Coaches Blog
It’s simple, but not easy
It’s simple, but not easy. I was five when my mom picked me up from the nursery and I proudly told her that I’d eaten a gross piece of meat we’d been served for lunch. I did it because there was a rule at the nursery: you had to clear your plate. My mom turned to me and said: “You shouldn’t eat everything that’s on your plate.” The 5-year-old me heard: “I’d love you more […]
Don’t believe everything you think!
Take notice, what kind of thoughts are you thinking? I bet they are not all true. My thought life was a funny farm for decades and I really did not find the humor in it. Not only did I cover all the untruths about food and health in my mind, I covered self-deprecating thoughts to the fullest. Completely lost in who I was as a person, I had to find a better path. My worst […]
You Are NOT Too Fat To Start Dating Again. Let me prove it.
Have you ever been ambushed by the following thought: “I’ll start dating when I’ve lost weight”? If so, then I have news for you. It is a lie-in-sheep’s-clothing, a toxic myth that will damage your chances of getting into a relationship. I am going to prove that it is entirely possible for you to not only debunk those untruths that tell you you have to weigh X pounds in order to enjoy a happy love […]
Shake It Off
Girl, you need to have… if you had…then you would get… why are you so… Living with other people’s expectations of me did nothing more than short change me to who I needed to be. Living with frustration, looking in the mirror, hoping and praying that if only… then I could… Prayer changes things…is what was ringing in my ear. The other ear shouting…just be content where you are. It seemed like a case of […]
The Menopausal Shift
Over my 14 years of practice, I have worked with so many women who struggle with their weight and changing body throughout menopause and beyond. The truth is, in the Menopausal phase your body changes, your metabolism slows and for many women weight gain occurs. Certainly it is important to ensure your nutrition and exercise support these hormonal shifts and do what you can to have the healthiest body to carry you through your life, […]
A Call to the Wild
When you were born you were wild. You operated from instinct and intuition. You gave love when it felt right. You ran when you felt like running. You ate when and what you felt like eating. You didn’t worry about your waistline or what others saw you eat. You were never concerned with which exercise burnt the most calories. You had no thoughts over whether mother’s milk had too much fat or carbs. You were […]
How to Stay in Tune with Your Wisdom
I have entered a phase in my life where my personal growth has taken a precedence over my family. I am a mother whose children are in the process of leaving home and now things that mattered to me, but were relegated in the priority list, are now important – my health, my well-being, my passions, my work. Some people feel, in this fast-tracked world, I have been left behind and it is too late […]
Is it Time to Check Back In?
How is it that I didn’t really notice an 80 pound weight gain? My brain knew it. After all, my clothes were evidence; my discomfort was evidence. But to avoid the pain of REALLY knowing and feeling, I checked out. Not consciously of course. I didn’t say “I’m going to numb myself so I don’t have to think about anything that’s painful”. I just disconnected slowly over time. It’s easier than you think to check […]
The Heart Must Feed Itself First
I’m a licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in anxiety/stress and disordered eating. At a young age, I internalized the messages of perfectionism, restriction, and self-sacrifice, thinking they were prerequisites for my future success and happiness. It wasn’t until my early 30’s that I came to realize I had to find another way of being in the world. During my postdoctoral residency, which was incredibly challenging, I personally experienced the impact chronic stress can have on the […]
There is So Much More to the Story Than Food.
Growing up, I had absolutely no connection to how to best nourish my mind, body and soul with food. I’ve always had a large appetite – for food, adventure, and life – but when I was younger I didn’t draw the connection between what I consumed and how I felt in my mind and body. In fact, as an introspective person, I spent so much time living inside my mind, consumed with my own thoughts, […]
Our Body Wisdom Brings Healing
Four years ago my life dramatically changed. My mother was diagnosed with adrenal carcinoma and had a serious surgery. I was exhausted, stressed and devastated. I also had four young children at home and a husband with a demanding job. I suddenly felt this tiny earthquake shifting underneath my feet. Life was changing and my emotional world was in upheaval. The things that were important to me fell away, and I began to feel certain […]
I am what I am
About two years after my second daughter was born in 2001, I put on a lot of weight. I remembered the feeling during school volleyball practice, after a hard warm up, feeling like I was toast, that after some water and catching my breath, I was able to go on for another 2 hour practice. So once again, I worked out really hard, recorded everything I ate and drank and was in the back in […]
Awakening the Sacred Masculine
I spent childhood and early adulthood obese. This made me look, feel, and behave differently from the other boys and eventually men. I loved my sisters and my mother deeply, and felt distance from my father, who was physically present but emotionally distant. Even though I played with trucks, video games, watched wrestling, and played every sport, I lived my life rejecting masculinity in the world and myself. I saw toxic masculinity everywhere and I […]
Organically Healthy Workout
I had an amazing experience at the gym this morning and wanted to write about it. What happened? I worked out. The amazing part was, I didn’t compare my body to other bodies and feel embarrassed or ashamed while I worked out. I actually had the thought during one set of reps that I love my strong legs and I wouldn’t want them to get smaller. There was a sense of contentment that allowed me […]
Sliding Doors
I was recently on a plane with several hours to kill. My head was hard against the window, desperate for sleep but uncomfortable at every angle. My mind drifted as sleep was unfortunately not an option. Thoughts wandered back through time, and I imagined my life like the movie Sliding Doors. I reflected back to when I was around 16, when I first developed Anorexia Nervosa. I began to imagine how my life would have […]
Can’t Stop Eating? Read This IMMEDIATELY
WARNING: This article is entirely devoid of magic-pill type fixes, such as a brand new fad diet, juice fast, or detox. But I do have some mental tools for change that you can start using right now if you feel you can’t stop eating. If you experience times when you are out of control around food, I have a strategy for you to feel better about it immediately, and not in some wishy-washy, paper-over-the-cracks ‘just […]
Pause for a while!
When a client comes to me and they have struggle with their weight or they face eating challenges, I often ask them about their bigger dream or the legacy that they want to leave behind. We need to pause in life, when we are overloaded or bombarded with problems. It is often like drinking water when you are tempted to eat something when you are not hungry. Relax, sit down, and re-evaluate your life. Where […]
No Willpower? NOW You Can Curb Your Sugar Cravings
One of the most toxic myths in the world of health (and indeed self-help) is that of the wonder of willpower. We have put it on a pedestal, given it superhero status and pray at its altar every time we want to make any significant change. If you are using willpower to fight a losing battle with your sugar cravings, then read on. I am about to take that willpower off its pedestal and replace […]
Skinniexia
Twenty six ago, when I was 16, my mum took me to our doctor. He measured my height and then asked me to stand on the scales. He then asked me to have a look at my stomach. He pointed out a coat of extremely fine body hair covering my skin, which he called lanugo. The doctor told my mother and I that I had Anorexia Nervosa. He simply told my mum to buy me […]
Hidden Rules and Messages
The more I dare to dive into relaxation when it comes to my body and my relationship with food, the more I notice the thousands of hidden rules and messages that are still spinning in my system. I am amazed of how rude, destructive, yet stupid they are at the same time. And I get sad when I realize how much of my energy, my life and my time I have wasted to let myself […]
When Healthy Eating is No Longer Healthy…
A new type of eating disorder is emerging where people are becoming obsessed with eating to improve their health. As an Eating Psychology Coach, I deal with a range of eating disorders – anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, over-eating and body image concerns. But most of my clients recently haven’t even realized what their eating problem was exactly. Some initially come to see me because they want to eat healthier, or lose more weight, or cease […]
Trusting Truth over Thoughts
I use to believe that health came from outside of me. That the foods I ate, the way and frequency that I moved, and how well I was accepted and received by those around me would bring me a healthy state of being. Once food and exercise and outward acceptance were no longer a focus, and I still found myself struggling I realized that I was never going to feel safe in my skin, I […]
From Fear to Love
As I sat there gazing at my plate of Caesar Salad, pasta and side of pretzels, there was this eerie sensation that I was indeed making progress. After all, pasta has been on my avoid list for almost 10 years and pretzels are something I sneak as I walk into the pantry and hope no one notices. Here I was sitting with a lit candle, placemat and gentle music. This actually felt pleasurable. I cannot […]
The Story Your Body Tells
About a week ago my daughter asked me to put on my wedding dress. Amused by the idea, I put it on but I couldn’t do it up! Normally that would have made me upset and sent me into a tailspin about my diet and exercise, the “what am I doing wrong” or “what am I not doing enough of” head game. But this time it was different. Instead of jumping out of my body, […]
From Restriction to Lightness
These days, it always takes me a moment to really feel what kind of relationship with food I have now. Because it has turned into a subtle, very dignified and light flow of loving energy. It´s almost like a true friendship that fills your heart with joyful love, yet never pushes itself to the fore. To me, this really feels like a miracle! Not only was I convinced for so many years that I may […]