ENCINITAS – Do you suffer frequent cravings for sugary treats, vanilla lattes or potato chips?

Christa Orecchio thinks such cravings may well reflect dissatisfaction with areas of life that have nothing to do with food.

Christa Orecchio, a certified clinical nutritionist and yoga teacher, started Whole Journey Welness in 2005. Orecchio works with 30 clients each month, helping them to lose weight, ease digestive problems and gain energy.

Orecchio, a certified clinical nutritionist and yoga teacher, asks clients to examine personal relationships, spiritual practices, career satisfaction and exercise habits to identify what might be promptingunhealthy food choices. Clients then create individualized plans towork toward better overall health.

Orecchio, 29, earned a degree in international business from the University of North Carolina before taking a job in the graduateSchool of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California San Diego.

On an extended trip to Africa, Asia and Europe in 2002, she attended a holistic nutrition workshop in South Africa and decided toadopt an all-natural food approach, dropping her coffee and sweets habits.

Orecchio became certified as a yoga instructor before making apermanent move to North County. Soon after, the Cardiff resident becamecertified as a holistic health practitioner at the Natural HealingInstitute of Naturopathy in Encinitas and started flying to New YorkCity every month for classes at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

In 2005, she signed her first Whole Journey Wellness client. Audience members from her frequenthealth lectures helped create a client base, and Orecchio now has counseled hundreds of people.

Orecchio works with about 30 clients at a time for twice-monthly individual meetings. Clients pay $150 for an initial, 90-minute consultation, and $300 per month after that. Common goals include losing weight, easing digestive problems, gaining energy and detoxification.

In Orecchio's view, a person's primary “food” comes from happy personal relationships, a feeling of spiritual connection, regular exercise, career satisfaction and lifestyle balance.

“Secondary food is the food that people eat,” Orecchio said.“Invariably, when there's an imbalance in one, there's imbalance with the other.”

Clients typically work with Orecchio for three to six months, addressing up to five goals each month. Bimonthly meetings allowOrecchio to monitor progress, introduce new healthy foods and give assignments.

Early assignments include drinking more water, eating fresh greens and whole grains, and replacing artificial sweeteners withnatural sweeteners. People practice eating at the same time each day and integrating a realistic exercise regimen.

Clients learn “mindful eating,” which means slowing down enoughto enjoy meals without distractions such as reading, surfing the Web or driving.

One client abandoned his beloved fast-food burger habit when he stopped eating them while driving, Orecchio said. When he took time to concentrate on the hamburger's taste, he realized that he disliked it.

“When you eat in front of the computer or in your car, you don't register that you were nourished,” Orecchio said. “People become these pingpong balls, reacting to their cravings and addictions without thinking through them.”

Health plans vary depending upon a person's background and preferences. Raw food or Ayurvedic plans might sound silly to some clients but tempting to others.

“Some people feel more comfortable in traditional, nuts-and-bolts nutrition language,” Orecchio said. “My job is to take all I know about clinical nutrition and dietary theory, pull the pearls of wisdom from different philosophies and find things that will resonate with each individual.”

Finally, people keep food journals to monitor moods and hunger levels when cravings strike. Creamy, sugary treats often appeal to people craving emotional comfort, Orecchio said. Others rely oncaffeine for motivation in the morning or midday, signifying a need for adrenal support. 

“People don't have the opportunity to develop what they think or how to listen to (their) own body,” Orecchio said. “We're so frenetic most of the time that we use things to just keep the engine going – caffeine, sugar, alcohol and fast food.”

Magdalena Barajas of Encinitas went to Orecchio in 2007, looking to lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Long hours working as a high school adviser through the San Diego County Office of Education, paired with too little sleep, was dragging her down, Barajas said.

“I'm a workaholic, and Christa helped me to take more time for myself,” Barajas said. “I think that, more than other aspects, I becamemore in tune with myself and more aware of what I'm eating and the effect that has on my body. I learned to balance that part of my life. I lost weight, detoxed and improved my digestion as and added bonus.”

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