Every time I read from or talk to a person who is an "expert" in their own way, I hear a lot of, "well the problem with doctors is they don't understand this, or they just prescribe the quick fix. Or, nutritionists do more harm than good (unfortunately RDs and nutritionists are lumped together more often than not). But then RDs have a sense of pride in being the only people who did it right and are trustworthy to give advice. It seems everyone throws everyone else under the bus. I'm guilty, especially before I had experience working with different people (especially doctors) of saying, why are you ignoring lifestyle and prevention??????? I still do that, but to everyone. What we forget is the whole point of having all kinds of health professionals is so we can work all the angles and get the best outcome. Can we just work together a little better? Like recognize when we are beat and point that person to a psychiatrist or dietitian or life coach or lactation specialist or equestrian therapy? I'll save that for another time. :)
After working with doctors, I grew to appreciate the impossible standard we have set for them. What single person can see patients all day AND read ALL the research AND take the extra time with ALL the patients to make lifestyle changes and get to the bottom of psychologically why they have these issues in the first place? I could go on giving examples and I know you could too about how doctors have failed us. When I was pregnant with twins and seeing doctors every two weeks for seven months I realized that really I was failing myself. I realized that if I expected the doctor to mention every little thing I was in trouble - like, hey you are pregnant, so make sure you don't drink paint! I was mad at first when my doctors didn't pay as much attention to every detail as I thought they should. I'm not giving doctors a free pass mind you, there is a high standard and there's a reason for that. But when I found myself looking for my own answers and asking myself questions, I was empowered. I realized that the only person who could keep those babies healthy was me. There is a place for the doctor of course! But I am the only expert of me, and the only one with me every second of every day. Now, I am the only one who can really keep my babies healthy - I'm with them all the time. We visit the pediatrician every few months, I'm only NOT with my girls a few times a month.
Realizing that responsibility made me want to learn more. It also made me realize the only way to solve the health crises the U.S. faces is for each person to realize that responsibility. Think about it in business terms. If I own a business, it's totally my responsibility to make sure it succeeds. I can bring in a consultant and they can provide invaluable expertise, but I ultimately choose what to do with the information. Health professionals are consultants. You or your loved ones always have a choice. Even when you are in a hospital bed.
I think there is a little too much relying on the "experts" and not enough accepting that maybe the reason I'm not healthy is because of me. Along those lines, we need to stop thinking of health solutions as a pill or patch. Every time it seems we've found the miracle pill it fails in one way or another. Unfortunately with our goals being centered around weight and looks, "health" takes on a new misleading meaning. For many, thinness remains elusive - giving the illusion that achieving health is an impossibility. Then we say that we have failed and the physicians have failed, therefore we no longer have control and we give up.
Since having my twins nine months ago, my body went through dramatic changes and I lost all 50 pounds I carried in pregnancy. I wasn't dieting or trying to lose weight, just living life trying to take care of myself. I fit into my old pants and the pants I bought to tide me over now sag and fall off. I personally count this as a tragedy because I really liked some of those pants…
But here's the kicker. I don't feel different! Not happier. Not even a little bit. I don't even feel skinnier from 10 pounds ago. I apparently look it because some people have commented. Now the even crazier part. I am actually a little less happy with my body these days. I was getting kind of down and obsessing a little over food and when I realized what I was doing, I wondered why?
Unfortunately, those good-natured comments made me feel good. I felt a little bit of a high from feeling like I succeeded at something supposedly very important. I did good. The scale says I'm thinner than I was and society says thin is good. Thin is better. Thin is happy. But here I am, "thin" (whatever that means) and nothing has changed. In fact, I just think about getting thinNER or prettIER. Like I said, I'm not having these feelings to any extreme, don't worry about me! But I imagine what I feel is very similar to how most people - especially women - feel all the time. I make that assumption based on how I hear people talk and the overwhelming messages coming from the media and society.
I wrote a little while ago about how I honestly love my body, and here I am not totally loving it…10 pounds lighter. Can you please see the insanity we have created? This is why I will not comment on your size or weight loss. Because I know how easy it is to damage the fragile self-love it takes a lot of effort to remember. The solution is to remember and treat myself and others as the inquisitive, kind, funny, talented, children of God, good friends, complex and capable people we are. We've come far, we've accomplished so much, and we will keep getting stronger. That voice - the one that keeps saying we aren't good enough - just gets in the way of our potential. Let's stop limiting our potential by wasting time and brain space on getting thinner.
Yes, I do feel better having all that off my chest. :)
Love,
Lauresa
After working with doctors, I grew to appreciate the impossible standard we have set for them. What single person can see patients all day AND read ALL the research AND take the extra time with ALL the patients to make lifestyle changes and get to the bottom of psychologically why they have these issues in the first place? I could go on giving examples and I know you could too about how doctors have failed us. When I was pregnant with twins and seeing doctors every two weeks for seven months I realized that really I was failing myself. I realized that if I expected the doctor to mention every little thing I was in trouble - like, hey you are pregnant, so make sure you don't drink paint! I was mad at first when my doctors didn't pay as much attention to every detail as I thought they should. I'm not giving doctors a free pass mind you, there is a high standard and there's a reason for that. But when I found myself looking for my own answers and asking myself questions, I was empowered. I realized that the only person who could keep those babies healthy was me. There is a place for the doctor of course! But I am the only expert of me, and the only one with me every second of every day. Now, I am the only one who can really keep my babies healthy - I'm with them all the time. We visit the pediatrician every few months, I'm only NOT with my girls a few times a month.
Realizing that responsibility made me want to learn more. It also made me realize the only way to solve the health crises the U.S. faces is for each person to realize that responsibility. Think about it in business terms. If I own a business, it's totally my responsibility to make sure it succeeds. I can bring in a consultant and they can provide invaluable expertise, but I ultimately choose what to do with the information. Health professionals are consultants. You or your loved ones always have a choice. Even when you are in a hospital bed.
I think there is a little too much relying on the "experts" and not enough accepting that maybe the reason I'm not healthy is because of me. Along those lines, we need to stop thinking of health solutions as a pill or patch. Every time it seems we've found the miracle pill it fails in one way or another. Unfortunately with our goals being centered around weight and looks, "health" takes on a new misleading meaning. For many, thinness remains elusive - giving the illusion that achieving health is an impossibility. Then we say that we have failed and the physicians have failed, therefore we no longer have control and we give up.
Since having my twins nine months ago, my body went through dramatic changes and I lost all 50 pounds I carried in pregnancy. I wasn't dieting or trying to lose weight, just living life trying to take care of myself. I fit into my old pants and the pants I bought to tide me over now sag and fall off. I personally count this as a tragedy because I really liked some of those pants…
But here's the kicker. I don't feel different! Not happier. Not even a little bit. I don't even feel skinnier from 10 pounds ago. I apparently look it because some people have commented. Now the even crazier part. I am actually a little less happy with my body these days. I was getting kind of down and obsessing a little over food and when I realized what I was doing, I wondered why?
Unfortunately, those good-natured comments made me feel good. I felt a little bit of a high from feeling like I succeeded at something supposedly very important. I did good. The scale says I'm thinner than I was and society says thin is good. Thin is better. Thin is happy. But here I am, "thin" (whatever that means) and nothing has changed. In fact, I just think about getting thinNER or prettIER. Like I said, I'm not having these feelings to any extreme, don't worry about me! But I imagine what I feel is very similar to how most people - especially women - feel all the time. I make that assumption based on how I hear people talk and the overwhelming messages coming from the media and society.
I wrote a little while ago about how I honestly love my body, and here I am not totally loving it…10 pounds lighter. Can you please see the insanity we have created? This is why I will not comment on your size or weight loss. Because I know how easy it is to damage the fragile self-love it takes a lot of effort to remember. The solution is to remember and treat myself and others as the inquisitive, kind, funny, talented, children of God, good friends, complex and capable people we are. We've come far, we've accomplished so much, and we will keep getting stronger. That voice - the one that keeps saying we aren't good enough - just gets in the way of our potential. Let's stop limiting our potential by wasting time and brain space on getting thinner.
Yes, I do feel better having all that off my chest. :)
Love,
Lauresa