One Vessel

The first thing before even starting on a journey is to know where you are and where you have been. I often find creating a timeline in life may be helpful. For instance, if you are trying to increase strength, it may be helpful to create a timeline of what your strength has been over time and why- when where the highs and lows? How long have you been where you are? What insights do you gain from that? It might also be helpful to create a vision board- https://www.healthcoachinstitute.com/articles/how-to-create-a-vision-board/ or how about journaling which is validated in research to be very helpful https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7923245/health-benefits-of-journaling/

One of the hardest things about wanting to change our body composition is that we often find out, just like any change in life, it is not one thing. Health habits can mean there may be various things- nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, mood, hormones, etc, etc that impact. What’s sometimes even tougher is when some of those things are really hard, if not seemingly impossible to change. The good news- is when you understand all of the pieces involved, you bite off what you can- create a I-S.M.A.R.T goal (the "I" stand for why it is important to you!) and then move forward from there. Goals can help create a habit and one habit can turn into a consistent way of life.

Medication is an add on tool. It is something that may be added because you have tried so many things along the way and are frustrated. Medication is not for everyone. As with any medication, there are potential risks and side effects. It is imperative that an intensive plan be followed. Please remember many of the medications available have been available for years. In some cases, and this is interesting to me, when these same meds were not studied for weight loss but other medical conditions, the weight loss was not as robust. What does that say- no doubt some medications are currently doing an incredible job of helping with insulin secretion and glucagon production while also attaching to the stomach and intestines to help with hunger and satiety, what is also important is the counseling and coaching that go along with that. If you do decide on one, there are some “rules” I ask you follow. Checking in once monthly (in person or by video) is recommended for the first 3 months and continued with a regular cadence depending on how you are doing and what the need is. That is because behavioral changes and management require ongoing attention. The research even states if we can do this 12-26 times in 1 year, that will also help in long term maintenance. I am finding an amazing thing, particularly with the GLP1/GIP RA meds- it impacts so many other body systems, including, dare I say, motivation to assist with change. It still can mean it is more than me you need to be meeting with. When we meet or message with each other, we review items such as blood pressure, pulse, sleep, stress, medication response, nutrition, exercise, goals, body composition, and any concerns.

There are bad, good, better and best ways to fuel your body. And while there can be some general ideas, we all are different and by no means perfect 100% of the time. Our body is composed of water, lean bone and muscle mass, fats (adipose) and other organs (adipose is actually an organ too). While the body needs various macronutrients and water to survive, the body utilizes proteins to maintain and replace tissues and to function and grow. Proteins are the building blocks of all we do and depending on our size, functioning and activity, we should intake a good amount. I like to utilize the Inbody scale to help estimate this with you. Check this out for other ideas of how to find protein sources: https://www.dietdoctor.com/high-protein/eat-more-protein

Our body also relies on fats and fiber (carbohydrates). How we fuel our body changes over time and is complex. We may have aversions, intolerances or even allergies that challenge. We know as we hormonally change, our fueling likely will have to change as well.

Our food system has it's own challenges. A label may say low sugar and have 5 ingredients that are sugar. Ingredients of a "healthy" product may be too numerous and artificial. I value whole food, gardening and meal prep. That's not everyone's cup of tea. Small, meaningful and affordable changes are possible. Please don't sit back and wait for our food system to change. One way we can change it is in the way we purchase. A meal that fuels generally requires a little prep work. Though that is why I love whole foods- an apple, besides a rinse, may require none.

Some things we cannot change- some parts of our genetics, viruses, age, prior events. We form our body composition at various points in life. For instance, fats cells form in the final stages of the developing fetus and at puberty. These are 2 times we are not even aware, much less "in control" of this formation. It’s important to realize the first stop on this journey should be acceptance of where you are right now! Exactly where you need to be…your beautiful self with a life full of experiences that have shaped you for today. If you are ready and you feel you want to, getting a better understanding of your current state, how you got there and what your vision is for the future are great places to reflect on. Once we better understand how our own individual metabolism can influence not only how our body uses the fuel we put in and burn off but how it also effects hunger and feeling satisfied then we can better formalize a plan moving forward. One of the hardest questions to address is “hormones”. Why? Because we are hormonal beings! We often think our male or female hormones are to blame. Or we hear of that awful cortisol response! No doubt, these are factors. We have 50 others. Hormones are the communicators. Puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause are all key times of vessel wiring and firing changes. I think the hardest thing about that- while our vessel changes, we often don’t. What I mean is we expect all of this change to just accept what we are doing and behave like it did. I have heard it “I am not doing anything different” or “I am just getting old”. And that is ok if you are content. We decide. If you are not content, you may want to take time to sit down and think about what you may need to change to help. Maybe it’s nutrition, a different type of exercise, prioritizing sleep, avoiding alcohol, or finding ways to manage or perceive stress response. Gosh, that’s all hard. Other tools may be needed for this. Sometimes gaining strength is a secondary outcome once the pieces of it all are addressed to help recharge the metabolism.