The sunrises here in Colorado have been spectacular lately… Spending time admiring the natural beauty around me is my favorite way to soothe my soul. Much more effective than say – 27 Oreo’s and half a pint of ice cream. Non-Food Nurturers provide a dose of pleasure and contentment. They create good feelings + soothe the soul without all the extra calories. Here are 5 simple ways to soothe your soul (without food)… 1. Read Fiction. I joined a book club in January of this year because I knew I was reading too much serious stuff (self-help, psychology, business books, oh my). Now I still love me some Brene Brown, but instead of curling up with latest and greatest edition of… improve yourself uplevel your life become your best … [Read more...] about 5 Simple Non-Food Soul Soothers
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Learning to Feel
From childhood until just a few years ago, I used food to check out of myself. Overeating, binge eating, and purging helped me escape the emptiness, self-doubt, anger and gazillion other craptastic emotions I thought I couldn't handle. Looking back, I can see that my so-called coping mechanism only perpetuated my state of pain. Bulimia in particular is a brutal and lonely addiction. At the time, the shame and emptiness I felt after binging + purging seemed more tolerable than letting my feelings rise to surface. I was wrong. So very wrong. The reason we eat when we're not hungry is to escape a feeling we don't want to feel. We use food to numb, to distract, and to cover up our scary + uncomfortable + painful emotions. For many of us, … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Learning to Feel
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – The Self Compassion “Diet”
See if this resonates with you… Go on a diet - feel a crappy feeling - overeat to numb/distract/escape feeling - beat self up for overeating and for feeling “bad” - feel worse - give up on diet (screw it!) - eat mindlessly - gain weight - beat self up for gaining weight - go on another restrictive/punishing diet... You guys, I see this ALL THE TIME. The more we beat ourselves up, the more we want to check out and give up so we can escape the beatings + self-criticism. Then, one day we start right back up where we left off - with another restrictive + self-punishing diet. The way to reach your goals is through self-compassion and forgiveness (not, I repeat NOT self-criticism). Try these instead… Listen to your body Eat when you’re … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – The Self Compassion “Diet”
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Simple + Fun Food Journaling
Guess what? You don't have to keep a detailed journal full of calories counts and a 1/2 cup of this and 7 grams of that to get results. YOU get to choose the way you journal. And keeping a food journal can be simple or a creative outlet or dare I say - fun. I see you rolling your eyes. Yes, you. Stay with me. Research has consistently shown that self-monitoring is one of the most important components of successful weight loss and weight maintenance programs. It helps to find a way of tracking that makes sense for + appeals to you. You don’t have to count every calorie or gram of protein (unless you really want to). Pressed for time? You can opt for something super simple. Just write down the time + what you ate. That’s it. Remember the … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Simple + Fun Food Journaling