We graduated from college together more than 2 decades ago, and she went on to be a certified holistic wellness coach...talking in this episode about biohacking for your health, nutrition advice for busy people in the New Year, how faith in God plays a role in your wellness, plus being a cancer survivor and a mother to a pair of teens. Make sure to subscribe to "Run The Race" for weekly inspiration related to fitness and faith.

(5:12) Naomi (Bleeker) Damask, Elon College (NC) class of 1998 like me, starts by talking about vision for the New Year, keys to success to stick with your goals for 2022, and building simple healthy habits, hers involving where she puts her faith devotional and glasses of water. (9:23) Losing weight is a big focus with "resolutions" but she says you also gotta focus on the WHY and your inside.

(11:58) Ten years ago, this healthy young woman got a "sucker punch" when she found out she had 2 invasive tumors, changing the direction of her life. She talks about what she did to become a cancer survivor and change her career with a new mission to help women with prevention health. Naomi says health care providers give women too many medicine "bandaids" and we all have to learn to listen to our bodies! With stressful lives, breaks are needed.

For those of us with busy lives, (20:49) coach Naomi gets specific about how/why we should eat healthy, with 3 keys of what to look for in your food. You can still enjoy eating what you want at times, and take small steps. (25:40) She says the spiritual and emotional sides are also key for wellness, which includes having hope! And why did she change from vegetarian lifestyle to eating meat again?

(31:00) She explains why she left the corporate world, a job at Maybelline, after her cancer diagnosis. Now a wellness entrepreneur in epigenetics, biohacking and nutrigenomics - she explains what all that means. In laymans terms, you have a family history that affects your health, but your environment and what you eat also impacts our genes, plus what small changes YOU can make for a healthier life overall.

With the idea to get away from technology more, (36:25) Naomi talks about getting outside and moving more, even cold therapy in Minnesota where she lives. She also created "Vitamin C Parties." The C stands for cancer and some other important "C" words. (40:27) As a coach, she talks about seeing more depression during the COVID pandemic, how serving others can help.

(42:38) This mom hopes to be an example for other women, including her 2 teen daughters. (47:58) Naomi closes us out in prayer, (50:28) then the "Stuck in my Head" segment is me paying homage to entertainers we recently lost - Betty White and Bob Saget - by singing their TV theme songs.

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