Tag Archive for: goals

3 Ways to Push Past Fear (So it No Longer Holds You Back)

Fear is a paralyzing feeling. It keeps you from trying new experiences, making change and truly living a fulfilling life.

 

Fear is real. Nobody should make you feel “less than” for having fear. On the contrary, if someone really cares about you, they should help you overcome your fear.

 

In my world of working with chronic dieters and emotional eaters, the two big fears I hear almost daily is giving up the food rules and the fear of failing at intuitive eating.

 

No More Food Rules?

Giving up dieting means that you no longer follow external rules of “eat this, not that, in this way, at this time”. Yikes, that’s a scary thought. For decades you’ve been following the rules of what and how to eat by some arbitrary source other than yourself. So the thought of not having this direction is scary.

 

“How will I know what to eat?”

“How will I know when to eat?”

“How will I know how much to eat?”

 

Great questions! You will instinctively know the answer to each of these questions once you learn to listen to your innate body wisdom. This will take time. But it is possible.

 

Fear of Failing

The fear of failing is real. I know it. You’ve been on countless diets and while you may have had some success, as measured only by weight loss, that success was short-lived. Yet, you repeated the cycle over and over again, and each time, you considered yourself a failure.

 

Who wants to experience failure?

 

No one!

 

Well, the beautiful part of intuitive eating is there’s no failure in intuitive eating. You are not on or off anything, so there’s no falling “off track” or “off the wagon”. There are no rules for you to feel like you are “breaking”. What you once thought of as a slip up is truly an opportunity of growth and moving forward.

 

Intuitive eating is a whole new way of looking at your relationship with food. I promise you, if you are willing to do the work, then you will not fail.

 

Food is meant to bring you pleasure, not torture. Don’t let fear hold you back.

 

3 Ways to Push Past the Fear

  1. Take a leap of faith. While the unknown is scary, it can also be exciting. Remind yourself that what you’ve been doing over and over again has not brought you the peace you want. But maybe, just maybe, it is within reach if you just take that leap of faith.

 

  1. Believe in yourself. You have been put on this earth for a purpose. Your food and body worry has taken up so much brain space and time that it is preventing you from living your purpose. Believe that you are capable of change and change will come.

 

  1. Just decide its time. Let this moment be the moment that you decide that its time to stop struggling. You’ve had enough, your done, and you are ready for the next chapter. Making a decision is powerful. Once you do it, the fear lifts up and floats away.

 

 Isn’t it time for you to put your fear behind you?

 

I vote yes. And I’m here to help you!

 

Your Year in Review: Reflect and Renew

Your year in review – handwriting on a napkin with a cup of espresso coffee

Right around this time of year you often see lists coming out all over the internet reviewing everything that has happened in the last 365 days. Whether it’s the best and worst of fashion or a list that chronicles important moments in the news, it’s a nice way to take stock of everything that has happened that has shaped 2018.

 

Something else you usually see around this time of year is people making a long list of resolutions on ways they want to be “healthier”, “improve themselves”, or “be better” in the New Year. While it’s always good to set goals for yourself, I’d prefer to celebrate all the ways that you have already made progress on your “well-being” journey. Starting the year off focusing on where you think you “fell short” is not a recipe for success.

 

So let’s forget resolutions and instead reflect and renew as you look at your personal year in review.

 

5 Reflections

 

Start your “Year in Review”by focusing on these 5 reflections.

 

  1. Your Best Moments: Think back on your intuitive eating journey this past year and focus on the moments that you called out the sneaky diet mentality, honored your hunger, respected your fullness,, made your self-care a priority and gave yourself permission to eat what you loved guilt-free! Celebrate these moments that would have been very different had you been living the life of a dieter.

 

  1. Moments You Would Have Changed: Mistakes happen to all of us. There will always be a time where you might have been able to handle a situation differently. But mistakes are a great way to learn! Don’t be ashamed to put these in your “Year in Review”. Identify the lesson learned and be proud that you consider these lessons a sign of growth.

 

  1. Moments that Surprised You: Maybe it was the first time you ate a bagel and didn’t feel guilty. Maybe it was that week you engaged in movement and found it enjoyable. Whatever things you did that you never thought you could, are moments that should be celebrated!

 

  1. Moments You Feared Food but it Turned Out Alright: Maybe it’s this holiday season right now! Or, perhaps it was last summer when you had a busy social calendar with barbecues and pool parties and lots of food! Whatever occasions caused you to have food worry, it’s important to note how you came through them successfully to remind yourself of what you’ve accomplished.

 

  1. Things You’re Most Proud Of: You might find that you will repeat some of your “best moments” here, but that’s okay! Celebrating the positive moments of a year is a much more productive way to approach a New Year, with a great energy and motivation to continue moving forward.

 

Congratulations on making the commitment to honoring yourself through intuitive eating. Here’s to making small steps that lead to huge accomplishments.

 

Please share your Year in Review with me in the comments below. I’d love to hear how your 2018 went, and what you have planned for 2019!

 

 

Your Emotional Health, Self-Talk and Weight Loss

quote-92I have many clients that come to me with the frustration of not meeting their weight loss goals.  They come to me wondering what they can do to reach their “goals”.  I usually sit down with them and go over what they are eating and if they are exercising; the typical conversation I have when a client comes to me for weight loss.

 

But their eating pattern isn’t the only thing we discuss.

 

My clients and I may also discuss how they feel about themselves after not reaching their “goals”.  Where is their mindset at?  How are they feeling on their journey to a healthier lifestyle?

 

Often they might see not reaching their weight loss goal as a failure and a reflection of who they are as a person.  They may then develop a negative internal monologue with themselves that tends to only perpetuate weight gain or the inability to lose weight.

 

Does this resonate with you?

 

Bullying yourself is not the way to long lasting weight loss, nor is it part of a healthy lifestyle.

 

Many times the roadblocks in the journey to weight loss are not a lack of nutrition education or even support, but rather they are barriers you put up in your own psyche that prevents you from moving forward.

 

Your emotional health is key to your physical health, and talking yourself down will not lead to success.

 

How many times have you eaten what you consider “poorly” or not in keeping with your “diet plan” throughout the first half of the day, and your inner voice starts bullying you saying, “You can’t even make it a few hours without eating unhealthy” or “Can’t you stick to anything?  You’re such a failure!  You’ll never lose weight!”  The disappoint that accompanies these thoughts almost always leads to more unhealthy choices throughout the rest of the day.

 

Instead of criticizing yourself, be your own cheerleader.

 

The day is not ruined if you chose to eat a bagel for breakfast instead of oatmeal.  Tell yourself it is OK and move on.

 

There are so many more things to the day than what you eat.

 

Food should only be a part of your life, not what controls it.

 

The more you can shift your mind from the negative to focusing on all the great things about what you do in a day, the more success you will have with living a healthy lifestyle.

 

Support from others is great and is a key piece in a healthy mindset (and intuitive eating), but the support you give yourself is equally if not more important.  After all, you are on this journey for you and nobody else, and while weight loss is great, achieving happiness and a sense of peace with the way you maintain a healthy lifestyle is even better.

 

Intuitive eating can help you change your mindset and help you overcome body bashing.  You will develop a better relationship with food and no longer have feelings of remorse or anger if you go off your “diet plan”.

 

If you would like to learn more about intuitive eating and how it can help you, contact me here.