Wellness Achiever Interview With Dr. Fuller

Meet Ziquin's March 2009 Wellness Achiever:. Dr. Kathleen Fuller

“In modern America, the issues we have around the subject of eating food can be huge and very complex. Yet I enjoy making this topic easier for most people to understand.”


My interest in this subject is drawn from my own perplexing battles of compulsive overeating, binge eating and poor body image, which has trailed me for decades. This led me to a lifetime of researching the emotions, and the mental and physical challenges an individual might have. In my life I have experienced three types of eating disorders.

I was tired of being teasedAs a child – by the 5th grade and at the age of 11 – I had gotten very tired of being isolated and teased by my classmates. So I wanted things to change. I was a compulsive eater, considered obese, and challenged with food allergies that were undiagnosed. This made me gravitate to the worse kind of foods for my body and its immune system.

My mom took me to the pediatrician to seek help, as I was very determined to get thin. I asked the doctor, how do I lose weight? He looked at me, patted me on the shoulder and said “You’ll grow out of it.” Even though his medical specialty focused on children’s health that was the only advice he could give me.

Starving myself
Being willfully strong and committed to my goal, I said I would do it alone. I created my own diet. Based on what I knew, I decided the best way to lose weight was to restrict my diet of all foods. I would starve myself, and then later reward myself with a bowl of ice cream. That was my first experience in behavior modification.

In my teens, I had a passion for art and community service. However, my real dream was to go to the Olympics. I had rigorously developed my equestrian skills and even put in time training my horse, winning multiple championships in three states and Canada. This brought national attention to my doorstep. In the fall of 1965, the most popular magazine for teen-age girls, Seventeen, called and wanted to do an article on me. They had selected me as an outstanding teen girl in America. This created excitement for me and also an opportunity to model for them.
I was determined to be as skinny as Twiggy.

In my first year of college, I was eighteen years old, which was around the time the famous British model Twiggy hit America. She fast became a role model for thousands of young women, and was renowned for her gauntness and as a sensation in advertisements for Yardley make-up. I was determined to be like her—as skinny as Twiggy.

Striving for thinness, I kept restricting and reducing my food intake. This habit went forward for about two years and led to anorexia. It’s not unusual for this condition to lead to another eating disorder called bulimia. Like most people who have such a secretive habit, I wanted to stop and a part of me did consciously want to change. But until my mid 40s I would binge on various foods and then force myself to immediately expel it out of my body. Along with the shameful feelings caused by this, even exercising can become a compulsive part of the deceptive thinking surrounding anorexia and bulimia.

Always researching and looking for solutionsAlways looking for a deeper solution to my own eating disorders, as well as those of others, I did my undergraduate studies at a Methodist University in world religions and elementary education. Later in my forties I received two master degrees in mental health and human services with my doctorate in philosophy. I was fortunate to intern at Glenbeigh Hospital of Tampa, Florida. At that time it was the most innovative 12-step hospital for addictions in the US with a special eating-disorder unit. Looking back over my experiences I can say with faith there were no coincidences but only my Higher Power leading me.

An overwhelming physical melt downEating disorders can lead to a gradual but overwhelming physical melt down. I realized how unhealthy I had become as a result of three decades of residual nutritional deficiencies. By the time I had come to peace with the mental and emotional challenges of my past, my body began to react with some amazing symptoms that I could not ignore. There were constant fatigue, depression, swollen ankles, muscles aches and headaches. I lived with this physical condition for 4 ½ years before being introduced to Ziquin. Signals of intense gastrointestinal pain made my digestive system feel like it had closed down.
One day as I was working and writing my book, one of my co-workers, Coleen Rehm, who is a writer, editor and wellness coach in health, introduced me to Ziquin’s products. That’s when the next step to better health revealed its course. With her support, I went on the Ziquin foundational and advanced program.

Next step to better health - Ziquin products with educational supportZiquin and its educational process have been instrumental in my physical healing process and helping me reach a new level of vitality, mental alertness and relief from inflammation and nutritional deficiencies.
As I took some of the Ziquin products, Coleen’s coaching helped me to check in with my body, something I hadn’t done normally. During one session I realized how much I had been pushing myself (as if I were still competing for the Olympics) and needed to tell myself to slow down.

People really require additional information for their success. For instance, when I was going through a cleansing crisis or clearing process for toxins, though I understood it was part of a healing cycle, I still needed more insights about that condition because the experience could have fooled me into stopping.

I welcome you to read my book Not Your Mother’s Diet
What stands out when I look back at all my experience is that I always trusted the solution would appear in my life. So I asked, stayed connected and listened, from a deep spiritual connection to a higher power.

My book Not Your Mother’s Diet, which is coming out shortly, is a compilation of the insights I gained from my personal and many years of clinical experiences, plus creative tips and tools that have been successful for my patients from over 17 years of clinical practice. Much of the information in my book has never before been published for the benefit of the general public. I welcome you to read my book, ask questions and explore with me. If you want peace of mind, peace with your eating, peace with your body image, plus peace with your relationships, pick up my book by going to htt://www.notyourmothersdiet.com.

I look forward to participating in Ziquin’s educational process and helping others learn new ways to approach dieting and any type of challenges they might have around food.

Nothing to Do? Create a Fun Friends’ Study Group at Home

Want something to do in the evenings when you’re bored or lonely? What if you could gather a group of your friends to your home after dinner once a week to have a fun friends’ study group? No special training required for a fun friend’s study group, only a favorite book of your choosing that is therapist recommended. Be sure you feel safe belonging to a group of this kind. If not, decide to seek professional help. The following are fun friends’ study group suggestions.
1. The Dance of Anger By Harriot Lerner
2. Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
3. Co Dependent No More by Melanie Beatty
4. Emotional Blackmail by Susan Forward, Ph.D.
5. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The fun friends’ study group guidelines that follow can help you set the tone. A main purpose for a group like this is to have fun and share your learning experiences. There doesn’t have to be a leader when you safely set up a reading and sharing group experience. It’s been researched that when women get together as in a group, something chemically changes in their bodies that causes them to feel really good. How about that for fun?

1. Want to learn to speak up and be in control?
2. Want to basically feel good about yourself and not be such a pleaser?
3. Nothing to do after work and dinner?
4. Boyfriend problems or split?
5. Divorced and wanting to share?

What would be these fun friends’ study group guidelines?
1. Have a focus with the choice of book and clarify your goals.
2. Choose members that are stable enough to handle the confrontation and the fun.
3. Pay attention to feelings. Ask, “What are you feeling?”
4. Decide to learn to be flexible
5. Decide to be greedy in your sharing without monopolizing time
6. Level by openly responding when confronted and express your feelings. For example, “I feel frustrated when I hear your comment.”
7. Don’t expect to be understood by the fun friends’ study group. Make it enough for you to be heard.
8. Avoid advising, interpreting, and questioning; instead decide to share your feelings and your own experiences. Tell your personal stories.
9. Let the gossip go (gossip is a form of anger) and maintain a total confidential commitment within the fun friends’ study group.
10. Let go of band-aid help. By rushing in to help or be supportive or comforting someone expressing a painful experience, you disrespect their ability to fully express what they have to say. People grow by living through their pain.
11. Give feedback using “I messages”. If something touches you let them know your reactions whether positive or negative. For example, “I feel so connected to you when I hear your experience.” Be willing to be honest and level, which enhances the level of trust within your fun friends’ study group.
12. Be willing to discover your defenses.

The purpose of fun friends’ study group is to discover your feelings and to identify defenses that prevent honest expression of feelings. While change is a goal, look at the group as a tool to help you to discover yourself at a deeper level. Look at the fun friends’ study group as a place to try out experiential techniques or use new tools that can help you cope and even enjoy your life and your relationships more. Keep the fun friends’ study group light and have fun. 582 words


Must Do Feeling Chart That Can Add to Your Self-Awareness
Use this sheet as a homework assignment to practice being more aware of your feelings. Ask yourself, “What am I feeling? Ask yourself this question at the end of your day and place check mark by the feeling. People often fear their feelings. You need to feel safe in doing this exercise. Don’t attempt it if you feel unsafe. Seek a therapist to work with you. Feelings will become like a partner to be listened to, not feared. If not in therapy share your feelings with a trusted and safe person or friend who will listen, not give advice. Allow feelings to be part of you that can give you signals and clues to lead you to your truth.

Feeling Mon. Tues. Weds. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun.
Angry
Sad
Guilty
Lonely
Bored
Embarrassed
Afraid
Anxious
Disappointed
Hate
Happy
Frustrated
Disgusted
Love
Lust
Compassion
Confident
Jealous/envious
Affectionate
Excited
Confused
Resentful

Award winning Dr. Fuller is a recovered eating disorder survivor and a leading eating disorder expert who can show you how to be free of guilt, self hate and eat normally with pleasure and peace of mind. What if you could have the relationship you want or the body you want? You can. Fuller’s Self Help Book, Not Your Mother's Diet can show you how. Launching soon for 24 hours only -FREE bonus gifts and prizes by signing up for email at http://www.notyourmothersdiet.com