I introduced you to my Three Stages of the Mad Body in the last blog. Now I want to tell you why your body is mad at you and what you can do about it. The Mad Body occurs when you are out-of-balance – chemically, nutritionally, emotionally or hormonally. It happens to men and women. It happens to all ages. When we let it go too long, our body moves into a state of “Silent Inflammation”. There are not really medical tests for this condition, it is pre-disease markers. My non-scientific term is “You feel crappy and you have a pooch-y belly.”
REVERSING STAGE 1
The Upset Body. Stage 1 is the easiest and quickest to reverse. This is the one where you have mild disturbances – in sleep, digestion, elimination, and maybe have about 5 to 15 extra pounds, usually carried in the tummy. You get tired mid-day and need a pick-me-up – sugar or caffeine. You are feeling stressed but you think you have it under control. Your body knows better. What can you do about it?
Step 1 – Check-in and accept that your body is trying to tell you something. Do not dismiss the aches, pains, gas, bloating, headaches, restless nights, weight-gain.
Step 2 — Start keeping a food journal and figure out if certain foods are triggering the reactions.
Step 3 — Make sure you are keeping caffeine to no more than two cups a day and before 2 p.m.
Step 4 – Make sure you are getting 45 minutes of exercise five days a week, minimum.
Step 5 – Drink half your weight in ounces of water a day.
Step 6 –Eat a healthy breakfast within one hour of rising – containing protein, fiber, fruit. Eat at least a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours. Cut back on sugar and processed foods. (No bagels, muffins or breads if you can.)
Step 7 – Cut back on starches and high-fat dairy, eat more vegetables – at least two servings a day
Step 8 – Get at least 7 to 8 hours a night. Stop eating 3 hours before going to bed.
Step 9 – Get on a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement program. Add Omega-3s.
Step 10 — Stay positive and don’t beat yourself up if you blow it and don’t eat right or get exercise. Just do it right the next day!
Do this for one month and you should see the weight come down (5 lbs a month is a good target) and your energy levels go up. Seems simple, right? But most wait until they hit Stage 2 or 3. Yet, you can help your body start recovering in just three days of eating clean and green — no sugar and processed foods and tons of fresh produce. So why not give it a try?
REVERSING STAGE 2
The Mad Body. This stage takes longer. The body has been inflamed for a while, and more things are out-of-balance. There are noticeable digestion issues, food allergies or sensitivities, weight gain over 20 lbs, lack of energy, needing caffeine and sugar to keep going, food cravings, aches and pains.
You are going to need anywhere from 3 to 6 months to get back in balance and drop the 20 to 30 lbs you have put on. You will need to follow the above list and I recommend you add a green juice or smoothie at least once a day, in place of a meal. It should have a protein source (around 15 to 20 grams), some live, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, chard, kale, the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime, an apple or pear or pineapple. You can use frozen versions if these are not readily available fresh. Ideal is to use locally-source vegetables and fruit in season. There is a great Green Smoothie recipe book, “Essential Green Smoothies”, at: http://www.consciouslyraw.com. Written by Madeline Eyer, a raw food chef, it has some amazingly delicious and invigorating recipes.
You may want to add some natural anti-inflammatories, such as grapeseed extract, and some liver support — milk thistle and alpha-lipoic acid, probiotics and some Omega-3s — walnuts and pumpkin seeds or a supplement. I have my favorite source for dietary supplements, through USANA. They are super-safe, bio-available and guaranteed for purity and potency. My clients get amazing results with this program.
If you stick with it you will see results in a few weeks and the weight will begin to drop-off around week 2. You can do a cleanse to speed up the process.
REVERSING STAGE 3
The Open Revolt Body. You have been diagnosed with a disease — arthritis, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. You may be on medications or recovering from surgery or treatments. You are listless, cannot exercise, barely able to get through the day. You feel like everything is shutting-down. You have gained over 50 pounds and it feels like this is how you are going to be the rest of your life.
This phase is harder and will take longer — 6 to 9 months — but you absolutely can get results. You cannot stop any medication during this cycle. Ideal is to check-in with your doctor, get your blood and sugar and cholesterol readings and then begin the Get Your Body Happy Program. I like to start people in this stage a bit slower than Stage 1 and 2. Their bodies have been out-of-whack for so long, or they have been through surgery, injury, radiation or chemo-therapy, and they need to think about their body as being a “baby’s body” — needing some coddling and extra care. We start with pre-phase I — my “Strengthen, Repair and Prepare“ program.
Here is where we just focus on adding some healthy habits, plus the vitamins/minerals, probiotics, liver support,Omega-3s and natural anti-inflammatories. This goes on for about 2 weeks, and then we begin the healthy foods. The goal is to crowd-out the bad habits and food-cravings by replacing them with delicious, healthy alternatives which will allow the body to reduce inflammation and begin to restore and repair.
It takes awhile The body knows inherently what will help it, but, the cravings can overpower and the hormones can stop working right, so it all takes some chemical changes to get the right results. Every body is different and some react quickly and some take weeks or even months. But they all benefit and they will see results.
Again, I would love to help you no matter what phase you find yourself in. Let’s talk! Especially after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, it would be good to identify your triggers and cravings and help you add in some more healthy approaches. You can reach me at: deb@sexyleanandstrong.com.
Have a Great Holiday!
Take Care and Stay Lean and Strong!
Thank you! Glad you like it.