LU 013: Chris Cole – A man makes peace with his body, mind, spirit and food.

Life. Unrestricted.

Download Episode! In this episode of the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I get to talk to Chris Cole from Boulder, Colorado. Chris is a life coach and works with clients in recovery from any number of addictions, mood or behavioral issues. He has been through quite a journey himself. In fact, it was such a rollercoaster ride that he wrote a book about it: It's called "The Body Of Chris – a Memoir of Obsession, Addiction and Madness". Chris is a highly compassionate, positive force that helps people find their truth and their unique healing by offering an experienced perspective, a radical wellness orientation and an encouraging relationship that is crucial to sustainable growth. Listen in and hear Chris’ amazing story: – What factors contributed to him feeling ashamed of his body in childhood – Why early restriction only exacerbated his difficult relationship to food – How being bullied and fat-shamed as a boy made him obsessed with losing weight – How he learned to binge eat and the real danger of the concept of "cheat meals" – How a personal trainer introduced him to diet-pills – Why he didn’t realize the harm of them and quickly got hooked – Why these "speedy" diet-pills turned out to be a gateway drug for him – How his obsession with becoming thinner escalated into a whole range of problems – When and how it became obvious for him and those around him that he was really sick – What kind of harmful behaviors and habits contributed to his manic episode in college – How manic episodes of psychosis typically present themselves and what it felt like for him – How his deep body shame manifested in this peak moment of crisis – Why his book is called "The Body of Chris" – Why he is very passionate when talking about "The tragedy of the BMI" – How he now sees that his alcohol/drug addictions are connected to his history of body shame and disordered eating as well as to his bipolar disorder – Why he felt he had to numb out his sensitive nature – What made him have liposuction at 17 and why that didn’t help him feel better about himself – Why his body shame was the last and biggest hurdle on his road to full recovery – Why he thinks recovery from any sort of destructive behavior is only the first step to dealing with the deeper problem that we tried to numb out from – How vulnerability with his then-future-wife helped him take the necessary steps – Why intuitive eating was so hard for him to learn – How he deals with the messages that our weight-obsessed culture, TV and movies throw at us – How meditation taught him to deal with his thoughts – Why his current profile picture on Facebook represents what recovery looks like to him – What having a body means to him these days and how he appreciates it, flaws and all... ... And so much more! Check out Chris Cole and his coaching over at: www.colecoaching.com Here’s the link to Chris’ wonderful book "The Body Of Chris": https://www.amazon.com/Body-Chris-Obsession-Addiction-Madness/dp/1941758142/ ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/ Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted Please: Do subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refid=stpr