Hello there, I’m Ilsa Burns, board-certified health & wellness coach.
If you’re a middle-aged woman who wants to age well and remain independent, you’ve come to the right place!
Since you landed on this page, you are likely worried about what the heck you should do to live longer. But really, none of us wants to just live longer, we want to live better, right? If you’re interested in learning how to avoid acquiring the poor health outcomes of your older family members as well as avoid being a burden to your younger family members, you’re in the right place.
Let’s start here! Which of these describes you?
I’m here because I…
- …am not enjoying getting older.
- …am so confused by all the nutrition recommendations out there
- …have been on more weight loss diets than I can count and keep gaining the weight back.
- …can’t control my cravings for foods that I know deep-down aren’t good for me.
- …seem to be tired all the time because I don’t sleep well.
- …don’t like being prescribed more and more medications. I wonder if there’s another solution.
- …have taken care of everybody else over the years and neglected my own health.
- ….worry about my future health, but I think that I’m too old to change my habits.
Good news! There are no wrong answers here. If any or all of the above apply, you are exactly where you need to be.
It’s my goal to help you figure out just what might get in the way of your enjoying your retirement/golden years. I work with women “of a certain age” (mature?) (middle-aged?) (what do you like to call yourself?) who have watched their older relatives decline and suffer as they aged. And they don’t want to end up that way!
My story: From teacher to coach
After teaching adults in continuing education, colleges and universities for over 30 years, I soon realized that, with that teaching experience and by attending the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and then Kresser Institute’s ADAPT Health Coach Training Program, I could guide other middle-aged women to make sustainable changes in their health and wellness. I know that more women would love to know what I know. Facilitating my clients’ discovering their own reasons for making permanent dietary or behavior changes is what I love to do. And I also love to share what I’ve learned, so you’ll find a lot of great (free!) information on these pages, information that might save your life, in a way.
I guess I was my very first client, when I started on my journey to better health and wellness. I had watched, over the years, older friends and family members suffer from chronic diseases and decline. At the time, I assumed that miserable fate would be my own. I also dreaded other possibilities: would I be one of the many millions affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia? Would I also lose my ability to be mobile? Would my daily blood sugar begin to rise to dangerous levels? Would I lose my independence? How would the last years of my life play out?
I read the latest research, bought books written by some of the best doctors and scientists out there, and learned that we can all be in control of our future health and wellness. Before, I was mess. Now, my weight is lower and stable, I do the best type of exercise (that doesn’t take long!), I sleep like a log, wake up refreshed, no more skin issues, no more constipation, no more depression, no more “trouble concentrating.” This is what I want to share with you by accompanying you on your journey to an independent future.
Why the Ginkgo?
I use the gingko leaf throughout my website. I love the ginkgo tree for its appearance and symbolic meaning. The oldest tree on earth, unchanged for over 200 million years, it has always been revered for its beauty and longevity. The most resilient of all trees, it is the only species to have survived the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. We are like the gingko — our resilience and strength determine our outcomes, at any age. We too can thrive under many different conditions. Likewise, it is our adaptability and our strengths that will propel us forward, to greater health and wellness.
Would you like to learn some simple tips that you can implement right now, that will help you improve your lifespan as well as your healthspan?
Click here to down load a free copy of my guide, “The Mature Woman’s Guide to Aging Well: Five Simple and Surprising Steps”.
