Healing from Food AddictionAbout Cindy
“Food, healing and self growth have been a huge part of my life and definition of who I am for over 20 years. In college I earned the nickname “granola” because I was a vegetarian and concerned about healthy food. But it was an extremely rough time in my life; I also had a raging food addiction and would secretly binge on the junk food I publicly condemned! I was capable of eating half a gallon of ice cream and a whole box of cookies in one sitting. Full of shame and a chronic fear of weight gain, I would purge by pushing myself in strenuous exercise and skipping meals. There are many types of purging, and I finally realized that my cycle was a classic case of bulimia. That was the beginning of a long healing process. My father also had a food addiction (overweight and addicted to sugar), so it was normal in our household to eat ice cream in front of the television most evenings. And our house was always full of sugary cereals, sodas, potato chips, Little Debbie treats, and other confections ready to pick off the pantry shelf. We ate a typical American diet full of deep fried Southern foods, pork chops, meatloaf and hamburgers. My first job at 13 years old was at ‘Burger Chef’ where of course I was allowed to eat at every break and draw from the endless soda fountain. Stuffing Emotions"My father was also very angry. His unpredictable outbursts of rage taught me to walk on eggshells and stuff my emotions inside. Overeating became my coping mechanism – and sugar was the best way I knew to soothe and comfort myself. I also experimented with drugs and alcohol as a way to numb out and fit in with the teenage social crowd.My break from this pattern came with a high school job at the local Athletic Club. I began to take aerobic classes, swim and associate with people who cared about their fitness and diet. I wrote my senior term paper on Vegetarianism and immediately stopped eating meat. That was the beginning of my pursuit into health and my double identity in college. College brought additional stress and challenges. As an overachiever, I always worked hard and received excellent grades, was involved in many clubs and worked for the school newspaper, yearbook and campus health team. But my fragile self esteem was tied into my personal appearance, so weight gain was very scary for me. Even though I was now teaching aerobics classes in my dorm and involved in the Outdoor Club, the college pounds began to show and my binging and food addiction reached a pinnacle. I felt lost, confused and suicidal. I knew that I needed help and I didn’t know how to get it. Fortunately, I turned to my father – the very role model for my eating disorder. Having had similar experiences himself, he was understanding, and pointed me to the first steps to getting help. He had heard of Overeaters Anonymous, and though it wasn’t something he was willing to do himself, he thought it might help me. Through the 12 step program, seeing a therapist, and my own spiritual awakening, I began the journey toward peace and recovery.
Nature, Adventure and Yoga"I went on to complete my degrees in Anthropology and Journalism and later my Masters in Social Work. I spent three years with the Peace Corps working in a rural village in Africa. Through this I discovered a deep and sincere desire to help other people in their personal struggles for health and happiness. And I learned to unravel the cultural components that contribute to our fear, obsession and food addiction.I found many new ways to feed my soul through adventure, yoga, self nurturing and healthy relationships that are much sweeter than any food! My own spiritual journey was tied to wilderness and nature – I became an instructor for Outward Bound and eventually designed a course to teach other social workers about the use of wilderness as a therapeutic tool. By addressing my emotional healing, many dysfunctional food behaviors simply fell away. Learning to let go and love myself also allowed the extra weight to fall away as well.
Nutritional Healing"The physical abuse my body suffered from years of binging and purging, overuse of antibiotics while living overseas, use of birth control pills and the natural stress of birthing two healthy children, caused my body to become depleted. I was on the verge of becoming ill. My physical addiction to sugar persisted and caused a raging case of systemic Candidiasis (overgrowth of yeast), depleted adrenals, anemia (iron deficiency), B vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalance and an overall toxic system.These health conditions encouraged me to dive deeper into physical healing by learning more about nutrition, using alternative health therapies and working with a Holistic Health Counselor (Jo). I finally cleared my Candidiasis and am no longer addicted to sugar. My body is on a lifelong path of becoming healthier each year and experiencing more and more vitality. Today I am loving and forgiving of myself so I don’t have to hold on to rigid rules. I am naturally drawn to and choose to eat a 100% vegan, sugar-free, wheat-free, chemical-free diet that is 75% raw and probably 95% organic. This came slowly, with lots of small, incremental changes. I have alternated many detox periods with periods of old habits creeping back in. But each phase has brought growth, learning and a new “norm” that is healthier and healthier. Natural Parenting "Over the years, as my confidence and self esteem grew, I also began to let go of unhealthy relationship patterns which included dating men who were emotionally and/or physically “unavailable.” In 1993, while teaching for Outward Bound, I met Thomas, my future husband. We began the journey of a committed and mature partnership and were married in 1995. We completed our graduate degrees together, traveled together and began our family together. Our son, Kailou, was born in 1999 and his sister, Jade, was welcomed to our family in 2002.
I feel so blessed to have learned from my health struggles and food addiction so that I could share natural health and healing with my family and others. My children were each born naturally and joyously with no interventions – Kailou was by my side when Jade came into the world – and to date they have been raised without vaccines or antibiotics. They were breastfed until their own natural weaning time (which was 2 ½ for Jade!) and they eat organic whole foods that keep them healthy and vibrant – without the common ear infections and chronic sickness that plague so many children today! When they do have occasional bugs, we treat them naturally with herbs and other natural remedies. Working from Home"A big part of my commitment to natural parenting has been to be home with my children and provide for our family without working outside of the home. I have worked online and been a freelance writer and consultant. In 2005, struggling to pay the bills and get ahead of our debt, I found a fantastic team of moms to work with called 'Stayin Home and Lovin It!' The work I did with them had everything I wanted for helping others enhance their health and wellness balanced with the independence of working my own schedule. With this team I was able to match my husband’s income, take my family on a 2 month trip to India, and get us on our way out of debt.In 2008 I came across another online business model that made total and complete sense to me. It’s called Site Build It and it is how Jo and I have built this website. I wanted the ability to reach even more people with valuable tools for health and wellness. Once Jo and I partnered up and got started, this website took on a life of its own and we are excited to see the results! I am honored to be a part of your healing journey and I look forward to hearing how we can further help you! This site comes from our hearts and from years of personal and professional experience. It is a blessing to be sharing it with you! Wishing you great success with your Whole Body Detox Diet and your beautiful life!” Blessings and Namasté, Cindy "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Return from Healing from Food Addiction to About Us Return to Home Page
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Cindy Cleary is a Communications Consultant, Writer, Entrepreneur, Wilderness Therapist, Yoga Teacher, Wife and Mother. Her path is dedicated to enhancing lives and creating healthy communities through education, service and creative pursuits.
