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Creative Eating, Conscious Living, and the Power of Personalized Wellness
A Mentorship Special by: Balance & Longevity News
June Lay, M.S. C.D.E. C.E.P.,
doesn’t present herself as a guru with rigid rules or one-size-fits-all
solutions. Instead, she shows up as a guide—steady, compassionate, and deeply
human—meeting people exactly where they are. As an Allied Lifestyle Medicine
practitioner, Exercise Physiologist, Weight Management and Diabetes Educator,
and author of It’s Not a Diet, It’s Creative Eating!, June has spent
decades helping individuals reclaim agency over their health through small,
meaningful changes. Her work is grounded in science, shaped by lived
experience, and driven by a belief that health is not a destination, but a
relationship we build with our bodies over time.
From Personal Struggle to Purposeful
Practice
June’s professional calling is
inseparable from her personal journey. As a teenager, she struggled with weight
and was swept into the era of extreme dieting culture—chasing quick fixes,
following restrictive plans, and even being prescribed amphetamines in a
misguided attempt to lose weight. The cycle of deprivation left her
disconnected from her body and frustrated with solutions that promised results
without addressing root causes.
Her turning point came not through
another diet, but through movement. While working at a health club early in her
career, June encountered an exercise physiologist who introduced her to
training as a practice of improvement and self-esteem rather than punishment.
Slowly, her relationship with food began to change as well. Taste buds changed,
and a change in cravings followed. Foods that once felt irresistible lost their
grip. What followed was not a dramatic overnight transformation, but a gradual
awakening to what sustainable health actually feels like—supported, embodied,
and real.
This lived experience now informs
how June shows up for others. She doesn’t teach from theory alone. She teaches
from having been there. That credibility—born from empathy—makes her a trusted
ally to clients who feel stuck in cycles of shame, fear, or overwhelm around food
and weight.
A Philosophy of Tools, Not Rules
Unlike rigid programs that prescribe
fixed menus and standardized routines, June’s model centers on personalization.
She does not offer a single “program” so much as a toolkit—flexible strategies
that adapt to each person’s biology, lifestyle, and emotional landscape. She
conducts dietary analyses so clients can see their habits in black and
white, believing that awareness is more powerful than instruction alone. When
people witness patterns on paper, they engage differently. Change becomes
tangible.
One of her signature principles is
simple but effective: “Make it a Combo”! combine carbohydrates with protein at
meals and snacks to stabilize blood sugar and support metabolic health. Another
is her emphasis on eating small, frequent meals to prevent insulin spikes and
crashes—an approach she has seen help many people with prediabetes and type 2
diabetes regain balance in their daily energy and focus. Her motto is “Eat
Often, Because You Can’t Catch-up!” Her clients have found that when they
aren’t starving, they make wiser choices.
June’s clients often hear her repeat
a phrase she lives by: “Focus on the tools, not the scale.” Weight loss, in her
view, is a byproduct—not the goal. The real work is building habits that people
can sustain without white-knuckling through life.
Educating for Prevention: Diabetes
as a Turning Point
Much of June’s work centers on
individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes—conditions she sees as pivotal
moments for intervention rather than inevitabilities. She views prediabetes as
an opportunity window, a stage where lifestyle shifts can prevent long-term
complications before they begin. Her sessions integrate daily activity, regular
exercise, nutrition education, and small behavior change strategies rooted in
patience rather than pressure.
Her approach reframes diabetes
education from fear-based compliance to empowerment. Clients are not told what
to do; they are invited into a collaborative process of discovery about what
works for them that is patient centered.
Environmental Awareness and the
Hidden Toxins of Modern Life
June’s vision of wellness extends
beyond food and exercise into environmental awareness. Years before “toxic
load” became common language, she wrote about the invisible exposures people
accept as normal. “A smell is not just a smell,” she often says. “It’s fumes
you inhale into your lungs that travel to every cell of your body.” This
perspective shapes how she advises clients to think about air quality,
household chemicals, and daily environmental inputs.
As an animal advocate, June also
applies these principles to the care of her dogs, choosing evidence-based natural
alternatives whenever possible and remaining mindful of how systemic pesticides
and chemicals can accumulate in living systems. For her, conscious living is a
lifestyle philosophy, not a compartmentalized health strategy. Wellness is
ecological: what we put in our bodies, what we breathe, what we touch, and how
we move all speak to one another.
A Collaborative Spirit in
Integrative Health
June is quick to acknowledge her
role within a broader ecosystem of care. She respects medical boundaries and
views physicians and diagnostic specialists as partners rather than authorities
to be deferred to or bypassed. She regularly collaborates with doctors, stays
aligned with clinical guidelines, and recognizes that her 50-minute sessions
fill gaps that time-limited clinical visits often cannot.
Her practice has evolved from
in-person work in sports medicine facilities to largely remote consulting—a
transition shaped in part by her own physical challenges with chronic lumbar
pain. Yet even here, her story becomes part of her teaching: she credits decades
of strength training and movement with preserving her mobility and resilience. She
continues to train several days a week and credits much of it to her lifestyle
changes. Another motto is “The Anti-Aging Magic of Strength Training!” To her
clients, this isn’t marketing—it’s evidence. Exercise, she believes, is not
just medicine; it is preparation for life’s unpredictability.
The Author as Advocate: Creative
Eating as a Mindset
June’s book, It’s Not a Diet,
It’s Creative Eating!, distills her philosophy into a narrative of
self-compassion and practicality. The title itself signals a reframe: eating is
not a battlefield but a creative act. Choices can be adaptive, flexible, and
culturally grounded. Growing up in a traditional Italian family, June learned
to honor food traditions while also redefining her relationship to indulgence.
The goal is not deprivation, but intentional enjoyment. “A Treat a Day,”
another motto, has helped many clients stay on track.
Her writing and monthly “tips” reflect
a belief that education should be accessible, encouraging, and grounded in
lived reality. Whether she’s explaining what “fitness” truly means or
spotlighting the health benefits of a single vegetable, her tone is
invitational rather than prescriptive.
A Role Model for Sustainable
Wellness
What ultimately sets June Lay apart
is not her list of credentials—though they are substantial—but the coherence
between her life and her message. She models what she teaches. Her presence
communicates steadiness, curiosity, and humility. She is candid about being a
“work in progress,” and that transparency gives others permission to release
perfectionism.
As a caregiver at heart, June does
more than offer protocols; she offers companionship in change, gentle guidance,
and motivation. In an era of health extremes—biohacking on one end, resignation
on the other—her work occupies a grounded middle path: evidence-based,
personalized, and deeply humane.
For those navigating weight
challenges, metabolic health, or the quiet exhaustion of trying to “do
everything right,” June Lay represents a different narrative: wellness as a
series of kind choices made over time. Not a diet. Not a quick fix. But a
creative, conscious relationship with the body—one that can evolve for a lifetime.
A Clinician’s Perspective on Leadership in Wellness: Why Role Models for
Longevity Matter
By Dr.
Robert L. Bard, MD, DABR, FAIUM, FASLMS
What is missing in modern healthcare is not
technology. We have imaging tools, biomarkers, and diagnostics that can
identify disease earlier than ever before. What is missing is the bridge
between knowledge and daily living—the human guidance that helps individuals
translate information into action. This is where leaders like June Lay play a
vital role.
June Lay represents a category of wellness
leadership that medicine urgently needs more of. She does not replace
physicians; she complements clinical care by working where medicine is
structurally limited—behavior change, lifestyle adherence, and patient
empowerment. In my clinical practice, I repeatedly observe that the most
successful outcomes are not driven by procedures alone, but by the patient’s capacity
to participate in their own healing process. That participation is learned. It
is modeled. It is mentored.
We need more independent educators and mentors
who demonstrate what long-range health stewardship looks like in real life—not
perfection, but consistency. Longevity is not merely the extension of years; it
is the preservation of function, cognition, resilience, and agency. Leaders
like June Lay help reframe aging not as inevitable decline, but as a long game
that can be played with strategy.
From a clinical perspective, I can diagnose disease. From a human perspective, I recognize that diagnostics alone do not create health. Role models create momentum. Mentors create traction. If we want to move populations toward self-empowerment rather than late-stage rescue, we must elevate and support those who guide people where medicine cannot reach alone—inside daily habits, decisions, and self-belief.
Why Are My Numbers Still So Erratic—Even on Medication?
By: Lennard M. Goetze, Ed.D
Few things are more frustrating—and frightening—than watching your blood pressure spike despite doing “everything right.” You take your medications faithfully. You follow your doctor’s instructions. And yet, on certain days, your home monitor flashes numbers like 180/90, leaving you confused, anxious, and wondering what you’re doing wrong.
The short answer is: you may not be doing anything wrong at all.
The longer answer is that blood pressure is far more complex—and far more reactive—than most people are ever told.
This article explains why blood pressure can remain erratic even on medications like lisinopril and amlodipine, what factors commonly interfere with control, and what practical steps you can take—especially around sleep—to regain stability.
Blood Pressure Is Not a Fixed Number
· Stress and emotional state
· Sleep quality and breathing patterns
· Pain or inflammation
· Hormones
· Hydration and electrolytes
· Blood vessel stiffness
· Nervous system activity
· Timing and method of measurement
A reading of 180/90 does not automatically mean your medication has “failed.” It means your body is responding to something—sometimes several things at once. [SEE COMPLETE FEATURE]
Smarter Aging reports on the current research about how lifestyle re-programming can actually SLOW DOWN our natural degeneration to get to the end point with optimal enjoyment and the least amount of pain (or none at all). Unlike the commercialization of the term ANTI-AGING, this program pursues a critically different directive - placing paramount emphasis on "SMARTER" actionables. Smarter Aging is AWARENESS about the land-mines and life traps caused by agents of personal decay. It is about how to MOTIVATE oneself on how to RESET into a better life plan.
Another term that needs revisiting is used by many longevity promoters and authors, emphasizing the "curse" of aging as a DISEASE. Though it is a clever wordsmithing opportunity to lift from "DIS-EASE", this association fails in accuracy when it comes to forging solutions. Seeking the alter (counter?) measure of Dis-Ease (meaning a CURE) drives a misunderstanding from this correlation and a pathway that could prove misleading. We cannot REVERSE, HEAL, REPAIR or CURE aging nor can we actually prevent the aging process itself.
Once we have established this base understanding, only then can we pursue SMARTER AGING, whereby setting a course for getting the best SUSTAINABLE and FUNCTIONAL existence possible. This means navigating away from a life of multiple medications, disability and pain by proactively addressing challenges caused by health conditions, bone/muscle changes, cognitive & mental health issues.
To subscribe to SMARTER AGING means MITIGATING the impact of time-based physical wear and tear (and this includes functional, mental, spiritual and social). It also means identifying habits that speed up aging (like too much sitting, inactivity, sugar/ processed foods, excessive screen time and stress etc). We can study and learn from the lifestyle and performance of an 85 year old yogi or a 73 year old marathon runner and gain an understanding of what compels them to support a preventive lifestyle. By comparison, we can recognize what our own road ahead can look like and the many ways that we can RESET or counter-steer (where needed) could make all the difference in how we rebuild our future self- starting NOW!
AGING is a natural process that is associated with biological changes that lead to a progressive decline in physiological functioning. These changes start as early as the mid-20's, and accelerate in the mid-40's and again at around age 60. While aging is inevitable, the rate at which it occurs can be faster or slower depending on multiple factors, including the interactions of genetics with diet, lifestyle, environment, and stress. It is also impacted by resilience.
Without a doubt, everyone will experience aging. It’s a biological process that begins at birth, and it is inevitable. But how we age is not. We are redefining aging, celebrating it as a time of new opportunities, deeper connections, and ongoing learning. It’s a time where we are actively engaging life with joy and purpose.
Healthy aging is not just about keeping disease and disability at bay. While we’d all like to stay as healthy and functional as possible, we can age successfully and gracefully even with less-than-optimal health.
WHAT IS RESILIENCE?
Resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from an adverse event or experience, large or small. This is influenced by biological factors (including genetics) as well as psychological ones, and both forms of resilience can be cultivated. As people with higher levels of biological and psychological resilience tend to experience improved health and quality of life as they age, this heightens its importance for better aging.
Health is created from physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and energetic balance. But balance is not static. It requires constant adjustment in response to changes and challenges in your inner and outer worlds - and often changes throughout your lifetime. Resilience helps you bounce back and regain balance. Here are 8 simple strategies to help you cultivate resilience so you can handle whatever challenges come your way in a way that helps you thrive.
8 Easy Tips for Better Aging Starts with RESILIENCE
By: Roberta Kline MD
Tip #1: EAT RIGHT
Focus on fresh whole foods, with an emphasis on colorful vegetables and low-sugar fruits, fish, poultry, nuts, non-wheat whole grains, and cold-pressed olive oil. Adding herbs and spices boosts your food power. Avoid fried foods, processed red meat, trans-fats, and saturated fats, sugars, sweets, and baked goods; swapping sugar substitutes may be worse than sugars, so avoid those too.
Aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercises, such as walking, swimming, biking, dancing, tennis, strength training, gardening, or yoga. House cleaning, gardening, and yard work count too! Ideally, it’s something that you enjoy. Moving throughout the day is just as important. If you have a sedentary job, make sure to get up and move at least 10 minutes every hour if you can.
Playing chess, solving crossword puzzles, reading books, and learning a new language or skill are examples of brain-boosting activities. Mixing up your daily routine is another great way to increase cognitive resilience. This can include: exploring new neighborhoods or trying out a new coffee shop.
Identify stressors in your life and reduce or eliminate the ones you can control, and have strategies to manage the impact of the ones you can’t. Tai chi, meditation, music, art, yoga and other exercise, being in nature, finding moments of awe, experiencing joy and laughter - these are just some of the ways that can help you cultivate resilience.
Aim for going to bed by 10 pm, and getting 7-8 hours of restful sleep nightly. Even one night of insomnia or getting inadequate sleep can have an impact on your resilience. If you snore or don’t feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning, consider getting checked for a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.
Having strong social connections - whether a few or many - along with having meaning in our lives, can be one of the most powerful strategies. This does not include social media or other virtual interactions - there is something about the brain that needs interaction with the actual person or people.
Heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, and other chronic health issues can reduce your resilience. Staying proactive in managing all aspects of your health can help increase your resilience and minimize their impact.
Having a sense of purpose and connection to a greater meaning is a fundamental human need. So is joy. Identify things that bring you joy. Find something that gives you a reason to be excited about the day. Purpose doesn’t necessarily mean a grand vision - it can be big or small. Whether it’s through your work, your family, or your community, it’s important to feel you are loved and valued and are contributing to something that is meaningful to you.
Aim for incorporating at least 4-5 of these strategies. They each build on each other, so the more you of these you do, the more resilience you’ll have and the more your health will benefit. Every bit counts. As you take steps to improve your resilience, you’ll also be supporting your overall health of mind, body and spirit - feeling better and having more energy to keep doing the things you love! Start small. But you don’t have to feel overwhelmed - incorporating just one of them into your daily habits helps. Start with the change that feels the easiest first. Then build on your success to incorporate all 10 if you can!
Implementing these strategies can greatly improve your success in developing resilience for better aging.
GO TO PART 3: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE- A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC
Dr. Roberta Kline reports on age-related dysfunctions of the brain that can escalate in aggressiveness and complexity over time as the victim progresses toward the end of life. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) is currently viewed as a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is uniformly fatal. The most common form is termed Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (LOAD), which primarily impacts people over the age of 65 and is the focus of this article. In addition to its devasting impact on individuals with AD, it has a wide-reaching impact that touches every aspect of our society. But there is hope. (Visit Dr. Kline's full report)
