Should You “Bio-Hack” Yourself?

Hacking Your Body???

The term “bio-hacking” has become a staple among Health-seekers.  I can’t say that I’m sold on the whole “hacking” terminology.

If you want my opinion (and you must or you wouldn’t be reading my newsletter) Hacking indicates, a short-cut, or some sort of secret inappropriate approach, much like when someone hacks into your personal computer. And from my understanding, many bio-hacks tossed out to the mainstream health-seekers about have perhaps not had the data researched behind them enough and may be harmful for your specific needs!  

Instead of bio-hacking one’s self, why not simply try to understand your body and what it needs now, as opposed to what used to work for you, since we are ever evolving as we age.  With society’s influence, we seem to try to hard to fight against the natural instincts that come from our bodies.
Eating 500 calories when we are starving.
Skipping sleep even though we are drowsy just to watch one more episode on Netflix.
Pushing through the pain of a sore throat instead of resting our body for a day.  Wearing high heels even though are feet are killing us.
Working out in boot camps we loathe. Smashing ourselves in spanks just to look slimmer.
Taking diet pills that leave us jittery and nervous.  And the list goes on…

It’s time we ask ourselves, are we truly seeking optimal health, or some sort of an image set by society? 

Don’t get me wrong.  There are quick fixes out there that are also beneficial to the body.

Yet, instead of the term hacking, let’s take a gentler approach with what I call “understanding”.  Bio-understanding your body entails listening to it’s unique and diverse needs, compared to simply doing all the same tricks that seem to work for others.

What works for one won’t necessarily work for others, and the key is not to do what others around you are talking about, but UNDERSTAND what it is your body is trying to tell you it needs.  But just exactly how is one supposed to “bio-understand” what their body needs when we’ve kinda been fighting against it for so long??

Think of it like a dysfunctional relationship.  Perhaps you have been in a relationship with someone for awhile and things have gotten resentful and even downright harmful from so much

bickering, fighting and years of misunderstanding.  Your ability to communicate with them, and to listen to them has become very hard to do.  So where do you start?  

1. Firstly – Counseling (or this case, Coaching).  A non-biased outsider can asses the pain, trauma, and misunderstandings from a nonjudgmental perspective and coach you into why the other person reacted the way they did and what you could have done differently.  The same holds true for your body.  To begin to understand it, a coach like myself, will tell you why the body resisted all the many crash diets and exercise programs, and what the symptoms you are experiencing might be trying to tell you.
2. The next step is to implement the tools of understanding that the coach gives you. Metaphorically speaking, a relationship starts to improve the minute the other person can sympathize and understand why their significant other acted or reacted the way they did once they see the stress they were involved in. When it comes to your body, seeing it for the stress you placed it under and really making an effort to take the rest, eat the right foods it wants, and leave some of the stressors you have it under behind will be small changes that yield big results.  Not only will understanding your body take shape, but your body will take shape too….a better one!
3. As in a relationship, you begin to set dates or family time or chats to re-begin again getting to know each other.  As for your body, you start to schedule activities that you and your body resonate with, perhaps making notes of foods that cause you distress to understand what works and what doesn’t, and pay attention instantly to situations that cause you fatigue, hunger, anxiety, or sleeplessness, avoiding them in favor of understanding what your body needs.

Your relationship with self starts with self-discovery in order to heal.  For some, it can be challenging to “not diet”, “not fight the fat”, “not kill yourself in the gym”,  and leave the diet pills, diet drinks, and harmful habits behind.  Yet, like all challenges, when you overcome them and see REAL RESULTS, you are stronger, more empowered, and more understanding than ever.

Listening to your body becomes easier and bio-understanding your individual body (apart from the nutrition dogma that’s out there) brings you a sense of accomplishment and sets you up for creating that wonderful healthy lifestyle you have always longed for. 

Now it’s up to you.  The ball is in your court.  Can you let go of the magazine diets, the diet books, the marketing on packages, and the he said/she said dogma of what works for others, and instead wipe the slate of your mind clear of propaganda and begin to rekindle the relationship with your body and begin to bio-understand??

For more help with this, consider a nutritional and lifestyle coaching session with myself, either in person or over the phone.  To set up your “donation-based” session, email me at getfitwithjodelle@gmail.com or phone me at 417-230-0554