Food as healing | Aliki Panopoulou | TedxAcademy

Nutritionist-diet advisor, Aliki Panopoulou, deals with weight disorders through a psychological point of view. She describes the link between obesity and emotions, and she stresses that obesity is a psychosomatic disease. She criticizes the traditional model of diets and weight loss methods, and she contests the low-calorie diets. How should bulimia be faced? Which is the role of a suitable diet in dealing with modern diseases? How does the food industry dictate certain models ? What should a contemporary person do to face weight disorders? Watch a talk that presents a modern approach to the problem of obesity.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Good evening.

My name is Aliki Panopoulou,

and today I will talk to you
about weight loss.

I wish I could use three sentences

so that you understand everything,

to have said it all.

But this is impossible,

just as it is impossible to lose weight

without regaining it back.

I am in need of my extra weight -
that is the reason I gain weight.

I am lucky that I gain weight.

If I didn't gain weight, I could get
seriously sick or I could suffocate.

My weight is an essential,
necessary protection.

That is the reason why,
even if I lose weight,

I want to protect myself again,
and I regain weight.

All this sounds too weird,

paranoid, irrational.

It's irrational.

Weight loss is not a rational treatment,

it is strictly emotional.

Obesity is a psychosomatic disease,

meaning that an obese person,

a person who has weight disorder,

cannot recognise
what they really feel, their emotions.

And it's not their fault.

They cannot express
and verbalise their feelings,

so they express themselves
through physical symptoms.

I have been active professionally

in the weight loss industry for 30 years

and, sadly, I see the same story
happening over and over again.

The truth is that during
the first 10 years of my career,

it was exactly the same story.

What is this story
that I will narrate shortly?

Because it's a short one.

Weight loss usually lasts
for three months.

If someone wants to lose weight,
they visit a nutritionist,

and they ask to lose weight
in a short period of time.

The nutritionist takes body measurements,

advises them about the standard levels
of the body mass index,

suggests that they have
to start working out

because diet together with workout
have great results,

advises that they are not
supposed to eat after 8 pm,

that they are not supposed
to eat sugar and saturated fat,

they have to have at least
three to five meals a day.

They're given a list
of healthy and unhealthy foods,

what the effects are of vitamin A,
vitamin B complex, vitamin D,

and they're recommended a diet,
usually in the following form.

I will outline it for you.

Morning: 30 grams of cornflakes,
a cup of milk and a piece of fruit,

or toast consisting of
two slices of toasted bread,

30 grams each,
and 30 grams of turkey ham,

30 grams of low-fat cheese
and a glass of orange juice.

10 am: a low-fat yoghurt or a cereal bar.

Noon: 90 grams or 120 grams of fish,

or chicken without the skin,

and two cups of vegetables
with two teaspoons of olive oil.

Afternoon: 4–6 medium-sized strawberries,

a peach of this size,

of this diameter and thickness.

Evening: 60 grams of low-fat white cheese
or two spoons of cottage cheese

with two rye Melba toasts
or 30 grams of rye bread

and two cups of vegetables
with two teaspoons of olive oil.

So, the obese person takes the diet,

the list with all the information
about the vitamins,

the healthy and unhealthy foods,

and they go home, determined
to receive their punishment.

They try, struggle, count the grams,

they're not supposed to be hungry,
they're not supposed to crave,

they must count calories,
must not eat after 8 pm,

and then comes that very moment
when they behave like a maniac

with that uncontrollable urge
to send the cauliflower to hell,

along with the broccoli,
the green vegetables,

the working out, and the diet,

and they eat Nutella with a spoon...

(Laughter)

...and then pizza...

(Applause)

...and then...

(Applause)

...bread and cheese.

And the pralines,

and then olives,

and then?

Then, they go back
to the nutritionist, terrified,

full of guilt and qualms

and self-accusation.

"I am incapable, once again
I failed, I did nothing,

I don't show self-discipline,
will and restraint."

And then?

Then, detox.

Just three yoghurts for the whole day.

Or only fruit juices.

Or even less food, 80 grams,
because it's all a balance of calories.

And then?

Then, a life full of diets.

I lose weight, I regain it.

bulimia, diet, weight loss,
weight gain, bulimia, disappointment.

This was exactly what was happening
in my office for the first 10–12 years.

The scene was more or less like this:
on the one side the obese person,

a maniac on food, polyphagia and diets.

On the other side was me,
and I had also become a maniac.

I was obsessively searching for the reason
why people don't lose weight

and don't keep their weight stable.

I could perceive why they gained weight.

On the one hand, the obese person
had low self-esteem on their competency

to keep their weight stable,
and the diet, since they messed it up.

On the other hand, there was me,

and I also had professional
low self-esteem,

since I always felt inefficient.

No matter what we were doing,
no matter the diet I was giving them,

we always reached the very same result.

It was like beating the air.

Finally, watching this situation,

I decided that since we were
always facing a barrier,

and this barrier was called bulimia -

which made them gain weight,
mess up with their diet,

and emphasise their difficulty
to stick to their diet -

that I'd focus on bulimia.

Luckily, I was passionate about this job,

and I had many books to study from.

There was a lot of knowledge to acquire.

So, I dared to reverse the rules.

I reversed everything.

I worked with completely opposite rules.

The first reversal I made
was to allow bulimia.

I didn't just allow and legalise it,

but I even encouraged them

to continue their bulimia
during the weight-loss period.

They were saying, "I must not eat."

I was responding, "Eat."

(Laughter)

I understood that bulimia
was the only truth

which could help a person
who had a weight disorder.

It was their first emotion.

And here is why:

When a baby is born,
it comes into the world frightened;

it is afraid, it cries.

It is hungry, and it cries,

and its mother cradles it

to feed it.

And then, the milk flows.

At that point, the first connection
between food and emotion is created.

Because the baby doesn't take merely milk.

At that point, the mother's love,
affection and tenderness also flow,

as well as security
and eye-to-eye contact.

So, the baby is full, calm,
satisfied, relaxed,

and falls asleep in that ultimate embrace.

It's a time of ultimate bliss.

While we are growing up, that connection
with food and emotion continues.

Birthday: birthday cakes.

Celebrations, promotions,
entering university.

Feasts on fine dining tables,
delicious food, drinks and sweets.

On TV, chocolate is advertised
in connection with love or heartbreak.

Even after death, after the funeral,
there is a dinner.

So, such a link between food
and our emotions

exists throughout our lives.

During our adulthood,

for a person who has a weight disorder,

when they face stressful factors,

high-pressure situations,

the emotions which are created,

and since they’re not in a position
to recognise them

by reflex, subconsciously,

what is their memory?

The result is polyphagia.

What is polyphagia?

In simple terms, it is a vehicle
that someone may ride,

and it takes them back,

retraces them to that very period
of ultimate bliss.

It is no coincidence
that after a big meal,

we become lethargic.

Therefore, I forbade ceasing bulimia

since it was the only anaesthetic,
opiate, relaxer

that a person with weight disorder has.

The second reversal I did

was I forbade food deprivation,

both in terms of quantity -

I work with portions,
restaurant portions, supposedly -

and flavours.

Why?

Food plays a dual role.

On the one hand, it gives you
nutrition, energy and health,

therefore, you live because of food.

On the other hand,

it gives you appealing flavours.

It's normal when you are hungry,
when you feel your stomach empty,

to think of something to eat
that you will enjoy.

It's normal to desire
French fries or chocolate.

It's not normal
not to desire French fries.

So, people must not starve.

They eat portions

because it is a fact

that it is not normal to follow a diet,
specifically, a low-calorie diet.

So when someone succeeds,
they are more like a hero.

We should not presume
that it's normal to be on a diet,

and when you fail,
you are incapable and inadequate.

The third reversal I made

is that I realised that weight loss
has more than the two stages -

weight loss and maintenance.

Usually, nobody actually gets
to the maintenance stage -

they quit earlier.

Weight loss has four stages.

There are four consecutive stages,

and a person with weight disorder
needs a lot of help

to take as much time as they need
in each of the stages.

During the first stage,

they observe, watch, perceive and feel.

They experience their bulimia.
They face and confront it.

During the second stage,
having already understood

that eating is not a crime,

they are able to form an opinion.

They have set their new boundaries
and explored new borders.

At the second stage, you'll usually see
that they don't follow their diet,

or they skip a meal
or are late for an appointment.

When a person reaches the third stage,

at this point they are able
to focus on the organic part.

At this point, they want to learn
about the benefits of vitamins

because at this stage they can act.

They lose weight at this stage

In order to pass to the fourth stage,

they continue wanting
to take care of the self

they have discovered,

by setting a different frame
to their own image.

An obese person seeks the image
that they have to acquire.

They either hide the image
that they have behind their volume,

or with their volume
they highlight another image.

No one should starve,
especially not an obese person.

They shouldn't suffer,

shouldn't torture themselves
while following a diet.

An obese person
shouldn't have prohibitions,

sermons, instigations, promptings.

You simply have to join hands with them

to make it possible for them
to join hands with their own self

which is hidden behind their volume.

We live in an era when it is not enough

to focus merely on whether
you lose or gain weight.

My priority nowadays

is for people to remain
detoxified and alkalised,

to preserve their health.

Besides, obesity is a form of oxidation,

which means that when someone
changes the PH of their body

and turns it to alkaline,
they lose weight easily.

There are four diseases of our era:

cancer, depression, leaky gut
syndrome and metabolic syndrome.

Food plays a crucial role
in all these diseases,

either to prevent the disease

or to regain health
by following a healthy diet.

I personally suggest
the Mediterranean diet

in combination with a macrobiotic diet.

The macrobiotic diet taught me
the use of cereals,

and indeed, I was lucky
to learn of their importance

since they're very precious foods.

Cereals, these complex carbohydrates,

such as brown rice, quinoa,
millet, oat, spelt

are very precious foods since,
first of all, they provide us with fibres

which are necessary for the proper
functioning of the intestine,

which is the basic organ
of our immune system.

They provide us
with nutrients and antioxidants,

which are a body armour against cancer.

But the most important
assistance they provide

to a person who is on a weight loss diet,

since they are complex carbohydrates,
is that they are slow-burning.

They control insulin, in other words,
the level of glucose in blood,

and so reduce hunger.

And when hunger is reduced,
a person can focus more

on the psychological part
of the weight loss.

We are living in a time of crisis

in which people experience pressure,
both economic and psychological,

and are full of agony and fear
about the future.

So, in this era,

people have the obligation

to find a way to take care
of their psychological and physical health

in order to remain healthy
and deal with the crisis.

In the future, I believe
that human beings need -

because now, in this era,

the tendency is to return
to a more natural diet -

to find more natural means

to deal with their health better,
to maintain their health.

In the future, human beings
need to be educated at school

about how to remain
detoxified and healthy,

to feel hunger, to have the insight
and the knowledge

to choose food that provides
both joy and nourishment,

and not to depend on nutritionists

and the industry of processed foods

to dictate to them what to eat,

and often to dictate
the image of themselves.

Nobody achieves their dream
of weighing 50-52 kg

by consuming low-fat products.

People must eat food that is "alive."

If you soak barley or lentils,
they will give you sprouts.

If you soak corn flakes,
I don't know what they will give you.

Finally, I believe that
the basic food for people is love.

And if a person seeks it through food,

either by eating in small portions

or by filling their body
and getting fatter,

I wonder, is this bad

or just complicated?

Thank you.

(Applause)