Want To Break That Addiction?

You don't HAVE to change.

I'm really stubborn if I feel like someone is trying to control me.

Christina Santini coaches health a-z incl. addictions
+ eating disorders in office in Los Angeles + Skype.

Like, I can't even control myself for crying out loud. So I've had to figure out a way to trick myself into doing what is essentially best for me without me getting all rebellious and whatnot. If I set some boundaries I can be sure that it is only a matter of time before every cell in me will itch to go beyond that line. Because I don't like rules. They feel so confining. Mind you, that is even those rules that I have chosen to set for myself because I know I should stick to them. I do like values - and I think integrity and living according to your core values is crucial.

This stubborn 5-year old mentality has led me to tap into how I can use intrinsic motivation to change. The only way I can change and motivate myself to implement better behaviors is to tap into WHY would I want to do this -- because I don't absolutely have to. I don't have to do anything absolutely, in fact. 

Yes, there are consequences if I don't - but then I am doing this because I WANT to, so I can avoid dealing with the consequences. That's valid. 

Do you get this? Because if we simply tell ourselves "well, you gotta stop eating burgers and fries, cos you're fat" - which is in fact, what most of us tell ourselves along with other nasty adjectives daily that we don't even notice because they're on autoplay, brainwashed by magazines, tv and peer pressure - we will get very resentful, focus on the negative and what we CAN'T do - and where focus goes energy flows. So sooner or later we will do what we are focusing on not to do.

Here's the thing, though, none of us like to be told what to do. We like to do stuff because it feels good from within our soul. We like to do stuff that nurtures our core values and resonates with who we are.

That is, when we know who we are.

And that's where the struggle lies for a lot of us: We have no clue who we are, we just know that we feel disconnected, and we have a void that we want to fill. With something and anything - so we try diets to fit into skinny jeans. 

When that gets boring, and we really... like... REALLY... want that double stuffed chocolate cake with a layer of whipped cream, then we decide we binge for a while. 

When that gets boring and our jeans don't fit anymore, we go to the bars and pick up guys, girls or both or many or whatever rocks our boat. 

When that gets old, we chase money. That can sometimes last a lifetime - always chasing something that we can complain about is the root to all our sorrows in life. When in fact we are just using it to project our inner dysfunction onto something external, and remove the weight of responsibility from our own shoulders. Nice, but not so nice - because when we don't carry the weight of responsibility, we can't change, we are stuck in status quo complaining aimlessly over everything and everyone but us. And this leads to resentment and bitterness in the end: We feel that we didn't get in life what we deserved. When, in fact, we didn't really even try. We didn't make the effort, we just hummed along in the herd making a lot of noise, but not really going anywhere, as we didn't want to venture out on new grounds. We just did the minimum of what (we thought) was expected of us to fit in and stuck to the rest of the flock. All humming along to the same old tune. That's the comfort zone. Unfortunately, the comfort zone is not very comfortable in the long run. 

It's a pretty dirty place in fact. 

The key to change is to ask yourself: Why might you want to change in the first place? And why is that reason important TO YOU? 

Remember no one absolutely has to do anything. We change because we want to. We change when we can't stop ourselves from reconnecting with our core values and calling in life. We change when we tap into that motivation within.

We change because we want to become a better person - only you know what that person looks like, feels like and acts like, in your skin.

So ask yourself one simple question: Why MIGHT you want to change?

And why is THAT reason important TO YOU?

Because you don't HAVE to.
No one absolutely has to do anything.
You too have been granted free will, you are not a passive victim being pushed around even if that's what you are telling yourself. You can always choose not to change. It's your decision. 

What's YOUR relationship with FOOD?

Eating takes us to the CORE of who we are - what we believe we are worth and can achieve in this life. Don't underestimate the importance of the way you eat with the way you carry yourself in life and the results you get elsewhere. How you act in one area transcends to every area of your life - are you present when you eat? Do you listen to people when they talk to you - or are you eating over your laptop and pulling out your iphone whenever at a social setting, stuffing yourself with chips or counting the calories that pass your lips and believe you need to burn off bad calories at the gym.
That is not normal behavior, regardless of how accepted it is in our instant-gratification and vanity driven society. Healthy is not the woman in the gym with the perfect body, who eats the perfect raw vegan or whatever diet. The woman on the treadmill who controls every morsel passing her lips, posting pictures of her abs on instagram and facebook - living in misery. There is no pleasure, and yet our society is praising for that type of behavior - woman and man alike. And it is NOT healthy. These behaviors do NOT make you happy. They make you controlling, restrictive and moody. And yes, this affects your intimacy level and close relationships as well.

Success is being happy, vibrant and well-nourished activating our potential in life regardless of what we look like - it's time to let go of that shallow judgment we all do when we decide whether someone is healthy and successful - because most people with perfect abs are NOT happy - they're controlling and restrictive and severely insecure. We must stop this insanity. We cannot move forward if all our time is spent talking about weight loss and measuring our fat percentages - it has got to stop.

Are you overriding your hunger cues; did your relationship fall to pieces because you didn't listen and pick up the signals that started months, years before? Same baseline qualities manifesting in different ways in life.

If you enjoy food - savor the bites, the flavors of life, usually you will find your connections to humans also deepen, because you have trained yourself to be present and pick up subtle signals in the moment, before they turn into red flags (overeating/restricting/relationship break-ups/etc. etc.).

Our eating is connected to our intimacy, love, money, our values and what we believe life is. That's why HOW you eat is equally important to WHAT you eat. Eating is connected to a primary domain of life... changing your eating, changes your life on a much more profound level than getting healthy, looking good etc. etc.

Do you get how important this is? Changing your relationship with food will TRANSFORM your LIFE!

The online conference for eating psychology is running online right now  - check it out here, it's great stuff.

High candy intake linked to lack of impulse control.

Sugar addiction rewires your brain and affects
the neurotransmitters involved in impulse control.

A study comparing children’s candy intake to conviction of crime in adulthood suggests that there is a link. Children who ate candy daily at age 10 were more likely to have been convicted of crime at age 34 years.  69 % of people convicted of violent crimes at age 34 reported eating candy every day in childhood. In comparison only 42 % of the nonviolent study participants ate candy frequently. The scientists speculate that this correlation may be due to lack of impulse control, as they become used to instant gratification. 

Another explanation is that their brain chemistry suffers from a diet high in candy and low in nutrients; ultimately leading to poor brain functioning in impulsive behavior. The average person eats 153 pounds of sugar a year, which is equivalent to over half a cup a day. The average teenage boy eats twice as much sugar as any other age or sex group. Sugar is one of the major components of our diet, and any relation between sugar and behavior is of major interest. There is a plenty of information on sugar and children. However, much of it is controversial: some research shows that it does cause hyperactivity and aggressiveness. Other research shows that it does not seem to cause abnormal behavior. Research by Alexander Schauss, author of Diet, Crime and Delinquency, shows that when sugar is removed from children’s diet, their school grades go up. 

Basically, sugar cravings are a symptom of an imbalance in your brain chemistry. When you self-medicate on high-sugary foods you experience a short-term relief due to the release of serotonin as well as a spike in blood-sugar levels. Both of which makes us feel good instantly. However, this type of self-medication leads to a gradual nutrient depletion. Once the high of the sugar rush wears off, you will be craving your next fix – you are caught in a vicious cycle. 

There are certain associations with specific neurotransmitter deficiencies and food cravings. 

Here is an overview to determine what you might be lacking based on the symptoms you are experiencing:

Craving                   Symptom                          Brain Chemical               Natural Remedy
Sweet + Caffeine -> Weight + Low Energy->  Dopamine  -> Tyrosine, B12, Ginseng, Green Tea

Fatty Foods   ->  Memory + Attention issue->Acetylcholine -> Choline, Omega-3, B-complex

Carbs + Alcohol ->  Anxiety + Sleep issue -> Serotonin or GABA-> Inositol, NAC, Tryptophan

To pinpoint exactly which vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids that you might be running low on, along with determining the effective dosage for your specific biochemistry type, requires an in-depth diet analysis. However, loading up on some of the most basic nutrients in non-toxic doses is usually always a good idea. 

Always consult your doctor if you are on medication that may interfere with specific supplements.

Reference:

More S. et al: Confectionery consumption in childhood and adult violence. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2009;195(4): 366-7. 

Your Brain On Sugar - the legal coke?

The reason we love the sweet, fatty ice cream is due to the spike in beta-endorfines - acting like natural painkillers. The very picture of this food invokes a dopamine response, so that the addictive anticipation of the high already starts when flipping through the cook book, looking at the commercial, or passing by the ice cream shop.

You can, however, rebalance your brain chemistry so that your addictive response is not out of your control anymore.

All you need is to be strongwilled - just say no. Saying no doesn't work when you are fighting an imbalanced brain chemistry - it is like driving a car without brakes; you just can't stop (the craving).

Watch Dr. Nora Volkow explain the biology of food addiction vs. drug addiction on CBS 60 minutes.

The Biology of Your Cravings.

Cookie Monster is a perfect example of someone

with a low level of serotonin,

 and perhaps also an excess of dopamine,

making for an anxious, aggressive personality type 

of a carb-loving furry friend.

One of the most typical issues I deal with in my work as a medical nutritionist, is helping clients break addictive behaviors around foods - especially high-carb foods. Cravings and out-of-control eating is always, always linked to brain chemistry imbalances, along with a series of other potential triggers that vary depending on genetic blueprint.

If you fail to recognize the underlying biochemistry imbalances, then you will struggle with this for the rest of your life. One thing I can promise you, is that if left untreated, it will only get worse. That is why 95% of all diets fail - they are not balancing your brain- and biochemistry, rather they are worsening the existing biochemistry problem that caused you to gain weight in the first place! Whether it be an imbalance linked to low metabolic rate (your dopaminergic neurotransmitter system), or it be one associated with addictive and binge behavior patters (your serotonergic neurotransmitter system).

Brain chemistry imbalances and triggers are highly individual and can be pin-pointed according to your genotype via specific lab tests, of which I’ll take you through the most relevant to detect what is causing your cravings. Keep in mind, cravings may be due to an isolated factor or multiple imbalances/allergies, and each one needs to be addressed, before they completely vanish. But vanish they will, once you focus on the cause - which is an imbalanced biology, rather than doing the same thing over and over again. White-knuckling it on one fad diet or another, yet you continue to expect a different outcome. Maybe this time, maybe Monday - it is wishful thinking and you know it.

So let’s go over the most common triggers associated with cravings, and why that cookie jar is oh-so appealing in the late hours...(...)

Read the full shenanigans on FoodFacts here.

Skinny Vanilla Latte Linked to Stroke. Oh, and obesity, cancer, binge eating, palpitations and drug-relapse.

The main issue I have with aspartame is its ability to alter serotonin level and thereby affect everything involved in a balanced mind-body connection - heart rhythm, anger outbursts, insomnia, cravings for drugs, carbs etc. Why I drink my latte with full fat raw milk, pure cream (low casein a1 and lactose) or simply a nut milk; preferably cashew milk. And that's it. If you must have the sweet fix to mask the delectable taste of roasted coffee beans.. which is beyond me... then go for plain, real sugar; your body and brain knows that stuff on a biochemical level and can burn it off. End of story, no permanent damage done. Don't be fooled by the zero calorie count on the nutrasweet pack. It's brain garbage.

Reference: Drug Chem Toxicol. Epub 2012 Mar 2.
Long-term consumption of aspartame and brain antioxidant defense status.
Abhilash M, Sauganth Paul MV, Varghese MV, Nair RH.

Change Your Body Set-point.

If you've reached a weight-loss plateau, or even having difficulty losing any weight in spite of monitoring every morsel that passes your lips, you need to change your metabolism and brain chemistry, as these two factors are what will ultimately determine if you are able to keep your body-fat down, get ripped abs and no longer struggle with the munchies. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again: fat-burning has NOTHING to do with willpower, but everything to do with brainpower, and understanding how to harness the power of your brain chemistry and genotype - matching it with the right supplements, amino therapy and dietary strategies for your unique genetic blueprint and brain chemistry wiring.

There are, however, a couple factors that you may not be aware of that are crucial in order to kickstart your body into fat-burning gear:

You can change your metabolism:  A study of sets of twins where one was fat and the other thin found that fat cells in heavier twins underwent metabolic changes that make it more difficult to burn fat.  Physical activity can reverse the effect.

Stress can make you fat: Stressful circumstances can cause cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. Stress hormones also increase fat storage.

Zac Efron- His physique is not a matter of willpower:
He doesn't stick to a fanatic diet or exercise regime;
it simply flows - because what he is doing,
whether conscious or not about it,
matches his genetic blueprint!

Sleep more to promote weight loss:  Sleep deprivation upsets your hormone balance, triggering a decrease in leptin (a hormone that helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (a hormone that triggers hunger).

Sugar is addictive:  Research has determined that foods people like excite the same parts of the brain that are activated in drug addicts.

Antioxidants are also anti-fat:  Free radicals damage the cells that tell you that you're full. Get rid of them by eating colorful, antioxidant-rich vegetables.

Pine Nut Oil Suppress Appetite: In a paper being presented in an American Physiological Society session at Experimental Biology 2006, "the greatest effect was observed after just 30 minutes, with the 18 women reporting a 29% reduction in "desire to eat" and a 36% drop in "prospective food intake" scores. The experiment found a parallel and significant increase in cholecystokinin (CCK) of 60% and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) of 25% that remained as long as four hours after ingestion. CCK and GLP1 are appetite suppressors, which "send signals of satiation to the brain diminishing the desire to eat and food intake usually significantly


To determine your genetic blueprint you can sign up online for a metabolic typing session with The Nutrition Doctor here - the web portal will be online in September.

According to New DSM-5 Criteria: YOU're An Addict!

Well, more likely than not the new criteria will open up for future inclusion of disorders that were previously diagnosed as impulse control disorders rather than actual addictions. However, fact remains that a lot of those behaviors, prescription meds and chemicals added to foods these days directly stimulate our dopaminergic neurotransmitter system which is one of the key pathways in your reward system activated by drugs such as coke, speed, meth etc.

And another interesting aspect is that internet, texting etc. stimulate dopamine boosts as well - making for a generation that is used to instant gratification and has a super vulnerable brain chemistry for hard-core drugs; or simply a chronic need for stimulation that goes hand in hand with a low tolerance to pain (emotionally and physically). This makes for the perfect "binge" generation that constantly seek out distractions they can numb out in to avoid feelings (sex, cutting, shopping, drugs, food, gambling, texting, online stimuli, stealing, lying, gaming, hysteria and rage tantrums etc. etc.). And because everyone these days are doing something to manage the everyday pain of life, when you are not content in the skin you are in and the life that YOU ultimately have chosen to live... we have indeed become a nation of addicts - as I see it.

Because everyone's an addict does not make it right - it's a problem, and it's growing as both our environment, food and norms are supporting various addictions that overlap.

Look, I know what you're thinking "Oh come on now! Give me a break! No one's perfect!" That's not the point. The point is, there is a very...very... fine line before something, that we trick ourselves into thinking that we are in control of, gets in control of us. And if you can't go even a week without your drug/behavior of choice, without throwing fits of rage or crying over everything and nothing, there is a problem that is not going to disappear on its own.

Once you stop engaging in your distractions, you'll realize how you really feel about your life... and that is not always pretty.

When you are not happy in the skin you are in without numbing yourself out; it's only a matter of time before you will find yourself controlled by behaviors or substances... where every decision you make depends on whether you will be able to ultimately get your fix... so you only see your friends during "happy hour"... cos if it's not happy hour, you're not happy. Don't get me wrong: I love my Amarone too! But there's a huge difference between "nice to have" and "need to have". And "need to have" is never nice.

And on a side note - Sylvester Stallone's son, Sage, has just been found dead in his LA apartment. Make no mistake: Addiction will kill you - it is a slow suicide. And sometimes, not so slow. You can get the latest details on this on TMZ.



"The fact that binge drinking is so pervasive among college students and other young people indicates not that it is the norm, and therefore OK (not a problem), but that it is a very big problem indeed. Arguing otherwise is like saying that since so many Americans are obese, it needn’t be addressed because it is a cultural norm."

- The Fix

Read more about the controversy about the new diagnosing criteria to be included in the DSM 5 here.

Autistic Kids: It's A Nutrigenomic Issue!

Cute kid. Unfortunately, the stereotypical breakfast
of milk and cereal is one of the top triggers
of autism and the associated not-quite-so-cute behavior.
A breakfast overflowing with opioids found in milk and wheat gluten
- whole grain or not, besides the point here.

When kids suffer from behavioral disorders, looking into food allergies and nutrient therapy is crucial. Genetic traits and brain chemistry imbalances are hereditary and gradually worsened through generations; so if you haven't taken care of yourself by matching your lifestyle to your unique metabolic type, you can be sure to see a worsening of your vulnerabilities showing in your kids.

Autism have become one of the most widespread issues amongst kids these days; however, it is very easily treated if you understand how autistic symptoms relate to brain chemistry and triggered by opioids found in common food products.

So what characterizes the brain of a kid suffering with autism?
Autistic children generally have high levels of serotonin in their blood platelets, but LOW level of “free” serotonin. This may mean high serotonin in blood cells, but low serotonin in brain!

Research also comments on the fact that autistic children have high beta-endorphin levels. The literature does not reference baseline beta-endorphin but talks about an exaggerated stress response. Measuring beta-endorphin evokes stress, so the high levels they see may be a function of the exaggerated stress reaction. Stress evokes BE, and generally serotonin modulates the spike. If the serotonin system is impaired, there could be nothing to tone the beta-endorphin spike down so there would be a constant spiking and crashing.

BE is designed to kill pain, it creates “numb”. This can be life saving in a crisis, but it does not do well for bonding. Researchers used a drug called Naltrexone that sits in beta-endorphin receptor sites and does not allow the heightened BE reaction to charge the system; thus the kids treated had fewer autistic symptoms. However, this method does nothing but treat the symptoms temporarily (you can't be on these drugs forever - as with anything, there are side effects that only worsen over time causing a multitude of other health problems); it does not target the underlying issue.

Sugar, wheat gluten and dairy contain opioid peptides and raise BE levels more. So we know there is a direct link between the biochemistry imbalances that are associated with autism and that which are dietary related!

What to do now? 

Well, if your kid suffers with autism, even if you don't have the financial means to have a brain chemistry and metabolic typing done (contact for more info), you will want to try this out for 28 days (my experience is that in 90% of cases this solves the issue): move your kids to a food plan that has no wheat, no hard-core dairy (whey protein powder is ok because it does not have casein), and no sugar.

Anderson, G. M., D. X. Freedman, et al. (1987). Whole blood serotonin in autistic and normal subjects. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 28(6): 885-900.

Anderson, G. M., A. W. Zimmerman, et al. (2004). Autism clinical trials: biological and medical issues in patient selection and treatment response. CNS Spectr 9(1): 57-64.

Blum, I. , Y. Vered, et al. (1992). The influence of meal composition on plasma serotonin and norepinephrine concentrations. Metabolism 41(2): 137-40.

Buitelaar, J. K. (2003). Why have drug treatments been so disappointing? Novartis Found Symp 251: 235-44; discussion 245-9, 281-97.

Bursztejn, C., P. Ferrari, et al. (1988). Metabolism of serotonin in autism in children]. Encephale 14(6): 413-9.

Cazzullo, A. G., M. C. Musetti, et al. (1999). Beta-endorphin levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and long-term naltrexone treatment in autistic children. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 9(4): 361-6.

Awakenings.

Living the lie. 

I believe it's human nature to be an addict. 
And I also believe that the temptation to give in to instant gratification makes for an outcome where we tend to gravitate towards ultimately (self)destructive behaviors that we become addicted to by repeating them again and again; reinforcing the reward mechanism and mapping out new paths for pleasure in our brain.

A brain that gets addicted to misery, unnatural highs and extreme lows. Insanity becomes our new sanity. We feel comfortable when we engage in patterns that our brain is used to recognizing and rewarding with a cascade of pleasure chemicals such as endorphins, serotonin, glutamate and dopamine. Every high, every instant gratification, outburst of rage... whatever our shadow is... is followed predictably with a crash. And so we must do it again - and often times in a more extreme manner, as we adapt to drugs and behaviors; dopamine is only stimulated by novelty. We get used to this way of being, and our brain responds with pain whenever we try to change our ingrained behaviors. Because it has no reward system attached to the new (healthier) habits we are trying to develop. Yet, that is.

Addiction is not limited to drugs - it's everything and anything.
Shopping, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, cutting, gambling, Internet and... even something like being a drama queen. You become addicted to the highs and lows, and your constant fits of rage and hysteria... you are actually turned on (unconsciously) by the emotional pornography and manipulative spiel you participate in. When you engage in a fight with someone, your body releases beta-endorphins - our natural painkillers - which are highly addicting. So yes, even "personalities" can be addictive.

Destructive behaviors are tempting for our basic instincts, when we have not become conscious yet. They tap into our shallow desires on a very primitive level. Now I am all for following basic instincts, but you need to be able to be driven on a much deeper level than what feels like s prickling sensation on your skin. Sensations come and go - passion (with reason) remains. But much worse is that when you give into the prickling, tingling sensation on your skin, it typically slits your veins when you least expect it, and leaves scars that often run soul deep.

So how do you know when you are following a shallow temptation?
When you are not selling your soul, you need no legislation or permission from anyone. Because it feels right. When you try to manipulate yourself and others by giving a thousand reasons why something is OK. It's not. It goes against your core beliefs. You can play mind-games with yourself. Distract yourself. Tell yourself you are fine. Everything is fine. Everybody else is doing it.

Wait. What. When did something become right, just because everyone else is doing it? 

Everybody's doing it... is how the worst scenarios in history unfolded.
Your life being no exception to this excuse.

Look yourself in the mirror. Do you recognize yourself? Self-loathing is tied to selling yourself short.
Why is this message so important for me to repeat over and over again - because I know this is the key to unlock every human being's bright light and endless potential. I know how painful it is to be a sleepwalker. And once you wake up, you can't go back to sleep.
All the pain and misery we feel is tied to a longing to connect with ourselves on a soul level. Follow your calling and become you. Become whole. And suddenly life is not that hard anymore.

Life, in fact, is very easy. 

Don't follow the herd as they run off the cliff, because that is essentially what we are doing - look around you - how many are not struggling with some type of destructive behavior to deal with life. AND LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. It's not that tough, it really isn't - it's all in our minds. And whether we choose to numb ourselves and ignore who we really are.


It is living the lie that is killing us and leads us down a road towards lifestyle diseases due to the suicidal lifestyles we choose to "cope" with the lies we tell ourselves - and others.
I don't have to tell you what's right - you know it. I don't know your truth. I don't know the lies you tell. But anyone who is not a sleepwalker can recognize the pain and suffering in others that are still lost in a haze.
If something makes you smile - just makes you radiate from within - do it, and do it again. Because then it's right. Everything else is tied to lies. You always get that slight metallic aftertaste that you need to wash down with a couple drinks if not. Just a little Anesthesia to take the edge off of your contradicting choices in life.

You numb yourself into unconsciousness.
And with no consciousness we don't think about the long-term consequences. All that matters is here and now. Typically because our choices cause chronic pain we get stuck in a drive for release this very moment, right now... want it now, need it now... nowNOWnow!
Or we will simply go insane. Or so we feel.

Posing for the cameras.
How many drugs does this lie take to sustain.

Feelings.
Of pain, rejection, discomfort in the skin you are in.
And wherever you look, there is a giant billboard screaming with a commercial for whatever "drug" or behavior you engage in; that you are fine. Everything is fine. This is normal. You are normal.
Paris Hilton does it. JLO is doing it. Heck, even your neighbor is doing it.
Do they seem like happy people to you? Why do you think they need all that makeup, botox and designer clothes... to cover up their hollowness inside... this is not rocket science.

Have you looked at how normal people are feeling and living lately?
All the silent screams. All the tears that never dry. All the pretension; the constant legalization of whatever we are doing, it's OK. Distracting yourself. Pretending it's not happening.

Go ahead dive in. Be part of the misery. Sell your soul.

Because that is essentially what you are doing, when you switch off the lights. Drowning in the darkness. 

And yet, if you can recognize any of these thought-patterns, it's too late to turn around, to go back to sleep, because you have seen the cuts... the blood stains on the floor. The vividly red streams cutting into the deep bottomless black that is within every human being.

Once you have awoken from your sleep, there is no escape. All EXITS are locked. You can either swim or drown, but you can't tread water anymore. Knowledge is power, but it comes with responsibility to take action.
You can't know and NOT do: If you've chosen to pull the curtain, you must stand up to whatever sight comes with it. There is no sneak-peaking once the curtain falls.

The first step is to wake up and stop pretending.

However painful that may be.

Living in denial of your shadow.

The stronger the repulsion, the stronger the hate, the stronger the disdain for whatever or whomever... you can be sure, it is your own dark side.
Stop pretending. Get real. Switch on the light. Embrace your dark side.

Or self-destruct.

An Addict's Tale.

The Scaredy Cat
An Excerpt from Courage: Overcoming Fear & Igniting Self-Confidence
By Debbie Ford

The Nutrition Doctor: Addiction is a form of self-defense mechanism. 

When you are scared of breaking, scared of rejection, 

scared of not being good enough in the skin you are in, 

it's all too easy to give in to addiction (drugs, food, sex, shopping, 

abusive relationships, internet, cutting etc. etc.) to create a shell. 

A false sense of self where you excude self-confidence. 

But it's not self-worth, and thus you continue to strive for more; 

nothing is ever enough til you reconnect with your genuine self,

 and feel comfortable in the skin you're in. Shine like the star you are.

The Nutrition Doctor uses both coaching and amino acid therapy 

to balance your body, mind and soul; breaking the chains of addiction.

"From as far back as I can remember, they used to call me Scaredy Cat. I was known as little scrawny Debbie Ford who hid beneath her mother's dress, ran from anyone who wanted to say hello, and could never fall asleep without the lights on. Always in fear that somebody was going to leap out of the shadows and hurt me, I learned to hide in corners and sneak peeks at what was going on around me. I wasn't more than two years old before I became the neighborhood child who got teased, taunted, and made the brunt of too many stupid pranks. I was vulnerable and scared. I was the youngest of three children and found out early on that no one was going to protect me. It was clear by my third birthday that my older sister, whom I idolized, and my brother, whom I believed to be my savior, were bored with my Scaredy Cat act and wished I would grow up and be normal like them.

As I got older, I learned that scaredy cats weren't widely accepted. Just like with my brother and sister, I could see that my guarded and anxious persona wasn't very appealing out in the world. I wanted to be strong and confident but instead I was suspicious and fearful. Everything about who I was embarrassed me. I was awkward and yet wanted nothing more than to fit in and have the confidence of my older sister Arielle. With her long dark hair, she was the shining star who never seemed to be bothered by anything. I began a search to discover how I could feel that way too.

Controlled by my fear and my deeply ingrained insecurities, I made a dramatic decision to turn into the girl that I thought others wanted me to be, not the girl that I was. I began to cover up my authentic, kind nature with a new "I don't give a crap" attitude. And my warm and loving heart quickly grew cold, turning away from feelings of playfulness, affection, and compassion and toward cynicism and belligerence. The pain, humiliation and fear drove me to become someone other than who I was. I created an outer shell that would protect me and yet separate me from my inner truth. But it was a price I was willing to pay. I no longer would have access to the real me as I became a self-hater who lost the courage to feel her emotions or to be seen as she was.

By my early 20’s, I had, I believe, successfully created an outer image that would trick even the best investigator. But after years of working that façade, it cracked open once again when I lost control of the drugs I had started using to fuel my false confidence. I became a pretty girl with a bad problem, otherwise known as a drug addict. When I knew I would have to get help or die, I checked into one drug treatment center after another. When I knew that I had finally reached my last chance, I let go and, as life would have it, I found peace. On the dirty bathroom floor of my fourth drug treatment center, I connected with a power greater than myself. For the first time, I went from scared, insecure, lonely, and weak to peaceful, present, and confident.

This connection happened in just a few moments. Without drugs, sugar, a man, or money, I found the courage to fight my addiction and win the internal war that was waging within. I found my power and inner strength, and for the first time in my life, I felt free and knew that I had discovered the golden key to confidence and courage. When I finally got up off that bathroom floor, I knew that all along I had been missing something inside myself – this inner connection. This power hidden within me was trying to deliver a message that would change my life.

Now I love and nurture the Scaredy Cat part of myself. I don't try to make it go away or be anything other than what it is -- a part of me that carries my fear. When I fail to acknowledge and have compassion for my fearful self, I wind up in a downward spiral of negativity. Sound familiar? When I acknowledge my fear and stay open to the gifts that it holds, I have access to the confidence and courage that I need to be authentically who I am.

Although suppressed fear is the culprit behind terrible suffering, when fear is embraced it acts as the fuel that propels you into a world of courage and confidence. Befriended fear is a worthy ally urging us to move forward in the areas of our lives where we are unfulfilled or emotionally challenged.

If fear is stopping you from reaching your goals, getting the love you want, asking for what you need or being bold and audacious to be the powerful you that you were born to be, then there is only one thing missing, and that is courage."


Biography
Debbie Ford is a New York Times bestselling author of nine books and an internationally acclaimed teacher, speaker, transformational coach, film-maker and expert in the field of personal transformation. She has guided tens of thousands of extraordinary people to learn to love, trust and embrace all of who they are. Debbie is the founder of The Ford Institute for Transformational Training, the renowned personal and professional training organization which offers emotional and spiritual education based on her body of work to individuals and organizations around the world. She is also the creator and leader of The Shadow Process Retreat.

YOU ARE FAT! ...yeah, and so what?

Ad to fight child obesity in Georgia.
Is this helping the solve the cause of the issue,
or only  ridiculing it, making it even more difficult to get to the core of the issue.

This ad left me feeling slightly discombobulated, to say the least. 

My initial reaction was, "how dare they!... That is just tasteless!"

Admittedly, working with body image issues and eating disorders, as one of my specialties, by balancing those brain chemistry imbalances that are at play in combination with working with behavioral change modification, I am quite opinionated when it comes to ed triggers and body image issues presented in society.

Even though above ad is clearly crossing the line for good taste by inspiring other kids to make fun of the fat kids in school - I think it would be refreshing, if we could all get to a point where fat is just that: fat. You are fat. Yes. And so what - nothing to cry about. I am not telling you, you are worthless or stupid or unloveable - far, far from it!

Love vs. Lust.

We seem to forget - consciously or not - that being fat has nothing to do with your qualities as a human being or how lovable you are. You are very lovable! Never forget that the size of your derriere has NOTHING to do with how much someone loves you! Don't fall victim to not being able to decipher the difference between lust and love. Everyone can be lusted upon - only few are those who you will connect with on a soul level and love. You are selling yourself short if you aim for lust instead of love. Lust cannot replace love. Ever.

Yeah, you have fat. And I have kidney disease. Same, same but different.

I think a lot of us, when we overreact to hearing the words "you are fat", don't realize that sure enough, this may be said as an insultment, but in the end - it really isn't. It is just like saying "you have kidney disease". That is, if our society wasn't completely brainwashed by unrealistic ideals and a tendency to connect the bulge on your waistline with self-worth.

Health care professionals need to get the big picture of how we are contributing to poor body image and unconsciously sending a message to our clients of connecting bodyfat% with their worth as human beings. 

As a health practitioner or parent it is NOT OK to ignore the fact that someone is fat. 

And it is NOT OK to ridicule it either, of course. 

It is never OK to ridicule, whatever the matter is, so that's really not the point of this post.

Facts are facts.

If someone is overweight, we need to explain this to them in a neutral manner: that this will in fact kill them. And that's a fact. Curves are hot and scrawny is not. But come on now - we all now the difference between having curves and being obese. Obesity is a disease that needs to be targeted as such. Not a freakin' mental illness or taboo. 

Especially professionals working in the eating disorder field get terrified of ever mentioning to a client anything about too much weight, as they fear this could trigger relapse.

But guess what: clients are not stupid. And they are not going to trust someone who tells them that every shape and size is great. Every single one of us knows what size we feel most comfortable being, and we need to connect this with what is realistic considering the demands of our lifestyle.

Nervous Nellies

Messed up and sick body images that can only be achieved by starving yourself on a less than 1500 kcal diet is not something that anyone should aim for. That is where we as health care practitioners must work with the client on a wake-up call. If you are not an athlete or paid to starve yourself like every runway model these days do (often suppressing hunger pans with coke or "getting off" on starving themselves due to genetically elevated serotonin levels, which I have written about in another post on this blog), then don't go there. You cannot lead a healthy and balanced life with a bodyfat% in the single digits or a BMI below 18 (and don't forget the BMI was developed to also cater for small-framed asians - so if you are a of a big-boned caucasian descent, BMI of below 20 is probably not happening without a struggle for it). No - those people who claim that they are naturally that scrawny, often use drugs to mess with their body's set-point - and that includes cigarettes. 

Having too little fat makes you a nervous nelly. Your nerves need a bit of fat on your derriere to be cool and collected. And that's a fact.

But in the end: fat is just that - fat. It's like your doctor telling you, you have kidney disease. And hey, you need to do something about it. Or else, it sure as heck will do something about you.

Reframing our minds to accept the fact that fat is just fat and NOTHING else value based, is probably one of the biggest paradoxical obstacles right now in the health field. This is key to developing a streamlined approach to how we attack this epidemic in a tasteful and neutral manner. Without sweet lies that no-one really believes in, and that only makes for a distrustful relationship between health care practitioner and client.

Flawed Food Al!ergy Testing!

Most allergy testing labs limit what they measure. They typically only look at one or two types of antibodies or immunoglobulins.  Humans make five different types of antibodies, but also have other types of chemical reactions to allergens. The diagram below illustrates the comprehensive delayed allergy response.

When doctors look for gluten sensitivity, they typically only measure IgG response to the gluten protein gliadin (and gliadin is only one of thousands of different glutens).  It is widely known amongst those with a background in biochemistry and/or nutrigenomics that this type of food allergy testing is extremely flawed when it comes to measuring whether the individual has a problem with gluten. I cannot stress the importance enough of working cross disciplinary when it comes to your health.

If you only see a specialist they will not be able to connect the dots, but will be lost in symptom management - getting you nowhere but addicted to that specific prescribed symptom manager for the rest of your life!

If you have been tested for allergies, and you still aren’t seeing your health improve, you will want to consider a more accurate and more comprehensive test. At your initial appointment with The Nutrition Doctor you will be prescribed the appropriate tests that will reveal what is really causing your discomfort in order to enable us to put together your unique treatment protocol based on your genotype and biochemistry imbalances.

A new online medical consultation client service will be launching here January 2012. Meanwhile you can sign up for your first biochemistry typing appointment.

Food allergies: The underlying cause of food addiction?

Research has shown that ingesting compounds that we are unable to fully digest promotes opioid in the brain - this is not news under the sun and is backed by solid peer reviewed studies - thus it is not surprising that many with celiac disease (prior to diagnosis and abstaining from gluten - in addition to needing to stay away from casein a1 as this is biochemically similar in structure) often binge and describe their relationship with bread and cow's milk (casein a1; exception being milk from Guernsay cows as this is a2 casein - as is goat's and buffalo's milk) as " addictive" (food addiction as defined by the Yale Food Addiction Scale).

Considering the increasing rate of eating disorders both amongst females and males in all age groups, it is key as a health care practitioner to be aware of biochemically triggering compounds based on each individual client's genetic make-up, in addition to psychological aspects that need treatment via CBT. When the biology is stable, emotional aspects and psychological blockers become clear and can thus better be treated as that.

Join The Nutrition Doctor's group here to follow the discussion.

Reference:

Teschemacher H. Opioid receptors ligands derived from food proteins. Curr Pharm Des. 2003;9(16):1331-44.