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FOOD
COMBINING
WHY
IT WORKS SO WELL FOR PEOPLE RECOVERING FROM EATING DISORDERS
One of the main impediments of
healing eating disorders is the the fear of food. Food for many Eating
Disorder Sufferers is the enemy, it is after all what causes them to gain
weight, to feel and appear fat to themselves. So the simple solution is not
to eat it at all or just certain low calorie foods- anorexia or to eliminate
food in a way that the body does not retain it, binging purging, bulimia,
exercise abuse, or laxative abuse. Of course this is where ED's get really
creative in their ability to combine styles of food fears, but that is the
general way most symptoms appear.
I have been using the Food
Combining Method for many years personally because I feel it is the best way
for anybody to eat and digest their food, period. When I started Aloha
Healing Retreats we were assisting people with a wide range of problems such
as abuse, grief, spiritual ennui, and physical and emotional issues heal
their lives in a Holistic manner. One of the attractions of our programs
were the gourmet meals that we served. It added a true delight to the
Health retreat experience to serve beautifully presented gourmet feasts to
our guests. Then for some reason only the universe is aware of, we started
to get more and more Eating Disorder guests. And did we do some fast
learning!.
One of the main things that
attracts Eating Disorder Sufferers to food combining is that it takes the
fear out of eating food. When you adhere to the Food Combined Method, you
will maintain a healthy slim weight, what we call your optimum health
weight. This is your unique ideal weight that your body naturally achieves
after being on the Food Combining Method- hereafter mentioned as FCM, for a
month of so. Using myself as an example, I eat pretty much what I want,
just FCM, and I maintain a weight of between 117 and 119 and I am 48 years
young at 5' 5" and with moderate exercise regimen. For me personally it is a
matter of proper digestion which is my impetus of using the FCM.
First of all what is FOOD
COMBINING? You may or may not remember the FIT FOR LIFE fad of the eighties
and now we have the SOMMERIZING program, which all are based on food
combining. I do not agree to either regimen as they are presented. The
former because they make it so complicated it's easy to give up, the second
because she sells five dollars worth of information at Hollywood prices.
At Aloha Healing Women we
accent the ability of person to begin to listen and trust their body and one
of the ways they can see that this really works is by using the FOOD
COMBINING METHOD. It's not a diet, because you don't take anything away or
greatly restrict any foods, you can eat anything you want really, you just
have to be alert as to how you combine your foods properly. So that is why
I call it the Food Combining METHOD. We also notice the the word DIET
itself can trigger negative reactions in many EDS.
Food Combining in four steps-
1) Do not combine proteins with starches, because this causes acid which
does not allow your food to be broken down properly. Hence acid indigestion,
you don't absorb the nutrients you need so you crave more food, your body
can not break down the food you do eat so it either stores the food or
passes it undigested. 2) Do not drink liquids 10 min. before, during or 10
min. after a meal. If you think you are going to choke take a sip of water
but what you don't need is a load of liquid on the food before it gets a
chance to start to break down. 3) Do not eat fruit with anything else, do
not eat sweet fruit-grapes, bananas, with sour fruits-citrus, do not eat
melons with anything else but melons, melons have so much water they must be
eaten alone. This is because fruits ferment other foods causing acid to
curdle your other food. The good news is that fruits take only 20 minutes
to digest, so have your fruit first go take a shower and then come back for
the bagel! 4) Avoid all white foods- foods that have been processed- white
rice, white flour, sugar, caffeine, etc. That's it in a nut shell. Life
without acid indigestion and without dieting because you still can eat
pretty much anything you want but just in the right combination.
The benefits of FCM are that
you digest your food properly and completely so you get the nutrients from
the food you eat that you need to maintain your body. The lovely side affect
of this is that when you eat this way the craving of unhealthy food
diminishes because you are finally feeding your body what it needs.
Therefore you tend to eat less often and you generally want more nutritious,
healthier food. Then you lose excess weight, or gain weight depending,
because you are getting the nutrition you need.
So when you explain that you
can eat with out the fear of gaining weight to a EDS, the first response is-
NO WAY!??? REALLY!!?? I can eat all I want and not worry, for sure..??!!
And yes it is true.. in our workshops on FCM we go into how it works, how
best to implement FCM into their lives and of course they see it action as
our guests eating their gourmet FCM meals. We try to make our food look
truly appealing, so they are presented with tropical flowers and we use
colorful foods and implement neat chef's tricks. Our purpose is for the EDS
is to makes friends with food again, to become relaxed and open to the idea
that food is good for you.
A wonderful aspect about FCM
is that your body feels the change in as little as just two or three days.
Big changes occur. NO INDIGESTION, you HAVE DIGESTION, you feel lighter, you
have more energy, you feel more alert and you're less depressed, the craving
for unhealthy food diminishes and you feel fuller longer. So what's not to
like about that?
One of the misconceptions
about FCM is that people who are low weight will lose even more weight. Not
so at all! First of all, they start to eat foods they haven't even been in
the same room with for years. They begin to see the changes in their
digestion and begin to trust the truth of food combining. They begin to
absorb the nutrients from their food that their body has been needing and
the body reinforces this desire for healthy food. They understand through
our workshop that fats are necessary for the body to function properly and
they learn to how to incorporate beneficial oils and fats into their diet
that is palatable and comfortable. It does take some time for some EDS to
start to establish weight gain because of the long lasting effects of EDS
with muscle loss, etc. But it does come, especially eating in this manner.
We often use a very tasty papaya, banana, carrot, celery, cabbage juice
combined with flax seed oil to introduce EDS to the healthy oils their
bodies so desperately need. This we find helps the body start the weight
gain process in a non-offensive manner both to the EDS's mind and body.
We also use REJUVELAC, a
enzyme drink made of fermented grain water, that is full of nutrients and
acidophilus and helps kick start their natural digestion. We show them how
to make it from scratch and even how to make it a little tastier than the
flat sour beer flavor in it's natural state with just a smidgen of fruit
juice or honey.
If the digestion has been
stopped or hampered significantly by the ED we sometimes opt for the NONI
regimen. NONI grows right here on our property and has amazing healing
properties and is a great aid to digestion. It helps unclog the system
naturally and promotes natural elimination of accumulated waste material,
toxins and impurities. It is a truly miraculous herb with one major draw
back.. it smells like rotten feet..and that's being nice about it! So we
combine Noni with aloe vera juice and a little tropical fruit to make it a
more pleasant experience. And they all sing... Do you know NONI, like I
know Noni? Cause if you know Noni..
Often in the case of many EDS
with bulimia, binging/purging, and anorexia the digestion system is simply
broken, it just doesn't work anymore. The system is unused, it has stopped
functioning and doesn't even remember what to do. We have two approaches to
this problem. First we use Hypnotherapy to communicate directly to the
persons stomach, intestines and colon. We talk directly to the offended
body parts and ask what they need to heal, perhaps contract with them what
they are willing to do if the EDS will work with them. Then we use Reiki and
other healing methods to heal that body part and use post hypnotic
suggestions that the body part will continue to heal and correct itself on
it's own.
Secondly we present to our EDS
what we call our Gourmet Mush diet. Oh it sounds nasty but we make lovely
couscous and brown rice stacks with tantalizing sauces.. so it's not so bad
as it sounds. The ability of EDS digestion system to break down food is
almost non-existent after years of malfunctioning. Raw vegetables aren't
tolerated well and proteins are very slow to digest. So after conferring
with the digestive system as to what it would be amenable to receiving we
start from there and create a menu that works for the individual. This
usually means basic complex starches such as brown or basmati rice, taro and
poi, yams and other sweet potatoes- we have purple sweet potatoes over here
folks, couscous, buckwheat noodles, mashed Irish potatoes, cooked pureed
vegetables served as soups such as our famous broccoli, carrot, and
vegetable medley, some bean soups, split pea soup, etc. . Our Mush Diet is
getting more varied and interesting as we experiment with other grains and
methods of cooking food that is easier to digest. The Mush Diet is
continued until stools become regular and formed. Then after a while we
start to introduce proteins and raw vegetables. At this stage of
reintroducing foods, we go back in hypnosis to ask the body what it will be
receptive to and at what quantities, cooking methods, etc.
Then at long last their is
HEALTHY EATING and DIGESTION with the Food Combining Method! Of course our
main recovery tool is finding out the source of the individuals eating
problems with the use of Hypnotherapy. The use of aromatherapy massage,
Reiki, acupuncture, yoga and many more Holistic Healing Methods help assure
a return to health. But it is the Food Combining Method that helps Eating
Disorder Sufferers understand that Healthy Food is their FRIEND.
REJULAC RECIPE
Try starting off with one cup of grain - then adjust amount to your
needs.
START OFF WITH ANY RAW GRAIN, RICE, WHEAT OR ANY COMBINATION WITH ONE
EXCEPTION- MILLET SHOULD NOT BE MADE BY ITSELF FOR IT HAS AN UNPLEASANT
TASTE. SOAK THE GRAIN FOR 8- 24 HRS. IN PURIFIED WATER. RINSE WITH CLEAN
WATER AND DRAIN OFF ALL WATER. PLACE CHEESE CLOTH OR LOOSELY WOVEN CLOTH
OVER THE MOUTH OF A WIDE MOUTH JAR AND SHAKE THE SEEDS TO DISTRIBUTE THEM
EVENLY AROUND JAR AND THEN PLACE JAR IN A DARK PLACE. LEAVE UNTIL THE SEEDS
ARE SPROUTED, APPROXIMATELY 2-3 DAYS. THEN RINSE AND DRAIN THE SPROUTS AND
PUREE THEM IN A BLENDER INTO A FINE MUSH.
THIS IS YOUR REJUVELAC STARTER
You can keep the starter in the refrigerator starter in
the refrigerator for up to five days. Put 4 tablespoons of starter in stir
into 1qt. of water. Leave mixture covered loosely with cheese cloth and
place for 2 days, stirring once a day. the liquid will become frothy from
the fermentation process.
Strain liquid- this is your rejuvelac. You can drink as much you like but
you must drink it at room temperature.
You can store the rejuvelac in the refrigerator - loosely
covered and when you are ready to drink it and then bring it to room
temperature. Never cover the rejuvelac tightly.
Eating right
to make you light and right!
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