Guest guest Posted April 2, 2004 Report Share Posted April 2, 2004 Hello, I regularly see an acupuncturist but have been unable to because I was laid off from work. I am a female, 23 years of age and I lost 65 pounds recently just through awareness and excercise from work. Now, I feel my body gaining weight and my complexion doesn't look so great. I moved to a wet, rainy, dreary place (portland, Oregon) I don't get as much excercise because of the rain. Where can I get advice of what to eat, a menu plan...maybe things that I should eat..... I have started to drink less coffee and I am down to three cups a day from about 10 or more. Thanks so much in advance for your help Devlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 I’m sorry that I don’t have any health advice for you but please don’t let Portland get you down. The summers are so great there and there is so much to get out and see and do. I used to get so much exercise there just because I loved walking around downtown, I didn’t own a car so I walked everywhere. Funny that I moved to Florida to get out of the rain and into the sun and ended up weighing more than I’ve ever weighed because I have the convenience of a car and it’s too hot to walk ANYWHERE. It’s also just not as picturesque. liz _____ jaz21mine [jas_mine21] Friday, April 02, 2004 6:58 PM Chinese Traditional Medicine [Chinese Traditional Medicine] Diet and Excercise Hello, I regularly see an acupuncturist but have been unable to because I was laid off from work. I am a female, 23 years of age and I lost 65 pounds recently just through awareness and excercise from work. Now, I feel my body gaining weight and my complexion doesn't look so great. I moved to a wet, rainy, dreary place (portland, Oregon) I don't get as much excercise because of the rain. Where can I get advice of what to eat, a menu plan...maybe things that I should eat..... I have started to drink less coffee and I am down to three cups a day from about 10 or more. Thanks so much in advance for your help Devlin Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner Shortcut URL to this page: HYPERLINK " /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine " /comm unity/Chinese Traditional Medicine _____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 Chinese Traditional Medicine , " jaz21mine " <jas_mine21@m...> wrote: I lost 65 pounds recently just through awareness and excercise from work. Devlin Hi Devlin, Congratulations on your weight loss. That's wonderful. I am down a little bit over fifty and I can't wait until I get my pain under control so I can take some kind of aquatic class or martial arts class. Good luck to you, mjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 mjdavis108 wrote: > >Hi Devlin, > >Congratulations on your weight loss. That's wonderful. I am down a >little bit over fifty and I can't wait until I get my pain under >control so I can take some kind of aquatic class or martial arts >class. > >Good luck to you, >mjd > Congratulations to your both! What about Tai Chi ? Cat ^. .^ ~ " Optimism is magic! " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 Liz we lived in S.Fla for 15 years and it is to hot to live there. it was there that I got sick and I am wondering now how much that hot humid climate contributed to my illness. Rabai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 I don't think I have ever done tai chi... >Cat <iceisit >Chinese Traditional Medicine >Chinese Traditional Medicine >[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re: Diet and Excercise >Sat, 3 Apr 2004 00:28:15 -0500 > _______________ Check out MSN PC Safety & Security to help ensure your PC is protected and safe. http://specials.msn.com/msn/security.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 Hi There are several options in Portland that you should look into. There is a good acupuncture school that has a low cost clinic(OCOM) There is also a low cost clinic that was originally started through a drug treatment program but expanded to cover everyone. It is called PAAC or Portland Acup. addictions center. Lastly ITM (Institute for Traditional Medicine) is based in Portland and they may be able to help you find a low cost program or help you with herb formulas. ITM is a Chinese herbal company run by a man who has a background in western biochemistry as well as TCM. They create Seven Forest products, Chinese herbal formulas that are based on research formulas from China not on the classics that are most commonly prescribed by acupuncturists. They also have a line of vitamin supplements called White Tiger that are designed for specific Western diagnoses. I have used the supplements very successfully. As a classically trained acupuncturist, I tend to not use the herb products. But my acup. vet uses them very successfully on my large, 15 yr. old dog who has cancer. Shad Reinstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 > I don't think I have ever done tai chi... I highly recommend it. It looks deceptively simple - like how can something that simple do anything? Westerners in particular are used to the " no pain, no gain " model of physical fitness. What the tai chi or Qi Gong exercises do is they get Qi and Blood moving. For a while I quit doing my exercises. After several weeks I started to decline, and some old problems started to return. I started back doing them, and I started improving again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 > we lived in S.Fla for 15 years and it is to hot to live there. it was there > that I got sick and I am wondering now how much that hot humid climate > contributed to my illness. It very well could have. Especially if the diet also included a lot of Hot and Damp-engendering foods. TCM plays a lot more attention to environmental conditions than Western medicine does at present. When an environmental condition is excessive and harming a person, it is called a " Pernicious Evil " . The 5 Pernicious Evils are Heat, Dampness, Dryness, Cold, and Wind. (Fire also is a Pernicious Evil, but I'm talking about weather conditions here.) Perncious Evils (weather conditions) will attack (affect) the Exterior of the body first. In TCM the Exterior is the head, arms, legs, neck, shoulders, skin, muscles, bone, and meridians (paths of Qi flow). Theoretically, if a person's " Protective Qi " (aka Defensive Qi) is strong enough, the Pernicious Evil doesn't get in. Protective Qi is a special type of Qi that circulates at the surface of the body and protects the body from Pernicious Evils. But let's say the person's Protective Qi is not strong enough. The Evil starts to penetrate the body. At first, it's only the Exterior affected. " Only the Exterior " doesn't mean that this cannot be very painful and debilitating. Arthritis (aka Painful Obstruction Syndrome, aka Bi Syndrome) is an Exterior condition, and it can be plenty painful and debilitating. In time, the Evil can penetrate to the Interior of the body. That's the Organs in the trunk of the body. Dampness can damage the Spleen. Cold can damage the Kidneys (and the Spleen). Heat can damage the Heart. Dryness can damage the Lungs. Wind can wreck havoc with the Liver. To be continued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 Invasion from the outside is just one way that Perncious Evils can get into the Interior and damage the Organs. Sometimes, something the person consumes too much of can damage the Interior and create imbalances. Like in the case of a person consuming too many foods and/or herbs with heating energy or too many herbs or foods with cooling energy. The person becomes too Hot or too Cold as a result. Sometimes, one imbalance can trigger another and give rise to an Internal Pernicious Evil like in the case of Interior Wind. Three things can trigger Internal Wind: A very high temperature (like in the case of febrile diseases), Liver Yang Rising, and Liver Blood Deficiency. Kidney Yang Deficiency will result in the person being too Cold becase there is not enough Yang to warm the body properly. Even though it might be summer and quite warm, the Kidney Yang person feels cold. I have been known to sleep under a quilt in June. In the winter the only way I could warm up was to take several hot baths a day. This was before TCM treatment. The Cold that results from Kidney Yang Deficiency is called Deficiency Cold. It's resulting from there not being enough Yang to warm the body properly. The Cold that comes from consuming too many foods and herbs with cooling thermal energy is Excessive Cold. The Cold is the result of there being too much Cold in the form of the thermal energy of the foods and herbs consumed. Frostbite and hypothermia also are examples of Excess Cold. Excess Cold that has invaded from the environment. Poorly handled emotions also can damage Organs. The Spleen is particularly vulnerable to being pensive. Obsessing. The Liver to anger, the Kidneys to fear, the Heart to manic " joy " , and the Lungs to grief. Grief also hurts Qi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 > Now, I feel my body gaining weight and my complexion doesn't look so > great. I moved to a wet, rainy, dreary place (portland, Oregon) > I don't get as much excercise because of the rain. One cannot diagnose via email (not that you asked anyone to). I just want to underscore that what I am about to say is strictly educational and not meant as THE answer. It could be something very different. I just want to offer some insights into the way TCM healers think and consider possibilities. When a TCM healer hears " I moved to a wet, rainy, dreary place " , s/he automatically is going to wonder, " Dampness? " The next step might be to ask you if where you moved to is as cold or colder than where you came from. " Cold Dampness? " " I don't get as much exercise because of the rain? " The TCM healer is going to want to know exactly why. Does the person usually exercise outside, and is that what she means by " because of the rain " ? Does the person not have the physical energy she once had before moving to " wet, rainy, dreary " Portland? Or, is the wet, dreary weather affecting her psychologically - a mild case of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder - caused by the person not receiving enough light). (SAD is not a TCM diagnosis, but many healers are aware that it exists.) If the skin is oily, this also raises some concerns about the possibility of Spleen imbalance. Is the tongue coating thick and geasy looking? Too many greasy, sweet foods in addition to the Dampness of the weather? Dampness accumulation? BTW, Qi Deficiency can be one of the possible underlying Roots of weight gain. People in the West frequently have it backwards, thinking that if one just exercises more one not only will lose weight but gain energy. And this does work for SOME people because the nature of their problem is that they do need more exercise. They have the energy to do the exercise, but haven't been doing it. They are helped by this advice. BUT, some people lack the energy to excercise. Having them exercise is going to result in less energy because they are Qi Deficient already. One of the things which will damage the Spleen (which plays a major role in a person having enough energy or Qi) is over-doing physically. In these cases, pushing oneself to do more when one doesn't really have the energy to do what one already is doing is going to result in even less energy and an even weaker Spleen. Tai Ch'i or Qi Gong excercises are safe for most people who are Qi Deficient. They can get Qi and Blood moving and help balance out the body without damaging the Spleen further. The Spleen is very vulnerable to Dampness, be it Dampness invading from the environment or Dampness arising because too many Damp- engendering foods like dairy and wheat or too many cold, raw foods being eaten. The Spleen also is vulnerable to Cold. Your TCM healer is going to be ruling in or ruling out this possibility. As I cautioned before, this is not something that can be ruled in or ruled out via email. It's just insights into what TCM healers consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 I want to share some personal information here. For over 15 years my husband and I lived in the desert. We're both originally from the southeast. At first the desert was great, but eventually we both got to the point where we felt like throwing a party every time it did finally rain. I was to the point that when pictures of big trees, especially forests, appeared on TV, I would get real excited, point to the screen, and yell, " Trees! Real trees! BIG trees. " (As opposed to the glorified bushes they call Mesquite trees in the Southwest.) Anyway, my husband's feet stayed cracked from the dryness, and I kept having some serious dehydration problems and other problems. Sometimes, moving is the best solution to health problms - especially when you're still trying to correct a long-time Defensive Qi Deficiency problem. Added to that we both missed REAL (BIG) trees and rain. I in particular was tried of day after day after day of sunshine. For one thing I burn real easily. For another thing, I got to noticing that when it did finally rain or at least cloud up, I had more energy and could move better. So we moved. It was great at first. When it rained, we still felt like throwing a party. At least we did until we started experiencing a series of overcast/ rainy days that lasted a week to two weeks at a time. It sort of took the bloom off the rain thing so to speak. We also discovered that we moved too far north. For many years we had been used to a much longer warm season than we have here. I mean in SE Arizona, by this time most trees (such as there are) are fully leafed out. The growing season and warm weather arrive about a month earlier in the spring and stays about a month later in the fall than they do here. It seems to me that this winter has been oh so very long and will never end. It's actually normal for around here, but I grew used to warmer and longer summers all those years in SE AZ. Plus, there's the tendency to the Kidney Yang Deficiency thing, and I had gone off most herbs because I had improved so much and no longer needed them. I should have started back on them back in the fall. If I had, I might not be having some Cold-related problems I'm having now. Also, the frustration of wanting warm weather and greenary isn't doing my Liver any good. (The Liver is vulnerable to frustration as well as anger.) I really like plants and greenary, especially flowers. My husband says I become transfixed in gardening stores. He's right. I tend to measure time in terms of what's blooming or leafing out. Right now, the Oriental magnolias have bloomed and the blossoms have turned brown and fallen from the trees which still haven't leafed out. The blooms of the Bradford pears and the daffodils are fading, though the creeping phlox has yet to reach its full glory. What I'm really looking forward to are the azaelas and tulips and the much warmer weather that comes when those bloom. It seems like spring and comfortably warm weather are taking so long to unfold this spring and winter is holding on so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Funny you should say that as I’ve had more health problems here than anywhere else, though a lot of them are brought on by stress as well but I believe due to the area and it’s economy unfortunately I may be stuck here for a bit liz _____ Remediesbyrabiah [Remediesbyrabiah] Saturday, April 03, 2004 7:38 AM Chinese Traditional Medicine Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] Diet and Excercise Liz we lived in S.Fla for 15 years and it is to hot to live there. it was there that I got sick and I am wondering now how much that hot humid climate contributed to my illness. Rabai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Thanks so much for sharing your story(victoria_dragon) I really liked the part about which flowers and plants are in bloom.... I loved the sunsets in Arizona and the evening sky right at dusk, my partner and I were amazed at those sights. We only stayed a couple of days because we had a ryder truck with everything we owned ready for Portland. We moved here because my partner is in her 2nd year of Acupunture School. bye for now Devlin > " victoria_dragon " <victoria_dragon >Chinese Traditional Medicine >Chinese Traditional Medicine >[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re: Diet and Excercise >Sat, 03 Apr 2004 16:58:47 -0000 > _______________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 you know Victoria, to answer some of your questions, I honestly don't know if I did excercise more before moving here to Portland or not, it's funny I just know that I was really small (I have never gotten to say that about myself before) and it wasn't because of a diet....infact I have been wondering how much my thoughts affect my body......I saw this documentary " What the F & *! do we know? " http://www.whatthebleep.com/ and it talks about the effects of spirituality and physics... I look back when I felt great and I know I wasn't dieting but I was in that first stage of meeting someone and falling in love with my partner whom I am still with....and you know that bliss you are in for about the first year or so before your " real issues " start to reveal themselves! So after seeing the documentary I have to wonder, if my mind plays a greater role with regards to my health than anyone even chinese medicine ever thought possible! " If I truly woke up everyday and said and Sincerely felt whatever happens, everything is going to be fine...I will always be loved......I am unique because I am living and I see the world differently and I want to get to know others to learn how they see the world and sit together to cherish these precious moments....... aaaahhhhh it all seems so simple...deceptively simple Devlin > " victoria_dragon " <victoria_dragon >Chinese Traditional Medicine >Chinese Traditional Medicine >[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re: Diet and Excercise >Sat, 03 Apr 2004 16:23:01 -0000 > _______________ Free up your inbox with MSN Hotmail Extra Storage! Multiple plans available. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us & page=hotmail/es2 & ST=1/go/onm00200362ave/dire\ ct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 > We moved here because my partner is in her 2nd year of Acupunture School. Have you tried to work something out with your partner and the school about a TCM exam and treatment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 > it's funny I just know that I was really small (I have never gotten to say > that about myself before) and it wasn't because of a diet.... I know that weight gain and weight loss in my case corresponds to my physical health. In the past, whenever the chronic and recurring mono I have flared up, I gained weight. When I was on the mend, it came off naturally without my dieting. > infact I have > been wondering how much my thoughts affect my body......I saw this > documentary " What the F & *! do we know? " http://www.whatthebleep.com/ > and it talks about the effects of spirituality and physics... It is very much a two-way street. Not only will thoughts, emotions, and spirit affect the physical, the physical will affect the thoughts, emotions, and spirit. It can become a snowballing situation. For example, people who are in constant pain frequently will be grippy and irritable. Eliminate or at least decrease the pain, and they become more even-tempered. Another aspect of this is that people who are healthier are better able to benefit from talk therapy and better able to face and deal with issues. When you become stronger physically, you also become stronger emotionally and mentally. I hope you will be able to get a TCM examination. Addressing the physical won't clear up everything, but it can sure enable one to be beeter able to address the emotional, mental, and spiritual. > I look back when I felt great and I know I wasn't dieting but I was in that > first stage of meeting someone and falling in love with my partner whom I am > still with....and you know that bliss you are in for about the first year or > so before your " real issues " start to reveal themselves! This is the common scenario. The bliss stage comes first, and then the issues stage. Some couples face those issues and become a stronger couple and even more in love as a result. Some part company. > So after seeing the documentary I have to wonder, if my mind plays a greater > role with regards to my health than anyone even chinese medicine ever > thought possible! " I can't analyze via email, but I suspect the physical needs to be addressed. There are several things you have said that makes me lean this way. First, there is that description of the weather. Then, in a latter post, I learned that this was not a local move for you. I don't know where you came from originally and what weather you're used to, but you had a Ryder truck, and you came through AZ. Since Interstates 10 and 40 run through AZ, this raises the possibility that you're used to considerably different weather than you're experiencing in Oregon. In particular - WARMER. I know a woman from the Southeast whose husband was stationed in Washington not too far from where you are, and she talked about how it never warmed up enough for her or her family to wear their summer clothes. It might have been summer to the folks used to the area, but according to what she was used to, it was early spring at best and never got any better. Then it is the move itself. If you passed through AZ, that's probably at least a thousand mile trip depending on what part of AZ you passed through. And you and your partner had a Ryder truck which means you probably did a good part of the packing and unpacking by yourselves. Moves like this are hard on people. (Voice of experience.) Throw in the stress of adapting to a new area, making new friends, not knowing quite what to expect, etc. Overdoing physically, worrying, Dampness, and Cold are all things that impact the Spleen. And when the Spleen is weakened, that impacts Qi, including Defensive Qi. When the Defensive Qi is weakened, the person becomes even more vulnerable to the effects of weather. It may take a while to snowball, but it does eventually. > If I truly woke up everyday and said and Sincerely felt whatever happens, > everything is going to be fine...I will always be loved......I am unique > because I am living and I see the world differently and I want to get to > know others to learn how they see the world and sit together to cherish > these precious moments....... I'm not going to tell you that this is how it is going to work out because at this point you would not believe me. I am going to advise you again to schedule a TCM examination and possibly even a routine Western medical exam to rule out something like anemia, hypothyroidism, mono, etc. If there is a physical imbalance, it will color your feelings. Address the physical, and then see if you still feel exactly as you do now. I suspect you're going to find that problems that seem unsurmountable now won't look nearly so daunting after you get some physical relief. (Voice of experience again.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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