Tag Archive for: self-esteem

3 Strategies to Keep Moving Forward on Your Intuitive Eating Journey (even when life gets tough)

If you have learned one thing in the past two years, it’s to expect the unexpected. You may think that you have everything under control and then something unexpected happens and throws you off course. As they say, life happens.

 

These unforeseen changes can affect every aspect of your life, including your Intuitive Eating journey. No matter where you are on your Intuitive Eating journey, stressful life events are bound to occur. It’s okay to feel stressed or anxious, but you don’t want to lose yourself to life’s surprises.

 

For many, food is a coping mechanism for stress. Turning to comfort foods and ignoring your hunger and satiety signals however is not the answer. I encourage you to stay focused on your health rather than slipping back into old ways. So next time you find yourself in this situation, what can you do to keep going?

 

Try these 3 Strategies:

 

  1. Remind Yourself Why You Started this Journey

 

Remind yourself why you decided to start on this journey. Instead of taking time to make excuses as to why you cannot do this or that, put that energy towards focusing on the reasons you embarked on your Intuitive Eating journey. Write down your motivation and the messages your body is sending you. You will gain clarity and feel motivated to continue moving forward.

 

Why did you embark on your Intuitive Eating journey?

 

Was it to feel better in your body?

 

Was it to improve your overall health?

 

Chances are your “why” still resonates somewhere within you, even on your darkest days. Let this motivate you. Some days are easier than others but if you keep your “why” in focus, you can navigate the bumps along the way.

 

  1. Prioritize Your Needs

 

When life gets hectic it can be easy to prioritize work or your significant other’s wants and put your own needs on the backburner. You can only help others once you have helped yourself. Become the best you that you can be by prioritizing your own needs. That may mean making a list of goals, tasks to tackle, or taking a mental health day. Each step in the right direction is an important one.

 

You can make the most of each day by scheduling time for your priorities into your daily routine. There is a time for work, a time for taking care of the needs of others, and a time to care for yourself. This includes time to sit down for meals and to be engaged, mindful, and do nothing but focus on your food.

 

  1. Find a New Outlet for Stress

 

There are many healthy ways to deal with stress that does not entail food. Take time to unwind each day, whether that is exercising, taking a bath, or catching up with a friend. You may need to try several activities before you find one that helps you relax. Even just taking 15 minutes to vent to a friend or to decompress your thoughts onto paper will benefit your day and your overall goals. When you let go of pent-up emotions, you will clear your mind and allow more room for mindfulness.

 

The truth is life comes at you fast. You cannot go back in time, but you can make the most of your present and future. Homing in on your Intuitive Eating and mindfulness will help you navigate through life’s obstacles and keep you on the path to being the best version of yourself.

 

Always remember, when you are feeling low, there is nowhere to go but up! If you keep your focus and mindfulness, you will find inner peace.

 

Are You Ready for Bathing Suit Season?

Swimsuit pictureWhen you think of summer, the beach and the pool, what comes to mind?  Perhaps getting into a bathing suit?  How does this make you feel?  Many of my clients shy away from these summer fun activities because they don’t like the way they look in a bathing suit.  Do you compare yourself to others and criticize your body?

Summer is a time for vacationing, relaxing in the sun (of course with sunblock) and chilling out.  Don’t let your negative thoughts about your body prevent you from enjoying this wonderful time of year.

Let this summer be different!  Look back at the progress you have been making in the last few months learning to love your body.  One of the things I recommended in a previous blog was to look at yourself in the mirror and find at least one thing that you like about your body.  It could be your eyes, ears or wrists.  If it’s hard for you to find a body part you like, think about what your body does for you.  Your legs help you walk and your eyes help you see.    Think about how this journey to becoming an intuitive eater is helping you to love and respect your body.

When you put on a bathing suit this summer, be proud of the accomplishments you have made so far.  Stand proud, hold your head up high and dive into the ocean.

Your turn to take action:  Take a picture of yourself wearing your bathing suit and write five things on the back of the photo that you love about your body!  Please share your photos and/or comments below.

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.

Change the Tape that Plays in Your Head

tape 2It can be frustrating to not achieve the weight loss goals you have set out for yourself.  Often you might see this as a failure and a reflection of who you are as a person.  You therefore develop a negative internal monologue with yourself that tends to only perpetuate weight gain or the inability to lose weight.  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 are sure to have on your weight loss journey.

Support from others is great and is a key piece in the weight loss puzzle, 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.

Please share with me at least 1 thing you are proud of that you did today!