Warning Shots Across the Bow

Our bodies are amazing. They don't wait for a total systems failure, instead they send clear signals of distress and impending peril long before a disease fully takes hold. There are often many warning shots across the bow. We may not recognize these signs as portending future disease, or we may simply choose to ignore them because change is hard.  

I am going to encourage you to listen to what your body is trying to tell you. These warning shots are our opportunities to change course and alter our health trajectories, if only we are willing to listen.

For me, the warning signs looked something like this:

• GI issues - bloating, cramping, discomfort after eating

• A slow creeping weight gain

• Increasingly elevated cholesterol readings

• Persistently high iron values (which I was later to learn was a sign of liver damage)

• Progressively worsening skin issues - rashes, hives, skin thickening, constant itching

• Ear ringing, chest tightening, and flushing (all signs of histamine overload)

• Persistently high glucose readings and pre-diabetes

• A diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

This didn't happen overnight. I received progressively louder and louder distress signals from my body over the course of about a decade, until I finally decided to make a major life change and drastically alter my health path.

So, dear friends, what messages are you being sent by your body? 

• Are you overweight?

• Do you have high blood pressure?

• How's your cholesterol?

• Do you have GI symptoms (regular heartburn, constipation, bloating, IBS)?

• Any skin issues?

• Gallstones? Kidney stones?

• Are you tired all the time?

• Constant headaches?

• Metabolic syndrome?

• Poor glucose control or pre-diabetes?

These are some of the most common signals our bodies give us before a significant disease process is fully established. Generally, lifestyle diseases (such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and stroke), do not develop suddenly. They have a long progression over decades. During this slow progressive development of a disease process, we will likely receive multiple warning signs.  

So, as you go through your day today, here are a few questions to ponder:

• What warning signals are you receiving from your body?

• Are you listening and recognizing the signs for what they are - warning shots across the bow?

• How much worse are you willing to get before you are ready to alter course?

• Are you willing to make a change in order to avoid illness?

You may not be ready yet, but you might be getting close.  
If I can do it, you can too.  
It’s not too late.
🌱💕