Can you truly accept your body while still wanting to change it?

‘If I accept my body, then it means I’m giving up on myself’

This is an all-too-common sentiment when it comes to discussing body acceptance.

This notion reflects a common fear that embracing your body implies you will lack the motivation for looking after yourself.

This perspective fuels the idea that your self-worth is dependent meeting unrealistic body standards.

However, working towards body acceptance can be a profound act of self-empowerment, challenging the idea that your value is determined solely by your appearance.

What is body acceptance?

Body acceptance is about embracing your body as it is while acknowledging that you may have areas you want to change. It's about treating yourself with respect and care, fostering a positive inner dialogue, and letting go of shame. It is not about striving to be perfect.

A Different Perspective

Consider viewing your body as your partner, as you journey through life. Would your real-life partner or children only deserve your compassion and respect if they were perfect? Shouldn't they be deserving of compassion regardless? Accepting your body follows the same principle.

Contrary to popular misconceptions perpetuated by diet culture, body acceptance is not giving up on yourself, your health and your body. Instead, it is the start of the journey of reconnecting with your body from a place of compassion and not fear or hate and helps to remove the self-judgment that keeps you stuck.

To begin this journey ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why do I want to change my body? Be honest about why you want to change it. Write your thoughts down.

 2. Are these thoughts coming from a place of compassion, self-loathing or fear? Examine each thought individually and make a note.

A fear-based thought could be I want to lose weight because my husband won’t love me

A compassion-based thought could be I want to lose weight to be in less pain  

 3. Ask yourself if each individual thought is actually true? Do these beliefs hold up under scrutiny. How would you respond if a loved one expressed similar thoughts?

Recognise that attempting to punish yourself into change through self-hatred is unsustainable and doesn’t work. True transformation comes from a foundation of self-compassion and acceptance. By embracing your body with kindness and understanding, you’ll pave the way for genuine healing. You are inherently deserving of love, respect, and acceptance—just as you are.

Navigating the complexities of emotional and disordered eating requires a multifaceted approach—one that prioritises mental and emotional well-being alongside physical health. Reach out for support HERE if you would like to book in a complimentary call to find out how I can help.

If the idea of tackling your eating patterns feels overwhelming and you're unsure of where to begin, take a look at my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Is Losing Weight the Key to your Happiness?

Are you constantly striving to attain a smaller body? For many people, this preoccupation consumes their thoughts and impacts many aspects of their life. If this is something you have been battling with, have you ever considered if shrinking your body will genuinely make you happy?

 For many of my clients who struggle with their relationship with food and their body, this question resonates deeply. They begin to peel away layers of societal conditioning, personal insecurities, and the relentless pressure to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty.

What is fuelling your deep desire to shrink your body?

The desire to be thin often stems from the belief that thinness equates to happiness, acceptance, and love. But if you delve deeper into this belief, you may uncover something far more enlightening.

• Take a moment to reflect on times when you might have been thinner. Were you genuinely happier then? Or was it a fleeting sense of satisfaction? Perhaps, like many of my clients, you found that it was never enough, and you were still striving to lose more weight.

• It might be that you were happy then. If so, was it attributed to your weight, or were there other aspects of your life contributing to your happiness, such as being in a positive relationship or having a great job?

• Perhaps you didn’t truly find happiness at all then. If this is the case, it's valuable to reflect on this when thoughts about losing weight dominate your thinking.

What else might be driving preoccupation with your weight

Weight Stigma and Diet Culture: In a society that glorifies thinness and demonises larger bodies, it's no wonder that many of us internalise these harmful messages. From media representations to interpersonal interactions, the pressure to conform to a certain body size is widespread.

Seeking Control: For some, the pursuit of thinness becomes a way to exert a feeling of control in a chaotic world. By focusing on your body you might feel in control of something where stress and overwhelm has taken over many aspects of your life. Consider what you might be trying to block out with this focus on your weight.

Thinness as a Moral Virtue: Thinness is often equated with morality and being virtuous, perpetuating the harmful notion that your worth is tied to your body size. But being thin does not make us inherently better people. Our value lies in our character, our actions, and the impact we have on the world around us.

External Validation: The validation you might receive for losing weight may provide a temporary high, but it’s important to recognise that your worth is not dependant on the approval of others, it has to come from within. Bear in mind also that the validation you seek is often from others who are struggling with their own issues around food and body image.

So how can you break free from the shackles of diet culture and cultivate true happiness? It starts with embracing body acceptance and shifting your focus away from thinness as the ultimate goal.

Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Practice Self-Compassion: Recognise that your struggles with food and body image are valid and worthy of compassion. Instead of berating yourself for not meeting unrealistic body standards, offer yourself kindness and understanding.

2. Challenge Internalised Beliefs: Question your beliefs about thinness and worthiness. Challenge the notion that your value is tied to your body size, and embrace your worthiness, irrespective of your appearance.

3. Foster Authentic Connections: Shift your focus to the qualities that truly matter in relationships. Surround yourself with people who uplift and support you, not based on your appearance, but because of who you are as a person.

4. Pursue Meaningful Experiences: Engage in activities that bring you joy and fulfilment, regardless of how of your body size. Whether it's socialising, holidays or dancing, prioritise experiences that nourish your soul.

Try to remind yourself every day that true happiness lies in embracing yourself as you are, freeing yourself from the constraints of societal expectations, and embracing a life rich in meaning and connection.

If the idea of tackling your eating patterns feels overwhelming and you're unsure of where to begin, take a look at my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Overcoming Emotional Eating: 3 Common Mistakes People Make

Emotional eating is essentially eating food in response to emotional triggers rather than your physiological hunger cues. It can involve eating to numb or suppress uncomfortable feelings or seeking comfort through food. It often occurs impulsively and can lead to overeating or binge eating. Navigating this eating behaviour can be tricky, and many fall into common traps when trying to overcome it.

The three common mistakes people make:

1. Thinking Emotional Eating Is Always a Bad Thing

Emotional eating is a behaviour that’s deeply ingrained in human nature and contrary to popular belief, isn’t inherently negative. During celebrations we might eat delicious cake when we’re not hungry. Perhaps because it’s a happy event, to be sociable and connect with others.

However, it's important to recognise when emotional eating becomes problematic. This happens when these eating patterns become your primary coping mechanism or lead to feelings of guilt and shame. Instead of berating yourself for turning to food for comfort, it's important to embrace self-compassion. By understanding that seeking comfort through food is a natural human instinct, you can shift away from negative self-judgment that keeps you stuck in the never-ending cycle of guilt and shame.

2. Falling into All-or-Nothing Thinking

"All or nothing" thinking is a cognitive distortion that can exacerbate emotional eating patterns. This mindset categorises behaviours as either entirely good or entirely bad, leaving no room for flexibility. For instance, you might think, I've already eaten something I shouldn’t have, so I might as well just continue

Breaking free from this loop involves challenging the black-and-white thinking and adopting a more balanced approach to eating and self-care. Your relationship with food is a life long journey but one that gets easier as you collect the required tools and strategies along the way.

Rather than viewing food choices as moral judgments, it's critical to work on self-awareness and mindfulness around your eating habits. This includes recognising triggers for emotional eating events and developing alternative coping strategies.

3. Turning to Dieting as a Solution

For many people, the instinctual response to an emotional eating episode is to start a new diet. However, this approach often backfires, exacerbating the very issues it aims to solve. Dieting commonly fuels feelings of deprivation, leading to intensified cravings and an unhealthy preoccupation with food.

Rather than viewing dieting as a solution to emotional eating, think about what might have led to the eating behaviour. Were you sad, lonely, angry, premenstrual, tired or sleep deprived? Did you experience a body image situation, have a disagreement, or notice a recurring source of distress? Become curious without offering up self-judgement and you may be amazed at the transformative power it holds.

If the idea of tackling your eating patterns feels overwhelming and you're unsure of where to begin, take a look at my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Is the fear of weight gain stopping you from healing your relationship with food?

One formidable hurdle often stands in the way of making peace with food and your body – the fear of gaining weight. This fear is deeply ingrained, fuelled by societal norms, diet culture, and a pervasive belief that thinness equates to worthiness. But what if you challenged this fear? What if you dared to redefine health and happiness beyond the constraints of the scale?

The problem is that even if life feels all consuming, distressing, and these behaviours encroach on various aspects of your being, you still might feel conflicted about letting go because of the uncertainty that change will bring. The fear often stems from a nagging question about what might happen to your body if you abandon these familiar patterns. Diet culture, with its relentless pursuit of thinness, has normalised this fear, making it seem like the only acceptable goal is to be thinner.

Whether you struggle with chronic dieting, binge eating, bulimia, or emotional eating, it’s likely that your strict food rules and dieting behaviours have given you a sense of control. However, the longer they persist, its important to ask yourself if they are truly serving you now.

In order to move forward and overcome your fear its important to consider the following:

1. Understand Where your Fear has Come From

To overcome the fear of weight gain, it’s critical acknowledge its roots. Whether it stemmed from your childhood; perhaps you were made to feel unworthy because you weren’t the ideal body size? Perhaps comments were made at school, or your body felt different to others because you went through puberty early? Maybe the influence of social media, or the pervasive messages of diet culture have allowed these fears to take hold, dictating your choices and diminishing your self-worth.

2. Fixation on Weight Loss at What Cost?

Are you missing out on vital aspects of your life? It could be the lack of social connections with friends and family, or perhaps you're unable to share meals with your children, impacting your relationship. Maybe you find yourself with no headspace to focus on meaningful aspects of life that bring you purpose, joy, and fulfilment.

3. Reframe your Perspective

Challenge the notion that all weight gain is bad and all weight loss is good. Instead, focus on behaviours that promote overall health and fulfilment. This means reconnecting with our core values and remembering the things you loved about yourself and your life before weight loss became the priority. Many people’s unintentional weight loss is due to health issues- they may have an eating disorder or a chronic illness. For others gaining weight is a positive thing to help with hormone function, menstrual cycle regularity and, energy, vitality and health.

4. Embrace the Uncertainty

Life is inherently uncertain, and change can be uncomfortable. But by embracing the unknown and surrendering the need for all the answers, you can open yourself up to new possibilities. Yes, the journey may be challenging, but pushing through discomfort is where your growth begins.

5. Challenge Your Internal Dialogue

Challenge your inner voice that constantly equates your worth to your appearance. Your value, ability to be loved and worthiness are not dependent on the number on the scale. Instead, they are rooted in your experiences, relationships, and the joy you find in life. Talk to your self with compassion and kindness as you would with someone you care about.

Overcoming the fear of weight gain may be challenging, but it's also a journey toward reclaiming your health, happiness, and autonomy. By confronting outdated societal norms, reconnecting with your values, and embracing the uncertainty of change, you can free yourself from the shackles of diet culture and discover a more fulfilling way of living.

Do you long for a happy relationship with food, but are feeling lost on where to begin? Grab my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food, to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

All or Nothing Mindset? Here’s How to Break Free

I help many women who are desperate to break free from dieting, having spent years or decades trapped in the cycle – exhausted by the headspace it consumes and misery it brings. They feel overwhelmed and confused not knowing how to eat without being on a diet and worry about what will become of their weight.

Many of my clients are overly restrictive with many fears and rules around food. Some find themselves binge eating or feeling out of control around foods. Others may be compelled to exercise excessively.

ALL OR NOTHING THINKING LIES AT THE HEART

All or nothing thinking lies at the heart of all of these distressing challenges and the inner dialogue is often 24/7. It is a negative thinking pattern often experienced by those struggling with their relationship with food and their body.

Often termed as dichotomous or black-and-white thinking, this mindset involves viewing situations in extremes. It leads to attempts at restricting foods perceived as bad for health or weight. For most people this is unsustainable and often results in bingeing or emotionally eating the very same ‘forbidden’ foods.

The cycle goes like this; Eat the perceived ‘bad’ food, and automatic thoughts that follow are I’ve eaten really badly, I’m a bad person, I’m greedy, I have no willpower, I’ve blown it again. I need to start again tomorrow/ next week/ on Monday and so on.

Anxiety is often coupled with these thoughts. This may lead to skipping meals or severely restricting caloric intake. It may lead to a bout of punishing exercise to make up for ‘falling off the wagon’.

WHERE TO START

1. Adding in 

If this is something you recognise with the way you approach your food, try removing the moralistic value from the foods. Yes, some foods are more helpful for our health than others but it is ok to have all types of foods some of the time.  Instead, focus instead on quality, nourishing foods you can add in to your diet. These will help you to feel better, lift your mood and stop punishing yourself.

2.  Cognitive reframing

This is a technique based on shifting your perception of a situation. This can help you transform your thoughts, emotions, and actions. Begin by recognising the unhelpful thought and ask what else you can say to yourself that would be more helpful.

For example:

Situation: Binge eat a pack of biscuits

Thought:  I failed again

Reframe: I notice that I’m thinking I’ve failed because I had a binge, slipping up is part of the process, I am learning how to manage this

Or this is a learning experience

 3.  Challenge your thoughts

To help with reframing, begin to question the validity of the thought

Ask yourself Is this really true? How strongly do I believe that it is? What is the evidence to support it? What is the evidence against it? It’s important to note that thoughts are not facts; they are just your mind's way of interpreting and processing information. Recognising this distinction empowers you to challenge and reshape your thoughts, leading to a more balanced perspective.

 4. Visualise your journey

 I help my clients to change their perspective by approaching this work as a journey and this is something you can do too. I encourage them to envision themselves embarking on a cycle ride. Along the way, they will encounter obstacles and setbacks—falling off the bike now and then is both normal and expected. Importantly, these setbacks don't signify a return to square one. Instead, they learn to recognise setbacks as part of the process, dust themselves off, and get back on their bike, to continue forward on their journey. 

Do you long for a happy relationship with food, but are feeling lost on where to begin? Grab my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food, to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Sleep Your Way to Better Eating: The Surprising Connection You Need to Know

Your eating habits play a significantly role in how well you sleep, but did you know that your sleep patterns can have quite an influence on your eating behaviour?

While much attention is typically placed on the food itself when it comes eating challenges such as emotional and binge eating, there are many other factors to consider and sleep should not be overlooked.

THE HORMONE CONNECTION

Lack of adequate sleep can lead to physical consequences such as hormonal imbalances, which may increase your hunger and trigger cravings for the less helpful foods. Acknowledging that insufficient sleep can exacerbate these cravings as a physiological response, rather than a personal failing, can foster self-compassion. Why is this beneficial? Instead of trying to offset binge eating episodes by restricting your food later, it encourages a shift towards self-care rather than sabotage. A focus on improving sleep won’t just help with eating challenges; It will also bring about significant health benefits across the board.

MEAL TIMINGS

What and when you eat can impact your sleep; insufficient daytime eating followed by overeating in the evening, especially close to bedtime, can disrupt your sleep. Malnourishment can elevate your stress levels and adversely affect sleep. Ensuring you eat enough and stabilising your blood glucose with sufficient protein, fibre, natural fats and slow-releasing carbohydrates can make a difference. Consider the balance of your meals rather than striving for perfection (which doesn’t exist – by the way). Of course, a good night’s sleep will make it easier to eat in a balanced way the next day.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT

Poor sleep quality also has psychological ramifications, affecting the higher brain functions responsible for self-control, decision-making, and rational thinking. Adequate sleep is necessary to restore these cognitive processes, allowing for more constructive decision-making. Conversely, chronic stress driven by negative thoughts about food, dieting or your body is also likely to disrupt your slumber. This can keep you stuck in a perpetual cycle of negative thinking, poor sleep and unwanted eating behaviours.

Furthermore a reminder that alcohol consumption, which you may turn to in times of stress, can disrupt your REM sleep, impacting overall sleep quality. It’s also worth reflecting on your individual sensitivity to caffeine, which varies from person to person, and may be playing a part in night time wakefulness.

Six Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep:

Focus on one small adjustment at a time and remember that consistency is key!

1. Experiment with Eating Earlier: Consider experimenting with eating earlier a few days a week. This is about understanding your body and finding what works best for you. If needed, have a nutritious snack before bedtime to avoid going to bed hungry.

2. Eat Enough: Ensure you are getting enough food throughout the day to help stabilise your blood glucose and to help prevent disturbed sleep.

3. Embrace Outdoor Time and Daily Movement: Spend time outdoors when you can and take some gentle exercise every day. A brisk walk ticks both boxes.

4. Set Up a Sleep-Friendly Environment: Dim the lights and limit electronic device use before bedtime. This will reduce your exposure to sleep-blocking blue light and minimise nighttime stimulation. Ensure your bedroom is dark and kept at a comfortable temperature for optimal sleep conditions.

5. Keep to a Consistent Sleep Routine: Avoid napping during the day and go to bed at the same time every night. This can positively impact your body's ability to reset your circadian rhythm, promoting better sleep.

6. Minimise Alcohol and Caffeine Intake: Avoid using alcohol to help you sleep. Alcohol is a stimulant and can mess with your sleep. Similarly, limit caffeine consumption and avoid drinking it later in the day.

As you work on your eating challenges, remember that fixing your relationship with food involves a multifaceted approach. By addressing the physical, emotional and psychological aspects, you can gradually build a lifestyle that supports you on this journey.

 Do you long for a happy relationship with food, but are feeling lost on where to begin? Grab my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food, to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Decoding Your Relationship with Food: 8 Tell-Tale Signs

Do you view yourself as a normal eater? It's possible that your eating habits have become so ingrained that they feel normal to you, even if there might be underlying issues. You may not have identified as a disordered eater, as many of the signs are accepted as normal with in our culture.

Often, I’m approached by people seeking help for weight loss when they are struggling with problematic eating behaviours that need to be addressed. Focusing on weight loss

So, what sets apart normal eating from disordered eating or eating disorders? It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week so I’m shining a light on the differences of something that is often complex and misunderstood.

ARE YOU A DISORDERED EATER? 

You do not need to have all the signs to suffer with disordered eating. Here are 8 signs that you may be: 

1.      You restrict your food, be it counting calories, avoiding food groups, or engaging in severe dieting

2.      You experience some bingeing episodes (but do not meet diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder)

3.      You find yourself excessively exercising in order to change your body size

4.      You sometimes vomit after eating (self -induced)

5.      You use laxatives or diet pills in order to change your body size.

6.      You experience a degree of body image distortion

7.      You make judgments about yourself and your value based on your body size, weight or shape

8.      You are persistently preoccupied with food, dieting, eating and your body

The path of disordered eating may be a precursor to an eating disorder. Both are on a continuum, making it easy for someone with disordered eating to transition into eating disorder territory. Individuals might also cycle through various eating disorders in their lifetime.

The eating disorder charity BEAT estimates that 1.25 million people are currently suffering from an eating disorder in the UK. This is only the only the tip of the iceberg representing those who have been officially diagnosed. Many others remain undiagnosed, so the figure is likely to be higher.

Eating disorders are not limited to a specific demographic; they can affect individuals of any background, ethnicity, gender, age, or body size. Contrary to the common misconception, someone need not be underweight in order to have an eating disorder.

WHAT DOES A BALANCED RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD AND BODY LOOK LIKE?

· You exercise for fun and health

· You have a good body image – accept it without trying too hard to change it, or evaluate it

· Your overall eating patterns are balanced (perhaps you miss the odd meal or occasionally overeat)

· You do not obsess over food, eating, diets or your body

· You might emotionally eat sometimes- but this is not your only coping mechanism and it does not cause you distress.

Do you long for a happy relationship with food, but are feeling lost on where to begin? Grab my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food, to kickstart your journey today

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

Unmasking Your Binge Triggers

Have you ever thought about the emotions, experiences, and life situations that trigger your emotional eating? From boredom to stress, sadness to loneliness, or the ever-lingering anxiety, these triggers can lead us to seek comfort from food. A gruelling day at work often leaves us craving a reward for making it through, and that's where emotional eating can come in.

For many, food has become a coping mechanism, a temporary relief from life's challenges. However, it's a fleeting escape that rarely brings lasting comfort. More often than not, the aftermath leads to shame, guilt, and self-loathing - far from the reward you were seeking.

Think about it – when faced with a hard day, a packet of biscuits becomes the automatic response. But what if, beneath the surface, what you truly need is a way to de-stress, find stimulation, or simply get some rest?

This survival mechanism often turns into an ingrained habit, one that's developed from early childhood – were you ever given a treat to sooth you as a child? With the prevalence of dieting behaviours you are likely to have become disconnected from your body, making it all the more harder to know if you are eating for hunger or something quite different.

When working with clients, one of my goals is to guide them towards more helpful ways of feeling better by focusing on self-care and non-food-related rewards. Often, they do not feel worthy of doing positive things for themselves – is this the same for you?

It can be an empowering exercise to reassess your behaviours in a non-judgemental way – and helpful to make a note of them. Ask yourself – is this truly serving me? Is it time to explore what does?

Next week I'll delve into the steps you can take once you have identified your triggers

Do you long to have a happy relationship with food, but don’t know where to start? Download my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with FoodFood, to begin your journey

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

5 Ways to Improve Your Self-Worth

Do you find yourself constantly seeking validation from others?

Maybe you question your worthiness based on your appearance, weight or shape?

Cultivating self-worth is not an overnight process. It's a cumulative effort, and sometimes, the smallest steps make the biggest impact. Accept that you are not perfect, and that's perfectly okay. This is an ongoing, active practice that involves embracing your imperfections without judgment.

Improving your self- worth is perhaps the most powerful thing you can do when it comes to overcoming emotional, binge and disordered eating behaviours.

Here are some practical steps to get you started:

1.       Nourish Yourself First: Prioritise nourishing yourself in all aspects of life – not just food. Take time for rest, engage in self-care, and meet your emotional needs. Neglecting yourself can lead to feeling resentful, tired, and overwhelmed. By putting your well-being first, you'll be better equipped to care for others.

2.       Set Boundaries and Prioritise Self-Respect: Respect from others begins with self-respect. Let others know that your needs matter, and it's okay to prioritise yourself. Establishing boundaries is critical; it's like building a fence around your home. Say no when necessary and set clear rules for others to understand how to respect you.

3.       Trust that you are the expert of yourself: Don't let others dictate who you are or what you should be doing. Trust yourself and let go of old identities that no longer serve you – especially those tied to dieting or societal expectations.

4.       Define Meaningful Goals: Focus on goals that truly matter to you. Consider what brings happiness to your life in the present moment. By aligning with your purpose, you not only foster your self-worth but also create a sense of fulfilment that goes beyond physical appearance or external validation.

5.       Recognise Your Value: You are more than just your body. Reflect on the qualities and values that define you as a person. Ask yourself and those close to you: What do they value in you beyond your physical appearance? Why do they enjoy spending time with you? Make a list and add something to it daily.

Take one step today – no matter how small – towards growing your self-worth. Whether it's setting a boundary, prioritising self-care, or acknowledging your achievements, each positive action contributes to the foundation of a healthier relationship with food, your body and yourself.

Do you long to have a happy relationship with food, but don’t know where to start? Download my FREE guide Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with FoodFood, to begin your journey

This invaluable resource will help you:

✔️Know when you’re really hungry and when you’re not

✔️Learn when to eat that’s best for you

✔️Know the best snacks to help you stop craving and feeling out of control

What triggers your emotional eating?

Have you ever thought about the emotions, experiences, and life situations that trigger your emotional eating? From boredom to stress, sadness to loneliness, or the ever-lingering anxiety, these triggers can lead us to seek comfort from food. A gruelling day at work often leaves us craving a reward for making it through, and that's where emotional eating can come in.

For many, food has become a coping mechanism, a temporary relief from life's challenges. However, it's a fleeting escape that rarely brings lasting comfort. More often than not, the aftermath leads to shame, guilt, and self-loathing - far from the reward you were seeking.

Think about it – when faced with a hard day, a packet of biscuits becomes the automatic response. But what if, beneath the surface, what you truly need is a way to de-stress, find stimulation, or simply get some rest?

This survival mechanism often turns into an ingrained habit, one that's developed from early childhood – were you ever given a treat to sooth you as a child? With the prevalence of dieting behaviours you are likely to have become disconnected from your body, making it all the more harder to know if you are eating for hunger or something quite different.

When working with clients, one of my goals is to guide them towards more helpful ways of feeling better by focusing on self-care and non-food-related rewards. Often, they do not feel worthy of doing positive things for themselves – is this the same for you?

It can be an empowering exercise to reassess your behaviours in a non-judgemental way and ask yourself – is this truly serving me? Is it time to explore what does? Take a moment to identify activities that can become a part of your daily life. What brings you joy? What makes you feel good? How can you relax and de-stress?

This needs to be individual to you, but here are some examples to consider:

🎵 Immerse yourself in calming music

🧘‍♂️Dedicate a few minutes to yoga or Pilates

🚶‍♀️ Take a gentle walk in peaceful surroundings

📰 Enjoy some quality time with a favourite magazine

🌿 Find tranquillity by sitting quietly in the garden

🛁 Indulge in a soothing bath

📞 Connect with a good friend over the phone

🧘‍♀️ Take 10 minutes for peaceful relaxation

Use this as an opportunity to improve the quality of your life and build in new ways of feeling joy and enriching your experience of life.

THE SIMPLE STEPS TO TAKE:

1️⃣ Recognise when you are turning to food as an emotional crutch.

2️⃣ Seek out alternative ways to make yourself feel good. (That do not involve food)

3️⃣ Try out the new choices - see what resonates with you.

4️⃣ Adjust and adapt until you find a helpful solution.

5️⃣ Keep practicing until it becomes second nature. You might find you don’t always manage - this isn’t about berating yourself. Instead observe without judgment what might have happened and try again next time.

Ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and making peace with food? Start by downloading my FREE guide, 'Breaking the Cycle - Your First Steps to Healing Your Relationship with Food.' This invaluable resource will help you:

This structured 4 step guide is an essential resource for anyone who suffers from emotional or disordered eating.

In this guide you’ll learn how to: 

✔️Understand the best way to structure your eating routine

✔️Develop a better understanding of your body’s appetite cues 

✔️Navigate snacking to help you reduce cravings and feel satiated

✔️Use the journaling pages (included) to gain a deeper understanding of your eating behaviour, thoughts and emotions 

Also included: 

✔️My free appetite tool 

✔️My free journaling pages

✔️Snack ideas

Navigating Food and Body Changes During the Perimenopause

Whether you've already entered the perimenopausal stage or it's still years down the road, it’s important to understand the factors that can influence your relationship with food and your body- especially if you have struggled with this in the past.

This is a time when women often find themselves in a whirlwind of changes, effecting both eating behaviour and body image. So, why does this happen during this transformative phase of life?

Stress and Coping

Picture this: perimenopause arrives, and suddenly, you're dealing with anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and a foggy mind. Life can start feeling a bit overwhelming, and it's not unusual for women to turn to food as a way to cope. Juggling the responsibilities of looking after aging parents, adjusting to "empty nest" syndrome, or going through a breakup can make things even more challenging.

Changeing body shape

During perimenopause, your body shape can go on an adventure of its own. The hormone oestrogen rollercoasters and then along with progesterone, declines , leading to that notorious weight gain around the middle. Metabolism slows down by about 15%, and conditions like Hashimoto's disease can add to the mix.

You might notice that what used to work in terms of diet and exercise doesn't quite cut it anymore, and that's when women will be driven to try unhelpful dietary restrictions such as calorie deficits, fasting, or food group eliminations.

Sleep Problems

As if that weren't enough, perimenopausal symptoms including night sweats and anxiety can wreak havoc on your sleep. It's not just about tossing and turning, though. Lack of sleep messes with your appetite and influences your food choices. Your fullness hormones, like leptin, take a nosedive, while the hunger-inducing hormone, ghrelin, goes into overdrive. This leaves you craving less-than-healthy foods. Plus, with less energy and increased stress, whipping up a balanced meal can feel like a huge overwhelming task.

Stress Hormones

Meet cortisol, one of your body's stress hormones. In small doses, it's your "fight or flight" helper. But when stress becomes a regular companion, it can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and craving sugary treats. Chronic stress even messes with insulin, making it harder for your body to process glucose, potentially leading to more weight gain.

Insulin and Appetite

Insulin, the blood glucose regulator, also has a say in your appetite. When insulin resistance creeps in (and it often does during menopause), it can't effectively reach your brain to tell you that you’re full. This can leave you feeling hungry and more prone to overeating.

Brain Chemistry and Cravings

As if that weren't enough, the spiking and then plummeting oestrogen levels during perimenopause can lead to lower levels of the mood-regulating brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin. The result? Powerful sugar cravings and a ramped-up appetite, sometimes leading to emotional eating and bingeing.

In a nutshell, menopause can throw some curveballs when it comes to food and body image. Understanding the reasons behind these changes is the first step to navigating this phase effectively.

If this is something you are struggling with right now, be sure to down load my free guide ‘Breaking the cycle – your first steps to healing your relationship with food.’

 This structured 4 step guide is an essential resource for anyone who suffers from emotional or disordered eating.

In this guide you’ll learn how to: 

✔️Understand the best way to structure your eating routine

✔️Develop a better understanding of your body’s appetite cues 

✔️Navigate snacking to help you reduce cravings and feel satiated

✔️Use the journaling pages (included) to gain a deeper understanding of your eating behaviour, thoughts and emotions 

Also included: 

✔️My free appetite tool 

✔️My free journaling pages

✔️Snack ideas

How to protect yourself from other people’s body, dieting + weight-loss talk

If you follow my blogs and social media channels you might have started to question diet culture and understand more about the non-diet approach. Perhaps though, other people’s chatter has the potential to give rise to panic about your weight, feeling body shame or even envy if someone you know has lost weight.

The problem is that even if you have begun to have doubts about the effectiveness of dieting, there are plenty of other people still trapped within the dieting mindset and see this as their only option.

No matter where you are or who you’re with, it’s likely that someone will discuss their own body dissatisfaction, talk about their latest diet or weight loss and perhaps remark on your weight.

It might be that your mum has been commenting on your body or weight all your life. It is likely she will think this is normal, that she is being helpful and that this comes from a place of love. It’s also quite plausible that your mum had the same experience with her mum too.

WHY OUR REACTIONS CAN CAUSE THE MOST HARM

For many of the women I work with, their friends, family and even work colleagues can make triggering comments that can easily derail them if they don’t put certain measures in place.

It’s important to acknowledge that if your mum or friends have not done the work of dismantling diet culture in their life, they will continue to share their thoughts and beliefs with you -and think that its ok. So be prepared to expect it.  But know that the next time you will be prepared.

To do this, it’s helpful to understand that your thoughts moderate your emotions. This in turn will affect how you react to the situation.

So let’s take Sally for example. Every time she visits, her mum tells her that she’s on a ‘great new diet’ and isn’t it time that she tried this too as she hasn’t lost any weight. ‘Think how you will look after’ she tells her.

Sally is triggered by this conversation; she has been working hard on eating in a more balanced way and focusing on breaking her binge-restrict cycle. However, these remarks provide a cue for a cascade of automatic thoughts, ‘She’s right you know, I should be losing weight, I’ve failed at every diet so far, this isn’t working, what the hell is wrong with me? And the thoughts go on……

The automatic thoughts trigger a stress response and a range of emotions including confusion, despair, and shame. When Sally gets home she decides to skip her next meal and later in the day ends up bingeing.

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE WHEN THIS HAPPENS TO YOU?

1. Firstly, give yourself compassion. This is key. The way you think is not your fault and has likely come from years of influence from your primary caregivers, your environment, your peers and mass media messages.

2. Offer the offenders compassion. They do not understand. They will need to go on their own journey in order to acknowledge the unintentional harm they may be causing.

3. Decide how you will think about a specific person’s comments in advance. Write down a prepared thought and keep repeating it to yourself.

(For Sally this thought may be something like; ‘My mum’s only solution is to diet, as she is a victim of diet culture’)

4. Put boundaries in place:

You could decide to walk away from the conversation. Find a reason to remove yourself such as going to the loo, or taking a stroll outside.

My clients find that simply replying to any comments with ‘Thank you’ and then changing the subject can be extremely effective and empowering.

Alternatively you may want to tell the person politely, firmly and clearly that discussions about your body or weight are a strictly no-go area. (If you are a people pleaser – please note that you have EVERY right to do so)

You might want to take it one step further by stating that you are not willing to engage in this conversation – how you look after your body is your choice and your choice only.

5. Thought work

This is something that will take time and you may need support from a coach who is qualified in this area. (I spend a minimum of 12 weeks working on mindset among other things with my clients). This involves becoming aware of your automatic thoughts without judgement and reprogramming your mind’s reactions to triggers.

Sally’s example illustrates how we create the reality through the thoughts we think which influence the emotions we feel. However, we can control not only our emotional reaction but also the aftermath of situations by changing what we think and believe.

Until next time

Marcelle x

P.S. Are you longing to find food and body freedom?

Would you love to make peace with your body and build a happy relationship with food?

Come and join us in the FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, Facebook community- a safe place where you can question, share, learn + feel supported without judgement, comparison and shame. In the group my aim is to help you cut through the confusion and anxiety you feel around food and eating along with sharing motivation and steps you can take to get off the diet rollercoaster for good. And what’s more it’s free to join!

If you would love to leave your years of dieting behind you and create positive change in your life then come and join us now!

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Ready to break free from unhelpful coping behaviours?

Habits are formed through repetition. When you repeatedly turn to an unhelpful habit to manage your emotions, it becomes deeply ingrained and challenging to break free from. As humans, we tend to resist change and prefer to stick with what's familiar because change is uncomfortable for us. However, we often become motivated to create change, when staying the same starts to become more distressing than the discomfort of making the change.

As it's Mental Health Awareness Week, I’m discussing how we form destructive behaviour patterns and steps we can take to start to dismantle them.

When coping with emotional pain such as grief, loneliness, anxiety or overwhelm, we look for something to sooth our pain. Food is often used as a comfort and this is a normal human behaviour. However, when food becomes your sole reliance for coping (or if you are restricting it for a sense of control), it poses a problem.

If you're grappling with your relationship with food, mental health, or both, it's essential to recognise that these coping habits will have developed over time because they served a purpose. In the past, they helped you navigate through emotional experiences. Back then, these behaviours were all you had to cope with those challenges.

We tend to repeat behaviours that have proven effective in the past, and over time, these patterns become automatic and embedded. However, somewhere along the way, these patterns may have become painful or challenging for you. It's critical to first understand their origin and, with a self-compassionate approach, accept them for what they were. It’s important to remember, that using food to sooth doesn't make you a bad person, a failure, or any of the self-critical labels you might apply to yourself. Once you've gained that understanding, you can begin to unravel what's keeping this pattern or habit in place.

It's possible that turning to (or restricting) food feels like the only way you know how to deal with your emotions. Maybe you haven't discovered any other strategies for coping with them yet.

Furthermore, these habits often provide immediate relief from distressing emotions an escape from reality and provide temporary solace. Have you thought about what might be more helpful for you?

Here are some useful steps:

1. Identify the habit: Notice the specific behaviour with curiosity (rather than judgment) What triggers it? what would you routinely do and when does it typically occur?

2. Notice when it is happening in the moment – awareness is key. Again, without judgement, notice your automatic response to the trigger and kindly give yourself a moment to pause and take some deep breaths.

3. Observe bodily sensations, feelings and thoughts- Accept that you are having an emotional experience and notice any physical signs such as your heart beating faster, sweating. Continue to take deep breaths.

4. Proceed with an alternative more helpful next step. This is different for everyone – it might be a body scan, guided relaxation, Epsom salt bath, listening to your favourite music or taking a walk.

5. Keep practicing – avoid fretting if you don’t catch yourself every time. Creating a new automatic habit takes practice and repetition.

Doing things to help lift your mood including balanced eating, making time for sleep and movement can all help you with emotional resilience. Take a look at my Mood breakthrough guide to help you take some first steps towards this.

You can download this HERE.

The link between disordered eating & digestive distress

If you experience digestive complaints, how does this affect what and how you eat? Perhaps it preoccupies your mind whilst you try to understand what can alleviate the symptoms?

If you also struggle with eating challenges, perhaps you have not considered the role this may be playing in your gut symptoms including bloating, acid reflux and abnormal bowel movements.

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

Forty-four percent of people with IBS type symptoms are disordered eaters and 98% of people with eating disorders have co-occurring gut disorders. It is no consequence.

Digestive symptoms correlate with psychological distress; due to eating behaviours that disrupt digestion, changes in the physiology of the gut and an imbalance in the microbiome (the eco system of our gut).

Food restriction leads to delayed gastric emptying and a feeling of premature fullness along with nausea and bloating. The villi (the small finger like projections lining the gut that allow absorption of nutrients), become flattened.

Low food intake or purging often leads to constipation. Unsurprisingly, purging also results in a weakened oesophageal sphincter and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). Acid reflux and symptoms of IBS are often experienced by binge eaters.

A VISCIOUS CYCLE…

This often leads to a vicious cycle, gut discomfort and pain resulting in further food restriction in order to manage symptoms. Digestive complaints may also lead to the desire to eat ‘perfectly’ even when the diet does not relieve symptoms.

This causes rigidity and fear when eating certain foods. Disruption of digestive processes also impacts appetite cues, so it can become challenging to feel hunger and/ or satiety. Commonly, strict adherence to diets can also lead to binge eating.

If you have eating challenges and are experiencing distressing digestive symptoms, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Book in a complimentary call HERE to see how I can help

You can also come and join me in The Food Freedom Collective community – a free group to support you on journey to find freedom around food and your body

If any of these resonate then this community is for you :

💠You are on and off diets all the time

💠You find yourself binge eating

💠You are an ‘emotional eater’

💠You restrict food in order to lose weight

💠 You can’t stop thinking about your weight, appearance or food

💠 You feel overwhelmed and confused no longer knowing what you ‘should’ eat

With weekly live videos and daily support

Overcoming binge eating, low self-esteem and body loathing - Jody’s story

Jody came to me for help to rebuild her relationship with food, having particularly struggled during the lockdown with binge eating and low self-esteem. Coming out of the pandemic, she was extremely self-conscious, avoiding social events and exercise because of the shame she felt about her body. Jody was a self-confessed people pleaser never wanting to be ‘a nuisance or ‘make a fuss’. This was impacting all aspects of her life and she desperately wanted to create change but didn’t know where to start as she explained below.

“I have had periods of binge eating on and off for the last 10 years but during and following the Covid pandemic I hit my lowest point ever. I had tried regular therapy over the years and that had helped in some respects, but really needed something more. I was so pleased to find Marcelle but right after signing up and before getting started I did feel a bit hesitant as this felt like my last chance to “fix” myself.”

We worked on bringing regularity to Jody’s meals, enjoyment of food and mindful eating in addition to a great deal of work on body image and particularly building self esteem and assertion. Jody soon realised that she has the right to be heard, seen and understood which was especially impactful. Part way through the programme, she realised she was no longer binge eating and began to push herself out of her comfort zone when it came to physical activity and going out socially. This is what she had to say:

“Marcelle has been so lovely to work with -always so understanding and non-judgmental. It was such a relief to hear that I’m not the only person struggling with the things I struggle with, and to have learned so many techniques to help improve things.  I have never been a confident person and Marcelle has helped me to be more accepting of myself, and that’s been the starting point for making positive change. Marcelle is so supportive and understanding and has really made a difference to my life. I will be forever grateful for her help and guidance.”

When it comes to emotional eating and bingeing, there is always far more to it than the food you eat. Each and every client I work with is unique but share many of the same challenges. If this is something you are struggling with, please know there is hope -it is possible to overcome your difficulties and reclaim your life

AND WHERE CAN YOU START? 

If perpetual dieting has left you in a muddle about food and eating, and you feel overwhelmed anxious and confused about what, how much and when to eat then have a read of my free resource ‘What the Diet Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

8 Tell-Tale Signs about Your Relationship with Food

Do you think of yourself as a ‘normal’ eater?

Perhaps you’ve not been at peace with food for so long, that your eating feels normal to you.

Maybe you have never considered yourself to be a disordered eater. After all many of the signs are accepted as ‘normal’ within our culture.

I am often approached by women seeking help for weight loss, when it's in fact their eating behaviours that we need to address. So, what are the signs of dysregulated eating? And what is the difference between ‘normal’ eating, disordered eating and eating disorders?

Dysregulated eating is complex and often misunderstood and so in the run up to Eating Disorders Awareness Week, I would like to help clarify.

Are you a disordered eater? 

You do not need to have all the signs to suffer with disordered eating. Here are 8 signs that you may be: 

1.      You restrict your food– counting calories, avoiding food groups, severe dieting

2.      You experience some bingeing episodes (but do not meet diagnostic criteria for Binge Eating Disorder)

3.      You find yourself excessively exercising in order to change your body size

4.      You sometimes vomit after eating (self -induced)

5.      You use laxatives in order to change your body size or diet pills.

6.      You experience a degree of body image distortion

7.      You make judgments about yourself and your value based on your body size, weight or shape

8.      You are persistently preoccupied with food, dieting, eating and your body

Eating disorder sufferers will go on a journey and the signs of disordered eating may indicate that they are heading in this direction. Eating disorders and disordered eaters are on the same continuum - it is very easy for a disordered eater to slip in to eating disorder territory. It is also possible for people to experience several eating disorders in their lifetime, they often morph from one to another.

The eating disorder charity BEAT estimates that 1.25 million people are currently suffering from an eating disorder in the UK. This is only the only the tip of the iceberg representing those who have been officially diagnosed. Many others remain undiagnosed, so the figure is likely to be higher.

Eating disorders are common in individuals between 14 and 25 years but you may be surprised to hear that they have been seen in children as young as 6 and in people in their 70s. They can affect people regardless of their background, ethnicity, gender, age and body size. One of the biggest misconceptions being that someone must be underweight in order to have an eating disorder.

So what does a balanced relationship with food and body look like?

·         You exercise for fun and health

·         You have a good body image – accept it without trying too hard to change it, or evaluate it

·         Your overall eating patterns are balanced (perhaps you miss the odd meal or occasionally overeat)

·         You do not obsess over food, eating, diets or your body

·         You might emotionally eat sometimes- but this is not your only coping mechanism and it does not cause you distress.

If you are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with food and your body or believe you may be suffering with an eating disorder, please reach out for help.

I work with a limited number of clients to offer one to one support over a minimum of 3 months and would be happy to have a chat with you to see how I can help. If you would be better suited to work with another practitioner, I will let you know, and sign post you accordingly.

Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out how I can help.

You can also come and join me in The Food Freedom Collective community – a free group to support you on journey to find freedom around food and your body.

Body image and dieting – why changing your mindset is more effective than changing your body

If you are unhappy with your appearance, weight or body shape the likelihood is that you’ve spent years trying to work out how to change it.

Perhaps you have been jumping from diet to diet, over exercising or have even considered surgery.

Every year millions of women diet in order to change their body. In fact at least 50% of adult women are on some kind of weight loss regime at any given time, in order to help themselves feel better about it.

For many people I work with, this has literally hijacked their life – 24 /7 thoughts about food, their weight or shape– so there’s no room for anything else.

Is this the same for you?

If this is impacting your life, I wonder if you would consider the possibility that changing the way you think about your body is the solution as opposed to the relentless focus on physically shrinking it?

Yo-yo dieting – where weight is lost and regained in a never-ending cycle, has a significant negative impact on body image. A study was conducted with 88 larger bodied women who lost an average of 23 kilos following a weight loss diet. Their body image initially improved. However, when they had regained only an average of 2 kilos a few months later, their body image deteriorated significantly. And we know that weight regain is expected in up to 95% of participants following any weight loss diet.

Yo-yo dieting of course impacts health in many ways – check out my past blog – The hidden costs of yo-yo dieting for more info on this.

If you are a compulsive dieter, it’s first important to reflect on what your motivation is for dieting. Is it for physical health and wellbeing? Or to appear more ‘attractive’ – a fat phobic fear that you will be judged for not achieving the thin body ideal. Perhaps you don’t feel like you fit in or are worthy of love and respect?

Of course, looking after your body is important for your physical and mental health but it is extremely difficult to do so consistently if you despise it.

It is a myth that losing weight is the only way to feel good about your body. By learning to respect it you will be far more likely to look after it in a sustainable way.

This is why when clients who have been dieting for years, want to improve their health, we need to move the focus away from weight loss.

Yes- this can feel scary at first.

But with the right support it is possible to move forward.

Once you begin to see and feel the true benefits – your motivation and confidence will grow. This is when I see many clients loosing excess weight as a side effect of the changes they make – it is no longer their focus but becomes possible as they begin to think differently about their body and themselves.

I’d love to guide you on that journey

If you are struggling with disordered eating and your body image, you are constantly on and off diets, or find yourself craving sugar, emotional eating or bingeing, please reach out for support.

Book in a complimentary call to see how I can help you begin your journey to food freedom and transform your life 

Body or head hunger?

Understanding you hunger is a key component to overcoming emotional eating. It’s essential work for my clients -often something they have never really thought about.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Physical, bodily hunger can be identified when you feel the sensation in your body – often your stomach. Perhaps it’s a hollow feeling, or light headedness. Your stomach sends this message to your brain and you will feel it whether or not you see or smell food.

Head hunger however, is affected by external cues. For example, you may walk past a bakery. You can see and smell freshly baked pastries and then think – I’ve really got to buy some of that. There are no physical symptoms – it may be the pure fact that you’ve seen it and it looks good. It may habitual (ie you pass the same bakery every day and it has become your default behaviour to stop off and buy the pastry on your way home. Or you may be feeling sad, stressed, anxious, fed up or angry and think – that is exactly what I need to make me feel better.

If what you are experiencing is in fact head hunger– this isn’t a sign of weakness or something to fear. It is very often a signal that we have an unmet need. Learning to understand these signals with self-compassion is a key part of the process of creating positive change.

And what if you feel true bodily hunger all the time?

If your hunger is real and you experience it all the time, this is also something to embrace. It is your body’s way of telling you it needs nourishment.

Many of the women I work with have experienced intense hunger after they finish their meal. Often this is purely because they have not been allowing themselves to eat enough, following a self-imposed rule of how much they 'should' be eating.

Many of my clients express disbelief when they realise what a difference it makes to eat three balanced meals a day and give themself permission to have more if required. Following this they no longer needed to snack or binge in the evenings and are able to enjoy their eating experience.

What if you just don’t know?

We are all born to innately respond to hunger, fullness and satiety. Think of how babies and toddlers eat when they are hungry and push food away spit it out or throw it on the floor when they are not. They instinctively know. Sadly, over time this skill becomes eroded by the influence of our environment, mass media and diet culture -Have you ever been on a diet that focuses on your hunger and satiety?!

The good news is that this skill can be relearned. It takes work and focus to start listening to your body to then be able to trust and respond to it. But it can be achieved. I have seen my clients change the way they think about food and eating, liberate their mind and make incredible life transformations.

FREE DAILY SUPPORT 

If you are you struggling with your eating and your relationship with food + your body, head over to The Food Freedom Collective free group, for daily support and weekly live videos to tackle your challenges

If any of these resonate then this community is for you :

💠You are on and off diets all the time

💠You find yourself binge eating

💠You are an ‘emotional eater’

💠You restrict food in order to lose weight

💠 You can’t stop thinking about your weight, appearance or food

💠 You feel overwhelmed and confused no longer knowing what you ‘should’ eat

Delicious, nutritious, summertime treat and news on Perifest 2022!

I have some great stuff to share with you this month including a delicious, nutritious summertime treat

PERIFEST 2022 IS ON IT'S WAY.....!

I am excited to be on the virtual stage at The Peri-Fest Weekend online event being hosted by the Perimenopause Hub. I will be speaking at 3pm on the 10th of July -I’d love for you to join me!

I’ll be talking about diets, weight loss and the menopause and how to build a healthy relationship with food.

So grab a friend or 5 and join us - did I mention it's FREE !!!

Registration is super easy. Simply click HERE and you’re good to go!

Please share this with all of your network - the more women we can help through this the better we’ll all feel.

DELICIOUS, SUMMERTIME TREAT....

Raspberries are very much in season now! Aside from being delicious they provide a truly remarkable array of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients! Here is the perfect recipe to cool you down in the summer heat when you want something sweet!

Raspberry & Coconut Ice Lollies

·         300g raspberries

·         400ml coconut milk

·         150g Greek yoghurt

·         1tbsp runny honey

Place all the ingredients in a blender and process to a smooth purée. Pour into ice lolly moulds, add the lolly sticks and freeze overnight.

A POWERFUL PODCAST CONVERSATION.....

It was a pleasure talking to Kate Hudson Hall on her podcast ‘Bulimia Sucks.’ We discussed strategies for improving your relationship with food along with disordered eating, the gut connection and bloating. I found it a powerful conversation which covered binge eating, bulimia and restrictive eating – I hope you do. You can listen to the podcast HERE!

Do you struggle with your relationship with food and your body? Have you been desperate to shrink your body size and have tried diet, after diet, after diet? You are not alone. But how would you feel if I told you that the action might actually be causing you to gain weight?

I’ve broken down the most common myths and misconceptions in an easy to digest FREE download, bringing some clarity to the murky messaging that we are subjected to on a daily basis.

Using evidenced based weight science research, ‘What the diet Industry doesn’t want you to know’. exposes the biggest weight loss myths and will help you discover the truth about dieting.

Simple, seasonal mouth-watering recipe + more in my top picks for May

I’m regularly asked for recipe recommendations along with nutrition related books, programmes, new research and podcasts etc, so I share some of the things I think you’ll find helpful every month- here are my top picks for May!

A must-listen, podcast….

“To eat in the modern world is often to eat in a state of profound sensory disconnect”

This fascinating podcast covers all the ways we have, lost our sensory connection with food over time and discusses how we can re-establish it. Eating at our desks and on the go, purchasing food online and pre prepped pre-packaged and processed foods all contribute to this.

There is a reference to yo-yo dieting – and how being more engaged with our own senses can help us to become more balanced mindful eaters.

seasonal recipe to make your mouth water…..

Spinach & Halloumi Salad with Blueberries

The saltiness of the cheese goes perfectly with the tannins in the spinach and the sweetness of the berries.

Serves 2

• 250g Halloumi cheese

• 100g Fresh blueberries

• 1 cup fresh spinach

• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ tsp lime juice

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• Freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt to serve (optional)

METHOD

• Cut the halloumi into slices or cubes.

• Heat the olive oil in either a frying pan or a griddle.

• Gently fry the halloumi until golden on each side.

• Remove from the heat.

• Mix the salad dressing ingredients.

• Place the spinach in a bowl and dress.

• Put the Halloumi cheese pieces on top of the spinach and sprinkle over the blueberries.

• Season to taste and eat immediately

What you need to know about binge eating……

Binge Eating Disorder is the most common eating disorder but widely misunderstood. In my article for in Happiful Magazine, I’ve highlighted the common misconceptions and some critical considerations to help you move forward

If you struggle with binge eating, have been desperate to shrink your body size and have tried diet, after diet, after diet, you are not alone. But how would you feel if I told you that the action  might actually be causing you to gain weight?

I’ve broken down the most common myths and misconceptions in an easy to digest download, bringing some clarity to the murky messaging that we are subjected to on a daily basis.