One Client’s Journey To Her Midlife Best
Every week or so, one of my clients, Jennifer, is going to share her process and journey with you. I love that she wanted to do this because I think some of you will see yourself, see what’s possible, and maybe be inspired to take action. We often try to “tough it out” when it comes to changing. Sometimes that can work though it’s a slow and painful route. Just like not taking pain meds when we need them delays healing and stresses the body, not getting help when it’s available can delay healing old wounds or get us out of less than optimal states of mind.
We welcome comments and questions. Jennifer and I are both happy to reply.
2/21/12
Today I am embarking on a journey I never expected to take, and I’d like YOU to come with me. Today is my first day of weight loss coaching with Gregory Anne Cox. I never thought I’d need this kind of help, because I am someone who is generally pretty good at figuring things out for myself. In fact, I have a whole list of “I AMs” that seem to say I shouldn’t NEED any help.
I AM:
Strong
Smart
Well-educated on nutrition and how food works in my body
Self-motivated
Aware of old, self-limiting beliefs and well on the way to overcoming them
And, in spite of all these things, I AM overweight.
Why should you care about MY weight loss journey? Because there’s a pretty good chance that, if you’re reading this, I AM YOU. I’m a regular, garden variety, 15 to 20 pounds overweight , crazy-busy middle-aged woman, who, like you, juggles about three too many things, and not always well.
I’m not particularly modest about my issues. With close friends, I have mastered the art of hilarious TMI. With strangers, I tend to hold my cards a little closer to the vest. For me, this kind of disclosure requires the type of courage that only gladiators, and mothers of three or more children, can summon at will. I don’t have kids, so apparently I’m a gladiator. Who knew!?
Public accountability (let alone accountability to both myself and Greg!) is bound to be somewhat painful, but I’m hoping my journey will resonate with someone else and encourage them to take the necessary steps to become their best self.
I’ve been battling these extra pounds alone for about 20 years, and I’m turning 46 in May. I feel like I’ve finally come into my own (late bloomer!) and am ready to make the next stage of my life all about me. Well… me, my husband of nearly 24 years, the other people who count on me to hold the universe in check, our pets, world hunger, my plants, etc. BUT I AM PUTTING MYSELF AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, DAMMIT!
I really don’t want to spend the second half of my life in a body that is not a true external reflection of who I am on the inside. I want to be the best version of myself… for myself, and for the people I love.
Join me on this journey, and feel free to offer your feedback. I will be brutally honest about the physical and emotional aspects of Greg’s coaching experience, and I will expect that same honesty from you. Support and humorous sarcasm are equally welcome — I’m fluent in both!
Could It Be A Thyroid Imbalance?
Here at Rebellious Wellness HQ I’ve been pissed off into action once again. I’m not pissed at any one person, it’s the system once again. Throw in a few organizations that sell drugs and one or two that profit from medical procedures like surgery, oh and while we are at it, let’s include practitioners who haven’t upgraded the information they base a diagnosis on in a dog’s age and there you have it–a system failing millions.
According to Drs. Richard and Karilee Shames, authors, along with their daughter Georjana Shames, LAc, of Thyroid Mind Power, The Proven Cure for Hormone-Related Depression, Anxiety, and Memory Loss, millions of women and men are walking around with undiagnosed thyroid problems.
In my interview with Richard and Karilee last week, they told me that Endocrine organizations (like the AACE) estimate that up to 30 million people in the US have thyroid imbalance, but that half of them don’t even know it. It might matter to you to hear that 26% of menopausal women have it–one in 4 of us.
One of my pet peeves has been given a name by the Drs. Shames. When a patient wants help with symptoms they know are real are told by their practitioner “it’s all in your head” that makes me sad and nuts. The Shames call this twice wounded: first by the health issue and then by the practitioner dismissing them.
Why are so many undiagnosed? It’s a two fold problem. First is that the standard blood sample is insufficient for some people. One of the problems is the range means people on the outsides of the curve can be suffering but told they are within “normal” range. Second, some docs/labs are working on the old range 0.5 – 5.0. The current acceptable range is 0.3 – 3.0–much smaller. Even within the current range, the common TSH blood test is not the best way to determine hypo- or hyper-thyroidism . A full panel, including free T3 and T4, TSH, and thyroid antibodies will give a complete picture of thyroid function.
People spend years in therapy, years on medication, years suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental conditions that could be relieved had the thyroid been properly tested and the proper support implemented.
Some people need only the right supplements and lifestyle changes, others will need medication. If taking thyroid medication already, did you know that estrogen is a thyroid disruptor? You might need more medication at times of changing hormone levels such as puberty, post-partum, peri-menopause and menopause.
The Shames’s have identified 5 thyroid/mind types and boy did I see myself squarely in the center of one of them. I’m waiting for my blood spot and saliva tests to come back and meanwhile I’m looking at supplements to see what I can add–or take away–to support this tiny but powerful gland.
You can find more information at their site: Thyroid Mind Power. You can find out more about testing here.
I’m more and more convinced of the need for hormone testing at any age when certain symptoms present due to the environmental toxins we ingest daily but no time is it more important than at midlife and beyond.
Don’t suffer needlessly with symptoms or a doc who dismisses them.
Let me know if I can help.
Do You Really Know If Soy Is Healthy?
Grocery store aisles are stuffed with soy based products—power bars, cereals, soy “milk”, yogurts, frozen desserts, hot dogs, cold cuts, and on and on. In most people’s minds the word soy is equated with “a healthy choice” regardless of the form it comes in.
Many doctors, nutritionists, and researchers would disagree.
Where is the truth?
The facts will follow, you decide.
If you are a midlife man or woman who eats soy, believes it to be a healthy choice in all forms, please be open. I was one of you. My daily research and reading about what constitutes a healthy diet has led me away from that idea. Not that soy is all bad, just that it is not a health food in all forms nor good for all people—men or women.
Here are some of the tenants of the soy debate.
Soy contains protease inhibitors. Protease or enzyme inhibitors, are substances that retard the action of digestive enzymes that work on protein. Hence protein digestion is hampered. Protein is one of the reasons people eat soy but it’s an inefficient way to get what you came for–protein. The debacle here is that protease inhibitors my have cancer protective elements. See why it’s tricky?
Next up are phytates. These antioxidant compounds are found in soy as well as grains and beans. Unless broken down by cooking or fermentation they block absorption and slow assimilation of the minerals, iron, zinc, manganese, and to some degree calcium. If the diet includes plenty of mineral rich foods, grown in mineral rich soil, and the occasional meal with soy, beans, and grains, you have little to worry about. Imagine though that one is using soymilk in their morning smoothie, soy cheese as a snack, whole grain bread, pasta or crackers later on.
It’s easy to see how phytates add up. This can be a problem.
Phytoestrogens are debate point number three. Phytoestrogens are chemical compounds found in some plants that mimic the estrogen hormone. Soy products are particularly rich in phytoestrogens. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your sex and the level of circulating estrogen you already have on board. Plant estrogens can disrupt uptake of natural estrogen.
What about the Asians who have been eating soy safely for years? Three things are what. The soy consumed by Japanese is fermented; miso, tempeh and the original version of long fermented soy sauce. When tofu is consumed it is not the only source of protein and is eaten in small amounts with vegetables making up the mainstay of the meal. I’ve been unable to turn up a historical record of miso soup with soy hot dogs floating in it.
Snark translated: they ate and still eat the healthiest form of soy—fermented—and they have many other protein sources to rely on.
Let’s heap one more thorn to this thorny conversation, genetic engineering. It is estimated that 90% or more of the soy grown in this country is from GMO seeds. That may be a yawn to some, for me it’s enough of an unknown with few supporters in the healthy foods industry to keep me away.
How can you include soy in your diet and not set yourself up for any of the above issues? Buy organic forms of fermented soy products like miso, tempeh, natto, or tamari—the fermented form of soy sauce. If you like tofu, keep in mind it is not fermented but enjoy it occasionally—no one will die from a weekly stir fry with tofu. Edamame, which must be boiled to be eaten, (hence phytates are partially broken down) are a healthy, high protein snack. Once again buy organic.
I was going to end but I can’t end in good conscience without mentioning this, hexane. Thanks to the Cornucopia Institute for this definition.
Hexane is a byproduct of gasoline refining. It is a neurotoxin and a hazardous air pollutant. Soybean processors use it as a solvent—a cheap and efficient way of extracting oil from soybeans, a necessary step to making most conventional soy oil and protein ingredients. Whole soybeans are literally bathed in hexane to separate the soybeans’ oil from protein.
The use of Hexane has been banned in organic food production.
The links below lead to lists of products with soy protein that are Hexane free and not. The first is for bars, the second for veggie burgers.
http://www.cornucopia.org/hexane-guides/hexane_guide_bars.html
http://www.cornucopia.org/hexane-guides/hexane_guide_meat_alternatives.html
One smart nutrition guru friend of mine believes the Dairy Council is behind such libelous ideas to promote dairy milk over soy milk. Me thinks the lady doth have blinders on but her point drove me further in to the research.
I’m off to shop for organic, fermented soy products as a delicious meat alternative. What’s the worst that can happen? I stay healthy and spend more on my food? Sounds like a steal of a deal.
Northern Winters Mean Vitamin D Supps Are A Must
There are a few things you might get tired of hearing me say. One is, “don’t’ fear fat” the other is “Take Vitamin D and take enough of it to give you the benefits.” When visiting my sister over Christmas I noticed that the bottle of excellent Vit. D I had given her last year was still on the shelf in her kitchen. “Yo, sis, what’s up with this?” She squirmed and had a reason or two why she wasn’t taking it. (I’m not a nag I just care about her health.) Many people have reasons why they don’t take their supplements. I feel the reasons for that are these:
they can’t feel or see a difference when they do take them
they don’t know the benefits
they don’t trust what they hear or read because of the dissenting opinions out there
First of all, often times we don’t feel differently taking supplements because the improvements they make are an inside job. In the case of vitamin D–really a precursor hormone–much of its work will not be felt or seen but you might not get sick as much, might get better faster, have improved blood glucose levels and way more.
The benefits comprise a long list. Let’s start with heart health. Optimal vitamin D levels correlate with arterial flexibility, lower blood sugar, lower risk of stroke, better cancer survival rates in those that do get the disease and less cancer rates overall, lower rates of dementia. It is also being reported to help with metabolism overall.
Two of the 4 newsletters I get each month written by the docs I trust-Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Dr. Julian Whitaker–featured the need for Vitamin D as the lead story. Winter is the worst time to try to get sufficient Vit. D from the sun, mainly because it’s too darn cold to go out half naked and there is less sun overall.
Here’s a cool set of statistics from Dr. Whitaker’s newsletter for January. “In areas nearer the equator, where Vitamin D levels run high due to sun exposure, disease rates are lower than in areas up north where there is less sun and deficiencies are the norm. Type 1 diabetes for example, affects 22 per 100,000 children in Rochester, Minnesota, 3 per 100,00 in San Diego, CA. and is virtually non-existent in sunny Cuba.”
Did I mention bone health. One thing I’m sure you want is strong, fracture free bones right? Vitamin D is vital for bones. Supplementing with calcium at high doses–1200-1500 mgs/day is no longer recorded because it is implicated in calcification. Taking vitamin D lowers your need for calcium.
Supplementing with Vitamin D3 is inexpensive and safe to very high levels but the recommended conservative dose is 2000 mgs per day for adults and 1000 mgs per day for children. Optimal levels run between 40 – 60 ng/mL according to Dr. Sinatra and 50 – 80 ng/mL in Dr. Witaker’s opinion. I go with 5000 mgs per day which is what my doc told me to take during cold and flu season. (I also had low levels–30 ng/mL even though I was taking 2000 per day. I think it was an absorption thing so I switched brands, bought a gel cap cause it’s a fat soluble vitamin vs a tablet and will get tested again in 5 months to see where I’m at.)
In case you worry about toxicity listen to this one from Dr. Whitaker. “From 1955 to 1990, all East German babies received 600,000 IU of Vitamin D every three months from birth through 18 months of age–a total of 3,600,000 IU. No toxicity was reported and East German children were surprisingly healthy despite substandard living conditions.”
I rest my case and encourage you to buy some of this critical nutrient and add it to your arsenal for better health.
Even if you aren’t a supplement person and don’t take anything else, I’d make this one an exception.
Do You Have Wheat Belly?
Gluten-free this and that has been making my head want to pop off for some time now.
Why? For one thing, everyone is not allergic or sensitive to gluten.
For two, replacing gluten containing foods like bread, muffins and cookies with gluten-free products means many people are still eating way more grains than is healthy in the form of rice, corn and soy flour. They’ve replaced the devil they knew with one they don’t baked into the same muffins, waffles, and cookies that were making them fat and sick when it was wheat flour.
That said I have had some of my experts say that everyone becomes gluten sensitive as they age. Others have said we should all give up gluten because of its ability to boost blood sugar levels through the roof. I could get on board with that but it wasn’t until I read the book Wheat Belly, Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back To Health by William David, MD that I became convinced that there is a whole lot of truth to the idea that the genetically engineered wheat we eat today is a big problem for all but a very small subset of the population.
Dr. Davis is a preventive cardiologist who has used wheat elimination to heal thousands of his patients of everything from obesity to diabetes, celiac disease to heart disease. His journey of discovery about wheat began with his own frustration and extra thirty pounds. An extra thirty pounds that persisted even though he jogged, watched his diet and included lots of “healthy” whole grains. When he noticed that the days he began the day with toast, bagel or waffles were those he slogged through with lethargy he became curious. By contrast, when he’d eat a 3-egg omelet with cheese for breakfast he was fueled and energized for hours.
Wheat it turns out is addictive, pro-inflammatory, and disease provoking. When Dr. David’s patients opted in for a wheat-ectomy they not only lost weight but reported less pain, better sleep, and of course, more energy.
If you crave wheat in the form of baked goods or pasta, sweet or savory, pick up this book. Impossible though it might seem to live a wheat and gluten free life it could mean you won’t suffer from joint pain, allergies, diabetes, or other nasties.
At the least it could mean your belly will not be a storage facility for fat.
Once again the quest to look as good as we can provides the additional bonus of helping us stay healthy.
