A Tribute To My Soul Dad, Andre

Last night, a very dear friend of ours (who was like a Dad to me, and one of Michael's best friends) passed on. I wanted to make sure the close family and friends all knew before I posted in a status, but the story has always been incredible - as are all stories about love and real connections.

I met Gina in St Louis, MO, just before we moved to Elk Grove, CA - and we discovered that, without knowing it, we'd moved across the country - and across the street - from her parents, Andre and Rosemary. From day one, Gina and I have been like sisters - and they, and the other close friends, have become our second family.

My son, Mische, spent quite a bit of time learning to cook with Rosemary and we all spent wonderful time eating, drinking, and reveling in all that love. The guys all spent so much time together, I don't think there were many days in 2 years we weren't hanging out.
When we left Elk Grove and moved to Phoenix, AZ last year, the hardest part was being so far away from them - and spending last Christmas with them was just not enough time.

Family isn't always blood - it's the people you connect deeply with, and love. Always, love. Always, family.

This is Andre (far right) and 4 of the men who called him a best friend (from left to right) - Z Wayne, Michael Allen (my Husband), Larnie, and Michael Christopher:

I nicknamed them The De'Vine Brothers

In honor of him and everything he gave to us, I wrote a little bit about what he taught me. Good parents teach their children lessons about life, even if they aren't our blood relations. I wanted to share it with all of you:

My Soul Dad, Andre.

He was one of the most loving people I have ever known and he reminds me now - to slow down - and get to know each other, first.

I may say relationship building is key, but how often have I blown into meetings like I am on fire to work and forgot the fine art of living in the moment.

Of building love.

Of treasuring people and our time together.

We see the caps, and we think NOW means AHHHHHHHHHHH... when NOW means, STOP!

Breath. Settle. Feel. Get comfortable. Hug. Listen. Smile. Sing. Eat. Drink. Move. Love.

He was one of the most comfortable people I have ever known, and he spread so much life to those around him. Sure, he was well aware of how human he was... but he was always present for others.

Always a crooked arm and shoulder you could just sit within and be yourself.



In the end, we have one life. I hope we all use our lives as well as Andre used his. 

<3, 

Jonni

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream: Mind/Body FAQs for Restful Sleep

While Shakespeare's Hamlet was dancing with ideas of death and its possible similarities with sleep (and his own deep restfulness away from thoughts of revenge) when he spoke his famous soliloquy, most of us want "To sleep, perchance to dream..." to simply mean a good night's rest! Especially when sleep seems to allude us, and since we all know how important it is to our overall mental and physical health.
First off, sleeping is a general term for what we all consider a time for lying down, closing eyes, and (presumably) resting - however, there are parts to sleep we can't control directly and are autonomic responses of the body. Restful sleep refers to a progressive time in the 5 stages of sleep, with the deepest "rest" being the time we spend in REM. While all stages are important, the deeper stages (4/5) are where the magic happens - some cellular regeneration (especially brain, bone, and organ tissues), lean muscle repair, neurotransmitter and hormone transport, etc..., which means that we really can self regenerate and heal to a degree. Now, while we can't necessarily directly control those processes, we CAN control what we do to facilitate the body's work through deeper and more restful sleep. Remember, the thinking "you" might not be in charge of the parts, but you steer the ship.
Here are some organic FAQs for better/deeper sleep:
1. WHEN YOU EAT: While there is still debate about specific times of the day we "should" eat, there are some food facts that we know will effect our sleep. Alcohol, caffeine, highly processed foods, large amounts of foods, and other substances (like nicotine) can keep us from getting a deeper sleep. The body will process things it needs to break down and digest before it focuses on taking us into the healing parts of our REM state. Limiting these substances, or keeping windows of time between drinking, eating, and sleeping can help the body process everything well. Caffeine, only before noon (if your bedtime is after 8pm); alcohol (limit to 1-2 drinks a day), at least 2 hours before bed; food, keep to small portions (at least 2 hours before bed) and limit highly processed foods in general*. The right amounts of carbs and protein around our exercise window can also decrease late night levels of cortisol, which can effect sleep. Check out this article from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition for a study on sleep duration and energy intake.
*While these times are flexible, they are a good guideline.
2. WHAT YOU EAT: Foods containing L-tryptophan can help the body produce serotonin (the mood modulator neurotransmitter), which helps the body produce natural melatonin (the sleep inducing neurotransmitter). Supplemental melatonin can also help in certain cases, and there are other vitamins and minerals that can help promote sleep as well, but check with your Doctor if you think minerals or vitamins might interfere with medications or health conditions. For a list of foods high in dietary tryptophan, you can read a medically reviewed article from HealthLine, here.
3. TEMPERATURE: A cool room is conducive to sleep as it helps your body regulate temperatures in order to help you reach deeper levels of sleep. A fan can also help some people create the "white noise" effect which drowns out some other external noises and helps the brain "unplug" from the conscious thinking we do that can make sleep difficult. If the fan is distracting, you can also find an app with white noise to help your brain tune out distractions and focus on resting. While the research on white noise is still ongoing, there is evidence to show how it can help, such as shown in this study on background noise from the Sleep Research Society.
4. ENVIRONMENT: Unplug electronics/TV and Journal - on paper, with a pen! The brain is an amazing organic machine and can multi-task quite well when called to do so, though it can also hyper-focus and be a poor friend when thinking "you" is trying to disconnect and sleep. Writing by hand can stimulate parts of the brain that are highly active on both creative and rational sides, so writing out your feelings and thoughts can actually help the brain slow down those parts so that you can rest and sleep. It will turn them back on in dreams for some of us, which is why waking up and writing out your dreams in the morning while they are fresh is also a good processing tool - as it allows your brain to re-connect the logical side with the creative, especially if you learn the symbolic "code" your brain uses to process through unconscious emotion/cognition. When you are done writing, turn off the lights and get the room as dark as you can.
5. INTERNAL MENTAL REGULATION: Meditation and mindfulness exercises can help the brain "unwind" as well by lowering heart rate and blood flow and allowing our body to prime itself for sleep. You don't have to turn into a Yogi or listen to a ton of New Age music in order to do either of these things - just a quiet space to sit, lowered lighting, soft music or neutral noise (remember the fan), and a willingness to "let go". If you start to think of things - work, kids, money, stress, how ridiculous you feel... just consciously acknowledge the feeling, and let it pass. Meditation and mindfulness are a "practice" and not a procedure because they take time and practice to do well. For more info on Mindfulness, Harvard has put together this website.
6. INTERNAL PHYSICAL REGULATION: While we all know that exercise makes the body work better, we can also use breathing to do some of the same things for the mind. Use deep breathing techniques and sit up nice and straight, then breathe from the belt buckle and not from the chest. When you take shallow breaths from the chest, it tells the body that you are in distress mode - even if you aren't. Your body will respond by releasing epinephrine and nor-epinephrine (adrenaline) into the system and you'll end up raising your heart rate and speeding up your thinking. Instead, breath deeply - put a hand on your lower gut and feel your breathing - in through the nose, out through the mouth. Rather than triggering your distress response, you will trigger your parasympathetic system to release serotonin and to create melatonin, to lower your heart rate, and to allow your body and mind to relax. Sitting up straight will allow the neurotransmitters to move from the gut to the brain/vice versa through the spinal column (the brain's communication line with the body), and will help the sleep process flow. UCLA provides some free guided meditation and breathing techniques, here.
While these are only a few ideas to help you get more restful sleep, remember that our health is a process that involves more than just a simple list of tips and tricks. It can be very overwhelming to try and do every little thing to improve the function of our brains and bodies, so pick small goals each week/month to work on and change.
For example, if you want to improve your sleep quality, you might follow this schedule, adding a skill each week:
Week 1, get your room nice and dark and keep the temperature 68F-72F.
Week 2, turn off the electronics an hour before you want to go to bed.
Week 3, eat some things that will help you sleep and minimize things that won't.
Week 4, add in some meditation and breathing before bed.
You'll find, before you know it, you will be mastering better sleep - and *perchance* better able to conquer those daytime dreams you have for success!
For a free consult and more information on how you can work directly with me to improve your mental and physical health, hit me up at jonnifitkhat.com and like my Facebook page!
<3, Jonni
For Further Info On Sleep:
National Sleep Foundation
Association between Reduced Sleep and Weight Gain in Women
Precision Nutrition Sleep Infographic

On Holding Empathy for Others

I am sharing a post I made on the Precision Nutrition Students and Grads Facebook group page, today. The reason I wanted to share this on my blog is because this topic touches me personally - not just as a Clinician, but as a woman who has survived a distorted brain that has tried to kill me, slowly, over time. I am also sharing this because, as a Clinician, I want to make sure that people who work with others (Trainers, Teachers, Nutrition Coaches, etc...) remember that even though you might not have the ability to diagnose or treat issues like addiction, depression, anxiety, disordered thinking, etc.., you might be the first line of duty to save.

Here is what I shared:

I wanted to give a thumbs up and a cheer to the PN writer(s) who penned the "Disordered Eating" and "Food Addictions" segment for the chapter on Special Scenarios.

I'm a Psychotherapist who has worked with addictions for years. In fact, I picked up my Personal Training Cert along the way as another way to help clients physically as well as mentally - and I am completing my PN1 Precision Nutrition 1 Coaching Cert) in order to round out a bit of the nutrition piece. I'm also a survivor of an eating disordered brain, which I developed at 10, and have been in remission from, only after years of my own therapy - though, I can tell you guys openly - the thinking never really goes away. Only the behaviors change. And, to put some reality to the whole issue - most women with EDOs don't live past 40 (we don't have an accurate statistic on men, in part, because fewer men will report or ever seek help).

Although I am a rare Personal Trainer who can also diagnose and treat such things, I can tell you that CPTs are far likely to see people with addictions and disordered thinking well before those clients will ever seek out Clinical help of a Therapist or Counselor (if those folks even do ever seek out Clinical help). This means that identifying this thinking and these patterns of behavior can save lives. Building relationships and trust with your clients, and keeping your practice free of judgment - which even extends to whispering with your co-workers or taking your comments to social media and places you think are "private" that are truly public - and honestly listening to others without coloring it with your own personal opinions, is so vital.

Be open to the fact that many of these clients are already living in a place in their heads in which they are so self critical and afraid of anyone "finding out" - and yet, if they are with you, they are at least reaching out to try /something/ to change. I can tell you my own stories of Trainers and Nutritionists who either inadvertently supported my poor coping skills by dismissing "food addiction" being a "thing", or caused me to shut down and run with their criticism of people who "can't control themselves". At the time, I didn't know it was transference on their part, and perhaps a veiled cover up of their own secrets with food fetishes. Yet, I was lucky enough to cross paths with a Coach who identified me, and helped me get the help I needed after she built trust with me.

Through her, I was able to find the courage to work with Therapists and other Nutritionists - and eventually became one, myself. I turn 45 in September this year, and I am happier and healthier than ever... and more importantly, because of a Coach who held nothing but empathy and hope for me, I am alive to pay it forward. Just a side note: Empathy literally means the ability to step outside of one's own opinions and beliefs to see the world through another's eyes, without judgment, and then to step back into their own - relatively unchanged by the experience. I hold this as a personal motto for my own work with others.

<3, Jonni Fit Khat

Risk Taking: The Cost Ratio of Fitness

Yesterday, during my urgent visit for my legs, my Doctor said, "...sometimes I wonder why we work out when we're older and more prone to injuries...." I didn't answer in the moment, because he was prodding my calves and I was trying not to scream with pain - and the endorphins sort of had me wondering if he was right. After the initial tests cleared the truly scary possible diagnoses, I decided to do my first updated blog post in 3 years on this fantastic question.

Now, for those who follow me on Facebook, you will know that I had a serious scare this weekend. After a pretty normal, but intense "leg day" at the gym on Friday, I went out for the weekend with friends. It normally takes me 2 days to process the soreness from my workouts, so I expected to be hurting a bit on Sunday, but I was not expecting to have such severely cramped calves that I was walking around like I was 84, and not 44. I did all the things we know to do - serious hydration, electrolytes, protein, vitamins, ice, and rest throughout Sunday - increased magnesium supps and watched for other symptoms (specifically urine color, which I will get to in a minute). By Monday, my calves were still so painful, especially after lying down or sitting, they were swollen and tight. I tried epsom salt baths, hot tub, reclining, more icing, and more of the above. Tuesday, was not better, and I started swelling and a low grade fever... so, I called the Doc and they squeezed me in for blood work and an ultrasound.

Why was this so scary? First off, there is a condition that most FitPros know well, called Rhabdomyolosis (commonly known as Rhabdo). This condition is not common, but it's becoming more prevalent as more people are upping the antes of workouts and doing more rigorous things than before - and, many at older ages than before. Crossfit, extreme HIIT Bootcamps, and Olympic weightlifting are some of the more popular versions of these more intense workouts than your traditional calisthenics routines, and while not "bad" in and of themselves, more people are doing them without proper and thorough knowledge of how the body works under extreme fitness programs. From proper nutrition to fuel the body, to hydration with water and electrolytes, to program length, form, and function - it's hard enough for those of us who know what we're doing to not tip the balance out of our body's favor in terms of being able to repair itself properly, let alone your weekend warriors or office to Gym Rat commuters who aren't trained in the whole process well. 

However, you don't have to be doing something "crazy" in your workout to tip that scale and tear too much muscle - which is one cause of Rhabdo - and simply overdoing it can do it. In normal resistance training, you want to tear down muscle fibers so that your body can rebuild them with protein, but in the state of over-exertion, you can break them down to the point they don't recover normally. This ends up sending the toxins your body would normally excrete from the muscle as "dead" cells, into the adrenal system, where they flood your kidneys and can become a life-threatening situation. This is why watching your urine color is an indication of this extreme condition as it will turn a very dark brownish color - a sign that your kidneys are in adrenal failure. While it is treatable in most cases, left unchecked, it can be fatal. Having urine and blood work can confirm the levels of enzymes such as creatine kinase, triglycerides, and other enzymes that effect the liver and kidneys. 

The other serious risks I was facing were blood clotting (a serious consideration for me with my particular blood disorder, especially as I get older and estrogen levels are changing naturally in my body), and issues related to extreme muscle strain. While I ended up testing negative for all those things, we did discover that certain other enzymes were high and so I will follow up with further testing - and taking a Doctor ordered break from strenuous exercise, upping electrolyte intake, and making sure I continue getting a balance of nutrition. While a bit of a relief to me, it still gives a reminder that I need to balance everything - and how quickly serious issues can evolve when we are too focused on one aspect of our work. In my case, this was too much focus on pushing through training sessions instead of slowly focusing on time under tension on muscles.

Many people won't face such serious potential consequences as blood clots and adrenal fatigue when they work out, but as we age our bodies have different histories of de-conditioning, extreme overload, or neglect. My own medical issues are unique - as are those of most people I work with - and are simply part of the process I have to work around to reach my goals. I have a rare blood disorder and joint/muscle imbalances that were made worse by a car accident in my 30's, and I have a long history of an eating disorder - so the sorts of risks that I face are specific. However, I work with my own Doctor, Trainer, and other Professionals in order to make sure that I mitigate the risks as much as possible. BECAUSE... the benefits of me being physically fit, nutritionally healthy, and mentally well FAR outweigh any risk. And, I know that the rest of me is "nominally" normal, and like all other humans out there - I am working with the natural system of being human. The general concept that muscle growth, bone density, cellular regeneration, neurotransmitter creation and transport, and the fact that food fuels my process are all pretty much processes that help me stay healthy through this journey.

Now, while most risks we taken when we work out aren't nearly as severe as the possibilities I was facing, we still take risks any time we put our body under stress - whether it's physical or mental. This stress causes chemical and physical changes in our bodies that allow us to adapt, learn, and heal. Being transparent and honest with others is one way we risk-take by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to others for the sake of communication and relationship building. In sharing the ups and downs of my own fitness journey, I run the risk of people being uncertain - or sometimes scared - of doing work because it's not an easy process, and it's a personal risk/balance ratio - just like any health treatment. You can't just pop a pill, or expect to never get injured... usually bumps, bruises, and broken nails... but if you are mindful of yourself and open to being aware of limitations, the benefits highly outweigh the risks. Especially as we get older, we have to be smarter about the bigger picture. I also take risks in my own fitness and health journey in order to grow and reach my goals, understanding that in order to build muscle and bone density, increase cardiovascular health, and regenerate new growth hormones and cellular development as I age, I have to put my body under the "pressure" of exercise and good nutrition. 

So, I work out and take the personal and general risks because I know that the cost benefit ratio of being healthy will continue to outweigh the consequences of not living a healthy lifestyle. And, I take the risk of sharing my journey so that, hopefully, some other people won't be scared to take those risks as well! To find more tips on fitness, nutrition, and mental health, check me out on Facebook www.facebook.com/jonnikhatsantschi! <3, Jonni Khat