Food issues, guilt, emotional eating and food obsession are not exclusive to overweight and obese individuals. Not even a little bit. Today, we're talking about thin people & food issues.
Except, it's more than that. We're talking to my sister.
A couple weeks ago, I had my mom on the show. It was a tough episode but we talked about how, as a thin mother, she really struggled with having an overweight child (me). I was the token fat kid. It was a rough road.
That episode triggered a lot of comments and questions, many of which were related to that sister I talked about. What was it like for her, as a thin child, to grow up with so much emphasis on food and shame related to obesity?
Well, "that sister" is Debi. My oldest friend, my closest friend and the yin to my yang. Don't miss this candid conversation about food issues then & now in the absence of a weight struggle.
I used to be my own worst enemy. There was a huge gap between what I wanted and what I did. There wasn't anyone keeping me from achieving my goals...except for me.
Because of that, one of my affirmations is now "I am militantly on my own side". I am on my team. I will not sabotage myself.
I don't need all the answers but I will not stop seeking, trying and finding a way.
In today's motivational minisode, I'm talking about how and why to get on your own team. It's time to stop being your own worst enemy.
If we could master how to stop overeating, we'd be pretty much all set, right? In fact, I'd be a bazillionaire if I could give you just a couple words to help you stop overeating forever. Easier said than done, for sure!
But today we are moving in that direction. I want to help you understand why we overeat and what we can do about it, beginning today.
If you listen to the facts & strategies in this episode, I am 100% positive that we can move you in the direction of your goals right now, today.
http://primalpotential.com/209-how-to-stop-overeating/
How To Stop Overeating
Overeating is a complex issue. If we want to understand how to stop overeating, we have to understand what triggers us to overeat and how to overcome or re-wire those triggers.
In today's episode (don't miss it!), we'll talk about things like:
- Taste specific satiety (how you can feel "full" of one thing but keep eating something different)
- Overeating cues
- Understanding our desire for food rewards and how to break the cycle
- The power of hyperpalatable foods
- What it really means to determine if & when food is "worth it"
- How to make incremental improvements
- Food urges that come with behavioral transitions
If you want to reduce or stop overeating, you absolutely need to listen to today's episode!
What is food guilt? We've all done it to ourselves, one bad food choice leads to throwing in the towel on the entire day. That gross feeling and disappointment with ourselves, that is food guilt. Beating yourself up and assigning emotion to your food choices is the essence of food guilt.
Looking at yourself as good or bad based on your food choices - that is food guilt.
Here's what I want you to consider: Is it working for you?
Is it improving your choices or is it keeping you stuck in a negative cycle of your own creation that leads to more choices you feel badly about?
Does it help you feel better about yourself, or help you make a better choice the next time you think about cheating? Chances are it doesn't, and it never will. So you've got to stop beating yourself up over FOOD!
In today's episode, I'll be diving into why food guilt doesn't work, why you should stop it, and what you should be doing instead.
http://primalpotential.com/208-food-guilt/
Everyone knows that hindsight is 20/20. We all wish we could go back and give our younger self's advice. Today's podcast focuses on the exact opposite idea. The past is in the past, we've learned lessons the hard way, and it is time to move on and look forward. In today's podcast (one of my favorites!), I'm talking about lessons to my future self.
All of this introspection was inspired by the article, "20 Tips I'd Give Myself 20 Years Ago" which has NOTHING to do with fatloss. In the podcast, I'm breaking out key points from the article that really hit home for me, and I'm sharing the 3 lessons I would give to my future self.
http://primalpotential.com/207-lessons-to-my-future-self/
Your life is not about how much you weigh or what size you wear. Your life is about how you feel.
Are you happy? Happiness is about JOY! As you create more joy, you create more happiness. The goal is not about a number, the goal is about the joy in your heart.
Don't let fear influence your decisions.
How many times have you not done something because you were scared of what other people would think or say? How much have you missed out on?
Don't let the fear of rejection, looking stupid, or getting hurt keep you from experiencing all of the things you want to experience and enjoying life like you deserve.
You matter more than the work you do. You are not the work you do.
Make yourself a priority. You will have more to give the world when you give more to yourself.
OK, you’ve decided to make a change, but you have no idea where to start (or restart). Today’s podcast will dive into my #1 fat loss recommendation: tracking.
We aren’t talking about calorie counting, carb or macro counting, just some down and dirty quick journaling. In less time than it takes to obsessively count your item of choice (and with far less frustration), you can learn more about what is and what is not working for you. It’s easy, it's quick and it's crucial to laying the groundwork for finding a solution that works for you.
I’ll be talking about what to track, when to track, and most importantly WHY we track.
http://primalpotential.com/206-my-1-fat-loss-recommendation/
My #1 Fat Loss Recommendation
Tracking! Think of it like a journal. You don't have to spend time worrying about exact calories, or even exact portion sizes. What you are really after is a documenting what you ate and how it made you feel.
It does not need to be a chore. You can get this done in less than 5 minutes each day. Ultimately, it will help you establish trends and analyze those trends as a tool in our weight loss journeys.
Why You Should Track
1. To learn more about your body and what works for you
2. To keep you objective.
3. To anchor yourself to your goals
What You Should Track
Food and Feelings. It is that simple. If you get in a workout, add fitness, too!
Food is easy, just track what you eat (approximately how much), and when.
Feelings don't have to be hard, but it is the most important. Include your hunger, cravings, and energy over the course of the day. I encourage you to expand past the basic feelings and include your mood, the quality of your sleep, and events that occurred during the day. These really helps create a comprehensive picture of what exactly is going on in your world.
Most everyone should be able to effectively track in under 5 minutes a day.
Where You Should Track
I've created a tracking cheat sheet and template to get you started. Find a routine that works for you and stick with it!
Learning From Your Document
Revisit. Revisit. Revisit.
Take time to look back through your tracker and identify trends.
Analyze the food you are eating and correlating body reactions. Analyze your workouts to identify how that affects your energy level and hunger.
We are continuing our celebration of Primal Potential's 2nd anniversary with a super special guest! My friend and former Fat Loss Fast Tracker, Maggie!
I want you to hear directly from someone who has transformed, inside and out, over the last 14 or so months. She has lost 50 lbs, more than 13 inches from her waist and she feels that the biggest changes she made were to the way she thinks! That's right, Maggie is going to share how you can use your mind to transform your body.
She is real, she is inspirational and I hope we can all find encouragement and hope in her powerful message!
http://primalpotential.com/205-use-your-mind-to-transform-your-body/
Use Your Mind to Transform Your Body
In today's episode, Maggie and I tackle so much including:
- What results she has created over the last 14-15 months
- How affirmations changed her life
- How she handles days when she isn't feeling motivated
- How her mindset has changed
- How her dietary habits have changed
Resources
Join me at ASCEND in Nashville!
Follow Maggie on Instagram & check out her transformation!
Today is a special & emotional episode! My mom is on the show! Yup, we are discussing the problem behind the problem - where my unhealthy relationship with food & body image began and how she coped with raising an overweight child.
While I don't think our past defines us and I certainly don't think we're stuck there, I absolutely believe it is important to evaluate your self-limiting food & body image beliefs and begin to ask "Are these true?" and find ways to move beyond them.
You don't want to miss this emotional episode!
http://primalpotential.com/204-the-problem-behind-the-problem/
The Problem Behind The Problem
In today's episode, my mom and I tackle so much including:
- Specific choices she made and how they impacted how I view food and my body
- The development of unhealthy relationships with food & body image
- Helpful and unhelpful strategies related to raising an overweight child
- How her body image impacted the way I thought about food
- What might have happened if she took a different approach
- How restriction and forced exercise shaped the way I look at health
I want to give another huge THANK YOU to my mom for stepping outside of her comfort zone, admitting where she made mistakes and having this honest conversation with me to hopefully help others and open up conversations about weight, shame and body image.
Today is Primal Potential's 2nd anniversary!
THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for your support, trust and encouragement.
What a wild ride it has been!
I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen to today's episode on Primal's anniversary. Today, I'm opening up registration for ASCEND, the first ever Primal Potential Women's Transformation Weekend.
Listen to hear all the details and click here to be one of the 50 women to join me in downtown Nashville, TN this November!
In response to the recent episode on the 3 stages of carbohydrate intolerance, I got an email that merits further discussion.
I want everyone to understand that while yes, our food choices drive blood sugar and are primarily responsible for our fat loss and lack thereof, there are non-food influences on blood sugar.
That's right - there are physiological and lifestyle factors that drive blood sugar & insulin significantly enough to influence fat loss and today we're investigating those things.
http://primalpotential.com/202-non-food-influences-on-blood-sugar/
Non-Food Influences on Blood Sugar
In order to reach our highest fat loss potential and optimize our health, we have to understand both the food and non-food influences on blood sugar.
We need to evaluate the ways by which we can increase blood sugar as well as the factors that influence how we decrease or stabilize blood sugar.
Three ways by which blood sugar is increased include:
- Eating - this includes but is not limited to consuming carbohydrates. The extent of the blood sugar increase depends on what and how much you eat
- Glycogenolysis - breaking down stored muscle or liver glycogen to glucose
- Gluconeogenesis - generating new glucose from a non-carbohydrate substance like protein. This can be triggered in response to low blood sugar and/or stress
The factors that determine how quickly blood sugar drops after an elevation include:
- Your activity level
- When, what and how much you last ate
- Your carbohydrate tolerance
- Your insulin sensitivity
- Your baseline (include glycogen storage capacity)
Factors which determine what happens to the glucose in your blood include:
- Your activity level
- Your fuel needs
- Your muscle glycogen status
The potential uses for glucose in the blood include:
- Immediate energy
- Glycogen storage
- Fat storage
For specific strategies on improve your blood sugar response and reducing fat storage, listen to the full episode!
Don't Forget to Save The Date!
The first ever Primal Potential Women's Transformation Weekend is November 3-5th in downtown Nashville, TN! Tickets go on sale 7/12/16.
Resources
Carbohydrate Intolerance Whitepaper
Episode 009: Carbohydrate Spillover
I recently read "Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable" by Tim Grover and he introduced a personality classification that I found to be thought-provoking.
His classification describes people who get things done and reach their highest potential versus people who don't.
I started to think about the thousands of people I've worked with who are trying to burn fat and improve their bodies and I could see similar trends in the ways they think & act.
I have classified into three groups which I'm calling wishers, wanderers and warriors.
In today's episode I'm going to help you see which category your past choices represent and help you move from where you are now to the warrior category.
That's right, this episode is about how to become a warrior. It's about how to stop making excuses and exceptions and start crushing your goals.
http://primalpotential.com/201-stop-making-excuses/
How To Stop Making Excuses & Exceptions
How do you make choices? Like a wisher, like a wanderer or like a warrior?
In today's episode I'm going to describe the wishers, wanderers and warriors and help you understand how you can become a warrior and stop making excuses. Do not miss the full episode!
Wishers have a desire but take little action
They have goals and the might even feel passionately about them, but they aren't consistently taking action to move towards them.
Wanderers are seekers with short attention spans
They jump from plan to program to approach, never developing the consistency required for sustainable results & never learning what works (and what doesn't) for their own bodies.
Warriors show up to work every day
They stay focused on the day at hand and ask themselves, "what can I do today to move towards my goals?" Then they do it!
Wishers need to be told what to do
They are looking for meal plans, food lists and for someone else to provide the instructions. They might not follow them, but they want the answers to come from someone else.
Wanderers create a “best case” plan
They have and plan and can follow it when all the conditions are in their favor.
Warriors steer everything to their advantage
A warrior's choices are not dictated by their circumstances. They do the best they can no matter what gets thrown at them.
Wishers watch others and compare
They are preoccupied with what others are doing & thinking and they compare their results and efforts against others.
Wanderers watch others and plan
They might not compare, but they are always jumping on board with what others are doing, regardless of whether or not it works for them.
Warriors run their own race.
Others watch them.
What other people are doing or saying has nothing to do with what they need to do.
Wishers give in to temptation
They make decisions based on impulse
Wanderers give in to excuses
They justify indulgences with circumstances
Warriors make no excuses.
They don’t give in.
Wishers perform when its comfortable
They do the work when they feel like it
Wanderers perform when they are prepared
If the stars aren't aligned and the circumstances are beyond their plan, they crumble.
Warriors perform
Warriors refuse limitations
Warriors practice calm confidence
Warriors take responsibility
Warriors may not love the process, but they are addicted to the results
Warriors expect to succeed and so they do.
In today's episode, I'll share how you can stop making excuses and become a warrior TODAY.
Resources
We've got another book club episode today! On a recent road trip I listened to Ryan Holiday's new book Ego is the Enemy and there were so many powerful lessons! I just need to share them with you! Many of these are game changers!
I was a big fan of his earlier book, The Obstacle Is The Way so I was eager to get my hands on Ego is the Enemy. It did not disappoint.
In today's episode I'm sharing the 6 lessons that change the game when it comes to fat loss, health and happiness.
http://primalpotential.com/200-6-lessons-change-game/
6 Lessons That Change the Game
There were 6 primary lessons that I believe powerfully apply to fat loss, health & happiness that I gleaned from Ryan Holiday's Ego Is The Enemy. In today's episode, I share those lessons and how you can apply them to your health.
Ego is the enemy of what you have and what you want.
Ego can keep us from true success by hiding the truth about our choices and our abilities.
Ego crosses out what matters and replaces it with what doesn't.
Ego tells us what we want to hear when we want to hear it but gives us a short-term fix with long-term consequences
Humility and reality are the cure for ego
Be humble in your aspirations
Be gracious in your success
Be resilient in your failures
Unfortunately, I think the more common approach in dieting is:
Unrealistic in our aspirations
Critical of our success
Defeated in our failures
Make it a mantra: every next choice is a new chance.
Engage in activities that move you forward. Eliminate activities that do not.
Are the things you're doing moving you towards your goals?
Talk depletes us.
Talking & doing compete for the same resources.
The relationship between work and chatter is that one kills the other
Be more objective (and less emotional)
Is your passion an asset or a liability?
Purpose: passion with boundaries
Realism: detachment with perspective
Be committed to the daily work without being attached to the daily results.
It's about what you do with what you have
Materiam superabat opus: the workmanship was better than the material
It's what you do with what you have that matters far more than what you have.
The work is never done & that's a good thing.
Resources
In today's episode I'm sharing the CliffNotes & takeaway of a white paper written by Dr. Philip Maffetone about the three stages of carbohydrate intolerance. To download the free whitepaper for yourself, click here.
Carbohydrate intolerance not only encourages weight gain, it impairs fat loss, damages the metabolism and triggers the development of illness and disease.
Most importantly, after we assess the three stages of carbohydrate intolerance, we'll talk about what you can do about it.
http://primalpotential.com/199-stages-of-carbohydrate-intolerance/
3 Stages of Carbohydrate Intolerance
Carbohydrate intolerance not only impairs fat loss and reduces energy - it also predisposes you to illness and chronic disease.
Dr. Philip Maffetone outlines how carbohydrate intolerance develops in the below model and then goes on to describe three stages of carbohydrate intolerance.
- Dr. Philip Maffetone's Model of Carbohydrate Intolerance
The three stages of carbohydrate intolerance can initiate in utero, in infancy, childhood, adolescence or adulthood and get worse until we choose to make dietary and lifestyle changes to improve carbohydrate tolerance.
Stages 1, 2 and 3 are detailed in the podcast so listen to the full episode to get all the details & the recommendations for making positive changes!
Don't Forget to Save The Date!
The first ever Primal Potential Women's Transformation Weekend is November 3-5th in downtown Nashville, TN! Tickets go on sale 7/12/16.
Resources
Carbohydrate Intolerance Whitepaper
Episode 009: Carbohydrate Spillover