The Law of Higher Potential Rather Than New Year's Resolution to Release Weight and Obsessions with Food

Are you starting another diet this year? Did you last year make a new year’s resolution to lose weight once and for all? How about committing to a healthier lifestyle? Did you promise yourself you would exercise or better yet you bought a fancy machine to work off excess weight starting January 1, 2012? We all make promises and  yet resolutions are soon forgotten. What can you do this New Year to make it different?

Every January my phone rings off the hook, patients want an appointment to discuss their eating and/ or weight issues—to make a permanent change once and for all. Although most start with the best of intentions, the most common thing people do is make New Year’s resolutions that fall to the wayside after a few short days or at best a few months. Perhaps the answer is to stop making New Year’s resolutions and tap into the law of Higher potential—and insist and demand the remedy from the Source in order to live your plan every day regardless of what time of the year it is.

How many times have you tried to let go of your excess weight and/or obsessions with food promising a New Year's resolution? I bet you can’t even count. If you tapped into this blog I'm guessing you had an urgent need to resolve a continuous battle with commitments for positive change.

Do you believe in the law of higher potential? Or were you raised not to ask for things from God (or whatever you call your Higher Source) but rather to serve; that it's selfish to think of yourself and ask for you rather than think of others first.

With Catholic upbringing l felt guilty if I asked and expected to receive—that instead it's better to give and serve. I still believe to serve is an ultimate goal but also that the law of my higher potential is my inheritance and I can have that too. My relationship with my Higher Source has evolved over the years. I ask, expect, and receive.

Ask God for what you want and expect to get it. Persistence, with a strong-held purpose for what you desire, is the path. If you want to be thin naturally and free from obsessing about your weight or certain foods then ask for it. As certain as the sun will rise and set I'm certain you can free yourself of compulsive eating and weight issues once and for all—if you ask and expect. Don’t just whine and cry about your misfortune in this life, how you've been saddled with obesity or eating issues. Poor me isn’t going to cut it. Rise above and turn it over to the hands of God—expect and believe—and you will be lifted from your misery.

Each January we're bombarded with diet and weight loss products and pummeled with magazines, billboards, movie stars, and the television pushing the message thin is in. Is it? Take Margareta, a beautiful girl who could easily have been a movie star. At one time, not so long ago, she had the body, looks, and intelligence, but today her lovely curves are replaced with extra pounds as a result of diet mentality and faulty thinking. When she was thin she thought she was fat and obsessed over food and her weight until this belief came to fruition.  She expected and believed she was fat. She binged mostly and restricted occasionally. She thought about foods she’d indulge in every wakened moment. Sometimes she refrained but mostly she downed sugary gooey foods followed by salty, fried carbohydrates. She over-exercised daily in hopes of losing weight. Although she wasn’t obese she was overweight by 30 pounds. In her mind she felt 100 pounds overweight. Why? Because she couldn't see herself as she was but only as she thought she was. And to her, she was fat, frumpy, and dumb.

Many who struggle with the obsession of food and weight are like Margarita suffocating by their own hands. She didn't believe in her beauty and that a Higher Energy would lift her burdens.  Like many of us, she white-knuckled her way to her current weight.

Margarita has a history of being either too thin or too heavy and rarely in the middle. She didn't trust the natural foods God provided to fuel her and give her strength. She feared foods. She feared eating. She feared a “normal” weight because her life revolved around bingeing and dieting. What would life be like if she had to live in the now and get off the diet merry-go-round? In her mind she found relief jumping on the diet wagon after a cycle of binge eating. To her, food represented fat. We discussed eating healthy meals every four to five hours and eliminate foods that triggered her negative thinking and prompted her cravings. We talked about the power of her mind to connect with her Higher Potential. At first, she was apprehensive at the thought of setting positive health intentions and trust in the law of higher potential, but something clicked and change took hold. Her body returned to a healthy weight and diet mentality was a thought of the past.

I don’t mean to simplify the answer. Coming to terms with compulsive eating takes work. Where do we put the trust first: God, self and then good food. What is good food? No doubt to eat real foods that don't trigger compulsive eating is an excellent start place. Simple carbohydrates may trigger obsessive thoughts about food. Should you remove these foods first or call upon God first? Can you reach a Higher Source—your law of higher potential—while in the throes of eating addictively? Turn to God first and let him carry you.

Think of the Footprints:

A man asked, “Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.” The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Turning back to you, I ask, how many times have you tried to let go of your excess weight and obsessions with food as a New Year's resolution?  You picked this blog for a reason. You are searching for the answer to what feels like a life-long problem. You have an urgent need. Like Margarita, you may have it in mind to lose 30 pounds.  You might look at that number and think you have to do it all now. But you don’t. Instead try and pray and insist and demand the remedy from a Higher Energy. Tap into your Source, it’s your inheritance—a gift for you. The Divine Source loves you. God, the law of Higher Potential, is there with you every step of the way. You are His child

And if you have trouble walking along with Him, let him carry you. He is strong and tireless, loving and kind. You are worthy of his love. Give Him a try. What do you have to lose? (No pun intended). You can ask for things from God. It’s okay to serve yourself. It is not selfish to love you and to let your Higher Source love you. Break free from your obsession with food and step into a life with peace and tranquility—your Higher potential.

I Was On the Oprah Show—Almost!

Okay, so I wasn't on Oprah, and perhaps almost was only from my perspective. The show was on persons who lost over 100 pounds and kept it off and of course were inspired by Oprah. I got close to being chosen but my mistake was not pinpointing a specific Oprah show that inspired me.

I had trouble picking a show because ALL of Oprah's shows motivated me  in one way or another. I watched her from back in the early Chicago days on AM Chicago when I was struggling financially, physically, and emotionally. Often I only had a few dollars to my name and barely enough money to fill my gas tank and yet I never found it difficult to binge eat. Hmmm, an addict—food in my case—always finds money for the substance one way or another.

When the Chicago brutally cold winters became more than I could stand, I moved to Florida—very saddened at the idea of not watching AM Chicago which Oprah hosted. But, as luck would have it, the Oprah Show was syndicated a few months after I moved (September 8, 1986) and one day before my birthday day on September 9, 1986. What a gift!

A few years back I dragged my sister Christy to Oprah's store in Chicago to purchase something from Oprah's closet. My sister didn't "get" why I had to have a piece of Oprah's personal wardrobe in my closet. She thought I wanted to wear it—but of course I wanted it authentic—untouched by my body. So, in my closet hangs an Oprah shirt, and not just any old shirt. It's a Richard Metzgar crisp white cotton shirt with bell sleeves that fan out at the bottom.

And of course while I was in Oprah's store I purchased an O baseball cap, magnets with her slogans of motivation for my refrigerators and I snapped a gazillion pictures of Harpo's buildings.

Yes, no doubt Oprah has inspired me, not only in weight loss success but in all of my successes, even though I couldn't pick a particular show.

So, what does this have to do with almost being on Oprah's show—or anything for that matter.  Although I failed to mention what particular show inspired me, which cost me the chance to appear as a guest on Oprah's show, it didn't stop me from reflecting on how far I've come in understanding my food addiction and helping scores of others find answers and direction to their eating disorders.

No doubt, Oprah has been a mentor to me from back in the days when I was a young woman who branched out alone from a small town in Wautoma Wisconsin back to my roots in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 21, without any degrees or money in my pocket and made my way through college, master's degree and a doctorate degree. I had tons of student loans to carry me through my dreams and to date I am happy to report I'm debt free because I learned to respect myself and my money. Yes, I learned this from many of Oprah's shows.

I always felt (and feel) each step towards growth Oprah made I did too—even with weight going up and weight going down. I, like Oprah, had a best friend Yvonne, who I cherished and still do. She died in 1997 in her sleep. Watching Oprah helped me through the most trying loss I had ever had at that time.

Prayer, meditation, intentions, intention map were tools I learned years back from Oprah's shows—with the intent to go on Oprah.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, in Excuses Begone! states, "...when you engage in the act of active contemplation, you set in motion a powerful force—you allow yourself to be lived by the great universal mind or Tao (p.103). In other words when you set the process of creation into action, what you contemplated comes to fruition.

The day the show I almost was on aired my heart ached with anticipation as it began and then as I watched each persona twirl and unveil their large clothes, letting them fall to the floor, a burst of relief took hold. This is not what I represent—diet mentality and showing off weight loss. Instead, my goal is to paint a picture of hope and relief from food addiction and eating disorders. I aspire to light the way to a better way of living. I bring focus to recovery and the added boost is weight loss if needed.

I  hold a doctorate in addiction psychology and I'm certified as a certified eating disorder specialist and have personal recovery from an eating disorder which helps me to help others.

So, I didn't make it on the Oprah Show, I'm still contemplating and sending out my intentions which I intend to manifest to appear on OWN but in a different capacity than a rah rah look at me and my weight loss to let me show you the way to peace and tranquility once and for all—to break free from your food addiction and obesity.

I'm relieved my Higher Source didn't manifest my intention prematurely. My time will come. Oprah's made a huge impact in my life and will continue to in all my adventures left to unfold.                                              

I no longer want to be on the outside looking in to what might have been but rather to what will be.

Photos taken by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego

Chemical Reactions To Food

I’m often asked how I went from 234 pounds to 139 pounds after years of bouncing up and down with my weight. Let’s be clear, I was the yo yo dieter of the year from early adolescents through my thirties. My weight and my relationship with food were a constant struggle for me until I began to understand my chemical reaction to certain foods.

After years of trial and error, research, clinical knowledge, weight loss, and stability of weight, I became a gentler spirit once I accepted sugar, flour and wheat caused me great distress. I learned highly processed, high fat, high sugar foods immediately produced a massive headache, irritability, and an all out food binge.

These days, I follow a simple formula breaking down each meal with structure (four meals a day each consisting of specific foods: fruit, protein, fat, vegetables, low fat dairy, and whole grains) and commitment rather than eating randomly. I also include daily exercise such as walking or biking along the ocean and try and live my life as a prayer.

No, I am certainly not perfect (and realize I sound as if this is so easy), and life is not always bliss. I would love to eat any food I want, but I realize the consequences aren’t worth the indulgence. I do get mad at life when I’m tired and work too many hours, or when I have to turn down an invitation to an event because the atmosphere won’t be conducive to my bringing my own foods, or when everyone will be eating a delectable piece of chocolate cake and I’ll be stuck eating a piece of fruit with yogurt.

But, no matter what life struggles present themselves, I know that binge eating simply isn’t an option—nor are sugar, flour, or wheat on my food list, because I understand that the sleeping giant of addiction within will wake, and chaos will return with a vengeance if I ingest any of these. I compare my situation to that of a heroin addict, who can't have just a smidgen of heroin; he must abstain completely to stay clean.

When I began to follow these specific guidelines—even when I didn’t want to—my negative mind chatter quieted, and for the first time I could become still, and hear God’s whispers. I connected to my inner strengths, and a spiritual understanding emerged in me. I found inner peace, God, and love. Love for myself, others, and the universe evolved inside me.

Not only was I calmer, kinder, and less self-centered, but I began to perceive a bigger picture. I saw food as real and not real: God’s food and man’s food. I chose food of the earth, sea, and air rather than processed and boxed. I turned to God, and the "noise" in my head ceased, and the addiction flattened. These days, I eat to live rather than live to eat. Healthful foods and a refreshed faith are now my fuel to retain optimal health and weight.


Photo Taken By:  Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego



Yo Yo Dieting

When I explain what is really going on with binge eating and food addiction patients often resemble the deer in the headlights look. It is like they are caught! As Oprah often says, "It is a light bulb moment!" Suddenly understanding their up and down weight loss and gain becomes clear. The yo yo dieting syndrome has an explanation...an answer. It's not their fault!


Yo yo dieting is more the norm than not. The other day I was watching a recorded Oprah show (April 30, 2009) interviewing Kirstie Alley and a second person (a non-movie star) Michael Hebranko. Both were telling their heart-felt stories of losing and gaining weight. A story I know all too well. I felt their pain and urgency. Not only do I understand their yo yo diet syndrome, the patients I work with day in and day out share a similar story. What is the answer?

As I watched, Kirstie promised with such conviction she would lose her weight again and owned the "secret" way to drop weight quickly. I sadly shook my head thinking about how many times I promised to lose the weight and that I had the quick weight loss secret too. Kirstie swore she lost 20 pounds in a few short weeks and would reach her "goal" weight come November(which I need remind you she had promised for her bikini debut back in 2007). Oprah interjected, suggesting she might be setting herself up for failure. I (alone watching this taped video) was cheering Oprah for stepping in and recognizing Kirstie's "diet" mentality perhaps being detrimental to her success. Sadly, at no time did Oprah or Kirstie acknowledge abstinence from their drug(s): sugar, flour, and wheat. It reminds me of the addict who promises they will never take another hit, snort, or shoot up again, but without admission to the addictive components, rather only looking from a "will power" frame of mind. I was hearing diet and addiction mentality.

Michael Hebranko was different than Kirstie in that he was not a movie star bearing the glitz and twinkle. He reminded me of one of the first patients I saw in my early days of practice. He was wearing close to 1,000 pounds of weight like Michael. I made weekly house calls (back in the 90's when I was new in my profession) and conducted psychotherapy. He was a delight to work with. He understood sugar, flour, and wheat were drugs to him and agreed to abstain. He understood developing a spiritual connection to something greater than himself was the key. Like Michael, he dropped hundreds of pounds. When he was at a safe place weight-wise we agreed he would drive in for therapy. Instead, he began to binge. Again, like Michael, he put his weight back on. Unlike Michael my patient passed away. He was only 27 years old. Addictions are stronger and bigger than our will to stop using.

Michael, unlike Kirstie, was aware he needed to take one day at a time and practice recovery. He was no longer reaching for the "quick" fix. He was humble and focused. He seemed to have an understanding that certain foods were triggers for him, but I did not hear words of abstinence from these foods, particularly flour. He also recognized a higher power (he called God) as he kept referring to God in the interview and how thankful and grateful he was for this second opportunity to correct his weight. He released 300 pounds. Although he had several hundreds of pounds to go, he was focused on the here and now, working his program one meal at a time with progress not perfection. I think he will make it!

Although I personally never weighed more than one hundred pounds above my ideal weight, I can relate to both Kirstie Alley and Michael Hebranko. When I was in the food I promised I would stop. I too vowed to lose the weight and never binge again. I meant it! After I would drop some weight and start looking good I would fall into a binge. It was not until I realized I had to let go of the addictive foods in order to be free of the obsessions and cravings. It was not a question of will power but rather of letting go of an addiction to specific foods. As simple as it sounds it worked. My weight corrected and I am free of cravings. Many patients I work with also are free from cravings and have returned to their normal weight. I wish I could say they all followed my path, but truth be told, many are on the same ride as Kirstie Alley and Michael Hebranko, gaining weight they lost.

Statistics show about 5% of people keep off the weight they have lost for more than a year. And, those that have the weight off for more than 5 years have a better chance of staying thin. Thank you God I fall into this category! I believe Kirstie is setting herself up for failure vowing once again to wear a bikini in November and rushing to lose her weight. This is diet mentality. I did not hear the same diet talk from Michael. I heard a clear understanding it was a process that would take time. He seemed to understand eating balanced meals and taking one day at a time was the ticket to his recovery. Although I did not hear specific talk about spiritual recovery, Michael echoed some thoughts regarding God. Kirstie did not mention any spiritual understanding. Perhaps this could be part of her missing link. It is not about the food, nor is it about the weight. It is about having an addiction to food. It is about turning to a physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery.

So, as I finished watching Oprah’s interview with two very familiar stories it allowed me to reflect where I had been and where I am today. Their story is my story; however, I am on the flip side of it and live life free of weight, worry, and diet mentality. No more deer in the headlights. The answer is eating free of sugar, flour, and wheat and turning it over to a power greater than our own. This power can be whatever is fitting for each person. It could be God, energy, the sun, et cetera...



Photos taken by: Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego