To Eat or Not to Eat? – That is the question : How to Avert Binge Eating and Manage Cravings

Many of my clients have concerns about how to proceed when cravings arise.  For instance, a client is craving a cookie but does not feel worthy of eating one since he or she feels too fat or too unhealthy.  Of course, my clients are not “cookie cutter” people, they are individuals, so the strategy that works best for one client may not work for another.  However, I often find that when clients avoid a certain food or food group in the midst of intense cravings, they often inadvertently cause themselves a binge session.  So I offer a few suggestions:

1. The art of allowing is very powerful.  If you allow yourself to eat the food which you are craving, without judgement, it may be possible to gain a sense of satisfaction.  Satisfaction from eating desired foods helps many of my clients to avoid the binge cycle.
2. Prepare a healthy alternative treat with similar ingredients.  For instance, create a healthy, homemade sugar free oatmeal cookie with raisins.  Use a natural sweetener rather than cane sugar in the batter.  This can provide an individual with a feeling of satisfaction and well-being simultaneously.
3. If you are an individual with a food addiction, “once you pop, you can’t stop” you may want to ask yourself if your craving is real or feigned.  Perhaps you are craving sugar because you did not eat enough for dinner.  Sometimes cravings can be misleading.  While you might think you want a cookie, what you are actually craving is love or touch.  It might be a good idea to take out a journal and write down what you are thinking feeling.  If your craving is arising from uncomfortable emotions, this is a good time to call a friend or loved one, or seek the advise of an expert.

If you would like to learn more about addressing cravings and avoiding the binge eating cycle, call Infinite Wellness Coach, Cheryl Fawn, MSW, CHHC, AADP for a free consultation, 917.535.9519.

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Eating Disorder Treatment: How to Avoid Overeating and Stay Slim

Many people struggle with overeating, binges, and eating when bored.  As a holistic nutrition counselor, I have found that many of my clients suffer from these problems because on a daily basis they are ignoring the needs of their body.  Our bodies are built to digest food (breaking it down into smaller components) and extract necessary nutrients.  If we are living solely on sugar, processed carbohydrates (like white flour), and packaged products like many of us, we are ingesting very little nutrients.

If I gave a client a large box of chocolate chip cookies containing exactly his or her recommended caloric intake for the day and told him or her to eat only these cookies that day, it is likely the client would finish the box and still crave something else.  The reason for this is that the chocolate chip cookies contain little nutrients therefore his/her body will seek out missing nutrients.

If you are looking to avoid overeating, lose weight or seeking treatment for an eating disorder, it is very important that you understand which food and drink your body needs in order to thrive.

Listen to your gut! Follow your heart! The key to healing from an eating disorder

Throughout our childhood, we are encouraged by adults to do many things that our heart or gut seem to disagree with.  We sometimes go with our instinct and sometimes we choose the path set out for us by others.  

If we delve too far into a life that does not satisfy our own desire, we may become out of balance. Our journey in life is no longer ruled by our own heart, we are no longer following our gut instinct.  Therein lies a reason we may be starving, bingeing, or purging on food, feeling guilt or blaming ourselves.  We are using food to ignore another part of our life that ultimately needs correcting if we are to heal.  Overcoming an eating disorder takes more than just correcting our eating patterns, it also entails healing our lives.

If you are suffering from an eating disorder and want help to find a way out, don’t hesitate:

call – The Holistic Eating Counselor, Cheryl Fawn (917) 535 – 9519, to make an appointment.

Eating Disorders – Mind over Matter – Body Image

Those with eating disorders tend to have body image issues, they get hung up on size and shape and their so called flaws.  They spend their time measuring their success by their weight on the scale, fearing food and fat.  They spend even more time beating themselves up if they feel their body is not in the perfect proportion.

This is what I would like to say to all those struggling with an eating disorder – anorexia – bulimia – binge eating : 

You cannot heal from this “dis”-ease,  this “dis”-comfort, this “dis”-tress if you focus on all the “dis” -tain you feel for your body! (Just reading that previous sentence alone makes me cringe because it is so negative)

Healing happens when we focus on our positive aspects and give ourselves love! We need to try to remember how beautiful, special, and magical we are! We need to imagine our symptoms disappearing and picture ourselves in an ideal state of health.

Bottom Line: If you want to heal from an eating disorder, you need to reconsider where you are focusing your mind!

Food Allergy Testing for Eating Disorders, Anorexics, Bulimics, and Overeaters – Part 1

Food sensitivity (food allergy) can trigger eating disorders

Holistic Eating Disorder Treatment

Hello all!

I’d like to introduce myself. I am Cheryl Fawn, CHHC, AADP. In the coming weeks I will be blogging about everything and anything that has helped myself and my clients to heal. I work specifically with clients who suffer from eating disorders, emotional eating, Celiac Disease, and food allergies. I struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years. I began to seek out alternative methods of healing, everything and anything, acupuncture, reiki, hypnotherapy, ionithermie, emotional freedom technique, and holistic nutrition therapy. In my recovery process, I learned many things about healing the body and the holistic health model. I eventually came to understand what caused my eating disorder and how to take back control of my life. Some of the insights I offer are very new and I am certain this information can help anyone who it finds.