prefer health: acupuncture and wellness

View Original

Healthy weight and Chinese medicine.

I just can’t with the scale and measuring tape click-baits, so starting this off with a cute baby photo as a reminder of your perfect self.

First things first. I hold Prefer Health to be a body positive space. I find each person to be perfect, healthy, and beautiful in their body in the exact same light they see themselves. The bottom line: I 100% believe that people can be above the body weight/BMI guidelines recommended by the CDC and be not only beautiful (duh), but also healthy and vibrant. You know you best, and I’m not here to get in the noise and clutter that makes you question your value based on your weight. In fact, because of this, I’ve historically held off from taking on weight loss patients because I did not want to be creating more noise in the field and fads of weight loss.

Wake up call: I recently put out a survey to this community asking people to share their top three health concerns. Managing weight came in at the top of the list. People reported that they felt that excess weight was causing them to experience increased pain and decreased energy. It was interfering from them playing with their kids and grandkids, and feeling good in their body. And if they didn’t figure it out: major bummer.

It makes sense. Excess weight in certain people can cause an increased risk of chronic health conditions, which at least 50% of Americans are currently experiencing. Studies have shown that weight loss of 5-15% in an overweight person improves joint function and reduces reported pain levels, meaning that for many, reduced weight has the possibility to lead to increase quality of life. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497590/)

And just to be clear, we can’t chalk the fact that this is an increasing problem to a lack of individual character. Our food systems are oversaturated with processed foods that expose us to additives that our body is not meant to digest. On top of that, our lifestyles have made us servants to stress, which we accept as a part of life. Both our diets and our lifestyles throw our bodies out of whack, and over time, our fat burning hormones are turned off, while our fat storing hormones are turned on.

The good news is that Chinese medicine balanced with a good dose of functional medicine, and rooted in sound nutrition and lifestyle guidance really does offer solutions. The catch - it requires a strong and steady commitment and the ability to dive in and make significant changes. One thing I wasn’t able to grasp in the scope of my survey, and even in my history of clinical practice is how motivated people are to make change. How about you? If your are reading this, and weight is a concern, how motivated are you to resolve the issue? I’d love to hear thoughts and feedback, so I’m going to turn comments on for this blog, for anyone who is feeling brave. More likely, I invite you to send me an email at hello@preferhealth.me. I’d love to hear from you!


And I especially invite you to reach out if you found this blog because excess weight is a concern of yours and you are looking for solutions. Feel free to shoot me an email, call the office at 971.279.2649, or better yet, schedule a discovery call so we can talk about your situation.