I could never lose weight until I stopped trying. It was after my third child emerged from my body and into this world. Having packed on 50 pounds, given the saltines and sharp cheddar cheese that quelled the nausea, I said, "I surrender. I will never deprive myself again. If it's not easy, I won't do it."
What happened in that moment scientifically was neural integration.
I didn't care what anyone thought, what I thought, what my weight would be. All I cared about was connecting to the deepest part of myself and eating whatever my body told me to eat.
I was only 32 years old, and at the time, I had no idea that proclaiming this was neurophysiological and an important first step.
Since then, research has helped me hypothesize why, after that first step, rewiring one circuit after another led to effortless weight loss. The EBT Program will guide you in rewiring the same circuits, which can help rebalance the eight major chemicals that drive overeating and weight gain.
Here's a quick look at this beautiful journey:
Start by stopping
Begin by not caring about your weight. Your weight is what other people talk about, but spare yourself that self-shunning. Instead, say to yourself, "My job is to connect to the deepest part of myself and create so much joy in my life that I have this biochemical high that blocks the stress chemical surge that makes me hungry, lethargic, fat, and self-shaming."
Give it up. Then, settle into your EBT Support Group and stick with your commitment to connecting within, trusting your body, and creating joy. Watch my videos about rewiring circuits and use that information and your EBT app to dismantle ("crush!") any wire that blocks your joy.
Rewire your Food Circuit
Most people begin by rewiring their Food Circuit. Eat whatever you want without judgment, and notice that you eat less. Your stress is lower, so your brain is more apt to experience the negative sensations of over- or under-eating, and you begin to learn to eat when you are hungry and stop when just satisfied, not overly full.
When your overeating irritates you enough, use EBT to discover and rewire a circuit that causes binge eating, mindless eating, food addiction, or overeating. Choose the wire that you want to clear and rewire it. You will know you have rewired it when you spontaneously and effortlessly eat less. Don't expect a lot, but appreciate that a shift is taking place, and although it is disorienting, you will sense that you are going in the right direction with your eating and your life.
Clear the Mood Wire
Once you have rewired your Food Circuit, your interest will shift to rewiring another circuit. Rewiring is both exciting and fun. This time, rewire a bad mood, also a Survival Circuit. Often, it's a stressed mood that triggers overeating, like depression or anxiety, but sometimes it's one you are longing for, such as numbness, that is coactivated with your Food Circuit. For some people, it is the mood that follows overeating, such as shame.
Choose one of them and rewire it. A sense of freedom will follow. You're happier and healthier because after rewiring both the Food and Mood Circuits, your brain's set point will be higher, so the stress chemical cascade is quieting down. Biochemically, you feel more rewarded by life's natural pleasures. Your attention will turn to relationships.
Crush Your Love and Body Circuits
Given enough stress, the brain activates a circuit to merge and lose our boundary with others, or distance, creating a vault-thick boundary. Both block surges of oxytocin, the love chemical that is an appetite suppressant. Rewire your Love Circuit.
By this point in your EBT Journey, you may be losing weight naturally. However, you are not done. The most important wire is your Body Circuit, the drive to hold onto extra weight for protection or to judge your body. Both are major psychological assaults that block lasting weight loss. Rewire it.
The Joy of Releasing Extra Weight Kicks In
Now, the most beautiful shift occurs as the joy of releasing extra weight becomes more rewarding than holding onto it. It's biochemical and natural. You like being a little hungry. When someone puts too much food on your plate, you protest. Instead of battling a drive to overeat, you discover how nurturing it is to be a little hungry and release that weight.
Now, any focus on weight loss strategies is fascinating, and the way you used to share food stories or recipes with others, now you relish stories about not needing the extra food. For some, food becomes a non-issue, something not worth talking about. Much like a love affair that ends, the enchantment with food is over, as your immense love for yourself has supplanted it.
Raising the Set Point: A Life of Joy and Purpose
The last part of the EBT Program is to raise your set point, train your brain for lasting changes in eating and weight, and wire your brain for optimal health. By raising your set point, the old wires are less likely to be reinstated, and you evolve into a person wired for joy and purpose.
At that point, most people say they were grateful they had struggled with eating and weight because it motivated them to rewire their brains in just the way that made their lives complete. Food and weight have long since stopped being issues in their life, and they have the freedom they always longed for.
This is why the method was initially called The Solution. It delivers more than lasting weight loss. It is a pathway to a new and better life.