What Is Your Body Telling You?

Learning to listen to your body is easy, yet we often don't because we are to busy rushing through life. There are so many fad diets out there, and we as a people (nation) are programmed to want results immediately, be it at work, in politics, governmental changes, or within ourselves (weight). So, what do we do? We get sucked into the propaganda of fad diets believing that we could shed 20 lbs. in two weeks. If you shed 20 lbs. in two weeks, the question is the sustainability of keeping the weight off. Nine out of ten people will gain all of the weight back plus more immediately after coming off the fad diet. Why? Contrary to what one may believe,  overnight success is never sustainable. It takes years of hard work and experience to sustain a successful career. In the case of weight lose and health, it takes months, and most of the time years of listening, and discovering what works for your body (food and exercise) to have sustainability in your weight lose.

I would like to share what I gained recently by listening to my body. My body is very sensitive to carbs. I found out in 2002 that I was gluten intolerant, which was one reason I couldn't control my weight. I have been discovering new things about my body every year since then. What foods my body digests best, what foods my body rejects (be it healthy, or not), what exercises give me the best results for my body, what exercises my body don't like, what relaxes my body, etc. I recently choose not to listen to my body. I got an opportunity to do a fitness photo-shoot, but I had one week to prepare. If you know anything about fitness modeling, you know that you need weeks, and most of the time months to whip the body into shape for fitness photos. Going into it, I knew my body was sensitive to carbs, and by eating them it may prevent me from reaching my fitness goal by the end of the week, so I TOTALLY cut out carbs, and sugar. The only carb I had was fibrous carbs like vegetables. I reached my fitness goal, and the photo-shoot was a success!

I received another opportunity the very next week for another fitness photo-shoot. This time I had two weeks to prepare. Well, I didn't want to introduce carbs back into my diet because, of course my body would blow back up. So, I chose to stay on what is known as a Ketogenic Diet. By the end of the two weeks I was grumpy and unhappy, tired all the time, hungry all the time, I didn't reach my fitness goals, so as a result I was depressed. Part of the unhappiness was due to the fact that my Serotonin levels were really low. My body actually went into reverse. Even though, I did not have carbs in my diet, I started to gain weight. Why? I believe it was because I wasn't listening. I went on this extreme diet believing it was going to get me the results I wanted. Although, the first time was a success, to sustain that look I had to stay on the diet. But is being on a diet your whole life sustainable? I don't think so. What I needed to do is listen. I didn't like feeling unhappy, and depressed, so I decided sustaining an unrealistic look is not worth my happiness. I needed balance!


I introduced gluten free oatmeal, peanut butter, and berries back into my diet. Knowing how sensitive my body is to carbs, I decided to be smart by eating these items early during the day, before or after a workout. Introducing these items back into my diet, along with making sure I slept 7-8 hours a night, and making time to read (I have learned that reading relaxes my body) has brought balance to my life, and without doing any kind of exercise I lose 3 lbs. in two days. How is that? I believe I was putting to much stress on my body by getting up at 4:30 AM every morning after going to bed at 11:30 PM, just so I could get my 5:00 AM cardio in, starving myself of a balanced diet, which lead to unhappiness and stress. When you are stressed you release a hormone called Cortisol, which will prevent your body from operating efficiently. Your immune system may break down, and/or you may gain weight due to the stress. Also, the lack of sleep I believe contributed to my weight gain verses weight lose. The weight gain was my body screaming I need balance, I am unhappy, you are hurting me!!!

If you are on a weight lose journey. My best advice for you is listen to your body. Let your body tell you what to take out of your diet, what exercises work for you, how much sleep you need, what you need to do to relax. All of these things are vital for sustainable weight lose. I have a client, and her doctor has been telling her for years if she eat certain foods, and exercise she will lose weight. When she started training with me, the first thing we did was talked about her diet. She told me how her doctor told her to eat certain foods, but every time she ate them they made her feel bad. I told her to stop eating them! If you are feeling bad, it's because your body is talking to you saying, "I don't like this, it hurts me". Your body is your best personal(sports) trainer and/or nutritionist. It tells you everything it needs and don't need, you just have to learn to listen. The weight will come off. Maybe not 20 lbs in two weeks, but gradually. Control your weight by listening to your body!