They say no person is an island. And honestly, that’s not a great comparison, because even no island is an island! Islands are not a stand-alone ecosystem by any means. Their survival depends on the surrounding waters, the climate, migrating animals, and so on. Similarly, we as people are all connected and dependent on each other for survival, at least, and to thrive, at best…
Read MoreSticking with a new venture sometimes feels even harder than beginning one. A little of the newness dissipates and some of the shine seems slightly less lustrous. I recently heard a phrase, “familiarity breeds contempt.” And it stopped me in my tracks; it was the truest thing I’d heard in a long time. So how do we keep ourselves in motion once the initial energy burst has expired?
Read MoreIf you’re reading this, you’ve already taken a major step in bettering your relationship with yourself. That’s what this week’s discussion is all about: first steps…
Read MoreJoin us here every Thirve Thursday for a fun new series where you will learn to grow an indoor herb garden, while learning a little more about yourself and nutrition. Our innaugural cycle starts September 3rd and ends on October 29th. But feel free to follow along at the flexible pace which best suits your needs. We can’t wait to get growing with you!
Read MoreWhen the idea of body image work feels too overwhelming, start with self-compassion towards oneself around the suffering of body image distress.
Kristin Neff, a self-compassion researcher, author, and Associate Professor, describes self-compassion as having three different components.
self kindness vs self judgement
common humanity versus isolation
mindfulness vs. over-identification
Self- Kindness is a very active stance and practice of soothing and taking care of one's suffering while self-judgment may look like judging and criticizing the suffering.
Common humanity is framing one’s experience as part of a larger human experience while isolation is isolating oneself and the experience.
Mindfulness allows us to notice our suffering and to be with the suffering as it is and be with it to then be able to give ourselves the caring and compassion we need.
Read MoreI love seeing all my clients reach their checkpoints! Eating and enjoying foods they haven't had in so long, making peace with their bodies, understanding the eating disorder, learning about how diet culture plays a role in the maintenance of their behaviors, and so much more! However, I want more for them and for you. I want you to go all the way to the finish line- to feel no ties to disordered eating, to have a full and compassionate relationship with food and your body. You deserve the world. You deserve full recovery.
Read MoreBody checking is done to attempt to feel better about one’s body, more specifically about the parts one may wish were different. The belief is that body checking will provide us with some relief and help in decreasing the anxiety or worry we are feeling. However, body checking does the opposite and keeps you stuck in your eating disorder and/or body hatred.
Read MoreFor me, freedom has always existed in a boundary. When I didn’t have a boundary, I didn’t know where to go, what to do, or how to function. The meal plan served as my boundary. For the most part I now eat and move intuitively. However, if struggles were to pop back up, I can go back to the basics of the meal plan to guide me.
Read MoreChanging my social media lead me to the body-positive movement in 2014 which lead me to Health at Every Size ® (HAES ® ), the fat-positive movement, and Intuitive Eating (IE). It blew my mind! Talk about a life-changing moment. If I never changed my social media then I would have never found the movements that helped me recover.
Read MoreIf I could choose one word that best describes what helped me most in my recovery journey, it would be freedom. What helped push me to actually try recovery and give it a chance was the desire to have my life back and to lean into my core values.
Read MoreThe first, and most important, healing mechanism I would like to mention is: your mindset. When I was in the midst of my recovery, I was told a piece of advice that I still carry with me and spread to others to this day. If you want to get better, YOU have to make the choice. YOU have to help yourself. YOU have to push yourself.
Read MoreSlowly I broke down the rules I held around food and exercise and gave myself FULL PERMISSION to eat what I truly wanted without limits and move my body in a way that actually felt good instead of compulsive and self-punishing. Yes, it felt very scary at first. I definitely thought I was “messing up” and would never be able to “control” myself around the foods I deemed as “off limits,” but much to my surprise this didn’t happen.
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