On the biggest health misconceptions:
As a clinical leader, I’ve observed what I believe to be the top five top health and wellness falsehoods from the people I’ve served throughout my career.
Losing weight is all about willpower. Food is a chemical or substance and it can be misused like any other chemical or substance as a self-soothing or medicating practice that offer an immediate rush of short-lived relief and good feelings. There’s a wrong idea that losing weight is all about willpower. Like any addiction, overeating to the point that someone outwardly wears their addiction (in the form of excess fat), has less to do with willpower and everything to do with chemical dependency.
The all or nothing approach works best. We now know that small, gradual baby steps towards any goal can make big strides in the long-term. And it’s oftentimes less about bridging knowledge gaps and more about actually taking action. Think park the car farther. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables. We don’t have to do it all, we just have to do something. Then build on that something. And do more and more of those some things until you’ve reached your goal. If you cannot get to the action part, explore what’s making you scared. What are you afraid of? Then be brave and conquer it.
One size fits all. One size does notfit all. The more you become in tune with your own body, mind and spirit, you’ll be able to figure out what works best for you. Some examples of errors include: exercising at night will keep you up at night, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, exercising is more important than your diet, or if someone has enough friends, they don’t need to seek professional mental health counseling. These statements are incorrect and don’t serve people with different individual needs.
The Illusion of what happiness really means. Many people still falsely believe in “if only.” It sounds like this: If only fill in the blank. I’ll be happier if only I could lose 20 pounds. I’ll be happier if only I had a better paying job. I’ll be happier if only I didn’t have to deal with all the drama. We can choose happiness, RIGHT NOW! Are you focusing on the things that bring you joy?
A mental health condition is a sign of weakness. Wrong. Some of the strongest people I’ve ever known both personally and professionally have struggled with an acute or chronic mental health condition at some point in their life. Mental health conditions are similar to other chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer, to name a few. For example, anxiety and depression is a chronic condition of despair. Who can stand up and Rise Above to the mental anguish more than a bold and courageous person? Myth De-Bunked.
On aligning the mind, body, soul and spirit:
The reality is there are few of us that can obtain all of these at once. Like anything else, with the way life goes, something usually gives. But it doesn’t stop us from striving for it! The truth is the mind, body, soul, and spirit are most healthy when in as close to as possible proper alignment. They are not individual pieces, working in individual ways. They are interconnected just like the way your heart pumps blood, oxygen, and nutrients and allows them to flow from our food, which is digested in our small intestines, and makes their way into each and every cell of our bodies. Take our skin, our largest bodily organ. It senses and gauges touch, feel and temperature from head to toe. Our mind, body and spirit are interconnected and rely on one another in the same way. Just like the bodily organs can work in harmony, all together, or they can deteriorate in one area and then wreak havoc in another. Think about the ways the adverse effects of mismanaged diabetes and heart disease have on the kidneys! Remain in observation of each health component – the body, the mind, the soul and the spirit – so you can recalibrate when needed for better health.
On making time for your health:
Make time for your health is my mantra. We all have only 24 hours in each day. And regardless of how much formal training and lived experience anyone has; we all must make a conscious decision to get and remain aware of how much health investments we are making for ourselves – by how we choose to spend those 24 hours. Most people either don’t have a game plan on how to practice time management related to their health and wellness needs. Or they choose to spend their time being hyper-focused on one or two health areas or on other things, while neglecting the need for recalibration. And that can vary on what’s inevitably going on in our lives, at any given time. Maybe there’s a deadline at work. Holidays and other special occasions happen. Death happens. Remember, we cannot control anything, but we do have choices! My hope is we choose to find the right fit for ourselves, at any given moment.
On making the choice to be healthy:
It’s so important we are mindful of the beauty and fragility of life so we can make healthy decisions. Making the choice to take action with healthier lifestyle behaviors impact every facet of our health and well-being. For example, we cannot have an unhealthy heart and a healthy brain. How would the blood flow to keep us strong, smart and smiling? We need to not only pay attention but give attention to our bodies, minds and spirits. Give yourself attention. Remember, full attention includes your spirit and mind, not only your body.
On the recipe for SPICE:
Given I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Exercise Physiologist by trade, it always comes down to the food! So, I created the Seven step recipe for wholesome SPICE. SPICE is an acronym for Spirituality, Peace, Inner Calm, and Energy. In Rise Above , I lead you through how to craft your own unique dish. And what’s a delicious dish without the SPICE?
Step 1: Set your internal oven to 98.6°F. Realize you set the tone and the temperature (how warm, hot or cold). This visual imagery prepares you for the great works and rewards you’re about to undergo.
Step 2: Apply your crushing event. Name this event for yourself. My worst crushing event during the pandemic was having both my parents deathly ill from Covid. The playbook I authored is a tribute to my father who didn’t make it out of the ICU. And to my mother who almost died and had to depend on oxygen for the following six-months as a new widow. I call this dish Rise Above. It’s a pizza crust version paired with some fine red wHine!
Step 3: Set your healthy ingredients to the side before you mix them in. For me, this was all of my tricks of the trade, so to speak. Or my tools in my toolbox. Worth mentioning, one of the healthiest ingredients I set to the side was my journaling entries that I ultimately used to help mold this playbook!
Step 4: Generously add intrinsic drivers and personal choices by leaning on spirituality to create a dish worth enjoying. I couldn’t have been as triumphant in keeping my energy flowing through my father’s transition if it weren’t for my thankfulness, faith, forgiveness, joy, and fellowship.
Step 5: Commit to the SPICE. I started to try new flavors and their different concoctions. I was in so much pain at one point, I started trying new things just so I could get away from the memories of my old traditions and old ways. Staying open and receptive to exploring new adventures saved my soul.
Step 6: Decorate with loved ones. I started making new bonds and supporting trusted systems – to conquer my fears and receive peace and inner calm – to keep my wholesome energy flowing.
Step 7: Share your dishes through gratitudinal connectivity. Like any favorite family recipe handed down from generation to generation, they’re not meant to be our own. We need to pay forward and offer our wisdom to others. And that’s the reason I wrote this playbook. Not only for my family and myself. I wrote the playbook for anyone who’s ever felt ‘in over their head,’ even drowning. I want to provide a life support. To show people how they might mend themselves for a sound body, mind and spirit.
On the science of epigenetics:
Our biology is our biography. Better understanding epigenetics provides us a blueprint for how to approach precision medicine. Prevention and reversal of chronic health conditions including mental health ones can be approached by tailorization based on genetic makeup, environmental factors as well as healthy lifestyle behaviors. The bottom line is there’s not much (if anything) we can do to alter our family history. We may or may not always be able to change what’s going on around us in our physical environments, but there are many things we can do to take good care of ourselves. Examples include setting an automated reminder to drink more water, kick starting our bedtime routine one half hour earlier, adding more colors to our plates with produce, or taking our medications to better manage our chronic health conditions. The science of epigenetics reveals we are empowered to heal ourselves.
On starting the journey to health:
Decide what you want to do and commit. Ask yourself what your first step is going to be. Start with the small stuff. And move to the bigger stuff but resist the trap to jump! Take one step at a time, up the stairs of success. Like my dear husband, Bobby, reminds me, “Buildings are built, brick by brick! So what’s the big stuff? Get to know your spiritual self even better. Honor yourself at the core and soul. If you don’t already, learn how-to love yourself. Not just as a feeling but love yourself as an action. Practice every day. Remember you’re perfectly imperfect. Keep practicing. Watch and observe how your energy flows outwardly and freely. You see, success is measured by the joy you feel. Then actually en-joy when your dreams finally come true.
Check out the CYACYL Book Club at: www.cyacyl.com/book-club-entries/rise-above
Dr. Jaime L. Pula is the author of her newly released book titled, ‘Rise Above: A Playbook On How to Keep Energy Flowing.’ She can be reached at jpula@artofhealthsciences.life. And she enjoys connecting on LI at: www.linkedin.com/in/drjaimelpula001/.