Join the journey - create the life you crave

I admit it - I often talk to myself.  I bet you do too!  Or at least there's that little voice inside your head that has a thing or two to say about the choices you make. 

Have you listened to the stories that little voice tells you?  Have you paused to notice the feelings that bubble up because of this voice, or felt the sensations that rumble throughout your body when you hear your inner voices tell their stories? 

For so many years I just accepted the stories I told myself about my body, my weight and my choices. I didn’t question them – after all, I wasn’t alone going around and around on that roller coaster, dieting, restricting, overeating, bingeing and even purging.
 
What I learned from decades of being a member of the exclusive Diet Club is that we become experts in ignoring our natural signals and the cues our bodies send us.  Counting calories or tracking points against steps, or excessive exercise to lose weight completely overrides the physical responses our body sends us.  We become disconnected from our physical selves.   
    
Let me ask you this:  How often have you gone to bed feeling fat, thinking about food, cursing the choices made during the day, beating yourself up for not making it to the gym and swearing to start the diet again tomorrow? 

Or maybe on Monday?

I used to pray that I'd stick to my points past 4pm (my witching hour) when I
was most likely to lose all self-control. 

How can we be fully present in our relationships - with ourselves and with others - among all the noise going on in our heads? 

Reading Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, transformed the dialogue. It was a life changer for me!

Banished from my mind was the negative ninny reminding me of how "bad" I'd been when I ate food on the "never to eat and bad foods" list.  Gone were the days of guilt and oppression from within.  The stories that replaced the nasty, negative voices were of self-compassion and caring, encouraging me to use intuition, create energy with nourishing nutrition, tune in to my body and practice loving self-care.

One of the voices I love is the Food Anthropologist's voice - it's neutral and non-judgemental. 

What would it be like if you could hover above your life in a completely neutral helicopter viewing every action and choice with a non-judgemental eye?

• What would you see or hear?
• What are you doing and how are you acting?
• How are you feeling as you eat? 
• What concerns are you dealing with?
• Who are you with and what are you talking about?
• What do you want for you and your body?

Now, without judgement or critical analysis, think about what might need adjusting.  What might work better?  Who are you around food now and who would you like to be?  What do you want to feel?  

Authors Tribole and Resch introduce us to new voices of self-compassion, neutrality and wisdom, gently guiding us through moments of imperfection, giving us strength to overcome fears, helping us to create healthy relationships with food and our bodies.

The Intuitive Eater is not a dieter. 

Intuitive eating is not a diet. 

Intuitive eating and living teaches us to live in our bodies fully and completely so we can live our lives to the fullest. 

When my brother was murdered, I found I couldn’t go back to dieting.  I found myself searching for another option because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life hating my body or counting points – I wanted to be fully present.  I wanted freedom.  I couldn't imagine wasting any more time when life can change on a dime.

If you'd like freedom from dieting but aren't sure where to begin, here's what I recommend:        

1. Ask yourself what you really want for yourself and your body
2. Ask yourself why that's important to you
3. Ask yourself what it meant not have it

It's the exact same process I started with:  thinking about who I would become if I became who I wanted to be and who would benefit from the change.

And then…

---

1. Find a quiet space...
2. Grab a notebook, and a delicious cup of coffee (a beverage that you love and nurtures you) and focus. 
3. Allow yourself to step out of the diet box.
4. Get curious, put on your Curious George Hat, and free write without censoring your thoughts and feelings about replacing the negative stories you've always heard playing in your head.  
5. What can you do about them?  How can you rewrite them in a positive way?  What stories will you begin to tell yourself now?
6. How will this new way of thinking help you change your beliefs about weight and you?

And, here's your next step.  If you'd like to chat about where you are today and where you'd like to be along your journey to a healthier you - in mind, body and spirit, I'd love to talk with you.

Contact me for a "Love-Yourself-Love Your Body" complimentary call and we'll develop a health plan that is right for you and your lifestyle. 

www.facebook.com/joanridsdelcoaching.