Tag Archive for: mind body connection

We’re All Human

Older women dancingThis week’s blog post will be a bit different.  I am sharing with you a story told to me by a very close friend who happens to also assist me in my office.  For anonymity, I will call her Mary.  Mary was instrumental in helping me launch my iEat Mindfully™ Intuitive Eating Program.  At the time, she was in her final year of college preparing to enter into her dietetic internship to eventually become a registered dietitian.

Mary had shared with me early on that one of the reasons she had gotten into the nutrition field was because of her experience with her dieting history.  She had a strong diet mentality throughout her early twenties. Despite a healthy body weight, she was addicted to seeing the number on the scale go down, and to trying whatever diet of the moment was around so she can lose weight.  She would always end up starving by the end of the 6-14 day trial period, gaining back any weight she lost and then some with a vengeance.

Lucky for her, through her studies in personal training and then even more so in nutrition, she began to learn not just the science behind how food works in the body, but the mentality with which to truly approach healthy eating.  Mindful eating in particular appealed to Mary because so much of her difficulties with weight stemmed from not trusting her own intuition about food.

Despite her knowledge of nutrition, Mary recently went through a stressful time in her life.  She was in the midst of her dietetic internship program, and between the stress of the program and other things going on in her life, she found herself deflecting that stress into disliking her appearance.  An unflattering dressing room light and a glimpse in the mirror while trying on clothes spiraled her thoughts into a whirlwind of, “How can I lose weight quickly, I need to get back on track.”

Fortunately for Mary, she sat down with herself and had a clarifying moment.  She thought about the idea of jumping into a fad diet, but realized she knew better.  She also knew that she had been out of touch with her intuitive eating and instead was eating to decrease stress instead of listening to her body and eating to nourish it.

Mary decided to be positive and invest in a gym membership, and started collecting healthy recipes she wanted to try.  She treated herself to new cooking appliances and reminded herself what it means to be healthy, and also reminded herself of some of the things she liked about her body.

Mary wanted me to share this story with you to remind you that roadblocks are inevitable, but they don’t have to derail you.  We are all human and there will be times when we forget the things we have learned, and want to jump back into a negative place.  If you can take a breath and refocus, whatever “damage” you may have felt you did, you can learn from it. Remember this all part of the journey which will lead you to where you want to be.

Your turn to take action: Have a heart to heart talk with yourself. If you have been having a difficult time on your intuitive eating journey, try to figure out why. Please share your thoughts with me and together we can help you get back on the road to a body you love without dieting!

Pop Culture Permeates Body Image

Woman at ocean doing yogaIn 1959 Barbie burst onto the scene, meant to be a symbol for young girls to look up to and hope to be like.  However, throughout the years many mothers and advocates for woman’s issues complained about Barbie’s unrealistic proportions and the body image that it would represent to the impressionable young girls playing with her.  Now images of unrealistic body types are hard to escape in our country.  We are a nation obsessed with celebrity, and sometimes we forget that their lives are far from normal, and so are their body types.

I want to ask you a question.  Are you striving for the“perfect body?”  Are your looks what make you who you are?  I hope the answers to these questions are no.  However for a celebrity, their job and their responsibility to the public is to look good.  That means their days are designed to have hours to workout.  Their meals are delivered to their doorstep or handmade by a private chef.  Not to mention a little thing called airbrushing and spandex which are used to trick consumers when it comes to the magazines you see.  It is hardly fair to hold yourself to an image that is hardly realistic.

There is no person to whom you should be comparing yourself to.  Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another.  When it comes to body image, you are under no obligation look like anybody other than yourself, especially if it means putting yourself at health risk to do it.  You have to respect your body for what is and what it allows you to do.  Maybe your arms seem out of proportion, but those are the arms that are strong enough to lift your children with.  Or perhaps you would like your thighs to be smaller, but it’s those thighs that allow you to participate in your favorite sports or exercise activities.

There is always a positive to be found in the way you’re built.  The way you are built allows you to do the things that you do.  Try to internalize this thought; an improved self-image is the first step towards an improved body image.

Your turn to take action: Stand in front of the mirror with minimal clothing on.  Look at your reflection and ask yourself, “What one thing do I like about my body?”  If you can’t seem to find anything you like, then think about the way your body functions and all the good it’s done for you.  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.