It’s Time to Step, Bust, and Break Out of Your Comfort Zone!
As I’ve been spending time getting ready to lead a group through my brand new Food Allergy Spy Program, I’ve been reflecting on how it feels to step outside your comfort zone and master a new skill. I’ve been stepping outside my comfort zone recently when it comes to art, and it’s been interesting to note the parallels between art and health.
Have you noticed that when you’re with like minded people and engaged in things you do well, you’re engulfed in a feeling of comfort? You feel accepted, valued, and confident.
Take the same YOU and put yourself in a situation where people don’t really have the same values and goals, or where you’re in a position of being less of an authority about the subject matter at hand and it’s a whole different feeling.
Why I’m Feeling Very Humble…
I recently started taking a pottery class. I’ve done it in the past, but it’s been a long time. I’ve noticed there’s a huge difference between how I present myself at my pottery class versus how I usually am during the day.
During the day, I speak with people from a position of being an authority on the subject matter of nutrition. Usually, I am the teacher or I speak to colleagues who are on a similar level. Socially, I am comfortably surrounded with people who are passionate about being healthy and are familiar with concepts of natural healing modalities. It’s a place of confidence that comes easily to me.
At my pottery class, I am in the company of folks who believe in the western medicine model and have very different ideas about the importance of nutrition when it comes to health.
I am also a beginner on the pottery wheel and am humbled by how difficult even the basic things can be. Whenever my instructor gives a demo that appears to be easy and I confidently sit down to duplicate the process, half the instructions become muddled and I lose track of the order of the steps. I very frequently need to ask for help on very basic steps.
You Won’t Believe What I DIDN’T Say…
In this situation, my old shyness emerges and I start to feel self-conscious and inadequate. This is such a sharp contrast to how I feel when I am guiding my patients and students on complex nutrition and health topics.
Even when I overheard a couple of women talking about nutrition and sharing what I know of as blatantly inaccurate comments, I didn’t feel comfortable enough in that environment to say anything.
When I heard one say to the other that it would be better for a nursing Mom whose baby is allergic to cow’s milk to be switched to a non-dairy formula so she wouldn’t have to restrict her own dairy intake, I so wanted to say something. But I was not in the mood for a possible confrontation, so I ignored it.
What is Your Discomfort Holding YOU Back From?
Perhaps you’re feeling a bit outside your comfort zone as you learn and apply new diet and lifestyle habits in your zeal for restoring your health or reaching your ideal weight.
When you step outside your comfort zone, you set the stage for new doors to open up as you learn and master new techniques.
But it takes time and the process is accelerated by having a good mentor you can turn to for questions and guidance.
Why a Mentor Can Make a Difference…
For several years, when my kids were younger, I took pottery classes. I was just getting started on the wheel when my husband’s travel schedule made it difficult for me to continue the classes. So I found a used kiln and wheel and set up a studio in the garage.
Know what happened?
I only used it two or three times over the past 6 years! Without the mentorship of an experienced teacher to guide me, I found it too difficult. Watching the videos and reading the books was just not cutting it and all of what I had learned before was not helping because I hadn’t been practicing long enough to make it a habit.
Now that I am back in class with a teacher to turn to when I am confused or need help, I am making progress.
I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone in attending this class and so far, I’ve thrown 8 very imperfect pots. The more practice I get and the more guidance I receive, the better my skills will be.
Next week I’ll post photos of my pots in various stages of completion to my blog.
You Don’t Have to Struggle Alone!
It’s hard being at the early stages of learning a new skill. Working with a skilled teacher will accelerate my growth.
In what areas can you step outside your comfort zone?
- Maybe you’ve been tempted to join my Food Allergy Spy Program so you can learn how to eliminate the foods that are hurting you.
- Do you use food for comfort and crave certain food items?
- Perhaps you’re feeling scared about the thought of giving up your comfort foods as part of the process.
- Maybe you’ve been struggling for so long that you don’t believe it could help.
Rest assured, the comfort you’ll feel after eliminating the suspect foods is so much greater than the temporary distraction offered by your comfort foods.
And with my support and guidance you’ll get over the confusing parts much more quickly that you would on your own.
In the book, The False Fat Diet by Elson Haas, MD, the connection between food allergies and reluctant fat is explored. In it he describes elimination and provocation. I read many books like this in my years of struggling to regain my health. Finally, I got it all figured out. Yet, had I the opportunity to participate in a program like my Food Allergy Spy Program it would have saved me two years of suffering and countless dollars.
Afraid? Let’s Face Your Food Fears Together.
While the thought of an elimination diet may seem scary for you, it’s well worth stepping outside your comfort zone to do it. The process I have developed for conducting an elimination diet actually has side benefits, too. Most drug approaches to illness have side effects. FAST has side benefits. The elimination phase of the program is also great for strengthening your detox mechanisms and healing your gut.
Just a reminder, the FAST program starts this evening (Tuesday, January 17th, 2012) and it’s filling up fast. I only have a few seats remaining and then it’s filled.
If you can’t make tonight’s live class or decide to wait until tomorrow to register, you can easily “catch up” by listening to the recording, but you run the risk of the class filling up while you’re deciding. Also, the opportunity to get started for just $57 goes away tonight at class time.
There’s No Risk. Only FAST Benefits!
I want your total satisfaction and happiness. You can get started today and participate for a full week. If after next week’s Q&A Coaching call you feel unable to proceed, we’ll refund your money. It’s that easy.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I commit 100% to my program participants. I am invested in your success.
This program is loaded with opportunities to get my personal assistance with the process.
http://www.FoodAllergySpy.com
Since I will be training new coaches to help with the program in the future, this is the ONLY time the program will include so much of my personal attention. So step outside your comfort zone.
You can start with a tiny investment of $57 and there’s no risk.
Magic happens when you step outside your comfort zone. And you’ll be amazed at how much more quickly you’ll make progress with the support of an experienced and caring mentor… me.
I look forward to getting to know you!
http://www.FoodAllergySpy.com
Tags: comfort zone, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, FAST, food allergies, food allergy, Food Allergy Spy, food allergy spy training, food allergy test, food cravings, food intolerance, immune system, mentorship
Posted in Chronic Fatigue, Fatigue Treatment, Health Coach, Immune System Support, Leaky Gut, Raw and Living Foods
Getting Control of Emotional Eating: My Secret Strategies for Getting off the Out of Contol Roller Coaster
Have you ever felt like you’re on a roller coaster when it comes to your health habits? You know what to do, but you don’t always seem to be able to follow through?
You’re not alone. This is a problem shared by many. So quit chastising yourself.
Comfort eating most likely started when you were very little. Some well meaning adult offered you a lollipop to soothe the hurt when you scraped your knee. You felt better and a neural pathway was created. The event was repeated and the pathway got reinforced. Now every time you feel a certain way, you reach for food to soothe the associated emotions.
I know it often feels like it’s out of control and you’ll never be able to stop the roller coaster long enough to get steady, but, in my two decades plus of clinical experience, I’ve noticed that many people do succeed at getting off the out of control ride and achieve the energy, strength and excellent health they desire.
Today I’m going to share a few tips from Chapter 5 the Vibrant Health Mindset Course I created witht eh help of Registered Dietitian and nutrition counselor Jane Harden, RD, LD, MS . We have devoted a large part of a chapter to techniques you can use right away to tame the emotional eating demon and get your diet habits under control. Ready?
Here’s a short-cut process to use when you’re caught unprepared for the situation at hand, and can be used to get you out of trouble. It might take a few attempts to get this to work because the emotional eating response is burned into your brain.
Strategies for Overcoming Emotional Eating
The first step is to identify the emotion you’re feeling that has caused you to turn to food for comfort.
1- Are you tired? It’s very common for people to turn to food when feeling weary. The problem is, the food usually makes the tiredness worse. If you’ve identified that you’re tired, take a break. Even sitting quietly and closing your eyes for just 5 minutes could offer the refreshment you need.
2- Are you lonely? Eating when lonely is a common reaction, yet once the food is gone, the loneliness returns. If you discover that you’re lonely, call a friend, go for a walk and talk to a neighbor or go to a health food store and strike up a conversation in the produce aisle. You never know when a new best friend is ready to appear in your life. If loneliness is a common situation, join a meetup group in an area of interest. There are hundreds of groups on all interests - art , music, hobbies, health…you name it.
3- Are you angry? Many of my clients and patients reach for food to stuff their anger. Instead, work trough the anger. If you are unable to confront the target of your anger directly, write a letter. Even if you never send it, you’ll experience relief.
Work through the list…there are really only 4 emotions…all others fall into one of these categories. Here’s an easy way to remember them – they rhyme: scared, mad, glad, sad. What causes you to eat emotionally? Once you create new behaviors in response to the emotional triggers, you’ll create new neural pathways and the emotional eating pathway will shrivel from disuse.
Outsmart Your Cravings
Here’s an example of a worksheet we’ll be sharing during the live teleclass training portion of the Vibrant Health Mindset process. Complete this in advance so when emotional eating strikes, you’re prepared.
- Make a list of the emotions and the circumstances that trigger emotional eating. Is it visiting your mother, going to restaurants with friends, fights with your partner? What situations (and feelings they illicit) are most likely to trigger you to soothe yourself with food?
- Once you’ve identified the emotions, make a list of the foods that you’d typically turn to to soothe your pain.
- Describe how you feel after eating the food(s).
- Describe what, if any, physical or emotional symptoms eating these foods causes in the short term.
- Make a list of what continuing to eat these foods may keep you from achieving in the long term? (ie vibrant health, strength, stamina, clean arteries, exotic vacations, enjoying your grandchildren, etc
- List at least 3 things you can do instead to soothe the bad feelings?
Here’s where you can use the fun list activity we teach in an earlier chapter .
Using this technique alone can help a lot.
To deepen the process and learn much more about the steps to creating a mindset that results in vibrant health, join us for the Vibrant health Mindset e-course and teleseminar series. It’s a life changing process.
The Video below will give you an idea about the class.
Question of the Day: what do you do to handle strong and uncomfortable emotions?
Answer below.
Love, health and Joy
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: binging, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, emotional eating, food cravings, stop emotional eating, stress, vibrant health mindset
Posted in Vibrant Health
Conquering Food Cravings: Stop Sugar Cravings and Overcome Adrenal Exhaustion
What causes food cravings…you don’t really need the sugar and bread, do you? The cravings for food you you can’t seem to control are a cry from your body for help. What really causes food cravings is a deficiency of one of your basic needs. When nutrients are out of balance, your body craves food to rebuild its stores. When you respond to the cravings with sugar, starches and nutritionally depleted and harmful foods, you add stress to your body, which burdens your adrenal glands. So giving in to food cravings can contribute to adrenal exhaustion.
Learn why and and how breaking free from emotional eating and providing the nutrition you really need will stop cravings in their tracks. By supplying your body with the building blocks of a healthy mind and body, you allow your adrenals to rebuild, your fatigue and exhaustion improve and the cravings lessen.
Question of the Day: What do you crave and how do you handle it when the craving gets really strong? Post your answer in the comments box below.
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, emotional eating, fatigue symptoms, food cravings, green smoothie, Living Foods, raw foods diet, stop cravings, sugar, sugar cravings
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles, Green Smoothies
