Blog Archives

Fat For Weight Loss

1/31/2016

This week I have been attending the Fat Summit. It's been a great week of learning from a lot of prominent doctors of functional medicine. Basically, what science has proven now is that you need to eat fat to lose weight. All the low fat, no fat foods hurt your body more than they help.
Your brain is fat and needs fat to work. One of the most interesting and helpful tidbits I learned this week is that they've shown that if you eat a small handful of nuts approximately half an hour before you eat, you will get fuller, faster with less food. This is because the nuts get your brain awake because of the fat and it primes the leptin receptors so that your brain can receive and understand that hormone and let you know you're full.
Nuts are great sources of protein, fat, trace minerals (like selenium and magnesium) and antioxidants. Many nuts are good for the organs they look like: walnuts for brain health, hazelnuts for breast health, etc.
Commit to eating an ounce of nuts each day before lunch and dinner. Get a variety of nuts so you're don't get bored and it will also give you a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and your body will thank you for it.

I'M BACK AND FOLLOWING MY OWN ADVISE

1/15/2016

Well some of us have to learn lessons the hard way. For some reason I always seem to have to learn my lessons the hard way. One of the basic rules of holistic medicine is to listen to your body. Yeah, about that. . . I didn't blog during Christmas because it was Christmas. I had every intention of talking about resolutions and intentions, etc. on New Year's Day but I was headed home on New Year's Eve and felt my lungs burning as I was coughing. I went home and ate healthfully, did a hot mustard plaster and went to bed. The next day I woke up feeling better, so I kept my plans for the day and about 2/3 the way through the day I knew I was getting tired but I pushed myself anyway to finish meeting with friends and family and shopping, etc. That Sunday I was exhausted and slept. Monday morning I woke up to go to work and my first thought was, “No!!!! anything but having to get up and get going, I'm exhausted and don't feel good.” I was thankful we had freezing rain and I couldn't drive for a couple of hours but my inner pleaser came out and I was afraid I was letting someone down so I forced myself to stay up and fret about getting to work until I could get there. Tuesday I again felt horrible but forced myself up and out the door. By Wednesday I was so sick I couldn't do it any more. I lay in bed and slept and kept fighting with that inner voice saying I had to go to work. I finally decided I was having such a hard time breathing I needed to go to Urgent Care. I had worked myself into being very sick. I was put on antibiotics for a bronchial and sinus infections. I spent the next two days sleeping. I forced myself to work on Friday but realized Saturday, after a sleep in, that I didn't remember much of the day before. Clearly I was too sick to work but I made myself because I didn't want to let anyone down. I spent that weekend sleeping and finally started to mend. What would have been a 3-4 day recovery has turned into a two week recovery and required antibiotics, which destroys gut health. Now I must take several weeks to rebuild the bacterial balance in my gut. Lesson learned—listen to your body. If you're not feeling well and need to sleep, sleep. Your body will always tell you what it needs or doesn't need but you have to be willing to listen. Our bodies are made to heal themselves but we need to listen and give them what they need. Bone broth, sleep, hot shower, chicken soup, sleep and more sleep--the body repairs itself when it is sleeping, when it's awake all of the energy is spent working so its only when we sleep the body can heal. Listen to your body, especially in this time of flu, cold, bug season.