I work in a wellness and detox centre and one of the most popular programs is weight loss. I talk to clients who are struggling to keep a healthy weight everyday. Often this is just a symptom, being overweight, of something deeper, something I always strive to understand. It’s a sensitive job, one of balance, care and love even. Connecting with the individual in front of me and grasping what might be her lifestyle, what challenges he might be facing.
To me food is a lot more than just something you use to fill your mouth and stomach with. It is culture, philosophy, art, pleasure, life itself. That’s what I want my clients to appreciate, this message of beauty behind eating.
Sometimes it is purely a matter of education. I see people trying to follow the official guidelines who get trapped in the marketing offers of low fat, diet foods. Margarine and sunflower oil, fake vegan cheese, a ton of refined carbohydrates and diet cola. Opposing and misleading voices in the media make the picture confused and awkward to navigate. And many companies are able to take advantage of the vulnerability of people who struggle with weight. Fad diets, wonder pills and magical solutions that don’t work for very long. The fascinating world of nutrition is made of science and tradition, marketing and many idiosyncrasies too.
I sometimes see people who are overwhelmed by life, maybe in the wrong careers, maybe struggling to connect with family and friends, or are masking depressive or anxious states, old traumas they haven’t yet dealt with. Many have a history of eating junk food, are seriously addicted to sugar, caffeine and other stimulants, they are emotional eaters of some sort.
I see a myriad of health conditions that add further complexity. Thyroid and hormonal issues, heart problems, eczema and many signs of inflammation. At the resort clients can get some real sleep and de-stress, gain renewed energy, push back inflammation and relieve a bloated, congested digestive system, turn down pain. It is a great opportunity to get some mental clarity and perspective. Calming the busy mind and getting closer to your true self is one of the benefits of fasting.
I am a nutritional therapist and not qualified to provide formal psychological support. I can connect emotionally though and inspire them into change, with enthusiasm and a tip or two. The fact they are in the resort fasting is always a positive sign. They recognise a need for change and are willing to take action, they look for a reset and a quiet space to find some distance from the day to day busyness of life. Losing a few kilos is a great benefit of course, but I think the real expressed or unexpressed motivation behind choosing a retreat, a fasting program as a holiday, is more than just losing weight.
Relationships are at the core of human life. And our relationship with food has to be harmonious. We need to love our food and need to love ourselves with it. A healthy relationship with food starts with a balanced, caring approach to choosing what we eat and it is much easier to do if the goal is realistic. If you have a terrible diet, my job as a nutritional therapist is not to push you on a low calorie elimination regime, give you impossible standards, making you eat salad and raw food three times a day, or fat and protein only or some other extreme, which very rarely works in the long run. My job is to inspire you to discover the real beauty in food and sustainably move you onto better, more balanced nutrition. And then you gradually want to shift to an even higher level.
It’s the direction of the journey that matters to me. After the detox, I’d like you to be on the road of improvement and encourage you to take initiative to discover the joy of savouring what we are meant to eat. This means getting away from the fake manufactured stuff and on to whole foods as much as possible. If you can change 2-3 meaningful things when you go home is already a good start.
The process can take a while and that’s OK, because at the same time as learning to love food, you gotta change other aspects of your life. The aspects that make you feel down, depressed or anxious, unbalanced in the first place, other sources of pain.
Having a holistic approach, means giving you a strategy to cope with stress, encouraging you to build a supportive social network, embrace a hobby or two, introduce more joy and pleasure to life, so that comfort dinner or bottle of wine aren’t the highlight of your day. Moving away from dieting, counting calories and going to the gym as a chore and inspiring you to find respite in yoga, fun in a salsa class and new friends in a weekend walking group.
I used to work in a financial services job I wasn’t enjoying. If 10 hours a day in a dull office is a big source of strain, you gotta do something about it. And meeting you here, while detoxing, when you come with an open mind and open heart, is a great opportunity I strive not to waste. I am at the beginning of a new job and new life myself and if I fail to connect with you, if I am tired, distracted or overwhelmed at times, I apologise. I am doing my best to help, while keeping the balance I so much need for the following day.
Ultimately it is your very personal journey, determined by your values, beliefs and earlier life experiences. But I can try to add a sparkle, an encouragement, a little motivation and an idea or two to get you started, as well as some solid information and advice. Good luck my friend, when you go back home after the fast, with a glow on your face and renewed positivity, I wish you the very best of luck for the journey ahead.
I am really passionate about helping people change their lives. I have recently launched a customised support package to help you with a step by step programme back to better health. I offer a complimentary 20 minutes call so we can get to know each other, understand your needs and to check in that we like each other. I can only take on 5 clients each month and I look forward to going on this journey with you regardless of your health position right now. Have a listen to what Mal below has to say and the results we got working with each other.