Mountain View Wellness

👨✈️🇵🇭 𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎, 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐫. While stationed in the Philippines, he met my mother, a Filipino citizen. They fell in love, married in 1971, and moved to Connecticut, where in 1974, my twin sister and I were born. 🌍 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯. 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 (𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟕), 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬. My parents’ union—and my very existence—was made possible by...

Let’s talk about strength training and why it’s a game-changer for women over 40. Did you know that after age 30, women lose 3-8% of their muscle mass per decade? After 40, we also begin losing bone density at an increasing rate, putting us at risk for osteoporosis. But there’s good news: Strength training is one of the most effective ways to slow—and even reverse—these changes. Why Strength Training Matters: Builds Muscle: Lifting weights provides the resistance your muscles need to grow...

Did you know that research consistently shows the power of gratitude in fostering positive, sustainable lifestyle changes and increasing overall happiness? Gratitude has been linked to improved physical health, stronger relationships, and even better sleep. It’s one of the simplest yet most transformative practices we can embrace for a better life. For me, gratitude is a daily ritual. Each morning before I rise and every evening before I sleep, I take a moment to reflect on the people,...

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐭—𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 💤 Sleep felt elusive ⚡ My energy dipped in the afternoons 💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿 Workouts that once felt empowering started to feel like a struggle 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧, 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 💔 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝—𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. This stage of life invited me to pause,...

We’ve all been there. January rolls around, and we’re full of hope. This is the year we finally transform our health, start exercising consistently, eat better, and become the best version of ourselves. Then, by February, that energy fizzles out, and we’re left wondering: Why can’t I stick to my resolutions? The answer isn’t that you lack willpower or are "bad" at setting goals. It’s because the system is broken. Here are five reasons New Year’s resolutions often fail—and what to do instead:...

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? January is coming, and tis the season for lifestyle overhauls (#dontrecommend).𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥:❌ 𝐃𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.🏋️♀️ 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐲𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨.🌪️ 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭.𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡: 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠...

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞.𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? You are at the doctor’s office, hop the scale, and don’t want to look. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐎 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠! Your bloodwork isn’t great either. Elevated BP, Cholesterol, possible pre-diabetes. WTF? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈...

Hey there, Reader! Have you ever just wanted someone to tell you exactly what to do because you were too tired or overwhelmed to make another decision? Well, tonight I did something I'd never done before, and it has to do with decisions, and how making too many decisions stops us from doing anything. You see, Mother's Day happens this weekend, and instead of waiting for my husband to read my mind, and take me to a fancy restaurant (which means bar to him), I said, "On Friday night, you are...

Hey there, Reader! Yup, I'm talking about self-care again! When I asked my client Natalia what area of wellness would she like to focus on next: movementnutritionstresssleepself-care/recovery She said, "ISN'T IT ALL SELF-CARE?" She does have a point! In her book Real Self-Care, Dr. Pooja Lakshmin outlines the differences between real and faux self-care. Her main premise is that real self-care transforms one's relationship with others or oneself. It's more about what got you there, what your...