Many years ago I classified myself as a ‘sugar addict.? For nearly a decade, spanning my mid-teens to my mid-20’s, I put forth a daily struggle to consume fewer foods that I ?knew? were unhealthy. I had many victories, but within a week I would almost always cave in and eat something really ?unhealthy,? and would do so in ever-greater amounts. In other words, in an attempt at junk food abstinence, I set up a repeated cycle of binging, followed by starving, followed by binging again ? harder and harder with each round. And each round became more frustrating and shameful. The more I failed, the more guilt, shame, and self-loathing I experienced.
So I lived with a song of self-punishment playing in the background of my life. This came to a climax at 26 when I went 44 days on a very low-sugar, low-calorie, monotonous diet while making my way’through Wyoming’s most rugged and vast mountain range. ?You have to work for the right to eat,? I convinced myself. ?The luxuries of modern life are not to be taken for granted. ?And I certainly worked very hard for very little of it ? food and luxury that is.
The result?? My ?addiction? got worse, and I developed new addictions in the process. After the 44 depleting days I developed new addictions to coffee, tea, and chocolate in addition to my sugar addiction, which was magnified several times over. Alcohol had become a lot more exciting as well. I now ate a couple pounds of candy and chocolate and 10 cups of caffeinated tea daily. I started turning up all offers of beer instead of turning them down.
Worst of all, I felt really defeated. My attempt to break myself of my weaknesses had failed. And I felt more powerless than ever as I put away ?fun size? candy bar after fun size candy bar ? rarely going more than an hour without having a couple during waking hours.
Luckily I had broken myself, and really had to develop a different relationship with me. It was at that time that I started dabbling in alternative ‘spirituality,? and adopted the practice of diffusing feelings of guilt or self-loathing when they arose as my highest priority. When it came to sweet treats ? ice cream, cakes, candy ? I would smile and eat them slowly, focusing on all the flavors and textures in a very sensual manner.
And something remarkable happened. The compulsive need to eat such things completely went away. Of course, I no longer was punishing myself with hard exercise in response to my ?moments of weakness,? nor was I starving myself in repentance the rest of the week. So all of this worked synergistically together to break the psychological pattern that really was at the root of the compulsion to begin with. Loving myself, choosing to enjoy the experience of eating yummy food instead of feel anxiety and guilt over it, and not consciously trying to make up for lapses in willpower through barbaric dietary strictness and ?binge exercising? diffused the whole circle of addiction. It’s as if shame, guilt, and fighting or being at odds with oneself are prerequisites for the development of addiction in the first place. At the very least, this psychological pattern is a great perpetuator and strengthener of addictive tendencies.
1811 Eastlake? Seattle, Washington?
Orchestrated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an entity whose name makes me giggle more than once, the city of Seattle embarked on an incredibly bold and revolutionary approach to dealing with its homeless alcoholic population. It built a very nice, $9 million, 75-apartment building with taxpayer money specifically for housing the homeless.
Although the move was highly controversial to begin with, it became a lot more controversial when it allowed and even subsidized the drinking of alcohol inside the building. They were effectively saying to the homeless population, ?Here, come live in this nice, warm, safe apartment, staffed by a nurse 24 hours a day, and drink here with your friends and other troubled people who you can relate to instead of out in public. We’ll even make sure you have plenty to drink.
It was a revolutionary idea, and one based on our collective understanding of human psychology and sociology instead of presumed assumptions and uncompassionate detestation of those with substance abuse problems. It was attacked for being a publicly-funded ?enabler? of alcoholics of course, even though tenants were encouraged to drink less and resources were made available for treatment.
The cool thing was that it actually saved money ? millions of dollars in fact. $4 million in the first year of operation alone due to decreased medical costs, reduced need for law enforcement, and a dozen other ways that were not fully expected. ??And, even cooler, the amount of alcohol consumed by residents steadily declined. The longer one spends at 1811 Eastlake Ave, the less he or she drinks. Some even got off the sauce completely.
And I get why this works. The community says, ?We care about you and love you. You deserve a place to live. It’s bad enough you have to deal with addiction, mental illness, public humiliation, and other things frequently suffered by the homeless. The least we can do is give you a safe and comfortable place to live.
The fact that they are allowed to drink however much they like just affirms that who they are is being completely honored. When helping someone out without asking for any change in behavior or other hoops to jump through, that help comes across as a lot more sincere. The energy behind it is totally different. It evidently worked, as they only had to invite 78 to fill their 75 rooms. That’s not many turning down the offer, unlike what would have happened if they were forced to stop drinking or work like it was some kind of enslavement.
It’s also important, as I have always argued, that working at overcoming addiction is something that comes after a foundation has been built. That’s exactly what went on at 1811 Eastlake Ave. You don’t tell a person in a truly horrendous and desperate and depressing situation that they should stop drinking. That’s like telling someone’trapped in a forest of poison ivy’that it’s time to break their addiction to Calamine lotion. Rather, you need to make that person feel appreciated, put a roof over their heads, give them three quality meals per day and a comfortable bed in a quiet, safe room, surround them with people they can relate to, and, ideally, give them something fulfilling to pursue.?Get them out of the poison ivy forest before you take away their itch cream.
While 1811 Eastlake has probably come up a little short in terms of helping its residents find something fulfilling to pursue, it’s certainly delivered on the rest of the equation. They provide a foundation with the faith that human beings, with a strong foundation, are more likely to thrive. And they are. And even the ones who continue to drink heavily or cause trouble are still drinking less and causing less trouble than they?were while living on the streets. Improvement is improvement, especially when it saves money instead of burning through it faster.
I bring all this up because a recurring theme since the 180DegreeHealth creation known as the ?High-Everything Diet? was developed in 2009, is that addictive fixation on certain foods or a compulsive desire to eat them typically lessens or goes away altogether (and with the even more recent development of strict adherence to whole foods falling by the wayside this is even more true). This is a phenomenon noted elsewhere too, such as The Gabriel Method, the world of ?intuitive eating,? the Health at Every Size movement, and the work of disordered eating pioneers like Geneen Roth.
Part of it is nourishing yourself well. When the body is in a nourished, restful, low stress state, the desires for various crutches decline. But something changes when your relationship with ?x? addiction changes too. Tell someone that eating a certain food is bad for them and they will feel a deep yearning for that food on some level. If they indulge in the desire for that ?forbidden fruit,? a strong guilt and repent cycle can form with its own, mysterious, paralyzing grip. The greater the magnitude of sinfulness of indulging in something forbidden, usually the bigger the binge. The greater the repression, the greater the escalation and perversion ? an idea that obviously extends far beyond food and alcohol.
Anyway, I think what’s going on at 1811 Eastlake Ave. in Seattle is a glimpse into the future of our understanding of human behavior, addiction, and a lot more. It is a powerful example of care, compassion, and support’s ability to outgun punishment and shame in the battle to bring about a better, more synergistic and pleasant existence for all involved. This is a rare case of a win-win story, but there are a lot more where that came from if we learn from this example.
As far as how it applies to us, as individuals, it’s good to keep 1811 in the back of your mind. The person we typically treat the worst is ourselves, and it’s a valuable health lesson to break the downward circle of shame, blame, guilt, and punishment about who you are, what you’ve done, and what you’re into. Food of course, is more of the practice ground for much bigger and more important issues. But it’s a start.
Thank you for writing this and making it publicly available.
GREAT post and such an important point. Must be some very courageous people in Seattle making this happen.
This is exactly what ended my binge eating problem. I would go for weeks eating as little as possible. (I’m talking a couple of saltines a day.) Then I would binge on food for a few weeks and feel so guilty. Even after stopping that cycle, I still knew that some foods were “good” and some were “bad.” I would go to a Mexican restaurant and not be able to stop eating the chips and cheese dip. My mindset was that if I didn’t eat as much as I could then, I would never get chips again. Since deciding that I can eat whatever I want, my “bad” food intake has definitely decreased. I can eat a few Oreos at a time…instead of the whole package. Because Oreos will always be here, and I will always be able to eat them.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Thanks for more Matt Stone background, and a great anti-deprivation perspective…
Great stuff Matt. Your ability to combine other important entities besides nutrition into health and well being really puts you ahead of the rest.
amen, brother. amen.
I’ve read at your site about the lean eating program. However its not exactly clear to me what it entails nutritionwise….is it more highcarb,lowfat or eating according to your hormones(disbalance)? It seems very good,especially the mental/emotional lifecoaching mixed into it,i’d really need that. But theres no way I can afford it besides the fact that I dont live in the US or am american:'(
Sounds like Bruce Alexander’s work with addiction in Rat Park. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park They put rats in a comfortable setting with space for privacy, socializing and play, and gave them adequate nourishing food, and then a choice between plain water and morphine water. They found: “Nothing that we tried,” Alexander wrote, “… produced anything that looked like addiction in rats that were housed in a reasonably normal environment.” They even forcibly addicted some rats to morphine, and then observed them go through withdrawal and choose the plain water over morphine water in Rat Park.
Awesome stuff.
Thanks for that link Rob. I had heard about Rat Park but hadn’t read anything in depth about it. Definitely see how that is woven into the findings at 1811 Eastlake.
Does Rat Park have any openings?
If they do, lemme know too!
I want to live in rat park!
I think that’s a major factor of addiction. That and the concept of guilt. Chief also talks about living within civilization while also learning to not have it affect you.
I’ve noticed I seem to have a “non-addictive” personality. I watched a fair amount of TV in high-school (due to boredom?) but when I got to college I completely stopped. I quit all soda/pop cold turkey for a year (that was ages ago). I’ve started smoking socially but find it kind of gross and forget that I bought my own pack most of the time. I attribute all that to not buying into the concept of guilt.
Boredom is a factor though. It will cause you to seek stimulation, be it cookies, TV, or whatever.
Speaking of Chief and civilization, Bruce Alexander continued with his addiction research.
From a review of Alexander’s book: ‘The Globalisation of Addiction’ here: http://www.nthposition.com/theglobalisationof.php
‘Many historical and indigenous cultures have lacked even the concept of addiction – but many of these same cultures, once their traditional structures have been disrupted by conquest or colonisation, have been destroyed by it. All across the Americas, the Pacific and Australia, hundreds of ‘demoralised’ cultures have descended into vicious spirals of addiction, usually to alcohol, in many tragic cases wiping themselves out entirely. The root causes of addiction, then, must run deeper than any individual pathology: they must be sought in a larger story of cultural malaise and ‘poverty of the spirit’ that forces individuals, often en masse, into desperate and dysfunctional coping strategies.’
Well I’ll go tit for tat with ya on the references and will say that if you can get your hands on a copy of The Guru Papers:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Guru-Papers-Masks-Authoritarian/dp/1883319005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341517968&sr=8-1&keywords=the+guru+papers
the section “Taming the Beast: The Inner Battle for Control” is an excellent summary on the psychological aspect of addiction, especially how the concepts of guilt and a goodself/badself split play into it.
I definitely will be checking out that Bruce Alexander article.
Touch? sir. Seems like a good book- may check it out sometime.
Thank you so much for taking the shameful words from my mouth “You have to work for the right to eat.”
For half of my life (now 26) I’ve been ‘undeserving’ of food in some form or another, recently coming off LC Paleo that super damaged my metabolism, hormones, gut, energy. Thank you for this site and for bravely sharing your story.
The less off limits food becomes, the less appealing it is. Took me 3 good weeks of RRARFing in around 3-4,000 cals before my appetite started coming down and forgetting about ice cream.
Very excellent. Such an interesting social experiment, but you are right that it makes sense. Why would people be inspired to get off mind-numbing substances if they still don’t feel safe and secure in their life?
Thanks for this~
Sorry to hear that you’ve had a hard time, Camila, but it’s unlikely that eating low-carb, in an evidence-based way, damaged your metabolism, hormones, gut, and energy. I just had Dr. Jeff Volek on my radio show last night — he explains how to eat healthily, low-carb, and why this is the optimal diet (with small variations for the individual).
He talks about people not eating enough fat and too much protein, and writes in one chapter that a person can eat as little as 15 percent of their daily calories in protein.
Per Gary Taubes’ very accessible book, “Why We Get Fat,” it is carbohydrates — sugar, flour, starchy vegetables like potatoes, apple juice — that cause the insulin secretion that puts on fat.
Another good book: “Wheat Belly,” by cardiologist Dr. William Davis. If anything has damaged your metabolism, etc., it is, again, unlikely to be evidence-based low-carbing (Volek is an excellent source — as is Dr. Michael Eades at proteinpower.com/drmike).
My radio show with Dr. Volek is here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon/2012/07/02/advice-goddess-radio-amy-alkon
Best wishes with feeling better. -Amy Alkon, science-based syndicated columnist
Ugh, are these people for real…
(Referring to the “low-carb paleo couldn’t POSSIBLY have any negative side-effects!” crowd, there.)
Did you even read the above article, Amy? Or are you just trolling? You may be science-based, and I -along with your mom, I’m sure- am proud of you for that, but you lose points for logic.
It’s nice to have the opinion from the ‘other side’ in here – something not always appreciated in the alt health scene I have to say. But what does concern me is the phrase -“[low carb] is the optimal diet”. Why has it become an obsession for many to find the Holy Grail of dietary endeavour ? The hard truth of the matter is there is no perfect diet ! We see plenty of people from different native cultures thriving on different sorts. (high carb, low carb and everything in between) That’s not to say that we should be trying to imitate the diets of these cultures btw, we have completely different environmental, lifestyle and even genetic differences that would make this foolish. Instead just use them as pretty clear evidence that humanity can thrive on pretty much anything given the right circumstances.
So to me at least, the whole list of diets out there all have their place, but certain ones (particularly the more extreme variations) should only be used situationally. I include low carb in that category btw; a diet that seeks to limit a crucial macro nurtient (carbohydrates) is anything but moderate. Low carb can be very useful in the short/medium term for people who are over weight and showing clear inflammatory markers. However, long term is a completely different matter; the abscene of carbs leads eventually to the down regulation of thyroid function, cold body temperature, irritability and sluggish digestion to name but a few side effects.
What’s quite telling is that even some big names in the Paleo world (a paradigm closely related to low carb) are now moderating their stance considerably. Sisson has mentioned indulging in carb binges from time to time, and others are now including ever increasing amounts on a more regular basis – even 180’s plump Paleo pal Richard Nickolay is stuffing himself full of rice and potatoes – a stance pretty inconceivable given the flak he’s given carbs over the years. (and fair play to the guy, he’s mentioned having low thyroid symtoms and he’s doing something about it rather than going further down the dietary dogma route)
Amy: Since we are talking about science, I guess you read this:
http://co2factor.blogspot.com/2012/04/practical-ways-to-lose-fat.html
This is science based so please, none of your preachy scientism that has nothing to do with real science.
I’ve been struggling with my addiction to food for it feels like my whole life. I started following your plan, and my addictions have slapped me in my face. Not only that, but I’ve gained so much weight that I just feel gross and more full of shame about my body.
I’m glad you wrote this and I hope you continue to delve into these issues to help those of us still having issues with food addictions and body images.
Hi Lori!
I RRARFed for quite a bit of time and ended up gaining about 25 lbs. Previous to that, I was already overweight and already feeling terrible about the way my body looked. AND to add to that, I feel damn uncomfortable in my body right, because it’s bigger and doesn’t work the way it used to work.
I have dieted for YEARS and overexercised (I used to run 10ks and half marathons). Even after RRARFing, I have tried food and macronutrient dieting (which makes me really grouchy and I can’t lose weight when I deprive myself of food or feel stressed out about what I should be eating, whatsoever). In fact, yesterday, on Day 2 of being on a low carb, I started getting a headache and was irritated. A nice big bowl of cereal saved my sanity (and my kids’ sanity).
In fact, dieting all the time is what has led to binges. When I diet, I worry about food being scarce (especially food I enjoy). RRARFing has helped with that and I am learning more about how to tell when I’m full. One thing I used to LOVE to binge on was maple sandwich cookies from Trader Joe’s. Now I can eat just one or two…
I was once very skinny and didn’t even like the way I looked then. A few days ago, I looked at old photos and remember the way I felt about myself, how much I hated how I looked, how often I thought that life would be better when I would be skinnier. At one point, I only weighed 115 lbs and was 5’4″ tall! And I still thought I was too fat then!
After yesterday, I realized that I need diet freedom (and I need carbs and some sugar, LOL). And I also need to accept myself and love myself, no matter what I look like. It helps me sooooo much to read blogs like 180degreehealth and the fuckitdiet. And I am getting over myself slowly…
For the first time in years, I wore a bathing suit in front of other people and swam and played with my kids at the pool last week. You know what? No one laughed at me, shunned me or told me to go home. :) And I had LOTS of fun. It’s little things like this that are helping me to accept myself and when I stop thinking about how I look or worry about what other people are thinking of me, life is good. It is a blessing to be in the present presence of my children and family.
I hope you will start to feel good about your body and blessed that it works so wonderfully. Your body is beautiful. :)
Amy,
Not sure what you mean by ‘evidence-based’ low carb, and I’m confident that many folks here who have had trouble with low-carb were doing it ‘right,’ getting plenty of fat with appropriate amounts of protein. I know that applied to me, and yes, I was sourcing my food from quality, grass-fed, local and organic sources.
Matt’s written a lot about the downsides of low-carb diets, and the illogic of demonizing insulin as the source of fat gain. You might look into: http://180degreehealth.com/2008/01/insulin-bin-laden and http://180degreehealth.com/2010/02/is-a-low-carb-diet-counterproductive to start with, as well as this gem of a quote from Dr Atkins, on why all diets, long-term, tend to lower the metabolic rate, and thus undermine our best defense against obesity and all sorts of health problems:
(From Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, p 303)
??remember that prolonged dieting [including ‘this one?] tends to shut down thyroid function. This is usually not a problem with the thyroid gland but with the liver, which fails to convert T4 into the more active thyroid principle, T3. The diagnosis is made on clinical grounds with the presence of fatigue, sluggishness, dry skin, coarse or falling hair, an elevation in cholesterol, or a low body temperature.
Thanks Rob for being the voice of reason.
:-)
For you, Deb- always :-D
Rob Wolf been writing lately that his health and energy has been steadily deteriorating.. He is The Paleo LC Grokman
Please, many of us has been trough Paleo, just shut up and read a bit before trying to convert us.
Hey Elina- be curious to read where he talks about that. Is it on his blog? Drop a link if you have it. Thanks!
Hamsterdam.
Love ‘The Wire.’ Awesome.
Sorry , I found Durianrider citing Rob Wolf as following
“After the book tour I was about beat to death. Don’t get me wrong, it was an exciting time but between wrapping up the book, doing the PSS, pimping the book, time zone changes and the random gluten exposure while eating on the road?well, I was a mess. My biosignature showed high Cortisol, insulin resistance and the testosterone levels of an 80 year old. Woman.
I was NOT in good shape. I did not at that time do an ASI test which I now regret as I know things have improved dramatically but I’m just not that into reaffirming via diagnostic measures what I know already by observation. I’ll be better about that in the future as solid numbers ARE important for benchmarks. For sure I was not in great shape, about 170 lbs and body comp was around 15% body fat.
I was not digesting of my food very well, energy levels were low and on days when it was cloudy in Chico I got VERY squirrely. Luckily I had 5 weeks ahead of me with no travel so I decided to really get my shit together and do whatever it took to get healthy and strong again. The areas that I focused on supporting were sleep, adrenal function, digestion, and androgen production.”
I found that slightly unsexy.. If the Paleo is the panac?e why is this happening?
Random exposure to gluten and fatigue aren’t supposed to get you to the state of 80 years old woman?
Then
are you the same Rob? Just wondering..
Can’t you read?? It was the gluten exposure!!! haha
Sorry , I found Durianrider citing Rob Wolf as following
“After the book tour I was about beat to death. Don’t get me wrong, it was an exciting time but between wrapping up the book, doing the PSS, pimping the book, time zone changes and the random gluten exposure while eating on the road?well, I was a mess. My biosignature showed high Cortisol, insulin resistance and the testosterone levels of an 80 year old. Woman.
I was NOT in good shape. I did not at that time do an ASI test which I now regret as I know things have improved dramatically but I’m just not that into reaffirming via diagnostic measures what I know already by observation. I’ll be better about that in the future as solid numbers ARE important for benchmarks. For sure I was not in great shape, about 170 lbs and body comp was around 15% body fat.
I was not digesting of my food very well, energy levels were low and on days when it was cloudy in Chico I got VERY squirrely. Luckily I had 5 weeks ahead of me with no travel so I decided to really get my shit together and do whatever it took to get healthy and strong again. The areas that I focused on supporting were sleep, adrenal function, digestion, and androgen production.”
I found that slightly unsexy.. If the Paleo is the panac?e why is this happening?
Random exposure to gluten and fatigue aren’t supposed to get you to the state of 80 years old woman?
that quote is like two years old from Robb Wolf btw
woah.
tangent thought: thats as bad as posting a picture of a sexy thin woman who says she “loves to eat pancakes, burritos, etc.” then, another person finds that the quote is totally taken out of context and manipulated. manipulated as in the woman says she never eats those foods.
to prove a point, you don’t have to erase all the lines around it, deb.
um what? lost me there
Rob.. Are you the same Rob I am citing?
sorry, I posted twice.
oooh … i’m impressed. Science-based! more like JUNK science based, amy.
thanks matt for posting this. another detail as to why they decided to build it was that the cost of the 911 calls alone for drunks passed out on the sidewalk is practically bankrupting many cities. one call costs thousands, and there can be hundreds a week per city.
Hey Elina- nope. This is Rob A of Team 180. :-D
Thanks Matt
I absolutely love it!
I agree .
In fact out of all the things you have written I think this is one of the most important-
in terms of the underlying tenants and our relationship with food, our bodies, and ourselves.
This article seems to be the story of my life,especially at the moment.
If I’d live in the US I would book myself a ticket to Seattle immediately!
Shit out of the crumb
Really excellent article, Matt.
It’s things like this that often make me think that it’s the WHOLE MODERN ENVIRONMENT, not just the food we’re eating, that leads to all the obesity/diabetes/CVD/degenerative disease we’re seeing. Specifically, the lack of cultural belonging, human connection, support, etc. really wreak havoc on people emotionally and physically. I know I am often unhappy for what seems like no reason, until I stop and think a little and realize that it’s been 7 hours since I saw the sun or talked to a human being or walked more than 30 feet in either direction.
We spend a lot of our time in the Rat Cage instead of the Rat Park, nearly all of us. It’s no wonder we’re largely fat, depressed and addicted.
I think Chief has spoken at least partially to this. The argument came up previously of “Well, what the hell does cause obesity/diabetes/CVD then?”. Maybe we can chalk it up to a gradual deterioration. There’s not really any one rule you can follow since you can’t predict another person’s needs. I used to eat whatever the hell I wanted. I’d get nutter butters and a coke from the vending machines for lunch and then eat cookies when I got home. I never had a health problem. Once I got obsessive about health, my body stopped getting what I needed and my sleep quality gradually fell apart.
I still feel physically run down a lot of the time. I’ve recovered a long ways, but after more than two years, I still feel like I need a sabbatical. Modern lifestyles do not offer a break. It’s always go-go-go, even on vacations. If you’re not up till midnight three to four times a week you’re a recluse. If you’re not working a 9 to 5 you’re broke.
I’m extrapolating based on my personal experience, but I think it’s a collective set of factors. Yes, nutritional quality has gone down, but that in and of itself is not enough of an explanation. If you are under constant stress and get poor sleep nutritional quality will matter more. If you add physical stress (chronic cardio style exercise) and insufficient calories (dieting) you can really increase the overall stress on the system. What I’ve learned is the human body can put up with a lot. But we’ve all been pushed in this direction for multiple generations. Some of the effects are cumulative across generations. The further down the socioeconomic ladder you are, the worse it is.
There is no one thing. It is all of these things.
Nice addition/clarification Aaron, “There is no one thing. It is all of these things”
people always want a “eat one meal lift weights for 5 minutes ” type of answer and its just not so simple. like you said it’s all of “these” things
the WHOLE MODERN ENVIRONMENT, not just the food we’re eating, that leads to all the obesity/diabetes/CVD/degenerative disease we’re seeing.
” grand prize Bells and whistles going off” Uncephalized FTW!! , the rat cage/matrix sucks so much your body needs to cope in other ways and protect itself for a rough future and fat is best way to achieve this.
whenever people ask me : Do you think it’s possible some foods are just very addictive? and it makes people eat too much? or maybe its the carbs ?or do you think I’m doomed genetically?…… I always say nope nope nope and nope to whatever else you prepose …it’s the matrix! ..everything that is ass backwards and fake in the modern world.
http://www.chiefrok.com/blog/body-fitness-and-nutrition/stress/
The real Elina here..
“Shit out of the crumb” was not written by me.
I wonder what that is supposed to mean.
I love the Net.. Such a dangerous place..
Hell .. you might be right Debbie.
But did he get better since?
Matt, I owe most of my dietary freedom now to you ;)
Too bad that the idea of eating whatever one wants or craves doesn’t really fly that well in our restriction-conditioned culture. Or that people think bulging veins on your biceps means you’re healthy.
So weird to see so many people caught up in the low-carb dogma. SOmetimes I forget that there was a time when I went zero-carb… and paid the price with a serious case of limp dick and general asshole-ishness.
yeah, he’s fit as a fiddle as far as I know. He recently procreated so the Wolf pack will grow. :-)
Thank you for this article.
No one diet or approach is right for everyone. Also, let’s not call out people for changing their minds or their point of view on something. I think that we all evolve in our beliefs and experiences, I find it refreshing when someone like Robb Wolf or Mark Sisson change their views/stances and are willing to come out and talk about it. I think that is progress, not hypocrisy.
Beautiful, Matt! I’ve been around long enough to remember reading that you have pinpointed the shift in your health and happiness to deciding never to feel guilty about what you put in your mouth again, so thanks for sharing more about that. The mind-body-spirit connection is amazing.
It’s funny to read some of these posts. Most people have been through Paleo and, at the time, claimed it was at the leading edge of nutritional science. Yet, when Amy raises her point, they can’t politely disagree with her…they bash her as if they had never held a similar position. Then we get somebody pointing us to the website of a Ray Peat acolyte and we are told that that that is the REAL science. Been there and done that one, too. Bullshit. The lesson to be learned should be that everybody has a scientific study to back them up and we should not lower our skepticism because of that. Scientific studies on the Internet are practically useless and are cited just to make people STOP thinking or experimenting.
This is one of the best comments in this site’s 5 1/2 year history.
Matt,
I highly suggest checking out the book “In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts” by Dr. Gabor Mate (as well as all his other books which are amazing – especially “When The Body Says No”) which is about this very same subject. Vancouver has been following this same approach to addiction for years. They also provided subsidized housing for addicts with medical personnel on staff (of which Dr. Mate was one). They even have supervised injection sites that supply addicts with clean supplies and medical supervision. Dr. Mate writes about both the science of addiction and the emotional side of it as well. It’s a very good read, I thoroughly recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/Realm-Hungry-Ghosts-Encounters-Addiction/dp/155643880X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341684324&sr=8-1&keywords=gabor+mate
Also, here is a seminar he gave where he goes over the content of the book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpHiFqXCYKc
Hmm , yes, well its true.
I was actually thinking the other day about all the nutritional ideas I have been through and believed in, and followed to the nth degree.
And now I am pretty much gone full circle and dont think food is the be all and end all- and eat a few things that I would have never touched before.
And I watch some of my friends who are still into this and that, and remind myself that it is a stage and a path that lots of us go through, and to just say little and accept where they are at and where I am at!
Thanks Matt. A new perspective, love it.
I haven’t read the whole post or comments yet, but I just wanted to say that each time I read a post like this, especially lines like:
“Luckily I had broken myself, and really had to develop a different relationship with me. It was at that time that I started dabbling in alternative ‘spirituality,? and adopted the practice of diffusing feelings of guilt or self-loathing when they arose as my highest priority. When it came to sweet treats ? ice cream, cakes, candy ? I would smile and eat them slowly, focusing on all the flavors and textures in a very sensual manner.
And something remarkable happened. The compulsive need to eat such things completely went away.”
… I think of Charles Eisenstein’s book, “Transformational Weight Loss.”
It’s freely available to read online at http://www.foodsanity.com/online.php
It’s all about changing our relationship to food (and other things besides).
Okay- I have just started reading this free book.
Fantastic! Thanks!
I am passing it around..
I have read that book, and found it a useful part of my learning process. For me I do better if I stay away from anything that talks about weight loss or eating less though.
For those who have been RRARFing for sometime and are seeing weight gain, especially accompanied by guilt and self-loating etc, I wonder if there are psychological factors at play ie you are eating the food but not really allowing yourself it- still seeing it as bad and feeling you shouldn’t be doing it. This is not easy to change though as I know too well! I feel so much better if I don’t eat refined sugar, but if I stay off it I end up eating more of it and sometimes bingeing. It is a challenge not to see it as “bad food” and to feel I should be avoiding it, I keep reminding myself that this is a long term plan and that if I wan tto be free of the screaming sugar demons then the only way is to learn to make peace with it rather than fight it.
Oh man, this is spot on. I used to do heroin and smoke cigarettes, arguably the two most addictive substances on earth. With the heroin, if I allowed myself to just think of using, to go ahead and buy it, no matter what- I had to do it. Even it I felt rotten about it, even it I mostly didn’t even want it anymore it was like the guilt was so bad the only thing that would make it better was getting high. But I eventually stopped freaking out about it so much and used less and less. Then around my birthday one year I went on an insane drug binge and then I was done. Haven’t used any hard drugs since, and that was ten years ago. And with cigarettes, the only way I could quit was by keeping a pack on me. The second I made them a forbidden substance, I obsessed over them. If I knew they were there and I could have one whenever, it wasn’t so bad. Also, I stopped telling myself I’d never smoke again. That was way too scary for me to accept. Instead I said I wanted to break the addiction so I could enjoy cigarettes occasionally whenever I liked. And I have smoked maybe a total of one pack since then, and that was four years ago. Point is, remove the guilt and you make it a lot tougher for addiction to take hold.
This was great, I had it bookmarked to read for a few weeks. Glad I finally did.