Food is my Pleasure Center

One thing that comes up regularly with my clients is this:

They tell me they get a lot of pleasure from food, and they express worry that their lives will be less pleasurable without it playing the same role in their lives.

Sometimes the worry is so strong that it is an expression of genuine grief over the loss of a major source of pleasure in their lives. They are feeling lost at where they might get their pleasure if they could not eat whatever they want.

But you know what? There is hope for a fulfilled life even when you say “no” to eating all the things all the time.

How, you may ask?

Well, the very first thing you do is to say “yes” to getting more pleasure from food!

Wait, what? Didn’t you just say…..

Would you like to read more on this topic?

Drinking your Nutrition

Green smoothies are a health food, right?

Not so much. You would think that your body would respond to food in the same way, not caring if you ate it whole or put it in a blender. But you’d be wrong! Your body responds to liquids far differently than it responds to solids.

Interested in reading more?

Emotional Fasting

I have been thinking about fasting lately, including our daily motives for doing so.

I had a conversation recently with a client who was talking about her urge to change-up her fasting routine, to fast longer, because she had overeaten the day before. It got me to thinking, so of course that got me to writing!

Our motives to engage in ANY activity come down to an emotion we are having. And those emotions come from thoughts and directly lead to our results. How we are thinking about fasting has an enormous impact on our health!

Interested in reading more?

Magical Thinking

I used to engage in Magical Thinking in many ways that did not support healthy living.

Now I am amazed that I could believe any of it, really, although it is a perfectly natural phenomenon. But it turned out, that way of thinking was getting in the way of making real and substantial changes in my life.

No more.

Want to learn more?

It’s ok to feel a little sad

It’s ok to feel ​sad at letting go of some of the behaviors you are used to engaging in.

Even if you feel a little sad, don’t let that stop you.

Make a conscious decision, in every single moment, to live intentionally with your better health. 

Believe that you are the person right now who is fully capable of living that life you want to live, no matter what is happening around you, and no matter what the primitive brain is urging you to do. Your consistent decisions are quiet, personal and subtle. If there is internal drama, you are the only one who notices that. To the rest of the world, you are just being a healthier version of you.

Creating the level of health that you intensely desire is the sum of deliberately practicing, in every single moment (including those times when the moment is challenging you), those small and deliberately intentional decisions, even if you feel a little bit of sadness at letting go of old ​and comforting ​behaviors. 

The more you practice, the more the “real you” emerges, separating from the “you” that was simply following along with the toddler brain and sometimes the rest of the world. 

Who do you really want to be?

Is food really making your life better?

When you are 90​,​ and you look back ​on​ your life, will you be glad you ate all the things and felt miserable in your own skin because of it?

You have everything you need to be that new person right now. ​

You can do this.

Is ice cream on your board of directors?

 Does it sometimes seem like food rules your life, making “decisions” on your behalf without you having much say in the matter?  

That sure used to be the case for me. I was a confirmed emotional eater until I learned what was happening inside my brain to create that behavior.

It’s totally normal! Who knew?

But is it useful? Is it helpful to our healthier lives? Is ice cream even qualified for the job?

Let’s talk about Snacking!

“Snacks are necessary to keep my energy up. I need them to keep from getting too hungry. I’m ‘hangry,’ quick, get me a snack! I’m trying to lose weight - must keep my metabolism revved by eating 6 small meals a day.”

Have you ever heard these comments? Or maybe said them yourself? You know what? It’s all made up. None of it is true.

And in fact, you might be shocked at what is happening in your body when you snack between meals. And I am not just talking about your weight. Snacking influences insulin resistance. Inflammation. Leaky gut. Gut biome. Autophagy. Nervous system…

“I want to keep eating sugar. And I hate it!”

A client was doing everything “right,” but still had intense frustration with her urge to eat sugar. She and I shared an exchange about it which she found was a “game changer” for her with her relationship with sugar. I want to share that powerful message with you.

I want to stop craving dessert!

I used to crave dessert after dinner every night.

If I DIDN’T have dessert, I felt something was just not right. It felt like a loop was left open, a bow was left untied. It felt uncomfortable and I felt unsettled.

There is a simple explanation for why I felt that restless feeling: urges for dessert are simple neurological pathways in the brain. And these are powerful!

Want to learn what urges, cravings and habits are made of? And most importantly how to eliminate those that don’t serve you?

We are too comfortable.

Our brains like the status quo and our bodies like homeostasis (stability, staying the same), and lifestyle change, by definition, disrupts both.

Many of us have come to feel that we are never supposed to feel discomfort, that “something is wrong” if we are uncomfortable or we have to work hard. We are bombarded by advertising that reinforces this idea - processed food so we don’t suffer the discomfort of chopping and preparing our food, fast food so we don’t have to wait, diet food so we don’t have to think and plan, food delivered to us so we don’t even have to leave our house!

We are told we “deserve a break today,” we need “comfort food,” we need chocolate when we are down….it goes on and on.

We are supposed to feel uncomfortable, and it matters to our health if we think we shouldn’t.

Want to read more?

Apathy

Have you ever thought about what is in the way of making that initial commitment to healthy change?

It might be simple apathy!

And you know what? Apathy is a normal primitive brain, working normally. Finding it hard to commit to change has nothing to do with your quality of person, your willpower, your courage or anything else.

Want to learn how to overcome apathy?

Want to Confuse your Body?

Why yes! Yes indeed you do!

If your body is used to a steady supply of glucose from what you’ve been feeding it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and likely several snacks, you will have a bit of a transition to look forward to when you switch to Intermittent Fasting!

Want to learn more?

Processed Food

What is it? Why should we care about it? How is it benefitting us? How is it hurting us?

So much to know! And so interesting to learn!

Over drinking

What happens in the brain when we regularly over drink alcohol?

First let me clarify: I am not against alcohol! I really enjoy a beautifully distilled high quality single malt scotch, with just a touch of fresh water added for re-hydration. I am of Scottish descent, so this is part of my genetic heritage. 😊

But it is very interesting to learn what is happening in the brain, particularly if you notice you are over-drinking, or you have friends or family members who do so.

 Understanding is everything!

The Power of our Thoughts

Have you ever considered that the thoughts you are thinking have the power to change both your short-term and your long-term outcomes?

I “considered it,” but I also did not know how to affectively change my thoughts. They were “true”! How can you change “the truth”? I’m generally not an overly negative person, but I certainly saw no point in “thinking positive” when it felt entirely fake to do so. I’m no Pollyanna.

Life is made up of about 50% positive and 50% negative experiences.

Always. All life.

You can be rich, thin, healthy, beautiful, talented, gifted, and all the rest, but your life will still have about 50% negative emotions and experiences. They may be about different things, but the ratio remains about the same.

Learning to listen to our thoughts, and potentially change them, does NOT mean thinking only positive thoughts. You WANT to feel negative emotions when a loved-one dies, or you do something you regret. Plus, you can’t really enjoy the positive unless you have the contrast of the negative.

But what if I am creating MORE negativity by choosing thoughts that are leading to behaviors that are impacting my physical and mental health negatively?

Would you like to learn more about how this works and, most importantly, how to make it work FOR you?

I’m Hungry!

We are often afraid of hunger. I know I sure was.

 I don’t mean true “hunger” where food is scarce and humans are starving. You are not that person if you are reading this right now.

 I just mean the sensation of “being hungry” when food is in abundance.

 In the past, if I were going to be without food for a while, I would eat, even though I wasn’t hungry, so that I wouldn’t get hungry later!

 Pre-emptive eating.

When I wasn’t hungry.

So I would not get hungry.

 Good Grief.

Hunger is a fantastic thing! As long as your body is working normally. Want to learn more?

Urges, Cravings and Habits!

What is an urge?

It is simply a compelling desire to take one action over another – eat sugar in spite of a previous plan to avoid sugar that day for instance.

A craving is the same thing, but more specific.

Crave for a donut, for instance. Or even a specific type of donut.

A Habit is simply a neuropathway in the brain formed by repeatedly acting on those urges and cravings.  

Behaviors and decisions are based on two primary parts of our brain: the prefrontal cortex and the primitive brain.

Once we understand how our brains create urges, cravings and habits, they can be changed to our advantage. Those that do not serve us can be eliminated and we can build healthy habits that serve our higher goals.

Interested in learning more?

Changing Our Relationship With Sugar!

Many of us have had trouble around sugar, myself included.

But you know what? This is completely normal!  If you struggle with what feels like “sugar addiction,” it’s not. It’s just a normal brain doing its normal thing.

And you know what else? It is possible to change your attachment to it!

Desire is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR. And what does that mean? It can be UNLEARNED!

You were not born wanting to eat sugar. Yes, you were born with a brain that gets pleasure from eating sugar, but that is not the same as DESIRING sugar. You did not come out of the womb and immediately want a cookie.

But in order to change our relationship with sugar, we need to understand where it comes from and how it works.

“Intermittent Fasting is a FAD!”

Never thought you would try Intermittent Fasting?

I didn’t either, so I understand the reservations. I was in the exact same mindset a few years ago.

And 99 pounds ago.

Here are some of the things I either said to myself before trying IF, or heard others say:

• If I don’t eat every few hours, I feel terrible – sweaty, lightheaded, shaky, headache, weak and grouchy. I could not possibly try intermittent fasting!

• But you don’t understand! I am otherwise healthy without underlying health problems, but I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia by a doctor and I have to eat every 2 hours to keep my blood sugar up.

• I take medication for my diabetes and the Diabetic Educator told me I had to eat 3 meals and two snacks daily in order to control my blood sugars.

• I will be weak and tired if I skip a meal!

• I thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day!

• I’ve heard my metabolism will go down and I will lose muscle. I don’t want that.

• People will judge me and say I shouldn’t do this and I will be embarrassed and won’t know what to say.

• My doctor does not believe in intermittent fasting and tells me it is a “fad.”

These are all thoughts, and none of them are true.

Want the details? Read the entire article!

You may never look back.

What’s Wrong With Sugar?

Lots.

We’ve been “had” by the food companies who don’t care that they are capitalizing on our ill health. Our government food guidelines are at the mercy of big business so we are misled.

 Our brains and our bodies are naturally captivated.

 We have lost control.

 We think we are addicted.

 But there is hope!

Once we understand what is happening inside our brains and bodies that influence our relationship with sugar, we can gain mastery and improve our health.

Want to learn more about sugar? I’ll teach you all about it.

You will never think about it in the same way as you do now.