foodfoodbodybody

Welcome to Karen, one of my first friends in the blogosphere. I’ve been so moved by her thought-and-feeling provoking blog, and happy she is here.

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I am so honored to be guest posting for Foodie while she’s away. For me, she is a role model extraordinaire and I admire her on so many different levels.

I am here to talk about my journey a little bit. What I want to discuss specifically is overall health and how it can affect one’s ability to lose weight. I am not a doctor or health care professional so this is just my opinion, based on my experience.

I have come to believe that health issues can cause obesity, not necessarily the other way around (although both can be true). A year ago I was depressed and in chronic pain (muscles and joints). I felt like my brain was in a fog most of the time. I craved sugar in all its forms. I felt out of control with food and wine. I binged. I had regained 25 of the 55 pounds I had lost back in 2005 and 2006. I was a hot mess. I felt like a lazy, out-of-control failure.

In November, I went to see a naturopathic physician (http://www.naturopathic.org/) based on the recommendation of my chiropractor. He said that the naturopathic approach to medicine is more holistic and about balancing the body as an entire system, versus putting a band-aid on symptoms in the form of medication.

For example, a naturopath might see a slightly elevated thyroid number and instead of prescribing a drug, will look at adrenal function. Elevated cholesterol might be a function of elevated thyroid function. Nasal allergies might be due to an imbalance in the gut (as my husband found out after he saw the naturopath…after 50 years of suffering, he hasn’t had to take any sort of decongestant or allergy medication in nine months and his post-nasal drip is gone).

I was curious, but also somewhat skeptical. It’s not that I thought she was a “quack” or that naturopathy was like voodoo, but I think I had given up hope that a naturally healthy body weight, without extreme diets, and without doing what I find uncomfortable and difficult, was possible. I thought I was just getting old and tired.

So on my 47th birthday I had my first appointment with my naturopath. If you’re curious, you can read about the specifics here and here and here.

And details of my visit with the hormone specialist are here.

Why I am sharing all of this? Because I am no longer a hot mess. My aches and pains are (for the most part) gone and I enjoy exercising. I no longer crave any type of food or alcohol or feel “false hunger.” I do not overeat or binge. I am happy and my thoughts are clear. And I am losing weight naturally, without having to over think it, worry about it, or feel deprived. This is how I always thought it should be.

In addition to this, another huge component of my journey has been really getting in touch with who I am, what I want, and the emotions that surround food, my weight and my body. I didn’t want to discount that aspect of what I am doing for myself.

And finally, I want to say that in addition to the naturopath and hormone specialist (who is an MD and formerly practiced as an OB/GYN), I have a primary care doctor with whom I’ve been for 13 years. I keep all three of them in the loop!

I fully understand that each of us is on our own path and that what we learn and when we learn it happens at the right time for us. I am not here to say that the way I am doing it is the only way, but rather to share my experience. If you see in yourself any similarities to what I’ve described here, please advocate for yourself with your physician and/or seek alternative care through a licensed naturopath (http://www.naturopathic.org/).

Welcome to Pubsgal from An Opposite Life!  The first healthy-blogger friend I ever met.

(….And Possibly Only Applicable to the Opposite Family)

Hi, Foodie McBody fans!  Foodie sent out an invite for guest posters,and I was excited and happy to have the opportunity to write a little something for “Food Food Body Body.”

But, um…what to write?  I wanted it to be something about healthy living, but it seems to me I’m almost too immersed in this blogosphere to have any fresh ideas at the moment.  So I thought, “Why not interview my family, who have been so supportive in my quest for a healthy body and a healthier approach to food?”

First I asked The Things, so named after the mischief-makers in “Cat in the Hat.”  Thing 2, my 6-year-old daughter, was wheedling me to play a board game with her as I was snarfing down some nuts and a little Merlot for dinner.  I interviewed her as she set up Littlest Pet Shop: The Board Game….

Pubsgal: “Do you know what ‘advice’ means?”

Thing 2: “No.”

Pubsgal: “It means ideas for things people need to do.  What advice would you give people for being healthy?”

Thing 2 [after a thoughtful pause to consider]: “Eat healthy foods.”

Pubsgal: “For example…?”

Thing 2: “Don’t pick your nose and put it in your mouth.  Use a tissue.”

(Did I mention that The Things are consummate masters of the non sequitur?)

Pubsgal: “Okay…Anything else?”

Thing 2: “Don’t kiss other people, other than your family.”

Pubsgal: “Why?”

Thing 2: “Because you’ll share germs.”

Well, now.  I guess I won’t have to worry about her for another year or two or hopefully 20….

Thing 1, my eight-year-old son, wandered in from playing outside with a neighbor friend.  Which was just as well, that homemade bicycle ramp was looking kind of rickety….

Pubsgal: “What advice do *you* have for healthy living?”

Thing 1: “Wash your hands always.” (Rich, considering how much we have to coach on this item.)

“And drink good and fresh water.” (Something they fortunately do.  We keep a water dispenser in the fridge and their cups on the counter next to the fridge, so they can self-serve as desired.  They *usually* remember to close the fridge door all the way….)

“And…Oh, Mommy!  Check out these cars I got today…” (I guess toy cars are part of the healthy living formula.  Which translated to more general terms means, “Have an interest or hobby.”)

Pubsgal: “Any more?”

Thing 1: “Always brush your teeth good.  Eat healthy foods.  Not just the food like donuts.  Never eat junk food.”

Pubsgal: “Never?  That sounds kind of extreme.”

(So…we should give up Sunday Donut Day here at Casa des Pubsfolk?)

Thing 1:  “Well, just once in awhile.”

Pubsgal: “What should people do to be happy?”

Thing 1: “Play lots of play.”

[Exit Thing 1, to play with his new Indy cars. Quod erat demonstrandum, indeed!]

Thing 2 [chiming in]: “Play board games together.”

Pubsgal [reaching for the board game spinner]: “Hint taken.”

Thing 2: “Play with your family and friends.  And do chores and…”

Pubsgal [perking up, dreaming of uncluttered floors]: “Oh! Does doing chores make you happy?”

Thing 2: “No.” [Pause to consider this quandary.] “Get all your chores done so you won’t have any more.”

So we finished up our game, and I wandered over to Mr. Handsome-and-Handy, who was just settling into the Man Cave to chillax on the computer.  He worked hard taking care of The Things today: bathed kids, shopped with kids, fed kids, took kids to the park, and supervised the neighborhood bike and scooter session.

Pubsgal: “So I’m writing a guest post for Foodie’s blog today.  What advice do you have for healthy living?”

Mr. H&H: “Get outside.”

Pubsgal: “Anything else?”

Mr. H&H: “Don’t read the news.”

Works for me.  My philosophy?  If it’s really big and important, the news will find me.  Mr. H&H has been feeling rather stressed out lately by following news a little too much.

We then moved on to the “happy living” question.  We made several obvious jokes that I won’t bother repeating here…I then asked the question muchly on my mind lately: “So what do *you* do to get out of a funk?”

[…more winking and nudging…]

Mr. H&H: “Oh!  Hang on.  Close your eyes.”

(What could it be? He was launching something on the web browser last I looked…)

Mr. H&H: “There.  Open them.”

On the screen was Netflix, opened to a “Trailer Park Boys” episode.

There you have it!  You may or may not find *all* of our family tips useful in your own quest for health and happiness, but hopefully they at least gave you a chuckle or two.  They work for us!