The Eating Coach

*Funny Article of The Week*

...comes from The Daily Mash.

*Main section: Overwhelming Force*

I discuss the above-named article and its benefits - as well as shortcomings for us in reclaiming our lives from food.

"Instead of merely dipping your toes into the change you’d like to make, you dive into it headfirst. Instead of undercommitting resources, you overcommit."

"If you think you have an effective kill strategy for your goal, but it isn’t working too well, perhaps you’ve underestimated the resistance. Don’t feel bad if you find yourself in this situation — great military leaders have been punished by this mistake as well. Accept that your kill strategy may in fact be underkill, and what you think of as overkill may be just what you need."

What is liberating about these words - and where are they unhelpful? Listen and find out.

Let's get specific about the range of strategies we can use to dismantle binge eating etc. Some of them are:

REFRAMING - Tell yourself a different story from the unhelpful, disempowering one you've been preaching like it is the truth all these years. Ask yourself: How would I feel if I could walk away from the junk?

NUTRITIONAL CHANGES - can have a powerful effect on your mood swings and cravings

ENVIRONMENT -  Inconvenient as it may be, having no money on you for example is a foolproof way to avoid buying junk, to protect yourself from your cravings. Surely a life filled with food compulsion is a worse kind of incovenient - one that never changes.

 

Things To Be Aware Of With This Article

QUICK FIXES RARELY WORK - the article seems to promise a quick fix - but this is not a faulty part on a bike or electrical appliance we are working on with eating change. And what if you reach your goal in twice the time you have set yourself, but the result is sustainable?

INVISIBLE BELIEFS - these lie under the surface of people's conscious beleifs and can often sabotage the best laid plans

PERFECTIONISM - Pavlina is too reliant on that perfect result. We need to embrace the reality that even tough we might strive for perfection, it is always elusive with ongoing practices such as empowered eating.

 

RESOURCES

The Daily Mash article http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/5k-run-adds-30-minutes-to-your-life-but-takes-40-minutes-20180425148001

The Steve Pavlina article: https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/09/overwhelming-force/

Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

The 5 Minute Willpower Game is at 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/willpower/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Get your free Hidden Sugars Checklist to print off at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

 

In this third part of my series on addiction, I tackle the question of why some foods are just so addictive….or as I want to rephrase it, just why is it so easy to feel compulsive about certain foodstuffs? *Quotes of The Week*

...all about smoking.

 

*Main section*

Just exactly why are some foods are just so addictive is actually 2 questions:

#1 What is it about some particular foods (their ingredients, the way they are processed etc) that can encourage compulsion?

....and

#2 Why do we feel compulsive about some foods in the first place? Why do human beings feel they need to manage problems with food at all?

#2 is a more empowering question, because it turns us from passive victims into responsible beings with the power to change our lives.

"A core part of addiction is, I think, about not being able to bear to be present in your life" ~ Johan Hari

Many people don't believe that they can manage their overwhelm and shame - but they CAN.

 

 

RESOURCES

Episode 17: http://www.theshiftinside.com/whats-wrong-with-calorie-counting/

Johan Hari's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong

Episode 4: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-how-sugar-hijacks-your-brain/

Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Ask a question at:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Get your free 5 Minute Willpower Game at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

In this short standalone episode in this series on addiction, I talk about The 27 Club - what it is, and what lessons it has for not just anyone wanting to reclaim their lives from food, but to dismantle ANY addiction.

I present the two reasons that I think The 27 Club resonates with so many people, and talk about the myth of the external agent which is ruining your life.

How can we stop seeing Amy and Jimi and Kurt as victims and instead treat them as teachers when it comes to addiction and compulsion?

Next week we look at why some foods are so addictive.

 

RESOURCES

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/why-the-27-club-is-a-myth-jimi-hendrix-and-amy-winehouse-may-be-members-but-that-doesnt-make-it-real-10152675.html

 

Episode 19: http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast-me-too-release-your-trauma-and-put-food-out-of-a-job-it-was-never-meant-to-do/

Episode 20: http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast-how-to-stop-sugar-cravings/

Harry Potter Saved My Life - episode 5: http://harrypottersavedmylife.com/5-ron-and-shedding-victimhood

Is the term Food Addiction actually a real thing? Can we class it in the same league as drug and alcohol addiction, hoarding and so on? Does it even matter what language you use?

 

*Podcast of The Week*

I am loving How To Be A Girl, the audio diary of one mother raising her transgender daughter through childhood, pre teens and adolescence.

  *Main section*

While some foods can definitely be addictive, it is massively unhelpful to see food in general as addictive - because we need it to stay alive. Why create more conflict around your eating than you already have?

I give you a much more useful replacement phrase to use.

It's not about the food, but rather about conflicting drives within us and how that conflict plays out when we stop using the food (or the alcohol, or the cigarettes) to manage our lives.

I also discuss how scientists see addiction (clue: it is ruled by an either or principle), and the valid reasons for filtering their truths in order to not feel like victims of the evil Food X - and be in an empowered position to dismantle our own addictions.

What scientists seem to be presenting is a choice between either no human power to change things, where the drug 'turns off controls' - or complete control in the case of substances like sugar which are not seen as addictive and therefore we should be easily able to resist.

 

Last Word - from Blackadder The Second

https://youtu.be/D5IenhbpCko

 

RESOURCES

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/25/is-sugar-really-as-addictive-as-cocaine-scientists-row-over-effect-on-body-and-brain

Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Ask a question at:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Get your free 5 Minute Willpower Game to print off at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/willpower

 

When I told my friend Jan to stop calling herself fat, and instead compare herself to Marilyn Monroe, she snorted “Yeah, Marilyn Monroe with Mount Etna for a tummy”. But then things changed – without her shedding a single pound. Find out why today.

Today I tell you the story of Jan, the weigh in addict – and how she managed to stop this daily practice.

Find out why I believe daily – and even weekly weigh ins are bad news for all of us.

 

SURPRISING MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Me buying a beauty magazine, that’s what! Find out why. You can see the cover I mention here: 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast-jans-story-from-misery-to-marilyn-monroe-ec-48/

 

MAIN SECTION: Jan’s Story – from Misery to Marilyn Monroe

Today I tell the story of a friend of mine, who we shall call Jan, and how she stopped weighing herself every day. What could possibly have made her stop? Listen and find out.

Reasons that daily weigh ins are counterproductive:

*If you increase your exercise in order to shed weight, you may well lose inches but gain pounds because muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less room.

*Scales express a mistrust of the body. Why can’t how loose your clothes are be the indicator by which we judge our changing shape?

*Daily weigh ins satisfy a really unhelpful craving for instant gratification

*They tap into a perceived need for progress to be linear and smooth

*Daily weigh ins can help you achieve self-acceptance only as long as you never fall off the wagon – and so demand that you act like a robot.

None of these things, however, made an iota of difference to Jan's behaviour. So what did??? Find out the lesson Jan’s story also taught me about scale addiction.

 

RESOURCES

Episode 33: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-does-caffeine-make-binge-eating-worse/

Episode 14: http://www.theshiftinside.com/films/

 Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Ask a question at:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

5 Minute Willpower Game is at 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/willpower/

Get your free Hidden Sugars Checklist to print off at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

Come with me back in time to a real-life mystery where life imitates art. Unlike poor Jack Hare, you have multiple opportunities every day to reclaim your life from binge eating, sugar addiction and compulsive eating. Find out how here...

 

*Quote Of The Week*

Life doesn’t happen to you – it happens through you – Joan Sotkin

  *Main section: Masquerade by Kit Williams and The Lessons For Binge Eating Hidden Inside *

In 1979, the UK - and other parts of the world - was obsessed by treasure. Specifically one golden hare buried somewhere in Britain. The clues to find it were hidden in a fantastically beautiful, subtly complex children's book called Masquerade. The book - and indeed the controversy surrounding the actual treasure hunt - offers us a number of valuable lessons to help us reclaim our lives from food. In this unashamedly fangirl fest of an episode, I tell you what they are.

Lesson 1 - Things Are Never What They Seem

Apart from the obvious look for the hare hidden in every picture aspect of this, there is a very poignant and still highly relevant commentary on physical confidence.

 

Lesson 2 - Guard Against Instant Gratification

Things fall apart for the moon when she stays behind to watch the progress of Jack Hare on his journey to deliver her gift to the sun. Hear what this can tell us about our own change stories. We need to allow our new behaviour time to take effect in the form of the results we crave.

 

Lesson 3 - We Are All Susceptible To Cognitive Dissonance

Tens of thousands of letters from Masqueraders have convinced me that the human mind has an equal capacity for pattern-matching and self-deception. While some addicts were busy cooking the riddle, others were more single-mindedly continuing their own pursuit of the hare quite regardless of the news that it had been found. Their own theories had come to seem so convincing that no exterior evidence could refute them. These most determined of Masqueraders may grudgingly have accepted that a hare of some sort was dug up at Ampthill, but they believed there would be another hare, or a better solution, awaiting them at their favourite spot. Kit would expect them to continue undismayed by the much publicised diversion at Ampthill and would be looking forward to the day when he would greet them as the real discoverers of the real puzzle of Masquerade. Optimistic expeditions were still setting out, with shovels and maps, throughout the summer of 1982.

~ From Bamber Gascoine's Quest For The Golden Hare

The shame that so may compulsive eaters feel means that they are often liable to be blind to the fact that a particular diet etc may not be working at all. Watch out for pleasure deprivation which will create a backlash if you are not careful.

 

Lesson 4 - Watch Out For Goal Obsession

The irony of goal achievement is that behaviour is what you should focus on to achieve your goal, not a ever-constant stream of nice neat linear smooth results. Unlike poor Jack Hare, who loses the amulet on his journey, you have multiple opportunities every day to reclaim your life from food.

 

RESOURCES

All the pictures from Masquerade and  a lengthy discussion of the book can be found at http://bunnyears.net/kitwilliams/

I am indebted to Paul Slade for his very detailed account of the real-life treasure hunt, which you can read here: http://www.planetslade.com/masquerade.html

Bamber Gascoine's Quest For The Golden Hare: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1176887.Quest_for_the_Golden_Hare

Episode 29: Better Than Willpower: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-better-than-willpower-ec29/

Episode 26: Real and Fake Pleasure: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-real-vs-fake-pleasure/

Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Ask a question at:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Get your free Hidden Sugars Checklist to print off at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

 

Today I have not a magic pill, but a key concept that will help you binge-proof your mind. Want to stop that compulsive eating self-sabotage? Listen in. There is an F word - but not what you are thinking! I'm talking about failure - and using it for a very specific purpose that actually fuels success.

 

*Stupid Idea of The Week*

Breatharianism. No food whatsoever. A fast with no time limit. Need I say more? Well clearly I do... The worst excesses of spirituality meets the worst excesses of fad dietism.

  *Main section*

The title of this week's show was inspired by Jia Jiang's very readable book Rejection Proof, based on his experience of actively seeking rejection over 100 days as a way to rid himself of his crippling fear of - you guessed it - rejection. The lesson for binge eating? Well, when you binge, you probably interpret that as one massive failure in the same way that most people see rejection as failure.

Instead, Jia used the apparent failure of rejection for a very specific purpose that actually fuelled his success. Find out what it is in this episode, as well as the different questions you need to ask about your so-called failures with food in order to turn them over for your own higher purpose.

RESOURCES

Episode 32 - The Failure Olympics: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-the-failure-olympics-ec32/

Episode 26: Real and Fake Pleasure: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-real-vs-fake-pleasure/

Episode 20: How to Stop Sugar Cravings: http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast-how-to-stop-sugar-cravings/

Breatharianism article: http://allthatsinteresting.com/dumbest-diet-trends/2

Jia Jiang's book Rejection Proof: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22747928-rejection-proof

Join the private Eating Coach Discussion Group at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594950873896541/

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

Ask a question at:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast/

Get your free audiobook at:

http://www.audibletrial.com/EatingCoach

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Get your free Hidden Sugars Checklist to print off at

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

 

 

“If you are always using food to escape the uncertainties and pain of life, it will always be YOU who is the real prisoner”.

 

STUPID IDEA OF THE WEEK

…comes from David Walliams’ The Boy In The Dress

 

MAIN SECTION

The title of today’s episode I have taken from Shropshire’s favourite stand up comedian Greg Davies in his Netflix show You Magnificent Beast. Ever eaten to escape the uncertainties, pain and discomfort of life? If so, you’ve experienced what Davies calls Total Food Lockdown.

It’s using food as your life manager, instead of taking on that role yourself. It’s food as the instrument of the ego.

Discover

• What exactly it is

 

• The two ways that is such a powerful escape hatch from real life – or so it seems

 

• The more empowering alternative to TFL and some practical ways you can implement this concept at your next meal…that means today!

 

RESOURCES

5 Minute Willpower Game 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/willpower/

 

Find out more about coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

 https://simplelifestrategies.com/10-signs-your-ego-is-in-control/

 

Episode 35 on Cavebrain:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-why-cant-i-stop-stress-eating-ask-your-cavebrain/

 

Episode 4

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-how-sugar-hijacks-your-brain/

 

Episode 29

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-better-than-willpower-ec29/

 

Sound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

On 6th April this year, the UK introduced a sugar tax. In this episode I explain why I think it is a double-edged sword…as well as give you a thought experiment that I hope will help put you off having it in the first place!

Find out:

• Why it is a doubled edged sword
• Why this levy is a breeding ground for complacency
• How you can use the idea of tax (pain at the point of purchase) to help you stop buying so much sugar junk
• The non-monetary, less tangible ways that sugar taxes your thinking, emotions and physical health

 

RESOURCES

Hidden Sugars Checklist

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

 

Freedom From Sugar Online Programme

http://www.theshiftinside.com/freedom/

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43659124

 

Episode 15

http://www.theshiftinside.com/podcast-artificial-sweeteners-what-you-should-really-worry-about/

 

Episode 4

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-how-sugar-hijacks-your-brain/

 

Episode 39

http://www.theshiftinside.com/feel-amazing-challenge/

 Is Raw Honey Good For You?

RESOURCES

Hidden Sugars checklist

http://www.theshiftinside.com/hidden/

 

Dr Mark Hyma’s Q and A on raw honey

http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/12/12/food-bites-dr-hyman-raw-honeypure-maple-syrup/

 

Dr Robert Lustig on raw honey

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2006/10/7103/spot-dr-lustig-responds

 

Coaching:

http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/

 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-food-lies-we-tell-ourselves-ec-34/

 

http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-how-sugar-hijacks-your-brain/