Breaking Barriers

“Sometimes there is a wall standing between us and our destiny, but our walls can break... There is power in breaking free from our own limitations and our own barriers... We are all made for something great. We can move forward. Don't let life contain you, break out.” ~ Joel Osteen

I broke through some barriers this week. I had a stressful day and didn't turn to food to comfort myself. What did I do instead? I called upon my higher power that I call God and prayed for strength, I took several deep breathes, I exercised, and wrote my way through it.

I also stepped out of my comfort zone by leading a group conference call with Katherine Nilbrink, who teaches plant-based nutrition online at Cornell University and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies who helped me understand food addiction on a level I never understood before. I learned that nutrient deficiencies, dopamine surges, and toxic hunger are the scientific reasons food addiction is so powerful. And that these deficiencies can cause depression, fatigue, inflammation, joint paint, decreased immune function, and a host of other illnesses and diseases. I also learned that eating fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds help crowd out food addiction. I know this is true from personal experience because it is happening with me.

Some people can eat sugar in moderation, I am not one of those people. Just as an alcoholic cannot have one drink of alcohol without taking the chance of it leading to a drunken binge, I cannot consume processed sugar and junk food without taking the chance of it leading to an eating binge. This awareness has helped me tremendously because it makes me search for healthier alternatives which in turn leads to a healthier life.

Last Tuesday, I visited the MGH Community Outreach Department and met Kelley Hochstetler, who is the Education Coordinator. Kelley showed me a room full of visual aids that they use to educate the community on health and wellness. There are a lot of interesting aids including portion control kits that show things such as a tennis ball and deck of cards to visually represent a food serving size. There are also fat cubes and sugar tubes that show how much fat and sugar is in popular SAD (Standard American Diet) foods we consume. We will be using these visual aids during our Friday Lunch & Learns. Cami Tedder, Marketing Coordinator, is also helping us by scheduling health professionals to come speak to our group on topics such as exercise, diabetes, and diseases associated with obesity.

Our next Great Weight Off group meeting will be Tuesday, January 28th from 5-6 pm. in the lower level of The Optimist Store located at the Centrum Mall. An elevator is available. (This meeting may be changed to a group conference call due to the extreme weather we are having). Subscribe to our email list or check our Facebook fan page for updates. Our guest speaker will be Megan Gilmore, a local addictions counselor and life coach who will go into more detail about how to overcome food addiction, emotional eating, binge eating, and other limiting behaviors. If you are ready to take control of your health, I invite you to join us.

For more information and updates about the Great Weight Off Community Wellness Challenge, click the purple icon on the Chronicle-Tribune home page at www.chronicle-tribune.com.