ESTROGEN AND ITS DESTRUCTION OF THE MASSES

In my last blog,  I covered how improving respiration in the cells by increasing Co2, helps with preventing and healing from cancer. Today you will read about how having an excess of estrogen can inflame the body and excite cells which can lead to developing cancer. I will also share some daily habits that you may be doing now that can increase your odds in developing cancer and hurting your metabolism

What is estrogen?

Estrogen has been described as the “hormone for beginnings, a sort of biochemical eraser which can eliminate recently recorded information, restoring the underlying primitive capacity for growth.” Meaning, estrogen stimulates cell division (this takes place mainly in the breasts, uterus, and prostate gland, and in the pituitary gland) and is normally produced in a monthly surge at the time of ovulation and during pregnancy.”

In excess, estrogen steals oxygen from mitochondria, the balance between what a tissue needs and what it gets will depend on the way that tissue functions.  When a cell releases lactic acid and free radicals ,it’s reasonable to assume that it isn’t getting everything that it needs, such as oxygen and glucose. With time, the cell will either die or adapt in some way to its low condition.

Despite the concept the pharmaceutical industry has pushed, estrogen is not just the “female hormone.” Men, in times of stress such as not eating enough, alcoholism, or dealing with liver damage can produce estrogen. In places dealing with famine, it has been known that men are capable of even  lactating. Why the philosophy of estrogen being a female trait? You see, If you knew that estrogen was more like a shock hormone and causes aging and disease, the estrogen industry wouldn’t be able to make its billions of dollars every year. Having an excess of estrogen is very dangerous and has been linked to health issues such as:

Breast Cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, fibroid tumors, pituitary tumors, lung cancer, liver cancer, bowel cancer, kidney cancer, malignant melanoma, meningioma and other brain cancers, cancer of other organs, osteoarthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, porphyria, optic neuritis, epilepsy, depression, suicide, accidents, anxiety, agoraphobia, amnesia, nerve cell damage, low blood pressure, fainting, shock, vessel spasms, intestinal spasms, inflammatory bowel disease, gall stones, gall bladder issues, blood sugar issues, hypothyroidism, blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, miscarriage, birth defects, endometriosis, excess hair and loss of hair, skin discoloration, thinning of the skin, water retention, and obesity.

Estrogen’ s harmful effects has been known since the 1930’s and ’40’s. Loeb, Lipschitz, the Shutes, Hans Seyle, L.C.Strong, and others showed that estrogen caused the above mentioned illnesses. However the drug companies were already pushing their inaccurate paradigm on to the world, to promote and push hormone replacement therapy.

A statement that I hear often from people is, ” Oh, my estrogen levels were normal on my blood work, I’m fine.”  There is 2 points I’d like to make about that :

  1. Estrogen (also known as adipin, truly resides in our tissues, not in our blood. So the results on the blood work are not going to be 100% accurate.)
  2. Even if your estrogen levels are in the normal range, it can still be a cause for concern if your progesterone levels are low. When getting bloodwork done,  check to see if  your progesterone level is 5-10 times higher than your level of estrogen.

Ladies, having a higher progesterone will aid in a healthy metabolism, depression, PMS, menopause, bloating, skin issues, and many other things.

Progesterone is anti- inflammatory, reduces cellular excitation, gets estrogen out of the cells into the bloodstream by destroying the estrogen receptor (binds estrogen to the cell), destroys the enzyme that releases estrogen from the glucuronic form, and then straight into the liver and then kidneys which helps your body excrete it.

In fact progesterone was used by many physicians to treat the types of cancer that were caused by estrogen, especially uterine, breast, and kidney cancers. In the 1950s, the drug industry had created the myth that their synthetic progesterone (progestin) were medically more effective than progesterone itself, and the result has been that medroxyprogesterone acetate ( Provera, Depo-Provera, and Depo-SubQ provera 104 ) and other synthetics have been widely used to treat women’s cancers, including breast cancer. Unfortunately, progestins, only add to health problems and metabolic issues such as cancer.

If you’re interested in supplementing with a progesterone, ask your Dr for a bioidentical and not a synthetic. You are able to order a good quality progesterone from https://www.healthnatura.com/category-s/1857.htm

http://www.idealabsdc.com/lab/ 

If you have questions about dosage, and how to take them you can contact me. Just post a comment or question and I will contact you.

Common cancer treatments can be making you sicker.

A simple google search when looking up “cause of uterine cancer” took me to a cite where it clearly states that doing estrogen therapy, taking tamoxifen, (this med is a risk even though it’s an anti-estrogen med!)  and radiation to the pelvis (which is a common treatment), can be a risk factor to getting uterine cancer. As you read the article, it mentions common treatments for uterine cancer to be surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. These treatments in themselves are estrogenic and dangerous! https://www.medicinenet.com/uterine_cancer/article.htm

“Radiation, estrogen, and a variety of chemical pollutants are known to be the major causes of breast cancer, but the efforts of the cancer establishment have been directed toward denying that these avoidable agents are the cause of the great increase in breast cancer during the last several decades. The cancer industry, including major producers of chemotherapy drugs, subsidizes the American Cancer Society and “Breast Cancer Awareness Week,” and it is in their interest to convince the public that early detection and conventional treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are winning the war against cancer. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, in the war against cancer, just as there was in the Vietnam war. Their consistent effort to dissuade the government from acting to reduce the public’s exposure to the known causes of cancer should make it clear that they are in the business of treating cancer, not eliminating it.”- Dr. Ray Peat; Breast Cancer

Foods and habits that intensify estrogen’s harmful attacks:

  • Polyunsaturated fats (grains, nuts, seeds, beans, raw green leafy veggies, cruciferous veggies, cold water fish like salmon, pork, corn, soy, safflower, flax, cottonseed, canola, peanut, sesame oil, mayonnaise, pastries, some candies ) Yes, you read that right.
  • Iron Supplements, cooking with cast iron, and eating products with added iron.
  • Taking birth control.
  • Not eating enough calories throughout day.
  • Living under too much stress.
  • Exposure to chemicals.

Staying away from these foods and habits will greatly improve your health, by causing you not to produce a high level of estrogen.  For more information about how you should be eating, and what being healthy really looks like, please click on link.

https://youtu.be/y8mYQpzQnwI

References

Endocrinology. 2003 Dec;144(12):5650-7. Epub 2003 Sep 11. Distinct molecular pathways mediate progesterone-induced growth inhibition and focal adhesion. Lin VC, Woon CT, Aw SE, Guo C.

Lancet 1939, vol. 237: 420-421, Anti-tumorigenic action of progesterone, Lipschutz A, Murillo R, and Vargas, L Jr.

Mol Endocrinol. 2005 Aug;19(8):1978-90. Progesterone inhibits the estrogen-induced phosphoinositide 3-kinase–> AKT–> GSK-3beta–> cyclin D1–> pRB pathway to block uterine epithelial cell proliferation. Chen B, Pan H, Zhu L, Deng Y, Pollard JW.

Some Truth About Cancer

When reading, hearing, listening, or maybe even experiencing cancer in some way, have you ever felt like all you wanted was the actual truth, but you were caught between the actual truth and big businesses lust for financial gain? It is insane the amount of money and precious time that goes into research, fundraisers, donations, telethons, documentaries, news slots, marathons, campaigns, apparel, treatments, surgeries, (to just name a few) that the war on cancer is still going on…!

The feeling of not knowing what to think led me to read subjects on fitness, physiology, biology, nutrition, and metabolism. I’m currently interested in the work of Dr. Ray Peat, endocrinologist Hans Seyle, Dr.Otto Warburg, and Dr.Broda Barnes. Reading their work has helped to see that the information around cancer can be very inaccurate.

What is cancer according to the medical industry?

According to The Cancer Institute:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer

“Cancer is a genetic disease—that is, it is caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide.
Genetic changes that cause cancer can be inherited from our parents. They can also arise during a person’s lifetime as a result of errors that occur as cells divide or because of damage to DNA caused by certain environmental exposures. Cancer-causing environmental exposures include substances, such as the chemicals in tobacco smoke, and radiation, such as ultraviolet rays from the sun.”  However,  this theory has been challenged and proven false throughout the years.

Frog Egg Tumor Transplants.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/165/3891/394

In 1969, researchers had transplanted frog tumor cells into frog eggs and found that despite the mutant cancer DNA contained within the transplanted tumor cells, from within the eggs emerged healthy tadpoles. Meaning, that mutated cancer DNA did not effect normal development.

This is just one of many observations. In Mark Sloan’s book, Cancer Cured, Victory Over the War on Cancer, he mentions studies like: Cloned mice from tumor cell DNA, and Cell cytoplasm-swapped ‘cybrids. They had proven once again that mutant cancer DNA didn’t cause cancer.

Another defect in the genetic theory is the claim that cancer cells are irreversible. There are many studies that prove that this is false, the links below are just a few of many of these studies.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9105051

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169899#sec017

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12814947

There was also the 2005 monstrosity, The Cancer Genome Atlas Project. This multi-national “call-to- action” purpose, was to help people understand cancer genetics better and to really find the the pattern of genetic mutations that initiate the start of cancer formation. The goal of the study was that new drugs could be created to focus on each genetic mutation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4322527/

What was the result?

Even though the project had access to millions of dollars and access to more than 10,000 tissue samples, from over 30 types of cancer, the results were not good for the genetic theory.

“They looked at cancer cells from different people with the same type of tumor, and scientists discovered the mutational signatures of cells were so different that they appeared to occur completely at random. Scientists also looked at the genomes of cells from within the very same tumor, but instead of finding a distinct series of mutations that could explain how cancer starts, every cell was found to have its own unique set of mutations. They didn’t see just one gene mutation that was responsible for starting the disease.

If it’s not genetic, what is it?

Scientists have found when it comes to cancer, it’s usually initiated by the same type of state or environment within the cell: Poor respiration (Hypoxia).They found that genetic mutations occur only after a cell has been deprived of oxygen. The first person to discover this, was Dr. Otto Warburg in 1923. In 1976, The Textbook of Medical Physiology had even quoted Dr. Arthur C. Guyton he said, “All chronic pain, suffering, and diseases are caused from a lack of oxygen at the cell level.”

When a cell has been deprived of oxygen it reacts by activating hypoxia- inducible factor – 1 alpha. That fancy name can be found in high levels in malignant solid tumors, but not in normal tissues or slow growing tumors. HIF-1alpha then stimulates a vascular growth factor into the tumor microenvironment, which gives a signal for it to grow. What’s the takeaway from this?

That cancer is more of a metabolic issue and not genetic.

Cell Metabolism

Our body is made up of 37.2 trillion cells, and they all require energy to allow us to function and stay alive.  So while we live our day to day, working, sleeping, stressing, laughing, etc, our cells are hard at work using the food we eat (metabolizing) and converting it into energy. In turn, we use that energy to eat, sleep, grow, exercise, deal with stress and illness, and also reproduce.

The metabolism of a healthy cell involves a chemical reaction between glucose and oxygen in the mitochondria. The by product of cells metabolism is adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Click link below to watch a video on cellular respiration

https://youtu.be/aA8d-tt6dII

Our cells go through a pretty detailed and complex cycle to create ATP, this is called cellular respiration. However, the 3 basic steps would be: glycolysis, krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Unlike a healthy cell, a cancer cell doesn’t go through the 3 steps, a cancer cell stays in glycolysis. Staying in glycolysis means sugar ferments, and produces lactic acid as a byproduct. For a cell to do this it means that the cell has lost its ability to use oxygen, and unlike the krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis doesn’t need oxygen. When a cell switches to behaving like this called The Warburg Effect, the cell becomes cancerous. Now for the interesting part, you can help your cells attain healthy cellular respiration again and repair your metabolism without expensive or radical methods that just make you sicker in the process.

How to help your metabolism

  • Increase Co2

– Put 2 cups of baking soda in a bath and soak for 20 min.

– You can also add a pinch of baking soda in some orange juice.

–  Bag breathing ( put a bag over your nose and mouth and inhale through your nose and exhale

through mouth. Breathe for 15-20 breaths. Stop breathing exercise if you start to feel light

headed.

  • Nutrition

– Increase sugar (add more fruit, juice, potatoes, maple syrup, honey, sugar or fructose powder

in your daily diet.

– Eat only saturated fats like coconut oil or butter.

– Make sure to eat regularly throughout the day, try to not skip meals.

Those are just a few things you can get started on to help your cells receive the proper nutrition, and allow your body to repair and heal. Of course this is not the end of the story, there is still a lot to be covered and questions to address. Such as: Does an excess of estrogen or Progesterone cause cancer?  There are many woman who have been prescribed estrogen and progesterone in the form of medications. The word on hormones and cancer is that progesterone can be involved in cancer. Is this accurate?

If you are someone who is on birth control or some type of hormone therapy please read my next blog. I will be covering hormone replacement therapy and how it can involve cancer. I’ll also be covering what you can do nutritionally, to help your metabolism.

If you would like to know the details to repairing cells and your metabolism please go to our website, checkout our “HEAVY THOUGHTS” series on YouTube, or simply contact us via our email.

Website: https://fitlifefusion.com

YouTube: https://youtu.be/y8mYQpzQnwI

Email me at : jennifer@fitlifefusion.com

Facebook: Fitlife Fusion

Instagram: Fitlife Fusion

 

 

 

 

My Daughter Is A Pre-Teen….HELP!

My daughter is 11 years old and is an extroverted, creative, loving, sensitive, deep person. Because of these qualities, she was eaten alive in school. Was constantly being misunderstood by most of her teachers and peers. Being in a class room with sometimes up to 40 children (some grades) was really stressful and overwhelming for her. She would be stuck with teachers who were burnt out and frustrated because of there work environment. Dealing with a loud, distracting atmosphere in the classroom, poor food choices for lunch, ONLY 10 min for recess, and then sent home with a significant amount of homework, and then to have just enough time for a little free-time, and then off to bed to start the cycle again.

Needless to say my daughter started acting out in school and wasn’t her normally happy self. After a pretty heavy conversation with my daughter one evening, I decided we needed to make a BIG change. For us, it was putting my daughter in home school. Fortunately my schedule allowed it for me to have that option. Also, I wanted to show my daughter that her concerns and stress mattered to me, and her voice was being heard.

Something that I want everyone to learn, is that you have the power to say “enough.” It’s ok to take a timeout for yourself. There are times in our lives where we need a change, whether it’s a big or small change, sometimes we just need it for our sanity.  Same goes for our children. We need to start teaching our kids at an early age that their mental and physical health is a priority, especially our preteen/teenagers.

If you take anything from this article, please take the knowledge that you are not alone in this stage of parenting. That we will get through this “3rd level of hell” called “puberty” together. Before we know it, our children will be in their 30’s and they will be telling us that they love us again lol. Till then, us parents (especially Mom’s) need to stick together! It’s all about survival! I hope this blog will be a tool for you to use when you feel like grabbing a big bottle of whiskey, sit in the corner, and implode in…3…2…1.

Look at the foundation.

The main reason why I wanted to write this blog is to bring attention to the fact that there is a healthier and happier approach to helping our children through their adolescence.  I want to encourage a type of lifestyle that is enjoyable for families to do together. I feel that the nutritional advice for children is deplorable and needs to be addressed and stopped. The foods in schools today are disgusting and are extremely estrogenic and inflammatory, so by the time our child  is going through puberty their hormones are all over the place,

As parents we need to make a strong healthy foundation for our children. I think looking at our society as the example of what ” not to do” is a good start. We live in a culture that encourages an isolated, high stress, low activity, undernourished, type of  lifestyle. Our children get hit with this way of living starting in grade school. They are glued onto their iPads and game systems, spend most of their days inside, and eat highly processed foods laced with chemicals that their young developing brains can’t process. As a result, children today are angry, depressed, and now have a high rate of suicide. At an early age they end up being diagnosed with behavioral issues, and then put on different medications that they may not need.  I’m not saying that some children don’t need medications,  but i’m specifically referring to the children who just need a change in their environment. For example, nutrition or activity level.

Solid foundation, happy teenager!

In the past year I have been really reflecting on my daughter’s foundation, and have been working on ways to improve it. As my daughter matures, I want her to experience good quality nutrition, and learn and apply healthy habits. Such as:

  • 6-8 hours of sleep every night.

 Sleep is crucial for a healthy metabolism and your child’s brain.         When they sleep their brain can recover from whatever stress it dealt with earlier in the day, repair what’s needed for the body, grow and develop, and also metabolize fuel.

  • Eating breakfast every day.

After a 6-8 hour fast (due to sleep) our child now needs to re-fuel. Eating and drinking a good quality juice 30 min upon waking.

  • Staying away from harmful foods.

Poly-unsaturated fats (PUFA) is a major culprit behind, acne, bad sleep, poor mood, weight gain, and bad or irregular periods and pms. Do your best to stay away from:

  • Grains, nuts, seeds, beans, raw veggies, veggie and seed oils, cold-water fish.  

   Eat more of:

  • Milk, butter, cheese, eggs, seafood, beef, bison, juice, fruit, gelatin and salt.

  • Eating regularly throughout the day.

Eating regularly regulates your child’s blood sugar, increases focus and retention in school, helps poor mood, helps with sleep, and gives body sufficient fuel.

  • Having a healthy social life.

As your child enters his or her teenage years, friends will become more important. Positive, accepting, and supportive friendships are an important part of your child’s development.

  • Plenty of exercise.

Physical activity (especially in the sun)  has significant benefits to your child’s mental and physical health. Not only does it help with developing a strong body, but exercise can even be just as effective as antidepressants. Inactivity has been found to be associated with the development of psychological disorders.

  • Making room for creativity.

Creativity is an awesome skill set that your child should tap into. Being creative will help with mood, self-expression and communication skills. Creativity will allow your child to become stronger in reflection and meditation, being able to step out of the box and add a new viewpoint or prospective on society, ultimately helping them to be a well rounded individual.

Doing these suggestions has helped my daughter tremendously! Plus our relationship has gotten even stronger, which is awesome! Don’t be afraid to make a big change in your child’s life. Whether thats in school, nutrition, or more exercise, sit down with your child and have a heart to heart and find out what they would like to improve in their lives.

 

Feeling Frustrated ?

Feeling Frustrated?

How’s your journey going so far….?

Do you feel stuck….?

Results aren’t coming fast enough….?

Are you losing weight but gaining it back….?

Are you losing your inspiration….?

Are you feeling lost within the process….?

Feeling frustrated…?

Be honest, is this how you are currently feeling? We all go through it. Whenever we bring on a new habit or lifestyle change we always start with the intent of a long term change. Are you someone who struggles with this? Are you able to stick to your new routine? Are you someone who starts off burning hot, doing everything perfectly and then after 14-21 days starts to slow down. That once big ball of burning motivation/inspiration/purpose is now quickly melting like a snowball….

Why do we do this ?! The “yo-yo’ing”, up and down, hot then cool, inspired then discouraged, eating good then eating crap, rested then tired, in pain to being in pain again…. know wonder you’re frustrated, its exhausting living like that! So whats the underlining issue?…

IDENTITY SHIFT

Your external and internal self are working against each other. Externally you start off by working out, eating right, going to bed on time, etc… but that only lasts for so long if you have not done the internal work.

Changing your internal self means you must change the way you think and feel about things. If you are still doubting the method, or not educating yourself on exactly what and why you are doing something, thats when the struggle begins. You cannot keep the same old philosophies and beliefs and bring on a new way of living and expect to get the results that you want. These old beliefs and poor habits is what got you sick and in pain to begin with. If you want something to change, you need to do it whole heartedly. It really is an identity shift.

If you are feeling frustrated because you feel that results aren’t coming fast enough, maybe you’re someone who is fixated on quick gratification? Do you have a hard time with the concept of long term gratification?

I was. I am someone who likes results fast. I lived in the fantasy that my life could be like Mary Poppins who would snap her fingers and the whole messy bedroom was cleaned with a *SNAP*. Oh how I wish that was true! Unfortunately thats not life. We must do the work. Not only do we need to work on the external self we need to change our identity in order to change your behavior.

The reasons why you may not be progressing is because of the identity you’re giving yourself currently. It’s not because you don’t have the tools, you’re just not absorbing the tools…make sense? Maybe your mindset is that you’re just an “average person”, that “learning some physiology concepts is just too hard”, “ I’m a lazy person”…. this is not the identity of a person who accomplishes their goals or improves there environment.

People who change their life and become leaders to their family and community absorb themselves in their tools and the internal and external self work unitedly. These people eat, sleep, breathe, their identity. They know why and how they are going to accomplish their task or lifestyle.

However this shift in identity doesn’t happen over night. We need to take things on slowly, one habit at a time. Stop rushing the process, and enjoy the feeling of getting healthier. Allow your mind and body to repair itself. Except and be ok with the thought that, what you may have thought was truth, may not have been. Now, excepting that fact doesn’t mean that you’re an idiot and that you failed. NOT AT ALL! What actually happened is you have data. You now know that whatever it was that you were doing, or eating, it just wasn’t right for your body, and you need to try something else. It’s not a situation that you need to judge yourself over. Take a mental note and move on. Life is so much happier when we live life that way.

So if you are feeling frustrated with where you are currently, reach out to your friend, coach, or mentor, explain how you’re feeling and ask for feedback. It takes courage, but I believe in you. Sit back and reflect if you need to take some time and allow your internal self to catch up to your external self. Take on that identity shift.

MY WHY

For 32 years I got out of bed in the morning not knowing my “why.”
I can say that I am now on my 4th year of knowing my “why”…. AND I LOVE IT.

For me the reason I get out of bed in the morning is 1st, to take care of my daughter. The 2nd, is to educate people on how to attain the quality of life they may have lost or want to create, using methods backed by neurology and biology. These laws and principles help me to get my clients out of pain, feel and look better. Part of my why is to inform people of some of the strategic marketing lies that the medical and fitness empires like to spew out, disguising themselves as healers and a place where sick people can finally find answers and relief.

For most of my life I have been health conscious. What does that mean? I was physically active. I hiked, danced, rode horses, I did what the books said and ate clean. I have done almost every diet out there. I’ve eaten according to my blood type, counted points, ate only plants, went raw and sprouted my foods, did the thyroid diet, the rice diet (that’s when I ate a buttload of rice and broccoli ), took herbal pills, I even went to the extreme of only eating 400-500 calories a day while training for the Big Sur marathon (foolish I know). What was my result? By the age of 30 I had already experienced a miscarriage, depression, anxiety, poor sleep, difficulty losing weight, horrible PMS, dry and damaged hair, thyroid and liver issues, hip pain as well as nerve pain in my foot, bacterial infections, and just a lack of confidence. As I slowly got worse I would ask myself, “What am I missing?” I assumed that I hadn’t found the right program yet, or that I wasn’t working out hard enough… basically I was putting all the blame on myself. Was it my fault? I wasn’t a health professional, I had no understanding of basic human physiology at the time, I didn’t even know about what our brain and body uses as fuel. I had no idea about macronutrients and how much I needed daily. Society and high budgeted commercials told me I should trust what I was hearing and reading from the health and medical world. So I did…and I got sicker.

Thrilled to tell you my life turned upside down when I was introduced to Z health Performance and the research done by Dr. Ray Peat, Dr. Hans Selye, as well as many others. It took me time for me to be courageous enough to admit that my beliefs of health and what “healthy” looked like was wrong. Once I did that, my life took on a whole new meaning.

Instead of my life being centered on the abuse I had experienced when I was younger and as a married woman, my mission became to teach others that they could create a new story for themselves like I did. That their brain and body could mold and adapt to whatever It wanted and the outcome would be a life that they ACTUALLY WANT. I want to show people that they have options despite what they have been told by who they believe to be an authority.

Another thing that inspires my why is the death of my sister. She died of Cancer in 2017. I personally feel she was not given the many options that should have been given her regarding her health. She was handed the everyday protocol that one would get when going to the doctor. I also feel that her health wouldn’t have declined if she was taught what a healthy metabolism looks like and how to achieve one. When she was in pain and gaining weight she was given medications that only masked the issues, and that exxaberated her inflammation on a cellular level.

My sister and me in 1987.

Again, my sister as well as many others would be alive today if they were taught what the warning signs of a low functioning metabolism looks like and how to repair it.

So many warning signs and symptoms are over looked and dismissed because of protocol in thousands of doctor visits and hospitals. This is why its important for me to educate my clients on how the body functions and to look at the whole picture. It’s important for my clients to know that they need to take control over their situation, and it’s not as daunting as one would think, when you have a team on your side ready to give you the support that they need at any given time. It brings me joy when my clients start to experience the happiness that comes out of feeling, moving, and looking better.

I want to show the person who is in pain everyday that their suffering can go away. Showing them options so they don’t have to rely or become addicted to pain meds or be accused of being a drug addict when trying to cope with their pain.  I want to find the person who is tired of their weight going up and down, or not moving at all.  I hope to help as many people as I can by giving them options so they can repair themselves. Leading them to a life they never thought would be possible.

All you had to say was “No”

Its close to 10:30 on a Sunday morning and I’m still laying in bed. Totally comfy buried under the covers. House is quiet and just the perfect temperature where it’s slightly chilly but not freezing. I finally persuade myself to get out of bed and I make myself a bath. (Insert deep long sigh)… Totally relaxed. Its at this point it hit’s me…

“Why has it taken me this long in life to say NO and leave the weekends for me?!”

Can you relate?

I was in the habit of filling my schedule up with work, meetings, lunches and coffee dates with friends, which meant wasting time in traffic. Spending way too much time on social media, Netflix, driving my daughter to and from her Dad’s house, and then focusing on whatever hobby I chose to learn for that week. Not only did I create this vortex of chaos during the week, I let it trickle into my weekend as well. I was never content with just sitting at home and giving my brain and body the much needed rest it deserved. I would start Monday feeling just as tired as I did on Friday. I never took the time to organize my time, establish what my priorities were, I was hardly moving with purpose or focus. I was stressed, frustrated, and impatient most of the time. I felt stagnant in my work, missed deadlines, and didn’t have clarity in what I wanted for me and my daughter’s future. Not to mention my health was taking a beating in the process.  Can you relate?

“Just say NO.”

Unfortunately, I’m someone that needs to learn the hard way. I had to get to the point what I view as unhealthy and unhappy to finally be ok with changing my lifestyle. Excepting change is what I needed and more importantly, its what my daughter needed. Change has never come easy for me, I used to be an “all or nothing” type person. I felt I had to change the way I thought, felt, and believed all at once to be successful.

I WAS WRONG. 

I finally got wise and reached out for help. I got myself a mentor and really listened to what he said. What I mean by listened is that I heard what he said and then acted on it. My mentor helped me by putting a mirror in my face and helped me see reality. He showed me why I would start something and quit, why I was living in chaos and why my lifestyle was keeping me from being the example and leader I want to be for myself, my daughter, and for my clients. He gave me tools that I could use for when I would catch myself back in the same pattern. Most importantly, he taught me how to say NO.

You’re probably assuming that what I’m talking about is saying no to others. What I’m talking about is telling myself no.  I’m a very extraverted and social person. I love being around my friends, engaging in good conversation with plates of good food in front of me. I’m typically someone who doesn’t prefer to stay at home. I like to be out meeting friends, hiking, playing with my horse, and being active. Let me be clear in saying there is nothing wrong with this type of lifestyle, but what I lacked was balance. I tried to mix work, pleasure, responsibilities, all in one day. I was not living realistically, what would happen is I would just focus on the pleasure part. I was having a hard time getting my responsibilities done, I lacked the experience of knowing what staying focused and accomplishing good quality work felt like.

When I would get the urge to start filling up my day with just fun, i’d have to stop and ask myself a few questions.

  • Should the activity I want to do take priority over the things I need to get done at work or home?
  • Will this decision help me be the best version of myself?   

Creating the habit of stopping and asking questions and thinking of the good and bad consequences of my decisions led me to start saying no to things I should.  I started saying no to going out as much, putting the phone down, I got rid of cable, I got better at not getting distracted.

In time my house became more organized, work and my clients were becoming more productive, I had more time for prepping my meals for the week. My health started to improve as well as my daughter’s. I was getting more and more clarity in who I wanted to be and where that would take me. Most importantly, I was less stressed and happier.

How about you?

  • Is saying NO difficult for you?
  • Are you always stressed?
  • Do you feel like you go to one stinking event to the other?
  • How is your relationship with your family?
  • Are you proud of your home? Is it clean and organized?
  • How is your sleep?
  • Is your health where you want it?
  • Do you have clearly set boundaries for you and others?
  • Are you happy?

Growth and happiness.

Its takes strength and maturity to say no and actually make the changes needed. It’s not easy at first, so surround yourself with supportive people. Find people that have or live the life you want, reach out to them. It’s worth it!

As a result of my growth, I can enjoy peaceful Sunday’s in bed and a bath. I’m happier now and enjoy the journey of becoming healthier. Instead of focusing on who I will be hanging out with next and filling my schedule up with activities, I’m reading more, being productive with my time, and I live more in the moment.

I encourage you reader to ask yourself the questions above and not feel bad about telling you or others no, maybe give your child a new experience by getting rid of cable and for him or her to learn how to play puzzles, read, use their imagination. To set up days where the family cleans the house together and then afterward goes on a hike.

Get out of the vortex of chaos and enjoy lazy Sunday’s again!

 

GO TIME! 2018 New Year – No Quit Challenge

The Captains of Team FitLife

It’s Go TIIIIIIIME!!!

Alright, everyone!  Monday, January 8th starts the 4-week New Year – No Quit Challenge!  Below you will find the teams listed and who your team captain is.  Keep a look out on the Team FitLife private Facebook group for tips, tricks, info, and instructions. 

***Something I want to emphasize…

I know it can be difficult sometimes to put yourselves out there for people to see, but I’d like to encourage all of you to participate as much as possible on the private Facebook group.  First of all, know that what you post in the group WILL NOT show up on your public feed.  The only people who will see your posts are the people who are already in the group.  All members of the group are present or past members of FitLife Fusion.  

Feel free to share, declare, and ask as much as you’d like.  Putting it out there for others with common goals to see can help tremendously.  It helps the person who shares by putting thought into action and it helps those who read by knowing there are others out there who also experience similar struggles or maybe others who have had similar struggles and overcame them. 

So share.  🙂

The Teams

Team Hasani 

Hasani@fitlifefusion.com

Team Jenn

Jennifer@fitlifefusion.com

Team Peter

PeterP@fitlifefusion.com

Sunnie

Glen

Victoria

Elizabeth

Cindy B.

Monica

Jodee

Nigel

Kristine L.

Orion

Shawna

Jason Thomas

Richard

Lydia

Debbie

 

Andrea

Rebecca

Bri

Liz Gordillo & Fam

James

Terry

Cindy M.

Jon

Kristine S.

Karen

Katie E.

Louise

Lauren

Linda 

Marie

Paula

Katie H. 

Philip

Scott Crawley

Michael

Chris

Justin M.

RT

Justin E.

Bobbi

Britt

Blake

Logan

Melanie

Greg

Kathleen

 

Remember!  You can contact your team captain via email anytime!  We’re here to help, support, answer questions, and kick you in the ass (if you need one, lol).

The first Challenge will be posted tomorrow.  Let’s do it, guys!

 

“The Friend Effect” Why friends don’t really help friends

The Friend Effect

A New Year Blog Post by Peter Pinto
The New Year is here!  You’re probably thinking about your health or, more accurately, your weight.  The new year, of course, brings with it new hope, and therefore you’re most likely excited about hitting the gym or beginning a regiment of running and biking.  Regardless of the exercise you choose, you know exercise shall be done, along with eating smarter which will take place simultaneously… not a moment sooner.  There’s just one last thing you need to obtain in order for your goals to come to fruition.  A friend.  A comrade to help you stay disciplined while you share in the pain and starvation.  Someone who will accept your lies detailing the deliciousness of kale and pea protein smoothies.  
 
Now, exercise and cleaning up your diet doesn’t need to be as painful as I just made it sound.  I talk about smarter ways to make your diet and exercise plans more enjoyable often, but that isn’t what this article is about.  This is about one of the greatest flaws in habit change people don’t talk about.  “The friend effect.” 
 

Here’s a common example of the “Friend Effect” in play.  

 
It’s the new year and you’ve decided to get fit.  Most likely, this is the 5th 6th or 7th new year you’ve decided to get fit, but this year will be different.  Yes, you’ve failed all of those other times along with a handful of additional occasions that had nothing to do with the New Year, but this year… this year will be different!  This year you’re going to find a friend with a similarly shitty health situation and combine forces to keep each other on track.  Your friend has likely failed at losing weight and keeping it off even more times than you have, but she too will reap the benefits of this colossal, collaborative quest!  
 
Let’s set the scene.  You and your buddy are both, let’s say, 30 pounds overweight.  You both feel like you lack discipline. You discuss with one another how doing everything together will prevent you from giving in to the usual cravings and weaknesses to which you commonly admit defeat.  When one of you is feeling lazy, the other will be there to provide the proverbial boot in the ass!  While one of you reach for the slice of pizza the other will be there to slap it out of the weakling’s hand.  
 
The plan is flawless!  No one has ever failed to achieve their New Year’s resolution when they’ve teamed up with a partner in possession of the same goal!  

It’s Go-Time!

You start off, day one.  You and your teammate head to the local gym together and get a serious 1-hour workout in.  You may have overworked yourself, and you know you’re going to pay for it later in the form of soreness, but the energy was flowing and there was no way you were leaving that gym until you felt sufficiently worked.  This goes on for the next 2 or 3 workouts, and then one day your friend texts you just before you head out the door and says, ”I’m so tired.  Work was really stressful.  I think I need to let my body rest a bit and I’ll get back into it tomorrow. 
 
You give it the ol’ college try to motivate your pal with your text response, “Aw c’mon!  You’ll feel better once you start moving.  Let’s go! I’ll meet you at the gym (muscle emoji)!”  
 
Radio silence… 
 
Then the next text comes through, “I can’t.  I’m sorry.  Tomorrow for sure!”
 
And along with the sound of that last text alert comes the crashing of the first domino. 

A Crack in the Foundation…

On another day during lunch, you decide a salad just isn’t going to cut it.  You’ve been having a bad day since the moment you had opened your eyes.  You missed your alarm, woke up late, and didn’t have time to grab a morning coffee.  Then when you got to work, everything that could go wrong went wrong.  You know what’ll make you feel better?  Eating a familiar meal.  Maybe a turkey sandwich with all the fixings on some artisan bread, a soda… and a chocolate chip cookie to cap it off.  Luckily your friend is there put a stop to this madness.
 
“Just eat something healthy.  The bread is going to ruin your progress.”  Your accountability partner warns.
 
You quickly defend your decision.  “I know. I know.  I just need to have something right now.  I’m too stressed.  My day has been terrible from the start.  I just don’t care right now.”
 
Your friend, being sympathetic, understands what you’re going through gives you a soft look and simply nods.  She gets it.  She’s been there plenty of times herself.  

Support vs. Support

This is the “friend effect.”  Because you and your friend both struggle in this same area, you too easily sympathize with one another over the struggles of a stressful work life, a lack of energy, and feelings of guilt around self-sabotage.  Instead of supporting and checking each other in times of weakness, you support each other in another way by consoling one another in moments of failure.  You end up supporting each other emotionally when you fail because that’s what friends do.  That’s not the kind of support you were looking for when started this whole new year resolution thing, right?  You see where I’m going with this.
 
The point is, if you have a big goal you want to reach, you can’t team up with someone at the same level of success in that area.  You must seek out someone who has already achieved some level of success in that field.  We already intuitively know this when operating in the business world.  You most likely wouldn’t take someone’s advice on running a business if they haven’t already achieved a respectable level of success beyond what you’ve already been able to accomplish in yours.  When others try to give you advice on making more money and they’re broke, you kind of listen, but in your mind, you already distrust the source of information.  This is why you must find and partner up with someone who has achieved a certain level of health beyond what you have achieved.  
 
Seek out a friend whose new year’s resolution isn’t at all about getting fit and healthy because they already are!  Align yourself with someone who already has all the discipline and focus you need to grow in order to consistently take steps toward your goals.

Hire a Coach

When we work with people in our gym, we understand our role.  We’re not here to help you rationalize why you’ve failed in the past.  We’re here to help you make the right decisions and grow the habits needed to get healthy and fit. We’re here to guide and push you to stay the path. 
 
Most people just sign up to a local big box gym, like Anytime Fitness, LVAC, EOS, or 24 Hour Fitness, and 95% of people start strong, fail, feel terrible, and inevitably waste good money.  Don’t let this be you this year.  
 
Join us this January to get the best start you’ve ever had to your new year.  The FitLife Fusion New Year Challenge starts January 5th, it’s $97 to enter, and you’ll get all of the following tools to put you ahead of the game this year.  The best part is you will be assigned to a team and each team will be captained by one of our highly skilled NeuroPro Trainers.  Here’s what you get:
 
  • 4 weeks of unlimited classes at FitLife Fusion (fitlifefusion.com/schedule for our class schedule”).
  • Daily guidance and advice from your assigned NeuroPro Trainer
  • Nutrition Guidance, Meal Examples, Grocery List
  • Workshops on such topics of Pain Reduction, Weight Loss, Nutrition, Motivation. 
  • Invitation to a private support group on facebook supervised by our NeuroPro Trainers.

Visit fitlifefusion.com/my2018 and tell us what your goals are in  2018!

Teaming up with a friend for your new year resolution may not be the best idea. Here’s why…

 
 

Why am I still in pain?!

Why am I still in Pain???

Are you still in pain even after taking medications and have gone the surgery route? Why does this happen to so many people?
Even though our understanding of pain and how the brain processes pain has improved drastically, certain treatments are still based on old, and outdated information or models. For example, the Cartesian pain model, and the belief that our brain is hardwired.

Usually therapists have an understanding of “pain fibers”. A person sprains his or her ankle, and the “pain fibers” send “pain messages” to the brain, then pain is perceived by the brain and the person will do something to help the ankle. But how does this explain the reason for pain when there is no injury? How does this explain phantom limb pain? Or explain how Kerri Strug in the 1996 Olympics was able to pull off a faultless vault performance? Her ankle injury was so severe her coach had to carry her to the platform. Truth is, it doesn’t explain, hence why the medical profession needs to update their information about pain.

 

The Old School Train of Thought: The Cartesian Model

The Cartesian Model could be the reason for the misunderstanding about pain and where it starts. This model comes from Renè Descartes. (1596-1650) Even though this model is extremely outdated, its theory of pain is the backbone of the way doctors approach pain issues today. This model basically says if you were to put your foot either in or near fire, that a message is sent to the brain via pathway or wire. When the message hit the brain it would result in a ringing of a bell producing pain. Not only is this idea extremely simple it’s incorrect. Therefore, if the teaching is overly simple and incorrect, the treatment will be as well.

(Little known fact: Descartes believed that nerves were hollow tubes and that spirits flowed up and down them).

When looking at the Cartesian model you’ll see that to treat a person in pain, several options show up.

1. Remove foot from the fire.

First, the person can take his foot out of the fire, but what about the persistent pain that exists afterward? This also doesn’t account for the instance of pain triggered by emotion. For example, fear of being burned while standing by the fire can cause pain or evoke the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is our flight/fight/freeze mechanism.

2. Dousing the fire.

Second, you can douse the the fire with a bucket of water. Looking at the modern approach, “dousing the fire” would be pain medicine or injections. However, Medicare in the U.S. has had a 629% increase in expenditures for lower back pain over the last five years (Deyo, Mirza et al.,2009), yet pain rates are increasing, not decreasing. So logically, you can say “dousing the fire” doesn’t work.

3. Cutting the wire.

Third, and more severe approach to the Cartesian model of getting rid of pain would be to cut the wire. This would severe the message even getting to the brain, so if the brain can’t receive the message, pain will not exist. This modern approach would be surgery. If the Cartesian model was correct than surgery would be 100% successful. However, “20% of lumber discectomy patients have the same if not worse pain after surgery. (Ostelo, Costa et al., 2004); Lumbar fusions, in general, only have a 50% success rate in decreasing pain (Deyo, Nachemson et al.,2004; Deyo Gray et al., 2005).

More than 360 years after Renè Descartes death, this model continues to have influence on the way doctors and therapists think of pain.

Incorrect assumptions.

As a result of the outdated information, when you go to a therapist or doctor you might be introduced to some inaccurate assumptions. For example:

There is a direct link between the amount of tissue damage and the level of pain that you feel.

  • All pain is caused by an injury and if there is a increase of pain it must mean more tissue damage.
  • If you are dealing with chronic pain, under the Cartesian model, this means that the tissue isn’t healing and the damage is still going on.
  • Pain is an input driven system.
  • The nervous system is simply built for conduction (a wire).
  • However pain is just way more complex.

Pain fundamentals.

As mentioned above, its been a belief that our brain plays a role when we experience pain. The idea was that there was a specific area in the brain, like a “pain center.” However, science today has proven that there is not a specific spot in the brain that deals with pain. In fact, their is many areas of the brain that are involved when we are in pain. So when looking for answers on how to treat your pain, understand that there are more than a few ways to fix it.

Pain is actually an action signal. The brain makes a decision based on its perception of threat. For example: someone hurts their ankle, and is crossing the street. They see a bus approaching them very fast. The person now runs across the street with no pain in their ankle. As soon as the person calms down their ankle pain comes back. Why did the pain go away? The brain perceived that the bus was a greater threat to your survival, so no pain was produced to protect the ankle, allowing the person to get out of harms way.

Pain is part of the survival system. This means that if your brain views something as a threat, it will create pain.

Pain is also individual. This means that two people can be hurt in the same way, and have two different pain experiences.

Pain is a multi-system output event. This means again, since survival is of upmost importance to the brain, pain will influence body-wide changes in order to help us handle the threat that has presented itself.

What all these fundamentals of pain boil down to is the most current view of pain. Science is now calling it the neuromatrix. The neuromatrix highlights the fact that its not one thing that causes pain, you need to take a persons background, emotional state, physical state, etc into consideration.

neuromatrix

If you are someone who is still in pain after medication and surgery, I encourage you to look at your life, and see where there may be something your brain is viewing as threatening. This can come in ways of eating inflammatory foods or not enough food, poor sleep, lack of movement, and a stressful job.

Movie Review: “What The Health!?”

Heavy Thoughts Fitness Talk Show

Movie Review:  “What The Health!?”

In this episode of Heavy Thoughts, Peter and Jenn review the newly popular Netflix Documentary, “What the Health.  

Often we are asked by others what our thoughts are on certain movies and documentaries, and so we decided to try something new on the fitness talk show, Heavy Thoughts.  

The Quick Run Down…

We give this movie a 4 out of 10.  Honestly, it ended up being a big vegan commercial.  Many of this same arguments you may have heard for veganism in the past are presented in the movie along with more and more evidence of abuse within the foods industry.  Let’s break it down a little further.

First off, a lot of the information in this movie is worth hearing in relation to the current state of our food industry.  The way many companies within the food industry operate is just truly appalling.  Livestock is mistreated far beyond what most people realize.   Chemicals are added to our foods without our knowledge and the companies themselves turn a blind eye to the fact they don’t even really know the long term effects of their consumption.  And so, the story of how animals are abused and people are fed poisons in the name of saving the bottom line still stands.  This documentary thoroughly depicts the evils of the food industry and we think everyone needs to see it.  

On the other hand, the documentary uses every resource it has to fight for the vegan cause.

The Vegan Diet: Science or Religion?

Veganism is more like a religion than a scientifically based theory.  There isn’t a lot of sound science to prove the idea that people should be completely avoiding animal products, but people deeply believe it to be true anyway.  It’s a belief system with a lot of great stories, and yet not a whole lot of concrete evidence.    For example, one of the arguments made by a doctor in the film is that people shouldn’t be consuming cow’s milk because the milk is designed to take a baby calf and turn it into a 1200 lb. cow.  He goes on to discuss the hormone content being unnatural for humans, but never gets specific.  

I call these types of arguments, “connect the dots science.”   There isn’t any scientific proof that people shouldn’t drink milk, but by stating multiple facts about cow’s milk, it’s function in raising calves, historical timelines involving when people began to maintain livestock, what their teeth look like, and the shapes of their spots, people connect the factual dots, so to speak, to tell a story that corresponds with their beliefs.  

The one thing I can say in defense of all vegans is they truly care about animal rights.  Whenever I encounter a new member with health issues who is also vegan, I always start the conversation with one question. 

“Do you avoid animal products because you can’t stomach eating living things or do you believe it to be the healthiest way to eat?”

If the answer I get relates the little rabbit you once befriended as a child appearing as the main course for your 7th birthday dinner, I can see how that might be traumatizing.  But, if the answer has to do with veganism or vegetarianism being healthy, then we can have a conversation.  

Just a quick disclaimer… I don’t hate vegans or vegetarians.  I don’t choose to dislike people because of their beliefs.  So if you refuse to eat meat and animal products don’t take this as an attack on your person. The only argument I care about is whether or not eating in a such a way is optimally healthy or not.  If people are suffering from metabolic disorders and their answer to the problem is to go vegan, I try to provide information as to why I’d be concerned.  Regardless of what I say, just know the decision is always yours to do what you want with your health.  

Here are some great references to check out:

Website:  raypeat.com

Website: dannyroddy.com

 Book:  “How to Heal Your Metabolism” by Kate Deering

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!