(l to r) Vincent Felitti and Brian Alman
I’ve been helping people discover the root cause of their disease, physically, mentally, and emotionally—many of which are rooted in adverse childhood experiences—ACEs. Something that I’ve seen over and over again is a connection between ACEs and an unhealthy relationship with food that can lead to emotional eating and weight gain.
Although people commonly get frustrated with diets and exercise programs that “don’t work,” the program’s not the actual problem. The thing is, as long as there is unresolved trauma beneath the unhealthy habit (whether that be overeating, doing drugs, or even exercising incessantly), nothing will ever work, especially not in the long run.
For many adults and children, the root cause of weight gain is emotional.
When adverse childhood experiences, trauma, and stress go unresolved, it’s all too common for high-sugar, high-carb foods to provide an escape route to temporary relief. That’s why we call them “comfort foods.” Unfortunately, these foods can take the place of real solutions that provide healthy, sustainable, and true comfort on a deep, emotional level—not just one based on a temporary fix of food.
But food is not the enemy.
In this case, it is simply being used as a tool for something it cannot fix. Not even the most delicious meal can heal our relationship with our ACEs.
Dr. Vincent Felitti, the co-principal Investigator of the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, and I are deeply aware of this. This is why, in March 2020, we teamed up with Liz Dickinson and Shannon Shearn, the co-founders of Relish Life to 
offer a comprehensive weight loss program that integrates the science of ACEs. Relish Life, a new program that offers a root-cause approach to weight loss, combines the best of psychology, behavioral health, holistic wellness, fitness, nutrition, medication, technology and more to help people lose weight from the inside out.
Dr. Felitti is an advisor for Relish Life and I’m the chief behavioral officer. Dr. Al Ray, who worked intimately with the ACE Study for over two decades at Kaiser Permanente, is Relish Life’s chief medical officer. It goes without saying that some big minds and big hearts came together to bring this into the world at a time when we need it most.
Over half of Americans have reported unwanted weight gain due to the pandemic, stress levels are off the charts, and people are becoming more inclined to cope with that stress in unhealthy ways. This, of course, is easier in isolation—and even more challenging with a high ACE score.
Relish Life solves the root neurological and physiological issues that cause struggles with weight and health in the first place. It uses a personalized and comprehensive approach.
The program includes:
- An initial call with a telehealth doctor.
- Unlimited access to a dedicated doctor and monthly check-ins.
- An automatically delivered personalized medication plan
- An initial membership 1:1 orientation and personal strategy session with a health coach
- Unlimited email access and weekly check-ins with a health coach
- Weekly small group counseling and mindfulness sessions
- Daily inspiration, meditations, tips, and tools from Elisa, a friendly chatbot
- Access to a members-only portal with a resource library full of mindfulness, hypnotherapy, fitness, and nutrition programs and education.
- A mobile app for even more access to treatment team and resources (coming soon!)
If you struggle with your weight, we encourage you to look deeper.
See beyond the numbers on the scale and instead turn to your ACE score to find the inner weight—the heavy, unresolved traumas—that could be leading you to cope with emotional overeating or poor eating habits.
To find out if Relish Life might be a good fit for you or someone you love, take our quiz.
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