Last week at my latest doctors appointment, I had a moment of completeness. As I have written about previously, I have a lot of problems with my thyroid and after some frustrating conversations with my old doctor, I decided to switch doctors (well that and I have Obamacare which, well don't get me started). I am a big believer in not taking pills unless you absolutely have to and managing whatever condition you have with diet and exercise so when my old doctor immediately wanted to talk about ridding my thyroid gland via radioactive iodine, I knew it was time to get another opinion. She is an old school type of doctor - she's had her own practice for many years and is all about prescribing pills. She doesn't discuss eating or exercise habits and in fact is substantially overweight herself. I stayed with her initially because she treated my thyroid disease efficiently the first time around but when it returned after a year and a half of remission, she jumped way too quickly into chemically treating it. I didn't like that and she offered no other alternatives. I felt like I knew much more about my condition than her after all of the research I had done on my own. That didn't make me feel secure. My new doctor, on the other hand, is fabulous. She is young and fresh and interested in having a dialogue with me about my condition giving me equal power over the decision making. (maybe I was too quick to knock Obamacar!) When I told her that I had adjusted the dose of my meds on my own, she said she was fine with it because I know my body better than her. My old doctor would have scolded me but she was telling me that I am the one who gets to make the decisions about my health. It felt so liberating. She spent over 30 minutes with me really talking to me - not just treating me but getting to know me and trusting my decision making. She also made my condition seem far less scary than my old doctor. She was honest in telling me that I will probably have to deal with fluctuations and medication adjustments for the rest of my life but she saw no reason to jump to surgery or radioactive iodine or even drawing blood more than once a year. My old doctor had me in for blood work every month and that was not only time consuming but nerve wracking. Anyone who has ever waited on results of tests can tell you how this feels - its a constant nervousness until you hear back. No one needs that. This new doctor also gave me a complete physical and all of my blood work came back perfect. We looked at it together - my triglycerides, cholesterol, sugars, electrolytes, liver and kidneys were all in perfect shape. She said in fact I could be the poster child for what healthy eating does for the insides of the body. My blood pressure was also the lowest it has ever been in my adult life at 107/62. I had the nurse take it twice just to be sure there wasn't something wrong with the machine. In that moment when we were looking at my numbers together, I felt so immensely proud of myself. It was the best validation I could think of for my decision to lead a healthier lifestyle. I thought back to 8 years ago in my doctors office in Boston when he told me that I was unhealthy and needed to lose weight and lower my blood pressure. That was my turning point and last week that decision to turn my life around came full circle. Everything I have done to improve myself was there in writing right in front of me. It was hard proof that every agonizing workout, every time I ate a salad instead of pizza and every 9 pm bedtime was totally and utterly worth it.
Something has definitely clicked for me lately in the way I am approaching my lifestyle changes. I used to feel so burdened by it. Eating right and exercising was something I HAD to do rather than something I WANTED to do but now that has shifted. I think that it really started with my yoga practice. While I have done yoga intermittently over the years, the last 4 months I have been doing it daily and it has deeply changed me for the better. It resonates with my body in a way that no other type of exercise ever has. I feel more free in my body and that is why making healthier choices about food has become much easier. My blood pressure, while usually within the normal range would still fluctuate from time to time but since yoga it has been low and it has been steady. I have been gluten and sugar free for about 3 weeks now and I have more energy, I sleep better, my skin is clearer and I am leaner. I am not doing it to lose weight but to control the symptoms of my thyroid and that is another shift. Before, eliminating things from my diet never worked because I was doing it for superficial reasons. Now, I am doing it because it makes me feel better and looking better is simply a bonus. People have noticed too - I have had several members at my gym comment about it- they ask me what I am doing because it has had such a positive effect. I am still ensuring that I maintain balance in my life even through this shift. Last weekend, I drank 4 glasses of red wine and ate a huge chicken Parmesan cutlet. There was no guilt though, because during the week it is vegetables, lean protein, fruit and lots of water. This is the balance that feels good to me right now and is helping my body heal.
Now that I feel so good and see such positive change, I can't help but want to spread it around. I get so frustrated when I see our culture so pill happy. Doctors are so quick to prescribe pills to treat a condition and I'm so lucky to have found a doctor that does not want to do that. Why are doctors so uncomfortable with prescribing diet and exercise as a means to a healthier life? Well, one very big reason is money. Pharmaceutical sales is a billion dollar industry - money is to be made off of pill popping. Another reason is that many doctors are ignorant about nutrition and don't exercise themselves. In every doctors office I have ever been, the majority of the staff has been overweight. Until there are changes within the medical field itself, there will not be real changes to the way patients are treated. We treat the symptom, not the disease.
Taking a pill for many conditions only controls the symptoms and as soon as one goes off, the symptoms come back. If we don't make an effort to change how we got a condition in the first place, we will never get well. I also talked to my doctor about why she thinks I got thyroid disease because I really wanted to treat the root of my problem. She said that there was no real way for me to have prevented it because it is an autoimmune, genetic disease which means because my mother has it, there was a great chance that I was going to get it regardless of what choices I made. Autoimmune diseases can be caused by many things most of which are out of our control so I had to rest with the knowledge that I can't fix the root of my disease, I can only manage my symptoms as healthfully as possible. This is not the case, though with many of the diseases that have infiltrated our country - diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and other obesity related illnesses. In my opinion it is NOT acceptable to take a pill if you have high cholesterol and then continue to eat a diet high in fat, sugar and animal meats. I get that everyone has a right to make choices for their own body but when it effects other people around them, I don't think its ok. This is my opinion. I am careful to say that because this reasoning will surely upset a lot of people (or perhaps the 2 that read this blog but I highly doubt it given that they are 2 people close to me who understand this reasoning). Why do I care so much about how other people treat their bodies? Well, one reason is that I do this for a living. I put a lot of my own time and effort into helping people make healthier lifestyle choices. It is a cause I deeply believe in. I have seen the effects first hand in my life. I honestly cannot understand why people wouldn't want to have a better quality of life and feel better minute to minute. I really believe that everyone wants that but too few are willing to do the work to achieve it. Also, I believe it is selfish to neglect yourself. If you are not caring for yourself properly, everyone around you suffers. I see how worried my husband gets when I am in the midst of one of my thyroid fluctuations. I never want to put my loved ones through any unnecessary worrying. No matter how invincible you think you are, some day, years of bad choices will catch up to you. I for one do not want to be costing myself or my family thousands of dollars in medical bills because I need a knee replacement or co-pays for the 20 pills I'm on to keep me functioning.
I work with 2 groups of seniors in the gym and this week was the start of their 13 week program to begin exercising after years of neglect. I am always amazed at just how out of shape these people have gotten. 90% of them are obese, 80% of them have limitations because of surgeries in knees, hips or shoulders and more than half of them haven't done more than walk 2 blocks in 20 years. They can barely move and they have such fear of exercise. We were teaching them how to stand up and down and one gentleman who has had a knee replacement was pushing all of his weight into his knees because he was so fearful of further injuring them, when in reality he was doing more harm that way. When I corrected him, he was so quick to dismiss me as wrong but saw the difference in how his knees felt once I showed him the proper form and then he trusted me. It is easy to see how many of these people got this injured. They never had the proper guidance. Education and guidance from a professional is key to success. Why are we so quick to acknowledge this in a classroom but yet when it comes to caring for own bodies, we think we know best. Would you ever profess to know more about Shakespeare than your English Lit professor who studied in Stafford for 20 years and wrote dissertations on Hamlet? Probably not right? Well then why do so many people refuse to listen to a health and wellness professional? I come up against resistance from clients on a daily basis. I think part of it has to do with the mixed messages we have received over the years about what we should be eating or not eating. In the 80s pasta was good and fat was bad, then meat and cheese were good and carbs were bad and then it was drink soy milk instead of cow's milk and then it was soy is bad for you, switch to almond milk. You can't log into your email without seeing a new message about what we should be eating daily and delivered to us in the most frightening way possible. This has created such a sense of confusion that people give up trying and just eat what they like. Unfortunately often that ends up being processed sugar and fat. As far as moving goes, we have just stopped. In many, many parts of the country, people drive literally everywhere. I am fortunate to live in NYC where walking is trendy AND necessary but in many places walking isn't even possible. We have even stopped the small movements that used to get at least SOME steps in daily. We take elevators instead of stairs, we park as close as possible to the store, we ride the bus, train, scooter or motorized cart rather than use our own two feet. The personal training industry is booming because so many people have muscle and joint dysfunction due to all of this stillness.
I get so passionate about this and maybe a little preachy because incorporating meaningful changes into one's daily life is really simple and will go a very long way to making us healthier. The healthier we are as a society, the better we feel and the better we feel, the happier we are. The happier we are, the more kind we are to others and this creates a cycle of goodness. I truly believe this even if it sounds hippy dippy. Real change starts with small steps and even walking for 10 minutes a day for a previously totally sedentary person can do wonders. What do people always say when things are going wrong in their life. "Well at least I have my health." It really is the most important thing and I wish people would live by that adage instead of just delivering empty words.
Something has definitely clicked for me lately in the way I am approaching my lifestyle changes. I used to feel so burdened by it. Eating right and exercising was something I HAD to do rather than something I WANTED to do but now that has shifted. I think that it really started with my yoga practice. While I have done yoga intermittently over the years, the last 4 months I have been doing it daily and it has deeply changed me for the better. It resonates with my body in a way that no other type of exercise ever has. I feel more free in my body and that is why making healthier choices about food has become much easier. My blood pressure, while usually within the normal range would still fluctuate from time to time but since yoga it has been low and it has been steady. I have been gluten and sugar free for about 3 weeks now and I have more energy, I sleep better, my skin is clearer and I am leaner. I am not doing it to lose weight but to control the symptoms of my thyroid and that is another shift. Before, eliminating things from my diet never worked because I was doing it for superficial reasons. Now, I am doing it because it makes me feel better and looking better is simply a bonus. People have noticed too - I have had several members at my gym comment about it- they ask me what I am doing because it has had such a positive effect. I am still ensuring that I maintain balance in my life even through this shift. Last weekend, I drank 4 glasses of red wine and ate a huge chicken Parmesan cutlet. There was no guilt though, because during the week it is vegetables, lean protein, fruit and lots of water. This is the balance that feels good to me right now and is helping my body heal.
Now that I feel so good and see such positive change, I can't help but want to spread it around. I get so frustrated when I see our culture so pill happy. Doctors are so quick to prescribe pills to treat a condition and I'm so lucky to have found a doctor that does not want to do that. Why are doctors so uncomfortable with prescribing diet and exercise as a means to a healthier life? Well, one very big reason is money. Pharmaceutical sales is a billion dollar industry - money is to be made off of pill popping. Another reason is that many doctors are ignorant about nutrition and don't exercise themselves. In every doctors office I have ever been, the majority of the staff has been overweight. Until there are changes within the medical field itself, there will not be real changes to the way patients are treated. We treat the symptom, not the disease.
Taking a pill for many conditions only controls the symptoms and as soon as one goes off, the symptoms come back. If we don't make an effort to change how we got a condition in the first place, we will never get well. I also talked to my doctor about why she thinks I got thyroid disease because I really wanted to treat the root of my problem. She said that there was no real way for me to have prevented it because it is an autoimmune, genetic disease which means because my mother has it, there was a great chance that I was going to get it regardless of what choices I made. Autoimmune diseases can be caused by many things most of which are out of our control so I had to rest with the knowledge that I can't fix the root of my disease, I can only manage my symptoms as healthfully as possible. This is not the case, though with many of the diseases that have infiltrated our country - diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and other obesity related illnesses. In my opinion it is NOT acceptable to take a pill if you have high cholesterol and then continue to eat a diet high in fat, sugar and animal meats. I get that everyone has a right to make choices for their own body but when it effects other people around them, I don't think its ok. This is my opinion. I am careful to say that because this reasoning will surely upset a lot of people (or perhaps the 2 that read this blog but I highly doubt it given that they are 2 people close to me who understand this reasoning). Why do I care so much about how other people treat their bodies? Well, one reason is that I do this for a living. I put a lot of my own time and effort into helping people make healthier lifestyle choices. It is a cause I deeply believe in. I have seen the effects first hand in my life. I honestly cannot understand why people wouldn't want to have a better quality of life and feel better minute to minute. I really believe that everyone wants that but too few are willing to do the work to achieve it. Also, I believe it is selfish to neglect yourself. If you are not caring for yourself properly, everyone around you suffers. I see how worried my husband gets when I am in the midst of one of my thyroid fluctuations. I never want to put my loved ones through any unnecessary worrying. No matter how invincible you think you are, some day, years of bad choices will catch up to you. I for one do not want to be costing myself or my family thousands of dollars in medical bills because I need a knee replacement or co-pays for the 20 pills I'm on to keep me functioning.
I work with 2 groups of seniors in the gym and this week was the start of their 13 week program to begin exercising after years of neglect. I am always amazed at just how out of shape these people have gotten. 90% of them are obese, 80% of them have limitations because of surgeries in knees, hips or shoulders and more than half of them haven't done more than walk 2 blocks in 20 years. They can barely move and they have such fear of exercise. We were teaching them how to stand up and down and one gentleman who has had a knee replacement was pushing all of his weight into his knees because he was so fearful of further injuring them, when in reality he was doing more harm that way. When I corrected him, he was so quick to dismiss me as wrong but saw the difference in how his knees felt once I showed him the proper form and then he trusted me. It is easy to see how many of these people got this injured. They never had the proper guidance. Education and guidance from a professional is key to success. Why are we so quick to acknowledge this in a classroom but yet when it comes to caring for own bodies, we think we know best. Would you ever profess to know more about Shakespeare than your English Lit professor who studied in Stafford for 20 years and wrote dissertations on Hamlet? Probably not right? Well then why do so many people refuse to listen to a health and wellness professional? I come up against resistance from clients on a daily basis. I think part of it has to do with the mixed messages we have received over the years about what we should be eating or not eating. In the 80s pasta was good and fat was bad, then meat and cheese were good and carbs were bad and then it was drink soy milk instead of cow's milk and then it was soy is bad for you, switch to almond milk. You can't log into your email without seeing a new message about what we should be eating daily and delivered to us in the most frightening way possible. This has created such a sense of confusion that people give up trying and just eat what they like. Unfortunately often that ends up being processed sugar and fat. As far as moving goes, we have just stopped. In many, many parts of the country, people drive literally everywhere. I am fortunate to live in NYC where walking is trendy AND necessary but in many places walking isn't even possible. We have even stopped the small movements that used to get at least SOME steps in daily. We take elevators instead of stairs, we park as close as possible to the store, we ride the bus, train, scooter or motorized cart rather than use our own two feet. The personal training industry is booming because so many people have muscle and joint dysfunction due to all of this stillness.
I get so passionate about this and maybe a little preachy because incorporating meaningful changes into one's daily life is really simple and will go a very long way to making us healthier. The healthier we are as a society, the better we feel and the better we feel, the happier we are. The happier we are, the more kind we are to others and this creates a cycle of goodness. I truly believe this even if it sounds hippy dippy. Real change starts with small steps and even walking for 10 minutes a day for a previously totally sedentary person can do wonders. What do people always say when things are going wrong in their life. "Well at least I have my health." It really is the most important thing and I wish people would live by that adage instead of just delivering empty words.
So glad you found a doctor that you can respect and who works WITH you. That is rare. This week i've been sick with the flu. i have had absolutely no energy to do anything. It's so true that health is key to a happy life. Can't wait to feel better and start living again.
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