If you don’t want to be standing in the exact same spot with food one year from now…

Then you have to stop seeking short-term gratification.

I know, I know—it feels so damn good (now) to watch the changes occur rapidly & to succumb to every whim!

But how has that worked for you thus far?

I’m guessing not well, or you wouldn’t be here😜

While *patience* may not be the sexiest word on the planet, it’s a HUGE sign of maturity. And it’s a requirement for a long-lasting, healthy relationship with food!

You have to be willing to sacrifice your desire for quick endorphin hits for deep & sustainable health—mentally & physically.

Make no mistake! If you’re consistently…

• Bouncing around from one extreme to the other (all-or-nothing)

• Obsessed with your tightly controlled & miserable routine.

• Eating a bunch of shit that doesn’t serve you all the time (YOLO)

• Refusing to look at your emotional state & are seeking escape.

• Focusing on your appearance at the expense of your mental & physical health…

You’re sacrificing your future self.

You’re letting your ego or monkey brain run the show instead of the real-mature-evolved-deeply-knowing you make the decisions.

What does patience (& maturity) look like?

• Developing a positive relationship with food BEFORE pursuing aesthetic goals.

• Learning skills to navigate discomfort outside of food, exercise & manipulating your body.

• Taking the time to understand WHY you interact with food & your body the way you do.

• Prioritizing physical health over aesthetic goals.

• Taking the time to learn about your own body, preferences, & goals rather than blindly following everyone else’s.

These outcomes are what everyone wants, but very few are willing to put in the work. To sacrifice child-like temptations (I get them too, big time!).

But I promise you—you’ll be SO DAMN HAPPY, PROUD, & EMPOWERED when you do!

Not Sure How to Tap Into Those Hunger & Fullness Cues Yet? You May Need This First!

Hunger and fullness cues often feel very elusive to every single one of my clients, and this is a huge source of frustration and confusion.

"How the hell do you expect me to listen to and trust my body if I don't have any clue what it's telling me?"

Fair question. Very fair!

This issue stems from overriding those hunger and fullness cues that you were once so familiar with as a child.

The good news? You absolutely had the ability to understand and listen to those cues at one point in your life, so it's just a matter of removing the diet layers to get back there!

It's possible, I promise.🙌

This is especially true if you have a history of:

• Going to extremes with an "all-or-nothing" approach—usually under-eating followed by bingeing

• Strictly following regimented eating times & quantities (often happens with tracking macros or following meal plans)

• Under-eating consistently—intentionally or unintentionally

• Eating a lot of processed foods, which can lead to blood sugar dysregulation

• Overeating most of the time.

As you can see, every person BUT a moderate, balanced, & instinctive eater falls into this category.😜

This means that YOU likely need to have some structure before you can fully rely on your hunger and fullness cues. It's very understandable, really, so don't beat yourself up!🙅🏻‍♀️

This structure often looks like:

• Eating every 3-4 hours

• Eating mostly unprocessed foods

• Balancing your day (or plate) with adequate protein, fat, carbs, and fiber

• Sleeping consistently with a routine

• Moving regularly while NOT overdoing it with exercise

• Managing stress, as it can cause hormones to get pretty whacky, leading to blood sugar issues & appetite changes.

No need to be obsessive about ANY of these, but the more you can consistently implement, the better.

As always, your motivation behind these choices matter more than the actions themselves!💕

5 Ways Science Reduced My Food Obsession

With the big cahuna at the end!

You see, I spent years & years of my life blindly following diet trends and believe anything I heard. 

This was the result of pure desperation, and it’s a common place to be!

It’s a dangerous one too, because we lose sight of the long game.

What were the biggest lies (that many still believe)?

1. Can’t gain fat without carbs—You mean I spent YEARS of my life obsessively manipulating my carb intake for absolutely no reason? Yep. Optimal levels vary depending on size, activity level, gender, hormonal function, etc., but they don’t inherently lead to fat gain or ill health. In fact, my well-being greatly improved once increased, as is the case with many clients.

2. Eat lots of fat to burn lots of fat—another aspect of the Atkins, low-carb era, and we’re seeing this again with the prevalence of keto. Fat is the most calorically dense of all macros, so they add up quickly. Necessary for optimal function, but they don’t have magical fat-burning properties. If you’re free-basing butter & coconut oil without expected results, you’re not broken. This idea is.

3. Sugar is addictive—do you stand in the kitchen and drool over a bag of sugar? Don’t think so. Sugar is, however, mostly found in processed foods that combine sugar, salt, and fat—a HIGHLY palatable combo. It’s not the sugar prompting you to overeat.

4. Eat several meals per day to increase the metabolism—I still hear this one a LOT, which is the opposite end of the “intermittent fasting” extreme. Eat when you want & in a way that works for your body and lifestyle.

5. Calories don’t count—this is one of the most problematic. You know I’m not a huge fan of counting calories or macros, but this idea is important. They absolutely DO count, and ignoring this concept will lead to a lot of frustration. This should be liberating, not restrictive, as it simplifies everything!

Our intuition will naturally lead us to understanding these concepts, but a period of “un-learning” is required.

We fall into these traps when we try to out-think our bodies--Mother Nature wins every time.

Which one did/do you believe?

Should You Be Tracking Your Food?

For the vast majority of women, I don't believe in tracking food.

Unless you’re using tracking coupled with a:

✔️Strong sense of self-worth & self-respect outside of your body (i.e. you’re not trying to hate yourself to change)

✔️Commitment to your body’s health over aesthetic goals.

✔️Commitment to your mental health over aesthetic goals.

✔️Solid understanding of your body’s biofeedback (digestion, hunger/fullness cues, menstrual cycle, sleep, performance in the gym, cravings, mood) and are attuned to these the ENTIRE time.

It’s not a good idea.

All of these should be met prior, and the reality is that most women just aren’t there!🥴

No shame in that either, as we’re bred by society to mistrust & hate our bodies. #yourenotalone

If you begin tracking your food without trust as the foundation, what do you think the result is going to be after the fact?

I don’t even want to know what it would take to calculate/track this meal! It would ruin my ability to tune into myself, though. That’s for sure.

That’s right!

A total shit storm of mistrust.

This only furthers the cycle of not understanding your body & ignoring it.

Not to mention, who the fuck wants to spend their time entering food into an app for the rest of their lives?

I sure as hell don't, and I know most of you don't either.

If you’re a performance athlete and/or meet the criteria above, go for it! With a knowledgeable coach.

Otherwise, it’s not only unnecessary, but it could be incredibly detrimental to your overall well-being.🏻‍♀️

I’m curious, what is your history with tracking? Love it or hate it?

Do you only allow yourself to pee at specific times?

Or take a 💩 according to your clock?

I would assume (and hope) not!

Yet, we do this with another one of our basic physical needs all the time—eating.

• Forcing down food according to meals plans and tracking apps.

• Forcing our bodies to endure extreme hunger until it’s “time” to eat again.

• Forcing our bodies to go to attempt to sleep while hungry, simply because our allotment for the day is up and it’s “past 8pm”.

We’ve managed to fuck up one of the most basic instincts we have as human beings!

It’s really not your fault though, as the vast majority of us were programmed to micromanage our food intake, appetites, and pleasure from a young age.

We watched older women complain about their bodies and restrict as a result.

We observed as others hopped from diet to diet, proclaiming foods as good and bad, right and wrong.

We were bombarded by magazines and latest celebrity diets as they dictated how often we should eat (is it six meals per day or should I intermittent fast?)

Oftentimes, we believe the path to freedom and healing from food obsession & disordered eating is to apply even more rules.

In most cases, it’s not. Far from it!

The answer is to get back to basics.

• To focus on recognizing those old thought patterns as they come and go while consciously choosing to rely on your body’s instincts instead (meditation for the win).

• To get back in touch with your own body’s hunger & fullness cues.

• To eat foods that make your body & mind feel alive, while also adding in foods that make your soul happy.

• To ensure you’re taking care of your mental & emotional well-being just as much as your physical.

When we break it down, it’s much more simple than we make it out to be.

We simply need to get out of our body’s way❤️

What Kind of Eater Are You? And why it's vitally important to understand this

If you've ever struggled to identify WHY you just can't seem to navigate your relationship with food and your body, then chances are, you have a blindspot with understanding YOU.

What does your own self-understanding have to do with you and food?

Everything!

In essence, your relationship with food is an extension of your relationship with yourself.

My clients typically fall into one of the following categories (with occasional overlap):

1. Controlled - hyper aware and vigilant about following a set of rules, including macros, good vs. bad food lists, and she may have orthorexic tendencies (i.e. only eat “healthy” foods). Very unlikely to deviate from her plan and regimen.

2. Yo-Yo Dieter - “all-or-nothing” perfectionist tendencies where she's doing ALL the things or NONE of them. Often includes the binge and restrict cycle.

3. Emotional Eater - binges or eats things she doesn't *truly* want to eat due to a lack of other coping skills for life’s ups & downs. This often means periods of feeling aligned and free followed by periods of confusion and frustration (even within the same day).

4. Appearance-focused - doesn’t really care about health; only weight. Will eat or drink anything, as long as her body still looks the way she wants it to.

I can identify which category a woman falls into by simply observing the way a woman lives her life.

After all, the ways in which we live our lives are a reflection of how we view & value ourselves.

• People pleaser? You likely have a lack of boundaries, so you have a hard time making choices that align in your best interests and eat out of comfort. You're simply trying to find fulfillment after taking care of everyone BUT you.

• High Achiever? You likely put your health on the back burner and are only focused on the end result of whatever you're working towards. This either means eating for "reward" after a long day OR overly restricting in pursuit of achievement.

• Acting as the social chameleon and changing who you are based on your audience? You're likely unsure of yourself and WHO you really are internally, so you're hyper-focused on your appearance. This means focusing on your weight and body composition above all else.

• Procrastinator? A hallmark trait of perfectionists. Better to have never tried than to try and fail right? This means engaging in all-or-nothing eating behaviors. Baby steps are for babies with this mindset!

The beautiful thing about looking at your relationship with food in this way is that is illustrates how the issue isn't the food.

Therefore, it isn't anything to be fearful of!

Food has simply become the scapegoat for the deeper calling of misalignment of self-worth.

Identify where you're seeking validation and importance in your life, and you'll begin to unravel your narrative!

Feel Like You're Wrong with Any Move You Make with Food & Your Body?

Girl, I feel you!

The health & wellness industry has always been divisive, but it feels particularly edgy at the moment.

Women feel so conflicted, confused, and many are experiencing a lot of SHAME over any desires they have for themselves.

• Eating donuts? That’s unhealthy, shame.

• Eating salads? That’s restrictive, shame.

• Wanting to gain muscle? That’s not “feminine”, shame.

• Wanting to lose weight? You must not love yourself, shame.

I’m all for having differing opinions, but shaming over how someone treats their OWN body is taking it too far.

As per usual, we’re losing sight of what really matters & are tossing nuance out the window.

The ultimate goal for my clients is for them to really give AF about how they’re treating themselves (in order)…

1. Internally—relationship with food, internal chatter & mental health.

2. Physically—making choices in alignment with high self-worth & self-respect, whatever that looks like.

3. Other goals—aesthetic or performance.

If someone has the first two down pat, then by all means, proceed with the third!

The problem arises when we place the third above the other two, and that’s EXACTLY where most of my clients are.

Caring more about the way their body looks to others than how they’re treating themselves—mind, body, soul.

I used to be there too! And it’s a problem.

The issue isn’t the desire to lose weight, it’s the intention behind it. It’s placing it higher than your mental and physical well-being. It’s believing your happiness & self-worth lies on the other side.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

That’s an inside job, sisters.

Do the work of up-leveling your sense of self-worth and treating yourself accordingly FIRST, and the rest falls into place.