Yesterday, I was lucky to have a consultation with Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet. Those of you who’ve been reading my blog entries know that The Body Ecology Diet (BED) is how I finally recovered from bulimia & binge eating – after 4 years on the path to recovery (and trying just about everything for longer than that). I am a big proponent for experimenting with things on the level of mind, body and spirit in recovery from addictions & eating disorders. The BED supports this because it honors the ability of the body to heal itself – step by step. That’s the key, it’s a process of taking actions, no matter how small, toward your health.

Donna addresses bulimia in her book and in our consultation yesterday, we talked about anorexia and binge eating as well. Of all the research and pieces of the puzzle I was putting together over the years, speaking to Donna was like someone finally understood what my intuition was telling me. From an early age, way before bulimia, I KNEW something was wrong with my digestion. Donna could spot the issues just from reading my consultation form, which I filled out before meeting her. She confirmed the things that I suspected, but no doctor ever really grasped.

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A Visionary In Treating The Body As A System
Donna is a visionary in treating the body as a system – connected inextricably with the mind. She calls this the inner ecosystem, just like you’d read about if you studied ecology. This basically means that our body-mind continuum is made up of elements that work together to create balance, or steady state – within ourselves and with our environment. This idea brings us back to how connected we are with the Earth and all of life.

If you think about the spiritual explanation of addiction and eating disorders, some would say we have lost our connection to the whole. In this way, you can sum up addiction and the body-mind & spirit loss of connection or balance in the ecosystem. Healing means coming back into balance.

I live in a place where there are hurricanes – some of them very devastating. And yet, within 3 months, plants start coming back, trees start growing, insects and animals start to repopulate the area. The underwater life starts to repopulate. Above and below the water, everything starts to repair itself. Since science doesn’t have a drug to cure the after-affects of hurricanes, the Earth’s natural ecosystem is allowed to heal itself. Our bodies can do the same, with the proper care.

What I Learned
(Keep in mind that everyone is different — what works for me, might not work for you. I highly recommend you read The Body Ecology Diet, if you are curious about how it might apply in your situation. I’d also recommend that you get support from a health professional. If you choose to follow the Body Ecology Diet, you can check Donna’s website for professionals who can guide you through the process. )

Sugar
Donna could see that I had blood sugar issues. It was apparent based on a family history of grandparents on both sides with diabetes, the constant high & low moods I had as a teenager and some of the symptoms I described. She told me that I might always have trouble with sugar. Now this may not be true for everyone, but given my history, it is true for me. Luckily, since I’ve started the BED, I have no cravings or desire for sugar. Donna teaches us how to use stevia, the natural herbal sweetener that has no calories and regulates blood sugar. This has allowed me to still have sweet tastes in my life.

Beneficial Bacteria
These are the little critters that make vitamins, break down proteins & fats and balance our hormones. I am low in some beneficial bacteria, based on a Great Smokies test I had. This is part of the reason my digestion is bad – and part of the reason I was prone to low moods or depression. Once I started the BED, my moods improved tremendously – I am certain my body is starting to digest better – and I believe these beneficial bacteria are starting to repopulate. Donna gave me some suggestions to move me even further toward rebuilding them – fermented vegetables and kefir.

Cortisol
My cortisol levels were high — I had been told this before, but Donna helped clarify some of the reasons for me. Cortisol has been called the “death hormone.” Too much cortisol is responsible for early aging, including going gray early. Cortisol soars with stress and my corporate life, prior to becoming an entrepreneur and life coach, was extremely stressful. Over the past year, I have completely simplified my life by taking steps that are included in my free Actions for Recovery workbook. This allowed me to reduce the levels of cortisol in my body, which is helping me recover – it might feel more like a mind-side of recovery (less stress, more peace), but it’s being enabled by my body.

Donna mentioned that all of this cortisol would also raise my blood sugar level. Cells can only accept sugar at certain times, so when the window is closed, there’s all this excess sugar. Guess what happens to it? It gets absorbed as fat. If our inner ecosystem was healthy and we managed stress, got enough sleep – our bodies would tend to be slim more naturally. We wouldn’t have to feel like we had to fight so hard. The $46 billion diet industry would collapse. Keep this in mind as you think about body image. What Donna is telling me is based on research that I have read before – but I had to SCOUR and search for it. It is not backed by a $46B industry, pumping out propaganda. It’s quietly out there for people when they’ve tried everything and are ready to take the step-by-step approach.

Adrenals
My adrenals are stressed, but on the mend – if you have an eating disorder or addiction, yours are probably stressed too. How would you know? Look at your energy levels, including libido – because adrenals produce sex hormones. If you are engaged in addictive behavior, you get a spike of energy – this may last awhile or it may only be temporary. In recovery, often one of the things people notice is a drop in energy and maybe a decreased sex drive. Our adrenals are finally out there on their own, in a depleted state – with no spikes to help. Often, people switch addictions at this time in order to find another way to get an energy spike. Instead, you can start healing your adrenals. Adrenaline, a hormone produced by the adrenals is the first thing that surges during the “fight or flight” response to stress – then comes cortisol – which can last in the body for days. The combination leads to aging and loss of energy. The longer we do this to ourselves, the more we believe that it’s normal to “fall apart at 40” or whatever other aging messages you’ve heard. Healthy adrenals can contribute to radiant energy.

Thyroid
The other component of energy. An under active thyroid may be an issue for people with eating disorders. You might notice constipation – or the inability to eliminate completely – a common component of IBS, which those of us with ED are often diagnosed with. You might also notice getting cold easily, hair falling out, etc. Some people are prescribed thyroid medication for this. You can actually repair your thyroid as well.

Both the adrenals and thyroid, as energy producers, can be repaired with vitamins and minerals. The thyroid also needs healthy fats, like coconut oil and flax seed oil. They also need a healthy dose of self-care: going to bed early, getting plenty of sleep, reducing your stress, eating healthy vitamin & mineral rich foods. It doesn’t work to supplement an ED with vitamins & minerals. I can tell you that from experience. I’ve had all my vitamin & mineral levels tested – no matter how much I supplemented, I am still deficient in some important vitamins. I am going to get tested again after being on BED longer and repairing my inner ecosystem – I’ll let you know what I find out. I’m confident that my body will heal itself and I can stop taking these expensive vitamins, given the success I’ve had on BED so far.

I Need More Proteins & Healthy Fats
As a blood type O, I was not getting enough protein. I had some fish a few days a week, but I found myself constantly wanting to eat spoonfuls of almond butter. If you read the fat and calories in almond butter, you may cringe in horror. I used to – for about 15 years I ate a low fat diet and was afraid of fat. However, in my experience, I actually look — and more importantly, FEEL better with more fat in my diet. Since I am eating healthy fats (almonds, olive oil, coconut oil, egg yolks, ghee, etc.), they support my body.

When I eat what supports my body, guess what? No bingeing & I can eat a rather healthy amount of food – that I’d previously been terrified by – and still be slim. My weight has not changed, but with the bloating gone, I look a lot slimmer. In fact, I think this is the normal body I was supposed to have – but it was always exaggeratedly bloated. If you’re bulimic, you probably look at your stomach to see how flat — or not — it is everyday (a behavior, like weighing yourself constantly, that I highly recommend stopping — it frees the mind). The bloating blows it all out of proportion. So every day, it looks different. The fearful mind steps in and says, I must be getting fat. Not true. The body, when out of balance, can do a lot of weird things.

Today, I tried the breakfast and lunch suggestions that Donna gave me — and guess what? No giant spoonfuls of almond butter were necessary. I added the protein and cooked it in the way she suggested and voila, my energy feels great.

Final Words
Donna’s final words to me were not to forget the important STEP-by-STEP process. Our bodies heal step by step. If you look at my list above, I have a lot of actions to take to heal my body. There are more that Donna gave me, but I just put down the highlights here. Just like with your recovery, you can take healing your inner ecosystem in baby steps, at a pace that works for you.

The Step-By-Step Principle Says:

  1. Create energy – heal thyroid, adrenals, reduce stress, engage in self-care, eat healthy foods that work for your situation.
  2. Correct Digestion – I’ll be adding fermented vegetables and kefir to build up my microflora or beneficial bacteria.
  3. Conquer Infection
  4. Cleanse – this is covered in Donna’s book and is a very important concept.

I am very thankful that I found Donna’s book and had a chance to speak with her. I am hoping to attend her Certified Body Ecologist training coming up next month so that I can become part of a network of professionals who help others heal. I’d like to contribute work to the field of eating disorders around digestive health and its impact on mind, body and spirit. I know that for me, my mind was free when my digestion healed. This has been of tremendous value in allowing me to choose what I wanted to focus on and bring true joy into my life. It is proof to me that the two are connected. And in balance, they set the spirit free – once again, connected to the whole.

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