When Emotions Take Over

When emotions take over.

One aspect of reaching your goals within the realms of weight loss, health and fitness has to do with changing your eating habits. I’ve said it a million times and I’m guessing I’ll say it a million times again, but cleaning up your food, and doing it on a consistent basis is the key to changing your body and losing weight.

And there is a diet, a plan, a guru, a program, or an organization, on every street corner telling you how to do it. If you ask someone who’s lost weight, they will tell you the name of their diet, plan, guru, program, or organization that got them there. True?

Here’s what I have to say about that:

They are all RIGHT! With the exception of a few diet programs that I think need to fall off the face of the planet (fasting med programs are the first that come to mind followed by the ingenious cookie diet), most will give generally sound advice: Stop eating so much crap and start eating more vegetables.

While I think shifting your lifestyle and eating habits are a bit more complex than the above general statement, for the points that I’d like to make today…the above will suffice.

The one crucial step that every single “program” seems to skip over however, is the insanely complex an intricate webbing of emotions tied into how and why we eat.

Because if it was just as simple as “eat less”, and I could give you the exact list of what to eat and you followed it to the tee, there would be no problems and we would all live happily ever after wearing our bikinis and Speedos on the beach without a care in the world.

But it’s not that easy.

Emotions play a huge part in our successes and failures when it comes to choosing the right foods and to weight loss in general. The best diet plans in the world will do you absolutely no good if you’re unwilling to stop eating Ben & Jerry’s after a long and stressful day at work. No guru can help you if you can’t stop yourself from “trolling” the kitchen unconsciously before and/or after dinner (or in the middle of the night for that matter…)

The underlining issue here is getting your emotional state of being in check so that you will have a greater chance of success at this game.

Now, when we are talking about emotional or compulsive eating (same thing by the way), lets be real here: Who doesn’t eat emotionally? Think about how we celebrate birthdays and holidays. We do it surrounded by lots of food. I’m not talking about labeling emotional eating as “good” or “bad”. I’m talking about paying attention as to who is ruling your world: “you” (your higher self) or “your emotions” (your not-so-higher-self).

I was listening to a great speaker today, Dr. David Bruner talk about this exact concept. He was speaking about when people lose all control and blame it all on their emotions. “I just couldn’t control myself”, he joked. His tone was light and it was quite funny because when it’s all said and done, the truth of the matter is that we—our higher selves—are completely in charge of our emotions. There is an internal choice to make. We get to decide when we act out emotionally. If you are used to letting your emotions guide you through life, this may seem unrealistic. But if you listen very closely inside of yourself, there is a moment before the emotion takes over where your ‘higher self’ has the opportunity to choose one path or the other. It really is within your control.

What I offer my clients are resources and tools to help them overcome this battle.

1. When it comes to emotional eating, the first step is to realize and bring it to your conscious (aka: AWAKE!) mind that you are choosing your food for reasons other than health and life.

2. It’s not about judging the above decision, but it’s about noticing if it serves you. It might serve you to eat cake at a celebration, or indulge in wine and chocolate on Valentines Day. The question is: ‘Does this food I’m about to devour serve me and the higher good of what I want for my life?’

3. If the answer the above questions is an unequivocal “no”, then it’s probably time to take a look at what’s going on deeper inside of you. Because if you are emotionally eating and it serves no helpful purpose, then what you are really doing is attempting to solve an emotional problem by putting food in your mouth. And here’s a little hint that’s 100% accurate: IT NEVER WORKS. Ever. There is no type or amount of food that can fix whatever it is. Never. Ever. Never. (Did I get my point across?)

I’ve recently received many wonderful emails from some of our Challengers who have had some struggles in this area.

One in particular, whom my heart goes out to, has just recently lost her sister. Just hearing her say those words brought tears to my eyes and even as I write this, my heart goes out to her and her family. She was so set with her plans of showing up to her training sessions and eating clean because she’s already done the internal work and realized that this is her year to get her health and weight under control. And as soon as she discovered her sister’s untimely death, it all went out the window.

I offer this example to you as a real-life and very valid reason as to why someone would “fall away” from their worthy goals. But tell me, how does food fix anything? It might comfort you in the moment, but then within seconds the pain is still there and now you’re pissed because not only is your sister still gone, you just ate too much crap and feel worse than when you started. The food was an attempt to make the pain go away, but what it did was create more pain. Food will never fix the problem.

What is really needed in this moment is to FEEL THE PAIN. To be so present to the moment that instead of trying to push the feelings away or stuff the feelings deep down inside, you choose to go a different route….you CHOOSE to feel it.

Now, lets get clear here. I’m no therapist. I’ve taken my fair share of “life and wellness coaching certifications” and read enough self-help books to understand all of this cognitively, but actually DOING the work (i.e.…. putting the cookie down and choosing to “feel the pain”) is really freaking hard.

But really, it’s the only answer to a better, healthier, and more productive life.

And the truth is that you will never completely attain your weight loss and health goals until you can work through your pain and get to the bottom of it.

The good news is that there is a lot of help out there.

1. Go get a good therapist. Get the bottom of why you do what you do. Tackle this with all of your heart and desire because you are worth it and you deserve to live a healthy life in a healthy body that is filled with pure energy for every day. Emotional/compulsive eating will zap you of the very life energy you are seeking. It will occupy your thoughts every second of every day, as some of you already know. When you are finally finished with this way of living (why not be done with it right now?), then having qualified help while you are working through this can save you a lot of time and get you to the bottom of this faster.

2. Although controversial, (some people don’t like her concepts of God), I absolutely love the book from Geneen Roth: Women, Food, and God. And it’s not just for gals. It is profound and gets to the heart of emotional/compulsive eating like no other book I’ve read. Plus Oprah love it. : ) And considering Oprah is the most public figure I know of when it comes to emotional eating, I dug right in and grabbed this book by the horns!

3. The Diet Cure by Julia Ross is mandatory reading for most of my nutrition-coaching clients. She shows that often times emotional eating has more to do with unbalanced physiology/hormones within the body. Once you can get everything back in balance, then you will naturally not crave foods that create the emotional spiral of over-eating. I think it’s a great book to teach about proper nutrition and amino acid supplementation. I don’t think it digs deep enough into the real reasons for emotional eating…. and I truly believe that until you can “dig deep”…it will always creep back in eventually.

4. Working with a qualified Nutritionist. I highly recommend finding out if you are gluten-sensitive, lactose intolerant, sugar/caffeine addicted, or just plain outta whack with your hormones. Often times the emotional problems are totally connected to the fact that your hormones are all messed up because you can’t stop eating sugar. Getting the right tests and working in the right environment might help. But take my warning here: if you haven’t dealt with the compulsive eating issues, and then you have a nutritionist tell you to STOP eating a certain food… well… all hell could break loose and you end up eating exactly what you aren’t supposed to! Many people get all excited to “go get a test” or “get the latest diet”, when what they really need to do is deal with the underlying problems…which leads me to say: go re-read number one.

5. There are a TON of tools and tricks you can use to help you along with this process, and I’ll share one of my favorites that I use with my clients right now. I teach my clients to keep an untraditional food journal. One that not only keeps track of what you ate but also keeps tabs on your emotional state of being during and at the end of the day.

Whew! That was big.

I like to think I have very sound nutrition programs that include re-education, habit-changing focus, and the right style coaching to get the job done. But no great “program” or “plan” can be successful until you are in a place where you (the higher you) are in control of your emotional choices.

The most important takeaway here is that when it’s all said and done, YOU are the controller over your emotions, not the other way around. While you may feel debilitated or defeated at times, the truth is you are POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE and the sooner you connect your thoughts and beliefs with this truth, the sooner you will figure out how to manage your emotions, the sooner you will stop using emotional/compulsive eating as your crutch, and the sooner you will start to live the life of your dreams.

As anyone who has finally taken this step toward killing the emotional grip will tell you, it’s like you’ve finally gotten your life back. Imagine spending your time focused on your family, your career, and your fitness goals (instead of your weight loss goals and your obsession with Ben&Jerry). It becomes a paradigm shift that you for sure cannot live without.

How has emotional eating affected your life? What are YOUR secrets to managing this? Share with us all.

Famous Blueberry Protein Smoothie

This drink is loaded with a king’s ransom of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, good-gut flora, and fiber.

Plus it’s delicious. Most of the sugar comes from the cup of frozen blueberries (or frozen mixed berries), but as most of us already know, blueberries are an incredible SUPERFOOD POWERHOUSE, and in my opinion, should be eaten routinely for its health-protecting properties.

First I’ll list the ingredients, and then I will go into detail about some of them.

1 ½ - 2 cups of Trader Joes Essential Greens Veggie Juice (read labels! This is the one that only has veggies! No fruit here. This is not like the Odwalla superfood, or the Naked green juice. This juice is just veggie juice.
1 Big heaping tsp of powdered greens. I use Amazing Grass. You can find it at Whole Foods. Of all the green powders I’ve tried, this one surpasses them all in nutrition (read: no fillers), and taste. I would have never thought a green powder could taste this good!
1 Big heaping Tbl of ground flax (did not use in the video)
½ cup to 1 cup of frozen blueberries (or mixed berries)
1 or 2 scoops of Whey Protein Powder (right now I’m using WholeFoods brand, Natural Vanilla Flavor)
½ cup yogurt, or one container of Bio-K, or Keifer (Did not use in the video)
Sweeten with stevia if needed

Blend it all up and enjoy! It can be big, so sometimes I divide it into two glasses, and give one to my sweetheart for his afternoon snack.

Depending on how much of each of the ingredients you use, you’re looking at appx:
Calories: 300-400
Fiber: 8-12 grams
Sugar: 13-19 grams
Protein: 30-45 grams
Fat: 5-8 grams

It can be split into two snacks, or eaten as one meal.

Fabulous Snack Ideas to keep your blood sugar stabilized

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These Snack ideas are all macronutriently combined to keep your blood sugar stabilized.

Why on earth would that be important?

There are a lot of reasons for weight loss resistance, from emotional/compulsive eating, to food allergies, to dysbiosis, to hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances.

But the one thing that can be the most dramatic in helping with weight loss and improving your health is learning how to stabilize your blood sugar.

And how do you do this? Through the foods that you eat. Take a look below at all the tasty snacks, and start eating!

1 ¼ cup whole strawberries and goat cheese
1 brown rice cake and organic nut butter
1 serving Ak-Mok cracker with tuna salad or chicken salad
½ medium baked potato with buffalo mozzarella cheese and fresh salsa
3 cups air popped organic popcorn and mixed nuts
1 cup raspberries and goat cheese
1 slice buckwheat or millet bread with ¼ avocado, and chicken salad
1 cup organic, plain, goat milk yogurt, ½ cup strawberries and crushed walnuts
1 slice rice bread, nitrate free turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo (canola based)
½ medium sweet potato and nitrate free chicken sausage
2 small corn tortillas, melted buffalo mozzarella cheese, avocado, fresh salsa
½ grapefruit and sunflower seeds
½ cup hummus with raw veggies
½ a red pepper and fill it with 2-3 tbsp of hummus
One can sardines and cherry tomatoes on red leaf lettuce
Celery sticks spread with almond or peanut butter
1 or 2 oz mix of: almonds, pistachio nuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans or walnuts
1 apple and 2 Tbsp almond butter
¾ cup blueberries with tamari roasted almonds

Small hand full of blueberries mixed with cherry tomatoes, 2 oz Swiss cheese cubed (or another hard, white, raw farmers cheese). Add a dozen tamari roasted almonds
½ a sweet potato with turkey slices, tsp butter
½ a sweet potato with cottage cheese
1 slice Ezekiel 4:9 bread toasted. Add 1 Tbsp almond butter and sliced strawberries on top
Hard Boiled Egg and raw veggies
Sliced tomatoes and 1-2 oz of farmer’s cheese or other cheese. Sprinkle with flax or olive oil.
1 cup real, whole, plain yogurt topped with flax or almonds. Add ½ cup sliced fruit.

Question for the day:

What great snack Ideas can you add to this list? Share them below!

Building your Immunity

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Okay party people. Our lead instructor is sick at home, I spent the weekend home in bed with the sniffles (although I’m feeling a bit better today), and some of our campers are starting to feel the season coming on.

How can you keep your immune system humming along, and what can you do to “fight back” at the first sign of getting a little scratch in your throat (or a little snot in your nose…sorry…couldn’t resist.)

First off, I am not the foremost expert on this, although through my nutrition studies, I have learned a ton of great natural ways to boost immunity, and it’s crazy how much of it has to do with food.

Here’s the one universal truth that you must know:

There are bugs and germs and gooey-icky stuff absolutely everywhere. So it’s not so much about the environment around you (although you can be proactive about this), but it’s more about how strong your internal environment is… ie..your immune system.

I will say that once I started doing most of my workouts outdoors, I am sick a whole lot less. I attribute that to a few things. First, even in the most upscale fitness cubs (yup…I’ve worked at many), it can get pretty nasty in there. Plus I think that because we spend SO MUCH time indoors, the outdoor workout environment increases endorphins and other “feel good hormones”, therefore giving a sense of health and well being. That last part is pure speculation, but I’m sticking to it!

So, it’s LESS about steering clear of germs, and more about building up your body’s ability to resist.

Below you will find my stess-busting, immunity-building, germ-fighting arsenal that I keep around all year long. Try it for yourself and see how it goes. : )

The basics: Build your immune system “stores”

Building your vitamin and mineral supplies will give you a fighting chance when you do encounter the bugs.
Insane amounts of veggies, veggie soups, add entire heads of kale into your soups, ¾ of your plate is veggies, while the other ¼ is lean (preferably organic) protein, add a little healthy fat. (this by the way is a top way to build your vitamin and miner
I use a HUGE pot and let my veggies simmer all day long.

al supplies!)
Mineral broths: put every veggie known to man in a huge pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for the rest of the day until the veggies are brown and lifeless. Strain the broth and throw out (or compost!) the veggies.
Green Powders in every smoothie and post exercise recovery drink (My favorite is Amazing Grass….great flavor and PACKED with super-foods)
The flavor is amazing and the nutrient density is off the charts!
Decreased sugar/caffeine/sodas/processed junk. A diet high in this junk seeps important stores from your body, making your immune system have to work harder when dealing even with the little things.
High Quality multi-vitamin, fish oil, and extra vitamin-C (your one a days are junk. Throw them out and make sure your vitamins are pharmaceutical grade.
Nettie Pot!!! Yes, as many of you know…I swear by my nettie pot. The first place I personally get “attacked” by the outside world of germs is in my sinuses.
See? She's SMILING! It's weird at first, but for me, has become part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth. : )

The nettie pot kills cleans out all the icky-stuff before it has the opportunity to incubate and turn into a head cold/sinus infection. If you don’t use a netti pot, you are absolutely crazy. Enough said.
Decrease The amount of stress in your life. This requires a total paradigm shift that many people are unwilling to do. So instead…see next bullet point:
If you can’t decrease the stress…learn how to manage it! This is why coming out to your bootcamp training session can be the best thing for you. It can help you manage your stress levels through exercise, increased endorphins, connection and community, and of course that wonderful feel-good sense of well-being we all get when we are taking care of ourselves, showing up for our life, and doing what we KNOW we need to be doing. : )
Exercise is THE BEST elixir!

All the above, when done on a regular, and consistent basis, will decrease systemic inflammation, so instead of evoking an immune response to deal with the insane amount of sugar and stress, your immune system can spend it’s time defending all the little creepy-crawly things that try to invade.

What I do right away when something doesn’t seem right:

Reality check with all the stuff above. When I start to get sick, usually something above is out of whack and has been for a while. Here’s where I get a little course correction by re-introducing the rules above, and following them to the “T”.

Extra Vitamin C: This is probably one of the most understated vitamins. People maybe get a little in their multi-vitamin, and then think the insulin-spiking OJ they downed with breakfast is enough to keep them going. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, and therefore only works its magic while it’s in your system…for a few hours at most. This is why it’s a good idea to take it more often throughout the day. It’s not special, but I love Emergen-C. I’ll take 1-3 packets (that’s 1-3 grams) per day WHEN I’M HEALTHY, and if I feel a bit under the weather, I’ll double it. (A little hint: everyone’s upper tolerable limits to vitamin C is differnent. Mine’s about 7grams a day. You can find out easily by increasing the amount of C by a 500-1000mg each day. You’ll know you are at your upper limits if you….well…get the runs. From there you can back it off by 1-2 grams. The point I’m trying to convey here is that higher doses of this super anti-oxidant can be very beneficial to your health, so I want you to know that you can (and probably should) take more than you are currently.

Wish Garden: Kick-Ass Immunity and Kick-Ass Sinus. I swear by this stuff. As soon as I feel a little “funky-ness” going on, I start in with the regular dose just about every 2-3 hours for a minimum of two days. It tastes like liquid hell, but I pretend I’m 21 (back when I used to do shots of very bad liquor) and suck it down like a champ.
Get it online, or at Pharmaca

Hot herbal tea all day long: I’ve managed many a sore-throat-days with herbal teas. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to realize that there’s more to tea than the standard “black” or “green”. Some of the healthiest teas are make from herbs that can have a profoundly positive effect on your health. Add a little lemon and maybe some raw honey, and you’ll be set for the day!
Feel so good on a tender throat!

Bio-K (increase your healthy micro-flora). I’ve written a TON about how healthy micro-flora can increase your health, improve digestion, and create balance in your gut. But the question is how? My favorite way is with a little product called Bio-K. It has some insane number (like 20 billion? or is it 50 billion? Whatever it is…it’s crazy good!) of acidophilus and other beneficial strands of micro-flora. I love Bio-K because it’s food based, so it’s like eating a miniature yogurt that packs a serious punch!

It's a little bottle that packs a POWERFUL PUNCH!

Lots of extra sleep: Your body needs time to recover and sleep is where most of it happens.

Careful with exercise: If I overdo it here, then I feel sicker than when I started. But on the other hand, doing nothing at all doesn’t always work for me either. Getting my heart pumping, and lymphatic system pumping usually will help me feel a bit better.

Join in on the conversation: Do you have any “secret” remedies for staying healthy or something you do if you feel the onset of a bug coming your way? Share your answers below!

TURKEY CHILI WITH CASHEWS AND KALE

A free-radical freedom fighter

I top my chili with avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. This makes a hearty meal or a small snack!

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 pounds ground turkey or chicken
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder (Miguel can’t do spicy, so I have a mild chipotle mix I use from Pampered Chef that gives it great flavor sin caliente!)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (I’ve been known to use a Tablespoon…I love this stuff)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (again…I’ve been known to use a whole teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt

(a note about all the spices…I often times add other random spices and delete others when I don’t have them. So my chili never tastes the same.)

2.5 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
1 cup dark beer (of course, I never have a beer in the house…so I’ve been using extra chkn broth)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (15.8 oz) kidney beans, drained
1 can (15.8 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (miguel can’t do heat…I use the no chili version)
1 cup colored bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced into half rounds (I use an entire zucchini AND an entire yellow squash)
1 cup kale, stemmed and chopped or torn into bite size pieces (use an entire bunch of kale…great way to get LOTS of extra greens/nutrition in by using more!)
1 carrot, grated (I use a whole cup)
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (optional)

In a 4-6 quart saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and cook until browned, for 5-6 minutes. Add the oregano, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and sale, saute for 2 minutes. Pour in the broth and beer. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the kidney beans, balck beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini or squash, kale and carrot. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the cashews and cook for 5-7minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice, if using.

YIELD: about 8 servings (12 cups plus extra broth)