Sisters-in-Service
Are you a women veteran who feels unseen and unheard? Do you struggle with finding your purpose after service? Sisters-in-Service is a podcast that gives women veterans the platform to talk about those exact issues and more. Hear from other veterans, military spouses and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) just like you that have overcome their transition from the military. Every Tuesday this podcast encourages women veterans to stand up and be counted because as a group we have a voice. From your host - Cat Corchado - The Voice Connecting Women Veterans
Sisters-in-Service
Breaking the Chain: How Lifestyle Choices Can Override Genetic Predispositions
Have you had a family member ever say to you - you know it runs in our family?Join me as I unravel the complex interplay between genetics and lifestyle in shaping our health. Through a heartfelt story about a friend grappling with a high blood pressure diagnosis, I challenge the notion that hereditary conditions are set in stone. Listen to an eye-opening conversation with a fitness event attendee who questioned the value of healthy living when faced with genetic predispositions. Together, we explore how mindset and proactive health measures can rewrite your health story. We’ll dive into the fascinating world of epigenetics, revealing how your behaviors and environment can influence gene expression, effectively empowering you to alter your health outcomes through conscious choices in exercise, diet, and stress management.
Embarking on a health journey requires more than just willpower—it demands a resilient mindset and proactive habits. In "Starting Your Health Journey," I highlight the long-term benefits of investing in personal health, not just for yourself but for the ripple effect it has on your loved ones. From setting a start date and maintaining consistency to seeking advice from knowledgeable sources, we cover the essentials of building a sustainable health routine. Let's walk this path to wellness together—tune in for practical tips, personal support, and the motivation to take your first step towards a healthier you.
https://www.smallspacepilates.com
Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion, by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a no perfectionallow policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today. Hi everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of why Not? Wellness. You know me. I am your host, kat Corchado, and I wanted to relay a conversation I had with a friend of mine and I thought this would be a great topic. So I saw my friend and she was telling me how she'd just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. We are around the same age give or take five years and she said she had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure and she was very distraught about it. And finally she said, well, I should have known because it runs in our family. And it hit me just a little bit weird only because it sounded as if she was expecting it. And so I wanted to talk a little bit today about breaking the chain and rethinking how our genetics plays a part in our health or our hereditary illnesses. So you've heard the phrase well, this runs in our family. Here's blank Blank runs in our family. High blood pressure runs in our family. You name it, fill in the blank. And so you kind of feel at first you're like, why should I even bother? And so today I wanted to just kind of dive into some of the myths and realities surrounding hereditary illnesses, talking about how genetics plays a role. But it doesn't dictate the outcome, our health destiny. So let's talk about this just a little bit. So let's talk about understanding genetics real quick.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm not a geneticist. Is that how you say that? I'm not a person who studies genetics? Let me put it that way. Let me put it that way, but genetics does play a huge part, right? You take your mom, your dad or whatever, and two people came together to make you and you are the result of what these two people brought together.
Speaker 1:According to my mother, we have every illness in our family that you can possibly think of, and I've always had the thought of mine that I am not going to get any of them, mainly because I didn't want them. Like, no, I'm not getting that. Thank you for telling me, but I'm not getting that. So I think part of it is mindset and I think the other part of it is actually doing something about it, and we'll speak about that in a second. So we have these hereditary illnesses that are passed down through our generations, but there are some misconceptions. Ie, yes, I'm prone to get it, and that is true. You are prone, but that doesn't mean that you're going to, or even I have a family history of it doesn't guarantee that you're going to get it. So let me tell you this quick story.
Speaker 1:I was speaking at an event it was a fitness event and I was done speaking and I asked if there were any questions, and this gentleman stood up and he said well, you know, strokes run in our family. Why should I bother to be healthier if I'm just going to die from a stroke? Good question, right? And I told him that's a great question. Thank you for asking that question. But I also told him I'm going to push back a little bit.
Speaker 1:Let's say you have the stroke, but you don't pass away. However, you are unable to work, you are unable to dress yourself, feed yourself. So you see where I'm going with this. So now your family and or friends have to step in to help you. Is that what you want? And he said I have never thought about it that way. It's just shifting how we're thinking.
Speaker 1:Right, my mother has always said we have high blood pressure, among the myriad of other things she has talked about, and she said you're going to get it. And I said no, I'm not. And she goes yes, you are. And I said no, I'm not. She said why? I said I refuse to get it. I said I refuse to get it. However, I am putting things in place, working out, trying to be the healthiest I can to avoid that. Now I will say this Sometimes, and I don't know if this is true. However, there are times when you can delay things. If you are healthy, there's a good chance you could delay certain things. I may still get high blood pressure, but I'm 67 and I plan on not taking any pharmaceutical drugs ever. That's just my personal mantra, that's just for me. And so how do you feel about hereditary illnesses? Are you like, yeah, I'm going to get it, or oh, I don't want it, but I don't know what to do about it? So let's talk about lifestyle and environment. So we have lifestyle choices exercise or not, exercise to eat a somewhat healthy diet and exercise and stress management All of these significantly influence the expression of genes related to hereditary illnesses.
Speaker 1:There's lots of research about epigenetics. I know I said that too. Here's the definition Epigenetics is a fascinating area of science that explores how behaviors and environmental factors can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Now, with that said, you're saying, oh, there's the smog, there's this, there's all the things right, true, but it's almost like when you put up a wall. Let's say, you have animals coming into your yard and you put up a barrier in the yard and it keeps the animals out Game over. Right, it worked. But it's the same thing with your body when you work out, when you eat, right, when you deal with the stress management. It's almost like it puts up this barrier. So if something did try to get in, the door's locked, you're like, nope, it's going to hit that wall. And so I think that, unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not alter the DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence. So staying healthy is huge.
Speaker 1:So when we talk about health and fitness, it's important to find out what works best for you. It's important to find out what works best for you, and we're so used to hearing oh, it runs in our family. If I say oh, you know, you want to eat right, you want to knock. Yeah, I got that, I get that. But you know what the problem is. We get it here. We're not putting it into play A few sports fans out there, which I am one of them. It's almost like having the best player in the world recruited for your sport, whatever that sport is, but you sit them on the bench. Why would you do that? And that's exactly what we're doing when we're just going about life. And life happens, you guys, it does. But I've also looked forward. I've seen people younger than me. I've seen people older than me having issues getting around, back issues, leg issues and yeah, there's the aches and pains. I get that.
Speaker 1:But moving around under your own steam without the help of anyone, that's huge. Being able to think my own thoughts is huge. Now I'm not saying that exercise can stop dementia or can stop Alzheimer's, but I tell you what you know what exercise does do. That doesn't sound right. You know what exercise does? It really invigorates your mind, keeps you sharp. I know that for a fact and I've been in this industry for 40 years Now. I don't know if that's going to help me avoid Alzheimer's. If it does, yay. But you know what? I'm willing to bet on the fact that it will. I don't know it will for sure, but I'm willing to bet that it can and will, because that's how I think. I'd rather think positive about it. So mindset is huge and you hear that all the time and I know it becomes this buzzword mindset. But it's true.
Speaker 1:Have you ever looked at something? Something you saw you wanted so badly and you did everything in your power to get it. You saved money, you did all the things. That's a mindset. You put that into play. I am going to get that and it might've taken a little time, but you did get it. It's the same way with fitness. It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be I have to have all the things. I have to have all the toys. No, you don't. If you did one little thing and I'm going to talk, I'm going to bring it up again.
Speaker 1:11 minutes, you guys maybe not 11, maybe it's seven, maybe it's five of doing something is going to increase your chances, I would say, of feeling better. In fact, not probably. It will increase your chances of feeling better. Makes your body feel better. Clears your mind who doesn't want that? Deals with stress better. Clears your mind who doesn't want that? Deals with stress. Helps to lower stress, works your heart, works your muscles. Now all you have to do is just find where and figure out when you're going to put this in play. Doesn't have to be seven days a week, and please don't do that. Don't go from zero to seven days of working out. Pick one day out of the week that you know for sure you could do 11 minutes of working out.
Speaker 1:But having a positive mindset and being resilient and proactive are huge in helping prevent or manage hereditary conditions. How many times have you heard people say maybe your friends, family, others, coworkers well, being healthy is really expensive? Yeah, I would agree with that. But you know what else is expensive Doctors, hospitals yeah, I know, you got insurance big deal. It's all expensive. And I would rather bet on me and bet on health than to bet on those people, wherever they are in the hospital, helping me to be healthier. That's just my opinion.
Speaker 1:Change the vernacular, because you can. Hopefully your kids are watching or a significant other is watching and you're just doing your own thing, and pretty soon they might start saying hey, can I do that too? What a legacy is that to leave for your family, for your kids? My husband does it all the time. I'll just start doing something and he'll notice and he'll say do you think that would help me? And I'm honest with them, but it gets them to ask the question.
Speaker 1:So find a day that works for you. Same day, same time, probably until you get used to doing it. Pick a date two weeks from today and say I'm going to start here. Make sure you have. If you're going to walk, make sure you have good walking shoes and then just start doing it. You don't have to tell anybody. If you want to, fine, but if you don't want to, then don't. And watch how they notice what you're doing. That's where the motivation comes in, when someone says, girl, you look good, what are you doing? And you haven't told a soul, I'm just throwing it out there, throwing it out there. So pick a day, one day, same time, make sure you have what you need and then just get it done. Just do one day and start to string several workouts together. And, yes, life's going to happen. It just does. It interferes, but it's okay.
Speaker 1:Just because you missed your one day doesn't mean you can't make it up on another day. That's exactly what I do. If I'm missing a workout, I put it on my calendar immediately where I can reschedule it. Ask lots of questions of someone who is able to answer those questions for you, not your coworkers, not your family, unless you have a personal trainer in the family, someone who can answer the questions for you. See, I have a strict no perfection policy allowed. That includes me. I'm allowed to not be perfect, but I also meet you where you are, and that's where we start, and that's when anyone answers questions for you. It shouldn't be shoulda, woulda, coulda, it should be.
Speaker 1:Let's see how we can get you healthier and in the realm of healthiness, getting healthier you may lose a few pounds, you may start to feel better, your stress level may come down and if you are taking meds and if you're able to, that is maybe you're not taking as much. Maybe even some of those meds can be taken out, and I know there are some out there that are actually keeping people alive. So I do not recommend that. Just start so understanding where you are, where you want to go and how you're going to get there and how you're going to get there. That's all it is, and I'm here. So I hope that you will share a story with me on how you have managed your health in light of your genetic predisposition, because we all have them.
Speaker 1:What are you doing to stay healthier? What are you doing to maybe, like me, not take meds? What are you doing to ensure that your kids will be healthier as they get older? I hope this made some sense to you. I hope this made some sense to you and the reason that I'm so passionate about health and wellness because I wouldn't be doing this for 40 years if I didn't have a passion for it is because I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their bodies. That's why I started Small Space Pilates. It's the truth.
Speaker 1:I also want to invite you to reach out to me and sign up for a one-on-one with me. No, this isn't pressure. There's no pressure here. Let's just chat. How can I help you? Because, even if you're not a part of Small Space Pilates, that's okay, but how can I help you to get healthier? If you are interested in Small Space Pilates, there's talk about it. I hope that this gives you some room to think about you and about what you want.
Speaker 1:And, looking 10 years down the road, what does that look like for you body-wise? What do you look like? What are you doing? Can you get on the floor? Can you get up off the floor? Can you play with your grandkids? Can you play with your kids? These are questions that create passion and helping you want to be a little bit better at taking care of you, at taking care of you. I hope this makes some sense and I hope you join the conversation, because it's huge. I kind of went on the tip there, the very tip, but I didn't want to bore you. I just want you to start. Just start your impossible. I end my podcast with that every episode. Please stay safe, take care of each other Until next time, and it's never too late to start your impossible. So until then, this is Kat Corchata, your movement specialist, signing off. Until next time, bye you.