What’s Your Body Saying?
Aches, pains, drowsiness, and labs are all trying to tell us something. Are we listening?
Last Wednesday evening I was sitting at home, fresh off a haircut, catching up on the news, and pondering a comment from my dad’s hospice nurse about me knowing more about nutrition than she did when an Apple Health notification popped up letting me know I had new lab results.
Last Monday, I went in for my annual physical. As part of the process, we always do a full blood panel. It’s a great way to look under the hood so to speak, to see what’s going on that can’t be observed. As I scrolled down the screen everything looked good but I also knew I hadn’t gotten to the cholesterol yet.
You see, something happened in my body when I turned 45 and my LDL (the “bad cholesterol”) rose faster than the likes on the latest Selena Gomez Instagram post. And no matter what I’ve done, it’s stayed higher than I’d like.
But this year, revealed a new disconcerting trend. My HDL (the “good cholesterol”) resembles the likes on one of my Instagram posts.
And here’s the deal, I do all the stuff I’m supposed to do to stay healthy.
I rarely consume saturated/trans fats and beyond corn chips, refined carbohydrates aren’t part of my diet.
I’m physically active, even working out at home or going for a walk on days I can’t get to the gym.
I don’t smoke and only drink in moderation.
While my six pack has a protective layer, I’m nowhere near obese.
Medical conditions also fail to explain the numbers which means it’s most likely one of those genetic things that is somewhat beyond my control.
But here’s the point, by going in and getting checked, I know my body, and as GI Joe taught us growing up, “Knowing is half the battle.”
Note: This is not a GI Joe endorsement, after all, it fueled our unhealthy warrior obsession.
The Knowing Half of the Battle
It’s not the first time I’ve gotten curious about my body. I’ve written before about the time I boinked from too much distance running. But here’s the thing, according to all the research, most men aren’t engaging in this half of the battle. That’s why we turn to little blue pills rather than addressing the underlying cause that’s keeping us from rising to the occasion.
There are a number of things that might interfere with listening to our bodies including a distrust in the healthcare system, the inability to take time off work to go to the doctor, and a lack of access, especially for the uninsured.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand these. I spent a lot of time trying to find an in-network doctor who embraced a functional and integrative approach, one that focuses on health over sickness management and wouldn’t look at my cholesterol numbers and blindly write a script for statins but wanted to talk about an array of solutions. In other words, I sought out a doctor I want to go see.
I’m also thankful to be insured, and while my policy generally sucks, one positive of Obamacare is that requires all policies to provide no-cost annual checkups (even if my running labs will cost me).
But those aren’t the primary reasons men aren’t listening to what their bodies are saying.
At the societal level masculine norms emerged as the primary motivator for men’s avoidance of seeking health-care services. Men reflected on how they are supposed to be tough, push through pain, and not go see the doctor.
And this isn’t just about going in for an annual checkup or even a more comprehensive evaluation with labs, it also means ignoring (or numbing) everyday pain or hopping yourself up on coffee and energy drinks to make it through the day.
But here’s the catch, whenever we don’t listen to our bodies, when we don’t take time to make sure there isn’t some unseen or unfelt thing going on, we’re assuring that we don’t show up as our best selves.
So we find ourselves at a bit of an ironic conundrum. Typical masculinity often focuses on the strength of the body, but the desire to appear strong prevents us from identifying what we need to do to actually be healthy and strong.
It prevents us from stepping into the second half of the battle … the one that moves us towards health and strength.
The Rest of the Battle
What did I do back when excessive distance running threw my body out of whack? I did some research and found out that guys over 40 really need to do strength work.
Never having been much of a gym rat, I started at home with some resistance bands and a pull up bar. But it quickly became clear that I had no clue about programming. I ended up overworking some muscles and not developing others.
So, after a year where my gym insecurity kept me at home, I signed up for a trial session at a gym that offered classes specifically programmed to make sure I worked out my whole body and had coaches who would help me adjust my form.
I’ll admit, it was terrifying and, in many ways, my fears proved valid. After my first class, I could barely move for three days. It was embarrassing because I thought I was generally fit and when I had picked up a weight, it was way lighter than the other guys in the class. At my second class, I got smoked again. But the next week, I attended three classes and the following week five. After three months, I could literally see my body changing.
That was three years ago, and today, not only am I far more fit, but the gym has become a place to have fun:
So what’s a healthy masculine?
Ignoring the warning signs,
Listening to them but pretending I knew how to do something I didn’t, or
Listening to my body when it told me something was wrong, and then acknowledging what I don’t know, facing my fears, and doing the work to improve my health so I can show up every day as the best version of myself?
As for those cholesterol numbers, while it might just be a result of my liver overproducing, after a follow-up conversation with my doctor I am making a couple small changes to my diet in attempt to keep my arteries clear:
I’ll snack on things like nuts, carrots with hummus, and avocados as opposed to those corn chips.
I’m adding chia and hemp seed to my morning protein shake.
I realized I’ve been under doing it a bit on the veggies, so I’m aiming to add a salad a day to my diet (and I’ll sprinkle some ground flaxseeds on it to give it an extra health boost).
As I wrote this I realized that the first time my cholesterol spiked came two months after I stopped doing all the distance running, so maybe I need to get out and pound pavement a little more often, as it seems to be the only way I can keep my pulse elevated for any length of time.
So here’s to getting to know our bodies and then putting that knowledge into action so we can show up every day … and as we’ll discover next week, taking care of our bodies lays the groundwork for us to explore the rest of the self, our hearts and souls.
I’m curious, what’s your body saying?