WEBVTT - Learning To Love Food Again (Outweigh) 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:04.840 I won't let my body out out everything that I'm 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:08.800 made dope, won't spend my life trying to change. I'm 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.440 learning to love who I am. I get I'm strong, 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.800 I feel free, I know who every part of me 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:24.000 it's beautiful and then will always out with if you 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.000 feel it with your hands in the here, she'll love 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.240 to the boom. Let's say good day and did you 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:38.040 and die out? Happy Saturday? Outweigh fam Amy here and 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:42.680 my expert guest today is Bobby Judically. And Bobby, I 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:45.559 know you recently released a book and I'm obsessed with 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.800 the title because it seems like something that's right up 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:52.080 my alley. And it's freedom from a toxic relationship with food, 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.920 A journey that will give you your life back. And 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:59.400 literally that's how I felt once I truly got into recovery. 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.840 I got my life back, and one that who knows 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.360 that I hadn't had since I was a teenager. Yeah, 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.080 for sure. You know it's interesting you use the word recovery. 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:12.920 I don't think I've ever, in all my many years, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:17.800 used recovery. I've used I hope one day to be cured, 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.920 and I never believed I would be, And I did 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.000 believe it would always be more recovery, although I never 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.360 used the word, but I will tell you I honestly 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:31.120 feel cured at this point in my life. But I'm 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.720 in my sixties and and I wrote my book for 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.120 those people that don't want to wait until they're in 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:44.400 their fifties and sixties to find what recovery and pure 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:48.160 feel like. Well, so for you, when did your disordered 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:51.280 behavior or you're eating disorder start? How many years were 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:56.960 you living with it? From age eighteen until age I 0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:01.240 would say my journey to health be again ten eleven 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:06.120 years ago, so from age eighteen until age fifty six, 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:12.000 and it was excruciating. And I had always said, and 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:18.120 to this day, I am fully committed to fiding being 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:23.280 with supporting anybody to prevent them from having to live 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:26.800 that many years with the struggle that it is. And 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:29.120 so I know one of the things you're passionate about 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:32.720 is dieting and why it doesn't work. Diets are in 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:35.960 our face, and even diets and disguise are in our 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:39.960 face all the time. But in your opinion, why do 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:44.000 you think diets don't work? Well, First of all, they 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.720 don't address the problem, and the problem is our relationship 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:53.000 with food. The problem is our relationship and our perspective 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:59.160 on ourselves, our bodies, how we feel, and then separately, 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.440 we all live a life with a relationship with food 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:07.280 because food is a necessity in our life. I always 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:11.080 say that if you're an alcoholic, that is an easy, 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:15.320 easier recovery. I believe I was never an alcoholic, but 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:19.000 I believe it's an easier recovery because you can eliminate 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.120 alcohol from your life and be healthier and sustain and 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.520 so on. When your issue as a relationship with food, 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.360 you cannot remove food from your life and be healthy. 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.600 You just can't. I mean, anorectics fry that and they 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:38.280 either die or they go down the path of some 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.640 sort of re entering a relationship with food or or 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:47.360 bringing food into their life. But diets don't work because 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:50.400 that's one of the reasons they don't address the relationship 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:56.480 with food. Number two, we constantly feel deprived. We look 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.640 at a diet as a short term solution. Let me 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:05.680 just lose the pounds and then I will be fine, 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:08.480 and then I don't have to deprive myself anymore. So 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:13.160 that's reason number two. We cannot keep food in our life. 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:18.680 With constant deprivation. Number three, They don't work because the 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:22.280 foods that we that are the majority of foods in 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.279 our supply system, especially the ones that are packaged that 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:31.520 say they are healthy, are not, and they create an 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:36.480 addiction to the food that the ingredients, the way food 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:41.480 is made, the processed food is addicting. Whether it's sugar, 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:48.080 it's salt, it's the chemicals that are introduced. We get addicted. 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.279 And so therefore you go, Okay, I'm going to diet, 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.400 which means for the next X number of weeks, I 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:59.719 can't eat cake. Well, okay, you're not eating cake, but 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:04.240 or eating continuing to eat sugar. When you decide to 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:08.880 stop dieing ing, the sugar itself is driving It was 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:12.720 driving your cravings, it's driving your addiction, and you go 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:17.200 right back to not just eating the unhealthy foods, but 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.640 consuming them even in greater quantity. Well, so for me, 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:25.159 I started dieting at a very young age, and my 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:31.919 brain wasn't fully developed, and I wired it to binge 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.919 on food because it was so deprived that it didn't 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.599 trust me. So when I would allow myself to eat, 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:42.159 it was uncontrollable. I would just find myself eating and 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.479 eating and eating because my brain was like, oh, I 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:46.880 better eat all that I can right now because I 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.200 don't know when this person is going to feed me again. 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.359 And so it was my survival brain kicking in, so 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.960 that deprivation I definitely can relate to, and then how 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.960 my body and my brain responded to that, and then 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.680 the types of foods. I feel like for me, the 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:08.760 pendulum has swung. When I first started to eliminate my 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.560 eating disorder and work towards my recovery, I feel like 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.039 I was allowing all kinds of foods because that's what 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:19.440 I needed to sort of rewire my brain, like, oh, 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:21.960 that as if method, Like oh, I'm going to act 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.279 as if this is normal and I can eat whatever 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.599 I want and allow it. And the pendulum swung so far, 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.440 and I feel like that's what we see to a 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.640 lot on social media, which can be a dangerous place 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:36.320 for recovery because you can get information that's not very helpful. 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:39.159 But then I just want your thoughts on this pendulum thing, 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.120 like I swung all the way to the other side 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:43.320 where every food was on the table, and really it 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.560 still is, but I think that the pendulum has leveled 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.960 out because I also have knowledge of food and what 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.560 is in it and the wisdom to want to nourish 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:57.480 my body. Well, if I were to just allow all 0:06:57.560 --> 0:06:59.440 foods at all times, I know I'm not going to 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:01.720 wake up and feel my best. And I also want 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.560 to take care of all my organs and know the 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:06.800 foods that are going to be nourishing to them and 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:09.880 foods that are gonna be toxic to my organs. So 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.360 while everything is allowed, I do think that there's there's 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.240 this balancing act that kind of happens. So wherever you 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.720 are on this journey, just know that I think it 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.559 it might swing, But it's true sometimes when I swung 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.480 too far, I kept craving that stuff more and more 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:26.720 and more because I was having it all the time. 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.840 So so one of the things most people don't understand 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.200 is that that is not happening in your brain. Actually, 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:38.440 it's initiated in your gut. It's initiated in your microbiome, 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:42.760 your entire what they called dys biosis. But it's the 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:48.480 imbalance of the proper bacteria in your gut, which controls everything. 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.800 It controls our digestion, it controls our immune system, it 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.880 controls you know, It controls everything that happens in our 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.160 body that is so critical, and we are constantly feeding 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.400 it either good things that will promote the good bacteria 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:05.520 or bad things that will promote the bad bacteria. And 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.800 so that when you say the pendulum swings all the 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:13.080 way to one side, what's really happening is you've created 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:17.920 an environment in your gut that the bacteria itself is 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:22.280 telling you and signaling you to eat that particular thing, 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.760 be it sugar. Sugar is an easy example because most 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:27.040 of us can relate. What most people don't know is 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:32.600 dairy and cheese specifically are also extremely addictive. So you'll 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.760 hear people say a lot of times, I can't give 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.360 up cheese, I can't give up sugar, I can't give 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:43.120 up salt. What they don't understand is, yes, indeed they 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:47.360 can't because their body is constantly craving that because they've 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:51.920 set up the environment. When I started my journey twelve, eleven, 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:56.560 whatever years ago, I did not believe that I would 0:08:56.600 --> 0:09:00.440 ever be recovered, I that I would ever have a 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.320 healthy relationship with food, to look forward to going to 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:06.800 a grocery store, look forward to preparing a meal which 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:09.440 I hadn't done for years. I married a man who 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:11.600 loved to cook, and so he cooked, and we raised 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.360 three boys with him doing all the cooking because I 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.320 was petrified to be in the kitchen. Food and eating 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:23.120 and meals and eating outside of meals was a very 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.199 chaotic experience for me. Um And I think one thing 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.959 that's really important for your audience. I know I'm straying 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:33.000 kind of from the original question that you asked me, 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.959 but I think one thing that's really important for your 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:41.040 audience to understand is if there is chaos in your 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:46.880 relationship with food, you have disordered eating, minimally disordered eating, 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.600 I mean eating disorders from technically what's considered an eating 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:55.760 disorder is more complex than that. If it's noisy, I 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.960 can only explain it as very noisy in my head 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.800 every time I would eat. So I would eat, and 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:04.960 it would be a constant balance of oh my god, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.640 how many calories, Oh my god, there's too much fat. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.920 I can get more calories if I get less batty foods. 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:13.400 If I'm going to eat that chocolate cake, that means 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.719 I can't eat for two more days. If I want 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:18.440 to fit in that dress in two weeks, that means 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:22.559 I better stop eating completely. I mean it's noisy. So 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.440 something that I would tell you, like when people say, 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.520 I can't give up X y Z, let's take ice cream. 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:30.719 I can't give up ice cream. You know. You hear 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:34.439 people say that all the time. And the thing is 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:38.240 that then they'll eat the ice cream and there's noise 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:42.080 in their head because they know they shouldn't be eating it. 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.040 But okay, they've made an agreement with themselves. They'll only 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:48.920 eat one scoop. Okay, they'll only eat two spoon spoonfuls. 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:50.440 Now what are they going to have to do? Run 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:55.560 three extra miles tomorrow to counterbalance the impact of that. So, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:57.880 if you have that kind of noise in your head, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:02.360 there is disordered eating it. You know, if you're constantly 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:06.440 looking for what's the answer, what's the next book, what's 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:09.880 the next support group, what's the next whatever. Because I 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.320 can't live like this anymore. I can't live with three 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:15.560 sizes of clothes in my closet. I can't live with 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:19.360 feeling like I have no energy. I just can't live 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:24.400 like that anymore. You have disordered eating and there is 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.920 as the title of my book, the subtitle of my 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:31.080 book says, there is a journey that gives you your 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.760 life back. I am here to tell you I never 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:38.240 believed I would be saying this, but I love food. 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:42.200 I have no negative impact when I eat, when I 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.480 think about eating, when I plan what I'm eating. I'm 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:49.280 sixty seven years old. I never believed I would ever 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.160 be able to say that, and I don't want other 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.079 people to wait until they're in their sixties to say that. 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:59.520 I don't either, And you know, at forty one, I 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:04.440 feel so gosh, so many years were wasted, but I 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.559 want to say that, like something there was some benefit 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:09.440 for that in my life, of like what is this 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.760 made possible for me now? I don't want to look 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:13.840 back and focus on the past like I want to 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.200 see maybe it's so that I could come alongside and 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:20.400 help others that are going through this and have this podcast. 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.640 I don't know, So I don't want to harp on 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.760 the past at all, but I do wish I would 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.840 have entered or been exposed to this type of thinking 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.600 or recovery or knowing that there's hope for it when 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:36.440 I was thirty one, because there's so many family meals 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:40.320 that I missed, or memories to be made or times 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.800 where I could have been engaging in conversation with someone, 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.439 but like you said, my brain was full of all 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.880 kinds of noise and other thoughts, so I wasn't fully present. 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:53.559 And Lisa, who is a registered dietitian in front of mine, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.600 Lisa Haymond, she's the one that originally co founded Outweigh 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.000 with me. She has a whole program called Fork the Noise. 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.720 So I love you called it noise because that's exactly 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.120 what it is. And when we started this podcast, it's 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:08.840 Outweigh a life without disordered eating, outweighs everything. But we 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.000 also were very adamant of like the we're covering the 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:19.920 gray area, Like this whole topic is not black and white. 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:24.920 There's so much happening here, and there's so many different 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.480 types of people that can be coming to the table here. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.880 And I love having people on, especially that have amazing 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.439 resources like you do with freedom from a Toxic Relationship 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.079 with food. I love that title so much, And then 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.080 I love the journey that will give you your life 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:42.160 that because that's truly what happens once you can have 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.400 a cure or into recovery, whatever you want to call it, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:49.200 and it doesn't happen overnight. Mine. It was a journey, 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.320 and I feel like I'm still working on it, but 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:55.200 the noise is less and less and less and less. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.800 And I like the ice cream example too that you 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:01.640 gave because I was talking king about the pendulum and 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.480 it's like, when I wasn't allowing it, I wanted it 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.160 more and more and more, and then I allowed it, 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:10.439 and then the pendulum evens out because then it's less desirable, 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.840 and you're like, oh, my pendulum evened out, and now 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.840 I can keep ice cream in the fridge for weeks 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.000 and months and I don't feel like I have to 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:21.240 throw it away or eat it all in one night. 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.400 It will literally be there for months at a time. 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.680 Isn't that amazing? Yes? I I so relate to what 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:30.520 you're saying. For me, it's I explain it a little differently, 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.360 and I am kind of a I'm going to say 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.320 and I use this term loosely, not technically, not medically, 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.560 but I'm an O C D person. I work better 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:44.120 when I build tight boundaries around something that's important to me. 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.240 So you know, like no going back and what I 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.880 found in my journey, So I did, I did change, 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:54.440 I did take a lot of foods out of my 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.960 day to day eating. So I am now whole food, 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:03.000 plant based. I eat very little of anything processed. I 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:08.400 eat no animal products whatsoever. And that's changed my life 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:13.120 in other ways outside of food. But for me, there 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.880 was no discussion about am I going to eat it? 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:20.280 Am I going to eat that chocolate bar? No, because 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.800 it's processed. If not, say I don't eat. I make 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.560 my own dark chocolate with nuts snail and I like 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.520 love it. But yes, like you said, now I can 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.840 eat one piece and I and it lives in my 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:35.040 freezer all the time, and I don't you know, I 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.400 don't have to eat it. So for me, I needed 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.720 to to really eliminate certain foods. But what happened for 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:45.560 me by eliminating animal products, by eliminating any processed food, 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:51.040 is it completely changed my taste buds. And now processed 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.120 foods don't taste good. Animal products I used to love 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:00.520 me and animal products I can't even imagine eating like 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:04.320 I just look at it and it does not look appetizing. 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:07.640 That's me. That's how it worked for me. I don't 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:13.360 believe for anybody to recover UM that they really need 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:18.280 to be as extreme but for me, I did. The 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.280 other one thing point that I really really want to 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:26.080 make is we all, especially women, grow up believing that 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:29.880 our weight is critical, like what we look like, how 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:33.880 much we weigh, how are close fit? We are told 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:37.440 by society, and now it's even worse because of social media. 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.920 We are told thin is it? I mean you, we 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.400 are driven by our weight, and at the end of 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:50.040 the day, we're compromising our health. Diet and compromises our health, 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.120 eating disorders and disordered eat and compromise our health. And 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.160 for me, I will tell you I kind of resign 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.840 myself to the fact that I would always carry ten 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.840 more pounds than I want to to until I changed 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.360 the way I ate, and it was absolutely not motivated 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:09.159 by weight. It was motivated by health. And my sister 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.199 died of cancer, my father last ten twelve years of 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.520 his life were horrible, and both of them I believe 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:20.080 would due to diet. I really do believe that the 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:23.160 outcome or their life quality of life would have been 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:28.920 different had they eaten differently. And I was experiencing extreme, 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.199 extreme fatigue, and that's when I said, this has to 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:35.400 do with how I'm eating, and I'm here to tell 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.080 you that I have more energy now in my late 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:42.199 sixties than I had at forty, and that is a 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:47.720 result of using food as medicine, as what sustains me, 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:52.080 and not as the crutch and the numbing agent and 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.960 the drug that I used it as my mom actually 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.240 passed away from cancer, and that's when my eating just 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.199 sort of came back with the vengeance and it was 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:05.399 literally two numb out and it's stuck around for a while, 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.800 even while my dad was diagnosed with cancer. So I 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:12.000 I appreciate you writing this book and giving it as 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:16.160 a guide too, so that those of us that are 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.920 in recovery are looking to get rid of that noise 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.240 in our head, but also be mindful of what we're 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:27.160 putting in our body for overall health, because disease does 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.199 scare me because I watched I was a caregiver for 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.040 both of my parents, and it was I don't know 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:35.960 for sure if their diet would have played a different role, 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.280 but I know that I'm still young enough to where 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:40.720 maybe if I start to do certain things for my 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:44.320 body and my organs and feed it a certain way 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:46.960 or feed at certain things that I can, I can 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.240 be as proactive as possible. No it's not guaranteed to 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:56.919 eliminate chronic disease, absolutely not. However, your overall quality of life, 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:00.560 your energy. I mean, if you are somebody that's eating 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.880 a lot of processed food, I guarantee you your energy 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:07.720 is impacted. It just is. It has to be. It's 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:10.520 the way your body works. If you're getting sick frequently, 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.560 if you're getting colds frequently, it has to do with 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:16.680 the way you are eating. And yes, it doesn't mean 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:18.760 that you can eat however you want. Then you start 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:21.120 to get a cold and you get a plug yourself 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:24.520 with vitamin C. No, that's not taking care of yourself. 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.639 Your overall immune system is impacted. And this is only 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:32.520 recently that they understand this all comes from what you 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.280 put in your body. So and I truly believe this. 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.800 Everything you eat is either helping you have a better 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:45.040 quality of life or negatively impacting your quality of life 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:49.199 and your overall health. And I really really believe that. 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:52.640 And the other thing I really want to stress though, 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.520 is what I mentioned about your taste buds. What people 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.920 don't get is not only can you give it up 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.520 and and I really go through the steps in my 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:06.000 book of what that journey looks like it's not only 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:08.800 can you give it up, but you're not going to 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.600 miss it at some point because food takes on a 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:18.400 whole new look. Like I couldn't walk past chocolate without 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:23.040 eating it in my earlier days. It doesn't do anything 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:25.400 for me now looking at it doesn't do anything. If 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:27.159 I decide I want to have a piece of the 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:30.520 chocolate that I make, which probably happens once a month, 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:33.320 I get a piece of chocolate that is good for 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:35.840 me because it's first of all, very healthy chocolate. It's 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:40.159 dark chocolate, it has minimal sugar, and the kakal is 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:43.280 very healthy for you. It's an antioxidant and it has 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:45.760 nuts in it, so that's more protein and healthy fats. 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:49.280 I know, like just because I roll up my sleeves 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:52.399 and learn about things in detail, I know everything that 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.960 I eat what it's doing for me, and it helps 0:20:56.080 --> 0:21:00.480 me have an appetite for it. And I said, my 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.320 taste buds are different. I couldn't eat milk chocolate now 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.800 if you wanted me to. It's just doesn't taste right. 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:10.440 I can't eat processed food. If I eat something processed, 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:12.480 sometimes I'll go to a restaurant. I'll go oh, I 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.159 can taste that. That does not taste good to me, 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:18.919 and I don't need it. Do you have a different 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.600 recipes anywhere? There's some in the book or on your 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:24.760 website or this I'm curious about this chocolate recipe. No, 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.480 I don't have recipes. I'm more than happy to share 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:30.320 it with you. Um, I don't have recipes because I 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:33.600 don't like cooking with recipes. What I do is I 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:36.400 uh and I had to learn it because I've never 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:39.720 cooked before and my husband not did not change the 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:42.480 way he eats. So now I do cook every single night, 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:46.040 but I throw things together like I know foods that 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:50.680 I like, and I and I just experiment with stuff 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:55.240 that I know is healthy, different herbs and spices, and 0:21:55.240 --> 0:21:59.520 and only recently started loving tofu because I throw it 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:02.440 together with something and put it in my air fryer 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:04.200 and I went, oh my god, this. I used to 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:08.680 really dislike tofu for a vegan. That's a problem. Um, 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:11.840 now I you know, really like it. It's like I 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:16.399 just I love the exploration and yet so no, and 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:18.399 I'll never write a cookbook because I'd be the worst 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:20.640 person in the world to write a cookbook. I would 0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:22.600 just have to say, well, throw that and throw that, 0:22:22.680 --> 0:22:25.360 And I do look at recipes online and go, oh, 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.000 that's a good idea. And I don't follow the measurements. 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:31.040 I just throw that in and throw that in. But 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:35.000 it's fun. And I'm telling you, I'm somebody who used 0:22:35.000 --> 0:22:38.480 to be petrified to walk into a grocery store, or 0:22:38.920 --> 0:22:41.600 petrified at the prospect that I had to make dinner 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:43.760 that night because my husband wouldn't be home and I 0:22:43.760 --> 0:22:46.639 had three kids that needed to eat. That ended up 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:50.160 being pizza night. Um, I couldn't handle it any other day, 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:52.119 and pizza was one of my weak food, so that 0:22:52.119 --> 0:22:55.560 would mean a night I was over eating. So yeah, 0:22:55.800 --> 0:23:00.200 it's it's just a different world. But I do want 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:04.119 to leave you with I wrote the book to support anyone, 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:08.400 anyone who wants the support and would like the support 0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:13.600 for exploring a different way. And I make myself very 0:23:13.640 --> 0:23:17.719 available to anybody who reads the book or sees this 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:22.399 podcast or whatever to support them, because I probably have 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:28.600 a lot of knowledge that even some standard nutritionists don't have. Well, 0:23:28.640 --> 0:23:31.359 Freedom from a toxic relationship with food, A Journey that 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:34.040 will Give Your Life Back is available on Amazon. I'll 0:23:34.080 --> 0:23:37.200 link it in the show notes, but you can visit 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:42.840 Food Freedom Advocate dot com for more about Bobby. But 0:23:43.000 --> 0:23:46.359 thank you so much for sharing some of your story 0:23:46.400 --> 0:23:49.760 with us. I know that everybody's on a different journey, 0:23:50.000 --> 0:23:53.840 but I think ultimately we want to get our lives back, 0:23:54.000 --> 0:23:57.280 whatever that that looks like. So thank you for sharing 0:23:57.320 --> 0:23:59.840 your journey with us and what it's looked like for you, 0:24:00.040 --> 0:24:03.040