When you’re in the thick of a difficult time, you feel like there’s no way out!
That’s exactly how I feel right now.
Right now, writing this to you is hard for me.
But maybe this blog post will be part of my healing.
Talking about it and being vulnerable.
“I’m a loser.”
That’s what I’ve been thinking about myself very often lately.
I’m having some weird physical symptoms, and when I’m tested, they tell me I’m healthy.
I’m tired, I have some really bad thoughts about everything, and I’ve gained weight.
I was having a hard time seeing beyond this until this past weekend. I went to a re-licensing seminar for Chiropractors on nutrition, led by Dr. David Seaman, a doctor I really respect. Check him out for yourself.
Guess what – I got inspired AND excited. It was such a good feeling.
I started remembering everything I had forgotten about the brain and food.
I know, I’m a doctor and a coach. I’m supposed to know this stuff inside and out, use it regularly, and never forget it.
It’s the stuff my program is all about; it’s the stuff I teach.
I came alive as I started listening to him. I got excited for you because of all the valuable information I was re-learning to help you wrap your mind around your body and your weight. And then I got even more excited because I realized, once again, I need it too.
Here’s some of the best information I re-remembered!
1. I love Bev Aron – she’s my coach! I need a coach right now, and she’s the best. Thank goodness for coaching. I was just reminded again about its fantasticalness. When you can’t see beyond your own negative thoughts, it feels like there’s no way out. And by yourself, sometimes there isn’t. That’s where coaching is important. I forgot that just because I’m a great coach, doesn’t mean I don’t still fall in the muck. This blog makes it clear that I do. And that’s ok! 🙂
2. Our brains and bodies are severely affected by what we EAT and what we THINK. Flour and sugar are like crack to our poor body systems – all of the same brain regions are activated when we eat these foods and when we have a cocaine addiction.
This weekend, I saw lots of physiology and chemistry research to back this up. Many drugs we take for our most common diseases can be replaced by eating veggies, fruits, lean proteins, nuts, seeds and good fats. (Please don’t try this without talking to your doctor first). Although I already knew this, I’ve been eating more of this “crack” lately and, as a result, I haven’t been feeling well. And because I’ve been feeling bad, I’ve been eating more flour and sugar… and let’s not forget to throw a little wine in there as well!
At the seminar, Dr. Seaman called those of us who ride the flour & sugar merry-go-round on a regular basis, “CRACK HEADS.” When we’re on “crack” our bodies stop functioning properly and our brains… well they act like the brains of addicts. We’ve got to have our flour, sugar, and bad fats – we eat more, more and more of them in hopes we’ll feel better. Instead, we just keep lighting up the addicted regions of our brain – it’s an endless negative cycle. Then we gain weight. If you’re in menopause, it’s even worse!
The primitive part of the brain, called the reptilian brain, loves this because it activates our survival instinct. So we gain weight, and the brain says, “Great – I’ll do everything to help you keep it on.” KEEP it ON!! It’s a losing battle until you find someone to help you out of the muck of your mind, and someone who will help you clean up your addictions. NOT a diet, mind you, but a new way of living.
3. The benefits are using FOOD AS MEDICINE, not as pleasure; helping your body heal itself from food-related diseases, which Dr. Seaman calls the inflammatory diseases. According to him, these include everything you can think of from Type 2 Diabetes to heart disease AND even so many symptoms brought on by Menopause. I included this in my program because so many menopause symptoms disappear when you get off crack, including your belly! Menopausal women aren’t destined to have big bellies unless they’re crack heads.
So now that my coach Bev has cracked open my mind again, and Dr. Seaman has re-energized what I already knew, I know what to do. I now feel inspired and hopeful. I will get myself off “crack” – not so I can lose weight and feel deprived, but so I can get healthy and feel great again. ‘Cause I have seriously been feeling like sh#*!
I know now more than ever where the answer lies for you and for myself; it’s not in a diet or in someone else. It lies in you, in your brain. That doesn’t mean you won’t need help, or you won’t need to change what you eat. But when you do so, you’ll do it from a place that feels so good it’ll feel effortless. But first you have to reset your brain and your body. That’s what I plan on doing. It’s in my program that I already have in place. I just have to re-remember!
I’ve learned from the best and it’s all in there in three phases: Rethink (your mind), Reset (clean up your body), and Reinvent (put it all together again). I’m inspired again, and you can be too.
If you need your mind cracked open or just need to get off the “crack” let’s talk. Click here.
Peace and love,
Dr. Deb
