TOFI

Thin Outside Fat Inside. Not everyone who eats the Standard American Diet is obese, some don't even look overweight at all. Inside, there is a mess of trouble.  Being a mental health professional I have seen the ill effects on one's mood from an improper diet, and other troubles lurk as well.  I've been doing this "eat clean" for long enough that people I interact with have tried it and shared their TOFI stories, and I'd like to share them with you.  First I will tell mine.
When I made a goal at the beginning of this year to get more toned, I grossly underestimated how hard it would be. I just had to lift weights twice a week, no big deal.  What could happen, a few sore muscles for a while? I can handle that.
I had no idea that I was a TOFI. In 2013 my weight oscillated between 108 and 112, and for a while that year I was up to 115.  I know, that's pretty light, I figured I was just about where I needed to be for a healthy weight at my height (5'1").  I ran two miles three times a week so I thought I was in pretty good shape.  But when I started lifting weights, my body revolted!  I got sore muscles alright, and a nice helping of fatigue, headaches, dizzy spells, and depression. Wait! I thought exercise was supposed to make you have more energy, less depressed, and why on earth did the dizzy spells come back???  Because I was still eating refined food and sugar.
You can eat your way through any workout.  On the outside I looked thin and petite, on the inside my body was still out of balance digestively, mentally, and hormonally, and it was evident when I tried to pretend I was strong enough to weight train.  In 2011 I tried an alkaline diet of all veggies, nuts, oils, and water, and I my weight went down to 103, and my doctor was alarmed and thought I had hypothyroidism.  I felt weak and didn't have much energy, my attempts at lifting weights or doing any anarobic exercise was pitiful, so I thought it was dangerous for me to be that weight. Nope. 100-103 is actually what my weight is now, the difference is in addition to eating whole foods I'm eating sufficient protein and pancreatic enzymes are helping me digest fat, so the fat on the inside is gone and my balance is restored. I'm lifting weights regularly without ill side effects, my muscles are gaining definition, and where I could barely do my circuits with a 3 pound weight before, I've been 6 months on 5 pounds and I'm ready to move up to the 8 pound weights. And that's just one example of the benefits of being thin outside and in.  I don't get head colds! My kids will get them and all the germs just seem to pass by me.  I have less anxiety, less moodiness, increased stamina in many ways--physically and mentally.  I just hope my efforts are not "too little too late" as my pancreas does seem to be chronically damaged from 35 years being TOFI. 
Imagine my delight to know I'm not the only one who has seen positive fruits from eating clean.  I asked a client who I suspected was a TOFI to instead of having her antidepressant medication dosage increased, try to go one month avoiding sugar and refined foods to see if it helps.  She agreed, but I didn't see her again for over a month, so I figured she thought I was a crazy anti sugar extremist and would never come back. When she did make a follow up appointment she reported that she did not have to increase her medication dosage, because she noticed when she went a month off sugar the "heavy depressive" feelings went away!  She still had some anxiety, but not as much, and she was actually doing so well she didn't make another therapy appointment, but started falling apart again when she went to visit her parents and stopped being so strict on her eating.  How simple the solution! (Simple but not easy.)
I have another client who stated that she notices she sleeps better when she eats well, and her son who has emotional dysregulation disorder is less disruptive when he doesn't eat sugar. My sister Heidi started eating sugar free and got pregnant after 4 months of trying with no success, and what is more amazing, she doesn't have nearly the intense morning sickness and nausea she had with her other kids!  She attributes it to eating clean, thin on the inside!  My brother in law decided to "do a lean out" as he calls it and stop eating refined foods and sugar, and he not only lost a lot of weight but reported that his allergies this season somehow aren't as bad as they usually are!  Amazing and wonderful!  I love hearing stories about the benefits people experience from eating clean. It's not just about the weight, although that is important to control, it's about overall health.  Lets be TOHI (thin outside and healthy inside) not TOFI!
"You already know that your food choices impact the blood sugar-regulating hormones insulin and glucagon, but they affect a myriad of other hormones as well.  From health challenges like acne, hypothyroidism, poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, low testosterone, or even fertility complications to mood swings, painful periods, or menopause, I always recommend getting blood sugar regulation under control as the first step.
"Here's the thing about blood sugar regulation: If its not working properly, then the rest of your hormonal balance can and likely will suffer."--Diane Sanfilippo