Health Coach Hopes To Change Lifestyles, Not Diets

In light of the New Year and the numerous resolutions to "diet," local health coach Mary Hopperton is giving Ramona residents a free lesson in healthy lifestyle changes.

Tomorrow at noon, Hopperton will lead a live demo at the Ramona Library that will focus on incorporating healthy foods into the diet you follow now, insisting that baby steps is the key to becoming healthy.

“Don’t be afraid to start and start small,” Hopperton told Patch. “It’s easier to break it down into little pieces than to try to do it big and all at once.”

Once a nurse, Hopperton now owns and runs her own gym here in Ramona, Fitness Xpress, a small gym on 1530 Main Street that caters to women and circuit training. She received her health coaching credential from the Institute of Integrated Nutrition in New York and is sharing some of her knowledge with residents at tomorrow's demo.

“I think most peope today don’t get enough greenery in their diet. Greens are little powerhouses of nutrients and energy and all that good stuff,” Hopperton said.

The health coach said she won't be cooking at the demo, but she may bring her blender to whip up a green smoothie to show skeptics how tasty greens can really be, giving residents “great ideas on how to sneak greens in if you’re a green-phobe.”

“My philosophy and teaching is there is no one food, or no one diet,  for anything or anybody,” Hopperton told Patch. “We know what works for us and our bodies and when we give it the right stuff, it does us good.”

Hopperton will provide Ramonans will valuable information about making 2013 a year for a lifestyle improvement—a tasty one, at that!

“It doesn’t have to be a challenge, it doesn’t have to be a job,” she said. “You can easily incorporate lots of these pieces into your life and make it a lifestyle change. It’s a journey, not a destination.”

Hopperton's demo will take place at the Ramona Library on Jan. 8 at noon. Attendance is free. Call the library at 760-788- 5270 with any questions.