Tag Archive for: body worry

How to Free Yourself from Food Fear

If you’re like me, the last few months have been filled with anxiety regarding the uncertainty of the pandemic. It seems like every day the news is reporting something more unnerving than the day before. With everything going on in the world, you are likely experiencing a lot of stress.

You’re not going to be able to control all of the stressors in your life, however you can take charge of some of them. Weight loss companies are aware of how stressed and anxious you are and use this to fuel your insecurities. You may have been hearing more weight loss advertisements on the radio and television lately.

Try not to let these companies take up any headspace, they are just added stress to your life. Instead, think about how wonderful your body has been over the past few months, it has helped you survive a global pandemic. Your body deserves to be celebrated!

Celebrating Your Body through Building Trust

I was thinking about ways you could celebrate your body, and I thought National Macaroni Day would be the perfect time to show your body that you DO trust it. You may not have realized it, but yesterday we celebrated this Macaroni-shaped pasta.

Let’s face it. If you’ve dieted, then more than likely you realize that pasta has been demonized as an “unhealthy” food because it’s a high carbohydrate food. This is unfortunate because you need carbohydrate, it’s the main energy source for your body. And because pasta is delicious!

Macaroni, and other pastas, are chock full of fiber, especially whole-grain varieties. Getting sufficient dietary fiber in your meals throughout the day is an act of self-care!

Fiber keeps your bowel movements regular and helps with satiety. It keeps you fuller for longer, so you aren’t rummaging through the cabinets searching for food throughout the day.

Demonizing Foods

The definition of “demonizing” is to portray as wicked and threatening.

Before I started teaching intuitive eating, it had not occurred to me that there were foods that were being demonized by the diet industry. But as I got knee deep into learning about diet culture and its sneaky ways, I came to find out that there’s a long list of foods that people are afraid to eat.

Yes, afraid! People have a ton of food fear!

“Oh no, I can’t eat _____ (fill in the blank). It’s bad for me.”
“I’m scared to eat _____ (fill in the blank), I will gain weight.”
“I’d love to eat _____ (fill in the blank), but I won’t fit into my pants tomorrow.”

Most of this fear is around weight gain. Yes, sometimes it’s about health. But often even that is under the guise of weight loss.

No one, and I mean no one, no matter what shape or size, should be afraid of food and made to feel that they are wrong or “bad” for eating certain food.

Freedom from Food Fear

One of the ways to get rid of food fear is to learn to build trust around that food. That means that you eat that food, see that nothing “terrible” happened (i.e. you didn’t gain 5 pounds over night), and then eat it again.

I am not talking about binge eating on these foods. Nor am I speaking about “see it, want it, eat it” without any thought given to eat.

That is a BIG misconception about Intuitive Eating. Those who are hesitant to begin this journey think they will “lose control” (their words) around foods. I’ve said this multiple times but it is worth repeating:

Intuitive Eating is NOT about instant gratification!

When you embark on the journey towards giving up dieting to reclaim WholeBody Trust™ through intuitive eating, you are learning to be rid of the food fear and body worry that has plagued you for so many years and decades. It’s a feeling of freedom of not being bound to the chains of dieting! It’s about having pleasure and satisfaction in your meals, without guilt. It’s about learning to tune inward to listen to what your body needs and wants. And to be able to trust it.

For how many more years will you be at war with food and your body? Isn’t it time you gave yourself the gift of peace around food?

Click HERE to schedule a complementary call with me and let’s figure out the best way for you to start this journey.

Navigating Food and Body Challenges During the Pandemic

Trying to maintain a sense of semblance in these uncertain times can be challenging. I know it is for me. During the day, while I’m working remotely with my clients, my mind and thoughts are one hundred percent focused on supporting my clients. But when the evening falls and I wind down after a long day, I start to feel uneasy. The reports coming in with the latest stats on positive COVID-19 cases and unfortunate deaths sends chills up my spine and my heart and mind fill with worry.

I know I’m not alone. My clients have shared with me how challenging it is for them and I’m sure you feel it too. Being home all day has been bringing up food and body issues for many people. The biggest challenges I’m hearing are:

  • Challenge #1: “I’m finding it difficult to eat on a regular schedule.”
  • Challenge #2: “When I feel anxious or the worry gets too much to bear, I numb out with food. Only after, I feel worse.”
  • Challenge #3: “I find myself looking in the mirror all the time and cringe at what my body looks like. My desire to change my body is all I can think of now that I’m home.”

Here are some strategies you can try for each of these challenges:

Challenge #1: Haphazard eating

Solution: Create a flexible schedule of eating

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to take care of your basic needs, and that includes nourishment. Creating a flexible schedule for when you will eat meals and snacks will help you to fuel your body on a consistent basis.

Note that I said flexible. While I am a big proponent of allowing your body’s hunger signals to guide your eating versus eating by the clock, during times of stress your hunger signals might be blunted. Therefore, having a flexible schedule will allow you to be sure you are fueling yourself even if those signals can’t be relied on right now.

Challenge #2: Numbing out with food

Solution: Pause and determine what you really need

Sometimes it seems as if numbing out with food might be a good solution, so you don’t have to deal with the difficult emotions you are feeling. However, once your binge eating is over, you feel guilty, ashamed, and physically uncomfortable in addition to the original emotions that drove you to the food in the first place.

The best gift you can give yourself in this moment is to PAUSE. Before reaching for the food, hit the pause button and give yourself the space to consider what you are really feeling in that moment. It likely isn’t physical hunger, so what are you truly hungry for? Maybe it’s connection, especially in this time of self-isolation. Maybe it’s a needed rest. The worry of the coronavirus can be exhausting you and the fatigue can be driving you to the food.

Pausing and asking yourself what you are really feeling and what you really need will allow you to take the best care of yourself.

Challenge #3: Body worry

Solution: Appreciate your body as it is now and seek support

This might be asking a lot of you, to appreciate your body as it is right now. I realize that. We live in a culture that tells us the only way to have an acceptable body is to have a thin body. And you’ve been doing whatever you could over the years and decades to achieve that cultural expectation. Maybe you achieved it for a short time, but most likely you didn’t stay that size for long.

It’s not your fault either, contrary to what diet culture tells you. We all have a genetic blueprint of where our natural body size lies. Trying to change this is working against nature. The only thing that’s accomplished is creating a poor body image. This negative body image prevents you from living your life.

Is it easy to heal your body image? No!

Is it possible to heal your body image? Yes!

With the right support and guidance, you can heal. You are fully capable of cultivating a positive body image and learning how to handle difficult body image moments.

Join me and a small group of dedicated women who all want to heal their negative body image.

The Body Image Healing Program™ is a 12-week small group coaching program where you will:

  • Move from body hatred to body neutrality
  • Stop body bashing and body comparisons
  • Define your worth outside of your body
  • Learn how to navigate “bad body image moments” with self-compassion and kindness

To learn more and express your commitment – free interest, just click this LINK.

The investment for the program is now 50% off the regular investment to make it easier for you to get the support you need during the pandemic. The program begins April 20, 2020.

We all need support during this difficult time. Allow me to help you. Click HERE to learn more and express your commitment-free interest in The Body Image Healing Program™.