Virginia Barlow, MD ~ Help From the Doctor

Home

My name is Dr. Virginia Barlow and welcome to my website, "Help from the Doctor". Using the science and psychology I have learned over the course of my career, I want to share with you what I have found to be useful as we travel together down the road to good health and happiness. While this site is currently under construction, I will post helpful tips, recipes and links that I hope will interest you.

I'll include topics such as nutrition, weight loss, stress reduction, addiction, parenting skills and whatever else comes to mind that I think will be helpful.

TODAY'S TIP

When It's TIme for a Change

We human beings are funny creatures. We are creatures of habit and we do not particularly like to change. We like the familiar, we like routines and we like predictable outcomes. You throw in the thought of having to change something and you just end up upsetting the whole apple cart. Many of us will spend 50 pounds of effort to resist even 5 ounces of change.

If you have ever made a New Year's resolution to lose weight, start an exercise program, or quit smoking, you know all too well how difficult change can be. You will start out with gun-ho enthusiasm and an iron-clad will to succeed only to find yourself back to your old habits in a few weeks time.

One of the biggest obstables to change is our way of thinking. We focus on the deprivation that changes in lifestyle will bring rather than the benefits. For example, when I first contemplated the wheat free/sugar free lifestyle...the words that played over and over again in my mind were, "I have to give up this. I have to give up that." Never one time did I think, "I'm going to feel fantastic once I modifiy my meal plan." It just never occurred to me to think about the sense of well being I would experience once I had incorporated a healthier lifestyle into my daily routine.

Interestingly enough, there are actually stages we go through in order to change a behavior. We start out in a state of denial. We have no problems that need to be changed. Then we think, well maybe we do. We still do not take any action, but we at least start thinking about it. This "thinking about it" phase is actually critical to our success. I cannot tell you how many times I have asked my patients to just "think" about not smoking any more. They did not have to change their habit right away. They just had to think about it. The truth is, you cannot change a habit until you have thought about it. It is the first step toward effective change. You will be amazed by what the subconcious mind can induce through the power of repetitive positive thoughts. Before you know it, you will find yourself in the action phase, followed by the maintenance phase then finally the success phase.

But, be forewarned, the road to success is frought with pitfalls. I know. Even I have fallen off the wagon. During my last trip to Upstate New York, I was so stressed by all I had to do in order to move back to Texas that I broke down and ate pizza. Actually, that is not entirely accurate. I devoured an entire medium sized thin crust pizza with pepperoni and jalepenos from Dominos! It was heavenly....at first. But after about an hour, retribution hit me with a vengeance. My asthma flared. My nasal passages swelled. My abdomin became bloated and I experienced awful intestinal cramping, the likes of which brought me to my knees. I was so upset with myself for giving way to temptation, but the agony of the reaction was enough to convince me once and for all that maintaining a wheat free/sugar free lifestyle was really in my best interest. Even your downfalls can end up being your motivators for success.

The bottom line is that the act of change will take you out of your comfort zone. But until you give it a go, you will never know what new and exciting experiences lie in wait. You don't have to change anything today....just think about it.

TODAY'S WHEAT FREE SUGAR FREE RECIPE

FRUIT SMOOTHIE

Inredients

1 banana sliced and frozen in a ziplock bag

1 orange juiced and chilled

6 - 8 medium strawberries chilled

1 lemon juiced and chilled

Directions

Add frozen banana slices to blender and puree. Add next three ingredients and blend until incorporated. Pour into a chilled glass and enjoy!

Benefits: Rich in Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese; ~175 calories; fat free

Web Hosting by Yahoo!

drvbarlow@helpfromthedoctor.com