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GREG HOTTINGER
Slim Coach
best-selling author of
Coach Yourself Thin

Greg Hottinger, MPH, RD, is accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, worked as a nutrition educator at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center and the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine. Currently, Greg is a nutrition consultant  teaching faculty member for Wellcoaches, the leading coach training organization.

Coach Yourself Thin  - Greg Hottinger raises awareness around eating, activity, &  body image. He provides a safe & supportive structure & guidance for creating a wellness vision that WORKS.

"IF you are feel stronger, have more energy, and feel more inspired as a result of living healthier and shifting your thinking, your quality of life will improve and this will be evident by how you relate to your friends, family, and the environment."

We were so excited to meet with THIS  EXTRAORDINARY COACH
for the following interview.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Greg Hottinger

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional with whom would you change places?

Let’s see. I’d be interested to spend a week as John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, and see the wilderness as he saw it in the 1800s.  He was so excited by nature and did so much to preserve Yosemite and Sequoia National Park. Here is a description of his first encounter with Yosemite: "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower." 

Muir was such a free spirit that would start his expeditions by: "throwing some tea and bread into an old sack and jumping over the back fence."   He invited Ralph Emerson to come see Yosemite for the first time. He said: “Join me in a month’s worship with Nature in the high temples of the great Sierra Crown beyond our holy Yosemite. It will cost you nothing save the time & very little of that for you will be mostly in Eternity.”

In one sentence, what is your best advice for older adults?
Remember to live in the moment by reflecting on the quote by Lao Tzu: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”

Greg Hottinger

Define “young at heart” as it relates to you.
I’m learning a lot about being curious and playful from my three little children (ages 4, 2, and 9 months). “Young at heart” means to remain a child in spirit, to be awestruck by a flower, a sky filled with snowflakes, or seeing baby birds in a nest.  I envision myself appreciating the magic of seeing the plants and animals come to life in the spring even as my body adds on decades.

What are the most positive changes you see happening for older adults in the future?
Two things come to mind: the first is hearing more stories of older adults making changes to their eating habits and experiencing wonderful changes, such as the healing of a sore shoulder, or being able to restore healthy blood sugar levels. How does it work? When one significantly increases the nutrients from fruits, vegetables, salads, fresh juices, nuts and seeds, and reduces the inflammatory compounds from fast food, fatty meats, refined flour and sugar, soft drinks, etc., amazing things are possible.

The body is able to heal longstanding ailments. My father healed a neck that was very limited in mobility for 40 years (all the way back to his wrestling days in high school)! The second is how the internet, Skype, face time, and other technologies are helping adults stay more connected to their friends and family and to not feel isolated or alone. It is possible to cultivate meaningful online friendships with those that live in other places and to be involved in exciting projects.

 How did you get interested in your work as a nutritionist?
I started at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center in 1996 and was surrounded by great people who taught me more about the change process and I found that it was a wonderful way to work as a nutritionist.

On the surface, I help people lose weight and regain control of their health. On a deeper level, I’m encouraging the work of the soul that is being gentler and more self-compassionate, more mindful, and more optimistic and adventurous.

If you won $30 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
I would fulfill on one of my dreams that requires me to have a great deal of flexibility with my schedule. I need a new name for it, but right now I refer to it as the “First Responders Crew” and it goes like this: When a natural disaster happens, such as Hurricane Katrina or Sandy, a team of us coordinate the trucking of natural foods, from warehouses to the disaster site. We’d be there in 18 hours or less. There, we’d have several food trucks that would be stocked and parked close to the recovery effort.  

We would begin preparing delicious foods for the volunteers and those that were displaced by the disaster. We’d play soulful music, create a positive vibe, offer smiles and support, and serve up one delicious healthy meal after another, from a hot bowl of oatmeal with almonds and blueberries and a hot cup of good coffee or tea, to omelets, sandwiches, wraps, burritos, fresh fruits and vegetables, hummus, and grilled fish and chicken.  We’d do our part to support the recovery effort and nourish those looking for mostly organic healthy foods.

And, with some of the lottery winnings, I’d have a little spot in Hawaii where I could wake up, do a little yoga, eat papaya with my wife, and go snorkel with the turtles and look for dolphins.

Greg Hottinger

Greg is a nutrition consultant for Rodale Press. He is a licensed wellness coach and faculty member with Wellcoaches Inc., co-author of Coach Yourself Thin (January 2012) and author of The Best Natural Foods on the Market Today (Huckleberry Mountain Press, 2004). more at NOVO WELLNESS

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