Podcast: Play in new window | Download
It wasn’t wolfing down the third pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey that bothered me most. It wasn’t even the glob of congealed ice cream on the Natuzzi Italian couch that troubled me, leftover from my binge the night before. It was the crisis of my soul. As usual, the Ben & Jerry’s only briefly deadened the pain. As I stared blankly at my TV playing Mr. Holland’s Opus, for the third time that week, I wondered if I’d ever build my own opus.
I had moved to San Francisco after abandoning my career as a real estate developer in Washington, DC. My size 36 designer jeans were tight, and inflamed skin spewed out the hole in my thigh. They were several sizes up from my prime college 33’s. We had launched the LEED Green Building Rating system. In many ways, my life was rating high, but in terms of health and food, it was lower than I liked to admit. I’d put on twenty-five pounds since college and my food cravings were escalating.
Fast forward to today. I’m the lightest I’ve been since high school. Back into the 33’s. I’m the fittest in my life and completed five cycling centuries this summer. My food plan avoids caffeine, alcohol, gluten, sugar, fruit. My energy, mental acuity, and sleep are the best ever. No more leaky gut and autoimmune issues.
Many of us suffer from food or other addictions. Perhaps like me, you didn’t even know that food addiction existed and has many of the symptoms of alcoholism. I struggled despite being an avid athlete and having fulfilling work of passion and purpose. A deeper pain smoldered inside and played itself out in unconscious ways.
This week’s Regen360 podcast is about the psychology of eating, featuring our expert Marc David, author of The Slow Down Diet. In our conversation, we address the drivers feeding addiction. We talk about the movement he has built over the past thirty plus years in the psychology of eating. He tagged my “crisis in purpose, a crisis in your soul” during our dialog. Hear his perspective on why diets don’t work.
As I’ve mentioned, hope comes from finding active solutions that can help us not only sustain, but regenerate on a 360 basis, which is the mission of my Regen360 podcast. Listen in to better understand yourself, and help a loved one who’s suffering, as I did.
-David
PS: Have you found the music within? Even in my sugar-and-fat haze, I could hear the important lesson of Mr. Holland’s Opus, the film that I binge watched: “Playing music is supposed to be fun. It’s about heart, it’s about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it’s not about notes on a page.” Back then, it seemed like I couldn’t seem to find the music within. Let’s work together to build your opus by understanding the wrong and right ways to approach food. Remember to subscribe and if you like the podcast, please leave me a review – it really helps to spread the word.