love your body Archives - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

Here’s What to Do to Lose Weight Forever

Anyone who works with me knows that self-care is a major part of my work. Between taking an extra few minutes for yourself each day, fueling your body with nourishing foods, and knowing when to ask others for support, there are many ways you can put your self-care in the forefront of your life.

The process of improving your self-care may be slow starting and its okay to take baby steps to help yourself.

You may have started by giving yourself a few minutes to de-stress each day and eventually moved to learning how to prioritize your activities so you are doing what you enjoy most.

I have seen a lot of great turnarounds over the last year; people like yourself who have taken their self-care from the back burner to the front and center of their life. Making this shift is a major step on your intuitive eating journey.

Yet, what I am finding is that many of you are stopping there.

You are not taking the process to the next level.

You are seeking out free resources to help you become an intuitive eater, yet you are still spinning your wheels.

You are taking 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward.

Sure, if you continue at this pace, you may eventually get to where you want to be (an intuitive eater) but why wait that long?

You can accelerate the process by partnering with the right person who will guide you using an organized proven system.

I am that person for you. And I have the system for you.

It’s the Freedom to Eat Forever™ Program, a 5 step intuitive eating process that will enable you to enjoy guilt-free eating and a life free of dieting.

But you know what? You have to step up to the plate and invest in yourself and your future. It’s when you invest in yourself that you see the results. I did it, and so can you.

Check out this cool video. Then email me or Facebook message me if you want to see if it’s your time for Freedom to Eat Forever™.

Hurry. Class starts February 22, 2017. I don’t want you to be left out. Take your intuitive eating to the next level.

How to Treat Yourself without Food

You’ve had a long day. Heck, it’s been a long week. You need a treat. You head to the _______ and get yourself some ______________.

How would you fill in these blanks?

When I pose this question to the women who reach out to me for help with their weight, they fill in the blanks with the words ‘kitchen” and ‘ice cream’. Or, ‘store’ and ‘chocolate’. Or ‘freezer’ and ‘cake’.

Sound familiar?

The first thought that most likely pops into your mind when you are looking for a treat is food! Why is that? Why do you associate a treat with food?

An emotional connection with food is created from the moment we are born and placed on our mom’s chest to bond. And then, as you get older and need comfort, you are given some milk and cookies. Of, if you fall down and hurt yourself, you are consoled with a lollypop. There are numerous examples of how the emotional connection to food continues to be reinforced around you.

But how has this served you now into adulthood? Not very well I’m guessing. It has led to your struggle with emotional eating and your never-ending ride on the yo-yo diet roller coaster.

It’s time to treat yourself with something other than food. It’s time to treat yourself like a queen and to take good care of yourself so you don’t need to find comfort in food.

Let me share a story with you.

The last few months have been very busy and well, quite stressful. So yesterday I decided to treat myself like a queen. One of my dreams has always been to have a personal shopper come into my home and go through my clothes closet with me. Toss what is no good, keep what is, and create new outfits with what I have. Then head to the store with my personal shopper in tow and buy some new clothes.

Well, I didn’t exactly get that full dream….no, a personal shopper did not come to my house. But I did make an appointment with a personal shopper at Lord and Taylor and meet with her yesterday. This is a complementary service for shoppers…I never knew that! She set me up in her exclusive office fitting room and brought me clothes to try on based on what I told her I was looking for.

Wow, what an experience. I felt like a celebrity. This was the best experience ever! I bought some really great new clothes and felt really amazing.

I treated myself like a queen. I felt the stress lift off my shoulders, just like that. Doing something for yourself really feels good! You don’t need food to comfort or console yourself. Taking care of your needs on all levels and nurturing yourself will help you cope with your feelings without turning to food.

Try it…and let me know how it works out for you. If you want to talk, just contact me here!

Getting Rid of “I Can’t” with Intuitive Eating

I have had many clients who are stuck in a negative, diet mentality. They often come to me with lists of things they can’t do and never mention anything they can do.

I can’t stop dieting.

I can’t lose weight.

I can’t change my eating habits.

I can’t listen to my body.

I can’t exercise.

When a client comes to me with this mindset, I like to tell them a story about my son’s third grade teacher.

For homework one night, my son had to write a list of all the things he can’t do. Naturally, I thought this assignment made no sense. Why would his teacher want him to do this? Shouldn’t he make a list of all the things he can do? Nonetheless, we still worked on his homework and came up with a list of things he can’t do.

When he came home from school the next day, I asked him what his teacher did with his list of “I can’ts”. He said his teacher had them march out to the playground, dig a hole and bury their “I can’ts”.

I was astonished. This is brilliant.

Why didn’t I ever think of this idea for my clients?

Well, now I do use this concept for my clients, and you!

This activity falls right into the practice of eating intuitively. While you are on your intuitive eating journey, you are working on reframing your mindset. You are changing the way you think about your body, food and the way you eat. This activity is a great way to help you solidify why you want to change your mindset.

You can get rid of your “I can’ts” by reframing your mindset.

Change your “I can’ts” to “I am”, “I can”, and “I will”. Look at them as challenges that you will overcome, which will lead to success.

Here is an example: You can reframe “I can’t exercise” to “It’s a challenge for me to exercise, but perhaps I can start with a 5 minute walk each day”. By changing exercise to a challenge instead of an “I can’t”, you are recognizing the fact that you can overcome this challenge.

Simply reframing your mindset will help you get “I can’t” out of your vocabulary and you will feel great doing it!!

If you want to learn more about how you can reframe your mindset, you can contact me here. I am here to help you.

Taking Your Kids on Your Intuitive Eating Journey

It is a lot easier to reach your goals when you are working with someone else, right?

You can share your intuitive eating journey with someone who looks up to you the most, your child. Your child can be that someone!

As a parent you are a role model for your child. Even if you aren’t aware of it, you can influence your child’s thoughts and behaviors. So whether you already have kids or are planning to have them in the future, it’s a great idea to model your intuitive eating journey to help instill a healthy relationship with food and feelings of self-worth.

You are born an intuitive eater, so chances are your child can help you on your journey as well.

Young children…

Have the ability to listen to their hunger and fullness cues.

Will not starve themselves or overeat.

Eat slowly, waiting between each bite until they reach for their next forkful.

As children age and see family members or the media describe food as “bad”, they may start to move away from eating intuitively. Their relationship with food and their body may start to change. If you take them on your intuitive eating journey with you, you may be able to help them continue on as an intuitive eater.

Here are 3 ways to help your kids stay intuitive:

Banish the “clean your plate before dessert” threat. Like I said before, children are very in tune with their hunger and fullness cues. If you want them to clean their plate, they will most likely overeat. If this is a chronic problem with your child, try giving them smaller portions. If they are still hungry, they will ask for more.

Focus on a healthy relationship with food. While on your intuitive eating journey, you learn about the importance of moderation and listening to your body. If your child sees that you are not afraid to eat certain foods and you stop when you are satisfied rather than stuffed, they will model that behavior. You will show them there is no such thing as “bad food” or “good food” and they will develop a healthy relationship with food.

Show the importance of loving your body. As you’re sitting with your child, talk about what you love about your body, whether it’s physical (“my eyes”), or something your body does for you (“my eyes help me see your beautiful smile”). By doing this, your child will gain a positive body image and show her own body love.

I know showing self-love can be hard to do, especially if you are struggling with it yourself. So here is an activity you and your child can do together before bedtime:

Ask your child to tell you what they love about you, or their favorite characteristic about you. Then you tell your child what you love about them, or your favorite characteristic about them.

Your intuitive eating journey can become a way to bond with your child. The two of you can work on your journey together, making it a family affair.

So remember, don’t go on this journey alone! Include your child and teach them about your journey. You never know, they might teach you a few things too.

If you would like more guidance on how to teach mindful eating to your kids, come join my free training Mindful Eating for Families: A Parent Class with Megrette Fletcher, RD. Sign up for notification on when the next class is available here.

How to Love Your Body Just As It Is

If you’ve been searching for the perfect diet to get the body you’ve always dreamed of, chances are you are still searching.

The truth is, chronic dieting and yo-yo dieting will not give you a body you love.

Diets are not maintainable.

Dieting to drop the last 10, 20 or 50 pounds can only backfire. It is only a short-term solution to a problem that needs a long-term solution. Chances are, when you reach your “ideal weight” (What is considered ideal anyway? A topic for another blog), you won’t be able to stay there for long. The reason for your need to overeat or feed your emotions will still be there.

You may be asking yourself, “If diets won’t get me the body I love, what will?”

Here’s the solution: learning to love your body right now.

The way to start loving your body is to step away from diets. If all you’ve ever known is dieting, this might seem a little scary. But, when you stop dieting, you become more in tune with your body’s internal hunger cues. You are able to listen to your body and feed it when and what it wants.

Here are 3 steps you can take now to start loving your body:

Respect your body. Respecting your body does not mean accepting your body how it is now and thinking you have to stay this way the rest of your life. It means accepting your here and now body. When you respect your body, treat it with dignity and provide your body with what it needs, then you’ll make room for loving every aspect of your body and what it does for you.

Trust your body. Start listening to your body’s inner hunger cues and feed them. Your body has the ability to tell you when it’s hungry, when it’s full and what it wants to eat. When you listen to what your body wants, you’ll start to change your relationship with your body and see it differently.

Stand in front of the mirror and tell your body what you love about it, whether it’s a physical trait or something your body has done for Use this as a way to show your body the same support that it has given you over the years- I love my ears, eyelashes, smile, butt or stomach.

I love how strong my arms are.

I love the freckles across my cheeks.

I love my legs because they take me where I need to go.

I love my hips because they help me carry my child.

When you love and respect your body, something wonderful happens. You no longer obsess over it and see weight release happen without all the worry. Having the ability to do this will help you succeed on your intuitive eating journey and you might be surprised to learn what your body is capable of when you show it love!

If you’re looking for more tools and techniques to learn how to love your body, come join my Love Yourself, Love Your Body free giveaway event happening now until September 30^th. I have complied 25+ experts who are giving away programs and gifts to help you make peace with food, enjoy guilt-free eating, a life free of dieting and a body you love. Grab your free gifts here.

If you’d like help on learning to love your body again, contact me here. I can help you.

How to Prevent Rebound Eating

How many times have you done this: You want to look good for an event on the weekend so you spend the next week or 2 restricting your food and calories thinking you’ll shed 10 pounds by the weekend? And when that event is over you make up for lost time by indulging in all the foods that you were deprived of on that “diet” you were on? This is called rebound or binge eating. It is a vicious cycle that can lead to disordered eating patterns.

Depriving your body of the foods it wants over time can really take a toll on your body and mind. It can lead to cravings so bad that when you do finally allow yourself to eat what you want you could spiral out of control and end up bingeing on it. Then to compensate you might go back to restricting or trying to “work it off” at the gym which will only continue the cycle.

By incorporating intuitive eating into your life, you can break this cycle. Eat the foods you want when you want. But be mindful. If you want chocolate cake, have some cake. Don’t have the whole cake but have enough until you are satisfied. Eating a slice of cake won’t set you back on your weight or health goals, but depriving yourself until that cake is all you can think of just might.

Before deciding what to eat ask yourself these questions:

What do I really want?

You tell yourself you should get the salad when you’re out to dinner because it’s a healthy option, but you really want your favorite pasta dish. What should you do? You could get the salad and not be satisfied while watching your family enjoy their pasta. Or you can honor your preference and order the pasta. Consider asking for an appetizer portion or have the waiter bring half the portion and pack the other half to go. This way you can enjoy the pasta without the worry of overeating from the extra large portions restaurants usually give you.

Am I choosing the food because it’s what I should eat?

Who’s to say what you should or should not eat? Only you are the owner of your body and your food choices! Don’t fall prey to the “good food” “bad food” list diets give you. Own your choices!

Am I emotionally eating or am I really hungry?

If you’re craving a certain comfort food but you’re not actually hungry, this could be because you are feeding your emotions. Try to make yourself feel better by getting to the root of your emotions and find ways to fix them without food. Read more about this here.

Eating shouldn’t be an all or nothing sort of thing. If you give into your cravings once in a while you are not a failure. Extremes are easy, but finding balance within yourself and your eating is the hard part.

I know this isn’t easy. If you need help feel free to reach out to me here.

I Have Nothing to Wear!

You are standing in front of your closet and have no idea what to put on to wear today. You think “nothing will look good on me”. You reluctantly take out a pair of pants and a shirt and put it on. You look in the mirror and immediately rip these clothes right off your body. “Ugh”, you think. “Looks terrible”. Out comes the next outfit, then the next, and the next. Until you finally give up and leave the house with the first outfit you put on.

Would you like to change this scenario? Would you like to rewrite it as follows…

“What should I wear today? Oh, this outfit is nice and I haven’t worn it in a while”. You take it out of the closet, put it on, twirl around and head out the door.

Done.

You just saved yourself at least 30 minutes in the morning (if not more!)

So the big question here is how can you turn around YOUR morning routine and be happy with whatever you put on?

First you have to accept your body for where it is at right now. I don’t mean throw caution to the wind and eat mindlessly and for all the wrong reasons. I mean part of changing your relationship with food is letting go of the harsh body bashing that you do. Stop comparing your body to others, stop talking negatively towards yourself and accept that this is where your body is right now. Then, work on understanding the underlying reasons why you turn to food for reasons other than hunger, why you eat mindlessly, and commit to taking a different approach to eating.

Commit to learning to become an intuitive eater, learning to identify gentle hunger and comfortable fullness as your guide to starting and stopping your eating. Learn to cope with your emotions without food. Start moving your body not because you think you have to in order to better your body, but because you feel EMPOWERED when you do. And then, respect that your body is what it is now and you need to feed it, cloth it comfortably and talk nicely to it.

Doing this will allow you to transform your relationship with food and ultimately will help you achieve the body you love and feel good in.

I know this is a tall order. Well, I am here to help you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you need some support. Just email me at bonnie@brghealth.com .

You can also join my FREE support group on Facebook right here.

Here’s to an extra 30 minutes in the morning….

Say Sayonara to the Idea of a “Perfect Bikini Body”

It seems like we don’t have any “in-between” weather anymore. You know the kind of weather I mean. The days of cool breeze where you wear a light “spring jacket” or sweatshirt as you run your errands. Nope, we’ve gone from the cold of winter to the hot humidity of summer, even though it’s not officially summer yet on the calendar.

Although it is not summer yet, the beach craze seems to be spreading already. I’m sure you have heard and seen advertisements promoting diets, pills, and supplements to give you that “perfect beach body in just 3 weeks.”

Let’s be honest. They are all a hoax! I know that as a mindful eater, you must know this already. There is no quick fix to losing weight and getting healthy. The only way to see true, long term success in weight loss is to commit to bettering yourself through eating and lifestyle changes.

There is another problem I have with these promotions for getting a “bikini body” before summer. Who decided that you have to have a certain body to feel comfortable in a bikini? The media is constantly sending out the message that you must be thin, toned, and bronzed in order to be considered beautiful. It is time to throw this idea away.

This beach season I have a new idea for you. LOVE your body and NOURISH your body rather than damage it with extreme diets and pills that are harmful to your body. The only way to achieve a body you love and are proud of is to eat mindfully, make mindful lifestyle changes and respect you’re here and now body.

Sayonara, diets. We had no need for you this winter and we certainly don’t need you this summer or ever again!

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