Feeling Full

Today I am joined by Chef AJ to discuss finding food that works for you, why preparation trumps motivation, and how we can build healthy food habits that support our success. Chef AJ is the author of several books, is the host of the TV series Healthy Living with Chef AJ, and is devoted to eating a whole-food, plant-based diet.

“If it's in your house, it's in your mouth.” Chef AJ

Topics Include:

• Hitting bottom
• How weight loss can be made simple
• Food addiction
• The “if it’s in your house, it’s in your mouth” motto
• Manging social pressures
• And other topics...

“If what you’re doing isn’t sustainable, it won’t be permanent.”

[2:33] - Chef AJ shares with listeners her early experiences with food, and what it was like growing up as “the fat kid”.

[7:25] - Do people need a rock bottom moment to change? Chef AJ shares her rock bottom moment.

[10:33] - Weightloss. Simple, but not easy. Making a commitment to yourself.

[11:51] - Chef AJ discusses what she believes may have caused her food addiction, and shares her thoughts on compulsive eating as an addiction.

[20:05] - Is complete abstinence the best way to maintain healthy food habits? Mordi and Chef AJ share their perspectives.

[27:03] - There is no one size fits all approach to diet. You have to experiment and find what works for you.

[33:03] - Navigating foods that are difficult for you to manage when other people keep them around.

[38:06] - Dealing with social pressure when sharing meals with friends and family.

[41:08] - Why preparation trumps motivation.

[44:07] - Closing thoughts from Chef and Mordechai.

Resources Mentioned:
The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss 
Alcoholics Anonymous

In today’s episode, I am speaking with Gay Hendricks to discuss what it takes to make a personal transformation, how we can live a more embodied life, and much more. Gay is a psychologist, writer, teacher, and co-founder of the Hendricks Institute.

Topics Include:

• Gay’s personal transformation
• Interactions with Ram Dass
• Key tenets of personal transformation
• Why many struggle to keep the weight off
• And other topics

[2:57] - Gay shares his background with breathwork, his story, and how he discovered this powerful practice.

[6:49] - The shift Gay made that changed everything.

[7:46] - Making the shift BEFORE a crisis. The power breathwork has to change your life and Gay’s experience with Ram Dass.

[14:00] - Gay leads listeners through an embodiment practice.

[18:44] - What Gay’s transformation has taught him about business, people, and life.

[24:20] - Openness to learning as the key tenet of personal transformation.

[34:40] - Discussion on intimate partnerships.

[38:58] - What is happening in someone’s mind when they’ve lost the weight, but are now slowly gaining it back.

[42:18] - Finding ways to feel more alive and connected to your body every day. Closing comments from Gay and Mordechai.

Today I connect with Charles Chen to discuss why personal transformation is the key to sustainable weight loss, how we can build up our self-confidence, using tiny habits to build momentum for big changes, and much more.

Topics Include:

• Charles’ one nonnegotiable daily self-care practice
• Self-love and compassion
• Body dysphoria for men
• Finding creative expression and connection in the kitchen
• And other topics…

[2:16] - Mordechai opens the podcast with some rapid-fire questions for Charles to kick off the show.

[7:05] - Charles shares some of his earliest memories of food, his relationship to food, and his transition from Taiwan to the USA.

[13:59] - How food helped Charles hide and feel invisible, and the moment he knew he had to make a change.

[17:10] - The gifts of transformation–lessons learned on Charles’ journey.

[22:24] - Simplicity, creative expression, and connection in the kitchen.

[29:48] - How Charles was able to lose 100 pounds and keep the weight off.

[31:08] - How to build your self-confidence with tiny habits, and how your success spills over into other areas of your life.

[35:53] - How body image and body dysphoria affect men.

[40:48] - Self-love and compassion–why our relationship with ourselves is our relationship with the world.

[42:51] - Closing comments from Charles, and how to stay in touch. 

Resources Mentioned:
www.zzeal.co

Today I am speaking with Geneen Roth. Geneen is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers including, Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. Through her work, Geneen has helped thousands of people change their eating habits and live more fulfilling lives.

Topics Include:

• What our eating habits can teach us about ourselves
• Investigating food cravings
• Permitter vs restrictor personality types
• Negativity biases
• And other topics...

[2:40] - Geneen shares how she contextualizes her work, and what she sees as her primary passion.

[3:38] - The way we do anything is the way we do everything–what our eating habits can teach us about ourselves.

[7:01] - Losing the weight simply isn’t enough. Geneen shares the story of her weight loss journey.

[12:49] - What is happening to us in those moments, emotionally, when we turn to food?

[17:31] - What losing everything taught Geneen about happiness and contentment.

[25:44] - Why ignoring the FACTS about our psychological, negativity bias is a recipe for unhappiness and discontent.

[30:03] - Why are we continuously drawn to diets, even if we’ve tried numerous diets without lasting results? How can we develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with food.
 
[33:34] - Can you be addicted to certain foods? Investigating the moment before the craving.

[36:27] - Permitter versus restrictor personality types and the need for control.

[44:03] - Why are so few people able to lose the weight AND keep it off?

[50:08] - Geneen shares where she is Feeling Full in her life. Closing comments.

...

Resources Mentioned:
The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger
Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth 
The Eating Guidelines: Seven Steps to Freedom with Food by Geneen Roth

Today I am joined by Dr. David Katz to discuss how to foster a healthy relationship with food in a culture where unhealthy food habits are ubiquitous. Dr. Katz is a preventive medicine specialist and globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine... 

Topics Include: 

• Why we don't need more information about diets or nutrition... 
• How companies exploit our primal instincts... 
• Dropping the weight of shame and guilt... 
• How you can start making healthier food choices today... 
• The REAL benefits of losing weight and being healthy
• And other topics...

... 

[2:30] - Dr. Katz discusses his new book, How to Eat, and why we don’t need another book about diet and nutrition… 

[5:15] - Blue zones–places around the world where people derive the most benefits from their diets and live long, healthy lives–and what they can teach us about eating… 

[8:48] - How fast-food chains, fad diet books, and the pharmaceutical industry all work together to profit off of you… 

[13:15] - What the paleo diet fad gets right, and where it is misguided… 

[18:35] - If I struggle with my weight, do I need to cut out sugar completely? Can we develop a healthy relationship with sugar? 

[28:54] - Resources for listeners to learn more about sugar addiction, sustainable sugar consumption habits, and “tastebud rehab”... 

[32:57] - Why being overweight in modern society is not a personal fault, but a cultural one… 

[37:15] - Drop the weight of guilt and shame, and pick up the skills you need to be healthy in our modern culture… 

[40:50] - How anyone can start making healthier food choices, regardless of income, and one policy change that would support a healthier society… 

[44:56] - The real benefits of losing weight–it may not be what you think! 

Resources Mentioned:
Dr. David Katz 
How to Eat by Dr. David Katz 
Taste Bud Rehab 
True Health Initiative 
The Truth About Food 
The extraordinary science of addictive junk food - NY Times Article 
Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss 
Cusinicity from Dr. Catherine Katz 
Overall nutritional quality index algorithm of food (NuVal) - The overall nutritional quality index was a nutritional rating system developed at the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in 2008. 

Today I am joined by my friend Lisa Schlosberg. Lisa is a mental health professional and holistic health coach. She offers an Integrative Trauma-Informed Online Coaching program that helps men and women stop the struggle against themselves and integrate body, mind, and soul for holistic weight loss and lifelong health... 

Topics Include: 

• Early associations with food... 
• Dissociating–hiding from feelings... 
• Attending Weight Watchers as a child... 
• The connection between environments and behaviors... 
• Learning to feel–finding an integrated human experience... 
• Body image... 
• And other topics... 

...

[2:33] - Lisa shares what her relationship with food was like at an early age…

[4:36] - The division of responsibility–parent and child responsibilities around food...

[9:59] - Lisa shares how an early childhood trauma impacted her eating habits…

[13:34] - Attending Weight Watchers as a child–a note for parents…

[18:31] - Losing the weight–Lisa’s turning point…

[22:56] - The power of environment in shaping our habits. How new friends and new places helped Lisa lose 150 pounds…

[27:25] - Managing the pressure of being “the weightloss girl”. Being seen as a "before and after", rather than a human being…

[37:41] - Feeling emotions. Positive emotions versus negative emotions. Embracing an integrated human experience. Doing the real work…

[42:07] - Looking in the mirror after losing 150 pounds–the relationship between emotions and body image…

[50:06] - Words from Lisa for those just beginning their weight loss journey...

Resources Mentioned:
Dr. Patricia Riba
Thegabrielmethod.com
Division of responsibility
Omega Institue
Lisaschlosberg.com

In this episode of our six-part series on the foundational pillars of weight loss, Mordechai shares with listeners why having integrity is the difference between success and failure in losing weight and keeping it off, and how to live a life of integrity.

Topics Include:

• What it means to be in integrity
• The battle between our higher and lower selves
• Labeling your lower self, and calling it out
• Staying in the driver's seat of your life
• How to tell if a decision is in integrity
• And other topics...

...

Resources Mentioned:
Outwitting The Devil by Napolean Hill

In this episode of our six-part series on the foundational pillars of weight loss, Mordechai breaks down the relationship between emotions and food, and how connecting with and processing our emotions can help us lose the weight and keep it off.

Topics Include:

• Emotional eating
• Recovering from missteps
• Self-worth and food
• Self-acceptance
• An exercise for dealing with strong emotions
• Why you've got to "feel it to heal it"
• And other topics...

...

Resources Mentioned:
Emotional Fly-Wheel

In this episode of our six-part series on the foundational pillars of weight loss, Mordechai shares what steps we can take to develop a healthy and satisfying relationship with food. 

Topics Include:

• Why drinking more water will help you lose weight
• The "I'll start tomorrow" trap
• Addressing and eliminating shame
• The "crowding out" technique
• The power of simplicity
• Permitter and restrictor personality types
• Real food versus "food-like" products
• And other topics

...

Resources Mentioned:
The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel
Women Food and God by Geneen Roth

In this episode of our six-part series on the foundational pillars of weight loss, Mordechai discusses why preparation trumps willpower, and how you can use preparation to fortify your decision making against unexpected circumstances.

Topics Include:

• Preparing for contingencies
• Why investing in the outcome isn't enough
• Strategies for dealing with common life events such as dinner parties
• Why systems are superior to goals
• The "sneakers on" hack
• Eliminating temptations by stocking your house with healthy food
• The power of visualizing situations where you are likely to fail
• And other topics...