So Maybe it Wasn't Daily...and That's Not Ok

Anyone who has known me since at least the beginning of the year - has seen our office make literal leaps and bounds.  I'm just hanging on for the ride, making things happen - choosing the best options for our business - moving our office to its own gorgeous building and then having the opportunity to open at Bally's King of Prussia.  A lot of work goes into that, organizing, decorating, and the admin.  Our office as a whole has been working to make it all happen - and we did, but not without a detrimental effect on my health.

It was insidious.  I had been doing Boot Camp up until February and began to have cardiac symptoms.  Chest pain.  High blood pressure.  I'm a pretty calm and happy person - but the stress of moving and getting everything done obviously was getting to me.  First warning sign:  IGNORED.

I could blame that - and quit.  And that's what I did.  It was uncomfortable to workout without getting chest pain.  Because I stopped exercising consistently - my choices of foods swayed towards things that weren't good for me - and resultantly my kids.

When we talked in the office about health - I began to make excuses about how I had no time to eat right.  In defense of myself - and everyone else - when you don't exercise, or eat foods that are in harmony with your body, you crave pure crap.  Carbs.  Processed foods.   Even Diet Soda (gasp!)  When you start to crave crap 24/7: Warning!  Warning!  IGNORED.

I didn't gain weight (probably because all the muscle I put on over the last few months atropied - but I started to "look" different.  I started to feel different.  And it wasn't just physical.
BIG WARNING:  IGNORED.

When I'd look in the mirror - which I don't do a lot - I noticed I looked tired all.the.time.  I had bags under my eyes for the first time in my life.  My skin was dull.  Makeup wouldn't cover it.  I was tired all day.  I justified it by saying - I'm 38, what do you expect?  My 20 year reunion is this year.  When I was 18 - I thought my parents were old when they went to theirs.

By 8:30 at night, I was exhausted - my 4 year old would be running around the yard shrieking, "Play with me, mama!" and knowing what's ahead with my 13 year old not doing that anymore - I wanted desperately to have the energy to savor these moments with her because who knows when it's gone.  I bought comfy chairs to park my butt - so I didn't have to "play with her" but instead watch.  I would drink a glass of wine and read - and thought, "I'm out here with her - that should make her happy!"  I honestly didn't have the energy to get up and run around kicking a ball or even make chalk drawings on the driveway.  HUGE WARNING:  IGNORED!!!!!

In my office, I talk a lot about divine intervention.  Sometimes your body plays into that - and in it's wisdom - will shut you down if you are on a road that isn't good for you.  I have seen time after time - people who refuse to heed the lessons from their body and in return - after time - their body rebels and shuts down saying, "I warned you if you didn't stop - I'd stop you" - whether that be popping out a rib that feels like it is stabbing you to the point where nothing else matters, your back going out - or for me - feeling like I was dying.

For the last month - Dr. Arthur and I have been working our office hours and on top of that - working at Bally's 6-8 in the morning and night.  It has been fun, but exhausting.  The weekends we usually recoup - but had a busy Saturday seeing patients and then Julie and I were invited by the o.m.g. most beautiful clothes I've ever seen, Piazza Sempione at the King of Prussia Mall to talk about Stress.  My talk was about not just the stress that one thinks of immediately, which is psychological - it was about the stress we put our bodies through nutritionally. (How IRONIC! :) )    They served Godiva truffles and champagne.  Due to the nature of the event and how gracious the staff was - we stayed longer - and drank more champagne than I would ever drink along with a ratio of about 2 truffles an hour.

I worked out at Bally's to compensate for that after it - and came home to my husband making steaks, with crusty Italian bread.  I was starving for real food - and slathered my bread with butter and salt.  From a suggestion from a patient on how to make steak - I put a tablespoon of butter on my steaming steak to make it "more flavorful."  And what is steak without wine?

This combination awoke me at 4am with searing stomach pain like I've never experienced.  While I never had the classic food poisoning sequelae - I felt like I had been poisoned.  And I had.

I poisoned myself. Day after day after day for the last few months.

It was like some of my patients - who wail, "Why now?  Why me?" when something that didn't bother them for so long and then **SNAP** it is now a problem.

I felt like I could die.  Other than seeing an emergency patient in the office that morning - where I felt slightly sick - I came home and collapsed -  sleeping the entire day.  My joints ached.  I had a fever.   I felt like someone stole all my energy.  My eyes burned.  I was absolutely incapacitated.  It was sheer, scary hell. And I did it to myself.  It made me mad at myself.

I get one body and I feed it complete junk.  I stress it out.  It is all I have and I made it crash.

I have the power to heal or hurt.  And I'm done with hurting me.  My health is one of the most precious things and I took it for granted - that my body would cover for me and take the abuse. No more.

For the next two days - I decided all that I would feed my body was things from the Earth.  I dug out our juicer.  Made myself salads with no cheese or dressing - just veggies.

And you know what - I feel better.  I look better.  I was awake last night at 9pm after getting home from work and a board meeting - easily having the energy to chase a shrieking giggling imp and her little pup.  I feel like me again.

So - over the next few days - I'll be progressing to our First Line Therapy detox - with a similar vein.  Its a  whole food medical grade detox to heal my liver from all the damage I've done.  I hadn't realized how sick I had gotten and out of control - and I'm taking the control back.

I'm amazed how good and clear minded I feel.  It's almost like someone who didn't realize their vision had slipped so badly - until you put on glasses and see the world perfectly clear.

It is easy to get off course - but it only matters if you get back on the horse.

You can heal yourself with food.  What do you have to lose?  Do it - before you have a wake up call like me.  Now, who is with me?! :)

Are You Skinny Fat?

Ah, spring time…time to clean up your closet, clean up your diet, and most importantly clean up your health. For many of my patients, I see them launch into a crash diet.  To be honest, I did the same.  But what happens when you are done?  You gain it back….but why?

Perhaps  you’ve gained weight from eating more of what you didn’t before.  But it goes deeper than that.  For those that have lost over 20 lbs. and put it back on quickly, it has more to do with how you took it off.

In 2001, I weighed 265.  I blamed it on having a baby – but I had her in 1998.  Admittedly, I’m tall – but 265 is pushing it.  My body hurt.  I wore a size 22.  After Christmas of 2000, my sister got cute little workout clothes, and I got kitchen equipment and mumu’s.   I had had enough!  Nearing the clinic in chiropractic school, I didn’t see any overweight chiropractors and said, “I don’t want to be the only overweight chiropractor.”  (Since then, I’ve seen many :) – but I used that as a mantra.  

Using Weight Watchers, over the course of a year, I lost 80lbs.  Sometimes I would fast if I ate too many points and eat a head of broccoli for dinner or their Cheese Soup that was 1 point.  I didn’t really change what I ate – only the amount.

When I lost the 80^th pound, I stood up and bragged how I never had exercised ONCE.  Not one single time in the entire year and I still lost weight.  How stupid I was.

After keeping the weight off – I looked great.  I wore a size 12 (I’m 5’11) so that was great for me!  

My first job was at Gold’s gym in King of Prussia.  People thought I looked fit and invited me to the circuit class.  

Again – thinking because I’m thinner – I am in shape, right?  The circuit class was held in the middle of the floor for all to see working out.  Within 2 stations, I was ready to puke.  With sheer embarrassment, I shook off to the bathroom and could not get out of the stall for an hour!

So embarrassing!

So here is what happened.  I lost 80 lbs. in 7 months.  I burned off the fat, along with lean muscle.  Lean muscle is an indicator of health and vitality. Because I burned off my lean muscle, lack of exercise resulted in rapid weight gain.  When you crash diet you take away the bad and the good.  Even if you exercise and diet – if you do it too fast (which is what everyone wants!) – you‘re setting yourself up for future failure.

When you diet to lose weight, your goal should be to maintain your lean muscle while losing the fat.  How do you monitor this?  We use a device called a Bioimpedance Analysis . A BIA evaluates your body fat, lean body mass, and calculates your fat content.  This is the most accurate, short of a DEXA scan.  People think the underwater body testing is accurate, but the BIA is just as effective, as you cannot express the oxygen out of your lungs which occupies mass and space.

How should you do it?

1.    Incorporate an exercise program, even if it is just walking.  For us women over 35, you should include a weight-bearing exercise program with weights.  Women will NOT bulk up using this.  If you need help, ask your sports medicine doc, chiro, or PT.  Perhaps you have a trainer at the gym and have never used your free sessions.

2.    Don’t push it.  It took time to put the weight on, and long-term, do you want to just lose it now, only to gain it back?

3.    Make sure you are eating whole foods that are nutrient-dense.  The more ingredients something has – typically the less healthy it is. 

If you ever have any questions, please ask.  I took off 18lbs. last year – and I know each one of them is off for good!  Losing weight is simple science, but it is important to understand the why’s to gain long-term weight loss.