WRAP Around Food · March 2005 Problematic Situation: Feel fat, overweight, jeans tight. Keep losing and gaining 7lbs, getting yeast infections. Effect of this on your life and the

My WRAP Around Food

Dawn Heffernan

Introducing…

COPELAND CENTRE MEMBERSHIP

• Before we start, if you are using or viewing this presentation please take the time to join the Copeland Centre.

• The valuable work they do needs your support to continue and grow.

To guide you towards a healthy and balanced

relationship with food

To help you achieve the result of a

healthy body weight

To develop awareness of your current

eating habits with no sense of shame

or blame

To mentally and emotionally change the way you

approach food, if it is a problem for you

To enable you to develop your own food specific WRAP

or be able to facilitate that process with others.

Aims of this Workshop

This was me…

Dear Friends,

During my first manic episode,

when I was 18, and on heavy

anti-psychotics, living with my

parents, I put on 50 pounds in

just 3 months ballooning from

110 to 160 pounds… It took me

two years to lose that weight. I

did so at University.

The medication didn’t help but

I ate my way there too. It went on

SO quickly – taking it Off was

neither easy NOR fast!

Dawn

My wonderful and healthy husband

- John and I…

Extracts from my Copeland Depression Workbook

re food 04/22/00 Try cutting out sugar from diet for two weeks and actually fill out the chart in the book. (I

didn’t!)

02/5/01 Reduce to two cups coffee per day then one, replace with green/herbal tea(I didn’t and I was

a diet coke junkie!)

04/04/2002 Feeling out of control with my eating junk…

March 2005 Problematic Situation: Feel fat, overweight, jeans tight. Keep losing and gaining 7lbs,

getting yeast infections. Effect of this on your life and the way you feel: Makes me feel ugly,

unsexy, not in control. Snacking stops me eating proper meals. Yeast infection a pain, poor role

model for my kids. Strategies that might help: Get exercising. Eat three meals a day. Stop moaning

and just “DO” it. Cut down on sugar and caffeine in diet. (I didn’t)

07/24/2005 leaving job so kids at school gave me loads of boxes of chocolates. Ate them all, felt

really sick but couldn’t stop. Next day my mum said “What’s wrong you look terrible”. I was grey,

lethargic, and puffy faced and bloated.

09/13/06 Lifelong sugar junkie – need to explore this… (I didn’t)

11/10/06 Problematic Situation: Picking at food, not eating properly Effects: No idea what I’ve eaten,

always eating but never hungry, don’t eat meals. Strategies: Use 5 meals a day plan, stick to it but

don’t throw it out the window if one day goes wrong (did it briefly felt better good but then stopped)

My empty nest and my new rules…

My journal entries these days

make for better reading… November 2009 Committed to life-style changes to do with diet,

using Dr. Billings help to stop abusing my body with inappropriate food.

January 2010 It is so liberating not to think about food the way I used to.

Feel clearer headed and more focused. I’m stepping up and really living it. Wow.

April 2010 Realized I’ve had 4 big bars of chocolate in the pantry for ages that’s amazing.

November 2010 When I eat right I feel so much better/positive/confident. Nearly a year of eating three meals a day, want to keep it up forever. Actually don’t crave the junk anymore

July 2011 Realize good food/nutrition is an inherent part of physical and mental health. I am the living proof.

Myths around food and weight

problems..e.g.

Overeaters are lazy and

greedy with no willpower.

Overeaters are weak and

pathetic and have no self-

control.

Being thin or slim indicates a healthy balanced

attitude to food and good health in general.

Another Myth…

WRAP Around Food Wellness…what

does that look like?

I did not know what a well me around food

would look like – I had never experienced it. So

I imagined it and now I live it…

A well Dawn…

• Is comfortable around food, especially trigger foods which are high in fat and sugar.

•Enjoys and appreciates eating three meals a day.

•Makes good choices most of the time but has no great angst if she slip up.

•Ditches the diet coke, caffeine and booze because she realizes she doesn’t want or need it.

•Plans and shops ahead most days.

•Maintains a stable weight without trying.

Your WRAP Around Food Daily Maintenance Plan should

be kept simple and will develop from the understanding of

why your eating has become problematical:

Shop for and plan meals ahead

Some form of exercise most days

3 meals a day at appropriate times

Limit your intake of caffeine & alcohol

Avoid grazing or snacking between

meals

Take a vitamin and mineral

supplement daily

Do keep a food diary & also record

your feelings

Eat a wide range of food, don’t obsess

on one thing

A glass of water first thing in the

morning and drink water throughout

the day

My Triggers Around Food

Dawn’s Triggers & Action Plan

Triggers: Exhaustion/tiredness

Emotional reactions;

Anger/Stress/Frustration

Skipping/Forgetting a meal

Eating very rich food as this sets up

cravings

Dehydration

Being at parents’ house

Boredom/Loneliness

Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach

Shopping when hungry

Not making enough time to eat

Not having quality food in the house

Eating on the go without having planned

ahead

Action Plan: Drink water & go to bed – it’s OK

Diversionary activities – if it is the evening

and you are bored – find a distraction e.g.

piano

Ditch the rich, creamy food you struggle to

digest – plain & simple feels better

Drink water during the day

Be prepared

Do something - anything

Don’t..and be mindful of amount

Don’t…

Make the time – no excuses…

Plan ahead and keep freezer stocked

Plan ahead and carry healthy snack

My Early Warning Signs Around

Food…

“Secret eating”

Snacking again

Stopping Exercise

Not liking myself

Drinking more caffeine/alcohol

Avoidance of feelings/sublimation

Missing breakfast/skipping meals

Feeling “yuk” and not feeling hungry

Eating whilst watching T.V. or reading

Craving sugar/salt/fatty foods (quick fixes)

My Early Warning Signs Action

Plan

Back to daily Maintenance and record food diary for 5 days

Share out the trigger foods, offer them to others.

Make your eating public, don’t sneak back for the slice of cake/pudding eat it with others.

Bring your mind back into touch with your body, pause when eating for 60sec, bringing awareness to what you are doing.

Remind yourself how well you feel when you eat right

Explore and name the emotion you are feeling, even if it makes you uncomfortable

When things are breaking down…

If there have been more than 10 days of not eating properly and you are slipping out of routine or are feeling increasingly

out of control

And my Action Plan… Plan out meals for a week and go and shop for food -

Exercise - Be really strict about not snacking - Book an

appointment with Dr Billings - Look at mental health

Wrap; focus on what’s happening emotionally, what’s

my internal dialogue?

My Fears Around my Food WRAP What if I get hungry

between meals?

What is a reasonable

Portion? How will I

know how much to eat?

What if I eat 3 meals a day and snack, won’t I become enormous?

What will motivate me to keep it up?

May we explore some fears together?

What if I get bored?

What are the 5 Pillars of

WRAP?

Hope

Personal

Responsibility What does

personal

responsibility

mean to you?

I know my

eating has a

direct

impact on

my mental

health.

What about

you?

Education

Self-Advocacy

Support

What I would like you to take away with you

today…“Making dietary changes is not easy. It certainly

requires changes in habits that have developed over a lifetime”.

I cannot live a Wrap if I am eating badly.

It does get easier and easier…I promise!

Do Keep a Food Diary Increase awareness of what, why and how much you are eating to reduce so called

“eating amnesia”

Most of us underestimate the number of calories we eat, especially outside the home

My Food Diary Format… it works for me…

Recording what you eat, when you

eat and how it makes you feel is

the easiest way to explore

and control your food intake.

Remember, you don’t have to be

super strict, be gentle with yourself.

Wellness tools: FOOD WRAP SPECIFIC

• Anything that boosts my senses

• Being physically engaged in activity

• Taking care of my appearance

• Throwing dinner parties

• Being there for others

Thank you for listening…

If you would like to keep in touch or share your WRAP

Around Food Experiences with me then please email

me at [email protected]