Over 40 and Tired of Being Tired? How Patients Win their Energy Back

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“I’m so sick of this.” Her eyes moistened, and she lowered her head and raised a tissue to her face.

“I hate feeling so fat and tired all the time.”

At only forty-one, she was exhausted daily, experiencing regular weight gain, and it was dragging her down. Now she’d come to the medical clinic hoping I could fix it.

It was a common complaint, but my heart still hurt for her.

I knew how powerless it feels to not know what’s going on with your body.

Luckily, I’d come out of it myself, so knew firsthand how she could too.

But would she be the kind to take the advice I was about to give?
Time would tell.

“I’m sorry. That’s hard.” I said, offering her another tissue. “Thankfully, this is totally fixable.”

She looked up at me with a mix of curiosity and doubt. “How?”

This is where I wonder what they’re hoping for. A pill? Homework? A promise that the problem would fix itself?

“Your body is not made for exhaustion. It’s a finely tuned machine, capable of running excellently even into your eighties. It’s just… well, it’s kind of like a car. If you put the right fuel in the tank, you can expect it to work. If you pour cat food or dish soap in the tank, you’re going to have big problems.”

She snickered, then sighed, realizing I would not prescribe a magic pill.

I took the time at that point to stop and educate her about clean nutrition principles.. “It will blow your mind how clean eating will change your life.”

She absorbed the information and dabbed her eyes with a tissue again.

“Did you know the processed or chemical-laden foods we eat actually can lead to adrenal fatigue, diabetes, increased fat deposits? It’s because they affect our hormones, which affect metabolism, thyroid, and other hormonal functions.”

She nodded. I guessed she’d heard it before.

“Did you know poor hydration can raise blood pressure?”

“Really. Huh…”

I couldn’t tell if she was overwhelmed, disappointed, or just plain tired.

“Seriously, clean nutrition habits will change your life.”

She left my office with an exhausted, half-hearted, “We’ll see. I guess I could try it.”

I thought for sure she’d be among the majority who change nothing and return again and again with worsened symptoms. To my surprise, she jumped in with both feet and started using the clean eating principles I had so carefully explained.

To her surprise, she experienced exactly the results I talked about.

Her blood pressure decreased, emotions stabilized, and her energy sky-rocketed! She didn’t need naps every day anymore. After a few weeks, she even lost a few inches from her waistline.

Our expectation for a quick fix is only making us sicker.

The truth is, our bodies need maintenance.

Just like a car.

Sure, you can ignore it for a while, and even treat it like junk. But after a while, the bolts will loosen, the hinges will stiffen, and rust will start to eat holes in the body.

Prevention isn’t just about avoiding a wheelchair when you’re eighty.

It’s about feeling awesome and energetic on your way to eighty.

If you’re like many of the patients I meet in my job as a Nurse Practitioner, and you’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, trust me – clean eating and increased physical activity will be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Try it. The simplicity and results will blow your mind. (and change your life)

Get started with clean eating and fitness NOW with the 21 day Slimdown!

3 Myths That Keep us Fat and Tired (and What to do Instead)

 

sigh....
sigh….

Millions of books, articles, coaches, and programs tell us how to slim down and get healthy, yet most of us still struggle. We’ll try diets and we might even workout really hard for a while, only to return to the same, tired problem.

We’re fat. We’re tired. And we don’t know why.

A big reason is because some of the advice out there is just plain wrong. Believing these lies, we continue to struggle with weight and fatigue.

I’ll look at three of the biggest myths we believe, and then show you the truth

Myth #1: Eating Less Helps Us Lose Fat

Sorry, no. Eating less does not help us lose fat. Some people who try calorie cutting may experience a loss in weight, but it’s not fat they’re losing. Without adequate sustenance, the body will fuel itself by burning muscles, not fat.

What’s worse, when regular eating resumes, the body will pack the pounds back on, and in the form of fat. I know, it’s unfair. But this is how it is.

The truth is, it’s not how much we eat, but what kind of food we eat that dictates fat loss or gain. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

Myth #2: Exercising More Burns Fat

What a weird thing for a fitness coach to say, right? But it’s true – exercising won’t burn fat. It builds muscle. It sends endorphins coursing through you, making you feel awesome. It has loads of health benefits and I obviously recommend exercise. But don’t expect it to be just this that burns the fat. You’ll be very frustrated if you do.

Exercise doesn’t tell our bodies whether or not to store or burn fat either, hormones do, as I’ll soon explain.

Myth #3: Ab Workouts Give You Abs

I know this goes along with Myth #2, but it’s such a common belief, it needs its own point.

We’ve been misled – perhaps by our own desperation – to believe that if we just do enough crunches, if we really hit those sit-ups hard, the fat will melt off our midsection and we’ll finally be slim.

Not so. It is impossible to turn fat into muscle.
No, I’m afraid abs are made in the kitchen.

So How Do We Really Burn Fat Then?? 

The reason none of these things work to burn fat is because they don’t impact the boss. The decision maker. The one who decides whether our body will store fat or burn it.

And that boss is our hormones.

Our hormones – particularly insulin – decide when to store food as fat rather than burning it.
Are you curious what swings insulin to choose fat storage? Are you sure? You won’t like the answer.
Oh, alright.

What triggers insulin to tell our bodies to store our food as fat is the intake of sugars, carbohydrates, and pretty much any processed foods (because they typically contain both carbohydrates and sugars (plus chemicals), and in high amounts too.)

Note: The recommended clean eating for everyone is NOT a carb-free approach. Our bodies need carbs. We just need the right kinds and in the right amounts. The less processed the better too.

Our hormones ultimately decide how much fat to store, and they don’t care about crunches. You can do two hundred sit-ups every day, it won’t matter unless you feed the hormones what they need to choose to burn fat instead.

It’s not just how much we eat or whether we workout, it’s what we eat that determines whether fat is burned or stored.

Clean eating is super, crazy important. It’s critical.
We can’t be healthy or lose fat without it.

This is why I advocate for and lead a Clean Eating Class regularly on Facebook. It’s free to join, and comes with a meal plan, recipes, shopping list, and daily challenges and motivation from me and others in the group. Contact me to join here and I’ll send you registration information.

Stop letting these myths delay your progress.
Kick your hormones into fat-burning mode with clean eating today!

LETS DO THIS!

#1.  Click the button below to receive a PDF about how to get started with a clean eating lifestyle NOW!

#2. THEN, Contact me to learn more about joining a clean eating challenge and burning fat!

CLICK HERE to receive a FREE PDF re: getting started NOW with Clean Eating!

Bunged up and Bloated..what’s the answer?

Bunged up and Bloated...what's the answer?

Oh man…after 7 days of vacation (5 on a cruise) and all restaurant meals with much higher fat and sodium than I am used to…I feel like a big bloated puff-ball whose GI system is a little on the backed up side.

For those of you familiar with the fluid retention grading system, I literally have 3+ Pitting Edema to my knees and it feels like my feet are under pressure when I try to walk!

Holidays are awesome and relaxing, but I sure am looking forward to getting home to my own healthy clean meals and to my grandson!!! ??. (Not looking forward to the snow though!)

Have you ever had it this way? A stretch of time with a LOT of high calorie, fat and salt foods and end up having a hard time transitioning back to “normal” healthy portioned-control eating after this?   When I get home, I am going to do a very healthy 3-day cleanse which will give me a system reset and hopeful help to get me back on track!! I will keep you posted about my experience with this one! ???

#holidaybloat #cruisehadlotsoffood #3daycleanse #cruiseoasisofseas #fitnessgal1969 #AthleticGrandma #fun #itwasworthit #needtogetbacktonormal #NP #coachinglife