Finding the path toward wellness

It has been a long time since I have written a post. Kate Steinberg and myself set off to talk about SIBO in the fall. She did her part and I struggled with mine, my heart just wasn't in it.

I have been discouraged with healthcare for some time and my path for providing care again has largely been based on what I have personally experienced mixed with patient experiences. The manipulation, the Band-Aid approach, the quick fix...they are rarely the answer. Time after time clients come to the office with complaints but their blood work is normal, so they must be normal, right?

Like many health care professionals, I know that health hinges on several factors; diet, environment, quality of sleep, movement/exercise, stress reduction, but we don't talk about those areas with patients. They require time. They require people to care for themselves and that is not often an easy thing for people to do.

Why am I writing about this seemingly nebulous topic? I seems that I should just confess that it is hard to be vulnerable as a person, say nothing of a practitioner. Through the course of the fall, winter and now early spring I have come to understand some things and one is that while I am not someone who has an eating disorder, I do have disordered eating. The reasons for this are too many to count, but dieting was always going on in my house...Jane Fonda low calorie, low fat, no eggs or dairy, vegetarian, paleo, keto, intermittent fasting....the list goes on and on. Not one of these strategies helped me to be thin and if they did, it wasn't sustainable. My body simply refuses to be starved and not have what it needs. All of the diets I have tried for weight loss had to do with deprivation....but not long ago I realized that not only is deprivation not working for me, it is working against me. I know for sure that I need to eat good food. Real food...and certainly more of it than I am used to eating.

I went away on a couple of trips with a friend who is a normal weight and size. I have known her a long time. She can eat anything she wants and stays the same size. She likes sweets and candy and often foregoes food for something sweet. My telling this story is because I understand that being a normal weight is not necessarily the only goal and that achieving a normal weight is done by giving the body what it needs, not taking things away. This isn't about judgment of what someone else eats, it is about the ah ha moment that I realize it is about giving, not about depriving. That being a normal weight is ideal, but sometimes those people have other complaints such as joint, muscle and bone pain, poor circulation, poor sleep,GERD, and other symptoms.

Working with hormones, it occurs to me that one of the hormones that wreaks havoc in the body is insulin in its response to sugar. So many symptoms can be related to low estrogens, progesterones, cortisol, but one of the biggest players in the grand scheme of things is insulin.

This being said, I was offered the opportunity to use a continuous glucose monitor (Stelo) for two weeks and it was eye opening. I was eating good food, but it was clear that I was disconnected to the effects the food had on my body and I was able to change up what I was eating to stay not only in range with the monitor, but to stay on the low side of normal and keep my glucose (insulin) spikes to a minimum. What this meant was that I slept better, was motivated to make good food to nourish myself, I had energy all day, my mind was clear, my muscle aches and pains were nearly gone and I felt happy....like I was doing something good!

Reading research and following insulin information in research, I know that I am on to something that could help a lot of people. WE are all different and what works well for one, won't work for others. I won't speak to bariatric surgery or GLP-1 medications or any other medical intervention. They are quick, temporary fixes that don't fix what's wrong. WE are disconnected from our food and how it fuels the body. When you give the body what it needs, you are rewarded with good things and your body works hard to return to equilibrium and to normal size.

This being said, I have purchased Stelo continuous glucose monitors for the office and will offer them and support to help people find their bio-unique paths to wellness. No. It isn't an overnight cure or a pill or surgery, but with a little bit of working with your body, you could learn to love it and all good things that come with being well! Come along on the journey with me.....I'll help you!