Midlife Madness Podcast

Conquering FOOD NOISE

• Martha Savloff, Dr Marty Nalda, Dr Donna Pontoriero

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Unlock the secret to mastering your relationship with food noise! What if you could transform those incessant cravings and unhealthy temptations into empowering decisions that align with your health goals? Join Dr. Marty and Dr. Donna as they candidly share their personal struggles with food noise, offering relatable insights into this common battle that many face. Meanwhile, Coach Martha, who claims to be immune to food noise, sheds light on the universality of this challenge, making this episode a must-listen for anyone seeking balance and control over their eating habits.

Discover the transformative power of mindfulness as a tool to combat obsessive thoughts about food. Explore how different personality types influence meal prep and consumption, and learn how to strike a balance between healthy habits and obsession. We share practical strategies like the count down rule to help you pause and reconsider impulsive eating decisions. The episode also touches on the importance of being prepared, highlighting how a proactive approach to meal planning can significantly reduce food-related stress and promote healthier choices.

We wrap up with a deep dive into creating a supportive environment that fosters sustainable habits and empowers you to take control of your health. From organizing your pantry to identifying personal triggers, these strategies will help you maintain a positive mindset and healthier lifestyle. Plus, learn about the value of seeking professional help when needed, as we discuss a client’s journey toward breaking free from toxic food habits. Embrace self-awareness and proactive strategies to not just manage, but conquer, your food noise for a lifetime of well-being.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Midlife Madness, where we get unfiltered and brutally honest about our midlife fears. Okay, let's talk about food noise. So let me just start with a definition for food noise. So it says here there's actually clinical studies that talks about food noise, and one of them says here research has identified that food noise usually starts from cues, both internal, like feelings of hunger, or external, like sensory, social or environmental factors. This can have several influences, such as time of day, lifestyle preferences and genetics. So we had a client ask us to to do a podcast about food noise. And so here we are, because it is a major thing that our clients deal with, and in the world, I'm sure. And so what's what's?

Speaker 3:

all of us, all of us deal with it right.

Speaker 1:

All of us yeah, about food noise. I think about cubans say tiki tiki. You know, like when you're thinking about something over and over again and tiki tiki, tiki tiki. That's what I think about with food noise. So what's your definition of food noise, doc?

Speaker 2:

Oh my goodness, Food noise for me is kind of like, and I personally that's something that I experience a lot of Like. That is a constant battle in my head and I think I've talked to you guys about this. You know this is like, and so to me it's like a craving that you can't get rid of. That's what it feels like to me. Like to me it's like okay, so I know that there's XYZ either in my house or at XYZ store, because it's not even like. When you get that into that like obsessive thought that you can't get out of it, you know you'll get out and drive Like you know, we tell everybody like get rid of all the junk in your house.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, oh well, crap, I have a car. I could go. I'm a grownup.

Speaker 3:

I mean, it even becomes easier with like Uber Eats or DoorDash or something like that, because they will DoorDash or Uber Eats, just about anything, and even Amazon. You can get groceries delivered in a couple of hours, yep.

Speaker 2:

So it's you know. So that's what it feels like to me. Like to me, it's like that constant in the background, craving, like I just finished eating but I'm thinking about what am I going to have for dinner? Or I just finished eating and I'm not physically hungry, like I don't have food noise when I'm hungry. You know, when I'm hungry, I go and eat a meal. That's, that's not my problem with food noise, right, because I can make super healthy choices with an actual meal that's in front of me. That's that's what I find so like ironic about the whole thing. Like I can sit down and have a nice piece of steak and some veggies and be perfectly content and then 45 minutes later, it's like what? It's like the little devil on my shoulder. It's like, you know, your kids actually brought home Halloween candy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know my logical self is like I do not need Halloween candy. I just had a very healthy lunch and I'm, you know, sticking to this. And then the little devil on my shoulder is like, yeah, but you know, it's just a couple of M&Ms, you know, and, and, and that's that's what it feels like to me is like a little devil on my shoulder that's just like, hey, it's going to be OK. Yeah, you can walk that off, you can, you know, and that's where, that's where it gets me. So I don't know if it's the same for you, dr Donna.

Speaker 3:

No, my, my food noise is a little different. My food noise is and I actually experienced it this morning. I actually experienced it this morning. I had to run to Sprouts this morning because they have these certain tortillas that I like that I can't really find anywhere.

Speaker 3:

Now, you guys know I get up early in the morning and I'm pretty active early in the morning getting things done, and so I ran to the store. I was hungry by that time and I knew I just wanted to go in and get that. And then I'm walking around and I'm like, oh, those bins look good, and look at that and look at those gummies, and look at that chocolate, and look at this and look at that, and I'm like maybe I'll just get a little bit. And I'm like, no, I'm like, walk out, get what you got to get, and walk out, walk out, and and you know that food noise, dr Marnie, sometimes you know like I'm just like, oh, I want, I want a piece of cake. Yeah, you know, um, but I won't. If I've eaten dinner, I won't jump to get it similar to yours, I won't do it, I'd rather have a meal.

Speaker 3:

Knowing that, like I had plain Greek yogurt at home with some fruit. I was like that's what I really want. Like I'm, I try to swap it. I try to swap out that food noise with something else. Could I have gotten something today at the grocery store? I'm like, okay, I'm not going to eat that. No, I switched it. I switched it in my head and said this is what I'm going to have and so I kept, I kept saying that to myself you know, this is what I'm going to have.

Speaker 3:

It's going to be a healthy swap and I've been really trying to do that because, look, I mean that food noise happens to every single one of us and you know, even when you're at a restaurant. This is why I tell a lot of my clients that if you're going out to eat and know where you're going out to eat, look at the menu ahead of time. Plan ahead Coach.

Speaker 2:

Martha says she doesn't have food. Noise, I don't.

Speaker 1:

I am, you're lucky. My dog, chloe, decided to join us, but that's okay. I'm one of the rare people that have no food noise. I am on the other side of the spectrum. Where I have, I don't think about food, so I have to make myself think about food, you're lucky. It's rare. And I say it's rare because it is rare. Chloe, I Chloe, I see her Anyways.

Speaker 3:

She's got food noise going on.

Speaker 1:

That's what it is I think that there's a scale or a spectrum of food noise from like your you know your your snacker to your somebody that actually has like psychological. Um, there's a psychological component of why they're they have food. Noise is more of a chronic thing. I can shut off my video and get her down no, no, no, no Go, chloe go.

Speaker 1:

Chloe. So that's a whole spectrum of food noise and there's some serious component to this where it actually makes somebody like non-functional or contributes to their obesity or to how they function in life and they're constantly thinking about food, food. You, you see some of these people like in my 600 pound life, right, there's like really chronic food noise. And then there's your, you know, pmsing snacker, right, right, so you're pmsing and you're thinking about having a chocolate, is there? There's a whole spectrum of things and over here in this clinical study that I was talking about earlier, it tells us, like, where it's coming from and why it happens, and so, like number one, it says there's certain medical conditions that causes food noise, which is very, very interesting. Number two there are medications that cause food noise, um, which is very, very interesting. Number two there are medications that cause food noise. Right, there's medications, um, and here it says beta blockers antidepressants yep you know they, they increase food cravings.

Speaker 1:

On number three, which I think it's the most popular one, to be honest, it stress stress can amplify food noise, leading to emotional eating and cravings from for comfort foods. I think in our society that's probably like number one um agree with that, yeah yeah.

Speaker 1:

The next one is unhealthy habits. So growing up thinking about food is an unhealthy way of, or having a history of, dieting can contribute to food noise. So, uh, you know those yo-yo dieters that they they do crash diets. You know you're juicing for seven days in a row and and now you? Now you want to start starving.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you're depriving your body, and all you're thinking about. In seven days, the only thing you can have is juice, right. And then you see the commercial for I don't know something, a burger. And then it starts. It starts.

Speaker 1:

I think another one too, Sorry.

Speaker 2:

Go ahead, dr Right, and I'm so incredibly grateful and blessed that I don't have the 600 pound life food noise. Thank you, because I can see how that could happen, because you spiral you start spiraling. Um, so, yeah, I, yeah. All of that makes sense and I think, I think one of the things we need to do today and we need to like help people strategize as to how to deal with food noise.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and then, before we get into that, let me, let me just share the other, the other kind of why this has happened, because it's it's important for whoever is listening or watching that they can maybe say, oh, maybe that's why you know it's not me. They can maybe say, oh, maybe that's why you know it's not me, it's something else. Before, right before you you take action, you want to see what the root cause like, what the triggers are and why it's coming, and then attack it, right, yep, so I said uh, medical conditions, medication, stress, unhealthy habits. But look at the next couple environmental influences.

Speaker 1:

So the variety, the variety of food choices and flavors in our environment can overload our senses, making us constantly think about food. I mean, think about all the crap that's available out there. You know that is so bad. And then also like they intentionally put sugar in things that shouldn't even have sugar, and why? So you can crave it more you can eat chemicals, yeah, chemicals.

Speaker 2:

They're putting neuro, they're putting neurotoxins and all those fast foods.

Speaker 3:

All the fast foods are intentionally made like they've added different things in there so that you crave more. You know with it, and so you have it, and you have it one day, and you have it a couple, you know a couple of days in a row. That's what you're going to wind up eating.

Speaker 1:

Yep. Look at the next one Information overload. The constant bombardment of nutritional guidelines, health trends, trends and contradictory information can make people second guess their food choices. That's interesting. And then the this, this last one food marketing, which is a huge thing. Advertisements, labels and packaging can contribute to food noise. So, like we were talking, we talk about that at inspire all the time. Yeah, you know how labels are deceptive. You know cauliflower pizza, but then you, you, you read the label, it's like dude, it has 30, 32 grams of carbs. Like what the hell?

Speaker 2:

yeah, but they threw some cauliflower into the flour is what they did. But you know what. You know what's even more interesting Like becomes deceptive, like.

Speaker 3:

I just had a conversation with somebody the other day about like it was a bottle, a two liter bottle of ginger ale. It said ginger ale zero sugar. It doesn't say diet ginger ale anymore because nobody wants the artificial sweeteners in it, right, so, now they're labeling it differently, but it's the same, darn thing you know. And now? Now you're having all the artificial sweeteners which guess what they're going to do.

Speaker 3:

Make you hungry, they're going to make you hungry, they're going to mess up your metabolism and you're going to want more of of that know. And so the the the front of the label is definitely marketing to draw you in so there's a psychological part of why people have food noise.

Speaker 1:

Then there's a habit part, like cultural right that you were, you were raised a certain way.

Speaker 1:

Um, then there is a a part where it's external, like it says here, where these companies are very tricky and very intentional on the way that they label things and they, they, they tap into people's psyche to get them to eat all this crap and people fall for it.

Speaker 1:

Right, people fall for it and and like you said, dr don, I mean you have the sugar alcohols now that are really bad for your gastric system and for all sorts of things and it's like it makes you want to eat more than you have the artificial sweeteners. It's incredible. I mean you can get to have a label for a certain food from 15 years ago and you have it from today and if you put it side by side, you'll see the difference in the ingredients, like how much more ingredients it has that you can't even freaking pronounce, like. If you can't pronounce it, that means don't eat it. So if you're out there and you're like man, what the heck is wrong with me? Why do I always think about food? It's not only necessarily because you have an issue. It can be because you have an issue, it can be because it can be from external influences.

Speaker 1:

It can be from maybe things that you carry inside from when you were growing up, like, for example, you got to finish your plate, you gotta fit. Or in the cuban, in the cuban culture, uh, you're too skinny, you're too skinny, so they, they feed you stuff to make you, you know, fatter, fatten you up literally to fatten you up like cattle like, yeah, you know, and there's some things in the subconscious, yeah, that that you don't, you don't even realize that's in there, that is causing you to operate this way.

Speaker 1:

There's like multiple things that can be happening. It can be one thing or multiple things that can be happening, that this is why you can self-sabotage you know and or without even thinking about it, you're thinking about it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you know. I always say this you know the the most brilliant marketing has to be the a hundred calorie packs, right, if you think about it like a hundred calorie pack of Oreo or it was like it's just a hundred calories. I'm going to eat that. But what are you eating a hundred calories of, and how is it affecting your body, and how many hundred calorie packs are you actually taking down?

Speaker 1:

And that was my next and that was the way it starts.

Speaker 2:

That's the way it starts, you know it's like well it's only a hundred and I had four of them.

Speaker 3:

Okay, you know that's that's a calorie for the day. Now I'm'm gonna skip my meal because I've had 400 calories. That should be enough, yeah, but you know you have to look at those ingredients and yeah, it's another topic, but it's.

Speaker 1:

It's not really about the calories, about the quality of the calories right, a whole other podcast, let me just share this last one because this is really, really interesting because this is like the other side of the spectrum, meaning like this is this is kind of something that I've never talked about, uh, and maybe you know we've never talked about and it can be a thing excessive food prep, so excessive food prep can lead to perpetual thoughts and a preoccupation with food. So you have certain personality types, like maybe you're really really really, really detailed oriented, type a that that are super, you know, like intentional what they feed their body and they're so, so, so, kind of almost a paranoia, yeah, that that causes you to like constantly think about food. That's something super like on the other side of the spectrum. Right, because we're talking about snackers and this and that. But what about the other personality type that, the hyper?

Speaker 3:

yeah, it's's something I never thought about either, right, because I I don't know about you guys, but my, I kind of prep and my prep is different than your prep or somebody else's prep. You know, I know what meals we're going to have throughout the week, right, and I never thought of it that way with what you just said. But can can people become a little obsessive with their, with their prepping, and cause that food noise?

Speaker 2:

yeah, that that makes total sense that's so different, right, and I think you know what the thing is like with that. I think, like people are being like intentional and actively trying to do something to probably try to reduce their food noise. If, if you think about it right, if somebody that focused and that intentional and that detailed into what they're trying to eat and instead it's backfiring on them and they're just, you know, constantly going on about it, that's very interesting. But you know what? Go ahead.

Speaker 3:

I was just thinking you know why not? Why not change that to a different way?

Speaker 3:

And then you've got somebody. You've got somebody who's trying to change their unhealthy right and then becomes I don't want to say obsessive, but becomes very meticulous in you know, a couple of weeks to make sure that they have good, healthy meals, because that may prevent them from having food noise, you know, and it takes a little bit to get into a good, healthy habit. So that might be, you know, a good start for some people to help reduce the food noise.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, then it backfires on them and now they're thinking about it all the time. So, yeah, it's food is. You know? I think food is such a visceral part of us as humans, right, um, you know, we've evolved from being in the caves having to hunt down our dinner, but our physical needs still continue to be the same thing. Right, you still need to nourish, you still need to be the same thing. Right, you still need to nourish, you still need to feed yourself. The options are so overwhelming everywhere right now, and they're overwhelming in terms of what you're being told is okay to eat. Right, yeah, all the things that are available to you. You know, I mean, think about that way back when paleo days. Right, way back when you didn't have that many options. You ate what you caught.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

You ate what you caught right now. You know you go to the grocery store and catch about anything you want. So you know we need to put ourselves into a better mental place so that we could empower ourselves with the choices that we are making. And I think that the you know that's where, like the hyper prepper, that's where they're going and maybe it backfires a little bit on them. But I also think, like you said, dr Donna, that for people that don't know where to start, I think prepping is probably a better idea than not, because you know again, if you're, if you're not, if you're not, you know if you plan, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail and all these other things. Right, and there's there's a reason why these are sayings.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm a prepper, I mean reason why these are sayings yeah, like I'm a prepper, I mean I'm a prepper, I can tell you like what, what we're having like for for meals, you know, and, and do I make them ahead of time? No, I have my different meats and I have my different things already cut, you know, done in the freezer, and my refrigerator is always loaded with vegetables and good, healthy foods, you know. So, mentally, I'm preparing for the week. People, like I said, people do it a little differently. Yeah, and you can certainly become obsessive about it and it can and it can backfire, just like you said.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think we need to give. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, martha, go ahead, you go ahead your turn.

Speaker 1:

Let's go down the line of like things that people can do to reduce food noise. So, like number one, that was going to be my comment.

Speaker 2:

I know that's where you're going to Practicing mindfulness is one.

Speaker 1:

So just like taking a step back and, instead of being reactive, to like the emotion of wanting to go grab or that's what I did, this morning to go by yeah or wanting to.

Speaker 1:

So, um, that's where I always bring in like the five second rule. I had a client that told me, because this is hard for for some, for some people that have like children at home, um, and they, you know, they have the junk food around for the kids, even though you're trying to stay away from it. And I had a client say you know, they have Doritos and Doritos is my thing and and I find myself like going for it and I and I Look, let's try to do this this week. You know, first the first step is get it out of the house, because your kids shouldn't be eating it either.

Speaker 2:

But I was gonna say that, yeah, that was gonna be my comment.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and then done for some people, and I said this exercise of five, second rule countdown. When you're about to take that action, do like, intercept, right, like give your, your, your mind and your body time to, to pivot and calm down one or five, four, three, two, one and anything in life, like, let's say, you want to get out of bed at a certain time and you tend to, like, you know, just be there. If you want to take some action and you're having a hard time going for it, then do the countdown effect because psychologically you're allowing yourself time to make a better choice. And that actually helped. And that actually helped.

Speaker 1:

And I'll tell you what I did in my house to help me with that is, at that time my daughter was living with me and, of course, my husband and Danielle, and the things that I eat is in the Martha bin, the things that Gus eats, it's in the Gus bin, and then the things that Danielle eats is in the Danielle bin. And that helped me psychologically and organizationally. When I open my pantry, I automatically just go to my bin. Everything is not mixed together, right, that's smart. So that's kind of how you can take some action to be to help you be mindful. You know what I'm saying. So that's number one practicing mindfulness, what you guys have something to add to that?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think it's easier to practice mindfulness when you don't have something medical going on behind it. You know we're talking about, cause we've, we've, we've talked about this whole range, right, and sometimes people are on medications that cause them to be hungry. Sometimes people are, you know it's different. So there's in that I'm going to speak on that a little bit. So, if you are on a medication that you know causes weight gain right, and we talked about it some of the SSRIs, you know you're a lot of antidepressants, there's a, there's a lot of medications, like there's a lot of them. So, if you find that you haven't had, oh, somehow I like turned off my video for no reason, with my, with my talking, with my hands here, cause you know I'm just going all over the place, you're.

Speaker 2:

Cuban and it's just it's just happening, okay, so if you are on a medication, or let's say, okay, so let's talk through this scenario, here I am, marty, and I went to the doctor and he gave me something and now I notice that I wasn't having XYZ cravings before, I wasn't having this food noise, and now I am. So you have a couple of options. Okay, you, you know. First of all, talk to your provider, right, there might be an equally effective option that doesn't have those side effects, and usually there's an equally effective option that doesn't have those side effects. And it's up to you to advocate for yourself, right? Because if they're fixing your depression, but now you're going to weigh, you know, 400 pounds, what are they breaking? Right? So you came in, you were depressed, but you didn't have high blood pressure, you didn't have diabetes, you didn't have XYZ. Now you're not depressed, but you have all these other things. So there has to be, there has to be a better option. Okay, so, talk to your provider, work through that, like seriously, work through that. You know, your doctors are typically very smart, but they're also sometimes giving you what they're used to giving. So work through that, you know. So that's, you know, and you can take control of that, you could be empowered to take control of your health and to find options that work for you. Do that and advocate for yourself for a better option. So that's one thing.

Speaker 2:

The other thing that I find works really well for me with food noise is get full of stuff you're supposed to be eating Right, of stuff you're supposed to be eating right. Make yourself a nice meal that is healthy, that follow, you know, lean, green, maybe some healthy fats, like. Be full, when you're finished with your meal, with the stuff that you're supposed to be eating. And then another recommendation that I have is, if it's nice weather out, when you're done with your meal, go for a little walk, like maybe just 15, 20 minutes. It has an effect on your body. It decreases your glycemic load, even if you had a healthy glycemic index meal. Going for a walk after dinner or after lunch is going to help decrease your glycemic load. And when you don't have those glycemic spikes you don't crave things as much. So get ahead of it. Get ahead of it.

Speaker 2:

And that's what works for me. The best is if I get ahead of it, because then you could do the countdown afterwards and ask yourself am I really hungry, like, listen, you know, listen to your body, listen for those cues Okay, my stomach's not growling. I could, actually, you know I to your body. Listen for those cues Okay, my stomach's not growling, I could. Actually, you know, I could feel my food right here. So clearly, those eight ounces of steak I ate are filling me up, you know. And then you can talk yourself out of you know. Going for the bag of chips or going, you know, making yourself a gallon of popcorn after dinner, that's what works for me. Give yourself a gallon of popcorn after dinner, that's what works for me, you know. So so we have a couple of different strategies so far that we've put together right.

Speaker 2:

Plan ahead. Look at the menus. Do the five, four, three, two, one countdown to kind of like, put yourself, give yourself grace for a minute to make a better choice. Eat what you you're supposed to eat. Organize your pantry. I mean, I get rid of stuff in my house, like, if I'm trying to eat healthy. Nobody gets junk food, I'm sorry, not my kids.

Speaker 3:

I'm the queen of throwing things away.

Speaker 2:

I'm the queen of throwing stuff out, Like for example, there's like we don't drink soft drinks in my house. We never have. I grew up in a country that didn't have soft drinks, so when I came to this country it was very easy to not have any either. So in my house, if you come to my house and you come over, you get water you might get sparkling water my house too.

Speaker 2:

Yeah you get sparkling water and you get regular water. Right, there's your choices. And unless we're having people over that I know are soda drinkers and you know I'm trying to be a gracious hostess and I specifically know, you know this guy drinks Dr Pepper. Okay, I'm going to go buy a six pack and that's it. When he's gone, he takes them with him, like when I do stuff like that, because I don't do that it doesn't happen often.

Speaker 1:

Bring your own beverage in my house, no but but you know, typically I send it off with them.

Speaker 2:

I'm like, listen, we're not gonna drink this, take it and take it with you because even though in my house we are not soda drinkers and we're not juice drinkers and we're not, you know, every once in a while one of my daughters will be like, mom, can, we're not juice drinkers and we're not. You know, every once in a while one of my daughters will be like, mom, can we get some juice so I can make smoothies? And I'll be like, okay, you get whatever juice you want. And then when it's gone, it's gone because we're. Also I'm really big on not drinking my calories. I like to chew. You know, if I'm gonna have, you know, 200 calories of sugar, I'd rather have a cookie than have two sodas yep so here it was creating a nerd, practicing mindfulness.

Speaker 1:

We talked about creating nurture, nurturing, nourishing environment. We, which we talked about, like the organizing, the pantry, the it says, planning and preparing meals ahead of time, which dr donna talked about. Right, just, meal prepping is always a good idea. Uh, limiting exposure to food triggers this is a really important one because, um, this is an action step that that the listeners or watchers need to do is step back and really, uh, gain an awareness of what triggers you to want to eat, snack. You know, like when you start feeling that bubble, like that noise bubble bubbling up, what happened at that moment that that is causing that trigger, and write it down, so then you can know how to manage yourself. So, in order to limit exposure, you need to know what it is. Yeah, so that is.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes you have to be brutal with yourself what did you say, dr donna?

Speaker 3:

I, I said you know some of these triggers. Could it be a TV commercial that triggers you? Could it be going to the grocery store, hungry? Could, it be you know reading something or scrolling on social media. Social media has got so many different things. Look, I know like I look through it and I see all these different recipes.

Speaker 2:

And sometimes they're great, but sometimes they're not. Talk about. Talk about triggering that.

Speaker 3:

You know that, that that part of you, that, oh, I want this now you know, and the next thing you know you're in your kitchen making something that you shouldn't really be eating and you're not hungry. Yeah, so if you know that some of these things are triggering like you're watching TV and these commercials come on, get up, go, go change the laundry in your, in your, in your washer, you know, go away from your kitchen. Yeah, yeah, you know, go do something in that commercial time. If it triggers you, go into the grocery store. Then make sure that you eat a decent meal before going to the grocery store. Don't go before lunch, don't go before dinner. You know, the social media stuff my goodness, that's hard to do, but you can scroll past it and not look at it. I'm not going to look at that now because I'm kind of in a funk and when I see that it's going to make me want to eat kind of in a funk and I see that it's going to make me want to eat.

Speaker 1:

You know, most common that I've heard is stress, stress, which is the next point here practicing stress management. So stress management is is a huge, humongous animal that that impacts I would. I would venture to say most of society.

Speaker 1:

Um, um, it's the same. As you know, limiting exposure to food triggers is actually part of that. Where you have to, you have to pinpoint where the stressors are right, where's your stress coming from and how can you deal with that differently. Make a life change in order to reduce that stress, that stressor. Or if you can't, because maybe it's a project that you have at work, you know that is just a maybe, a time. That's your children you know you can't get rid of your kids. You know you're a teenager and what can you?

Speaker 1:

do to limit the stress levels. You know what, what action or um, what, what are those moments in the day that you can plug in something for yourself to to limit the stress, um, so that's, I think that's like a huge one for our society and and I just had a conversation with a client yesterday about that because, um, she's extremely stressed out at work, those cortisol levels are like up the roof and um, and it's causing her to want to enjoy something that she likes to eat, because it counters that feeling. Right, it's like a momentary dopamine, yes, a pacifier, um and so, but it's something that that it's happening in this season of her life. It supposedly is going to go away, but how do how do you deal with it so you don't put yourself in a position where it's counteracting what you're trying to accomplish, right? So another one that I think. I think this is the next point. Actually, it says establishing healthy habits and routines.

Speaker 2:

I was going to say you got to get ahead of it. Yeah, you got to get ahead of it.

Speaker 1:

What I've encountered with, you know, the last seven years of helping people, is people are used to have. They have incorporated the habit of eating while they're watching Netflix, so it might not be a stressor. They might be trying to de stress by watching TV, but it's like, it's almost like you. In our culture, you have to like be eating something while you're sitting there watching TV. It's like why, and that's such a bad, bad, horrible.

Speaker 2:

And I have found myself and I don't do it often, I've quit buying stuff that I could snack on while I'm in front of the TV, because let's say that you are giving yourself an easy evening, you're getting away from everybody, you're staying away from social media because that's triggering you. So you found this lovely. You know Hallmark Christmas movies. They're wholesome, they're sweet, they're amazing, they're relaxing.

Speaker 3:

And then you ate a gallon of ice cream Chips or something, or a bag of ice cream, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I bought the low fat popcorn, goodness gracious, you know, 177 grams of carbs afterwards, you're, you know, you just threw your, your glucose levels into a spin, right? So I think, being mindful. So there's action steps that you can take. If you're listening out there and you, you know that you're guilty of some of these things, we all are OK like. This is not judgment. This is trying to help you create Power within yourself to be able to say no to the little devil on your shoulder Right, because that's how I think of it.

Speaker 2:

I'm like you know you have the good guy and you have the bad guy, like in the little in the cartoons remember, we used to watch the cartoons growing up. And so you have to figure out what your trigger is whether it's an external trigger, whether it's a medication that you've been put on, whether your kids or your husband are driving you nuts, whether it's a work situation, whether it's something that you can eliminate, or whether it's something that you know you're in it to win it. Like you can't get rid of your kids, you know, but then they're going to continue to be stressful because that's living with other people. You know, that's it's. You can, you could, you could look at it however you want to um. So you need to identify your trigger, right? So okay. So I know that when it's almost bedtime and my kids are screaming because they're tired and I still have to get dinner ready and I still have a project from work that I have to get on, I know that that freaks me out, right? So plan ahead. How are you going to handle that? What are you going to do differently?

Speaker 2:

I know that when I go grocery shopping, if I'm hungry, you know I will buy a cart full of crap. And then I get home and I'm like, oh my goodness, what did I do to myself? Yeah, plan for that, get ahead of it. I know that if I see snacks in my house, I'm going to eat them. Do what coach Martha does separate the bins, put a lid on them If you need to. You don't have to look at it when you go in the pantry. It's not for you. You could be mean, like me, and I'm just not buying it. You know, it's that simple because as an adult, you do have a choice as to what you bring home and there's always healthier alternatives for kids, like. There's never a time that there's not a healthier alternative to junk food. You know, it's true, it's true.

Speaker 3:

You just have to change your reaction to those different stresses and change it for something other than food and snacks. Is it going to be easy to do that? No, it's not going to be easy, but it's. It's much like creating a habit. You don't create a good. You can create good habits. You can create bad habits, like you can create the habit every time you put that Hallmark movie on, you want to have popcorn. But you can also create a good habit.

Speaker 2:

You can learn to knit, learn to crochet. My daughter is like the best crocheter. Dr Donna crochets right. Like do something with your hands. If that's like, find an alternative that doesn't include putting it in your mouth. Instead of sitting down for that movie with a tub of popcorn, sit down and fold laundry while you watch your movie. It's keeping you busy. It's doing something else. Create a reality for yourself where you are getting ahead of the stress. Take the right supplements for stress. Get enough sleep. Get enough sleep. Nourish your body properly as much as you possibly can meditate, pray, work out all of these things, be hydrated. Right, all of these things. Slowly but a hundred percent, certainly eventually start working from within to help you be less reactive.

Speaker 3:

In that and on a side note, we here at Inspire have a really good supplement that helps with, you know, any cravings and things like that, and you know if you're listening to us, we have a couple of them. We have a couple of them.

Speaker 2:

You know, if you're listening to us, we have a couple of them, you know so.

Speaker 3:

So you know, call, call or inspire offices and find out how we can help you with that. You know, maybe maybe you're not eating well enough, maybe you're not eating enough. Yeah, exactly, you know.

Speaker 1:

And so maybe what you're eating is causing the different cravings and things like that or you're watching and you're like, man, I do all of these things and I is still like something that's constantly in my mind. Then check your hormone levels. Right, check your hormones because, again, there's things that can be happening within your body that's causing this, they're triggering this to happen. There's so many different reasons why this can be happening, and so you, you gotta crack your code in a sense, right, yep, so check your hormone levels. If and and if it really persists. Like I have a client that, no matter what, she could not, she could not bust out of this. Like we, we went through the whole process, we, we've done all those things to try to help her and, at the end of the day, I sent her to therapy. I sent her to go see a food therapist, a therapist that works with people that have a toxic relationship with food and or an issue, an actual clinical issue because sometimes that reflects you know your psychology.

Speaker 2:

What has brought you to this point sometimes needs to be worked through so that you can break through it and get to the next level of your life past traumas.

Speaker 1:

You know your upbringing undermining chronic issues that are that haven't been, um, have been yet addressed. That causes you to think that way, so that, and that's why I say that there's a spectrum of food noise and so it's okay to find help. When we sent that client to the therapist, um, it changed her life and and now she's back and now she's doing great on the program because she was able to address that first, and then that has opened the door for her to conquer what she was trying to conquer. But she had to be really, really transparent and real with herself and finally put herself in a position of seeking help. She needed professional help and it's okay to do that and it's okay.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and we encourage that.

Speaker 2:

You know, I think I think all three of us would agree that our main goal is to improve the lives of whoever walks into our centers in whatever way we can. Sometimes that's a health journey. Sometimes they come in for follow-ups and they just need a pick me up right, like I. You know, I was at the office yesterday and I had my health coaches actually doing follow-ups, but I was literally sitting at the front desk and just saying hi to people and talking to them and you know they were like we needed to talk to you today. I'm so glad you're here today because I just needed to hear your voice telling me X, y, z, and you know, that's why we coach, that's why we have what we do, right? It would be very easy for us to come into our office and us give you the program and the supplements and send you on your way, right. Actually, it would be easier to be a hundred percent honest. It's like here you go, bye it doesn't work that way, right that way.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't work that way it doesn't work that way either, you know it's not what we're about, because we want to get to the root and we want to give you sustainable weight loss and we want to give you a program that's going to teach you habits that you can apply forever.

Speaker 2:

What we do is try to get you to have a healthier relationship with food and try to know, you know, when you can cheat a little bit and when you can't, and how do you maintain it and what do you do for the rest of your life in order to improve your relationship with food and improve your health Right. So it's so important that you you know that talking part right when we so you're talking about you sent your client to therapy and sometimes I feel like that's what we do in our office to a lesser not quite, as you know, intense way. You know we give you some truth sometimes that you don't want to hear, but that, if you accept them and you change your mindset a little bit, can literally be a powerful way to take control of your life and your health for the rest of your life.

Speaker 1:

And that's what I think we do at Inspire way to take control of your life and your health for the rest of your life, and that's what I think we do at inspire and and, and it's okay to seek health help and it's okay to.

Speaker 1:

You know, I this is something very simple that I tell our clients to do is go to the dollar store and buy a little notebook, um, and, and write down what you think your triggers are, and then, next to it, write down what, what you can do to counter them.

Speaker 1:

And so take the time out, take the 10 minutes that it takes to, to really like, dig deep and and and write down those those intimate things, um, that causes you to you feel like your triggers are, and then also take time to think of how you can counter them, because, um, that is very powerful and that also, when you do that, it triggers your psyche, and when your psyche is aligned with your heart and what you do, then that's when you can conquer things. Um, so, if you're listening, watching, go out and and crack your code. You can do that. You can do that. Yeah, all right, this was awesome, guys. I hope this was helpful and we'll do much more uh, content like this, because this is real and we all walk through it, and so we hope that this was life-changing for you.