You Aren’t What You’re Born With

You would think that by working out, getting more sleep, and starting to eat like a caveman that your skinny jeans would be falling off you in a matter of weeks.

In truth, there are times when doing all the right things doesn’t bring your sexy back as quickly as you would like, but this doesn’t mean that your body isn’t changing. It just might be changing in ways you cannot see.

There is an emerging field of study called epigenetics which gives us some unusual insight into what’s happening inside our bodies. Scientists used to think that our genes, our DNA, were fixed and your life was predetermined. You get some DNA from mom and some from dad, mix it up and viola, it’s you.

But it turns out it’s not that simple. Kind of like a computer, your genes are the hardware, which are fixed and do not change. However, there is another “layer” of epigenes. Epigenes are like the software which dictates what that hardware does.

What’s interesting is that research shows that our epigenetic switches can be affected by the generations that came before us. Crazy as it sounds, what your grandmother ate and was exposed to can affect your health.

Before you go and blame your genes for your current state, you must be aware that these switches, the software per se, can also be changed by what YOU do, eat, and are exposed to.

I often tell clients that weight loss and health are not just calories-in, calories-out problems. This is why we focus on sleep, toxins, stress, nutrition, and exercise. With every decision you make, you are altering your gene expression (and those of your future generations).

You may find this hard to grasp–the idea that small decisions make very big changes–but check these mice out:

We may not be able to change how much weight you gain or lose each week, and you can’t change what your grandma ate, but you can change the decisions YOU make. Focus on the things you can control, like getting good sleep, eating a nutrient-rich diet free of toxins, and exercising smartly.