Q&A with Kim Shapira

 

Photo by Laura Isé

 

 

Kim Shapira is the author of the new book This Is What You're Really Hungry For: Six Simple Rules to Transform Your Relationship with Food to Become Your Healthiest Self. Also a dietician and nutritional therapist, she lives in Los Angeles.

 

Q: What inspired you to write This Is What You’re Really Hungry For? 

 

A: I have always felt that there is so much pressure and wasted time and energy on many things in the weight-loss arena.

 

I have always felt it is easier than people think, and based on all of my experience, I know this to be true when there's conviction, when there's intention, people just want to be healthy. And they don't realize how much time and energy is wasted on following what other people are doing.

 

I couldn't wait to get this book into the public to help ease the burden, and to get people on the right path. 

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: Well, to be perfectly honest, it was a long process and there were hundreds of names. But during all the brainstorming this line kept showing up: This is what you're really hungry for, this is what people really want to know.

 

And the answer is how to have peace with the relationship with food so they can have a healthy life and burden by disease and weight stress.

 

Turns out the answer is a lifestyle with the six simple rules which ultimately become a set of values that are non-negotiables in a person's life on a daily basis.

 

Q: Can you talk about how you came up with the six rules that people can follow to have a better relationship with food?

 

A: Our physical bodies are brilliant, uncomplicated, self-healing, self-regulating, and most importantly, efficient. The six simple rules lay out exactly what we need to do to help our body thrive.

 

I'd often say we live inside of our bodies and our bodies give us messages all day long. We need to be more mindful so we can communicate and honor what our body needs when it needs it.

 

It's quite simple. Hunger is just simply a message. It's time to fuel our body which requires outside sources to keep going.

 

The inner workings of our body thrive on blood sugar. Stress, overconsumption, underconsumption, alcohol, and many other things disrupt blood sugar regulation, wreaking havoc on our body's natural system to self-regulate.

 

These six simple rules help your body thrive. They will regulate your blood sugar, they will regulate your hormones, they will regulate your detoxification system, and they will improve your digestion. All of this will decrease your body stress, so it can give up what it isn't needed.

 

The six rules are simple, heavily layered in emotion, and when we remove the emotion and turn to adjust the mentality, it works short-term, long-term, and always.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I can't wait for my readers to see that they are in control. And they have always been in control.

 

I hope my readers find peace in their relationship with food, and their body and ultimately health. I hope my readers begin to find joy in this journey, and are not looking only at the end result; it takes inner power and confidence to keep going, and I believe everybody is capable of this.

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: Right now I'm having a lot of fun promoting the book by doing a lot of podcasts, I'm having so much fun being a guest on different shows I'm even loving being a guest expert in articles. I love meeting everyone and having the experience of witnessing these aha moments for people.

 

I recently launched a webinar on the six simple rules. It's available on my website and it's four and a half hours with a private Facebook group. I've been invited to be a guest expert on a documentary on sustainable health.

 

And I'm loving the direction this is all going because I finally feel like I'm getting my message out there and I'm going to help so many people. 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I answer all my DMs on Instagram and would love to connect with anyone regarding any questions on the six simple rules in any way that I can help. I have weekly groups and I see clients privately on my website at kimshapiramethod.com.

 

I have a few handouts in the shop that are complimentary and will help you stay accountable: the wellness, tracker, and the arc (the accountability report card).

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb