There is nothing more frustrating than when you are doing everything right, but the last 15 pounds you want to shed, are sticking to you like Velcro. This is where your detective work and personal honesty will make the difference.
Any exposure (ingested, dermal or inhaled) that causes the body great imbalances in chemistry, hormones or organ function forces your body to find a solution to counterbalance it. Your body’s executive decision for resolution may be your nightmare. Those remaining 15 pounds, maybe your body’s solution to an unnecessary exposure.
Agents that disrupt natural body chemistry and hormones may prevent weight loss. Eating natural whole foods eliminates a lot of possible eight balls that your body is obliged to find a solution for. But more than just food, your body will be challenged by chemicals in cleaners (opt for vinegar and baking soda instead, use free & clear detergents and forgo the dryer sheets), personal care products and artificial anything. New home purchases are often coated with noxious agents to ensure sales by maintaining the products clean beautiful pre-purchase appearance. Home renovations are also common culprits (safe green options and green contractors can help).
Don’t discredit a possible culprit because it is organic, natural or on the top 10 healthiest foods list. When you have a hunch that Natural Jane Vegetable or Natural Joe Fruit is not a match for your body then experiment to validate or invalidate the premise. Trust your body not the media. Eliminate it for three weeks. Did anything change? If the jury is still out then include it back deliberately for just ONE day. Then stay very watchful of any communications your body sends for up to 4-5 days afterwards. Problem exposures often have a very delayed reaction.
Your body doesn’t follow or obey media trends, it just responds
If you know what foods or exposures are a problem then write them down. Do they have a common link or ingredient? For example – you are sensitive to kefir and soft cheese such as brie, but not yogurt nor baked bread nor hard cheese. Then is your body intolerant of yeast that is alive? Unfortunately manufacturers have become deceptive in an effort to be more specific, hide the truth, confuse the consumer or to make their product look more chic. A single ingredient, maybe the one you are sensitive to, can be listed on the ingredients using a word you do not recognize.
I recently looked at the ingredient label of a dairy free cheese product for a client. Do you know this dairy free cheese contained real milk protein! I was horrified – how could they? How DARE they. People buying dairy free anything need it to be dairy free and that includes the real milk protein whose ingredient name is unrecognizable by the majority of consumers.
What is this item’s family? For example: You are sensitive to peas, are you also sensitive to most legumes by nature of its biological family origin? Another example: You are sensitive to tomatoes and peppers. Are you also sensitive, but maybe to a lesser degree, of potatoes and eggplant. All of which are part of the nightshade vegetable family)?
The cleaner your personal care products, cleaners and food choices…
the easier it is to zero in on possible culprits
When you are totally clueless as to why those last 15 pounds WON’T budge then it is time to look at other crucial communications your body is sending via signs and symptoms. Skin problems? Joint pain? Fatigue? Headaches? Issues at the toilet?
A real body symptom or disturbance that seems unrelated to your last 15 pounds may be an intricate direct link to it. You may need to shift your focus towards that symptom which has less of your attention. What seems like an annoying symptom may actually be THE path to losing those last 15.
I remember Lisa. On arrival she presented her homework (I had requested a list of her typical daily foods, activity routine and her observations about her body function). She looked great. About 10 years younger than her true age and was quite fit, but her mission was to get back to her healthy pre-child birth body size which was only 15 pounds away. Over a number of years she had managed to transition her whole family (no small feat) to a whole foods regime and swapped out harmful cleaners and personal care products for safe options. Each late afternoon she had an insatiable appetite and sugar cravings with a collapsing need for a nap. There was no undue life stress and her sleep was proper. Her living and working space were the same as they had been for years (sometimes changing work or home environments can expose you to new elements that alter body function, chemistry and hormones). I looked at the daily and weekly food list and spotted what I thought was the problem. She felt the problem was the glass of fresh orange juice at breakfast, or the small square of dark chocolate after dinner, both of which were her daily treats, like a dog bone, for sticking to her weight loss regime.
The culprit may not be what your guilty conscious believes it to be….
Anything is fair game
Unless the sugar from the orange juice was causing an energy roller coaster or the bitter from the chocolate was stimulating appetite, I didn’t see those as culprits. What I saw, was the one can of diet soda… My suggestion to eliminate it created an unexpected explosive response. I really had no idea how sacred a daily ritual her diet soda was. That was one change that was non-negotiable as far as she was concerned. Unfortunately, it was the one I saw as the problem. She was looking at her can of diet soda as a zero calorie innocent beverage, but what I saw was that it was in an aluminum can, contained caffeine and mystery ingredients and was artificially sweetened. Each one of these in isolation would play havoc with her body function, chemistry and hormones, but together they were an exponential cocktail for problems. I began my negotiations with her by offering her a deal. Give up the daily diet soda for JUST 3 weeks to test and experiment. Why not let her body tell her. After all the years, changes and success, wasn’t a temporary 3 week trial worth it? I also promised to never mention the soda again if she didn’t experience a positive change.
One change may “fix” many problems
At times, several changes are needed to “fix” one problem
Ten days later I got a jumping through the roof ecstatic call. The weight came flowing off, the cravings vanished and so did the need for an afternoon nap. All from removing one culprit. Be a detective. Experiment. Keep your mind in neutral with a “Maybe Yes, Maybe No” attitude. You and your body are as unique as your fingerprint. Let your body’s responses tell and guide you. Be your body’s Sherpa and you will lose those last fifteen.
It is not easy to be your own detective. We all have blind spots from our personal mental and emotional attachments. Give me a call for some personalized health detective work. What you know, paired with my experience and knowledge will lead us to the solutions.
Warmest,
Krista Umgelter
P.S. If you are not familiar with the Environment Working Group they are worth knowing about and having on your radar. I have extremely high standards for integrity and EWG is at the top in my opinion, both ethically and morally. They are fighting in congress every day to improve exposure standards for you and your loved ones. They know if it isn’t on the market then no one will be exposed to it. Did you know that there are more than 1,300 ingredients that are banned in Europe for use in personal care products, but ONLY 11 are banned in the USA. That is terrifying. They recently launched a new site called EWG Verified. You can check to see which personal care products are verified to be safe for you and your loved ones. Those last 15 pounds that won’t budge may be stuck because of harmful ingredients in your personal care products. There ARE safe products to keep you looking your best and this link to EWG verified will help you find them.
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