On December 27, 2014, I went onto Facebook and declared 2015 as the year I truly transform my relationship with food and my body.
I have struggled with food for as long as I can remember. It has always been my drug of choice. Since starting this blog back in 2008, I have lost and gained back more pounds then I even want to admit.
Most recently, I lost 20 pounds over the summer of 2013. In 2014, I gained back those 20 pounds… plus 10 more.
When I look around, everyone else looks like they have totally mastered this eating thing. You know what I’m talking about right? We live during a time when marketing campaigns simultaneously shout EAT ALL OF THIS CRAPPY UNHEALTHY ARTIFICIAL JUNK… while at the same time telling us to BE HEALTHY, BE FIT, BE SKINNY.
Side Note: COKE is one of my worst drugs of choice… and everywhere I go I see marketing messages whispering “OPEN HAPPINESS” in my ear.
Proud Momma Moment – When my boys sees Coke’s Open Happiness marketing, they look at me and say “We know, Coke does not open happiness. Coke numbs feelings”.
Anyways… back to my Facebook post.
I also asked my Facebook friends for any suggestions on where to start on my transformational food journey. And that’s when the Facebook Magic happened.
I received so much support. So many people shared glimpses of their relationship journey with food.
I RECEIVED A LOT OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT….
- Read Women Food and God by Geneen Roth. She’s the queen of making peace with food because it’s never really about the food. It’s about the thing from your past that you’re trying to make up for or the wound that you are trying to fill.
- The Woman Code by Alissa Vitti. This is a must, in my opinion, for every woman. It goes to the level of our hormones, which influences and affects every single thing about how we feel. It’s not a diet, but a new way of living that is very simple and hugely transformative.
- Focus on the deeper purpose. That will get you there.
- I would encourage you to work with a mastery level NLP practitioner (Neurolinguistic Programming). There is an intended positive outcome for all our behaviors.
- I have been following the Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type book for about 15 years. It is not a diet, but rather teaching you what foods are beneficial, neutral, and bad for your body. I use the app now too, which is awesome to use.
- No trendy “21 day body cleanses” or colonics. Don’t eat anything your grandma wouldn’t recognize as food.
- Jen Green Naturopath. Genius. A good naturopath is a gem to have.
- It’s all about just pausing for a moment and making the right choices to nourish your mind, body and soul.
- Do you follow Anne Lamott? She just had a great post about bodies and food.
- RISE and Tory Johnson’s book The Shift really changed my life. Right now I feel AMAZING. They assigned me my own coach!
- A good website is 100 Days of Real Food. She has 4 weeks of meal plans you can get for free. It’s a challenge to only eat real food. No processed junk. It’s getting back to eating what food is supposed to be.
- I like to tune into my sweet body a lot and ask what would make you feel great. And I love the cookbook It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow.
- Whole 30! Easy to follow, free, and life changing!
- Remembering that one bad day or slip up isn’t the end of a lifestyle change.
- For me it’s been about portion control, eating more whole foods, drinking more water and at least taking a 30 minute walk per day. It’s all about balance and that means that if I get invited to an event or go out with family I do allow myself to enjoy the outing.
- Only advice is to avoid “diets”, they cannot work long term.
- I started going to One Life in San Diego (they are online too) this time last year. Lost 30 pounds this year and I think I have finally figured out what does and does not work for my body. I had to change what I eat and I exercise every day, but it is all worth it and I feel great going into 2015. Totally doable!! Good luck.
- Eat smaller portions and hit the gym at least four days a week. Use my fitness pal app to track your food and exercise. You learn so much about what you eat from it and it makes you want to alter habits.
- I completely changed my diet about 2 years ago and it made a big difference. No gluten, minimal to no dairy, limited legumes, carbs & sugar. A lot of protein & veggies.
I RECEIVED THESE WORDS OF SUPPORT…
- I am with you!! Xoxo
- I hear ya! I’m right there with you on this journey.
- You’ve totally GOT THIS, Stacey!
- Please teach me what you learn!
- You can do this.
- I’ll be more than happy to share the journey with you. I still have a long road ahead of me.
- Good luck, sister. Life-long journey.
Transforming My Relationship with Food
And so my new journey begins. First up is reading Women Food and God by Geneen Roth. I’ve had the book for years. I think it’s time to take it off the bookshelf and turn to page one.
So now I’m asking you what I asked my Facebook friends. I am dedicating 2015 as the year I truly transform my relationship with food and my body. Any suggestions? Comments are welcome.
My Body Is My Temple…
Cheering you on! I know what helped me (and I need to get back) was attending Celebrate Recovery meetings.
Cheering you on! This is a really great post full of awesome resources. I am bookmarking it for later, so I can come back and read more. Have a wonderful new year, and best of luck to you on your journey!
I will be rooting for you. It’s not easy but it sounds like you have a great support system. Good luck!
Congratulations! These are some excellent recommendations in here – and it sounds like you’ve really gotten a handle on this. Truly inspirational. I applaud you!! big time.
Stacey, I’m right there with you. No more quick hits. No more drive by’s. I had 3 surgeries over 9 months and recovery took so much out of my normal routine. I’ll be learning from you
Stacey, I’m with you as well…gained back all I’d lost and more in 2014. For 2015 I’ve set the intention for truth…knowing…owning…living…my truth. I have already begun to ask myself…is this how I want to feed/treat my body? I think this is going to be powerful for me.
Good luck…I know you can do it!
So much wisdom in your post. As a holistic nutrition coach I appreciate your healthy approach and I have no doubt you will have your best year yet. I highly record lots of self love on this journey 🙂
Stacey – sharing your journey will be an inspiration to so many others. Let that motivate you to keep on keeping on!
I’m on this path, too, Stacey, partly because I would like to lose a few pounds, but mostly because I have major dietary restrictions due to health challenges, and I find it sometimes easy, and sometimes difficult, to honor what my body needs and avoid tempting foods that don’t serve my wellness. It’s a journey! Thanks for writing about it.
Stacey,
I feel your struggle as food is one of those things we need to “survive” but then some of the things that “taste SO GOOD” are the worst for our bodies. I read something recently that I hope may help you (and me too). Ask yourself questions like, “what driving my choice to eat or drink ( fill in xyz food)? It is because I want to eat it OR am I doing it out of pressure from “outside sources”?
Another thing I have done in the past (actually it is how I figured out I have a sensitivity to corn products & wheat), is keeping a food journal for 7-10 days. For each day, not only write down what you eat but (to me) more importantly, write HOW YOU FEEL after you eat or drink certain foods. For me, I noticed that my skin broke out when I ate corn or wheat. And I would sometimes get headaches. So, no corn or wheat for me.
I also want to commend you for sharing your story and experience with us. You are an inspiration and perhaps that can be another motivator for you.
We are here for you (and with you) on losing (and then maintaining) your “goal” weight. The goal is for health not to be “skinny”.
I love your openness and willingness to share the struggle. I’ve been addressing some health issues through a fairly radical shift in food habits and have discovered some pretty significant food sensitivities have been part of the problem. I’m feeling challenged by the social aspects all of this and look forward to hearing how you manage that as you move forward. Cheers!