In this issue: Your Mantra…Is Obesity Contagious?...Healthy Grilling

Everyone has a mantra. We all have things we say to ourselves, self-talk, beliefs that we affirm in the back of our minds. These are our mantras. They play constantly in the back of our minds like Norton-Antivirus runs on our computers. We aren’t fully conscious of them, but they are there, doing their job, good or bad.

One mantra of almost every emotional eater is: “It doesn’t matter”. When we eat something we know we probably shouldn’t we say “it doesn’t matter”. When we are hurt by someone, as much as we want to speak up, we retreat and say “it doesn’t matter”. When we have a disappointment in our lives, too often we push the feelings away by affirming: “it doesn’t matter”.  THEN WE REACH FOR FOOD.

The fact is that “it doesn’t matter” may seem like an innocuous statement, but it isn’t. It may just be the most destructive thing we can think or say.

The reason is that every time we try to minimize anything that hurts us by saying “it doesn’t matter”, we are actually telling the universe, and our subconscious, that WE DON’T MATTER; we aren’t valuable enough to feed healthy foods to, we aren’t worthy of being treated with respect, what happens to us isn’t of much consequence because we aren’t that important.

Every time we affirm that we don’t matter by saying “it doesn’t matter”, we are driving our self-esteem lower, causing us to value ourselves even less. Eleanor Roosevelt said: “No one can make us feel bad without our consent”. Well, when we or someone else treats us poorly and we say “it doesn’t matter”, we are creating the low self-esteem we so often complain about. Yes, we create our low self-esteem. NO ONE DOES IT TO US! The only way to build self-esteem is to have our actions, thoughts and words reflect the belief that we DO matter.

So next time you begin to diminish something that hurts by saying “it doesn’t matter”, say this instead: “Yes it matters, because I matter”. Say it often, and act accordingly. Choose this as your new mantra, the new operating system of your conscious and subconscious, and see what happens. I bet it it’ll be good!

Have an awesome life!

Love,

Tricia

Dear Ask It:

I’ve just heard a report that hanging out with obese friends can influence personal weight gain. What’s your take on this?

~ Concerned in Connecticut

Dear Concerned:

I’ve heard the news: obesity is socially contagious. (I think this research is far more useful than money spent on identifying “obesity genes” because it focuses on the emotional aspects of obesity, rather than on something we can’t change.)

What I think is important about this, is that it proves that as emotional eaters we are impressionable to our environment, and we are also, by nature, prone to self-justification and denial. 

There’s a saying that if you hang out in the barbershop long enough, you’ll get a haircut. Likewise, if you hang out with people who are constantly eating, you’re probably going to eat more. Furthermore, being impressionable, we end up judging ourselves in relation to others’ habits and lives, instead of by our own standards. If others are doing it, we do it. We forget to ask ourselves how WE FEEL about it and act on that. Furthermore, our minds are always searching for ways to justify the overeating behavior. Because of the age-old conundrum of feeling bad about overeating, yet being compelled to do it anyway, our minds are always searching for ways to justify the overeating behavior. Our desperate minds talk to us, saying, if others are doing it, then we don’t have to feel as bad about it. And if everyone around us overeats, maybe our eating isn’t that bad.

Let’s face it, health breeds health, and overeating breeds overeating. Obese people don’t make you fat, but being more conscious of your environment and your thoughts can help make you thin.

Tricia offers private "Heal Your Hunger" coaching sessions for those desiring maximum results with "weight loss from the inside out". For a fre*e 30 minute session, email Tricia at tricia@healyourhunger.com

(Have a question for Ask It? Please email me at tricia@betotallyfree.com)




(Please forward to everyone you know!)

A Grill’s Best Friend

Summer just isn’t summer without the unmistakable aroma of barbecue smoke wafting through the backyard. But before you take the cover off your grill and stock up on charcoal briquettes, consider this: Searing red meat, poultry, or fish at high temperatures can produce carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCA), according to the National Cancer Institute. Not only that, but the fat that drips off of your steaks and chicken kebabs and onto the coals can drift back up in smoke as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a suspected toxin. Worry not—you can keep your grill fired up by following these simple steps:

• MARINADE: A simple combination of vinegar, citrus juice, herbs, spices and olive oil can reduce the HCAs in your meat by 92 to 99 percent.

• TRIM THE FAT: Fight PAHs at the source by selecting lean cuts, and shave some calories in the process.

• PRE-COOK: Briefly cook meats in an oven or microwave so they spend less time over the flame.

• DITCH THE COALS: Use a gas grill instead of hot coals to steer clear of PAHs.

• FLIP OFTEN: Cook with lower temperatures and turn your meat frequently to get evenly cooked burgers with less HCAs.

• GRILL VEGGIES INSTEAD OF MEAT: ‘Nuff said.

~Alternative Medicine
July/August 2007

7/30 Join the Be Totally Free! Meetup group in West LA. for more information visit http://weightloss.meetup.com/517/

All 3 of the following events are FRE*E to the public and held at Erewhon Market, 7660-B Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036

8/11 Talia Witkowski Psy. D will speak at 4pm (Eating Disorder and Addictions Psychologist discusses her Be Totally Free journey and success) Erewhon Market

8/14 Susan Reed RN will speak at 4:00 (Formerly ran the Weight Loss Clinic at a major LA hospital; Susan discusses maintaining her 60 lb. weight loss with Be Totally Free!) Erewhon Market

8/25 Tricia Greaves, "Heal Your Hunger" Presentation 2pm-4pm, Erewhon Market

After overcoming her own lifetime battle with compulsive eating, drinking and weight-without the use of diets, pills, medication or excessive exercise-Tricia Greaves founded Be Totally Fre*e!, a non-profit organization that offers a unique and permanent solution for overcoming all addictions. To learn about the hope we offer to those who have tried everything to stop, visit www.betotallyfree.com.

Tricia is also a speaker, author, and private coach helping emotional eaters move beyond diets to lasting change. To learn more visit http://www.healyourhunger.com.