I spent years punishing myself for feeling my feelings. Often when I would run, I felt I was running away from my life but had nowhere to go. I would refuse to buy clothes because I hated my body. I dieted constantly – moving from diet to diet, trying to find the one I could stay on and that my body liked. I would exercise 1-2½ hours, five days a week, and then find something active to do on the weekends. The funny thing is, when I finally reached that goal of what the world saw as a perfect body, I was still not happy. Life had not improved, and I still woke up in a panic every morning dreading having to cook for myself and my family. I went from loving food to dreading every mouthful because within in a few short minutes I would feel terrible physically and often emotionally. Food and stress were synonymous; they were the same. I eventually found myself going on starvation diets and loving it because, while I was hungry, at least I did not have to go through the pain of worrying about what food I would be sensitive to next and how that sensitivity would manifest itself. My body finally gave in to the abuse and I spent 7 years with chronic fatigue. I spent those years fixing my views of my body and the way I saw the world. I found that most of my eating issues were not about the food but about the way I saw food as the enemy. My body was reacting to the constant stress, and since I was never more stressed than when I was eating, my body acted appropriately to protect me.
Today, I have found peace with food and my body. I have once again found joy in food. I simplified my eating preferences and now take the time to ask my body what it wants, how much it wants, and when it wants it, in terms of both food and rest. I don’t beat myself up when I eat something that in the past would be considered a “bad” food. At every meal I take time to be thankful for what is in front of me, take in the beauty of its taste, texture, color, temperature, and nutrition. I am thankful for the fact that my body moves and that all my body functions work appropriately. In listening to my body, I have been able to find the foods that cause the most problems and eliminate them without stress or bullying myself when I slip up. I love my body and seek out opportunities to nourish it. I am still striving to improve my body, but my efforts are now around my whole self – mind, body, and spirit. This is what I strive to help my clients achieve in their lives through their mind and body journey.
ABOUT ALICIA
Alicia has degrees in both Sociology and Nursing and is a certified Aromatherapist, and currently uses all that learning in her Mind Body Health coaching practice. Alicia’s background has given her an intimate knowledge of the body, nutrition, toxic overload, chronic dieting, body obsession, over exercising, binge eating, and experience with chronic fatigue, food sensitivities and allergies and weight loss through stress release. She learned through experience that food is emotional and you can’t hope to help someone change their views on food if you don’t acknowledge the emotions behind what is driving them. Food is fuel and joy! She seeks to help her clients through one-on-one coaching. You can follow her on Instagram at @a.life.essential and contact her via email at alifeessential@gmail.com