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 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

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

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

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

Emotional eater? Here’s why dieting is not the answer

As someone who works with women who consider themselves to be emotional eaters, I’m asked this question ALL the time. But what defines an emotional eater? And will dieting stop it in it’s tracks?

To some extent we all emotionally eat. During celebrations we might eat some delicious cake when we’re not hungry. Perhaps because it’s a happy event, to be social, connect with people, take joy from the whole experience. It might not have been a conscious decision to eat the cake.

Often, emotional eating isn’t a problem that needs solving. Sometimes we do eat for comfort when we are feeling sad, angry stressed or alone. It is a coping mechanism we can turn to for a sense of solace. Comfort is after all defined as ‘a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint’.

However, emotional eating can be complex. When it becomes our ONLY mechanism for soothing ourselves, and leads to anxiety, obsession, and overwhelm, emotional eating is no longer our friend.

The difficulties occur when it becomes a never-ending cycle, channelling feelings of guilt and shame. Often ‘all or nothing’ thinking is at the heart of this cycle - ever said to yourself “I’ve blown it today so I may as well just carry on”?

Many women battle with this for years of their life and repeatedly turn to dieting to put a stop to it. If this resonates – let me ask you this, is dieting the solution to your emotional eating or the solution to the feelings of contempt you have for your own body?

The problem is that dieting (AKA food restriction) often plays a role in emotional eating or bingeing. The scientific literature explains that there are several complex mechanisms and research is still ongoing. Put simply we know that dieting often leads to food obsession, hunger and intense cravings. Perhaps you are burdened with those relentless thoughts 24/7, that hijack your headspace on a daily basis? Dieting is not the solution but the fuel to the fire.

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

• Learning to be able to clear your head of diet thinking and cultivate a new mindset; giving yourself the permission to eat what you love without feeling out of control.

• Learning to eat in a way that helps you to feel satisfied so that you no longer have cravings

• Learning to reconnect with your body and know when to start and stop eating

• Learning to acknowledge your emotions, not push them away and find other, more helpful coping mechanisms.

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’

You can download this HERE to support you on your journey to dismantle your diet mindset and begin the process of breaking free from dieting, binge eating or emotional eating.

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 

Bored or reward- what triggers your emotional eating?

Emotional eating triggers are often complex. Perhaps you’re bored, stressed, sad, lonely or anxious. Commonly having a hard day at work can lead to that need to reward yourself for getting through it.

For many, emotional eating has become a coping mechanism – a relief, distraction or escape. Yet it seldom brings comfort- the benefit is mostly short lived. And commonly feelings of shame guilt and self-loathing follow – not the reward you were looking for.

Eating a packet of biscuits is often the automatic response rather than working out what you really need. This might be to de-stress, find stimulation or get some rest. Mostly this survival mechanism has become a habit. Chances are, you have been conditioned to reward yourself with food, often from early childhood. And many of us are almost completely out of touch with our own bodies –which is what makes it so challenging.

When working with clients, the aim is to build in more appropriate ways of making yourself feel better by prioritising self-care and turning to non-food related rewards instead. We all deserve and need time to do positive things for ourselves - without feelings of guilt. 

It can be a really empowering exercise to take a look at what you might normally do to reward yourself and think, are these helpful or do I need to replace them. And then spend some time to identify some activities that you can build into your daily life.

What would you like to spend more time doing? 

What would make you feel good?

What would help you relax or de-stress?

Here are a few examples:

·         Listening to calming music

·         A few minutes of yoga/ pilates

·         A gentle walk in peaceful surroundings

·         Reading a favourite magazine

·         Sitting quietly in the garden

·         A soak in the bath

·         Phoning a good friend

·         10 minutes of quiet 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:

1.    Identify when you are using food as a reward or to make yourself feel better.

2.    Choose a few alternative things you can do instead to make yourself feel good (that do not involve food).

3.    Try out the new choices - see what works well for you.

4.    If something doesn’t work, change it or add to it until you find the right solution.

5.    Keep practising it until it becomes automatic. 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.

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

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

Why stress affects how we ingest our food

Part of the work I do with my clients is to teach and support them in eating to regulate their blood sugar (glucose) levels. This helps to optimise energy, improve sleep, regulate fat storage and reduce cravings. However, the crucial work alongside this, consists of the mindset work; coaching to shift the feelings of guilt and shame, when they do eat the foods that are less helpful for blood sugar control.

We know that harmful thoughts about ourselves and the food we are eating lead to feelings that trigger the stress response. The stress hormone cortisol is released from the adrenal glands and leads to the liver producing more glucose. Some of this glucose is converted to energy (to be able to react to a threat quickly) But if we don’t need to use this energy, as the perceived threat is in fact a harmful thought, much of this glucose will be stored in our fat cells.

A remarkable study published recently illustrated just how our thoughts can have a physical impact on our physiology. In this study two groups of people were observed, drinking the same drink with the same amount of sugar. One group knew they were consuming a drink containing 15 grams of sugar, and the other group believed they were consuming a sugar free drink.

The outcome was fascinating. The group who knew they were drinking a sugary drink had a greater increase in blood sugar levels than the group who believed they were drinking a sugar free drink, illustrating how our perception alone is enough to impact our body’s physiological responses.

So, where the diet and fitness industry would have you believe that it’s all about counting calories and restriction, I beg to differ. Focusing on the where, why and how within a framework of coaching, cognitive work and solid evidence-based nutritional science is where it’s at.

If you are stuck in a diet mindset, have realised that dieting and restriction doesn’t work for you and want to understand why, then take a look at my free download - ‘What the diet Industry doesn’t want you to know’. Using evidenced based weight science research, it exposes the biggest weight loss myths and will help you discover the truth about dieting

Overeat or binge towards the end of the day? [video enclosed]

Do you find yourself skipping meals or eating little earlier in the day only to find yourself bingeing or overeating in the afternoon or evening? This comes up all the time with my clients so when a member of The Food Freedom Collective asked me what she could do about it, I decided to do a short live video in the group.

I have shared the video for you below 

Please do come and join us in FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, for free HERE 

It’s a Facebook community supporting women to break free from binge eating, emotional eating and yo-yo dieting and I do live videos in the group every week.

Would you love to be able to make peace with your body and build a happy relationship with food? Click the button below to join.

Why eating ‘addictive’ foods, doesn’t make you a junk food addict

Ever stopped at one Pringle?

Find it hard to eat only half a KitKat?

Perhaps the temptation of a whole Dairy Milk is just too strong?!

Like many processed foods, many crisps, chocolate bars and biscuits contain a combination of carbohydrates, the unhelpful fats, sugar and often salt that affect our brain-reward circuitry. They overpower our appetite signals that tell us when we’re full. These foods have been coined hyper-palatable foods, by researchers studying their powerful effects.

Most processed foods commonly consumed in Europe and the US, meet the hyper-palatable food criteria. This was defined and accepted in 2019 by researcher’s who came up with specific quantities and proportions within processed foods that have the ability to affect our brain chemistry in this way.

WELL DESIGNED FORMULAS TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT WE EAT

Professor Fazzino and his team conducted a study that found that food companies have well designed formulas for foods to increase the amount we eat. The scientists believe they can activate our brain neuro-circuits in a similar way to cocaine. The researchers also discovered that these foods may have the ability to overcome our satiety and fullness signals that tell us when to stop eating.

The same study found that 49% of foods labelled low or reduced sugar, fat or salt also met the criteria. Understandably it feels almost impossible for most to navigate the food isles and avoid these brain-hacking food products.

Most people I work with to overcome compulsive and emotional eating feel guilty and blame themselves, they feel society blames them for having no will power, failing at diets and not being ‘good’ enough. However, the battle is so much more complex than having will power. The addictive nature of these foods is one of the many components making it so hard.

If this is something you struggle with, it’s important to acknowledge firstly that you are not alone but also that just because you find these foods addictive (as they have been designed to be), it doesn’t mean that you are a sugar or junk food addict. It is possible to learn how to eat these foods as part of a balanced diet without feeling out of control around them.

Sometimes addressing this alone is too great a challenge to undertake -especially if you have years of chronic dieting, bingeing or emotional eating behind you. 

I work with people just like you, who need a new approach so they are able to live life to the fullest. Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out how I can help

Please also come and join us in FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, Facebook community- supporting women to ditch dieting, beat binge eating and make peace with their food and their body. I do live videos in the group each week to discuss a new topic to support you on your journey and I share, food ideas, motivation and support – it’s free to join!

'Diet-free your life' - FREE on-line workshop

Free on-line workshop for women struggling with yo-yo dieting, binge + emotional eating.

Discover the key mistakes most women make when it comes to their challenges around food, the 3 little-known reasons why dieting may not be working for you and I’ll show you what I teach my clients to successfully do instead.

When:

Choose from one of the following 45 minute sessions:

7.30pm Tuesday 19th October

1pm Thursday 21st October

7.30pm Wednesday 27th October

⭐️I would love you to join live but if you can’t make it be sure to register HERE to receive the recording ⭐️

About your coach…..

I’m Marcelle -BANT Registered Nutritionist + Health Coach with specialist training in eating disorders and eating distress ( Master Practitioner qualified - National Centre for Eating Disorders)

I specialise in helping women beat binge eating, emotional eating and yo- yo dieting for good so they can make peace with their body and heal their relationship with food so they are able to live life to the fullest.

I’m looking forward to joining you 💜

If you can’t make it live be sure to still register to receive the recording. Register by clicking the button below

Is it a new diet you need?

I wonder how long you have spent over throughout your life searching for the magic pill when it comes to weight loss? And how much money you have spent on miracle diets that promised to make the weight drop off over night?

If you are someone who has spent a significant amount of time in slimming clubs, slimming programmes or starting again on Monday, you may be beginning to think that something just isn’t working.

It is likely you have been taught the notion that calories in equals calories out, that low carb is better than low fat (or visa versa) or that drinking celery juice is the answer to all your prayers.

The weight loss group mantras seem to be about finding ways to cheat your body. It’s no wonder people lose weight and put it straight back on again.

What the slimming clubs miss is that unless you get to the root of what is going on for you, nothing will change in the long term and your mindset is at the core of this.

One part of this is taking care of your self-care. If you are an emotional eater, no ‘diet’ in the world is going to help you deal with what the REAL issue is – your wonky relationship with food. You need to rewire your food brain, because emotional eating or binge eating are major causes of feeling a diet failure but, unless you get to the underlying causes of the problem, you’re destined to yo-yo diet … forever.

Self-care is the recognition that only YOU can make yourself happy and that, if you make sure that you dedicate some time EVERY DAY purely for your own enjoyment, you will have more joy in your life, be more fun to be around and have far greater reserves to deal with the stresses of everyday life.

The miracle of self-care doesn’t end there. When you dedicate a small amount of time each day to your own happiness, there is less need to reach for the chocolate biscuits. I’m guessing you’re like many of my clients – you are usually so time poor, that rewarding yourself with treat foods like cake and biscuits is the easiest way to show yourself some self-love.

My experience when working with clients has shown me over and over again is that so little of why you eat what you eat has to do with nourishing your body. The greater part is to do with how you feel about yourself and about life in general. Eating half a packet of chocolate biscuits is much easier than getting what you really need, which might be a way to de-stress, feel loved, get attention, relax and even sleep. 

I am sure that you get what I am saying, but this is not enough for the magic to work. Just understanding won’t get you the benefits. You have to be in action.

I promise you that if you make a commitment to yourself, other challenges in your life will start to feel that bit easier. Maybe you need some support with deep rooted struggles; a slave to food, your weight or appearance or worry about every calorie that enters your mouth. Perhaps you’re unable to break free from the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting, binge or emotional eating, I want you to know, you are not alone.

I work with people just like you who need a new approach to gaining balance and moderation around food and eating. And I can help you to take action when you commit to doing something completely different so you can leave dieting behind for good. 

Un-diet your Mind is my new 21 day coaching course where you will unlearn your old food patterns & make new confident choices. I will be with you every step of the way, so you feel supported and motivated to begin the process of long lasting change. Its starting on Monday 1st November

Join my VIP wait list to be the first to be notified when the course goes live and have the chance to enrol at the discounted price!

The course is just £89 and only £69 to the first 15 people who enrol

Struggling with sugar cravings?

Does this resonate with you?

-You crave certain foods when you’re not hungry

-You worry about cutting down on certain foods.

-You feel sluggish or fatigued (especially from compulsive eating).

-You need more and more of the foods you crave to experience any pleasure or reduce negative emotions.

Reducing your sugar intake can help you to feel more energised, satiated and balanced. But I know from experience that it can be a challenge and particularly for many women that I work with who struggle with emotional eating, bingeing, and yo-yo dieting.

The white stuff is ubiquitous. It goes without saying that you’ll find it in obvious and some less obvious foods, on every shop corner, wherever you go.

Cutting down on sugar can feel hard – especially if you have spent years using sugary treats to give you an energy boost, as a coping mechanism for stress or as a reward for getting through the day.

HERE ARE MY TOP TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

1. Observe how you start the day

Start your day with a bowl of cereal and in many cases, you’re starting with a good portion of sugar! Switch to something containing protein accompanied with fruit or even veggies to help to regulate your blood sugar from the get-go

2. Be conscious (but not obsessive) about food labels

It’s helpful to be aware that “sugar free” or “no added sugar” often doesn’t mean it has no sugar- sometimes the sugar is disguised as something else. Here are just a few alternative sugar names:  sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose, galactose, lactose, maltose, invert sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, isoglucose, brown rice syrup, barley malt and malodextrin.

It’s important to not get too hung up on these but maybe helpful to decipher why for example a certain food you consume regularly isn’t making you feel that great or leads to cravings later in the day.

3.  Be mindful of juices and smoothies!

Fruit juices contain a fair amount of natural sugar but without the fibre (that the whole fruit contains) to slow its progress into your bloodstream. Fruit laden smoothies do just the same.  If you enjoy smoothies, go for combinations of leafy greens, avocado, mixed seeds and a limited amount of fruit (mixed berries are helpful for blood sugar balancing)

4. Say no to artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are man-made products that are no more helpful to us than real sugar. They can upset your digestive system and some – notably aspartame and acesulfame-K – have been linked to other health conditions.

What you may not know is that artificial sweeteners – and many other ‘natural sweeteners’ that find their way into ‘health foods’ –behave in the body the same way as actual sugar by raising your blood glucose levels. I would personally go for the real stuff given the choice!

5. Don’t make sugar a forbidden food

This one may confuse you and yes you read that right! When we demonise and deprive ourselves completely of certain foods – the power of said foods is increased. You are less likely to have bingeing episodes, when giving yourself unconditional permission to eat foods containing sugar and far more likely to eat in a balanced way.

Are you ready for a new approach to eating and leave dieting behind for good? 

Un-diet your Mind is my new 21-day coaching course where you will unlearn your old food patterns & make new confident choices. I will be with you every step of the way, so you feel supported and motivated to begin the process of long lasting change. Its starting on Monday 1st November

Join my VIP wait list to be the first to be notified when the course goes live and have the chance to enrol at the discounted price!

The course is just £89 and only £69 to the first 15 people who enrol
The first 15 people who join the course will receive the special discount 

Easy nutrient packed snack recipe to satiate your sweet cravings!

Snacks. This is something that throws many of the women I work with off balance

Their thought sequence goes something like this…..

I need something sweet

What can I have instead?

I shouldn’t be snacking – I won’t have anything

I will just have half of something

I shouldn’t have gone back for more

Now I feel really bad – why did I do that?

And though we work on shifting mindset around lifting restriction on forbidden foods to help reduce their ‘power’, there is usually much more to be addressed

But what if you could make a quick sweet, tasty snack that gratifies that urge whist simultaneously helped to keep your sugar cravings at bay?

Well, I have the very thing for you. These chocolate chia bites are packed with protein, natural fats and fibre and will help to regulate your blood sugar and keep you satiated. Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Chia Bites 

Ingredients

·         1  cup ground almond

·         3 tablespoons pure maple syrup ( this can be adjusted for sweetness)

·         1 cup desiccated coconut

·         ½ cup melted coconut oil

·          ¼ cup chia seeds

·         2 teaspoons vanilla essence

·         2 tablespoons cacau powder

Method

1.      In a food processor, combine coconut oil, ground almonds, coconut,  maple syrup, chia seeds cacao and vanilla essence

2.      Line a small tray and press down the mixture so it is flat and compact 

3.      Put in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow it to set

4.      Then remove from the tin and slice into squares

5.      This can be stored in a container in the fridge or freezer

If you are feeling particularly decadent, you could drizzle some melted dark chocolate over the top before cutting into pieces

I would love to hear what you think of this recipe- just hit reply and let me know!

If you are someone constantly battles with what you think you ‘should’ be eating, finds yourself on a diet rollercoaster or perhaps struggles with emotional eating or bingeing, there is a way to free your body and mind from the endless misery it brings.

Introducing foods that will support your physiology is just one piece of puzzle alongside building a healthy mindset, eating psychology and appetite and satiety reconnection to name a few.

I have worked with hundreds of clients who have found themselves fighting this daily battle and I’m working on an exciting new short foundation programme to help you transition to a calm, balanced and joyous approach to eating

***KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE NEWS ON THIS COMING VERY SOON

P.S. 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, supportive practices 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!

Is dieting really the answer to emotional eating?

As someone who works with women who consider themselves to be emotional eaters, I’m asked this question ALL the time. But what defines an emotional eater? And will dieting stop it in it’s tracks?

To some extent we all emotionally eat. During celebrations we might eat some delicious cake when we’re not hungry. Perhaps because it’s a happy event, to be social, connect with people, take joy from the whole experience. It might not have been a conscious decision to eat the cake.

Often, emotional eating isn’t a problem that needs solving. Sometimes we do eat for comfort when we are feeling sad, angry stressed or alone. It is a coping mechanism we can turn to for a sense of solace. Comfort is after all defined as ‘a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint’.

However, emotional eating can be complex. When it becomes our ONLY mechanism for soothing ourselves, and leads to anxiety, obsession, and overwhelm, emotional eating is no longer our friend.

The difficulties occur when it becomes a never-ending cycle, channelling feelings of guilt and shame. Often ‘all or nothing’ thinking is at the heart of this cycle - ever said to yourself “I’ve blown it today so I may as well just carry on”?

Many women battle with this for years of their life and repeatedly turn to dieting to put a stop to it. If this resonates – let me ask you this, is dieting the solution to your emotional eating or the solution to the feelings of contempt you have for your own body?

The problem is that dieting (AKA food restriction) often plays a role in emotional eating or bingeing. The scientific literature explains that there are several complex mechanisms and research is still ongoing. Put simply we know that dieting often leads to food obsession, hunger and intense cravings. Perhaps you are burdened with those relentless thoughts 24/7, that hijack your headspace on a daily basis? Dieting is not the solution but the fuel to the fire.

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

• Learning to be able to clear your head of diet thinking and cultivate a new mindset; giving yourself the permission to eat what you love without feeling out of control.

• Learning to eat in a way that helps you to feel satisfied so that you no longer have cravings

• Learning to reconnect with your body and know when to start and stop eating

• Learning to acknowledge your emotions, not push them away and find other, more helpful coping mechanisms.

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? I would love to hear from you.

What are your main challenges? What would you love to know and learn? Where do you need support? How would you like to feel?

Your input will help me tailor my content and support for you – just hit reply and let me know :)

I have worked with hundreds of clients who have found themselves fighting this daily battle and I’m working on an exciting new short foundation programme to help you transition to a calm, balanced and joyous approach to eating

***KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE NEWS ON THIS COMING SOON

P.S. 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. I will be sharing tips, simple recipe, meal, and snack ideas along with strategies, motivation and supportive practices and its free to join!

It’s time to release yourself from the shackles of diet culture + empower yourself to create positive change in your life.