Shhhhh..... Listen to Your Body

What I love about doing workshops is the sharing that goes on between the participants. Everyone has a story & while each story is different, they all have similarities. Somehow we need to hear these stories over & over to stay motivated in new lifestyle changes.... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

MEET DENISE

Quite simply, I’m obese. It shames me to say this because it is the one area of my life that I cannot control. As a professional woman I wonder what people think & why they would trust me to handle their personal matters, when I can’t manage my own body. I’ve been on every diet that exists to no avail. I rationalize by saying I don’t have time & my work life takes precedence. I fail to understand why I can take a complicated work project & enjoy the process, yet this doesn't happen with my eating issues. Why would I do this to myself?

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Denise is an intelligent woman who is quite simply barking up the wrong tree. Her obesity is the way her body is communicating the fact that it isn’t getting what it needs & until it does she will continue down the same path. But keep in mind that the path changes step by step. We do not remain the same outside & so why would we believe that we remain the same inside?

Denise is playing the blame game, more than likely because the solution hasn’t been found to her problem of fat storage. There are many reasons why people store fat,. It is usually a combination of things including inaccurate serving amounts of foods, types of foods, times of eating, emotional & stress management to name just a few. Of course, Denise’s family & personal medical/addictions history all play in the background and must be taken into consideration.

We can all learn from reading the wording of her statement & question. You can see her beliefs & the strengths of her convictions. All of these are inner stress producers needing release because stress chemicals aid in the storage of fat. As Denise learns more about herself, her personal needs & inner mind programs she will be able to turn her work successes into personal ones as well.

MEET ANA

My grandparents on both sides were alcoholics. I have never had a drink, but still have this problem with sugar cravings. I have to carry sugar in my purse just in case I get shaky. My doctor ran some tests & while he maintains everything is fine, I’m not!

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

There is usually an underlying problem of reactive hypoglycemia in practicing alcoholics, as well as in their offspring. This includes young children & other family members whether they drink or not. More than likely, Ana is having low blood sugar in the afternoon. It’s interesting to note that it happens so regularly that she knows to carry sugar in her purse. This is an important finding, because remember if you can see something, you can change it in some way.

As far as blood tests, it is difficult to diagnosis reactive hypoglycemia. Sometimes a five hour glucose tolerance test will be positive, but certainly fasting blood sugars will not. The reason for this is that the low blood sugar is in reaction to the food intake & cannot be seen when the person doesn’t eat or fasts. Even if someone has a negative glucose tolerance test, I suggest they have a good look at their nutritional intake, their protein requirements, as well as the timings of the meals. All of this is important to good blood sugar management.

Keep in mind that when you practice healthy blood sugar management, it is like saving for the future. You are keeping yourself away from the chronic disease doors that may run in your family.

MEET JILL

I have known that sugar is a problem for me & I do attempt to eat well. However, when I’m stressed out I could eat the wallpaper off the walls. Why is this & what can I do to get a handle on it. Sometimes it is terribly inconvenient.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

When stress is up, the production of stress chemicals is up! Sounds pretty logical, but most of us tend to forget it., however we can recognize the term “fight or flight” & know what adrenalin feels like as it surfs the body. What most of us don’t know is that adrenalin is only one of the stress hormones. There are many being produced in each moment, sometimes sending body signals that are recognized and other times the signals are lost to us because we our attention is somewhere else.

As Jill learns to work with the tools presented in the workshop & book, she will be in more direct contact with her body & therefore her stress chemicals.

When the body is under stress, be it physical or emotional, there is more demand for food. Insulin is a stress chemical. You already know that it’s job is to manage blood sugars, as well as to conserve or store fat. Hormones work hand in hand with each other to bring balance to the body in the moment. As Jill learns to spot her moments & to work with them in a healthy way, she will be able to manage stress without it managing her. When outer stress is high, the body may need additional food for balancing and healing. Depending on Jill’s family and personal medical history, her intake may need some adjustments that she will learn about making later in the workshop & book.

MEET ANDY

I know I have poor eating habits. Actually they could be called non-eating habits because I never eat breakfast, hardly ever eat lunch & eat whatever I can find at dinner. I do smoke, have an occasional drink, but wouldn’t call myself an alcoholic. At my last physical my doctor told me that my cholesterol was high & that I should get my diet in order. So if I’m not eating, what is there to get in order?

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Andy is walking a dangerous walk, but unfortunately has lots of company on this path. For some reason people forget that the cells in the body need nutrients to be able to function. It would be like expecting a car to run without fuel. When some people look in the mirror, if they don’t appear sick or overweight, they develop a false belief that if the outer is fine, then the inner is fine as well. They couldn’t be more wrong!

The body cells are busy making changes & planning outcomes whether they get what they need or not. In Andy’s case they are definitely not getting what they need. To make matters even worse he is smoking. Cigarettes are not just about nicotine for there are thousands of chemicals in each puff that Andy is busy delivering to the already deprived cells. One can only imagine what’s going on in there!

As far as cholesterol is concerned, the liver builds it for many reasons, insulin over-production being one. If Andy’s family medical and addictions history is strong, he may actually be building high cholesterol from insulin imbalance from not eating. This paradox is often seen in people who over-exercise and under-eat.

MEET LILLI

I have terrible PMS. The sugar cravings are so bad that I carry several candy bars with me at all times. I’m not over-weight but wonder if I should be concerned or not. No one in my family has diabetes or heart disease. My mother died from breast cancer, and my sister has ovarian cancer.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

It’s not uncommon for individuals who have a positive family medical and addictions history to have hormonal imbalances such as PMS. There is also a tendency towards developing hormonally related cancers such as breast, uterine, cervical & ovarian. This is not to say that everyone who has PMS is likely to develop these, but if the family genetics are strong for these diseases, it is a good idea for women to take notice while developing good lifestyle behaviors aimed at prevention, just as in diabetes & heart disease.

Lilli has several indicators that need attention, including her PMS & the need for sugar supplements in the afternoon. Like Ana, these are pretty regular, pointing to a dietary imbalance of some sort that is easy enough to care for once it is seen. Remember, once you see something you can work to change it.

MEET SAM

I play professional golf, but have a terrible time with concentration, especially later in the afternoon. Last week I actually felt a bit dizzy, thinking it was my blood pressure. I do take medication for it, but wondered if there was something I needed to get a handle on here, besides my golf club?

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Even if the family medical and addictions history is not significant, this doesn’t mean that the body needs can be ignored. This is another path that many people hang out on for some reason. If you could be one of your body cells just for an afternoon, I wonder what you would say about yourself. Be careful not to be too complacent about how you care for yourself because you may get a serious wake-up call.

For Sam, he probably is having a low blood sugar, and it makes me wonder what else he might be having that he doesn’t see. Even it there isn’t anything else there, Sam would do well to have excellent blood sugar care, plus some additional skills for concentration and focus. He can certainly bank on those!