It happens every year, October 31st rolls around and the next 2 1/2 months feel like a roller coaster of battling with food - specifically sugar, refined carbs and alcohol.
It starts with Halloween, creeps into Thanksgiving, escalates to December holiday events and crescendos into the big binge finale of New Years.
You give yourself permission to "enjoy the holidays," but really what's happening is your brain has hijacked your greater desire to stay healthy and still enjoy the holidays as an excuse to go wild with overindulgence.
What would it feel like to enjoy the holidays and still maintain focus on your goals and NOT gaining the average 7 – 10 pounds?
Enjoy a guided meditation today to help you embrace the holiday season with a new thought pattern so you feel in control. Engage the power of your mind today and maintain some boundaries to keep you on your fitness journey!
Chad’s Journey to Sobriety
Although Chad grew up in a Mormon household, he had five generations of alcoholism passed down to him. Chad’s first “infatuating buzz” was at age 18 and he spent the next ten years chasing that exact feeling, resulting in a cycle of binge drinking and heavy daily alcohol consumption. In 2013, Chad injured his back, which left him with a herniated disk and paralyzed in bed. The doctors told Chad he must attend physical therapy sessions and have steroid shots before surgery could take place to repair the disk. After five months of limited activity, on OxyContin, although not drinking; Chad found he was severely depressed. He was finally able to have a successful surgery on his back, but by then he was addicted to opioids. It was during this time that Chad turned back to alcohol to ease the discomfort of opioid withdrawals and the associated insomnia. During one irrational drunken night, Chad found himself locked out of his house. He drove out to the desert where he laid with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of Nyquil. Chad describes this night as one of the darkest times of his life. Something or someone pushed him forward through it and he somehow managed to text his brother for help.
Chad returned home, sobered up and got honest with his wife and doctors about what had been going on. It was a false start though because after a few weeks of not drinking, Chad thought things had returned to normal and that it was okay to start drinking again.
For the next two years, he drank a fifth of vodka a day. Chad knew his drinking was a problem when it wasn’t fun or relaxing anymore but a necessity. He says, “I just didn’t feel like a normal, functioning person unless I had alcohol in my system.”
Chad worked hard at protecting his addiction. Chad says his family and friends knew he was a big drinker, but did not know to what extent. At his sister’s wedding, Chad thought he played the part of the “functional alcoholic” well, but to his surprise, he learned he had not. Chad’s wife and brothers were worried he was going to die, so they intervened with an invitation for him to attend The Riversource Recovery in Arizona. After much arguing, Chad complied.
While in rehab, Chad learned about his illness and he connected with some of the most genuine people he had met in his life. His counselor at The Riversource Recovery Center is now his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and a dear friend. Chad continues to work day by day to be sober.
What Have You Learned from Transitioning Back into Day to Day Life?
- Learn to mourn the loss of the life you lived.
- It’s nonsense to mark when you’re going to change, tomorrow, next week or at the beginning of the year. That’s our primal brain’s safe way of saying, “Oh good, I don’t have to change yet.”
- As it states in Newton’s First Law of Motion (the law of inertia): “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” Chad relates this to people struggling with addiction since very often someone will remain in the same motion until something tragic happens that stuns them enough to move forward.
In recovery Chad says he’s learned, “The beautiful thing about being a human is we don’t have to hit that brick wall to be moved. We can be moved by being inspired to change and to change our path.” That “bottom” is wherever you decide to stop digging and if you decide that bottom is today you can start to make changes.
Release the shame and guilt of your disease. It’s important to understand you are still that amazing person but was struggling with an illness bigger than you could have handled alone.
Christa says, “You must love yourself as you are today and know that just because you want something else in your life or for your body, you are not broken.”
In September 2016 at one year sober, Chad’s brother introduced him to the ketogenic diet. Chad embraced it, immediately felt better and has dropped 65 pounds while inspiring thousands with his openness and vulnerability in the Keto Connection Facebook Group where he met Christa!
Continuously focusing on a lifestyle of recovery from food and alcohol addictions, Chad knew the last piece of the puzzle was to give up cigarettes. During a family trip he discovered he was upset and raging over things he didn’t need to be upset about. He took a step back and realized that his subconscious mind was throwing a fit because it wanted a cigarette. Chad thought, “Why would I give my brain a cigarette because it’s throwing a fit? I don’t give my toddler everything he wants.” This is when Chad quit smoking!
He explains, “You have to exercise your willpower like you exercise your bicep. It doesn’t get better or bigger unless you put it under pressure.”
Now realizing the freedom he’s gained from getting healthy, Chad says he never realized how gross he felt for so many years but is grateful for even the dark years because coming out of it he was able to make little changes that were sustainable.
We’re all struggling with something whether it be food, alcohol or drug dependencies but with the Fitlandia community you are safe, welcomed, cherished and honored. Please leave us a review on this podcast with some gratitude and let’s all continue to celebrate new beginnings, vulnerability and sobriety!
Need some support and guidance to take a break from alcohol? Sign up for our 30 Days to Thriving program and get early bird pricing for the January program when you sign up before November 30th.
Subscribe to the show today and leave Chad and I a review on iTunes, letting us know how today's episode has helped you!
Today we have the pleasure of introducing Ashley James to our Fitlandia podcast! Ashley is a massage therapist, Reiki Master, a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) master practitioner and trainer, and does Time Line Therapy Hypnosis and Coaching. In addition to all this, Ashley is the bubbly podcast host of Learn True Health, where she interviews holistic health experts and doctors of Naturopathic medicine.
As a reformed dieter herself, Ashley says she spent her time beating herself up about her weight until she concluded that, “Diets don’t work because they go against our physiology.” As humans, for much of our history, we were hunter and gathers and now we’re supposed to cut our calories? It doesn’t make sense because our physiology tells us we have to eat and gain weight to live; it’s what we were designed to do.
“Diets don’t work because they go against our physiology.” - Ashley
After many years of stressing over her weight, Ashely was finally able to let go of the associating negative feelings and beliefs and now is excited to share with the world just how good it feels to eat healthy. She says, “When you’re excited and motivated to fuel your body with whole foods, your health will improve and that weight will eventually fall off.”
Life coach turned health coach, Ashley had to let go of the idea, or excuse, that she had to be a size 6 in order to pursue and inspire people as a health coach. She knew how important holistic medicine and nutrition had been in her life and she wanted share that with others. Holistic practices helped Ashley reverse her diabetes, eliminate chronic adrenal fatigue and monthly chronic infections and improve her fertility. After reaping so many of the benefits of Naturopathic Medicine, Ashley started pursuing it more seriously and began her podcast.
Not only does Ashley learn and benefit from the information shared by people she interviews, she says,“That it’s amazing to see the positive health shifts in her listener’s lives and it makes her excited for what they’re doing to reverse and/or to manage a variety of chronic diseases.” Bringing life to holistic health, Ashley found herself in a place of intense study of the mind and how it creates our behaviors and reality.
For years, Ashley has been dedicated to breaking the stigma that your body size and weight is a direct reflection of health. Instead, Ashley says she’s working to reinforce the blueprint with our brain for what we’re manifesting in our life instead of being solely interested in being skinny.
Ashley says, “If we are trapped in our mind, we will stay there no matter whether you’re a size 6 or 16. When we shift our mind and focus to be about health and not about weight and staying positive (no matter what the scale says) is what leads us to make healthy decisions. “
You have to be happy now and then celebrate when we have our results instead of waiting to embrace our lives and bodies when we are that size we think is right.
So, how do we reduce or eliminate anxiety?
Ashley explains that anxiety is often seen as a negative emotion like guilt, fear, sadness or anger which the feeling can be experienced again by thinking of a past situation that brings up these emotions. For example, being sad about the loss of a pet can make you feel upset even after the fact. However, with anxiety, the feeling cannot be re-experienced because it hasn't already happened. It is not a negative emotion of the past but a completely different kind of emotion. Ashley describes it as, “the check engine light of our spiritual dashboard and our unconscious mind.” Anxiety can act as a survival mechanism and it’s a message from our unconscious mind to warn us of possible dangers. Our brain can’t differentiate what is imaginary and what is real and when we begin to think about a worst-case scenario of a situation, our body responds as if it is truly happening.
Ashley's Technique to Completely Eliminate Anxiety Whenever You Feel It
Pick something in the future that you have anxiety around
On a scale 1-10 notice your anxiety level when thinking about this activity or thing
Close your eyes
Float up above your time line (past is in one direction and the future is the opposite)
Float 15 minutes PAST the successful completion of the event and look down at it
Imagine that you’re 15 minutes past the completion of what you were worried about and see where your anxiety is now
If anxiety persists, ask yourself if you focused on the successful completion and did you look forward 15 minutes past the successful completion?
If you didn’t - do that now
If you did - ask yourself what you are anxious about now and if it’s a deeply rooted issue
Repeat technique again
Ashley says, “We can consciously interrupt the pattern that will rewire the conscious programming of our brains.” This not only relieves anxiety but also allows your brain to do brilliant work when that event occurs because you already gave your mind that positive programming.
Like with Mind Zoning®, Christa says, “You don’t have to believe it or understand why for your brain to adopt it and for it to start manifesting in your day to day life.”
This time line therapy technique is amazing for rewiring your brain and you don’t need to have anxiety to use it. Ashley says she practices it while “habit stacking” where she adds a new activity to a series of activities she already does religiously every morning in order to make the new habit stick. While making her bullet proof coffee in the morning, Ashley imagines the successful completion of her day. Whether it’s a simple day of grocery shopping, a workout and making dinner, she imagines everything going perfectly. “If you’re continuously focused on the best-case scenario, your unconscious mind, the reticular activating system, will delete and generalize information in your favor so that you start to see the little times in your day that go right when you couldn’t before because you were running on an old belief system that deleted it.”, explains Ashley. “Your life will get better with this technique because you’re actually looking for the evidence to support it!”
Make sure to follow Ashley’s podcast, Learn True Health, and give these ladies a 5-star rating and review on iTunes and Stitcher and tell us how you’re using this to change your life!
FINAL DAYS for the Pre-Order. Order the eBook, "Strategic Vitality: 11 Small Steps to a Big Transformation" today for only $3.99 and get $800+ in bonuses.
Christa's bringing you a sneak peak of her new book coming out, "Strategic Vitality: 11 Small Steps to a Big Transformation" as she goes through the 11 steps and reads excerpts from the book due out on 10/17/17.
Excerpt Back Cover of the Book
Does the idea of getting healthy seem overwhelming? Are you filled with a sense of deprivation or even fear about creating a change in your health habits? You’re not alone. I’ve been there before and I’m going to help you move forward.
It is possible to regain your health, get your fitness back on track and make it stick.
This book will help you manage those overwhelming sensations to getting back on track with a healthy lifestyle. When our brains consent that something is easy—when we’re given a clear path with instructions—we can make small, attainable goals, and feel successful, which then leads to us craving more progress.
"Strategic Vitality is a powerful, concise book guiding you through a personal journey of permanent change. Christa shares her passion and knowledge teaching us how to acknowledge our internal challenges, explore self-awareness, release guilt, create new habits and resolve stress. Using simple techniques, she gives us the tools and resources to realign our lives." Nikki C.
"No fluff, just what I needed to get my mind clear and back on track. Fitlandia really delivers on the '4 cornerstones of fitness' and I totally get now why this is necessary and how to gain mental strength along the way.” AJ D.
"Finally, a resource that explains why diets have failed and how to create true, lifelong wellness without it being "all-in" approach that isn't sustainable. This book outlines the value of the 4 cornerstones of fitness and the small steps to integrate them into everyday life." Sarina S.
Christa King is the CEO & Founder of Fitlandia. She’s also a recovered dieter. After reaching her highest weight of 192, she hit a wall and was determined to crack her own code for a making a healthier lifestyle change. She became a certified hypnotherapist, life coach, and nutritional therapist. By putting these pieces together, she saw what was truly missing in the diet and fitness industry: a holistic approach that starts with strengthening the mind.
FINAL DAYS!
Just a few more days to get your eBook pre-order in for just $3.99 AND get over $800 in bonuses.
Strategic Vitality: 11 Small Steps to a Big Transformation
Show us some love and leave a review. Let us know what you got out of today’s interview! Head over to iTunes or Stitcher today.
We are thrilled to welcome Katherine Feeney to the Fitlandia Podcast this week! Katherine is a certified holistic nutritionist and the mastermind behind The Dieting Redefined Summit. She has a drive to educate and empower others to create a positive relationship with food, revolving around whole foods, intuitive eating, and kicking calorie counting and restricted mindsets to the curb!
What does it mean to redefine dieting?
Kat has been working on refining dieting by moving away from the traditional diets we’ve all tried, failed and felt frustrated about. She helps her clients understand and connect with their body resulting in a customized “diet” that works to fuel each person properly which ultimately allows them to reach their goals. Just like here at Fitlandia, Kat’s mission is to end the cycle of yo-yo dieting; the feelings of shame and guilt that come with restricted eating plans or calorie counting; and get back to a place of nourishment and empowerment.
“It’s really about finding that positivity that can actually be reached in the process,” Kat says.
Diets v. a Holistic Approach to Nutrition
Many people may be confused when it comes to the “anti-diet” chatter with all the Paleo and Keto programs that are popular today. Holistic programs are designed around adding more whole foods in, followed by the elimination and reintroduction of certain food groups so that you can find what works best for your specific body. Discovering which sensitives, dependencies, cravings and even food allergies you have can be a huge step in getting you closer to how you want to look and feel. Instead of traditional dieting which consists of calorie counting, quick fixes, and that new detox you just have to try, these holistic approaches to nutrition are focused on sustainability instead of restriction.
An example is Christa's 30 Days to Thriving, providing guidance and support as you work to eliminate legumes, grains, dairy, gluten, soy, refined sugars, alcohol and even fruit. Her intention is help others release their reliance of sugars, refined carbs and alcohol to create a lifestyle that fits you. This helps people find what what their food triggers are for pain, mood disorders, inflammation and digestive issues.
Christa explains, “I’m not a proponent of diets, I’m a proponent of eliminating inflammatory foods and bringing them back one at a time.”
This gives us permission to explore and enjoy the journey of finding what dietary plan works for our specific body and the freedom to enjoy a slice of birthday cake when celebrating with friends - or that glass of wine, all while keeping our goals in mind.
Tips to Focus on Holistic Nutrition More Than Traditional Dieting Mindsets:
- Reframing what you’ve been told vs. what is true.
Fat for example, has been seen as a diet no-no for years when in fact, healthy fats are what balances hormones, produce abundant energy and focus for our brain, boosts metabolism and more. - Mindful eating vs. obsessive thoughts.
Kat encourages her clients to ask themselves, “How can I feel my best and be healthy without necessarily having to strive for a particular number on the scale?” - Say goodbye to calorie counting.
It’s not as simple as calories in and out, but instead what macronutrients and micronutrients we’re fueling our bodies with. The quality of the food is what’s important! - Look for the excitement in a health journey that will give you lasting results instead of focusing on “quick weight loss."
Discover what works best for you - long term! - “Detoxing” or “Cleansing” should focus on a break from toxins to improve health v. quick weight loss.
Eliminating processed foods, sugar and alcohol for a period of time will improve sleep, boost energy and create a healthier digestive track while decreasing cravings and dependencies. - Remember, one step at a time!
Kat encourages us all to unfollow the blogs, Instagram accounts and dieting books that make us feel down or unworthy and starting looking and reading things that make you want to further transitioning your healthy mindset.
Let us know what you thought of this amazing anti-diet duo and give a rating or review on iTunes and Stitcher! Also, make sure you check out Kat’s website for blogs, private coaching and the Dieting Redefined Summit!
CRAVING MORE? PRE-ORDERS NOW AVAILABLE!
Order the eBook today for only $3.99 and get $100+ in bonuses.
"Strategic Vitality: 11 Small Steps to a Big Transformation."
Show us some love and leave a review. Let us know what you got out of today’s interview! Head over to iTunes or Stitcher today.
Episode 54 - Manage Your Stress by Calling upon Your Parasympathetic Nervous System
Welcome Fitlandian’s to Episode 54. We have another exciting guest with us today, wellness consultant and life coach, Cheri Anderson and she's going to teach us how to use our parasympathetic nervous system to manage our pain and stress.
As a wellness consultant, Cheri provides services in three areas which are focused around helping people live a lifestyle of wholeness. In order to accomplish this, Cheri says it’s necessary to first locate where constraints exist within a person’s “whole being.” The whole being is made up of the body, the spirit and the soul. When there are incongruences in one of these areas, there will be some type of mental, emotional, or physical conflict occurring.
“My passion is identifying those incongruences and then creating solutions” Cheri explains.
One way Cheri helps her clients find solutions, is through the practice of Holistic Biomechanics™. Holistic Biomechanics™ are the mechanics of all of the systems of the body working together as a whole. Cheri works one on one or in small groups helping people understand the biomechanics of movement in their bodies through sensory work with their nervous systems.
The nervous system has a parasympathetic (rest and digest) function and a sympathetic (flight or flight) function. When a body is in a parasympathetic state, it’s functioning in an optimal way; the way it was designed to work at that moment. However, when we get in our head about a pain we’re experiencing, our mind jumps to worry and judgement, thinking things like, “Will it always hurt like this?” and/or “Why is this hurting and will it last forever?”
This internal fight or flight dialogue continues to trigger more flight or fight type responses in the nervous system for protection, but never truly realizes the pain for what it is. By doing this, Cheri describes it as, “reinforcing the patterns of protection out of a false place.”
But when you stop, observe and recognize the pain, it creates sensory awareness in that area giving your brain more of a concrete answer instead of letting your mind wander and worry. It is our brain’s job to execute what we are telling it to do and with better instructions of what’s happening in the body it allows the nervous system to automatically shift to a parasympathetic state where it can calm and heal itself. Simply, when we have specific information that our brains can be sensory around, it allows our body to do what it is designed to do.
How Do We Sustain This Parasympathetic State?
When contacting Cheri for a private session, you’ll find there are different methods she uses depending on the client’s needs. When working with Christa, Cheri chose compression which consists of light touching of the skin. By lightly touching and engaging a specific area of the body, that area opens up and becomes available to give and receive information. While gently pressing on Christa’s neck and shoulders, Cheri facilitated more information being sent to Christa’s brain instead of letting her nerves try and gather the information. While creating more “chatter” in that specific area, it creates new pathways and gives Christa’s brain clearer feedback, allowing her nervous system to do what it does best.
Cheri’s Tips on How to Escape Your Brain's Food Loops:
- Sense your body - “mapping” is when our brain has two points of reference and creates a line between the two, making it clear how they connect. This practice helps us to understand exactly how our bodies function and what is happening inside.
- Notice thought patterns - every thought and feeling is a physical motor pattern. When you’re saying “I’m sad” or “I’m happy”, there is a physical pattern that takes place. When you associate feelings with your body, it aligns with exactly what you’re telling it.
- Acknowledge thought patterns - when acknowledging a specific thought pattern or giving into a food craving, notice how your physical structure shifts when the flight or flight response is relaxed. For example: paying attention to how fast you consumed the food instead of going straight to judgement or shaming.
Cheri's Easy 4-Step Process When Dealing with Stresses, Pain or an Obsessive Food Loop:
- Notice your thoughts and allow your attention to come to them without trying to come up with an immediate fix-it solution
- Give your mind a list of options of what you can do
- Make a decision
- Embrace your structure after whatever decision you chose without shame or regret
These simple but not easy tips are extremely effective in helping us create a lifestyle of wholeness!
Are you ready to restart your own journey to living a life of health and vitality? Sign up today for exclusive pre-launch bonuses, discounts and VIP access for
“Strategic Vitality: 11 Small Steps to a Big Transformation”
Show us some love and leave a review. Let us know what you got out of today’s interview! Head over to iTunes or Stitcher today.