HER

You've lost a considerable amount of weight, but your skin still seems loose. What comes next?Major weight loss can alleviate pressures on the body, both physical and of a mental nature. However, the extra skin doesn’t always tighten up when the weight is gone. Major weight gain and loss takes its toll on the skin. It can cause hygiene issues and rashes. It impacts daily life. Body contouring is an option for these individuals. Some people have led an active life or had children and just need a little form and function restoration. Body contouring starts with the discussion of goals for the operation. The procedures may be done at once or take place in stages. Those who have gone through major weight loss may have hernias or weakened fascia from the now-gone weight. Blood vessels might be enlarged from having to feed so much of the body. A general surgery team is typically on back-up in case it's necessary to handle any unexpected issues. Body contouring surgery is a bit more complex than cosmetic surgery, so the techniques vary. It’s not about making the abdomen look as tight as possible but rather about restoring the form and function of that abdominal wall. Sometimes, the abdominal muscles need to be repaired so they can support the lighter body. There is no magic number that tells you when you should investigate body contouring. If your skin doesn’t retract while you lose weight, body contouring may help you. It’s okay to get help. Lifestyle changes are important after surgery. Changing diet and fitness habits can improve your results. Listen in as Dr. Jennifer Capla shares how body contouring works. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Are you simply helping someone out, or is it codependency?The lines can easily blur between being a loving, caring person and being codependent. Codependency is defined as the process of losing yourself in intimate relationships, friendships and parenting. It’s easy to lose yourself when you give so much. Women oftentimes become codependent because they are natural caretakers. Symptoms of Codependency Low self-esteem or feeling you aren’t good enough Comparing yourself to others People pleasing Letting the needs of another take precedence over your own Poor boundaries to increase one’s feeling of value Taking care of people because it makes you feel better, not because they need the care Dysfunctional communication Trying to control others Anxiety Shame If you’re flooded with feelings of shame and not being good enough, you’ll reach outside of yourself to try to control a situation that you see as causing the anxiety. You have to learn how to heal the inside instead of looking for something on the outside to fix it. Codependency usually begins in childhood and builds over a lifetime. Families generally do the best they can with what they have. Sometimes it’s learned over generations and children pick it up. Saving others may protect you from feeling all those intense emotions you feel around YOU. Exploring your own thoughts and emotions may help you find the root of your codependency. Bring emotionally healthy people into your life who want to know what you think, feel and need. Find a tribe. Psychotherapy can help. Exercise is a great therapy, especially walking to clear your thoughts. Listen in as Kristina Wandzilak shares how codependency works for women and how to work through it. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Maybe your anxieties and fears aren't your own. Traumatic experiences of your parents and grandparents can manifest in your life.Have you ever felt fearful, angry or depressed for no apparent reason? The study of epigentics is revealing that trauma (physical and mental) can be passed down a genetic line. It actually causes chemical changes in DNA, altering genetic expression. A trauma doesn’t change a sequence in DNA, but it informs a cell to ignore or utilize a specific gene. These genetic shifts affect how you think and feel. You may find yourself reactive to a situation similar to a trauma that happened to a previous generation. These gene changes can also be transmitted to your children. Mark Wolynn, expert on inherited family trauma, suggests thinking of this phenomenon in terms of your personal computer. It’s not like you’re born with a clean hard drive. There is already an operating system in place from previous generations that is intended to improve your survival. What made your parent act like a jerk? What happened to your mom or dad that could’ve led to that behavior? Learning about these situations can help you gain compassion. When you inherit family trauma, Wolynn says it can also express itself in physical ways. Four Unconscious Themes that Interrupt the Flow of Life 1) You’ve unconsciously merged with the life experience of your parents and grandparents. Let’s say your parents divorced in their 30s and you experience a rocky marriage in your 30s. Then, you discover your grandmother was widowed in her 30s. The biological stream flows downward. 2) You have rejected a parent and have unconscious effects. You may not see how you are like that parent and project those rejected qualities onto a partner. If you’ve rejected your dad for being critical, you may be inwardly or outwardly critical. You have to heal these rejections. 3) You have an early break in the bond with your mother. A physical separation or trauma early in life can separate you from her, even if the separation was for a short time. 4) You’ve identified with someone in the family other than a parent. You take on the characteristics of that person. It’s important to recognize the residue of these traumas. Ask yourself if you're having unexplained fears, anxieties or symptoms because of your own experiences. Or, are those feelings courtesy of your ancestral alarm clock? How can you heal? Have a powerful, new experience to override that trauma that lives inside you. Practice the new feeling from that experience. Find gratitude, compassion, love, kindness or meditation to give you peace. It needs to steal traction from the trauma cycle. Listen in as Wolynn joins HER Radio to share how inherited trauma manifests in our lives. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Eat your way to beautiful skin.A poor diet is linked to chronic disease. Common nutritional deficiencies plague millions of people every year. You may not have considered how your diet affects your skin. Many skin conditions are related to inflammation. Your diet contributes to inflammation. Your digestion slows down If you don’t drink enough water. This increases inflammation in your gut. You become more prone to rashes, collagen breaks down and you may develop acne. You should drink half to one full ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. Top Five Foods for Healthy, Beautiful Skin Cooked tomatoes. Tomatoes are rich with lycopene, an antioxidant that fights sun damage. You can also find lycopene in red peppers, guava and watermelon. The body absorbs the lycopene faster when the food has been cooked. Green tea. Green tea protects your skin against sun damage and blotchy skin. It helps soothe skin and reduce inflammation. Green and yellow vegetables. Squash, leafy greens and peppers reduce facial wrinkles. It could be due to the higher concentration of antioxidants in green and yellow veggies. Green beans. Green beans are great for hair and nails. They are high in silicon, the element that improves bone strength. Organic green beans retain more silicon from the soil. Try blanching them and keeping them in the refrigerator as a snack. Fish. A certain type of Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, is commonly found in cold water fish. It isn’t just great for your heart but also for acne. DHA reduces inflammation. If you’re not a fish eater, find an algae oil supplement. The Three Worst Foods for Your Skin Sweetened, blended coffee drinks. They’re filled with sugar and dairy. Some studies link dairy with inflammatory skin conditions. Sugar is very inflammatory and breaks down into glucose that breaks down collagen. Protein bars. Some have more sugar and fat than others. They tend to be highly processed. If you must consume a protein bar, select one that has visible chunks of ingredients. It should have more protein than sugar and fat. If you have acne, avoid whey protein. Vinegar. It’s full of histamine that increases blood flow to your face. It can contribute to redness. If you have rosacea or a tendency to flush, be sure you’re not consuming products that have vinegar as an ingredient. Great Foods for Your Skin Yogurt. It can help control dandruff. Contrary to popular belief, dandruff is not caused by dry skin. It’s actually due to oily scalp. There’s a yeast that lives on human skin that can overgrow. It feeds on oil and skin on the scalp which causes flakiness. Kiwi. It is very high in vitamin C. It’s lower in sugar than oranges. Kiwi is wonderful for fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C helps make collagen and elastic tissue. Topical Foods Coconut oil. You can apply it to your skin. It’s semi-solid at room temperature. It can be used for many parts of your skin. Use extra virgin food grade coconut oil for chapped lips and your entire body. Berries. They are high in antioxidants. Raspberries, strawberries and cranberries contain ellagic acid. Ellagic acid fights wrinkling and discoloration. Mash up berries and apply them as a mask. Lavender. You can make a soothing lavender toner to use before bed. Mix water, green tea, vegetable glycerin and lavender essential oil in a bowl. Use a mister to apply it to perk up your skin. It can help you get quality sleep. Carrots. A carrot eye mask can help firm up the skin around the eyes. Mix two egg whites with a tablespoon of finely shredded carrots. Lie down on a towel and apply the mask around your eyes. Use a cool, damp cloth to wipe away the mixture after 20 minutes. Peppermint. Make a food scrub with some course sea salt, minced fresh mint, peppermint essential oil and cocoa. Let your feet soak for 10 minutes to soften the dead skin. Use the scrub on your feet. Concentrate on heels, calluses and cracked skin. Listen in as Dr. Jessica Wu shares her secrets for taking care of your skin natura

Feeling pressured to have a baby but you're not sure if you should?The decision to have a child is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make. There are cultural and familial pressures to procreate. However, the decision is yours to make. Not everyone needs to have children. Your life is not incomplete if you don’t make a family. Everyone who has a child has to sacrifice something to spend time parenting. In fact, many childless people are active volunteers for societal betterment. Being childless doesn’t mean selfishly spending every moment as “me” time. People who don’t make conscious decisions about parenting look back at their lives with disappointment. You need to choose to have a child or not. Every decision involves a loss. What is more important to you personally? Each choice has positives and negatives. Which decision will you and your partner regret least? What Do You Really Want? You and your partner may feel you’re undecided about having a baby. Merle Bombardieri, MSW, LICSW, suggests trying these exercises to help you with your decision. Photo Album: Picture things that could take place over a child’s life. Imagine the screaming newborn, accomplished crawler, squawking toddler and a young person winning an award. This may nudge your decision. Chair Exercise: Sit in a chair and speak about how much you love being childless and how much freedom you have. Then, sit in another chair and speak about how much you would love being a parent. Go into great detail of how you imagine these lives. Switch from chair to chair as you change viewpoints. You’ll have more passion and confidence in one of the chairs. Your decision to become a parent doesn’t necessarily comment on the happiness of your childhood. Some people with very happy childhoods choose not to have kids. Others who had difficult childhoods may want to provide a better life for a new generation. What matters most to you? How do you want to spend your life? Listen in as Bombardieri shares how you can make the best decision for your life. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Live like a grown-up without compromising your personality.When a woman turns 30, she feels like she should have some accomplishments. Pamela Redmond Satran has a few suggestions to make a woman feel like she’s really an adult: Get a nice piece of furniture that wasn’t owned by someone else first. It should be something you’ve selected that shows your own tastes, not a hand-me-down from Aunt Shirley. Have a youth that you’re content to leave behind. You should have a real resume that isn’t padded. Know how to fall in love without losing yourself. Women are focused on relationships with any accomplishment. It’s easy to get swamped by the experience and forget what you need. You need to know how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the relationship. These are all unpleasant but necessary. Being authentic and truthful will help you through. You should know how to live alone even if you don’t like it. Learn how to live happily enough by yourself. Gain those skills when you’re young. Being alone is not the same as being lonely. Learn who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally. It’s never about you. It’s about how someone else is viewing you. Age is just a number. Do your own thing. Listen in as Satran shares her tales and life advice for living like an adult without compromising yourself. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Learn how you can improve body positivity for yourself and others.A research study in 1998 divided women and men into dressing rooms. One group of men and women wore bathing suits. The other group wore sweaters. They were then told to take a mathematics test with a view of themselves in a mirror. The women wearing bathing suits had the hardest time focusing on the test. They also got the lowest scores. They were retested after dressing in sweaters and slacks. They scored much higher on the second test. Why were they so distracted? No one else was around to comment on their bodies. It was their own perceptions of their bodies and how they looked. They were tugging their bathing suits for better coverage. These women were very distracted. This translates to the culture women are facing today. Body image issues, bullying, and impossible beauty standards promoted by the media lead to a feeling of shame for having a female body.  Origin of Physical Ideals A lot of advertising is directed at young girls. Beauty contests promote young girls looking like miniature, sexualized adults. The ideal of femininity is formed early. Every little girl wants to be like another girl who is just a little older than she is. Girls going through puberty get the idea they have to be perfect and slim. The onslaught of social media images the younger generation consumes reinforces this ideal. This shifts when a woman enters adulthood. Around age 25, a woman typically wants to look a bit younger. Susceptibility to the combination of social media and advertising is a double whammy. Advertising makes you feel insecure. Why would you buy diet and beauty products if you’re confident? Many women develop eating disorders in mid-life to reach a physical ideal. They sculpt and shape their bodies to try to achieve the perfect size. Advertising was once geared toward people who were dissatisfied with their bodies. It has become so persistent that those who were once very confident about their appearance now question their own beauty. Physical Development The last part of the brain to develop is the frontal cortex. Located right behind the forehead, this part of the brain gives executive function. It's responsible for planning, organizing and strategizing your life. It helps with decision making. The frontal cortex doesn’t quit developing until age 25. Women go through physical changes to prepare for motherhood over several years of their young lives. Hormones are very active. Different areas of the body develop to prepare the body for procreation. Women going through this brain and body development are trying to sort out relationships with themselves and others. This is a very vulnerable time for a young woman’s self esteem. Ways to Build Esteem Consider what message you’re giving to young women when you discuss how unsatisfied you are with your own appearance. Stop focusing on weight loss as a reason to praise someone. If you feel compelled to say something to someone who has lost weight, focus on how happy or energetic she looks. Don’t mention pounds. Don’t glorify eating disorders as a means to reach a perceived physical ideal. The despair and concern about one’s body is paramount throughout the culture. Cut down on your time involved in social media and leafing through magazines.  Stop comparing yourself to photoshopped ideals. Advertising is designed to make you buy a product that you’ve been convinced to believe you need. Don’t bash other people’s appearances. Stop the negative self-talk. Build yourself up. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like your own best friend. Give your energy and attention to things that are meaningful in your life. Live your dreams. Beauty shows when you like yourself. Listen in as Adrienne Ressler, LMSW, CEDS, shares how to become body positive for yourself and those around you. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin gives her best advice for women's health.Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin says health is in everything we do. It doesn’t just take place in your doctor’s office. Health happens at home, at work and in social circumstances. The cheapest and simplest way to start improving your health is to start walking. It doesn’t require any special fundraising or skills, just the ability to walk. Americans don’t walk as much as  people in other countries. Evolution of Girl Trek Girl Trek started with two friends who regularly walked together and decided to form an online group. It is now a nationwide organization of 60,000 women who have walking campaigns and community leadership. These African American women are walking their way to better health. Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth walked African Americans out of slavery. Civil rights marches for freedom incorporated walking. Girl Trek ties African American walking history to the fight for better health. Sixty-seven percent of African American women engage in little or no leisure time physical activity. Eighty-two percent are currently overweight and 53 percent are mortally obese.  Girl Trek is changing behavior by encouraging walking and talking to friends. Kids learn healthy habits by joining the walks. Women meet one another within neighborhoods, building community and relationships. Women who shed pounds are also shedding emotional weight. Walk for Physical, Mental & Emotional Health Rates of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension are higher in African American and minority communities. Raising awareness to get people moving can help reduce these rates. Walking once a day can help with physical and emotional health. Reduce stress by incorporating movement into your life. For change to be sustainable, it has to be meaningful. It should also be fun. Listen in as Dr. Benjamin shares how you can get moving, as well as the great work Girl Trek is doing. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Does your period affect your physical performance? How does losing your period affect your body?Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui told a reporter at the 2016 Summer Olympics that she was suffering from menstrual pain. This publicly acknowledged how periods affect sports performance. Some reports suggest that women are at greater risk for injury during menstruation, like tearing an ACL. Women who lose their menstrual cycles are at much greater risk for bone and tendon injury due to estrogen deficiency. Heavy menstruation can hinder sports performance. But, not all women have issues with physical performance and menstruation. Athletes are always training or competing, even during their periods. There is no literature that says physical performance will be better or worse during menstruation. Being active can help alleviate some menstrual pain. If your period is so strong and painful you can’t handle physical activity, see a doctor so you can function at the level you want. There may be something causing that pain that can be treated. Speaking of physical performance, there are people who take it to a higher level. Fitness affects how they eat, body composition and menstrual cycle. The Female Athlete Triad defines three distinct but interrelated conditions. First is low energy availability. This happens when you disrupt your body’s energy. How much energy is stored in your body? Also, are you meeting your caloric needs for your daily activity? How much energy are you expending outside of workouts? If you have insufficient dietary energy intake, low stored energy and high energy expenditure your body will have too little energy to function properly. Second is menstrual dysfunction. This is where your periods start to phase out. Frequency of a regular cycle reduces until the period disappears. This is a defense mechanism by the brain. If the brain perceives there isn’t enough energy in the body then it turns off your reproductive capacity. This prevents further energy loss. You lose your periods and your ovaries stop making estrogen. Most females are highly dependent on estrogen, especially for bone density. Third is low bone mineral density. Athletes with low bone mineral density are at higher risk for stress fractures. Some people need two to six weeks to recover. Stress fractures end careers for others. It’s important to treat the Female Athlete Triad for the best physical performance possible. It has less to do with body composition and more to do with the body’s ability to function at the optimal level. Listen in as Dr. Liz Joy shares the relationship between menstruation and athletics. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Addiction to pain medication may be hard to recognize. Don't be ashamed to get help.Thousands of people have surgery and end up in a place they never imagined. Dr. Cheryl Karcher was a healthy person, leading an active lifestyle. She required three ACL replacements and total surgery replacement. She was prescribed percocet after each surgery for the pain. The drug also made her feel all was right in the world. She wanted to feel that way all the time. Dr. Karcher fought her opioid addiction and is now practicing medicine again. She was arrested for prescription fraud committed by a staff member two years after she had recovered from the addiction. She was clean and helping others recover. She believed in herself and had nothing to hide. Dr. Karcher was already in the public eye. She decided to use the opportunity to shed light on opioid addiction in order to help others. In vulnerable brains, this drug ignites the reward center. It builds a craving for the good feelings one gets from the medication. No one chooses to become an addict. Many people make it out to be a moral issue. Addiction isn’t a matter of self-control. If it could be tackled by the individual alone, then addiction wouldn’t be a problem. It’s important to get help. The sooner one gets help, the easier it is. There are plenty of excuses to not stop today. Enlisting help eases the struggle when you can’t stop by yourself. It’s tough to recognize your own addiction if your life doesn’t mirror the addict’s life in movies. Don’t be ashamed or feel guilty by asking for help. There is hope. Listen in as Dr. Karcher shares her incredible story of addiction and recovery.