When the Ones You Love Just Don't Get It

I mentioned in my last post that I did a lot of thinking while I was on vacation.  That means you guys are in for a few intense posts.  I've wanted to talk about this for quite awhile but haven't quite been able to figure out how to approach the topic the right way.  So basically, here goes nothin.

Negativity from loved ones.  I think it's one of those things that everyone who embarks on a life-changing journey will encounter.  In a way, it's to be expected.  But when it involves diet, exercise habits, and body image, it can become an extremely sensitive situation.  The reason being that people carry a LOT of baggage related to the way they eat and how they feel about themselves.  I think it's also important to remember that the people you love have probably grown accustomed to having you play a certain role in their lives.  I remember about 7 years ago, when I decided to really get serious about taking my diet to the next level. For weeks my husband seemed constantly irritated with me.  Everything I did with regards to food and meals bothered him.  At the time, I took it personally.  I interpreted his irritation as his way of telling me that he didn't support my efforts to feed my children healthier and to be healthier myself.  I later discovered that it wasn't that at all.  It was that he was worried that we would never hoover another pizza together while watching Lost (we were a little obsessed with that one).  He was worried that our midnight drives to Dairy Queen were as much as over.  In a nutshell, he was worried that the things we loved to do together that involved eating crap would disappear, and therefore alter our relationship.  It took me a long time to be able to wrap my head around this concept.  But once I did, I actually understood why he felt the way he did.  And honestly, he was right.  All of those things did change, and I can't say that I wouldn't have felt the same way if the tables had been turned.  Me changing my ways meant that his life changed too even though I never asked for his permission and he never agreed to it.  That was hard for him.  We eventually realized that we had to find other things to do together that didn't involve eating junk.  Luckily, we worked through it.  And even though it took years (literally YEARS), eventually he got on board with me.  Hell, at this point, our livelihood is based solely on the health and wellness industry, and that was ALL him.  Don't get me wrong. We had a LOT of fights and a LOT of dinner outings that went belly up.  But it was through that process that I figured out how to navigate my life without constantly worrying about people being annoyed with my health conscious decisions.  

An important thing to remember when someone you love makes disapproving or downright unkind comments about your lifestyle is that it's really not about you at all.  It's about them.  You're doing what you're doing for you.  They should do whatever they choose to do for them.  You're not to blame for making healthy changes, and they're not to blame for being uncomfortable with those changes.  It takes time for everyone to adapt.  You have to toughen up and let the negative comments roll off your back.  Because really, part of this whole lifestyle change is to stop worrying so much about what other people think.  Healthy changes wont stick unless you're desire to change is ONLY for you.  Besides, once they realize that you're serious about making healthy changes, odds are, they'll come around.  And even more interesting is that when people see you sticking to your goals and making progress in your life, they sometimes even become interested and will start asking you about it.  Which leads me to my next point.  Try not to dole out advice unless it's asked for.  Preaching about your latest health and wellness discovery at a family party is a recipe for disaster.  Take it from someone who's made that mistake a time or two.  I thought people would be interested and excited to hear about my nutrition and exercise breakthroughs.  But in reality, all it did was make them feel bad.  Again, that wasn't necessarily my problem, but it's worth making the effort to be sensitive to the fact maybe your loved ones haven't reached the point of wanting to change their ways yet.  Remember that most people have intense emotions attached to food, exercise, and their body.  You probably do too, but you've chosen to control them instead of letting them control you.  Leave people to their highest intelligence and let them see you paving the way.  That is the single most powerful thing you can do. 

My last suggestion is to try to surround yourself with like-minded people.  I don't mean that you should ditch your family or blow off your neighbors.  I just mean that you should make a point to spend a significant amount of time around people who  support you and will even participate with you in making healthy changes.  My workout/fitness palls are so instrumental in helping me stay motivated.  If I take my eye off the ball, they don't hesitate to smack me around a little and remind me to stay focused.  And how's this for ironic?  My husband has become one of them.  He'll even go as far as to literally push me out of bed in the morning if I don't get up at my normal time to workout.  Seriously, I never thought I'd see the day.  It's awesome to have that kind of support.  And I'm telling you, if MY husband was able to accept and become supportive of my efforts, any spouse can.  Believe me.  It wasn't pretty for the first few years.  And now I'm shouting from the rooftops that his hydrolyzed collagen protein powder is the single most amazing supplement on the planet.  If you know us at all, you know what an unlikely scenario this was.  

Stick to your guns my friends.  You'll influence more people than you might think.  It's possible that your harshest critics might end up being you're biggest supporters.  Don't forget that.

Adiponectin

Interesting studies are being done on the hormone adiponectin.  I don't know enough about it yet to put it in my own words, but here's a great article about it. Interesting stuff.

Nobody likes to be fat and new fat burning methods are always popular among athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike. If you are interested in burning your body fat, the first thing you need to understand is how body fat is reduced. In addition to that, athletes need to know how to utilize body fat to boost performance.

One protein hormone named Adiponectin plays a pivotal role in fat utilization. It is produced in the adipocytes (fat cells) and actually enhances the body’s ability to use carbohydrates for energy and burn fat for fuel. It may also play a role in diabetes protection. It has anti-inflammatory properties and may prevent fat deposits from forming in blood vessels.

According to a 2005 article in Endocrine Review by Takashi Kadowaki and Toshimasa Yamauchi, adiponectin’s effects on tissue triacylglyceride stores actually increased insulin sensitivity. When triglycerides are in excess, they decrease insulin sensitivity and adiponectin appears to stimulate their metabolism. This is good data to really use in diabetes, and obesity research.

DIET

Adiponectin levels may be manipulated through the diet. People who follow a Mediterranean including a variety of nuts, whole grains, fish, and little alcohol have been shown to have higher adiponectin levels in their blood. Another way to increase this hormone is to eat lots of Omega-3 fatty acids. Some of these foods high in Omega-3s are pastured raised meats, edamame, canola oil, walnuts, flax, avocados, and wild caught seafood.

Other ways to increase adiponectin is to increase fiber intake which can be done by adding a few servings of fruit and vegetables each day such as apples, spinach, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, and pears.

BODY COMPOSITION

Adiponectin is higher in leaner (low body fat) individuals. So the leaner someone is, the more adiponectin is released by their fatty tissue. People who have low levels of this hormone are usually obese, at risk for type II diabetes, and cardiovascular inflammation. So this probably leads people to ask whether overweight and obese people are genetically predisposed to have lower levels or are these low adiponectin levels low because of increase in other hormones such as cortisol and insulin? While little is known in that regard, many experts say that there is a possibility that the cell receptors may be blocked in people with lower levels. But research has been done recently to see how it works in regards to exercise.

RESEARCH

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning recently investigated further to understand how the protein-based hormone is stimulated and how it helps in fat cell utilization. The findings are briefly discussed here below.

Researchers working for the journal put two different rowing testing protocols side by side. They chose two groups for the research study and one of the two groups did an interval program while the other group members pursued a traditional research program. The traditional program entailed uninterrupted rowing for 35-40 minutes. The researchers measured Adiponectin stimulation at rest and after workout and these two sessions were separated by a 4-week program.

However, neither of the study programs stimulated Adiponectin. Nevertheless, Adiponectin response to interval workout significantly increased after the 4-week protocol but it did not respond to the traditional program. Maximal oxygen uptake of all the participants increased and their body fat also reduced remarkably. Therefore, the researchers came to a conclusion that intermittent workout would be highly effective in fat burning.

However, if you take a closer look at the actual data received through the process, you would notice that the after the four-week interval, negligible differences were found in maximal oxygen uptake, power output and most importantly, in body fat volume between the participants from the two groups. The only striking difference was the increase in Adiponectin level.

As Adiponectin is usually related with fat burning, the researchers actually expected a steep decrease in the body fat amount in the interval workout group. However, the differences were negligible.

Why did this anomaly happen? This is because researchers collected the Adiponectin samples after conducting a maximum voluntary effort test. Had they sampled the hormone after a test equivalent to the traditional test protocols, the results would be exactly the opposite of what they found.

FAT LOSS PILL?

If higher levels of adiponectin helps people lose body fat why isn’t there a pill with this hormone? Well, because hormones don’t really function in that sense. You can’t just take a hormone without it affecting the other ones. The body needs to remain in balance and rising one hormone can decrease the effects of another and visa versa. Don’t be fooled by the media and supplement industry promising a fat loss pill because it if were that simple, the obesity epidemic would have been solved and someone would have received a Nobel Prize for this discovery.

All in all, more research is needed to establish the fat burning potential of adiponectin, which is often cited as a ‘magic hormone’ by fitness gurus and nutritionists. But as long as you’re following a good workout program, along with a diet including omega-3s, carbs, protein, and lots of water, you shuld have no problem reaching your goals – that is where the magic really happens!