively unlock would be enormous. We’d do BIG THINGS.

Thinking about it reminds me of a Women’s Studies course I took at Cornell one year with my dear friend Joanne. Our professor, Sandra Bem, was asserting that we’d never really know what the world would be like with true gender equality until we experienced it – until fully half of our doctors were women, half of our Senators, half of our professors, half of our CEOs, half of our airplane pilots and so on. Her lesson was a powerful one for an auditorium of 20 year old women, and it gives me pause even today. The notion of true gender equality is one of those things with an impact so far-reaching that it will be difficult to fully grasp until it actually occurs.

Yet while we can’t just flip a switch and make it so, we can do our part to move the world a bit closer to the vision – by taking a job in a field dominated by men, by educating and inspiring our young girls, by cheering one another on instead of competing viciously for some tiny slice of the pie. No, we can’t fully imagine the end state, perhaps, but we can see the path. And we can walk our piece of it.

So too with body hatred. I’m ready for the day when women stop hating their bodies and step into their potential. The question is, are you?

 

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Do You Believe in Magic?

If you had a magic wand and could grant yourself one wish, what would it be? When I ask women that question, here are some of the answers I frequently get.

– More hours in the day

– To quit my job

– Sleep

– A housekeeper

– Someone to cook for me

– To feel caught up on my to do list

– A million dollars

– To lose __ pounds or to change a specific body feature

Thematically, as women, you want MORE TIME, MORE ENERGY, and to FEEL BETTER IN YOUR BODY. Or you want the things that you believe will deliver one of those benefits, like the list above.

The health and wellness industry KNOWS this, and as a result, it’s riddled with companies promising quick fixes –  magical solutions to your problems. I jotted these down today in Barnes & Noble from a quick glance at some magazine covers…

“Burn 500+ Calories Fast”

“Bikini Ready in 7 Days”

“Lose 6 pounds in 8 days”

“Experts Reveal Secrets to a Slimmer Body in Minutes”

” Look 5 years younger – it’s all in the Hair!”

“Miracle Creams that really work”

“More energy INSTANTLY”

I can’t make this stuff up. The question is, do you believe them?

It’s incredibly easy to fall prey to these marketing ploys because we WANT to believe that a quick fix exists! But every time you give in to one, you know in the back of your mind that it’s not magic you’re buying; it’s a hoax. There’s that glimmer of hope that THIS time will be different, but the story always ends the same way – with a half used bottle of potion, a discarded magazine, a big credit card bill and a lack of results. There’s no magic in that.

Daniel Burnham once famously said, “Make no little plans, for there is no magic in them to stir the blood.*”  Soul stirring…now that’s where the magic happens. It’s no surprise then, that soul-stirring services are exactly the kind we’re creating at Nourish. We are on a mission to support our clients with the very things that will help you reap the benefits you desire – MORE TIME, MORE ENERGY, and TO FEEL BETTER IN YOUR BODY. And we’re not making promises we can’t keep.

Our coaching clients experience life-changing benefits from our services. Some might even call them magical.

If you’re ready to stir your soul and experience the magic, we’re ready to help. One hour invested in a Mini Health Makeover will show you exactly what we can do for you. Talk to us today. Restore your belief in the best kind of magic  – the kind that you create when you put your heart and soul into it.

 

PS – You don’t have to live in Cincinnati (where we are) to benefit from the programs we’re developing at Nourish. Many of our services can be provided by Skype or by phone just as easily as they’re done in person. We’d love to work with you.

 

*Okay so Burnham actually said men’s blood but that sort of dilutes my point here, so I took a little creative license….forgive me.

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Fourth of July Berry Parfait

Note: This was written to go out yesterday but whoops! It got ‘stuck’….so hopefully you have a celebration still planned for this weekend!

The Fourth of July means summer is really, truly upon us. All of my childhood memories of this holiday involve sitting curbside along a parade route being awed by the marching bands and the firetrucks and of course fistfuls of  candy tossed to the youngest onlookers! On my grandparents’ farm, the adage was that the corn should be “knee high by the 4th of July” and it was the time when homemade strawberry ice cream made an appearance – hand churned in a wooden freezer with salt in the bottom. There were sparklers to be twirled  and fireflies to be caught and s’mores to be made late in the evening. Small town America seems to do patriotism better than anyone else; I hope you’ve found a favorite place to celebrate our freedom today…the simpler the better if you ask me! (Our annual neighborhood bike parade fits the bill.)

As you’re celebrating our nation’s birthday, here’s a little treat that’s a snap to make, but so pretty it’s worth of the occasion. I’ve used real whipped cream, but if you wanted to make this even healthier, you could substitute Greek Yogurt for the whipped cream. How fun would your kids think it was on Fourth of July morning if you served parfaits for breakfast?! Mine would love it! (PS That’s exactly what I did on Fox19 yesterday when I shared this and two more healthy treats for the 4th! Here’s the video clip.)

Happy 4th!

 

Berry Parfaits

serves 4

 

1 pint strawberries or raspberries

1 pint blueberries

1 c. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed or an immersion blender until it forms stiff peaks. This takes just a minute or two and is the point at which when you turn off the beaters and lift them out of the whipped cream, the cream forms a “peak” and holds its shape.

2. Wash and cut strawberries into quarters. Wash blueberries.

3. In tall parfait glasses (or highball drinking glasses if you don’t have parfait glasses), layer strawberries, then a dollop of cream, then blueberries, then cream, alternating until you reach the top of the glass.

 

 

 

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