Once I realized I needed to lose weight, I decided to stick with this plan [decisiveness]. I stayed with it even when I didn't want to [determination, persistence]. I felt good about the helpers I had chosen to assist me: Dr Taylor, a nutritionist, personal trainer, and psychologist [faith and trust in my team]. I was able to look rationally at the problem, study the research, and understand the importance of sticking with this regimen [intelligence]. As I got used to the new diet, I'd make jokes about how I didn't even miss what used to be my favorite foods, like ice cream, bread, potato chips, and beer [sense of humor]. My girlfriend, Jill, who is now my wife, really encouraged me and cheered me on, as did my fellow members of Weight Watchers [relationship and social support]. I also realized that this was a process that was going to take some time and that the changes weren't going to take place overnight [patience, good perspective of time and change]. I also found new and interesting ways to make exercise more enticing, rewarding myself different ways for each week that I stuck with my workout schedule [creativity, giving himself positive reinforcement].
Afterward, Dr. Weisberg recited the list of strengths he found in Jim's story.
“I've known on some level that I've accomplished things before,” Jim replied, “but it's really helpful to list my strengths so directly. I'm going to be even more able to call on great resources to reach my goals this time!”
Set Your Intention
Once you have identified your strengths and resources, it's time to set your intention for healing. Many successful performers, athletes, and businesspeople use visualization and intention setting as part of their success regimen. They know that if they can set their intention and picture it, they can achieve it!
Here's how you do it. Have some paper and pen nearby. Sit in the same comfortable chair where you just got grounded. Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Now, ask yourself: how do I look and feel in the future when I'm healed from my gut distress?
Picture a time in the future when your gut feels better.
Many people never even imagine this because they think it's impossible or they fear disappointment. But it is possible, and you can do it. Picture a time in the future when your gut feels better. What do you look like in this future image? What is your facial expression? How does your body feel when you finally have the relief you desire? What are your emotions? What activities do you see yourself enjoying? What do you notice about your level of energy when you feel this way? Pay very close attention to the details of these images. When you've finished visualizing, write down what you just pictured. You are starting the centering process, the first step in the CORE program for healing. You have already made this outcome more likely by having the courage to picture your successful outcome.
The Centered Kevin
After successfully emerging from the CORE program, Kevin was calmer and happier. He was less exhausted and had more energy. He was more hopeful about himself and his future. The bloating was significantly reduced, and he was able to stay with just one size of pants. He took great pleasure in the activities of daily living. He felt a sense of pride and accomplishment that he had learned how to regain control of his life.
“You know,” said Kevin, “I always used to hate my own guts, but now I can find that when I have a gut sensation, I can listen to it without being afraid. Sometimes my rumbling is simply telling me that I am hungry. Sometimes cramping is a sign that I ate some food that was not good for me. If my bowel movements are a little bit different, I may have been working too many hours. Now I feel more connected and more able to enjoy little things around me. I can sit and listen to music, and I hear enjoyable things in it that I never noticed before. I'm no longer preoccupied with fighting my gut.”
Back to the Center
So what do we mean when we say trusting your gut is the key to becoming centered? Our patients who have successfully gone through the CORE program have learned to respond to their intestinal sensations in such a way that they no longer experience them as threats. The sensations have become friendly sources of information, helpful messages rather than something to fear. These people have broken out of the vicious circle of pain and distress, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. They have learned to trust their gut, and they have changed their attitude, allowing their body/mind system to become more centered. These people are now more aware and observant of many aspects of life. Because they have changed their habits, their intestinal suffering is greatly diminished and often eliminated. You can do the same.
The Five Most Important Supplements to Support Centering
Centering may be unnecessarily difficult if our nutritional status is compromised. To ensure a strong and healthy metabolic core, we recommend supplementing your diet with the following:
1 Vitamin D (also called vitamin D3): This is a crucial hormone that turns on or off more than 2,000 key genes in our body. There are vitamin D receptors on every cell of our body, including throughout the brain and the intestines. Low levels of vitamin D in the blood stream are associated with increased risk of an incredible array of diseases as well as severity of multiple others including nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, muscular weakness, asthma, allergies and autoimmune disease. Get tested and take supplements as need. Aim for a blood level of 40–60 ng/ml.
2 A good multivitamin: For us, a good vitamin is absorbable, gentle, and made of high quality ingredients. Watch out for vitamin E as DL-alpha tocopherol. If you see this DL on the label, think “don't like.” Choose mixed tocopherols (and tocotrienols, if possible) that include alpha, beta, delta, and gamma forms.
3 Fish oil or krill oil: These supplements are rich in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Low levels of omega-3 are associated with gut distress including pain and cramping. A fish or krill oil supplementation blocks excessive inflammation associated with the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids found in most modern diets. Our recommendation is 1,000 milligrams a day of EPA and DHA. Check the label and add these together to understand how many capsules a day to take. Here's a secret: refrigerate to prevent fish burps.
4 Magnesium in absorbable forms (citrate, glycinate, taurate, or malate): Take 400–800 milligrams a day to support over three hundred key chemical reactions in the body. These include reactions relevant to energy, mood, memory, sleep, and general oomph power. Magnesium oxide at a dose of 400 milligrams relieves constipation. This can be taken along with the more absorbable forms of magnesium. Caution: All magnesium forms can cause loose bowel movements. Start with a low dose, approximately 120–200 milligrams a day and slowly increase as tolerated.
5 Probiotics: These will be described in great detail later. Choose a product that provides at least 20 billion CFUs (colony-forming units) and multiple lactobacillus and bifidobacterial species. Take with cool, unchlorinated water at least thirty minutes away from warm food or drink.
PART II
Observe
Awareness, in and of itself, is transformative.
—Ken Wilber, American psychologist and philosopher
Centering prepares you to turn your attention and awareness to your body and your life. This section guides those observations so that you gain a new understanding of yourself, your gut, and your habits. By looking at yourself objectively, you can begin to see the interconnectedness of everything you do and how it affects your health. Observing your
