Why What We Eat Matters

In 1826, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in his work, Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante (English translation), "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are". 

Other writers down through the years echoed Brillat-Savarin's idea to include nutritionist Victor Lindlahr who in 1942 authored the book, You Are What You Eat: How to Win and Keep Health With Diet. 

Growing Medical Science Findings

The number of studies showing long and short-term effects of diet on health grows by the day. 

In a recent article published in the professional journal Neurology, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles and other institutions studied a group of 1,575 women and men with an average age of 67 to learn what effects omega-3 fatty acids have on brain function. 

Researchers found that those study participants in the lower 25% of omega-3 concentrations had lower scores for tests of visual memory, problem solving, and other executive functions. This group had on average lower brain volume and increased structural brain aging according to researchers.

The researchers' bottom line findings are:

"Conclusion: Lower RBC DHA levels are associated with smaller brain volumes and a 'vascular' pattern of cognitive impairment even in persons free of clinical dementia."

In a recent study published in the journal, PLoS ONE, researchers found curcumin (found in the spice tumeric) reduced neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's in fruit flies resulting in a 75% increase in lifespan. While we aren't fruit flies, this study can be added to numerous other studies (humans and otherwise) validating the benefits of curcumin as a brain health booster.

The science is also clear about benefits of good nutrition for cellular, organ, physical systems, and emotional health. 

What Do These Research Findings Mean?

So what do the results of these and other studies mean for us? What we eat matters.

The challenge here is that we can't normally feel the longterm consequences of our food choices in the here and now. Our brains are wired with a bias for short-term thinking. A bias, however, doesn't mean we are prisoners of cravings and feelings of wanting immediate gratification.

Tranquilizing Emotions

A key driver for overeating is the habit of using food as a tranquilizer for unsettled feelings. These feelings can be rooted in early life experiences, self-image, anxiety, and even boredom.

All moments of our day aren't equal when it comes to temptation. When we're tired, stressed, or our blood sugar levels get too far out of balance, we have a greater risk of making poor food choices.

Simple Step by Step Changes

If you can make the changes that will bring better health, I encourage you to begin now. Small changes over time can bring consistent results. We've offered an array of proven strategies for better health in previous blog posts. 

If you would like help through a program offering one-to-one coaching, daily support, and guaranteed results, we encourage you to investigate the Weight for Wellness(TM) Gold Key Program that unlocks and releases your maximum health potential.

It Begins With a Choice

If you decide to self-navigate through the waters of change for better health, that's great. If you would like help and support to make those changes, they're yours for the asking.

Would you like to talk with someone who has successfully dealt with the same food challenges and emotions you're facing? That someone is waiting to talk with you. 

Give us a call now at: 804-677-6772 or email CarterMethod@gmail.com. There is absolutely no obligation and the consultation is free. 

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC

Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) Program

http://EasyStressCures.com | http://www.EFT-MD.com

Ph: 804-677-6772

Break the Food Craving Trance

After reading our February 16 blog post, "Tap Into an Easy Way to Release Cravings", some readers wanted to know if there were other ways to reduce or eliminate food cravings. The answer is yes, and I thought it would be helpful to share some of those techniques and then combine them with CenterPoint Release (CPR) for even faster results.

Think about a delicious, rich piece of cheesecake (or other delicious delicacy you love). Not just any cheesecake. No, this piece is sooo... creamy, smooth and inviting.

Go ahead.

Close your eyes, just for a few seconds.

Open them when you're ready.

Now, check your mouth. Are you salivating? Are your cravings stirred up? Can you almost taste that delicious cheesecake now?

Guess what? You just experienced a food trance.

Mind Field Trance

We go in and out of trance throughout every day. Anytime our attention is on images flashing in mind or we're listening to incessant mind chatter that is usually critical about what we've done, what we're thinking of doing, or what we haven't done, we are lost in what I call Mind Field Trance (MFT). The unconscious drives our bus most of our waking minutes.

We are conditioned through a lifetime of practice to believe the voices and images in the Mind Field are real; that they have power. That we must believe what we see and hear playing in our minds. Indeed, many people believe they are their thoughts and feelings.

The truth is those thoughts and feelings are not real. The only thing real is this moment. The only power those thoughts and feelings have is the power we give them. And 95% of our thoughts aren't true in any objective sense. They are opinions and conclusions based on what you believe to be true.

A Mind Field Thought Experiment

Try this little MFT experiment: Again, imagine that delicious piece of cheesecake on a white plate. Notice the fork sitting just beside the plate inviting you to pick it. 

Really get into the MFT image and feeling. Make it big; turn up the lights. Imagine how good it will taste. That's right. You may notice your mouth is again salivating with anticipation.

Notice how high your craving level is. Notice where in your body you're feeling the sense of craving. On a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the highest craving you can imagine, how much do you crave that piece of cheesecake. Write down the number or get it firmly in mind. This number is known as a Subjective Unit of Distress, or SUDs.

Now, close your eyes again and re-imagine that piece of cheesecake. Imagine your hand (right hand if right handed, left hand if left handed) pushing the plate holding the cheesecake away. Reach out and push it away even farther. Imagine your arm is now 10 feel long and push it away even farther. 

Change the cheesecake color to red. Red? Yep. Surprised you see a piece of red cheesecake? Add some ants crawling in and out of the cheesecake. Even though it's more than 10 feet away, notice how many ants you see.

Take a deep breath, hold for a couple of seconds, and exhale. Now, re-image that piece of cheesecake and again check and rate your craving, or SUDs level. Is it less, more, or the same? Notice any different feelings in your body when imaging that piece of cheesecake?

Third Person Point of View

Close your eyes and imagine you're watching yourself sitting at the table pushing away that cheesecake. You're standing about 12 feet away watching as if you're watching a play. Look at your face. Now look over at the cheesecake pushed 10 feet away from the "You" you're watching.

Take another deep breath, hold for a couple of seconds and exhale. Now think of the cheesecake. What's your SUDs level now? It's probably lower or it may be zero. 

Add CPR and Release at a Deeper Level

If any cravings remain, let's add CPR to the release work. Again, bring the image of that piece of cheesecake to mind and tap with moderate pressure using the tips of your four fingers 10 - 12 times on the area between your eyebrows and say, "This craving, I let it go...I release and let it go." 

Move your hand to the indented area just below your nose. Tap 10 - 12 times using your middle finger while saying, "Let it go...I release and let any cravings go."

Move to the indented area just below your lip. Tap again using your middle finger saying, "Let it go...it's safe to let it go."

Move your hand down to the upper sternum. Open your hand and tap 10 - 12 times, again saying, "Let it go, that's right, let it all go..."

Stop tapping, hold your open palm over your sternum and heart, take a deep breath and exhale as you say with heartfelt feeling, "Peace". 

Now, again bring the image of that piece of cheesecake to mind and check the SUDs level. The probability is it's zero or very close to zero.

Putting It All Together

Let's put all of this together in a process that takes just 15 or 20 seconds:

- Let's assume you notice a craving for a food you know isn't good for you. Say to yourself, "I'm experiencing food trance."

- Notice where in your body you feel the craving. After noticing the craving, ask yourself, "How strong is this food trance?" Remember your zero to 10 rating.

- As you're looking at the food item or imaging it in your Mind Field, imagine your hand pushing it away. Imagine your arm keeps going for 10 - 12 - 15 feet. Notice how small it is since it's now so far away. Even though it's small and far away, you can notice it's filed with red fire ants going in and out of the cheesecake gorging on all that sugary sludge.

- Imagine four fingers from either hand touching the area between your eyes. Just feel them touching. Silently in mind say, "These feelings of craving, I let them go." Imagine touching the area for about two or three seconds.

- In your imagination, move your hand to the area underneath your nose and imagine touching the area with your middle finger. Again, repeat silently in mind, "Let it go, release and let it go." Hold the imaginary touch for two or three seconds.

- Move your hand in imagination underneath your lip. Repeat the same statements in mind. Again, hold this Under Lip point with your middle finger in imagination for two or three seconds.

- Open your hand in your imagination and touch the upper chest and sternum area. Say silently, "This craving, let it go. I release and let it all go."

- Hold the hand in place over your heart, take a deep breath, exhale, and say silently, "Peace".

- If any craving remains, repeat the steps.

Break the Food Trance

It takes longer to read these steps than to do them. Practice this fast and easy technique whenever cravings show up.

Remember, cravings are a trance. Break the trance and take control by applying new imagery that supports your healthy eating choices combined with CenterPoint Release. It's a powerful, winning combination.

To learn about our Weight for Wellness(TM) one-on-one coaching program, call Stress Solutions, LLC at: 804-677-6772 or email CarterMethod@gmail.com for a no cost, no obligation conversation.

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC
Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) program
http://www.EFT-MD.com | http://EasyStressCures.com

Tap Into An Easy Way To Release Cravings

In 2008, Dr. Peta Stapleton, an Australian Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) practitioner and researcher, led a study in association with Australia's Griffith University School of Medicine to determine if EFT was effective in controlling food cravings. The study conclusion was:


"EFT can have an immediate effect on reducing food cravings, result in maintaining reduced cravings over time and impact upon BMI in overweight and obese individuals. This addition to weight loss/dietary programs may result in assisting people to achieve and maintain reduced food cravings and lose weight." 


Other studies suggest there are a number of methods to include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that can help reduce cravings and support weight loss. An important step for those interested in achieving and maintaining healthy weight is to learn and apply a cravings release method that works for them.


Methods to Help You With Cravings


The learning curve for effectively applying CBT for self-help can be a long one. EFT and many other Energy Psychology (EP) methods also require study and persistance. 


To help people release food cravings, I developed an easy to learn, remember, and apply method called CenterPoint Release (CPR). If cravings are a problem for you, I invite you to give CPR a test tap and experience its benefits.


CPR Method


To begin, start by saying to yourself (or even better, out loud), "I am feeling cravings for _________" (identify the food or drink). 


Identify where in your body you feel the cravings. On a zero - 10 scale, rate how intense the feelings are and exactly where in your body you notice those feelings.


Begin the CPR tap or touch method to release those feelings:

·    Tap or touch the area just above and between your eyes with the tips of your four fingers (either hand) as you say, “This craving, I release and let it go. This craving, I let it go”. Tap with moderate pressure about 3 to 5 taps per second for 2 to 3 seconds. If using touch only, simply hold the point and breathe slowly, gently, and deeply.

·    Move your hand down to the indented area directly under your nose. Use your index or middle finger and repeat the same tapping (or touch) and affirmation action (“This craving, I release and let it go. This craving, I let it go.”) for the under nose point.

·    Move to the indented area below the lower lip just above the chin. Repeat the affirmation and tapping  (or touch and breathe) sequence, again for 2 to 3 seconds in the chin point.

·    Move your hand down to the area of the upper chest. Open your hand and tap (or touch) for 2 to 3 seconds with your open palm across the upper chest area, again with the same affirmation. Use only moderate pressure.

·    Repeat the tapping or touch sequence one additional time starting from the forehead between the eyes and down to the upper chest. For the second sequence, change the affirmation to “Release, let it go”.

·    Take a deep breath, say the word “Peace”, and again check into the body area where you felt cravings. You should notice a marked reduction of the intensity or a complete release of craving sensations. If any sensations remain, repeat the procedure.

To hear a short audio that guides you through the steps, click Here.


Learn More


If you would like to learn how to use CPR and other EP methods to help you release cravings, identify and release limiting beliefs, and lose weight, give Stress Solutions, LLC a call at: 1-804-677-6772 today.


Steve Carter


Stress Solutions, LLC
Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) program
http://EasyStressCures.com | http://www.EFT-MD.com
1-804-677-6772

Stress Mastery - a Gift for the Heart

 In our last post we talked about sodium and the fact that 90% of us are consuming more of it than may be healthy. Excess sodium can be a factor in hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Hypertension can be a ticking health time bomb. It can be a harbinger of acute and chronic debilitating disease ahead. Secondary hypertension may show up as a result of another medical problem or taking certain medications, but the the more common condition is primary or essential hypertension.

What are some causes of this silent killer?

- Being overweight

- Chronic stress

- Elevated sodium intake (see our February 8, 2012 post)

- Lack of exercise

- Excessive alcohol consumption

- A diet too low in potassium, magnesium, and calcium

You may not notice any physical signals, so its important to have it checked by your doctor regularly. 

Small Steps to Big Progress

In addition to visiting your doctor, what else can we do to? Looking at known causes and going the other direction is obviously a great start. For those readers who participated in our Weight for Wellness(TM) program, you discovered small, incremental steps over time can lead to significant progress in health improvement.

We recommend beginning with just one or two micro changes and building your success over time. For example, buy a pedometer and track the number of steps you walk daily. Once you identify your baseline average, add just a few more steps every day. It begins with awareness, measurement, and a decision to do things differently.

Stress Mastery - A Gift for the Heart

We highly recommend incorporating stress releasing activity into your daily life. Walking or other exercise is a great way to get a "two fer". You reduce stress while burning calories.

Other stress reduction actions can be as simple as closing your eyes for one or two minutes while noticing your breath. Closing your eyes increases alpha brain waves and helps calm the autonomic nervous system. Noticing your breath encourages a relaxed rhythmic repetition that is calming and restorative for mental and emotional balance.

One of the best Valentine's Day gifts you can give yourself and your loved ones is to learn and practice simple, easily done stress release activities. To learn more visit our two websites dedicated to stress mastery and optimum emotional wellbeing. You'll find them at: http://EasyStressCures.com and http://www.EFT-MD.com.

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC
Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) program

http://EasyStressCures.com | http://www.EFT-MD.com
Ph: 1-804-677-6772

Is Your Food Worth It's Salt?

There is a story that goes:


Before Henry Ford would hire an executive, he would ask the potential candidate to join him for a meal. A perfectly cooked steak and other food would arrive and be set before the job seeker. If the candidate picked up the salt shaker and added salt before tasting the food, Ford rejected the candidate on the theory that he (alas, there were no lady executives at Ford Motor Company in those days) didn't have the requisite open mind to investigate what exactly a situation was before acting.


Whether this story is true (it's also been attributed to Thomas Edison, IBM founder Thomas Watson, J.C. Penny, and others), it is a cautionary tale about mindful eating (how's that for sneaking in a great suggestion) and the folly of assumptions, habits, and jumping to conclusions before investigation.


This story is also an indication that even a hundred years ago Americans ate too much sodium. Apparently, we haven't learned much about the health consequences of consuming high levels of sodium over the past century.


CDC Study Findings


The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released a study reporting that about 90 percent of people over age 2 take in too much sodium. Perhaps you're thinking the main culprits are french fries, chips, or the salt shakers on our tables. While they do play a role, one of the biggest sources of sodium is bread, with a whopping 200 milligrams per slice. 


While some sodium is needed for good health, too much of a good thing can be dangerous. According to the CDC report, the recommended adult intake for sodium is less than 2,300 milligrams a day. The average American consumes 3,300 milligrams daily. Elevated sodium can cause increases in blood pressure. That can of course lead to heart and other health problems. 


Key findings from the CDC study include:

• "Types of foods matter—More than 40% of sodium comes from the following 10 types of foods: breads and rolls, cold cuts and cured meats such as deli or packaged ham or turkey, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches such as cheeseburgers, cheese, pasta dishes*, meat mixed dishes such as meat loaf with tomato sauce, and snacks such as chips, pretzels, and popcorn."
• "Brands of foods matter too. Different brands of the same foods may have different sodium levels.For example, sodium in chicken noodle soup can vary by as much as 840 milligrams (mg) per serving."

What Can You Do?

What can you do to help reduce sodium intake? Some suggestions include:

• Eat mindfully. Taste your food before adding salt.
• Remove salt from the table. Out of sight, out of mind.
• Whenever possible, buy fresh vegetables and fruits, preferably organic or locally grown.
• Reduce consumption of breads, rolls, cured and processed meats.
• Read labels. If you must buy a processed food item, choose brands with the lowest sodium levels.
• When eating at restaurants, look for low-sodium choices on the menu.

A little mindful awareness goes a long way towards better health.

To read the CDC findings, click Here.

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC

Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) Program

http://www.EFT-MD.com | http://EasyStressCures.com

Ph: 1-804-677-6772

How Do Sodas Make Me Fat? Let Me Count the Ways

I was watching a recent television ad depicting a Coca-Cola delivery man attempting to quietly buy a bottle of Pepsi-Cola in a food store. Store employees kept looking at him which raised his anxiety higher as he sheepishly stepped up to the cashier. Lo and behold, he's the big winner in a drink Pepsi contest. The confetti drops, the music plays, horns blow, and everyone gathers around him taking pictures as his prize, multiple cartons of Pepsi-Cola, are stacked up behind him.

As it turns out, our mythical Coca-Cola employee may not be much different than the average American. The Beverage Marketing Corporation reports that on average we drink nearly 45 gallons of soft drinks every year.

What does 45 gallons look like? If your car has a 12-gallon gas tank, you would need to fill it up three times from empty plus a fourth fill of nine gallons. That's about 12 ounces every day.

How Do Sodas Make Me Fat? Let Me Count the Ways

Just how many calories and how much sugar do soft drinks have? According to the website http://SugarStacks.com, a 12-ounce bottle of Coke has 39g of sugar for 140 calories. 

How about a 32-ounce (28-ounces of soda + 4-ounces of ice) 7-11 Big Gulp? You'll have an added 91g of sugar with 364 more calories in your body. 

Considering the average adult male will maintain his current weight by consuming about 2,500 calories a day and females will do the same with 2,000 calories, that one Big Gulp accounts for about 15% - 18% of daily weight maintenance intake. If you're attempting to lose weight by reducing calories, that one Big Gulp represents an even largeer percentage of daily calorie consumption. Do you really want to spend your calories on soft drinks?

Soft Drink Challenges

The challenges with soft drinks don't stop with high sugar, to include high fructose corn syrup in many beverages. "Men's Health" writers David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding posted a blog article on January 24, 2012 titled, "3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Sodas". Those three reasons are:

- Sodas fatten up your organs

- Sodas contain flame retardants

- Drinking soda makes you a lab rat

In an odd defense to a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed he found a mouse carcass in a can of Mountain Dew, Pepsi Cola Company asserts that's impossible. Why? Because a mouse carcass would have dissolved in the Mountain Dew before the man could have found it. It would, they claim, have become a "jelly-like substance". One might wonder what it's doing to the stomach and other organs.

If you're serious about achieving a healthy weight and you drink sodas, diet or regular, now is a great time to make a different choice. 

Need Help With Cravings?

If you experience compelling cravings, applying an Energy Psychology method such as CenterPoint Release, Emotional Freedom Techniques, or Thought Field Therapy can do wonders with helping you let those cravings go. You can also uncover and release underlying core beliefs that keep you locked into unhealthy eating patterns.

To learn more about Energy Psychology methods and how you can benefit with these powerful techniques, visit Stress Solutions, LLC at: http://www.EFT-MD.com.

Steve Carter

Stress Solutions, LLC
Home of the Weight for Wellness(TM) Program
http://www.EFT-MD.com | http://EasyStressCures.com
Ph: 804-677-6772