Food v. Feelings

By Valerie Driscoll, Lead Coach and Coaching Program Developer for Apollo Health

In both coaching and facilitating groups that focus on the nutritional aspect of the Bredesen Protocol, KetoFLEX 12/3, I often help members who are struggling to give up food that has been part of their lives for a long time. This is especially true during the holidays when there is so much nostalgia tied to what is eaten. Having done this work for five years, I know that the month of January is usually full of stories of post-holiday lapses and regrets.

Some of the people with whom I work have also been following the program for a while, and this year, I felt a shift in many January stories. For the first time, the stories of triumph outweighed the stories of tragedy.

A common phrase I heard during the telling was “feeling bad,” not in the guilt and shaming way, but in the actual physical sensation of not feeling well – a body that felt “off.” One member said — “I ate a brownie, and I felt terrible, so I stopped eating them.” Another told me that after looking at the holiday food she would normally eat, she would feel really bad the next day and decided it was not worth indulging. The most noteworthy part is that neither story was accompanied by a tone of resignation and a sigh; they were both delivered with a sense of (it took me a while to get to the proper word) freedom, as were other stories I heard. There was freedom to make choices. The other word I would use is surprise; they were surprised at how much easier it has become to choose what to eat rather than feeling hostage to it.

In the early days here at Apollo, I remember hearing Julie Gregory say, “There is no food that tastes as good as ketosis feels.” My immediate thought was, “Ice cream … ice cream tastes better than ketosis feels because ice cream is better than anything. Period.” I also mentally listed another 38 foods that would taste better than ketosis, maybe 42.

But that was then because the magical thing that happens as you progress through the Bredesen Protocol and adopt the KetoFLEX 12/3 way of eating is you feel better, truly head to toe. (Literally, the arthritis in my big toe cleared up, and my brain can now store 12 digits easily, which is up from the previous five). And as you walk through the world feeling better, moving better, looking better, especially when you pay close attention to the changes, saying NOPE to a whole host of foods becomes easier, and then finally easy.

This month, I have heard several stories of easy. Mixed with these were stories of imperfection because that is part of the territory; these are just as important because mistakes help us to learn. Everyone’s imperfection is a little different, but one commonality I have found is that when you give yourself permission for these transgressions, they become fewer, and saying NOPE becomes no big deal.

So, how might you boost your “NOPEing” skill power as you work toward making KetoFLEX 12/3 easy? Try these pro tips:

Change your mind and become a “MEsearcher.” Cheating, falling off the wagon, and being bad can make us feel shameful and guilty. Practice letting go of this type of language and embrace what happened as part of your journey. I always say to think of everything as data and notice what can be learned from the info.

Examine your physical feelings without judging them. Hint: this can be hard, so give yourself some grace. Practice noticing the sensations in your body without input from your mind. When the mind interrupts, gently come back to the body. An example of how this might sound in real life, after home fries:

Body: “Heavy and bloated. My waistband is tighter. Feeling thick.”

Mind: “You idiot, why did you eat that? You just blew two weeks of being perfect, and now you are a …

Go back to the body … be short and direct with how you feel, like the seven dwarves of home fries.”

Body: “Burpy, Sleepy, Bumpy, Gassy, Grumpy, Need a Doc, and Shlumpy.”

Mind: “Was it worth how you feel right now and how you will feel tomorrow morning?“

Go back to the body and decide. Sometimes, honestly, the answer might be yes — it was totally worth it, and that is okay. The trick is to notice what happens when you examine sensations in the body without interference from the mind and how that informs the next choice.

What I have found over the years is that Julie G is right: nothing tastes as good as ketosis and a healthy feeling body, although there are still four things on my list that come darned close.