Mindful Eating, Obesity Medicine & Food Noise with Dr. Laure DeMattia

In this powerful and honest episode of The FitZen Project, host Rachel Fitzpatrick sits down with Dr. Laure DeMattia to explore the deeply personal relationship between food, health, mindset, and self-discovery. Together, they unpack the noise of diet culture, the rise of weight-loss medications, and the importance of learning how to truly listen to your body in a wListeners walk away with grounded, actionable insights, including:

• Recognizing personal triggers around food
• Using portion awareness without shame
• Practicing presence during meals
• Making gradual changes that support long-term health

✨ Key Takeaways

• Health is not defined by appearance
• Mindful eating begins with awareness, not restriction
• Your body is constantly communicating—learning to listen is the work
• Sustainable change beats short-term fixes every time

This episode is a reminder that your health journey is deeply personal. When you shift from control to curiosity, food becomes a tool for nourishment, regulation, and self-respect.

This conversation is part of Rachel’s January Regulation Series, focusing on health regulation through awareness, compassion, and sustainable self-care.

Rachel and Dr. DeMattia discuss how food is one of the most overlooked forms of self-care. With more than half of meals consumed outside the home, they explore how processed foods, marketing tactics, and convenience culture impact our health—and how mindfulness can shift that relationship without restriction. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hi, welcome back to the Fits In Project. I am Rachel Fitzpatrick, and this is a podcast where yoga, mindset, and energy management come together for the creators and the conscious leaders. And where we are in the business of ourselves, we are our most important projects. Therefore, we are the conscious creators and conscious leaders of our life. So when you come in, you tap into this podcast, you are guaranteed to feel a new movement of how you can begin to create your life and lead your life consciously. And this episode is no different. This is part of a January regulation series where we are now introducing the health aspect of how to become regulated in your body, in your consciousness, in your thoughts, and even your creative side. So I'm happy, happy, happy to really get to sit here and talk with Dr. Laurie D'AMA and her perspective, her new book, and everything on nutrition, obesity, and how to live in a healthy way with yourself in your diet. So without further ado, Dr. Laurie D'AMATia.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

This is definitely a little stretching beyond comfort zone for me. I've been doing obesity medicine since, like only obesity medicine since 2011, but always doing obesity medicine for my whole career just because I myself have struggled with obesity and I was like, I'm gonna be in medical school. I'm gonna figure out how to do this right. And uh I learned a lot of how not to do that initially in my um experience with mentors. And then uh I would say in 21, I think it was about 21, it the space just started to shift, and it was kind of the rise of Ozembic and everyone with that kind of buzzword, even though Ozembic is not meant for OBC treatment. And there was just a lot of misinformation being shared on social media, and and then people would come in to see me and be, you know, voicing those mistruths. And I thought, wow, I really feel like things are really going in a not the direction that I had hoped, because there was this really positive kind of body positivity movement and and being, I it's a strange combination, I guess, for someone in obesity medicine to be very supportive of body positivity. But I want people to focus on their health and not this like like pursuit of thinness. And so that's really I just got tired of like hearing things and said, you know, I feel like I'm repeating myself ad nauseum with my patients and they're interested and want to learn. And I was like, I probably could maybe change some of the conversation outside of just the exam room. This is kind of like I need to get the message out. So here we are.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, a nice passion project, but with truth behind it, right? I mean, that's the best kind, in my opinion. I feel the same way. I um do a lot of presence conversations and how to change energy in uh workforce, basically. And it's more about being present with yourself than it is about being concerned about what everybody is or isn't doing. And that's really how you get the needle moved. But yeah, I love that you're like, I'm taking this conversation and I'm gonna uh take it back to what's real. Let's get back to the basics, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

So, what is your book called? The four food cues and why your brain won't shut up about food. And it's gonna be an ebook initially on Amazon. So the January 20th, I think, is when the ebook is gonna go live. I so you've got four frameworks. Yeah, so it's called the Chef Meth or Framework, and it's um craving, hunger, energy, and fullness. I tell my patients that you're your own experiment in trying to figure out what works for you. And so there's people who high fiber is the way to go for them. And there's people who need to have a higher protein, there's people who need to have a higher fat intake, there's people who need kind of a mixture. And I am one of those, like, I need all of it to have a balanced kind of energy for the day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

I don't know what mine is, but I would feel like probably along the same lines. Cause if I eat too much of one thing, I'm just like constantly insatiable. So I feel like I have to have eggs and bacon and the toast. But I don't even eat that every day, but I'm just saying, like when I'm having an actual breakfast or sit down, it's just like, ah, I need some fruit.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Yeah. There's an inner wisdom, you know, that the system we tend to ignore. And there's this like just message, cut calories, you know, like, and sometimes that perpetuates, you know, binge eating, or, you know, there's just so many things that we aren't aware of how what we're eating is impacting our day, our life, and how we're eating. And it's just really, I'm asking people to like slow down and and pay attention to how their body reacts. And we're kind of on autopilot. And so that's really where I think we're missing out. And I just want people to kind of listen to their own cues and and then see where the cookie crumbles, kind of thing. Yeah. I just I just realized I missed I summarized the subtext of the title. So before food cues is the title, but why your brain won't shut up about food and how to fix it is the the byline. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

I'm gonna go back to what you just said about being listening to your body. Yes. Because I teach yoga. I'm in the process of getting my 300 hours, send me a 500 hour yoga master. So it's just every single class I bring up, you have to slow down, listen to what your body says. Does this feel good? Do you need to make a diff a move? Is there a modification that you can make that's not going to cause pain? But discomfort, I don't care about. Be uncomfortable. That's what we're here for. But that's how you also heal and you make these stress moves with your body to be able to heal any type of injury. Work at a wellness center. So that's one of the biggest reasons why people are even there is for physical therapy, but then they come into the yoga class. So it's kind of what I'm hearing the same with your food choices and how you coach people to eat and pick what they want. And what how does that resonate with them and their body?

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Some people are just I don't want, I don't have time, I don't have the energy, and I just want medication and you know, and that's that's where they're at. And it I do appreciate the yoga's, you know, kind of whole philosophy is like it's you and the mat. It's not about competition or what other people are bending themselves into. It's really just what can you do today. And I feel like that is a great translation into how can you be kind and care for yourself today. And I feel like eating is the number one way that you can take care of yourself. There's just a lot of social and cultural, and there's just so much busyness. And right now, over 50% of what we eat is not made in our own kitchen for many people. I'm not saying everyone, but a lot of people, it's on the go eating and to go eating pre-packaged foods. And um you can you can do that, but it's very, very challenging. And I always kind of try to use the relationship of like no one cares about your money as much as you do, no one cares about your health as much as you do. And so food companies that are preparing these foods, they're just trying to get you to eat them. They don't care about your health and how that impacts. And how do they make it more interesting? They increase the sugar, they increase the fat, they increase the salt. And so those are tasty, you know, and that's wonderful. But when you look at nature and how nature, I think, is we're not smarter than nature, we think we are, but there is wisdom there that fruit is sweet, right? It has fiber, it's sweet, but it's not dipped in salt and chocolate. So the fat content of um, you know, there's no fat content in fruit. But what we do as humans is we create these chocolate-dipped, um, salted whatever. Yeah. And so then you're getting the sweet, the fat, and the salt, and the brain, those are very pleasurable, and the brain wants more. And it's very, it's hard to find full, like when you're eating that kind of way in the more processed, ultra-processed foods. They're easy to digest. We don't have to chew very much. And so it's very simple to take in more than what your body needs. And I'm like the first to acknowledge to my patients, I am in the boat with you, you know, rowing along because I've struggled with my weight my whole life. And so, like, I um joke about my kryptonite food is Cheetos. And those are highly processed, like, but I cannot find full when I have Cheetos. Like, there's no off button for that. And so I just have to be aware of that. Like, if I'm going to take that risk, quote unquote, and eat those, then I'm gonna have to do some other things to give myself some type of limitation. So either it's like a single serve bag or putting it into a smaller bowl so that you know what you're taking in. Because if you just have the bag and take it to watch TV or something, like you're you're gonna take in so much more.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yeah. I'm a Cheetos fan too.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

I wish I wasn't. It's like my guilty pleasure that I wish I never met a Cheeto, but um Yeah. I don't know why. It's really, really challenging for me. So yeah, I don't, you know, I usually don't have them around because that's just not something that I can rationally like make a good choice about. And so I sometimes I'll but I'll sometimes say, you know, I really want some Cheetos and I'll I'll get a bag of Cheetos.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yeah, because we're not perfect and we're allowed to not be on this like linear path.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

I feel like there's this attitude of it's all or nothing, you know, and I'm on a diet or I'm not on a diet. And I really I'm very anti-diet. Like I really want people to have make changes that they can do for the rest of their lives rather than like go crazy and then feel bad when that's it's a set it's a setup for failure when you have such a restrictive kind of approach. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Do you focus more on like the functional side of food, like how it actually works to what you want in an optimization for your body?

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Or is it I'm more of a keep it simple kind of girl. Like I mean, you can get into the science and um there's there's so much evidence about the more you chew, the more satisfied the hunger hormone growling goes down. Everyone's gonna react differently to different foods. And so I would say plant-based is gonna be I you can't go wrong with a plant-based approach to eating. I just know that like I can't be only a plant-based eater, like because of how hungry I get. Like, I can't, I don't have time to eat as much food as I would need in the plant-based world to feel full and satisfied. So I call myself a flexitarian. And I would say that's what I think most people are if they are paying attention. Some people are very good at, you know, finding ways to eat more plant-based or exclusively plant-based and be full very full and satisfied. Yeah. So I don't, I'm not getting into like I don't want to overly complicate because when we do that, then it's like, oh, it's just too much. I'm forget it. I'm gonna go back to my Cheetos. And so I wanted to make make it accessible that, you know, like if you eat more fiber, you know, you're safer with your health in terms of less animal protein is better. So, but I have come across people who they have done their own N of one and have recognized they do better, you know, with a much higher protein intake than other people. And so that is pretty challenging to do in a plant-based space. But I mean, I don't think there's one way. I I think there's, and that's the whole, it's like you gotta find out what works for you.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yeah, and that takes time and attention and intention and a whole piece of you to give your energy towards if that's important to you. It's gonna be important to you one way or another, whether you do preemptive eating and education and learn about what it is that you like in your body, or something catastrophic happens and you are now in correction mode to then gain a new lifestyle, right? Do you see that often?

SPEAKER_00 14:39

I do. I see so, and I am speaking mostly to women because what I have witnessed over the years is this very repeatable pattern where women will um put everyone else's needs first. And that is cultural, religious, like generational. That that is a very strong pattern. And I'm kind of the rebel, like trying to say, hey, I'm advocating for you. And I'm saying, let's not wait until we have a catastrophic event. You know, we have some signals here in your labs or in your weight that things aren't going the way they were maybe 10 years ago. And so let's try and get back to where you felt strong and healthy. And so that's really my litmus test is like, can we find a pattern that helps you get back to that feeling strong and healthy rather than a particular number on the scale or a particular number of protein or fiber, or you know, like it's sometimes I will give numbers like, hey, let's shoot for this, just because we're kind of in the unknown and and they have no idea like about what's gonna work for themselves. But I would love to try and avoid waiting for catastrophe. And that's so I've spent a lot of time in bariatric surgery world. So from like 2015, no, 11, 11 to um 24, I um was embedded in bariatric surgery practices. And it was really interesting to watch the patients because they had surgery, they put their blinders on and were just like, I have to do this because I had surgery, or I can't do this because I had surgery. And for the first year to two years, people were like on it and so almost militant in, you know, focusing on their health. And then life starts kind of batting us around as it does. And then we kind of like, oh, I can I can figure this out. I don't need to be so militant. And and then the coping mechanisms that we've used all of our lives start to come back. And what I see so often is that it's like everyone else's needs become more important than the female patient. Yeah. And so that's really something that I I talk all the time. And people are like, I feel like I'm talking to a therapist.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

I'm like, kinda.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Not exactly I'm not a therapist, but just wanting people to really pay attention. And I'm not saying you are more important than the other people in your life, but I'm saying you're as important as the other people in your life.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

How do you create sustainable change though? I mean, you're you had this catastrophic event or perhaps a surgery to prevent one, and then you are militant, as you said, the first two years. What is that click that makes you keep your sustainable change? Like, what is it that really is there something that you could drive home for anyone listening where they could be like, oh, if I could just go back to a word or what is their vision board? What process would you kind of give advice for for that?

SPEAKER_00 18:05

So I think a lot of people think that something scary happening is gonna be the thing that helps them stick to a change. And that is not true. Like I see it on a cancer diagnosis or, you know, like it um, or someone in their family being diagnosed with something that is hereditable. It does not stick in the way we would hope it to. So what I challenge people is to what is their why? Like, why do you want to get healthier? How will we know that you're healthier? Because your definition of health and my definition of health could be wildly different and often are. And so it's the why, because in eating disorder work, there's a lot of value-based treatment. And so it's trying to come up with what is really important to the patient and gonna help them withstand to get them through that discomfort that they want to stick with it. One practice I worked with, we would have people write a letter of how they envisioned their life to be after they had regained their health. And so many people talked about like wanting to do things with their family, going to amusement parks was probably the biggest theme that I saw. And it was so touching, like to just, you know, they wanted to go with their grandkids or their kids and be able to walk around without feeling exhausted. And and so that's a one-time event, you know, going to an amusement park. But I try to reframe when someone says, I want less pain, I'll say, okay, I I like to, what about freedom of movement? You know, like you want to be able to move around with um freedom. And and so we just try to like reword it, rephrase it. So then, and it's like a shared kind of decision making. And I think that's part of how people are successful.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

It's like when that world crashes in, or even something else may happen, they could throw them off. Um, and just like you said, life will life you, you know, lose a job or a family member or whatever it is that brings you back down into old habits that are kind of self-sabotaging in a way. I know when when I am teaching or coaching in my way and in my practice as well, always love to be in a mindful state, as in like I teach meditation all the time. I meditate every single day, and that's the only thing that really keeps me grounded. And then the next thing you know, it's three years later or it's five years later, and you've been doing this thing every single day that's gonna keep you on the track. But it's like, how do I stay in this like lifted um aura, for example? And how do I stay in this present moment when these things are gonna come? These life things are my car is gonna break down one day, you know? Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

And so when you're talking about like in the aura and in the pleasant state, like the reality is a lot of my patients were in survival mode and life is is tough, you know. And um, when you're in school, working two jobs, raising three kids on your own, you know, like there's not a lot of time. Um, and so I want to first of all have people understand the disease of obesity is not about laziness or willpower. And that's something that, oh my gosh, people have internalized that messaging from all over. And I am like, I'm not in your brain to get in between you and your thoughts. Our brain lies to us all the time. And we need to recognize that just because we have a thought, it doesn't mean it's true. And so we want to question, you know, like, huh, what made me think that? You know, like that's interesting, instead of just assuming that the brain is telling us the truth because the brain is wired for survival. The brain is trying to get you from today to tomorrow. And it is really good at like highlighting the negative and um trying to like that's scary, stay away from that. And like I just have a very different kind of attitude about like anxiety. I think people with anxiety, they're taking in more information than the average person. And so it's it's a lot, you know, and the body reacts to that. And so then there's this like feedback between your heart rate and your sweating palms and your brain. It's like, that is true. That's gonna kill me. So I'm not gonna do that. And we have to challenge that. It feels like that, but it it's not necessarily a true statement or what's really gonna happen. So back to obesity being it's a disease that is very genetic. And I use myself as an example all the time about how I was like a three-sport athlete and you know, like was very restrictive at times, disordered eating, I would say. And I still was in the obese state, and it wasn't for lack of trying. And so that's where like most of my patients, when they say, I'm just too lazy, I'm like, and I will literally do that. And they're like, okay. And it's because I want to like pause that and I'm gonna say there are other priorities that are taking your attention, and that's what's happening. So, like, how can you convince someone or yourself to go on a 30-minute walk when you really don't feel like you have 30 minutes because you're trying to do things that three other people should be doing, not just one. And so that's that's where I want people to give themselves grace and anything to move the needle for themselves personally is important. But just realizing being active doesn't necessarily make obesity less of an issue for them. So, like you can be active and still have obesity, and that's okay. Like, I want you to be active for all the other health reasons. It helps your brain avoid dementia, it helps your heart avoid heart attack and stroke. And so there's all kinds of reasons to be active, even if it doesn't cause weight loss. And a lot of people gain weight when they're more active. So, like it could be very, I guess, it just very frustrating to think, oh, I'm gonna be active and I'm gonna see this great weight loss when the reality is not many people see that. There are some and they become famous. So there's there's things about like, are you familiar with the idea of set point theory? No, I'd love to know about it. Yeah. So I just want people to consider the idea that our body has information, it wants to keep us in a very narrow kind of state for our heart rate, our blood pressure, our blood sugar, our respirations, everything has a set point. You know, like, and does the body go beyond those? Sure. You know, like when people's for some reason the set point for blood pressure gets higher. I don't really we don't understand all the reasons why some people's blood pressure just starts to go up. But if someone has hypertension and are gonna go work out, their blood pressure is gonna go even higher to work out, to accommodate that work. And then it's gonna drop down in the recovery phase because that's what happens, but it doesn't stay there, it drifts back to the set point of the hypertension. And so that's what's happening with people's weights. You know, like your body. Most people, if you weren't trying to lose weight and just live in your life, would have like a five to 10 pound kind of drift up and down. And and most of my patients don't notice that because they're in the pursuit of weight loss. And so that's not something that they have. But I try to like go back to a time when you didn't feel like you were struggling with your weight. You know, where was that? And usually it's in the early 20s before kids kind of thing. For my patients, especially women, there's three physiologic experiences that kind of mess with the set point of weight. So puberty is the first one. And that's where um women, some women get really curvy during puberty. We are engineered to gain body fat in order to ovulate. And so it's it's just kind of already set up, uh predestined. And some women struggled with their weight as kids, then they kind of grow into their weight when they're going through puberty. And then once puberty stops, they start to regain. There's women who never struggled with weight when they were a kid. Puberty didn't really impact them in a negative way. And then there's people who it caused them to be very curvy, you know, from that on is when they started to struggle. Pregnancy is the next time that we're engineered to gain and protect that baby, and that is healthy and normal. And but sometimes the pregnancies are like one is very different than the other, and there's more insulin resistance, and so it's easier to gain weight during that pregnancy, and then it's very challenging to get back to the pre-pregnancy weight for um people. And then perimenopause and amenopause is the final kind of that is a really challenging because I have women who've never struggled with their weight and they're 30 years stable with their weight, and then all of a sudden they get into the perimenopause and they're like, How in the heck? I'm doing exactly what I did for all that time, and it helped keep me safe and healthy. And now I've gained 30 pounds and I feel like I can't do what I was doing before. And that hormonal shift is is pretty rough, and we become more insulin resistant during that drop in estrogen. Yeah, yeah. So that point is that like kind of space that even when someone loses weight, they really work hard to change things and maybe they're taking a medication. If you have to take a medicine, whatever you do that is effective at helping you lose weight, if you stop doing it, the body's kind of gonna drift back to that set point where you started before. And it's because I don't know if you've ever attempted to lose weight, where most people start with diet and exercise, and um your system is like, okay. And then it starts to say, I'm gonna make you more hungry. I think we might be in a famine. So I'm gonna get you hungrier. And people are like, no, I am doing this. And then it starts to say, Well, I'm gonna increase your craving because you're not listening to the hunger. No, not gonna do that. And I'm gonna make you more tired. So you stop, you know, running. Like, I don't know what's happening here, but we need to conserve energy. And most of my patients ignore all those signals. So then the system says, Well, to keep you safe, I'm gonna slow down your metabolic rate. And so, even doing the things that helped you lose maybe that initial weight. I hear this time and time again where I lost 20 pounds and then I got stuck. And then I what the patient interprets is I just gave up. And I'm like, No, your body was fighting forever for you to stop doing what you were doing. And so then it won. And it is the physiology is gonna win. So a lot of times by the time I see someone, they've tried all the things on their own and they want to be on medication. And I am not popular when I say if we use this medicine to help you lose weight, because most people say, I just want to jump start, you know, just help me with a jumpstart. And I'm like, that's not how it works. Like if you stop that medicine, the weight is gonna go back to where it was, you know, without the medicine, not immediately, but over time. And that's extremely frustrating. I get what people are, but it's it's we we accept it in like the diabetes world when someone has to be on insulin to manage their blood sugar. And if they stop their insulin, we're not surprised if the blood sugar goes up. It's kind of accepted. I don't know why in the weight world that's not we don't want it to be true.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Yeah. Right. There were so many things that was just said. I love that you're first talked about uh the nervous system. Well, without saying the nervous system, but it was like in my mind, you can only move at the speed of your nervous system, no matter what you do, anyways. So when you are looking at your weight and we're talking through how comfortable someone is. So for me, for example, if I start, I can I can easily lose weight to muscle and I and I can curve my body in any way at this moment, right? Until I hit your set points and things like that. It wasn't like that when I was pregnant or right after pregnancy or anything such. But it's like now I can at least tone it to what I need it to be. But as soon as I hear the words, oh, you're looking great, or my gosh, your your body's like great. And I get these body compliments, so to speak, my nervous system unconsciously always kind of freaks out. And then I'm like, I'm just not gonna do this anymore. I don't it's almost like I don't want to be seen like that.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Ah, you're hitting us that is a very common theme for women. Yeah. And I wish I could say, Oh, you know, I would work on being okay with being seen, but I think systemically we need to work on the fact that why is that even something that your nervous system is reacting to? I mean, why is that a that's not what I meant. Why is that a truth? Like Yeah. That is what needs to work be worked on, not the individual. Like you shouldn't have to figure out how to like make it safe. That's not your responsibility. It is the responsibility of our society to make it safe for women.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Yeah, like would you not compliment on my body? Like, just like don't don't even don't even tell me about my past, present, future, whatever. I'm just like it's mine. So yeah, that's a that's a thing. And I feel like that can also be a thing for other people. I'm sure if I'm experienced in other people probably have as well, where we get to this and then they're like, but that's not their identity, and it's an identity shift, perhaps.

SPEAKER_00 33:21

So, I mean, a theme that is you're touching on, but it is a bigger.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

Hey there. I just wanted to take a little break for just a second and gear your attention to the show notes. So if you want to press pause, go down in the show notes, check them out. I've got a fits in to prioritize pamphlet basically made just for you, especially during this time where we're learning about these new things that we can implement into our daily lives and how to take these tiny, small actions to make ourselves like the best human we could possibly be for today and the days ahead. The fits and to prioritize is a quadrant that I made. And if you want one, you can go down there and get it for free in the show notes. What you're also gonna see in the show notes are a lot of fun other goodies. A lot of them I love to call the fits and favorites. So I love wearing Lotus and Luna, they are one of the best lounge wear sets I've I've personally ever worn. Like I love harem pants, I love robes, and you get both when you go to Lotus and Luna. There is a special uh coupon down there in the show notes. You can use the code FITSIN F-I-T-Z-E-N at checkout to get 20% off. And also, um, when you do yoga, what is your favorite yoga pants? For me, it's prana. I love prana yoga pants, they are easy to move in, they don't roll down when you're doing yoga. They they stay on your body, they stay in one place, and truthfully, like that is one of my biggest pet peeves of yoga pants is when I'm just in a downward-facing dog and my whole entire front just rolls down. So Prana pants don't do that, and I would love for you to go check them out as well. There's a link down in the show notes for that too. So those are just a few goodies that I can name off the top. There's gonna be far more coming your way. Uh, one of my favorites is stationary. If you are in love with stationery as much as I am, like uh your favorite to-do list notepad, or a do this and don't do that notepad, much like my fits into prioritize, or if you like affirmation decks or calendar affirmations, y'all RageCreate is the place to go. RageCreate.com. So their link is also in the show notes. I can't wait for you to check it out. Don't take me for my word. Go find your own word. Find your own affirmation of the day with Rage Create. I can guarantee you it will change your life in the tiny steps that this podcast does as well.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Have you heard of Ace Scores? No. Adverse Childhood Experiences is a study that the CDC has been doing since 1995. And it came out of actually an obesity medicine physician at Kaiser back in like the 80s, Dr. Feliti was working with people and had a very high dropout rate. And he was trying to understand like what's going on here? Why are these people leaving? His, I think, I feel like I've read that his first impression was because maybe they weren't being successful and that was why they were leaving. But when they were interviewing, they were very successful, like a hundred-pound weight loss, and they were leaving. And so he was like, okay, what's what's going on here? And so in his patient population, there was a very high child maltreatment theme. And so he started trying to like tell this to other physicians and talk about it. And the medical community was like, your patients are lying, you know, like the it it was such gaslighting. Like I it was just to read it, and I'm like, oh my gosh. And so he presented at something and uh this C D C researcher and Andes, I believe Andis, A-N-D-E-S, I'm not, I'm not sure I'm saying it correctly, like heard it and I was like, ooh, let's let's take a look at this. So it started this like multi- you know, decade kind of look at like what is happening. And so in childhood, adverse childhood experiences, there's 10 different areas that we look at. And it's were you physically mistreated, were you sexually mistreated, were you witnessed to someone in your family having those things happen? Were you neglected? Did you lose a primary caregiver either through divorce, uh, incarceration, death? And to watch when people have uh four is impacted for the rest of their life. So what is we're talking about the nervous system, and I kind of it's a flippant, it shouldn't be flippant. But you know, there was this whole like women would choose the bear out in the forest versus a man. I before that was happening, would talk about like that very like we run into a bear out in the forest. Your nervous system is wired to keep you safe. So it's gonna help you either fight, run away, or freeze. And that is meant to happen not very frequently. It's that sympathetic is like, I need to live and I'm gonna do these things to save myself. But it's not meant to be used every day, all day. And that's what happens when you have the bear living in the house. You know, they're at the dinner table, they're on the couch, and you are constantly in this state of fight, flight, freeze, your nervous system then, your immune system is impacted. And so cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, those all are much higher in people who've struggled with that. And I'm here in Oklahoma. When I came over 10 years ago, um I was, you know, like okay, Oklahoma, we have natural disasters, we have a lot of military, we have a Very high divorce rate. We have a very high female incarceration rate. Like all the things are here. And not only for the current children, it's like generation after generation that has experienced that. And so um I was, you know, perplexed about I was working at a hospital that had a lot of transplant patients. And I was working with a lot of very sick people. And I was shocked at how young they were. And I was like, what is going on here? Like this is, and so that's my own, like, I did not do a research study, but my own story that I made up in my brain was that I wonder if these high adverse childhood experiences are impacting this. Yeah. So I definitely feel like there is something that changes the nervous system. We have the sympathetic, which is that five flights for you, and then the parasympathetic, which is rest, digest, feeling safe and content. And so I talk a lot about how can we make that louder? How can we impact the parasympathetic tone and increase that? And so what I think people sort of know, there's like some wisdom about comfort foods. There's a high carb load typically, higher fat load, and it helps people feel better. And if you take away the psychological like guilt that people put on themselves or shame when they're eating something that helps them feel better, I tried, I'm like, your body is wise and it's like trying to take care of you. And that's why we reach for that. And it's, you know, it's just wild. Like when I was a beginner, you know, like I think I was a third-year student, I did NICU and OB at the same hospital. And they were like at each other's throats about circumcisions. And at that time, they were not using any type of anesthetic. And yeah. So then the neonatologists were like, this is changing the pain pathways of these boys forever. And we need to figure out something. And so someone read an article about sugar water on a pacifier and was like, why don't we start doing that? And I had to do circumcisions before the sugar water and after. I can't tell you, I did not go into medicine to hurt people, you know, and I it I would just be drenched in sweat doing these circumcisions because I was like, oh my God, like this is awful. A baby, totally vulnerable baby, and I have to do this.

SPEAKER_02 42:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

And then when they had the sugar water, they're like, okay, do what you need to do. And so they still use like dum-dums or sugar water as part of the anesthetic. They've moved into covering more of the pain, thankfully. But that's just like an example of how I've always said sugar is an anesthetic in a a different way. You know, I'm talking about like when people will use that to help themselves kind of momentarily feel better. But typically it is a pattern that is not gonna help in the long term. Um safe. So yeah. So eating when we eat, our vagus nerve is activated, which the vagus nerve is so important for that parasympathetic feeling rest um or feeling safe uh and um comfortable. So I talk about yes, you can definitely change your uh hormones by eating and activate that vagus nerve, but there's ways to activate the vagus without eating. And so then I try I start trying to say, okay, what are some ways that you recognize you feel safe and content that don't involve that? And often it's like a cold washcloth to the face could there's a something called the dive reflex. And so, like if you submerge your face into an ice bath, you can kind of stimulate the vagus nerve. Um, there are like weighted blankets can help people feel that a warm cup of tea, like there's something about that warmth being transmitted to the hands. I don't I don't understand though how that all like leads to activation, but that is part of activating the vagus. One that for me, like humming, singing, like I'm not saying go up on the stage, you know, on Broadway. I'm just saying, you know, like in your shower or in your car, jamming out to some good music. Music is like, like you were saying, meditation. It's it's like meditation without having to have that discipline. Cause a lot of people talk about, like, I want to meditate, I'm struggling to meditate. And um, I'm like, okay, we're gonna back into this. Like, like, let's just start using some music to help get your brain into that space. Right.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

Well, first of all, like your palms, they're portals basically into your energetic field. And we're all basically electricity. So when you have the music, of course, that stimulates your, you know, your fibers and your discords and all the things that are going off, but also when you speak or you tap, you know, and that would stimulate. And those things are creating a sense of safety in your body for your nervous system as well. So, and that's how um we activate those in yoga all the time. And, you know, the humming, we do an um at the beginning and at the end because it signals to the body like we're safe to move, we're safe to open up, we're safe to be in our space. And then when we um at the end, it's like we've closed it and we've given another signal to our body to be like, okay, like now we can move out into the world knowing that we have done everything that we can in that moment to then prepare us for the rest of the day or the evening, whenever time you're doing it. But that's the whole purpose that I lead classes with ohms and in classes with ohms. But I love where you were talking about the A scores and back to the childhood experience of the nervous system. Whereas with me, it all just I just had an epiphany and I just need to share that with you. Like as a child, I grew up next door to my cousins, and then we had some kids down the street, but we were growing up in the 90s, so it wasn't illegal for our moms and dads to be at work and all of us watch each other. So we were wild, you know. But with that came a cost of bullying and extra and all of that stuff. So whether like it was always only safe for me when my mom and dad were home, and I knew there weren't gonna be any extraterrestrial like attacks, you know? So I was like, okay, this is great. But then as soon as they were gone, I'm like, all right, we gotta fight another day. And it was like survival mode. And you know, and they're picking at you and calling, we're calling each other ugly or fat or whatever. And that is the pathway created, I believe, in my own problems. So, and then that's like led to adulthood and everything else. But yeah, when you were speaking of that, I was like, this makes total sense. I've got some work to do, you know, release that and let that go.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

Well, and it's very from the medical perspective, there's a really, and I cannot remember her name, and it's horrible. There's a wonderful TED talk about ACE scores, a pediatrician out in California, and how like the physicians, I would say, are behind in recognizing. I'm I'm a DO, so there's just like always. You're like a hybrid. It's understood that mind-body, you know, like of course, that's gonna interact. And I think in the allopathic world, it's gotten a lot different than it was when I first started in my training, where it it's more accepted. But I'm just saying I think we're a little bit behind in the sense of acknowledging that and how it's not in someone's head. Like, you know, I I hear a lot of women talking about not being taken seriously, like when they bring up their health concerns, and it it drives me crazy because like autoimmune is very, very strong in my patient population. And I just watching people like trying to figure out what's going on with their immune system is is very frustrating. So it's like average five years before they get to a diagnosis. Like, we know that people who have gone through stuff from a young age are going to have more health concerns as they get older. Or I know that. I don't know if everyone accepts that. Yeah, adverse child. So anyway, this pediatrician was saying how she was like, hey, you guys, like we've got to pay attention. Because in her world, she was saying that like all these kids were getting diagnosed with attention deficit. And actually, she felt like it was probably a trauma response. And she was trying to get people to look at it a little bit differently, and they just were not open to that at that time. And I just think she did a great job of like bringing attention to adverse childhood experiences in the medical world. But it's been in therapy and you know, like for a long time, there's been an acknowledgement there for sure.

SPEAKER_01 49:40

I think uh the premise of yoga is trauma mitigation, not necessarily we're not gonna cure anything. Yeah. But we can give you coping mechanisms that are healthy and are safe for your move forward in your nervous system, and not think, you know, eating is such a pathway to. I mean, we use that all the time. There's things called doshas, and we eat according to how we are in our culture and the seasons. Like there's a reason we have more citrus fruits in the wintertime, and like we can dive into that because they've all been harvested for the whole year, you know, and like your apples, or you go into your squash seasons and things like that. And when you think about it from uh early on, human standpoint, you know, remember like the pictures how massive the jaws were? And they're eating raw vegetables. We didn't really like eat animals. We were just eating raw vegetables and raw things because we had to. And then we create that big jaw, and you know, they weren't cutting wisdom teeth out. Right. Like way back then. They weren't, they just weren't doing that. But now, where we don't have that practice, and if you don't use it, you lose it in all the sense, then your jaws over time, if you notice with humanity, they're smaller. And that also leaves room or no room for your wisdom teeth. And then you get those cut out. But we're all created for the functions and the physiology, as you mentioned earlier, to handle the life and everything that's coming with it. So whether we're in the set point of like the pregnancy, the perimenopause, the menopause, yes, we are here for that. And our weights will fluctuate for sure, but we're evolving, we're changing with ever because we are being human as a human being, right?

SPEAKER_00 51:50

Yeah, it's I think we're in a very interesting time in terms of weight. Like it's it's a newer phenomena that so many people are struggling. And I feel like it is so multifactorial. And I don't see like as an individual issue. I see it as this is a public health kind of concern. It it makes me, I've always advocated for access to care and not marginalizing, but it feels like there's a lot of expectation placed on an individual, like in the messaging that I want to counteract is this is this is bigger than you. You know, like this isn't like of course you need to take care of yourself, but I'm just like the types of foods that are available and the contaminations, you know, of the different plastics, and it there's so much happening that um unfortunately it's estimated that by like 2035, half of the world is gonna have the disease of obesity. And that has never been that way. And it's really we have there's so many things that are inputting into the why that's happening. Yeah. And so I just I want people to stop blaming themselves. Like I want people to live their best life with kind of what is going on and seek out answers, you know. Like I said, no one cares about your health as much as you do.

SPEAKER_01 53:15

Yeah, absolutely. So would you say, I mean, I know you mentioned how it's kind of more like a takeout now, like we're we're used to fast food and and not necessarily like fast food. I'm gonna go down to Burger King fast food, but fast food is in like pre-packaged meals or things like that. You can cook them at home. It doesn't matter. Fast food. But that the resources of actual health food and how much that's inflated in costs. Like, what it what do you see with that?

SPEAKER_00 53:48

That's just so there's actually I mean, you can absolutely spend so much money. And I I have friends who have different health conditions that talk about how much more expensive it is, like trying to live gluten-free, using products that are, you know, gluten-free bread and that kind of stuff. And so there is a upcharge um definitely on those kinds of things. But um I guess, you know, like there's a uh approach that I I was at. Harvard had like a CME for teaching kitchens and trying to like encourage health systems to find out like how can we kind of bring people back to the table, you know, like that they're cooking for themselves. And so it was at the Culinary Institute of Arts out in California. It was amazing. So many uh really smart people. And this group, it's under no uh kid hungry is the umbrella. And it is trying to teach adults and children how to cook. And, you know, it it they do, I don't know what it is currently, but they were partnered with Walmart at one point, and they would have like a dietitian lead the class and they'd do like let's go grocery shopping together and let's get some knife skills, and like so the the group would get like a whole set of kitchen items, you know, so that they could cut and cook and at their house and then just learning because like it's a I feel like there's a lot of people who like have lost that knowledge. Like it used to be handed down and and so many people have two people working or one single person working multiple jobs, and so there's no way for them to be in the kitchen the way like in the 40s, like there's just it doesn't exist anymore. It's a very rare family that can have that. And I'm I'm so that that's awesome when they can figure it out, but often it's not, and so um healthy aspect, this group really worked on recipes for SNAP recipients, so it was very, very affordable, and so it can be done. It just has to be thought in a different way. Um, so it's not just the physical like money, it's the convenience that um comes with the time, the time cost, um, yeah, the planning. Looking back at my childhood, my mom, my hat is off to her, like how much time and effort she put into caring for us in that way. But she was she had a flexible position where she was a real estate agent. And so she was able to, and it was a very strong priority in her life. So, like she was able to do that. I looking at my life, like I cannot cook every or I am so tired by the end of the day. It's like trying to figure out how you can incorporate more whole fruits and vegetables is kind of my initial, like when I meet someone, I'm just like, can we try and get a fruit or a vegetable? Like sometimes there's no fruits or vegetables at all happening. And so to say, oh, you should be getting five to nine fruits and vegetables a day to someone who doesn't have any of that, uh, maybe like French rice, like, but that I don't consider a vegetable. Right. And so I'm just gonna say, could we get like a banana or a, you know, something that's portable that's you don't have to cook or, you know, do anything with, it's just like bring it with you. And that's our first step into like, can we start to incorporate more of this? And then I really want people to like there is this kind of messaging that, you know, organic and is the only way. And I'm like, I get if you can do that, awesome, go for it. But the reality for most of my people that I work with, it that's not a reality. And so it's canned or frozen are totally acceptable. I just need you to pay attention to the sodium. Like our the canned could be higher sodium. And so that's the only caveat there in my opinion. And so it's it's like I'm gonna, I'm a very, like I said, I'm a flexitarian. So I am gonna take and we're gonna try to mutually come to like what's the best path forward rather than me, like, you know, doesn't matter. That doesn't work for me at all.

SPEAKER_01 58:20

So I love that. I love that it's like tiny steps to make big impacts because that's really how it is, too. I mean, I can have somebody on my yoga mat and they're very new beginners and very just let me leave it at that. They're new at doing yoga. I would never teach them uh a full-on vinyasa hot yoga class on their first day. And that's like the thing is like you build up your steps to then, if that is your end goal to make it to a hot yoga class, then by all means, you'll continue to make that those steps happen and that repetition until you find you're more flexible, until you find your rhythm, you're more intentional with your poses and everything else. And I feel like that's the same with eating healthy and making that a priority. And it you nailed it on the head earlier in our conversation where you have to prioritize. And it's not necessarily that you're lazy and it's not that you're not worth it or anything like that, but it is a priority when you are moving from a fast food and taking in everything that's coming at you and allowing yourself to get hijacked all day long without knowing that's what you're doing, to then making intentions and setting times to go to the grocery, pick out meal plan in efforts to make one dinner a night to change the whole course of your week. And that's really just how it it starts. Does your book break that down?

SPEAKER_00 59:58

So I mean, that is one. Approach is like just, you know, having one dinner that you're making from home. I would say I'll have people who that like there's this all or nothing, like I need to run a marathon, you know. And I'm like, I don't think we have to. I mean, if that's what you want to do long term, great. But like to say, I'm not doing anything and now I'm gonna run a marathon, like there's a lot of steps in between there. And people get frustrated with those different steps and and like they feel like they haven't succeeded in a timely enough fashion. So they that's where the why is so important, so that you can have something that's gonna help you get through that frustration and go on to the next step. Like, I'll have people do the different meal um where where the meals are not necessarily cooked, but you're getting the ingredients sent to your house. And like that is a great way to like hello fresh what you like and what you don't like. And and we did that with our during like COVID, especially when we were don't want to go to the grocery store. And we kept like this many recipes from, you know, like all the things that we tried. We we still use some of those in our cooking today. And so it's we just have to come to the understanding that if you can't run yet, you know, that doesn't mean that there's a problem. It just means that we're not strong enough to do that yet. And and so the food, there's so many things that go into like coming up with a meal plan and and then going and purchasing it. I can get overwhelming so quick. Yes. And then just be done. And what I have seen over the years so much, people will be like, well, just give me a plan. Just tell me what I need to eat. And I'm like that over 20 plus years, that has not ever been really a long-term success because you might do it for a couple weeks, but then if that's not really how you like to eat or the flavors are off for you, you're not gonna be able to keep doing that. It's it's not food is not meant to be a punishment. Food is pleasurable, and we want you to enjoy what you're eating. So it's really about like, okay, we gotta figure out what works for you. This book is about like caring for yourself and figuring out how your body needs to be fueled. And it has some suggestions. It's not the answer. It's not gonna, it's not a holy grail. You know, it's not for everyone, but it's it's a step to try and like look at yourself and figure out what works for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

I love that. And and it keeps it an open mind, like where you're not coming in from a one-size-fits-all. I think that is what is the most predominant thing about the whole conversation is that there is so much room for flexibility and knowing who you are. I mean, just like I was talking about earlier, like the doshas, your your own dosha, whatever it is that you align with is how like I know how my body will react to food. Same with if you think cilantro tastes like dirt, then that's how you're gonna react, you know? So it is knowing yourself, I think, on every level.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

And I love that you were able to offer that and break it down into your the Ford food cues, four food cues, four food cues, yes, chef framework, craving, hunger, energy, and fullness, and then just really paying attention to those domains for you to like see how food reacts.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:53

And your ebook comes out January 20th, yes, on Amazon. All right. Well, that is awesome. That is the best. Is there anything, one particular advice that you would keep that you'd like to share with the audience?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:10

Just one thing, one key takeaway that you are worth it just the way you are. Like you do not have to change in order to deserve to be healthy. You are perfectly imperfect right now, and we're a work in progress. And so um, I guess I would just say like I've seen it all in terms of where you know, one thing works for one person and it is not the right choice for another person. And so that's where I feel like the messaging out there is a lot of like one size fits all. And so when people they feel like they something's wrong with them, nope. That just is not the right option for you. Like that just next.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:00

Yeah, I love that. And like, don't pay attention to all that. I think we often get caught up in personalizing everything that we hear that's coming at us, and then we take it personal and then we attach ourselves to it when all we did in that in those three things that I just said was we just made up a story off of someone else's line. Yeah, and that was it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:24

That's how simple it is. Another thing that I think is really important is, you know, I think we're talking a lot about food and what you're taking in food-wise, but you said something about like what you're taking in and hijacking, you know, like that we're being hijacked. I totally want people to think about like creating a protective, like, force field around them, and you get to decide what comes into you when you see something on social media. Like, is that valid for me or is that for someone else? And let it bounce off if that is not for you. And I think that would be also helpful in what we're digesting. Yeah, so punny.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:11

Yes, and yes. Oh, well, thank you, Dr. Laurie D'Amatia. Lori Dematia, yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:17

Thank you so much for having me. It was such a pleasure to talk today.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:21

Yes, it absolutely was. Wow. So this conversation, it was such a spark for me. And also a new one, a new vision really for the FitSIN project in and of itself. We um got into nutrition and obesity conversation, and it took a whole new perspective on what we can bring into our holistic well-being uh with everything that this podcast has to offer from financial to uh nervous system health to now we're in nutrition space to helping you cope with um family members who have past or helping you cope with your own energy management and finding ways that may be more useful to you as far as like Reiki or meditation or hypnosis, there's been so many offerings on this podcast, and this one is no different in why it was so special and so absolutely unique. So I hope you loved it like I did, learned a lot like I did. And if you want to be able to create some new momentum in your life, some help yourself with some new pointers, you know, go grab Dr. Laurie's book. It is out on ebook as of January 20th right now. So go grab it. That will be in the show notes on how you can access that. And also, um, if you want to start making some moves, like I said, go down in the show notes, get yourself the Fitsin to Prioritize PDF pamphlet, get in the Fits in newsletter, be part of the Fits in community, come in, step into this with us a little deeper. I would love to have you. I'd love to share with you more insights and more just ways to live and be in the business of yourself because you are your most important project. Let's bring it in and we're gonna seal this episode together with one ohm after an inhale. So let's take a breath. The light in me sees and honors the light in each of you, so we share the same light. Namaste.