1 Small Step Curiosity-Led Health Coaching

14/04/2026

13/04/2026

You ever notice how people wait until they feel really bad before they take their signs and symptoms seriously?

When it’s mild, it gets brushed off....

Low energy. Poor sleep. Small discomforts....
That’s all manageable, so it gets ignored.

Life carries on.

Deadlines. Distractions. Daily routines, and the body just gets worked around.

👀 But when it starts affecting work…
or stops them doing what they normally do…

then it suddenly becomes urgent❗️

Then something has to change.

But the body didn’t suddenly decide to do something new....It just reached a point where it couldn’t keep things quiet anymore.

🔧It had been adjusting the whole time🔧

Working around, compensating, trying to keep things stable despite the circumstances

That takes energy 💥 and over time, that adds up.

The small signals were there early on, clear enough to be seen and heard, but they didn’t interrupt life enough to be taken seriously 😫

So they were pushed aside.

Until the body had no choice but to make it more obvious, more persistent, harder to ignore 🤕

And that’s usually the point where people finally listen 🥹

It finally got loud enough - BUT, by then, they’re not dealing with the beginning of something, they’re dealing with what’s been building.

That’s the part most people miss.

They think the body has suddenly changed.

But really…

they’ve just caught up with it.

helps you to keep pace... to catch up faster...

No need to wait for The Big Thing to take you down...

~Michelle

👣Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

11/04/2026

I listened to a 'retirement podcast' and was dismayed that the speaker built ill health into every retirement as a certainty. First I got sad, then I got angry, then I got flipping righteous!!! This person does not see what I see... so many clients and customers well into their 80s, in rude and resplendent good health ❗️❗️ It's yours for the taking, but only if you don't wait to long 🙆‍♀️

These are the lessons we learn from the healthy olds....

⸻

💣 Your health is your real job

Nothing else matters if your body refuses to cooperate.
Move. Walk. Stretch.
Guard your sleep like treasure.
Eat cleaner. Reduce the poison disguised as sugar and salt.

Illness doesn’t discriminate,
but it respects those who take responsibility for themselves.

⸻

💣 Create your own joy

Waiting for others to make you happy is the fastest way to heartbreak.
So you learn to enjoy the small things —
a peaceful breakfast, a good book, music that warms the soul.

When you know how to make yourself happy, loneliness loses its power.

⸻

💣 Aging is not an excuse to become helpless

Some people turn aging into a performance of complaints.
And slowly, even those who love them start stepping away.

Strength is attractive.
Resilience is magnetic.
People respect the ones who stay capable, not the ones who surrender.

⸻

💣 Protect your peace like it’s your property

Not every argument needs your voice.
Not every insult needs your response.
Not every relative deserves access to your emotions.

Peace is expensive.
Protect it from drama, negativity, and draining people — even if they're your close ones.

⸻

💣 Keep learning something — anything

The day you stop learning is the day you start aging.
A new recipe, a new word, a new app, a new hobby — your brain needs movement just like your body does.

Learning keeps you young.
Stagnation makes you old.

⸻

💣 Aging is not a medicatable disease. You are net deficient in stating, beta-blockers, networking, blood pressure pills, or any of the chemicals big pharma tells you 'older people' need. By all means, take care of the real concerns! Thank goodness for modern drugs that give us quality of life. But don't fall for the hype that you need to be on 10 chronic to live long and prosper 🖖

❗️You can adapt, build, and advocate for yourself…
or sit back, complain, and wait for someone to rescue you.

And if ....
No one comes to rescue you ....

Stand up for yourself ...

Because you can, because you're strong, because you made your health your 'real job'

~Michelle

👣Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

Www.1smallstep.co.za

10/04/2026

Saw a client today who has some very unpleasant digestive symptoms 🤕 While normally we try and encourage a Small Steps approach, this time we had to Go Big or, well, stay sick...

😫 she needed to be reminded over and over again that this is the 1st leg of a long journey, that these restrictions and measures are finite, and not forever. Stay in the moment Sista 😊 do what you can today. That is all...

You've got this 🫂

~Michelle

👣 Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

Www.1smallstep.co.za.

09/04/2026

All too frequently a Live Blood Analysis reveals Red Blood Cells that are not round ⭕️

If this client also has creaking knees, stiff fingers and crepey skin, we might talk about fats like butter and fish oils, about mineral: fluid ratios, and I'll introduce them to a fantastic mineral - 💠

🌱Horsetail tea is a traditional herbal remedy valued for its high silica content, which promotes bone, hair, and nail health. It acts as a natural diuretic, reducing fluid retention and aiding in the management of urinary tract infections. It also possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may support immune health" Above all that, it helps will cell wall integrity. WINNER!!

☕️

~Michelle

👣 Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

08/04/2026

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FOOD AND A SUPPLEMENT? The cofactors ❗️

This post is specific to 'vitamin' D but applies to most vitamins and nutrient supplements.

👀 Whole foods possess the requisite cofactors for the nutrients to perform their important functions.

But what is a cofactor anyway? When people don't know the terminology, they miss the significance of wise guidance.

🚜Cofactors are the biological support crew that nutrients require to function safely and effectively. In nature, never exist as isolated chemicals; they are part of a complex matrix where one substance activates or steers another.

When you consume Vitamin D from natural sources (things you would actually eat), it arrives with built-in regulators that prevent it from causing systemic damage. For instance, magnesium and boron—found in fatty fish and sunlight-exposed mushrooms—are required to convert Vitamin D into its usable forms. Without them, the hormone remains stagnant in the system.

Similarly, Vitamin K2 and Vitamin A, often found alongside D in egg yolks and liver, act as the internal GPS to ensure calcium is deposited into bones and teeth rather than sticking to arteries or kidneys. This synergy ensures that the nutrient performs its intended task without collateral damage.

🚗Taking an isolated Vitamin D supplement is like putting a high-powered racing engine into a car that has no steering wheel, no oil, and no brakes. The engine has immense power, but without the cofactors acting as the steering and brakes, it cannot be controlled.

To keep the car on the road, your body is forced to rob its own internal stores of magnesium and other minerals to try and build those missing parts. Eventually, this leads to metabolic bankruptcy, where the very supplement taken for health begins to break down the machinery of the body.

Www.1smallstep.co.za

07/04/2026

💉How many tests and procedures do you know of that are truly a part of preventative medicine?

A regular blood sugar test? Yearly laboratory blood tests with your GP? CT or MRI scans?

For example, having a regular blood sugar test is not part of prevention. The reason for this is quite simple. ⬆️High blood sugar means that the body has already failed at all its attempts to regulate the blood sugar. An abnormally high blood sugar level is a process that takes a long time to develop, with many countermeasures used by the body in its attempts to manage the situation. If you were to prevent high blood sugar you would need to be able to identify imbalances many years before the blood sugar reads high on a standard sugar test.

🔬 detects many imbalances that cannot be detected through conventional investigations. It is an invaluable tool in preventative medicine as it uncovers imbalances that, if left unchecked, will lead to a number of chronic diseases.

Many of these imbalances are brought on by vitamin and mineral imbalances and poor dietary and lifestyle choices. It is a well-known fact that most chronic diseases are exacerbated by diet and lifestyle.

You start (always) with 1 small step 👣

Www.1smallstep.co.za

Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

05/04/2026

☀️ a cautionary tale...

🪘Most recent Blood analysis client, a 65yo entrepeneur, who has no balance or natural rhythm in her life; she lives and dies by the stress of the deadline, every hour of every day ☀️

Her prescription included minerals (of course) and the urgency of finding nature's rythms: day-night circadian, digesting, hormonal, mood, natural sleep cycle, natural energy rhythms.... we need to find these and try and flow them to be truly in balance, and it starts with 1 Small Step 👣 seeing natural light BEFORE you see your device - surely a thing everyone can do, especially in a South African summer (I'll challenge you to still do it in winter. It may make you admit to an uncomfortable attachment to your screen though 🫣😵‍💫🤢)

☀️5 Powerful Reasons to Get Sunlight Today (That Most People Never Learn)

We’ve been taught to fear the sun…but your body was literally designed to run on it!

Here’s what intentional, daily sunlight actually does:

☀️ Ignites Cellular Energy (ATP production)
Sunlight interacts with your mitochondria—the tiny power plants inside your cells—helping them produce more ATP (energy). Morning light, in particular, tells your body: “It’s go time.” More real energy =less need for caffeine

☀️ Regulates Hormones Naturally
Sun exposure helps signal the brain to balance cortisol, melatonin, thyroid hormones, and reproductive hormones. When your light signals are off, hormones follow. Sunlight = hormonal communication done right. (& your hormones are your communicators, your internal network, and you know what happens when your internet grid is down... same same)

☀️ Supports Mineral Balance + Utilization
Minerals don’t work in isolation—they respond to light. Sunlight helps your body properly utilize magnesium, calcium, copper, and iron where they actually belong. Without light? Minerals can become misplaced instead of beneficial. (Think restless leg at night...)

☀️ Calms the Nervous System + Lifts Mood
Natural light increases serotonin and dopamine—your feel-good neurotransmitters—while helping regulate stress hormones. This is why sunlight can reduce anxiety, improve resilience, and help your body shift out of fight-or-flight.

☀️ Sets Your Sleep Cycle for Deep, Restorative Rest
Morning and midday sunlight tell your brain when to start producing melatonin later that night ‼️ Better light exposure during the day = deeper sleep at night.

✨ The truth:
Sunlight isn’t the enemy.
Avoidance—not exposure—is what disrupts biology.

Start simple:
• Morning sun in your eyes (not directly! no sunglasses)
• SMART Skin exposure when possible (avoid the harsh mid-day rays)
• Consistency over perfection... a little bit every day is better than overdoing on Saturday)

☀️ Step outside today. Your cells are waiting!

~Michelle

👣Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

This principle is foundational in the work of Morley Robbins and the Root Cause Protocol—because healing starts with restoring how the body was designed to function.

👉 Learn more about restoring health naturally:
🔗 https://therootcauseprotocol.com/

04/04/2026

Jan 20th 2026 -The Lancet...

Sitting is the new smoking 🙆‍♀️

5 minute increments feel so doable 🚶‍♀️

Imagine where you'll be 6 months from now 😎💪

(& don't say "far far away"... you know what I mean 😁🤪)

~Michelle

👣Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

02/04/2026

🛢️ Seed Oils: The Hidden Threat in Your Kitchen!

We’ve been told that seed oils like canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and corn oil are “heart healthy.”

But the truth is, they’re one of the biggest drivers of mineral imbalance and inflammation today!

👉 Why seed oils are harmful:

❌ They’re highly processed with heat + chemicals → already rancid before hitting the shelf
❌ Packed with unstable omega-6 fats → create oxidative stress in your cells
❌ Drain magnesium and copper as your body struggles to clean up the damage
❌ Disrupt mitochondrial energy production

Over time, this means more fatigue, more inflammation, and less resilience.

🌱 The Root Cause Protocol encourages going back to ancestral fats that support mineral balance, like:

Butter & ghee 🧈
Coconut oil 🥥
Olive oil (real, cold-pressed) 🌿
Tallow & lard 🥩

✨ Your body needs healthy fats to absorb nutrients, build hormones, and protect your cells. Seed oils do the opposite.

👉 Ditch the fake fats and return to the real ones — your minerals (and energy!) will thank you.

Www.1smallstep.co.za

01/04/2026

Calm is not just a mindset…..It’s a biochemical state....

And you cannot think your way out of an unbalanced body🧐

Calm isn’t a personality trait 😇 It’s a balanced mineral situation

https://1smallstep.co.za/2026/03/16/maybe-youre-not-bad-at-stress-maybe-youre-mineral-depleted-2/

~ Michelle

👣 healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za

30/03/2026

🩸Your body makes 2-3 million Red Blood Cells per second, every day 🤯

This prouction happens in bone marrow, then RBCs are stored in the spleen for rapid turnover and recycling

Because of the lack of nucleus and organelles, the RBCs cannot divide or repair themselves, and this is what allows live blood analysis to be able to see the true state of health of the blood cell, and through it, the recycling system, and indeed overall health 🔬

is revealing, and can change your futbealth trajectory 🔛

~Michelle

👣 Healthcoach@1smallstep.co.za