Positive Health Online

If we want to lose weight, we’re told to eat well and exercise. And there’s plenty of logic to that. But there are plenty of people eating well and exercising who are not losing weight, or are going up and down like a yo-yo. Clearly something is amiss!

1. Poor soil creates poor food quality. Our Earth has been tainted - its minerals and life force depleted worse than ever. Nutrient deficient foods require us to eat more to get the nutrients we need;
2. Still hungry after eating? MSG and similar chemicals are used to trick our brains into thinking we're still hungry;
3. Emotional suppression. We learn oral satisfaction as a way of dealing with our grief from infancy. (Lots in my book about that!);
4. The genetic ‘deck of cards’.  Weight issues can be genetic; however, the science of epigenetics makes it clear we have a choice over which genes to turn on or turn off;
5. Emotional toxicity. Our state of mind while eating can affect our ability to properly absorb nutrients;
6. Capitalism. I’m all for making a living, but this capitalistic system allows and even condones not labelling product ingredients or sources. Putting profits over health in this way often makes our food choices a guessing game; 
7. Western medicine. Mainstream medical establishments are geared toward symptom relief, which isn’t a bad thing. However, it’s a dangerous practice when the deeper causes are not addressed in addition to the short-term relief. Witness the after effects of liposuction or a stomach staple - the causative factors are typically still present, likely reeking havoc in other areas;
8. Weapons of mass distraction. Eating while watching TV, using Facebook, or even getting lost in conversation blocks the satiation response. If we’re not present to being full, we’re more likely to overeat. The satiation response in some can be as long as 15 minutes, meaning some will overeat before feeling full;
9. Everything can be a spiritual practice. Living to eat rather than eating to live is an attempt to fill an emotional and spiritual void that no food can fill;
10. Lack of proper hydration. For many, it’s easy to confuse thirst with hunger;
11. Food combining. Improper food combining adversely affects digestion. For example, fruits are digested quickly and when mixed with foods that take up to a day to digest, like steak, those fruits can ferment in your stomach. Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends eating fruit separately and at least 20 minutes prior to anything else;
12. Processed foods. Processed foods are often high in toxic chemicals and low in vibration. Items that are filled with refined sugars create havoc in the body. They and anything irradiated are nutrient deficient, often toxic and are wasted calories;
13. Carnivorous diet. Meat and animal by-products (eggs, milk, cheese, etc.) often contain many chemicals, such as growth hormone, antibiotics, and stress-related biochemical reactions to the animal’s environments; these can affect both your physical and metaphysical bodies;
14. Thyroid imbalance? Think metaphysically when thinking physically hasn’t worked. Communication issues can block the throat chakra’s energetic flow, affecting the physical body.

Is it any wonder why the typical ‘diet and exercise; programs aren’t always effective?!?!?

There are usually numerous causative factors to any pain, illness, or condition. Typical and well-meaning practitioners, or medications, programs, or modalities leave many of the lesser-known causes undiscovered or worse - ignored. In the list above, traditional dietary advice and exercise aren’t even mentioned - those are obvious. So, what if in addition to those, one were to incorporate awareness of a few more of the possible causes listed? Or all of them? Wouldn’t that lead to a better chance of permanent weight loss and an overall much healthier individual?

We’ve been conditioned to do only one thing or see only one practitioner per condition or ailment: do X (e.g. surgery, or medication, or alternative therapy) to achieve Z, but we don’t ask Y quite enough. We’re not taught to go deeper to see what’s really going on in our lives. As the son of a pharmacist, I grew up taking meds for every little ache or pain and learned THAT is the way to treat the ills of the body. While I have no regrets and am grateful for that learning, at some point I realized that medications typically - often by design - only suppress symptoms. They too often leave the underlying causes in place. Illness never really goes away with suppressive therapies; it just becomes more systemic. Medications have their place; I’m all for them in certain situations, but drugs are not all there is. Only by addressing all the appropriate causes can we truly achieve a permanent change in pain, behaviour, or weight.

Tick Tock, Ca-Ching; Tick Tock, Ca-Ching; Tick Tock, Ca-Ching!

Weight loss, healing and maintenance take time and money; two things we learn are too precious to spend freely. We’re typically buried in weapons of mass distraction like email and Facebook. We’re often too busy caring for family and trying to make a living instead of investing our time and money exploring what really works, not just suppressing symptoms. But I believe you’re going to pay one way or another: Pay now with your wallet, or pay later with your health.

Working with me, with others, or with both lets all of us do more, be more, and help more people to wholeness. I invite clients to be part of the new paradigm that takes into account that many aches, pains, and conditions are caused by numerous - and sometimes lesser-known factors. I also know that healing can require numerous practitioners, practices and modalities - sometimes it takes the proverbial village. That’s why I am happy to refer to other modalities or practitioners to help get a client well. I can intuit the most time- and cost-effective path.

But even without a practitioner or a group to help you ascertain the underlying causes of your condition, isn’t the above list fascinating? Doesn’t it answer some of your burning questions? To attain maximum health, it’s most time- and cost-effective to eat fresh, organic, nutrient-dense foods. Other healthy steps are: eating vegan and/or raw (highest vibration) whenever possible; blessing your food (Saying Grace is a good example, but don’t do it casually. Feel the gratitude and your body/mind will shift immediately); eating mindfully without weapons of mass distraction; not eating when stressed (even just a minute of conscious breathing before eating can do a lot); drinking more water; eating fruits before anything else (food combining), communicating your truth (throat chakra), and dealing with your emotions as they arise (don’t repress fear, anger or grief).

Sound difficult? Anything worth achieving is difficult at first. In time, living consciously, eating well, healing and maintaining health become the norm, not the exception. They become part of your routine. Until then, it’s okay to ask for help. If we were meant to go at it alone, the Creator would have given us 7 billion planets; one planet each.

The author makes no medical claims of diagnosis, treatment or cures, and assumes no liability for the (mis)interpretation or (mis)application of any part or all of the above article. It is always best to see your doctor.