Blog Posts

Sunday Night Dinner: Rituals That Build a Family Narrative

By Jean Storlie / June 12, 2013 /

“I can’t wait until I go to college so I don’t have to sit through Sunday Night Dinner,” our 18-year-old daughter whined — creating tension and drama — as we gathered for our ritual meal around the dining room table, set with linens and lit with candles. Six months later on her first weekend home…

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When Opportunity is Disguised as Loss

By Jean Storlie / June 4, 2013 /

A year ago today, I was laid off from General Mills in a major corporate restructuring. My first reaction was relief – to be free from a job that no longer energized me – and excitement – for the chance to pursue a dream I’d been imagining. Arriving home that first night, I tossed aside…

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Fitness Carrot or Stick Debate

The School Fitness Debate: Carrot, Stick, or Neither?

By Jean Storlie / May 29, 2013 /

“Automatic out, Storlie’s up!” my classmates would chant when I’d get up to bat.  As a young girl in the 60s, I was a skinny, klutzy kid no one wanted on their team. Humiliated and defeated, I’d swing my three strikes and, maybe, get walked. I grew up hating PE and sports. As a nutrition…

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My Hospice Experience With Dad

By Jean Storlie / May 8, 2013 /

Last week, I spent 5 days and 4 nights in hospice with my father, Jack Storlie, who passed away on May 4. During this vigil, I experienced the emotional side of health in the deepest way possible. Before going into a coma, Dad was recovering from an emergency surgery that removed 25% of his small…

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My Mom’s Version of Healthy

By Jean Storlie / April 23, 2013 /

As a kid in the 60s, my sisters and I walked a half mile to school, came home for lunch, and went back again. My mom stayed home and ran our household with business-like efficiency. Lois grew up on a farm during the Great Depression and learned to cook for over 20, but her real…

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Success Can Be As Defeating as Failure

By Jean Storlie / April 21, 2013 /

When I launched my career as a dietitian with an MS degree in adult fitness/cardiac rehabilitation, I was filled with passion to transform lives. I created a weight loss program, called NUTREXERCISE, and thought I had the tools to help people lose weight. A woman – let’s call her Pat – joined the program and…

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