Rick Osborn | Life Coach, Nutrition, Fitness & Graphic Designer

If you want conscious, positive change in your life, it has to begin with you.

Open your mind and imagine a bird prior to flight. A bird cannot fly until it lifts its wings and slices the air, moving them with a downward thrust to propel its body skyward. Yes, there are a series of movements that must be engaged prior to flight, but taking flight never occurs until that bird makes the conscious decision to fly.

How about you? Do you want to fly? Or better yet, do you want to soar – soar beyond your current situation, well above the discomfort and pain of the here and now?

Imagine for a moment you’re that bird. And the ONLY thing that’s keeping you out of the sky is a choice – a decision. Perhaps your problems, whatever they may be, seem as impossible to you as the reality of actually flying. But remember – you’re a bird. God has equipped you to fly, to soar far beyond where you are right now. It starts with the single decision to do so. Until you make that conscious choice, you will never move beyond where you are right now.

Just like a bird that has feathers, wings and a tail to fly like a champ, so God has already enabled you to surpass your current situation. You may not yet know exactly how, but look around at your current resources. God has already provided the solutions. You just have to look for them. If you’re uncertain, ask God for the answers and He will reveal them. If you’re scared, make the decision for change, look upward and trust God to provide the air to lift you. It takes FAITH:

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Forsake all the doubt and the fear. Quit groaning about the hows, the whys and the wherefores. Lift your eyes to Him. Leave the rest and trust Him to give you what you need to get there while you proactively do your part. Having faith in God is like being that bird who fixes its eyes on the sky, DECIDES to fly and does its part (running and flapping of wings) to become airborne. God provides the air and has already ordered the laws of physics to make it happen. It may seem simplistic, but you must do the same thing in life.

Your desire to change may be one of the following:

• Lose weight
• Gain muscle
• Get healthier
• Find financial freedom
• Improve relationships with others
• Improve your marriage
• Career change or get a better job
• Defeat anxiety or depression
• Overcome addiction (alcohol, drugs, sex or pornography)

No matter your situation, if you want to change for the better it still comes down to one decision – and it’s yours.

Remember, you’re like that bird. Flying represents improvement, change and the freedom from your difficulty.

Make the choice to change your situation, trust God to empower you (FAITH) and take flight!

 

 Choose Change, Trust God & Take Flight [4:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Much of what I write about comes from experience relative to my own personal life, as well as to those whom I’ve helped in the past. The topics of anxiety, panic, stress and depression are not ones which I’ve written much about yet, but are ones that I have researched quite thoroughly - for the purposes of self-help as much as for anything. These problems, at their most basic level, can be a “bear” to deal with. I know, because they’ve been a very real part of my life for as long as I can remember.

With that in mind, there are some very key nutritional guidelines that one can implement to help alleviate or at least minimize symptoms of such issues. If you are one who is struggling with anxiety, depression, high stress, panic disorder or even OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), here are some basic dietary recommendations that I believe may help you better cope -

1. Stay away from Splenda (sucralose), Nutrasweet (aspartame), Sweet & Low (saccharine). Also, beware of generic brands of the same. There is a lot of information out there about the dangerous neurological effects and symptoms of these artificial sweeteners. They are known for their ability to either cause or increase anxiety symptoms. I’ve experienced this personally. You can find out more about it by doing a simple search on the internet or you can read more about them in Mercola’s book, Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health. Personally, I used to use a lot of Splenda, but found that it was followed by extreme moments of anxiety, along with it’s related symptoms of dizziness and a spacey or disconnected feeling in my head. If I ingest these chemicals now, I can almost immediately feel the same effects after using them. Keep in mind that many, many foods use these artificial sweeteners, including most chewing gum brands. If you want your head to stay clear and feel normal, stay away from them. This includes ALL DIET SODAS.
2. Avoid MSG (monosodium glutamate) like the plague. MSG is a taste “enhancer” that increases the sensitivity of your taste buds so that foods taste better and thus, are more addicting. Unfortunately, nowadays MSG is in virtually every kind of processed food out there. Even more unfortunate is that much of the time, MSG is hidden in the ingredients label of foods - masked by one of its forty or so “other” names. Again, you can easily find a list of these names by internet search. Don Colbert also has an informative writeup on MSG in his book, The Seven Pillars of Health, which I highly recommend. Monosodium glutamate is known to cause a variety of adverse reactions, some of which are depression and anxiety/panic attacks, as well as a host of other anxiety related symptoms. It’s not an easy task, but avoiding this harmful “FDA approved” chemical has shown to greatly relieve anxiety, panic and depression for many people.
3. Control your caffeine intake. I love coffee, tea and chocolate as much as anybody. But, too much caffeine is not good, at least not with regards to those who are prone to anxiety, depression, panic and high stress. Personally, the first cup of coffee or two enhances my mood, increases my productivity and gives me a general feeling of satiety. Anything more than that and I need someone to “talk me down off the ledge.” Large caffeine doses (200 mg or greater) may produce negative mood effects. If you’re a generally moody person, perhaps you need to watch your caffeine intake. High dietary doses have been known to increase anxiety ratings and induce panic attacks in the general population. Individuals with panic and anxiety disorders are especially sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Although highly anxious individuals tend to be more likely to limit their caffeine use, not all individuals with anxiety problems naturally avoid caffeine, and some may fail to recognize the role that caffeine plays in their anxiety symptoms. Again, keep in mind that sodas also contain a high content of caffeine.
4. Minimize your sugar intake. Like many, I also have a sweet tooth. Eating processed sugars, besides making you fat, plays havoc with your moods due to the wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels. This may be one reason why so many overweight people struggle with anxiety and depression. Their moods rarely stabilize due to constant blood sugar fluctuations. Temporary happiness and a fleeting feeling of satiety come with eating foods high in processed sugars, creating this up-down-up-down syndrome. This can lead to a vicious cycle and an addictive way of eating. As for sugars, stay away from white refined sugar and anything that contains it. If you see the words “high fructose corn syrup” on a label, move on to something else. Furthermore beware of hidden words for sugar on labels, such as dextrose, maltose, glucose, sucrose, etc. These are the food industry’s way of tricking you into believing that there’s not so much sugar in food items. If you have to have sweetener in your coffee or tea, try Stevia. It may not taste as good at first, but you will grow accustomed to it. I actually like it quite a bit now. And I can tell you, I feel much much better when I don’t ingest a lot of processed sugar. If you feel you must eat sugar or sweets, do so at the end of a large meal, so it will more slowly released into your blood stream. This will help keep your mood stable as well as minimize weight gain.
5. Minimize or eliminate alcohol use. I won’t overemphasize this point, but in general, when alcohol is used repeatedly as a stress reducer it can lead to addiction. While alcohol may cause an immediate euphoric feeling and relieve stress for a brief period of time, too much can actually cause stress through the releasing of hormones in the body. Alcohol has also been shown to cause the user to feel depressed and no longer be effective in relieving stress or anxiety. Other negative effects of alcohol on the body include but are not limited to: addiction, physiologic damage to organs and brain, depression and hopelessness. If you’re prone to high stress, anxiety and depression, your best bet is not to use it, but rather find healthier ways to cope.

This list, while not all inclusive, will help those who suffer from anxiety, panic, depression and high stress. If you are someone with a propensity for the above named problems, watching what you eat can greatly help you cope. The truth is - food is medicine. Furthermore, bad food is bad medicine.

If you’re suffering from anxiety, panic, depression and stress - apart from your life circumstances - take a look at your nutrition. While you may not be able to fully rectify your anxious and stressful situation, you can control what you eat.

What you put in your mouth will directly affect your emotions and mood.

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