"I feel fat"

A comment so familiar to women teens and young girls.

But, fat is not a feeling.

How many times have you said that phrase in the past week? Month? Probably countless.

What did you really mean in those moments, though?

In order to make shifts in the way we interact with our bodies, we need to remember what it feels like to be in our bodies.

Come home to your body.

Today, I want to give you a simple and quick tool. A mindfulness exercise to help you do just that.

I created a checklist for you and/or your daughter use to evaluate her relationship to, and her behaviors around, food and her body.

Diet-culture and the thin-ideal manage to give us permission forget the woman inside the body and shifts the attention to her success or her failure to maintain or achieve an ‘acceptable’ appearance. It shifts movement and exercise from a form of self-care to a necessary evil to make us smaller.

There’s power in getting super clear about how your mindset can shift from a place of hate, to neutrality, to acceptance, to love.

Today, let’s start doing just that.

It felt a bit warmer out (high temps of 38!) on Saturday morning. It didn’t even cross my mind that there would be ice. We turned the corner, down a slight hill, and just like that, my feet were completely out from under me. I slammed down on the pavement. Yup, straight on my ass. Andddd it hurt.

Insularly focusing on weight and appearance does not lead to healthier bodies, it causes significant damage. Damage that isn’t easily undone. Damage that increases obsession with food and body and decreases attention to true health markers. Damage that causes lowered self-esteem, the rising prevalence of eating disorders and only adds energy to weight stigma and discrimination based on size.

You don’t have to suffer in silence. There is nothing wrong with you. Healing is possible.

You want to stop this train before it derails. You know what it’s like to spend years consumed with and tortured by body loathing. You want your daughter to have a positive body and self image. And, you want to stop any chance of disordered eating before it has the chance to start.

We are passionate people. We love hard and we fight hard. We have strong beliefs and we have spent our entire lives before being in relationship doing things our own way. It is only natural to have disagreements once we find ourselves committing to another person. Fights and conflict are not only healthy signs of a relationship, but can help deepen your understanding of your partner, in turn deepening your commitment to them.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey’s Kisses.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a love affair. At times it’s been a secret love affair (#shame!) and other times I’ve openly shared my passion for the chocolate and peanut buttery goodness.

For most of my adult life I didn’t trust myself near a an open bowl of candy, or anything more than one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

A series of articles for single woman looking to become the best versions of themselves as they journey to heal their hearts and find the love they've been searching for.

Food Freedom Series Day 7

Have you tried the exercises we've been talking about for the past week? 

Are you ready to try something new?

Food Freedom Series Day 6

Something new to consider:

It's just food

Today we're talking about how to lose the good vs. bad judgement you have about certain foods.

Here we go!

Food Freedom Series Day 4

"Self love depressed becomes self-loathing"

In today's exercise we're talking body image. Why? Because the way you see your body is the reason why you continue to find yourself in the dieting trap.

Ready? Let's rock and roll!

Food Freedom Series Day 3

How do you talk to yourself in tough moments?

Our brains are wired to point out and perseverate on the negative. It's human nature.

Luckily, you're not here to give into human nature! Let's start rewiring things!

Today we're working to shift and reframe the way you speak to yourself when you have tough moments with food. 

Here we go!

Food Freedom Series Day 2

Today we'll get curious about why you're reaching for food by honing in on how your body feels, and what types of emotions you are experiencing. 

We'll also cover the 5 S's of eating.

Let's get to it!

Welcome to Day 1 of the Food Freedom Series.

Everyday for the next 7 days we're talking how to get mindful and intentional about the way you approach your relationship with food. My goal is to help you kick the dread of weight gain and food restriction over the holidays to the curb. You'll be given tools to slowing down, tune in and give your body what it is asking for.

Can you imagine? No major swings in weight? No logging extra hours on the treadmill to make up for the extra slices of pie? 

It's possible. Are you ready?

Let's dive in!

Take a minute and think of a handful of diet’s that you’ve heard of.

I know. It's not that tough.

Now, think of all of the diets that you’ve been on.

I can account for a few myself; weight watchers, Nutrisystem, Jillian Michaels, IIFYM.

I'm admittedly a recovering chronic dieter. When I was really consumed with dieting, I constantly fell off the wagon, but when I hopped back on, I was all in. At least until the next weekend came around. Check out more of that story here.

What about you? Do you have a history of chronic dieting? Here are some points to consider.