Step 2: Improve my Relationship with Food

A big part of my healing journey was addressing my relationship with food. I took
some time every day to write down my thoughts and feelings. I watched countless
Ted Talks about overcoming food addiction and mastering the mind. I came across
one talk that really stuck, “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit” by Judson Brewer.
Judson explained that behavior follows one simple pattern:

Trigger -> Behavior -> Reward -> Repeat

He explained that if we wanted to master our behavior, we should first identify our
triggers. For me, my bingeing was triggered by 3 things:
1. Being home alone
2. Being sad or anxious
3. Procrastination

Then you should assess your response to these triggers. I would either binge on
whatever pasta, bread, pastry, noodle, or junk food I could find in the house, or I
would go and buy it. By reacting to these triggers, I get a surge of dopamine, and
this keeps me coming back for more. Again, and again, and again.

So, how did I change this? I changed the way I reacted to my triggers. Your brain
can’t distinguish between sources of pleasure. It only knows that it feels good. So,
by replacing my rewarding binge behavior with a different type of reward-behavior, I
could break the cycle.

If you want to know more about how I overcame my food addiction, you can read my
blog post on Overcoming Food Addiction.
Step 3: Using Food as Medicine

We often think of food only as a source of fuel. But it’s so much more than that. You
are a collection of trillions of cells and each of those cells depend on the food you
eat. If you eat crappy food, you’ll have crappy cells, which means you will have a
crappy body, and feel like, you guessed it – CRAP. If I wanted to repair the damage
of almost 20 years of drugs and poor lifestyle and dietary choices, I would have to be
strategic about my dietary choices.
So, after a lot of research, I decided on the following:

1. A 90% plant-based diet

When I say plant-based, I mean PLANTS – fruits and vegetables. People often
confuse plant-based with veganism. They’re not the same thing. A vegan diet can
be filled with toxic foods such as refined white flour, sugar, and highly processed
seed oils. These foods break down your body and does not support the natural
healing processes of the body.

A plant-based diet filled with colorful fruits and vegetables supports your body’s
innate detoxification pathways. This helps your cells to eliminate stored toxins,
including stored drug deposits. Plants also provide your body with an abundance of
fiber and glucose, which will give your cells the necessary fuel to rebuild and cleanse
your body.

If you’re interested to learn more about plant-based living, you can read my blog post
here.

2. Intermittent Fasting

Fasting induces a process called autophagy. Autophagy is basically your body’s
built-in doctor. When you fast more than 12 hours, your body realizes that it’s not
getting any food, which triggers survival mode. So, your body switches on
autophagy.

To survive, your cells need to conserve energy. And to do this, they need to get rid
of the weakest links. So, autophagy repairs damaged cells, eliminates dead cells,
and recycles inefficient cells – leaving you with a stronger body made of only strong
and healthy cells.
Keep in mind, though, that fasting isn’t a magic pill. Don’t expect to repair years’
worth of damage with a single 16 hour fast. It takes time and commitment. If you’re
interested to learn more about fasting and how you can implement it, read my blog
post here.

3. Exercise

Our bodies are designed to move. When we stop moving, our lymphatic,
cardiovascular, and digestive systems struggle to function properly.

1. The lymphatic system is part of your immune system and helps rid the body of
toxins. Your lymphatic system uses different organs to rid the body of waste. ,
which includes: