The WHY has to change before the WHAT does

I often get asked by clients wanting to lose weight or “get healthy” WHAT they should eat. Just tell me what to eat and I’ll do it, they say. They want a meal plan, they want to know what works. They want a clear and simple plan, but it is not clear and simple, because the WHY has to change first. 

No one wants to dig deep and get uncomfortable, but that’s when the magic happens. Except it doesn’t feel like magic, it feels like poo. Then you start working through that yucky stuff and start feeling like you are in control again. 

This is my story...

I enjoy good food. I know a lot about what to put in my body. I know what makes me feel good, balanced and healthy. I know a lot about WHY I should avoid foods like sugar, flour, and anything that’s highly processed, but I am still trying to understand why I WANT to eat, other than basic hunger😂 I am still learning. I am still learning what I like, and what I don’t. When I should eat and when I shouldn’t. When I need to slow down and listen to my body, and how to feel my emotions instead of supress them. I often confuse what I think tastes good with joy, a break, a reward, a way to cope, a good time, or a way to replenish myself, I have four kids y’all!! At some point I think eating to be healthy began to feel like responsibility, something I was SUPPOSED to do and sometimes I just wanted to rebel. There is not a perfect way to eat. I put my eating habits and relationship with food under the microscope. It wasn’t pretty, I learned a lot. I worked through a lot of ugly feelings when food wasn’t my best friend anymore  (I’ll write more about that later). I am coming out on the other side. Learning to listen to my body and be gentle when I make a choice that ends up not feeling so good. 

Body image. I wish it didn’t matter to me. I am working on it not mattering anymore. Acceptance of who I am and what I am is becoming more realistic, but it still sucks sometimes. Its not all consuming, but it is running in the background non stop. My shape and size do not make me any less worthy, but why does it feel like they do? Who told us these two things were tied together? Worth and size? I am still in packing that one.  I have never been overweight, but I have been heavy, chubby, out of shape, and round. I have also been small, skinny, fit and strong. Never once did I feel like it was enough. And I always felt like I was on the verge of being found out, judged, or seen as a failure. Where did these lies come from? This is not truth. Your value does change when the scale does. I can say with certainty that this can never be the motivation for living a healthy life style. A number on the scale will either destroy your happiness or drive you mad with obsession. Loving your body as it is, is NOT a declaration that you won’t take good care of it. It is the starting place you must arrive at to BEGIN the journey of taking good care of it. Time to shred. This program,developed by The Juice Plus Company, is one of the easiest ways to reset thinking and eating habits and it has been a while since I have done one. It is 10 days of flooding your body with concentrated fruits and veggies, clean sources of protein, and real food. No sugar or caffeine for artificial energy. No gluten or dairy to ease the digestive tract. Loads and loads of plants, lots of water and sleep. Move your body and take each day slow and intentional!  

I am ready to get back to the basics of fueling myself well and loving the journey, not the end 

 result. 

Where are you on your journey?