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The whole “Fat Gene”: How to empower your Healthy Voice in it

Posted by Meredith Terpeluk on December 01, 2011 / Posted in General Interest

“Staying Trim When Fat Runs in the Family” by Gretchen Reynolds

Did you see this piece above in the NY times on November 23rd?

There is lots of talk lately about the “fat gene” and I gotta say it annoys me a bit. Why, you might ask. Well, because to me, having been in the shoes of feeling like I can’t get the weight off my body, I see it as just another scare tactic for the “fat” person to feel like they have to change. “Oh, and you’ve got a bad gene so you are screwed. Good Luck.” Reynolds even says it herself. “These findings would seem to suggest that most of us are doomed to be tubby.” Yes, can you say Unhealthy Voice?

Here’s my thought:

Let’s stop making the genetic part of this whole weight/obesity crisis a chance to disempower people. Let’s empower them with knowledge about themselves. When we did the Curves Complete curriculum we talked about Genetics as a major factor in all of this. Yes, it is ONE factor among many! Is it the cause? No. I know America is just dying to get to that one zinger that causes the obesity, but it’s never going to happen — because there are just too many factors in play that contribute to the root cause for each individual.

If someone can know their genetics aren’t holding them back, they can actually empower themselves to change. Let me give you an example. I’ve got the gene of slow metabolism in my family. I don’t know who had it, but I’ve got it. So, ever since I was a kid packing on weight, I’ve known this but it wasn’t until I got walking/running in high school and college that I dealt with it. Now working out is part of my lifestyle, because I choose empowerment. I started working with my genes (and actually fitting into jeans at the same time.)

The beauty is not only that it’s helped me maintain weight physically. It’s helped keep me sane mentally. (That a whole other research topic – how exercise positively affects your brain chemistry.) That brings me to the other huge genetic factor. It isn’t just physical health like diabetes. It’s mental illness like addiction, depression, anxiety that runs in families. For example, I have anxiety in my history. There is depression in my family. Guess what else there is? Addiction. Yes, it took me years to make the connection between the way I ate and even exercised and the addiction gene. I had it with food…and lots of other things. But now it empowers me because I know that I’ve got that gene so I know my limits, which allows me to make better decisions. An amazing thing. You’d think it would disempower you – nope. That’s society’s Unhealthy Voice about what addiction really is that does that. So, you have a choice. You can embrace you genetics and say, “I got diabetes” or “I got a slow metabolism” or “I got a food addiction” and I’m going to do something about it and get moving?! Or you can hang out on the couch and eat bon-bons watching Biggest Loser.

That to me is more motivation than anything, cause I know it’s empowered me and I’m grateful for it!

New Link Found Between Obesity And Insulin Resistance

Posted by Meredith Terpeluk on August 03, 2011 / Posted in General Interest

New Link Found Between Obesity And Insulin Resistance.

I am SO glad that scientists found a link between obesity and insulin resistance because I’ve learned that I struggle with it myself. It wasn’t until recently that I realized it but it’s been totally empowering that I have another reason to make healthy choices.

This past year when I was working with Curves and the Cleveland Clinic creating a lifestyle and behavior program called Curves Complete, we taught coaches about insulin and what too much of it does to your body. We talked about Diabetes in a very general way, which really if you think about it – only the people at risk for it or that have it, pay attention to it. So we tried to simplify it in the curriculum we wrote. But my part in the process was really bringing the real life perspective and the motivational piece to help women make their own changes and so I want to share with you my real life perspective on how it’s affected me.

I’ve got a wonderful doctor at the new Physicians Holistic Health Alliance, Dr. Uthman Cavallo, MD, FACOG, OB/Gyn. We met a few months back and discussed the whole me including my physical and mental health, which I loved. I talked about my food plan and how I pretty much stay away from flour and sugars and eat whole foods because I can get so easily triggered. So he decided to have me do a blood test for my insulin.

So about two weeks ago when I got the call from him about my test results I was surprised, but I also wasn’t. He told me I’m insulin resistant and then I’m just under the mark for being pre-diabetic, not THERE but almost there. That means the hormone in my body called insulin is less effective when lowering blood sugars, which would explain why sugars make me nuts! lol

But the results came as a shock to me because I’m pretty active and eat mostly whole foods. But then I remembered that the gene is in my family. My grandmother had diabetes and so I thought, okay I’m at risk for it. This isn’t something I have to fix within myself (like I used to love to do). This is something that is just in my genes, like my addiction. So he asked me to write up a food journal for two weeks and so I did. Interestingly enough it made me more aware to what felt like it was spiking my blood sugar.

So the doc and I talked earlier this week and he basically said, you’ve got a sensitivity to grains and carbs and suggested that I limit it to minimal that i need so I don’t feel deprived and and try to get it mostly from fruits and vegetables. Even more important – keep my protein UP, I would do a lot better. That is so important because I know that if I were eating a diet of donuts, bagels, and Burger King I would be starving ALL the time. Pasta? Forget about it. Protein is so essential for my diet it’s not even funny – for both my physical and mental wellbeing.

Best part is that he said to me he doesn’t want me doing any Atkins, he just said he wants me to set a cap on refined sugar and grain. He also talked about alcohol and it made me so grateful that i don’t touch it because that could just make the whole thing worse.

Here’s the kicker. If I didn’t already know about the affects of sugar and flour on my body from my experience in treatment, I wouldn’t have probably been so open to what Dr. Cavallo had to share. If I didn’t know that it already makes my cravings go up and how serious that is, I wouldn’t be able to make the link now that my sugars going up affects my insulin levels. I know that I don’t get satisfied when I eat processed stuff. It just makes me get in my head and makes my stomach want more. The mental and physical affects just aren’t worth the aggravation. Doesn’t mean I’m perfect about it, but I know mostly what to steer clear of.

So I can tell you that it made me feel empowered to know that I’m a bit insulin resistant and that there is a way I can eat that takes care of that and I’m already on the road to it. What a gift. So I hope when you are thinking about what you put into your body, you check out your insulin levels, even if you don’t have diabetes but especially if it runs in your family.