Marketing guru Seth Godin talks about the ‘lizard brain’ in relation to business.

He’s referring to the way we say one thing then do another.

It’s the same for health behaviour. We say we’re going to lose weight, and before we know it we’re agreeing to a second helping of cake.

Our irrationality comes down to the reptilian bump near our brain stem. Its job is survival, so it tells us to be careful, back off, compromise. It’s the voice that talks away in our heads, but it’s mostly negative, wary and afraid; rarely inspiring, courageous and committed.

The lizard brain clings to the past, resists change, loves excuses and sabotages progress. It prefers failure, because success would challenge your view of yourself. Failure allows you to say “I knew it” and give up. It brings you back to the safe place you know.

Your lizard brain is here to stay, but people who fulfill on their goals and succeed at new ventures know when to ignore it. If it tells them to run from a house fire, they listen. But not when it tells them to give up on what they want.

The lizard comes dressed in various forms of self-sabotage — apathy, laziness, procrastination and doubt — and it’s easy to be seduced by it. Few of us can stare it down with a withering burst of willpower. Fortunately, we don’t have to.

The steps I outlined in last month’s newsletter will help you to clarify what you want and why you want it, stay present to your goals, and create structures to fulfil on them.

There are two rules of thumb for making successful lifestyle changes. The first is not to try to do it alone. You vs the lizard? Probably no contest. Get others on side to provide support and keep you accountable. The second is to keep the lizard in context. It’s a primitive brain function designed to keep you alive. Just don’t let it run your life.

Your annual health check

It’s a good idea, especially after age 45, to have a check up each year. But what should you check? Most of us have our cholesterol and blood pressure tested. Pap smears are recommended every two years, and breast screening becomes especially important in middle-age.
But if you’ve mainly done your health checks with a GP, there may be some tests you’re unaware of. The screenings you opt for will depend on your point of view as well as your health history, but a good naturopath — especially one experienced in working with midlife women — could be a valuable addition to your health team.

Here are a few tests that can be useful.

Thyroid function (blood test): While many GPs check it, few are experienced in interpreting the results. If you suspect you have a thyroid problem, seek out a practitioner with expertise in this area.

Vitamin D (blood test): Vitamin D promotes bone strength by increasing calcium levels in the blood. It’s also important for immunity and seems to play a role in cancer prevention. This is becoming more routine for GPs, but you might need to ask for it.

Homocysteine (blood test): This is mainly done by naturopaths. Homocysteine is produced when our bodies break down an essential amino acid called methionine. High levels of homocysteine are considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and are also linked to Alzheimer’s, arthritis and cancer. While GPs focus on cholesterol, some other practitioners believe that homocysteine is the real culprit, and that cholesterol build-up is just a symptom rather than the cause of disease.

Hormones (salivary test): This measures a range of hormones, including your sex hormones (e.g. estrogens, progesterone, testosterone) as well as stress hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol levels have been linked to the storage of fat around our waists. Testing cortisol involves collecting saliva in a test tube four times throughout the day.

Estrogen metabolism (urine test): This indicates how effectively your body removes excess estrogen from your body. A build up of estrogen can make you more susceptible to estrogen-dependent cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer.

Breast checks: these days you have a choice of screening techniques. While mammograms are favoured within mainstream medicine, many women are looking to alternatives that don’t involve radiation or breast compression, and can help identify problems before they occur. These include the MEM (or multifrequency electrical impedance mammograph), which measures the electrical properties of cells, and can differentiate lumps and identify abnormalities; and infrared thermography, which detects changes in skin temperature and identifies metabolic activity and blood vessel patterns.

This is by no means a complete list. It’s a good idea to discuss your needs with a skilled practitioner to determine the most appropriate tests for you.

Next ‘Managing Midlife Weight Gain’ Seminar in April

I’m trialling this seminar in a three-night format, so you have time to take in the information and try it out over an extended period. The seminar starts straight after Easter, and will be held over three Tuesday nights – 6, 13 and 20 April. More detail in the March newsletter.

Until next time

Dr Rhonda Anderson