The one thing that triggers poor health in all of us and what you can do to address it

Isn't it enough that you make time to get your workouts in and cut out processed foods? How can you be working soooo hard and nothing is changing?!?

Listen, I hear you. It's happened to me too. Let's see, there was the time I did a 7 day detox and made it through the whole thing and my husband lasted for 3 days and lost 5 pounds. Or when we both did my 10 day sugar detox last month and he lost 7 pounds in less than 10 days (and he was kind of cheating....).  I'm not saying that I didn't see benefits or results, and in fact today I feel great and can truly see the results of figuring out how to eat in a way that works for my body.

But what about when you have cut out the processed foods, most dairy, you aren't having milk products, no added sugars, maybe even grains and you eat so many vegetables? And still, nothing you do is working.

I love walking and running and exercise, and cooking and prepping foods, but I also know you might not enjoy it as much as I do. And I bet you really don't enjoy it when your weight isn't budging anyway and you still feel bloated. So what gives?

  If this is happening to you, by now you likely know what I'm going to say here: it's digestive, your body is holding on to inflammation and even whole, good for you foods can be triggering your symptoms. The root issue is leaky gut.

But why????

It's not always a clear answer, but all of the people I work with have had some sort of stressful life or emotional event that was the trigger for their symptoms. Think back to when this all started for you, what was going on then?

Here are some of the common ones I see:

• Pregnancy: after the birth of your last child, were you not able to lose the baby weight or get back on track?
• Hysterectomy: removing organs is not easy or a great idea for your health, not only is a surgery a traumatic event, but there are drugs that impact your body as well.
• Miscarriages: both challenging emotionally and physically and with huge changes in hormones.

These three are ones I hear about weekly from women I talk to. It might not be a physical event in your body though, it could be a really stressful time with work, your kids, your LIFE.

The important thing to know is that you can reset your digestion, there are many things to do for leaky gut. We can work on your food sensitivities, your elimination diet, adding in things that ease digestion, but you also have to reduce your stress that might be part of your daily life.

Here are a few things that can help you with managing the stress that comes with not having your body be where you want it to be:

• Go outside in the sun: walk, sit, read, but be in the light and be in nature. Breathe fresh air and appreciate all the beauty that is outside.
• Music: I find both calming spa, meditation music to be helpful when I want to slow my mind down, but also upbeat, high energy music when I want to break a negative thought pattern or cycle.
• Along with music: MOVE.SWEAT. Do something that will physicalize your emotions to a higher level. You can't jump up and down, dance or run and feel sad, you at least feel a higher emotion that sadness, doom or gloom.
• Journal: even if you don't know what to write, just start with 5 things you are grateful for, and then start to explore the emotion you are feeling and ask for another way to view it, there's always a way to change your thoughts....and that changes everything.

Find something that will work for you. Something that will make you feel better, happier, break you out of a negative emotion. It's all part of the process and well worth it.