I came into the IPE program eager to transform a life-long unhealthy relationship with food and body image and fuel my passion to help others. Despite years of self-education in the diet and nutrition world, I would describe myself as having a love-hate relationship with food and body built on fear, control and a masculine mindset. I did not trust myself around food. I did not know how to “handle” my appetite. I was afraid of pleasure and the eating experience. Was pleasure even okay? I had never heard of archetypes, being masculine or feminine (other than yes…I am a woman and therefore identify as feminine) and I did not understand princesses and queens (the different stages of life) or what embodiment meant-let alone felt like.
What is meaningful in this stage of my life is: Learning to have a healthy relationship with food and embrace my body right now… even if it never shifts in size OR even if it does!! I have had to welcome uncertainty and consider “change”. I had to admit that perfectionism is a virus and not something gallant to achieve! Having a relationship with food is about awareness and acceptance. I have become aware of a new definition of health, success and pleasure. I am discovering what it means to embody. I am choosing to embrace this identity as a queen and now want to celebrate this rite of passage, explore and get comfortable in it.
At first, I felt like I was free falling. I remember getting curious…what if I threw out my old relationship with food and started over? I had to let go and experiment. The fact of having no boundaries or tight areas of control put me into a state of panic. It was time to put my life on pause and really get curious about what was driving my fears. Then after reading “Nourishing Wisdom” and “The Slow Down Diet” (both books by Marc David), I found a little nugget to hang on to: THE FIVE STEPS OF WHOLE BODY EATING. It was just one of the many tools I found to help me return to my “safe place”. I wrote out the five steps and posted it everywhere using it as my anchor in my new beginnings. This was just the beginning of a healing journey I am now on and passionate about helping others along the way!!
If you are unhappy with your weight or eating patterns, consider them to be a brilliant signpost pointing towards something in your life that may be missing! Get curious! What if your disordered eating led you to a new and wonder-filled perspective?
Curious about what THE FIVE STEPS OF WHOLE BODY EATING might be? Read my bio below to learn about me and what I do.
Or Email me at: sarah-wfw@protonmail.com
ABOUT SARAH
Sarah Holmes is a Mind Body Eating Coach and Eating Disorder Specialist helping women struggling with body image challenges, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and a variety of weight and nutrition-related concerns.
Sarah’s lifelong battle and transformational story is one of her most significant qualifications.
She offers private coaching sessions, group sessions when available and in addition, an eight-week course with foundational teaching seeped in a unique faith-based, deeply spiritual, transformational content. In this course, we seek to reconnect with the Divine and find our true identity as created beings with a divine purpose. As we embark on this adventure, we will discover who we are as eaters and what our eating challenges are here to teach us. We will renew our thinking and rid ourselves of unwanted behaviors and habits. We offer life-changing experiences in a safe environment full of ongoing love, support, and compassion.