Wishing You Happy Holidays and Peace with Food
/What did your relationship with food look like during the holidays?
What did you want it to look like?
(Skip to the end if you want to read about how private 1-1 food peace coaching has helped people transform their relationship with food and body.)
I used to try to control and manage my food during the holidays because I was afraid of gaining weight.
Then I tried to control and manage my food during the holidays because I was concerned about my health.
Now, I am still concerned with my health and well-being, but my approach is very different.
I do not try to control my food.
I do not aim for perfection.
I do not see my choices as all or nothing.
I do not fear for my health when I eat something that doesn't have a lot of nutritive value.
I no longer fear weight gain over the holidays.
My weight may fluctuate but it's what I do for the other 360 days of the year that matters, not what I do over a few days at Christmas.
Instead, I stay mindful of my choices.
If my goal is feeling good in my body - then I make choices that are in alignment with that.
I aim to feel supported by my choices.
Through the holidays, I pick and chose what is going to work for me (i.e. feels the most aligned) during each eating opportunity.
At times I opted for no alcohol and no dessert because I didn't really want either one.
At other times I ate beyond fullness because something tasted really good.
On some days I tried foods I don't normally eat and on other days I stuck to my normal routines because that is what felt the best.
There is room for everything when done intentionally and mindfully.
I did not engage in a "fuck it" mentality. I ate slowly and stopped when I was full most of the time.
Over the years, I have become aware of what my body wants and needs and I am doing my best to honor that.
I am also staying conscious in order to notice my patterns and see if there is anything I want to change.
For example, I noticed I do have a habit of mindless overeating AFTER the holidays are over. Does anyone else do this?
After I have navigated multiple days of endless food, drinks, and desserts, that is when I am the most vulnerable to eating in a way that does not serve me.
When the festivities are over, the presents have been unwrapped, the work is done, and the people have gone home - that's when I eat the most.
And the most important thing about this habit is that I see it and I learn from it. I don't beat myself up about it and I don't try to undereat afterward in order to compensate for it.
I acknowledge it and move on. Right now that pattern is not causing me a lot of distress, so I'm also not aiming to change it.
I'm going to put my energy into shifting the patterns that show up on a more daily basis that may not be serving me.
I couldn't navigate any of this if I wasn't paying attention to how I am feeling. I am also paying attention to my beliefs, my thoughts, and the meaning I assign to my thoughts.
Once I see my truth, I can decide what I want to keep and what I want to change.
When we take judgment and emotion out of the equation, it can be that simple.
I have lived for decades jumping from diet to diet and judging my body no matter what it looked like. I knew that restrictive dieting didn't feel good and now I know that it isn't good for our bodies either.
I also spent years unwinding from diet culture but feeling like my healthiest years were behind me. I learned that mindlessly overeating and ignoring my body's signals doesn't feel good either.
These days I'm practicing how to live in the middle.
You can have peace with food AND feel good in your body. You don't have to give up one for the other.
Where do you stand in your relationship with your body? Are you done with restrictive diets? Do you still want to feel strong, vibrant, and alive in your body? Are you ready to take 100% responsibility for your experience and your choices?
You can have both. You can let go of the feeling of restriction and find a way of nourishing yourself that is sustainable and increases your well-being.
And I can show you how.
If 2023 is your year, use this link to sign up for a free exploratory call and learn more about private one-on-one food peace coaching.
Past clients have said:
"It [coaching] was the best decision for me. I went into it hoping to free myself specifically from food but instead, I now have tools to help me just be free. It is more than okay to be kind to myself and to love myself. Just as I am, not as I think I should be." - Aimee
"I am not spending time worrying about how I look and how my body is. I'm feeling freer with choices and recognizing when old thoughts come in." - JP
"I'm being less self-judgmental and trying to approach behaviors with curiosity instead of judgment." - Group Coaching Participant
"I trust Elizabeth so much. She walks her talk and anyone would be safe with her. She has the ability to see the person and be with them and holds such integrity in her practice. She is so knowledgeable and has a massive range of resources and ideas to help. I feel much more settled being in my body and have a better relationship with myself, in general, and other aspects of my life." - Private Coaching Client
"[I have more] self-acceptance...reminding myself that my body has served me well, and I need to appreciate it instead of reviling it! So, now when I look in the mirror, I look for what I love, not for what I hate. And I can see more things to love." - V. Wolf
"I had learned so much through social media that I had absorbed as fact; limiting beliefs learned through diet culture that I mistook for truth. It was so nice to work with Elizabeth to debunk these myths and challenge my limiting beliefs which were really getting in the way of my sense of self and my self-confidence." - CC
Thank you to my inspiring, courageous, and beautiful clients who decided to unhook from external expectations and find peace with food.
I look forward to serving more of you and supporting us all in living free in 2023 and beyond!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash