The recent crisis in the Gulf brought to mind, as I’m sure it has for many, how we take care of our home.  The earth, our terrestrial home is under siege and it is heartbreaking to watch the damage she is suffering.  We can use this macro lesson in caring for our home to bring to our awareness how important it is to take care of another home – our bodies.  When we abuse the earth or don’t take proper care of the earth – there are consequences – some greater than others.  when we abuse our bodies, the same applies.

Most of us don’t think of our bodies as our home but in fact they are.  We get one body at birth. We live in that body-home until we die.  The food we eat, whether or not we are active, how we nourish our bodies in general will have consequences.  If we smoke, we damage our hearts and lungs.  When we eat foods that are highly processed, we send out inflammatory cells to all parts of the body which over time cause wear and tear on the body organs.

As we look at the disaster being played out on our TVs in the news, I wonder what headline news it would take to get all of us to take our body health as seriously.  While the media is churning out more and more studies about how “bad” obesity is, we forget that scare tactics never work.  We must all refocus what has been called the war on obesity into a partnership to put health first, then weight. If we saw ourselves in the same light that we see the poor creatures of the sea; if our hearts would open to our own need for caring, then perhaps changing how we treat ourselves, our bodies would make sense. Because, to me, it doesn’t make the most sense that we try to get everyone to “just be thin.”  There are many thin people who are unhealthy.  So thin is definitely NOT the answer.

But anyone who takes care of themselves, who views their bodies as their friend, not adversary, who is a good steward of this home will be as healthy as humanly possible.  Perhaps BP’s oil spill and the crisis in the gulf can serve as a wake up call for us all to take care of all the homes under our guardianship – from our bodies to the earth itself.

How did we end up as a nation where over half of our citizens are losing the battle of the bulge?  I’ve talked about genetics already.  But our genes haven’t changed in the last 50 years while the percentage of us who are overweight or obese has skyrocketed.  Currently there is no state in our nations with less than 20% of its people who are not obese.

Well a lot of other things have changed in the past 50 years.  When I was a kid, we had only one Mc Donald’s in our hometown.  We also had a Dairy Queen.  Going out for fast food was a rare treat, usually reserved for long car trips when we couldn’t find a restaurant such as Stuckey’s to have a sit down meal.   (more…)

If you read the previous blog, you will know that the predisposition to obesity is overwhelmingly genetic.  What does this mean to you?  Well, if you come from a family of overweight individuals, it will undoubtedly be more difficult for you to lose weight and keep it off.  That’s Fact #1

FAct #2:   The recommendations for physical activity to reduce risks for the health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes for the average individual is 30 minutes per day on most days of the week.  That adds up to about 200 minutes per week of moderate physical activity.  If you are overweight or obese, to lose weight you need to exercise between 200 and 300 minutes per day or about 45 minutes every day as a minimum.

Knowing that you have the genetic risk for obesity, also know that exercise is key to not just losing weight but maintaining your weight loss, which is the more important of the two and the subject of the next message.

Finding your anchor

The Anchor process is a technique I’ve developed in my practice to help people make changes which are difficult. It is a way of finding your safe place, your place of stability in the stormy seas in our lives.  Perhaps you’ve had some trauma or abuse or neglect or other experiences in your life that you may have been too young to deal with or may not have had the skills to manage.  So, you did the best you could and you found it safe to put on weight as a protection, to be a people pleaser or like me, to be an overachiever. This behavior became an anchor that helped you get through life. Then you grow up – still being moored with the anchor you found in younger years.  (more…)

If you don’t feel you eat large quantities of food in one sitting, but you have struggled with your weight and have been on and off diets most of your life, you may be a compulsive overeater (CO).   The main difference between binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating is that people with CO don’t experience discrete episodes of binge eating.  They tend to eat past the point of fullness, but don’t necessarily binge while alone or hide their overeating.  Here’s an example of a person who is a compulsive overeater. (more…)

There is a code that is much like the genetic code in your DNA that may make you more prone to being overweight, for example, because it’s in your genes.  However this code is the code of your soul or spirit. It is what makes us have a passion to do something with our lives.  It’s the part of us that keeps us going even though life may seem like being on the open sea during an endless storm.  It is also our map for life, our compass.   It is what makes you want to become a mother.  It’s the code that pulls you towards a career in teaching or medicine or law.  This soul code may direct you to climb mountains or work to help the homeless.  It’s the part of you that helps you soar to greater heights.  It is the healthy part of you – the part that wants to see you recover and move on with your life. (more…)

Binge eating disorder (BED) affects between two and five percent  (Spitzer 1993) of adults in the United States (over four million Americans) and is the most common of all the eating disorders.  Up to 25 percent of overweight or obese individuals seeking treatment for obesity have binge eating disorder (Pull, 2004).   This number goes up in those who are severely obese.  Binge eating disorder may be as common in men as it is in women, unlike the other eating disorders (Grucza 2007).   It affects African-Americans as often as Caucasians.
You may have binge eating disorder if (more…)

Maryann felt overwhelmed.  Her youngest child was home sick, her boss was upset with her for missing work and her father was just rushed to the hospital.  She couldn’t take one more thing happening!

John did not get the promotion he had worked so hard for.  His wife was expecting to be able to move into a bigger house.  He had three children to support and now his doctor told him he has high blood pressure.  What more could happen?!

Do these high stress stories sound familiar? (more…)