Dieting can be a catch 22. While a diet can help us lose those unwanted pounds, it can also create a yo-yo effect that causes our weight to swing from high to low and back again. The swing in weight is because maintaining a particular diet may not be easy nor realistic for us. A diet is also vastly different than a lifestyle, too. The word diet implies something with a beginning and an end, whereas a lifestyle denotes a way of living. Something ongoing versus finite. So beware of the diet if losing weight is your goal, because if you are going to go through all the effort you may as well be able to sustain it, right?

A recent article in The Cincinnati Enquirer (1/10/16) shed light on the inherent problem with dieting as a solution to weight loss. The article featured a notable magician, Penn Jillette, who lost more than 100 pounds in roughly 3 months. This in itself is almost unheard of, to lose that much weight in such little time. But it’s incredibly tempting to believe that it can also happen for us as well. And while it just might, the question we need to ask ourselves is this, “Can we sustain the diet that we use to lose the weight once we reach our target?” This could mean for the rest of your life. If the answer is no, then it’s time to look at weight loss a little differently.

Losing weight takes time, just as it took time to add it. It also requires a different mindset, too. The new mindset involves looking at how you live your life, or your lifestyle. With a diet, you may or may not change your lifestyle for the rest of your life. You might just see this as a temporary solution to your weight loss. Temporary is not a solution. Temporary can mean that things may go back to how they were before. A change in lifestyle implies a more permanent solution to a situation. It means changing habits, changing activities, changing routines. It revolves around change. Only when we change ourselves do we see results truly happen. Results that last a lifetime.

Each and every year as we approach January 1st we think of resolutions. The most popular, by far, is the resolution to lose weight, especially after all those indulgences over the Holidays. However, when January 1st arrives, many of us find that we don’t know where to begin when it comes to improving our health or losing weight. In fact, we may not have seen the inside of a gym in years. We may have aches and pains that have prevented us from even considering enjoying a gym membership. We may be afraid of making that financial investment because of the pain and discomfort. Both may prevent us from enjoying those workout classes or exercise equipment. The good news is that there is a way to eliminate this roadblock to your New Year’s fitness resolutions. It involves specifically addressing the cause of your pain and discomfort, then correcting it once and for all.

At Damron Chiropractic & Wellness (DCW), we help individuals get back on track with their fitness goals so they can have success with their fitness resolutions. One of our four elements of care at DCW is rehabilitation, or physical therapy. By identifying and addressing problem areas with strength training and stretching we can provide countless benefits such as:

pain relief
increased energy
improved sleep
more strength
better balance
greater mobility
plus the option to join that gym
Removing the obstacles that prevent us from achieving our fitness goals for the new year is key to living a life of wellness. Let us help you remove the barriers that might lay in your path. We can equip you with the solid foundation from which to enhance your life with better health.

Any path to self-improvement is better when we have someone on the journey with us. Not only does it tell us that we are not alone, but it also benefits us in other ways as well. We have someone who has a better understanding of what we are going through, we have someone who can speak to our personal experience because they are right there with us, we also have someone who will hold us accountable to our journey. We have an accountability partner, who will ensure we stay on track and not let obstacles prevent us from succeeding. And sometimes that obstacle is our own self.

Many times our journey towards better overall health requires more than ourselves in order to be successful. And that’s okay. We are social beings. Taking that first step in the right direction can require a lot of effort. Why? Well, the fear of failure can be a very powerful thing. We may have tried once before and failed. We may be unsure of even where to begin. We may get frustrated and decide to settle with what we have. If we have an accountability partner, we have that external motivation to keep us moving forward. We have someone telling us not to settle, to expect and demand more for ourselves.

Damron Chiropractic & Wellness (DCW) can be that accountability partner you are looking for. We understand where you are and where you want to be, plus can address the needs of the “whole” you. Surrounding yourself with the right resources to help you along your journey can mean the difference between success and failure. And success with weight loss is what you want, right? Addressing the needs of all of you means going deeper than simply losing weight. It means strength training, it means better nutrition with supplements if needed, it means a structure that is in alignment, it also means addressing any muscle issues as well with massage.

DCW is rooting for you! Your success is our success. Who’s holding you accountable?

With the new year upon us, there is a flurry of activity in the resolution department. A vast majority of these resolutions center around a single theme – better health. Better health could mean a resolution of losing weight, joining a gym, working out more, eating out less,  or tossing out all the processed food at home. Either way, it all comes back to the same theme, better health. But there is something more to this resolution that could determine whether or not a person is successful. That is, is there a solid foundation from which to build from?

On the surface, dieting programs seem to work. We purchase the special ingredients, eat what the diet tells us we can, and watch the pounds drop off. But there’s a problem eventually. What happens when the diet is over? Studies indicate that resolutions to lose weight fail an average of 6 times. Six times! It’s no wonder people get frustrated and give up, resigning themselves to being overweight and, by default, unhealthy. The problem is that a diet is a temporary fix. It does not address the lifestyle a person is living nor the physical activity a person is engaging in. It also does not address the foundation, or core, of a person. For example, pain in a person’s knee or back can thwart their efforts to keep any weight off they may have lost with a diet. Why? If this is to be a lifestyle of health and wellness, pain in any place of a person’s body will inhibit their physical activity. If it hurts, one cannot do much of anything. Weight can be lost with a diet, but toning and strengthening the body cannot happen.

At Damron Chiropractic & Wellness we begin with the foundation of a person. We uncover why the foundation may not be solid. Why there is pain. We address the problem head on with stretching and strengthening exercises. At DCW, we call that rehabilitation, or physical therapy. By rebuilding a solid foundation for an individual, we open the door to obtaining successful weight loss goals. It is not a temporary solution, but a lifelong solution.

There are no quick fixes in life. There are ways to remedy a situation to improve it, but it always requires the investment of time and work. Are you ready to get well? If the answer is yes, we’d love to hear from you!

Remember that great television ad from Staples featuring the easy button? Everything was resolved with the simple push of a button. It became such a hit that Staples began selling the actual easy button. If only life were that easy. As comical as it might be, reality tells us that many things in life just aren’t designed to be easy. When it comes to our own personal wellness journey, the road inevitable has a few bumps along the way. However, modern day medicine gives us the impression that there is an easy button that comes in the form of prescription medications. A quick fix for any ailment, hence the trend our society is facing today of increasing prescription use. The road to wellness has no use for an easy button because the easy fix does not address the underlying issue and is only a temporary solution.

A recent article from The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, 11/3/15) highlighted the fact that society’s dependence on prescription drugs is continuing to increase. It also revealed an increase in those who are taking five or more medications as well. Five or more! With the number of side effects related with any medication, taking more than one at a time sounds like a recipe for disaster. How can someone know what “good” feels like if their body is dealing with the effects of the multiple medications they are taking?

While we might wish that there was an easy button when it comes to our health, it simply isn’t the case. What is is time, patience, knowledge, and work. Slowly unraveling the coils of a sedentary lifestyle with poor nutritional food choices. It took time to get us where we are at, it will take time to get us back to where we want to be. Toss out your misconceptions about wellness. There isn’t a band-aid approach that will fix things. There isn’t an easy button or prescription medications that will do the trick. What there is is you – your efforts, your commitment to yourself, your investment of time. A journey of wellness always begins somewhere, but where you go with it is completely up to you.

“Two steps forward, one step back.”

This familiar anecdote seems to capture the true essence of healing. At Damron Chiropractic & Wellness (DCW), healing is our top priority. However, healing is a process that not only takes time but also involves various stages. The stage that surprises our patients the most is called the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction. This is also called the healing crisis stage. While it might seem odd to have the words healing and crisis connected, this is exactly what is happening within the body. Healing actually means the body is eliminating the toxins that are existing within it. The healing crisis is the temporary worsening of symptoms as the body goes through the process of getting well. It is normal and to be expected. Unfortunately, if we are unaware of this stage in our healing we might think something is wrong. We then want to stop whatever it is we are doing to heal, and then find ourselves once again right back where we started – in pain.

At DCW we are big advocates of education. We believe that with knowledge comes the power to transform your life. All to often, it is misconceptions or a lack of understanding that leaves people living with pain and discomfort. Many times, the people who walk through our doors have tried to address their pain in other ways, without success. From the onset, every team member at DCW works to identify, address, educate, and resolve whatever issue brought that person to us.

When it comes to healing, knowing that you will inevitably take “two steps forward, and one step back” at some point in the process is an important sign that you are on the right path. It means your body is responding well to the treatment you are receiving. Your body is working hard to heal, and sometimes that means experiencing additional symptoms such as nausea, poor coordination, headaches, and fatigue. The good news is that this is a temporary situation and one that resolves in only a couple of days.

Remember, healing is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. It requires work. Your body is equipped to know what it’s supposed to do. Give it the room it needs to heal itself. Your body will thank you and you will benefit because you will feel the difference.

There’s a great song by Eric Clapton that he wrote for the 1986 movie “The Color of Money,” starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. The song is entitled “It’s In The Way That You Use It” and it’s about two pool hustlers and how they use their talents to scam others. It seems that the title is also appropriate for our general health and wellness, too. We may not have the ideal height, weight, genetic make up, or body type and that’s okay. What it really comes down to is how we use what we do have today so that we can enjoy the best health possible tomorrow. Or as Eric Clapton sings, “It’s In The Way That You Use It.”

We have all heard countless stories of the triumph of the human spirit despite incredible odds. Those individuals don’t let handicaps, bad luck, or tragedy prevent them from reaching their goals. They take what they have and create success. The same philosophy can be applied to any of us. Why should we let anything stop us from looking and feeling good? What it really comes down to is using each day to benefit our health. Taking one step at a time in the right direction versus throwing obstacles in our path. Obstacles such as excuses, distractions, laziness, and frustrations that give us “reasons” to not use what we have to make ourselves the best version possible.

With the New Year right around the corner, take time to evaluate what is holding you back from reaching your wellness goals. Be honest with yourself. Make 2016 the year you use what you have to stay on the path of wellness. If you’re stuck, Damron Chiropractic & Wellness can be your guide. Sometimes we need a little help, just like the training wheels on your first bike. DCW can be your training wheels that get you on the right path of better health and wellness. We can help you achieve the best health possible, in a way that honors who you are and where you are on your journey. Once you have your balance, you’ll be ready to take it from there.

Our modern world is filled with conveniences brought to us by the latest technologies. Inventions of plastic, pesticides, and preservatives have given us a wealth of options to help us live at a faster pace and do more. However, this lifestyle comes with a price. The price we pay is that we now must live in an environment that is filled with the byproduct of these conveniences. Byproducts that we ingest and then store within us. This situation can prevent us from achieving the weight loss we desire, simply because our body can not function as it should.

Let’s face it, if we can’t see it, we really don’t think about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Right? Unfortunately, whether or not we can see the toxins in our environment, they exist. Evidence is growing that reveals how harmful these toxins are to how our body functions, specifically how we process, store, and lose fat. Toxins can be found in everyday items like processed foods, cosmetics, many personal care products, our dental fillings, and even the plastic containers we store our food and water in. Yet, we trust that because the product or food is on the shelf it must be safe for us. While initially it might be, long-term exposure has the potential to change your body’s ability to control weight.

Our body is designed to naturally detoxify itself. Educating ourselves on what foods and products contain toxins and then working to avoid them our body can begin the process of ridding itself of the harmful inorganic compounds. Certain foods can help speed up the process, too. Foods such as cilantro and parsley, and eggs. You can also determine through diagnostic testing what toxins are present in your body so you can develop a plan to eliminate them.

More often than not, the presence of toxins in our body is the result of years of exposure. Be patient and give your body time to eliminate them. You may just find that by going this route your weight loss goal will be successful.

It is true that we are all genuinely unique. Each of us has the genes to prove it. However, while our genes may dictate our traits and characteristics that make us unique, we do have some control over which genes we activate, especially when it comes to weight. It’s true that researchers searched for the specific gene that controlled weight, but it was finally determined that it didn’t exist. In fact, what does exist are hundreds of genes that can influence weight. And while we might have a predisposition to weight gain, there are strategies to help prevent this from occurring.

The genes that affect our weight loss cannot be altered, but the lifestyle we lead can determine whether these genes turn on or off. Diagnostic testing can reveal whether or not we carry a known gene, or gene variant, that predisposes us to gaining weight. We can also look to our family history, too. Our ancestry will shed light on conditions we might be predisposed to such as weight gain. Knowledge is power, especially in this case. If we know we are predisposed to weight gain based on our family tree, then we can change our lifestyle to prevent weight gain from occurring. We can “turn off” the gene that predisposes us to weight gain by not giving it the fuel it is looking for. Changes in nutrition, exercise, stress, and exposure to toxicity help offset the tendency.

According to the CDC, “obesity is usually the product of complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors” rather than a single gene. Which is why a weight loss strategy for one person may be successful and a failure for another. Understanding how unique we really are is a relief. We can know that we simply need to find a strategy that is custom tailored to our specific needs, versus utilizing a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to weight loss.

Understanding and honoring our uniqueness will go a long way to achieving the weight goals we desire.