Pursue Wellness - Kelly Lutman

11/13/2025

Pasta night used to feel like comfort food in the moment. But not long after the last bite, I’d feel it—foggy head, heavy limbs, that quiet dip in energy that made everything feel a little harder.

It wasn’t about guilt or “bad carbs.” It was my blood sugar swinging hard in both directions.

Then I started doing one small thing that helped smooth the ride: cooking the pasta ahead of time, letting it cool fully, and reheating it when I was ready to eat.

Here’s why it helps—and what it looks like in practice:

1. Resistant starch forms as it cools.
When pasta is cooled, some of the starch changes structure. It becomes what’s called resistant starch, which acts more like fiber than sugar. That means it passes through the small intestine without being broken down the same way, leading to a slower, steadier digestion process.

2. Blood sugar stays more even.
Instead of the quick spike that often follows freshly made pasta, I’ve noticed a more gentle, sustained energy when I eat the cooled-and-reheated version. My body feels less reactive, and the post-meal crash is far less intense.

3. It’s easy to batch and use all week.
Some Sundays, I cook a pot of pasta and store it plain in the fridge. During the week, I reheat small portions and dress them up however I want -- maybe olive oil and herbs, perhaps a bit of lemon and sautéed greens. It’s flexible, grounding, and helps me move through the evening with more ease.

One quiet shift that lets me enjoy the meals I love, without the crash I used to dread.

11/12/2025

Have you ever been told, “Everything looks fine,” when your body was telling you something was wrong?

That experience fueled my journey into Functional Medicine—and now into teaching others how to support their metabolism, energy, and blood sugar naturally.

I’m inviting you to my upcoming masterclass:
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 & 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥

You’ll learn:
~ The two core principles of blood sugar dysregulation
~ How the liver influences blood sugar more than we realize
~ Food-based strategies to flatten glucose spikes and prevent long-term complications

If you value prevention, root-cause healing, and evidence-based lifestyle shifts—this is for you.

💬 Comment “INFO” for the link.

11/11/2025

Your kidneys are constantly working in the background, filtering about 50 gallons of blood a day -- roughly the full volume of your blood every half hour, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But subtle signs, like fluid retention, fatigue, and mental fog, can sometimes signal that these quiet organs could use some support.

Here are three ways to care for them through simple, everyday choices:
1. Drink water with attention, not pressure.
Kidneys depend on fluid to clear waste efficiently, but there’s a difference between staying hydrated and pushing past your body’s natural rhythm. If your urine is a pale straw color, that’s usually a good indicator that your fluid intake is on track. For some people, that’s six glasses. For others, more or less, depending on weather, movement, and metabolic needs. The goal isn’t to hit a magic number, but to stay tuned in.

2. Let your meals lighten the load.
Kidney-friendly eating doesn’t require a restrictive overhaul. What helps most is building meals that ease inflammation and reduce metabolic strain. Think more of the foods that support your system over time -- berries tossed into breakfast, a handful of greens with lunch, roasted vegetables paired with fish at dinner. Less packaged sodium, fewer processed meats, and a gentler approach to protein overall can give your kidneys the room they need to function well.

3. Keep your body in motion—even gently.
Movement supports the organs by regulating blood sugar, balancing pressure, and keeping circulation strong. A walk after a meal, stretching while your tea steeps, dancing while the oven preheats -- small moments of motion add up. And they help move more than just your muscles.

Your kidneys aren’t loud. They won’t send sharp signals like a sore back or a pulled muscle. But when they’re supported, there’s often a soft shift -- less puffiness in the face, more clarity in the head, a steadier kind of energy.

11/07/2025

You don’t always need a fancy trail, a stunning view, or a whole afternoon to enjoy nature. Sometimes, just a simple moment spent in the outdoors can help ease the tension in your body, even on the busiest days.

These little moments don’t require a lot from you -- they just invite you to be present and soak it all in.

1. Bare feet on real ground
Dirt, grass, sand, gravel. The uneven texture underfoot does something that a flat floor can’t. It wakes up the lower body, softens the breath, and gives the mind something concrete to notice.

2. A tree that holds your attention
Not because it’s the biggest or most beautiful, but because it slows you down. Maybe it’s the ridges in the bark, the shape of the leaves, or how the light threads through the branches. Staying with it for even a minute helps quiet mental clutter.

3. Wind across your skin
When the air moves over your arms or across your face, your system registers a cue that you’re part of something larger. It can interrupt the tight loop of internal focus and widen your awareness.

4. Watching small patterns in motion
The way water moves in a puddle. A bee tracing the edge of a flower. Shadows flickering through a fence. These small, fluid visuals pull the nervous system out of rigidity and into rhythm.

5. Looking out, not down
Gazing past the horizon or even toward a distant building line gives the eyes a break from close-range strain. It can settle the vagus nerve, ease facial tension, and create a sense of internal space.

11/04/2025

Care to share a selfie of you and your jacket or sweater?

11/03/2025

When bile flows the way it’s meant to, digestion feels smoother. There’s a quiet sense of ease after meals, rather than the lingering weight or fog.

Bile is made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, and it plays a behind-the-scenes role in breaking down fats, moving waste, and absorbing key nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K. When it gets sluggish, you may feel it in ways that are hard to name. A heavy belly. A dull skin tone. A kind of fatigue that doesn’t match your output.

Here are some of the foods I lean on when I want to support flow:

1. Bitter greens
A handful of arugula tossed with olive oil. Dandelion leaves stirred into soup. The bitter flavor nudges the liver and gallbladder into gear.

2. Beets
Roasted, grated raw, or blended into a smoothie. Beets are rich in betaine, which helps the liver thin and move bile more effectively.

3. Lemons and limes
Squeezed into warm water first thing in the morning or over greens at dinner. Their natural acidity can help loosen bile that’s thickened or slow to move.

4. Artichokes
Steamed or marinated, artichokes have a long history of supporting both bile production and overall liver tone.

5. Egg yolks
Soft-boiled, scrambled, or folded into a bowl of rice. Yolks are rich in choline, a nutrient your liver uses to make bile in the first place.

6. Warming spices
Ginger grated into tea. Turmeric stirred into lentils. Cinnamon over baked apples. These spices gently wake up the digestive fire and support flow.

10/31/2025

Stress can sometimes feel like a loud alarm, but other times it whispers, hiding among the nuances of your day. These subtle signs often disguise themselves as quirky personality traits, minor slip-ups, or just an off day. Yet, when they begin to pile up, it’s usually a gentle nudge from your nervous system asking for a little extra care and support.

Here are often unnoticed patterns:

1. You keep interrupting yourself mid-task.
You open a tab to send an email, but check your calendar instead. Then remember the email again, start typing, stop halfway, and suddenly you’re refilling your water. These constant pivots can point to a dysregulated attention system -- not because of distraction alone, but because your body doesn’t feel quite safe staying still.

2. The grocery store feels harder than usual.
It’s not that anything goes wrong. You just find yourself overwhelmed by the lighting, the sounds, the choices, and the need to navigate small decisions. Environments with too much input are what finally tips your body over a threshold.

3. You snap at small things, then apologize quickly.
An email comes in late. A noise interrupts your train of thought. You respond with more heat than you expected, and it surprises even you. These quick outbursts followed by guilt are often signs of a system that’s lost margin -- a body that’s been holding tension longer than it can quietly manage.

4. You forget what you were doing, even while doing it.
It’s not the same as spacing out. It’s more like going through motions while part of you hovers just above it, slightly detached. This kind of disconnection can be a subtle protective pattern. It gives your nervous system a buffer from stimulation, even if it means you don’t fully feel like yourself.

5. You keep reaching for stimulation, even when tired.
Scrolling at midnight. Drinking coffee before sitting down to work, even if you’re not fully awake. These habits often show up when your body is craving regulation but doesn’t trust it will come naturally.

None of these indicators are extreme. However, recognizing them may be the initial step in addressing your stress before it becomes overwhelming.

10/28/2025

10/27/2025

When energy feels hard to hold onto, it’s worth looking at what’s quietly shaping your day. Protein and fat will keep you full longer, and you don't need to eat animal products. Pantry staples don’t get much attention, but the foods you reach for without thinking often carry the most impact. Here are five to keep on hand that can help support more stable energy, fewer crashes, and steadier moods.

1. Steel-cut oats
These cook a little slower than instant versions, but that’s part of what makes them supportive. The texture takes longer to break down, which helps release glucose into the bloodstream at a steadier pace. On mornings when you’re running behind, they reheat well and don’t need much -- just a spoonful of nut butter or a handful of berries can turn them into something substantial.

2. Canned beans
Black beans, chickpeas, white beans -- whatever you keep stocked, they all bring fiber, protein, and a kind of grounded satisfaction to quick meals. Toss them into a salad, warm them with olive oil and garlic, or mash them into a wrap. They help soften the blood sugar response to a meal and can make the difference between steady focus and a crash two hours later.

3. Nuts and seeds
Keep a jar within arm’s reach of wherever your afternoon hunger tends to show up. Almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds -- these bring fat, protein, and a bit of crunch that often satisfies before the craving takes over. A small handful can help bridge the gap between meals, especially on days that don’t unfold as planned.

4. Quinoa
This grain cooks quickly and carries more protein than most. On nights when energy is low but you want something nourishing, quinoa can anchor a bowl of whatever vegetables or proteins are already in the fridge. It doesn’t spike blood sugar the way some other carbs might, especially when paired with fats or fiber.

5. Apple cider vinegar
A splash in warm water before a meal, or stirred into a simple dressing, may subtly support blood sugar regulation.

Just having these ingredients around makes it easier to feed yourself in a way that steadies more than just hunger.

10/27/2025

Reading this article was so encouraging. I often talk to my clients about getting outside, but what if your doctor actually prescribed taking time to be outside? Not what you would expect, yet it is exactly what many people need!

Why wait for a doctor visit and prescription? Get outside!

Health care providers are trying a new tactic to promote the healing effects of nature: They're actually writing prescriptions for it.

10/24/2025

Autumn has its own tempo. The light changes. The mornings cool. Trees begin to loosen their hold and let go of what’s no longer needed. Everything around you starts to exhale a little more deeply.

This seasonal shift often stirs something in the body, especially if you’ve been moving through life in a heightened, hurried state. It offers a more grounded rhythm -- one that doesn’t demand, but invites. For a nervous system that’s been operating on urgency, that invitation matters.

You don’t have to rebuild your routine to respond. A few adjustments can be enough to help your system register safety and start to unwind from a prolonged stress state.

Here are a few ways to work with the season instead of against it:

Breathe with more attention.
You might already be breathing shallowly without realizing it. Choose one or two moments in your day to inhale more fully and extend your exhale. A slightly longer out-breath can begin shifting your body toward rest, especially when practiced consistently.

Move without a goal.
Consider walking slowly, stretching for sensation rather than range, or swaying with music that feels steady. These kinds of movements bring awareness back to the body without triggering performance mode.

Step outside, even briefly.
Fresh air and daylight support your internal clock and help regulate energy and sleep. Let your body feel the temperature shift. Let your eyes register what’s changing in the trees or sky.

Savor texture and temperature.
Warm drinks, soft fabrics, grounding foods -- these sensory experiences support regulation. Noticing them with intention provides cues of safety that your nervous system can register, even when your mind is elsewhere.

There is no need to force rest or prove its value. Your physiology is built to recover, and this season often reinforces that truth. As the pace around you begins to slow, you may find that your body already knows how to follow.