Firefighter's Intuition - Intuative Eating For First Responders with Jeff Ash

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:02.224 --> 00:00:07.554
This is all clear firefighter health and wellness, where we help you light your fire within.

00:00:07.554 --> 00:00:13.726
I'm Travis and we've got a special guest with us today.

00:00:13.726 --> 00:00:22.289
We have Jeff Ash from the non-diet companion, and Jeff is a very cool individual.

00:00:22.289 --> 00:00:25.739
I've had a chance to talk to him quite a bit here, so hello, jeff.

00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:29.929
First of all, hey, that's a nice introduction.

00:00:29.929 --> 00:00:33.685
I don't know if my kids would agree with you, but certainly happy to hear that I'm a cool guy.

00:00:34.027 --> 00:00:42.484
I will definitely give it to you, for one uncool guy to another Maybe I don't know, but just to tell you a little bit about Jeff before I let him take the floor and really run with it.

00:00:42.484 --> 00:00:46.593
Jeff has motivated a lot of changes in my personal life.

00:00:46.593 --> 00:00:49.305
We'll talk more about that as we go on.

00:00:49.305 --> 00:01:01.054
But I found your podcast when it was called Men's Intuition, Totally by Mistake, totally by chance, and I started listening to it.

00:01:01.054 --> 00:01:04.346
And it's man, all right what he say and make sense.

00:01:04.346 --> 00:01:12.716
Well, you talk about a type of I'm not going to call it dieting, a way of fitness that is called intuitive eating, and I'll let you get into that.

00:01:12.716 --> 00:01:29.730
But after having discovered your podcast and your information and now your app and everything, I'm down about 16 pounds in about two and a half months, which that's not huge for some people, but for me it is, and it's still moving forward, but anyway.

00:01:29.730 --> 00:01:35.790
So, Jeff, tell us about you, where you're at, what you do and how we can learn from intuitive eating.

00:01:36.840 --> 00:02:08.381
Yeah, sure, I live in Houston, texas, and I wear a few different hats, so one of those is I'm a nutritionist and personal trainer and I focus my work using this framework that we'll talk a little bit about called intuitive eating, which is significantly different than the typical fitness approach, the diet and exercise approach that most people are promoting now, certainly much different than a lot of your like low carb and keto things, rigid rules and restriction and those kinds of things which we'll talk more about, and but, in addition, to that I'm also a software engineer.

00:02:08.662 --> 00:02:17.957
It's a weird mix of kind of geeky software engineering and then helping people impact their relationship with food and working in a counseling type of a role there.

00:02:18.019 --> 00:02:47.941
But as a software engineer, as you mentioned, I do have an app, and so I have merged kind of the two passions that I have, which is I love both doing both kinds of work, and so I've created an app called the non diet companion, which is a an app specifically to help people who are adopting this intuitive eating and non diet approach to their health and fitness and nutrition, to help them apply those different principles that we'll talk a little bit about here and journal about those things.

00:02:47.941 --> 00:02:58.055
Journaling is a big, helpful part of the intuitive eating process because it often involves some reflection and digging down and giving to what's at the root of the issue.

00:02:58.055 --> 00:03:01.868
So, whereas dieting often is hey, what diet should I start?

00:03:01.868 --> 00:03:13.969
And people throughout recommendations that need to say, oh, that sounds good, I think I'll try that and without first figuring out what is it that I need to actually address, and so intuitive eating helps you do that.

00:03:13.969 --> 00:03:20.969
The app kind of comes alongside you basically the name says it all to companion to help you on that non diet journey.

00:03:21.792 --> 00:03:32.846
I know that one of the things that has always turned me off to the thought of a diet or something like that is the fact that I don't like to exclude things.

00:03:32.947 --> 00:03:44.605
I'm not like a hog that wants to eat everything, but I do like pizza, I do like cheeseburgers, I do steak and I've tried in the past to do things to try to cut back, but it didn't work.

00:03:44.605 --> 00:03:57.328
But recently we had our firefighter physicals and my cholesterol is up and some other things, and so the reality of needing to address this is what pushed me to try to explore different ways.

00:03:57.328 --> 00:04:06.295
And when you talk to a firefighter, first thing they almost always mention I'm on keto, I'm paleo, I'm carnivore.

00:04:06.295 --> 00:04:15.032
There's always a different supplement, a different diet, a different thing that they try and sometimes it's very effective, and sometimes they go from one to another.

00:04:15.032 --> 00:04:25.026
But when we talk about intuitive eating, you talk about how it's not a diet but yet it's more or less a lifestyle change or mental mindset change.

00:04:25.026 --> 00:04:29.720
But I know there are some basic principles that go with intuitive eating.

00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:32.069
What are those principles?

00:04:32.069 --> 00:04:35.685
Just give us a thumbnail sketch so people can understand where we're coming from.

00:04:36.771 --> 00:04:42.533
Yeah, definitely, and that's an important part of it, because a lot of people do have a misunderstanding of what intuitive eating is.

00:04:42.533 --> 00:04:58.863
They often take the words intuitive and eating and apply the natural English meaning to those and say, oh, that's how I got in the mess I'm in the first place was just eating intuitively, which is eating whatever I'm eating, whatever I want, whenever I wanted, and not really thinking about it, and that's not at all what intuitive eating.

00:04:58.863 --> 00:05:15.694
I often say intuitive eating capital I capital E because I'm referring to a particular framework that was developed by two registered dietitians 30 years ago, so it's been around for quite a while and one way that is a great description of it.

00:05:15.694 --> 00:05:30.255
They refer to it as a self care eating framework that integrates instinct, emotion and rational thought, and I think that's a great way to summarize the 10 principles, which I'll go ahead and summarize here, too, a little bit more detail.

00:05:30.255 --> 00:05:32.081
But it really is about that.

00:05:32.081 --> 00:05:40.862
It's a way of taking care of yourself in a way that addresses the needs of your body as a unique individual, since we're each very different.

00:05:40.862 --> 00:05:44.105
Your firefighter firefighters may be listening to this.

00:05:44.105 --> 00:05:48.723
They have particular energy needs that are probably quite different than your average software engineer.

00:05:48.723 --> 00:06:07.593
Of course I do rock climbing three days a week, and so my energy needs are going to be different than somebody who doesn't do that and who maybe does yoga or who maybe doesn't exercise at all, but still maybe they're actively, go walking and hiking and those kinds of things, and so it's going to be different from person to person.

00:06:07.593 --> 00:06:09.822
I'll just summarize these principles real quickly here.

00:06:09.822 --> 00:06:22.086
So there's 10 specific principles and they each build on each other and that's really the key to intuitive eating and really making it work in quotes, I guess, for a person.

00:06:22.910 --> 00:06:34.372
One thing, before I do get into that is it is considered what we call a non diet approach, and so the goal of intuitive eating when you're applying these principles, is not for the purpose of losing weight.

00:06:34.372 --> 00:06:37.283
So that's a tricky one for a lot of people.

00:06:37.283 --> 00:06:41.846
It's not designed for the purpose of intentionally losing weight.

00:06:41.846 --> 00:07:02.021
Although, when people apply it, if there were some disruptions in their life or some things that were out of whack that resulted in their weight being elevated beyond where their body naturally would like to sit, then when they get those things in line and that kind of the things through developing those intuitive eating principles, sometimes their weight does drop.

00:07:02.021 --> 00:07:03.137
So it's.

00:07:03.358 --> 00:07:07.420
But often what we find that this is the first principle is rejecting the diet mentality.

00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:21.906
And so that is actually going at it from the approach where you say, okay, I'm going to go ahead and step back from this constant pursuit of trying to lose weight, since that's a pretty common thing for dieting, for changing up diet, and people are doing that often just to try and lose weight.

00:07:21.906 --> 00:07:30.906
But even if your purpose is to intentionally bulk up or gain weight, sometimes it can be really emotionally and physically taxing to do that.

00:07:30.906 --> 00:07:50.136
And so that first principle is just rejecting the diet mentality, which is putting weight loss or whatever intentional changes in your body shape and size on the back burner, so that your focus isn't on what's the scale telling me, so you're not getting up every morning jumping on the scale and letting it dictate how you're doing or how poor you're doing.

00:07:50.136 --> 00:07:53.841
You basically put that aside and say I'm going to focus on these other things.

00:07:53.841 --> 00:07:58.579
And so then the other principles are honoring your hunger, which makes a lot of sense.

00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:14.136
Our bodies are designed in such a way to we have these innate hunger signals that drive us to get food and energy, and they're super needed and necessary that they help us survive and to get the energy we need for whatever level of physical activity we're engaged in each day.

00:08:14.136 --> 00:08:16.985
So this principle is honoring that.

00:08:16.985 --> 00:08:22.946
So when your body is telling you I need more fuel than you, honor that by providing that fuel.

00:08:23.795 --> 00:08:33.095
Then another one of the principles is making peace with food, and that is basically stopping this fight with thinking about food as good and bad, healthy and healthy.

00:08:33.095 --> 00:08:48.725
It's not that some foods aren't more beneficial or less beneficial to us from a nutrient perspective, but basically trying to put all foods on neutral playing field from an emotional, psychological perspective.

00:08:48.725 --> 00:08:53.615
And that's a really big part of what Intuitive Eating helps people to do is to neutralize food.

00:08:53.615 --> 00:08:57.546
So if you're not looking at ice cream as bad or a cheat, you're looking at it.

00:08:57.546 --> 00:09:03.400
Hey, I enjoy ice cream, and I enjoy it in this context and for this purpose, and so I'm going to eat that.

00:09:03.400 --> 00:09:15.500
But of course, then there is another principle which is feeling your fullness and that's again so you have your honor, your hunger, this making peace with foods, where we call it unconditional permission to eat, basically that you're giving yourself.

00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:24.556
But then you have the fullness aspect, which is another part of that you would respect, and so you honor your hunger, telling you when you need more, respecting your fullness.

00:09:24.556 --> 00:09:29.298
Hey, I'm full, my body's clearly telling me I don't need more, so I'm going to stop.

00:09:29.298 --> 00:09:32.486
And so again it comes back to that self-care.

00:09:32.486 --> 00:09:34.402
It's all about taking care of your body.

00:09:35.075 --> 00:09:39.116
A couple other principles that kind of fall in this area are challenging the food, please.

00:09:39.116 --> 00:09:50.726
So this is where you throw out those food rules that you may have, like no carbs after two, or I have to eat X amount of this particular food, or I can only eat desserts one day a week.

00:09:50.726 --> 00:10:01.993
These kinds of things, these arbitrary rules that that really don't have a, a uh, the kind of effect that a lot of people think they do, at least from a long-term perspective.

00:10:01.993 --> 00:10:07.217
We're not saying that, oh, then it's okay to just eat fast food three meals a day, every day.

00:10:07.217 --> 00:10:08.687
Of course we're not saying that.

00:10:08.687 --> 00:10:09.855
That would be ridiculous.

00:10:09.855 --> 00:10:13.326
But we're also not saying you can only have it on Friday.

00:10:13.326 --> 00:10:23.274
So, at the same, it really is going to be very much individual and through this process, as as we talk more, you'll find that I've really helped people to focus on.

00:10:23.274 --> 00:10:30.173
Well, why is it that you are a person may say I feel like I'm eating far too much fast food and stuff like that.

00:10:31.157 --> 00:10:37.245
And so we explore what it is that's driving the eating of that kind of food, if they really aren't wanting to eat that way.

00:10:37.245 --> 00:10:45.846
And often we uncover things as simple as eat a snack in the morning and then you won't feel the need to stop like and wait home from work Real simple things like that.

00:10:45.846 --> 00:10:51.375
So we address the root issue instead of instituting arbitrary rules like that food police kind of thing.

00:10:51.375 --> 00:11:01.458
Another principle is discovering the satisfaction factor, which is eating for satisfaction, and learning and understanding the importance of that.

00:11:01.458 --> 00:11:07.815
When you are um, you're honoring your hunger, feeling your fullness, but you're also making sure you eat for satisfaction.

00:11:07.815 --> 00:11:23.530
Because what we find in the research backs us up time and time again is that when people institute lots of restriction on their eating overly restrained eating then what happens is that they seek that out anyway.

00:11:23.551 --> 00:11:26.365
So let's say, you don't allow yourself to eat.

00:11:26.365 --> 00:11:31.293
Maybe you're in the mood for just something sweet and all you needed was just a couple of pieces of chocolate.

00:11:31.293 --> 00:11:33.264
But you say, nope, I can't have it.

00:11:33.264 --> 00:11:35.254
It's not my cheat day, so I'm not going to have chocolate.

00:11:35.254 --> 00:11:53.235
And then I'm going to have a chocolate flavored rice cake instead, and so we try and trick ourselves into that, or eat Halo Top ice cream or something that's not really going to hit the spot like the real thing would, and then what we find is that we eat that and it's not satisfying, and then we continue seeking out the satisfaction.

00:11:53.235 --> 00:12:01.799
So then we eat another rice cake, or then we eat a granola bar that we eat and when we could have just had the two pieces of chocolate and then been fine and moved on.

00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:12.134
And so there's not only the emotional aspect that can interfere with and cause problems with, but also tends to drive us then to actually end up overeating, which is what we're trying to prevent.

00:12:12.134 --> 00:12:17.624
So it's really interesting how these little tricks that we do can backfire significantly.

00:12:18.288 --> 00:12:29.004
Another one is coping with your emotions with kindness and without necessarily using food, and so, again, exploring what it is it's driving the eating rather than trying to just cut it off.

00:12:29.004 --> 00:12:30.734
What are you trying to use food to cope with?

00:12:30.734 --> 00:12:36.995
Can we find better coping mechanisms that would actually meet your needs rather than mask them?

00:12:36.995 --> 00:12:38.474
The same principle with alcohol.

00:12:38.474 --> 00:12:40.514
You know why is a person drinking so much alcohol?

00:12:40.514 --> 00:12:45.533
It's not enough to just not drink alcohol anymore, although that might be helpful.

00:12:45.533 --> 00:12:58.806
But really to keep that, to stay on track with that, you need to figure out what are you using it to cope with and then can we find something else that would better help you cope with that need that's not being met.

00:12:58.806 --> 00:13:01.801
And then the last three are interesting here.

00:13:01.801 --> 00:13:02.910
Another one's respect your body.

00:13:02.910 --> 00:13:05.548
Again, that comes back to that self care.

00:13:05.548 --> 00:13:16.575
All of these principles, hopefully, as you're thinking about them a little bit, you're seeing how they all come back to respect for yourself and your body and taking care of it, not beating it into submission necessarily.

00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:29.580
But a couple that are really interesting too is one is movement, and we refer to it as movement in intuitive eating instead of exercise or training.

00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:32.198
For a lot of people Depends on the person.

00:13:32.198 --> 00:13:35.620
I consider I do rock climbing and I think of it as training.

00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:42.322
It's that I have some structured training that I do to increase my performance there, but not everybody needs to do that or wants to do that.

00:13:42.322 --> 00:14:05.542
But yet when we look at your typical fitness advice, everybody's told they've got to go to the gym, they've got to push hard, they've got to do hard things and no days off is another mentality, or you don't skip your workouts, all this kind of thing, but instead, with the intuitive eating framework, would help people to focus on finding joyful forms of movement that they truly enjoy that meet the goals that they have for themselves.

00:14:05.674 --> 00:14:15.178
Not everybody wants to be a high level athlete, not everybody needs to be at the condition of a firefighter, and they can still be healthy.

00:14:15.178 --> 00:14:33.601
If they go for a walk every evening after dinner and play with their kids, and then on the weekends maybe take a bike ride and maybe a couple of times a week they do a light resistance workout at the gym, they are getting 99% of the health benefits that you would get doing CrossFit six days a week.

00:14:33.601 --> 00:14:37.375
You know that kind of a thing and so helping people to recognize you know what.

00:14:37.375 --> 00:14:43.988
You don't have to beat the body into submission if your goal is just to simply be healthy and have a long life.

00:14:43.988 --> 00:14:45.761
My mom's a great example of that.

00:14:45.761 --> 00:14:56.764
She does not exercise, she doesn't enjoy it, but she's active and she is in her mid 70s and literally doesn't take a single pill for any medical condition or anything like that.

00:14:56.764 --> 00:14:58.802
So you don't have to do those extremes.

00:14:58.995 --> 00:15:03.903
And then the last one is maybe saying, throughout all the food rules, eat, hunger and fullness.

00:15:03.903 --> 00:15:05.278
What about nutrition.

00:15:05.278 --> 00:15:06.298
That's where we put in.

00:15:06.298 --> 00:15:14.121
We honor our hunger with what we call gentle nutrition, and so we don't toss out all the rules and just say eat whatever you want.

00:15:14.121 --> 00:15:23.883
We get to a point where we neutralize foods and so they're all on the equal playing field from an emotional perspective and then we start to look at okay, what do I need here?

00:15:24.215 --> 00:15:28.543
Having some digestive issues, what foods bother that or exacerbate that?

00:15:28.543 --> 00:15:30.019
I'm dairy intolerant.

00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:30.501
I'm not.

00:15:30.501 --> 00:15:45.081
I'm saying a person might be dairy intolerant, so obviously cutting back on dairy or restricting it would be a gentle form of nutrition that's going to benefit their body, which is very different than me cutting out dairy because the diet told me I had to do it.

00:15:45.081 --> 00:15:51.465
So we can still think of things from the perspective of nutrition and protein needs.

00:15:51.465 --> 00:15:56.501
So firefighters they are going to need a high amount of protein, higher than the average desk person.

00:15:56.501 --> 00:16:02.898
And the intuitive eating framework he does also help you when you start to apply those principles of gentle nutrition.

00:16:02.898 --> 00:16:06.363
We can look at what the importance of protein is.

00:16:06.363 --> 00:16:13.686
But we can do all of this without this restriction or trying to fit into some rigid dietary program of some kind.

00:16:13.686 --> 00:16:16.403
So hope that's just a real quick overview of it.

00:16:17.956 --> 00:16:27.663
Absolutely, and one of the things that I've heard you mention in multiple different ways is about making peace with food, treating your body, honor your hunger.

00:16:27.663 --> 00:16:41.179
So there seems to be almost a spiritual or mental aspect to how you're approaching food here, and I know there's a couple of guys that are getting ready to hit the switch right now and turn the podcast off.

00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:43.140
Pull your hand back, hang on a second.

00:16:43.140 --> 00:16:44.596
There is.

00:16:44.596 --> 00:17:01.763
This is not some kind of mystic thing, and one of the biggest things for me personally that I've figured out since I started listening to your podcast and following what all intuitive eating is, the fact that I think about why do I wanna eat?

00:17:01.763 --> 00:17:08.240
Like one night I came home and I had dinner before I went out and when I came back, I'm like man, I just wanna eat.

00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:16.042
And then I stopped and it's I'm eating because I'm frustrated, and the situation that I just dealt with was frustrating.

00:17:16.042 --> 00:17:17.385
It's hey, wait a minute.

00:17:17.385 --> 00:17:30.762
And then, when I thought about it, it's now probably I can put that down, and so I'm trying to be more cautious and aware of what I do, and I know a lot of times if you sit around the dinner table, whether it be at the firehouse, the lunch table.

00:17:30.762 --> 00:17:43.039
Even at home, everybody's got their cell phone out, everybody's looking at their tablet, they're watching TV, whatever the case is, and you're not paying attention to your food and just slowing down.

00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:45.065
Huge difference in what it can do.

00:17:45.875 --> 00:17:51.681
But I know that your target audience, I guess, for your program.

00:17:51.681 --> 00:17:56.642
I know there's lots of other intuitive eating coaches around and a lot of other podcasts.

00:17:56.642 --> 00:18:06.506
The thing that really drew me to your program is the fact that you specialize in working with men and men's specific needs situations.

00:18:06.506 --> 00:18:20.460
I think you would and this is just me speaking unprofessionally you would probably find less occurrences in things like bulimia, anorexia, the type of typical eating disorders you think of, particularly with females.

00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:29.000
That's something that we were always taught in health class, which I know that's not 100% true, but it's a whole different set of things that men need to work on.

00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:40.079
How can these principles that we talked about, how can they specifically benefit men, because a large part of our audience and firefighters across the country are males?

00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.403
How can they benefit from this information?

00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:55.589
Yeah, they benefit from it in the same way that women do, which is really interesting because they're estimating that 40% of the people with eating disorders are men Is he saying correct.

00:18:56.432 --> 00:18:56.593
Yeah.

00:18:56.593 --> 00:19:02.790
So when you were telling me that, I was like, yeah, that's what the general population seems to think about eating disorders.

00:19:02.790 --> 00:19:20.535
It's not something that affects men very much and there's a lot of stigma with that because, especially with firefighters listening to it and other maybe first responders who might be listening is that's the same kind of thing that you think of in a locker room of a sports team.

00:19:20.535 --> 00:19:40.355
I play baseball and stuff in high school and you just don't express weaknesses like that, and so the reason that we don't see it in we assume that it's a female thing is that men just don't talk about it but they struggle with it in with bulimia and anorexia.

00:19:40.355 --> 00:19:47.287
The most common eating disorder is actually somebody called binge eating disorder and that's basically.

00:19:47.287 --> 00:19:54.413
It's similar to bulimia in that you engage in these excessive binge eating episodes where you literally feel out of control.

00:19:54.413 --> 00:20:06.295
You eat to the point of painfulness and that kind of a thing, but there's no compensatory behaviors like purging or excessive exercise in response to it, which is some other characteristics of the other ones.

00:20:06.295 --> 00:20:34.195
But binge eating disorder is extremely common and I can probably without hesitation unless there's only two or three people listening to this podcast I can tell you that there are probably people who are either have binge eating disorder or are on the border of what would be clinically diagnosed as binge eating disorder, where you engage in those bingeing episodes, and so it's really fascinating, and so that's why it is something that is definitely for men too.

00:20:35.085 --> 00:20:48.673
One of the unfortunate things is that if you go out there and start to Google around for information on intuitive eating, you're going to find thousands of women's sites talking to women about this stuff.

00:20:48.673 --> 00:20:57.671
There just aren't very many men doing this kind of work and addressing these topics and directing them for men, and it's not that the women are trying to exclude men.

00:20:57.671 --> 00:21:03.393
It's just that they went through some issues and so they are trying to help other women.

00:21:03.393 --> 00:21:07.467
Now it does manifest itself differently in men, like in women.

00:21:07.467 --> 00:21:16.075
A lot of times there is sexual trauma that is in their past in somewhere or another, or some kind of abusive relationships and that kind of thing.

00:21:16.075 --> 00:21:17.250
Of course it happens for men too.

00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:18.827
They just don't talk about it.

00:21:18.827 --> 00:21:25.055
They talk about it even less than women do, but often there's different driving factors.

00:21:25.404 --> 00:21:29.696
There's society's pressure that is on women to look a certain way.

00:21:29.696 --> 00:21:43.070
Of course men experience a lot of that too, so it's maybe not as extreme, but men are also pressured to reach a certain level of muscularity and a certain level of leniency, so not necessarily thin and that kind of thing.

00:21:43.070 --> 00:21:49.875
But there are some standards that society pushes on us and gives us the impression that we should aspire to.

00:21:49.875 --> 00:21:57.563
That you hang out in a fitness group for men for any amount of time and you're going to hear them talk.

00:21:57.563 --> 00:21:58.424
Do you even lift?

00:21:58.424 --> 00:22:01.451
They'll make fun of guys who don't even look like they lift.

00:22:01.531 --> 00:22:10.648
And there's a lot of pressure to work out in a certain way, to train in a certain way, to beat your body into submission in a certain way.

00:22:10.648 --> 00:22:22.457
I just saw one today where it was basically it said, all men squat, some lift heavy and some squat with heavy weight and some squat to pee.

00:22:22.457 --> 00:22:30.990
So it was this insinuation that if you aren't with the heavy weights, that you're basically a girl.

00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:36.455
So there's that kind of thing and those are the kinds of messages that a lot of guys are getting.

00:22:36.455 --> 00:22:39.993
So, coming back to intuitive eating, it really does help.

00:22:39.993 --> 00:22:56.372
It helps free up a lot of guys from that the pressure and realize oh yeah, I struggle with my relationship with food, I feel out of control around food, but I don't want to admit it because then I look undisciplined and I look weak and so they may not talk about it.

00:22:56.372 --> 00:22:59.788
But in reality, behind the scenes, they actually do struggle with it a lot.

00:23:02.287 --> 00:23:10.026
So yeah, and you know when you, if you listen to other people that are in kind of the realm, that we are.

00:23:10.026 --> 00:23:13.354
Roger Sutherland, I know you've been on his podcast several times.

00:23:13.875 --> 00:23:16.984
He's been on ours, he's been on yours.

00:23:16.984 --> 00:23:22.192
When your name popped up the second time when I was listening to his podcast, it was like, okay, I got to reach out to Jeff, we got to talk.

00:23:22.192 --> 00:23:44.952
But one of the things that I have learned is that with firefighters you're talking competition level, athlete fitness and a lot of these guys, because what some of the guys on the truck are doing is, short of running a marathon, like you say, lift in the heavy, and it all happens in a short period of time that is, zero to a hundred and no time at all.

00:23:44.952 --> 00:23:52.030
So a lot of times the weight isn't an issue, it's not the man.

00:23:52.030 --> 00:23:53.094
Do I look slim?

00:23:53.094 --> 00:23:55.531
Do I make this turnout gear look good?

00:23:55.531 --> 00:23:56.910
They're not worried about that.

00:23:56.910 --> 00:23:58.208
Are they functional?

00:23:58.208 --> 00:24:00.230
Can they do what they need to do?

00:24:01.905 --> 00:24:13.570
And intuitive eating plays into that very closely, because a lot of times it's just you got a weird schedule, you got to eat, you've just burned a ton of calories, okay, grab something and we got to go do it again.

00:24:13.570 --> 00:24:18.276
So intuitive eating does work in with the firefighter lifestyle in a lot of ways.

00:24:18.276 --> 00:24:24.576
It will take some modification, but definitely a proven approving, a proven methodology.

00:24:24.576 --> 00:24:36.892
But now one of the other things that you talked about and I've noticed this with your app because I've had a chance to play with this significantly is the fact that journaling is a huge part of what you do.

00:24:36.892 --> 00:24:39.192
In fact, you probably saw me over here writing.

00:24:39.192 --> 00:24:44.352
I've got my journal right here, I'm keeping notes in and questions and things like that.

00:24:44.352 --> 00:24:52.198
But what role does journaling basically play in analyzing how and why we're eating?

00:24:53.709 --> 00:24:57.511
Yeah, that's a great question and it's one tool that some people can use.

00:24:57.511 --> 00:25:07.212
And what's interesting is, I think journaling is one of the best ways to address a lot of these issues, but I personally don't journal much.

00:25:07.212 --> 00:25:09.351
I like to talk things out loud.

00:25:09.351 --> 00:25:17.369
So for me, instead of writing it down, a lot of people find they write it down and it's a way of putting into words what they're feeling or dealing with Me.

00:25:17.369 --> 00:25:21.835
I talk out loud to myself, so in the car I'll often have conversations with myself, and that's the way.

00:25:21.835 --> 00:25:26.355
But ultimately they accomplish the same thing, which is to articulate what you're feeling.

00:25:26.505 --> 00:25:41.161
And if anybody listening has been through any kind of therapy or counseling, even just maybe a little bit, you know how important it is for, when they ask you a question, to reflect on that and then Come up with an honest response to it.

00:25:41.161 --> 00:25:43.907
And that's where the journaling can be really helpful.

00:25:43.907 --> 00:25:53.913
One thing is it's private, so it's just you, and so you don't have to worry about if somebody's going to Read your words and then think something negative of yourself.

00:25:53.913 --> 00:26:08.929
Often it's hard enough just to get ourselves to admit to ourselves that we have an issue that needs to deal with or a weakness or something that was struggling with, and it can be even harder, especially for guys, to talk to another guy about those things too.

00:26:08.929 --> 00:26:30.994
So while, honestly, I think being able to be vulnerable with other men Can be extremely helpful and is super valuable and I wish it was much more the norm that it is journaling is another way that you can do that, where there isn't so much vulnerability and but you can still accomplish the same thing by getting those ideas out there.

00:26:30.994 --> 00:26:40.083
Now, as you write them down, you can always go back and look at them again, whether it's Earlier in the week or last week or last month, and you can look at those things.

00:26:40.083 --> 00:26:40.984
Think about it.

00:26:41.205 --> 00:26:44.920
A lot of guys listening to probably Pretty rigorous about their training.

00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:46.963
It's the same kind of a thing.

00:26:46.963 --> 00:26:55.607
You journal, you log about your training so that you can go back and look at what where were you last week, last month, last year?

00:26:55.607 --> 00:26:56.824
Where are you now?

00:26:56.824 --> 00:27:03.434
How's what you're doing, changing and impacting and growing and moving you toward the goals that you have for yourself?

00:27:03.855 --> 00:27:12.914
The same thing can happen with journaling is that you use that as a tool to record where you are on a given day and then you can go back to it later and do that.

00:27:12.914 --> 00:27:19.068
So there's lots of different benefits to journaling and with intuitive eating, since a lot of it is.

00:27:19.068 --> 00:27:52.834
It's very different than that your typical diet, which is you follow these rules and then you get these results which, interestingly enough, the research shows that about 90, 95 whatever the research varies, but percent of people who, for example, intentionally trying to lose weight, end up regaining it, and about two-thirds of them regain it plus more, and so we know that these strict, rigid Programs to try and stick to a diet or an exercise program often are not very sustainable for most people.

00:27:52.834 --> 00:28:07.487
And and so what's with intuitive eating benefit is much more of that reflection and You're looking for ways that are going to fit in with your lifestyle to help you move toward those goals and, of course, journaling really helps you to stay on target with that.

00:28:08.817 --> 00:28:33.035
And that is so true, and one of the things that we've always talked about on the podcast here is that mental health Among first responders is something has been neglected for so long that we, in a lot of ways, we live in a toxic environment and, like you say, men are afraid to let other men know they're not all right, but that culture is changing and so there's a lot of other issues that are going to come with that.

00:28:33.035 --> 00:28:44.346
And, as you mentioned, journaling is a very private thing, but it's a way to put your ideas down and things like that, and that is a very important tool, whether it be tracking your workouts or even tracking how you're feeling that day.

00:28:44.346 --> 00:28:49.885
But so, with all of this coming up, I guess question is Jeff, why do we have you on here?

00:28:49.885 --> 00:28:53.535
And so I'm not gonna say a lot about it, but you and I've been talking.

00:28:54.297 --> 00:29:07.519
I myself have been on a journey for probably about the last six months, and a lot of it has been focused on improving myself physically, mentally, spiritually Basically on all levels.

00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:26.965
I'm trying to improve, but the one area that I can't seem to get a handle on it myself has been the fitness and getting better physically, and that's why I'm excited to say that we've got an upcoming project that our listeners will be list We'll be having the privilege of hearing.

00:29:26.965 --> 00:29:30.558
Maybe they won't find it a privilege, maybe they'll be horrified, but they're gonna.

00:29:30.558 --> 00:29:41.855
They're gonna see my journey as I go through for the next few weeks to see if I can make my case better, and I'm gonna be utilizing your software and your help, and so I'm looking forward to it.

00:29:41.855 --> 00:29:44.714
So hopefully, hopefully, you'll have some good stuff for us when it's time to start.

00:29:45.921 --> 00:29:47.166
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too.

00:29:47.166 --> 00:29:55.047
I thought when you brought up this idea, I thought, wow, this sounds really cool, because it's the kind of thing that I enjoy doing with other men, helping them in this area.

00:29:55.047 --> 00:30:15.401
But at the same time, I think it's fantastic that you're gonna be sharing this with other men who are listening to your podcast, and I think it's a great way of modeling that vulnerability that hopefully will carry over Into some other people's lives and maybe they'll feel a little more comfortable being just a little bit more vulnerable, because it can make a huge difference.

00:30:15.401 --> 00:30:25.338
I said men struggle with eating disorders, just like women do, and eating disorders are the deadliest of the mental health conditions they're out there with.

00:30:25.338 --> 00:30:29.694
People don't realize too so, and they've gone way up since things like COVID.

00:30:29.955 --> 00:30:47.462
So it's very clear that stressful situations bring on these issues, and so anybody listening to understand it that if you are struggling in this area, it's completely understandable and almost expected Because of the nature of the kind of work that you're doing this.

00:30:47.462 --> 00:30:53.859
You're not in a thing where your stress is not just your kid acting up at school and coming home with a bad report card.

00:30:53.859 --> 00:31:09.443
Your stress is Literally putting your life on the line for other people on a daily basis and potentially Giving your life for someone else's in an effort to save them, and so that's a lot of stress that those of us who don't want part of that can't even fathom.

00:31:09.443 --> 00:31:21.864
But the impact that those kinds of things have on your relationship with food and your eating habits and your relationship with your body you know how you think about your body and her body image Are just yes, it's incredible.

00:31:22.757 --> 00:31:37.528
So we will be hearing a lot more from you in the coming weeks, for sure, jeff, but if people want to get a hold of you, learn about what you're doing, maybe even contact you for coaching or help or apps or village work, how can they get a hold of you?

00:31:37.528 --> 00:31:38.328
Where can they find you?

00:31:39.395 --> 00:31:48.045
Yeah, so most active on Instagram at intuitive dot eating dot men, and I post content on there with various things.

00:31:48.045 --> 00:31:54.267
My podcast is called non diet companion now and then I have an app called non diet companion.

00:31:54.267 --> 00:31:56.575
It's non hyphen diet companion.

00:31:56.575 --> 00:32:06.055
You can find that on Apple or Google and and that provides the the cool journaling prompts and tools to help you Work on your relationship with food.

00:32:06.055 --> 00:32:15.938
Even if you are just a, if you're still sticking to a particular diet, you can still use this to help you think about your relationship with food in some other ways track your workouts, there's kinds of things.

00:32:15.938 --> 00:32:20.861
There's a cool AI feature in there too, but you can learn more at non diet companion.

00:32:20.861 --> 00:32:25.029
Calm, and so those are the easiest ways to get a hold of me.

00:32:25.215 --> 00:32:28.950
Yeah, sure, and we'll have all those notes in our show notes at the end.

00:32:28.950 --> 00:32:35.667
And once again, jeff, thank you for taking time to talk to us and, as we always say, on all clear, light your fire within.

00:32:35.667 --> 00:32:46.425
You have been listening to all clear, all clears presented by the North Carolina firefighter cancer reliance and the first responders peer support network.

00:32:46.425 --> 00:32:50.467
You can find out more about us at all clear podcast, calm.

00:32:50.467 --> 00:32:53.315
Leave us a message or we'd appreciate hearing from you.

00:32:53.315 --> 00:32:56.025
If you like what you hear, tell someone.

00:32:56.025 --> 00:33:00.954
Appearance expressed by guests do not always reflect the opinions of the podcast.

00:33:00.954 --> 00:33:05.179
Intro and outro music provided by Wayne John Bradley.

00:33:05.179 --> 00:33:08.061
And, as always, light your fire within.

00:33:08.061 --> 00:33:08.922
See you soon.

Firefighter's Intuition - Intuative Eating For First Responders with Jeff Ash

Jeff Ash

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

New to All Clear - A Firefighter Wellness Podcast?