Single again

April 27, 6:39 AMSeattle Divorce Support ExaminerH.M. Weimar

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Now that you are separated, broken up or divorced you have a whole new issue. That is being single again. How do you step out and try out this new you? How do you get moving again? Are you feeling good enough about yourself to do that? Is the stress and lack of time in your new life causing you to do unwanted damage you will see later? In the first few articles in this series about relaxation and your new life, we have talked about how to fix and avoid issues that may cause residual damage. In this fourth article let’s talk about diet.

Most people are dealing with stresses in their lives that may have caused their bodies to change over the marriage and over the divorce. Making sure that you are getting a proper diet and not overloading on things that can damage your body more will help with that. Also if you are on a good diet and making sure your healthy your body will handle this stress better, with less residual damage.

Everyone will tell you to drink water and yes you should; but how much water should you drink?  And does it always have to be plain water?

The amount of fluids you should drink in a day is:
Half of your body weight in ounces.  That means for instance, I weigh 140 pounds, 70 is half of 140 so I would drink 70 ounces of fluid a day.  Notice I say fluid.  As long as it is real, decaffeinated and not full of sugar, your body can use it. The reason we need this is because your body is mostly made of fluids. Drinking fluids replaces the old fluids with new ones. You can think of it as flushing your system. Ever seen a puddle of water that has sat for along time, stagnant water? That is sort of what happens with your body. Also, your circulatory system is extremely liquid. Not getting enough water can thicken that up or cause it to not run properly. Cutting off all your other systems from vital nutrients.

Your body has an easier time digesting if you have smaller amounts in there at one sitting.  I mean how do you feel when you try to carry around something that is too heavy?  Your stomach will react the same way.  Try to eat natural food instead of processed foods.  New studies are showing that our bodies gain nothing good from processed foods.  They are also showing that you can put your body into a temporary “sick” or diseased state, like lupus, by eating too many processed foods.  Home grown or organic foods contain gluconutrients, or real sugars, that the body just loves.  You don’t need to be a vegetarian, some meat is actually good for you in small amounts, just try to stay with real, unprocessed good foods and you should be fine.

Vitamins and supplements are actually really good.  Every thing you eat and drink, even the air you breathe can affect you and deplete good vitamins and minerals out of your body.  Your body will show you signs that you need to add certain vitamins and minerals to your diet.  If you crave it, chances are you need something in it.  Making you want it is the only way your body can tell you what it needs, it has no voice but it does talk to you. However, craving chips and other junk food is not because your body needs the extras, it most likely needs sodium or natural sugars. Try some fruits and vegetables. You just need to listen to what it is telling you and try to decide why it wants certain things. Some of the things you expose yourself too may be depleting something very needed by your body. 

1.Smoking depletes 50-100mg of vitamin C every time you smoke.  Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant.  Too much free floating oxygen in your body can cause cancerous cells.  I like to think of it as rusting.  Just like leaving a bike out with a little water on it, that along with the air, it rusts.  Your body does too, you are mostly water, add a little free oxygen and you rust.  Smoking also depletes niacin which is a B vitamin used to decrease cholesterol and plaque build up in your veins.  The nicotine molecule and the niacin molecule are the same size and shape, so you take just one drag of a cigarette in your life time and the nicotine slides in where the niacin should be and there you go.  Before your body can figure out what it is, it’s hooked.

2.Stress depletes the most important B vitamin out of your body which can cause all kinds of trouble.  B12 is your energy vitamin.  It helps your body produce good red blood cells and helps you keep enough of them.  With those good blood cells and the natural sugars you eat, the blood cells deliver energy to all the other cells in your body.  No B12, no good blood cells, no transfer of energy, your slowly draining your body of life.

3.Soda Pop deletes calcium which we all know is what we need for good teeth and bones.  The average teenager right now has the same bone density as a woman of 35-40 years old.  From what you say?, those wonderfully easy to get soda pops.  It’s actually the artificial soda in the pop that does it.  One a day could deplete you enough to cause major damage to you bones for years.  So if you like pop, be sure you take calcium with vitamin D.  Vitamin D helps your body, along with some parts of sunshine, absorb calcium.  Without the D and a healthy dose of sunshine your body will not absorb the calcium and then you are just plugging up your colon with chalk.  Some of the new calcium’s absorb better, we have gotten a little smarter.  What happens if you are allergic to the sun, I know people who are, you still get enough of the rays you need when you are fully clothed, just get outside every once in a while and see how it helps you. Calcium along with potassium trigger some of our body’s good processes like muscle movement.

4.Lack of “good” sleep depletes your natural serotonin.  That is a hormone that your brain produces that pretty much turns on all of your body’s natural healing powers.  Get good, dark, deep, sleep for at least 6-8 hours per night.  If you sleep during the day, wear an eye mask, serotonin releases in the dark.  You can try St. Johns Wart which is supposed to help with moods; it also helps with sleep because it relaxes you.  I don’t suggest using it unless you consult a physician because some people do have a problem with it and it can counter act some medications.

5.Life can deplete just about anything, the best cure is to relax and eat properly.

In conclusion if you are dealing with being single again you want to make sure that the stress is not affecting your body. Be sure to drink fluids, eat properly and have a good diet, so that your body will be able to withstand the stress.

Be sure to read the rest of my article for ideas, support and help through this hard time in your life. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask. You can email me at hmweimar@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.  I will talk about anything and I do have a lot of knowledge in anatomy and physiology (your body systems).  If I don’t know, or can’t find it in my textbooks, then I will research it and see if I can find out.  You can also research on the net or at the library; some hospitals and doctors offices have nurse or question lines too that you can call. If you are unsure how any of these ideas will affect you should check with your doctor. The most important thing to remember is that if you eat right, take care of yourself and relax, then you will be ready for you new life of being single again.