The Dr. Nina Show: "The Battle Of The Blueberry Muffin"

Dr. Nina talks with psychologist Dr. Aleta Edwards about her book, Fear Of The Abyss, which explores themes of shame, control and perfectionism. Dr. Nina discusses how shame impacts our relationship with ourselves and with food. She also explores why caller Nicole experienced a “battle with a blueberry muffin.” Don’t miss this fascinating show!

Grab your free copy of Dr. Nina's book The Binge Cure: 7 Steps To Outsmart Emotional Eating (just cover shipping): www.drnina.info.

The Neuroscience Of Weight Loss

What does your brain have to do with weight loss?

As a psychoanalyst and specialist in food, weight and body image issues, my area of expertise is the psychology of eating.  Whether someone has an unhappy, unhealthy relationship to food or is struggling with an eating disorder, I help them look at what's eating "at" them instead of focusing on what they are eating.  

Yet, many people find it difficult to create permanent, sustainable weight loss, and for some of them, there are physiological issues that make it difficult to lose weight and keep it off.  That's why I was so intrigued when I heard about a new device that helps people regulate their hunger, appetite and gain health through neuroscience.  

The research is really compelling and so many people have benefited from his, that I thought I would introduce you to this device as a complement to the psychological piece.  

I invited neuroscientist Dr. Jason McKeon to tell you more about his revolutionary new approach.  Take it away, Jason!!

The Neuroscience Of Weight Loss

by Dr. Jason McKeown  

It’s becoming more apparent that people don’t realise just how challenging sustained weight loss is. Only 5% of dieting attempts actually succeed for a significant amount of time.

As I see it, we only have two options when it comes to weight loss: 

1)    The highly desirable, fast, all-in approach that can shift the pounds on the scales quite drastically. Typically, this is about hitting an impending target like a wedding, holiday or dress size.

2)    The slower, health driven approach to change a lifestyle, which doesn’t have an end point, and doesn’t use the scales as the sole judge of success.

Nearly everyone wants the first and it’s easy to see why. We live in an instant world. Social media, fast food, Netflix, Uber, even quick-fix diets! It’s quantifiable, done quickly, and easy to move on to the next thing. However, that’s not how weight loss works.

We like to blame will-power for its role in weight regain. Namely that our will-power eventually wanes and we give in to the forbidden fruit, and the weight piles back on. Psychology and neurology play a massive role in this.

The neuroscience behind it all is both complicated and hard to influence. When it comes to fat storage, the cornerstone is an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. It literally controls how much fat you store. That’s great if it naturally keeps you lean, but an eye-opener for anyone who struggles with their weight because it’s very good at storing fat.

 In fact, if you adopt a radical diet, or begin an intense exercise regime, your hypothalamus adjusts to prevent your weight from going down. It has been programmed to store fat with ridiculous efficiency. 

 So, when you diet, it’s your hypothalamus that makes you hungry. It also decreases metabolic rate, changes metabolic hormone, and makes you feel low and unmotivated.

These biological mechanisms make it a David & Goliath feat to lose weight and keep it off. Especially if you have held too much body fat, have been obese for a long time, or if you have something which negatively influences fat storage like medication, diabetes, thyroid problems, or even genetics.

Take ‘The Biggest Loser’ TV show for example; insane weight loss results. Yet, these guys were followed up after a few years and not only did they regain all of the weight, but interestingly their metabolic rate was actually lower than when they first went on the show. They were actually worse off than before they started their diet. In my opinion, this happened because they went too hard too fast and their body bounced back (thanks to the hypothalamus).

So, what can actually be done?

First, we need to rid ourselves of this mind-set that ‘people aren’t trying hard enough’ or are ‘lazy’. Yes, consistency with nutrition and physical activity are crucial to weight and overall health, but the real issue is the hypothalamus and we can’t just ‘will power’ our way through it.

Second, forget about diets. Diets have an exceptionally high failure rate. As mentioned earlier, 95% of the time you will not succeed. Yo-yo dieting actually increases your chances of gaining weight.

Third, ditch the quick-fix approach and replace it by being smart and consistent. Small but positive changes in lifestyle will make the journey much more manageable. Improving food choices to complement a healthy lifestyle, as opposed to a ‘six-week starvation diet’, will not cause a massive rebound in your metabolism. Incorporating physical activity into an enjoyable lifestyle will pay dividends for weight loss and your overall health.

An open-ended mind-set is crucial, but admittedly can be difficult to accept. While some people, whose hypothalamus keeps them lean, can appear to eat what they want, that may not apply to you. So, it will take consistency and discipline, particularly if you want to rewrite the neural pathways that drive the psychology and neuroscience, which have been reinforced daily within your brain for years.

Stimulating the hypothalamus correctly will ultimately make weight loss easier. I have two roles related to this – I work as a physician, and I also hold an academic position at UC San Diego’s Center for Brain & Cognition. The focus of my work there is to try and influence the hypothalamus using neurostimulation (small electrical impulses).

Previously this technology has only been implanted, which is both risky and expensive. However, it does work rather well. What we do at UC San Diego is to try and make the technology non-invasive. What we’ve created is called Modius and it’s a headset that can be worn for 60 minutes a day to send an electrical pulse targeting the hypothalamus.

Will this mean you can do nothing and get shredded? Absolutely not. But, what we are finding is that many people have used the device to make the entire weight loss journey more manageable. Particularly, when it comes to curbing appetite, or getting over that dreaded plateau where people just can’t lose any more weight. If you want to try it out, we’ll be at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) January 9 – 12 in Las Vegas.

The neuroscience of weight loss is a complicated area that extends deep into both the psychology and biology of the entire body. The most successful approach to it is the smart, steady and long-term method. And, even with new technology like Modius, this is still a journey that needs determination, commitment and a positive shift in lifestyle.  We’ll be with you every step of your journey with us!

Check out the Modius device here:
www.modiushealth.com


Read the science behind this device here:
https://www.modiushealth.com/science/

This is Dr. McKeown wearing the Modius device:

Dr. Jason McKeown spends his days running a medical device company in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and researching brain stimulation at the University of California, San Diego. In his spare time, he likes to relax by working as an Emergency Medicine Doctor.  

Here's his official bio:   Dr. Jason McKeown is a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Obstetrics from Queen’s University, Belfast. He is a member of the Association of British Neurologists and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and is a Visiting Scholar at the UCSD Center for Brain & Cognition.  In 2015 Jason was invited onto the Propel Programme by InvestNI – a business accelerator aimed at ‘high caliber entrepreneurs who have the passion and energy to succeed on the international stage’.  Upon his completion of the programme, Neurovalens was awarded Company of the Year 2015.

Balanced Body Through Balanced Eating

I'm pleased to welcome back Thomas Grainger as a guest blogger.  In honor of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, he shares his thoughts about balance.  

Take it away, Thomas!

BALANCED BODY THROUGH BALANCED EATING

by Thomas Grainger

2016 was the year that we witnessed a spike in talks around ‘clean eating’. From paleo to veganism, different people were associating themselves with different labels and different eating ideologies. With a focus on reclaiming back one’s health and doing what we felt was the best for our bodies, many people lost sight of what truly mattered. 

Balance.

Eating healthily is very much a subjective idea. It is not just about what you eat but HOW you are doing it, your thoughts and mindset about what you put into your mouth and the people you are sharing your food with. 

Eating is suppose to be a pleasurable process, and one often associated with spending quality time to those who matter in our lives. I think 2017 has already seen a refocusing on what it means to eat healthily - to find that balance between controlling what we eat and enjoying food for it’s intrinsically pleasurable and social value. With food becoming increasingly associated with our identities, especially due to the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, where people share their green smoothies or Acai Bowls in perfectly constructed stylised photo posts, 

It is important that we don’t let food define who we are. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cupcake, or having a bowl of vegetables, if that’s what you feel like. Stewing over what we consume for hours, feelings of guilt or even the judgment of others who don’t eat the same way we do, is never a healthy attitude, no matter how many chia seeds you manage to sprinkle over your organic kale chips. 

There’s a time and a place for everything, as the cliche goes, and I do believe that eating is very much an evolutionary and indeed a learning process. 

Listen to your body. 

Enjoy what you eat. 

Aim to eat from the ‘rainbow’ of food choices out there and most importantly, don’t overthink things. 

Eating is not meant to be a trap. It’s not meant to be associated with weight gain or weight loss. 

It’s the fuel source that nourishes our bodies, and we should all enjoy this nourishing process. 

Let’s make 2017 the year of rebalancing perspectives on eating. Remember, you can ‘have your cake and eat it too’.   

Thomas Grainger is a television producer from Sydney, Australia. After battling a life-threatening eating disorder which left him with a number of serious health issues, he has embarked on a journey as a health and wellness activist, spreading a message of self-acceptance and love for one's body, no matter what shape or size. He is the author of the book, 'You Are Not Your Eating Disorder', a practical guide to understanding and recovering from an eating disorder for life. 

thomasgrainger.info

eatingdisorderbook.info

                                                                          

Your Holiday Survival Guide

It's that time of year again.  The holidays are upon us.   Does that bring you joy?

Or dread?

Maybe you feel a combination of both happiness and anxiety.  If you feel conflicted about the holidays, you're not alone. 

Why are the holidays so difficult for so many people?

TV commercials and magazine ads start showing happy, loving, close families gathered over a table loaded with food.  Everyone is beaming and grateful for their wonderful lives. 

If that’s your reality, consider yourself lucky.  But for many people, if not most, that’s a fantasy world that’s not even close to reality.

If it seems as if everyone in the world is living a perfect Hallmark holiday life, full of peace, love and happiness - and then there’s YOUR family, that can be painful.

The contrast can be really difficult especially if you think the picture perfect image is how it’s supposed to be, and it’s just not.  

That’s upsetting, which leads to overeating or bingeing (or other forms of disordered eating) as a way to numb or distract from the pain. 

Or, because these families are often shown having meals together, eating, overeating or bingeing can be a means of “feeling” like you’re part of the picture perfect holiday family.  If you can't have the family, at least you've got the food.

And what about the food?

The holidays start with Thanksgiving (at least they do in the United States) and Thanksgiving is often referred to as “National Binge Day” – the whole day is a tribute to excess. 

You’re expected to overeat.  It’s even considered bad manners not to try everything on the table.  If you struggle with food, this can be extremely challenging.

Another problem with the holidays is everyone talks about food.  A lot.

Some relatives get offended if you don’t try everything.  Someone will say, “I know you’re watching your weight but you’re just GOT to try my pecan pie.  One bite won’t hurt you.  Go on, have some.”

And then there are the people who watch every bite they eat – and every bite YOU eat.

They say, “Oh, I shouldn’t have this.”  Or worse, “Do you think you should eat that?  Do you really need that?”

All this focus on food can lead to a lot of stress – you’re anxious, upset, and sad – and if you don’t have other strategies to deal with those stressful emotion, that makes you more vulnerable to using food to cope. 

So it can be a vicious cycle.  The key is to learn to express feelings in words, instead of behavior.

How do you stop the cycle?

People often think they are triggered by food but they’re not.  They’re usually triggered by situations and experiences that are painful or upsetting, and make them want to turn to food to cope – to numb, or distract from what’s upsetting them.

Start by asking yourself some questions:

What is the most difficult part of the holidays?  Food?  Family?  Lack of family?

  

Are you emotionally hungry, lonely, upset, or maybe even jealous?  

What is eating "at" you the most?

When you deal with and process those situations and feelings directly, you won’t use food as a coping strategy.  

What is my top survival tip for the holidays?

Be a social anthropologist.    

When you're watching and observing, you're not a participant.  Observing means creating some distance and that distance can be very illuminating.




Hearing your grandparents criticize your sister or brother or cousin, helps you see you learned to criticize yourself. 

When you realize that your mother apologizes for every bite she eats, you’ll recognize how you learned to feel guilty for every bite you take.

It doesn’t matter whether you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah or Kwanza, or nothing, pay attention to what’s going on around you.

What do you like about them?    What do you dislike?

What do you appreciate?   What do you wish was different?

Give yourself permission to hold the positive and negatives about others – it’ll make it easier to hold both about yourself.

When you’re observing others, you don’t feel as much under observation.  That makes you feel less self-conscious, and you feel better.  When you feel better, you’re less likely to use food to cope.

Add some gratitude!

It’s the holidays, and ultimately the holidays are about gratitude, so be grateful.  Think of one thing you appreciate; whether it’s a person or a situation, because hanging onto one good thing can keep you going when things are challenging.  

How To Trust Your Food Choices

You know how when you get a new car, suddenly you see that same car everywhere?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of trust, lately (for an upcoming book chapter), and suddenly it seems that everyone is talking about trust.

“I don't trust if I'm really hungry for food or if it's emotional hunger. It’s hard to know the difference.”

“Intuitive eating?  What in the world is that?”

“I’m afraid if I give myself permission to eat whatever I want, I’ll start eating pizza and ice cream and I won’t stop.  Ever.  Seriously.  I’ll never stop.

The idea that you can trust yourself to know what your body needs, or that you can trust yourself to stop eating forbidden food once you’ve started may seem as likely as jet-packing to the moon an hour from now.

As someone recently put it, “That might be true for normal people.  But my body will tell me that I need pizza.”

So, how do you learn to trust yourself when it comes to food?

#1 Learn to discern the difference between physical and emotional hunger. 

Signs that you’re physically hungry

• ·      Growling, gurgling stomach
• ·      Feeling light-headed
• ·      Getting a headache (especially if you haven’t eaten for some hours)

Signs that you're emotionally hungry

• ·      A specific food "sounds good" or "looks good"
• ·      You want to reward yourself
• ·      You want to calm down or feel better

#2 Identify the underlying triggers

Are you upset, sad, angry?  

Express those feelings in words, not actions

Are you lonely? 

Call a friend or be a friend to yourself.  When you are alone with a critical part of you, it’s very lonely indeed, but when you cultivate a part of yourself that can be responsive and kind, you achieve solitude, not loneliness.

Are you anxious?

Calm your body by using muscle relaxation exercises or walking, working out, or anything physical.  A relaxed body is the first step to relaxing your mind.

Are you bored?

Do something!  And ask yourself if you’re bored or lonely.

Are you exhausted or sleepy?  

If you use food to perk yourself up when you’re tired, that’s not emotional hunger, but it is the wrong response to exhaustion.  When you’re tired, you need to rest.   Food won’t perk you up for long.  Your body needs rest, not food.

#3 Put off eating for three minutes and see what happens

If you’re physically hungry, you’ll probably get a little bit hungrier (but not so hungry that you will lose control).   If you’re emotionally hungry, the urgency may pass and you may feel more reflective and less reactive.

When you identify whether you are hungry for food or eating to resolve an internal conflict or state, it’s easier to make healthy food choices!   And that's how you make peace with food for good!

*          *          *

Want even more support on your journey?  I can help!  Imagine feeling FREE of food cravings and being at peace, all without dieting (yes, it is possible)!

Sign up for my FREE 3 Day Challenge to crack the code of emotional eating:  https://winthedietwar.clickfunnels.com/crack-the-code