Certain Habits Are Tricky to quit…like Daily Chocolate

Chocolate for breakfast every so often – no big deal. 

When it becomes a ritual – it’s time to dive deeper. 

It all started with a weekend away in Denver over a decade ago. 

The night before my pal and I had a night of hopping from one club to the other in Larimer Square looking for the best music to get our groove on.

Not being much of a drinker, dancer or clubber who struggles to stay awake past 10 pm, I was exhausted the next morning. 

My pal, a pro in the Denver night scene at the time, hands me a Chocolove almond dark chocolate bar and says “eat up it’s time to hike”.  

At that point I may have choked down the medicine-y taste of a Redbull to give me some wings. 

A square into my Chocolove cruising north on I-25 out of the city I’m thinking thank goodness she chose to hike El Dorado Canyon not a 14-teener this morning.

Quickly archiving the thoughts of how I’d “torture” her when she came to Breckenridge to visit me...I geeked out on why chocolate is a good pick me up.  

– caffeine

– sugar

– magnesium

– theobromine – kinda like caffeine

– antioxidants and phenols

I never really liked chocolate till this gal introduced me to Fran’s and Theo chocolates back when we were going to Bastyr. 

The hike went well and I was surprised how well the chocolate helped me forget my fatigue. 

My brain and nervous system took notice that day and from then on chocolate became my coffee for periods of intense fatigue in my life. 

The amount of caffeine in a small coffee causes me nausea and extreme anxiety but a few squares of chocolate are magical. 

And just like I had a chocolate stash everywhere – just in case. 

When “just in case” became daily I knew I had a problem. 

The underlying cause of this habit – fatigue due to insomnia. 

I tried to not buy it and avoid it all together but somehow it would end up back in my cabinet as if I was hijacked by aliens at the grocery store and they made me buy it. 

Every habit you have serves you in one way or the other. 

Getting to the bottom of the why behind it can help you uncover your true need.

I know anytime I want chocolate I’m getting fatigued or my blood sugar is low. 

That one was an easy one to uncover. 

My tendency to become a squirrel and eat pistachios or macadamia nuts like they’re going out of style?

That took a podcast and some work with Ali Shapiro to reveal the true story.

Since then I’ve been working with Ali to explore my food habits further and look deeper into connection between the nervous system’s need to feel safe.

I believe you can make a lot of progress with your mental, physical and emotional health when you learn what your nervous system needs to feel safe. 

Food is a sensitive subject and a major stressor for so many people… 

…which is why it’s vital to understand your relationship with food to restore safety in your nervous system. 

A nervous system that feels safe allows for other imbalances and health conditions to be improved. 

Exploring your food habits requires slowing down and getting curious with yourself and your patterns. 

Negative self talk won’t help nor will beating yourself up about them either. 

Ali Shapiro’s work is unique because she asks, “Why does falling off track with your healthy eating make sense?”

In her work, eating self-sabotage is actually about self-protection.

Therefore, it has nothing to do with more willpower or white-knuckling more food rules.

Ali helped me discover a huge contributor to my 40 years of overeating in 2 conversations with targeted questions. 

She also helped me set up a plan to set into practice each time these issues  coming up. 

I’ve worked with numerous specialists on my food issues over the years and no-one got to the root of it like Ali did. 

This is why I have to share her wisdom with you. 

Ali’s offering a paradigm-shift in how you understand your own falling off track next week in her upcoming FREE Masterclass: Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track 

Tuesday, September 10 from 12 – 1:15 pm EST.

This is the free Masterclass Ali wishes she had during her own 18-year battle with emotional eating, which started after being bullied in fifth grade.

She wished she would’ve asked herself, “Why does eating from this painful rejection make so much sense?” 

Instead, she asked her parents to go to Weight Watchers.

Or when she was in high school, fresh off surviving cancer, her emotional eating intensified and she kept saying, “Diet starts tomorrow!”

What if she had asked, “Why does never actually starting your diet tomorrow make sense?” 

Instead, she asked, “How can I stay thin to be healthy?” (this question made no sense as she had lost a ton of weight from chemo).

And in her mid-20s, after reversing her acne, depression, and IBS by learning how to use food to heal her gut, she couldn’t keep up her healthy eating during periods of stress.

After years of this, she finally decided to question the deeply ingrained cultural assumption that she was wrong and that the answer would come in a new and improved food plan and doubling down on willpower. 

Use code DRJ10 for 10% off

She didn’t know to ask, Why does this falling off track make sense?”

Knowing to ask this question and then discovering the answer to finally be on the right path for consistency is why she created her upcoming free masterclass: Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track. 

The first step of ending your emotional eating is understanding why your falling off track makes complete sense.

It’s not learning more about nutrition, especially if you’ve been at this falling off track rodeo for awhile. 

Let Ali save you the time, money, and wrong turns from her own journey. 

Ali has 17 years of experience working with clients 1:1 and in my group programs.

She provides an efficient, evidence-based, and client-proven path forward (and if you’re checking credentials, she also has an Ivy League Masters degree in behavioral change and coaching ). 

Her work and clients unique success has been showcased in Well + Good, MindBodyGreen, Prevention, Women’s Health and Forbes, as well as industry leading podcasts such as Being Boss, Tell Me Something True, Food Heaven, and yours truly, The Health Fix.

In this free Untangle Your Food Triggers: Catch Yourself Before You Fall Off Track masterclass, Ali will guide you through a coaching exercise that’ll enable you to uncover what’s really going on underneath your emotional eating struggles. 

You’ll walk away with a tangible tool you can apply next time you find yourself wondering “Why Am I Eating This Now?”

You’ll learn:

• What triggers you to fight food (hint: why it makes sense)
• The 4 emotional triggers that bring on food self-sabotage, even when you’re feeling great 

And how to interrupt the self-sabotage cycle while traveling, at parties, restaurants, or other social situations.

This is also a sneak peak at Ali’s upcoming  Why Am I Eating This Now? (WAIETN) Live group program that opens for registration next week too. 

(She generously gifted my community $100 off by entering coupon code “Jannine” at check-out.)

Make sure to use that if you do decide to sign-up for the WAIETN group program.

And remember to register for the free Masterclass here.

Ali has made quite a difference in my life since our 1st podcast interview and I have no doubt that she can help you too. 

If you’re struggling with food issues and you can’t break through the noise – check out Ali’s free masterclass – she’s going to coach you on the exact thing that uncovered my overeating issues!

Food stuff is your nervous system trying to get your attention – figure out what your nervous system needs to feel safe and watch your health improve rapidly!

Got questions – hit reply – happy to talk more about my work with Ali!

Here’s to your health,

Dr. J

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