Although many cultures have long recognized solitude as an opportunity to look inward, in our culture we sometimes think that spending time alone is unhealthy.
In the 2009 CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Robert Kull, we learned that spending time alone can actually soften our sense of alienation from others. Kull used his journey to deep wilderness solitude to drive that point home.
Robert Kull is the author of SOLITUDE: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes- A Year Alone in the Patagonia Wilderness.
Eating is a fundamental pillar of life. Most of us enjoy it, especially when we’re savoring some great tasting food!
Unfortunately, we also don’t always have the best sense of when to stop eating. Especially when we have access to good-tasting foods in immense quantities.
We poke fun at humorous situations such as Homer Simpson eating until he can’t move. But, there are consequences to this. They range from a mild stomach ache to cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
Plus, overeating is not as dramatic as eating until our pants are about to burst. It’s subtle. It’s more like eating more than we need in one sitting. Or eating until we’re full rather than eating until we’ve gotten the nutrients we need.
We don’t have the natural constraints our ancestors did to prevent us from overeating. In evolutionary terms, most humans couldn’t overeat. Large-scale agriculture and food processing are fairly recent developments.
Most humans (especially Americans) have access to more food and convenience than ever.
So, what drives us to eat more than we need?
One key insight is the emotional connection to food many people have. Research has shown that they tend to eat more or overeat when they’re feeling sad. Or depressed. Or if they’re struggling with an issue.
A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health looked at eating disorders like binge eating. It found that “it’s important to consider depressive symptoms in overeating.”
Are we eating because we’re hungry, or because of an emotional issue we’re dealing with?
Another consideration is symptoms of Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. The Medical University of Warsaw found that these symptoms can lead people to eat more. Why? To satisfy urges to increase insulin. So, it’s important to practice moderation when eating sweets. They cause us to eat far more than we actually need.
Finally, your body is your best warning system. Warnings come when you experience constipation, blockage, vomiting or stomach aches. Your body is telling you it’s had enough.
If you feel a constant need for laxatives or antacids it’s most likely your body’s alarm system at work. It’s telling you that you’ve taken in far more food than you need.
Your body’s energy level and mental alertness also are signs of eating too much.
We all enjoy a well-prepared meal or delicious healthy snacks. Yet as far as biology is concerned food is no more than fuel for our body to consume and turn into energy.
But when you bog your system down with excess or poor quality food (A.K.A. junk food) your energy will decrease. You’ll feel sluggish and less alert. Rather than boost energy, it will make your digestive system feel overloaded.
Your brain and your emotions work together to send you the warnings. These can come in the form of depression or stress.
Be mindful with this. Be aware of your current state. Your body tells you through your energy levels and digestion system when you’ve had too much.
A quick heads-up to alert you to our next episode of CHI FOR YOURSELF. We’ll hear from psychotherapist and author Susan Anderson, who says that self-sabotaging behaviors come from an aspect of our personalities that most people aren’t consciously aware of — their Outer Child. Susan’s the author of Taming Your Outer Child: Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Healing from Abandonment.
Join us on the call next Thursday April 16th at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time. Look for the screen on the Start page of chiforyourself.com.
On last week’s CHI FOR YOURSELF we took on the issue of weight loss with out guests, Joy and Roy Martina, co-authors of Sleep Your Fat Away. I like that they stay away from the traditional methods of losing the pounds- things like diets and possibly dangerous pills.
Here’s a look at some of the talking points from that show:
Weight issues in their earlier lives
How their system works with natural sleep cycles
Comparing sleep programming with hypnosis
The virtual gastric band
Why is weight hard to take off and then keep off?
Intelligence as a whole-body system
Diet “truisms”- true or false?
Some practical tips on keeping pounds off
If you didn’t hear the show you can listen to it by clicking on this player
Overheard:
“Food cannot cause you to put on weight, unless you think it can.”
Join us as we welcome Joy and Roy Martina to CHI FOR YOURSELF. They’re the authors of Sleep Your Fat Away. The book outlines a system intended to help you re-train your unconscious mind to overcome addictions and change your lifestyle habits, so you can attain your optimum weight and become the healthiest YOU possible.
Be with us on the call today at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time atchiforyourself.com!
As promised, a look at our next CHI FOR YOURSELF guests..
JOY AND ROY MARTINA are amongst the world’s leaders in helping people get back into their power. Joy Martina is a Rapid Change Coach, the creator of the Christallin Oracle Training, a master hypnotist, a trainer of trainers and a co-author of six books. World-renowned holistic medical doctor and European thought leader Roy Martina M.D. is the creator of the Omega Healing Method and author of over 70 books (currently translated into more than 10 languages)
One of those books is an international #1 bestseller Emotional Balance. Roy was with us several years ago to talk about the launch of that book. This time Joy and Roy have teamed up to produce Sleep Your Fat Away. They’ll be talking about their method of becoming naturally slim by retraining your unconsciousness mind to overcome addictions and change lifestyle habits in order to attain optimum weight and become the healthiest YOU possible.
Be with us on the call Thursday April 2nd at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time at www.chiforyourself.com.
Watkins’ Mind Body Spiritis out with it’s list of The 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2015. On the list is twice-visiting CHI FOR YOURSELF guest Matthew Fox
On another April episode of CHI FOR YOURSELF we’ll learn about the Outer Child. You may be familiar with the Inner Child concept but our guest will tell us that the Outer Child works in harmony with the Inner Child in self-defeating ways. That’s next month on CHI FOR YOURSELF. Details to come..
Valentine’s Day is a day meant for Love. But, it’s not a day limited to romantic love as many would tell you. It is also about self-love. It is about knowing who you are. It is about knowing that, who you are is someone worthy of love, kindness and compassion.
If you are experiencing low self-worth and low self-esteem, know that there are many others like you out there. You are not alone. Realize that you feel this way because you do not yet love yourself truly and deeply for who you are in this moment. Sure, you can always become better, but you must be kind and compassionate to who you are today, so that you may journey toward a more fulfilling life with your own support. Certainly, spread your love and care to others but don’t forget that you too need that kindness that you wish to share with others and for that you must share it with yourself as well. If others share it with you, accept it. If they don’t, not to worry. Share it with yourself and by doing that you’ll radiate it toward others. You’ll find strength if you believe in yourself no matter how hard your day, week or month has been because you can be. You always have the capacity to be loved because it starts with loving yourself and you can love yourself just as you are, because you are worth loving.
I send you all the best energies for a very Happy Valentine’s Day! As I mentioned on the call with Karen Koenig I’m working on an upcoming show that would take a look at relationships that are not working so well, and why that’s so. I’ll keep you posted as to when a booking date is finalized.
Speaking of Karen Koenig, she gave us a great interview and look at her book : OUTSMARTING OVEREATING: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems.
Karen Koenig
If you didn’t hear the show you can catch it and other episodes you may have missed by clicking on this player.
Make sure you’re with us on the call today as we hear from Karen Koenig, author of OUTSMARTING OVEREATING: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems. Karen says we can transform our eating habits- and our lives- by developing effective life skills. We get started today at 4pm Eastern, 1pm Pacific time at chiforyourself.com
Well, here we are in the last week of January winging our way through 2015. I don’t know if you made any resolutions for the year, but if you did you may have the “lose some weight” resolution on your list. It’s one of the more popular promises we make each year. On the next CHI FOR YOURSELF we’re going to look at weight gain and weight loss from a perspective you may not have considered.
Our guest will be Karen Koenig, author of Outsmarting Overeating: Boost Your Life Skills, End Your Food Problems as well as five other books about eating and weight. Karen’s a psychotherapist, eating coach, and speaker who’s been working with troubled eaters for more than 30 years. Karen says “You may think food is your main problem, but it isn’t.” Rather, she says your problem is that “you never learned the skills and strategies everyone needs in order to live effectively and successfully.”
Karen Koenig
Be on the call with us on the next CHI FOR YOURSELF with Karen Koenig- Thursday, February 5th at 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern time at chiforyourself.com.
If you missed last week’s CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Mary Beth Sammons here’s a look back on some of the points we covered:
*overcoming challenges to an attitude of gratitude *the Law of Attraction’s place in the practice of gratitude *how hardship is such a good starting point for appreciation *getting kids to feel grateful *what Mary Beth is grateful for *her favorite gratitude practice *Yoga and Meditation as aids to gratitude *Mary Beth’s collaboration with co-author Nina Lesowitz *finding gratitude in a world of negative news *separating real dreams from ego urges *Mary Beth’s takeaway point from the book
You can listen to the CHI FOR YOURSELF interview with Mary Beth Sammons by clicking on this player:
Overheard:
..all you really need is in your life already
Unfortunately, we also don’t always have the best sense of when to stop eating. Especially when we have access to good-tasting foods in immense quantities. 
Overheard: “It’s not that some people have the willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.”
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