Blog

Welcome to the world of Culinary Medicine! This is where health meets pleasure and nutrition meets deliciousness. We believe that healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring or restrictive. In fact, it can be a fun, creative experience - one that can lead to lasting lifestyle changes and improved overall well-being.

At our kitchen behavior training group visits for our members, we teach them how to explore new ideas in the kitchen that are both delicious and nutritious. Last week we had an insightful discussion around our relationship with sugar - how to find balance when it comes to treats while also enjoying meals without sabotaging your health goals. Our team includes Ruben, a registered dietitian; Chef Franklin who adds his expertise on flavoral food preparation; Geny Moreno shares her knowledge on nutrition and mindful eating habits, and Dr. Cheng Ruan provides guidance backed by science and nutrition. Together they bring unique perspectives which add spice (no pun...

At Texas Center for lifestyle medicine, our mission is quite simple, yet it has taken continuous effort to make it happen! We aim to establish impactful relationships with our patients in order to guide them along a path toward lasting healing and wellness. Rather than addressing symptoms with a Band-Aid approach, we believe in using both conventional and alternative therapies in order to get to the root of chronic illnesses.

Lifestyle medicine involves having an integrative approach to healing and preventing chronic conditions, including but not limited to metabolic diseases, hormone imbalances, neurodegenerative diseases, digestive issues, mental health issues, and even therapeutic tools to combat and recover from cancer. There is no denying that the medical system is in dire need of alternative tools to help patients find lasting healing. The medical world is designed in such a way that it leads to serious provider burn out and limited options to find lasting...

Here at TCLM, we strive to deliver excellent service and transform the health and lives of our patients. Our values display our high level of commitment to delivering compassionate and attentive care. Since we established Texas Center for Lifestyle Medicine in 2017, we have been continuously improving our collaborative treatment approach, which is based on patient outcomes and demands. We decided to implement health coaching as a means of meeting the needs of our patient population in order to support their healing. When we first started this model, it was very physician-focused; meaning that they provided medical care while being supported by allied health professionals and health coaches. However, through our work in the Houston community, we discovered that this traditional design does not work well.

Through receiving feedback from our patients, as well as taking a detailed look at our patient outcomes data, we realized the following: When health coaching becomes the...

Are you looking to improve your nutrition and discover how to eat a balanced, healthy diet but don't know where to start? We know how challenging and lonely a chronic healing journey can be. Whether you struggle with an invisible but challenging illness, desire to lose weight, are seeking to reverse diabetes, or simply want to lead a healthier life, it is very challenging to walk along a health journey by yourself. Therefore, group coaching visits with Ruben Lespron, Registered Dietitian, may be the perfect opportunity for you.

Group coaching visits provide an interactive way to learn about nutrition and how different food groups can be balanced for one's specific needs. As a society, we tend to over complicate nutrition. Most of us have tried various fad diets in order to resolve our health issues or in an attempt to find a quick fix for our metabolic issues. While short-term dietary changes may be beneficial to some degree, we know that it is the lasting and consistent...

Get to know Melissa Talwar, our compassionate and dedicated health coach who leads the virtual Trasformational Group Coaching Programs at TCLM. Melissa is a National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach, Certified in the Wahls Protocol, Keto Nutritionist, and Certified ReCODE 2.0 Health Coach. She recently completed her Master's in Neuroscience and is currently enrolled in the Clinical Master's Program at the Kharrazian institute. After multiple concussions and a sports injury in high school, she was left in chronic debilitating pain. Melissa would spend 20 years in declining health, homebound, and living with no hope of addressing her fibromyalgia and "autoimmune something" diagnoses. Using Functional and Integrative Medicine principles she was able to reclaim her health and is now on a mission to empower patients to find wellness again through health coaching. Melissa wants to make sure no one has to fight alone!

She is passionate about sharing the tools that...

Introducing Carla Moss, one of our passionate Health Coaches for our Transformational Group Coaching Programs! Carla Moss is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach who has been health coaching since 2012. She is the founder of Being Well Aware, her functional medicine health coaching practice based in Berkeley, California. Through her practice, Carla coaches women navigating cardio-metabolic issues, gut issues, and autoimmune conditions, along with hormone imbalances such as PCOS, adrenal dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, estrogen dominance, peri-menopause, and menopause.

Carla received her health coaching training and certification from The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, a collaboration with The Institute for Functional Medicine, the Institute of Transformational Nutrition, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She also received specialty certifications in Hormone Health and Emotional Eating...

Creating and maintaining healthy habits is essential for physical, mental, and emotional health. Group coaching visits can be a great way to get support while establishing healthy habits that will stick with you in the long term. Group visits provide an opportunity to learn from other like-minded individuals in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

With Transformational Group Coaching Visits at TCLM, patients are provided with evidence-based lifestyle education and group support as they work to make meaningful lifestyle changes, such as adopting healthy eating habits, learning how to manage stress better, or improving sleep quality. The educational content has been designed by experts, health coaches, and medical providers. Group members have the opportunity to share their successes, struggles, and stories with one another; this helps to hold everyone accountable for their goals.

Group support also provides an opportunity to build relationships with individuals who...

Transformational Group Coaching Programs are transforming disease prevention and improving chronic illness outcomes. We have seen within our medical care system, a huge need for community support, patient- driven care, health education, emotional support, and real time dedicated to attending to patient's needs concerns. Unfortunately, providers often do not have the tools and resources required to deliver such care and are unable to dedicate time required to listen to patients deep needs and address holistic aspects needed for healing. This involves addressing the physical, mental, and emotional facets of health that most healthcare practices are not equipped to deliver.

Most people who suffer from chronic illness have been through several different physicians, specialists, and facilities before ever receiving a diagnosis. Even when they know what illness they are facing, they often complain of receiving very little background information regarding the causes of their disease, and...

We are only a couple of weeks into the New Year, but I would bet that many people have already quit on their goals or resolutions for this new chapter. We have been there... A new season begins, the realization of the post holiday weight gain sets in, and perfectionism often takes over. Setting high expectations when walking into a new year is common practice, especially for most of us here in the U.S., a very fast-paced, achievement-glorifying environment that often glorifies external success or looks. In the midst of all of the noise and competitiveness, it can be challenging to determine what you truly want, why you are seeking your goals, and thus how to make steps toward the life you want in a realistic, fulfilling, and doable manner.

This is where health coaching can make all the difference! A health coach can help create realistic goals, identify obstacles to weight loss and metabolic health, and help you establish a plan with strategies to overcome mental barriers....

Why do we recommend health coaching for all of our patients? Most of us know what we need to do in order to improve our health, such as exercise, eating healthy foods, prioritizing sleep, and managing stress. There is so much research, resources, and loads of free information at our fingertips, yet metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, and other chronic illnesses continue to be on the rise.

Our society's mental health as a whole seems to be struggling more than ever, especially after the pandemic. Because there are so many resources and educational content is endless, we do not believe that the chronic physical illness and mental health crisis is due to a lack of knowledge, but an inability to know how to put the tools in action and remain on the course.

Though most of us know what we should be doing, it's quite another thing to have the support and guidance to make it happen. Behavior change takes a tremendous amount of effort...