A Way Out of Menopause Problems?

My sister-in-law was at my house a week ago and complained, “I just hate getting old” (she’s 53). She was discouraged that she couldn’t remember words and felt mentally sluggish.

I explained to her that this was a common symptom of menopause due to low estrogen levels. At first, she was excited by this information—something could be done about it! But then she realized she couldn’t take any estrogen with her breast cancer history.

The Toxic Soup

She’s not alone in wanting to avoid the use of hormones or drugs to treat menopause symptoms. A visit to your OBGYN with typical menopause symptoms can result in prescriptions for any or all of the following:

• Hormone Therapy: Estrogen is what works, but it can be a risk. So your doctor will probably prescribe the lowest dose over the shortest time. Many women are not interested in the risk and will pass on this.
• Vaginal Estrogen: Same story as hormone therapy.
• Low-dose Antidepressants: These SSRI drugs are prescribed for hot flashes and “mood disorders” caused by hormone imbalances. All of these drugs have side effects, and many are addictive.
• Gabapentin: A seizure drug repurposed as a treatment for night sweats.
• Clonidine: High blood pressure med repurposed as a treatment for hot flashes.
• Osteoporosis drugs: The most popular drugs build “bone density” by inhibiting the destruction of old or dead bone cells. This increases bone density but without increasing bone strength.

Surely there must be another, better way.

Why Hormones Go Whacky

Your hormones are a communication system in your body. Like bulk mail, trillions of molecules of your hormones plug themselves into “mailboxes” on your cells. Your cells then read the mail and know what your brain wants them to do.

Hormones are very specialized chemicals. Sadly, in our high-tech society, we use similar chemicals for pesticides, insecticides, drugs, plastics, etc. The molecules of these toxic chemicals in our environment are so identical to your hormone molecules that your body can’t tell the difference.

These toxic molecules interfere with your natural hormones, creating stress that has been linked to hundreds of chronic diseases.

These toxins are called ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS. Here is a link to the EPA’s Endocrine Disruption webpage.

My experience has been that these toxins are a significant factor in menopause symptoms.

An Effective, Non-Drug, Non-Hormone Solution

There are many imbalances that create menopause symptoms. Each woman’s answer is different. I do a great job of finding your problems and rebalancing your body so you feel great—even in menopause.

One of the techniques I use to help women with hormone problems is an acupressure treatment called “Systems Balancing Technique,” or SBT. I have been using this technique since 2001 and have helped thousands of women to improve hormone imbalances related to sex hormones, adrenals, thyroid, and many more problems.

To Lose Weight… Stop Trying to Lose Weight

If you are frustrated (or beyond frustrated) by your inability to lose weight, I have some radical advice:

Stop trying to lose weight.

The usual actions for weight loss revolve around diet and exercise. Weight loss is supposed to happen if you burn more calories than you take in.

But in many cases, this has proven to be completely ineffective.

This can leave you frustrated, often trying one diet, supplement, or exercise program after another.

There Are Other Reasons for Stubborn Weight

Some people can lose weight by making a few diet changes and becoming a little more active (you may hate these people).

However, genuine cases of stubborn weight rarely succeed with calorie-based solutions because calories frequently aren’t the reason for the weight.

Less known but very common causes of stubborn weight:

• Food allergies
• Digestive problems
• Hormone imbalances
• Blood sugar problems

Many people can’t lose weight or stop gaining weight due to health problems that have nothing to do with calories or exercise.

Most attempts to lose weight are based on calories and exercise, thus maximum frustration.

An Essential Action

If you’ve had trouble with your weight and want to lose it and keep it off, you’ll have to be active. I have never seen a patient successfully lose weight without becoming active*. By “active” I mean walking each day, moving around during the day, and doing several hours of activity on weekends (yard work, hiking for an hour or two, etc.) on weekends.

If you have a health condition preventing you from being active, this may need to be improved to lose weight. Commonly my weight patients say they have no energy or motivation to be active. There are usually physical reasons for this which can be improved, resulting in good energy, better motivation, good activity level… and weight loss!

*Don’t start an exercise program without your doctor’s approval.

Cravings!

Often I’m asked, “What if I can’t control what I eat? I crave sugar, carbs, and junk food all day long.”

This can be a barrier to any weight loss. Happily, I researched and addressed this problem decades ago. I have specialized acupressure treatments that help the body reduce or eliminate cravings so you can control your food intake.

Weight Loss Formula:

1. Identify and resolve any health problems, such as hormones, allergies, etc., that will prevent weight loss (this is a worthwhile action for your happiness and future health, anyway).
2. Eat a healthy diet for your specific health challenges. For example, if you have blood sugar problems, you need to control your carbs and sugar more than most people.
3. If eating healthy is challenging, reduce your cravings and get on a diet consultation program.
4. Become (or continue to be) active daily.

You Don’t Need a Treatment; You Need a Guide and a Program

If you have been dealing with stubborn weight for a long time, there is probably no single solution to resolve this.

The reason for your weight problem is going to be more complex than a drug, supplement, or diet solution can handle.

You need an entire program to work with your body, diet, and lifestyle to restore your life and health. You’ll also need a guide to work with you through the program and ensure you get a complete result.

This doesn’t have to be hard. It could be done in less time than you may imagine.

I understand how you feel; it was my own frightening health experiences that inspired my clinic. I’ve been where you are myself.

I’ve been helping cases like yours for 28 years and have developed a comprehensive program that is individualized and unique to you. What I do isn’t a secret! You can go to my Information and Education Hub webpage and read as much as you like about what I do and how it works.

Here is your plan:

1. Use the link below to go to my online health quiz.
2. Fill out the quiz and submit it.
3. We’ll call you and do a phone consultation to determine if it’s likely that we could help you.
4. You’ll get started toward feeling better and achieving your weight and health goals.

DON’T BE STOPPED. DON’T DELAY OR “THINK ABOUT IT.” TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW TO DISCOVER IF THIS IS THE SOLUTION YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

TAKE THE QUIZ!

The Incredible Shrinking Woman!!

Are You Healthy? A Conclusive Answer

It’s commonly thought that poor health means a diagnosed disease or chronic symptoms.

This short quiz reveals a different way of looking at your health.

Health Quiz:

• Do you often think about your health and have some concerns about staying healthy?

• Do you wake in the night and worry about your health?

• Do you often think about what could go wrong or might be wrong with your health and how you might have to cope with it?

• Do you feel as if you have a shortage of physical or mental energy to accomplish what you need to get done? Do you sometimes avoid or stop an activity because you don’t have enough energy?

• Are you ever frustrated with your body and your health? Do you feel upset over digestive problems, joint pain, weight, lack of energy, hormone imbalances, etc.?

• Are you concerned about your mental condition: anxiety, depression, concentration, or frustration because you can’t think of words?

• Are you ever self-conscious or embarrassed about your body? This could be your appearance, or embarrassing problems such as burping, passing gas, or bad breath?

• Are you fearful about going to your doctor for a checkup or blood work because of what he or she might find?

SCORE YOUR TEST:

Any “yes” answer means that you are distracted from the important things in your life by a health issue with your body.

The fewer “yes” answers, the healthier you probably are. See the new health definition below.

New Definitions for Healthy and Unhealthy

You can feel fine, have great energy, have no diagnosed illness, and have normal lab tests. But if you are concerned and worried about your body, you aren’t truly healthy.

If you have more available attention for any activity, your chances of success with that activity go way up. More attention on your marriage, children, profession, hobbies, or that brand-new idea or project you just have never gotten around to (but you would if you had more attention available!).

Your Most Important Tool

Your body is the main tool that you use to live your life. Like any good tool, it should work in a way that doesn’t call attention to itself and just lets you get the job done. A hammer or shovel that hurts your hands isn’t a good tool. A body that hurts to walk is the same: a poor tool. A body that can’t be trusted not to break down in the future is also a poor tool.

How to Regain Your Attention (Your Life!)

Restored and Recovered Health is Possible

Thousands of patients have completely changed their lives with our help.

• They report thinking more clearly with better memory, concentration and focus. They say this saves them time and money, even making them better parents, spouses, friends and coworkers.
• Fear and anxiety about their health vanishes. They have new attention and energy to live their lives.
• Most importantly, renewed health gives a new sense of the future. They no longer feel damaged or limited by their health. They look and feel healthy and vibrant!
• … And so can you!

Your Plan to Increased Health and Attention

Cause of Chronic Disease

WebMD.com: “The exact causes of high blood pressure are not known.”

MayoClinic.org: (Referring to Type 2 diabetes) “Exactly why this happens is uncertain…”

National Institutes of Health (NIH): “The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown.”

If you or someone you love has any chronic (ongoing or recurring) health problem, you should understand that the causes of these problems are unknown, so there is no cure for them.

Doctors are very good at treating conditions and diseases with identifiable causes (trauma, infections, physical abnormalities, etc.). But when you present your doctor with a problem with no known cause, you’ll get long-term drugs to manage symptoms and no cure.

A workable definition of “chronic disease” would be, “A health problem that doctors can’t fix.”

Right now, 60% of the adult population of the US has one or more of these chronic diseases. There’s a good chance this group includes you.

A Different Model for Your Body

It’s common to think of your body as a biochemical machine. If it breaks, you take it to the mechanic (doctor) for repair.

It’s more accurate to view the body as an independent, living, intelligent entity. Think about it: if there weren’t an onboard intelligence running your body for you minute to minute, you’d be mired down in keeping your digestion going, monitoring your immune system, etc.

There are a few things I can deduce about this body intelligence:

1. Its prime directive is to help keep you alive (after all, it has a lot at stake here as well!).
2. To keep you alive, your body will try its best to keep you comfortable and un-distracted. When things go wrong, your body will attempt to hide any symptoms from you as long as possible.
3. Your body “thinks” like a mechanic. Every day your body takes damage from toxins, stress, and minor or more extensive injuries. None of this bothers your body; its job is to maintain and repair itself without worrying you any more than necessary.

How Chronic Conditions Happen

If your body develops a problem that it can’t repair (certain toxins, allergies, infectious agents, etc.), it will do everything possible to cope with the situation in a way that hides it from you. If you feel bad, your chances of survival are less, so your body will try to avoid bothering you.

A problem your body can’t repair can be similar to a fender bender on the interstate; it may not even be a huge problem, but it can create a much bigger issue by jamming up everything else.

Your body will do everything it can to keep you comfortable despite this problem, compensating, doing workarounds, patching things temporarily, and generally coping in any way possible to prevent you from developing a symptom. But at some point, often years after the original problem developed, it will run out of options. Your body may finally lose control, and you will have a symptom. Now you can understand why this symptom never goes away; your body has no ability left to cope with a problem it can’t fix.

You can also understand why your doctor has no way to treat the problem; it’s caused by years worth of a hopeless snarl that would be impossible to figure out.

A Solution: Sequence-Based Health Care

I have developed a method of helping the body to overcome the barriers and reasons that it has become unable to heal.

This has resulted in a stable improvement of these problems for over 10,000 patients over the past 28 years.

Honestly, it’s a fascinating story. Just understanding how it’s possible to recover from chronic health problems and not have to deal with lifetime medications and declining health is enlightening and and encouraging.

Find out about this solution to your problems here.

I just read something great about exercise:

A national-class runner was giving advice about staying on an exercise program. “I struggle with motivation all the time. It sounds ridiculous, but if you’re running down a slight hill or even just a little tired, put your arms out like you’re an airplane, and suddenly everything becomes less serious.”

Weird. But I am absolutely going to try this! It would certainly add some joy and fun.

Because the most successful way to a long-term exercise program is to make it fun!

Think of exercise as recess before or after a long work day, not another “to-do” item.

Most people say they want to exercise for their health, but they actually do it because they are doing something they enjoy.

Think of exercise as an essential part of all your jobs. It will improve you as a parent, business person, writer, artist, lawyer, doctor, or educator. It will help you to be calm, collected and improve your energy and stamina on all your jobs.

Exercise is moving your body. You don’t have to sweat, gasp for breath or tremble beneath massive weights. Walking is probably the best and most-used form of exercise (motion). Whatever you do (bike, swim, yoga, Pilates, phone app), you don’t have to struggle or suffer to benefit. Just do it! (I’ve heard this one before somewhere…)

Be flexible. If you properly prioritize your exercise, you can decide to do it when you like and not have to slavishly go at the same time in your schedule. A study showed that people with flexible schedules did better at staying with an exercise program than ridged schedule people.

Add in something you enjoy: listen to a great audiobook but only when you’re exercising. OR: Become a photographer and discover and take pictures during your walk or run.

Get support! A group holds you accountable and gives you people to share your wins with. Having a workout buddy does the same thing. The look in your dog’s eyes when you haven’t been on your walk or run is plenty to get you motivated.

Create an exercise environment that is inviting. Find or create a place where you feel good exercising. I’ve done this with my yoga room. Others find a nice gym, a beautiful park or just your bedroom with a mat and a fitness app. My husband loves hiking in the woods and solved his motivation problem by regularly visiting the Chattahoochee recreation area near our home.

If you fall off your program, get back on track right away. The key, according to the study, is not to miss two workouts in a row. Set up a deal with yourself to handle a missed session in advance: If you miss, but just once, you get a special reward after your next session.

Here’s your program; get started today!

1. On paper, list every form of motion you can think of that is possible for you to do (walk, run, swim, yoga, bike, etc.).
2. For each one, answer this question: “Could I make this activity fun to do?”
3. For each “yes” answer, work out how this could be done. Now convert this activity to something you could do regularly.
4. Get on it!
5. (Optional) If you get to the bottom of your list without any of the activities being fun, re-read how exercise is an important part of all your jobs. Then go for a walk and put your arms out like an airplane. Then come back in and do the list again.

Have fun!