What’s Old Is New…

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Have you ever wondered what the truth is? Have you ever wanted to go back to high school?

As we continue to educate ourselves in all things wellness, it can be frustrating. The amount of contradictory information you can find is overwhelming. I run little experiments on myself for three months at a time to see how I feel. Here is some stuff that dawned on me, recently.

I have exercised my whole life. There has never been a time where I wasn’t active. After law school, I switched over to low-impact workouts from whatever the hell I was doing before (so many things, guys). It has been good to not have so much cortisol from other types of workouts. HIIT was killing me slowly. But then enter the plain old fact that your body won’t reach a certain definition with just yoga or pilates unless you have the genetics for it. (I do not. I am petite, but strong. I am not dainty.) Doing the British girl pilates is not gonna have me looking like the girl. It’s impossible. One of my thighs is bigger than both of hers. I am Puerto Rican after all.

Pilates won’t cut it. I heard this in a podcast with Dr. Shannon Ritchy (founder of Evlo Fitness), and deep inside, I knew she was telling the truth. I have experienced it myself. My body doesn’t look the same as it used to (counting the age factor, which makes that normal). When I was listening to her, it felt like someone was saying something that has been churning in my head for about a two years.

Pilates is amazing for endurance and resistance training (and flexibility and balance), but it won’t give you the lean muscle structure that really toned women have.

When I look at the women who have the body composition and strength I would like to have, they all weightlift. (See Tulsi Gabbard). So, flashbacks to high school weightlifting class– I’m going all in.

Then, there was the “war on oatmeal.” Guys, I ate oatmeal for breakfast every day for like a decade (probably longer). I love oatmeal. Then came the journals saying it causes glucose spikes and the glyphosate spraying. I started eating eggs or having smoothies. There are mornings I just intermittent fast. I have felt so disoriented around breakfast for the past four years. There are only so many eggs you can have.

On May 7, 2024, I received a newsletter from Arnold Schwarzenegger (yes, I love his newsletter), talking about oatmeal. It discussed a study that was misinterpreted and later reviewed by Dr. Idrees Mughal. Dr. Mughal concluded:

“The researchers found that switching between eggs and oatmeal didn’t change weight, body fat, cholesterol, HbA1c, or the primary markers of inflammation. In other words, eating oatmeal was just as good for your heart as eggs.“

“Most research has found that eating oats is associated with lower heart disease, lower cholesterol, lower body weight, and better overall health. In fact, one review of 21 randomized controlled trials found that oatmeal reduces inflammation, and another study found that it reduces blood sugar in type-2 diabetics.”

I was also reading in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that many issues we women have hormonally and with menstruation are attributable to liver qi stagnation. While I don’t care about qi, I do think there is something to imbalances in the body. When I was looking at what they recommend, they recommend warm morning meals (like oatmeal and porridge) and warm drinks. No iced drinks, smoothies, etc.

So, I found some glyphosate-free oats from a source that does toxin checks, and I am going back to warm porridge mornings. I am experimenting to see how I feel. (Not gonna lie, I am a bit giddy).

It’s interesting when we have full-circle moments with more knowledge. It’s also encouraging to think that sometimes, what our body craves for us intuitively is what is actually right for us, and it’s unique to every person as an individual.

So, as the days grow darker and colder, your girl is going to be out here eating oatmeal in the mornings and lifting her weights. I think I am finally on the path that will take me to where I want to go. A path that looks a lot like my mornings in high school, ironically.

What is life, if not an endless pursuit of curiosity and trying the new and old? Feeling nostalgic…