When I think about what’s most meaningful to me in this phase of my life when it comes to food, body, eating psychology, personal health, personal development, etc. – it’s the idea of trusting myself and my decisions.
I found IPE in the midst of binge and emotional eating in 2013, desperately looking for the answers. I had already quit my corporate job, completed a yoga teacher training, put my primary relationship on hold, etc. Yet my eating challenges were still showing up for me. “WHHYYY”, I would yell at myself!
Deep down, it’s because I didn’t trust myself. I wasn’t being my own best friend. I would self-sabotage by biking 20 miles a day and drinking a bottle of Merlot at night. As I look back four years later, no wonder I was reaching for food to try and feel better.
It wasn’t until I began to trust myself, and my decisions around food, body, career, and life that everything started to shift for me. I’m not sure exactly when that turning point was. I think it was a matter of taking small baby steps towards what I truly desire. I started to focus on the way I wanted to FEEL, rather than worrying about exactly how I was going to do it.
I believe my passion for yoga, mindfulness, eating psychology, and lifestyle coaching keeps me inspired to stay true to who I really am. Whenever I start comparing myself to other coaches or people, that’s when I begin to feel disconnected again. I get myself back on track by dropping into the present moment, feeling my breath, noticing the thoughts and feelings that arise, hear the limiting beliefs, and then decide to tell a new story.
I see others do this too – make up negative/stressful stories in their head, believe in the limiting thoughts, and never take action because of fear or overwhelm. I have seen this over and over again with clients and even in my own story. I think what we have to remember is that the one thing no one can take away from us is the thoughts we choose to think. We always have the power to shift, and to reach for a better feeling thought or idea.
What I want you to know is that it’s time to start trusting yourself again. Just because you have let yourself down before, or have felt out of control, guilty, shameful for your actions in the past, doesn’t mean it always has to be like that. Get out your handy dandy journal, and ask yourself, “What’s the ‘One Thing’ I can do next? The ‘One Thing’ that’s going to provide me the most relief?” Then follow through with that action, and trust yourself.
Macy Graham is a Certified Mind Body Eating Coach, Lifestyle Design Coach & Yoga Teacher who specializes helping women who binge or emotionally eat gain their power back with coaching packages that include private coaching (recorded phone sessions), mindful movement videos and group coaching calls. Macy is most passionate about helping women smash self sabotage and use that energy towards self improvement and creating a life they love. Please visit her website at www.hungryoga.com for more info or email macy@hungryoga.com. You can also find @hungryoga on Facebook, Instagram & Youtube!