Deborah Enos was raised on an almond and walnut ranch located in Chico, a small inland northern California town. Now a sophisticated forty-one, Deborah says with a smile in her voice and without a trace of self-consciousness, "I talk about nuts a lot. I come by that naturally."

You might think that someone who was raised on a ranch would naturally be aligned with food and food sources. Yet, Deborah recalls that she did not become aware of the power of food until she went to college.

How College Taught Her The Power of Food
"In college I gained thirty pounds pretty fast. This was a real struggle for me since I had always been an athlete. I lived in a sorority where fifty percent of the woman had an eating disorder, which I found alternately fascinating and sickening," she remembers. "Growing up I took health and exercise for granted. When I got to college I saw women grappling with anxiety which they handled through food. If we got upset it was 'lets make cookies or have a beer.' At the time it seemed cool and trendy to have a pizza at 2 am and then purge."

This experience caused Deborah to reconsider getting a degree in psychology. She decided that a degree in health science with a specialty in exercise physiology was more aligned with her career calling. As she puts it, "I knew that I wanted to do something that would be of service to others. Through my own eye-opening experience and, by watching others, I realized that overeating was often directly related to anxiety. I also became convinced that you can't have health without some kind of exercise."

The "Dead Food" Generation
After graduation, Deborah moved to an East Bay (that's San Francisco Bay) community where she began a private practice as a nutritionist. This being the 1980s, the majority of her clients were forty-something empty nesters. These women had gained weight over the years, or were women who had lots of extra time on their hands. "I really didn't have to work hard to establish a business. Personal training was just coming into being with Madonna being the first celebrity to publicize that she had a personal trainer. This made people aware that they could hire someone to help with their health and physical fitness. People from all walks of life -- teachers, hair dressers, even unemployed people who wanted to be in the best shape possible for interviews -- hired personal trainers."

Back then nutrition was simply focused on promoting the four basic food groups rather than designing individual programs for clients. Deborah claims that the 1990s were absolutely the worst time for food. Everything was fat-free but loaded with white flour, sugar and was full of chemicals and pesticides. Basically, most people were eating what she refers to as "dead food."

The Dot.com Energy Surge
This coincided with the dot.com boom, a time in which Deborah started getting corporate clients. She'd work with a company president who would then ask her to work with a vice president or assistant. Soon she was talking to entire staffs, right down to the mailroom guy. "CEOs understood that if people felt better about themselves that productivity and morale would be through the roof," she explains. In the highly competitive high-tech industry, CEOs were looking for ways to "WOW!" employees. Perks included everything from car washes to spa treatments. Yet many of the industry's high performers were trying to live on espresso and pizza.

"Health-wise it was a scary time. I had clients who were losing their hair because of stress and not getting enough good fats. Twenty-five year olds had the health of fifty-year olds. One client had a heart attack. He was only twenty-seven!" So in 1996 Deborah began to do heavy research on new food programs that she could recommend to clients. "I realized I needed to revamp my business. People needed to eat differently. So I challenged myself to find out what clients could eat conveniently and quickly and still get optimal energy," Deborah states.

In 1999 the dom.com bubble burst.

Health and Nutrition Wisdom
Deborah says, "I went from working with executives in 20-story buildings with panoramic views of the bay to working with entrepreneurs who were starting businesses in their garages." More than ever these driven clients needed to know how to use diet and exercise to manage stress, to perform well mentally, and to power through an afternoon without getting tired.
She had clients make small changes in their diets. For instance, some switched from eating cold sugary cereal in the morning to having eggs. The response from clients was huge. Clients had lots more energy for the entire day. "That kind of positive effect is addicting. It's not hard to convince people to enact changes that make them feel better. And, by the new millennium people were very, very sick and tired of feeling sick and tired."

Deborah moved to Seattle in 2005 and has just finished her first book called "Weight a Minute: Transform Your Health 60 Seconds at a Time." The book covers 70 common health challenges along with a quick and simple solution for each. For instance, to reduce being bloated you can drink a squeeze of lemon (a natural diuretic) in water before going to bed. If you have trouble falling to sleep, put on socks which will help draw blood into your extremities.

Deborah lectures to corporations and works independently with clients. "My task is to get people off the dieting merry-go-round and to customize eating programs that give energy and good health."

Deborah's book is available at her Web site: www.deborahenos.com.

Winter is a difficult season for many people. Less daylight and harsher weather can dampen even the best resolve to maintain a high level of activity and to eat right. When I moved from Northern California to Seattle last year, I found myself inhaling caffeine in order to adjust to all the rainy grayness. This year I've developed a new plan of action. Here are my tips for staying "sunny" even on the darkest of days.

The practice of mindfulness, of bringing the scattered mind home, and so of bringing the different aspects of our being into focus, is called Peacefully Remaining or Calm Abiding.

All the fragmented aspects of ourselves, which had been at war, settle and dissolve and become friends. In that settling we begin to understand ourselves more, and sometimes even have glimpses of the radiance of our fundamental nature.

From "Glimpse After Glimpse - Daily Reflections On Live and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche

Sometimes it's necessary to ready your soulful or emotional self for a new journey (or new year) in order to lay the foundation for the best results. The best thing you can do is to check in with yourself. We get so used to doing repetitive tasks, to responding to crisis and to taking the same old paths, that we often make assumptions about what we need or desire. The following exercise, which you can do once or repeat on a weekly or monthly basis is a great way to get at new and useful information that can help you get clear about your personal or career path.

Exercise:
Get comfortably seated. Have a notebook by your side. Take a deep breath and release it. Do this three times. Close your eyes and try to rest your mind. (Notice I didn't say clear your mind. For most of us this is impossible.) Quiet your mind for about five minutes. Just relax.

Then put a simple question to yourself. The question might be: "What do I need to accomplish in the next six months?" Or "What will be an important theme in the coming months?" "Or "What do I need to know right now?"

After taking a few moments to really concentrate on your question, open you eyes and begin writing in your notebook. Try not to control the flow of thoughts. Let your thoughts come as they will and just record them. Act like you are just an observer of your thoughts. Write for as long as you'd like or for as long as you feel you are processing good information. Review what you have written without judgement.

Are you surprised by the information that came? Does it help lead you in a particular life or business direction? Maybe it just gives you something interesting to ponder. Enjoy the wonderful and endless source of information that you are.

If you wish to use any of the articles from Living Awareness in your own electronic newsletter or ezine please include the following paragraph:

Reprinted from Living Awareness, a fr*ee ezine from conscious communications expert Melissa Wadsworth featuring interviews, articles and exercises to inspire more life clarity, focus and joy. To sign up go to:
www.melissawadsworth.com and receive a complimentary copy of Seven Steps to Self Empowerment.

Visit the links below to view past issues:

August 2006: The Law of Attraction

September 2006: Successful Self-Awareness

October 2006: Personal Responsibility

November 2006: Change

December 2006: Balance